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Before starting this class I was honestly unsure of what I was getting myself into. I now know that I have made the right decision. This class has taught me so much about the importance of a story. I learned that a story has so much detail and information that it is important to pay attention to it all. It is also very important to get to know the characters that are involved in the story because that will definitely help have a better understanding of it all. I have also learned that there are so many events and situations that can happen within a couple of pages everyone has their own situations. In fact there is no one in this world that is perfect. We all have a story that we have to tell. I think it is very interesting how a story can keep on going for such a long period of time and can have so many readers. As in this class we learn so much about a story and others parts that have to do with a story. It really got me to think that there are times where a story doesn’t have an ending. Anyone can be the reader all they actually have to do is just add and add more things to the story and it continues. Everyone does their own version of stories and how they are told. It is very important to tell a story because we all learn from it and you are going through the events as if it is currently happening or you are there at that time. It is also nice to hear a story being told because you start to make your own conclusions or gather your point of views. Gathering your ideas and discussing it as a group is a good way to interact with others and you get to learn so much. Doing the blog post in this class has helped me have a better understanding of the stories I read and being able to put my thoughts together. I was able to relate to other classmates' understanding. I think this was very important because we all discuss the story from our perspective. We have all heard stories and told them since we started talking. Honestly I think telling, hearing and reading a story has helped have communication and most importantly learning how to talk. I believe that this is a reason why they would read to us as kids in school. That way we learn how to read and talk because there is so much in a book that can help in the process of learning. When someone is telling you a story as a kid most of the time you listen and you will go on and tell someone else but instead of explaining the same story with the same event there are changes in your understanding of the story. As we grow we become more aware of those mistakes and learn from it. I have also learned that reading and hearing a story is very different if anything it is best to do both that way you see the difference.

I went along with this image because reading is very important and its best to read in a relaxing place or when you are alone.

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For my Blog Post Poetry I decided to read and analyze the “Depression” playlist. The first song that I actually analyzed was “I Feel Like Dying” by Lil Wayne. As I was reading this song I noticed that some of the lines did rhyme with one another and there were a few lines that repeated. Before I started reading the song I had an idea that this song was going to talk about life difficulties and challenges. I had that idea from only reading the title but I was slightly wrong. The meaning of this song by Lil Wayne is that they are so high that they feel like dying. They are getting high and having all these different kinds of experiences that are not making them feel like themselves as if they are on another level. In the song it is also explained situations that do not occur in normal bases. It was very interesting how everything was explained.

The second song that I decided to analyze was “High For Hours” by J. Cole. This song is similar to the first one. As I was reading it I did notice that it had some similarities such as being high and having different experiences. In this song they are explaining a lot of feelings and things that are going on. The song does not completely rhyme but there are some lines that actually do. The whole song does go along with the theme and the whole point they are trying to prove. A line that I found very interesting as I was reading the song was “abused becomes the abuser and that how life go.” I am sure this song took a lot of time and dedication to put words together that will go along with the point. It really does have many important lines some repeat and some don’t.

The third song that I decided to analyze was “All Falls Down” by Kanye West. This song had so many lines that did rhyme and was well wrote out. This song is different from the other two that I did analyze. This one has to do more with things that can occur to some people. The main point that they are wanting to prove is that nothing in this life is assured everything can have an end to it very quickly. I can see more depression and different kinds of emotions being played off this song. Kanye did a very good job making all the lines of this song go along for the most part I have to say that this song was probably the best.

Overall, this playlist had some good songs. I found them being all interesting and well written. They were all different in their own way as they each explained their own point. In this week's lecture I learned that not all poems have to rhyme so as I was reading these poems I paid attention to that and actually did notice that not all poems rhyme. Without them rhyming they still played very well together.

I decided to attach this image because I am actually starting to find poetry being very interesting and such a beautiful thing.

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The Hero's Journey or Coming of Age Story

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The Hero's Journey or Coming of Age Story

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As this week we learn what the meaning of a Hero’s Journey and Coming of Age Story is and relating it to this week's reading and life it was very interesting. I found a Hero’s Journey being seen everywhere I actually never knew the actual meaning. As a character goes through so many stages and processes in life to actually make sure that there is a meaning a reason why so. All of these processes do occur in a slow process to get to where they want to be. I have never really payed attention to Kendrick Lamar's music or knew who he was. Before I started to read his album I played the music. Listening to a song and reading it really is two different things and both tend to have different connections. His album was pretty good not going to lie as I was actually reading it and got goosebumps. It is just so crazy how his music has so much meaning to it. He mentions so many things that happened to him as a kid. Kendrick also talks about his living situation as a child going through so much must have just been very hard. At the age of five I was in preschool playing around with all the other children there and was happy being a kid. When Kendrick was five he saw something that marked his life which that was a murder. At that age no children should be witnessing things like that only because that can actually harm them growing up. Him living in such a bad neighborhood did not help at all because he would witness so many thing as crimes, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and etc. Being around crimes like those only gets worse as a child grows up because they then start to get influenced by things that will not bring any good into their life. Some kids are smart and lucky to make it out of that living situation and become someone good, but unfortunately that is not always the situation there are some that do not and end up staying stuck. As Kendrick got older he started to get into the poetry and he was fully supported by his English teacher who helped him out. Having that help and encouragement from his teacher was all that he needed someone that would believe in him and his goals. That is when he also started to learn how to incorporate everything in his mixtapes. When pursuing everything in life and continuing making his poetry he started to get a feel for other artists and he was then even more inspired in life and knew that doing music was his passion. I see Kendrick as a hero, someone that wanted to find a way out and continued to succeed in life no matter all of the obstacles that came through into his life. It is very inspiring to see an artist talk about their life and what they have been through in their albums that has a lot to say about them.

Down below is an image of Kendrick Lamar as a kid. Such a happy baby.

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As we continue to move on with The Last Poet I have learned so much about this book and life. The author Christine Otten has done a good job explaining and putting everything together through feels and many more examples. This book does have many examples of themes and well explains it all. Through this book the characters did face many problems in their life but they continued to push those problems. In the beginning of the book we started to read about Jerome. I found him being a very successful character and strong for all the problems he had gone through. He has been through so much as a kid his mother was his only rock that would always support him. Especially with his problem with speech impediment he needed the most support he was able to get because this was a real issue growing up. Unlike his grandmother and father there was no support at all. Instead they were the main problem of everything they would cause him so much stress and were not supportive at all. Living in his grandmother's house was just a very bad environment for him mentally and physically not only was this a problem for him but as well for his mother. There was not so much that his mother was able to do other than take all the humiliations. His father being in jail was a lesser problem but as soon as he came out everything got so much worse. Jerome has been through so many challenges in life and has learned a lot on how to push through them all. Felipe has not had it so easy either he has been through very hard challenges growing up. Starting out as a kid he has been having many difficulties because he states that he is living a double life. By having a double life he found himself getting into so much trouble growing up. When he was living in New York he had mentioned that it was such a dark place with negative energy. He was getting into so much trouble going in and out of jail very constantly. He was also involving himself with gangs that was one of the main issues that caused him to get into the wrong path. In jail he really tried his best to stay away from the inmates so that way he can try to avoid those things that got him into jail in the first place. Living in California was a different environment; everything felt so much better. He honestly didn’t get into much trouble here and stayed away from all of that while living there. In Felipe's life his mother and grandmother meant so much to him and all he wanted to do was make them happy. He knew it was time for him to change his life around and find who he actually was. Felipe had a hard time discovering who he actually was but through his life challenges he did learn a lot. Overall, Christine Otten did a good job giving this book so many theme examples and used so many real life situations.

Down below is an example of Felipe trying to understand and take in what is really going on.

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In today's society it is quite difficult to get to know what you want. There are just so many things going on from good and bad. Most of the time it can be difficult only because you don’t have the support that you need to succeed and overcome everything else. Many of the times if you come from a low class area it is hard for an individual to get out of that. It can be hard only because you are influenced by the wrong people. A Lot of the time people will doubt you and just make fun of you because they don’t think that you can get out and be someone. Not just that but race has so much to do even though there are some individuals that think otherwise. Social media has had a huge impact because there are a lot of misunderstandings that go on in there. Till this day people are being bullied by their appearance not just in social media but as well in person. Let’s just say that is the wrong thing to do because no one can ever be comfortable with posting or being who they are. The charter that I decided to talk about is Felipe. I found him being very interesting and played an important role. He did not have it that easy growing up and was very undecided most of the time. Felipe was around many things as a child like jail and many crimes. This was an important event in the book because it summed up where he came from and defined many things. Most of his life was spent in jail from the crimes that he would commit. In the book he did mention that he was living a double life. Him living a double life must have been very difficult and exhausting because he was never steady with something in life. While Felipe was in jail he did realize so many things that he wished could have been different. He had found living in New York and Southern California being two whole different environments. When he was in California he was a different person that would not get into problems and was actually happy. Once he was in New York it was the opposite situation he was into so many problems and started going to jail. Felipe had also described how in California it is sunny and in New York there is just darkness. This is a very important point because the environment and vibe can actually express how someone feels overall. As Felipe was influenced by gangs that was one of the worst mistakes because that just brings even more problems. Most of the time people join the gang to have “company” and feel “safe”. I think Felipe thought that it was an easy way out of his problems. He cared so much about his family and saw how the gang had an impact on his loved ones. Throughout everything Felipe's main priority was trying to find out who he really is. He has so many questions that were never answered.

This image represents Felipe questioning himself and not knowing what would be the best thing to do. All he wants is the correct response.

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The character that I have decided to analyze is Jerome his actual name being Geronimo. I went along with this character because in my opinion he is one of the most interesting and is the main character as well. Based on the reading Jerome seems to be a protagonist because he plays an important role in this story. As a child he had so many problems in life that affected him in many different ways. One of those problems being that he had a speech impediment. In the reading he does explain how this problem was very difficult for him throughout life. He had a problem being able to to explain and express his thoughts. When he would forget or begin to talk he started to stutter so much. As he got older he would still continue to fight this challenge and not give up. As he began to work at Roxys it had gave him the opportunity to grow up and prove to other especially his grandma that he is capable of learning. His other problem that he had to deal with as growing up was all the bad talk and bullying that his grandmother would put towards him. She would always make fun of his problem instead of helping him through it. As a kid this is very hurtful not having your own family to talk to and comfort you. When being a kid you always remember all the negative and rude people that were always there. That is what Jerome did but instead of this putting him down it made it stronger and he realized that his goal was to prove everyone wrong not only for himself but for others as well. There was a time where Jerome overheard his mother talking to his grandparents about his dad and how his return will bring so many problems. This was not the first time he has overheard a conversation about his dad he has actually heard his parents talk so negative about him in the past which only brought him to the conclusion that they hated his dad as much as they hated him. In the reading he would also talk about his grandma getting mad over everything. Even if it was anything that had to do with his mother she was not hold herself and would find a reason to argue and blame others quickly. Well they were right about him fathers return bringing problems because it did. His father was an alcoholic and one day he came home wanting to hit his mother Jerome was definitely not okay with it at all and stood up for his mom. By doing this Jerome has shown so much and has improved so much. He will not tolerate anyone not even his own blood to hurt him or his mother in any way. Towards the end it is also shown that he has been able to improve and grow in his speech problem which is great because he has overcome a long ways.

I included this image because this reminds me of Jerome when he is feeling frustrated and does not the support that he needs.

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Hello! My name is Maria and I am currently a Junior majoring in Sociology. I recently moved to Turlock about four months ago. I am a first generation attending college and being this far in my education. During my free time I enjoy visiting my family back home and spending quality time with them. I also like going out and enjoying some fresh air. I recently got a new dog which has required so much attention but I am enjoy it. I am excited to get to know everyone in this class and anxious to know more about these artist.