Wrong Label

            I am an African American, or at the very least that is my ethnicity on legal documents. My social life, on the other hand, tells an entirely different story. Social media, nowadays, seems to be very lenient when it comes down to incorporating stereotypes and terms associated with said stereotypes in into its various forms, such as television, music, movies, etc. Terms such as “black”, “African”, and especially the infamous “nigga” are now used to identify those who are African American. Although the origins of such terms came from the age of slavery in the U.S., it is astonishing how such a racist term that was created in the 1700s could still be used in modern day society, and be used in such a way that is acceptable to society. Although all of these terms are disrespectful and inappropriate, in some shape or form, they have affected me socially. To have such racist terms and stereotypes be used by and against both adults and teenagers, some of which aren’t even African American, is ignorance in itself. Some African Americans in this day in age, especially high school students, have been affected so much to the pint that they have been conformed to live by these stereotypes. However not all African Americans live by such stereotypes, I included. Call me whatever you want, but at the end of the day I am an African American and should be treated as such.

            The term “nigga” was first used negatively during the age of slavery within the U.S., and is still used negatively to this day as a sort of medium in society. It is a term that can be used in two ways: as a friendly jester or as an insult to an African American. The Boondocks provide an example of the term in use when one of the main characters, named Huey Freeman, describes a conflict between two African Americans as a “nigga moment”. He defines it as a moment where ignorance overwhelms the mind of an otherwise logical African American, causing him to act in a self-destructive manner. To have such a term be defined in such a way as a conflict between two individuals, can define them as arrogant and unprofessional. Due to the high popularity of The Boondocks, many people found it to be more socially acceptable to label African American men and women to be “ignorant”. But this initial thought is false. Being an African American does not label me as ignorant, nor does it make me unprofessional.

            Social media seems to be surprisingly tolerant to the practice of incorporating racial stereotypes to its media. Through music, television, and social networks, the term “nigga” quickly rose to popularity with people quickly knowing the term and use it to some degree in a stereotypical manner. For example, the typical stereotype that African American eat nothing but fried chicken. Some people believe that this stereotype originated from an episode of The Boondocks called “The Fried Chicken Flu”, where there was a scene where a large group of African Americans losing their temper and starting a full scale riot simply because a restaurant ran out of chicken.  This stereotype is entirely inaccurate, because one is making a stereotyping an entire ethnicity to a single food item that anyone can enjoy. Yes we do enjoy having something as delectable to eat as chicken, but that is not necessarily all that we eat. What we choose to have comes from our own individual preferences, not only concerning food, but various other things in the world. Yes I do like to eat chicken, but not to a point as to where that is all I will eat.

            “Nigga” is such a widely acceptable term that the whole world has become adapted to using it. Because of how much the term is used in social media, people everywhere are going to here and learn this word. This has also caused the term, like Ginger, to be a more “poke and play” term to most. However, ironically, most African Americans consider the term to be offensive and racist when a person of a different ethnicity uses the word. Eddie Griffin, a comedian, makes a statement saying that only an African American can use the word “nigga”. His reasoning behind such a statement was that since white people never had to experience slavery from a slaves perspective and have had to endure racial hardships ever since the 1700s, they do not reserve the right to use the term. While I do understand his reason behind his belief, ultimately I would have to agree and disagree with his reason. Simply put it is true that white people never had to experienced slavery or racial segregation from our point of view, but you must also take in account that no African Americans in this day in age has had to go through the  trials and tribulations that our ancestors had to live through. Taking that into consideration, do we even reserve the right to use such vulgar language?

            All and all, ignorance nowadays seems to run through the minds of all people in the world. African Americans have had it rough for the longest time now, and it seems as though we will continue to go through such trials. With racial stereotypes of how African Americans live and what they do floating around, it has become increasingly difficult for an African American to live a normal life without having to conform to the racial stereotypes. Personally I value the fact that I was born in an age where African Americans no longer have to experienced forced labor and racial segregation, but I still feel sympathy for those who have, and I also feel prideful and give respect to those who have fought to make a difference. Having to live with today’s typical stereotypes is merely one of life’s many challenges for each and every one of us. The fact of the matter is, society wants to label all of us and from the womb of said labels it gives births to the stereotypes that come along with it. If you are going to label me, then label me as an African American, not black, African, or even a nigga.

            

How an 11^th Grade Student Is Similar to Squats

            I’ve learned that every junior in high school has his/her fair share of challenges to go through. With studying for the SAT/ACT, keeping good grades, and in some, if not most, cases taking rigorous AP classes that will have you staying up all night completing assignments, there’s just not enough time in the day to just relax. One day I was lifting weights in the weight room of my school and I was doing some squats and I came to a sudden realization, an epiphany. I realized that squat exercises are a simple representation of my junior year in high school, the peak of my high school career.

            I view each weight on a lifting bar as a representation of each of the major tasks that I must prepare for in order to go to college. Tasks that an 11^th grader must take, such as SAT/ACT, AP classes, etc. are all similar to metal weights through a few aspects, one in particular, the more important that they are, the heavier that they feel. What you notice about squats is that they feel easy at first, however as you keep going the strain that you feel keeps growing, as if the weights are getting heavier and heavier by the minute. This connects to my 11^th grade year because, similarly to the weights, the pressure of scoring well on test and passing my classes increases as the year goes on. The image of a man doing some squats with weights symbolizes the immense pressure that a high school student will feel during his/her junior year.

            The steel bar used in weight lifting represents the 11^th grade year as a whole . As you may have noticed when working out at the gym if you lift a steel bar with no weights on it, it would feel relatively light, however add a set amount weight to it and it becomes more difficult to handle. This concept has allowed me to connect it with the experiences of the average highs school junior. If this year were without the SAT/ACT and AP classes and simply focused it’s attention on keeping good grades, then, as a junior, my year would be rather simple. However, because this is the year where you must take into consideration of  college requirements, my year has been rather hectic and busy.

            The image of a man performing the squat exercise is a representation of the not only myself, but also the average 11^th grade student. In the image you can see that the man is in fact exercising because you can see his muscles are flexing and being strained. You may have noticed that once you’ve completed performing squats or other various exercises certain parts of your body are in a notable mount of pain, and over time the pain fades and your body becomes stronger. The same can be said for the struggle of an 11^th grade student, as in despite all of the hardships you may have experienced over the course of the year, ultimately by the end you will be a better student and more  prepared for college.

            All and all, my representation of my junior year in high school can be an image of a person performing a squat exercise. There are various aspects of this exercise that I believe are symbolic to my 11^th grade year in high school, such as the weights, the steel, and the person performing the exercise. I believe that this image gives the best representation of the most difficult year in high school.

file:///Volumes/Lexar/Descriptive%20Essay.docx

How argumentation is similar to synthesis

We all know an argument to be a statement of one's own opinion on a certain topics and, in order to increase the effectiveness of said argument, we provide detailed information on why we take that position of the argument. When it comes to writing an essay there are two forms of arguments: the more opinion based Argumentation essay and the more informational based Synthesis essay. But what are the similarities between the two? 

The fact is that not many thing hold these two essay types apart from being similar, so on occasion it's not difficult to mistake one for the other. A synthesis essay focuses on an argument being presented and supported with evidence from sources provided for the essay. An argumentation essay focuses on  an argument being presented and supported by evidence use from outside sources such as movies, news articles, and books. The main similarity is that both follow the form of an argument. They both require the writer to take a position and state his/her reasons for taking that position.

Another aspect that they have in common is that both require the writer to have a certain level regarding the topic and other similar topics. An example is if your prompt tells you to write about same sex marriage, then it would be a good idea to research information regarding
Same sex marriage, or simply the definition of marriage as a whole. The information that you gather for your critical thinking process, coupled with a well structured and developed essay will make your opinion known and why it is relevant to the topic.

Why argumentation is more powerful than persuasion

In modern times, persuasion is used to convince people to perform certain jobs and to complete certain objectives. This is usually done by convincing people with all the benefits of doing such task; a common example is for the sake of money. Persuasion, for the most part, tells of all the good and none of the bad. Argumentation, however, gives both perspectives while at the same time is also persuading. In fact one might say that argumentation is not just more powerful than persuasion, but is also a more powerful version of it.

Persuasion, in a way, is only half-baked because your not giving the audience the full story. Your just telling the audience what they want to hear. Argumentation is a form of speech in which the audience receives all the information regarding the topic, both the good and the bad. It also gives the effort of addressing a counter argument, then bringing down said counter argument in order to increase the overall relevancy of the previous argument.

Time with Rhetorical devices

I have gained an acceptional understanding of rhetorical devices in AP. The only issue being, however, is that I still must understand how to identify rhetorical devices in certain passages. I have trouble trying to find most other rhetorical devices, such as paradox, anadiplosis, and synecdoche, aside from the ones that I do know. I would very much appreciate it if you could spend some time to tutor me and teach me to find key points that could help me identify devices in passages.

An example of my troubles is the timed writing for the passage "The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History", written by Jennifer Price. I remember spending so much time trying to find devices that I barely had ant time to begin writing the essay. I felt so frustrated trying to find one that I completely lost focus of my basis for my essay. By assisting me in finding key points in a passage, you can help in my development as a student and increase my chance of passing the AP test.