Here, There, Everywhere.

A big social issue in our world today is poverty. When the general audience thinks of poverty, they think of starving people half way across the world. Like in advertisements for groups that help poverty on television. But the truth is that poverty is all over the place, from my own neighborhood here in New York, to my neighborhood in Mexico.

In Kensington, my neighborhood in Brooklyn, it is some what common to find people living on the street, with blankets and a cup for spare change, but there are some. Entering the train, there have been people that have asked me for change. Also, it is common in all of New York to find yourself in a train cart or platform where people perform, with some sort of tool standing out, waiting for the audience to put in any amount of money.

In Mexico, I have never truly seen people living on the streets, but where I am from it has never been common since I live in a more country looking area. It is, however, really common for people to not have much money. Activities that children do, are free ones such as going to parks and playgrounds next door. I don't see kids with their phones or ipods out since those are not common there. Instead I see dolls, and stuffed animals, as their entertainment.

In both these two different places, there are people that are in some kind of poverty. They sometimes can't support their family, and sometimes not themselves. I think that we have to acknowledge these people, and we have to not only set up programs to help other people, but ourselves too. We should put up more homeless shelters, or ways of supporting people, because although we can change many lives around the world, we can change them here too.

A Not Social Issue, Issue

Gay rights is a topic I personally would not consider an issue, but because there are some people that do not believe it is right, that word will just have to do. Gay rights is an "issue" I find important because we are limiting people just because of a way they are. It is similar to when we discriminated towards african americans just because of their color. Here we are discriminating gay people just because of who they love. We limit them by not letting them get married in some states, which leads to other limitations as well.

Marriage is defined as "the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex... " People that are against gay marriage say that it is "unconstitutional". People that aren't against it agree that gay people should have the same rights and the same "legal benefits" as anyone else. I think that although the definition of marriage only states that it is between male and female, change is something that is always a part of the world. What we think is weird or not right now, might be in a few decades. Just like gay people were not accepted before, they are starting to now.

The limitation of marriage, limits family rights too. Without a sturdy foundation of marriage, adopting a child must be harder, to both support the child and in cases of divorce for custody. Adoption alone is not even an option, in most places. People that believe gays should not adopt believe that they can not provide "the upbringing of a traditional family". But what is a traditional family mean? And whatever it is, two people no matter what genders, can most definitely be qualified to raise a child.

Articles On Gay Rights:

Marriage:

http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S44-4241-0-709&artno=0000307415&type=ART

Adoption: http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S44-4241-0-709&artno=0000307414&type=ART

Myself as Two

I am

happy, not accepted, but happy

scared, accepted for now, but scared

Life is

hard, but right, I am myself

easy, but not right, I am not myself

The world is

harsh, but life is comfortable, I am myself

a breeze, but life is not comfortable, I am not myself

My family

rejects me, cause the world is cruel, but life is good, I am myself

would never forgive me, the world only accepts the familiar, life is unfair, when I am not myself

Gay rights is something I feel strongly about, because I think as people with feelings we have the right to marry and love whoever we choose, therefore I chose to write a poem over that topic, but I tried to do so in a subtle way. Therefore, for this two voice poem I started with my two characters, where I decided one would be out of the closet and one would be in the closet. I wanted the characters to have the same "issue" while their lives contrasted each other greatly. I also wanted to start with how they felt about themselves, and then each stanza having them branch out to others and ending with family because that is something most people feel most strongly about.

While doing this I also wanted each line holding on to the previous stanza, showing how no matter what others thought they would be the ones either content with the way they are or not. In the life of the first person, her only positive stanza was the first one about herself where she is happy. In the rest life is hard the world is harsh and her family rejects her, but she is happy. In the life of the second person, and life is easy the world is a breeze, but she is scared, and in the last line everything is wrong, because she is not herself. Although it is not implied in the poem I did try to imply it in the title, I wrote the poem thinking it as one person, and what her life would be like if she came out to the world vs. if she didn't.

Multiple- Face

I have recently read the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part- Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. In this book there are many lessons about life that the author tries to teach us. I think that one of the most important ones he tries to teach us is that you should be yourself, but there isn't always one you. People are going to act differently depending on who they are with and maybe not even be exactly themselves, and the author shows how that's okay. The main character of this book is Arnold Spirit Jr. In this book he learns this lesson.

Arnold was different with the people on the rez than the people that went to his school in a different town. On the rez, people called him Junior and he got beat up. To them he was "a poor no one". However, he was always himself, especially with his best friend Rowdy. He was able to tell Rowdy all of his dreams and just about everything. Him and Rowdy always talked and joked around together, and were always honest with each other. I think it's really great that Arnold had that group of people he was himself with, including his family, but how I said, specifically Rowdy.

Arnold acted completely different with all of his classmates. His classmates didn't think he was poor and didn't think of him as a no one. In school he was one of the most popular kids. He was also one of the best basketball players on the team unlike when he went to school on the rez. Also in his new school, he has a girlfriend that is also popular named Penelope. With these classmates he is less loose and more serious about life and what he wants. With his family and tribe members he is much more loose and less serious about life.

One of the most important lessons that are in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part- Time Indian is that it is okay to be different and not yourself at times. I think that people always say cliché things such as you should always be yourself, which I definitely agree on but sometimes people bring out different sides of you and different reactions or emotions. I love how realistic the author is in this book and in life. He shows different sides and emotions of Arnold and how the people around him affect him.

Life As We Don't Know It

The song Imagine is one that focuses on how we are different and on the issue of how that brings us apart. It address different religion, and location such as countries. This song also focuses on something deeper which is our wants, and how that causes our world trouble socially. It sends a meaningful message saying that if we didn't have all these lines, both literally and not, that keep us apart we really could stand together as one.

This song, says how we could live peacefully and fully if we didn't have religion and borders. The opening line is "imagine there's no heaven" and it continues to say how people could "live for today" if heaven and hell didn't exist in our heads. I think while saying this Lennon is implying that if we truly believed we didn't have any sort of next life people would live in the now. That they would actually live each second like it was their last. Also in the line, "imagine there's no countries", he is telling us our lives would be more full of peace. Without borders we wouldn't have wars because we would all be one land. The song shows how without these differences we could really unite.

Lennon also focuses on how a majority of our problems would be solved if we didn't live to ourselves, but together. The lines "nothing to kill or die for" shows that if we didn't feel responsible, or strongly for someone alone, such a family member, we wouldn't need to go against things just to help that someone. The line "imagine no possessions" also shows this, because if we didn't own things to ourself, just like with the people, we wouldn't feel the need to protect it from others in a way. Something interesting about this line, is that the one that follows is "i wonder if you can", where Lennon is saying how our world is so broken up the way he describes, that it is hard for us to even imagine what he is telling us to.

Imagine by John Lennon

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Lyrics Brought to you By: http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/john_lennon/imagine.html

Life is Great

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini is a great inspiring book about a boy named Craig that learns about the beauty of life. In this book, he ends up in the emergency room because he is at the point where he wants to die. He later learns that he has a talent and passion for art. He also learns that there is so much in life that he can do and that there is a lot more to life than he ever thought.

Minutes before he is about to commit suicide, Craig listens to the thumping of his heart, and decides he wants to live. He can feel the beating of it all through out his body. I think that the author is trying to show that life is everywhere and it’s all around you. I think he wants us to know how important our hearts are, just as Craig does.

Craig learns that he loves art. He draws maps of people, their brains and life. Craig thinks he is not good at anything, and he thinks he has no talent until he starts drawing his maps again. These maps show how each person’s life is different and unique. Some of them are crazy and hospital. Life can be hard, but you learn how to deal with it and you learn that it can be a lot worse. Some of them not as much depending on whose it is. What all of these have in common, though, is that they are all beautiful.

In conclusion the book It’s Kind of a Funny Story is an amazing book. The theme of the book is that you have to enjoy life and the gifts that come through and with it. This is the same lesson that Craig learns once he is of the hospital. Life can be hard, but you learn how to deal with it and you learn that it can be a lot worse.