Response to Luis' Post

         This is a quote I found in Luis Alba’s blog which I immediately caught my attention:

I love Oakland, but I also like Alameda. Alameda is a nice place to chill and be safe. Even though I like Alameda, there are some things I dislike.

        I have lived in Oakland for nearly all my life, and it’s pretty cool. Nothing bad has happened in my neighborhood, well except a teenager got shot, but other than that it’s been nice. The schools are great; it’s the students that really mess it up. Even in middle school there were already boys who were in a gang and throwing up signs, it was annoying. Other parts of Oakland are really scary though. When I walk on the streets I can usually tell who’s in a gang, who’s on drugs, and who is simply someone you shouldn’t talk to. It’s usually in the way they walk, dress, and look at things. It makes me feel intimidated whenever I’m outside with friends, I don’t feel any of this in Alameda. Another thing I find interesting is that in Oakland it’s extremely rare whenever I see a white person. And the few white people I know that live in Oakland are ghetto. I’m not trying to say anything bad about any ethnic group; it’s just something that makes me think about where I live and what others might assume of me. For instance, today I saw a white woman driving a car with her white son. I was so shocked! I had to stop myself from asking her if I can take a picture of her driving on the trashy streets of Oakland. It was a glorious moment for both me and the Oakland community, and I wonder if others were thinking the same. I just couldn’t believe it, I am still traumatized from what I had to observe. So now I ask myself, why is it so rare for there to be a white person living in Oakland? What does this mean for all the Latinos and African Americans who live in Oakland? Because that’s all I see in Oakland – Mexicans and African Americans. On the other hand, Alameda is filled with so many Asians and White people, why is this so? I also notice that the streets in Oakland look as dangerous as they are especially in West Oakland. Oakland is packed with all the drug dealers, the prostitutes, and the criminals, but what about Alameda? Maybe there is chaos in some parts of Alameda, but I don’t know, I don’t live there. I guess I just think it’s strange how there’s far more Mexicans in Oakland than there is white people.

Book Post: "Speak" part 3

I finally finished the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and I can easily say it was a really good book. In my opinion, the best part of the book was when Melinda finally reveals her past to her ex-best friend, Rachel. When Melinda was at the summer party, she got drunk. While she was intoxicated she went somewhere outside by some trees, which is where Andy Evans took advantage of her. Melinda was so wasted that she couldn’t even scream for help. She finally passed out, and when she woke up she knew exactly what he did to her. She didn’t know what to do and so she called the cops. Ever since then she’s been silent, fighting her mind to forget about that terrible night. Melinda took a step forward, she set her insecurity aside to warn and try to convince Rachel that her boyfriend, Andy Evans, was trouble. It showed that even though Rachel hated her and wasn’t her friend anymore, she still had feelings for her. Obviously, Rachel didn’t listen. She later dumped him when he was getting too physical with her at a prom. A couple days later he tried to rape Melinda again for telling Rachel what he did at the party. But the awesome thing was that she screamed to the top of her lungs, she said no. I like that part because Melinda had always been so traumatized for what that guy did to her; from that night she never spoke to anybody, not even her own parents.

But something happened to her in school that changed everything. It could’ve been her “disposable friend”, Heather who came clean to her and told her she was a negative creep who was no fun to be around. It could’ve been all the time she spent alone in the closet or the times she skipped school to go to the mall. It could’ve been the art project she spent the whole year making for Mr. Freeman. Melinda was supposed to draw a tree. But not just any tree, a tree with her feelings and emotions engraved. She failed to do this at first because all she could think about was the “incident”, and she didn’t want to think about that. But along the way she began to trust her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, and the art project was a bit easier than before. Later a girl named Ivy commented on her tree and said nice things about it. She gave Melinda some tips on how to make it better, by that time Melinda wasn’t as silent as she was before. All these things related to the art project gave her the strength she needed to stand up to Andy. And after she did, she completed her tree with no trouble at all.

Book Post: "Speak" part 2

The first part of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was cool, but this second part I part I read is even better! As Melinda listens to her parents argue, she convinces herself that she was a huge disappointment to them. She blames herself for the damage in her parents’ relationship. But it isn’t her fault. Melinda thinks that because everybody at school hates her now her parents are going to do the same, she’s basically paranoid. All her parents see is a teenager who is just looking for attention, but they don’t know the half of it. If they never bother to offer their daughter help in school and life, how can they expect everything to alright? I think they have to put their differences aside and focus on what’s best for Melinda, because what she’s going through is far more complicated.

                Later in the book, Heather, Melinda’s disposable friend tried to reason with her that they are very different. Heather basically told Melinda that they can’t be friends anymore, in a friendly way. She explained that she is just no fun to be around, and that she has a reputation. Melinda is just so depressed, she doesn’t care about anything, including school, and now because of that she lost the only “friend” she had. If Melinda talked to anyone, she would eventually gain somebody’s trust. Then she could just talk to that person about her problems and get help. She can avoid having these types of things happened to her, she can change her life by speaking out.

                Another issue in the story is the moments when Melinda falls into shock when she reminded herself of her tragic past. She tries to forget about it, but she tries too hard. The effort she uses to blur out the painful memories is causing her more pain. For example, she has no friends because she doesn’t talk to anyone. She doesn’t talk because everyone hates her and nobody understands her, and so the safest place for her to be is alone, inside her own head. That’s when the pain begins, and problems start.

Book Post: "Speak" part 1

The book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is very interesting. It’s about a girl named Melinda Sordino who never speaks to anyone. The only person she gets close to talking to is Heather. Melinda doesn’t really consider Heather as a friend; she’s more of a disposable friend or a person she could sit with just so she doesn’t look stupid. Melinda’s life in school is miserable. She has no friends and almost everybody hates her, including Rachel, her ex-best friend from middle school. I don’t understand why everyone hates her though. It can be the fact that she called the cops on Kyle Rodger’s party in the end of the summer, but if that’s the case can’t people just get over it? Is what she caused that summer really that bad? And why did she call the cops at them? She knew they were all going to get in trouble, but is that what she wanted? There could’ve been another reason, but not one that she was willing to talk about.

                At home, Melinda’s life was basically the same – except no one made fun of her or hated her. But there was some tension between her parents. Her mom was usually very busy doing stuff for work, and her dad I don’t think he much. It’s like they are so focused on their work that they forget that they have a teenage daughter with a very serious level of depression. One day when she received terrible grades on her report card, her parents got angry and yelled at her. She didn’t say anything to them; she didn’t even look at them as they were talking. They told her to try her best in school; each talking turns to say something to her. Melinda’s mom told her to look at her when she was talking, but she didn’t listen. No matter how much she raised her voice, Melinda kept her eyes glued to the ground. But I noticed that they never offered any help to her, it was only demands and yelling. After that they faced each other and argued. At home, Melinda’s parents never mention anything about her silence; it never occurs to them that she needs therapeutic help.