Author: makayawiseley

Calvino makes a lot of great points into reading the classic books. One thing that I truly agree on the most would have to be, “If we reread the book at a mature age we are likely to rediscover these constants, which by the time are part of our inner mechanisms, but whose origins we have long forgotten.” I definitely agree with this because there has to be a certain age in life where we might just read the books just to read, and not find a certain meaning of the book, and put effort into thinking what the real meaning of what the author was trying to convey to it’s audience. Calvino’s statement influences the young who read them at a uncertain level of maturity, to read them in the future when they are able to understand much more, and be able to comprehend and appreciate or hate the book.

While during my academic career and personal life I feel that I’ve had many moments of pride but some that specifically stand out would be my Cornerstone project. It was a very complex project that took a lot of hard work and revision. We spent almost a semester and a half working on putting the idea and final project together. In the end we were unable to complete the physical design because of covid-19 but if given the opportunity we would have been able to complete the physical aspect. It is something that I am still very proud about because it took so much time and effort to complete. A personal/school related accomplishment would be making dance lieutenant. This goal was a long and strenuous goal to have and complete. While I joined the dance team at the end of my eighth grade year I knew then that I wanted to be an officer (captain or lieutenant) So my freshman year I was on the regular team but at the end of my freshman year I tried out for the competitive team for my sophomore year. My sophomore year I worked on showing leadership and growth. During the summer going into my junior year I tried out for lieutenant in front of the whole team. The team is the one that votes for officers so it was really important to me that the team voted for me because I was made lieutenant. 

Everyone had weaknesses and strengths especially when it comes to work or academics. One of my strengths is that I am dedicated to whatever I start. When I start something I don’t stop until it is finished which is really good for academics because finishing things is really important and the drive to always complete it and stick with doing it is very important. An example of an academic weakness I have would be procrastination and that is honestly a horrible trait to have because I will push things off until it’s all overflowing which just ends in my work not being as good as it should be as well as adding additional stress to complete all the missing assignments. 

Of all the classes I’ve taken in high school a class or two that stood out in particular would be SPEC or Special Topics with Mr.Hatch my freshman year. I really enjoyed that class because as a freshman we weren’t taking a history class and that had always been my favorite so when I learned we could take a class that was specifically applying history and the present together I loved it. One other class would have to be a Drill team for the past 3 years; It has been a place of expression and freedom. I couldn’t put into words how much that class/team has done for me. 

Of all the classes I’ve taken in high school my least favorite would have to be any math class or physics. Pretty much any math class until algebra ll my junior year was not my favorite. I am not the best at math so it really diminishes my self worth and feeling of accomplishment.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses that determine how well they do or how they struggle. Some strengths of mine would be empathetic and enthusiastic; I believe that those traits that I possess are strengths because with empathy it helps me to be a better person by truly feeling and understanding someone’s pain while my enthusiastic side tends to cheer myself and my peers up with laughter or smiles. A weakness that I have is that I am very self-destructive and hard on myself so much so that I pretty much render myself useless because I can’t find motivation to continue.

3 adjectives that I would use to describe myself would be loyal, and ambitious. Loyal because the people that I’m closest to I would never leave, not for anything and  say that because I am very careful with who I trust and give that loyalty too. I would also say that I am ambitious, this comes from always wanting to be what my parents want me to be, which is better than them. They always said they want more for me and so sometimes those goals are pretty hard but I never shy away from them because the determination I have to be successful and be what my parents want is really strong. 

My friends’ opinion of me is really important and when I asked they said that I am reliable and compassionate which is what makes me a good friend. I can see what they mean because when they need me I am always there which is reliable and compassionate I think that also coincides with empathy and that I am understanding a trait that helps people be open and honest when something is bothering them.

Over my time at Ann Richards I’ve been given the opportunity to make connections with the staff and teachers. Someone I believe would give me a recommendation would be Christena Rutz; she has seen me go from an incorrigible 10 year old to a much more experienced, and well balanced young adult. I believe her seeing my growth would make her a good person to write a recommendation. Another would be Doy Roberts, she has been my dance coach since the summer of my 8th grade year. She has seen me as a hard-working and dedicated person and dancer; this is why I think she would  be a fit person to write me a recommendation.

I’m not quite sure what they would say or really what adjectives they’d use but if I had to guess I would say hard-working, refined or the act of refining, and daring/bold. Hard-working; I would say that neither have seen me in a classroom to say this but in dance especially I put everything I have into it and I would like to believe that my dedication and hard work shows. For refined or act of refining I would never myself say that I am refined but I would like to believe that one if not both of the teachers have seen my act of refining over the year and turning into a more mature and graceful person. Lastly daring/bold I would say both teachers have definitely witnessed my acts of sometimes not always thinking things through and just going and doing whatever my mind was set on.

Dear Ms.Langley,

These six weeks for me as an english were honestly a little stressful. My technology and workload was a struggle but I would say that I pulled it off. I worked around my technology failing by communication and my workload by breaking everything down and working on each assignment one at a time. I believe I earned a 95, I could have done better and that’s my fault  but nonetheless I worked hard and went out of my comfort zone to try something new and I  know I earned a solid 95. For me as a reader I generally reach for the same books, I have trouble with reading new ones because I don’t like not knowing everything. For my reading habits I generally try to read about 15 minutes a day and try to read about 3-4 times a week but sometimes I’ll get super into a book and I’ll read for way longer. This six weeks I chose to start the Harry Potter series, I finished the first, second, third and Milk and Honey. Currently im reading the 4th book. For me as a writer I love to write poems generally. Writing in english is fun because you give us a new piece of writing and I like to read them because you get to understand the author. One way my learning reflects how I demonstrated original thinking on compex ideas would be my Citizen essay. We had to take someone else’s complex idea and form our own complex opinions and dissect their piece of work. For how I’m doing with my new habits and routine it’s been a struggle to set a good one but I’m working on it so I can be my best self and student this year. As for responsibility as a student I definitely need to work harder but I’m doing my best so I’ll just have to improve that. Reflecting on myself as a student I know I have some things to start doing and some I need to do better and improve. Next semester I want to establish my routine better and work on my study habits and english specifically. I want to make sure I’m more engaged. I will make this happen by sticking to my routine as a student, working on my study habits and that will result in me being more engaged in my classes. For me as a student I struggle a lot with deadlines and being on time but my grades are really important to me so I try my best to do the best I can. 

Thanks,

Makaya

Dear Ms.Langley,

This six weeks was really short as it was on four weeks, so it was really stressful with all of our classes and to do all the work in this time period. Other than that it really wasn’t that bad and as an English student I never felt overworked. In the start of this six weeks we were doing a mini unit about mentors, and we picked a mentor to write an assertion about. My mentor was a speech that Emma Watson gave. You can find this assertion on my word press. Something i could have done better this six weeks was turning in assignments on time, I tend to procrastinate and that is something i’ll be needing to work on next six weeks. I definitely feel like i’m hitting my reading goals, I am about half way done with my third book and the of course I’m reading Citizen for class as well. I really like the book Citizen because of the way the author wrote it and how it seems so easy to read while still discussing important topics. As a writer, I think I have grown from the last six weeks. I think I am getting better at writing assertions, and learning new things about writing styles. To wrap up this six weeks there was definitely things I can work on and i’m starting to get a new system to do better next six weeks and I’m also proud as I feel I’ve made progress as a writer and reader. If I were to grade how interactive and present I’ve been in class i’d give myself a 90. Here is a link to some of my assertions and paragraphs. https://lavidademakayaphotography.photo.blog/2020/11/02/tone-paragraph/ https://lavidademakayaphotography.photo.blog/2020/11/02/2nd-assertion/

Thanks!

Makaya

After the murder of George Floyd, Killer Mike gave a speech to the citizens of Atlanta relating to the protests that were happening there at the time. The months after George Floyd’s murder, everyone was becoming more aware of the injustice and police brutality Black people have always known. The activism has grown in this country rapidly; from social media, protests, petitions and so much more. Everyone is so angry because they are mad about the systematic racism that is still so prevalent in today’s society, and how stereotypes are causing the end of innocent lives. Mike explained that he understands the anger, that he too wanted to see “the world burn down” because he is tired of seeing people of color die. He then explained that burning your own house down will not do anything, the only thing that would change is that you won’t have a house anymore. “But, we have to be better than this moment. We have to be better than burning down our own homes because if we lose Atlanta, what else we got? We lose an ability to plot, to plan, to strategize, to organize, and to properly mobilize.” He explains that the people have a responsibility to change the city for the better. That they don’t want to see their city burn to the ground, but they want to have the four officers prosecuted and sentenced. They want to see the end of the police system that was built off of institutional racism. The violence and property damage might send a message that the people are angry and want change, and 2020 is going to be the year that we finally open our eyes to the injustice and discrimination that has been right under our noses. This is the year that society starts to change and grow in a new direction as we change our old and horrible ways through new found awareness.

I had a really fun time camping in July. I always enjoy going, and always look forward to the yearly trip. We had a spot right by the lake; so we swam everyday until it was dark. My cousin and I wanted to go cliff jumping so we walked a while; until we finally got there and got to jump from 20-30 foot. We had fun and didn’t leave until it was dark and then walked back to the campsite and got to make smores that night.

Dear Ms.Langley,

These six weeks for me as an english were honestly a little stressful. My technology and workload was a struggle but I would say that I pulled it off. I worked around my technology failing by communication and my workload by breaking everything down and working on each assignment one at a time. I believe I earned a 95, I could have done better and that’s my fault  but nonetheless I worked hard and went out of my comfort zone to try something new and I  know I earned a solid 95. For me as a reader I generally reach for the same books, I have trouble with reading new ones because I don’t like not knowing everything. For my reading habits I generally try to read about 15 minutes a day and try to read about 3-4 times a week but sometimes I’ll get super into a book and I’ll read for way longer. This six weeks I chose to start the Harry Potter series, I finished the first and started the second. I would consider starting something I’ve never read before a victory but also a failure because I have seen the movies and know the general gist of the plot but I’m proud of changing it up. For me as a writer I love to write poems generally because I write my own songs but that’s just for fun. My writing habits are normally based around emotion, I write in a journal everyday but my poems/ songs are very emotion driven, I honestly do more editing on a poem/song then writing because when I start to write it all comes out. Writing in english is fun because you give us a new piece of writing and I like to read them because you get to understand the author’s tone and the underlying message. You can also learn more about different ways of writing. I would say a writing victory would be that I’ve been exposed to more and different pieces of writing. One way my learning reflects my growth in my goals I set for myself would be switching up what I read and the genre I normally lean on so that I tried something new. One way my learning reflects how I demonstrated original thinking on compex ideas would be my assertion, (https://lavidademakayaphotography.photo.blog/ap-lang/) we had to take someone else’s complex idea and form our own complex opinions and dissect their piece of work. For how I’m doing with my new habits and routine it’s been a struggle to set a good one but I’m working on it so I can be my best self and student this year. As for responsibility as a student I definitely need to work harder but I’m doing my best so I’ll just have to improve that. Reflecting on myself as a student I know I have some things to start doing and some I need to do better and improve. Next six weeks I want to establish my routine better and work on my study habits and english specifically. I want to make sure I’m more engaged. I will make this happen by sticking to my routine as a student, working on my study habits and that will result in me being more engaged in my classes. For me as a student I struggle a lot with deadlines and being on time but my grades are really important to me so I try my best to do the best I can. 

Thanks so much,

Makaya Wiseley Brown

Learning to Read and Write by Fredrick Douglass Assertion

“Learning to read and write” by Fredrick Douglas is about the time when a slave named Fredrick Douglas was learning to read and write which wasn’t very common. The author’s purpose was to show that slaves were people too that had ambition and desire for freedom, he also showed that knowledge can be a blessing and a curse. In the passage, Fredrick Douglas says “I envied my fellow slaves for their stupidity. I have often wished myself a beast. I preferred the condition of the meanest reptile to my own. Anything, no matter what, to get rid of thinking! it was this everlasting thinking of my condition that tormented me.” After learning to read and write Douglas realized that if he didn’t use this knowledge it would be his biggest downfall and be a slave forever. When Fredrick was learning he realized how cruel and horrible to life he’d been living was he realized that this wasn’t right, so he decided to fight for others who didn’t know better and became an abolitionist. After reading this passage you can tell that his drive and thirst for knowledge is what saved him, without ever learning to read and write Fredrick Douglas wouldn’t have learned of the injustice and wouldn’t fought for him self and others. This fight and drive he had in him lead to his freedom and many others.

Makaya Wiseley Brown

2206 Prather Lane 

Austin, Texas 78704

(512)-673-2213

August 20, 2020

The Pulitzer Hall

2950 Broadway

New York, NY USA 10027

(212)-854-3841

   Dearest Pulitzer Prize Judging Panel, 

Less may be the title of the book but I expected more from a Pulitzer Prize Winner. My name is Makaya Wiseley Brown and I am a junior at Ann Richards. Although the storyline of Less by Andrew Sean Greer is intriguing at first glance, this book made the protagonist just plain uninteresting and annoying which shaped the book and plot to feel slow and simple.

  There is no other way to put it, Arthur Less lives up to his name. He brings down the story with his dull characteristics and personality. While he does have some redeeming qualities they all disappear when he continues on the way he thinks and reflects on his life. Arthur Less tends to dwell on the past which makes his character quite frankly annoying. While he’s on this amazing life journey everywhere he cannot escape thinking about all his life mistakes and past. “Here, all this time, Less thought he was merely a bad writer. A bad lover, a bad friend, a bad son. Apparently the condition is worse; he is bad at being himself.” (Sean greer) It is so clear that Arthur Less has been somebody different to everybody else, he does’t even know who he is. His character has just bee deterioraing ove time and now is a dull, boring, and hollow version of who he used to be.

  Arthur Less changes the way the story line was supposed to feel. The story line of a semi-successful author with unstable relationships and a life going downhill. This opportunity he was given to travel the world came at the perfect time with his ex’s wedding invite. With ups and downs in the plot and great love that’s unforgettable. “So many people will do. But once you’ve actually been in love, you can’t live with “will do”; it’s worse than living with yourself.” (Sean Greer) This quote shows how Arthur Less is a passionate lover. This story line is really unique and would draw most people in, but the protagonist Arthur Less changes the whole story by the combination between character and story line. And ruins the plot with his irritating personality. 

  The story line of Less by Andrew Sean Greer introduces the story in a captivating way, with ups and downs in the plot and great love that’s unforgettable but the protagonist Arthur Less dragged down the feel of the book, by his uneventful and poorly developed character. The combination of Arthur’s tiresome personality and good story line made the book fall short and didn’t live up to the expectations of an award as distinguished as the Pulitzer. The American Pulitzer Prize that this book won in 2018 was supposed to be a comedy but wasn’t funny at all. Everything felt drab and the word choice wasn’t exciting enough. The plot was good, up and down, wrapped up well but so repetitive. In conclusion, I don’t think that this book deserved a Pulitzer Prize. 

Sincerely,

Makaya Wiseley Brown