Vincent English Blog

Response: One significant lesson about culture I learned in Multicultural Literature would be the essay "The Myth of the Latin Woman" by Judith Ortiz Cofer. We read this essay early in the school year, but it gave me an exact idea of what I was going to be facing in this class. This essay is about a Puerto Rican woman (like me) who shares her struggles growing up as a Hispanic woman in Puerto Rico and also in the states. I've never experienced anything like she has before, but at the time I felt like sharing this essay with my mom. My mom, who is also a Puerto Rican woman, said this is exactly what she has had to go through in her life. She had it a little easier because her skin is paler than most Puerto Rican women, but nonetheless she could relate to the "exotic" and erotic themes Hispanic women are stereotyped for. I'm not sure why, but reading this essay for the first time in class activated a side of me I never knew I had. I've never been particula...

Response: Right now, a college education is my top priority in life right now. I've always known that I've wanted to have a successful career, and I believe that getting a college degree will be a necessary and big step in that journey. When it comes to high school however, I don't think I've valued it as much as I do college. I think students around the world value school, especially kindergarten-high school, a lot more than I do. Watching those kids travel around 15 km for 2 hours everyday just to go to school made me appreciate how blessed I am to have the privilege of education. I think I may just take the fact I can get to school so easily for granted. Summary: Today, we watched a film about how kids from around the world get to school everyday.  Reflection: Education is a privilege that not all kids are so lucky to have. Sometimes it's good to look at your life and appreciate it for the things you have.

Response: The cultural group presentation that I found the most interesting was the Native American one. Seeing a cartoon that my grandparents could have been watching when they were kids featuring such terrible stereotypes connected with me. I just find it bizarre that this way of thinking was so normalized back then. When answering one of the questions, I made the point that the production team may have been pressured to put these stereotypes in the film to appeal to their general audience. It could also be that the production team thought their audience was an all white one at the time. This presentation helped show me how so much Native American culture had been washed away by European settlers, and all that remains for the general population to know is that they were aggressive but stupid. This representation is obviously inaccurate, and this presentation helped show me that. Summary: Today, we presented our Culture Group Presentations. Reflection: Different cultures all around th...

Response: I think that when choosing my future career choice, I'd have to implement both sides of this argument. As much as I would love to follow my passion of being a lead guitarist rockstar, I know that it is not a good financial investment in the long run. However, I don't want a job that sucks the life out of me like a classic office job. That's why when selecting my potential careers, I make sure that I'm both interested in the career and that it will support me financially. Some examples of these careers are being a lawyer, film/video editor and cameraman, project management, or an occupational therapist. All these careers I have a genuine interest and passion for, but most of them prioritize the financial benefits. Summary: Today, we found 5 future careers that we would possibly be interested in.  Reflection: When choosing my career path, I want to make sure that no matter what, I am able to prioritize my family life over everything.

Response: Personally, I'm excited to graduate high school so that I can finally move on with my life. I had to take an extra year of high school because of mental health struggles in Junior year, so it feels like I've been in high school for forever. All my friends have already graduated or are in the grades below me, I only have 4 classes this school year so I feel very disconnected to my peers, I've been stuck at my boring job for almost 2 years now because I need the hours, and I'm just so done with being in high school. I can't wait to finally move onto a different chapter in my life after being in the same one for half a decade. Mostly, I'm most excited about college life and living in the dorms. I'm going to Georgia State University, which has always been my dream school and a personal dream of mine to live in the city. Once I graduate high school, I'm going to get a good paying summer job, make a bunch of YouTube guitar videos, start a new series ...

I feel like this prompt was made just for me!! Response: Most people have already noticed/are aware, but recently I’ve been going through a lot of changes regarding my personal identity. A big change that I've made is the everyday outfits that I wear to school are now a lot more feminine than before. Personally, my favorite outfit is my "jeans " with the bleach-white stars on it (The jeans are actually fake! They're just sweatpants from TikTok shop that I thought would be jeans), my vans my girlfriend got me for Christmas, and a cute, red long sleeve top, cut at shoulder length that I got back in November, always too scared to wear it to school. Also a padded bra underneath it all. For almost the entire winter, I would wear band t-shirts over these long sleeve tops, hoping that one day I'd have the confidence to wear it to school. After going to prom in my red dress however, knowing most of my classmates are aware of this side of me gives me confidence to change u...

Response: Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse was the first film I watched that had a main character representing both of my cultures. Miles Morales is half Black and half Puerto Rican, just like me, and struggles to fit into both of his cultures while also attending a private High School. At the time this movie came out (2018), it described my life perfectly by highlighting the struggles of fitting into a group while being multiracial. In the film, Puerto Rico is represented accurately by featuring dishes and slang that most Puerto Ricans are familiar with (my mom was very happy about this). African American culture is represented the most in this film, featuring many hobbies/activities and cultural aspects of African Americans living in New York. Also in the second movie, Spider Man: Across the Spiderverse, there is an alternate version of Miles Morales that is more in touch with his Puerto Rican side because of his father’s early death. I feel like I can relate more to that  versio...

Response: In the film, the main character is faced with stereotypes regarding dark skinned people living in Japan. The boy is outcasted by the entire class based on the assumption that all dark skinned people have AIDS. Connecting this idea to the whole world, stereotypes that people have of certain cultures affect how those people are treated. For example, the stereotypes with middle easterners is that they are all terrorists. A child from Iran, Egypt, etc. coming to school in America would possibly be picked on just because of the stereotypes their culture is associated with. This is exactly the reason why stereotypes of cultures around the world must be corrected. This entire film is trying to convey this very message through the dark skinned boy living in Japan. This stereotype of all dark skinned people have AIDS makes the children and those around them fear getting sick even though this stereotype is a myth. Summary: Today, we watched a short film called “Born With It”. Reflectio...

Response: When I watched La La Land, it was one of the first movies that I remember it being based in Los Angeles. I’m sure a bunch of movies I’ve watched were based in Los Angeles without my knowledge, but this one stood out to me. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but it gave me the idea that in Hollywood, you can do anything you want and be whoever you want to be. My idea of Los Angeles is that there are celebrities and upcoming actors walking around everywhere you go on a regular basis. My whole idea of this city is that its only aspect is film and acting when I know it is so much more than that. Still a really good movie though! Summary: Today, we watched a video about confronting stereotypes through film analysis. Reflection: Major cities around the US have so much representation of almost every culture, and I think it’s beautiful that people of different cultures can live amongst each other.

Response: Filmmakers will still use stereotypes in their media for many reasons. One popular reason is if the film is a comedy movie. In comedies, stereotypes are sometimes essential for certain characters or jokes because the whole point of the film is to make people laugh, even if it is offensive. Of course, this doesn’t justify the use of harmful stereotypes. In a comedy movie, there are other ways to produce comedic jokes to an audience without using stereotypes that may offend people. However, the audience and marketing teams can cause pressure to use these stereotypes to maximize the movies output. This is why in some films stereotypes are still being used today. Summary: Today, we did a CommonLit assignment. Reflection: No matter what, there will always be some stereotypes in films. However as time goes on, those stereotypes will appear less and less.

Response: The most stereotypical film (TV show) I can think of that I've seen is Dexter. Dexter's representation of women in the show (especially the beginning seasons) is a completely inaccurate depiction of women in the work force. Most of the women in that show don't have any personality, are treated as sexual objects, only sleep with their male coworkers to climb up positions in their field of work, and are completely helpless. For example, at a point in the show, the captain of the Miami Metro Police, Maria LaGuerta, is being replaced by another woman from a different precinct. In order to make sure she keeps her position as captain, she secretly sleeps with the other woman’s husband and no one ever finds out it was her. The other woman ends up getting too emotional from her husband cheating, that she ends up resigning from the police force. LaGuerta still keeps her position, but at what cost? I watched this series this school year in September all the way to November,...

Response: I've been through a long journey with my hair over the course of my life. For the longest time, I had it buzzed until 7th grade. Eventually, I started growing it out to a small afro and wore that until the middle of 11th grade. Once I left St. Pius and came to Lakeside, I knew that it was finally time to grow my hair out. Ever since I was younger, I always wanted to have my hair as long as my sister or my mom's, but never committed to it because of fear and I didn't want to maintain it. Another main reason was that my middle school and St. Pius both said that boys can't have their hair over their eyebrows, below their collar, or touching their ears. Of course, I always slightly broke these rules by having my hair just barely violate the rules to where I wouldn't get in trouble. Leaving St. Pius and coming to Lakeside represented freedom from the restrictions on my personal identity. Once I started growing out my hair, I felt like I was finally living the l...

Response: I would like to spend my entire spring break in New York with my mom, my sister, and my girlfriend. I went to New York for spring break back in 2015 to visit my cousin, and I've wanted to go back ever since. I'd want to go visit all the sites I saw last time 11 years ago like the Statue of Liberty, Coney Island, and Central Park. The thing that I would want to do most is go see a metal concert somewhere during the trip. I could travel the subway and go wherever I want, explore times square, or go on the roof of the building to see the whole city. I've always loved the city since I was younger, and I hope I get to go back to New York one day. Summary: Today, we did a CommonLit assignment. Reflection: In my opinion, spring break is the best full week break during the school year we have.

Response: These presentations helped me realize that some foods I wouldn't find appealing are considered a delicacy in other cultures. For example, there was a presentation about the cultural foods of India by one of my classmates. I didn't find most of the food on that presentation appealing, but for me that was the whole point. I wasn't supposed to find it appealing. These presentations were all about representation of cultures that we're not familiar with, and I think that's what I found the most important about this assignment. Summary: Today, we presented our Cultural Food Presentations. Reflection: Different foods from all over the world are so different yet so similar. Celebrating that fact is exactly what representation is all about.

Response: Food helps individuals understand who they are by connecting them to the culture they are from. In Fish Cheeks, the author describes her embarrassing dinner with her family and the minister's family for Christmas Eve. Amy worries that the minister's family, including the minister's son who she has a crush on, will be disgusted by her Chinese food culture customs. When the minister's family finally left their house, Amy's mother reminds her that even though she wants to conform to those around her on the outside, her Chinese roots on the inside will always remain in her. She tells Amy that she should embrace the fact that she is different than others with no shame. It wasn't until later that Amy realizes her family made all her favorite foods for their Christmas Eve dinner with the minister's family. In this narrative, food represents a way for cultures to share what they value in a well cooked meal. Even if some of the customs are different than th...

Response: Choosing to serve leftover Chinese food in "Lunch" is significant because it shows how her family customs in Panama have been dwindling away. The author states that ever since her grandfather died and her grandmother moved to the other side of the city, the Lunch's have never been as extravagant as they used to be. The author could have possibly learned how to make her grandmother's famous Sancocho to cheer her up.A time that I could have done something more meaningful for someone else was when I was having dinner with my dad. Around 4 or 5 years ago, I was at my dad's house and my step mom was preparing dinner for the whole family. My dad really wanted to watch a movie with all of us on the couch, but I had mentioned before that my friends and I had planned to finish a run for one of our games, and this was the only day that all of us could be online to play. In my head, I thought "I won't be able to play with my friends forever, but I know my ...

Response: For the longest time, I never wanted to try corn tortillas. I think this mostly had to do with the fact that I grew up on flour tortillas from my grandma's house. My reasoning for this dislike of corn tortillas was that it "tasted too dry" for my palette. It wasn't until I met my girlfriend who took me to a real Mexican restaurant that I realized what I had been missing out on. Corn tortillas actually tasted really good! It was like it contained this naturally sweet and savory taste inside of it. After eating the corn tortilla, I instantly wanted more. Summary: Today we started on our Cultural Food Presentation. Reflection: Food that we often don't give a chance because of stereotypes is an opportunity wasted for a new meal.

Response: In the episode, the audience learns how the food of New Orleans comes from all over the world into a combined dish of diversity. African, Asian, and European influence helped create meals like yakamein, a soup of beef, noodles, soy sauce, and egg. Meals like this help represent that food reflects the cultures we inherited from our ancestors are passed down to future generations.  Summary: Today, we watched a video on food from New Orleans. Reflection: Food doesn't just represent a meal, it is a meal blended from generations of different cultures that influence the food we eat today.

Response: A must-have dish in my culture is rice and beans. No matter what occasion it is, when my family meets up with each other my mom will cook rice and beans in some shape or form. Essentially, she cooks a pot of white rice or yellow rice (a more mushy rice with a yellow color) with black or brown beans, bay leaves, and green olives. This dish is significant because it is one of my mom's signature Puerto Rican dishes that the entire family loves. I personally used to dislike this dish (I was a picky eater), but ever since 2021 I will never skip out on this meal when it is presented. Summary: Today, we worked on our Cultural Food Presentation. Reflection: Culturally significant dishes in families are great ways to connect the whole family together.