Idiotic Iphone Owning Adolesents

     The school system. Just these three words are enough to conjure up conversations of rushed assignments and picky teachers. But something to be even more discussed is the social hierarchy and how its decided.
     The Iphone. It is a plague, a scourge placed on this earth to ensure that the "cool" people stay at the top of the school food chain and the drab people with their blackberry's stay right near the bottom. It seems that close to everyone these days owns at least one or more apple product, why? Because the more of these products you own the "cooler" you are. Whats even more important than even simply owning one of these phones is to own the most recent one. If you still own an iphone that is before an iphone 4 prepare for ridicule and humiliation. Having an Iphone 5 puts you at the pinnacle of popularity, but with the recent release of the Iphone 5s people are beginning to throw out their now obsolete Iphone 5's. The most interesting part of this Iphone phenomenon is how brainwashed the students have become. Even though the Iphone 5s is virtually the same as the 5 many students still feel the need for this easy social status upgrade. The sheer prospect, for an iphone owner, that any other product exists is ludicrous. The owning of an Iphone is only the beginning of the complex multitude of this social pyramid scheme that is high school hierarchy.
     The Iphone is the gateway to the "twitter sphere" where the number of favorites you get or the amount of followers that you have can make you king of the school. This medium has added all new diversity to how every school runs and operates. High school hierarchy is something that many experience but very few fully understand. The only objective of writing this is to simplify the normally intangible aspect of a high school environment. It is an issue that runs deep and affects everyone in high school.

Poetry Is a Slam Dunk

      Poetry is one of our oldest art forms dating back as far as 4500 B .C. E. and yet it is also an art form that is no longer in the spotlight. Today's poetry has moved more towards what is called slam poetry a style that requires no rhyme but has a heavy sense of both mood and rhythm. This new genre of poetry has brought back competitions called slams in which poets can express their poems and be judged for prizes. Some very notable poets are known to attend theses slams such as Taylor Mali, Shane Koyczan and Saul Williams.

     Taylor Mali, one of my favorite poets, has been known to often write very comedic poems such as "The Impotence of Proofreading" or "Girls on Lending Pens" but in the same aspect he also has the great talent of writing satire with the poem "What Teachers Make". In this poem, Taylor, a teacher, is asked what he makes during a dinner conversation to which he responds with much more then just a salary. Taylor uses satire to pound the point forth that there is more to living then just the amount of money that you make. The mood of this poem works its way from funny and interesting to very serious and powerful finally ending with the line that "[he] makes a god damn difference, how about you?"

    One of the most the most prominent poets of current times is Shane Koyczan who writes poetry as an expression of himself to relate to others. A viral poem of his is "To This Day" in which he express that every name that we are called as children remains within us. The power of this poem is one that has changed the lives of hundreds of individuals. In this poem Shane tells the personal story of his hardships while going through school as well as introducing three other story's of people who struggle even after all those years of school are over. When Shane shows how these people who have been picked on are on the own by saying "you built a cast around broken heart and signed it yourself". Shane is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to slam poetry but many others still hold a level of potency when it comes to affecting the hearts of the masses.

     Neil Hilborn is a poet who has a common disorder known as OCD one that leaves him having to check and double-check everything that he does. But rather than hate it, he chooses to embrace it as a part of him. One of Neil's most well known poems is simply titled OCD in which he express how everyday he goes through the same routine with the person he loves and tells how hard it is as soon as that person is gone. Neil uses a somewhat somber mood to illustrate how difficult the change is as soon as someone leaves you. This poem leaves the thought that everyone must cherish everything they have, because one wont realize hows much they miss something until it is gone. When Neil's spouse leaves him "[he] can't imagine who else is kissing [her]" leaving the reader to imagine how much she meant to him. Poetry is something that has been there for generations and is something that will continue for generations to come.


   

   

I Have a Dream

     I have a dream, that one day I will proudly step into the classroom on time. I have a dream, that one day the infernal racket of my alarm will finally coax me to my feet to face the fate of each day. I have a dream, that the word "tardy" will be completely abolished from my vocabulary.

     But it takes time. It takes time, to change ones drowsy and dreary ways. It takes time, to erase all recollection of any instances of being "late" for class. It takes time to learn the great art of time management. Yet in 4 score years, I will have eradicated my lazy ways. In 4 score years people will associate the name Graham as one of punctuality. In 4 score years... I may also be dead.

     However this does not deter me from continuing to try. It does not deter the hope and motivation that dwindles inside of me. It does not deter me from striving perfection, for every millisecond closer I am to being on time brings me one step closer to success.

      One day Mr. VanCamp will look me in the eyes and say "Thank you for being on time". One day I will take prominent steps into the class that shake the very foundations of normal. One day I will not get a phone call home for being late.

     Tomorrow will be the beginning of this long haul journey of change. Tomorrow I will start by uplifting myself with pride knowing that all my English homework is complete. Tomorrow is another day, but as for today, I think that's enough writing, I'm already late for my next class.

Cliches

       George looked up from shoeing the horse to see the outline of Curley's wife in the doorway of the barn. They were alone.

      "What are ya doing in here? it's late, by now you should be snug as a bug in your own bed."

      Curley's wife smiled and remarked, "I was, I was like a pig in a blanket until I heard you stirring up a storm in here"

      George quickly turned away and meekly uttered, "Sorry, I'll put a cork in it now if you'd like"

      "That's alright, a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do so I'm not gonna flip my lid over it" stated Curley's wife.

      "Don't I know it," affirmed George, "if I wasn't doing this I would be poorer then a pickpocket in a nudist colony."

      Curley's wife edged just a step closer questioned, "What are ya doing hanging around Lennie? There's no funny business between the two of you right? Because if ya ask me i'd say he's a bit of a wet blanket."

     "Well Lennie may not be the cream of the crop but to me he still is company," retorted George.

     "Now I don't wanna curb your enthusiasm but you best be outta here. I don't wanna fan the flames of hatred between me and Curley"

      "I'll go," conceded Curley's wife, "but just remember that I didn't just fall off the turnip truck and I can put two and two together."

      George sat alone now, questioning what she knew.

Auschwitz

        The putrid stench of chlorine hit me harder then ever before. We are marching. We are marching through a hall, hardly wide enough to fit one person across, led by a man who parades us bearing a bright red swastika. The mark of evil. I run my hands down the rugged grey walls that keep us confined. The sharp edges of the wall claw at my weak and dehydrated hands. The cold forces its icy fingers through all the cracks and crevices of the wall and clings to our skin. Is this how it had been for the millions of others? I reach forward, grasping endlessly for just a breath of clean air yet I keep coming up empty handed. One final great stretch yields reward as we take a step into open air. The sun, despite the cold temperature, bounces blindingly off the fresh blanket of snow. It had been weeks since any of us had seen the sun so we stare, wide eyed at all the mystery around us. The walls of the building we are heading towards had once shone with hope, but now the walls are decrepit and decaying after months of neglect. My mouth is dry. For the past few weeks we have merely been rationed out drops of water each day. I lick my sandpaper mouth in search a just a morsel of secretion but to no avail. Nobody speaks, all that can be heard is the shuffle of bare feet on frigid snow. This is it. This is the end. My final words, "Mein kampf."

Look Who's Coming Back....

       Corbin Graham has returned for yet another year of success and provocative writing. Corbin has on multiple occasions been compared to the (not so great) yet powerful, Adolf Hitler. Not for his belief in the Arian race but rather for his aptitude at making grown men cry over a speech about a butterfly. However sometimes speeches holding so much meaning can be a bore, that's why Corbin’s other personality can be compared to the likes of Dr. Seuss, a great word wizard. Whether he is "Bamboozling his way through the truffula trees" or "sizzcombobulating the knickerbopper" he has always had a way with words. Although these two people can define Corbin’s English supremacy neither can compare to his ravishing good looks; the only one who manages a challenge to him is Peter Parker. For the first few years of his life Corbin has managed to shy his way to the back of the bus, yet as the year’s progress just like Rosa Parks he has muscled his way to the front of the pack. A creative mind deserves a creative atmosphere and Corbin has managed to share this opinion with none other than William Randolph Hearst, a man whose dreams became a reality through a life time of constructing the ultimate madhouse of a visionary.

Synthesis essay

      In today's society nothing seems impossible and everyday there are incredible people who do incredible things. This is obvious simply by looking at the real life stories of Erik Weihenmayer from “Blindly He Goes Up” by Steve Rushin and uncle Jim from the story “Versabraille” by Bill Schermbrucker. Both people blind as night but who still manage to accomplish anything from everyday tasks to extraordinary feats even to people who still have their vision. Erik Weihenmayer makes the impossible possible by being the first blind man to ever climb mount Everest, where Uncle Jim blindly works his way across his town of Tulbagh at the young age of 7. Both extraordinary people who both faced extreme challenges.

      What is there to say about Erik Weihenmayer that hasn't already been said? In the year 2001 he became the first blind man not only to attempt to climb mount Everest but to also succeed in his journey up this 29,035 foot peak. In 1991 he managed to graduate from from Boston College with a degree in English and became a teacher soon after. Erik is not only an incredible man but also an inspiration to thousands of other handicapped and able bodied individuals. Even though Erik is handicapped he doesn’t think of himself that way using a sense of humor to pronounce his optimistic outlook on life saying “you should have heard the view from up there” speaking about the peak of Everest. One of Erik's most famous sayings is “because were here”. He says this to show us all that we must make the most of what we have because we are only on this earth for so long then we are gone like dust in the wind. What Erik has done sets a new standard for people around the world. Erik has shown the world that all it takes to accomplish life goals is to have courage, optimism, and a sense of determination.

     The short story “Versabraille” by Bill Schermbrucker tells the story of an African born Canadian returning to Africa to hear the stories of his blind uncle Jim's life. Uncle Jim may not have been born blind but says so himself that he “cannot remember seeing things”. When uncle Jim was only 7 years old he managed, with no vision at all, to travel all the way across town to pick up some tobacco for his father. Even though he was very young he was also very determined and faced his fears with pride that as to be admired. The fact that as a blind boy at the age of seven he even dared to venture so far from his home shows that he has an insurmountable amount of courage and deserves to be commended for that fact alone. The only goal Uncle Jim had in mind was to make his father proud of his actions and so he “marches slowly, determinedly across the road”. Making it home was not just worth the tobacco but rather a life lesson for Jim, one that he would never forget. This taught Jim that he had the ability to do what he wanted with his life and nobody could stop him.

     Although Uncle Jim's and Erik Weihenmayer's journeys were very different and on very different scales they both hold a few things in common. Both Erik and Jim have a sense of determination that leads them to achieving their goals. Without this profound determination they would never be able to accomplish what they want in their lives. Now being blind can be somewhat of a soul crushing thought but both Erik and Jim have accepted it as somewhat of a gift teaching them that they do have self worth and teaching others that they can accomplish their goals if they simply put their minds to it. Climbing Everest and crossing a street may be on polar ends of a spectrum of one another but to someone with no vision whatsoever crossing a street could manage to be a dangerous affair. It took Jim a certain amount of courage to drown out the thoughts of danger and take those first few steps out onto the street. Erik had to suffer much of the same fate when he would have to cross large ravines using only a ladder and his surefooted ability. Many people do not have what it takes to do what these men have done and drown out all thought of fear to accomplish their goals. But their optimistic attitudes emanate and can truly motivate people to have an optimistic outlook on life.