Hanging Fire by Audre Lorde: A Teenage Pregnancy

Many teens nowadays not only suffer with the anxiety of getting into college, but also suffer with the anxiety teen pregnancy may bring. "Hanging Fire" by Audrey Lorde helps depict the lives of many young girls who suffer through teen pregnancy. Those girls suffer through the isolation, neglect from their parents, and the negative thoughts others give them. "I am fourteen and my skin has betrayed me", the girl in the poem now has to see her stomach expand, due to her pregnancy, at such a young age.
The girl feels too young to be dealing with pregnancy "and momma's in the bedroom with the door closed". The girl feels neglected, because when she needs her mother the most she is not there for her. So now that her mother has left her in neglect what will become of her? Will she be able to pull through and become strong on her own? After all we only have ourselves to count on. "Nobody even stops to think about my side of it", she may have been raped but it doesn't matter because no one believes or even wants to hear her side. Overall the poem reflects on the struggles of teen pregnancy.

A Leg Taking Over

People sometimes face obstacles in which they may or may not be able to overcome. In the text Joy, a twelve year old girl, has her leg blown off by a shotgun. Since the incident it seems as if Joy has tried to be the ugliest she can be;it almost seems as if the leg took over her. Joy became so ugly that she even changed her name to Hulga, so that it could reflect her personality. "Hulga got up and stumped, with about twice the noise that was necessary, into her room and locked the door."

 Hulga wants to make herself as ugly as possible and by stomping around she shows just how ugly she can be. There was nothing pretty about Hulga's artificial leg and she made sure that anything that crossed its path would also turn ugly. When the bible salesman came into Hulga's life she thought he was her next victim when in all reality it was her who suffered in the end. All of Hulga's pride was taken away as soon as that salesman took her leg and ran off. Hulga thought she was more superior than everyone else, but once that ugly bulk of wood was stolen from her, she realized that she was the one who was naive.

Like White Elephant Hills; Decisions Theme

Often people are faced with great life changes that can change things for the better or worse. Many times people don't know how to deal with the changes they are faced with and fall vulnerable into letting others make their decisions. I've faced some tough decisions in my life that were not decided for on my own part. It was the week before my eighth grade graduation and my mom told me we were leaving to California to attend my cousin's wedding; a part of me was excited, while the other part of me was bummed at the news that i would not be a part of my class' graduation. I remember thinking that graduation would be the last day my class would be a whole; some would go to Saint Bede, others would go to Hall, and from there only half of us would be left. Graduation was 4 years ago and still to this day I regret not going and experiencing those laughs shared at that ceremony.
In Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants", the girl was faced with a very tough decision; should she have an abortion or should she not? The girl was very young and naive and for that she was not able to decide on her own. Even though in the back of her mind she knew what she wanted to do (keep the baby), she went along with what the father of her baby, the American, wanted; and that was to get rid of the baby. The American said, "I think it's the best thing to do. But I don't want you to do it if you don't really want to". He was very low-key about wanting to get rid of the baby. Though the American played it all off cool, the girl knew that she had to do whatever the American wanted in order for him to stay. Life is all about making decisions and sometimes the decisions you want to make are altered by the thoughts of others.

Outline; My Dog

I.Intro
A.Hook:Moving into a new home I had a huge yard.
B.Build Context:The yard was pretty vacant and needed some life to it, so my parents bought a dog.
C.Thesis:The effects of owning a new pet on a person's character.
D.Preview of Arguments: Not everything is all fun and games when it comes to having a dog; responsibility, possessiveness, obsession, and becoming scared come into place.

II. Effect 1
A.Transition Phrase:When I first saw him...
B.Topic Sentence:I began to feel as if from the night to day I had to become much more responsible, almost like I had become a mother.
C.Explains:increased responsibility and hard work
D.Examples: 1. Giving my dog his daily shower was not fun at all, so it became a weekly thing instead. 2. He began to whine about being in his cage and wanted out, so he would chew it up and run away.

III. Effect 2
A.Transition Phrase:When it was finally time to name him..
B.Topic Sentence:My dad took my opportunity away and decided to name him "Indio".
C.Explains:possessiveness and selfishness
D.Examples:1.I grew angry at the fact that I would not be able to name my first pet. 2. Looking out the window, I would watch him play with kids and I thought to myself, "that should be me playing with him".

IV. Effect 3
A.Transition Phrase:It all began to get worse..
B.Topic Sentence:My life completely revolved around him, all my thoughts and actions in some sort of way affected him.
C.Explains:obsession
D.Examples:1.Hanging out with my friends, I would grow quiet because my mind was running wild and wondering what he was up to. 2. Whenever I heard any strange noise in my back yard I would sprint back there just to make sure he was fine.

V. Effect 4
A.Transition Phrase:That wasn't the end of my craze...
B.Topic Sentence:When he would run away, I felt as if I had lost him forever and nothing would ever be the same.
C.Explains:paranoia
D.Examples:1.At night I would call his name to make sure he was still in his cage. 2.So many people would say he was a beautiful dog and that made me think that they might want to steal him.

I.D. Tags Or Dog Collars?

School shootings and violence have begun to sprung among U.S. American schools. As a result, schools are beginning to take action and are requiring that their students wear I.D. cards to school. These I.D. cards provide information and proof that students belong to the schools in which they are attending. School I.D.'s not only provide security, they also provide responsibility for the students. Responsibility is learned through simple tasks like wearing these I.D cards and through those simple tasks of responsibility, greater responsibilities are then learned.
Although some people may argue that school I.D. cards provide security for schools, the only thing they really do is give schools  another reason to discipline their students. It's understanding for schools with grand populations of students to require them to wear I.D. cards, but small schools know everyone who attends the school; so it is pointless. Some students have priorities which make them forget about taking their I.D. cards to school. As a result of forgetting I.D. cards students are disciplined. The discipline is added over time on the records of students and makes them look like bad kids, when really all they did was forget. We live in a country of freedom and forcing students to wear these I.D. cards gives us no sense of freedom at all, it gives us the complete opposite and makes us feel as if we were animals with collars. 

Chung-Ung the Discoverer of Amy

Christopher Columbus was taking a walk along the park in England when suddenly he stepped on a piece of gum. "Darn it!", he said, "Now I will have to go buy a pair of new boots." "Christopher!", Sir John Fitzgerald, a friend of Christopher Columbus's said, "Are you still set on going to discover some new places with me?" Christopher filled with rage said, "Is this an act of mockery?!". "My boots are covered in this guck and you think I want to set foot on new land with them?! Now that's preposterous!", said Christopher. Sir John Fitzgerald was shocked at Christopher's response and said, "Well if you ,sir, do not want to accompany me then I will find someone who will! Good day!". "And a good day to you!", commented Christopher. Christopher Columbus continued on with his search for a new pair of boots and when he finally did find the best looking ones in town, he began to think about what he had said to Sir John Fitzgerald. "Maybe I have overreacted", said Christopher, "I will look for John and apologize so we can search for some land". Sir John Fitzgerald was a mile away speaking to one of the most important leaders of a country later known as China.

"Hello, Chung-Ung, I was wondering if you would accept my request to tag along with me in the discovery of some magnificent worlds we can call ours.", said Sir John Fitzgerald. "Ahh yes, I see, I would be delighted! But in one condition.", said Chung-Ung. "And that is?", responded Sir John Fitzgerald. "I will be leading the whole expedition and whatever we find will be split 70% mine and 30% yours.", Chung-Ung answered. Sir John Fitzgerald with delight said,"Yes, yes! That is fine with me, after all, all I really want and love to do is discover the world." Christopher over-heard the whole conversation and was crushed. He decided that he would never discover new land ever again and decided he would continue on with his dream with opening up his own little bakery. John and Chung scurried off and set sail to look for new land. "We will take the original intended route", said John. "Whatever floats your boat!", said Chung. They both laughed with mighty "Har-Har-Hars". What John did not know was that Chung had other plans in mind, he was plotting to keep all the land to his-self because after all, Chung does love to be selfish. "Look a pink dolphin!", said Chung. "Where? I can't see it!." said John. "Get closer and look over the ledge", said Chung in a demonic tone. John as gullible as could be did as he was told and "Bam!", out of nowhere he suddenly felt a push with great force and before he knew it, he was flying towards the sea. "Do you see it now?" said Chung, laughing. While gurgling water John responded, "Yes, I see that you're a selfish and malignant backstabber!" "Chow! I hope you like swimming!", Chung said. Chung continued on with only 10 miles left of the route. 

When he finally saw the beaute that was originally supposed to be called "America", according to the map, he said, "My darling! You look more like an Amy to me." So it was set and the country of Amy was beginning to grow. Chung-Ung lured in many to his new country with false advertisements such as saying that Amy was a country of freedom and people would experience no worries there. As soon as Chung-Ung had the specific amount of people he was longing for, he completely changed the laws in Amy. He held a speech called "A Change For Better", many people attended with great excitement hoping they would receive yet another great gift from Chung, but instead that excitement was overturned as soon as everyone heard the first two words come out of Chung's mouth. "Operation Slavery", "I have given you all the gift of freedom for these past few months and have treated you like royalty, but now you guys will return my act of kindness for the rest of your lives.", said Chung. "There will no longer be a two party system, but a rule under one person, ME.", said Chung, emphasizing the 'me'. Each person was given a list of the new laws and rules, each list stated, " Obey Or Be Decapitated: 

1. Chung-Ung is your ruler 

2. NO religion in the country of Amy 

3. Chung-Ung is your god 

4. 1 sacrifice from 5 selected families each year will be completed in order to satisfy Chung-Ung 

5. Eating will only occur twice a day with a maximum 100 calorie meal 

6. Every day every person living in the country of Amy will complete a boot camp routine that will last 6 hours of the day from 5:00 am to 11 am 

7. One family will consist only of 1 husband ,1 wife ,1 daughter ,and 1 son

8. One family= One house=One car 

9. Citizens above the age of 10 will have to work in jobs given 

10. No loitering ANYWHERE after 20:00 

11. Good hygiene is a MUST, hygiene tests will be received every day at 18:00 

12. Children will begin schooling from the age of 2 until the age of 16, school will start at 11:00 am and end at 16:00 am every day 

13. Violence is forbidden 

14. Violence includes: Killing, pushing, hitting, stabbing, scratching, glaring, punching, kicking, elbowing, pulling, choking, asphyxiating, or doing anything that would be considered harmful 

15. Opinions will not be allowed, ONLY facts 

16. Bad remarks about Chung-Ung are forbidden

17. DO NOT pollute Amy 

18. Violations of any of these rules will result in decapitation of the violator

Thank you, enjoy your eternity in Amy

Chung-Ung"

Jocks vs. Nerds

    They are thought to carry pencils and pens in their hair, have tape around their glasses, their shirts are tucked in at all times, and their jeans are often a little too short. Yes, I am talking about the stereotypical nerd. For nerds homework is always a must and when it comes to talking to girls.. let's just say that never occurs. Their laughs consist of snorting and although they may seem weak and vulnerable, there is more to them. The people we call "nerds" just want what any other person would want, to fit in. Unfortunately, there are those who make the road to fitting in pretty tough.

    The jocks are some of the people nerds dread the most. They wear bright smiles on their faces, are the center of the popular crowd, and seem to be perfect. Looks can be deceiving. Jocks aren't only known for their popularity, but for their bullying as well. They love to pick on the weak, but the reason behind it all may be because they want to feel better about themselves and just like nerds.. They want to fit in.