Jacqueline Ramirez, Period 1, 01/10/2022

Jacqueline Ramirez, Period 1, 01/10/2022

Goal Setting & Growth 

At this current point in time, what specific goal(s) do you have for yourself? Why?

How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal? (or these goals?)

How does the world around you affect your perception of this goal? (or these goals?)

I’ve noticed hesitation about making formal goals because I have a history of making overly ambitious goals or self-sabotaging realistic ones. However, I know that goal-making and meeting are life skills that I can only improve on with practice and reflection.  

At this point in time, I have two main goals for myself. Resilience for these goals is setting in place accountability methods and believing in myself.

 

My first goal is, in the second semester, I want to manage assignments step by step instead of getting overwhelmed and letting them pile up. Through trial and failure in the fall, I’ve figured out strategies that will help me achieve this goal. To keep myself aware of assignments and tests, I’ll use Google Docs for daily reminder lists. I’ve experimented with planners, Docs, Notion, and calendars, and have concluded that Docs works best for me–I can’t obsess over efficient layouts or pretty pens or neat handwriting. To overcome procrastination and perfectionism, I will try to keep up with the pacing of my friends. Last week, to plan for this, I asked friends in mutual classes to text me when they start working on assignments or to call and work together quietly. To maintain a productive work environment, I will work at the place I’ve learned I focus best, my basement desk. For the first few months of the fall, I would come home, have a snack, try to work at my dining table, and somehow, much to my frustration, end up crying or sleeping. Since my mom started working long hours, doing homework at the dining table, the place I had worked since elementary school, became impossible. Constant reminders of the past year were around. The once-organized-but-now-disarrayed table reflected my and my mom’s chaotic headspaces. The metronomic dining room clock emphasized the silence of the house without my mom bustling around. The glass back door that anyone could look through reminded me of the vulnerability I felt alone at night. The messages of “do your work” on the whiteboard cued replaying of my mom’s daily disappointed rants of “you’re worthless” and “you’re not my daughter”. Once I realized that I needed a fresh workspace, I tried going to libraries after school. This was good for some time but eventually it started getting dark earlier and I had to leave mid workflow to avoid getting home too late. I started doing work in the basement over the weekends as a way to escape my mom’s rants and over time, I noticed that the brightly lit basement was comfortable for me. Going forward, I want to decorate the walls with positive posters to remind me of my purpose. Learning to manage assignments step by step is important to me because building habits like these will help me reach my career aspirations of designing my own inspirational fashion line, leading refugee mental health programs in an NGO or IGO, and working with schools to address the student mental health crisis in the education system. 

My second goal is to, sometime within the next 4 months (before June), start my Youtube channel! I’ve been saying I want to do this for a year but I don’t mind that it’s taking me time to get started. Teaching myself the filming and editing skills and choosing a brand to center my content around is a process. I really want to have a Youtube channel to document my life and help people the way my favorite creators helped me. Youtubers like Hana Lee, susiemeoww, Jenn Im, Lisa Rhee, Mei Yan, ur mom ashley, and Vanessa Nagoya, by being open and reflective about themselves and their unique journeys, taught me how to be kind to myself, believe in myself, and accept myself. A few days ago, after a year of pondering on what catchphrase to center my brand around, I finally decided on, “Make your dreams your reality.” I want to inspire people to express themselves as they are and to build the lives they want. I know that even though I worked really hard the past 17 years, because of my bad grades last spring and this fall, I may have a lower chance of going to the colleges I once dreamed of. While I logically know that college is what you make of it and where you go won’t determine your life, the pressures that me and the immediate world around me, my peers, scare me. Despite this, I am determined to keep rebuilding myself and make all my dreams come true someday. I have a Google Doc with video ideas planned out and I hope that in the new semester, as I meet my first goal and keep myself more organized with schoolwork, I will have time aside to edit videos and meet my second goal. 

The hardest question for me to word my answer to out of the three in the prompt was “how does the world around you affect your perception of these goals?” I'm aware that some people look down on me as naive. One particular teacher tells me on a regular basis that I haven’t experienced real hardships and that the real world would never accept the way I am now. These words on top of criticisms at home can make me feel like my goals of managing assignments step by step and starting Youtube are too small or silly. Despite this, I’m also aware that there are a lot of people who would patiently cheer me on in my goals. My jazz and classical piano teachers, many of my school teachers, my close friends, my favorite Youtubers, and when I need it most, my parents as well, are understanding. To answer the question above, the world around me simultaneously greatly affects and does not at all affect my perception of my goals. I am always aware of the world around me so it is inevitable for me to consider the perspectives of others when reflecting on my goals. At the same time, since I know that only I understand my truth, I give permission to myself to make the final choice on my perception of my goals. I choose to see my goals as valid and admirable goals! 

Kevin Zou, Period 7, 1/20/21

  From reading the story of “Beowulf,” legacy was touched upon in a class discussion. I found Jason’s comment that legacy can be expressed through a parent’s affection for their children to be insightful. From his commentary, I can take away that legacy is defined by oneself, and is not only discerned from other people. This is different from the approach of legacy I learned in Theater class. In Theater class, the concept of legacy is often measured by the success of a film and the awards it won. However, aside from these materialistic measures of worth, legacy can also be measured by the effort a person exerts in accomplishing a goal. 

In a parent’s case, the love a person gives a child is a form of legacy that the parent leaves after he or she leaves the world. As Jason puts it, whether the child reciprocates the parent’s love doesn’t undermine the action of the parent. In Beowulf’s case, his legacy is materialized by the statue that he wanted built after his death. The monument would be a symbol of his conquests. 

 In class, we also touched upon the meaning of Abraham Lincoln’s statue. When people think of the statue, they can remember the values that Lincoln stood for (Suyee’s comment) and the patriotism that he elicited. Legacy can be expressed in material or action. However, legacy is often defined through one’s unique human lens. Some may view Abraham Lincoln’s legacy as negative, whether others may revere the president for his actions. Even so, it is one’s experiences and backgrounds that ultimately define a person’s legacy. 

A person’s legacy is not set in stone. As the values of the generations change, the perspective of people may change towards a person. However, because there are values that are universal, some legacies remain timeless. As America is a country that values patriotism and unity, Abraham Lincoln’s legacy holds importance in American History. Because the Norse value courage, Beowulf’s legacy is relevant in Norse culture. In a parent’s case, parental love is valued by many societies, thus creating meaning in a parent’s action towards his or her child.

Nicole Samoylovich, Period 7, 1/14/22

 

• Socio-political Consciousness

• What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

Almost everyone I have talked to about politics in the last few years, but especially throughout the pandemic, regardless of their own ideological views, seems to agree that the state of inequity and oppression in the U.S. is getting worse as time goes on, albeit for very different reasons. Some people’s views are shaped by the increase in hate crimes and hate movements since Donald Trump’s presidency and with the onset of COVID, with Asian-Americans in particular receiving much of this mistreatment due to the disease’s origins in China. As a Jewish person, I’ve personally been very concerned about the growing neo-Nazi movement in America, with events like the Charleston protest and synagogue bomb threats/shootings sticking out very sorely in my mind; it seems like anti-Semitism in this country has gotten worse in the past few years. However, I also have some conservative family members who believe that this country has gotten worse in terms of oppression, but not due to hate crimes or prejudice. Rather, they see the regulations and mandates of the pandemic as threats upon their freedoms or as symptoms of a government that is gradually becoming more fascist. I personally do not share their views on mask or vaccine mandates, but most of my relatives immigrated from the Soviet Union, which was a socialist regime until the 90s, so my family are almost all staunch anti-socialists and like to point out similarities between the U.S. today and the country they left so many years ago. They believe they are being oppressed by mask mandates, and I’ve even interacted with some people who think that censoring hate speech is oppression.
    In my opinion, times of crisis always bring out people’s worst; their prejudices, their fear, and their ‘us vs. them’ mentality. It isn’t strange for the parameters of civil liberty to be blurred during a pandemic, because a pandemic doesn’t count as normal times. I don’t think the heightened regulations regarding masks/vaccines/social distancing counts as oppression, but it is disappointing that inequity and oppression, especially with regards to racism, have become so heightened during times like these. People love a scapegoat for society’s problems, whether it be Asians, Jews, black people - whoever. And although I personally do agree that our country’s political situation contributed greatly to global hate movements, I don’t think everything is alright now just because Trump has left office, because we’re still in a pandemic and all the issues facing marginalized groups before are still there. I think rates of anti-Asian hate crimes will probably go down after the pandemic, but people will still have lingering biases from the whole experience. It’s important to advocate for any vulnerable communities in the future, because otherwise the feelings of heightened inequity and oppression from the pandemic won’t get resolved.

• How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

    I have to remember that no community is a monolith, and everybody has had different experiences with oppression, inequity, and power. For example, despite the fact that I vehemently disagree with some of my family’s/family friends’ views, I have to respect the struggle they came from. I understand why some people, including immigrants, have so much patriotism, and it’s because their lives in their home countries were genuinely just worse. Although I disagree with them, I can sympathize with their paranoia and fear surrounding a socialist movement in the U.S., or their anxiety surrounding heightened government regulation, because those things echo the nightmares of the Soviet Union to them. Additionally, the fact that my family is Jewish but has such opposing viewpoints regarding the root causes of our country’s rising anti-Semitism serves as a constant reminder to me that even within a single community, there is a wide range of disagreements and nuances when it comes to people’s personal views. People often like to assume other’s beliefs and experiences just based on their cultural or ethnic labels, but it’s not always so simple, and people’s true beliefs can oftentimes be surprising. I think if people tried to hear each other out more and didn’t assume so much about other communities, understanding that each individual has their own distinct experiences and values, then a lot of the divisive and harmful rhetoric surrounding the sociopolitical discourse in this country would change for the better.

Jason Huang Period 8 12/21/21

 Jason Huang

Period 8

12/21/2021

Modern Mythology 2022

Socio-political Consciousness

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

When I think about inequity, the first thing that comes to mind is racial inequity. Racial inequity has been a problem for some time and from the looks of it, it will continue to be a problem for the foreseeable future. Discrimination and stereotypes play a huge factor in racial inequity. Ever since the beginning of 2020, it feels like there has been an increase in hate crimes and rallies for fairness, justice, and for fair treatment. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, people would sometimes threaten, physically harm, or even assault Asians because these people use Asians as a scapegoat and blame them for starting the pandemic, even though it was out of their control. Even before the pandemic, there were many stereotypes and rumors directed to many different races and groups of people. Although I’m aware of these stereotypes, I’m unfazed by them and most of the time, I will ignore them as they don’t characterize who I am. Sometimes stereotypes may be hurtless, but sometimes stereotypes may affect one’s way of living whether it causes harm or makes them feel insecure. Personally, I’m aware of the racial inequity problem, but the only way to fix it is an attitude and personality change from the people, which seems nearly impossible.

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

Throughout the years, I’ve finally realized now that I can be easily influenced by others' opinions. Even though I’m aware that stereotypes may not be true, I acknowledge them and keep them in the back of my mind. When I face Asian stereotypes directed towards me, I react very differently depending on who it's from. When it comes from a friend, I would likely ignore it since it's a joke. But when it comes from a stranger or an adult, I would question why they would do something like this. When I was young, my parents easily influenced my beliefs and even sometimes my assumptions of other people because I held them very highly and found their opinions very trustworthy. When I would walk down the streets by myself, I would often be scared or shaking if I encountered a scary looking person or even a group of people walking together and even avoid them sometimes. But as I got older, I found what I did in the past foolish because I would stress myself for no reason and also it didn’t seem right to label someone without them doing anything. Also, I started forming my own opinions and for the most part, disregarded what my parents said in the past. Now, I know not to jump to conclusions and assume things based on one person’s opinion because it just sets a prejudice that is uncalled for.

Holen Yee, Period 7, 1/20/22

 Holen Yee, Period 7, 1/20/22

Modern Mythology 2022

Goal Setting & Growth

• At this current point in time, what specific goal(s) do you have for yourself? Why?

• How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal? (or these goals?)

• How does the world around you affect your perception of this goal? (or these goals?)

    Now that I am mostly done with college applications and only have to wait for results, my goals mostly revolve around school. My major goal at this point in time is to maintain all my grades at A or above. The reason for this goal is because I heard that colleges have the power to revoke their offer of admission based on senior grades, since they accept you based on the assumption that you will maintain something close to the level of achievement that got you accepted. So, even though my applications are over and I don’t have to feel as stressed about deadlines, I still have to maintain an appropriate level of tension and continue putting in effort. 

    I am steadily working at achieving this goal by continuing to do homework, putting in effort when working on big projects that have a large impact, and studying for tests and quizzes. While colleges don’t revoke acceptance very often and won’t do it because of a slight drop in grades, I think it is still a good idea to make sure that nothing slips, since small things build up into large issues, which might be hard to reverse once they are done. In my opinion, it is more prudent to prevent any issues before they pop up, so if any mistakes are made, they are not as bad as they could be.

    My goal is very heavily influenced by the environment around me. Everyone around me doesn’t consider not going to college as an option. After all, you have to go to a good school to go to a good college to get a good education to get a good job. It would be a waste of previous effort to not go to college. So, my biggest fear at this point is the possibility of colleges not accepting me for reasons that I could have prevented. This goal is a step towards preventing that fear from coming true.

Trinity Jin, Period 1, 12/20/21

Trinity Jin

Period 1

12/20/21

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

Since the beginning of 2020, there has been a significant increase in hate crimes against Asians due to the

arrival of Covid-19. Because of their fear of the unknown, people often look for something or someone to blame when they are forced into new and unexpected situations or events. We, Asian Americans, became the primary victims of their hatred and profanity. It became even more terrifying as this quickly escalated into threats, physical attacks, and in some cases, murder. Even before Covid-19, many Asian Americans, including myself, were subjected to racist microaggressions and stigmas that have since become normalized in our society, such as the act of pulling back the corner of the eyes to mock our Asian eye shape or simple name calling such as "ching chong." When it was revealed that covid was derived from bats in China, the link between the disease and China prompted an even greater increase in hate crimes that essentially used Asian Americans as a scapegoat to express institutional racism more openly and freely. According to the article by NPR, a national coalition known as Stop AAPI Hate, “became the authority on gathering data on racially motivated attacks related to the pandemic” and “received 9,081 incident reports between March 19, 2020, and this June.” Since then, this percentage of incidents has “increased from last year — 16.6% compared to 10.8%.” While these figures barely account for all cases, they do provide a glimpse into the daily oppressions that Asian Americans face as a result of the anti-Asian backlash and I hope people see it as a call for an immediate response to prevent further incidents, so that Asian Americans can stop living in fear.

Source:

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/12/1027236499/anti-asian-hate-crimes-assaults-pandemic-incidents-aapi

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

Growing up Asian, I was subjected to a great deal of prejudice and discrimination in elementary and middle school, which had a significant impact on me, as evidenced by my internalized racism. I became envious and often found myself wishing I was white. However, with time and patience, I was able to overcome my self-hatred and learn to embrace the culture I'd grown accustomed to avoiding. In high school, I became a member of the Asian American Club, which gave me a sense of belonging in my community. I no longer felt the need to change myself for the sake of validation, and I found myself growing fond of the aspects of myself that had previously been mocked and ridiculed. Looking back, I’m proud to have acknowledged my internalized racism and I hope that in the future, I can help others embrace the beauty of their own diverse cultures as well.

Thomas Sfraga, Period 7, 1/18/22

 Ruined to Redeemed

When I was young, they said

Stay away from drugs and alcohol.

So I made sure I was the purest of all.

But I fell in love with a screen,

And it gave me 

a twisted perception Of reality.

It broke my heart

Blinded my eyes

Made me cry

And I didn’t know why.

At 8 years old I ruined my life

And everyone around me said it was fine.

Forever and ever I lived in sin,

Longing for an answer

Couldn't find it within.

Searched online, dug a deeper hole

Warm and fluffy outside

But on the inside cold.

How could he be cold and dark,

When he's so funny and smart;

Had the whole world given to him

Yet he’s falling apart.

His family watched him throw his life away 

Wasting on a computer chair playing games.

Until one night, an internet search,

Led him to a divine encounter

With a kid who served,

The king of kings,

The lord of lords,

The one above,

Whom He’d die for.

They talked about Jesus for 10 minutes

And because of his spirit, that was it.

He would never turn from that feeling again,

A disciple was born on that august evening.

I turned to the lord he set me free

And now I get to spend eternity,

With Jesus Christ the man whom I’d

Give anything to meet.

It went like that so he knew how to love

In spite of the depression, gluttony, and lust.

No longer would he be a feen for a screen

But instead for the love that had redeemed,

That little boy whose mind was ruined

That little boy who was so clueless.

At such a young age he got robbed of his purity 

and now he struggles to be complete.

God has an answer for our pain

He says my child don’t turn away.

I’ll fulfill in your darkest moment 

I promise you, my love, I will not withhold t.

Stay with me don’t turn your back,

I’ll put you right back on the train tracks

It’s so easy to admit you need him,

He’ll come into your life and grant you freedom. 

Take it from the man who almost cut out his eye,

believe me, I know what it’s like to weep and cry.

The Holy Spirit of God is real.

Accept it into your heart and be filled with zeal.

Jesus loves you don’t ever forget it,

Turn the creator and you won’t regret it.

Terrence Zhang, Period 1, 1/20/22

Terrence Zhang

Period 1

1/20/22

Socio-Political Consciousness

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power? 

The issues of inequity, oppression, and power transcend time itself. Ever since the first human civilization was established thousands of years ago, these issues could be seen plaguing humanity. Even now, they remain problems waiting to be solved as they continue to have a detrimental effect on society. However, as much as I despise them and want to wish for their complete disappearance, I know that they will never truly disappear. They are a part of human society and so as long as humanity continues to exist, they too will continue to exist. Believing that they will ever disappear is foolish and unreasonable. 

However, as cynical as I may be about them, I do not believe that it is foolish to attempt to resist them. Even if it may be futile and pointless, I believe that it is still better than simply bowing down and accepting them. Whether it may be something as small as simply working harder or something as large as organizing a movement, there are still actions one can take to oppose them. I myself am no exception. Having been born in a poor household, the issue of inequity is ever prevalent within my life. However, I refuse to let myself be hindered by it. While I could just complain about the many problems caused by my family’s wealth and give up, I instead am trying my best to fight against it by becoming successful. Even if I fail in the end, it is still better than not trying at all.  

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

Growing up, my mother has always shown blatant prejudice towards African Americans, with her impression of them being that of violent, unintelligent people who hurt others in society. This sentiment of hers was unfortunately caused by her encounters with those kinds of people and misattributing their qualities to their race. However, despite my mother’s beliefs, I try my best not to be affected by prejudice when I evaluate someone. Rather, I believe that race or gender aren’t indicative of anything and all that matters is a person’s actions. After all, no one can tell another person’s true nature just by looking at them, it is through what they do instead. In addition, just because one member of a race has bad qualities doesn’t mean that every other member of that race is similar. It would be ridiculous to believe that millions of people are similar to each other. 

I know that I am not perfect. Even now, despite my best efforts, I still harbor some biases that affect what I do subconsciously. However, I will remain persistent and constantly strive to improve in order to make myself a better person overall.

Shengrui Shao, Period 1, 1/11/22

Modern Mythology 2022

Cycle 2

Goal Setting and Growth

Ever since the beginning of senior year, the phrase, “college application” has been floating around everyone’s heads. Mine was no different. During winter break, when I was cramming in college supplements, I just had one faraway goal—finish writing.I asked others to peer review my essay. Almost like magic, they would pick out mistakes I didn’t even realize I had made.  I always knew I wasn’t the best writer, nor the most creative, nor the most descriptive, yet this experience showed the gulf between me and those who helped me correct my essay. From this experience, I set my mind on becoming a better writer. Through the rephrasing of just a few odd words here and there, my thoughts would still be conveyed cleanly, yet so much more eloquently. Compared to the edited version, my words were very rigid,  stiff, filled with the same sentence structures and bland adjectives. Writing is a skill that will always be used in life. 

In the classroom, writing is present in almost every class. It’s a skill constantly utilized. Realizing my shortcomings, I have friends around me who are better writers, reminding me to correct mistakes and give suggestions. Writing, as it not only is the transmission of words to paper, it is also the art form that is left documented. To reach my goal, I started a google doc and would like to add bits every now and then. Improvements come in increments; I believe that I will eventually get better as I keep on practicing and learning . From thinking that, “Oh, it’s alright to be bad at writing, I’m just more of a math person”, to changing my perspective on this topic. 

Stella Vayner, Period 7, 1/20/22

Stella Vayner

Period 7

1/19/22

Modern Mythology 2022


Literacy & Learning


Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or non-fiction covered in class.

I loved and enjoyed the stories we’ve read in Ms. Fusaro’s Mythology class, ranging from Greek to Norse mythology with an equal measure of Medieval Fairytales mixed throughout. Every story and culture we covered has been its own treat, but it is Neil Gaiman’s article/ speech on the importance of reading that begs to be read over and over again. Gaiman writes a compelling nonfiction article about the invaluable worth of literacy and libraries in modern times. Though most people believe, because we are moving further into the digital age, that books are antiquated, it is simply not true. Books are more crucial than ever. In this new world of email, text message, and social media posts, Gaiman remarks that, “we need to read and write, we need global citizens who can read comfortably, comprehend what they are reading, understand nuance, and make themselves understood.” This makes literacy more important than we previously thought, and urges us to encourage the next generation of readers to pick up books and visit the library. I am particularly passionate about this issue because I adore reading and strolling through my local library. Books have helped me through my darkest times. I have laughed, cried, swooned, and smiled all while holding those precious pages. One of my favorite aspects of reading is one which Gaiman describes perfectly, “it forces you to learn new words, to think new thoughts, to keep going.” Reading is its own out of body experience, one in which you can visit different worlds and meet different people. “Prose fiction is something you build up from 26 letters and a handful of punctuation marks, and you, and you alone, using your imagination, create a world and people it and look out through other eyes. You get to feel things, visit places and worlds you would never otherwise know. You learn that everyone else out there is a me, as well. You’re being someone else, and when you return to your own world, you’re going to be slightly changed.” Reading creates a strong sense of empathy, second only to hearing first hand experiences from others. Reading is the closest we will ever get to inhabiting the life of another person, of understanding their challenges and celebrating their triumphs with them. It allows us all to be more understanding and compassionate, the first steps to creating a new, better world. I could write for years about the joys and importance of reading and libraries, but Gaiman puts it best in this article.


Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

Though I already knew and experienced the importance of reading firsthand, Gaiman includes several interesting points that I had not thought of before. In one section he pointed out that, “There are no bad authors for children, that children like and want to read and seek out, because every child is different.” I agree with him absolutely on this. Though I understand a parents desire to “help” their child and “improve their reading skills” by handing them a 400 page classic, a child should be allowed to read whatever they want. By overwhelming them with such challenging novels at too young of an age, they will lose confidence in themselves and their reading ability. The most important part of reading is to find joy in it. When joy is found in one book, a child will be more inclined to pick up another. And thus, they become educated and well-read before their parents' very own eyes. Another thing I found shocking was the correlation between literacy rates and prison population. “I was once in New York, and I listened to a talk about the building of private prisons – a huge growth industry in America…And they found they could predict it very easily, using a pretty simple algorithm, based on asking what percentage of 10 and 11-year-olds couldn’t read. And certainly couldn’t read for pleasure.” This unearths more socio-economic problems and becomes much more than just a literacy issue. After doing some research on my own, I found that 3.4 million adult New Yorkers are functionally illiterate. This is a very serious issue because simply learning how to read could raise them out of poverty and provide social mobility. These statistics opened my eyes to the gaps in the education system which stem to other, larger societal problems.


How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

In class, I created a presentation about two Norse mythology stories: The Death of Balder and The Last Days of Loki. After reading these stories, I reflected on the themes of family, fate, and revenge in our modern culture and in Norse culture. Fate played a strong role in these stories as they were the prelude to Ragnarok, the Norse apocalypse, and forced me to question whether Loki was acting of his own volition or if there were larger forces at play. It made me question the probability of fate and the role it played in our everyday lives - a question I propositioned to the class. This changed my perception of fate and made me see the parallels between Ragnarok and the Judeo-Chrisitan version of the Apocalypse. Understanding these parallels allowed me to tap into the greater, deeper similarities between cultures throughout all of time. It reminded me how Europeans traveled to Nordic countries in an attempt to christianize their culture, and succeeded in many ways. Many stories and characters were wiped away from Norse culture in order to appease the monotheistic religions and most records were either lost completely or edited to be more “appropriate”. For example, although Sigyn, Loki’s wife, is a prominent Aesir goddess, all records of her were destroyed and lost to time. The last physical representation of her is a carving on the Gosford Cross which depicts her holding a bowl over Loki’s head to prevent snake venom from dripping onto his face. It is sad to see such an intelligent, brave goddess (thought to be the Nordic equivalent of Athena) reduced to a simple scene of domestic responsibility. It is equally unfortunate to consider that this erasure of culture, literature, and religion is common throughout history. We can see similar instances of conquering societies destroying historical and intellectual documents in the burning of the Library of Alexandria and siege of Baghdad's House of Wisdom. These stories allowed me to reflect on my idea of fate and connect to my overall understanding of world history.

Rachel Yang, Period 7, 1/20/22

Rachel Yang Period 7 1/19/22


Socio-political Consciousness
42nd Street Subway Station??? That’s the station my mom gets off for work… 40 year old Asian woman??? That description described my mom… 9 A.M…. That’s around the time my mom gets to work….


Without even clicking and reading more into the news I was terrified that the victim of another hate crime was my own mother . As Asian American hate crime rates rose since the beginning of the pandemic back in 2020, anxiety among Asian American families like mine have been higher than ever before. From the constant stories of Asian elders being attacked in broad daylight to the recent homicide of Michelle Go, these cruel attacks have constantly made headlines in the daily news, urging the community to help put an end to these crimes. Since the pandemic has begun, occurrences of oppression and imbalance of power have been prevalent when it came to Asian hate crimes and the justice served. Asians were constantly being blamed because some believed that we were the reasons as to why Covid happened. This irrational fear would eventually lead to the devastating crimes that have been plastered on the front pages of the media all while many of these attacks were being excused as not a form of hate crime by the police. It wasn’t until the increased media attention brought people together, demanding change that progress was finally starting to be made.

However, racism against the Asian American community has always been present, it has always just been normalized. Growing up as an Asian American, I constantly experienced the microaggressions, slurs, and racist jokes that people would tell me or others around me. The normalization of such acts led me to constantly overlook the issues with such statements. From being told things like “Aren’t you supposed to be smart you’re Asian” to “You have double eyelids? I thought all Asians had small monolids.” I ended up getting used to the microaggressions, never speaking up against them. As I’ve grown older though, I realized the harm that the normalization of racism against Asian Americans has caused in our society which further motivated me to learn about these issues.


How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

Everyone has their own beliefs depending on the way they grew up and their environment. I believe that oftentimes we are exposed to racial bias at a young age causing some bias to subconsciously stay with us as we continue to mature and educate ourselves on the reality around us. However, I believe that acknowledging the presence of such internalized bias is crucial in everyone’s journey as we work to stay open minded and help form a better society. Personally, one way I’ve been working on this is through further education on racism within all minority communities. Whether it’s through listening to the first hand experiences from the community itself to learning to embrace the beauty of all cultures, I’ve continued to work on my goal to help improve the social culture in society. Although racism is not a simple problem for us to fix, constant effort, no matter how big or small, will help gradually reduce racism in the community.

Daniela Yevdaev, Period 8, 1/20/22

 Daniela Yevdaev, Period 8, January 20, 2022

Goal Setting & Growth

Previously, when I wrote a blog about this same category, I wrote about the idea

presented in Dahlia Ravikovitch’s poem, “Pride.” I talked about wanting to prioritize myself by

setting boundaries in aspects of my life where I find it a bit hard to say “no”. Now, with the start

of the new year—and I know that the date at the top of this post informs me that it is already 20

days into the year but I love the idea of a fresh start so I can’t deny myself this phrase—I have

chosen to add on to this overarching goal of focusing on myself. I have two specific goals,

challenges really, that I wish to hold myself accountable for. Number 1-my Goodreads

challenge: read 30 books by the end of the year; number 2-my exercise challenge: 30 days of

yoga focused around the concept of movement.

With both of these, or even more broadly, with any challenge, comes the recurring

thought of quitting. Committing to anything is a big deal, that’s why resolutions tend to never

really work out too well. However, this year I have remained resilient! This whole month really

has been a lot. I have had to take days off from school because of Covid and a number of

members in my family have also had to deal with symptoms and then add on to that the

closeness that some of us have to share during these times at home while not being able to see

certain other members who are high-risk. Overall, it has been a bit hard to start or maintain any

sort of routine. Symptoms caused me to take a break from goal number 2 while at the same

time giving me nothing to do on most days except read. I have a habit of holding myself to this

high standard and not being able to meet that bar due to situations that are out of my control

has forced me to cut myself some slack. I have focused a lot of time on talking myself out of

being discouraged over the fact that my challenges aren’t going the way I expected them to. (I

am five days behind on my yoga. Meanwhile, I have finished 7 books already this year.) I am

slowly accomplishing the goals, regardless of the pace that I am going at.

Resilience is being kind to myself when I struggle with the poses and being more lenient

with what I am choosing to read. As Neil Gaiman mentioned in his article “Why our future

depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming,” there is no such thing as a bad book. In his

opinion, reading fiction, reading for pleasure, is simply vital for the futures of society and its

children. Who am I to argue against Neil Gaiman’s extremely accurate point of view? I have

chosen to prioritize reading what I want regardless if it is a short comic book written by a young

adult author (Heartstopper) or a full novel that follows the beautifully simplistic lives of adults

(Beautiful World, Where Are You). I am refusing to let the world around me take these goals

away from me simply because they are not the most “ideal” goals to be having. Although I will

always have a voice in my head stating how there are “more beneficial” books to be read or

“truer” forms of exercise to partake in, 2022 is about expanding my sense of self and prioritizing

myself. Not to sound narcissistic, but these goals are about me and I would like to keep the

world at arms length from them.

Vivian Zhou, Period 8, 01/20/2021

 Vivian Zhou, Period 8, 01/20/2021

Modern Mythology 2022

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

Our country has been faced with issues of inequity and oppression. Minority groups had been discriminated against, not allowed to use the same restrooms or water fountains as white people. There had always been the ideal that white people were superior to colored people, allowing them to use colored people as property and labor. Even though the country had made moves towards equality, racism had been more prevalent lately especially with the pandemic. With the start of the pandemic, Asian Americans were targeted since they were believed to be the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hate crimes towards Asian Americans were on the rise. Whenever I go out, my parents will warn me to not stand on the edge of the subway platform, or to not stand in places where it is empty due to the fear that something will happen to me. With the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter Movement was on the rise, making us question where our country was at with equity and equality. For people to leave their prejudice behind, they would have to understand the different cultures around the world and step out of their comfort zones to learn that. Therefore, the media is a big influence on us, since it can change what we think.

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

To reflect critically on my own beliefs, I usually reflect on my biases. Coming from different backgrounds, people usually have different biases, prejudices, and views on the world. To make sure my own views are not hurting someone, I reevaluate what my biases are and how I can become a better person and get rid of the biases I have. My family had different prejudices and biases. I evaluated what may be wrong with these prejudices and enlightened myself and my family on why these thoughts and ideas are wrong. This in a way helps us be better people, but at the same time helps us to strive to become better and more open-minded people. School has helped me become more accustomed to different views. By meeting different people from different cultures and backgrounds every day, I am surrounded with different (and maybe even the same) viewpoints, helping me to expand my knowledge and become more open-minded to opinions that are not the same as my opinions. 

Sarah Vafiadis, Period 1, 1/18/22

Sarah Vafiadis, Period 1, 1/18/22

Goal Setting & Growth

1. At this current point in time, what specific goal(s) do you have for yourself? Why?

2. How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal? (or these goals?)

3. How does the world around you affect your perception of this goal? (or these goals?)

Right now, my primary goal is to persevere through the end of the semester. Most of my college applications were due about a week ago, so that has been the focus of nearly all my energy up until now. I was focused on finishing all the writing that was needed for college applications, and I’m quite happy with how everything turned out. I tend to “laser-focus” (as my mom calls it) when I have a specific goal that needs to be achieved in a short period of time. This meant that from the end of December until last week, I was focused solely on submitting applications. Now that they are complete, I can shift my attention back to schoolwork. I want to build good habits now so that I can avoid senioritis in the upcoming semester. Of course, I still plan on enjoying my last semester of high school, but I would like to finish on a high note. Maintaining good grades through the end of this current semester will help set the stage for a high GPA as I graduate. 

In terms of personal goals, I have been working on my overall happiness. I almost feel like I’m in a time crunch as the thought of leaving for college approaches, so this has served as my primary motivator for accomplishing all the small tasks that I have been meaning to do for quite some time. I have been in the ongoing process of decorating the walls in my room and cleaning out my closet whenever I have spare time. It is unlikely that I will be staying in New York City for college, so I have been trying to enjoy the city as much as I can before I leave. I haven’t achieved this yet due to the surge in the Omicron variant, but it is something that I plan on doing in the future. I also want to lessen the time that I spend on social media and focus that time on reading instead – my bookshelf is filled with books waiting to be read. I have been setting screen time limits on my phone which have greatly helped me keep track of the time I spend online. In general, I have been attempting to step back and take a deep breath whenever I feel myself becoming overwhelmed with stress. These are all fairly long-term goals, but I feel like I have made progress in all of them.

Between recuperating from the past two years spent at home and my current course load, this school year has been particularly challenging, but I have been able to keep my head afloat. Right now, that means making up missing assignments and maintaining high class averages through the end of the semester. I find that it’s extremely difficult to catch up on work once I begin to fall behind, so I have been employing various strategies to make sure I submit all my assignments before their respective deadlines. The most useful tool has been keeping a planner – I am a highly organized person (a.k.a. I become very stressed when things are chaotic) and I have used a planner to keep track of my assignments since elementary school. However, I have recently begun to jot down assignments as soon as I see them on Google Classroom so that nothing is bypassed. I find that breaking down large assignments into smaller tasks makes them much less overwhelming and thus much easier to begin. I had developed a bad habit during quarantine where I easily became overwhelmed by the size of assignments and put off starting them as a result, but writing down individual tasks in my planner is helping me overcome this.

Looking at the people around me has made me feel much more normal in my current struggles. If it were a typical year, I would be berating myself for slipping behind in school, even a little bit. However, everyone is struggling right now. The transition to in-person learning combined with college applications has been exhausting for nearly everyone that I have spoken to. It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one having a difficult time adjusting right now. It also makes me feel like my goals are realistic rather than abnormally low.  I hold myself to very high standards, so this feels quite strange, but if there is anything that I have learned during quarantine, it is to be kinder to myself. Of course, that doesn’t mean letting missing assignments pile up or neglecting to study for exams, but one bad grade, or even a few, don’t define me. As long as I strive to stay on top of my work and put my best foot forward, I will be achieving my goal.