Jackalin Shvidky, Period 1, 11/05/2021

Socio-political Consciousness

 

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

One of the most prominent examples of myths is the Bible - a book full of stories known well around the globe. The passages within the Bible were written with the aim to teach, hence projecting the ideals and opinions of the people who lived ages before us. Our so-called creation story, “Adam and Eve,” is one portrayed in a certain light of distinguished patriarchy. The story as most of us know it is presented with G-d creating Eve from Adam’s rib and, in doing so, molding an inferior helper to the man. She then proceeds to fall into the temptation of eating the apple on the tree and throws all into chaos. Through this perspective, Eve portrays (maybe even unintentionally) women in their assumed nature of “inferiority, evil, and seductiveness.” This is an ongoing theme amongst females in ancient myths with similar patterns appearing in Pandora’s Box, where Pandora unleashes all evil into the world because of her curiosity. Another example is the many cases in Greek mythology where Zeus cheats, and the only thing looked down upon is his wife Hera’s jealous reaction.

The reality of Adam and Eve is not the one that was read into the text by commenters and is in fact quite differently explained in the original texts. Some simple issues with the commonly known modern interpretation is that Eve was inferior simply because she was created later; in the many stories, humans as a whole were created after animals, yet were portrayed on a much higher pedestal. Another more serious misinterpretation is that the Serpent (the Devil) only spoke to Eve because of her inferiority in intellect and resistance. The original Biblical text has no such mention and any assumptions made were brought on by the society the verse was preached in. Eve’s temptation was never outwardly stated, but created a stigma for generations to come.

 

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

In the current day and age, we as a society are moving more towards equality and tolerance. The story as I had always heard it, is not one I would like to call representative of today or of the female gender. This particular interpretation with a male gaze is molded to cast a shadow on half of the world population. I have always been a feminist and fought to prove that we are just as equal and deserving and that we can work just as hard. The original verse only proves that without bias there is equality and freedom in that equality. The Bible is used to teach good and morale, but certain aspects definitely have an effect on people and on their opinions. Even if we do not consciously choose to believe that women are inferior, some underlying ideas may push us to subconsciously think so. I believe we need to stop bringing in negative interpretations and start injecting our own modern opinions into the age-old myths to pass on to future generations. Myths carry what we believe and our truths, so it is beyond important for our time to document our beliefs and shape stories through this critical perspective. It is always important to read between the lines of any passage and to never disregard what is read, but only to analyze the works through the lens of the time. 

Charlotte Seid, Period 8, 11/4/21

 Charlotte Seid 11/4/21 Period 8

Modern Mythology 2022

At this current point in time, what specific goal(s) do you have for yourself? Why?
At this time, my current goals are to focus on finishing my college apps and to try and enjoy my senior year. With college applications being the main goal, I want to finish them so I don’t have to be so stressed about them. Then the second half of my goal should come easier. Enjoying my senior year is important to me because this is probably the last year I might see some of my friends and teachers. I want to have good memories of this place so I can always look back and be happy about my experience here.

How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal? (or these goals?)
Well, I have done my early application for some of my colleges and that is a step forward. I have also been spending more time with my friends which are helping me enjoy my senior year. My schedule this year also isn’t horrible so I’m having fun in my classes. 

How does the world around you affect your perception of this goal? (or these goals?)
Seeing my fellow students struggle with some of the same issues that I have makes me feel better but also worse. I feel better because I know I’m not alone in struggling through these applications and that I have others that can help me with it. But on the other hand, I do compare myself to others, seeing that they have better scores or writing than me. College emails also affect how I feel about college applications as they annoy me to the point where I don’t want to think about my college applications which are pretty bad as I’m trying to get them done. 

Andrew Rubinshteyn, Period 8, 11/1/2021

 Andrew Rubinshteyn, Period 8, 11/3/2021

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

At the moment, the only specific goal I have for myself is to do my utmost for my applications for universities. To my detriment, I spent the summer largely slacking off as far as they’re concerned, and the November 1st deadlines caught me off guard. For every university I was applying to on the 1st, I was totally unprepared, except for Cornell. I have some other deadlines coming up within the next month, and I want to be better prepared for those in order to not have to rush supplementals, because rushing anything always comes through in the product. I feel it’s important to show off my best in my applications because for years now, I’ve been conditioned by my family to believe in the importance of going to an amazing university, not that I ever disagreed with that mentality. Now that the time is here to put my best foot forward, that’s my primary focus.

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

Initially, when I was just writing the personal statement, I was putting in a lot of time and effort into it. If I recall correctly, I had 9 drafts, all from scratch, that were 1500 words each, before I settled on one to rewrite and shorten down to 650. Then I did the same with my Cornell supplementals, in which I really tried to perfect my writing to sound engaging and convey my points within the 200 word limits for both. However, after that I started slacking on the other schools. Now, starting today, I spent a lot of time on supplementals for a specific university. I composed initial drafts for the 6 Princeton supplementals, and did a revision of each. While they still need work, I have a clear game plan of how to wrap them up. I plan to keep that up for supplementals for the 16 schools I have yet to apply to, and that’ll give me the best opportunity to show off in my application and achieve my goal.

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

As far as the people around me affecting my thoughts on my situation, it’s a complete split. On one hand, there are a lot of people who didn’t do what I did, and stayed on top of their college applications as a whole. On the other hand, there’s a huge group of my peers that are also scrambling to get their supplements together last-minute for early deadlines. Overall, because I feel like most of the people I interact with on the daily are in the same boat as me, I don’t think it’s made me feel much that I didn’t already feel, other than a sense of solidarity with everyone else. If I felt that most people were significantly more prepared, I probably would’ve felt more angry at myself, and felt my goal was significantly more unachievable than I feel about it right now, but I see everyone else putting in the work, and myself too by now, so I know it is.

Eric Nguyen Lin, Period 7, 11/4/2021

 Eric Nguyen Lin

Period 7

11/4/2021

Modern Mythology 2022

Goal Setting & Growth

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

    At this specific time, one goal that I have for myself is to go out of my comfort zone and enhance my social skills. Since the start of college applications, I realized that although grades may be important, they are not as important as being able to socialize and connect with others. Although colleges do acknowledge your grades, I believe that they are looking more at your extra curricular and experiences. I recognize that I am lacking in this portion and am working towards bettering myself.

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

    I demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal through my attempt to involve myself in class and in extracurricular activities/opportunities. One example of this is the CTEISP internship that I am applying to. Since freshman year, I have been avoiding any opportunities that were offered by the school. However, I now realize their importance and I am trying to get myself involved with them as much as possible. Another way that I demonstrate resilience is through my increased participation in some classes and in group assignments. Normally, I would try to avoid participating in class or working with classmates but I have started pushing myself to speak during class.

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

    The world around me affects my perception of this goal by shifting my idea of what is important. Growing up, I was always told to get good grades and that they would be the greatest determining factor of my future. Being told this, I always strived to get good grades putting myself through after schools, tutors, and all types of extra schooling. Because I was always doing some kind of school, it was all I had in focus and I neglected socialization. Now that I am surrounded by others that are also applying to colleges or already in college, they have helped me understand that extra experiences and skills are just as important, if not more, as grades.

Ivan Ng, Period 7, 11/3/2021

 Ivan Ng                                                  

Period 7

11/3/21 

 

Mythology 2022

 

Goal Setting & Growth 

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

  

At the moment, my main goal is to focus on making the correct preparations for Cross Country City Championships this coming week. It is said that all success is laid in the groundwork. This still holds true in running. At practice, everyone will tell you that hydration, sleep, and eating right play a massive role in improving in addition to working out. People never realize how true it is until they actually follow through. But because of school and the work and food they give out, it isn’t always the easiest task to accomplish. I might have to stay up late doing homework or studying for class. School lunch also isn’t the best so I’ll have to prepare meals. So this next week, I want to properly drink enough water and get enough sleep instead of the lenient half-measures I usually take. 

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

 

First, in the morning, I wake up earlier to make meals to eat throughout the day. Every two periods in school, I force myself to down my water bottle and refill it in between classes. I take whatever free time I have in school to review or do work in order to maximize the time I have when I get home. As for sleep, it isn’t about the quantity as much as the quality. I conditioned myself to fall asleep at around 10:30 pm everyday even if it meant waking up earlier to finish up what I had to do.

How does the world around you affect your perception of this goal?

The world around me makes my goal feel a lot harder to obtain because there are a lot of circumstances that I can’t control. The amount of work that I have to do for school is something that I can attempt to alleviate by spacing it out but it depends on the due date and time given. Sleep is also really hard to control because there are assignments that can be due at midnight meaning I can’t sleep at 10:30 and wake up earlier to complete them. School food is also really inadequate meaning I have to drag around extra meals throughout the day. There is also the overall sense of pressure I feel from all of the college deadlines coming up this time of year.

 

Sofia Sabah, Period 8, 11/3/21

 Modern Mythology 2022

Goal Setting and Growth:

What’s so great about being special?

One of the most repetitive questions we get asked: what makes you special? What makes you stand out from the rest? Did you start a non-profit? Are you a musical prodigy? Have you gotten straight As ever since you started school? A child genius??? Especially as we’re applying to college, we’re told to do all of these things just to put on our resume. I remember in freshman year, there was a girl advertising for a club or something of the sort, and her whole campaign was about how we’ll stand out to the college admissions officers. As much as I support being a well-rounded and involved student, this is not the way to go. Now before I continue, I’m not saying to do nothing with your life and to not accomplish anything: don’t just attach yourself to that mentality of “oh it's okay to not be unique” and never try to improve yourself, because that is NOT the point of this blog. That being said, doing something just to stand out and seem impressive for the eyes of others is ultimately pointless. People pride themselves on the praise and approval of being exceptional and being different from the rest. Take away that and they feel like they have no purpose. So why do we have to be better than everyone? Am I not as worthy as a person because I haven’t cured world hunger? Are your parents nobodies because they haven’t won Nobel Prizes? It seems like we are measured by the amount of awards and achievements we have rather than who we are on the inside. Society may not celebrate ordinary people, but those ordinary people are what keeps this very society going. We as humans need to accept that you can contribute to the world without being some mastermind, and you are just as important as anyone else. Anyway, recently I’ve been reading many of my fellow peer’s resumes as college application deadlines are approaching. I thought about my own resume and I felt part of myself drop. They were all so impressive. I started comparing myself to them, and felt incredibly inferior. These kids are so much better than me. They did more community service and did multiple internships. They won this award... Then I snapped out of it. Good for them. Their accomplishments don't make me lesser. I know that I put my all into the things that I have done. And I know that I have been the best version of myself that I can be. So yeah, I don’t want to be special. Being myself is enough.

Connor Murphy, Period 7, 11/1/21

The blight has gone on for too long. Many have starved and more are revolting. Ireland is still home to me however, my family is one of the oldest in Ireland. I hear a call from the other room. “Art! Come quick! We need to tell you something!” It’s my mother, better follow her orders.

 “Yes mother, what is it?” I say as I enter the room. 

She says in a calm but saddened tone “I know you’ve lived your entire life here, I mean we all have but, we’re going to have to leave.”

Rudely interrupting her I spouted “Leaving!? But where is there to go? The Scandinavians don’t think too highly of us and I doubt anywhere else in Europe would do the same.”

“We don’t know, your father and I have signed us onto an expedition to find a new home.”

“But what about all that we have here, our family?”

“Your uncle's side of the family will be coming too, it won’t just be you and Cian. There isn’t anything here for us anymore, we’re running out of food and the people revolt in the north. It’s only a matter of time until others get the same idea.”

“If you say so mother.” The disappointment is obvious in my voice as I shrink away from my mother and return to my bed. Leaving? How could we? Abandoning our island seems like an extreme measure and we’re dropping everything we know for… uncertainty. What if there isn’t anything out there or what we do find is lackluster at best.
As I ponder further on the idea, I understand that she’s right. As much as I hate to say it, the kingdom has seen better days. I love Ireland, and I’m sure my parents do too, I just don’t want to accept the fact that it’s no longer safe for us. As a relatively wealthy family I’m sure the revolters will take the chance to rob us dry if they rise up here. I hear footsteps come to my room, recognizing the sounds of the heavy footed walk as my father’s feet. He enters my room, with a light smile, trying to show a sign of comfort.

“Hey lad, your mother told me that you weren’t dealing with the news well, anything you wanna talk about?”

“Father, I understand why we’re doing this but I can’t bring myself to feel comfortable with the change.”

“Well, we’re all going to be going through this change too, your mother and I took some time deciding if we should leave or not. However we believe that no matter what we’ll be able to make it through together as a family.”

“I might just go to bed now, father, but I'll think about this more.”

“Alright son, we can talk more tomorrow, goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

As he leaves the room, I look out the window on my bedside to the open world. Would I really be leaving this land behind? I decide that I’m going to go on a walk, I routinely go on midnight walks when I'm bored or just need more thought or something. It’s as nice a night as any but I can't just walk out the front door as I'm not allowed out after nightfall. I open the window and climb down the moss that runs up the side of my house. It’s never an easy trip, but it’s convenient enough for me to get down without making noise. I have this one path that I travel, going around the outskirts and passing by many houses, just taking in the night sights as I walk. But something intrigues me tonight. 

As I walk past a house, I can see that there is light coming from it. Usually at this time of night people no longer waste time with fires to conserve fuel but oddly these people didn’t. As I approach the window I can hear their mumbled conversation. And as I look inside I see a multitude of men in the house. The house seems to have hosted a small family, but I can only recognize the father of the household amongst the men inside. The father begins the conversation, gathering the attention of the men and beginning his speech. The first words I can hear from his mouth are sharp and violent.

“We have suffered for too long! This blight has ruined our lives and many of us have lost family. I know personally how this feels. To lose a loved one, after giving it everything you had to make sure they were put first, they still all go in the end.”

“We all have experienced this, and yes it is saddening, but let us talk about the plan no?”

A plan? I’m immediately entranced by this notion. If it was going where I thought it was, I would need to hear every detail.

“Fine, in the morrow we will rise up! But not just us, other groups across the kingdom will rise with us! We will show the king and his lackeys that the Irish people don’t tolerate tyrants and oppressors! We will create a new Ireland, not one ruled by a king, but one ruled by the public, with elections and senates. The year 1526 will go down as the year the Irish people are freed!”

As he finished his speech, the other men cheered with him. Deep down all I could muster was a feeling of dread. This same idea was being implemented in the north, all it did was drain food and supply. When the King’s guard went north, it was supposedly a disaster, the revolts continued but so many died. Now it’s going to start here, my town will become a desolate wasteland from battle. With this new information I ran home, and attempted to climb back up the walls to my room. 

When I confronted my parents about what I had heard, they refused to believe me. They believed the town had always been a land of peace and good will, no one would even dream of overthrowing the local authority, even in the darkest of times. I stumbled back to my room, still shocked and scared about what seemingly every man from the outer town planned to do. Though that night was restless at first, I eventually succumbed to my drowsiness and collapsed into the bed.