Max's English blog

Prompt response:  The part of my identity that “travels” with me most is the mix of cultures and experiences I was raised around. My Haitian and North Indian-White Guyanese background means I grew up with different foods, stories, traditions, and perspectives all existing in the same household. Even outside of my family, that feeling of being a mixture of different worlds has stayed with me. I see it in the music I listen to, the people I connect with, and the way I try to understand cultures without assuming one is more “normal” than another. I think that constant mixing is one of the biggest parts of who I am, and it follows me wherever I go. Summary: My mixed cultural background travels with me through the way I experience food, music, people, and different cultures. Reflection: For a long time, I saw being mixed as something that made me feel like I did not completely belong anywhere. As I have gotten older, I have realized that being influenced by many different cultures d...

Prompt Response: I haven't had as good of an academic output as I would like to admit. I am more than falling short of my goals and sadly its just because I have little to no energy when I get home, and then my homework just snowballs. I'm hoping this weekend I can try and fix all of it and get everything done. I've also been coordinating to get my 504 finished with the counselor that covers that, but its lagging pretty slow. I submitted the form 2 weeks ago but nothing has really came of it. Its been challenging to try and fill out these blog posts aswell as deltamath for precalculus. I dont get much homework besides in this class and precalculus, but still, when i get home, i just wanna go to sleep.  I need to improve in keeping up with all of my assignments Summary: I'm lagging further than I'd like to admit, I need to do better with keeping up with my assignments. Reflection:  I think a lot of the reasons for me not doing as well as I want to are due to mental h...

Prompt Response:  I enjoy media->classwork as a workflow/learning method. Watching a video, reading a paragraph, and then answering questions or reflecting. I feel it lets me think more and absorb the passage better than I would just reading. Summary: I like reading passages or watching videos then answering questions. Reflection:  I feel that I enjoy that as it lets me comprehend the media better and as a result the lesson taught aswell.

  Prompt Response:  I used to and still to get assumed to be of lower intelligence or someone who doesn't really try in school. When I'd be put into a group that was assigned instead of chosen person-to-person, I'd always be relied on the least, and not really asked questions. I would always combat this by doing the work faster than everyone else and letting them copy off me. It was after that they'd realize in the future when we're in a group together, that that's not who I am. Summary: Sometimes I get assumed to be "dumb", I combat it by working at equal, or faster output. Reflection:  I realize the reason I feel a need to be faster or don't enjoy the perks of being relied on less is because I feel disrespected as my whole life i've been taught that was the worst role to be. The dead weight.

Prompt Response: One gender expectation I have struggled with is the idea that men are supposed to be emotionally restrained and always independent. Growing up, there was often an expectation that I should just handle things myself, especially when I was struggling, rather than openly admitting that something was bothering me. I remember times when I would be genuinely upset or overwhelmed but still feel like I had to act completely fine because being emotional felt embarrassing or “unmanly.” That expectation was difficult for me because I tend to think deeply about things and care a lot about the people around me. Learning that being open about how I feel does not make me weak was something I had to figure out for myself. Summary: I have struggled with the expectation that men should hide their emotions and handle everything on their own. Reflection: I think that expectation can make it harder for people to actually understand you. I have learned that being honest about how I feel is ...

I still don't have my "I, too am" poem back, but I do remember what I covered. I mentioned that I too am black, that's in reference to the accusation of being white washed, and the result that has on my self image. I did the same with being called lazy or unmotivated, as its something not true that I work and strive to make people think otherwise about. I don't have the poem with me so I can't go and explain every detail sadly.

 Prompt: Think about the different people, cultures, experiences, communities, interests, and traditions that have shaped who you are. What parts of your identity have had the greatest influence on the person you are today? Have you ever felt pressure to change, hide, or emphasize a part of yourself in order to fit in? I would say the parts of my identity that have had the greatest influence on the person I am today are my cultural background, I was born in Florida, my dad is a naturalized haitian immigrant, my mother a naturalized north indian-white guyanese immigrant. I grew up eating many different types of food, I grew up without a direct religion, being taught stories froms different cultures, etc. Being in a household where my mother was a pharmacist, my father a pharmacist, and my sister being in schooling to become a physicisian for almost all of my life from my memory, there's always been a heavy emphasis on biology, anatomy, and that includes what my dad taught me. Cartoo...

Prompt: If someone tried to understand you using only your race, what important things would that person miss? Describe at least three other parts of your cultural identity that help make you who you are. If someone were to look at me and attempt to understand me purely off my race, who I am, my interests, likes and dislikes, the pillars of my character, my views on life, etc. They would most likely be entirely wrong. A lot of my effort into my appearance although its just based off my interests and the pop-culture divisions I enjoy, still differentiates me heavily and changes the way people view me. Band tees, piercings, studded jewelry, baggy distressed jeans, eyeliner, etc. It all naturally changes the way people approach me whether negative or positive. If you take all that away, leaving with just my looks and my race, the first impression would be different. Nothing is told about me especially if i don't speak, you could easily assume "well he listens to drill" or ...

If I were to name 3 things I want to achieve this year it would be fairly simple. For one, looking back at my performance within the past 3 years of my HS carreer, I consistently had a very troubling pattern. I would do extremely bad the first 4-8 weeks, then just a week or less before the grading period, I would end up doing a semester's worth of work within just a couple days. It would lead to me having the issue where I absorb the content, I make quality work, and I pay attention in class, but yet, my grades reflected none of that(aside from test scores). The issue was that the entire 3 years and the rest of the past of my school career, I had struggled with an unsung masked problem: ADHD. I had no idea why I couldn't pay attention as easy as other kids. I had no idea why I couldn't submit my assignments on time. I had no idea why I couldn't sit down and work the way the other kids could. Yet, I still maintained straight A's within the gifted program all through-...