This I Believe Draft/Final

Honestly, I’m confused. I’m confused about everything: why I do things, why other people do what they do, if anybody really cares about anything other than themselves, even most of what I believe in. The list goes on. From the time I was small, I wasn’t a very normal child. I beat up my sister for absolutely no reason, and got mad at the smallest things. Being constantly compared to her, while she told me how ugly or stupid I was didn’t help my self confidence either. This all just confused me about all the things I’ve learned while growing up and the things I’m now learning.

I could tell you about all the many things in my childhood that made me that way, but I’ll just start from middle school. At that time in my life, the attitude I had, said,” I’m not important enough to be heard or even cared about” But once in middle school, I started actually making a lot of friends. But, the only thing I thought of was pleasing them so they’d stay around. Eventually, my grades, and drama with friends got to me, and I went back to staying alone in classrooms after school. My attitude then became, “I’m going to do my work, and nothing else. Please don’t judge me.” I didn’t know what has normal, but I knew I wasn’t it. Being a loner that actually had a lot of friends was a strange feeling. In addition, having no one to talk to about everything didn’t help. 

This continued into freshman year. Although I had my friends, I still didn’t have any friends. Putting on a smile for start of high school, made me think that this year, things might be different. For a while it was, but somewhere along the way, my attitude found me. I walked around school as a small insignificant freshman wearing a face saying, “ Stay away, you’re irritating, and if you bother me, you’ll regret it.” Eventually, my bad mood took over half my brain. And I said half of my brain for a reason. I would have probably been clinically diagnosed as being bipolar. At one point during the day, I could hug my friend for a minute straight, and the next moment I’d be talking bad about them to their face because there was something I didn’t like. I judged people so harshly that I was constantly frustrated. The only thing going through my mind was, why are you doing that? You’re such a bad person, I don't understand!” Knowing I wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around, I tried to fix it. I thought back to when I actually was one of the most pleasant people to be around, and tried to act like everything was the same. But, by that time, I was too mean without any explanation for anyone to care. I thought the rest of my life was going to be like that. 

But, happily, that wasn’t the case. Judo literally saved my life. Not the sport really, but more the people I met because of it. Even under my negative judging, the people I met were nice. No one constantly talked about how popular they thought they were, or acted like they were the most important thing in the world. Of course they weren’t perfect; some of the boys were a little more sensitive than I would’ve thought, knowing they were in a tough sport. They taught me that not everyone was the same, and that no one was perfect. This is when I started to become less confused. My new friends brightened the week a practice at a time. I even met one of my best friends that I can talk to about almost anything during this season. Over the summer, I had a lot of time to discover things about myself and people in general. It was like an isolation period where I went away from the world. When I went back to school as a sophomore, the new outlook I held, helped me gain back the friends I had lost. I stopped judging people so harshly, knowing that people are a certain way because God mad them like that. They had gone through things I didn’t know about, and for all I knew, they were going through something at that moment. I became patient and understanding to those who once set me on edge. 

Now that it’s the end of my sophomore year, I’ve learned even more about life and the people put into my own. What I went through changed my thinking and my actions. Because I didn’t want anyone to be treated like I had been, I stopped judging so much, and instead started listening and watching the people that frustrated me. I saw and tried my best to understand them and the things they did. Still, I am confused. I will always be confused or frustrated at things I don’t completely understand. So yes, I don’t completely know why I do things, why others do what they do, or even what I believe in. But from all that I’ve learned, I know this, “You shouldn’t judge people to quickly, because everyone looks at the world from their own perspective.” This, I believe. 

4th Quarter GLO Portfolio

Click "PORTFOLIO" below to view my portfolio that shows my work for fourth quarter!

PORTFOLIO

Occupy Moanalua

At Moanalua High School, there are specialized groups made to help the students enrolled into them follow their chosen career pathway. Some of these include JROTC for military, Menemac for those interested in the media core, and Business core for those wanting to go into business. Having these core groups, excell those who are placed into them. The other 50% of students going to classes, not having any idea of what they are going into just go through classes wishing the day to be over. We propose having the "regular" classes such as the ones taken for Core 1 and Core 2 be improved by integrating more hands on learning. This way, the students can have fun in class, and learn more about what they might want to do later in life. Going out into the world, they will be able to gain experience, and more. 

Hunger Games

Shades of Grey

Completing this assignment forced me to rethink the choices that I have made thus far in my life. Looking back and trying to list the bad things that I've done made me realize something. That even though the days go by, without a realization of it, a good amount of us are constantly changing. Our morals  change from when we are five years old, to twelve years, and now fifteen or sixteen. The stages of moral and decision making shown in class were very accurate and thorough in explaining the how we make decisions at our different ages (although we all learn and mature at our own age). When I was creating the list of the bad things I've done, at first I couldn't think of much. In my recent past, this school year so far, I suprisingly haven't done anything completely unacceptable that it would have a big place in my moral scale. Many of the happenings that I've listed have come from when I was either in elementary or middle school. The rest of activities listed are ones that are anchorpoints, or things I do occasionally but am not proud of. I've learned that the recent decisions that I have been making are much better than those I have made in the past, and although there has been improvement of my judgement, there will always be something I can learn from my former decisions.

Final Man & Universe Graphic

Allusion Poem- Final

Can I do anything right?

Bring honor to the family name?

Nothing.

Hopeless.

Shame.

That's what I feel

When you yell my name

I cannot be that flawless Japanese doll

I cannot be the perfect bride

Just disappointment would come

Only if I tried

I’m sorry

But not

I cannot change who I was made to be.

The katana slices through my hair

A final step from trying to be

The perfect girl

To go against the standards of the world

The impracticable things I do,

I do for you

For as long as you're fine

It doesn't really matter

This body of mine

But then I realize

Maybe I do it for me

Does the pressure of the weights

Drag me down

Or help pull me up higher

To feel of worth

And not just dirt?

Now I sit atop the beam so narrow

As the champion

Who finally reached the arrow.

Man & Universe Graphic DRAAAAAFT

Allusion Poem-DRAFT

Can she do anything right?
Bring honor to the family name?
Nothing.
Hopeless.
Shame.
That's what she feels
When you yell her name

She cannot be that good little girl
She cannot be the perfect bride
Just dissapointment would come
Only if one tried

She's sorry
But not
I cannot change who I was made to be.

The edge of the sword slices through her hair
A final step from trying to be
The perfect girl
To go against the standards of the world

The impracticable things she does,
She do for you
For as long as you're fine
It doesn't really matter
that soul of mine

But then she realizes
Maybe she does it for her

Does the pressure of the weights
Drag her down
Or pull her up higher
To feel of worth
And not just dirt?

Now she sits atop the beam so narrow
As the champion
that finally reached the arrow.

1st Semester Writing Portfolio

To Parents,

          Achievements that I am proud of from this past semester include: sentence fluency assessments, risky business essay, Coming of Age essay, and the College essay. Although I did do well on the majority of these assignments or tests, I could have improved them.

          I am most proud of my Coming of Age Essay and College Essay because of the grade I recieved on them (4) and the fact that I understood what I was doing, could follow the criteria, did my best on them, and actually pulled off the grade.

         A major challenge I had this semester would definately be time management and balance. I delt with them by making sure I payed attention in class, and writing due dates down. 

         Goals I have for next semester is to make better plans when it comes to group work, make sure I am able to contribute to a group, and to prioritize my different projects early on.

          I think these are realistic goals because they are more specific than just wanting to stop putting assignments off, and because it is what I need to work on in order to have 

bettered my grade this past semester, and what will help me later on.

To view my portfolio, please go here----> http://jjkurosawa.wix.com/joy2ndqportfolio 

After you have viewd my portfolio answer the questions below in a comment:

1. What piece of writing did you like best in my portfolio and why?
2. What did you like about my portfolio and sharing and what would you like to see me improve on?
3. Which of the writing traits (ideas, organization, voice, word choice) do you feel was most successful for me?
4. Which of the traits of writing would you like me to improve on in the coming semester?

"Odd Girl Out" Movie Review

In the movie "Odd Girl Out" directed by Tom Mcloughlin, teenage girl Vanessa, (played by Alexa Vega) is effected by her peers, the internet, and more that tests her strength and confidence in herself. Like many teenagers in todays world, there is a pressure girls have put on them to be beautiful, especially in the high school environment. In this movie, the "bad girls": Stacy (Leah Pipes) and Nikki (Elizabeth Rice) push Vanessa, their once close friend, into many harmful situations. If I were to rate this movie based on storyline, uniqueness, clarity, quailty of filming, and overall how much I enjoyed watching this movie as a viewer, I would give it a solid one star. The storyline was a typical high school scene where a group of girls ice out one of their friends, resulting in harmful drama. The story is slightly worn out already, but on the plus side, the story was very clear to follow. One of the things that could be greatly improved in this movie is the filming, or more specifically, the lighting. In every classroom scene, it seems as if no lights are on, and some parts make me nauseous to continue to watch because of the different shots.

Angry Letter

Your Address

Your City, State, Zipcode

November 15, 2012

McKinley High School

1039 South King St.

Honolulu, Hawaii 96814

Dear McKinley High school,

Year after year I have gladly attended multiple games and tournaments at your school’s gym. Because of your abundance of seating, exceptional number of courts, and delicious foods at the concession, your gym has always been one of my favorite to play at. 

Driving into the McKinley Student Council Gym parking lot, we drove past a few security guards, unaware of their purpose as guards are frequently used to direct traffic. Surprised and confused, we were subjected to pay a five dollar fee to park at your facilities. That day, our thoughts were not to pay for, but hope that there was parking left. As we stepped out of our car, there were reoccurring conversations throughout even the competitors of the pricing of parking. During the HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championship and OIA playoff’s, the main bulk of games were held at your school. In the past athletic events I have participated in and attended at your school, there was never a charge for parking.  I have been to many events that charged for parking. But, there was constantly a charge, and the price was at a decent rate when comparing it to the event at that time. For example, the parking at the University of Hawaii at one point was at a high of five dollars. But, recently I’ve went and it has lowered to about three dollars, which is much more reasonable, especially since the events held there are of a decent purpose. I feel that the charge for parking should be taken away, or at the least lowered to an appropriate level.

Also, one night after a volleyball match we were instructed to leave the campus directly after the end of the game or else we would be locked in. At this particular game, both grandparents from both sides of my family had decided to attend, and because of the warning, we had to rush to the parking lot. Security guards had told us sternly to hurry and get off campus. Because of this, my grandmother almost tripped and fell. I understand that many people would like to go home after a long day, but I feel that you should not force people to leave.

Beside the fact, the staff that were present were decent. Even the security guard apologized for rushing us out so quickly. Both groups of workers had agreed with many of the people being put under these restrictions, and gave understanding for us. Because the people collecting money, and enforcing rules know and understand our situation, I feel that they should not have to force something that even they do not feel is right. 

I have nothing against the way you feel you must run things, but I do feel that you should be a little more fair or reasonable by taking away or lowering parking prices, and being more lenient on the time on vacating the campus.

Sincerely,

Joy Kurosawa

Risky Business Essay(Draft)

Today’s 21st century teens have a multitude of problems that we are constantly working to solve. These include the obvious: drugs, alcohol, and reckless actions caused by pure stupidity. Actions such as these are most commonly discussed about because of the amount of teens that take part in them. One topic that is well known, but needs to be taken more seriously is the amount of pressure that society puts on girls to be beautiful. Although it is clear to most that girls will always be insecure, and some may argue that society is a good influence to them, it isn’t something to be taken lightly. Because of society, teen girls end up with depression, and causing harm to themselves. The high standards society hold on girls can have a positive affect on them, but more likely than not, the pressure to be perfect can go to extremes. 

Although there are many negative effects that society has on teenage girls, some still believe that to be false. Those who believe in the positive effects feel that society promotes a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle. According to Bernie DeGroat’s article “Exposure to sports may have positive effect on teen girls”, exposure to sports magazines and women’s sports on television encourages teen-age girls to focus on body image. In their study, 426 adolescent females ages 10-19 objected to a certain type of media exposure does predict increased health risks. However, they also found that girls reading sports magazines are more satisfied with their body and have less disturbed eating. Also, magazines like Shape or television shows like Dr. Oz are dedicated to helping women to achieve their physical goals. 

Besides what the less amount of people believe in, there are harmful effects of what society is capable of doing to a teenage girl. Being compared to every other girl makes one wonder if they are good enough, and this is without the influence of toothpick thin models strutting down the runway. Seeing this can inspire girls be like them, but end them up depressed about how they cannot achieve the same looks and body shape. Depression isnt taken very seriously, and because of that, this problem doesn’t have anyone trying to stop it. According to article, “More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression” 13% of teenage girls have experienced a bout of serious depression in the past year. Depression can cause headache, nausea/vomiting, heart disease, osteoperosis, and high blood pressure. Most people think that being depressed is just a way of saying that they’re sad, but in reality there are mental and physical effects of being depressed. Teenage girls can become depressed because of the insecurities caused by the media. 

Adding another negative affect to the list, society can drive girls into self-harm when trying to achieve perfection. Self-harm includes as simple as a diet, to starvation, annorexia/bulemia, and overworking their bodies. Online at <http://womensenews.org/story/uncovering-gender/031029/teen-magazines-send-girls-all-the-wrong-messages#.UI2jLnORRNg> the magazine reported that 35% of U.S. girls 6 to 12 have been on at least one diet, and that among normal weight girls, 50-70% consider themselves overweight. From a girl who actually experienced being annorexic, Marya Hornbacher was four or five when she remembered that she decided she was fat. PBS shares her eating disorders story. Constantly throwing up, she went from 100 lbs to 63, and still wanted to lose weight. By age nine she bingeid and purged steadily, and eventually becoming so sick of the way she looked, she all but stopped eating. By 14, she had lost 25% of her body weight,  in her advanced annorexia could only be helped by a full time treatment at a locked institution. This is only one example of what many girls go through to achieve the standards that society places on them. 

In conclusion, there are many other topics about what risky activities teens are participating in these days, but what the pressure of society does to girls to be perfect needs to be brought up in a serious fashion. Some may say that society helps teen girls to develop into young women. But really all the world is doing is setting standards unrealistic and harmful to achieve. The things teens nowadays are willing to do to fit in needs to be taken more seriously because of the many girls suffering from clinical depression, annorexia, and harming themselves.

Brainy Pix-Banter

College Essay Draft

Dear Incoming Freshman,

If its one thing I know about what one needs to know in order to survive highschool, it’s that throughout your years, things won’t always go your way and sometimes you have to adapt to it. There are always the same things that people tell you that you need to do for highschool such as doing your work and taking school more seriously. These are some of the most important things you need to do, but in order to do them, you have to conquer smaller obstacles. What I have to tell you is that you can still learn from bad teachers, you don’t need to love studying in order to get good grades, and you need to balance. 

In highschool, you are absolutely guarranteed to have at least one bad teacher. This is epecially true if you go to a public school. Don’t get me wrong, there are a handfull of teachers who really care about you and what you learn, but there will be those who you, and many of your classmates will dislike strongly. So, what you do about it will make all the difference. Do not use up your time complaining about how everything that teacher does is wrong, and is the reason you are going to fail school. That, is a waste of time and it obviously solves nothing. Find out how to ace the class. Your teacher is just a regular person, and has his or her likes and dislikes. Since he or she is the one controlling your grade, know what the teacher wants in a student, and become it. If you aren’t one of the favorites, all I can say is that if you do your work well, the teacher doesn’t have any other choice than to give you the grade you deserve. Also, you never know what your teachers may be going through, so don’t expect them to be perfect. Learning from one of these teachers may be a hard one, but you come out a much better student from going through it. I guess you could call what I’m telling you tips, and really they are, but take them seriously because it may be what saves you in the long run. 

The next one may be a concept that is slightly hard for some of us to grasp. What I know from experience is that really, you do not need to force yourself to like studying in order to be good at school. But, what you do need to do is to learn how to love learning. If you think about it, we are learning constantly. You learn how to dance, what songs are new, the latest styles, and more. But, those things aren’t always the most useful when it comes to your future. The way we think nowadays is a little messed up, which is why we think learning isn’t fun. In my perspective, we confuse studying with learning because staying up for three hours until midnight trying to memorize words is not fun. Being able to know many different things and tell people about it is fun. If you put this mindset in place of what goes through your head during a lecture in class, you may actually learn something interesting. Learning makes your life open up, so you are able to do so much more activities even though you may not know it. Remember this, you don’t need to learn to love studying, but learn to love learning.

Lastly, you need to know that highschool will not last forever. It may feel like it will last forever, but it’s purpose is to get you ready for the next step until you go out into the real world. Take the time you have in highschool to do exactly what it is supposed to be used for. In highschool, you need to many things, which include things that are not going to be handed to you in text books, and things that are. Take the time to gain the knowlegde of what you are required to learn, and find something you enjoy. This will help you later find the major of your choice, and possibly a job. Besides the academic part of school, you learn who you are, and how others are. Making mistakes during these years are crucial because of what you can learn from them. Although you normally do not want to make mistakes, but you will, and this will get you ready for what’s ahead. During the short time in highschool, you must make the most of it and get  out of it what you can. It will not last forever, and you must take what you have learned and apply it to what is next. 

All in all, I have no way of knowing what will happen to you in your highschool years. But, what I do know is that you will go through many things such as drama, and changes in general. What you need to do is look positively on all of it. When something bad happens, you have to look for what good can come out of it. I personally know that from every situation, no matter how bad it is that something good has come of it. I hope my tips have helped you and you can use them for your own good.

                                                   Sincerely, 

                                                           Graduate

Word Choice Graphic

Taking woman in hand, the red tie black suit man raced through the semi-crowded hallway running from an unknown trailing close behind.

Colleges

New Hope Christian College
Radford University
University of San Diego

College Essay Prompt:

If you were to look back on your high school years, what advice would you give to someone beginning their high school career? 

Coming Of Age Poster Draft

Coming Of Age Essay (Draft)

Many teenagers will give you a long story about a single experience that changed their life. It may have been something tragic like a death of a loved one or drama that was finally solved. Unlike those people who had a lightbulb click on for them, my story takes a while to explain. It all starts with sports, or more specifically volleyball. My growing up experience consists of three big events; the summer of running, a practice cut short, and a very important conversation. 

The first years of volleyball were probably some of the most important, now that I think of it. Playing with Jammers Volleyball Club was a big step up for me, coming from a team that did not even hold tryouts. At Jammers, I had a coach who rode me to the ground. In a way I guess you could say the way he treated us was very similar to the military or bootcamp but instead of push ups he would make me run for the rest of practice. Even though I resented this coach (and still actually do) I am very grateful to have gone through what I did. I learned to be a stronger person, listen to criticism without taking it personally, and lastly, even though not all coaches are always right, you have to play with the hand that you are dealt.

An actual point in my life where I felt like there was drama began as a regular practice held at Nu`uanu Congregational Church Guy. It did start off the same-getting pissed off at my teammates while trying not to punch them- but, it did not end like that. So, we were in the middle of a passing drill when our coach yelled for us to get on the line and run. I had no idea why we were running since I was trying to focus on not getting mad. But suddenly my coach starts yelling at me. Being surprised and confused, I was in a daze when he told me if I didn't want to be there to grab my Sh*t and get out. Normally, when people are yelled at, it doesn't mean that much. But, this time he continued yelling and told me bluntly to "Get the hell out of my gym". After grabbing my things and going outside it hit me,  that I had done something really wrong, which I should have realized earlier. Like many situations that are very tense, I started tearing then eventually full out crying. At first I really didn't know why I was crying. The only thing I remember doing is asking myself over and over again what had I done that was so wrong, and that if he knew why I did these things, if he would still be mad. After about half an hour of not knowing what to do and trying to stop crying, I got so fustrated that I took my phone and threw it flat on the concrete. Later, thinking that my phone was invincible because of going through the many times I dropped it, I went to go pick it up. But it was broken, of course. At the end of practice, everyone walked away from me without saying anything, including my coach. But, unlike my teammates I cried so hard on the way home that my dad had to go driving around for an hour until I calmed down. The next practice we had, I had no idea what to expect. Hands shaking, I walked into the gym when my coach called me over. During this time I finally told him about how pissed off I get with my teammates and myself. Feeling relieved , I let him know how nobody on our team really supported each other, and many other things I really thought he should know. At the end of this practice, I mended things with the team, and we simply got on with our season. From this experience, I learned that its not good to hold in anger, you should tell people what you need to say, and that even though bad things happen to you there will always be a “next play” that needs you in it.

               One of the most important events that played a role in my growning up is something that happened away from home, all the way in  Columbus, Ohio for a national volleyball tournament. Four days of playing in, we were all tired and after our not so good record many of us wanted to give up. In the end that is exactly what I ended up doing, but not because I was physically tired, instead tired of trying so hard when no one else was. This ended up not being a good idea when I was benched for more than half of the rest of the game. Then, for the entire length of the game that followed ours (which is about an 90 minutes), I had a conversation with my coach about too many topics to list. The big thing that still sticks with me today is when he told me how he had rooted for me for three years when there was no other coach who believed in me. Being one of the mentally slower kids on the team, I always realized things that my friends got instantly. I wondered so much why I wasn’t able to do the things that they were to the point that I was desperate for answers. After questioning my coach, I learned that yes, everyone is different, and that nothing will be fair in life. But, going through difficult things can make you a better person than those who hadn’t gone through what you did. And, this did prove to be true because being able to survive three of four days was more than I could have done before I went through the shortened practice I talked about. This event conversation helped me grow up because I got to practice perseverance, learned that learning takes time, and that everyone is different. 

In conclusion, I know that people would probably talk about having someone pass away be the turning point in their life where they grew up, but I don’t learn that quickly. Being a part of volleyball helped me grow in my skills and as a person. Some may say that sports is useless to society, but honestly I know personally that that statement is false. I’ve become a stronger person mentally, learned that you have to move on quickly, and that learning takes a lot of time. I did learn this from sports, but what also helped me in life and in sports was a book I read titled, “_______”. This taught me so many things about what the famous athletes go through and learn, but the one thing I can say that I took out of it was about attitude towards things or perspective. I learned about how everything you do is effected by how you look at things, and that you can improve yourself without even touching a ball. 

Blog Revision

               The changes I made to my blog consist of changing the template, title, and adding a picture. Changing the template from the one I was previously using suits my new title. The colors and design of my background is more of a serious color that makes you calm, and it also makes the picture stand out more. The change to my title shows my new understanding of life, and how I have grown from freshman year. I also changed my blog archive to be more organized by year so that it is easier to look through my various types of work.