Exhibition Night Reflection

Last night, April 17th, we had Exhibition Night. Exhibition night is a time for students at my school to showcase the work that we have done or that we are working on. I was really stressed out about exhibition, but it ended up going better than I had expected. My partner and I did very well when we were asked questions about both of the projects we were presenting. One of the strengths that we had was knowing what we were talking about. We both knew the material we had to explain very well and this helped us during our presentations. The one weakness we had was not having the final draft of our paneling for our graphic novel done. Right now we are in the peer critique process and it would have been beneficial to have the final draft. This weakness did help us though. We were able to explain the process of drafting and peer critiquing, which made our project have more depth. The most challenging interaction for me was when this man came up to my station for the pinhole cameras. It was actually time for a shift change, but he kept grilling my partner and I about how the pinhole camera worked. I was able to explain everything, but it was very nerve racking. So, I kept calm and simply explained everything about the pinhole camera project to him. Next exhibition night I plan not to stress as much as I did this time. I now realize that exhibition is just a time to show what's going on in your class and what you have been doing. Overall, exhibition went very well and I was able to show people all of the hard work that I have been doing.

Character Reflection

Today in class, we did acting exercises and put ourselves in the shoes of our characters. The first few exercises were used to loosen up and to let go of all our inhibitions. I really enjoyed these first exercises, because we were able to be fun and crazy. The next exercises we did were with our characters. We pretended that we were the characters from our stories. One of the exercises included posing like one of the characters from your story. Then, we did two more exercises where we first introduced our characters to the class as the character and then acted out a scene from the rising action of the story. My partner and I weren't able to go, but before we had begun the second exercise we had time to discuss what we wanted to act out. From this, we received a better idea of what our characters would actually seem like in real life.
These exercises really helped me understand the characters for my story better. One of the main characters, Abe, lacked depth and because of these exercises I was able to realize that. My partner and I decided that it would be beneficial to his character to give him more of and edge and change his views on the time Hitler ruled. I believe that by changing his character it will make the story have more excitement and entice the reader. Overall, today was extremely beneficial for me and the characters in my developing story. Everyone also got a good laugh from the exercises which made the whole experience more enjoyable.

Graphic Novel: Character Bio's

Abigail Ackers was born on August 15, 1900 in the city of Berlin, Germany. She is 40 years old and was the fifth child and last child born into a family that was quite disfunctional and not religious. Her father was a shoemaker who beat his wife and children, except for Abigail. She was traumatized by this and became scared of her father as well as other men. Her mother was a kind, loving home school teacher and house wife. Abigail learned everything from her mother and wanted to be just like her. Abby as her friends and family called her was known for being quiet, but having a kind loving heart, a pretty face, and beautiful brown hair. Abby took up baking at a very young age and soon became the best baker in Berlin. Not only was Abby the best baker in all of Berlin, she was extremely smart and loved helping people. When Abby was sixteen she decided it was time for her to get away from her abusive house hold and start her own bakery in Berlin. Abby opened her bakery within two months of leaving home. Working there, she met the love of her life, George. George and Abby got married when they were both seventeen. Abby then became pregnant at 25. A few months before Abby had the baby George suddenly died. Soon after, Abby gave birth to a son, Abe. By that time Abby's bakery was doing very well and she had taken up reading, specially classics and romance novel. She had a love for food, so she never lost the baby weight. Abby loved dancing around her bakery while singing to Abe. When Abe was five Abby started to home school him, just like her mom did with her. Abby and Abe are best friends and she enjoys teaching him how to bake.

Abe Ackers was born on March 25, 1925 in the city of Berlin, Germany. He is 15 years old and has a mother who is a baker. Abe is very funny and all the girls love him. He loves to bake and he's a very good dancer. He has strong features, is very tall (6'1), has bright blue eyes, freckles, and sandy blond hair. His mom teaches him at home and he picks concepts up easily. Abe and his mom are best friends. Abe loves to run and he enjoys his mom's cooking. Abe enjoys listening to music that is loud. His favorite possession in the world is his baby blanket that his dad made for him before his father died. Hitler interests Abe, but he's not sure how he feels about him. Abe wants to be important and he wants his name to be known.

David Levinson was born on April 12, 1908 in Berlin, Germany. He was the second child in a very orthodox Jewish family. David's parents were very strict and they were both teachers. He had a normal childhood, but never knows when to stop talking. David had a good body and is about 6'. His best trait is his hair. He enjoys writing books on science, but when he has spare time he writes joke books. David went to school and then to college and received a degree in writing. He is marries to Suzanne Levinson and they are expecting their first child. One day David wishes to go to Paris and experience the French culture. David is a fan of Dr. Seuss. He has a calm, loving personality and cannot wait to be a dad.

Suzanne Levinson was born on September 5, 1908 in Berlin, Germany. Her father was a famous painter and her mother owned a large library. Suzanne has met a lot of important people, because of her father's job. Suzanne is Jewish, very educated, and she is known for being an amazing dancer. Suzanne is very attractive except for a huge mole on her left cheek. Suzanne is married to David Levinson and is five months pregnant. She currently works at her mother's library and has crazy food cravings since she is pregnant. Suzanne enjoys reading romance novels and working on the nursery for the baby. Suzanne suffers from horrible migraines and is very health conscious for the baby. Suzanne's dream is to g o to Peru with her husband and her child.

Graphic Novel: Story Synopsis

It was a cold, eerie night in Berlin. Abby knew change was coming, she could feel it in the air. She said good night to Abe and made sure he was safely asleep in his bed. What had gotten in to him lately? He hadn't been telling her things like he used to. Were they drifting away? Abby quickly brushed this thought from her mind and decided to go to bed. She had a busy day at the bakery tomorrow and she needed to get some sleep. Abby laid down and instantly went into a deep slumber.

It was the middle of the night when Abe heard the knock on the door. He thought he was hearing things so he laid back down. Quickly after he heard three more frantic knocks. He decided to go wake up his mom, because he new how deeply she slept. Abe ran to his mother's room and woke her up. Abby heard the knocking and grabbed her bathrobe. Who could it be? Abby quickly ran to the window to get a good look at who was knocking on her door at such an early hour. Abby looked out the window and saw a young couple in their twenties she guessed, the wife clearly pregnant. Abby had to open the door, they looked soaked to the bone. Abby went to open the door and hurried the young couple in so they were out of the rain. The young man thanked her and proceeded in the door holding his wife close. The young man introduced himself as did his wife, David Levinson and Suzanne Levinson. The couple had heard that the Nazis were coming to Berlin the next morning and had to escape there house on the west side of Berlin. Abby had said they had come to the right place. David had looked so relieved. David and Suzanne told Abby that they had know Abby's old friend Renada and that she had given them the address. Abby had told Renada to do that if she new any Jews that would have to leave or hide. Abby thought about that time, good old Renada. Abby quickly brought the young couple fresh clean clothes and gave them food. She told them to go down to the basement and she would be down there in a few minutes with mattresses and sheets. Abby told Abe everything and he agreed that hiding this couple was the right thing to do.

Abby and Abe had been hiding the couple for two months and everything had been going well. They had been quiet and very grateful for everything. Abby's business had been doing well and Abe and her were still very close. Abe had been out late lately though. She was worried about his possible involvement in the Hitler youth. She had told him once about how Hitler was a crazy horrible man and she remembered how he had reacted, getting all twitchy and not agreeing with her. She was so worried that he would slip and say that they were hiding Jews. Abby new that what she was doing was right and that God would watch over her, Abe, and David and Suzanne. Abby couldn't have any of her or Abe's friends over anymore and the war was getting worse.

The Nazis had announced that house checks would be starting soon. Abby had told David and Suzanne and they became worried. Suzanne was now seven months pregnant and she was getting bigger by the day it seemed. Abby remembered the place where Abe used to hide from her when he would get mad when he was younger. She new that David and Suzanne could fit. The day came when the Nazis had come to check Abby's house. David and Suzanne were already hidden thanks to an instinct that Abby had had. Abby and Abe had hid the extra mattresses and put the bedding away. They both put on a calm expression and opened the door. The Nazi guards checked out the house and everything was fine it seemed.

Persepolis

Marjane Setrapi's childhood in Iran is explained in an unusual comical vision throughout the text, Persepolis. Marji is a young Iranian girl that is growing up in the 1980s. Marji's family lives a decadent lifestyle, in which her father drives a Cadillac and her family has a maid. Marji has no use for the lifestyle that she had been accustomed to. She doesn't understand why her maid doesn't eat with the rest of her family and she is embarrassed by her father's Cadillac and her family's prominent wealth.
In 1979 the Islamic Revolution took place as well as Black Friday. This resulted in the Shah being overthrown and exiled. In 1980, Khomeini returned and established the Islamic state run by clergy. During this time, Marji was attending a French secular school. Since Khomeini established the Islamic state it was mandatory for young girls and women to wear the veil. The young girls used their veils as toys, because they didn't know the true meaning of the veils. The purpose of the veil, in the government's eyes, was to keep women safe, because hair excited men. Marji's family didn't believe in the veil, so her mother and her simply didn't wear it until her mother was later threaten by two men and Marji became older. In 1980 Iraq invaded Iran. Iran may have had a reservoir of soldiers, but still many died. The soldiers that did lose their lives were considered martyrs for their country. This brought constant fear to Iran and the Setrapi family. Though there was the smell of fear in the air, it didn't stop people from living their lives. Marji's family got together and had clandestine parties when they weren't allowed and her parents also drank alcohol even though it wasn't allowed as well. During the war an embargo from the United States was put on Iran's and Iraq's ports in order to help make peace and possibly end the war sooner. This left Iran with less food for it's people. It made it hard for Marji's family to find food and made it hard for the proletariat class also. Marji's parents decided to go to Turkey for a vacation. Marji was now older and into more westernized materials and asked her parents to pick her up two posters, a jean jacket, and new shoes. Marji's veritable parents had to lie and smuggle the posters bag into Iran because it was against the law. After her parents came back and gave her her gifts Marji went out and ended up having a confrontation with some older women. After some time, Marji's parents felt that Iran had become an unsafe place for Marji. So, they decided to send her to Vienna where she would continue her schooling. The novel ended in a confusing twist, leaving the reader grasping for more.
On the way to Vienna, Marji must have had a million questions running through her mind. Would she ever see her family again? Would she ever return to Iran? Was her mother in trouble? She was probably extremely worried about her mother and wondering what had happened to her. Her parents had said they would visit her, but would they? Would her mother be dead? Marji must have been excited for her new adventure, but her mind would always be going back to Iran and her mother. The prominent question in her head must have been, what if I had said no, would they have let me stay and would I have found out the fate of my mother? Now, only time will tell.

Year of the Youth Vote?

The Year of the Youth Vote is a recent article in Time Magazine written by David Von Drehle. The article talks about the power that Barack Obama has over the youth of America. Obama has created a coalition of young voters that have been supporting him from the start of his campaign and will be with him until the end. There are so many young constituent voters that are so vitalized with Obama's campaign for president. The question that was raised for me throughout this article was, why does Sen. Obama appeal so much to the youth of America? Is it his age, speaking ability, or does he just have really good campaign skills? What we do know though, is that Obama's progressive attitude has definitely caught the eye of the youth of America. Obama isn't a hard-ass conservative, but a liberal who is looking for change and will make the changes Americans want to see. He has already been in an incumbent position of office and though he doesn't have military experience he can definitely learn. In the article it makes a good point about Obama not being fully experienced in every aspect for the presidential office, but young voters look at his lack of experience as a fresh start.
I believe that this year is the year of the youth vote. Young voters see the need for change and they want it. They aren't going to let anything get in the way of the changes that they want to see. Young voters want a better America and you don't have to be older to see that. Voters have shown up to the poles and have not only voted for the democratic and republican candidates for the general election of 08', but have voted on referendums and have become experienced voters knowing what they want to change for America. The 08' election, I believe, is going to be the year of the youth vote. I am predicting that the youth of America will decide the next presidential candidate. We will all have to wait to see this November.

Debate Reflection

On Monday, February 11, our class held a mock debate and primary election for the 2008 elections. The debate consisted of three candidates from each party and we debated within our parties. This meant that the democrats debated against each other and the republicans debated against each other. On the democratic ticket we had students who represented Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Mike Gravel. On the republican ticket we had students that represented Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.
I was on the democratic ticket representing Barack Obama. The topic that I debated about was National Security. At first I really didn't know what national security was about, but after doing some research I learned a lot more about this particular topic. I learned about our country's vulnerableness to terrorist attacks and how we need to increase our nation's security. I also learned about America's stance with other countries and how we feel about other countries. I felt that I did well debating against the representative for Mike Gravel and Hillary Clinton. The only problem during the debate was that the student representing Hillary Clinton was not prepared and I wasn't able to debate with that candidate about the issue. That was frustrating for me. Overall, I believe that my "team" for Barack Obama did extremely well and that we all were able to present our points well.
After the debate we had our elections. Barack Obama won for the democratic ticket meaning that our group had debated well and convinced our fellow students to vote for the candidate we were representing. This mock debate and election was a great learning tool for me. I learned a lot about the candidates that are running for president and what their plans for America are. Overall, this learning tool was a great experience for me and I was very happy with the outcome of the debate and the election.