Multi Genre Activity

Freedom Is Never Free

They tell me

'Freedom is never free.'

I know that-

More than most realize.

Freedom cost us more

Than we should have to give.

Freedom cost us blood.

It cost us the lives 

Of our fathers, 

Our sons, 

Our brothers.

But while freedom is never free, 

Remember-

It has been bought at great price, 

And so is a thing of great value.

We must defend it, 

From those who would take it away.

The defense of our freedoms

Will cost us-

More than we wish to pay.

But we must pay, to defend, 

For if we try to make freedom free, 

We forget-

True freedom is never free. 

-James Greng

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I was browsing through the internet when I stumbled in to this poem that spoke to me on so many levels. It’s about the irony of how we, humanity, have worked so hard and often denied of something that you could think is our birth right. How generations of different races have fought each other, losing in the meantime so much people who are supposed to have the same rights.

But that is the point of the poem. To make us think about how much it has cost us to be free. How humans fight for what they know is worth. Meaning we should appreciate it more because it has cost us a great deal of pain. Because of all we have lost trying to gain freedom we shall never forget to defend and protect it.

Blog's Reflection

Blog until you can't no more

In my class of Human Condition, we were taught new creative ways of letting free our thoughts. I have never been interested in writing until this class so it was interesting to find out I really enjoyed letting it all out because I was able to learn, grow, and most importantly I got to know a knew me.

This whole experience taught me that it is important to branch out to different experiences and to not get too comfortable in life because you could be missing out of something you are good at or can learn to really enjoy. It also helped me with my grammar and creativity. Although it was challenging at first to learn how everything worked and how I could incorporate other things to enrich my writing and make it more appealing to others, it paid off because now I am capable to run a blog, even though there is a lot I still need to learn.

My connection to literature is stronger than has ever been. I learned to find the beauty in writing, in how you can transmit anything you want to the readers using not only words but photos, videos, gifts and so much more.

 In conclusion, this project was one of my favorite things I learned in this class. It was different and so much fun to do because you could incorporate your own personality and other peers could be inspired or be able to relate to you.

Timeline of Black History

Multi genre Activity inspired by The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

In my Human Condition class, we were given the assignment to read and watch the movie of "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman". I got so intrigued that i decided i wanted to know more about black history. I made a timeline with some of the milestones that i found more interesting and consider made a turning point in the equal rights movement. There was so many things I did not know about this, you thought that in school they make a priority to teach subjects as important as this one. All the people and movements that were key to find freedom and equality of rights really inspired me and also made more receptive to Jane Pittman's story and hard journey.

Multi Genre Reflection

Throughout my life I have found that I have a passion for books. I think they give the ability to escape reality and enter a world of possibilities and adventure. Also, they give you a better understanding of human kind and the world. A few pages can immortalize beautiful moments. Even though I love reading I have never considered to write. I have tried but not very successfully and now I know why.

In my class of Human Condition, my professor Cynthia Pittman gave us a project called Multi Genre. It basically is different ways of writing. At first, I did not think I was going to be able to enjoy it because I thought I did not have it in me to write anything. But the more I started to explore the project the more I enjoy it. It made me realize how many different types of ways you can tell a story or even just your thoughts.

You can do a list, write a letter, do a timeline, a son, a poem, etc. Basically, you can do anything that inspires you and gives you creativity. This project taught me that there is no correct way of doing things. What works for someone maybe does not work for you and that is okay. The important thing is that you feel comfortable writing so your mind can relax and express your most inner thoughts without hesitation.

I have learned to put my thoughts in order to be able to write coherent about something, that way I can send a message about anything I want in a clearer way. Also, the project makes you practice your spelling and grammar, which is very important if you ever wish to release your work to the public. In conclusion, I think the multi genre project is an awesome way to get in touch with your artistic self even if you think you do not have one. You can be really surprised at the end.

Extremely loud and incredibly close movie vs. book

It is really refreshing how mankind has found ways of sharing stories, anecdotes, or even historical facts that can easily get under your skin, by not only telling you but by making you feel and understand someone else’s life, feelings and decisions. The key to a society where you can feel understood, respected and loved is communication and in my opinion, that is something that is clearly represented in both movie and book.

 Transmitting real emotions through paper or even a screen takes hard work and well thought out techniques. The purpose is to make the audience or readers understand certain things about a story but with different methods depending if it is a movie or a book. If you read “Extremely loud and Incredibly Close” you will find the characters personality and personal thoughts explained in more details. You can see their changes and evolution with every thought they have. Also, it is easier to interpret because you are basically in the character’s head.

 People tend to think a movie is the best way to transmit stories because it is more visual than reading. But they do not understand that because a movie tends to give a more direct message to the audience some key details to the story get lost. That means that you are not able to get all the points of view of all the characters, meaning you do not really have all the information you need to get in the story as if it were your own. That is why I enjoyed the multi genre project that was gave to me by my professor of Human Condition, Miss Cynthia Pittman. Giving the main characters their own voice and vision of the world makes a piece of art more understanding.

 The book version also gives a lot more insight in to other characters like Oskar’s grandfather and grandmother, were you can understand their story by the letters they wrote and also the place they took in Oskar’s journey of finding closure with his father’s death were the one who really ends up finding it is the grandfather. The movie’s focus was Oskar’s journey, leaving behind other characters that were also in grieve. In other words, the movie focused so much in giving the audience a happy ending that stopped feeling like real life, something I think it is a mistake because the point of the story is a family trying to find closure after a tragedy occurs and if you give an unreal happy ending the people cannot really relate to it.

 In my opinion, the book was by far most relatable than the movie. It gave good techniques to use if you ever found yourself in the aftermath of a tragedy. Also, it taught me that sometimes you won’t be able to find closure and it is something you must live with. Sometimes is better to focus on what a person meant and how she/he marked your life than just a key moment that may or may not come. Other than that, the story itself was inspiring in so many ways, the background story of the grandparents and the plot twist that Oskar’s mother knew all along what he was doing gave something special to the story. Many people still suffer from the tragedy of “9/11” that paralyzed the entire world and this story is a magnificent way of dealing with the aftermath. 

Stand Up or be Stand On

Short story: reacting to The Use Of Force by William Carlos William

There come times where you must face certain situations that, been a kid and all, you did not know could happen. Most of the time we do not get that the little things are what marks and shapes us forever. So maybe for you, reader, this is just some silly experience but for me it determined my vision on the world and what been “different” meant for others around me.

I was in third grade when all happened. I considered myself a normal kid in school, I was friends with the coolest kids in school so that meant I was cool too, or so I thought. It took me a long time to realize what friendship really looked like, but that’s another story. There was a new substitute teacher and my friends really liked her so that meant I really liked her too. The weird thing is that she did not seem to like me back.

She made fun of me, called me out in class and made me feel inadequate. My friends did not find it weird, well actually no one did, that was the first time I realized I was different. I loved my friends so much, that was the reason I always wanted their acceptance, but it was in that situation that I realized I’ve never been treated like a truly friend by them. They were always making fun of me and putting me down but I never saw it until a teacher, who was supposed to be my role model, treated me the same. That was why my friends did not notice something weird. To them that was the treatment I deserved. That’s when I knew something was wrong.

That was the start of a long journey of acceptance. Even in my lowest moments I was born to fight back, I guess that is why I told my mom everything, and ended my friendship with all those people. I always knew, deep down, even at that age where maybe I did not get a lot of what was happening or how my life was going to change forever by those decisions that no one deserved to be put down by anyone, not even a teacher or friends.

Sometimes you can feel intimidated by an authority figure but that should never stop you from speaking at loud if something’s happening that makes you feel uncomfortable. You are beautiful and anyone that says otherwise does not deserve to be in your life.



When i'm feeling blue i always turn to this amazing song.. 

Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Book and Movie

The story of Miss Jane Pittman is considered one of the most powerful stories that has affected the public. It opened the world’s eyes to one of the most tragic times the United States of America has ever seen. The book and the movie are just a few ways to not let humankind forget the lengths discrimination has gotten in the past and how it almost destroyed our humanity.

The book and the movie talked about the story of a black woman that, just like many others, suffered for the color of their skin. There were some minimal differences between the two versions, but both focused on the suffering and cruelty of the time, the effect the abolition had on the black community, and all the obstacles Jane Pittman, had to go through, in representation of all the black community that went through the same or worse.

The differences between the two versions of the story that most affected me was the ending. In the book, a girl was picked to drink from the white fountain to rebel against the segregation in the country, meanwhile in the movie the one rebelled and was going to drink from the fountain was Jane. That was the most powerful ending the movie could give. It showed that no matter how mistreated and abused she and her community was, their spirit and sense of a person with the same value as everyone in the world was intact and more present than ever.

In these modern days because of all the awareness it's easy to think that discrimination is not an issue anymore, that we have all learned to accept our differences, but sadly if you look close you will find that it's more present than ever. Our duty as human beings is to never let our guard down, to always fight for equality, freedom and love.

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