Urchina Journal 3

Hello again. The weather has started turning colder. As it turns out I’m missing some fish in the stream. Specifically the dolphin fish, this has ripped me of my motivation. The frog told me I’m missing the dolphin fish. They tried to put some in the water but they didn’t put enough and they all died right away. The road lovers are hopefully but I know better than to be hopeful. I was hopeful today and the fish all died anyway. I discovered a lot about the stream and how I’ve always known there weren’t dolphin fish but I never realized what that meant. Anyway I’m sad now. I’ll go to sleep.

Urchina Journal 2

 Hello again. The water was a bit murky today and the sky was overcast. My toes feel cold as the weather has become chilly. I know you were worried about my friend. Well no cause for alarm as she completed her presidential duties AND assisted me with my manuscript. She truly did ascend from the heavens. I’d like to believe if she was one of the actors she would be the one who tries to send me a message that I’m in a show. That or she is too nice and fake. The idea that they are all actors really has the capacity to ruin a genuine friendship. Just the idea. I may ask my friend to continue searching for foxes with me. Yesterday my fox Prince died. Died in the dead of night during the noble war. Fighting off those who had risen from the dead. Poor Prince, I buried him and gifted him a beautiful gravestone. It read, “Here lies Prince, my perfect baby, may you rest.” I cried. Anyways, the woman road liver came home from a day at work. She mends people. I finished my blood jug, decorated it beautifully, and filled it with water. Now I don’t have to drink those G waters anymore. I got new clothes a couple days back. Joyful moment. I have an exquisite knife on the way along with a beautiful crystal. Cannot wait for their arrival. Meanwhile I must finish much work. I’ll be seeing you.

Urchina Journal 1

 Hello. I woke up again today. Surprising. Went for a walk, in the water. Was about a foot deep today, must be going through a drought. I saw my friend. She made me angry, again. She got swept in the water though. Poor thing. Couldn’t even catch a fox, didn’t know that adult foxes aren’t friendly. Must befriend a baby if you want them to be loyal. Saw my other friend. She struggled with her presidential duties and offered to write my manuscript in exchange for me assisting her. She was very loud. I accepted, but she got swept away by the water. I’ll see them tomorrow though. The water evaporates you know. Felt sad today. A bit under the weather, there wasn’t any weather though, we are in a drought I guess. My bed looks like a nest today. I’m forced to strip it. Last night I pulled a brick out of the bridge and dropped it on my head. I quite enjoyed that. I won’t be doing that again tonight. Maybe I’ll work on my manuscript tonight. I’m a month behind on my work. I spoke to the frog again. She said that if I was right about the fish that swim in the water, once they lay eggs she will give them to me and I will be able to do my work. I think I’m quite right about the fish. There are many things in the water that they don’t know about. Wish they did. But then I would lose my mystery wouldn’t I. I cooked for the ones who live by the road. They liked it I think. The hitchhiker is back. Invasive species. I must get rid of it before it gets rid of me. Road people seem to be off put by me recently. I wonder why there are so many fish in the water. The hitchhiker keeps trying to sell me on his product. Dirty traveler. He pretends to know much and go many places, but he just goes down the street and comes back. He sells to make a living, but it is a life without value. I want to travel too. Once I can leave the bridge. 

Journal April 13,15,17

April 13, 2020

I’ve started eating hot dogs again. Usually I don’t like them, but as a kid I would always eat them. My dad has decided that he will be grilling them almost everyday for lunch and they have comforted me in a weird way. Just feeling like some time everything will go back to normal. I still feel like I haven’t set into a routine yet. It feels like the start of school figuring out my routine except instead of excitement it feels like everyone is just sad and confused. On the brighter side I have been able to make a lot more meals for myself based on what I want instead of when the school has to offer.

April 15, 2020

Today I’ve thought about how much I miss my Wii. My parents got rid of it a few years ago and it really held some of my favorite childhood moments. I remember my favorite game was Super Mario Galaxy which I consider to be the best Mario game because it was so different from all the others. You could explore completely different worlds every time you played the game. But it also had a unique and sad story line. It felt like that game had more depth than the other games and I really miss it. Also the music was pretty cool. I wish I could buy a new Wii and that game but the pandemic has made me skeptical. I’ve found myself reminiscing on my childhood more than usual recently which has made me both sad and grateful.

April 17, 2020

I am feeling very excited for spring. However usually spring is when me and my neighbors start hanging out again and playing basketball. It won’t feel the same without being able to hangout outside with them. I also kind of want to start running again because I live right next to a park, but it has been a bit cold. I also want to start drawing again as I feel like anything I create during this time will hold memories for me to look back on later.

Journal April 6,8,9

April 6, 2020

I’ve felt more and more worried about corona virus and how it is affecting life. I feel like in the beginning of this virus I wasn’t very worried because I had rationalized that if I just followed CDC guidelines that I wouldn’t get it and everything would go back to normal after a few hectic months. However, I’ve come to the realization that this virus isn’t just attacking the country in a purely physical way. The virus has wrecked our economy, and the rate of unemployment is near what it was during the Great Depression. I now realize my life won’t just go back to normal even when the virus is gone.

April 8, 2020

My sleep schedule is gone. Like if there was any sort of schedule before this virus it is absolutely gone. Last night I stayed up till 6 reading the book The Name of the Wind. To be fair it was a very good book, but now I am very tired and will likely take a nap later. I feel nocturnal and like the days are just blending together. I really hope that this ends sooner than I think because going another couple months without physical touch from anyone other than my family is really hard. I just want to hug my friends, watch movies with them, and go to the beach. I really hope this summer can be slightly normal.

April 9, 2020

I feel like this quarantine has really shown everyone how although the internet and social media can make people feel isolated they can also really connect people. Last night I had a Group FaceTime call with my family in different states and we all got to talk and check in which was very fun. I’ve also been FaceTiming my friends every day to try and get some sort of interaction outside my family. We have also been playing video games together which has been really fun. Honestly I don’t really miss school like other people do, I guess I just miss the social interaction of seeing people in person.

The Dream

America was built on racism and injustice and yet many people refuse to acknowledge that the same racism the US was built on still occurs today. Many people in the US in order to continue pretending that society is equal and peaceful. Many instances of police brutality and pointless killing of black people like Prince Jones in the book happen daily in the US. Coates calls the idea of ignoring the racism and injustice “the Dream” and in his book he tells his son how he wishes he too could get lost in the Dream, because believing in the dream is easier than accepting the truth that the Dream was built upon racism against him. Coates tells his son, “And for so long I have wanted to escape into the Dream, to fold my country over my head like a blanket. But this has never been an option because the Dream rests on our backs, the bedding made from our bodies.” Coates shows his son that getting lost in the Dream and ignoring the reality of modern day society is simply impossible as they are constantly being the victims of racism and injustice.

Like Coates explains throughout his book, racism is not just a concept of the past that no longer exists, racism is a daily occurrence that unfortunately usually results in violence. On March 10th, 2019, Lorenzo Clerkley Jr, a 14 year old black teenager was shot twice by a policeman. Lorenzo and his friend were in the backyard of an abandoned house shooting airsoft guns. The police officer looked through the fence of the house and less than a second after giving a warning to drop the gun, the police officer shot four times at the boys. Two bullets hit Lorenzo. Recently however, the body cam footage of the incident was released. This footage shows the officer telling dispatch that he believes the guns are “cap guns” meaning the officer thought they were basically unarmed. Lorenzo after being shot is lying on the ground in handcuffs crying, and the whole time, the officer’s partner keeps a gun pointed at Lorenzo. The District Attorney however did not press charges and the officer went back to work after a paid leave. This is just another example of people lost in the Dream, asleep to the racism of society. A white officer shooting a black teenager with seconds of warning to drop the airsoft gun before firing the shots. The officer then got little to no punishment while the boy had to recover from two bullet wounds. Coates addresses racism like this in the book, on page 130 he says, “Our current politics tell you that should you fall victim to such an assault and lose your body, it somehow must be your fault.” This stance by Coates changed how I felt about the article because it just showed even though Lorenzo wasn’t hurting anyone, and the officer didn’t think he had a real gun, the blame still fell on him while the officer didn’t even get punished.

The Dream doesn’t just protect those who believe in it, it also hurts people who the Dream was created by suppressing. Lorenzo Clerkley Jr was just one example of the many people hurt or killed by the Dream. On page 111, Coates tells his son, “The Dream of acting white, of talking white, of being white, murdered Prince Jones as sure as it murders black people in Chicago with frightening regularity. Do not accept the lie. Do not drink from poison.” Coates is making sure his son knows that the Dream of racism and injustice not existing is poison and is in fact the thing that causes the death of many black people. Coates refuses to believe in the Dream especially after he has seen its effects on black people and how dangerous believing in the Dream can be. I agree with Coates that people in modern society need to wake up and stop believing in the Dream that racism doesn’t exist or that our society is making huge steps towards equality. Our modern society is nowhere near equality and unless we start waking up from the Dream and persecuting officers who cause senseless murders and we realize the racism in our world, the Dream will continue to murder people like Coates says it does.

Standardized Testing

Image from CNN.com

They file into a room, no talking, no drinking water, no going to the bathroom, forced to silently struggle to answer questions that determine their worth. They are rated on a scale of how intelligent they are and their worth is defined by a few numbers. This is how young children are treated in our society. 

These standardized tests are implemented around the country as part of a George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act. This act used standardized testing of the children in schools to evaluate the school and the teachers. The intent of this act was good, but the result was terrible. Students go under a large amount of stress during these tests. Sitting in a room for hours without being able to speak or ask for help shouldn’t be how schools run. However children in elementary school are going through this. 

Stress isn’t even the only negative effect, entire school curriculums have changed, and not in the intended way. The act was supposed to help improve teaching in schools and make sure the children were learning. Instead of making teachers teach the students more knowledge, the act made teachers teach students how to succeed on standardized tests. Much of the curriculum has become focused on the information on the tests rather than giving students a broader knowledge of subjects. Studies have shown that 71% of schools have shifted their focus from history, art and music to subjects that the students are tested on. This leads to kids losing knowledge rather than gaining more knowledge, and students aren’t able to focus on a subject that might be their passion. 

Students should not be forced to take these tests that not only define their worth, but cause stress. Schools should focus on teaching the students to broaden their knowledge rather than teach them how to take a test and succeed to boost the school. Standardized testing is a waste of time and energy for the students and is detrimental to the school system.