The Pin Drop.

         If anyone read my first Introductions blog, you would know that J Cole is my favorite artist. He doesn't talk about what mediocre African American male rappers talk about, ya know; the expensive things they have, sex, drugs, money. He talks about things that relate to most of his audience. Such as the cons of crime,and "the hood", teen pregnancy, adultery, etc. His smoothness and honesty grabs everyone's attention. He grabbed my attention from his second mixtape,The Warm Up which was great. His debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story sold more than 300,000 albums the first week. Pretty good. This album reflected on his personal past and present life. One of the songs I listen to on his album, almost everyday, is Never Told(video at top). In this song, Cole describes infidelity and what happens because of it. Which is very unique, because not most men admit to the things other men do. A quote he uses is "But the truth is, we all the same, on different teams, but its all a game.The objective tryna score, you gotta wife, you find a whore". Which is very risky because alot of men do this. A lot of men like to say they're different from the others but J Cole was very honest. Another song is Cheer Up (video at bottom). The first thing I noticed was the beat. Its a very catchy great beat because its something little girls would jam to. In this song, he describes how girls confide in boys, but they only want one thing: sex. Girls take their words and end up hurt. J. Cole's telling those girls to "Cheer Up". He gives very good advice young girls such as: "You see you're looking for a man like you need somebody. Get your a** off of Twitter, you could be somebody", which even relates to myself causewe look for happiness in other places such as boys and Twitter. These 2 songs really show J.Coles true colors and how he doesn't care about his image. Great.

Winter Poem.

Winter time...
The season of Christmas
Snow is white bliss
Catching snowflakes on my tongue
The taste of snow sweeter than my first kiss.

Who am I kidding?
Why am I lying to you?
My first kiss was way better.
The winter has its cons too.

Yeah, I can go on and on
About how winter is such a beautiful time
But how could that be?
When there's such a lack of sunshine.

Where Did You Go JD?

When JD Salinger wrote books, he didn't write so his books would be published and he would get paid; but his reason was for himself satisfaction. He believed publishing was a "terrible invasion of my privacy".It was peaceful to him when work wasn't published.  Considering the fact that JD Salinger is one of the best authors ever, he was pushed into publishing his books. So,he stopped publishing in 1965 and giving interviews in 1980. He was betrayed by almost everyone, even close relatives; and that turned into him breaking into a public silence. Catcher in the Rye was very popular during the 1950s, but it wasn't a very positive connotation. People believed every adolescent was like that, and if they weren't; they were going to be like it. Also, the issues in the book were very potent during that time. The book is as influential as it was then. I respect JD to the fullest. 

Holden.

Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old that goes to Pencey Prep. Well, he recently got kicked out because of academic failure. He barely cares; but that's not important. He's the epitome of a non conformist, and can lie for days. He believes everyone is phony, which is very contradictive because he can be described phony as well. He's a very lonely person because he doesn't want to surround himself. At first, I thought he was just a very mad person that was hard to satisfy, but I now believe that he doesn't want to be satisfied. It seems as if he's not happy with the world. And that everyone is phony. But everyone can be classified as phony because if they went around telling everything they felt, this world would be chaotic and dark. It depends on your definition on real and phony. I believe Holden looks for things that most ordinary people wouldn't notice and determines their fate. I commend Holden for his actions just because he's very intelligent and careful for himself. If I believed someone was phony, I wouldn't surround myself by people that I consider not real.

My Red Hunting Hat.

Holden has this red hunting hat in Catcher in the Rye that is very special to him. He wears it at random times and got it in New York for a buck. When you think of a hunting hat, what do you think of? Well, the purpose of a red hunting hat is to stand out from hunters, so they know not to shoot them while hunting for deer. Besides that, deers are color blind and won't be able to see the bright red. Now, a very good question would be is...why does Holden wear this? Is he a hunter? But my view on this is that he's hunting for phony people. And only real people know what the actual purpose is. My hunting hat is something that stand out from people, and only certain people understand it. And that would be my name. My name is something that no one else has. When people meet me, they are so baffled about the meaning of it, and why my parents would name me that? Some "bold" people might ask why am I happy about a name so stupid as mines. Those "bold" and ignorant people obviously don't know me. I believe the people actually understand, know me. Yes I know, something that small determines that. But I believe my name Shaponi describes me. Which are both unique. The people who understand it without me telling them actually know me. And thats only me and my lovely parents.

Happy Thanksgiving? :)

In my American Lit Class, I'm thankful for absolutely everyone for keeping me woke in class and staying focused. But someone in particular? I would have to say Sohrob. He seems so enthusiastic in class and fully participates. His answers are always so interesting, doesn't sugar coat anything and gives our class good discussions, with the exception of his minority statements haha. He's so cute when he answers because he gives me a clear understanding about something in the class that might not be so clear from the beginning. He's always in a good mood, and will not hesitate to answer. I loved Sohrob before this class, but having it with him just helps me able to see him instead of him in the hallways. And hopefully he sees this :)

Direction the Class Needs.

My American Lit class is going actually good at the time. I believe Mr. McCarthy leads the class in a well and mature way where if someone gets off topic of our class discussions and also doesn't let anyone get away with anything. Something that should change that's not really something the teacher can fix; and that's having everyone participate in the class. There's only like 5 people that answer all the time, especially Sohrob and Kirkland. But, the class lesson plan is well thought out and structured good. I love our class discussions because they keep me interested, even though I'm not very participatory. Also, I like my classmates because they're all very intelligent and has thoughts out of this world and actually have you thinking after the class. So in conclusion, my class really doesn't need any changes and rearrangements. :)

Cormac McCarthy Blog.

There is a theme in the Road, very translucent, however can also be forgotten throughout the book. The theme being described? Death. Something that's destined for everyone. In the book, the thing that the father has been trying to avoid the whole time is death. Cormac McCarthy had an interview with New York Times and he speaks on death in the Road. He said that death reaches totality in the book. Especially considering the fact that everything have died, including animals, plants, and the people. McCarthy believes, as said in the interview, that death is the ultimate issue in our world, and people don't take it very serious. I believe that McCarthy did a great job giving the readers a wake up call. It definitely gave me one. Honestly, death is one my biggest fears. McCarthy was absolutely correct, people don't take it serious. We are throwing the world away. Whatever we do, it will result in death eventually.

Open Letter to Charles Bukowski.

Dear Mr. Bukowski,


I give you a round of applause for the beautiful, and well thought poem Dinosaur, We. After reading it, I got quite scared, and even worried. My immediate thought? He's a genius! He's a psychic! But then further on, I found out you created this in the 70s. Question, did you take the events that occurred before the poem, or did you just guess using your creative mind? Well I personally loved your poem because it kept me interested. It seemed like every new line, was something that was familiar to me. Such as "as the supermarket bag boy holds a college degree". Its freaky, because now in this economy, even a job that uses not much intelligence or easy as "a bag boy" needs a college degree to achieve it. Also, "as the oily fish spit out their oily prey". You were referring to the oil spill we went through in the past couple years. After even the first 8 lines, I realized; us, humans are throwing our life away. Not just our life, but the world. And the reason, is us. Believe it or not. Our ignorant decisions affect everyone in the world. And nothing can change the word being destroyed but us, the american population in whole. Is that gonna happen? Probably not. But thats just something we'll have to wait and see.

Father and Son Relationship.

So my class is reading this book called the Road, about a father and a son. They basically are relying on each other to survive. The son knows way more than an average young boy would know, about the world. The father is doing everything he has to do, such as lying. But it seems like in these modern times especially in my culture, that father and son relationships have been decreasing drastically. The son seems like he's doing okay, although the conditions aren't okay. Which brings me to the question are father and son relationships that important? In some situations, you can say yes because of all the crime that is happening in the world. It comes from the young people. A lot of those young people, research based, have no father influence on them. Then you can look at someone that doesn't have a father, and might can be doing well. I actually know boys in that case. I believe it depends on just how the son has been raised. Without father guidance, or not.

John Proctor; Hero or Stooge?

        Such a title that is, besides the fact that I believe he could be both. In a way, John Proctor's character was so hypocritical. He does many foolish things like a stooge to the Puratants, such as commit adultery and have an affair with Abigail. However, he doesn't care, tries to fix it and tries to keep it a secret. I believe he does it in sake of his morals such as a hero. As I see it, if the community would find that out, it would be complete disastrous. Maybe he knows this will happen also, and tries to dodge that by denying the affair. Since Abigail is so much in love with John, that she will do anything to get John. Such as commit witchcraft on Goody Proctor. This tells me that she would also tell the community about their affair if she really wanted to. In this case, I believe John Proctor is a stooge for just leaving Abigail. Instead maybe he should have laid it on her softly and not so harsh. I mean, you cant just lead someone on, and leave them hanging? Its not just fair. So if someone were to make me vote if John Proctor is a her or stooge, I would simply mark both.
     

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

In class, we read a sermon from a man named Johnathan Edwards who explained the feelings of God. God was apparently very displeased on how the puratants were acting. Puratants are very strict on their religion. Now the big question is: what is religion?
          "It is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe". There's the definition. My belief on it? I believe that it is very ironic that the first amendment of the Bill of Rights explains the significance of "freedom of religion". There is definitely a limit to the freedom that we're supposed to have. Everyday, there is controversy on one another's religion. There is a rule where you students can't pray in school. Yet, they have freedom of religion. It just doesn't make sense. 
         Then, we have this other situation where church is seperate from state. In that case, that is total irony. How do we have an ammendment about freedom of religion, but its sepa:rate? The country needs to just sit back, calm down, and just think and try to fix all the stupid stuff we do. Thats just my opinion :)

Arrival...There Goes My Neighborhood.

          My neighborhood; the best way to describe it? Somewhere, I don't fit in. Everyone expects me to be this loud, "ghetto", girl because I live on 103rd and Lowe. A place that's 5 minutes from Beverly, yet 5 minutes from Roseland. My style, my brains, the way I walk; is just way different from everyone else here.
          In my neighborhood, you see boys with their pants down to their ankles, girls with every color of the rainbow in their hair, where you always see a boy running after a girl because she looks good to them. Somewhere I don't fit in. Where you see people always on their porch just gossiping, and garbage everywhere. Somewhere I don't fit in.
         Before I came to Whitney Young, I did fit in. I thought everything they did was normal. Now, I see a whole different world. Where everyone doesn't wear the same clothes, not always fighting, and respecting each other with manners.
          But for now, there's nothing for me to do about it, because....welp, that's just my neighborhood.

Introduction.

Shaponi Nalls. Would you think that someone with that name would be an outgoing, funny, materialistic, and short tempered girl? Well that's me. Describes me in the best way ever. I'm the youngest child; I have a older brother and sister. I'm the cutest one :) I'm the only one in the house so many people would call me spoiled. But I have to earn everything I get, which I guess is good.
I go to the best high school in Chicago, Whitney Young with my best friend Adinah; where we can scream our favorite songs down the hallway, match outfits, get mad at each other, and the next day come back to each other crying about how much we love each other. I want to go to Howard University. Its been the college of my dreams since I was in the 6th grade, when I went there. It was so beautiful, and felt like home.
I am currently on Poms team, which is so good and has won State two years in row. I believe dancing is supposed to be fun, where other people don't take it as a game. When I dance, I feel like no one can tell me anything, and I'm in the mood.
My favorite thing to do is listen to music; I can do it all day. It's a mood reliever, a way to express my feelings, and to dance to. The artist I can never get tired of is J. Cole. When he raps, I feel an enlightening feeling in my heart. Also, I love shopping. If I had unlimited $, I would spend 75% of it on clothes or something for myself. I guess I can call it selfish, but who cares? :p
The thing I absolutely hate is when people lie. That is my biggest pet peeve, something where I feel like pulling every strand of hair out of my head. When people lie, it shows their true colors. It's helpful however, its the worst thing you can do because you're betraying my trust, and its hard to get it back.
So basically, I am a person easy to get along with, but when you cross me, its hard to get me back, unless we're very close.
Well, that's all you guys get to know...for now :) Hope you guys think I'm cool, because I am. If not, please comment! Well comment either way. Bye!