Writing Portfolio

Reflective Letter

Dear HCC Writing Instructors,
Writing 101 has been an interesting experience for me. Before I came into the class, I was considered to be one of the excellent writers in high school. Therefore, when I registered for Writing 101, I though it was going to be a piece of cake. Well, I was wrong. Writing 101 has changed my thinking about what a good writing should be. When writing is no longer about the number of pages or the length of the words from thesauruses, the truth began to reveal. Hence, I’m writing this letter to you to explain my strength and weaknesses as well as the progress I’ve made during this quarter in Writing 101.

As the class goes on, I realize my strength as a writer lays in stories and personal experiences. When I included stories that I’ve heard before or experiences that I went through, my essays became more original, individualistic, and connected to the readers. For example, in the letter that I wrote to the director of Puget Sound Early College, I talked about the bullying that goes on at our program. However, to talk about how bad bullying is and never experience it in real life is like saying how delicious chocolate is without ever tasting it. Therefore, by including my personal experience in the letter, I could show the readers the negative effect bullying has on a person’s self-esteem and confidence first-handedly.

Along with strength comes weaknesses, and my weakness often can be seen through the thesis in my essays. To have a strong thesis, my instructor developed four criteria that the writer needs to keep in mind when writing a thesis. The four criteria are arguable, concise, clear and specific. A thesis cannot exceed without meeting all four standards and my theses often don’t. For example, in the reflective letter, my thesis originally was “The experience at the Highline Food Bank allowed volunteers like me to see that everyone has the power to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of others in the community that they lived in.” Even though my thesis was quiet specific, it was wordy and therefore, not concise or clear. However, I have changed to a more concise and clearer version of " The experience at the Highline Food Bank proved that everyone has the power to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of others in the community." I’m working on all of the criteria that build a strong thesis and I believe that by the end of this class, my thesis will be arguable, clear, concise and specific.

Even though one quarter of Writing 101 didn’t make me awesomely good at writing like I hoped, I’ll sure leave the class as a better writer than when I first came. At the beginning of the quarter, my essays were wordy and impersonal. I didn’t show any connections that I have with the topics or readers. My word choices were boring and even seemed like I spent more time looking through the thesaurus than working on the actual essay sometimes. I was stressed out about how to make my essay sound intelligent. Now, a quarter later, I have a better focus when it comes to writing. No more thesauruses. My sentences are more concise and less wordy. I also have become more personal in my writing. I now write the way I talk, allowing my real voice to shine through. Because of all this, my writing is more interesting and original, real and connected.

As Writing 101 comes to an end, I finally see my strengths and weaknesses in writing, and therefore, am able to work on improving my writing skills. It has been a challenging course for me, but at the same time, it opened my eyes to different aspects of life and allowing me to see that it’s better to show my true self than pretend to sound like a walking thesaurus.

Sincerely,
Nhien Quach


Final Revision of Essay #3

Dear Director of Puget Sound Early College,
Before coming to Puget Sound Early College, I pictured the school to be a democratic school with a mature and considerate student body. I expected every single student here to treat everyone else with manner and respect. I got what I wanted to see, for the most part. However, there are still few individuals who don’t seem to fit in with my expectation of PSEC. Hence, I am writing this letter to you in regard to the ongoing harassment at Puget Sound Early College.

Before we get into the issue, I would like to acknowledge the difficulty of directing young programs like PSEC and I recognize it to be a very hard job to handle. I am grateful for people like you who are willing to take the responsibility and provide the leadership needed. I know that with your power and passion for the school, you would make the best decision possible to create the PSEC that we envision.

Coming from a traditionally big high school, I understand that harassment like bullying is unavoidable when different groups of teenagers are put together in a small environment like PSEC. I have never been a bully before but I have friends who bully others. People bullies their classmates or someone who is weaker than them because they feel powerless or not in control when they’re at home. Because of that, they bully weaker kids so they can feel the power and have the reassurance of being in control. I remember one of my high school friends who started to pick on the “nerds” in class after his parents got a divorce. He decided to take it out on the “nerds” in class because he had no one to talk to. He felt like he had no control over his life and there was nothing he can do to change the situation that his family was in. It was very hard for him and I understood why he needed a way to let it out. It is tough trying to suppress emotions and feelings, especially as one stumble through rough times in life.


However, going through harsh time or not, it’s unacceptable for a person to harass others who might be weaker than him. Everyone needs to recognize that bullying others is not the answer to any problem. PSEC, as a democratic school, values everyone equally. So who to say one has the right to bully the kid next to him? It is disrespectful, crude and unjust. Nobody wants to be teased or beat up. I can assure you that because I’ve been there myself. When I first came to America, I couldn’t speak English very well. As a result, I got teased by my classmates whenever I spoke up in class. They would say jokes about me, or imitate my accent and then, laugh at it. I was so embarrassed by the way I talked that I decided to stop participating in class. It destroyed my self-confidence and pride. I hated myself for being who I am, the Asian girl who can’t talk right. The experience was so hurtful that it took me a long time to just get over it. Even though I’ve finally realized that my accent is one of my unique characteristics, I know that not everyone have the family or friend support like I did to fight the negative impact bullying has on one’s self-esteem. Whether it’s teasing or actual physical hostility, harassing others is wrong and no one should take part in it.


I know you understand the importance of creating a safe environment where students can feel comfortable with being who they are and what they represent. I think one of the steps we can take to end the bullying at PSEC is to simply create awareness. Once everybody is fully aware of the issue of bullying, I believe we would keep an eye out for one another and therefore, keep the bully from picking on people. Also, we should encourage students to talk to advisors if they are being picked on or picking on others. We need to help our students and friends solve their problems through a positively creative ways. This is our school issue but at the same time, it’s very personal for me. I have experienced it first-handed and I don’t want anybody to go through what I went through. It’s a big subject to tackle but I believe that as a democratic school, we have the values and qualities needed to solve it.

Nhien Quach


Final Draft of the Last Out-of-class Essay (Essay #5)

From Food Bank to Better Community
When I was younger, my grandma often brought me along with her to a temple near our house to help out the homeless and beggars that stay there. Because I was little, all I really did was following my grandma in the kitchen and do what I was told to do, which usually ended up as washing dishes. Thus, I didn’t really get to meet the people that came to the temple for food. Now looking back, I wished I had a chance to learn more about the people and their stories. After all, a person cannot live long enough to experience everything on her own so one way or another; she got to learn it from others. That’s why the moment I saw the opportunity to volunteer for the Highline Food Bank, I couldn’t stay away. It didn’t just bring back the old memory at the temple with my grandma but also, it allowed me to have a better understanding of the struggles that people have to face everyday and learn how lucky I am. The experience at the Highline Food Bank proved that everyone has the power to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of others in the community.

As the project comes to an end, I realize it was so much more than I expected. Even though volunteering for the Food Bank was one of my top choices for the project this quarter, not everything started on a right note. The first Tuesday that I showed up for the Food Bank, the lady in charge of it wasn’t there. The Food Bank itself was a tiny, little room, about the size of a walk-in closet. In fact, it was so small that four people can make the room crowed. I like space and the size of the Food Bank was disappointing to me. However, the second time I was there, I got to meet Susan, the lady in charge of the Food Bank. She was so nice and sweet. She asked my group to make a box to hold donated, old cell phones and chargers that will be given to the “Soldiers to Soldiers” program. Sarah, Kathryn and I had a blast making the box as we blew up balloons with helium and decorate them. For the last two weeks, we went to the Food Bank every Tuesday to mostly help out with making advertisements to put up around campus. I have had such a great time that the whole thing didn’t feel like completing project assignment for Writing and Sociology at all. It’s also nice to know that as we put our posters up around the campus, more people come to the Food Bank for food. I’m really making a difference in my community and boy, it feels good!

The work I have done at the Food Bank makes the community a better place. Even though my group mainly makes posters and advertisements instead of actually hand out food to the hungry people, with our posters, we create awareness among the people in the community of the resources available. Without our posters, the people who are in need wouldn’t know where to turn to when they’re hungry. In a way, I would like to think that we didn’t just create posters; we created support and the comfort of knowing the Food Bank is right there on the main campus just in case anybody needed it. As a matter of fact, a woman who couldn’t afford food for her family of five kids, came to the Food Bank the other day for help after seeing the signs we made outside the Student Union Building. I helped somebody! Even though what I’ve done didn’t bring the human race anywhere near the end of world hunger, I sure left the community a better place than when I found it.

The Food Bank experience helped me become a better person. Before volunteering for the program, I didn’t really value the food I have every day. I didn’t realize there are many people, right in our community, go to bed hungry at night. After helping out at the Food Bank and talking to Susan, I stopped taking food for granted. Now, I only take what I can eat and save the rest for later, instead of taking everything there is and ended up throwing half of the meal away just because I couldn’t eat it all. Also, after going to the Food Bank a few times, I learn that small things in life can make big differences. For example, Highline Food Bank is collecting old cell phone and chargers for “Soldier to Soldier”, a program that collects and sells old cell phone to raise money for the aesthetic legs and arms that local wounded soldiers from Iraq needed. Who would have known that an old cell phone I was about to throw away could transform a soldier’s life? I do now. It is so satisfying to know that my work truly makes a difference in someone else’s life and in the community, instead of just creating another one of those long, wordy essays that will be thrown away at the end of the quarter.

Volunteering for the Food Bank had been a great opportunity for me to learn more about the challenges that people are facing in our community. It allows me to look beyond my sheltered life and be more thankful for what I have. The experience also taught me that it doesn't require much to improve the community .My work might not change the world, but I sure brought it closer to where it should be . From Food Bank to better community, all we truly need is a little bit of love and the will to make a difference.


Final Exam

Technology = Changes

I remember the old days, where people used to take out pencil and paper to write a letter, or when people still went out to buy a birthday card and wrote messages without spell-check. Well, those days are long gone as technology takes part in our every day lives. People have also changed the way they act in general as technology like social networking websites become the main tool of expressing our feelings and thought. Technology, as a socializing agent, allows people to be more open and less personal about their lives.

For the last ten years, technology, such as the Internet and all things that come along with it, has become a big socializing agent in our society. It changes the way people communicate, think and work. For example, in the article of “Love is out of ink: Valentines in the age of the emoticon”, published by the Christian Science Monitor, the author compared the way people express their love for one another back then to now. “Once upon a time, men and women of culture grabbed a quill, dunked the tip in ink and penned away. “My angel, my all, my very self,” wrote Ludwig van Beethoven to his secret beloved in 1806.” Today, the messages leave at a click of “SEND” and arrive in a nanosecond somewhere half-way around the world. “Instead of ink stains, they may be peppered with smiley-faced "emoticons," links to YouTube videos, or a Facebook picture page”. Technology has changed the way people write letter, express their feeling and in general, communicate with one another.

Because of technology and the way it operates, people have become more open and less personal about themselves or their own business on the net. What used to be something private, like their sexuality or family background is now often can easily be found on the person’s Myspace or Facebook. For example, in the article “Love is out of ink…” by the Christian Science Monitor, social networking websites like Wetpaint.com, a website that helps Internet users build a personal page, not only facilitate the creation of multimedia digital shrines for loved one, they also make love statements public. According to the article, “some users even encourage visitors to vote on whether the couple will make it or break up.” Along with this, social-networking sites also reinvented the holiday like Valentine’s, making it less emotionally charged, allowing people to be less personal about their relationship with others. Sending a dozens of roses, a box of chocolate or even just a card from a nearly Hallmark store, like the old day, seems so heavy and serious in a way. Now, with just a couple of click away, you can send a little e-mail or e-card, showing your love, care and though for the other person, without having to deal with the weight and pressure that came along with roses and chocolate.

Technology, as a socializing agent, has a good side and a bad side to it. Good thing about technology is that it allows people to stay connected to one another, despite of their geographical location. According to the article, technology has completely changed the way that couples are in touch with each other. With technology, couple now can see each other face to face even if they are miles apart, thanks to the power of webcam. People can also post their pictures to social networking sites such as Myspace. The down side to technology is the sexual predation and identity fraud. With all the pictures and personal information available, these things can easily happen. Also, based on the article, people get to a level of personal disclosure about their feelings much more quickly than they do face to face, creating a new boldness to make decisions that become public, that might be regretted later.

Technology, like the Internet, has become a big part of people lives. As a socialization agent, good or bad, it sure changes the way people think, communicate and work. Technology has made people to be more open, and at the same time, become less personal about their business. People have more connections with others now, thanks to technology and the Internet, even though those connections are not as deep as it used to be. After all, it kinda difficult trying to have personal relationship with 5oo friends on Myspace.

Essay #5 ... Reflective Essay _ From Food Bank to Better Community

When I was younger, my grandma often brought me along with her to a temple near our house to help out the homeless and beggars that stay there. Because I was little, all I really did was following my grandma in the kitchen and do what I was told to do, which usually ended up as washing dishes. Thus, I didn’t really get to meet the people that came to the temple for food. Now looking back, I wished I had a chance to learn more about the people and their stories. After all, a person cannot live long enough to experience everything on her own so one way or another; she got to learn it from others. That’s why the moment I saw the opportunity to volunteer for the Highline Food Bank, I couldn’t stay away. It didn’t just bring back the old memory at the temple with my grandma but also, it allowed me to have a better understanding of the struggles that people have to face everyday and learn how lucky I am. The experience at the Highline Food Bank proved that everyone has the power to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of others in the community.

As the project comes to an end, I realize it was so much more than I expected. Even though volunteering for the Food Bank was one of my top choices for the project this quarter, not everything started on a right note. The first Tuesday that I showed up for the Food Bank, the lady in charge of it wasn’t there. The Food Bank itself was a tiny, little room, about the size of a walk-in closet. In fact, it was so small that four people can make the room crowed. I like space and the size of the Food Bank was disappointing to me. However, the second time I was there, I got to meet Susan, the lady in charge of the Food Bank. She was so nice and sweet. She asked my group to make a box to hold donated, old cell phones and chargers that will be given to the “Soldiers to Soldiers” program. Sarah, Kathryn and I had a blast making the box as we blew up balloons with helium and decorate them. For the last two weeks, we went to the Food Bank every Tuesday to mostly help out with making advertisements to put up around campus. I have had such a great time that the whole thing didn’t feel like completing project assignment for Writing and Sociology at all. It’s also nice to know that as we put our posters up around the campus, more people come to the Food Bank for food. I’m really making a difference in my community and boy, it feels good!

The work I have done at the Food Bank makes the community a better place. Even though my group mainly makes posters and advertisements instead of actually hand out food to the hungry people, with our posters, we create awareness among the people in the community of the resources available. Without our posters, the people who are in need wouldn’t know where to turn to when they’re hungry. In a way, I would like to think that we didn’t just create posters; we created support and the comfort of knowing the Food Bank is right there on the main campus just in case anybody needed it. As a matter of fact, a woman who couldn’t afford food for her family of five kids, came to the Food Bank the other day for help after seeing the signs we made outside the Student Union Building. I helped somebody! Even though what I’ve done didn’t bring the human race anywhere near the end of world hunger, I sure left the community a better place than when I found it.

The Food Bank experience helped me become a better person. Before volunteering for the program, I didn’t really value the food I have every day. I didn’t realize there are many people, right in our community, go to bed hungry at night. After helping out at the Food Bank and talking to Susan, I stopped taking food for granted. Now, I only take what I can eat and save the rest for later, instead of taking everything there is and ended up throwing half of the meal away just because I couldn’t eat it all. Also, after going to the Food Bank a few times, I learn that small things in life can make big differences. For example, Highline Food Bank is collecting old cell phone and chargers for “Soldier to Soldier”, a program that collects and sells old cell phone to raise money for the aesthetic legs and arms that local wounded soldiers from Iraq needed. Who would have known that an old cell phone I was about to throw away could transform a soldier’s life? I do now. It is so satisfying to know that my work truly makes a difference in someone else’s life and in the community, instead of just creating another one of those long, wordy essays that will be thrown away at the end of the quarter.

Volunteering for the Food Bank had been a great opportunity for me to learn more about the challenges that people are facing in our community. It allows me to look beyond my sheltered life and be more thankful for what I have. The experience also taught me that it doesn't require much to improve the community .My work might not change the world, but I sure brought it closer to where it should be . From Food Bank to better community, all we truly need is a little bit of love and the will to make a difference.

Essay #4 ...Literature Review _ Women's roles in the media

“Stepford Housewives” said it all. Remember all the eager-to-please and overly-obsessive women with cleaning and cooking in the movies. It turned out to be a close description of women’s roles in media back in the day. Women’s roles in media during the 50’s and 60’s were pretty much revolved around domestic chores. However, after years of feminism, there should be some changes, to say the least. So I wonder what the changes in mass media were when it comes to gender stereotypes like women’s roles and their perspective. It’s important to learn how the media depict the subject because the media has big impact on future generations and their impressions on women’s quality and values. Therefore, people needs to be aware of the accuracy of female’s roles in mass media so kids won’t get the wrong idea of gender stereotypes that still can be seen in TV and magazine today. Researchers have studied the gender stereotypes quiet extensively, especially when it comes to women’s roles, through mass media like TV shows and textbooks. Overall, the results seem to conclude that despite of some changes, the women’s roles in the media continue to revolve around household chores and appearances. Then again, not many studies focused on magazines and commercials. The question that I would like to study becomes: “How the women’s roles and values have changed in mass media like magazines and commercials?”


Through several studies from various sources, there have been some positive changes in the media’s portrayal of women. For example, in the article of “Portrayal of women in human sexuality, marriage/family texts still traditional”, study showed a decrease in photographs of women dealing with their appearances, male-female relationship and household and mothering issues in college-level textbook. In addition, there was an increase in the number of photographs of women dealing with feminist messages of self-development, career development and world or political issues. Also, in a New York Times article, research showed that more women in film and television were shown as intelligent and as problem-solvers. Statistics prove that 69 percent of women were shown using their intelligence in movies, and in TV, 34 percents. Self-reliance was stressed in 35 percent of female characters on TV and in movies, and about 28 percent in teenage magazines. These numbers illustrate visible improvements in media’s interpretation of women’s roles, especially compare to the previous decades. However, that still doesn’t mean the rigid gender role conceptions ended.

Despite of all the improvement in the media’s portrayal of women, women’s roles continue to stay traditional in mass media and college-level textbook. From 1970’s to the 1990’s, pictures of women dealing with appearance, romantic relationships and family decreased. Nonetheless, this decrease was not steady and it was very small, too. The increase of images of women with feminist messages, career development and political issues was also small and unsteady. Overall, photographs of women with traditional messages still outnumbered photographs of women with feminist messages in college textbooks. Similarly, in the New York Times article, a study, by children’s advocacy group called Children Now, showed women’s role staying traditional as female characters are more likely to talk about romance and personal appearance than having a job or going to school. The study also showed that women were more likely to have their looks commented upon compare to men in movies. On TV, the study found that only 28 percent of women were shown working, as opposed to 41 percent of men. Researchers concluded that women’s roles in media are staying the same as they’ve always been. In addition, the result of the study confirms the preoccupations among girls, which is being attractive enough to lure a male. It has been a concern for the last 20 years, as women continue to be seen primarily as sex objects.

After examining the articles about gender roles in media studies, the main point seemed to be that media, including TV shows, movies and textbooks, is reinforcing the stiff gender role distinctions, particularly on women. This point was supported by researchers Jason Low from Victoria University of New Zealand and Peter Sherrard of University of Florida. However, they only studied about a thousand photographs of women in textbooks that were used from the 1970s into 1990s. That indicates the fact that some results from this study might have changed overtime; and there might be more pictures from a wide variety of textbooks they haven’t study that might carry a different message about women’s role. Another study that also supported the main point above was conducted by Dr. Nancy Signorelli of the University of Delaware and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The study was conducted in fall of 1996, and it reviewed 23 top-rated TV shows, 15 movies, top 20 music videos in three weeks, and 4 issues of leading teenage magazines like YM, Seventeen, Sassy and Teen. Even though the study did focus on the most popular media tools, the target audience of these media sources is teenaged girls. Although teenaged girls will grow up to be women, the lack of focus on women’s main media sources like Oprah magazines might cause the study to be incomplete. However, the end results from both studies are consistent with one another as they both show the roles of women stay traditional in the media.

After reviewing all the studies in the literature review, it is quiet clear that women’s role continues to stay traditional in textbooks, movies and TV shows; but we still don’t know how the gender’s roles have changed for women in the media, like commercials and magazines, since the start of the new century. In the two studies mentioned, there have been some positive improvements in women’s role in media, despite of the continuing existence of stereotype gender roles, which mainly revolves around appearance and relationship. So what we need to find out is: “How have women’s roles and values changed in media sources like magazines and commercials since the beginning of 21st century?”

Citation:
- Portrayal of women in human sexuality, marriage/family texts still traditional. (2000, Winter). Media Report to Women, p. 6.
- Smith, D. Media More Likely To Show Women Talking about Romance than at a Job, Study says (1997, May 1). The New York Times, B.15

Essay #2 _ It's Time For A Change, Sisters (Revision)

I often buy magazines like TeenVouge and Seventeen at the beginning of every school year so I can check out what’s hot and what’s not for the new school year. As I was looking through all the advertisments in the August issue of TeenVouge magazine, an Guess ad caught my eye. The ad in the magazine seems to portray a lot more than just a sophisticated and luxurious new brand of accessories from Guess . The center of the ad is a beautiful woman, with her revealing lingerie on and her hair is beautifully done. She is kneeling on an exotic and oriental-looking couch, a man sitting right beside her, his hand lying on her tiny waist. Despite of the beautiful setting and clothing that she has on, the woman seems to want something else as she looks away from the man, avoiding eye contact. I feel like she doesn't accept the situation she is in but there is nothing she can do about it because that's just what our culture expected from women. In Guess’s ad, gender inequality forces Americans to view women as objects that are owned by men.

Gender inequality appears to be something that would never change. More than a century has passed since the first women’s right revolution started and yet, men is still more superior to women. For example, back in the day, in Aristotle's Metaphysics, the Greeks associate male gender with light and good while female is connected with dark and bad. Similarly, the system of opposite in Chinese philosophy, called the Yin and Yang, associate Yin with female, which are even and darkness whereas Yang are male, odd and light. Even though there're differences between the two systems, the males always ended up with higher prestige. As one know, the Greek male is "resting" and the female is "moving", according to Aristotle's Metaphysics, while the Chinese male is active and the female is passive. Apparently, active is better than passive. However, for the Greeks, to be free of all motion is superior to being a subject of motion. After all, despite thirty years of extreme feminist activism and much social change, virtually every important political, social, culture, and economic institution is still dominated by men. For example, the United States has yet to have a female president and only since January fourth of 2007 that this nation has a woman as Speaker of the House of Representative.

Regardless of all the sour facts and obstacles against women, we have come a long way. Yet, the men still play the more dominant roles. Unless one has been in a la-la land, I think every person must at least once wonder why society always places men in front of women. One of the reasons is described through the ad of Guess. Women are expected to be no more than objects, especially sex-relating objects. The woman in the ad is wearing lacey lingerie and she has animal-print shoes on, which can only be interpreted as sexual appeal to men. She's so beautiful with her makeup perfectly done, along with her gorgeous hair and yet, she seems so empty. There is no emotion in her face, no eye contact, nothing. She looks like a life-sized doll with human flesh and no soul. There isn’t much for her to do beside stand still and look pretty. But that's okay because society doesn't expect much from her anyway. For example, there wouldn't be any surprise for a girl like me to get married right after high school and spend the rest of my life, cooking dinner for my husband and children and cleaning the house. However, if it was my brother who ended up fixing dinner or cleaning the house, my whole family would be in shock and rage. It’s just not acceptable in our culture. In the end, as society stays men-dominated, women continue to be seen as objects, without motivation to follow her heart or intelligence to think for herself, no matter how far away it is from the truth.

As a woman who is working hard to earn her place in society, it’s intolerable for me to accept gender inequality. It’s not fair for a woman to work twice as hard as a man and still ended up lower in this world. It’s time for a change, sisters. It might be hard to achieve gender inequality but it’s not impossible. From Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Alice Paul, American women have done it. They have fought for the rights of American women everywhere. But that’s not enough. The battle is not over. Recently, I’ve read an article about a Manhattan woman, who was fired from financial powerhouse Lehman Brothers Inc. because she was assertive and conducted herself in the manner her boss though only men should. She filed for complaint and Lehman Brothers is reviewing the paper and the company is committed to providing a respectful and inclusive work environment for all its employees. That’s just one story out of thousands when it comes to gender inequality and how society is treating women unfairly. America women need to keep on fighting, fight for her rights, for her future, for the future of her daughters and granddaughters. It is time to demand the power an American woman deserves, the power of equality.

From having more gray matters to being able to do things that men can't possibly do, women are capable of achieving so much more than society assumed. Just because the culture expects women to stand still and look pretty doesn't mean women have to do just that. So to all my sisters out there, the sky is the limits. Gender inequality forces America to treat women as sex objects but with determination, intelligence, and girl power, I know American women are bounded to come out on top.

Essay #2 _ It's time for a change, sisters! (Final Draft)

All Guess wants to do is depicting its Marciano brand as a striking, sophisticated and luxurious collection of clothing. However, its ad seems to represent a lot more than that. The center of the ad is a beautiful woman, with her revealing lingerie on and her hair is beautifully done. She is kneeling on an exotic and oriental-looking couch, a man sitting right beside her, his hand lying on her tiny waist. Despite of the beautiful setting and clothing that she has on, the woman seems to want something else as she looks away from the man, avoiding eye contact. I feel like she doesn't accept the situation she is in but there is nothing she can do about it because that's just what our culture expected from women. Gender inequality forces Americans to view women as objects that can be owned by men, as shown in the Guess advertisement.

More than a century has passed since Susan B. Anthony started the women's right revolution. Yet, gender inequality is still an issue in modern society. It appears to be something that would never change. Men would always be more superior to women. For example, in Aristotle's Metaphysics, the Greeks associate male gender with light and good while female is connected with dark and bad. Similarly, the system of opposite in Chinese philosophy, called the Yin and Yang, associate Yin with female, which are even and darkness whereas Yang are male, odd and light. Even though there're differences between the two systems, the males always ended up with higher prestige. For example, the Greek male is "resting" and the female is "moving", according to Aristotle's Metaphysics, while the Chinese male is active and the female is passive. Apparently, active is better than passive. However, for the Greeks, to be free of all motion is superior to being a subject of motion. After all, despite thirty years of feminist activism and much social change, virtually every important political, social, culture, and economic institution is still dominated by men. For example, the United States has yet to have a female president and only since January fourth of 2007 that this nation has a woman as Speaker of the House of Representative.

Regardless of all the sour facts and obstacles against women, we have come a long way. Yet, the men are still more superior. Unless one has been in a la-la land, I think every person must at least once wonder why society always places men in front of women. One of the reasons is described through the ad of Guess. Women are expected to be no more than objects, especially sex-relating objects. The woman in the ad is wearing lacey lingerie and she has animal-print shoes on, which can only be interpreted as sexual appeal to men. She's so beautiful with her makeup perfectly done, along with her gorgeous hair and yet, she seems so empty. There is no emotion in her face, no eye contact, nothing. She looks like a life-sized doll with human flesh and no soul. But that's okay because society doesn't expect much from her anyway. For example, there wouldn't be any surprise for a girl to get married right after high school and spend the rest of her life, cooking dinner for her husband and cleaning the house. In the end, as society stays men-dominated, women continue to be seen as objects, without motivation to follow her heart or intelligence to think for herself, no matter how far away it is from the truth.

As a woman who is working hard to earn her place in society, it’s intolerable for me to accept gender inequality. It’s not fair for a woman to work twice as hard as a man and still ended up lower in this world. It’s time for a change, sisters. It might be hard to achieve gender inequality but it’s not impossible. From Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Alice Paul, American women have done it. They have fought for the rights of American women everywhere. But that’s not enough. The battle is not over. Recently, I’ve read an article about a Manhattan woman, who was fired from financial powerhouse Lehman Brothers Inc. because she was assertive and conducted herself in the manner her boss though only men should. She filed for complaint and Lehman Brothers is reviewing the paper and the company is committed to providing a respectful and inclusive work environment for all its employees. That’s just one story out of thousands when it comes to gender inequality and how society is treating women unfairly. America women need to keep on fighting, fight for her rights, for her future, for the future of her daughters and granddaughters. It is time to demand the power an American woman deserves, the power of equality.

From having more gray matters to being able to do things that men can't possibly do, women are capable of achieving so much more than society assumed. Just because the culture expects women to stand still and look pretty doesn't mean women have to do just that. So to all my sisters out there, the sky is the limits. Gender inequality forces America to treat women as sex objects but with determination, intelligence, and girl power, I know American women are bounded to come out on top.

Essay #2 _ It's Time For A Change, Sisters (Draft)

All Guess want to do is depicting its Marciano brand as a striking, sophisticated and luxurious collection of clothing. However, its ad seems to represent a lot more than that. The center of the ad is a beautiful woman, with her revealing lingerie on and her hair is beautifully done. She is kneeling on an exotic and oriental-looking couch, a man sitting right beside her, his hand lying on her tiny waist. Despite of the beautiful setting and clothing that she has on, the woman seems to want something else as she looks away from the man, avoiding eye contact. I feel like she doesn't accept the situation she is in but there is nothing she can do about it because that's just what our culture expected from women. In Guess's advertisement, American society is forced to view women as sex object that can be owned by men, as gender inequality plays a part of American culture.

More than a century has passed since Susan B. Anthony started the women's right revolution. Yet, gender inequality is still an issue in modern society. It appears to be something that would never change. Men would always be more superior to women. For example, in Aristotle's Metaphysics, the Greeks associate male gender with light and good while female is connected with dark and bad. Similarly, the system of opposite in Chinese philosophy, called the Yin and Yang, associate Yin with female, which are even and darkness whereas Yang are male, odd and light. Even though there're differences between the two systems, the males always ended up with higher prestige. For example, the Greek male is "resting" and the female is "moving", according to Aristotle's Metaphysics, while the Chinese male is active and the female is passive. Apparently, active is better than passive. However, for the Greeks, to be free of all motion is superior to being a subject of motion. After all, despite thirty years of feminist activism and much social change, virtually every important political, social, culture, and economic institution is still dominated by men. For example, the United States has yet to have a female president and only since January fourth of 2007 that this nation has a woman as Speaker of the House of Representative.

Regardless of all the obstacles, women have come a long way. Yet, the men are still more superior. Unless one has been in a la-la land, I think every person must at least once wonder why society always places men in front of women. One of the reasons is described through the ad of Guess. Women are expected to be no more than sex object. The woman in the ad is wearing lacey lingerie and she has animal-print shoes on, which can only be interpreted as sexual appeal to men. She's so beautiful with her makeup perfectly done, along with her gorgeous hair and yet, she seems so empty. There is no emotion in her face, no eye contact, nothing. She looks like a life-sized doll with human flesh and no soul. But it's okay because society doesn't expect much from her anyway. There wouldn't be any surprise for a girl to get married right after high school and spend the rest of her life, cooking dinner for her husband and cleaning the house. In the end, as society stays men-dominated, women continue to be seen as objects, without motivation to follow her heart or intelligence to think for herself, no matter how far away it is from the truth.

As a woman who is working hard to earn her place in society, it’s intolerable for me to accept gender inequality. It’s not fair for a woman to work twice as hard as a man and still ended up lower in this world. It’s time for a change, sisters. It might be hard to achieve gender inequality but it’s not impossible. From Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Alice Paul, American women have done it. They have fought for the rights of American women everywhere. But that’s not enough. The battle is not over. Recently, I’ve read an article about a Manhattan woman, who was fired from financial powerhouse Lehman Brothers Inc. because she was assertive and conducted herself in the manner her boss though only men should. She filed for complaint and Lehman Brothers is reviewing the paper and the company is committed to providing a respectful and inclusive work environment for all its employees. That’s just one story out of thousands when it comes to gender inequality and how society is treating women unfairly. America women need to keep on fighting, fight for her rights, for her future, for the future of her daughters and granddaughters. It is time to demand the power an American woman deserves, the power of equality.

From having more gray matters to being able to do things that men can't possibly do, women are capable of achieving so much more than society assumed. Just because the culture expects women to stand still and look pretty doesn't mean women have to do just that. So to all my sisters out there, the sky is the limits. Gender inequality forces America to treat women as sex objects but with determination, intelligence, and girl power, I know American women are bounded to come out on top.

Essay #1... Community Essay_ A place to belong (Original Draft)

As I walk into the gym everyday at 4:30, there they were, a group of middle-age women on the treadmills, chatting noisily about what was on Oprah last night. Their laughter radiates such great energy as I thought to myself how fun it would be to be a part of their community. There are so many communities that I want to join as I look around. They are everywhere. It can be those treadmill ladies at Bally’s or the kids in my high school’s choir. Honestly, it is nothing more than a fancy and upgrade version for the word group. It functions in the same fashion as any group would. Playing a part of our life, community provides a sense of involvement, comfort, and connections to others. Everyone belong to a community, intentionally or not. The existence of community protects the interaction among people, and allows them to fulfill their life's purposes.


Before the discussion about community, I would like to share a brief description of what I think community is. It is basically a group of people, with similar interests or goals. With the common goals in mind, these people come and work together to accomplish what they want. For example, the homeless women in Liebow’s 'Tell them who I am' share an interest of having a place to stay overnight. They didn’t necessarily work together to build the shelter but they came and therefore, creating a community.

A community’s qualities are defined through the qualities of its members. If the people in the community often tell lie, don’t expect the group to have sincerity. However, to label them all as “liars” wouldn’t be accurate either, because not all members share the community’s overall characteristics. The varsity football team is a community that often used as example for stupidity and shallowness but through personal experiences, I know that doesn’t mean all football players own those characters. Last year, I joined an after-school tutoring program. One of the kids that volunteered to tutor there was a varsity offensive tackle. Even with practice and games, Mike still takes a little time out of his busy schedule to do tutoring just because he likes Calculus. He always says: “Don’t judge the book by its cover and don’t judge me by the sport I play. Football isn’t what I’m all about, you know.” At the time, I just nodded my head and let the words fly right out the windows five seconds later, because I was skeptical.However as I join PSEC, I get to meet more people like CJ and Joshua, who are football players, and I realize Mike was right. Many of them are just as thoughtful, intelligent, and polite as one could possibly be. There are still traits that all football players share such as their physical condition. They are big men on campus after all. It is quiet easy to spot a football player among the sea of students as they look like whales among the clown fishes. Besides the muscles, some people do fit the labels that go along with football players but I believe it’s worthy to spend time on getting to know the person beyond the sport.

In every community, there are problems to fix and work to do. In the varsity football’s case, the lack of attention paid toward education is one of the biggest social problems right now. Even though football takes part in the process of passing on values and creating fine, young men for the future, the need for knowledge is still the top priority. Yet, many high school football players choose to push aside their books and papers, focusing on “football only”, hoping they would find a million-dollar contract with NFL and live a happily-ever-after life. Survey says: “WRONG”. People often forget how common injuries are in football. While the fatalities directly due to football are low, the minor injuries that can prevent players to be effective or from making the team are quiet usual. What will they do if the minor injury from last year’s game becomes long-term health condition? Where will they go if the college of their dream college doesn’t need a football player? These kids need a backup plan to fall back on. They need education to turn to when football doesn’t work out. Lack of education is a problem that existed in all high school football community. It might be twice as hard for a football player to focus on their school work as a result of long practice hour and early class leaves. However, if the players, their coach and teachers would cooperate with one another, this social problem would no longer exist. The coach, who plays fatherly figure to the players, could encourage them to pay more attention to school by letting the players have shorter practice session on the day before a test, and have a pep talk every now and then about the importance of education. The teachers should make education accessible for the players, especially when they have to leave class early, by having their office hour before school so the players could talk to their teachers about what they miss the day before. Last and most essential factor is the players themselves. They need to wake up and face the truth. They need to understand that there’s a great chance they might not make it to the NFL, no matter how good they play. They need to be more committed to education. After all, the safest route to success is education and with support from the teachers and the coach, the future of these young men is insured.

Human beings have the need for interaction and community allows that need to be satisfied. Even though Americans are becoming more and more individualistic, they still need the connection to their community in order to function properly. It might not be obvious to some but we all belong to one community or the other. The homeless women, from Liebow’s Tell them who I am, are part of the homeless community while the football players belong to the high school sport community. Without community, the football players wouldn’t be able to play because it requires more than one person to make the game possible. Without community, the homeless women wouldn’t be able to get help because there’s no reason to build a shelter for just one homeless person.Humans are co-existing and interdependent creatures. People use one another in the community to fulfill their life purposes. For example, the football player needs the coach to train him so he can earn the scholarship to go to college just as much as the coach needs his players to play well so he can have another coaching contract for the next season. The homeless women need the shelter so they have a place to stay for the night, just like the shelter and the workers there need the women so they can stay in operation. We give to take. With just one simple idea, the human race will continue to subsist for years and years to come.

After the definition, the characteristics and the social problems existed in community, it’s all coming down to this. People need community. People need community to grow, to survive, to fulfill their ambitions, and to achieve success. It lets people get involved and therefore, connect to another. After all, human beings are just like trees and in the storm, it’s always better to stand together as a forest.

Essay #1... Community _ A place to belong (Revised Version)

As I walk into the gym everyday at 4:30, there they were, a group of middle-age women on the treadmills, chatting noisily about what was on Oprah last night. Their laughter radiates such great energy as I thought to myself how fun it would be to be a part of their community. There are so many communities that I want to join as I look around. They are everywhere. It can be those treadmill ladies at Bally’s or the kids in my high school’s choir. Honestly, it is nothing more than a fancy and upgrade version for the word group. It functions in the same fashion as any group would. Playing a part of life, community provides a sense of involvement, comfort, and connections to others. Everyone belong to a community, intentionally or not. Community allows interaction among people and fulfillment to their life’s purposes.

First of all, I would like to share a brief description of what I think community is. It is basically a group of people, with similar interests or goals. With the common goals in mind, these people come and work together to accomplish what they want. For example, the homeless women in Liebow’s Tell them who I am share an interest of having a place to stay overnight. They come to shelters like the Refuge not only for a bowl of soup to fill their stomach or a pillow to rest their head. They also come for the compassion from the staff at the shelter, and the understanding from other homeless women. These homeless women at shelters like Refuge eat together, share stories from the past and talk about their days. Hilda has a bachelor’s degree in biology and wanted to be an MD. Regina believes she’ll become a publisher one day. The women didn’t necessarily work together to build the shelter but they came and therefore, creating a community.
A community’s qualities are defined through the qualities of its members. If the people in the community often tell lie, don’t expect the group to have sincerity. However, to label them all as “liars” wouldn’t be accurate either, because not all members share the community’s overall characteristics. The varsity football team is a community that often used as example for stupidity and shallowness but through personal experiences, I know that doesn’t mean all football players own those characters. Last year, I joined an after-school tutoring program. One of the kids that volunteered to tutor there was a varsity offensive tackle. Even with practice and games, Mike still takes a little time out of his busy schedule to do tutoring just because he likes Calculus. He always says: “Don’t judge the book by its cover and don’t judge me by the sport I play. Football isn’t what I’m all about, you know.” At the time, I just nodded my head and let the words fly right out the windows five seconds later, because I was skeptical.
However as I join PSEC, I get to meet more people like CJ and Joshua, who are football players, and I realize Mike was right. Many of them are just as thoughtful, intelligent, and polite as one could possibly be. There are still traits that all football players share such as their physical condition. They are big men on campus after all. It is quiet easy to spot a football player among the sea of students as they look like whales among the clown fishes. Besides the muscles, some people do fit the labels that go along with football players but I believe it’s worthy to spend time on getting to know the person beyond the sport.

In every community, there are problems to fix and work to do. In the varsity football’s case, the lack of attention paid toward education is one of the biggest social problems right now. Even though football takes part in the process of passing on values and creating fine, young men for the future, the need for knowledge is still the top priority. Yet, many high school football players choose to push aside their books and papers, focusing on “football only”, hoping they would find a million-dollar contract with NFL and live a happily-ever-after life. Survey says: “WRONG”. People often forget how common injuries are in football. While the fatalities directly due to football are low, the minor injuries that can prevent players to be effective or from making the team are quiet usual. What will they do if the minor injury from last year’s game becomes long-term health condition? Where will they go if the college of their dream college doesn’t need a football player? These kids need a backup plan to fall back on. They need education to turn to when football doesn’t work out. Lack of education is a problem that existed in all high school football community. It might be twice as hard for a football player to focus on their school work as a result of long practice hour and early class leaves. However, if the players, their coach and teachers would cooperate with one another, this social problem would no longer exist. The coach, who plays fatherly figure to the players, could encourage them to pay more attention to school by letting the players have shorter practice session on the day before a test, and have a pep talk every now and then about the importance of education. The teachers should make education accessible for the players, especially when they have to leave class early, by having their office hour before school so the players could talk to their teachers about what they miss the day before. Last and most essential factor is the players themselves. They need to wake up and face the truth. They need to understand that there’s a great chance they might not make it to the NFL, no matter how good they play. They need to be more committed to education. After all, the safest route to success is education and with support from the teachers and the coach, the future of these young men is insured.
Human beings have the need for interaction and community allows that need to be satisfied. Even though Americans are becoming more and more individualistic, they still need the connection to their community in order to function properly. It might not be obvious to some but we all belong to one community or the other. The homeless women, from Liebow’s Tell them who I am, are part of the homeless community while the football players belong to the high school sport community. Without community, the football players wouldn’t be able to play because it requires more than one person to make the game possible. Without community, the homeless women wouldn’t be able to get help because there’s no reason to build a shelter for just one homeless person. Humans are co-existing and interdependent creatures. People use one another in the community to fulfill their life purposes. For example, the football player needs the coach to train him so he can earn the scholarship to go to college just as much as the coach needs his players to play well so he can have another coaching contract for the next season. The homeless women need the shelter so they have a place to stay for the night, just like the shelter and the workers there need the women so they can stay in operation. We give to take. With just one simple idea, the human race will continue to subsist for years and years to come.

After the definition, the characteristics and the social problems existed in community, it’s all coming down to this. People need community. People need community to grow, to survive, to fulfill their ambitions, and to achieve success. It lets people get involved and therefore, connect to another. After all, human beings are just like trees and in the storm, it’s always better to stand together as a forest.