Racism Then and Now

Racism has existed in America for a long time and have been shown in different levels of intensity in different fields like housing, education and politics, compare then from now, there has been an increase of work effort to bringing right to African Americans. For example, many blacks are able to afford better housing but has been kept out because of racism. Eventually it was made law that no one can be deny of housing because of their race and this made some improvement. Another example is how some schools have been segregated, that whites hangout with whites and black be with other blacks and it because most kids attend a school that is closer to where they live. However in 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated (separate) schools are unconstitutional, and this alone improved education for a lot of young African Americans. One last example, in 1963 John Lewis was 23 and was the youngest speaker attending the March on Washington and all 535 members of the US Congress were all whites, but now he is one of the 38 blacks in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. In times like the 1880’s, racism has been there at a certain extent, however groups like the Civil Rights Movement have worked hard to bring rights to African Americans of today.

Sam the Athlete – Character Sketch

Character Sketch

                Sam the Athlete by Stuart McLean is a story that has a boy named Sam as the main character. In the beginning of said story, Sam wakes up one night and tells his mom that he needs new running shoes for his first school year in middle school. The next day, his mother bought him a new pair of red runners to replace his old, rundown white ones, after he put them on and left the store “In his imagination, Sam heard the abrupt bark of a gun going off in the distance, and he was off. He was so preoccupied with wind on his face . . . so captive with the beauty of his new shoes . . . that he ran right into a telephone pole. . . and as Sam sat on the sidewalk, his head in his hands, he was thinking that he should all along that the shoes weren’t going to help. . . It wasn’t that he was worried about the teachers, or the other kids. Mostly, it was about academics. And mostly it was about the most important academics class of them all – gym class.” (pg. 62-63). Sam was determined to excel in gym for his first year of middle school because he always sucked at it. He was hoping that he would find his dream sport with some help of his new shoes and from the sound of it in early years he always had a real struggle in find the right sport for him. As the story continues, it explains how so far in every sport Sam tries, he comes across an obstacle. For example, in hockey, Sam was never able to stop on his skates and then developed a method of turning in circles until he slowed down. However, playing hockey wasn’t a total lose because Sam wasn’t bad at being goalie. On Sam’s second week of middle school, he found out about the school’s field hockey and decided that he should join. On the first practice, the team’s coach had welcomed Sam on to the team which he appreciated. Then after about 30 minutes of play, Sam realizes that the entire team were girls because the coach had been calling Sam “Samantha” and he saw other players wearing scrunches or pink shirts under their helmets and gear. After it dawned on him, Sam wanted to silently leave the field and pretended that nothing happened. However, in the end, the coach said to him “Nice work, Samantha”, which was the phase he wanted to hear ever since his first soccer game. So he stayed on the team and pretended to be a girl. Through every practice, Sam became happy because after all those years, field hockey had been his sport and he was fine wearing the uniform skirt. No one really knew about him pretending to be a girl so he could play field hockey, until one day after dinner, Sam’s dad saw him practicing his moves in his bedroom, wearing the skirt. So then explained to his dad how he had been dressing up like a girl to play, and that he has no problem about it, except for not being honest. Though after his secret was out, Sam’s mom had found out it was okay for him to be on the field hockey team and that he could wear his short at the next practice. So, in conclusion Sam is ambitious, determined, honest and nervous throughout the story.

‘House’ Journal Response

House – Epiphany

When did Harry first undergo his epiphany? How? Harry and his wife Anna were conflicted about whether should they buy an island or a suburban house. Harry had thought that it was high time that they gotten a house, however he wanted for Anna to desire a house, instead she planned on using her money to buy an island to live on, Harry even offered to sell the boat;

“because I would like to do something ordinary for a change. I am an ordinary man, and I’d like to be

ordinary just to see what it’s like”. (Pg.26).

Harry had believed that he should follow some of society’s
expectations, that it is natural and necessary for all families to live in a conventional manner. So Harry,
Anna and their kids, Doll and Joey had gone house hunting and eventually sold their boat to be able to
afford what they were looking at. The night before the moved to their purchased house;

[“Honey, are we making a terrible mistake” said Harry “Sure” Anna said “That’s the way we like to live”

“But this is different” said Harry “What’s different about it” “The boat. For instances. Now, if that was a

mistake, it was our own. This is the sort of mistake everybody makes.” “Right.” “Ordinary” Anna said…

She went to sleep, leaving him with that terrible and lonely idea, which had been his idea all along.]

(Pg.28).
This shows how Harry started to feel and slightly realized that he been too hastily, desiring a house in the suburbs like all other ordinary people, wanting to have the good things of a middle – aged, middle – class man with a mortgage and depts. Having to sell their freedom of using a boat to achieve that goal; “…and sooner or later, Anna was going to face him with it. Why hadn’t they bought that crazy island? Or a plane or a race horse? Something to feel guilty and defensive and proud about. What could you fell with a house, particularly an ordinary, sensible sort of house . . .?” (Pg.29). Feeling awful about seeking a plane ordinary life, he shown off an unexpected twist and was very contented to see Anna using a wrecking tool on the wall.

Life is About Experience

Practice at the Ice Rink
I climbed out of the comforts of a 2016 gene Nissan white rogue, escaping from the warm and dusty to fresh crisp air. I welcome the feel of a nice cool breeze from the September autumn of Metro Vancouver. Having a firm grip on the simple handle of the luggage bag that held my skates after I hauled them out of the seats beside me, I strolled across the parking lot of Pitt Meadow Arena Complex where it will be my last practice before the school session starts. While partly surrounded by the Pitt Meadows athletic park of baseball and soccer fields, the build consists three rinks and two currently at the time have been melted for lacrosse, leaving one with hard ice. Walking in the lobby at 7 o’clock am of a Sunday, I let my bag down, pulled than extended the second handle and started wheeling the bag with me, followed by the rattling of its small wheels and the echo of my foot steps as I made my way across the high ceiled lobby to where I practiced for this season. Just after passing through the motion censored slide doors that separate the cool lobby air from the cold that was trapped during the night. the draft of the rink hits me, giving me goosebumps and making my teeth chitter together, almost like someone dumped a bucket of ice along my back and arms, just ice. I ushered on, knowing that the sooner I get on the ice and get moving, the better. The sounds of my footsteps and bag dulled as the indoor terrain change from concrete flooring to rubber matting with of the addition of the rinks fans that kept the ice stern and solid. Entering the half humid change room, leaving the freeze but still having feeling the chill, I tie on my ice skates, tug on my black thick cotton glove and my white wool sweater came back out to the arena.
The ice rink is fence in all around entirely by dense, thick white walls that are up to your waist along with plexus-glass to see on to the ice. Opening the closest gate to me and stepping on, one foot after the other (almost slipping), I can almost feel the flat, smooth, glassy surface from underneath the blades. Bending, pushing off, left, right, left right . . . I gain more speed after every push, gliding, needing to start my warm up because I still feel the freeze nipping at my arms and feet. Push, cross, push, cross . . . curving around to avoid the corners and stepping backwards, I ready myself for the first jump of the morning. With the speed I have I step back to forwards, kicking my bent leg in front giving lift while simultaneously pushing myself up with my left foot from the icy floor, sent me twirling in the air, then landing, gliding backwards again, but with my right leg extended up and my arms out, holding for at least six seconds.
20 minutes have already passed and other fellow skates had come, filling the entire rink with sounds off. . . well blades on ice; scratches and thumps from glides and jumps, addition to our three coaches, whom shout out corrections and/or steps to other skaters. I’m already warm, almost hot from the movement and the air is so cold to breath, it gives me the feel of biting my teeth into scoops of ice cream that have been just taken out of the freezer.