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Thank you for reading my Blog!

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Sources

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League of Legends has always been a big part of my life. From the first time I saw it, I knew that it was a fun game. I would always wanted to play but my mom was against the idea because she said, and I quote, “You spend to much time on the computer, I don’t want to see you on the computer any longer.” (I was 10 at the time). This was a heartbreak for me. My friends would talk about the game in school, so I felt like an outcast. (This is probably the only story you’ll hear about feeling like an outcast, because you didn’t play video games.) I brought it upon myself to research the game so I got to know the lore of the game very well. It was amazing. I secretly downloaded it behind my mothers back and played the game any chance I had.

It was also at this time that I introduced myself to the NA LCS (North American League Championship Series). This was a competitive version of League of Legends (or LoL for short). As I got more involved in the game but a new thing about the game caught my eye. The World Championship Series. The best teams from Asia, Europe, and of course, North America would play against each other. I would always root for the North Americans teams, as all of the North American teams were from the United States, but mostly for Cloud 9.

Traditionally at Worlds, NA teams would be one of the top two nations, beside Korea, but this year, we lost to Europe. Europe has historically been under performing compared to the North American teams. By Quarter Finals, most Chinese teams, most north american teams, and all of the Korean teams have lost, to European teams. Cloud 9 losing, to a European team, has made me feel embarrassed as North american player but, having a North American Team at worlds allows me to show my identity to other people playing the gaming. It shows that I support the teams that I identify with, I’m american and live in America so I support American Teams.

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This article represents me and the millions of people that share the same heritage and culture. Because of the many Asian American movies and shows that has released over this past year, we are able to see the influence that these movies have brought onto the Asian American community. Asian Americans can now portray known characters that most people have seen either on the big screen or the T.V. rather than dressing up as an anime character and trying their best to explain who they are to people that are unfamiliar with anime or dressing up.

In my seventh year of middle school, I dressed up as Ichigo from Bleach for Halloween. I bought orange spray-on hair dye, sewed my costume together, bought white ribbon, and even bought his trademarked mask. On Halloween, there were a few people who knew who I was supposed to be, but a lot of people just asked question and it feels bad when a small amount of people can recognize who you are, while most just pretend that they understand who you are. These movies and shows have given me a place to feel comfortable. Instead of watching a movie filled with white people, with their token colored characters, it's nice to see movies and shows made up of minorities while having a token white character.

Although they only show Asian Americans in costume, I think other races should dress up as characters from other races (as long as it is not offensive). They should be able to create their own renditions of any character that they can relate with. Dressing up as characters from other cultures can also reduce the amount of racial tension as the people that are dressing up are showing their appreciation for that character and people of that culture. A good example would be non-African American dressing up as Black Panther or non-Asians dressing Asian characters.  

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The Exterior of the box is how other people see me at first, while the interior is all the details that is revealed when you get to know me better.

On the front and back of the box, there is a Chinese and American Flag, which represents how I’m half Asian and half American.

On the top is a picture of food and of me yelling. This shows how people see me as a loud guy who likes to eat.

On the top of the interior, there is an Anime Expo badge, Nick Fury, a Cloud 9 wrist band, and a Bass guitar pic. The Anime Expo Badge represents my love for anime. The Nick Fury figure represents my love for the Marvel Movie Franchise. The Cloud 9 wrist band represents my favorite League of Legends team (Go Sneaky!). Lastly, the bass pick represents my passion for music.

 On the bottom of the box there is a Nintendo 2DS, Polaroid Film, a playing card, a USB hub, and a Drum Stick Key chain. The 2DS represents that I am a gamer. The Polaroid film is meant to represent my hobby of photography. The playing card represents how I’m spontaneous, hence why its face down, you don’t know what it is!  The USB Hub represents my major as a Computer Science major. the Drum Stick Key Chain pays homage to my job, that I very much enjoy, as a coach for my high schools drum line.

The white box represents how I’m still teachable and i have many more things to learn. The color blue is found throughout the inside of the box because its my favorite color.

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Seed Folks

In the Paul Fleischman's children's book, Seedfolks, the idea of diversity and multiculturalism is introduced to younger audiences. Fleischman does this by introducing characters from different races and ages. Some of these characters also have other distinguishing factors such as pregnancy or being crippled. All these characters are linked together by a small community garden where everyone is invited to plant their own plants and help each other out,  putting the “unity” in community. Amir is a great representation of multiculturalism because, he is always trying to meet new people in the community.

Paul Fleischman depicts Amir as an Indian man who comes from Delhi. Amir compares the cities in India to cities in America, as both countries have large cities with an abundance of people. It is later revealed that Amir runs a fabric store in Cleveland. According to Fleischman, Amir is trying  to “ … avoid contact, to treat all as foes …”(58) This quote shows Amir to be a quiet person that doesn't want much interaction.

Amir sees the garden as an opportunity to meet his neighbors. Once he joins the garden, Amir starts to grow out of his shell once his eggplants showed a coloration that the other participants have not seen before. He seemed happy to explain the strange color and talk to the other members of the community. Amir makes friends with the person that borders his plot and is taught about her polish culture. He then made friends with Royce, who made everyone feel uneasy. That was until Royce, Amir, and one other man stopped a thief, all the characters seem to respect Royce even more and treat him like one of the other plot owners.

Fleischman’s representation of Amir is very remenaciant of someone who just moved somewhere new. By showing the evolution of Amir before and after joining the garden. At first he kept to himself but, in contrast, he then openly learns about the another foreign culture. Fleischman also did his research when choosing between the Amir’s occupation and vegetable that he plants. Working in a fabric store is a nod to indian culture. Having fancy fabrics is very important in indian culture. Fabrics “. . .has a significant presence in the [Indian] economy as well as in the international textile economy”, according to Dr.P. Chellasamy and N. Sumathi in their paper entitled Indian Textile Industry. Eggplants (Amir’s choice of vegetable) is very common in indian dishes. India is the second largest producer of eggplant in the world next to China, as stated on specialtyproduce.com. He is also asked how to cook his eggplants by members of the garden.

Amir’s main conflict is trying to be a part of the community. Before the garden he was afraid of everyone and treated them like enemies unless they were deemed friendly. He overcame this by trying to be more accepting of others by engaging in conversation with others, getting to know more about people and their background, and being curious and accepting other cultures in into his life. He did this in five stages.

The first thing he did to become apart of the community is planting a variant of eggplant that many of the other gardeners have not seen. “Very many people came over to ask about them [eggplants] and talked to me.”(59) This quote shows how many people are intrigued by the plant and how Amir is able to connect to the other gardeners through this.

His second stage was getting to know Royce better. Before helping catch a robber, Royce left the participants in the garden feel “ … relieved when he left the garden.”(61). By seeing what Royce can do and not stereotyping him,  Amir was able to see Royce past his gangbanger look on the outside, by witnessing his act of courage while stopping the thief. Eventually, the members of the garden found out that Royce has sisters that he has to take care of. Through Royce’s actions, Amir was able to connect with him more, as well as the other gardeners.

Amir’s third stage was learning a heritage through conversation. Instead of keeping to himself, Amir engaged in a conversation with a person where her garden border his. Through this conversation Amir learned a lot about the lady’s polish culture. Amir has always heard about the the hard working polish men and women but, even admits that “ … I’d never know one - until the garden.” This shows how he didn’t expect to to learn anything about the Poles but he is very accepting of the fact that he is able to learn.

His fourth way that he became part of the community was by accepting other cultures ways of celebration. Amir was confused once he saw Mexican men bring food and instruments into the garden. “Perhaps it was one of their birthdays, or perhaps no reason was needed for the party.”(63) This shows how Amir thought that there was supposed to be a reason for  the food and instruments but, he later found out that this celebration didn’t really have any reason behind it. It was just a party to just relax, have fun, and connect with each other.

His final step was confronting a woman who called him out in his own store. According to the text, this woman called Amir “ … a dirty foreigner.”(64), despite both of them being foreigners. The woman apologizes to Amir, as they have became friends through the garden, and constantly saying, “ ‘Back then, I didn’t know it was you . . .’ ” (64) This shows how the garden itself was able to bring people together, even if they had a feud at a previous time.

Amir as a character seems to be pretty realistic. Amir can be related to the Daryl Davis story, where Davis was able to befriend members of the Ku Klux Klan by engaging in conversations and respecting what each party had to say. In Amir’s version of the story, he was able to befriend his “enemies” by getting to know them more through conversations. He was once a shy person who didn't want to talk to anyone. Once he started working on the garden, and started to make contact with other people, who he once saw as villainous, that's when him and his community became acquainted with one another. A lot of people today don't try to engage in a conversation with strangers unless if they have seen them around a common place of interest.

Is Seedfolks a good book to teach children about diversity and multiculturalism? Yes, it is. If you look at the book as a whole, you will be able to see the good that the book is able to teach. It shows how many different people from different cultures unite. It also shows how people will help each other out. Lastly, it shows how to be accepting of people who are different from yourself.  

The characters in Seedfolks show unification, even though they are from different cultures. “A man with a knife had taken her purse. Three men from the garden ran after him.”(60) These two quotes show how, when presented the opportunity, the members of the garden will come together to solve a problem. The problem in this case being a thief. They put aside their differences and together they helped a person in need. “When people all the time complain about carrying water, he [Sam] start contest.”(38) This quote shows how Sam is trying to get the community to work together to overcome a problem that they all experience. “Someone bring three old pots to scoop water out of cans”, “I quick go to score. Buy three funnels to make easier filling containers.”(39)  These quotes show how people are expanding on the contest winners product. This shows members of the community uniting to overcome a roadblock to benefit the rest of the community.  

Members of the garden are willing to help each other out, despite their different backgrounds.  “And it’s up to us to save them.”(10)  This quote is in regards of Wendell seeing Kim’s beans die. The characters Ana and Wendell work together in saving Kim’s lima beans. Ana spots the dying beans from an apartment building near the beginnings of the garden. Ana later informs Wendell about the dying beans. At this point, Wendell saves one of Kim’s beans and see Kim for the first time. Wendell backs away, as he didn’t want to scare Kim. We can later see that Kim fixes all her beans so they mirror Wendell’s saved bean. Later on in the book, Royce is introduced into the book. Royce, although he does not have a chapter, always helps the members in the garden.

”In return, he watered for people who are sick and and fixed fences and made other repairs. He might weed your garden or use the bricks from the building that was torn down up the block to make you a brick path between your rows.”(62)

Royce was willing to help out the gardeners without asking for much. This is one of the reasons that Royce became trusted and accepted within the garden community.

Seedfolks introduces a few characters who are different from the rest of the cast. Instead of their race, other features are brought out with these characters. Fleischman introduces a pregnant teen and a disabled man. When introducing Maricela, the pregnant 16 year old, Fleischman puts us in her shoes to feel what she is feeling in the chapter. “My body was part of nature.”(56)  By accept her pregnancy by realizing that it’s all just a part of nature allows the reader to relate even more to Maricela because everyone is a part of nature. Nora’s chapter introduces us to Mr. Myles, an elderly man bound to his wheelchair. Mr. Myles was intrigued by the garden and with the help of Nora, they started at their own plot. Introducing Mr. Myles shows the young readers that elderly people are able to enjoy the same things as middle-aged adults, teenagers, and children, regardless of disability.

Despite the book trying to teach diversity, it fails when you focus more on specific characters. This is when you see stereotypes show up, unintentionally. For example, Fleischman introduces Tío Juan and Sae Young, two foreigners who can’t speak, or can only speak broken english. Tío Juan has probably resorted to using pantomime (as stated on page 50) because of his inability to communicate with most people. Sae Young speaks very broken and basic english. The best example of this is, “When people all the time complain about water, he start contest.”(38) Another stereotype that shows up is with Royce. It is stated that “. . . people would have crossed the street  if they’d see him coming . . .”(62) It is implied that Royce, being African-American, has a threatening exterior. “ … The blacks on one side, the whites on another, the Central Americans and Asians toward the back. The garden was a copy of the neighborhood.”(26) This quote supports David Brooks’s People Like Us, which states that people are “making strenuous efforts to group themselves with people who are basically like themselves.” The members of the garden are unintentionally segregating themselves, despite the garden representing unity.

In conclusion, Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman, is a great book to show to kids to teach them about diversity and multiculturalism. The book shows people, regardless of diversity can work together to reach a combined goal. It also shows how people will assist one another if. Finally, the book teaches young kids to accept people who are different from them. Although there are flaws within each character, the book, as a whole, is beneficial to young readers.

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Asian American Panel Paper

In Asian American Dreams, the author, Helen Zia, writes a monologue from her own life experiences that introduces the rest of the chapter to a similar theme. The monologue shows how the Asian American community had standards for their children in the current day and the future as well as the role the children had within the family. I felt like I was able to relate myself to two quotes found in the monologue, because I experience what Helen Zia has stated within her monologue.

The first quote shows that Asian American parent have standards for their children. “But it was impossible not to absorb the lessons in filial obligation: much was expected from us”(167). I was able to relate to this through my brother. He didn’t get good grades throughout elementary and middle school. My parents would punish him by placing thick encyclopedias on his back and told him to hold a push-up position for five minutes. If he was to ever drop the books or break his form, he would have to start over. Once he got into highschool, that's when he started to feel the importance of his grades. He was able to finish high school with over a 3.5 grade point average. He then attended California State University, Northridge and completed a five year major with four years. A week after graduation, he got a job offer that was within his major. He currently makes more money than my parents and has better benefits than the both of them. He says that if my parent didn’t push him in elementary and middle school, he couldn’t see himself in his current position.

You can say that my parents are tiger parents, parenting that indicates a very harsh parenting style of Asian parents for higher achievements, according to Sung Ryung Lyu of The University of Texas at Austin.My parents made it a point that they were strict and not like white parents. They would compare themselves with white parents, saying that white parents wouldn’t discipline their children but would instead let their children do what they want. My mother always said that she provides a back bone of us so we are prepared for the really world, where not everyone is going to agree with the actions that you make.

My parents are always pushing my brother and I to complete more and do better that what they have done. If something isn’t completed to their liking, whether it be school work or chores, we could expect a punishment coming our way. My parents also introduce my brother and I to a competitive system where we always have to try to outdo each other. For example, my parents always pushed me to take advanced placement classes, while my brother did not. I am also expected to do better than my brother in college and get a better job than him once I graduate.

The second quote shows the roles that Asian American children play in the family. “No one said it out loud, but it was understood: one day my siblings and I would support our parents...”(168).  As of now, there are five people living in my house; me, my mom, my dad, my brothers, and my grandmother. My parents have decided to look after my grandmother instead of sending her to a nursing home. My grandmother also helps to contribute to the family by preparing meals for when we all come home. My grandmother is an immigrant from Indonesia so, we happily take her out to new places that she hasn’t seen and eat foods that she hasn’t tried. My grandmothers doesn’t speak any english but, my mother is able to translate for her, as they both speak indonesian. My brother also took it upon himself to learn Mandarin to aid my grandmother when my mother isn’t around. Since I am home more often than my family members, I do my best to help my grandmother with cooking by lifting heavy pots, pans, and various ingredients.

Once my parents are old, my brother and I are expected to take care of them in out own homes. To some it might seem strange on how you move out of your house but then you parents move back in. My family sees it as a trade system. Our parents have taken care of us while we were not able to function by ourselves, so we have to return the favor. Doing this allows our future children become more involved with their grandparents. It will also set up my brother and I to be role models for our kids so they can hopefully do the same as my previous generations have done.

As previously stated, my parents choses to host my grandmother at out house rather than sending her into a nursing home. According to caremotion.com, adjusting to a different schedule and assimilating to a new area can be hard for the elderly. In nursing homes there is a chance that they are getting the proper care they need and can be neglected. While living at home with family is easier for them. They know everyone in the house, they are able to communicate with other people, they are able to do what they want when they want.

In conclusion, I was able to relate to Helen Zia and her book, Asian American Dreams, the most from two quotes. These two quotes are “But it was impossible not to absorb the lessons in filial obligation: much was expected from us”(167) and “No one said it out loud, but it was understood: one day my siblings and I would support our parents...”(168). These quotes talk about what is the goal that Asian American parents set for their children and the what they can expect from their children in the future.

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I feel like this song represents my identity because of the emotions of the players and feeling that is portrayed from the music. First off, I am a very musical person and this song represents my identity because there are actual people making music and having fun and jamming together. This represents me because I try to make friends with people around me and have fun with them from time to time. A minute into the video you are able to see that the guitarist is very focused. This relates to my identity because at home my parents see me as a hardworking student.

The music that is played is a funky jazz, which is my favorite kind of music and I will force everyone to listen to this band. Its a low volume song that's relaxing and is easy to hear every component of the song. This represents my identity because I feel like I am seen relaxing when I’m not in class, or doing anything that doesn't require brain power. A few of the instruments also relate to my identity. For example, one of the instruments is a ceramic lamp shade and reveals that I’m a creative person. Another instrument in that is being played is the bass. Throughout high school, I became known as “”the bass guy” because I was the self appointed best bassist in my school. This is how Dean Town represents my identity.  

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Introduction

Hi! My name is Brendan Thompson and I am enrolled in CSUN. Before CSUN, I was enrolled at Taft Charter High School. There I was part of the marching band, drumline, concert band, jazz big band, and the concert orchestra. I also was apart of the Key club and the track and field team. I graduated from Taft with the Honors Award as well as the Multilingual Award in Korean, although I wouldn’t call myself fluent.

In my free time I enjoy playing videogames, playing music, and hanging out with my friends. The games I usually play require quick and adaptive thinking. I am in a band with a couple of my friends and I am able to play bass guitar as well as the drums. Most of my friends are moving out of the valley for college so we usually video chat to keep in touch but I always try to find time to hang out with my friends.

I currently work for the Taft Marching Band as a coach for the drumline. My job requires me to inspire the students and to help improve their playing. It is a pretty good first job because it automatically throws you into a leadership positions, although I am leading high school students.

Please stay posted for updates on my blog!