mihinis

[mihinis]

Reader’s Journal

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BYnp-stO0RnA0caq-BmLJrD15yhmAsXvC8fxGMP0BcU/edit

[mihinis]

Dear white people,

White privilege is a societal privilege that favors white people over non-white people. It’s what allows you to live a smooth life and it’s easy to miss if you’ve lived with that advantage your whole life. Since everything comes naturally to you, you have programmed yourself to disregard that advantage. This issue’s roots go all the way back to colonization, imperialism, and the slave trade. America was built on privileging white over non-white people. People that weren’t of European descent were viewed as lesser, inferior, savages, and beasts. Although these biases may not be as extreme as they were in the past, American culture still makes it seem that white people represent intellectual and leading culture. Due to this, white people do not see the faults in their system. Crystal Valentine says in her “Black Privilege” slam poetry, “ I’ll be lucky if I’m alive to make it to the stand. For some people, their trials live longer than they do.” White people would not have to worry about their safety when they are out in the streets or would not stress out about receiving fair treatment. The uncomfortable truth is that non-white people face these issues every day. Some opportunities and advantages are only available to white people. Of course, that doesn’t mean that white people haven’t worked hard for what they’ve accomplished. White privilege is more of a plus bonus and being part of the dominant group that is seen to be respected and assumed to be the best.

It’s normal to feel defensive and guilty. Still, you should ultimately direct those feelings to find solutions to help change the issue and educate yourself rather than focusing on the discomfort. Listen to the stories of people of color and amplify these voices. You have the power to educate yourself through books, articles, and social media. When you get the opportunity to educate other white people, you should do so. Without confronting white privilege head-on, the issue will continue to remain invisible.

[mihinis]

“Letter To Your Flag”

1. My favourite line from this spoken word is, “It hurts that I actually have to remember that you will happily invest more money into the preservation of wildlife than you ever will into the preservation of black lives.” Although it is hard to admit, this is a harsh reality check on how the world operates today. It seems like the government cares more about wealth and other materialistic things than the lives of other fellow human beings. If they truly did care, they would put more of an effort to make a better change and stop police brutality. However, many black lives still haven’t gotten the proper justice they deserved and many police officers have been let go free without any consequences.

2. This spoken word has the same message as Obama’s speech. They both talk about how the government doesn’t care about the lives of black people. Obama said in his speech how Donald Trump doesn’t care and never put in the work and shown interest in finding a common ground. He only cared about his own wealth and his friends and because of his actions, many Americans have died in the process including black lives. He did not make an effort to do anything about police brutality and unemployment rates. This leaves many people to be scared of even walking in the streets. The boy made a point in his speech about how they would more money into other materialistic things rather than the lives of black people and this is seen through the actions of Donald Trump. He has no sense of responsibility for any of the people in America or about their safety and well being. He never addressed how white privilege is still present within the American system or even try to combat it. A president should preserve, protect, and defend the freedoms of Americans. Although America says there is freedom for all, the culture still lacks equal rights for black people and other minorities.

[mihinis]

Let America Be America Again

1. Both texts talk about the hardships poor people, immigrants and other minorities are going through right now in America. The poem says, “I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—.” This shows how all the minorities aren’t getting the help they need from America because of the government. Obama states in his speech the exact same idea: “I understand why a white factory worker who's seen his wages cut or his job shipped overseas might feel like the government no longer looks out for him, and why a Black mother might feel like it never looked out for her at all. I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there's still a place for him here.” America at its current state right now is not helping anyone and is only looking out for the rich. These two texts talk about how America is selfish and because of that, many minorities are left to suffer.

2. The North Star is used in Obama’s speech as a symbol of new hope and a guide towards a better future. This idea is presented in the last verse of Hughes’ poem when it says, “We, the people, must redeem, The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.The mountains and the endless plain—All, all the stretch of these great green states—And make America again!” Making America a place where everyone could belong is the new goal and future destination.

3. Both texts share the same idea of talking about how America at its current state isn’t helping anyone and is not showing equality towards minorities. However, they are also different in the sense that Obama’s speech is more optimistic and hopeful. Obama stated in his speech why it is important to vote for the right person who could lead America to a better future. This offers the readers an idealistic and realistic goal to work towards and hope that they could make a difference. On the other hand, the poem is far more negative and gloomy since for most parts it talks about how America has failed its people rather than offering any hope. The poem goes onto say, “The millions who have nothing for our pay— Except the dream that's almost dead today.” This is an impactful line as it talks about how different minorities struggle to live on and the dreams of the many people who came to america to have a better life have been crushed.

[mihinis]

Eulogy To A Hell Of A Dame

Charles Bukowski

1. There is a theme of life and death in this poem. The author talked about bad drinking problems and how it killed his beloved. Lousy drinking habits can create horrible memories and can make you act out like cussing. There is also the theme of the loss of a loved one. Even though the person passed away 28 years ago, the author still melancholy recalls them. The author associates the person who passed away with drinking since it reminds the author of them. Another theme that shows up in the poem is that “life is meaningless in the end.” The line in the poem says, “you were the only one who understood the futility of the arrangement of life.” The author believed that Jane was the only person who understood this, and knowing too much about life killed her.

2. I agree with the poem because excessive drinking can lead to many horrible things. It can make a person acct out and ruin their health in the long run. It’s not uncommon to see people die as a result of alcohol addiction. Everyone also deals with grief differently. Pain of losing a loved one can go on for years. The emotions can range from anger to sadness to disbelief and guiltiness. The author coped with losing a loved one by acknowledging their pain, accepting what happened, expressing their pain in a creative way by writing a poem.

3. “here's a drink

to your bones

that

this dog

still

dreams about.”

This ending line makes me feel melancholic because it shows how the poet still thinks of the woman even after all these years. It shows how much he cared for her and how the poet hadn’t forgotten her. I like that the poem touched upon a topic that many people could find relatable. This poem reminded me to appreciate the people who are with us right now because you don’t know when you will lose them.

4. Although I do not have any family or close friends who have drinking problems, I know that many other people worldwide do. It ruins many relationships, and there is no good outcome out of it. However, I have dealth with the loss of a loved one like everyone else in this world has. When I was five years old, my grandfather died. I was too young to comprehend what death really is but I still remember grieving. It’s been over ten years, yet I still grieve over it. I don’t think I’ll fully ever heal from it either and that’s okay because it is good to face your feelings rather than hiding them. Like the author, I also associated my grandfather with what he usually did- gardening. Whenever I visit the garden behind his home, I always get reminded of how much he loved and took care of it. Everything in that garden reminds me of him. It feels very nostalgic and I reminisce the memories we had in that garden.

[mihinis]

A Boy & A Rollercoaster

The kid stepped down from the bus

His small feet hitting the concrete with a thump.

Loudly, he did cry as he adjusted his backpack straps

He looked up to tall woman

Her face soft, with a smile.

The boy quieted down.

He was a rollarcoaster approaching its first ramp.

Poem by: Mihini & Malaika

[mihinis]

Documentary 🌺

https://youtu.be/_jG-4mYs9xc

[mihinis]

Film: Crash

- I agree with the idea that we are all connected. We are all emotionally connected and feel the same emotions. We feel anger and empathy when other people around the world are suffering. We also feel happy when we see other people succeed. It doesn’t matter if they are strangers because we still feel these emotions towards them. For example, Officer Tom Hansen felt empathetic when he saw Peter alone in the road needing a ride home. The officer helped him out even though he was a stranger to him. And could have easily driven past him. Likewise, I also feel deep sadness towards what is going around the world’s countries right now, like Lebanon. Lebanon is on the verge of starvation, and living conditions have seriously worsened. Many people are living on the streets, and the elderly and poor are at high risk of COVID. Hearing about this tragic news makes me scared for them and want to help with what I could do. It is within human nature to feel empathy for the people around us.

- We are also connected to how our actions influence and have consequences on other people’s lives. Everything we think, say, and do comes back for ourselves and others. Whether these consequences are good or bad depends on the action. In the movie, Farhad yelled at Daniel to fix the door even though that was not a part of his job. When Daniel tried to explain calmly that he couldn’t, Farhad lost his temper and went on a rampage. He didn’t listen to Daniel’s advice, and these came to bite him back when his store got broken into, leaving his entire family distraught. If he had simply taken Daniel’s guidance, this whole situation could’ve been avoided. Similarly, this idea is also explored in the Greek Mythology of Pandora’s Box. In this myth, Pandora had opened a jar which she was told not to and released sickness, death, and other evil spirits into the world and created havoc among humans. Both of these situations show that it could also harm the people around us if we make a mistake. Since we are all connected, we don’t want to hurt anyone since it would make us unhappy. This feeling reminds us to think before we act.

- We feel a sense of responsibility for what is happening around us, making us want to reach out to help. We all need each other to a certain extent. For example, in the movie Crash, when Christine got into a car crash and was stuck in the car, officer John was the one who showed up to help. Since John had treated Christine wrongly before, she refused his help. However, officer John started to regret his actions and slowly earn her trust and helped her escape at the end by risking his life. At that moment, Christine only had officer John to help her, so she accepted his help. She needed the courage to make it through the crash, and officer John gave her determination to live. There have been moments where I found comfort in telling my problems to someone on the internet. Even though I don’t know them in real life, they still listened to my worries and gave me words of encouragement. We need to guide one another, because in the end, as humans, we all need someone during times of pain and suffering.

[mihinis]

I know my neighbours better by looking outside my window

1. I related to the author when she said, “When I used to stop into the café down the block for coffee, I repeatedly asked the man at the counter for his name, pledging to remember it — but to this day, I still have not.” There have been many situations where I’ve asked for another person’s name out of respect and an attempt to start a conversation and forget it immediately right after. The moment always feels like a rush, so I never seem to remember the other person’s name. I feel guilty for not remembering something as simple as a name. Another quote that I connected with was, “But I’ve developed a new hope of getting to know at least some of my neighbors better in the future. Among the rows of glowing windows, there may be a few people who have something deep inside them that would amaze me, but looking at each other’s windows, we’ll never know.” I’ve always wondered what my neighbors were like or if I would get along with them. I never had a chance to interact with any of them, even more so now because of COVID. I don’t even know what some of my neighbors look like. Once COVID is over, I plan on changing that and interact with at least a few of my neighbors.

2. When I look outside my window, I see a row of brown townhouses identical to the one I live in. Each townhouse has either flowers or a big tree in their front lawns while others still have last year’s Christmas lights attached to their garage. I also see a high way to the right of all the townhouses. I live in a quiet neighborhood, but I do hear the occasional dogs barking and children playing. I’m sure that almost every other house has a dog living in it since I always see my neighbors walking their dogs during different times of the day. I usually have my curtains wide open so I can see the entire view from my room. None of the townhouses across the street open their curtains, or at least, I haven’t seen them open it. It just makes me curious as to what kind of people they are. During the evening, I always see many children biking around the sidewalks since school is done. I always hear them cheer and laugh when I’m doing my homework. I think it makes our neighborhood more lively.

3. COVID helped me realize how much I truly depended on school as a way to socially interact with others and how I took it for granted before quarantine started. I was shocked at how quickly everything could change and how everything I did on a regular basis could be taken away. For me, that included school, my job, the trips to McDonald’s every Friday, going to the mall, and the occasional road trips I would go with my family. It never really occurred to me that everything I did regularly could be altered, especially not from a virus. At the start of quarantine, I had a hard time adjusting to just staying in my house and not being able to see my friends. I felt constantly restless and I just wanted to go out and do something. Over time, I picked up new hobbies like reading and drawing to help me pass by. As for my family, my mother’s workplace closed down for a few weeks and then opened again. Grocery trips would only be my mother and I, and my grandmother was no longer able to come. We didn’t want to risk the chance of her getting COVID. I wasn’t even able to walk my dog for a few weeks because we were too scared that something would happen if we left the house. My grandparents were no longer able to have their daily morning walks and they were stuck inside the house the entire time. I do see the world differently now. COVID made me understand how fragile routines truly are and that everything we consider normal can be changed in an instant. You can never predict what could happen in the future.

[mihinis]

Breonna Taylor

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JyynRZ2x4WjG8ET6PSwn121bgbL7McBG/view?usp=drivesdk

[mihinis]

Pictures That Represent Me

What would my life even be without my best friend? Ever since Echo came into my life two years ago, my family finally felt complete. He reminds me to always be happy and manages to always cheer me up. 💛

I love nature and being surrounded by it immediately relieves any stress I felt during that day and just makes me happy. This picture was taken at my personal comfort hideout. Whenever I feel like things are too much to handle and feel sad, I come here to clear my head.

I consider myself an actively religious person since I do study the teachings of Buddhism and go to temples. This is a picture I took of one of the most sacred temples in Sri Lanka.

Port Union is one of my favourite places on this planet just because of all the wonderful and fun memories I’ve had there. I find myself always wanting to come back here whenever I can.

I have always loved reading books since I was a child. It’s what taught me English, and how to have a creative imagination. It’s my favourite hobby and always will be.

I’m a very family oriented person. One of my favourite things in the world is going on road trips with my family. I’m forever grateful for everything they’ve done for me. (*inserts my father into this picture because he wasn’t there when I took this photo*)

I have a weird obsession with sunflowers. In all honesty I have no idea how it even came to be, but I just know that they’re my favourite flowers and always put me in a better mood when I see them. 🌻

A huge part of my story is immigrating from Sri Lanka to Canada. It is one of the hardest yet most most memorable moments in my life I’ve faced so far.

I love photography and it recently became one of my favourite hobbies. I have so much fun taking pictures of nature.

HxH is definitely my favourite show ever. I’ve watched it at a young age and it brings back so much nostalgia whenever I rewatch it. If I’m having a hard day, I would just pick a random episode to watch and it would immediately make me feel better.

[mihinis]

How does the author suffer because of constraints placed upon her due to her various identities?

The author suffers because of constraints placed upon her various identities. She experiences culture shock and the difference in the quality of life between rich and poor. Anais fell into the routine of living with her grandmother at the Bridle Path house for the weekends and holidays and then going back to living with her mother in the crumbling rooming house at Dovercourt and Bloor. The author states that “I was constantly traveling between two worlds, bouncing between the realms of wealth and need, ease and strife, ­Jewishness and blackness, childhood and maturity.” The feeling of guilt consumed the author when she looked forward to living with her grandmother, and Anais would continuously have to lie to her mother and tell her how she hated the Bridle Path visits. In the article, Anais says, “I never told my mother about the new clothes. I could never admit how happy I felt away from the grinding pressure of her disappointments.” The author felt the pressure to be mature around her mother so she wouldn’t burden her and would be able to keep her emotionally afloat.

On the other hand, Anais felt the need to be a perfect granddaughter, so her grandmother would keep wanting her back to come to her luxurious house. The author declares, “I had a tacit agreement with both women to never speak of the other life I was living. It became second nature to cleave myself in two.” Anais lived two different lives, and after a few years, the contrast between the two worlds started to take a toll on her. She didn’t feel fully belonged anywhere and had trouble figuring out what was expected of her. Since Anais was older, she understood the tension between social expectations, different family histories, and classism, but she was still too young to do anything about these issues.

She also experiences culture shock when she sees the difference between Jewish and Black culture. Anais’ father took her to one of the communes he frequented and observed the new culture. She saw hippies and sannyasins dressed in red and orange clothing, people meditating and heard people discuss politics and philosophy. They only ate vegetarian meals of chickpeas, lentils, and naans, and people were dancing naked around a bonfire. The author felt free and found communes beautiful and peaceful. So when Anais was taken to Ohio to see her mother’s family, she was shocked to see many aunts, uncles, and cousins surrounding her. Anais says, “There was a family reunion at a Dayton public park with hundreds of people, and pounds of pork, chicken, and ribs barbecuing over open flames. Even the vegetables had meat: mashed potatoes with pork gravy, collard greens with ground beef.” Music blasted through the car windows, and the adults drank beer and wine from a metal ice basket. There are a lot of clashes between her father’s way of life and her mother’s.

Since a young age, the author had many constraints put on her, such as facing poverty and wealth, and the different lifestyles of her parents. These constant clashes made her feel like an outsider, and she didn’t belong anywhere one hundred percent.

[mihinis]

Story

My parents had always told me that they’ve wanted to immigrate to Canada ever since I was born. It was for the obvious reasons of having a better quality of life for me and making sure I can get the proper education I need. So in June of 2010, after I had just turned 7 years old, my family and I officially immigrated from Sri Lanka to Canada. I remember the day I left to move to Canada so clearly. All my relatives have gathered at our house and everyone had tears on their faces. Since I was young, it was hard for me to grasp the situation but after seeing my grandmother’s crying face, I ended up crying as well. With heavy hearts, my father, my mother, and I left for the airport in a rented van in silence.

It was Winter when we first arrived in Canada. It was in the afternoon, yet the sky was murky and dreary. The coldness seeped through the thin layers I was wearing. I wasn’t used to this feeling at all coming from one of the hottest countries in the world. There was an obvious pit in my stomach and the weather that day definitely did not help. We moved into a tiny apartment and started our lives in Canada there.

It wasn’t easy at all when we first came to Canada. My family didn’t know anyone or have any friends in Canada so it really felt like we were restarting our lives. None of us were familiar with English or the country. My mother and father both started working at factories and it was enough to get us by. We didn’t have a car so we would have to make all our trips by foot or by bus. One of the memories I remember so vividly was walking home from the Metro closest to our apartment (which was a few kilometers away) during the cold harsh winter. It was the kind of cold weather where it was hard to even keep my eyes open and my fingers that were holding the groceries throbbed inside my gloves. The weather made me feel hopeless and tired. It made me wonder why even bother coming to Canada when it only felt like we were suffering more than we are enjoying it here.

I soon started going to school for grade one. On the very first day of school, I remember crying so hard and trying to hold onto my parents when they were dropping me off. Looking back, I think it was the most fear I have ever felt when I was younger. It was the worst situation I could imagine. I was in a place where I couldn’t communicate with anyone with the little English I knew and my parents were nowhere near me. The principal took me to the classroom and introduced me to everyone. I sat at the back alone in the room full of students. Everyone huddled around me and started asking questions but back then I wasn’t able to answer anything so I remained quiet. After all, I only learned how to say my name and age in Sri Lanka. After that the children stopped coming to me, each one of them went back to chatting and laughing with their own groups. I didn’t have any friends to laugh and talk with. For the first time in my life, I felt like I didn’t belong. My parents weren’t there to soothe my worries away. I wasn’t surrounded by the friends and relatives I had in Sri Lanka. I started becoming angry at my parents for taking that away from me. That hopeless feeling settled in my stomach again. I dropped my head onto my desk and prayed that I wouldn’t cry again.

I wasn’t able to do any of the homework assigned by my teachers myself. My father would sit with me to help me with the assignments or sometimes just finish the homework for me. I never looked forward to doing homework with my father. It was frustrating and it felt like I wasn’t ever going to get better in English. This frustration ended up building up and building up and one day after coming home from school, I finally snapped. I came running into the living room which my parents were in and crumbled the homework and threw it at them. Burning rage brimmed through my body and my face felt heated. My vision started blurring and I started bawling in front of my parents. I told them how I wasn’t able to make new friends, how I hated the weather in Canada, and how I don’t understand any material that I am learning. My parents started tearing up as well. I think that was the first moment in my life where I saw both my parents cry. I felt awful. My mother wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me close, gently rubbing my arms back and forth. At that moment, all the anger I had felt until then faded away. Her touch made our cold apartment warmer somehow and my worries drift away. She mumbled into my shoulders saying that she knows that it’s been rough for me and how it will all get better eventually. I chose to believe those words that day. I realized that I wasn’t the only person having a hard time in Canada. My parents had also left everything behind in Sri Lanka. They had done all that for me. Even though I was young I knew this much. I wanted my parents to be proud of me and I never wanted to see them cry because of what I had said ever again.

I can proudly say that my outlook on Canada changed that day. Instead of feeling anger and hopeless, I started thinking more positively and about a better future. It took a lot of courage and a lot of patience but I managed to learn English pretty quickly too. I started loving the language after I started reading storybooks from the library I frequent at. I managed to make friends with many students too. I wasn’t able to speak fluently but they were able to understand my broken English and were very patient around me. All the cold memories I had of Canada started becoming replaced with warmer memories of my family and my new friends. I learned that even if I stumble, I should keep on moving forward and always see the good in things. If negativity consumes your life, it’ll feel impossible to move on forward.

[mihinis]

The cutest 🥺💛

[mihinis]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/54/de/8f/54de8fe61ecae5685476fd3d272c2715.jpg

“Telling our stories is not an end in itself, but an attempt to release ourselves from them, to evolve and grow beyond them”

We evolve and grow from the stories and journeys we’ve gone through. You learn new lessons and become a better person through them. Without these stories, we would always remain the same person we always are. Humans learn through their mistakes and experiences. Through these experiences, you will be able to make the correct decisions and shape your future based on what you have learned.

“We tell our stories to transform ourselves; to learn about our history and tell our experiences to transcend them; to use our stories to make a difference in our world.”

Our stories make a difference in the world and have the power to inspire the people around us. Every experience in life teaches us to move forward so it is important we share our knowledge with the people around us. Learning about history allows us to not make the same mistakes in the future. Students are taught about the different issues around the world such as racism, poverty, and discrimination so they can make a difference in the world as they continue to grow. We become wiser and can work towards a brighter future through the personal stories and history we learn from others.

"We cannot wish old feelings away nor do spiritual exercises for overcoming them until we have woven a healing story that transforms our previous life's experience and gives meaning to whatever pain we have endured."

Experiences have the power to turn you into something better than you were before. These stories and experiences won’t matter if you do not learn from them and apply those lessons into your future. People mature with the pain and situations they’ve gone through. We cannot take away this pain or forget about the experiences, so it is up to us to learn from them and move on.

-----

All three of these quotes surround the idea of learning from the experiences and the mistakes you’ve made. I think this is one of the most important lessons in life you could learn. It allows us to have a positive outlook on life and mature as people. This mindset allows me to realize that everyone has different stories and everyone experiences pain. There is always someone out there in the world who can relate to the experiences I have gone through and can learn from it. No one is alone, so it is important that we share our stories with one another so we can understand each other.

[mihinis]

"The Reality of Covid-19 is Hitting Teens Especially Hard"

What is one quotation that you agree OR disagree with in the article. Suggest why this quotation stands out to you, and why or why not you can relate to it. (K: /5)

I agree when Zoe said “Losing track and field, prom, and graduation sucks. And there’s no way to cope with it because I’m just never going to get to do those things. It feels like the last four years of hard work have been for nothing.” I can relate to Zoe because all my club activities, after school activities, and events have been canceled. School doesn’t feel the same without them. Future events such as graduation may be canceled due to the pandemic as well. I would be heartbroken if I wouldn’t get a chance to experience proper graduation with my friends and family.  Every student looks forwards to graduation and prom.

In general, do you think the article is well written? If yes, why? If no, why not? (A: /5)

I think this article is well written because it shows the perspective and commentary on how teenagers are feeling during the pandemic. The quotes from the teenagers made the article very relatable and kept me engaged. The article shares the different stories from different teenagers, and I was able to relate to most quotes since I was going through the exact same problems like missing club activities and friends.  It was interesting when the article also applied science to provide evidence as to why teenagers are ill-equipped for the pandemic. Overall, the writing was simple and easy to follow, and I was able to learn something new after reading this article.

Write a personal voice paragraph about your experience during the pandemic. Be sure to give specific examples about what you have been experiencing. Be sure to write about one thing you have learned during this pandemic. (T: /5)

Communication: (/5)

I remember during the first week of quarantine how I  was marveling at the idea of just staying home and being glad that I wouldn’t have to wake up early for school anymore. However, after a few weeks, staying at home started becoming more and more unbearable and painfully boring. I hadn’t stepped outside my house for at least four weeks and it was clear that it was affecting me. I missed going outside with my friends and I even started missing school. Although I didn’t get to hang out with my friends, I was able to talk and be around my family more since they were also quarantined. My family always encouraged me to stay optimistic and be patient about the situation. 

[mihinis]

𝕄𝕖 ( 𝕗𝕥. 𝕄𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕 ) ♡