The Daly Post

Ever since the start of high school, people always told me to “not take it for granted” - before you know it, you’ll be a senior. I’ve imagined what my senior year would look like all the way back to when I was in elementary school. Watching movies such as High School Musical 3 and Grease kind of set up my expectations as senior year being the best, most carefree year of your life. Although those expectations didn’t necessarily follow through as being that pitch perfect, movie-like senior year, it was still one of the best years of my life. I didn’t quite grasp onto the concept of “self growth” until this past year. I can confidently say that I have learned more about myself and the world as a whole in the past year than I have any other year of my life. The losses that came with this year, were turned into growths and realizations. Every hug from grandpa that I missed, every dance class that we did virtually, every school month of school that didn’t follow through, only preached the i...

     Waiting has always held a negative connotation for me - it was linked to the feeling of uncontrollability. Even as a kid, waiting for something was one of the things I hated most because it was so irritating. Waiting for Santa to come Christmas morning or waiting for it to be your turn on the jump rope at recess were certain things that gave me an itch. You get tense in your hands, fingers, and toes, you can feel your heart beating out of your chest, and you can hear your subconscious screaming over just pure irritation, the time in which you have to wait is uncontrollable.       As I watch the movie more, Didi and Gogo remind me of my child-self. The impatience and annoyance that I’ve observed within their mannerisms is very childish: the pacing, petty arguments, foot taps, the crossing of arms, the random outbursts, etc. It’s very nostalgic to watch in a sense because I know the exact feeling of that childish impatience. Even as a young adult, I...

          In my last blog, I talked about how writing poetry myself and sharing it is one of the hardest things. As a poet, I feel as though the goal is to make your audience feel something or to write something that someone can relate to. One thing I have learned throughout these past couple weeks is that the best poetry comes from within. Using emotion, experience, and heart is the key to writing a poem when aiming for this goal. It doesn’t have to be complex either; poetry isn’t defined by how many lines you write, but rather what you write. Being timid and closed off, vulnerability is scary for me. Although, I realized that I’m not the only one who feels hesitant and judged when it comes to sharing poetry, and that idea of being scared of vulnerability is shared throughout this class. After reading some of my peers’ poetry in their mentor poet projects and in their blogs, I felt inspired to share my own. Here’s a simple, hopefully relatable poem about o...

          The past few weeks we have been working with poetry. We have done many assignments and projects that have expanded my knowledge and allowed me to grow as a poet, one being the mentor poet assignment. For the mentor poet assignment I chose Shane Koyczan, a Canadian writer and spoken word poet.            I’ve always been drawn to spoken word poetry. I remember the first time I saw it being performed was in my eighth grade video tech class. Every Friday, my teacher would show us inspirational and moving videos that would hopefully open up our perspectives on certain things in our everyday life. He just happened one Friday to show this certain poet and his poetry and it has stuck with me ever since. “To This Day” by Shane Koyczan, is a spoken word poem about bullying. I remember when I saw it, I was instantly moved and gravitated towards it because of my past experience of being bullied. In his poem, Koyczan touches...

          Poetry is something that I have always struggled with. One could say that we have a very love-hate relationship. I have found that I genuinely love to read poetry. I enjoy being able to connect experiences and emotions within my life to the hidden messages and meanings within certain poems. I also really like the creative aspect that it gives both the writer and the reader. When writing a poem, there aren’t any limits to what the writer can write about or how they choose to write it. In terms of the reader, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to interpreting the significance of a poem. It can mean one thing to one reader, and a whole other thing to another reader which just exemplifies the beauty of poetry - there are no limits.           Although there are things I love about poetry, there are certain aspects and experiences that lead to this love-hate relationship. One thing that I don’t enjoy when it co...

     When reading Siddhartha, and knowing the prompt for the blog revolved around the idea of a hero’s journey, my mind immediately went to the movie, The Lion King. I found similarities between both Simba’s personal journey and Siddhartha’s journey, and would like to touch on how the two relate.      In both stories, the main characters are both set out to discover something. Siddhartha, for example, is seeking for Enlightenment. Simba, on the other hand, is searching for his sense of self. Both individuals are on a journey to better themselves and grow into the true characters they are meant to become. Siddhartha, on his journey of enlightenment, is discovering who he is as a person and what his true, innate beliefs are. Simba, on his journey, is discovering that his pathway in life is meant to lead the kingdom and his destiny is to become King, following in his father’s footsteps. These journey’s both result in Siddhartha and Simba finding who they truly...

    My first semester of 12 AP has been an awesome experience for me. Even though we are online, I think the liveliness and enthusiasm that lives in the classroom is still present on zoom. It is definitely not the same, but being a part of a class that saviors that same energy has been awesome.       One of my favorite assignments was actually our final project. Writing is my favorite part of English, and I love the freedom it gave us to pick a topic of our choice, do research on it, and write about it. It was awesome because I was able to apply everything we have learned in the past couple months about writing a strong thesis, structure, and overall purpose, but at the same time I was able to make it my own and be creative with it. I definitely think the research paper was a representation of my writing growth this semester. I’m really proud of how it turned out and I hope that throughout second semester I continue to grow as a writer.    ...

We’ve all heard of the classic saying “money can’t buy happiness”. For some of us, this concept clicks. We grow up, get a job, make money, and realize that it’s in fact the little things, loved ones, and stupid things in our lives that matter most and truly make us happy. Although for some of us, such as Willy, we don’t understand this concept and believe that nothing matters more in the world than money itself. Believing that money is the root to happiness is ultimately what leads to failure. Willy, along with many others, focus so much on the aspect of success that they miss out on the parts of life that create true happiness: relationships and experiences. Putting this idea into a simpler, more comical perspective, imagine a dog. A dog can have the biggest cage sold on the market, the fanciest leash and collar, an assortment of winter vests for when the air gets crisp, but I guarantee that that dog isn’t happy. What makes that dog happy you might ask? The answer is quite simple - it...

          As we wrap up Act 1 of The Death of a Salesman , I keep on trying to make sense of the title and its overall meaning in regards to the text. I think it is clear to say that Willy acts as the salesman that is being referred to in the title. From the beginning, he is portrayed as an older man who seems to think he has his life together. He claims he is this big shot, business man that knows the “key to success”. Although he is constantly seen running around, meeting with customers, trying to “make it” - it doesn’t make much sense! If he knows the “key to success”, why are we seeing him, as a 50-year-old man, bust around as if he were someone inexperienced and new to the business world? Simpler said by me than Willy himself, he hasn’t lived up to the American Dream he has strived to achieve. It’s as if he knows this, but doesn’t want to admit it to himself. When the title mentions the word “death”, it isn’t supposed to be taken literally. I could eas...

     It’s fair to say that throughout these past months, I’ve watched a share of TV shows. Two of my favorites would have to be Friends and Criminal Minds. It’s clear that both shows are very different in the sense that the characters are dealt with vastly dissimilar obstacles. So I’m not going to lie, reading an article that said “all stories are the same” somewhat threw me off.      The article got me thinking about the similarities and differences in not only these two shows, but in stories as a whole. It’s clear that all stories have a beginning and an end, but no plot is 100% the same. How could a humorous, relaxed sitcom be “the same” as a serious, non-humorous CSI series?        I think what the author is saying is that every story is different, but each one involves the same structure to reveal its final message. So yes, plot differs but regardless of the plot there is always an obstacle involved that results in some type of grow...

          Meursault is a very complicated character to say the least. He is very hard to connect with, as an audience member, and is very difficult to interpret. His actions and feelings are clearly stated, but the same question is asked by the audience every time something peculiar arises - why? Yes, he shot the Arab once, then paused, then again four more times, but why? It is clear that he was very emotionally detached from the death of his mother, but why? He is with Marie, someone who loves him very much, in which he returns no love to whatsoever, why?  I believe it’s fair to say that Meursault is very disconnected with his feelings, which is why it is difficult for me as a reader to understand his mind. For example, at his mother’s funeral all he talks about is the bantering sun and how gruesome the heat is. I remember reading this in the first chapter and immediately thinking of him as an insensitive, selfish character. Although as the novel g...

     What is happiness defined by? This was a question that the movie Little Miss Sunshine brought up among its viewers. Oftentimes, happiness is perceived as a materialistic concept; the more you have, the happier you are. This is a concept that modern society struggles with, and social media doesn’t help. Platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram give celebrities, influencers, and ordinary people the opportunity to share their daily lives. To say the least, it is a trap for comparison. I think everyone is guilty of scrolling through a platform and comparing what they have and don’t have to someone else based off of a simple video or picture. We think that these people live “the perfect lives” and are “so happy” because of everything they have that we may not.      Little Miss Sunshine breaks this stereotype and redefines happiness. One of the most powerful parts of the movie is when Dwayne, a character that struggles to find his happiness, says that you sho...

     Imagine being told a year ago that we’d be doing online school because of some global pandemic… I wouldn’t have believed it. Ironically, this so-called “pandemic” occurred almost exactly 100 years post the Spanish Flu outbreak in the 1920s. If this is an every century type thing, I think it’d be good to give advice to the kids of the future on how to be successful as an online student. Kids of the 2120s, listen up. Here’s 4 tips on how to pass online school: Always keep the mic on. Teachers love when they can hear the background noise of mom vacuuming and sister screaming. One of their favorites is when they can hear your phone. All the buzzing and chirping just makes them feel so listened to. Turn in your friends’ homework. Since we aren’t actually in school, we don’t need a physical copy of our own work. Just submit your friends completed work! It makes it easier for teachers because they don’t have to grade 28 assignments. Plus, they hate seeing each kid take time...

     Our discussion in class this past week about humor and satire had me wondering - how is humor defined? The dictionary would say that it is the quality of being amusing or comic, but why is it that if something is defined by “amusing or comic” that not everyone laughs?  When being introduced to the idea of satire within literature, we were shown a series of videos that demonstrated humor in a certain way. Some clips, such as the princess bride, displayed an underlying, somewhat ridiculous humor. The expressions, the nonsense ideas, and the tone created by the characters is what ultimately made the clip humorous to some. It was nondirect and took the idea of humor to more of a discrete level. Other clips, such as the SNL clip about sarcasm, presented a very upright, straight-forward type of humor. As an audience member, you can tell that the skit was meant to be outwardly humorous.      Throughout these variations of scenes and skits, (this may so...

          Hubris, along with the idea of ignorance, are themes often presented in a multitude of mythological works, such as ‘Oedipus Rex’. The excessive pride and overwhelming amount of confidence that characters inherit may ultimately lead to their downfall. Oedipus, in particular, heavily possessed the common, stereotypical tragic flaw of ignorance. Ignorance is defined by the idea that one may be uneducated or unaware of information that they are expected to know. Oedipus carried a large amount of ignorance, which was only emphasized by his overloading sense of pride to save the village of Thebes. Therefore, the idea of hubris and its ties to the well-known tragic flaw of ignorance is what carries Oedipus into his downfall and defeat as an individual, thus being defined as a tragic character.      ‘Oedipus Rex’, the play itself, displays how a character’s tragic flaw can ultimately be the downfall of their persona. At the beginning, Oedi...

The first chapter of “The Round House” was different than any other first chapter I have read. Right away the audience is introduced to the fact that the mother figure in the novel is a victim of rape. Joe, the main character, and his father are shown to heavily rely on her as they both express the idea of how she would’ve returned by that point to start dinner.  “Women don’t realize how much store men set on the regularity of their habits. We absorb their comings and goings into our bodies, their rhythms into our bones. Our pulse is set to theirs, and as always on a weekend afternoon we were waiting for my mother to start ticking away on the evening” (Erdrich 3). The two ideas highly contradict themselves which displays the irony behind women’s rights in society. The mother is shown as the backbone and is described as a figure of unity and power within her family but the idea is later diminished by the images of her body which I believe acts as one of the main conflicts within th...

Scene involving Mama and Walter discussing the importance of money: Walter : Standing in the kitchen with a rundown, boiling look. Mama... you just don't understand. I'm not quite sure what you don't understand, but whatever it is you just simply don't get. Everyday, I wake up and all I do in this life of mine is serve other people. These people that I work for live in big, fancy houses and wear nothing but smiles upon their faces. Tell me, what do I get? Nothing. "Money is life" (Hansberry 74) Mama, can't you see? Money is what makes you happy. Money is what makes you successful. God, I don't think I could emphasize the statement even more; "Money is life[!]" (Hansberry 74). It's not like I'm asking for pink elephants or a flying Pegasus. I'm asking for a life -- full of happiness and love. No wonder I went off and spent all that money to be put into the liquor store. It was my only chance to re-route my life, your life, all of...

Why did Hansberry choose to add Mama to his story? Although Mama can come across as a "dream-crusher", she acts as a symbol of progress for her children throughout the play.  Beneatha and Walter, Mama's children, can be easily identified as characters who tend to fall behind present day culture . Beneatha, who is studying to be a doctor, falls into these stereotypes once Walter has spent her college money. Without the money, she lost faith in humanity and felt as if she could no longer do anything to help people. In comparison to Beneatha, Walter has this dream of owning a liquor store as he believes that the profit would be beneficial to himself and his family. Once his money was gone, he wouldn't do anything but drink all day. Just like Beneatha, he had lost hope in his dream.  Both characters looked at money as the pathway to success. Once that path was gone, the characters both lost their ambition. They have both assimilated to society as they refer to the...

It's shocking to me when I hear that "not much has changed" (Wilkinson) in regards to the segregation in our surrounding communities. Coming from such a racially diverse, well-rounded area makes it hard to believe that only 25 minutes away people don't live with the same range of culture that we do here in Troy. We've only ever been exposed to a multitude of races and cultures in our schools and neighborhoods that we hardly pay attention to what's happening a few cities away.  Take yourself back to when you and your family went on vacation. Often times, you meet either other travelers or tour guides and the question of "where are you visiting from" maneuvers its way into the conversation. When you follow up the question with "Detroit", the answer commonly shocks the average person, but why?  Detroit is known for being one of the most "segregated areas in the nation" (Wilkinson). It mainly consists of African-Americans whi...

After calling Gatsby "gorgeous" (Fitzgerald 2) in the first chapter of the book, "The Great Gatsby", Nick's sexuality was immediately questioned by not only myself, but by many others. The queer lens, or perspective, offers insight for the reader in regards to how  Nick himself may be portraying a queer role without the knowledge of it. Him being the narrator of the novel, we as an audience see  his queer-like opinions, descriptions, and interpretations of situations and people which ultimately sets a very "sexually ambiguous" (Tyson 342) tone to the novel.  Nick is often seen describing females in a very masculine way, and males in a very feminine way which can suggest his sexual insecurities, yet true interpretations of the characters. Gatsby is always  described by Nick as if he were a female figure. He talks about him as if he only owned "gorgeous pink suits" (Fitzgerald 162) and "shirts with stripes in coral and apple green ...