BLOG POST: What activities do you enjoy doing while trying to cope with difficult situations?

The book highlights some of the main problems that Wes and his friends faced growing up in inner-city Baltimore. They dealt with violence, poverty, and racism on a daily basis. In addition, they had few role models to look up to and no easy way to escape their circumstances. As a result, many of them turned to drugs, gangs, and crime as a way to survive. While Wes was able to overcome these obstacles and turn his life around, his friends were not so lucky. This highlights how important it is to have activities that they can look up to and enjoy through tough times. Otherwise, they are at risk of making poor choices that can have lifelong consequences.

For Wes and his friends, basketball quickly became a getaway from the drug-filled streets of their Baltimore neighborhood. Every day after school, they would head to the nearby park to play. Basketball was a way to forget about their problems and have some fun. It was also a way to build friendships and bond with each other. The friends would often stay at the park until dark, when they would finally head home. Wes and his friends looked forward to their daily games of basketball. It was their chance to escape from reality and just be kids. It also gave them a sense of accomplishment and pride. In many ways, basketball was a getaway for Wes and his friends from the problems they experienced in their everyday lives. By playing the game, they were able to forget about their troubles and focus on something that was positive and enjoyable.

As anyone who has been through a tough time knows, it can be difficult to find enjoyment in anything. The fear, anxiety, and stress of a tough situation can weigh heavily on your mind and body, making it hard to concentrate on anything else. However, it is important to find ways to cope with difficult situations in order to prevent them from taking over your life. For me, one of the best ways to cope with a difficult situation is to stay active. Getting outside for a walk or run helps to clear my head and gives me a chance to think about something other than my troubles. Additionally, staying active helps to keep my energy levels up, which can be a major challenge when dealing with a tough situation. Another activity that I enjoy doing while trying to cope with a difficult situation is spending time with my friends and family. Being around people who care about me always makes me feel better, and laughing together is a great way to take my mind off of my troubles. No matter what you’re going through, it’s important to find activities that help you relax and enjoy life.

I have struggled with anxiety and depression for most of my life. Whenever I find myself in a difficult situation, I try to focus on activities that make me happy. For me, that typically includes spending time outdoors, reading, listening to music, and writing. Being in nature always makes me feel better, even if it's just going for a walk in the park. I find that I can lose myself in a good book and forget about my troubles for a little while. And there's nothing quite like blasting my favorite music and dancing around my apartment to take my mind off of whatever is stressing me out. Writing has also always been therapeutic for me. Expressing my thoughts and feelings on paper (or on my blog) helps me to make sense of them and usually gives me some much-needed perspective. These are just a few of the things I do to cope with difficult situations. Everyone has their own way of dealing with adversity, and it's important to find what works for you.

 

 

 

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Finally, it is important to take care of yourself physically and emotionally. Eating healthy foods and getting enough rest will help to keep your body and mind strong. Taking some time for yourself can be difficult when you are dealing with a lot of stress, but it is important to remember that you deserve it. Coping with difficult situations is never easy, but by engaging in activities that make you happy, you can help to make the process a little bit easier.

BLOG POST: Wes gets pranked, What did Wes learn from the prank?

 In the novel, "The Other Wes Moore," the author tells the story of two boys with similar backgrounds who end up taking very different paths in life. Wes is one of the boys featured in the book. Throughout the story, Wes is prankster who is always trying to pull one over on his classmates and teachers. However, there is one prank that backfires and leads to a life-changing experience for Wes. The other students at military school convince Wes that he can escape and go home if he follows their instructions. However, when Wes attempts to follow their plan, he is caught by the authorities and sent to prison. This experience has a profound effect on Wes and leads him to turn his life around. He eventually goes on to graduate from college and become a successful businessman. While it was not the intended outcome, the prank ultimately taught Wes an important lesson about responsibility and consequences.

However, upon reflection, Wes realizes that the prank has taught him a valuable lesson. He now knows that he needs to be more careful in the future and not to take everything at face value. The prank has also helped Wes to build character and to learn how to handle disappointment. As a result, while the prank may have seemed like a bad thing at first, it ultimately had a positive impact on Wes's life.

Once, when I was in high school, one of my friends played a prank on me. It was April Fools' Day, and my friend told me that the principal had announced a mandatory dress code for the remainder of the year. She said that we were allowed to wear jeans, but they had to be a certain color. She told me that the only pair of jeans that I owned that met the criteria were a pair of white jeans that I had recently bought. Needless to say, I believed her and spent the whole day worrying about what I was going to do. It wasn't until sixth period, when I saw my friend laughing with another friend, that I realized that I had been pranked. Even though it wasn't a very good prank, it still got me. From then on, I was always careful to double-check any announcements on April Fools' Day!

I remember the moment I found out I had been pranked vividly. I was at school, surrounded by my friends, when I realized that everyone was laughing at me. I felt embarrassed and foolish, like I had been made a fool of. My first instinct was to lash out in anger and get revenge on the person who had done this to me, but I quickly realized that would only make me look sillier. So instead, I took a deep breath and decided to let it go. It wasn't easy, but eventually I was able to move on from that humiliating experience. Now, looking back, I'm glad I did because holding onto that anger would have only made things worse.

It's not always funny when it happens, but usually it is all in good fun. For example, last year my friends filled my room with balloons while I was out of town for the weekend. It looked like a scene from a movie! Another time, I was sent on a wild goose chase by my brother to find our dog who was "lost." When I finally found him, he was sitting in our backyard the whole time. I've also had people prank call me or put Whoopee cushions on my chair. Although it can be annoying, I generally don't mind as long as it's done in good fun.

I was really upset when I found out that I had been pranked. I felt like I had been made a fool of and that everyone was laughing at me. It was a really humiliating experience. I was so angry that I wanted to get revenge on the person who did it, but I knew that would just make me look even sillier. In the end, I decided to just let it go and try to forget about it. It was hard, but I'm glad I did because holding onto that anger would have only made things worse.

 

BLOG POST: Are we products of our environment or products of our expectations?

 

It's an age-old question: are we products of our environment or products of our expectations? It's a difficult question to answer definitively, but it's one that I've been thinking about a lot lately. On the one hand, it seems clear that our environment plays a role in shaping who we are. After all, our experiences growing up have a huge impact on the kind of people we become. But on the other hand, it's also true that our expectations play a role in who we become. It's not just our environment that shapes us, but also the way we think about ourselves and the world around us. So which is it? Are we products of our environment or products of our expectations?

We all know the saying, "you are what you eat." And to a certain extent, this is true. The food we consume does have an impact on our physical health. But what about our mental health? Are we products of our environment or products of our expectations?

The answer is probably a bit of both. We are products of our environment in the sense that the people and situations around us influence our thoughts and behaviors. But we are also products of our expectations in the sense that we often seek out or create situations that meet our needs and expectations.

So, which one is more important? It's hard to say. Perhaps it depends on the person. Some people are more influenced by their environment while others are more influenced by their expectations. Either way, it's important to be aware of both factors and how they can impact our lives.

Products of our environment or products of our expectations? It's a question that has been debated by philosophers and thinkers for centuries, and it's a question that still doesn't have a clear answer. Are we products of our environment, shaped by the people and things around us? Or are we products of our expectations, influenced primarily by our own thoughts and beliefs? Our experiences, both good and bad, help to shape our beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. And those beliefs can have a powerful impact on our lives. So the next time you find yourself wondering whether you are a product of your environment or your expectations, remember that the answer is probably both. And that's okay. Because in the end, it's not where you come from that matters. It's where you're going. And that's something only you can control.

I was always a shy child, and growing up, I was told that I needed to be more outgoing if I wanted to be successful. As a result, I spent a lot of time pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and while it wasn't always easy, it taught me a lot about myself. I realized that I was capable of much more than I had ever thought possible. Now, as an adult, I am still shy in some ways, but I have also learned to embrace my introverted side. It's important to remember that we are products of our environment, but we also have the power to shape our own expectations.

Our personal experiences play a huge role in shaping who we are and how we see the world. If we want to change the way we think and feel, we need to start by changing our environment and our expectations. Only then can we truly start to live the life we want.

 

Pop culture pt 3

Pop-culture is neither innately good or bad for us. Through pop culture we have developed different levels of high achieving technological advancements that have connected us in more ways than were ever thought possible. I also believe that pop culture has desensitized us to many aspects of human interaction it has made the regular individual believe that he/she is in a higher social standing when it comes to likes or social media interaction which is simply not the case and has also started a lot of movements by gathering large masses of supporters simply with the push of the button though the validity of those movements can be questionable at times. This is because not everybody with a voice uses it for the betterment of society and a lot of the people in the forefront do it to amass a following form themselves. 

Before social media we had letters and messengers with the sole intention of spreading information these messengers would travel day and night to deliver these messages and in that same way we now can send one message to over a thousand people in less than a second no travel needed, We can now directly contact an individual through a phone call, We can now start and support movements in the blink of an eye. In the text written by Malcolm Gladwell for college students sat down at the lunch counter at the Woolworths in downtown Greensboro North Carolina. This was in the 1960s before the start of social media and during active civil rights violations against minorities. The numbers continue to grow and the supporters were male, female, black, white in the spectrum was larger than we thought. The quote or phrase that I kept in mind was that “social media can’t provide what social change has always required” and it makes sense because social movements require the foot work and drive, the impact cannot be made through a screen but the message can be conveyed with the device. So yes it is possible to promote activism and use social media to peddle a message forward but to create solidarity in the midst of chaos the presence is all that matters.

When it comes to Dan Stevens' take on receiving information through television I believe that a lot can be said from a psychological perspective. The developmental brain is like a sponge and when you put it in front of a TV screen it’ll soak up whatever information is given even if the information isn’t good information. Take for instance during the time of Covid The information that was continuously pushed into the heads of elementary school students and the rapid rise of social networking apps like Tik Tok created a fast pace sensory disturbance because it was a lot easier to receive instant gratification and a lot easier to scroll mindlessly. This allowed for a weaker attention span that I personally have noticed in the children that I work with today. But this is not for every child some parents filtered the amount of content that they were able to view and while some children were learning about TikTok dances other children children were able to learn different chemical compositions in order to create something like slime that allowed them to explore their creative and cognitive mind through stem resources allowing them to grow into their hobbies and future fields. I truly believe that there are many truths to what Dana stevens says about the quality every year. The quality of shows is dumbed down and the information is more and more surface level, for instance shows like teen titans/ and teen titans go or any new show that has been released. They are no longer witty they are just jumbled information. 

Elvin Alicea Literacy History Blog #1

 Hey class, my name is Elvin Alicea and I’m a Psychology major with a minor in studio arts. I’m currently in my senior year. I was raised in Newark, New Jersey and being around a lot of poverty, criminal activity, and the fact that mental Health was one of those things puerto rican households just didn’t believe in tied in to my decision to pursue the field of psychology. I want to be a solid community member and therapist/ counselor that is able to connect, teach, and serve those who need it most regardless of income status. As a mental health advocate and I want my community to feel as though someone cares and understands the struggle. I have a position as a youth development lead at the boys and girls club and I love it because I am able to hone in and support the children who have disabilities they aren’t even aware of. I teach them how to release energy in constructive ways like painting, singing, and dancing as well as mechanisms for communicating their feelings while they are young. I use poetry, reading and music as a way for the kids to broaden their vocabulary and I’ve been able to track their progress/ regression over time by being present during the summer programs and throughout their development.

  Being raised in a latino household I learned Spanish as my first language and interacting with English speaking children at church coupled with school helped me learn English. I fell in love with reading and writing at a young age through comic books and attempting to create my own. But it wasn’t until high school where I truly became a reader because of my English teachers they really put an emphasis on vocabulary and the way we communicated gave my mind a breath of knowledge that I continue to carry with me. It truly was not until my freshman year of college that I became 100% confident in myself and a lot of that was due to being forced to have my mind on external things such as poverty and gang violence, I had to fight a lot as a kid so I felt “ stupid”  it made me anxious and highly uncomfortable talking as a freshman-sophomore in highschool.

Once I got to college I was pushing myself to speak more and placing myself in the hot seat in every course. Since then I’ve managed to do exceptionally well in my academics and even in my public speaking there’s confidence in knowing the words that I use and I love the adventure of learning new things through reading being literate is highly important. Because so much of life requires competency in reading and writing. And in order to share our personal stories and raw emotions through our writing and word play we need to be able to read and understand.