Do witches get financial aid? - Winning Essay

Who am I? What will I do? Who will I become? These are normal questions a teenager asks herself. What am I? Not so much! Teen angst shouldn’t include “Oh I just accidentally electrocuted my best friend since kindergarten maybe I’m a teen witch!” Right off of the screen of a bad 90s movie; only, no pathetic love interest that you know would never amount to anything on account of she’s a witch and would probably get tired of a human boy and find a fellow wizard that really understood her and her, now, culture. I had enough on my plate having to get to know myself, going through puberty in the states as a Latin American girl and now I’m a witch too. Really, is there a bigger minority? No. I’m serious. Is there? Is there financial aid for witches? I want to be a lawyer, but before I can even begin my real life studies I have to get bachelors at something else. It’s, apparently, not enough I have to spend 12 years studying stuff that will not be needed in my daily life but I also have to study and concentrate on another topic or topics for another 4 to 6 years. Is there fairness in the justice system? No, and it teaches you that right off the bat. Not only will I have to study the equivalent of excrement when it comes to what I really feel passionate about for over 16 years, I will also have to take the most excruciatingly tedious exam, after the MCAT of course, in order to even be looked at by law schools that I can’t even afford.

I’m not asking for much… Just your normal Law School tuition in the states, costing around $45,000 a year. Not including room, or food, or public transportation, or books, or anything you might need to not fail at law school. Again, justice, is it present in law? They are teaching you this right now, before you even apply, that there is NOT any kind of justice present in the justice system, therefore none if you want to study it. Why would a witch want to study this then? Why would anybody want to study this? Lets call these people muggles. Read enough Harry Potter books to know that word. Yes, you guessed it, I read none. I’m a witch, the rest are muggles. I’ve decided to be the only witch in the world not for exclusivity but because I would guess I would get a free pass into whatever university or college I apply to. Full ride as they call this mythical creature in the muggle world, why is it mythical? How many people get a full ride to law school that have no connection to their family legacy at this school or through grants that are basically made for certain people? Exactly, a mythical promise for a mythical creature.

Let’s go back to the tedious entrance exam called, The LSAT (or The Kraken as I am choosing to call it). The Kraken is an impossible test that ranges from 120-180. Personally, took a practice test at home, without even knowing what I was taking and got a 151. You’d think, “Hey! That seems reasonable!” WRONG! It’s the epitome of average. So if you planned on going to Harvard (wasn’t) you should’ve started studying for this life changing and defining test since you graduated from high school. But wait! No! You have to have a bachelor before applying for this school. DO YOU SEE THE INJUSTICE?! As a witch, I’ve decided to go public with my new found identity, maybe when I take the real test, I’ll get that mythical score of 171-180 and get into the University of Michigan with that mythical promise called “full ride” and go to class in my broom or magic carpet. Haven’t decided.

Who am I? A witch.

What will I do? Mythical promises and scores come true.

What will I become? A just lawyer.

Blog Reflection

           

            As it is stipulated in the “about me” section of this blog, it is for my general studies literary class, named “Journey in Literature” with the amazing professor, Cynthia Pittman. As can be seen, there are a total of 13 blog entries counting this one as the final one. The title of the class is the justification for our first entry, which is “Mon Voyage” a blog entry to give the reader a better image of who is writing by establishing both an internal and external journey. After that first blog entry we analyzed the books, movies and excerpts of the literary works we discussed in class. Part of the blog activity was to not only write the personal views on the topics discussed in class but maybe also read those of the students that did not or could not participate in class, comment and open the debate or conversation of the topics outside of the classroom.

Definitely my favorite part of the whole semester was getting to know this portal, having a journal and the combination of literature, perspective and personal journey writing. I am actually going to continue to write my own personal blog though it will be a lot less literature related and more like a cyber entry of a journal. Sometimes, I feel, its not enough to write it down in pen and paper but also the need to publish it and maybe be heard. The blogs for me helped me find my own voice. When and if you go through my posts, I feel, the tone changed into a satirical one but still one that is making a point. It’s as if I found a voice between the blog and the journal as I was going through different struggles in the semester while still learning and bettering myself.

Personal favorite blogs:

            A Journey in Life

            AutemActa

            SomeThoughts

            Metamorphosis

I won !

            Last week, we celebrated the 48^th Annual Literary Contest for General Studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. Not only did we celebrate the tradition, but also the life and work of the great poet and professor, Mark Wekander. In honor of his work both literary and in the classroom, one of the awards is in his honor. The contest is divided into 3 categories; Essay, Poetry and Short Story. Each category had third to first place and honorable mention. The only people that could participate were students that were currently coursing through a general literary studies class. The festivities started with an introduction of the master of ceremonies and his introduction of the activity.

            The first category awarded was Essays, where as the title so coyly states I won the first place prize. I got a certificate, a check and read my essay in front of everybody there (no pressure). My piece was called “Do witches get financial aid?” in essence it talked about the injustice in the justice system starting by just wanting to study this very crooked justice system but in a very satiric way. After I read my essay the ceremony continued with the honoring of Mark Wekander by a group of students reading a selection of poems and a colleague analyzing and bringing attention to the different dimensions in his work. After everybody rejoiced in his work it was only appropriate to continue with the poetry award named after him. The winner of this category was “Godly Poet” and the winner of the short story category was “ Do you got room for one more troubled soul?” Unfortunately the latter was not present to read her piece. To end the already great ceremony the general studies dancers decided to grace us with a salsa choreography and there was food offered for those in the festivities. The ceremony was incredibly well planned and ultimately lots of fun. I only wish it was marketed so that more people knew about it and could compete.

Identity an Intro - Caribbean Identity

            The Caribbean, in itself houses more cultures than there are islands. How is this even possible? Thanks to Haiti and Dominican Republic where the island is divided in two with Haitian culture on one side (speaking Creole) and the Dominican Republic on the other (speaking Spanish). In an anthology written by the Puerto Rican, Ana Lydia Vega called “Encancarranublado”, it’s explicitly shown how absolutely diverse the Caribbean is. Its about 3 men in search for a better tomorrow, in the states, that did not have the funds, visa or permission to get there. When they are in the boat, the differences between them were incredible. They were described to look almost exactly the same (as is the case between Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico) but the way they expressed themselves, the mannerisms, the accent was not the same. Look for these islands on a map. Look how incredibly close they are. Now look for Antigua and match that with Puerto Rico both in distance and what ever fact you may know about the two. They might as well be in two different parts of the world culture wise. However, how rich the Caribbean is in cultures, so are the cultures and people in the Caribbean. For this reason looks, language, and ecology are not the most important roots of Caribbean Identity. Home, expression and history are much more important markers and more relatable when it comes to identifying oneself.

            Peter Roberts states, “the notion of identity in human society is based on two fundamental factors- the perception of sameness/difference and the instinctiveness of man to be a social being.” When it comes to Caribbean roots our sameness resides mostly on our history. Even though we might not have been a colony or territory for the same country at the same time for long, we were all colonies at one time (maybe even still are). Our natives were not treated with respect, they were oppressed and our native culture, language, customs and such manipulated to whichever country was in official power. These facts make our culture that much more diverse and by relation the identity as a Caribbean native. The history can anger you, like it did Jamaica Kincaid or Fidel Castro; it can make you proud, like a group in Puerto Rico wanting to renew ties with Spain or maybe it can make you reliant in the country to the point of no progression or independence called “the colonized syndrome”. Our history because of how rich it is in every aspect is what identifies us as Caribbean, more so than ecology.

            When it comes to language, as was shown by Ana Lydia Vega in her book, the Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican, spoke the same language but they still encountered a sort of barrier when it came to communicating. The Puerto Rican in a way “translated” what the Dominican said, to the Cuban and they were all speaking Spanish. This difference is one that identifies the Caribbean. It shows the rich culture it has because of the different countries that were in power but the way it is expressed is what makes it theirs. Antigua speaks English because it was a British colony and the way they speak it is not the same as in the United Kingdom. As part of the Caribbean culture, the language evolves and it incorporates the native tongue before the colonization began. For example, Puerto Rico still uses some “taino” words such as “hamaca” (hammock), “almohada” (pillow) and it even still has the native names of certain places around the island. That evolution in language is what makes it Caribbean; therefore it’s not just our language but the expression of it what identifies us as Caribbean.

  

          As already stated, Caribbean’s have different cultures mixed together, therefore, we can easily adapt with and in other parts of the world. This is because language is not a total barrier and the customs incorporated during the colonized period make it that much easier. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean we are at home. “Home is a variable, and may be a place of birth, place of residence or may be defined by the popular notion ‘home is where the heart is’”. In the Caribbean, home is the place of birth and the popular notion (“Home is where the heart is”).  The sense of patriotism is a universal one, but in the Caribbean it’s mixed in with our rich history. It’s where battles were fought, oppression defeated, where intellectuals were killed fir being to radical when really all they did was believe their native culture should be the main and only one in their respective island. Go back to that map. Compare any island size to one of the their colony, and also the materials present for each one at the time. It was never a fair fight, and most of the Caribbean is now independent. Oppression is still very much alive but it is no longer from an outside invading source. It is now (in some cases) a native problem, still brought on by the colonized syndrome and learned conduct by the main and first oppressor. Caribbean’s are also very familiar and that is where the notion can be identified. A Dominican can feel somewhat at home in Puerto Rico if surrounded by their family members and/or friends.

          In the end the history is the sameness in the Caribbean that unites the islands as one identity. “The constant association with and experience of sameness leads to a recognition of one’s own features as normal and those of others as "abnormal/strange/foreign”.  It is foreign for natives of the Caribbean to not have a rich history with rich cultures in diversity not only in customs but also in their blood relations. The Puerto Ricans have Spanish, African and Native “Taino” blood and heritage. The evolution, spin and ultimately the expression the Caribbean natives give to the language imposed by the colonizer is what makes the language theirs. Just like the perspective what home is, makes the identity of a Caribbean filled with sameness. The Caribbean is a group of small and big islands and archipelagos, it contains more diversity than much of the New World and it is unified by a history so rich that it’s basically unparalleled.

"We ask for tolerance"

                 This past week my class had the opportunity to present a research project in a general studies panel. It was specifically about the different perspectives other countries, cultures and places had about Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans. My group decided to concentrate on the views of United States Americans and Spaniards specifically on the topics of tourism, culture (food and people), politics and economy. We decided to contrast what the United States Americans think and show to know as opposed to Spain’s knowledge and point of view. We were surprised to see that Spain actually stays up to date on current events, problems and such happening in the island as opposed to United States American which showed that other than knowing we are a colony (sometimes not even that) of the United States, they barely knew anything more. I think they know we are located in the Caribbean but I might be mistaken.

            We were not the only group that presented on the United States American point of view on Puerto Rico. In fact we were the only ones that presented a European perspective. Unfortunately we weren’t the only group that concluded that United States Americans have very little knowledge of our culture nor does it seem they want to learn. Two different groups found over three websited dedicated to the debate on why we as a culture and people should be “exterminated” as if we were animals, went as far as to say we are “incapable of learning because we are inbreeds”. There are articles by United States Americans stating this very thing only in a more diplomatic format. We can fight your fights but we don’t deserve your respect? No. The United States has us in shackles and abandoned, let us free.

     In conclusion, I learned a lot about what ultimately is the United States American perspective on my island and culture. I was not impressed and was very disappointed. However Spaniards made me proud to be half Spanish by my mother's side of the family. They demonstrate a deeper understanding of our culture that to be honest the United States American will never have as long as they do not see us as equals and maybe not even then because as a commenter stated "We have the same blood coursing through our veins and our history is forever one."