“Young African-American’s and the Great Truth ‘Are black people just killing each other off?’” By Joseph Ayala

Students walk with caution and try to not attract notice.


As we all know there is a huge amount of crime in Chicago. Chicago is ranked amongst the top 10 in the most dangerous places to live in. Even some protests are violent. Chicago has a  huge problem with police brutality and homicides between the same Race. According to an officer who had a great deal of  experience with this, from the article Chicago tribune, said "There are good and bad in every profession, any profession, and I don't deny we have bad cops," said a black veteran patrol officer assigned to the majority black Wentworth police District on the South Side, who asked not to be identified. "But what offends me the most is the protests like they're doing now. A possibly bad shooting happens somewhere else in the country — where is your protest over the 4-year-old who was just shot?” This informs the readers about the problem in chicago and the truth about what is going on there.
           Chicago's crime rates go through the roof, according to CNN, “Last Friday to Sunday alone, gun violence has been blamed for eight homicides and 64 non-fatal shootings, according to Chicago police. As of Sunday, homicides so far this year total 459. There have been 2,818 shooting victims this year -- just 170 shy of 2015's total of 2,988, according to the Chicago Tribune.” As you can see from the stats, Chicago is not a very safe place to live. This is not all though. The cops are the ones
who need to stop the violence in Chicago. Except they're just making it worse by killing innocent people. Children of Chicago are affected by this because they become more frightened to walk along their own streets and if they aren't then that means they are either becoming the killers or being killed.
    On tv, Last night, on a cold december, the 11th. Around 9pm in the quiet but very dark neighborhood of Chicago. There was kids playing basketball in the park, since the lights go out at 11. All these kids were around 12 to 13. What had happened was at one point the boys had stopped talking and stopped bouncing the ball. Then, as neighbors by the park had heard, the boys had screamed and they all came scrambling out of the park. One boy after another, each one had a face of shock and a shaken expression. As one neighbor heard, Charles Benwood, from across the street said he heard one boy say to another “ Bro, that guy looked scary and he looked like he had something in his hand, probably a gun”. Police checked the park after the incident to try and find this mysterious man. Police say he might be armed because of what the boys had said. This perspective shows how children are affected by the crime in Chicago. If children aren't safe going to parks, then how do we know if they will be safe walking to school, or walking to a corner store.
           We can save this city if we just stop the violence. People need to stop shooting each other. Most of these deaths are people whose skin is black. And how they die is mostly from black people. According to the article 75% of Murdered are Black, 71% of murders are black, by Devin Foley, states “ The data on offenders also tells a troubling story: Young, Black males are overwhelmingly committing most of the murders. Based on the data on the victims, that means young, Black males are primarily killing other young, Black males. What a terrible situation.” As you can see from this article it states that black people are killing each other. We can stop this by showing this information to young black people and help them realize that they are killing there own people. Once we fix that problem then there will be less protests and no racial problems between cops and black people.

Gratitude blog

              I am grateful for all the opportunities I was given this year. Some opportunities I'm grateful for are, one for making it to the playoffs with my football team, Two being able to attend a great school and district, and Three, is meeting new people having new friends. I'm thankful for everything that was provided to me. I'm thankful for all my teachers who put there time and effort into giving us there time to become a great student. Some teachers give me a hard time, but now I know its just to help me out for I can become a better student and a better learner.
             I think that in the long run with the things they teach, we would  be able to become more educated and have a better understanding of the world around us. I think I changed from the start of 2016 to the end of it because I think that I'm more wise with the decisions I make and I'm smarter than I ever was. I think im that way now because of the people I surround myself with. The friends I have now they taught me more about what goes on and new things came to my attention being with them. They helped me become who I am now compared to the start of 2016.

             I'm really thankful to my mom and dad for setting up these opportunities that were provided for me. I am really lucky with the situation I am in now and im very lucky to have the people I have today. But most importantly I am very lucky to have my parents. I know sometimes I give my parents a hard time witch I need to stop doing because they do so much for me and sometimes I don't understand what they want to teach me. I need to act more grateful for now on and stop being rude or having arguements with them. I love my dad and my mom they do so much for me.

Commented on Enrique's blog

The United States is Corrupt

                       My thoughts on the election in general is it was a well fought battle between the republicans and Donald Trump, but I think that Hillary should have won because she had a majority vote from the people. Donald trump won because he  influenced little states to go for him,  that's what killed HIllary because she didn't have no influence in central America that's how Donald Trump won. Hillary did win all the popular states, but she forgot all about the central states.

                      Some people say that Donald Trump is smart for using his business to when because he used workers that he used to work with to get a upper hand in the central states. I would love to be more involved in politics and how our world should be run because i care about the future of america. Think about it now that the republicans are in office there going to mess up whatever Obama was trying to fix, that took him years to try and create. Now republicans are going to come in the white house and automatically make more jobs and lower the taxes???? How?

                      I'm not excited to vote in the next election because I don't want to be apart of whatever dumb guy they choose to run over Donald Trump. The usa might as well have a king and a Queen be the ruler of America because that's what's basically happening with all these parties, particularly Democrats and Republicans. I think we can't believe in republican presidents, remember bush he was a disappointment to our country.

The Truth

The Truth


This world is sacrifice,
The bravery of men and woman,
The remembrance of soldiers before us,
Love and peace is what is wanted,
But blood, sweat, and tears is what's given,
Heroes are united,
Honor is received,
The poppy flower lies there with sorrow and grief,
The world is sacrifice,

The Great Disturbance in Proska

                   Today, two young adults were seen arguing this morning in the park around 4 to 6 A.M. We do not know the whole reason why they were fighting, but some people overheard that they were arguing over who had the left the food at the party. It started of at a normal tone, but then it became a complication.

                  These couples were young adults from South Berwyn. The young man that intentionally started the argument, he looks to be in his early 20's. And his girlfriend looked around the same age as him. The man had a very loud and deep voice and that was the whole reason why this became a problem. The girlfriend  had a soft voice and she only became loud when she was imposed to do so. She was also distraught through out the whole conversation because the man was being so ill-mannered about the fact she wasn't admitting she left the food.

                  Some people who were in the park noticed that it was starting to get worse. As the man screamed at the woman "I didn't leave the cake!!! I gave it to you and you left it on the table!! What are you talking about?" This became so loud that it started to wake people nearby because they were disturbed from there sleep. One man came up to the young adult and told him to stop screaming because the people around the park were being disrupted from there early walk. This made the young man realize that he was being childish. Also he became more thoughtful on what he was doing and he apologized to people near him. Also to his girlfriend because he was yelling at her for a silly reason. And they made their way back to the car. When they finally were on there way it was peaceful and quiet in the park.

Reflections on the first quarter

                     There are a lot of things that I have developed in or learned in this class. I have became more better with how I write. Ever since we learned T.I.Q.A ,  I started using this format for all my writings. This structure of writing made it more easier for me to develop my writing and how I use different words in each sentence I write. T.I.Q.A also helped me have a better understanding of the book. It was the perfect format that helped me break down events that I read or listened to. I would say that this helped me do my work and understand what im doing.

                     Through out the first quarter, I don't think my blogs have progressed. It was just the format I used changed. I think that I have adapted to many things that I wasn't familiar with in this class. But adapting to different styles of writing makes me a better writer and helps me understand the topic we're writing about. Changing how I write was difficult for me, but I learned to understand the format we were getting taught. So I think that my blogs are on the same level of writing, but the format of the writing is different.

                     Finally, some goals or things i want to change as this next quarters go by is how i manage my time. For me I need to learn how to manage my time everyday, because im a athlete. I play football so this means i have practice two hours each week day. Having practice each day resulted in some issues for me managing my time. This is how my day goes after school (that i need to change). I come home I change, I don't even think about homework that I have to do because im so eager to hang out with my friends or to not miss out on something. Then after i hang out with my friends i have to rush home because I take so long hanging out with my friends I have to rush home and change to go to practice. Then after practice its like 8. Im tired so i lay down and take out my homework . But im barely awake and I don't give my best effort or i fall asleep doing it. So one goal I want to have for the rest of the quarters is to come home then do my homework right away and take my time obviously for i could put my best effort into it. Then hang out with my friends. For i can have something fun to do. Its very exhausting being a athlete. But if I want to accomplish my goals later in life i have to be academically ready because if I don't achieve my goals I need a backup plan. 

The Giver, Movie vs Book

            In the book The Giver when jonas meets Gabe its when they brought him to Jonas’s home to take care of him and Gabe was also mentioned by dad earlier in the book. In the movie Jonas was introduced to Gabe at the start of the book inside the annex room.  In the book Jonas meets gabe at home, “Oh, look!,’ Lily squealed in delight. ‘Isn’t he cute? Look how tiny he is! And he has funny eyes like yours, Jonas!’ Jonas glared at her. He didn't like it that she mentioned his eyes. He waited for his father to chastise Lily.” And in the book Jonas came up to Gabe because he was crying most of the time and wanted to see why. Fiona layed her hand on Gabe and Gabe stopped crying. One thing that struck Jonas was, “Lily followed behind, but she glanced back over her shoulder at Jonas and teased, ‘ Maybe he had the same Birth Mother as you,”(20).This made Jonas wonder if Gabe was actually his brother. In the movie when Jonas met Gabe he was very dumbfounded when his dad said Gabe was going to be set for release. Both of these stories behind the book and the movie were so different. I expected the movie to have some similar moments but it was way different from what I thought. Gabe was a important character in this story. He was the main reason why Jonas went on his journey to elsewhere.

            In the movie The Giver it was so different from the book. One main thing was Jonas he looke like he was 18 in the movie but in the book it says he's  about to turn 12. In the movie Jonas is way older than described in the book. And he is kind of crushing on Fiona more in the movie. And in the book “ Lily looked up her eyes wide. ‘The ceremony of twelve’, she whispered in a awed voice."(9). This shows that Jonas was going to turn twelve and how important it was in the book and the topic were talking abou. There is only once in a while you would see Jonas doing something with Fiona in the book, which made a way different ending then in the movie. But In the movie the romantic moments with Fiona gave Jonas more courage and love to go to elsewhere and release all the memories he had.

              The book was way different then what I thought the movie was going to be like. Fiona did not have that same impact like she did in the movie. So this all means that the change in the character was necessary because it gave a better detailed story. At first the movie was not good compared to the book. But at the ending of the movie was better because it displayed more love and a explanation for the end.

The Ending of The Giver

             In The Giver by Lois Lowry there are multiple themes created by the author, one that includes to find love and experience feelings you need to go through hardships. When Jonas leaves the community there was one night where the author said,“Jonas cried, too, for the same reasons, and another reason as well. He wept because he was afraid now that he could not save Gabriel. He no longer cared about himself”(174). Also when the Giver was in pain he shared a dreadful memory that causes jonas to have feelings, “One of Jonas’s arms was immobilized with pain, and he could see through his own torn sleeve something that looked like ragged flesh and splintery bone...slowly he reached to his side, and felt the metal container there...when the container was open, he extended his arm slowly across the blood-soaked earth, inch by inch, and held it to the lips of the boy." After Jonas gave the boy water he looked around him and realized what war looks like and all the pain happening in front of him. He could not watch it and realized he was about to die but then was pulled back into his conscious state of mind and was back in bed.When jonas received the feeling of pain from the memories it caused him to care for others when he or someone else is in danger and in pain. As you can see in my first quote Jonas was starving and so was Gabriel but he cared more about how gabriel will live except for how he would survive. In my second quote it explains that both Jonas and the random boy was hurt but still jonas gave water to the boy.
         
            Also in The Giver by Lois Lowry, Jonas goes through a lot of rough moments and he experiences things to make him change. Which means Jonas is dynamic throughout the story. In the beginning of the story Jonas was to calm on the way things were going in the community and he was also so ignorant about what was going on, "At first, he had been fascinated. He had never seen aircraft so close, for it was against the rules for Pilots to fly so close over the community. "(1). And as the story went on Jonas realized what was going on in the community, for example. "Once again he saw the face the face of the light haired, bloodied soldier as life left his eyes. The memory came back. He killed it! My father killed it! Jonas said to himself, stunned at what he was realizing. He continoued to stare at the screen numbly" [150]. Jonas changed right after the giver showed him memories and especially after how he learned what release had meant. He now knows whats going on and wants to change what is happening. Jonas was very curious and happy in the start of the movie but now he was sad and more wiser. he also became more selfless during the end of the book because he only cared about himself at the start of the book.

The Giver signpost

          In The Giver by Lois Lowry there are some moments when the author uses again and again which means he repeated a word. One word that always comes up is the Ceremony of 12. This seems to be one of the big moments in The Giver's society because the author keeps on bringing it up. One moment that gave me a idea that it was important is when Jonas's sister Lily talks about it. On pg.9 in the text it says "Lily looked up her eyes wide."the ceremony of twelve," she whispered in a awed voice. In the last part of what she said it added suspense on how important the ceremony is. I think the ceremony of twelve is going to play as a major factor of this book and how it's going to lead to the turning point of this book

          Also in The Giver by Lois Lowry, There are a multiple times when the author uses memory moments. One time when Jonas was at the house of the old where he has to care for the old. When he was washing her, she mentioned something about a man named Roberto who was released and he was excited when he left. But no one knows where there released him to. In the text it says "Where exactly did Roberto go?" She lifted her bare wet shoulders in a shrug. "I don't know. I don't think anybody does, except the committee." I think this important because I think that if this is supposed to be a utopia then why do they not know what happens when someones released. If this supposed to be a perfect place, the citizens need trust. I think this thought will be noticed later in the book.



                                                 Thank you for reading my blog!!!!!

Introduction to me

             Welcome to my blog. My name is Joseph and go to Heritage. My favorite sport is football. I'm a great athlete and I like to play every sport. I would say if we were watching any kind of game or anything that involves competition I would always root for the underdogs. I am also very competitive in sports and in arguments. I can also be quite annoying, but I am really funny.

              I'm also very smart. 1st to 3rd grade I didn't pay attention to anything. When I was in 4th grade I really stepped up from my slump. I started exceeding in my core classes. When I joined football, it helped me start doing better in school for I can play on the field. If it weren't for football I would probably be hanging around bad crowds and I would probably have no future ahead of me.

              Thanks guys this is the end of the blog. Thanks for reading this.