Monday, October 5, 2009

Reflection

An event that has shaped me the way I am today is when my dad left. I know it’s not a common story people tell when they are writing how they became the person they are today, but in my case it works. I strive to do everything that he never did. I go to school so I can be more successful than him.

In eighth grade he abandoned me when him and my mother got into a fight. He never said bye or told me sorry, he just left. My parents were already divorced so it didn’t hurt my mom to much, but it did for me. My dad and I were really close. We used to do everything together. I considered him my best friend and I loved him. When he left it changed me. I started to not trust people and not to like new people that I met.

I realized what I was doing and decided I wanted to change. I was letting him win by turning into him. Now I challenge myself to be the opposite of him. I make sure I go to school and do my work so I can graduate from college. Just by going to college I have already done more than him. On a brighter side another person who has made me who I am is my mom. She was always there for me and helping me with anything I needed. I want to be like her in a way for my kids.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

vocabulary

Baklava

Part of speech: noun

In Berkeley, and only in Berkeley, my name drew people like flies to baklava. (Funny in Farsi, 64)

Context clues: logic, “drew people like flies”, flies are drawn to food

Def: A Near Easter pastry made of many layers of paper-thin dough with filling of nuts, baked dough and honey

Sentence: Ms. Henderson brought baklava for the class to try.


Exempt

Part of speech: verb

The Christian and Jewish children at my school were exempt from religious studies, a fact that caused much envy among the rest of us. (Funny in Farsi, 105)

Context clues: logic, figured it out after the comma when it said “a fact that caused much envy among the rest of us.”

Def: to free from an obligation or liability to which others are subject.

Sentence: I was exempt from taking algebra since I had already taken it in eighth grade.


Gendarmes

Part of speech: noun

The gendarmes started sifting through the clothes and the myriad of gifts I had brought for my host family. (Funny in Farsi, 133)

Context clues: I had a already known what gendarmes meant

Def: name for police officers in European Countries

Sentence: The gendarmes can be very annoyed with tourists when they are asked all day where things are.