shaunblog

https://poets.org/poem/we-real-cool March Madness is one of the largest athletic events in the world. A single elimination basketball tournament with over 68 college teams, the competition is tough, and predicting outcomes is even tougher. Everyone loves seeing the underdog win, which is why I immediately picked Gwendolyn Brooks when my English teacher announced that our class would be creating our own Poetry March Madness competition. Often regarded as one of the most influential poets of the 20th-century, Gwendolyn Brooks’ impact on American culture is prevalent even today, nearly 20 years after her death. A revolutionary individual from day one, Brooks was born in 1917 at the tail end of the first World War. She published her first poem at the age of 13, and began frequently publishing poems in the Chicago Defender by the time she was 17. Watching the events of the Civil Rights Movement unfold, Brooks stayed true to her racial identity, amplifying the strength of black culture and e...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS2Ozgx-ih8 The prevalence of slapstick comedy in content spread across social media and other platforms is quite a dramatic shift from the more thoughtful laughter that ripened over prior generations. Comedy has evolved into more one-liners and funny events rather than the well-developed and subtle jokes of the past, possibly because of the cultural shift towards bluntness and openness.  I find an extremely apparent and powerful example of thoughtful laughter is the Office in the interactions between the characters Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, and Stanley Hudson, played by Leslie David Baker. Throughout the show, Michael Scott, the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin, attempts to be inclusive and aware of his biases when interacting with the only black employee, Stanley. However, he often fails to do this professionally and makes several racially unaware comments and sometimes almost derogatory statements that Stanley gets triggered by. Eve...

I have always received a shocked reaction whenever I tell people I was born in and lived in India for 8 years before moving to the United States. “You don’t sound Indian,” or “your English is really good,” are common replies, and, every single time, I have to explain my family and my upbringing to alleviate the curious person’s confusion. What I often fail to mention is how I developed my English skills at such a young age in a country of primarily non-English speakers. From the ages of 3-12, I read quite literally every single book I could get my hands on. These books helped me grasp English at a young age; a skill that has helped me in every facet of my life. I find language to be the most impactful factor toward success. To be an effective leader, you must communicate using clear and concise language. To be an effective collaborator, you must learn to use empathetic but firm language. And to be an effective learner, you must be able to articulate your thoughts into questions that ca...

I was looking for music to relate to Hamlet, but no matter where I searched I could not find one specific song or album that could be marked as even remotely close enough. Despite my initial doubts about Shakespeare, I guess this explains why he is so respected even hundreds of years after his death: his characters are timeless. Hamlet has so many real human issues and thoughts and feelings that it is impossible to compare him to just one piece of work. The complexity of his character means that he possesses several different facets, all unique in description and impact that come together to create the whole figure of Hamlet. Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia is often turbulent and sometimes nonexistent, but there always seems to be this underlying sense that Hamlet does really care for her even if he isn’t the best at showing it. This misunderstanding of love is awfully similar to “I THINK” and “GONE, GONE / THANK YOU” from the album IGOR by Tyler, The Creator. The album describes th...

A recurring theme arises throughout the novel Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, where a young girl in Nigeria named Kambili faces unachievable expectations and physical abuse from her father when she fails to reach them. Life is difficult for Kambili: she fails to connect with “normal” people for fear that they will not understand her, and she is reclusive and keeps to herself even when she wants to share. A modern take on the life of African children, I instantly related this novel to the song Pressure by Thutmose . Growing up in Lagos, Thutmose understands the life of an African child and the struggles of moving countries and cultures. He left Nigeria when he was 9 because of an explosion of a military armory, and Pressure details the struggles of being mistreated in Africa and the panic that ensues as military involvement gets more widespread and corrupt. The vivid imagery in Thutmose’s storytelling helps paint a picture of the dangerous situation in Nigeria at the time....

“You never know what you have until it’s gone.” A common colloquial phrase applicable to nearly every event, this quote speaks to me specifically when contemplating loss. Loss is widely considered to be one of the worst feelings that a human being can feel. It appears in many ways: losing a competition, losing a loved one, or sometimes even losing yourself in the hustle and bustle of life. To process this grief, this inner turmoil of losing something you hold dear to your heart is perhaps the most painful process of all. You may value something when it’s there, but you will never know how truly precious it was until it’s gone. When originally tasked with writing about self-actualization, I struggled to find topics to write about. I looked at everything for inspiration, from my dog to the War and Peace novel on my bedstand, but nothing stood out. Frustrated by my lack of ideas, I proceeded to, as I usually do when I face any minor difficulty, shuffle through my liked songs on Spotify. A...

A literary classic of the Romantic era, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley exposes the desperation and emotional mania of human nature as individuals suffer in their endeavors to achieve glory. The wonder of this piece lies in its unique exploration of how a reclusive and seemingly antisocial man, seeking to understand the world, attempts to make a legacy for himself. After losing his mother, he suffers from severe grief that makes him almost unable to function normally. He dedicates himself to his work, sacrificing his health and his relationships in order to stand out and truly solidify his genius within the public eye. That wasn’t about Frankenstein by the way. Despite its uncanny similarity, “the piece” in reference is My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West, quite a fitting name for both works in general. Following his notorious music video controversy with Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs as well as a breakup with his girlfriend Amber Rose, a most definitely unstable Kanye was def...