(3/9)

Luis Rojas

ENGW1100

Professor Young

Monday, September 1

Edgewater, New Jersey, that’s where my favorite place is located. That is where I go to just forget the world. As I have heard many people say “turn on music, turn off the world”. To me, this place means so much more than just a spot to relax, I have never gone with anyone there because I don’t want anyone to find me when I’m upset or just want to forget the world. I love it because it is right along the hudson river and it is all grass, so I can just lay there with my guitar while I very closely look at the water meet the sky. I can just lay there until my phone battery dies from playing music too much and then just listen to the relaxing sound of the water break against the wall very late at night when the tides are at their highest point. 

Some might assume that my favorite place might be my room, because of all the stuff I have there, but why don’t understand that my room is not my place of choice when I have a clouded mind. I would rather just walk forty five minutes to get to where I need to go and lay there for as long as I want and clear my mind of whatever is troubling. I find it to be rather amusing that when I’m there, I can easily put my phone on airplane mode, that way no calls or texts go through. When i’m there, I do not like to be bothered, I feel as if it is my sanctuary. I know I do not own the place, but it sure feels like so when I’m always the only one roaming the area. I could literally spend six or more hours in that spot for the same reason that it not only calms me, but also makes me feel safe.

For that very reason, it was very difficult for me to dorm here in Fairleigh Dickinson, because I did not want to leave that beautiful place I had grown very fond of. I felt as if I was leaving a part of me behind. Now it’s no longer a forty five minute walk, it became a one hour and a half drive. Here on campus, I’ve yet to find a place that is even a third of how beautiful and peaceful that very spot on Edgewater was. It is not even about how much time I spent there, because everyone has their own definition of “infinity”. Sometimes I feel as if that area was made for me to find.

Response to James McBride's Hip Hop Planet

Luis Rojas

ENGW1100

Professor Young

Monday, September 1

In my opinion, James McBride’s Hip Hop Planet dragged on a bit much because by the end of practically every paragraph he kept stating the same thing, the fact that he missed out on possibly the most important cultural event in his lifetime. I’m more than sure that he could have made that point without having to write more than six paragraphs about it. Originally, James McBride was embarrassed that he had to cope with what the people in his culture were listening to. He lived with a bad interpretation of what hip hop was for twenty six years. James McBride’s character in Hip Hop Planet describes how throughout the years, he had to learn how to enjoy hip hop because he understood that it was important in his culture. 

James McBride’s character changes when his daughter comes in with a guy saying that she’s getting married to him. He changes because he understand that he was once a young “knucklehead” too & that he had his own music & styles, so who was he to judge who his daughter wanted to marry. Like he stated at the end of the first paragraph, it was no longer his world. He didn’t understand how important the music was until twenty six years after he had been attempting very hard to avoid it day to day. He also understood that the music gave them an identity for the same reason that throughout the songs they performed, the repeatedly used the word “i”. 

(2/9)

Luis Rojas

ENGW1100

Tuesdays & Fridays (11:20-12:35)

Professor Young

Is identity important & if it is, what is it?

“Deja de introducir palabras en Ingles al Español cuando hablamos entre nosotros” is what my mother told me one afternoon while talking to her. It reminded me of how she used to tell me to stop placing spanish words into English sentences when I spoke and/or wrote. Now, it’s the complete opposite. Identity can be defined in numerous ways, depending on who you are speaking to. Not everyone will give you relatively the same answer because not everyone has gone through the same things. For example, I can very much relate to Gloria Anzaldua because of how she was reprimanded by her mother for speaking English with an accent & her getting told that “what is the point of education if you’re still going to speak English with an accent?”. To my knowledge, what Gloria Anzaldua is trying to get across is that language does define who you are, moreover, it makes you stand out. What brings out my true identity is that whenever I can, I could just start speaking in my natural tongue, spanish, & everyone around me would be so amused because they would always think that English is my first language, so to show who I really am, I can easily just bring that out to people. 

To me, Anzaldua did a very thorough job with explain the concept of her identity in the passage “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. It fully analyzes how difficult it was for her to adapt & show that she could do what she has accomplished. It also helps me understand that I’m not the only one that has gone through the struggle of learning a new “tongue” just so I can attempt at being successful in another country. Gloria also shows her true identity by adding certain Spanish words into her English sentences, that way she never loses her true roots. I remember doing that myself when I speak with Latino friends & to me, it would be amusing because they would actually fully understand what I’d be trying to get across. Identity is very important because it defines a person’s true character & it represents where they come from & how they were brought up. 

When referring to “How important identity is”, many people will give you and endless amount of answers & that too reflects how they were brought up. It really doesn’t matter who you are, I’m more than sure that everyone has a slightly different answer than the last person. To me, identity is more than important because it differentiates you from one another. I believe that throughout or lifetime, we constantly build, destroy & rebuild our true identity, trying to find ourselves in the process. Your identity is what makes you, you. It not only signifies everything you've experienced, but also everything you've learned.

(1/9)

Luis Rojas
ENGW1100
Professor Young
Monday, September 1

Someone who really defines me would be my uncle. He was the one who raised me ever since I was 3 years old & he was the one who pushed me to become who I am today. I honestly don't think I would have done anything if it wasn't for him. He, like me, was a biology major, but sadly had to leave school because of financial problems. For that reason I not only love my major, but I want to finish what he once started. He always focused on giving me opportunities to go through with what I want to do.
It sure would have been different if my parents were the ones who actually gave their time to raise me as oppose to him, but I am very thankful things turned out the way they did because I would not have liked it to be any other way. He is what inspired me as well to be a biology major. He had friends in laboratories & he would take me there to visit & I found the environment to be very amusing. I was raised by him with the mentality to never let an opportunity pass, not even by the slightest second. If there was an event in school that he thought I would like, he'd sign me up & honestly, I didn't complain about it because I personally liked that type of attitude coming from him.
Now that I'm here in college, I attempt to keep his mentality because I feel as if opportunities like these will only come once & if they do, I don't want to lose them because I wasn't completely "sure" about it.