Rank: Masters Objective
For this piece, I got to pick what I was writing about so I chose to write and non-fictional story of a Army Mission. I gave myself masters rank because I got a good grade on it and because I executed my skills well. I enjoyed writing this piece because it also taught me a little more about what military life was like.
Rank: Masters Objective
I gave myself the highest rank because I know i did well in writing the piece. Not just me, but the whole class spent weeks reading and exploring bigger ideas. This was one of my favorite pieces to write because I felt very confident in what I wrote.
Rank: Meets Objective
I gave myself this rank because I thought I did pretty well on this piece. I knew what I was going to do it on well before hand. I spent quite a while doing research and I think it came out great. My word choice wasn’t bad and the words flowed like they should.
As the year comes to an end, I look back at all the things I accomplished. I’ve done well on many tasks during the year, but I’ve also done not so well on some too.
I can definitely say I did well in writing different pieces. I’m great at writing stories about subjects I make up on my own instead of being given a specific topic. I need to improve on speeches. I’m not the best at giving speeches because I’m good at researching for them and getting the right information.
I’ve improved in many ways during this English year and I can safely say that I’ve been more than productive as well.
Austin Yaeger
Mrs. Wiederich
English 2
11 April 2018
My Grandpa
During our class, we’ve been discussing adversity. We’ve seen adversity through novels that we read. From the book I read called, The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, I saw how the main character had a couple adversities. I saw how he had to deal with autism and many family problems. I noticed how the main character didn’t let those adversities hold him back from what he wanted to do. In my life, I also have a couple of adversities, but not anything major compared to what Christopher had to deal with.
In my life, I have faced adversities and so has everyone else. My adversity is that I’ve never had the “Grandpa” experience. Before I was born, my grandpa on my mom’s side past away. Although my grandpa on my dads side is still alive, (as far as I know), I’ve never met him. From what I’ve heard, he isn’t a good man at all. He would abuse my dad and his brothers and sister. He would yell at people because of his temper. One of the many stories my dad has about him is that he was watching TV, when all of a sudden a newborn kitten walked in front of him. He decided to take his anger out on the kitten so he kicked the kitten across the room and broke its neck. All in all, he wasn’t the ideal person to be around. On the other hand, my grandpa on my mom’s side was the complete opposite.
He was a God fearing man who cared for his family. He had a love for music that wasn’t comparable. He played the accordion for others in his band and owned his own music store. At the store, him and his wife, my grandma, would give lessons. He would give accordion lessons and my grandma would teach people how to play piano. My grandpa would always make people smile and laugh whenever he could.
Unfortunately, he died before I was born. He died in late nineteen ninety nine, just a couple months before my sister was born. Everyone that knew him was touched by him and his love for music. My mom says that “You couldn’t go anywhere without Dad seeing someone he knew.”
In my life, this adversity doesn’t directly effect me. Sure it’s sad he died, but I can’t spend my life being sad. I’ve learned to get over the fact that I’m never going to see him until I go to heaven, so I’ve changed my mindset from being sad he’s gone, to being excited to finally get to meet him one day. Now I’ve never had the “Grandpa experience” either. Some people have a different idea of what that is, but my idea of it is having your grandpa teach you helpful tips or do fun activities outdoors with him. I don’t think my grandpa was ever the outdoorsman, but I could’ve learned a lot about music from him. Today, I play the trumpet in my high school band. I kind of enjoy playing it and push myself to hit higher notes and play at different paces.
What I’ve learned from this adversity is to not live life with a bad attitude. Don’t think about the downs you’ve had but rather focus on the future and what will come next. I’ve learned to overcome adversities by not thinking negatively about them. Even though it may be hard to overcome, try your best. I also learned to be confident in yourself. Don’t think of yourself with a bad mindset and don’t let other people push you around, but instead, stand up to them. Trust in yourself, but more importantly, put all your trust in God.
God has a plan for all of us and knows what each and every one of us deal with and will deal with later on in our lives. We can’t live our lives with our heads down. We all have a purpose and a calling to do. God calls every single one of his people to go out and preach the word to others who choose not to believe or just don’t know at all. When we focus on our adversities too much, we tend to stray further and further away from the goal that God set for us.
Author’s Note-
This text is in the final draft form. I don’t know what else to add or if I should delete anything. I kinda like the part when I talk about my two grandpas because it shows the adversity just that much more. I need help with most of this piece and how to make certain parts of it better; like run on sentences or things like that. I also want feedback on if I have short and choppy sentences, because I’m not sure if I have them.
In my opinion, adversity can be a good thing and a bad thing. It can be a bad thing because difficulties are not fun to deal with. No one wants to live a difficult life. We all want it to be easy and free flowing, but that’s not possible. There are difficulties in all our lives and we have to deal with them on a daily basis. Some difficulties are bigger than others. Adversity is good because it pushes us to make right decisions and it teaches us to learn. It teaches us to learn from our mistakes and move on. Some adversity is unavoidable. For example, if your grandma dies, it’s out of your control, but it’s still a difficulty that you have to deal with. Like I said earlier, there are different severities of difficulty. If you were really close to your grandma, you would have a harder time getting over it. If you didn’t really know your grandma, you might get over it quicker and move on. Life isn’t about sulking in your difficulties, so we shouldn’t be afraid of them. We know that God always has the right choice and we should trust him that he will make the right decision and help us through our difficulties.
In the book I read, “The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime”, Chris had to deal with a couple adversities. Chris had to deal with having autism. Chris having autism was out of his control, but it was God’s choice to give him it. Even though he had autism, he still lived his life and did what he wanted. Another adversity he had to deal with was family problems. His mom was presumed dead and he had to live with his father without his mom. Growing up without a mom would be tough, but Chris had to deal with it. Chris would do certain things to trigger his dad into getting mad. Chris would do things such as talk to much or say things to make his dad angry and shout. Later in the book, chris finds out that his mom is actually alive and that she was sending him letters that he didn’t know of. His dad was hiding this from him the whole time. Even though Chris had to deal with these adversities, he still took on life with a full stride. He didn’t let others hold him back, but his different adversities sometimes held him back. His autism held him back from experiencing different things. The conflict between his parents made him think about it and get off track. Chris learned to deal with the adversities in his life.
Austin Yaeger
Mrs. Jank
English 2
9 February 2018
Homeless people in America
In some circumstances, the American people choose to see homeless people as disposable. There are many types of people who are homeless and reasons why they are where they ended up. Some reasons are out of there control, and some are just because of poor decision making. This can easily be seen through how homelessness has changed, poor health / mental illnesses, employment, how it impacts them and how America needs to step up and help. Who knows; maybe one day someone you know could end up like one of these people and see what they really go through on a daily basis.
Homelessness has changed throughout the years and shows why homeless people today are considered disposable to some. In “Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America” by John Baranski, he shows how homeless people were back then, and how they have changed. In his book, he says that the homeless people back then were “Mostly young, single, and male, these hobos by necessity and choice hopped the rails in search of seasonal jobs and relief, using their wits, each other, and labor as their primary means of survival.” (Baranski 271). This goes to say that these homeless men became homeless on purpose so that they could hitch a ride on trains to find a new life. Nowadays, people can become homeless on purpose, but it’s not a good choice to. People today become homeless from losing money and other problems relating to that. Pertaining to them being considered disposable, Baranski also states that “…hobos at many turns faced public hostility and the gaze of reformers.” (Baranski 271). Baranski is saying that back then, people were still treated as “disposable” as they were being looked down upon for what they were doing. Just like today, the homeless people back then were being perceived as disposable. The people didn’t want them in their towns trashing everything up, sort of like today with some people in America.
It’s important to realize that how homeless people were back then isn’t the only example that can show how people think of them as disposable. Poor health can also cause homelessness, which then leads to more and more major issues down the road. Poor health associating with homeless people has always been a major concern when dealing with the homeless. In “Homelessness and the Public’s Health: Legal Responses” by Barbara DiPietro, she also says that “Poor health is simultaneously a cause and consequence of homelessness.” (DiPietro 28). This quote further explains that having poor health can get someone wound up in terrible situations. Having major health issues and not being able to pay hospital bills can get people homeless very fast. Homeless people also lack health insurance, so they have no one to back them up if they end up sick or injured and have a massive bill to pay. DiPietro responds to that problem by saying how “Lack of health insurance and access to basic health services lead homeless populations to frequent emergency rooms and hospitals more often than general public.” (28). Like DiPietro said, homeless people with poor health wind up in emergency rooms more often than the non homeless people do. That’s because homeless people live on the street with no protection or shelter. Homeless people sometimes can’t pay for medicine or other remedies, so they rely on trust that their body can overcome whatever they have. Society may see sick homeless people on the street and think that they are useless because they can’t provide for themselves or get some help from a professional.
However, poor health is not the only reason society sees homeless people as disposable.
Unemployment in homeless people is a deep concern in how they will make money and get back on their feet. Some employers don’t want homeless people because they can’t trust what they can do because of their past life. They would rather have someone that can support themselves and show up to work everyday. In the journal “Barriers to obtaining employment for people with severe mental illness experiencing homelessness” by Daniel Poremski, he talks about how getting a job when you’re homeless is nearly impossible, and how when they have mental disorders, it’s pretty much impossible. Criminal records can scare employers into not hiring homeless people as well. In Poremski’s journal, he talks about how “Unemployment among homeless people as been estimated to be around 80-90%.” (Poremski 181). These numbers are scary high, and to some people living in America, it can show how they think homeless people are disposable because they aren’t working or doing much to help themselves get out of where they are. Back to the criminal record problems, Poremski states that “Having a criminal record, physical illness or substance abuse and poor employment appear to impede employment for both housed people with a mental illness and people who are homeless.” (181). Poremski says that having physical problems, criminal records, substance abuse and poor past employment can cause employers to not hire these people who are in need of work. Employers need to be concerned with these problems, but instead of putting a hand in their face, they should lend a hand of help to these people who are in dire straits. Now poor health isn’t the only eye opener to show how homeless people are not disposable. How homelessness affects the actual person who is homeless is truly painful to look at.
In a magazine article written by an anonymous author, she says that “sure we didn’t have much to eat – I got most of my meals at school, and we scrounged up what we could at the dollar store. But we were actually happy.” (62).What the author is saying is that these people literally almost have nothing. They eat from school and that’s about the only food they get. The fact that these people were “actually happy” is astonishing. They were blessed by what they could get and weren’t greedy for what they didn’t get. The author then goes and talks about how “In other words, you learn to deal with hardship by having the right attitude. It’s one of the biggest things I’ve taken away from this whole experience.” (62) The author is saying how staying positive through it all is the key. Having the right attitude in anything you do in life will help you succeed. The author of this magazine article was actually homeless at one point. She eventually made it through the process and went to college. This proves how even in the worst times, there is always a chance to make it right. Some people don’t look at it that way though. For some, they see that they have no chance in life and they are disposable to society. After looking over all of these reasons why homeless people are considered disposable, America needs to turn around and see how they need our help.
Kimberly Aiken won Miss America in 1993. She wanted to make a change in how everyone around the world should help the homeless. Aiken wrote a message to the people and titled it “Hope for the Homeless”. In her message, she says that for her “Not long afterward, homelessness “hit home” for me when, for more than a year and a half, drug and alcohol abuse left my uncle without a place to call his own.” (HTML). Aiken saw her own uncle struggling to find hope, so she wanted to be that source of hope. She wants us all to be that source of hope for others in the same situation as her uncle. Aiken states that she went on a field trip to Washington DC and “There I saw people sleeping on street grates for warmth, bundling up on the steps of federal buildings pushing carts with everything they owned.” This is when she really started to see how it was affecting these people. They didn’t have much at all, and what they did have wasn’t much. Even though these people look like they are down on life, she dedicated her time to help these people get back on their feet.
Homeless people are still people, but to some, they are considered disposable and useless. Homelessness has changed a little bit throughout the years, but the same mindset still stands. It’s true that poor health associating with homeless people can cause some people to see them as disposable. Even though unemployment among homeless people is between 80-90%, employers should do the right thing and give them a chance. While being homeless is not the ideal situation for anyone, having the right attitude and mindset can get you through anything. Finally, people need to wake up and see that these people are in serious trouble, and God wants us to help them. Everyone is created equal in God’s eyes, so everyone should treat people the same and no one should ever think of another person as disposable.
Works Cited
Aiken, Kimberly. “Hope for the Homeless.” Essence, vol. 25, no. 6, 1995. EBSCO HOST.
Baranski, John. “Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America.” Journal of Social History, vol. 39, no. 1, 2005, pp. 271–273. EBSCO HOST.
DiPietro, Barbara. “ Homelessness and the Public’s Health: Legal Responses.” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, vol. 45, 2017, pp. 28–32. EBSCO HOST.
Poremski, Daniel. “Barriers to obtaining employment for people with severe mental illness experiencing homelessness.” Journal of Mental Health, vol. 23, no. 4, Aug. 2014, pp. 181–185. EBSCO HOST.
“The 3 W’s of homelessness in America.” Girl’s Life, 2015, pp. 69–69.
In this article, the author is talking about how we all need to pitch in and help the homeless. She emphasizes that we might be homeless one day, and that we should help those who already are. “Not long afterward, homelessness “hit home” for me when, for more than a year and a half, drug and alcohol abuse left my uncle without a place to call his own.” This quote is really good because the author saw what true homelessness is like and she finally realized that homeless people need our help. I will most likely use this magazine article in my paper because she makes a lot of good points that could hopefully benefit my paper as a whole.
In this article, the author talks about The 3 W’s of homelessness in America. The 3 W’s are who, why and where. I won’t go in depth on each, but that is what they are. “In other words, you learn to deal with hardship by having the right attitude. It’s one of the biggest things I’ve taken away from this whole experience.” I like this quote and the whole magazine because the author actually went through being homeless and it’s a first person experience. I will probably use this article in my paper because it shows what being homeless is like and what the people go through, through a first person perspective; which might help my paper.
In this article, the author speaks about the unemployment rates for people who are homeless. The article talks about how homeless people looking for jobs and experiencing mental illnesses do not mix very well. It’s almost impossible to get a job when you are in that situation. “Unemployment among homeless people as been estimated to be around 80-90%.” This number is crazy, and I think employers should give the homeless more of a chance at getting jobs. In my paper, I am definitely going to use this source the most because it gives great examples about what I want to write about. This article is also decently long, so I’m hoping that I’ll get tons of valuable information from it.