"Where I am from" Poem

“Where I am from”
I am from 1991
I am from the ending of a Cold War
I am from the 264th day of the year
I am from 17 years of wisdom
I am from a Lime Tree
I am from a Sapphire
I am from Life Path Number 2

I am from 2 older sisters, 1 half older brother, 1 younger bother
I am from parents who never hear me
I am from two small. Intimidating grandparents
I am from the all knowing aunts and uncles
I am from plátano frito and arroz con leche
I am from a distant and a close family
I am from wisdom that will always be passed down

I am from 4 years of High School
I am from a school of 4,000 plus
I am from a C 125 locker
I am from 6 classes
I am from the questions I ask from confusion or curiosity
I am from the desk-chair staring out the window
I am from the silence of every class I have

I am from a simple little group of friends
I am from a group of 10 strangers
I am from 10 strangers becoming friends
I am from a group of teenagers who simply want to be in college
I am from a group of girls surrounding one boy
I am from the secrets I have been sworn to secrecy to
I am from the memories I cherish with them

"Play" in Red: The Next Generation of American Writers-Teenage Girls-What Fires Up Their Live Today - Olive Panter.

Summary: Olive was born into a musical environment. It was there in all shapes and sizes from a record player to a portable CD player. Though she has other things that keep her busy and entertained, she somehow gets pleasure from listening to music. She finds it intriguing that everyone loves music no matter how young or old you are. We all have a natural responce to music. She enjoys singing and her parents are extremely supportive of her taking this time of her life to Rock and Roll before she enters Adulthood where bills exist. She is in two bands and will always want to be "completely immersed in it for the rest of her life".

Connection to making a Video: This story could make an excellent movie because it can show the many people who listen to music. And how she out of the many others has used music to her fullest advantage. And show her home life with how she grew up with all this music and how it made her the way she is. And this would capture an audience of all ages because it would have all types of music and how music has change through out the times.

"My Impression Now." n Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life - John Sellers.

Summary: John Sellers talks about how music has affected certain events in his life like getting a ticket for doing 82 in 55 speed limit area because he was rocking out to a song. He doesn't like to listen to the new music. And though many of us would think him not owning an I-Pod in 2007 as strange but he believed it took away actually listening to the music and seeing and feeling what the composer felt and saw.

Connection tomaking a Video: I learned that the way music is listened does downgrade the song and really grasping the whole concept. Like being able to buy one song when the whole cd is one big story the composer took a long time creating. And Songs make you feel a certain way no matter how happy or sad you are. It makes you see a motion picture in your head and you just feel compelled to press repeat til you hear another great song. And thats how it is for making a video, you have to create something that defines the generation or something timeless to be seen over and over again and never loses it's audience

My Own Little Jericho Poem

My Own Little Jericho

August 2004

This summer was going to be different

The doorbell rang and the “Let’s get it started” was blaring in my ears

This boy came into the living room and made the air toxic then my mood became indifferent

When I was there in that house with all my friends, I had no fears

“Danielle, the phone!” I picked up the phone and I heard “Are you gonna be my girl?” my heart stopped

I felt like I came out of my body and could see myself frozen like Ice

“Somebody Told Me” you had a boyfriend and I felt my heart popped

I called him the biggest American Idiot; I was tired of being nice

We continued watching the music video 1985

The sun set and parents came home

My friend’s sister running around acting like she was five

She confided in me about her father acting numb and her feeling alone

I was cornered before lunch and just said “Say what you need to say”

I saw their faces wondering what I would say or feel but I brushed it off like it was nothing

He told her “If I Ain’t Got You then I don’t think I can keep being friends”, She didn’t know what to say

I asked what was wrong, she said nothing but I knew it was something.

He turned to me and said “This Love I feel hurts and I don’t know what I should do”

He threw up his White Flag and gave in to just having a friendship

Our summer was back to being normal and not like some emotional zoo

You and I Both have to sacrifice a lot for this relationship

She said “After Tonight everything will changed” and it was true

I realized this home was my own little Jericho

And all our friendships grew

As I said goodbye to summer, I would never forget to say hello

Response/Reaction to Jenna’s Story

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101082178

As I read Jenna's story, I see that my senior class has a huge wake up with credit cards, College Loans, buying clothes, and even finding a part time job. I have realized like many of my peers that finding a part-time after school job to save up a little bit of money is nearly impossible because no one is hiring. Since the funds for College Loans has decreased more and more students will attend community college and probably stay at home. We the younger generation and President Barack Obama have become the Hope that needs to pull America through this tough time. If the credit cards keep harassing people that simply have no money to keep up with credit card payments should not be sent one in the mail. And that would help many future adults to now fall at the mercy of Debt and be fooled into buying a home you can't afford with Loans that have 2 pt. font size sentence saying the bank will raise your mortgage if you are late once or after a certain amount of time rolls by. And I too hope that after 4 years at College this whole Economic Crisis will become a thing of the past. And if not I still have to complete my Masters and PhD.

My Experience/ Perspective with the Current Economic Climate

Though the Current Economic Climate hasn't really affected me. I don't have an experience and hope that I won't ever have one. However I do have an opinion. I believe that the Economic Crisis can not become anything worse then it is now because the minute that happens there will be a full blown Depression possibly more worse than the one in1929 when the Stock Market Crashed. I believe the Government should be more aggressive with people like Madoff who stole money and it was 67 Billion Dollars. And he isn't willing to talk to protect his investors most likely to protect his family. Though beating a man up to tell you the truth is illegal, I think in this kind of case where literally all that money would refund the government the money they gave the banks would go back into the funds only have the Government bank have less debt and possibly save our Economy. By giving everyone a check for a substantial amount of money. I understand where a Republican could say why are we paying so much money, is it worth it? Well since they weren’t do their job making sure people weren’t messing around with the money and doing the job the right way, we probably wouldn‘t be in this position. They only thing where I am afraid if my mom lost her job because if she doesn’t work then we would lose everything. And to even think that’s a remote possibility is really scary and somewhat stressful.

"My Ride, My Revolution" in The Republic of East L.A.- Luis J. Rodriguez

Summary: Cruz Blancarte lives in East L.A where the barrio is. Though he is long hared and scruffy he manages to have a job as a limo driver. Since he can't commit to anything he has had several odd jobs. Since he is both Indian and Mexican he can't identify himself as either. He is n a Metal Rock Band because he likes to be around music which is one of the reasons he is a limo driver. Though he knows he is just wasting time, he rather not be like everyone else. He has a spiritual curiosity. Though he knows he had to study and probably be somebody that could affect people by going to school but it's too late. However he still feels like seeing the world of the rich and of the normal/poor when he rides in his limo.

Connection to making a Video: I understood that no matter from what class you come from you still can have a desire to know more even though where you are may just be where you will be for the rest of your life. And though jobs like being a driver are not exactly appealing to those in school going into the real world, it may be for the guy driving the limo. And they could make a movie on the driver's perspective on how he sees life and the paradox between the rich gated communities to the barrios in East L.A

My Own Little Jericho

August 2004

My Own Little Jericho

August 2004

It was June of 2004; I was finished with 7^th grade. And now it was time to relax with my friends this summer but we had no place to go. Luckily my friend Lauren offered up her place. I went over to her house that Monday. I rang the door while humming this new song by the Black Eyed Peas that was called “Let’s get it started” which I thought was perfect for the first day of summer. I walked in with the TV blaring; it was on MTV which would be on till the end of summer. Lauren who had the personality of a magnet, everyone always wanted to be around her. She tells me that her friend Nathan will be arriving soon and then my stomach turned to knots. The doorbell rang couple hours later and he walked in. I was watching a TRL interview with Carson. Nathan was a guy who basically causes annoyance and basically he was “Toxic”. I was just laying there possibly in a trace because I barely spoke a word with him. Weekes pasted of the same old same old. I was home and Lauren slept over my house. That morning my whole summer changed. She was speaking to Shawn who was my good guy friend. She asked me yes or no and I said yes. One, three lettered word now made me curious and confused. I picked up the phone and his voice on the other side and he said “Are you gonna be my girl” I acted normal then I realized why not? The first month passed and I was on the couch once again in a trace watching MTV. Nathan came over and was annoying me once again. Then he was had the nerve to comment on me being single as if it was a contest but what he didn’t know I wasn’t. Lauren blurted out “Shawn is on the phone”. I left the room to take the call. Lauren explains the situation between Shawn and I. Nathan walked up to me and said “Somebody Told Me” that you had a boyfriend. I ignored his comments and sat back down on the couch. I was over him bothering me and saying the most idiotic comments. And I said “You are the biggest “American Idiot””. He rolled his eyes and turned to Lauren and continued talking. MTV was showing a new video and I wanted to know what it was and it happened to be “1985”. It was a good song and was kind of funny. I slept over Lauren’s house for the hundredth time and we got to talking. I started to acknowledge her awards and she said she does it for her dad so he can acknowledge all her hard work. She sometimes thinks her father is emotionally “Numb”. Then he rang a bell and it was time for dinner. It was a delicious, thick steak that could probably give someone a heart attack. Luckily that night no one got one. Couple days past and I was cornered by Lauren & Alicia who wasn’t known to keep a secret of any kind. I was confused on why they both need to be speaking to me. Alicia was babbling about random stuff and I told her “Say” what you need to say because I’m too hungry to try and figure it out. So I walked down stairs and had Macaroni and cheese for lunch. Jacob who was now Lauren’s boyfriend and basically told Lauren “If I ain’t got you” then his life basically will end. He was quite the drama king of emotions. Nathan had a “secret crush” on Lauren but it wasn’t exactly a secret. He was talking to me and he was saying how much “This Love” he has this girl he knows is making him confused. Nathan wrote Lauren a letter saying he has a “White Flag” up and he surrenders and is going to be honest with her and tell her how he feels. I thought this was kind of funny, I know it’s mean but honestly anyone who had eyes could tell how he felt about her. Lauren called me and we spoke till sunrise. I told her I was getting sick of being around the same people except for you of course, “You and I Both”. I was talking to Nathan while watching MTV of course and he was telling me “After Tonight” everything will be different but the plans changed and he ended up not going out with Alicia that night with Jacob and Lauren on a double date. The summer was coming to an end and I realized that this house was my own little “Jericho”.

"Roller Boogie" in Love is a Mixtape: Love and Loss, One song at a time - Sheffield, Rob.

Summary: A boy who uses his knowledge of music and how it affects people to his advantage. He chooses to be the guy who makes the play list for the dances. He uses this as a way to get to know girls and what better way to get to know them is by seeing what kind of music they like. He sometimes agree that when he looks back on what sings he would use he would become blank on why he chose that particular song especially when it was a song that was completely off base with the theme he incorporated into his play lists.

What I learned: This story would be a great movie that targeted teenagers. And how we have music describe the person we are and our philosophies in life. Though many of us don't get the chance to pick the playlist we listen to at our dances. It would be cool to see how this plays out and what goes into doing this cool job.

"We stood in line at Ellis sland for this" in Kick Me:Adventures in AdolescenceFeig, Paul

Summary: In this story, Feig explains how his birth name Paul Feig would be just apart of his imaginary past. How he once hated being called Fig Newton due to a popular TV commercial. And now yearns to be called Fig Newton instead of Fag as he got older. He believes that the things you thought you hated when you were younger you will will to have it when you grow older.

Connection to making a Video: Though this story is short and cuts to the chase with not a lot of detail it still has some possibilities to turn into a short film. You would have a voice over of Paul as he is older and having someone call him Fag. Then there would be a little kid walking and has someone call him Fig Newton. And expand just enough to get the main idea of this story.

"Life and Myths" in The Stories We live By: Personal Myths and the Making of the Self" McAdams, Dan P.

Summary: A Personality Psychologist's job is to figure out why people are who they are. To have a sense of who his patients are and how they handle certain situations, he listens to their stories. One lady that he is working on her name is Margaret Sands and she has decided that she wants to improve the meaning of her life, but first she must share the stories of her past. In this story the woman is a mother and one day decided that she wanted to take her daughter on a trip and she wrote on a wall. To Margaret this made her feel in powered but to others it looked like an act of vandalism. He tries to make the stories his patients would tell him valid. He believes that one's story can help identify who they are and why. And as the patient would tell their stories he tries to connect it to the present and how it may have or have not affect them. Telling stories is not only so you can identify yourself but way to relate yourself to someone else.

Connection to making a Video: While reading this story I learned a lot about how our lives can be affected by the stories we have and heard of. Stories are like movies they contain a beginning, a middle, and an end. Movies may show the character of the person on camera or the person that created it. Many times movies tend to have more drama and a happy ending but stories are raw and have more feeling that any move could probably capture unless there was no script of any kind.

Patricia Hampl "I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory"

Summary: This story was written from a women who is writing her memoirs and she goes into such detail about her past. She is quite surprised on how she can remember certain memories better than other like the "sneezing nun". She tells us that some parts are slightly different from what really happened. She writes her memoirs to let the reader try and imagine and picture what she was going through at the time. The girl helps the reader visualize the connection between her and her father because he got her piano lessons so that they could have piano- violin duets.

Connection to making a Video: This story can be applied when creating a film. When we start creating a draft of our movies it starts out with many separate pieces and as we go more into detail we start to take out and add we we think is necessary to capture the audience's attention and still have it be authentic. Though creating anything includes tedious work, in the end it becomes a piece of art.

The Wizard of Oz (Original) Trailer

The Wizard of Oz (Remake) Video

The Wizard of Oz (Remake) Bloopers Video

The Wizard of Oz (Orginal) Slideshow

The Wizard of Oz (Remake) Stills

Dorothy and Toto get swooped up by the Tornado while still in their house.


Dorothy (Vanessa) meets Glinda the Good Witch (Denise) when she first enters the Land of Oz.


Dorothy and Toto find themselves lost and find a Scarecrow (Lisa) who can talk and joins them to go to The Wizard of Oz.



Dorothy and the Scarecrow were following the Yellow Brick Road but heard mumbling from a Tinman (Denise) who needed to oil his joints so he can move. The Tinman thanked them and went with them to the Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tinman were walking in the forest when they heard gerowling from a Lion (Danielle). The Lion jumps out at the passerbyers and ends up joining them to go to The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz (Angel) gives the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tinman what they wanted and told Dorothy who she could ask for directions to go back home to her Auntie Em.

The Wizard of Oz (Remake) Blooper Stills

Denise and Lisa making the Axe for the Tin man out of foil.


The Group painting the Yellow Brick Road on Butcher Paper for The Remake


The Group making the Cornfield out of butcher paper and paint for the Scarecrow Scene.


Denise and Vanessa cracking a smile during the beginning scene of The Remake.


Steven our camera man making funny faces while Vanessa tries to explain to Angel what he has to do as he plays the Wizard of Oz.

Descriptions of the Main Characters

Dorothy Gale (Vanessa)- A young girl who lived in Kansas all her life. One day a tornado swooped her and her little dog Toto into a whole new world called Oz. Oz is where everything was in color and there she meets people who will guide her back home to Kansas but before that happens she has to go through many challenges like the threats from the Wicked Witch of the West, the Poppy fields, the Oz who tells her to kill the witch, etc...

The Scarecrow (Lisa)- A scarecrow is only meant to scare crows away from the corn fields. This Scarecrow feels however useless because he has no brain, just hay. And when Dorothy meets him, she sets him free from this pole that held him. When he is freed, he joins Dorothy to go ask the Wizard of Oz if he can get a brain. On the way there however his intelligence is challenged. The Wizard of Oz points out he had the intelligence all along, its just he needed proof so the Wizard of Oz gave him a Diploma.

The Tin Man (Denise)- When he met Dorothy, he was as still as someone would be if they couldn't move. And he could not move because he was made out of tin and needed oil when his joints got stuck. Dorothy helped him out and he showed her that he was hollow and he had no heart, The tin man felt he needed a heart to feel. Dorothy and the Scarecrow proposed he go with them to ask the Wizard of Oz for a heart because they both needed a favor as well. And the tin man went with them on this journey. And when he met the Wizard of Oz, the Wizard said he already had a heart and even though he may not have one physically, he is still able to care and love without it.

The Cowardly Lion (Danielle)- The Cowarldy Lion lived in the forest. The Tinman, the Scarecrow,and Dorothy were walking in the dark forest when they came along this growling noise. The Cowarldy Lion jumped out and tried to intimidate these passers but he admits to them that he s just a cowardly lion and has no courage. Dorothy Proposed to the other two if the Lion could go with with them to the Wizard of Oz to ask for courage. The other two were ok with the lion joining them and the Cowardly Lion accepted their proposal. The group went to the Wizard and asked for what they wanted and when the Wizard got to the Cowardly Lion, he explained he had the courage all along but to make him feel like he could be "King of the Forest".However the Wizard still gave him a medal for his courage throughout his journey to the Wizard of Oz.

"Be Kind Rewind"

A small neighborhood video store s being threatened by the city to close their store due to the fact the store is a big safety hazard that needs a lot of money to fix it up. Mr. Fletcher has to go downtown to see if he can hold off the condemning of his beloved store. While he entrusts Mike to run the store he tries to do his best but Jerry who is a junkyard worker who always comes in has gone through a terrible accident and now is a magnet comes in the store and erases all the data from the VHS's. Mr.Fletcher has sent his close friend come and watch mike but mike and Jerry now have to remake all the movies from pure imagination and luck. They realizes their videos are better then the real deal but is technically illegal. In the end, Mr.Fletcher has to have his store condemned but before that happens they watch the last movie to be made which would be about their beloved VHS store itself.

"Son of Rambow"

A little boy who was excellent when it came to being creative whether in his movie or his comics. He starts out creating a movie alone but then he meets the "bad kid" and though he didn't realize it he was being taken advantage but he didn't care as long as he got help with creating his video. The "bad kid" lived with his brother because his parents were always gone. And as the movie went on the "bad kid" and the little boy find their friendship turning into a brotherhood that could never be broken. The Movie became a movie about rambow's son trying to find rambow in crazy adventures. And movie becomes a hit at the neighborhood theater with the audience laughing and cheers.