Favorite place writing assignment

Massimo Sarracino

9/23/14

Professor Young

Engw 1100

Favorite Place

Have you ever just felt like you belong somewhere and nobody can tell you you're not welcome? Well that is how I feel when I am at my best friends house. Being with my small group of close friends makes me feel exactly that way. We sometimes play video games, watch a football game, or even sometimes go to football games. My favorite place is my friends basement. It is warm and colorful with bright blue walls and posters hanging throughout the room. There I can do anything and I will not be judged.

My friends mean a lot to me and they really shape the person that I am. They help me to make the right decisions and lead me in the right path. My friend Jacob in particular is always willing to help with anything that I need or want to do. We go over his house almost every night and most of the time for no reason other than to hang out and talk about whatever is on our minds. It is a great stress reliever to be able to be open with your friends and not worry about “something” they are not telling you.

My favorite place always puts me in a good mood. I could be having the worst day and as 
soon as I step foot into that house I forget about everything bad that happened that day. It is incredible that just a positive environment can completely change your mood. My friends mean a lot to me and that is why this makes my friends basement my favorite place to be.

"Hip-Hop planet" response

Massimo Sarracino

9/23/14

Professor Young

Engw 1100

“Hip-Hop Planet” Response

James Mcbride starts talking about Hip-Hop music in a negative way. He says he does not like the music and, “It sounded like a broken record.” James says he thought it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. For the next 26 years James high-stepped past all of the hip-hop music he was hearing everywhere he went. He walked past rappers and people playing hip-hop music every day and did his best to block it out and ignore it.

Even though James McBride tried his best to move past this type of music he could not. It was spreading rapidly and everyone was getting into it. “The Bronx is the hallowed holy ground of Hip-Hop, the place where it all began.” says McBride. Hip-Hop is made with a DJ that controls the turntables and an MC (master of ceremonies) who did the rapping. James says, “It is a music that defies definition, yet defines our collective societies in immeasurable ways.” Hip-Hop has brought together all races and nationalities as one group that all have one specific thing in common, the love for Hip-Hop music.

After 26 years of high-stepping past Hip-Hop music, James has embraced the music he had

tried so hard to simply ignore. James says, “To confess a love for a music that, at least in part, 

embraces violence is no easy matter, but then again our national anthem talks about bombs 

bursting in air, and I love that song too.” He is trying to say that he does not agree with everything

that rap music might be saying, but the music comes from his roots and he chooses to embrace 

it.

Identity essay (final draft)

Massimo Sarracino

9/12/14

Professor Young

Engw 1100

"Is identity important and if so, what is it?

What does the word "identity" mean to you? The word identity means a lot to me. It explains who you are and what you are about. Your identity can express anything about yourself. A great way to express your identity is through your language. For example, I am Italian and I speak Italian so that is a good way for me to express my identity to people around me. In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” Gloria Anzaldua explains how she struggled with her identity and her daughters teacher thinking she is not culturally diverse enough. I can relate with her because when I was younger I went into kindergarten not knowing a word of english. It was difficult for me to adjust and people were not as accepting as you think they would be. I can relate to what she is feeling. Also, James McBride speaks of his and his mother's struggles with their own cultural identities in “Black Power” as well. Both my language and my nationality have proven my identity. They have helped mold me into the person that I am today.

Identity can be defined and expressed in many different ways. Some people may express their identity through the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, or even simply their language. Everybody will choose their very own way of expressing themselves. I personally chose to use my language to express myself. It is a part of me that I am proud of and nobody can take away. I have the right to express my cultural identity any way that I please. I believe that it is important to express your identity in some way because it shows who you are. Your identity gives you a sense of meaning it sets you apart from everybody else around you.

Gloria Anzaldua speaks of how she struggled with her daughter being in school and her teacher pointing out to her and the students about their differences culturally, all the way to skin color. Her teacher is not teaching the students correctly, she is simply pointing out reasons they should be separated from one another. The correct way to teach children about their cultures is not to point out the differences that each of the students have. The teacher should be making them find similarities so that they can get along and have fun together, not alone or only in a group of children that look the same as them. Children in kindergarten like Gloria's daughter should not be getting a label put on themselves as to the color of their skin or the language that they speak. It is a struggle that Gloria Anzaldua faces in a time in her life that should have been avoided.

James McBride relates his identity crisis to his childhood. He faces many problems and struggles as a young child. He lived in a home with twelve other adopted black children and a white foster mother. James explains how his mother would have people yelling rude comments at her for no reason except for the fact that she was raising twelve black children on her own. His mother was a very strong woman and did not act out on the people making comments at her. He was faced with many questions at even a very young age. When James was younger he wondered why his mother was white and he was dark. His mother told him that she is just light skinned to keep his questions to a minimum. His identity was shown through the color of his skin. The many problems that he faced were because of his culturally diverse family. The thing people need to realize is that the color of skin does not define who a person is or what a person does.

In conclusion, both James McBride and Gloria Anzaldua struggle with their identities in their own way. Gloria is faced with her daughter being taught false information about her identity and nationality in her school. Also, James is having to deal with his mother getting verbally and physically abused because she is raising twelve black children. These two stories relate in  the sense that both authors are going through an identity crisis trying to find out who they really are and what they believe they are. I can some what relate to both stories because of the struggle that I faced when growing up in america not speaking english. It was a difficult time and although it was hard it taught me that you should always support your true identity and never let somebody take that away from you. Identity is something very important and I encourage everybody to express their own identity in some way sometime in their life.

"Is identity important and if so, what is it?" essay 1 (rough draft)

Massimo Sarracino

9/12/14

Professor Young

Engw 1100

"Is identity important and if so, what is it?

What does the word "identity" mean to you? The word identity means a lot to me. It explains who you are and what you are about. Your identity can express anything about yourself. A great way to express your identity is through your language. For example, I am Italian and I speak Italian so that is a good way for me to express my identity to people around me. In How to Tame a Wild Tongue Gloria Anzaldua explains how she struggled with her identity and her daughters teacher thinking she is not culturally diverse enough. I can relate with her because when I was younger I went into kindergarten not knowing a word of english. It was difficult for me to adjust and people were not as accepting as you think they would be. I can relate to what she is feeling. Also, James McBride speaks of his and his mother's struggles with their own cultural identities in Black Power as well. Both my language and my nationality have helped mold me into the person that I am today.

Identity can be defined and expressed in many different ways. Some people may express their identity through the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, or even simply their language. Everybody will choose their very own way of expressing themselves. I personally chose to use my language to express myself. It is a part of me that I am proud of and nobody can take away. I have the right to express my cultural identity any way that I please. I believe that it is important to express your identity in some way because it shows who you are. Your identity gives you a sense of meaning it sets you apart from everybody else around you.

Gloria Anzaldua speaks of how she struggled with her daughter being in school and her teacher pointing out to her and the students about their differences culturally, all the way to skin color. The correct way to teach children about their cultures is not to point out the differences that each of the students have. The teacher should be making them find similarities so that they can get along and have fun. Children in kindergarten like Gloria's daughter should not be getting a label put on themselves as to the color of their skin or the language that they speak. It is a struggle that Gloria Anzaldua faces in a time in her life that should have been avoided.

James McBride relates his identity crisis to his childhood. He faces many problems and struggles as a young child. He lived in a home with twelve other adopted black children and a white foster mother. James explains how his mother would have people yelling rude comments at her for no reason except for the fact that she was raising twelve black children on her own. He was faced with many questions at even a very young age. His identity was shown through the color of his skin. The many problems that he faced were because of his culturally diverse family. Thing people need to realize is that the color of skin does not define who a person is or what a person does.

In conclusion, both James McBride and Gloria Anzaldua struggle with their identities in their 

own way. Gloria is faced with her daughter being taught false information about her identity and 

nationality while in school. While James is having to deal with his mother getting verbally and 

physically abused because she is raising twelve black children. These two stories relate in  the sense

that both authors are going through an identity crisis trying to find out who they really are and 

what they believe they are. Identity is something very important and I encourage everybody to

express their own identity in some way sometime in their life.

writing response to "how to tame a wild tongue"

Massimo Sarracino
September 9, 2014
Professor Young
ENGL 1100, Writing skills workshop
Reading Response Questions to "How to tame a wild tongue"

There are many ways to express your identity and language is one of them. I like to use language to

express my identity because it is one of the best feelings to be able to speak another language other than your

 standard language. My background is Italian, my father is from Italy and my mother is from America. I like

 to express both languages American and Italian. It tells people who I am and shows them that I care about

 my identity and am willing to express myself.  I speak English much more than I do Italian mostly because

 the people I speak to on a regular basis do not speak Italian. The only time I can speak only Italian is with

 my parents or family straight from Italy. Otherwise nobody would understand what I am saying. I have been

 to Italy many times with my family, to visit family. In Italy, just like in America and in Anzadula's essay, there

 are many different variations to the standard language. For example, when we go to Napoli, Italy my family

 speaks in a different form of Italian called Napolitan. It is just like traditional Italian except with certain slang

 words and different ways to pronounce words. It is very similar to what Anzadula says in her essay about

 her talking to her siblings differently than she would talk during a job situation, at school, etc. I like to use

 language as a conversation starter. I think it is very interesting to get to know people and where they

originate from, what their background is.

Reading response questions to "how to tame a wild tongue"

Massimo Sarracino
September 9, 2014
Professor Young
ENGL 1100, Writing skills workshop
Reading Response Questions to "How to tame a wild tongue"

1. The opening scene of Anzaldua connects to the overall point of the title by showing how strongly she feels about her culture and nobody can stop her from feeling this way.

2. Anzaldua's use of Spanish in the essay was meant to show her true identity. It made sense to me because i can relate to the use of your language to express yourself.

3. Most languages have the standard dialect and then many other variations, depending what part of a country you are in. Academic English can be defined as Spanish (standard) and Chicano Spanish is a nonstandard that only certain people know based on where you are from. Some people may not like that there are standard and nonstandard dialects, but that is how most languages are and it helps to make things more diverse.

4. If your nationality is American and you want to express yourself that way, then you can absolutely show your identity by speaking/writing in Academic English. It is  not necessary, anybody has the freedom to express themselves however they want.

5. There are many types of English identities. Some are, ethnicity, age, gender, social status, nationality, etc.

6. I do not use a secret language with my friends, like Anzaldua says she does in her essay. But my friends and I have certain phrases that we use regularly, kind of like code words for actual words.

7. With my friends I mostly talk in standard English, but sometimes use a little bit of slang. When I am speaking to parents or a professor, etc. I will always use standard English.

8. The statement "I am my language" shows that you are dedicated to your identity and you are proud about it.

9. The intro and conclusion both talk about her "tongue" which is her language. She restates how she about her identity and that nothing can change her.

10. Of course your language can be a part of your identity, it separates you from everybody else. It makes you your own and you can easily express your identity by speaking your language.

11. Identity is very important to me, it shows others what and who you are. You can express it in many ways and it is good to do so. Anzaldua believes it is very important to express your identity. In the essay Anzaldua says, "we became aware of our reality and acquired a name and a language (Chicano Spanish) that reflected that reality." She is happy that she has a language of her own to express her true identity.