LA Letter

Dear Cola,

Stanley arrived in California safely. We saw the airmail that arrived, he enjoyed the CA air. Stanley came at the right time, it was near the time of the LA Marathon. He came a month before, I took him on the long runs when I went to Santa Monica. While I was running he was enjoying the beach life. All he was doing was fishing and looking at the view. I took him to the arcades, the rides, and the little games they have at the pier.

Time flew by when I was with Stanley. One month passed and it was time for the marathon. We had to wake up at 4:00 in the morning!!! All he was doing was complaining about how he had to wake up early… Anyway we were really worried about the rain, the past few days it was pouring, so Stanley had to stay home. We saw a whole bunch of movies together. On the day of the marathon we were scared of the rain, it was really cold. As we loaded up on the bus, we went straight to the dodger stadium.

We got off the bus and met up at the starting line. There were 23,000 people. Stanley was intimidated. As we were waiting for the rain to arrive, we saw the sun hitting the peak of the mountain. All 23,000 people were screaming, Stanley thought the stadium shook. He saw the people faces they were all happy. The run started.

We started running by the Dodger stadium and ran towards the Chinatown gate. Soon we reached Little Tokyo, You can see the sparkle in Stanley’s eyes. He was amazed at all the historical sites. We also ran by Hollywood walk of fame. He saw the Walt Disney Concert hall, he was pretty thrilled! He was wondering why there were so many people cheering random strangers to run. I was wondering about it too, seems that they were just nice people who wanted to support family and friends.

Stanley and I, we had so much fun running together, sometimes we would walk and just enjoy the weather and sites while running/walking. We finished the run together! There was so many people cheering us on at the finish line. We felt a chill down our spines when we heard a roar of cheer. Stanley thought the strong winds were created by the cheering but it was just the beach winds, he was flying away. So I grabbed Stanley and sprinted the last 400 meters! We passed by so many people that were walking, we saw the finish line and made our victory pose. We were so tired! But the free food at the end was amazing, I took a whole box of granola bars, Stanley got some bananas. We just wanted to sit. As soon as we got home Stanley knocked out. Too bad Stanley had to leave tomorrow, I hope he had a fun time.

Sincerely,
Andrew Chong

P.S. Next year we could just go out and visit other famous places rather than running past them.

Condition of Los Angeles High School Teachers

Public high schools are being more and more ridiculed. The government derides the funds of public high schools. The budget cuts are giving a big blow to the teachers, the teachers cannot lower their guard. LAUSD has been advised by Governor Brown and the Los Angeles County Office of Education that AB 114 does not apply to federal, local and other funds. The 1,918 teachers and counselors were lost on June 30 resulted from the loss of Federal funding, declining enrollment and other factors. More than 1,900 teachers and counselors lost their jobs on June 30, 2011 as a result of California's continued under funding of classrooms, the loss of federal stimulus funds, declining enrollment and other factors. In addition, classified positions are due to be cut but their deadline is more flexible, requiring only a 45-day notice.
United Teachers and the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, more than 3,500 teachers, counselors, nurses, librarians, and administrator positions were saved in 2011-12. For most employees, the amount paid per hour will remain the same but the number of hours may be reduced based on how an employee takes. In addition, office employees moved from a 12-month schedule to a 10-month schedule to mirror the traditional school year.
Seems now, only experienced teachers are getting "lucky". For the teachers who are barley making it through, they suffer or are scared of making mistakes.
Billions of income has been slashed towards the school income. Due to the teacher layoffs, class sizes has skyrocketed. Because of that, the student to teacher ratio has risen. Now the equivalant of one student has now become 5. SO now the attention of one student is slowly deteriating meaning that the student loses the privalege of learning more.
I myself am a victim of budget cuts. Class sizes has rises since I entered High school, from fifteen students, to fourty. My senior year has become pact with students in every class. Seems as though that the school are just throwing the students into the classes. As if we were in jail, and we were are being punished with the oversized classes.
Im not sure if the budget cuts are effecting our food, but seems as if the quality of the food has gone down. I mean we really cant complain about free food but even if it free we really can't complain.

Macbeth Essay

The trio witches determine the fate of the kings. William Shakespeare clearly uses fiction into his plays. Shakespeare not only uses fiction but uses tragedy as his main story point, now known as Shakespearean tragedy. In Macbeths case he finds out that he will hold the title “thane of cawdor”, and not become the kings of kings like Duncan and his successors.

The story involves a conflict between the hero and a person of force, called the antagonist (Banquo), which the hero must battle. Inevitably the conflict contributes the hero’s downfall.

Macbeth faces his fate, ambition, loss, defeat, loyalty, impulse, and desire. The trio witches make Macbeth face all of the impulses and desire he has towards killing king Duncan. This follows up with Macbeth seeing a dagger floating above him. He questions whether it is real or a fragment of his imagination. The dagger leads Macbeth towards Duncan’s room, and as a result Macbeth pulls his dagger out and kills Duncan. (Act 2, scene 1). Macbeth uses symbolism towards the dagger showing his impulses towards Duncan. Without the role of the witches and their prophesy, Macbeth would not have had the urge to kill the present king.

Because of Macbeth’s will to become the king to the extent of hiring assassins to kill Banqou’s children and frame his servants clearly shows his ambition as a result Macbeth has become power hungry and is trying to gain more power. He believes that no one can stop him.

Later resulting in Macbeth and Banquo trying to see who deserves to be king. Banquo the antagonist fights against Macbeth to claim their resolve on who can be the better king.

Running Shoes

Each step I take, I feel pressure on my soul. All I can do is support the my person who bought me. Beneath me I feel the earth, I am used up as a cushion between my owner and the pavement beneath me. All I can do is support my owner. Up and down, in a circular motion. All I can do...

I absorb the shock from the pavement which runs throughout my whole body. I am being bombarded by rain. It is below freezing temperature. It feels like I am being attacked by coins. My body becomes stiff.

There are other days where I endure the summer heat of Los Angeles. The pavement is scorching hot. It feels like I am being melted by the heat and friction between me and my owner.

All the suffering I have to endure,and what do I get as a result of my hard work? I get washed.

Knowing I have done my job, getting used up to all of my possible potential.
Getting beat up, thrown, washed, getting bitten by dogs, and running through all the seasons of the year. I know I have done my job. Maybe if I am good enough and be taken care of well, I may be able to last a little longer.

1500 word essay

America, one of the fattest counties in the world. America wasn’t chosen randomly to be nominated ao be the fattest country. It was all the fast food. Fast food in America is a decent place to set up fast food shops. “America, the land of the free!” America is a magnet for people who want new lives. To start anew, people have to start from the bottom. When they start of at the bottom, they wont have a lot of money. As soon as the people who live in America get their livings, they want to save money for the younger generation. So in order to save money, they eat fast food which is cheap and filling. Fast food is now a part of the 21st century. People need to accept that fast food is there and probably will not just go away. But not everybody has adopted fast food is there, and will probably just not go away just because people want it to. Fast food is rapidly growing, and may even become mainstream.
America will continue to be one of the most fattest countries in the world, unless people take a stand. Parents should be a role model for the younger generations, buy they’re not! I believe that the parents are at fault, but not only the parents but the industries as well. The marketing industries try to expose their products to children. The industries proliferation of making chains of stores distributing the products make it hard to stay away. States within the United States are getting more and more obese. The states have taken notice of childhood obesity. It was a serious matter ans still is. The industry is only marketing the products, while the parents are the ones who allow the children to eat such high-calorie foods.
Set of short articles in “Fast Food: Who’s to blame?”
Shannon Brownlee, in “Its Portion Distortion that makes America Fat” states that the fast food companies are the ones that the fast food companies are the ones that are responsible for the Americans with the roly-poly shapes they have today. “But make no mistake: When they do well economically, we gain weight.” Meaning that when the companies to good, its thanks to us. Americans wake up to the fact that obesity is killing nearly as many citizens as cigarettes are, jumbo burgers and super-size fries will seem like less of a bargain. If you put more food in front of people, they eat more, as studies have shown in the last decade.
“If you Pitch it, They will Eat it” by David Barboza stated that “ a growing number of nutritionalists call it a blitzkrieg that preserves children’s eating habits and sets then on a path of obesity.” Just as the title implies. If they pitch it, they will eat it. “While the companies view these as promotional pitches, lawyers are threatening a wave of obesity-related class action lawsuits.” Companies see their marketing as “harmless” but in fact the opposite, the results are within the children who are exposed to the “harmless marketing”. “Increase in food marketing to children has closely tacked their increase in weight.” Targeting children is a smart thing, but can result to childhood obesity.
David Zincsenkojin “Don’t Blame the Eater” talks about how its not the fast food whos at fault, but the eaters. “Kids taking on McDonalds this week, suing the company for making them fat.” $100 billion a year for the centers for disease control is stupid. Children who eat fast food, by the age of 15 one is 212 pounds. Before it was only 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity related, not its over 16 percent. “Fast food targets children”, that meaning children influence the adults, because the can only cry and cry about what they want. To shut them up the parents have to give in.
Daniel Weintraub, in “The Battle against Fast Food Begins in the Home.” Stated “it’s the parents-not the government, not the fast food companies, not the video-game manufactures- who are responsible for teaching kids healthy eating and excuse habits.” People try to blame the government, fast- food companies, video- games, but I believe that all of the responsibilities fall on the parents. While people still try to find someone to blame, they should be conserned about their fitness.


The fast- food chain is an epidemic. Since the 1980’s the rate of obesity has doubled. All starting in their childhood years. Student or children are being exposed to more and more fast foods. Children rely on their parents are being exposed to more and more fast food

Reading Autobiography

In the year 2000 is when I first remember being introduced to a book. In sure that i was introduced earlier when i was younger. In the year 2000 i was in kindergarten, thats when i remember being read my first book, i have no recollecting memories of what story was about. As i went on to elementary, i remember more stories i was exposed to. I was exposed to mostly disney stories, that were in korean, my parent would read them aloud to me.

It was in elementary where i started to read by myself, i remember clearly that i read aloud to the class. of course any other child would be nervous presenting in front of a class, i was one of those nervous children. My English wasn't that proficient so my mom would have made me read newspapers, the little articles they would have. That's when my English got better and my Korean got worse. As i kept on reading i used more and more English, but as i used more English, i used less Korean.

As time went on, i moved on to middle school. Middle school was not the best time for me in reading. I rarely have memories of me reading in middle school. What i read were the mainstream books like harry potter and the unfortunate events. Later on i found out that those books were turned into movies. I was interested in books that were changed into movies, because i realized that not all the specific details were either in the book or movie. Most of the time the movie is made from the book.

Since then i became interested in movies that were originally books. So i read more and more books as i realized they were movies. As i went on in life i became less and less interested in reading books by myself. I wouldn't touch a book unless i had to for a school assignment. I wouldn't read books, but i would read manga, Japanese comics. Through manga i picked up some words, like nostalgia.

In my Junior and Senior year, i realized i had to be more exposed to the worlds newspapers and TIME magazines. I had to be more exposed to the world because, soon i will be in the world all by myself. It would also change the way i talk and be more exposed to words I'm unfamiliar with. So i try to read a time magazine almost everyday, if not every other day.

My uncle who has tutored me in my SAT studies, has introduced me to many things. He has a Ph D. and masters and some other stuff, i dont really care, but he told me about the real world. Now i try to be more involved with more unfamiliar words. I try to visit Barnes and Nobles every other month.

When reading its hard for me to concentrate with a lot of distractions around me. Usually when i read, my mind gets distracted, but once i really get into a book, nothing would keep me away from a good book.

Internet Essay

People these days think that fame is an important thing. It can control how people can act. They get the fame from creating a virtual self. A virtual self can create a new life or your personality. People in real life may be unsatisfied with how their lives are and want to escape reality, through facebook or avatars. 91% of facebook users go back on facebook because its so addictive. “traffic on facebook has grown 272% in the past year…”


People want to escape reality. They do this because they are not satisfactory with how they want to live. “An avatar becomes ones digital self…”. Avatars can create a “new” you. “ A 27-year-old wife and mother Becky Glasure, who complains of never having being taken seriously.” She didn’t want to be ignored so she created an avatar and escaped reality to the virtual world.


Not all humans are created equal. They wish to all have perfect bodies like the ones that are being advertised. This can make people sad and self-concious of who they are, creating depression. To escape that depression they want to escape to the virtual world. “ there is ample repititon, even among them. For one, quite a number of avatars are just younger, thinner and prettier versions of their creators.”


Social networking sites these days are so popular that millions of people around the world use it. It’s also a recent trend and the government doesn’t have much control over it. It’s a good thing because you can see a long lost friend over facebook. “for students of the generation who have grown up “online” it is easy to take for granted the virtual society we live in.” What the quote is saying is that the kids that were born onto the computer, they don’t understand the risks we live in.


This only shows that danger can lurk anywhere in the internet. There are predators everywhere. Predators aren’t only random strangers, they could be someone you know. “20 students were suspended last month from TeWinkle Middle School for two days for participating in a Myspace group where one student allegedly threatened to kill another…” This quote shows how much thust peopleput onto the mainstream social networking sites, they escape reality to facebook or myspace and share their stories. Not only that , but people these days post many things that might regret. Most not very effective to their goal, but still enough to haunt them.