~Song Review~

It's so hard to choose just one song or album for this review, so I'll name a couple of my favorites. First has got to be Within Temptation, a Dutch band that is classified as "symphonic metal rock". Now while that's a mouthful, their unique style of music is utterly fantastic. The way they blend their background beats with their wicked guitar playing and outstanding lead vocalist, Sharon den Adel, makes for a truly interesting experience. Some of my favorites include The Howling, The Truth Beneath the Rose, and Stand My Ground, just to name 3 of my 21 songs by them. Definitely check them out if you're into that kind of music.

Another of my favorites is Nightwish. While similar to Within Temptation, Nightwish is a Finnish rock band that has more of a variety of styles. For instance, their earlier works with their previous lead vocalist, Tarja Turunen, has a more 'opera' feel to it because her vocal range was so high and melodic. Their current music is what you would compare more to Within Temptation, with the fast beats and the hardcore background. Their current lead vocalist, Anette Olzon, has a deeper voice, but can still hit those high notes. A few favorites with Tarja are Wishmaster and Nemo, and a few with Anette are Sahara, Amaranth, and Bye Bye Beautiful.

Lastly, I gotta say I'm a huge sucker for soundtracks. If I see a movie that has music I love in it, I go buy the whole soundtrack. Probably my most recent buy was the soundtrack to Robin Hood, the 2010 film starring Russell Crowe. No vocals, just plain instrumentals with astounding swooping notes and falling scales that perfectly capture the moods of each scene. And then there's the music from The Secret of Kells, a 2009 animated movie loosely based on The Book of Kells. While I love every song in that movie as well, the one that stands out the most is Aisling's Song (pronounced 'Ashley' or 'Ashlyn'). The song switches between English and Irish Gaelic, a dying language I am beginning to learn. Check it out some time. You'd be surprised at what comes off to be a childish movie is actually quite the contrary.

So I guess that's my music in a nutshell. I'm not one to run off and listen to all the pop culture songs out there. I'd much rather listen to my vaguely obscure bands and movie soundtracks that few people have actually heard of (as in listened to the songs, not just one lyric).

~Nick and Jay~

In The Great Gatsby, Nick and Jay have an interesting relationship. They seem to fit well together, and yet, seem to almost hold things back. For instance, Jay has this persona that he puts on for everyone else that isn't "close" to him, but that mask falls away when he's with Nick. Then do we really see the real Jay Gatsby: a sad sort of a chap who is so in love with Daisy that is makes him sick to try to be around her. Nick appears to be the more 'mature' one, but we still don't seem to know much about him, or Jay for that matter, so we can't fully pass judgment on their actions just yet. But you also have to wonder if Jay is telling the truth or not, because he has the person he is to people, and then the person he is to Nick. Plus, you're not sure if what he told Nick was the actual truth, seeing as how Nick noticed when Jay rushed when he said he had gone to Oxford. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

~Winter Poem~

Silent whispers flit through the air
Bringing with them cold wafts of winter.
Falling slowly the snow covers
All that meets the eye.
The land is bare
The trees all dead.
The leaves left are covered
Little dead bodies in the snow.
Melancholy shadows cloak the streets
Where no one walks.
The world is dead.
Waiting for the returning warmth
Of reviving spring.

~Thankful For A Classmate~

I'm not one for having to choose when it comes to things such as who I'm thankful for, but since we have to, I'll choose. I've known Chigo since we were in Mrs. Furuta's kindergarten class way back when in 2000. Seems like a whole lifetime ago but we've been good buddies since.

Chigo and I have gone through a lot in our years at our old school and have managed to work through all nine years there and through our first year here at Whitney. But she's always been someone to make me laugh, especially when we had to get through a boring algebra class at the end of the day.

Over the years, we have fallen a little bit out of touch but once we graduated from our old school, we found we were going to be the only two coming to Whitney. So we have been able to get back in touch and still have just as much fun as we used to. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone :)

~Modern Slavery~

I still remember when I first learned about slavery.  It was when we learned about the American Civil War in elementary school.  I remember being angry and disgusted that people could actually own people, never mind how they treated them when they did.  The whole concept was bizarre and evil.  For many years, I wasn’t aware that even today, slavery exists.  Through my research for this blog posting, I’ve learned a lot to add to the little that I knew.  For example, did you know that human trafficking (which is the sale of people to work for others at low or no wages, i.e., slave labor) is so widespread that there are hundreds of organizations and agencies devoted to fighting it around the world?  Or that the United Nations, through their work with many of these organizations, now estimates that presently, there are over 27 million people working as slaves?  How could this be in this day and age?

What I learned through doing this research is that just like hundreds of years ago, many people are either tricked or coerced into slavery because they initially are convinced it will help them provide a better life for their families.  Poor, undereducated people in rural as well as urban areas across the globe wind up going to work in other countries (including the U.S.) to do the jobs (called “dirty jobs” by many of the slavery prevention organizations) that others who are better educated won’t do or will demand higher wages to perform.  For example, in the Ivory Coast, there are numerous ‘locateurs’ or slave recruiters, who prey on poor young children in Mali by falsely promising them good jobs and then trucking them to the Ivory Coast to do backbreaking, dangerous work on the cocoa plantations there.  These plantations produce over one third of all the cocoa used in the world.  As long as there is a demand for cocoa—as well as the need to keep its farming prices low, so the profit is kept by the manufacturers—there will be a need for cheap labor.  All over Asia, there are unscrupulous companies that employ local organized crime members to lure girls and young women who then are sold to prostitution rings and/or cheap labor pools internationally, including the U.S.  In October 2008, a wealthy perfume manufacturer on Long Island , NY , was convicted (along with his wife) of human trafficking and employee abuse.  They had secured two Indonesian women through one of these underground slavery companies that specialized in coercing unsuspecting teens into traveling overseas to work as domestic help.  Knowing that the women’s families had no idea what had happened to their daughters, the couple literally locked up the women they purchased in their mansion so that they couldn’t escape—only cook, clean, and raise the couple’s young children.  The few times the women tried to escape, they were beaten severely by the couple and tied up with ropes.  If not for a nosy neighbor and the couple’s children talking openly about how their nannies were living, the Indonesian women still would be slaves today.

Earlier today (11/4), at the UN headquarters in NY, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher opened their campaign and fund to support victims of slavery.  Moore and Kutcher became aware of the range of human trafficking that exists while visiting Cambodia two years ago.  There they met young girls (as young as five years old) who had been rescued from prostitution rings their parents unknowingly had handed them over to. Moore’s and Kutcher’s foundation will be raising money to support the medical, legal, and education aid that victims of human traffickers need in order to rebuild their lives.  They also aim to use social media outlets (Twitter, Facebook) to raise everyone’s awareness of human trafficking, especially when it involves the sex trade.

~The House of the Seven Gables~

The Salem witch trials left a huge impact on the world of religion in America in 1692. It all started with Abigail Williams and her cousin Betty Parris trying to cover up dancing in the woods with Tituba, the slave of Reverend Parris, Betty’s father and Abigail’s uncle. But there are also many things that many people might not know about the witch trials.

For instance, the Pyncheon family in The House of the Seven Gables were real people and were ancestors of the American novelist Thomas Pynchon. Also, the house in the story is stated to be completely fictional and not based off of any actual house in real life, but Hawthorne had a cousin who owned the actual House of Seven Gables and Hawthorne had been there many times as a child.

The Puritans who founded Salem and were involved in the Salem witch trials were actually made up of groups that formed and identified with various religion groups that had the same mindsets that they had. For instance, the Puritans would have probably been identified as Calvinists because of the Reformed theology that they adapted into their lives. They were, in short, radical believers, which is what enabled such things as the witch trials to get blown out of control and spiral outward until it had consumed the town whole.


To make a great book, one has to compile much information from many different areas. Without all of the things that happened, from the tragedies to the successes, a book is written to include them all.

~The Moment I Knew I Was An American~

The moment I knew I was an American was when I was seven years old. My grandpa, who died almost fours years ago, gave me an American flag sticker and an actual flag and asked me if I was an American and I said yes, I am an American. This moment was very special for me because I never really got to know my grandpa too well but the few memories I have of him are some of my most treasured things.

My grandpa fought in World War II and was a very patriotic and passionate person. He absolutely loved his country and was willing to die to protect the ones he loved and the country he so cherished. He even went skydiving for his fiftieth birthday and wore three pairs of underwear dyed red, white, and blue. I always looked up to him and thought the world of him. Since I never knew my grandpa on my father's side (he died three years before I was born) I made sure I could get to know my grandpa on my mother's side.

I remember spending time at my grandparent's house a bit when I was younger and I always would ask my grandpa to tell me stories about how he used to fly in planes in WWII and everything that he did when he was younger. We would sit together for hours and he would tell me story after story about anything and everything. But my favorites were his stories about the planes he flew and what being an American fighting for your country meant to him. He never made the stories scary or anything like that, but he wouldn't "clean" them up either. He understood that I could comprehend what war was and that it is never something to take lightly.

So when he asked me if I was an American that day, I knew right away that I was. Not just because I loved my grandpa and wanted to be just like him, but because I knew that I felt the same way about this country that my grandpa did. I really miss him but I will always have the wonderful memories that he left me with and his patriotic spirit.

~Us vs. Them...Us and Them~

I'm not honestly sure just what pushes people to do the things that they do. But it's not hard to see why they do the things they do. For instance, why would the girls in The Crucible lie like that? Simple: they needed to get out of a snag so they conjured up this great lie that everyone believed. And tons of lives ended short because of them. They put their own motives and wants first and it cost people. I guess that's probably why most people do the things they do and because of this, many people suffer and even die. That's usually what happens when wars break out.

Our country has been in so many wars over the course of its existence. We've also lost countless numbers of people to them. Personally, I wish that war never existed. It's stupid, land is destroyed, and people die. Sometimes, a war can be over something really unimportant. The Crucible is a form of a verbal war that went on between the citizens of Salem and the girls, particularly Abigail and John Proctor. And it happened because the girls didn't want to get in trouble for what they did. But once they got themselves into the mess they had made, it would've been too hard to get out, as evidenced by Mary's testimony that went horribly wrong. And I don't even think that for a second Abigail wanted to back down from what she started after she saw just how much power and attention she was getting from this. Plus, she was able to manipulate the whole town and hold their judgment under her finger. She enjoyed her power and nothing could stop her from getting exactly what she wanted.

But in the end, Abigail didn't get what she wanted. The man she loved was condemned to hang as a witch, and he did. She never managed to get Elizabeth condemned or killed, and she had to resort to running away because she probably figured that she would have been found out sooner or later and hung because she had lied along with the other girls. And that's usually the case with so many other problems in the world. Something horrible comes about because people just have to get their way and will stop at nothing to get it, no matter what the consequences. Even if it means innocent people will die because of selfish wants.

~John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?~

Frankly, I think that John Proctor was neither a hero nor a stooge. He didn't do anything that had a huge effect on what was going on in Salem during the witch trials and he didn't have the courage to stand out as much as Rebecca Nurse. He was more of a gray area than either on one side or the other. Plus, he wanted to live in the end so he was willing to say that he had indeed seen the devil and had done his bidding. But it ultimately didn't matter, because he wanted his pride in the end which still lead to him being hanged since he wouldn't hand over the paper he signed.
Proctor was a character who was there to try to rationalize with the people of Salem and make them see the fallacies the girls were speaking. But at the same time, he still admitted to having had an affair with Abigail back when she used to work in his house for him and his wife Elizabeth, who eventually kicked Abigail out because she had known about the affair but had kept quiet about it because she trusted Proctor to see his faults in the end and realize what he had done was wrong. So this also proves that Proctor wasn't all the good and pure that these people were supposed to be. And later, he told Abigail that their affair had never happened and that he never loved her, as she claims. This only adds insult to injury and makes Abigail want Elizabeth out of the picture once and for all.
That's mostly why I don't identify Proctor as one or the other. He wasn't fully willing to sign a paper and hand it over because he didn't want his name "dragged through the mud" so to speak. But he wasn't willing to die for what he had been charged with either. He just went along with it because he realized that people were still going to believe the girls and they would always end up going back to them, as Mary had done. So in the end, he still died.

~Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God~

In my opinion, the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is just plain weird. I could never imagine having to live the way these people do. To me, these beliefs are so outrageous that I question how someone can believe them. I’ve never been one for religion much, so I guess my point might seem a little biased, but it’s still hard for me to understand why there needs to be fear forced into people’s lives so they follow the rules of a religion. So when I first read this story, I felt like I always feel when religion comes up: confused.

The view of “God”, so to speak, in this excerpt is one of total domination. He has the power to allow you into Heaven, but at the same time, he can crush you like the “spider or some loathsome insect” that you are. By bringing fear into religion, we are able to force people to believe in what the religious rules state. Or at least what we make the rules out to be.

But I think it’s wrong to force people to bow down and submit themselves the way the people do in the excerpt. I could never imagine living in a religion where you have such strict rules and if you make one little mistake, you’re damned for all eternity. It’s a warped idea of religion when you feel the need to make people believe. And it’s even harder to imagine people who lived and still live this way. But I guess if it’s all you’ve ever know, it can be understandable. I would say I feel sorry for those people, but they aren’t sorry they live the way they do because they chose that religion. So you have to respect people’s wishes and opinions just like you would want people to value your own.

So we have to scare people into behaving properly and then the world will be a better place for us all. Just so long as we wholly give ourselves up to “God” and his teachings. Yeah, right.

~There Goes the Neighborhood~

This story actually is my mother’s.  She grew up in NYC in the 1950s/60s.  During 1965-70, there was an influx of Puerto Rican immigrants to her racially but not linguistically diverse neighborhood.  In eighth grade in 1968, a Puerto Rican girl, Marlene, joined my mother’s homeroom.  The nun in charge decided that my mother, who was smart, bored, and talked a lot in class (and got slapped for “being noisy”), should teach Marlene how to read, speak, and write English.  My mother was eager to help Marlene.  She felt bad that the white kids made fun of Marlene’s shoes and the nuns didn’t know how smart Marlene really was, due to her limited English.  My mother soon learned how to help Marlene.  She would sit next to Marlene at the very back of the room, explaining what the teacher was saying.  They figured out that since Marlene could read English better than she could understand it when spoken (or speak it herself), my mother would write out the main ideas of what each teacher said on paper during the lesson, then show Marlene how to do the activity.  Marlene was quick to do her work—oftentimes finishing before my mother did.  By February, she and Marlene decided that they’d tell the nuns Marlene was ready to work on her own.  The nuns agreed—though my mother continued to sit next to Marlene for the rest of the year, since they were friends and liked being together.

My mother says she learned a lot from Marlene, probably more than Marlene learned from her.  Marlene’s family invited my mother over their house every now and then to eat Puerto Rican food, and Marlene’s mother taught mine how to make rice and beans.   My mother’s friends used to make fun of her when she said she was Marlene’s friend.  Their parents asked my grandparents why they allowed my mother to “go to the Ricans’ house” so often.  My grandparents told my mother to ignore these people for being racist.  Before Marlene and her family moved to my mother’s neighborhood, my mother’s family didn’t think much about what diversity really meant.  Knowing Marlene’s family, they learned that while some people might not be just like you, they’re more like you than you think—once you get to know them.

All About Me~Introduction

My name is Shiloh Psujek. I'm fifteen years old and currently a sophomore at Whitney Young. I'm probably just like you. I go to school, hang out with friends, and I enjoy most things students do. But I have my own unique quirks. My passions, activities, style, and attitude might not be your typical female ones, but I don't mind. Better to all be different than to live your life each day exactly the same.

I've always been adventurous. I never played with dolls, just stuffed animals. I'd be outside playing instead of inside. I'm still like that today. Any time it's nice outside, you can find me at a local park or on tennis courts.

As I mentioned before, I play tennis. I'm currently on the Whitney Young varsity tennis team and so far it's been great. But tennis isn't the only sport I do. I also run, play baseball, and go ice-skating. I plan on taking up hockey someday as well. I love playing a competitive sport where I have fun too.

Personality wise, I guess I'm a real shy person at first. Ask some of my friends just how long it took them to get me to have a full conversation! But once you get to know me, you might say I'm your average tomboy. I dislike anything pink, I can't imagine wearing anything other than jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers, I don't mind dirt, I love video games, and I have no clue how to apply makeup, nor do I care to know.

I really value my family and friends too. If someone has a problem, I'm right there to listen and try to give my best advice. My family might not be big (I'm an only child) but we still have a great connection and both my parents encourage me to explore my various interests.

One day, I hope to become a wildlife rehabilitator, a wolf biologist, or a forensic anthropologist. Kind of an odd choice of jobs, but it's what I want to do. Shows like Bones and House always inspire me and ever since I was young, wolves have been my favorite animals. That's probably why I want to pursue a career with them.

So I guess that's me in a nutshell. But if there's anything else you want to know, just come find me. Hope we can have a great year together!