Hector Lopez 

Professor Williams 

26 February 2015 

English 1A 

In class today we saw Boots Riley performing his poem “Underdog”, he sent out an extreme amount of powerful messages that where relatable. I feel that when Riley talks about the underdog he is referring to people who live in poor communities and try their best to keep up with life,as when he refers to they, I feel like he is talking about the people that once where in the same situation as the ones living in poverty but where able to get out, but know act new as if they don't know the people they once suffered with. A few parts of his poem that really where significant to me where when he says, “Coming home don’t never seem to be a celebration Bills, they piled up on the coffee table like they’re decorations” (Boots Riley). This really touched me because I remember a point in my life where my family was really struggling to make ends meet and the tables and vibes at home where exactly the same as Riley explains them. Another point that was significant, was when Riley says “ It’s almost impossible survivin’ on this fraction Sip a 40 to the brain for the chemical reaction”. I see this everyday in my apartment complex, and it sad to see people loose hope, and plainly give up on life.  Something that really touches me is the part when riley says, “Somebody’s mom caught a job and a welfare fraud case, when she breathe, she swears it feels like plastic wrap around her face”. This really touches me because I love my mom, and as the years go by i can see how work has affected her health and I see her get weaker as the years continue to pass.

Hector Lopez 

1-22-2015 

English1A 

A video was presented in class about life after you finish high or college and how falling in to a routine in carrying life can have a negative affect on how people carry them selves. The video touched various points to which people could relate to. Personally I identified my self to this video due to the fact that in the beginning of 2014 I took a semester off  from school and fell in to this routine. I remember sitting in traffic looking around me and all around people had what I call a death face, tired, depressed, as well as anxious and mad. These where all word that the class came up with and its true. People fall in to a routine of  hard work and soon becomes stressed as well as, and the labor becomes overwhelming which leads to different kinds of emotions. Many people do not know how to leave their work at work, they instead take it home, which leads to arguments or having no emotions to their loved ones, which shows selfishness. The actions that are taken are wrong and shouldn’t be that way. 

The reason why it shouldn’t be that way is because in life we have to be prepared to face obstacles, many people will over come the challenges and many people will fail, but the end result will always be a lessoned learned. Therefore a positive attitude is key in life you will always see the good in everything. A few words that really stood out in class where tiered, anxious and anger. After being at work dealing with a lot of issues and is now time to go home it brings a sense of relief, but being prepared for a long trip home due to traffic should always be kept in mind, and when one is tiered as well as hungry anxiety and anger is most likely to have an affect in life. Sadly enough people do not know how to control their feelings and project their emotions in such way that affect others.  

Another word that stood out to me was depression, this also true but should be looked at in a positive way due to depression building people character as well as braking them, depression has to do with being put in a situation of having extreme responsibilities as well as stress at home, you become antisocial and block your self from society, this is extremely bad due to all the negative thoughts that come with being depressed. Although it is bad and can have a negative affect in ones life, people should know that socializing makes them forget of their problems, being involved in fun activities as well as physical activities can lead to problem solving, can lead to your thoughts not evolving around the situation that causes you to feel depressed. 

Finally in class there was no positive words that where mentioned which is sad due to the fact that it seems that students are going through these stages at such a young age. When in reality they should be enjoying their youth by exploring and bringing positive vibes to the ones that surround them. Sadly enough technology has taken over their brains and they block them selves from one another, which shows that if the people want to see positive results things need to start changing.