"Where I'm From" Poem

Where I’m from

A tribute to Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid

I am from the ocean of foams,

From the dark, deep water, containing salty tears.

I am from the love songs of the mermaids,

The sweet, mellow melody, echo in the waves of the sea.

I am from the young hearts, yearning for love.

I am from the gorgeous human ship, the witness

Of the maiden and the prince, struggling through the rage

Of the stormy sea, and the forbidden love.

I am from the love of the human princess

Longing, yearning, wanting.

Sitting near the prince, waiting,

For the most dazzling eyes to open and see.

I am from the burning potion,

Of the taunting witch, taking away

The most beautiful voice, the sweetest melody

For the heartbreaking pain, heartbreaking love.

I am from the desperate sadness,

When the prince and princess married.

They smile to the sea, praying

For their happiness.

“So God, please…

Let them be happy…”

I am from the piercing knife

Of the beloved sisters, ending the life

Of the most handsome man

For the most awful death of him,

And the most awful survival of me.

I am from the sharp silver blades

That was thrown and tosses into the foam of the sea.

I am from the last glance,

Toward the sleeping prince and his loving princess.

“So God, please…

Let them be happy…”

 I am from the drifting air,

I am from the realm of heaven.

Rising, dissolving, but I do not regret,

For only love and freedom,

Last for eternity.

Summary using Metacognition-The Boleyn Inheritance

The Boleyn Inheritance was a historical fiction by Philippa Gregory. It described the life of Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Rochford, three noble women from the 16^th century Europe who share the same fate—the Boleyn inheritance.

Katherine Howard

In this book, the first character that caught my attention is Katherine Howard, for she is such a bright yet stupid, precocious yet naïve child. I can almost picture her appearance and every acts of the young girl. That is because Katherine, who lived and died centuries ago, had many similar traits if compare to some modern girls—beautiful, playful, energetic, and passionate in love. While reading, I seek many likeness of this character to girls in real life, including myself. Katherine Howard would dress in her most gorgeous gown, perhaps in demure yellow or bright pink in the latest fashion, because all girls like to dress up and be the most pretty. She would act like a grown-up woman near the king and in front of the court—just like what we do when facing adults. In balls and masque, Katherine would dressed and danced in explicit ways, showing all her charm and glam to the young men, almost like what girls do to gain attention in a modern party. Then, when Katherine returned to her privy chamber, she would start to play pillow fights and tease with the girls, like what we do with our friends. Katherine was a vain, childish kid. To gain luxury; she made great sacrifices of becoming a puppet of a dangerous politic game and marrying a man that could almost be her grandfather. However, a young and lustful heart could not stand the void of love and desires. With the “help” of Jane Rochford, she ended up dating her beloved man and lost her life for it for her love cannot be allowed under Henry VIII’s reign. Until her end, Katherine was a helpless pawn. In the plan of her powerful uncle and her smart lady-in-waiting, she was no more than a cheap item traded for power and fortune, a tool for childbirth, or a toy thrown away after being played. The story of Katherine revealed the darkness of the English court back in the Tudor period; it also reminded me that there are plenty “Katherine Howard” in our modern world still.

Lady Jane Parker
(Later Jane Rochford)

Jane Rochford was the character I had the most questions on. The most important of all is that I didn’t expected, until the very end that Lady Jane was such a mad lover with a distorted soul. I didn’t see that her heart was filling up with jealousy, lust and greed for the Boleyn inheritance—a title and a fortune. I did not understand her acts until her death, for I always considered her a levelheaded, calm and sophisticated woman that know the court very well. In her insanity of loving her but not being loved, she gave away her sister-in-law, her husband she loved deeply, as well as all her future happiness that could be earned with an earnest attitude like the one of Anne of Cleves. After she committed such hurtful mistakes and injured her own heart deeply, Lady Jane did not draw back her ambitions for the power and wealth; instead, she continued to serve the sly, smooth Duke of Norfolk. With her sharp wit, she slowly led the ignorant Katherine Howard onto the path of death, only she didn’t expected herself to die with her puppet. In fact, Lady Jane herself had become a pawn of Katherine’s powerful uncle. Later, as being revealed by the Duke that to him, Jane Rochford was no more than a piece of filth, a byword of injustice, evilness, distorted lust and jealousy throughout the courts of Europe. In her last moment, Lady Jane learned that no one would want her; no one would marry a widow who cause her own husband’s death, despise how much she love him. After all, Jane Rochford was only a tragic woman who yearned for happiness and love.

Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves was my favorite character among the three. After the reading, I realized that she was not only fortunate, yet unhappy woman like I used to interpret when reading history. Through this historical fiction, I see that it is not luck that spared Anne of Cleves from the scaffold; it is the good qualities she obtained as a woman, a wife and the Queen of England. When bullied by her brother at Cleves, she tolerated the abuses with her dignity and strong mind instead of cry and surrender. When she went to England and married the king that can almost be her father, she decided to learn the English ways, help the king rule and make the people happy. Queen Anne made friend with her stepdaughter, the reserved Princess Mary with her wit; she took care of Elizabeth and Edward like they’re her children. From those events, I can see that Anne was a sympathetic woman and a gentle mother besides having a strong, free heart. Knowing that the king was a tyrant and do not like her, she still did her best for him. When Katherine took Anne’s throne, she didn’t hate the king or the new queen, instead, she worried about the young, silly girl. At last, being named the King’s Beloved Sister, she appreciated everything the king and England gave her. Finally, the king died, and she survived, freedom is the fruit of her good quality and works. Like what Anne’s beloved father used to called her, she was a gyrfalcon, soaring on the high, blue sky, with no restrictions from the world below.

After closing up the last page of the book, I have new understandings of the three main characters. I felt sorry for Katherine Howard, I pitied Jane Rochford, but I admired Anne of Cleves, not for she survived Henry VIII’s tyranny, but because she was always a strong yet gentle woman with a kind, free soul.

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory-Summary of the book

(Below is only a summary of the book I read, the actual interpretation using metacognition will come later, I just write the summary first to help me organize the plots of the book and help finish the interpretion)

The Boleyn Inheritance is a historical fiction by Philippa Gregory. It described the life of Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Rochford, three noble women from the 16^th century Europe who share the same fate—the Boleyn inheritance. Before reading, I wonder to myself that what is the Boleyn inheritance. At first, I thought it means the title and wealth of the Boleyn family of England, but later, I learned that money and power are only the shallow surface of the whole concept. The story started when the threads of destiny of the three women entwined and led them all toward the English court of Henry VIII, everything changed. From a German noblewoman who had to tolerate her hateful family in her small country, Anne of Cleves became the Queen of the powerful country England. However, She was an independent, internally strong woman, and king did not like her as his wife. Still, she was the winner of a complex court game as well as a fortunate Boleyn inheritor. Being named as “the King’s Beloved Sister,” she lived a pleasant life away from her German family in the foreign country England which once belonged to her. Katherine Howard, started as a playful and vain teenager girl of a powerful English family, changed constantly in identity—from a new maid-in-waiting who served Queen Anne, she ascended to the throne for the King’s wives. Then, from “King Henry’s rose” in her own glorious vanity, fell into the damp and dark prison of Tower of London. The only thing unchangeable from the beginning was that she was always the pawn of her “beloved” uncle, her “reliable” Lady Jane; she was no more than a puppet in a play of power just like her “witch” cousin Anne Boleyn. Jane Rochford, the lady-in-waiting of Queen Anne and Queen Katherine, who once gave evidences to the incest and treason of her own beloved husband George Boleyn and her sister-in-law Anne Boleyn, which resulted in the death of the two, continue to hatch her plots in the court. With the Duke of Norfolk, she used Queen Katherine to gain power and favor for the Howard family. Despite being such a tactful and smooth woman, she still failed to save her own head from the scaffold, from her own “insanity”. In the end, Katherine Howard earned only the harsh punishment of the block that she would never deserve, for she was only a silly girl who was in love with a young man instead of the old senile king. Jane Rochford was executed in the same day with Katherine, for her mad, selfish love toward her husband, whom she gave away. Five years later, the reign of Henry Tudor ended with his death. Finally, Anne of Cleves survived by her own wit and kindness. She learned that for a woman, the most valuable gift is nothing more than freedom.

My Identity

Simply saying, I’m a teenage girl and an eighth grade student, but that is only a small piece of my identity, it doesn’t make me different from billions of others. That is why personality and characters are really important for me—they indicate that I’m myself and not anyone else. Gradually, I explore deeper into my traits in life, and gain more useful information through adventures into my own soul.

My personality is hard to describe. Sensitivity is a key word of me. I have a fragile heart that cannot stand harsh languages from others, and I can easily dislike a person by that. Still, I forgive them quickly by time and continue to be friends. Plus, I’m a mercurial person. I reveal and conceal the different characters I play on the big theater of world constantly. I’m shy, diffident and emotional. Strong feelings are uncontrollable for me, and I may express them in childish and unacceptable ways, such as immature tantrums. After all, I’m only a kid, no matter how mature or polite I act. However, I am learning and attempting to control my emotions gradually as I grow. I push myself to different new experience and face new troubles in life, because I believe that can make me stronger internally. My goal is to be more worldly and sophisticated, and I am processing toward success.

            I have a wide range of interests and likes. I’m fond of writing and drawing while daydreaming. I like to create meaningful works that including many details, while each item represent a slice of life. Some people think my drawings are creepy or even unpleasant to look at, but it reveals my internal conditions—my daydreams, nightmares and the reality. I like cute and beautiful stuffs, but as well as dark and Gothic things. Plus, I like social studies, especially history of ancient Europe and Asia. As a result, I like to travel and gain new knowledge on those topics. Gradually I developed a liking on the quaint Oriental fashion and the gorgeous Western style of the Victorian era. I’m a lazy person though, too lazy to even get on any social network and chat to people, too lazy to even buy anything related to my interests. I don’t like to waste a lot of time or money, but with those valuable resources, I want to learn more and explore more about our world, and I considered that the most important.

I guess many people think I’m eccentric, since I don’t follow the main fashion trend and I’m not a fan of popular media. However, people have their own style, and others should understand and respect them instead of laughing and joking about their identity. Everyone is different and unique, but we all live on the same world. Only different identity can dye our world into colorful shades and hues, and make us know and like ourselves better.

(Xenon, "Victorian dress," January 9, 2011 via Blogger, creative common attribution.)

Link to my youtube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICvXelw57eA

Enjoy!

Description:

This is my 8th grade Language project. We were assigned to make a music video about our identity, or who we are. In my video, I included six categories:
Family- This is an important part of my life, it made up 60 percent or more of my identity
Nationality&culture-My geographical location can effect some of my personality and identity
School- School is always on the list of a student's music video project, because it is where we learn new things and make good friends, it shape up 20 percent of my identity
Peers and Adult relationship- We encountered people and build up relationship all the time in our life
Media- Receiving outside information is the fun part of our life, here present my interests and likes
Hobbies- We all try to be well-rounded, here is some of my hobbies that help me to be who I am
Finally is the citation, most of the pictures in the video belong to me, but I did use a few photos from Flickr and use Creative Commons to cited them, thank you to the authors of the photos in Flickr.
Hope you enjoy the video!

Reflection of Metacognition

In our Language Arts class today, we talked about metacognition. Metacognition is the examination make during any kind of learning and thinking, it refer to thinking about your thoughts base on your prior knowledge and make conclusions. Metacognition is a really useful skill, it can be apply to our everyday life to explain our thinkings. In the class, we gain better understanding of metacognition through the activities of analyze a picture and think out-loud will making clay figures.

In the picture analyzation activity, I study the photo using my prior knowledge. The group on the photo wear red shirt, yellow confetti are falling down, cameras are flashing, and everyone is happy. I understand that they're a sport team that just win a game, but I don't know anything about their shirt color, later I learned that their shirt color shows they're from Spain. Through this process of metacognition using examination.

I like the clay activity a lot, it is when I make pumpkin car figure while thinking out-loud, in other word, talking to myself. I'm not really good at this though, maybe I'm not use to talking while working, but the activities help us to clearly present our thoughts to ourself and the others. In the clay activity, I noticed making clay isn't easy like I think, I can't make the four car wheels equal, and my pumpkin looks like an onion, my partner made a turtle, and that is difficult to get to the right shape too, it shows that making a perfect clay figure is really hard. Through saying out-loud, I can remember my thinkings more clear and straightforward, and I understand the process deeper in my brain. Through this activities, I learned that thinking out-loud is a good strategy to use.

As a student, I think metacognition is an important skill, it can help us think more deeply and efficiently. Thinking is a primary step of learning . Through learning, students gain more knowledges about the world to prepare themselves in the future, and metacognition is a greater helper and organizer of our thinking skills.