My Little Break.

Finally! I was finally able to use that free movie ticket of mine that I won about a few months ago. My family and I wanted to go out and watch a movie for quite some time now. We haven't been able to go to the movies all together. All seven of us. Generally, my older brother is up north attending college and I usually am stuck at home studying and doing homework. So it usually ends up where some kids go and some stay back. And because all our schedules are different where my parents work different hours, siblings have concerts and sports games, and I myself have many things as well we hardly get to all hang out and have some family time.

We have been planning this family movie night for quite some time. In fact, we were suppose to go watch Moana when it came out before Thanksgiving day, but due to the infamous APUSH Press Conference I was not able to go. And because I was the one to really want to watch Moana my family decided to wait until I was free. And so Sunday, about two and a half weeks later, I still had work to be done, but I was like why not. I'll probably not even get too much stuff done anyways.

So I sat for my second time ever in the new movie theaters. And you know there is always that group or one person that has to destroy the movie experience for you. Well in this case there was a group of obnoxious teenagers who did not care what others had to think. It was as though they had already watched the movie and was just there to talk. There was about six of them and they said several inappropriate things that I wish my ears never picked up, but I couldn't help it as they were to the left one row behind. I remember before the movie had even began and the trailers were still playing these two girls walk in and are shouting their friend's name trying to find them. So unnecessary and so from then I knew this group was all trouble. Then at one point someone drops their phone so someone takes out their phone to shine their flashlight mode (not sure what the right terminology is, but close enough) in search for the dropped phone which was again really bothersome. It got to the point I just wanted to get up and yell at them, but that is not like me. I was on the verge of getting up to call security, but I didn't want to miss a scene. So I tried to block these people out and had a semi-great experience at the movies today.

So, yes, movies this time around were ruined. However, the inner kid inside of me loved the soundtrack and colors of the movie. I also, not going to lie, teared up at a part and I didn't expect that to happen with such a movie. Overall, I would recommend this film to any family and would go to see it again if I could.

Like I mentioned the songs were just amazing! So thankful to have a person like Lin-Manuel Miranda! His compositions were just superb! Side note: I first heard of Lin-Manuel through Mrs. Hennings who showed us a Hamilton clip from Lin-Manuel. And I did not know that Lin-Manuel was the creator of the songs for Moana. So when the crab song and Maui song appeared I knew right away that these songs have been written by Lin-Manuel. With that being said here are some great songs from the movie that I could listen to all day:"Know Who You Are", "Where You Are","How Far I'll Go","An Innocent Warrior","We Know The Way", and "I Am Moana". You know just to name a few! I could've just listed the whole soundtrack it seems. But no I encourage you guys reading this to listen to the music! There is just something tropical and uplifting about this type of music.

"Immigrants In Our Own Land"

Getting to know a bit about the author (Jimmy Satiago Baca) himself prior to reading this poem was great because I was able to get that insight and found the purpose as to why Santiago wrote what he wrote. To know he was illiterate, came to America from Mexico as an immigrant, and got himself incarcerated by selling drugs to now reading one of his poems makes it all surreal. The whole poem is given more meaning knowing that this is what an author actually experienced and felt. The viewpoint becomes this real experience that I can actually believe to be true and I can finally see through the eyes of the author and an immigrant. For me this no longer becomes your conventional poem, although all works of poetry are never the same as there does not have to be any "rules". However, I mean not conventional in regards to how this does not seem to be this creative and rhyming piece that needs to be looked at closely in order to understand.
"Immigrants In Our Own Land" is definitely more prose type and isn't complicated and simple to comprehend. With that being said, Santiago is able to give us the whole outlook of what is like being someone coming from new lands by starting off his poem in an optimistic fashion. Signifying that the immigrants coming over are very hopeful for this new opportunity that awaits.  Consequently, that is all turned around and by the looks of how Santiago expresses his ideas in the next few stanzas shows that - trying to achieve the new life isn't what it all seems to be. "But in the end, some will just sit around talking about how good the old world was." This to me shows the regret of these people who thought that leaving their life at home is for the better. In the end, it becomes apparent that people's expectations versus reality is totally different when trying to come to new lands with the desires for a better life.
After reading Jessica's post I did not even realize the metaphor of immigrants entering a prison rather than a new world they can call home. This helps to perfectly demonstrate the feeling of these people seeking for a better life. I also like how Jessica was able to break up the stanzas and analyze bits and parts from the words Santiago spoke.

Chasing the American Dream!