1. Adoption: What are the affects on children that are in a open adoption versus a closed adoption? How does being told versus finding out that they are adopted affect them mentally and emotionally?
2. Gender and Displacement: What does being born intersex do to the child and family? How does a person  come to decide what gender they want to be or accept the gender that was chosen for them?
3. Religion: What are the emotional drawbacks  of being non-religious in a religious family? How does one person turn to a different religion from the one they were born in? What are the consequences among the family?

MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2015

“My husband and I sold everything we had to afford the journey. We worked 15 hours a day in Turkey until we had enough money to leave. The smuggler put 152 of us on a boat. Once we saw the boat, many of us wanted to go back, but he told us that anyone who turned back would not get a refund. We had no choice. Both the lower compartment and the deck were filled with people. Waves began to come into the boat so the captain told everyone to throw their baggage into the sea. In the ocean we hit a rock, but the captain told us not to worry. Water began to come into the boat, but again he told us not to worry. We were in the lower compartment and it began to fill with water. It was too tight to move. Everyone began to scream. We were the last ones to get out alive. My husband pulled me out of the window. In the ocean, he took off his life jacket and gave it to a woman. We swam for as long as possible. After several hours he told me he that he was too tired to swim and that he was going to float on his back and rest. It was so dark we could not see. The waves were high. I could hear him calling me but he got further and further away. Eventually a boat found me. They never found my husband.” (Kos, Greece)

I selected this story because of the picture. Everyone knows the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and I have been doing exactly that and I will continue to do that. When I came across this photo, I saw a woman that was obviously in pain and suffering. Due to this, I wanted  to read her story. After reading her story, it just struck me how much suffering and heartache she must have gone through is still going through. After reading her story, I looked at the image once again and I noticed her wedding ring more than ever. Her story is a true tragedy, she lost her home and husband.

• Happy Feet- Mumble is rejected in and kicked out of his colony because he is the only one that can not sing. He is only good at tapping with his feet and they blame his dancing on the shortage of food.  Below is the link to the scene where Mumble gets kicked out of his colony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkaJFlr5Fhk

• Rise of the Planet of the Apes- Caesar is an ape that had human characteristics due to being tested on in trying to find the cure to Alzheimer’s disease. In doing so, he is kept locked away and can only interact his family. Since he is an animal placed in an environment where only humans belong Caesar struggles in feeling free which is why he along with other apes, decide to break free and create their own home. I wasn’t able to find the particular clip that I wanted but below is a clip of when Caesar rejects the offer of going back to his human “home” and stays with his fellow apes in the forest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu_xO-VR56U

1. I noticed that the schools changed the way that they taught before, during, and after the revolution, is Persepolis trying to show that certain levels of education brainwash the students into believing what the government wants them to believe?
2. In Persepolis, Satrapi’s uncle was in the hospital and her aunt said that the head direct of the hospital was her old window washer,  how can someone go from being bossed around to bossing people around and having such a superior job than his other one?
3. Even though Satrapi “gained” her freedom, why did she look so miserable? Is it because she had to leave her family behind?

I’ve chosen prompts one, three and four.

For prompt one, I wanted to talk about how although I am before Dominica and American, I personally feel as if I do not belong in either of the cultures. I have to force myself to act a certain way so that I can have a sense of belonging.

For prompt three, I would talk about my room. How my room, to me, is my safe haven and I feel like i belong or that I can at least feel like I belong. For this prompt I am not entirely sure if I can make it into three pages.

For prompt four, I would discuss about all the different “languages” that I speak. Ranging from “ghetto” English to “proper” Spanish depending on my environment and who I am speaking to.