Michael Zarrillo Essay 1

Michael Zarrillo

18 September 2014

Professor Young

English 1100

Identity Essay

The Importance of Having Your Own Identity

Every person no matter who they are should have an identity and something that defines who they are as a person. Having your own identity is emphasized in the reading, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua, because Anzaldua identifies who she is with her language. For Gloria her language means everything to her and she is proud of it, so this shows that she is proud of who she is. “We became aware of our reality and acquired a name and a language that reflected that reality.” This is Anzaldua’s thesis and this is where she realized her identity. I agree with this thesis because after searching for a while, Anzaldua finally found her identity and I think that nothing could better identify Anzaldua than her language. In my case, my identity is my family. My family means everything to me and I would not be the same person that I am now without my family behind me. My family is my identity because they taught me, and made me the person I am today. It is important that everyone has their own identity because identity makes and defines who you are as a person. 

Identity is important in everyone’s life and no matter who you are, you need an identity to define you. My family defines me because they are the ones that shaped me into the person that I am today. My family taught me everything I know today. They taught me right from wrong, what’s good and what’s bad, they taught me about sports, and everything else that you can think of in between. Having an identity shows who you are to everyone around you whether you know them or not. Identity expresses your inner self, just like Anzaldua expresses her language by using it combined with English to speak a sort of Spanglish throughout her story and even in real life. Family to me is like language to Anzaldua. Identity should be important to everyone so you have something that shows who you are.

Without identity, you may not know the person you really are. How can someone go through life not knowing themself? My family reflects me because they made me who I am. I know that my identity is my family so I know who I am, where people without an identity may not know who they are. Another reason why my family is my identity is that they supported me with everything like school, sports, and work throughout my entire life. When things were not looking so good, I always know that my family is behind me to help me get through the rough times. For Anzaldua, at first she didn't know her identity because she loved her language, but was afraid to express it because it was discriminated against by so many people. However, later on Anzaldua began to take pride in her language and realized that was her identity. Everyone needs some form of identity no matter what it is, so that you can express you. 

There is something that identifies every person whether they know it or not. In the case of Anzaldua, when she was growing up she had no identity, and she was very shy and quiet because she was unsure of herself. She loved her language but also was not proud of it at the time because it was discriminated against by so many people. As Anzaldua got older she became proud of her language no matter how much people hated it, and she realized that her language is her identity. When I was younger, I never really thought of identity showing who I really am, but now that I know, there is nothing that shows me better than my family. By helping me and teaching me everything along the way, my family shaped me into the kind, caring, funny, lovable man that I am today, and I could never thank them enough for that. Everyone has an identity because nobody just sits around, doesn't do anything, and doesn't like anything. Everyone has interests that will affect your identity. No matter who you are, you have an identity.

The importance of having your your own identity is to show yourself and everyone around you who you are. Everyone needs and identity to show their personality and their inner self. Without an identity, you yourself may not know who you really are because you don't have anything that defines you. Whether it is your language like Anzaldua, your family like me, your background, your religion, whatever it might be, there needs to be something that identifies who you are. Identity can be anything, but it cannot be everything. There is one thing in every person’s life that identifies them and shows who they are. For me, there are many things that can show or express who I am, but my family expresses me the best of all of them. If you don't know what your identity is, you just have to take the time to look for it. Identity is one single thing in a person’s life that defines who they are as a human being, and everyone has an identity. 

Michael Zarrillo Essay 2

Michael Zarrillo 

27 September 2014

Professor Young

English 1100

Community Issue Essay

Why Is There Nothing To Do?

The town of Caldwell where I live is a very nice town that has a lot of restaurants, supermarkets, Dunkin Donuts, and ice cream or dessert stores. The one thing that makes Caldwell very boring at times is that there is really nothing, activity wise, to do in town. A lot of other towns have bowling alleys, mini golf courses, sporting goods stores and other stores and clubs. Although some of these places like the mall, or mini golf are not very far away from Caldwell, it would make it a lot easier if we had a few of these places in town so that they are easier to get to and we would be able to go there more often. Not having these places in town makes it harder on people because they have to drive to these places, although some places may only be 10-15 minutes away, others are 25-30 minutes away. If there were a few less restaurants in town, and a few more places like bowling alleys, mini golf courses, and driving ranges, it would make the town more fun. As a result of none of these places being in Caldwell, going to these places uses more gas, takes longer to get to, and it causes you not to go to these places very often.

In Valerie Kinloch’s essay “Harlem is Art/Harlem as Art”, Kinloch explains the problem of gentrification in her community, which is Harlem. Kinloch shows that by a lot of white people moving into Harlem who have more money that the mostly black population that already lives there, they are driving up the costs of everyday life. Since the white population moving into Harlem is an affluent population, it is causing the cost of rent, taxes, and bills to go up for the black population that was already there. A lot of the black population cannot afford to pay these higher rent costs and they are forced out. Gentrification is the main problem in Kinloch’s essay. 

For a lot of people, especially teenagers, going bowling or to play mini golf, or the driving range and places like this are fun because you are actually doing something instead of sitting in the house all day. Teenagers especially, when we want to hang out, a lot of times we like going out and doing activities like bowling, rather than just staying at home, watching TV, and playing video games. The stores, especially sporting goods stores are fun to go to as well because, even if you don't buy anything, you walk around a look at things that you may want to buy, or fool around with the footballs for a while. Although staying home and hanging out with friends there and watching TV isn't bad sometimes, most of the time we would rather go out and actually do something.

The first problem with these stores and recreational places not being in town is that we use more gas when going to these places. Since we don't have these places in Caldwell we use more gas to get to these places. Some places like the mall and mini golf or the driving range are not too far and are about 15 minutes away. However, other places like the bowling alley or Dick’s Sporting Goods (which is the best sporting goods store) are anywhere from 25-30 minutes away. This makes driving to these places annoying because they are kind of far and it wastes a lot of gas to get there. Especially in my friend group, almost all of us have Jeeps and SUV’s which are terrible on gas, so this is especially annoying for us. We use a lot more gas getting to these places because they are not in town. 

There is a solution to spending more money on gas though. The solution could either be to build a bowling alley or mini golf course or stores in town, or lower gas prices. As we all know, gas is not cheap, so going to these places that are not in town costs a lot, especially when you drive a Jeep. There are a bunch of spots in Caldwell that have stores or restaurants that have gone out of business where one of these places could be built. It would make it a lot easier on the people that live in Caldwell, and on our wallets because we wouldn't have to spend as much money. If a bowling alley, mini golf course, or sporting goods store were built in Caldwell, it would solve our problem of wasting a lot of gas to get there. 

The next problem about not having these places in town is that it makes in more difficult to get to these stores and recreational sites. Since we can’t just drive down Bloomfield Ave (the main street in Caldwell) to get to Sports Authority or the bowling alley, it makes it harder to get to and takes longer to get to. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the closest Sports Authority, the mall, or the driving range/mini golf course. This is not too far but, it makes it harder to get to these places because they are in other towns. It makes it harder on everyone, especially teenagers to get to these places since we don’t have them in town. 

The solution for it being harder to get to these places are to build them in town where there are empty spaces that they can be built. Caldwell has numerous places in town that is open land or old stores or restaurants, many on Bloomfield Ave, that are no longer in business that a bowling alley or Sports Authority could be built. So instead of forcing us to drive 15 minutes to Wayne or Fairfield, we can drive 5 minutes and save gas and the hassle. Bowling alley’s and mini golf courses especially, do not take up a ton of space when building them. So build a bowling alley, mini golf course, or anything like this in town to solve everyone’s problem of driving so long. 

The final problem with not having a bowling alley and other recreational sites in town is that it causes people not to go to these places as often because the drive is too long. I know that my friends, my family and I all love to go bowling. But because the nearest bowling alley is at least 25 minutes away, we don't go often because nobody wants to drive all the way there to bowl a few games. My Dad grew up in Montclair and he had a bowling alley in town that was 5 minutes away. He used to go bowling all the time because it was so close and it was fun. Since the bowling alley closest to Caldwell is a minimum of 25 minutes away, we don’t go bowling that much because it is too far.

The solution for not having a bowling alley or sporting goods store in town is to either make an easier way to get to these places that is quicker, or to build one in town or at least closer to Caldwell. When going to the bowling alley especially, you have to take multiple highways to get there and there are traffic lights the whole way. If there was at least an easier way to get there that is quicker, it makes it easier on everyone because we don't have to deal with all of the traffic. And if you don't build one in town, build one closer to Caldwell that does not take long to get to. Doing this would bring in more business because a lot of people in surrounding towns would go as well because they have the same problem as us. 

Not having a bowling alley, sporting goods store, or mini golf course in town makes Caldwell very boring at times. If Caldwell decides to build one of these places in town, it would make Caldwell more exciting and would bring in more revenue, because everyone in the town will have activities and things to do all the time since we have them in town. There are problems with not having them in town and all the solutions basically are to build these places in town. The problems are wasting gas to get to these places, they are harder to get to, and it causes people not to go to these places as often. Since there are spots in Caldwell to build these places, mostly on Bloomfield Ave and other main roads like Passaic Ave, I don't know why the town doesn't decide to built one of these recreational places or stores. Caldwell better do something because this town gets pretty boring at times, and we all take our money to other towns to go to the bowling alley, sports store, or mini golf course, instead of staying in Caldwell to go to these places.

Michael Zarrillo Essay 3

Michael Zarrillo

English 1100

Professor Young

5 November 2014

Essay 3

Honestly Beautiful

Can beauty be honest? This is the question that I asked myself after watching Cameron Russell’s TED talk. Cameron Russell argues in her TED talk that beauty can be honest but, modeling agencies take the honest beauty away from the models. I agree with Cameron Russell that beauty can be honest. In her TED talk, Russell also talks about constructed beauty and how her beauty is constructed by designers, makeup artists, and computers. Constructed beauty is taking honest beauty and altering that beauty to make it more appealing. I feel that there is honest beauty out there and that not all beauty is not constructed. . Since there is constructed beauty in the world, there is also honest beauty. Beauty can be honest and I agree with Cameron Russell that honest beauty is natural features that is not altered. 

In Cameron Russell’s TED talk she talks about how ever since she started modeling, photographers have been taking her honest beauty and altering it. She shows a picture in the talk of her modeling when she was 13 years old and the picture makes her look like she is 22. She hates that the agencies she works for takes her honest beauty and using computers to enhance her looks. Russell shows a series of her modeling photos and explains, “…these pictures, are not pictures of me. They are constructions, and they are constructions by a group of professionals” (Russell). Russell admits that the modeling agencies take her honest beauty and “constructs” it into something else. They construct her into something that she is not. Russell then states, “That’s not me” (Russell). Russell believes that since the designers alter her honest beauty, those pictures are not her. Russell wants to let the audience know who she really is and that she does not want to be known by her constructed pictures. Russell wants to be known to everyone by her honest beauty. I agree with Russell that she has honest beauty and that beauty can be honest. However, the modeling agencies have been altering her honest beauty throughout her whole life.

Beauty can be honest and Russell is a perfect example of honest beauty. Russell states in her TED talk “The real way that I became a model is I won a genetic lottery” (Russell). This means that Russell received beautiful genes and was born with honest beauty. Now that she is in the modeling industry, her image of honest beauty has been tainted. Everyone knows Russell by her constructed beauty that they see in magazines and commercials. Behind all of that construction, Russell still has her honest beauty. Honest beauty means that there is nothing that is altering someone’s natural features. Things like makeup and photoshop are ways that honest beauty turns into constructed beauty. When a girl wakes up in the morning without makeup on, that is her honest beauty because there is nothing that is altering or enhancing the way that they look. Some people want to construct their beauty to make them look more appealing to the opposite sex, or just in general. On the other hand, some people don’t want their beauty to be constructed, they want their honest beauty to show. Russell is an example of someone that wants their honest beauty to show. 

Honest beauty is something that cannot be tampered with. Once honest beauty is tampered with, that makes it constructed beauty. Honest beauty is real and Russell tries to convince girls not to be models because it messes with who you are. Russell does not want other girls to have their honest beauty covered up by the constructions of the modeling industry. At least for Russell, she wants to be known by her honest beauty and not by what a computer can make her look like. Russell states “I am insecure. And I’m insecure because I have to think about what I look like every day” (Russell). Russell is saying that she has to worry about her honest beauty all the time and make sure that she keeps her best figure. Her body needs to be in shape for when she models, but the rest of her is constructed by makeup and computers. Russell know that she is beautiful without all of the “constructions” that the industry performs. Russell also encourages people to show their honest beauty and not to construct it. Honest beauty cannot be anything that is altered, enhanced, or otherwise changed to make the natural features of something look better. 

As I have previously stated, beauty can be honest. Honest beauty is beauty that is not altered in any way. It is a person or items natural features that is not changed to make it look different. Cameron Russell explains how her natural beauty is overshadowed by constructed beauty that the modeling agency uses on her. Russell wishes that she could be known for her natural beauty and not her constructed beauty. Russell explains the ways that her beauty has been constructed by showing many pictures of herself without any makeup or enhancements, and other pictures of her in magazines where her honest beauty is tainted by computers and designers. Russell wants people to show their honest beauty and not let their beauty be constructed and enhanced by people. Everyone has honest beauty and they honest beauty is their natural features that have not been altered in any way shape or form. Beauty can be honest and everyone and everything has their own form of honest beauty. They just have to show themselves they are honestly beautiful and they don't need to be constructed.

Works Cited

Russell, Cameron.  “Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I’m a model.”  ted.com.  TED, Oct. 2012.  Web.  5 Nov. 2014.

Michael Zarrillo Can Beauty Be Constructed?

Michael Zarrillo
English 1100
Professor Young
2 November 2014

Can Beauty Be Constructed?

Beauty is a very controversial topic when talking about beauty being constructed or honest. I feel that beauty can be honest and constructed as well. I think that beauty can be constructed because anything that is not a person's natural features is altering someones beauty. If someone alters their natural beauty, that means their beauty is constructed. People can construct beauty in many different ways. Putting on makeup is one way that most girls construct their beauty almost every day. However, constructed beauty can be things that are wants or needs. People do not need to put makeup on, they put it on because they want to because it makes them look better. Constructed beauty that is a need is in the case of Aimee Mullins where she lost her legs and now uses prosthetic legs. Since the legs that she uses are not her natural legs, this means that her beauty is constructed. Because Aimee needs these prosthetic legs is order to walk, this means that her constructed beauty is a need and not a want. Aimee does not want those legs to walk, she needs those legs to walk. Unlike Aimee, some girls put on makeup, go for spray tans, and some even get implants to enhance their appearance. All of these things are ways that beauty is constructed.

To answer the question directly, yes, beauty can be constructed and in many different ways. Beauty is something that almost every one cares about. Almost everybody wants to look good when going out, especially to big parties like weddings. When people go to these events, they want to look good so they will do a lot to make themselves look better. Girls put on makeup, some men may even put makeup on, they get new hair styles and many other things. All of these things are ways that people are constructing their beauty. Aimee Mullins in her TED talk admits that her beauty is constructed and not really honest, but she embraces it and is proud of it. Aimee even jokes that because of her many different legs, she has a few different heights depending on what legs she is wearing that day. 

Beauty is something that can be constructed. There are many ways that people construct their beauty. Constructing your beauty is anything that you do to your body that alters your natural features. It can be as simple as putting makeup on, or as complicated as having a face lift. Constructed beauty can be further divided into two categories: wants and needs. A girl may want to get a face lift to make her look younger, but someone may need prosthetic legs like Aimee, in order to perform everyday activities.

http://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_prosthetic_aesthetics?language=en

Michael Zarrillo Can Beauty Be Honest?

Michael Zarrillo
English 1100
Professor Young
25 October 2014

Can Beauty Be Honest?

When on the topic of beauty there are two different forms of the term. There is honest beauty, which is a person's natural beauty, or there is constructed beauty, which is beauty that is made. In this world there is a such thing as honest beauty. Honest beauty is natural beauty that is not made by using photoshop or any other editing. Honest beauty is the beauty a person without any type of altering. Unlike constructed beauty where you take someone's natural beauty that is being altered by photoshop. 

To answer the question, yes beauty can be honest. Beauty is only honest when nobody is altering your beauty in any way. Honest beauty is seeing someone without any make up on. This is honest beauty because there is no make up on to change the way you look. Honest beauty can be taking a picture of somebody with no make up on. These are examples of honest beauty because there is nothing that is altering the natural looks of a person.

Unlike honest beauty, constructed beauty would be someone that is wearing make up. This is constructed because it is covering up and changing someone's natural looks. Photoshop is another example of constructed beauty because you are changing the way a person looks, and altering the natural features of the person. It is not honest and true beauty because it is enhancing the way someone looks. Honest beauty is the natural looks that is not being enhanced.

Honest beauty is the same as natural beauty. It is how someone looks without anything that is enhancing those looks and features. A lot of men that you see have honest beauty because most men, unless they are on TV do not wear makeup or anything that will change their looks. On the other hand, some women have honest beauty and some women don't. Since women wear make up a lot, this is constructed beauty because the make up is changing the way they look. But, at some point women have honest beauty because they are not always wearing make up. When women don't have make up on, this is their honest beauty. 

Beauty can be honest. The only way to make beauty honest is to not wear or use anything that will enhance or change that honest beauty. Once you have make up on or use photoshop, you are constructing beauty and it is no longer honest. A person's natural looks are their honest beauty.

Michael Zarrillo Community Problem Essay

Michael Zarrillo 

27 September 2014

Professor Young

English 1100

Community Issue Essay

Why Is There Nothing To Do?

The town of Caldwell where I live is a very nice town that has a lot of restaurants, supermarkets, Dunkin Donuts, and ice cream or dessert stores. The one thing that makes Caldwell very boring at times is that there is really nothing, activity wise, to do in Caldwell. A lot of other towns have bowling alleys, mini golf courses, sporting goods stores and other stores and clubs. Although some of these places like the mall, or mini golf are not very far away from Caldwell, it would make it a lot easier if we had these places in town so that they are easier to get to and we would be able to go there more often. Not having these places in town makes it harder on people because they have to drive to these places, although some places may only be 10-15 minutes away, others are 25-30 minutes away. It would be much better if there were a few less restaurants in town, and a few more places like bowling alleys, mini golf courses, driving ranges, etc. As a result of none of these places b

eing in Caldwell, going to these places uses more gas, takes longer to get to, and it causes you not to go to these places very often.

For a lot of people, especially teenagers, going bowling or to play mini golf, or the driving range and places like this are fun because you are actually doing something instead of sitting in the house all day. Teenagers especially when we want to hang out, a lot of times we like going out and doing activities like bowling, rather than just staying at home, watching TV, and playing video games. The stores, especially sporting goods stores are fun to go to as well because, even if you don't buy anything, you walk around a look at things that you may want to buy, or fool around with the footballs for a while. Although staying home and hanging out with friends there and watching TV isn't bad sometimes, most of the time we would rather go out and actually do something.

The first problem with these stores and recreational places not being in town is that we use more gas when going to these places. Since we don't have these places in Caldwell we use more gas to get to these places. Some places like the mall and mini golf or the driving range are not too far and are about 15 minutes away. However, other places like the bowling alley or Dick’s Sporting Goods (which is the best sporting goods store) are anywhere from 25-30 minutes away. This makes driving to these places annoying because they are kind of far and it wastes a lot of gas to get there. Especially in my friend group, almost all of us have Jeeps and SUV’s which are terrible on gas, so this is especially annoying for us. We use a lot more gas getting to these places because they are not in town. 

There is a solution to this problem though. The solution could either be to build a bowling alley or mini golf course or stores in town, or lower gas prices. As we all know, gas is not cheap, so going to these places that are not in town costs a lot, especially when you drive a Jeep. There are a bunch of spots in town that have stores or restaurants that have gone out of business where one of these places could be built. It would make it a lot easier on the people that live in Caldwell, and on our wallets. If a bowling alley, mini golf course, or sporting goods store were built in Caldwell, it would solve our problem of wasting a lot of gas to get there. 

The next problem about not having these places in town is that it makes in more difficult to get to these stores and recreational sites. Since we can’t just drive down Bloomfield Ave (the main street in Caldwell) to get to Sports Authority or the bowling alley, it makes it harder to get to and longer to get to. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the closest Sports Authority, the mall, or the driving range/mini golf course. This is not too far but, it makes it harder to get to these places because they are in other towns. It makes it harder on everyone, especially teenagers to get to these places since we don’t have them in town. 

The solution to making it harder to get to these places are to build them in town where there are a bunch of places they can be built. Caldwell has numerous places in town that is open land or old stores or restaurants that are no longer in business that a bowling alley or Sports Authority could be built. So instead of forcing us to drive 15 minutes, we can drive 5 minutes and save gas and the hassle. Bowling alley’s and mini golf courses especially, do not take up a ton of space when building them. So build a bowling alley, mini golf course, or anything like this in town to solve everyone’s problem of driving so long. 

The final problem with not having a bowling alley and other recreational sites in town is that it causes people not to go that often because the drive is too long. I know that my friends, my family and I all love to go bowling. But because the nearest bowling alley is at least 25 minutes away, we don't go often because nobody wants to drive all the way there to bowl a few games. My Dad grew up in Montclair and he had a bowling alley in town that was 5 or 10 minutes away at the most. He used to go bowling all the time because it was so close and it was fun. Since the bowling alley closest to Caldwell is a minimum of 25 minutes away, we don’t go bowling that much because it is too far.

The solution for not having a bowling alley or sporting goods store in town is to either make an easier way to get to these places that is quicker, or to build one in town or at least closer to Caldwell. When going to the bowling alley especially, you have to take multiple highways to get there and there are traffic lights the whole way. If there was at least an easier way to get there that is quicker, it makes it easier on everyone because we don't have to deal with all of the traffic. And if you don't build one in town, build one closer to Caldwell that does not take long to get to. Doing this would bring in more business because a lot of people in surrounding towns would go as well because they have the same problem as us. 

Not having a bowling alley, sporting goods store, or mini golf course in town makes Caldwell very boring at times. If Caldwell decides to build one of these places here, it would make Caldwell more exciting and would bring in more revenue. There are problems with not having them in town and all the solutions basically are to build these places in town. The problems are wasting gas to get to these places, they are harder to get to, and it causes people not to go to these places as often. Since there are spots in Caldwell to build these places, I don't know why the town doesn't decide to built one of these recreational places or stores. But, Caldwell better do something because this town gets pretty boring at times, and we all take our money to other towns to do these things.

Michael Zarrillo Hip Hop Planet Response

Michael Zarrillo

20 Septmeber 2014

Professor Young

English 1100

Hip Hop Planet Response

In the reading “Hip Hop Planet” by James McBride, McBride writes and explains how he used to hate hip hop music and couldn't stand listening to it, but as he got older he grew to accept it and understand that it is a part of him. McBride was always a jazz person, he loved in and it was his favorite genre of music. He remembers hearing rap or hip hop music for the first time and thinking how ridiculous and pointless the lyrics and melody were. He never really understood the point of rap music and did not like the fact that DJ’s put records on turntables and used their hands to move them to make a “scratch” noise. And while the DJ’s spun the records, MC’s put lyrics into the rhythm and “spouted rhymes.” 

McBride was trying to accept the nightmare that his daughter was getting married to a rapper that wore a do-rag and had gold in his mouth and had huge muscles and “thug attitude”. McBride went to history and tried to find something that could change his mind and accept the fact that he was going to have a rapper sun in law. He looks back and realizes that rap music derived from African poetry. He looked more into it and saw that villages of Africans would sing rap music all the time. When McBride saw this, he realized that rap was a part of him. 

McBride’s family history traces back at some point to Africa, so being that rap is African poetry, he realized that rap music was in him. As much as McBride did not like rap and could not understand the point of it, he knew he had to accept it because it is in him and is a part of who he is.  McBride began to change his perception of rap music because it was part of his identity. Since rap traces back to African poetry, and McBride is African-American, he knows rap is inside him, so he knows it is part of his identity. McBride says later in the reading that “after 26 years, I have come to embrace this music I tried so hard to ignore.” McBride says this because he knows rap music is part of his identity and he has to embrace it, rather than ignore it.