Amelia's+Page

Amelia's Page

There are many forces that have shaped me into the person I am today. I guess the biggest thing would be my brothers and sisters. Having 5 siblings was probably a lot different than most families but for the most part I think it’s made my life more entertaining. Every time we’d go out in public as a family when I was younger, people would always say to my parents, “Are they all yours?”, and have a look of surprise when they realised. That kind of became something I defined myself as, one of many kids. And while it can feel like it’s too many at times, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Another would be my twin sister. We’ve been together 99% of our lives and we are about as identical as identical twins get. Not just because we look alike, but our personalities as well. It’s just awesome having someone that has been there since day one and we’ve been able to go through our entire lives together. It’s a unique experience that’s hard to describe to others who don’t have a twin. Another would be my parents. They’ve always tried to be the best that they can be in life, and I try to have the same determination as them. Running has also shaped me in more ways than I probably know. Running makes me competitive, helps relieve stress, keeps me in shape, and has taught me how to work harder than I ever thought possible. In the 5 years I’ve been running I have come so far and it’s become a huge part of my life. Being in the band has also influenced my life. I started later than most kids do and in the beginning it was a struggle for me. But as I stuck with it I think it was a good challenge for me and I’ve made so many friends. My friends have also made me who I am today. My high school experience has been a great one because of the people I surround myself with, and I love how close we have all become. For the most part they just make my life enjoyable and I know they will always support me. Being in a relationship has shaped me because it’s taught me a lot about myself and who I really am and it’s allowed me to share my life with someone who makes it even better. Being exposed to different cultures throughout my life has shaped me. One side of my family is Indian and the other is American and I lived in England for 7 years. It’s helped me learn more and also be accepting of all different kinds of people. It’s also just been interesting seeing the differences in both sides of my family. The struggles I’ve been through and the mistakes I’ve made in my life have shaped me, but in a good way. Getting through them and learning from them have made me a better person and have helped me figure out the kind of person I want to be in the future. The most recent force that has shaped me would be my faith. I was not raised in a religious household, but over the past year I’ve come to Christ and I’ve grown so much in my faith. It has made a huge impact on me and will for the rest of my life.

Amelia! This explains you so well. Well at least i think so. You make a good point about saying having many siblings. When i heard you had that many siblings i was kinda shocked but then i got used to it. And i think having your sister is a very big part of your life. You guys do a lot of stuff together and it is something that is very cool to have someone your age and be able to understand you on a level that not anyone else can. I also like that you included struggles in your life because not just only happy and exciting events can define you but also your worst experoiences as well. Great job.

Amelia Smith //Kaffir Boy// Post #1

Amelia Smith //Kaffir Boy// Post #2

Amelia Smith //Kaffir Boy// Post #3

Amelia Smith //Kaffir Boy// Post #4

Amelia Smith //Kaffir Boy// Post #5

Mrs. Goodrich, I had problems trying to get the file to link on here so I put my last one right on the wiki.

Amelia Smith Wiki Post #5 1/6/12 //Kaffir Boy // By: Mark Mathabane Summary:  Mark is still focusing tennis, and in the beginning of this section of the book he is selected to play in a junior tennis tournament. He also meets a white boy, Andre, who went to America on a tennis scholarship, which is Mark’s dream. He plays tennis regularly with Andres, even though it’s dangerous for them to be seen together playing. Andre tells him a lot about America, mainly how segregation is not allowed and how much of a different world it is than South Africa. Hearing about America made Mark even more determined to make it there, even though his family wanted him to take a job right after his schooling. However, Mark knows he will never be satisfied with himself if he doesn’t strive to make it to America somehow. Another goal he has once he makes it there is to make every effort he can to end apartheid in South Africa.  Mark decides to play in the SAB Open, even though he’ll be banned from black tennis when he does. He trains extremely hard in the weeks leading up to it. Mark plays a good match, but ends up losing. He was disappointed, but the next day when he went out to hit a few balls around, he meets a new friend, Stan Smith. Smith is an excellent white tennis player. Mark becomes good friends with Stan and his wife and they help out Mark immensely. They help with the costs of tennis materials, the fee for the tournament, and Stan also talked to some people about Mark being interested in tennis scholarships.  Mark travels to Cape Town for the tournament, which is a very new experience for him. He flew in an airplane and stayed in a nice hotel. He had wanted to do well, but during a training run he sprained his ankle and ended up losing the singles match and dropping out of the doubles match. Once he gets back home, Mark tries to gain access to a white tennis club, the Wanderers club, but even though he clearly meets all other requirements, his race keeps him from being accepted.  Mark gets his exam results back, so he could start working, but chooses not to. He’s still waiting for news from America about scholarships. Even though everyone else thinks it’s not worth waiting for, Mark knows that America is his only option if he wants to get better at tennis and make a future for himself. Since he had been waiting for a while, Mark decides to get his pass so he can start working. Andre gets him a job at a bank with extremely good pay. After a month or so Mark finally starts to get letters from various universities. He is so excited that the opportunity is finally happening for him to go to America. One of the letters is from Limestone College and offered him a full scholarship to play tennis. Mark accepted the offer and began to prepare himself to leave for America. He quit his job and got a visa and a passport. The day finally came for Mark to leave, and he said goodbye to his family, but was excited for what the future in America had in store for him.

Analysis:  I thought that this part of the book was a nice ending to the novel. However, it seemed odd that the book ended with Mark going to America. I thought that it would at least mention how his life was in America, and what positive changes he made while he was there. I guess the book was mainly meant to be about just his struggles in South Africa and dealing with apartheid. Towards the end of this book I got the feeling that Mark was a bit selfish. Even though he had many opportunities in front of him, he didn’t want to take them because his dream was to go to America. While it worked out for him in the end, it very easily could have not happened at all. If he had just kept his job at the bank he could have made large amounts of money and helped out his family, because they barely have anything at all. But instead he was just focused on himself and what he wanted. Once he got his exam results back his mother said to him, “Are you going to take that job from the Simba Chips Company?”. His response was, “No…I’m going to wait till I hear news from America”. His mother replied, “You still dreaming about going to America!” (325). This shows that even after several times of his mother advising him to take the job, Mark was still obsessed with the idea of going to America. As previously stated, it did all work out for Mark in the end, but he did come across as being a little bit selfish.

Application:  This part of the story relates to the course essential question of what human characteristics span time and culture. Even though Mark lived in terrible conditions in South Africa he wanted to achieve the best life that he could. "In a few hours, I would be flying through the clouds, across vast oceans, on my way to the Promised Land, where I hoped to find the freedom and opportunity to realise my dreams, my fullest potential as a human being" (345). The characteristic of determination and strong will is seen in many people who try to make the best out of their life. Most people don’t go through life and don’t try to achieve their full potential; everyone wants to make the most out of it. Another characteristic seen in Mark is a slight amount of selfishness. Despite all his good intentions, Mark does become selfish in his own dreams of going to America. His parents and brother and sisters are barely making ends meet, and he had the opportunity to sustain a well paying job and help support his brother and sisters. But instead he took the opportunity to go to America, where he will not be able to help his family at all. However, after his time at college is over, he may be able to help his family even more. In the time he is at college though, it may be a struggle for his family to make ends meet. For the most part Mark is a terrific person, but every human has their flaws.

 Amelia Smith <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Three Cups of Tea Post #1

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Amelia Smith <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Three Cups of Tea Post #2

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Amelia Smith <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Three Cups of Tea Post #3