A Tribute to my Aunt

Kind, supportive, strong, caring and loving: a few ways to describe my Aunt Mariam. Despite the generic words given to describe this wonderful woman, she was not cheesy or a typical "good person" in any way. She is more than this. She is someone special who stretches the idea of putting someone's needs before her own.

Cancer; the last word that would pop up into my mind where looking at the beautiful face, bubbling personality, and lively, peachy skin of my Aunt. Everything she represented is the opposite of how one would typically act when diagnosed with this horrible disease. Like a favorite sports jersey (in this case hers was all things Louisville), she wore a smile constantly as a proud represntation of who she was as a person, jubulient and positive.

Visiting Kentucky, I think back to the cheering of the crowd while watching The University of Kentucky face off against Louisville in basketball; I remember the proud look on her face as she watched her son get barmitzvaed; lastly, I remember me not remembering the fact that she even had cancer.

She was a spirit lifer and a fantastic woman: One who I look up to. She deliberately brushed off the sadness in her life to ensure that the smiles of her children, husband, friends and family were as bright and cheery as the life that she represented.

SPRING  BREAK!!

Spring Break: a well-deserved time of rest and the best way to put one's mind at ease after pushing to the brink in order to pull all "A's" by the time that the gaping black hole, that is the end of the quarter, swallows one whole.

I began my spring break alongside the comfort of my best friends before most of them left for exotic places for the week. We began to reminisce about what was to come in the final quarter of school and what we look forward to most about prom and summer. The next few days included a lot of soccer, late nights, and early mornings. On Tuesday, my mom and I took a day trip to Las Vegas. We spent our short amount of time exploring the strip, attending the intriguing wax museum, riding on the New York, New York roller coaster, dabbling in the fine dining in the luxurious hotels, splurging in the exciting shops and stores that the malls had to offer, and finishing our day off on the brand new Ferris Wheel that towers over the lit up strip.

Arriving back in Arizona I found myself spending most of my time tanning with friends. The days were short and sweet as I noticed that my final days of Spring Break were coming to a close.

The best is still yet to come...

On Friday, my family, friends, and I went to the Phoenix symphony and watched them perform the music of Queen. It was unique and exhilerating; I loved every second of it.

To conclude my break, Jeannie and I attended the Pot of Gold music festival down in Tempe. It was a day/night to remember. We listened to music from artists of Hoodie Allen, Slightly Stoopid, and Kendrick Lamar (OUR FAVORITE!!). Standing in a claustrophobic area of over 2,000 screaming fans for over 4 and a half hours in order to get a front row view of Kendrick definitely had its interesting moments. A woman threw up in a cup and refused to talk to security, and another woman lost her 7ish-year-old son and refused to go after him because she wanted to stay to watch Kendrick!

Everything was well worth it though! I had a wonderful Spring Break and am looking forward to getting all of my AP tests out of the way and make it to Summer break in one piece. :-)

Ginger Essay

Dana Gordon

Mrs. Heisler

English 3 AP, Period F

31 January 2015

Ginger

Ginger: a simple root growing in a lush garden; a bursting pop of flavor in mom’s favorite recipes; the first delightful bite of an beautifully adorned, edible house around Christmas time; the pungent smell permeating through the kitchen after the tedious task of holiday baking is finished; the color of fire that burns from the furnace; and a line drawn to each tiny dot that embroiders the pasty white skin of a red head. When asking Mrs. Heisler’s F Period AP English class what a ginger is to them, some of the results were surprising. Answers included: the adorable, iconic girl who represents Wendy’s; a sunburn ready to ambush the vulnerable, pale skin on a bright sunny day; a sad boy with round glasses eating a giant bar of chocolate in a corner; the loyal friend accompanying Harry Potter in the best selling series written by J.K. Rowling; a roar of laughter encompassing the quiet house during a South Park episode; the outburst of a short temper; and a confused representation of Satan (Gordon). Seemingly impossible to possess a negative connotation, the definition of “ginger” gets lost in the sheer versatility of the word and its many substantial uses in the English language, and thus, shapes the world’s need for a visual comic relief and a tasty root to give food a kick of flavor.

Thinking back to a story based around the word ginger, I remember taking the field on a July afternoon, my thoughts of how the soccer game will play out is interrupted by the screech of the indicating whistle. The match, a physical battle, turned into a game of who can hit the other player the hardest, and an intense competition of who can instigate a fight to draw, yet another, time-consuming foul. In the chaos, my team received a free kick, a perfect scoring opportunity. I, stuck in the middle of the hectic situation on the field, found myself matched up against the biggest advocate of the dirty play. I nestled myself right next to her, grabbed at her jersey so she could feel my unrelenting presence, and whispered, “this ball is going in the net.” I will never forget the way she shot back in the most unforgettable tone, “shut up, you ginger. I’ll take you out.” Surprised by the comment, I let a mere giggle escape from my lips. Ginger? Is that supposed to offend me? I mean I guess the girl is right; I do in fact have red hair. In the heat of the moment, I was expecting a slightly better comeback, but all I received was a pathetic “ginger.”

The dictionary definition of a ginger is “the rhizome of the ginger plant, ground, chopped, etc. and used as a flavoring” or “a yellowish or reddish brown” (“Ginger”). I had never imagined that a word to describe a color or a root could be used as an insult. Searching the internet, one can find that more scholarly people believe that the origin of calling a person a ginger came from a ginger root flower called the Alpinia purpurata, which is a brilliant red, or came from the color that a ginger root turns when it is cooked (English Language and Usage). Based on this evidence, being called a ginger is neither offensive nor negative, but simply a way to describe one’s appearance. For example, when my family took a trip to Israel, I was astounded by how many people were fascinated by the color of my hair. Seeming like a rare species, I took up the nickname “gingy’” based on the fact that my hair was alluring and different, not because I fit into other stereotypes of what having red hair means.

When students in Mrs. Heisler’s F period class heard the word “ginger” most thought of punny jokes originating from South Park (Gordon). The misconception that the word was created by the comical show can be quickly refuted by the evidence of its use in old British language and the famous character named Ginger on the hit show Gilligan’s Island (English Language and Usage). Although South Park did not invent the word, it did create a new connotation of it. In Season nine, episode eleven, a beloved character on the show, Cartmann, leads a vendetta against red headed kids and even goes as far as making a class presentation about ginger kids saying “yuck!” and “ew!” every time one pops up on the screen (Hartman). He debates that gingers are soulless, related to vampires, and a plague on today’s society (Hartman). Due to this episode, many kids have taken up the word “ginger” as a way to insult someone. Although my view stands firm that ginger is plainly a description of hair color, South Park has also given the word a way to describe personality and characteristics of redheaded people as a whole.

Being a ginger doesn’t mean one has to fit into all of the stereotypes that go along with the definition, but, by possessing that hair color, one continues to add onto the way we, as a minority, are perceived. Ginger: a multifaceted word, a way to describe a hair color, a root used in the kitchen, a sitting duck for discriminating jokes, and most importantly, the way I define myself.

Works Cited

English Language and Usage. “What is the Origin of the Term “Ginger” for Red-Headed

            People?”. 1 February 2015bv

“Ginger.” Def. 1, Def. 3, Webster’s New World College Dictionary. 4^th ed. 2002. Print.

Gordon, Dana. English 3 PA F Period Class Survey. “Ginger” 30 Janurary 2015

Hartman, Clayton. “South Park – Ginger Kid”. Online Video Clip. YouTube. YouTube. 7          

            February 2013. 1 February 2015

The Ginger Gull

The Ginger Gull: something that doesn't necessarily roll off the tongue, but definitely represents so much more. 

This title, probably extremely cheesy, given that my definition essay is about being a red-head and possessing the identity of what it means to be a "ginger", but it is just THAT important to me. Being a ginger absolutely defines who I am a person both visually and personality wise. Coming from a blond mother and a brunette father, having red-hair gives me even more of a reason to be exactly who I want to be. Although I have an amazing support system, that is, my family, being a ginger makes me feel like I do not have ties to anyone. It makes me feel independent and special and reminds me that there is exactly ONE of me in the whole world. I am fiery, passionate, goofy, and extremely caring to everything and anything that challenges me to be a better person and I believe that all of this has something to do with the fact that I have red hair.

I was going to make my title, "The Ginger Gal", but i decided to scratch that idea after remembering that I have recently committed to a college for soccer by the name of Salisbury University. This university's mascot just so happens to be a Seagull; Therefore, I decided it would be proper to include that somewhere in my title due to the important role it will play in my future. Becoming a "Gull" represents all of the hard work I have put into my soccer career so far. All of the long, school-nights spent extra at club soccer practice; the determination to bring home a state-trophy for NDP's Girls Varsity Soccer; guest playing with a kind, yet challenging Minnesota team in order to get more looks from colleges; taking and utilizing all of my coaches' harsh criticism throughout the years; and spending most of the hot, Arizona summer mornings to improve my soccer skills. All of this work led up to the Identification Camp held at Salisbury University last summer where I was officially offered a spot to go and play there. I will never forget the feeling, as it was one of the greatest moments of my life. I never knew that I could love a place so much and I cannot spend four years as a "Ginger Gull".