Reflection about My Topic

Ibrahim Al Riman

English 100

Leslie McDaniel

April 21, 2011

Reflection about My Topic

                This first thing of making me thinks about this topic is my uncle Ali. He is the oldest one of my uncles; however he is smoker for about almost forty five years. He is having a trouble with breathing.  And is in pain right now, all of that is because of smoking.  As my father said he has tried to stop him long time ago, but he didn’t care. Now he wished he listened; however, he can’t at all as he said if he quit smoking he will not feel good at all, so he have to.  Every moment he smokes he feel sorry for himself, that because he put himself in this situation. This is one of many reasons which made me to start write about smoking issue. My feeling about my paper is I feel like I getting much better especially it’s my second language. At the begging I have felt like  I cannot write five full pages , because I don’t have more information about this topic, but somehow I have write six pages all of that came out to me without any help it’s just all of what I have read, and hared of people problems. I feel like  I’m getting much better in my writing I can tell that from my grades.

Personal Essay

Ibrahim Alriman

Leslie McDaniel

English 100

10 February 2011

The Man Who Changed My Life

            When I was in my English language classes, I heard of a woman who helped change America. Her name was Harriet Tubman. She helped take black American people out of the south so they weren’t slaves anymore. Sometime later the slaves stopped in America and people remember her for helping save so many people from the slaves people. After she died, people wanted to live like her and help black people have a better life in America. She still influences many people even though she is dead. The same kind of person changed my life. Since I was born I have met thousands of people, but I have never met someone like the man I want to tell you about.

            He showed me how to care for other people. One day we were sitting with a group of people. An old man came into the place we were sitting in and this man who I am with stood up. He said to this old man, “You should stay in my place” because there was not enough place for the old man. I stood up with this man, and I didn’t know why he did this. I know he didn’t know him. After we walked away from the people, I asked this man “Why did you do this thing?” He said, “The old people you should care about and respect them to make the younger people to care about and respect you.” Another time we were in a big store buying stuff for home. When we were in front of the cashier, there was a young boy. He was talking to the cashier because there was not enough money to pay for his stuff. This man who I was with just walked to that young boy and gave him the rest of the money. The young boy was shocked. He asked the man who I was with, “Do you know me?” The man who I was with said, “No. I just know you need help.” The boy said, “Thank you, sir.” This man answered him, “Don’t thank me. Just help someone else, and you will have thanked me.”

            Besides teaching me how to care for other people, he also showed me how to be honest. We have an idiom in Arabic that says, “Honesty is the way to survive, good or bad.” This man used to tell me a story. He told me about an old man who used to have a sheep farm at the end of the town. The sheep farmer was always lying to all the people in the town. This farmer came to the people in the city to get help. The farmer said to them that the wolf came out and ate all his sheep. He said he needed help. When the people went there, they found out he was lying. The people in the city did not trust him anymore because of what he had done. One day the real wolf came out and ate all the sheep. The farmer was crying and yelling to the city people asking them for help, but none of them paid attention to him. They did not trust him anymore. He tried to teach me that being honest was better than being a liar. If I tell the truth, I can get help from people.

Back home we used to take the milk from the camel twice a day, one in the early morning and the other after sunset. One day I forgot. I slept and couldn’t wake up in the morning. The time we were eating our lunch, this man asked me, “Did you get the milk out of the camel this morning?” I was looking at him. When I looked at him, he looked like he didn’t know anything. I answered him “Yes” because I was scared to make him angry. He said, “So where is the milk?” I said, “I drank it with my friends.”  After we finished our lunch, he told me to come to his room. He said to me, “I knew that you were lying at me, but I don’t want to put you in a bad situation in front of our family. I am 80 years old. I spent 30 years with the camel, so I can tell if you took the milk out or not.” At that time, I couldn’t say one word. He said to me, “Why are you scared to tell me the truth? Are you afraid I will kill you if you didn’t tell me? Do you think it will make a difference with the camels? We will get more milk at the sunset. I want you to be honest with me and all people because all the time the liars will not be a good friend to the people.” I am happy I learned how to be honest from him.

            Not only me but also five other men were changed because of this great man. After he passed away, I could see his life in each of the five people. These men are my uncles, and they are very good to their friends, wives, children, and everyone they meet. They expect people to care for others and to say the truth. They work hard because they remember his example. Although my Grandfather, Hussain Ali Al Riman, has passed away, I will never forget the influence he has had on me and so many others. Even though he is not with our family anymore, we each still have a special part of him to remember inside each of us.

Fast writing

Many of people like to kill their time with something that what we called it hobbies most the people in the world have their own hobby it depends to their thinking or their bodies there are many many of hobbies I’m going to write some of it that I know swimming, walking, hunting, fishing, skiing, riding a hours running, playing soccer, and watching movies that is my special  hobby because since I was young I like to watch the TV shows specially movies because I can stay longer  in front the TV I stared watching movies before five years ago there are a three reasons that what I like watching movies one I can watch it any time I want to, two I can choose that movie I like to watch, and three I can learned many things of it. I like to watch the action and romantic movies because most of it came from true stories. When I went out with some of my friends I use some Sentences I have heard from the movies that what I like because my friends keep asking me. Than I have to explain it to them. Many things keep me like, and there is another reason makes me interesting to watch movies, the movie store keep sealing, and renting a new movies every day. Many kinds of movies there. From watching movies I have learned many things even I have some words from other languages all of that from watching movies.

Movie Review

Beastly movie I have not seen it yet. However from what I have read I saved almost 90 minutes from watching this movie. The writer is trying to make the story so make sins. He did really a good job. From reading the story I can tell it is talking about love which I believe in and most of the people on the world. He really got my attention at first, but the writer wrote the whole story on short summary which is good for some people to not watch it. As a writer I will try to get the reader attention at the same time I will make him interesting to look forward for that movie. The writer gave us specific points. Not include the whole characters is a good point to get the reader attention. The writer did really a good job with characters. I agree with writer when he gave us some examples which make the reader get interesting to. I disagree when the writer gave the whole story in a short summary.

The best Class

Fun Class

                The best class since I came to America it is in this semester. It is my English class I know it is kind of funny because it is the second language for me.  However, I like writing in English better than my first language. When I told my friends about how much I like my English class they were thinking I’m joking with them, but it is the truth. At the firest since I came to America I hate something called English. Because it was really hard for me to understand it. However my teachers were giving me a lot of home work to do. But now after one and half year of studying English. This is the best class I have in this semester. I like it because of my teacher way. She tells us to how to think about our topics. She made me at first writing about anything I like without caring about spelling. Spelling it was my biggest problem, but now it is the easiest thing.  I like the way how we share suggestions in class with our teacher that is making me,  learning many things about my friends in the same class. I like the way in the class everyone in the class has his own website: therefore, he or she can write anything he or she wants. Sometimes we can’t come to class because of the weather, and then we can do our home work online. This class is one of the reasons that made me like my second language.

Prized Possessions

When I was 15 years old my grandpa give me the best think I was thinking to get in the future it is a hours his name alksander it is white Arabic hours, it was the  best gift ever,  my grandpa pass away one ago. Now if I go near to my hours every moment I remember my best grandpa. when I was 15 years old my aunt give me 100 Rieal which equal 20 dollar, she said to you should kept or go to Market store buy something to you I was happy to have money that time, but that week she got married, therefore; i told her I going to keep it, so I can remember her every time I see those money. When I told her that, she gave me 100 dollar.

Stephen King Problem and My Problem

Stephen King Problem
It was completely different to understand for me. I think it is something about culture. After I read it the second time with someone helping me, it made sense for me; however, some things were difficult to understand.

I think what the school office did to him was that what he needs. He saying bad things about his teachers. That was unrespectful. One thing wrong he did. He print the news to the students so that everyone could read it. He said bad things for every teacher. They were angry of him. Even though he did many bad things, he was still brave. No one can do something like him, like doing a bad thing and at the same time he knew what would happen at the end of it. He showed courage. I know he did bad things, but he showed everybody a power bigger than them in bad things. I wish he would have done these things in good things helpful for the teacher and the student.

My Problem
I run away from the school one time when I was in high school. I was about 17 years old. I went to school in the morning. I saw 4 of my friends. We talked about leaving the school. I usually follow the rules and I was good student. My friends wanted to leave and I was with them. We were going to the restaurant to eat our lunch. So, we went outside secretly. When we were at the restaurant, one of my uncles saw me. At the same time we were looking to each other. He was shocked because he saw me in the middle of the day in school time. He asked, "What's wrong with you? What happened?" I lied to him. I said, "We have a party in our class so we have to pick a lunch back to school." He believed me. However, when I went home, my father was waiting for me. He got a message from the school office telling him that I ran away from school. I was ready to receive a punch from him, but he asked me why I did that. I told him the complete truth that I ran away. I told him it wasn't my idea and he said I have to stay away from those people. I was very happy that my father didn't get angry with me. Telling the truth is the safest way. Trust me, it was fun!

Details

Sitting in the middle of my soft, brown, huge, and confortable couch, I feel like a king. It has been like three months since I bought it. Right in front of me my new and big TV rests beside my apartment door. On the other side of the TV is both a black floor lamp and a big window and sliding door. Behind this glass door is my balcony where a person can look at the parking area. If I was lucky, I could have had the apartment that has the lake instead of the parking. On the other side of me is a big area. It has nothing in it because we are using it to put our food on it. Americans call it the dining room. In my culture, we usually eat our food together in a circle on the floor. We first put some newspapers or plastic down so food does not touch the carpet. Sometimes if I have many people visiting me, we use that area to drink coffee there. On the right side of the big eating area is the kitchen which has many things I brought from home to cook my food. On the left side of the big eating area, there is a hallway leading to the bathroom, my room, and my roommates room.

My Writing Experiences

I started writing by English one year ago because my first language is Arabic. Sometimes it is hard for me to write or to think of a sentence, especially when it is the second languge for me. But with time, it seams like it is easier than before. If I want to start writing, I have to get the topic. Then, I can get the details. When I start writing, sometimes I go back to the translator to get some words that I need. The best place I would like to write is in the middle of my back yard, putting my desk on the grass,  and looking up to the stars. There, I feel a peace when I am outside because it is quiet and dark. I need to be alone to write well. But, most of the time now, I write at night especially when my friends are sleeping because the quiet area helps me to think clearly. I go to my room and sit at my desk. I usually turn on music without words. I keep my best friend beside me, my Marboro Lights. They help me when I cannot think of something to say.