The Yelleti Times

     As much as I’m sure some people wish they could escape from their family, one cannot completely do so. In my book club novel, The Vanishing Half, two sisters named Desiree and Stella run from their racist hometown, Mallard (her hometown of mostly light-skinned black people). Stella was initially reluctant to escape Mallard (her hometown of mostly light-skinned black people). Finally, Desiree, her twin sister, encouraged her to leave, and Stella gave in. However, although Stella was so attached to her racial identity at first, she decided to separate from Desiree and raise a family far away from Mallard.      Stella’s secretive, selfish, and runaway characteristics are reflected in her daughter, Kennedy, although Kennedy has a vastly different lifestyle than Stella does. Kennedy is an actress and a singer…just like her mother. Wait, what? Stella is involved in the performing arts? Well, no, not literally. Her job is as a secretary at a marketing firm. B...

     In my book club novel, The Vanishing Half, one of the main characters, Desiree, is not allowed to go into a department store because she is black. She lives in a city called Mallard, which is home to many light-skinned black people. When she learns how to pass off as white, she attempts to go into the store and succeeds. Although not as intense or necessary as the situation in the novel, when I was young, I would also try to act more white to feel more accepted in large groups.      Most of the activities I did growing up were predominantly full of white people. In singing recitals, Girls on the Run, and group tennis lessons (which is funny because now the THS tennis team has only three people that aren’t of color), I would be the only Indian person present. I know it’s stupid to act like someone else, more so, to act more aligned with another race, but I was not mature enough to know not to at the time. I felt excluded and singled out, and I noticed t...

     Preparing for this debate on whether Oedipus was a victim of fate or responsible for the murder of his father has allowed me to view the argument from both sides and form different perspectives/interpretations about Oedipus and his actions. I’m on the affirmative side and decided to write a short snippet of a song portraying Oedipus as responsible for his actions. However, I tried to write the lyrics in a way that people feel sympathy for him, so he does not quite seem like a victim but is facing his reality and previous actions. In this song, he realizes he is hurting everyone around him and wishes to isolate himself. He knows what he is capable of and is scared because, although it seems like fate, he has the power to diverge from it but chooses to go forth with his actions. Blogger wouldn't let me upload the video because the file is too large, so I attached a link to a recording of myself singing the song at the end of this post (which I know I’ll regret in years...