Month: May 2021

How important are the words ‘So What?’ in an autobiography? It is very important. You see, throughout the Ron Paul Curriculum ninth grade English, there are numerous autobiography’s to read. The latest autobiography that I read was The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano. According to Wikipedia, “Olaudah Equiano (1745 – 31 March 1797), known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa, was a writer and abolitionist from, according to his memoir, the Ebbe region of the Kingdom of Benin (today southern Nigeria). Enslaved as a child in Africa, he was taken to the Caribbean and sold as a slave to a Royal Navy officer. He was sold twice more but purchased his freedom in 1766.” When Equiano was only eleven years old he and his sister were at their home by themselves while the adults were out working, which was common. Not long after, during that exact same day, some men came into their home, took them, separated Equiano from his sister, like millions of other slaves, and sold them into slavery. In fact, most of the autobiography’s I read this year were autobiography’s of slave’s who were free. Slavery was very wrong. And some people still use slavery to this day (I think). As I said in a much earlier essay, “Back then, slavery was very very wrong. According to Google, slavery means “the state of being a slave.” According to Google, a slave is “a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.” That means that somebody owns another person (that person is the other person’s property) and forces him to do his bidding (work for him).The slave people were Black people. People captured these black people for slaves. I do not know why, but I think that it was just that either the whites were just evil evil men, or the whites captured the blacks because they thought that the blacks were ‘animals’. I mean, just because blacks have different skin color or they have different religious beliefs does not mean that they are of any less importance than the whites. People capturing people and forcing them to work as slaves when they have done nothing wrong is just wrong. The black African people have been peaceful for years. But then, Americans came in and captured the blacks and forced them to work as slaves. All men are created equal, and yet, the Americans were treating the Africans like animals. It is a miracle that slavery is now abolished (no more) to this day.”

Let me tell you why I think that the words ‘So What?’ in an autobiography are so important. First, Put yourself in the reader’s shoes. When you are writing an autobiography it has to be interesting so that people will want to keep on reading. Nobody wants to read a boring autobiography. When you are writing an autobiography and you are proofing it (like people do with other books or essays) if you happen to come across a part that you think is boring, than you probably should not put it into your paper because if you think it is boring, than your readers will probably think that it is boring. Think “If this is boring than I probably not put it into my paper”. Or if you can not decide if you should erase it or leave it alone, have a friend or family member read it and they can give you some feedback.

What was Equiano’s attitude regarding his life in the British Navy? According to Wikipedia, “Olaudah Equiano (1745 – 31 March 1797), known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa, was a writer and abolitionist from, according to his memoir, the Eboe region of the Kingdom of Benin (today southern Nigeria). Enslaved as a child in Africa, he was taken to the Caribbean and sold as a slave to a Royal Navy officer. He was sold twice more but purchased his freedom in 1766.” When Equiano was only eleven years old he and his sister were at their home by themselves while the adults were out working, which was common. Not long after during that exact same day some men came into their home, took them separated Equiano from his sister, like millions of other slaves, and sold them into slavery. As I said in a much earlier essay, “Back then, slavery was very very wrong. According to Merriam-Webster, slavery means “the state of being a slave.” According to Merriam-Webster, a slave is “a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.” That means that somebody owns another person (that person is the other person’s property) and forces him to do his bidding (work for him).The slave people were Black people. People captured these black people for slaves. I do not know why, but I think that it was just that either the whites were just evil evil men, or the whites captured the blacks because they thought that the blacks were ‘animals’. I mean, just because blacks have different skin color or they have different religious beliefs does not mean that they are of any less importance than the whites. People capturing people and forcing them to work as slaves when they have done nothing wrong is just wrong. The black African people have been peaceful for years. But then, Americans came in and captured the blacks and forced them to work as slaves. All men are created equal, and yet, the Americans were treating the Africans like animals. It is a miracle that slavery is now abolished (no more) to this day.” Slavery was very, very terrible.

So, back to the topic question, what was Equiano’s attitude regarding his life in the British Navy? I think I can answer this question in one word. Equiano’s attitude regarding his life in the British Navy was actually positive. Even I was surprised by this answer. What the funny thing was that when he saw the sight of the sailors of the British Navy, he thought that they were going to eat him. However, he asked somebody who was there with him if they were going to eat him and he said that they were not going to eat him. So, he got over that fear, thankfully. He soon got used to life out on the sea and loved his British Navy life. He also learned the English and soon became not a slave, but an English man. He just loved his life on the sea. I am so thankful that slavery does not exist any more.

What I must do in my note-taking to describe what is going on around me. The author of a good biography or autobiography uses all of his or her five senses to describe what is going on around him or her. I must also learn to do the exact same thing when I am taking notes for my own autobiography.

The first sense I will talk about is the sense of hearing or sound. I think that this is a very easy sense to describe. An autobiography without descriptive sounds is comparable to a person who is deaf. A deaf person is a person who can not hear. If a person is deaf than they are missing a lot of the world around them. Everything in the world makes a sound, whether it be the wind blowing the leaves or the birds whistling in the morning, everything makes a sound. If there was no descriptive sound in an autobiography they would be leaving out a part of the world.

The second sense I will talk about is the sense of sight. In the same way that leaving out descriptive sounds in an autobiography is the same as leaving out descriptive sight words. If people could not see than they would also be missing out on a lot of the world. In fact, if people could not see than there probably would not even be a world. If you could not see than you could not describe a beautiful sunset or the beauty of all the nature around you. There are people who are blind (meaning that they can not see) and they are missing out on a whole lot of the world.

The third sense I will talk to you about is the sense of smell. Smells are very important to life. Did you know that smells trigger memories? For example, when my mom was a kid her mom made cookies that she only made at Christmas and she used almond extract to make them, so, when my mom smells almond extract, she instantly thinks of Christmas. Without smell, we could not smell the beautiful flowers or your favorite food. Without smell we would be missing out on a whole lot of the world.

The fourth sense I will talk to you about is the sense of taste. So, I like to eat good food and I was raised much differently than some other kids because we do not eat at most restaurants and that makes us a little weird in other people’s eyes. We also drink fresh milk straight from the farm. We also make most of our food here at home. Without taste, you could not taste a single thing. Without the sense of taste than we would be missing out on a lot of the world.

The fifth sense I will talk to you about is the sense of touch. Touch is very important. Without touch than we could not feel the warmth of summer or the softness of your pillow. Without the sense of touch than we would be missing out on a lot of the world.

Without any of these five senses than we would have a terrible life on earth so be thankful that you do have them.

Has any event in your life had the same impact that learning how to read had on Douglass’s life? If not, why not? Douglass’s full name was Frederick Douglass. He was also a slave. According Wikipedia “Douglass’s full name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, but he dropped two of his names after he escaped slavery. According to Wikipedia, he was ‘an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman.’” After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, becoming famous for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings.” (I recently read part of his autobiography. I will finish it much later.)

When Douglass had a master that was very kind, she taught him to read and to write. Teaching slaves how to read and write in the south was illegal. This was illegal because the slave owners thought that if the slaves learned to read and write they would no longer be content with being a slave, which I think means that they would rebel and take over the south. So reading and writing was Douglass’s very first step to freedom. And because of knowing how to read and write he wrote his autobiography when he got out of slavery. It is amazing how learning how to read and write made such an impact on Douglass’s life as a slave. That is so amazing I can not even compare something in my life that was as amazing as that, but I think I can compare something very close. It was when I was baptized.

Has any event in your life had the same impact that learning how to read had on Douglass’s life? If not, why not? My baptism was the most influential part of my life. It showed everybody that I have accepted Jesus Crist the son of the living God as my Savior. It was very influential. Everyone at my church was there. It was about one or two years after I really did accept Jesus to be my Savior. I was about five years old then. Here’s something weird that I never fully understand. Before I accepted Jesus to be my Savior, I was having dreams and nightmares almost every night. And after I accepted Jesus to be my Savior, I rarely had dreams at all. Now, it is very rare for me to have dreams and nightmares. It was very weird. I never did fully understand it, but I am so thankful that it happened. I also seemed to understand the Bible even more. That should be very similar to the impact learning to read and write had on Douglass’s life. Very similar.

I am thirteen years old and I do not think that learning to read and write impacted me as much as it did for Douglass. I mean, Douglass was a slave and he learned how to read and write, I mean, come one! A slave learning how to read and write when it was illegal to do so. That must have been a very influential time for him, and it must have impacted him a whole lot. It is just so amazing that Douglass was a slave he learned how to read and write even when it was illegal to. Don’t you think so too?