Honest Iago?

Although supposedly Othello's inferior, Iago is certainly the villain and antagonist of the play. With his splenetic personality, Iago tries to seek revenge upon Othello for not promoting his position in ranks. In a very furtive way, he proves his dissident to his military leader. Iago cleverly schemed against his eclectic Moorish leader.

In the end, Iago expediently manipulates Othello to murder his wife. In his fastidious plan, Iago makes sure that nothing goes wrong. He goes through several people such as Emilia, Roderigo, and Cassio in order to execute his plan. Several people had to die in the process, and the outcome was pernicious.

Before we even began reading Othello, Mrs. Abrams asked if it is a worse crime to suborn someone or actually commit the crime yourself. I believe it is worse to convince someone to commit a crime, and Iago is certainly guilty of this.

Desdemona

Desdemona is a beautiful, yet certainly jejune in her actions. The play starts off with Desdemona marrying the general of the Venetian army, Othello. Even though this may sound hackneyed, I felt as though Desdemona and Othello had a "Romeo and Juliet" type of love. Except instead of sneaking Othello down from the parapet of her bedroom at night, the entire city knew. Their interracial love was forbidden in the homogeneous Venice. It was as though Desdemona had transgressed a powerful social law.

Although Desdemona had eschewed having premarital sex, the question arises as to whether they ever consummated their marriage throughout the play. Different points in the play contradict each other, leading the answer to be ostensible.

La Classe della Signora Borghi

There is no group of kids that I love more than my Italian class, or "la famiglia." Although it's the same group of 15 kids, with the same teacher, for three years, each day brings about new surprises.

Borghi's Honors Italian III class is the Mecca for students who truly want to learn the Italian language. However, although each student is erudite, the class can sometimes get out of hand. With a close-knit group of kids always comes laughter and surprises.

Through our Italian dialogues and "skits," we are sure to accentuate each other's foibles. Whether it's ridiculing silly Chelsea's ingenuity or teasing her about her hair color, we are always poking fun at one another. Everyone in the class has gained a strong resilience; seldom is one piqued by the jokes. This whole concept sound rude but it is always done out of love. There is no group of kids that I love more than the Italian family.

Harry Potter

In literature, nothing excites me more than the Harry Potter series. Although there are more august pieces in literature, I like Harry Potter the most by far. I have read them too many times; three times for each of the seven books. Some would think I am blase to the series, since it has been around a while, and I have read it so often. However, each time I read this classic tale of good and evil, I still get the same feeling.

To summarize, Harry Potter is the herculean tale of Harry Potter as he triumphs the malevolent Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort is the evil dark wizard that killed Harry's parents when he was just a baby. Harry goes on a personal vendetta to seek vengeance for the death of his parents.

Whenever I begin reading, I become transfixed on the story. Some called me crazy because I didn't want to leave the house in fear of learning the ending before I read it. When the story had finally ending, I was overcome with a sense of bereavement. I felt as though a huge chapter in my life had just ended.

Video Production

Video Production is certainly a class that differs from the others in my schedules. In the midst of a day of a strenuous courses, I have a class that is not soporific but still relaxing.

The class certainly has a different feel than the rest of my classes; most students are not obsequious, to say the least. The bunkum in that class is beyond the nonsense I have ever seen in any class. The boys try to exculpate themselves as they take part in all sorts of mischief. People are always playing on the laptops, roaming around the room, and talking to each other. Mr. Bernardi can always subjugate his class though, when necessary.

However, although I am the only girl in the class, I never feel ostracized. Although they tease me, it never upsets me and I am always resilient. Being the only well behaved one in the class, Mr. Bernardi has taken a predilection to me. Needless to say, Video Production has been an interesting asset of my Junior year schedule.

Othello

Othello, a high ranked general of the Venetian army, certainly has a great panache. In the beginning of the play, Othello promotes Michael Cassio instead of Iago. Although possibly an act of nepotism, Iago is still upset that he did not get the job. However, lugubriously, he quickly recoups and formulates a plan to thwart Othello.

Desdemona is Othello's beautiful wife who becomes the subject of jealousy through Iago's evil schemes. Brought up in a high class milieu, Desdemona is naive and falls right into the evil works of Iago.

I'm in Miami Beach

There is nothing more that I look forward to than going away February break. This year we went to Miami.

Although this was my first time going away without my older brother, I was still ebullient as I walked off the plane. Being in the 70 degree weather in the dead of winter see

med almost quixotic.

The first night there, we went to Joe's Stone Crab in South Beach. However, since killing animals is an anathema to me, and I am a vegetarian, I did not have any of this world renowned seafood.

Walking back to our hotel, we saw the Miami Beach mansion where Gianni Versace was assassinated. We joined a short tour outside the house. The guide was an expert and even had a dossier on the life of Versace, complete with original photographs; he talked about the early life of Versace up until his murder by the parvenu, Andrew Cunanan. We learned that Versace was a connoisseur of rare, old, and even Baroque artwork that he displayed in his Miami Beach mansion. He left his art collection to his nephew, Daniele, and Versace's fashion empire was ceded to his niece, Allegra.

After the first night in Miami, I knew it was going to be a great trip.

The Beatles: John and Paul

Many teenagers today enjoy listening to Z100 and 92.3Now! FM. Whereas I do enjoy listening to modern music, there is no band I love more than The Beatles.

The majority of their songs are instrumentally simplistic and written in a colloquial style. However, The Beatles remain universally loved, 40 years after their prime. To this day, people are still trying to decipher a cryptic message behind a song about a simple comestible ("Strawberry Fields") by backmasking the track.

The two true heroes of the band, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, were often said to have disagreed. Some believe the animosity began because Paul deprecated Yoko Ono, John's new girl friend at the time. Both began creating inside deals with record companies; the perfidy is essentially what tore the band apart.

Some claim that John and Paul must have hated each other, due to McCartney's reaction to John's death. Since Paul responded to the press laconically and emotionlessly saying that "it [John's death] was a drag," the public criticized their relationship. Nevertheless, Paul soon explained himself, saying that he had just recovered from a day in shock, like everyone else in the world.

But after seeing tears in Paul's eyes as he dedicated "Give Peace a Chance" to John in his concert this summer, I know that Paul and John truly did care about each other.

My Brother, Matt

Often told that we look "like we could be twins," Matt and I definitely look like we are related. However, our personalities can be quite different.

My older brother is nothing less than an angel. I do not believe he has been castigated or scorned once in his life. This is not to say that I am malcontent, but Matt is just extremely level-headed and his choler never escalates.

Matt is always logical and intelligent, unlike his occasionally credulous and naive younger sister. Although a student at the prestigious Boston College, he is never surreptitious towards others. Not once has he spoken disparagingly to me. I can always go to Matt with an array of scruples, and he will guide me to make the right decision. I couldn't have asked for a greater sibling.

Piano

When I was younger, I would sit at my grandfather's house and "play," the piano for him. Grandpa Marcos would tell me, "When your nonna (grandmother) turned seventeen years old, her parents gave her two choices; she could either get a car for her birthday or a piano. She chose the piano." I was always told of my grandma's love for piano and her ethereal talent, which coalesced into beautiful music.

When I was seven, my grandfather passed away, and our entire family reached the nadir of grief, since we all loved him so dearly. My nonna's Steinway piano was left in my possession. This is when I learned to play piano. I began taking lessons, but at first, my true interest was amorphous; it was difficult for such a young girl to tell whether she was actually interested or not. At first, I only thought my family was clapping for me sycophantically to keep me playing and practicing. However, as I learned to play different songs, my interest and talent burgeoned. To this day, piano remains be a special and sentimental hobby of mine.

Junior Year

Although nobody says junior year feels ephemeral, it's passing by surprisingly fast. As juniors, we feel older, more respected, and more cachet than when we were merely underclassmen. We no longer have the social stigma that stays with the freshmen and sophomores.

Over the summer, we seemed to have matured as a class. There's no more gossiping about who's wearing repulsive, tawdry jewelry; we have more important things to worry about now. People no longer make the mistake of putting themselves in an invidious position that results in fights amongst friends. There is no more provoking, or hectoring, each other to stimulate fights. With SATs, difficult classes, and college in the near future, we realize there is more important things than garrulously gossiping about each other. Junior year has brought our class together, despite its difficulties.