In the Massachusetts Bay Colony people were considered witches for several reasons. These include the accused not being able to recite the Lord’s Prayer accurately, having marks on the body, or spectral evidence, which is evidence that cannot be seen or only seen in dreams or visions. In other words if the accused could not recite the lords prayer, they would be punished even if the accused cannot speak English properly because he/she is not born in the country or he/she is illiterate.

If someone was determined a witch due to spectral evidence, the individual asked to confess to serving the devil. If the person confessed and provided names of other suspected witches, he or she was not punished Those who refused to confess or refused to name names were punished by hanging in front of a group of people, pressed to death such as putting blocks of stones until the accused confesses, or jailed if the accused confessed and said names of other witches.

One of the accused witches was Tituba. Tituba was a slave of Samuel Parris of Salem, Massachusetts. She is a very helpful, caring slave who tried to solve the witch bewitching the children. When Tituba was accused, she first denied about bewitching the girls but then she instantly confessed of having seen the Devil. In her confession, she mentioned other two females who used witchcraft and talked about black dogs, a yellow bird, red and black rats, a wolf, and hogs. Tituba was the first to confessed among the others who were accused. Her confession led her to go to jail instead of being hung. After getting out of jail, she was nowhere to be found.

On May 27, 1692 a special court session was held to try the accused witches. On of the accused witches was Giles Corey who refused to deny or confess about witchcraft, which led him to being pressed to death by blocks of stones. Another who was accused was George Barrough, a preacher who wouldn’t confessed to being a witch and at the time of getting hanged, he recited the Lord’s prayer accurately where the people watching were shocked but Cotton Mather insisted to still kill George Barrough. Bridget Bishop was another person who was accused because she was in someone’s dream where she attacked him or her or sat on him or her. Bridget was accused twelve years before and was found innocent but this time, she was accused by a few men and was executed because she refused to confess. The inequality of the system affected the accused due to the fact that they have no choice, it was either confess or get killed. Some of the inequalities of the system are; the accused are guilty until proven innocent, spectral evidence is allowed, and if one is accused, they were believed to be guilty because of witchcraft. Although, the accused were allowed to act out because they have no representatives, and they were allowed to use their religious beliefs as a system to justify their decision even when judges think they are automatically lying.

This dark event in American history became the subject of Arthur Miller’s 1953 play, The Crucible. The playwright used the play as a way of attacking the anti-communists “witch hunts” in Congress in 1950. Miller believed that the delirium of the witchcraft trials in Puritan New England, which paralleled McCarthyism, which was about Senator Joseph McCarthy’s research to look deeper into the Communist party. During the production of The Crucible, Miller was considered to be a part of the Communist Party because of the actions taken and the activities he took part in.  Although he was never a part of the Communist party, he was found guilty due to his refusal of talking about his experiences, colleagues, and associates. This connects to the witchcraft trials in 1692 because if the accused refused to confess, he or she is found guilty.

During my visit, I had an “AHA” moment, where I realized all the jobs, the careers, anything that has to do in the multimedia field is something I might consider doing in the future. I remember asking one of the employees about an advice they would give me if I want a job like theirs and they said, “Do as may things as different things as possible, find things that you like, sometimes it’ll find you. Be open-minded into learning and experiencing new things. Even if someone just wants you to get coffee or their lunch.” These three sentence advice opened up my mind into doing a lot of things and experiencing the different careers in that field. Although, it wasn’t just the jobs and projects the employees did that interest me but it was the work place as well. The place was designed to be “homey” or like a hotel, which was fascinating because they were all about work but yet, it seemed really comfy to be in a place like that. Darren said their goal was to make their clients feel comfortable, which I think they’re doing a great job on. Overall, this visit was the best Career Exploration Visit I ever went on because not only did I learn more about the field in Multimedia but it gave me a sense on a future career I would want to do.

Danny Le, this smart, friendly, nice, talkative asian. Why am I thankful for this guy? Well, this guy is like my brother, first of all. Not only does he help me with my school work but he helps me with my boy drama. Yes, I probably talked about my boy problems to all my friends but it’s so nice to have a guy’s point of view on things. This brother of mine is usually the person that makes me realize things a girl wouldn’t know. My only message to this guy is to always believe in himself! He’s the most, trusting, nice, great person I know and sometimes he just needs a little boost to know that. He doesn’t know how amazing he is specially for always taking a little time away from his busy life to help me out. I’m very grateful and thankful to have a brother like him in my life.

Marilyn Escano, this short girl that can sure eat for days! This amazing woman that I love so much. This girl that would always be there whenever I needer her because I was having problems  or when I just want to hang out. Not only is she so caring but she’s super nice and sweet. She’s the nicest girl I know! She’s so giving. I love this girl because she’s always there for me. Even though we don’t talk as much, I know she’s always going to be there for me no matter what happens. That’s why I’m so thankful for her because she’s an amazing kind-hearted friend. <3

I’m also thankful for the other friends I have in my life. The people I don’t talk to as much. Everyone who came in my life made and impact on me whether it was good or bad. They helped me get through where I am now. So I thank everyone for being a part of my life whether if it was for a short period of time. <3

MY PARENTS: Yeah sure they get on my nerves, they’re too strict, overprotective, and they don’t understand. These are my complaints to them everyday. But I question myself, do they ever complain about their daughter who’s a disrespectful, rude brat? No, they don’t. Why? Because I know deep in their irritated hearts (thanks to me), they truly love me. I’m thankful for them because not only did they give me the best present anyone could ask for, a life, but after all my rebel attitude, they still love me. Thank you mommy and daddy! <3

MY BROTHER: MWAHAHA. Even though I barely talk to my own brother, I’m thankful for him. He’s basically the guy that saves me from troubles. He’ll keep his mouth shut so I’m pretty sure he’s a trustable guy. We’ve been through all that brother sister years. We fought until someone bled, yelled, or cried. Yeah, we were pretty violent with each other when we were younger. Now, would you look at us, we’re all mature (maybe not all the way) and we don’t fight. Not even argue. I guess we’re tired of fighting and we realized there’s no point of fighting. Specially hurting each other. So thanks brotha for all the times we shared! (AWWW!) lol.

MY COUSINS: Oh man, my cousins. The crazy, karaoke/rock band lovers? The cousins that are always going to be there for me no matter what happens? Yes, I’m very thankful for them. They’re not only my entertainment every time I see them but they’re there if I just need someone to talk to about my problems. They’re the people who loves to see me succeed and support me on my academics. They’re my role models. Thank you guys!

MY GRANPARENTS: I’m thankful for my grandparents for giving life to my parents. I might not have seen or met all of you, I’m still thankful. I wish I would of spent some time with my grandma ‘Inang’ before she passed away this summer. Sorry Inang for not being there the last 5 years. I love my grandparents and I always wish that I got the chance to spend some time with them. <3 Love you grandma and grandpas.

BAD? We BAD? No, it’s just our initials. Britanny Anna Dezsiree. We once have called each other best friends. We were all about our newly formed BAD click. No one else but us three. These girls made such difference in my life, either it was good or bad. We might not be close as we were in 8th grade, but people grow up, things change and sometimes, you just can’t do anything about it. We all met the same year and we just loved being together. I actually thought we were a ‘cool’ group because we were called BAD, like we were rebels but we were angels! Britanny, I met this girl through Dezsiree. It wasn’t instant connection but as we started hanging out and getting to know each other, it was like, chemistry! She was weird in her own way and I was too. She understood all my problems and gave me the best advice whether it was about boys, school, or my family. She just knows what to say, I guess she could be Dr. Phil to me. I had so much memories with this girl, from talking about all the planets in the world to a very serious topic. We loved getting deep into our conversation. We explored all the topics there was. We would make funny dancing or got milk videos, sleepover each other’s house, and wear all the accessories in the world just to take pictures. I did so much with this girl, and I’m pretty sure I have pictures for all our memories because she was the camera girl who would always have a camera handy. I can honestly say, she was there for me when I needed her. Dezsiree, I met this girl on the first day of school. I went up to her and asked her if she was new. I guess from there it was instant connection. I remember our long talks on the phone and AIM (instant messaging each other constantly). Our moms actually met on the first day of school and they told each other to tell their daughters to be friends with each other. I was like “mom, I just met her today!”, I thought it was a funny coincidence. We would always talk about boys, and we’re there for each other if our boyfriends just broke our heart or our new crushes. We shared personal interests. To this day, I can say she’s still willing to listen to all my problems and complaints. I know we’re not as close but maybe someday it will happen. It’s like one of those relationships where you just have to let go and if it was meant to be, if our friendship is meant to be, then it will happen. It might not be now, tomorrow or in a year (who knows), but it will happen if we were meant to be in each others lives.

Now, (DUN DUN DUN) here’s BAD:

I’m thankful for these ladies because they all have made an impact in my life. We all had different cliques before we formed our own. Ashley, I met this girl in 6th grade. She was actually the first girl I met out of all the girls. I knew of her, probably said ‘hello’ to her once in a while. She’s actually the ‘slow one’ in the clique but I love this chick because we just click when we’re together. She’s the chicken to my potato. Elia, oh man, I’m not sure how I met her but I think me meeting her had to do something with everyone at school thinking we’re twins. So I told myself, “oh, I just have to meet this ‘twin’ of mine.” I’m not sure if we got along at first because she was more of the feisty, tell you the truth type of chica and I was the shy, friendly girl. I know we started to get close during 7th grade and we just started doing things together, like, shopping (we dressed like twins for twin day), talking about our problems, and etc. I clicked with her because maybe we had that ‘twin’ connection. Natalie, I’m not sure how I met this girl either but she was so easy to get along with. She’s actually the funny one in the group. She will just make you laugh but if you pushed her the wrong way, oh, she will be up in your face. This girl is very sweet, she’s always there to listen to me and to just hang out even for few hours before she goes to work. Even though we basically all have different lives and new friends, we still find a way to be reconnected once in a while. I’m so thankful for my girls because they’re my take me out of reality coupon because they just always want to have fun and I enjoy that, dearly. <3

Here are my fairfield girlfriends Natalie, Elia, and Ashley:

This was the start of our yearly reunion group picture.

FRESH BREATH

Here are some artists I’m currently listening to: