Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close:book club reading response

Over the past month or so, my book club and I chose to read the outstanding novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer. This was about an odd young boy named Oskar Schell, whose father passed suddenly when the twin towers crashed on 9/11. When Oskar finds a key labeled, “Black” in his father’s closet, he becomes suspicious. Seeking closure with his dad, Oskar goes on a journey through the 5 boroughs meeting everyone under the name, “Black”. He makes companions and friends along the way and changes a lot. Oskar holds a unique personality and is a very independant kid. Throughout the story he uses lots of repeated metaphors and symbols that I have chose to expand on.

One of the first metaphors we encounter in the story is the saying, “heavy boots”. Oskar often uses this phrase to show his distress or sorrow towards something. For example, at his father’s funeral he had extremely heavy boots. Oskar expresses that he always had heavy boots after what happened to his dad, but some things lightened his boots. On page 2, during his dads funeral, Oskar says, “I desperately wish I had my tambourine with me now, because even after everything I’m still wearing heavy boots”. Having heavy boots is another way to say that something is weighing you down, and Oskars dad is always on his mind which makes him incredibly lonely.

Another symbol we found in the book in the key, and his journey to find the key. I think that finding the key is also a way to find closure with his father, because he never really got to say goodbye and know everything was ok. Oskar spent so much time trying to find this key because he so desperately needed to find out another thing about his dad and what the key could mean. Oskar visited (without using public transportation) 472 people with the last name Black and talked to almost everyone of them, creating acquaintances and never forgetting a single person. This key turned Oskar from a shy, reserved 8 year old to a boy who was honest and able to admit to things to total strangers. This key represents his journey to seek closure with his father and it resembles the whole premise and cause of the book.

One metaphor that I especially loved and thought was so genius of Foer to think of, was Oskar giving himself bruises. In the beginning of the book, I thought this was a metaphor and not an actual bruise on his body. When I found out it was an actual bruise on his body that he gives himself, I had a whole different view on the meaning of it.  At first I believed this was when Oskar was feeling sad and he felt bruised on the inside. Oskar actually pinches or punches himself to leave a mark on his skin and feel pain. I now feel this is out of guilt. Oskar has a set of voicemails his father left for him on 9/11, and Oskar never told anybody about them, not even his mom. He felt that he was the reason his father died, if only he told someone. He knew his father was dying and didn’t to anything about it. Once after listening to the messages, he writes, “I invented. I gave myself a bruise. I invented.” (pg 69), Showing how guilty he was for not sharing the messages. Another theory that I have formed about the bruises is it is a way to find a feeling. Most of the time Oskar is lonely, without his father and his mother not around. By hurting himself, he is creating another feeling other than loneliness. When his mother befriends a man- the first man since his father- Oskar feels lonely and that it was unfair for his mother to be having fun after what had happened. “I zipped myself all the way into the sleeping bag of myself, not because I was hurt, not because I had broken something, but because they were cracking up. Even though I knew I shouldn’t have, I gave myself a bruise.”(page 37). Oskar gives himself another feeling to distract the loneliness that he always has.

This book was extraordinary. The way it was written, the vocabulary, the endless inventions and ideas, made the story all the more better. I grew as a reader because of this novel and made me get into the habit of reading good books again that I am interested in. This book was beautifully written and contained thousands of meanings to each sentence. In conclusion, Extremely Loud and Incredibly close held symbols and lessons that show what the experience of losing a loved one is like.

Nonfiction RR

In Upfront Magazine’s article, “The Natural”, Mike Tierney focuses on a young man who was born with a disability but proves himself to the public by playing basketball. Zach Hodskins, a high schooler in Atlanta was born without his left forearm and hand. Despite his disability, he has taken up the hobby of playing basketball. In this article Tierney explains the theory that Hodskins talks about; he plays basketball not only because he love it but to also prove to people that just because he is disabled, doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the ability to play as well as they can. Hodskins makes it clear that he wants to help other people around the world who have disabilities as well, and Tierney includes in his article other disabled athletes who have been very successful.

Zach Hodskins faced lots of doubts and challenges when he began his dream of being a basketball player. He felt that he needed to prove himself right and that he was strong enough to accomplish whatever he wanted. He built strengths around his missing arm and made it clear that it didn’t matter when he looked like, he could be whoever he wanted to be. Using his strengths like being 6’4 and having a great passing and shooting range, he tries to make himself the best one on the court. “He has such an extreme desire to prove himself at the highest level he can,” says his father, who supports his dreams and goals. His family doesn’t treat Zach any differently than the other family members. You would think that having a disability would make you uncertain but that surely was not the case with Zach. In fact, his disability made him more confident and determined than most of the kids on his team.

Hodskins is definitely confident with himself, but what about other disabled children and adults? After a youtube video of Zach playing basketball went viral getting over 4 million views, many people who need advice or help with their disability have contacted him. Zach is happy to help other people who are going through the same fight he is going through. He gives them confidence and advice on how to cope and manage the hard parts. But more than anything, Hodskins helps them embrace and accept their disability because it is something you should be proud of. Prove to the world that it is something to be proud of, and that you can accomplish anything, despite your disability.

I found this article very inspiring. Having a disability or to have something hold you back can be really hard. But Zach proves this point wrong as he shows how successful you can be despite the hardships; To move past the challenges and try as hard as you can to prove you are more than just disabled.

Final Draft of Poem

Andy Goldsworthy sculpture

what has the power to create something so beautiful

also has the power to destroy it

pulling together something to make it complete

but then pulling it back apart over time

like a tide rushing over sand

the golden sun melting delicate ice

creation and destruction tie together something more beautiful as anything else.

Poetry Reading Response

“It’s easy sitting in the sun / to forget cold exists / let alone envelopes / the lives of people”, Nikki Giovanni writes in her poem, “Photography”. I love this line because it is so true. In warm weather do we think of cold harsh winters? We naturally are so caught up in the moment that we don’t think of how lucky we are. The author portrays life as a camera to show the readers to value or “capture” the beauties of life while you have them. This poem also shows the readers to think on the bright side and see both parts of life (look outside the ‘camera’ frame) : the bad and the good.

This poem made me realize that we forget one feeling when we are feeling the opposite. For example, you might be feeling sad because you got a bad grade but you don’t think of the other great grades you have gotten. You focus on the bad things.  However,  when you think about it, maybe this grade that you got could be considered a good grade for somebody else. “it’s easy sitting in the sun /  to forget the ice and ravages / of winter yet / there are those who would have / no other season”. This line shows the readers that not only you don’t think of the future bad weather but you don’t think on the bright side of the weather. It could be somebody else’s favorite season so there must be something good about it. I think Giovanni is trying to tell us to look on the bright side of the bad parts of life even if you (at first) don’t see any good in it.

I thought it was interesting how Nikki Giovanni portrayed life as a camera. The film is the heart, and the eye is the camera. I interpreted this as a way to show the readers to question their perspectives or look outside the camera frame. “watching the red sun bleed / into the ocean / one thinks of the beauty that fire brings”,she writes. This teaches a very good moral. Bleeding and fire are not peaceful or beautiful but Giovanni turns both of these things into something to admire the beauty of.

This message is something many people (including myself) should learn because there are others who really want the things you have. Don’t take advantage of your luxuries but capture the things you enjoy, as well as see the beautiful sides of things that may not seem beautiful at first.  

RR Teen Angst? Naaah...

Ned Vizzini grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and eventually became a famous author when he published his journals kept through high school which exposed his life to the public. However, these books aren’t amusing just because he shares all his life stories, but because he is flaunting the brutally honest truth of what it is like to be a teenager. This story is completely relatable and I found that reading this book prepared me for the future and even allowed me to make connections to my current life.

Ned introduces himself as a child who has been socially awkward, tied up in video games, and lonely most of his life. As the story goes on, he expands his high school life and makes friends- even gets a girlfriend. Vizzini also shares his experience in getting into high school (which is what we are going through now), and college as well. Personally I can relate to how Vizzini feels during the high school admissions process and growing up. Being horrified of high school, and his daily struggles with normal teenage boy issues: girls, grades, getting introduced to new people and things. Ned wasn’t the most popular guy in school, he knew it, and underestimated himself at times. We can all relate to that- thinking people are better than we are. Ned gets over this but before he builds up his confidence, he is put through awkward and painful situations.

In other books or movies about growing up it seems all welcoming and fun, but Ned introduces the side of being a teenager that is bittersweet. Although it was a harsh description and course of events, it was good to hear the truth- no matter what it was. Not over exaggerated- but of course not boring- Ned Vizzini portrayed the life of a teenage boy growing up to be successful, in spite of the chances he repeatedly missed several times in his life.

Unfortunately, Ned Vizzini has just committed suicide. It’s hard to think about this event because he let us into his life and showed how life is brutally hard at times, yet giving us strength to go on with ours as he did himself. Its awfully coincidental that as I read his book, explored his life, he was planning on ending it. I was fascinated at how he chose to show his life and how he went through so many lost battles yet still was comfortable and caring enough to share it with the world, preparing us for the not so easy path that lays ahead. I wish he knew how much we all admire his confidence and his literature. He really taught me many lessons about how to handle situations or what is the right or wrong thing to do. This book was educational and inspirational, as well as fascinating.

After Mandela nonfiction reading response

Nonfiction Reading Response

I just read the article, “After Mandela: the country has come a long way since the end of apartheid, but has it lived up to Nelson Mandela’s example?” written by Patricia Smith. This article explains (after the death of Nelson Mandela) how much this man did for his country and beliefs and how much he improved in this country, as well as introducing the idea that the presidents after Mandela have not lived up to his reputation as a leader. After all Mandela did for African American rights and how drastically he changed the lifestyle of thousands of people, I could see how it would be hard to live up to him. Patricia Smith is obviously trying to show the readers that Nelson Mandela was a memorable man who did many things for his country that he deserves to be remembered for, yet Smith also mentions the fact that presidents who have came after Mandela haven’t done as good of a job as him.

Nelson Mandela was a great man. Patricia Smith wrote this article to show us what he has done and what he is famous for- why people look up to him, why he has such a good reputation. Nelson Mandela was put in jail for 27 years for fighting for his strong beliefs in African American rights and trying to end the white rule over the majority of blacks in the country. “For most of the 20th century, black South Africans lived under apartheid a government run system of rigid racial segregation”, says Smith in the article. Apartheid had ruined the lives of so many people just because of their race- they weren’t allowed to participate in most things anyone should have the right to do. While he was in jail, nothing big happened to change the way things were in their country and segregation was still going on. When Mandela was released, although he had been severely punished for doing it before, once again Mandela kept fighting for the rights of African Americans. He believed so strongly in this that he kept protesting no matter the punishment. Apartheid ended in 1991 and in 1994, the country created a new government- electing Nelson Mandela as president. For the whole time Mandela lead the country, a lot changed and improved. He was a very productive president and an inspiration to so many people because of the change and happiness he gave to so many people who didn’t deserve to be treated the way they were.

Patricia Smith also made it clear that not only was Nelson Mandela a great man but she also made the statement that, the presidents after Mandela cannot compare to the job and the change Mandela brought to their country. After Mandela’s presidency ended, Smith says “there have been many disappointments too”. The unemployment rate is getting higher and higher, and according to a search done by the World Bank, 85 percent of black south africans are still poor, whereas 87 percent of whites are a part of the middle and upper class. As said by the author, their democracy is settled, but “the presidents who have followed Mandela have failed to live up to his example.”. She also adds on the fact that health isn’t great there and that the current president is being accused of corruption and rape. William Gumede, a south african scholar also says, “there has really been a failure in passing the torch”. I would imagine that this is just adding onto the fact that Mandela was a one of a kind leader who was willing to fight for what he believed in which made him an inspirational figure.

In conclusion, this article supported the life of Nelson Mandela. Patricia Smith wrote this article in appreciation of him, and also to discuss the present leaders that have taken after him in presidency. This article definitely made me realise that Mandela was a great man and deserves this recognition and even though we may not be able to find anyone like him, he changed history. Without him we could have still had segregation and apartheid could be still happening.

Teen Angst? Naah.. RR

Critical Thinking Question: Are there groups you belong to in this text? What do they look like here? If your own groups are missing, what would you say they were in the book?

I am currently reading the novel, “Teen Angst? Naaah…” by Ned Vizzini. In this story an average antisocial young boy grows up to find interests and things he loves, as well as go through the things all growing boys need to go through.  I noticed the ways that Vizzini portrayed these different age and gender groups. I myself am a teenage girl and I wanted to compare and contrast the way the author portrays this group, to the way I think it is. I am also a teenager in general so I can compare how they are portrayed in this story and how they feel in this story, to how I feel.

            I found that there was a difference in the way that Vizzini portrayed girls in this book to the way that I feel girls should be portrayed.  He made them look like they had no personalities. Looks were the only thing that mattered when it came to teenage girls in this story.  Being a girl I know that we don’t want to be portrayed as figures who don’t matter or are taken for-granted because of the way we look.

‘You see that? She is disgusting! The lips, the nose- all fake. Not real. Not nice to touch, not at all. I can tell.’ This line just shows how disrespectfully girls are made of in this book. Not nice to touch? Girls don’t want boys to be thinking whether they are or aren’t ‘nice to touch’.  The way that the characters in the novel speak of women is the complete opposite of what we want them to speak. This was showing disrespect to women and their bodies. Pointing out their flaws as well- such as small boobs or not as pretty as he wanted.

            A broader group that I felt was portrayed correctly in this book was the group of young adults or teenagers. Ned Vizzini obviously dealt with most of the stuff that almost all teenagers deal with- such as sex, girls, school, parents, prom, etc. Most young adults would agree with his views and stresses on these subjects and typically feel the same way. This group (although more broad than others) was  depicted correctly. “I was still a virgin. That was something I worried about since I was about thirteen or fourteen; something that particularly worried me because the average American male loses his virginity at age sixteen.” This quote stood out because it just showed how a teenager might look at this issue, as if it was a competition. But honestly I feel that it’s true, (seeing that almost everything as a teenager is a competition).  Ned struggles with his parents, trying to convince them to trust him. Taking his girlfriend to their last prom, he struggles with dealing with girls and also prom (which he doesn’t want to go to).  There are many examples that are correct when Vizzini tries to portray teenagers in general and their daily problems.

            Overall I feel that this book characterizes these groups sometimes correctly and sometimes not. I can understand that Vizzini didn’t portray girls as well as teenagers in general, because he doesn’t know what its like to be a girl- but he sure knows what its like to be a teenager. In this book the groups are overall portrayed in a way that can be offensive, but unfortunately true.

           

            

Monday Muses

Monday Muses

The Snowy Day

This was one of me and my brothers favorite picture books when we were little and I remember always listening to my mom read it to us all year round. I think I loved this book so much because of the illustrations, and I’m not sure how I admired them at such a young age but the pictures made me love it even more. I could relate to the child in the story because I loved snow (and still do). I would play outside all the time in the winter with my brother and in a way we could relate to everything Ezra Jack Keats wrote. I remember whenever I woke up in the winter and it was snowing I would feel like the character and act as if I was the little boy in the red snowsuit. It was always fun to read and it will always be a favorite.

The illustrations really made a difference in my mind. It was colorful and fun, showed that the child was happy. The snow wasn’t very detailed and I guess made it delicate in a way and I liked that. Snow was always something to look forward to when I was younger.

I could obviously connect to the feelings that the child in this book had, and I loved how I felt I could relate to him. I guess its part of the fact that I loved snow and it was a big part of my childhood. I would always play in the snow whenever I could and it is what I think of and look forward to when winter comes.

This is one of my favorite picture books and I love the way I could relate to it.

Monday Muses

Monday Muses

The Snowy Day

This was one of me and my brothers favorite picture books when we were little and I remember always listening to my mom read it to us all year round. I think I loved this book so much because of the illustrations, and I’m not sure how I admired it at such a young age but the pictures made me love it even more. I could relate to the child in the story because I loved snow (and still do). I would play outside all the time in the winter with my brother and in a way we could relate to everything Ezra Jack Keats wrote. I remember whenever I woke up in the winter and it was snowing I would feel like the character and act as if I was the little boy in the red snowsuit. It was always fun to read and it will always be a favorite.

Great Gatsby reading response

I just recently read The Great Gatsby for the second time, and I think this time I noticed things that I didn’t notice or pay much attention to the last time I read it. I feel like most of these characters are fake and take advantage of the people around them. Daisy, who is cheating on her husband, doesn’t really think about how her husband may feel. Gatsby surrounds himself with people who are happy, making them think he is important and his life is fulfilled- whereas he feels the complete opposite on the inside. People look at Gatsby from the outside, but nobody even really sees who he is until he finds a true friend, Nick Carraway. These characters create a show for outsiders and nobody really knows who they are. Daisy lies to everyone except Nick and Gatsby. Gatsby lies to himself and the public.

I found that not only does Daisy fool her husband Tom into believing she loved him this whole time, but she also cheats on him and makes it obvious by flirting with Gatsby. Although Nick and Gatsby are the only ones who know Daisy has feelings for Gatsby, she is lying to everyone else by making them think her and Tom are happily married. He may not show it, but Tom cares for Daisy and when she admits to not loving him, he gets upset. Daisy was selfish and only cared about what she wanted for herself, not how it might have made others feel. Tom tries to convince himself that Daisy loves him and always has, but I can tell that he knows what is happening when Gatsby confronts him about it. “You’re crazy!” he exploded. “I can’t speak about what happened five years ago because I didn’t know Daisy then- and I’ll be damned if I see how you got within a mile of her unless you brought the groceries to the back door. But all the rest of that’s a god damned lie. Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now.” (Fitzgerald, 131) Daisy knows shes hurting Tom but choses Gatsby because she was selfish and didn’t realize Tom would be hurt as well.

Another character who lives a lie is Gatsby. I found that the first time I read this book, I thought of Gatsby as someone with many friends and lived his life to its fullest. However, after reading it over again I formed a new perspective on Gatsby’s life. He doesn’t really have friends who he sits with and talks to at his parties. Most people don’t even know what he looks like. He is a figure. Not a someone, a something. You could say that he is popular because everyone knows his name but nobody really knows who he is. He surely doesn’t open up to people, either. When he met Nick, he didn’t tell him anything about who he was, what he did for a living. Nick didn’t even know who Gatsby was until he told him. Everyone saw something special or magical about Gatsby but nobody really knew why. I think it was because nobody knew him. There was nothing to say about him other than that he had parties. He may have been a rich man but he was still a lonely man- and nobody knew that. The impression he gave was a confident, rich oxford man who was always keeping people wondering about his past. Thats why he was a lie. He surrounded himself with people, but nobody knew him. He was used by strangers for his popularity and parties and he used them to build on his reputation. He was living his life as a lie and nobody knew it.

In conclusion, these characters were putting on a show for others and they knew it. These characters were lying to others and thats what made them stand out. Gatsby lied to the public and to himself, and Daisy lied to her husband. Although they lied I still love these characters because they keep the story interesting and make you think about who they really could be or how they actually feel.

Banned Books essay 2nd Draft

Over the past few years, there has been much controversy over banning books in young adult libraries, due to some inappropriate topics or details. After reading my inquiry groups book, “Sold”, by Patricia McCormick, I realized which side I was on.  I think that these books that might be considered inappropriate for the minds of young adults should be introduced to these kids through guided reading.There was lots of inappropriate content that can affect the minds of young adults. The detail and gore made it harder to read and made me uncomfortable. Some may say that these topics like sex, drugs, violence, or other issues make the books interesting (which could be true) but I feel it is not appropriate for the minds of young adults. This kind of material should not be harshly exposed to adolescents, and I have found that books are casually approaching these serious issues. However, where I stand on this topic is in the middle.I hope that others can realize that students should not be casually exposed to these topics through grim novels that can cause them emotional damage.

During this unit on book banning I have developed my own opinion on the books that contain controversial topics such as sex, drugs, and violence. Personally I feel that the question to ban should be based on the book and the level of exposure to these types of issues. For the books that incorporate as some may call, ‘inappropriate topics’ that are put into lots of detail or will go so far as to make the reader uncomfortable; I feel they should be introduced using a more thoughtful approach.  In my book (Sold) I found that the amount of gore and detail was extreme and I surely wasn’t expecting it. Although this year wasn’t the first time I had read the book, I was still surprised at how the author decided to illustrate this real world issue. Because it wasn’t the first time I was exposed to this literature, I was able to put a critical lens on the way McCormick decided to introduce the topic. For example, the excerpt, “I hurt, I am torn and bleeding where the men have been”. For some readers that may not be educated on anatomy or rape or even violence against women, this passage might be confusing, misleading, or terrifying. Without an adult to help guide you through the text or answer any questions the reader/student might have, these young adults are left with their imagination and possibly scarred minds.

This debate has gone on for years and many classic books have been banned. Many teachers who appreciate this young adult literature and want their students to read these books have been fighting back against the concerned public.  As stated in an article “Banned Books We Have Loved”, “They stand out as important books that we have read because they dealt with important, hard subjects”. However, they may be important but that doesn’t mean they aren’t affecting the minds of young adults who have never been exposed to these difficult issues. “If you think it matters what is inside a young person’s mind, surely it is of consequence of what they read”, the article ‘Darkness To Visible’ states. How do you think these adolescents will handle the dark topics they have never heard of before? Writing gory details (like in Sold) will not give them a good image or a good understanding on what is happening. As I stated before, a more supervised or thoughtful approach is needed when dealing with impressionable young minds. Giving harmful details that can come off as scary to middle school students can really affect them. “Lets hope publishers do have young adults interests at heart- and they are not selling books by sensationalizing children’s suffering.” As ‘Sick-Lit’ declared. In other words, we hope that these authors or publishers are putting themselves in the minds of young adults and considering the fact that some of their content might be emotionally harmful to the reader.

Although these topics are very important for young adults to be aware of, there must be (and there are) other ways to convey these messages and show these kids what is happening in the world in a safe way. Such as reading a book that includes these kinds of conflicts with your teacher, so they can made sure there is no misguidance from the students. It could also be read with a parent or guardian- as long as its with someone who is there to clear the issues up and help you understand these topics. Reading about these controversial issues at an age where you are just learning about it now, can lead to misunderstandings. We want to avoid misguidance when kids are learning about these harsh subjects in the world.

In conclusion, where I stand in this debate is in the middle. Do I feel these books should be completely banned? No, not at all. These books are a great source of information for young adults who should be exposed to this material at this time in their life. But unless they are absolutely sure they can manage on their own, supervision and guidance should be provided to these adolescents who could possibly be scarred by some of the content included in these books. Misguidance is what we are trying not to have and that is why if young adults want to read these books, it should be with an adult who is there to guide them through the text, not leaving them alone for their minds to wander or maybe misinterpret information given in the important novels.  Its important to know that your children/ students are learning in a safe way which teaching them things they will need to know.

Sources Page

-Carey, Tanith. "Sick-Lit." Mail Online. N.p., 2 Jan. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

-Doll, Jen. "The Banned Books We Have Loved." The Atlantic Wire. N.p., 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013

-Gurdon, Meghan Cox. "Darkness Too Visible." Wall Street Journal. N.p., 4 June 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

-McCormick, Patricia. Sold. New York: Hyperion, 2006. Print.

My Thirteenth Winter

In the book, “My Thirteenth Winter” by Samantha Abeel, the author shows a very important message to reader. In this memoir, Samantha struggles with her learning disability for math. As she grew older, math connected to many things in her life, making it harder to get through her day. Although this disability was a burden on Samantha in many ways, it didn’t make her give up or hold back. She learns she is a strong and smart person and she still has hope. This memoir shows how life is full of obstacles and things that you have to try and cope with, and try to get over. Samantha’s obstacle would be her math disability, but she learns to understand she has to live with this obstacle and she gets around it, one way or another.

One step toward getting over an obstacle, would be to accept it. As Samantha started to get older, she realized she had a hard time understanding math in general. She was already in seventh grade, and she couldn’t tell time, remember her locker combination, or even count money. A seventh grader should know these things, and Samantha knew she had a disability. It wasn’t until her thirteenth winter until she admitted to herself that it was real. On page 18 Samantha and her mom are doing math flash cards so she can try to understand. She says, “Eventually, mom decides to go back to the problem 5-2=_____. She wears a look of determined expectation. “Ok”, She says. “Here is one you will get for sure”. I look again at the symbols on the card and feel my brain working, searching to access the information, but no answers come.” This shows how Samantha Abeel finally realizes she has a learning disability and it shows how she struggles with this. She knows that this is her disability and that this is how her brain will work for the rest of her life. It was important for her to realize and admit to herself that she will have to get around this.

With a learning disability, there are many hardships that come along with it. In school, its socially challenging since you might be the only one in the seventh grade who can’t tell time. I can see how Samantha may not want to admit to herself that she has this problem. As a young student, telling time was something that kids had tests on, and not always would kids get it right. When Samantha was in third grade, she has a test on addition and subtraction. Everyone else was done and she was left back, having to correct her answers. “I watch as she checks off my problems. I have added when the sign said to subtract. Others I have subtracted when I’m supposed to add. In some, I forgot to include certain numbers. My answers aren’t anywhere close to correct. Mrs. Kendall points out these errors, goes over them, and asks me to go back and make corrections”. This shows how Samantha knows she has made a mistake in these problems but it also shows how she really has a disability that will cause her great hardships and burdens. However, Samantha has to go through this every day and it can be hard. Especially going to a public school for kids who don’t have disabilities, Samantha handles the problem.

Having a disability can put you at many disadvantages. It could be socially or physically, and those types of disadvantages can be really hard on you. Samantha learns to handle this disability of hers, and even if it may try to hold her back, she eventually gets over it. For example, when Samantha and her friends were seeing if they got into the TAG program at school, Samantha was prepared for the test scores and wasn’t too upset when she found out she didn’t get in. “I did not make it into the TAG program. My test scores for math were not high enough”. This shows that these disabilities hold you back and can limit opportunities in life, but that’s ok because you know that somehow you can get over this. Samantha’s life was full of obstacles that all revolve around her math disability, but she shows us that even when you feel as though all hope is lost, you can figure it out somehow.

In conclusion, a very important theme was captured in this memoir. Life is full of hardships and obstacles, which you have to get over and cope with. Samantha has a math learning disability, and this caused her disadvantages and limited her as a growing girl. However, she gets over the problems that this disability causes her. This shows how you can get over hardships and obstacles that life brings you.

Monday Muses

This song really speaks to me because it shows you that you can be anything you want to be and you should never doubt yourself. I think everyone can really relate to this song because on the inside we are all insecure but this song is saying that you don’t have to be insecure because you are beautiful just the way you are and nobody can tell you different. Insecurity is a big problem in our society and the competition to be better than everyone else is prioritized in the minds of a lot of people. Whoever shows the most skin, whoever has more friends. But I feel like everyone is forgetting who they really are and covering their real personality up with the expensive clothes and fake attitudes.

This song portrays the real definition of natural beauty. As it says in the song, “I’m no beauty queen I’m just beautiful me”. Showing what true confidence is and it should encourage everyone all over the world to embrace their own internal and external beauty because we are all worth it.

Personally I feel like this song speaks to teens around the world because specifically at this age, we struggle with our emotions and find ourselves doubting who we really are and wondering if we are really good enough. This song is telling us that we are good enough and we are all special in different ways.

A way of gaining confidence is through music. I know that when I hear a song and I can relate to it, I feel like if they can have this confidence then I can too. By relating to people we look up to (like singers or artists) we feel like if they feel the same way, we must be good enough. Some of these songs show us that we can build up the courage to be who we want to be and have the confidence that everyone should have.  

One of the verses of ‘Who Says’ stands out because its giving a specific promising message. “Who says you’re not star potential? Who says you’re not presidential? Who says you can’t be in movies? Listen to me, listen to me, who says you can’t pass the test? Who says you can’t be the best?” This verse displays the idea of having morale and courage, to believe in yourself and never doubt who you are. You can be anything you want to be and no one can tell you different. I love this song because it gives the listeners a reason to love themselves for who they are and not to get caught up in impressing other people.

The Probability of Miracles- character change

In the novel, “The Probability of Miracles”, by Wendy Wunder, the author decides to make the main character a cancer patient, giving you a look on the perspective of her life and how her cancer took a huge role in her life. Still in remission, Campbell has to deal with everyday symptoms throughout her daily routines. Even though being diagnosed with cancer doesn’t mean you can’t be social and make new friends, I feel that Cam is a very reserved character in the first half of the book. However, once I get into about the middle of the book, i found a slow, but very effective character change in Campbell.

In the beginning of the story, Cams personality is very reserved. She doesn’t  make herself do anything she doesn’t have to do. She is shy and doesn’t have many friends. For example, when her and her mom and sister Perry are about to go to Promise, (against Cams will) she starts packing her movies, planning to watch films all day on vacation. Doesn’t think she will be going out or meeting new people. Cam also doesn’t open up to people easily. When she has blue spots on her arm as a side effect from cancer, she tries to cover up so her grandma doesn’t notice. Even though it could be a concern or something serious, she doesn’t tell anyone because she wants to keep it to herself. She doesn’t even open up to her grandma! She doesn’t like to open up to new ideas either. Cam convinces herself throughout the book that miracles are not real and that everything happens for a reason, even though she knows deep down that they are miracles. A flock of flamingos in Maine, not moving from where they are. A dog that was due to die makes it through the night. Snowing in August. Letting your lobster free and while fishing a week later, fishes out the same one. All these happenings have no excuses and Cam knows it. Cam also doesn’t do anything new or want to do anything new unless she has to do it. Campbell brings along her flamingo list: a list she personally made in camp which lists things she has to do before she dies. So, Cam only does risky stuff when its on her flamingo list because it was a promise she made to herself. Cam shows a very reserved personality.

However, as I got towards the end of the story, I saw Cam slowly changing. She goes to a party on an island where as she wouldn’t have earlier in the book. She also opens up with her feelings more. She falls in love with Asher, a boy she meets in Maine. At the party she dances, met new people, and tried new things.  Campbell opens up more and decides to get a job, right away she tells the boss, Elaine, that she is sick and that is why she came to Maine- her and her family are looking for a miracle to cure herself. She also makes new friends in maine, like Sunny. Sunny and Cam start to hang out sometimes and Cam gets happier. She has friends, is in love, and cancer isn’t her life anymore. And most important of all, Cam starts to believe in miracles. This really showed me a huge character change because Cam would have never opened up this much to believe in something that we are not sure exactly exists. I was proud of Cam and thought her change was for the best, because she became so happy once she made friends and started going out.  

In, “The Probability of Miracles”, Campbell shows a big change in her personality which affected her life a lot. Being reserved and not having many friends wasn’t making her happy but I don’t think Cam wanted to change anything in her life and tried to stop herself from changing. But I realized that sometimes its hard to stop yourself from doing what’s best even though you don’t know what’s going to happen if you do change.

The Silver Star

Over the summer, I read the inspiring novel, “The Silver Star” by Jeannette Walls. This book is about the endless adventures of “Bean”, Liz, and Charlotte Holiday. Being a single mom looking for a purpose, Charlotte takes off one day and leaves the girls with enough money to last them for about two months. During those two months Bean and Liz live on their own, and they do just fine. But when the police come to investigate a report of two underage girls living with no guardian, they have to leave as soon as they can. However, with no way to contact their mother, where is there to go? Uncle Tinsley’s house in Virginia. Bean and Liz venture off to reunite with their long lost Uncle and find that he too, is flawed.  I love the message given in this story. Everyone has faults but you can learn to love them as they are.

I found that this theme came up very early in the story. Liz and Bean’s mother, Charlotte Holiday, was a debutante from the south who had always been the center of attention as a child. When she became a mother she ran away from her hometown in Byler, Virginia. I realized that Charlotte has a tendency to run from her mistakes instead of sorting them out. Liz and Bean also realize this. In the beginning of the book, Charlotte repeatedly left her daughters alone to find her career. In this way, Charlotte is running away from her responsibilities as an adult. I think this is one of Charlotte’s main faults, because she feels overwhelmed and needs to get away. But she’s not thinking about what that might mean to her daughters. Nobody is there for them. However, Charlotte is their mother and by the end of the book, they come to accept her and love her even though she struggles to take care of them, because she is pretty much all they have.

Another character that ties into the theme is Uncle Tinsley. When Liz and Bean first arrive at his house in Virginia, they find him to be quite a recluse. He comes to the door in a bathrobe and holding a shotgun across his chest. The house had been rotting and it wasn’t what Bean and Liz had remembered. I could already see that Uncle Tinsley was very reserved at the time, and I wondered what had made him this way. Later in the story we find out that Uncle Tinsley had been running the town’s cotton mill (Holiday Mill), just as generations before him in the Holiday family had. However, the business was doing poorly and had to be sold. Chicago investors bought the mill and Uncle Tinsley is just managing to make it by with the proceeds from the sale. Although it was the right thing to do, Uncle Tinsley felt as though he failed to uphold the family’s name and reputation around town. Struggling with money, Uncle Tinsley stayed at their house in Virginia and never left. Ever since his wife had died in a car accident, he had been alone. When Liz and Bean visit, they find flaws in Uncle Tinsley but they accept him as he is. At first he didn’t even want the girls in his home, ashamed by the rotting household. Later in the story, Liz and Bean are let into the house but feel the need to contribute to the family and household expenses. So, they ask to get jobs. However, Uncle Tinsley didn’t want the girls to have to help with the costs of running the house, even though he knew he was on a tight budget. Although uncle Tinsley specifically forbid them from getting jobs because the Holidays always had the reputation of having enough money, Liz and Bean go off to find jobs, disobeying Tinsleys rules and not telling him about it. Later in the story, this job causes lots of conflict and teaches them an important lesson.

Liz and Bean also were at  fault in this situation. Because they didn’t listen to Uncle Tinsley, they got themselves in big trouble that they could have easily avoided if they had just told Uncle Tinsley about it, or not gotten a job at all. I think Liz and Bean learned their lesson and when it was time to deal with the consequences of breaking their Uncles rules, they did not run away from the situation. Even though they broke their Uncles specific orders, they didn’t get in big trouble. I think Uncle Tinsley realized that the girls were just doing it to help, not cause trouble. He accepted the fact that they did it for him, and loved them for it.

In conclusion, the message in this story stood out to me so much and it showed me that everyone has flaws but that doesn’t mean that we can’t love and accept them anyway. We need to accept everyone’s flaws because we know we all have them. This book shows a great example of complicated family relationships and loving people for who they are.