Reading the work 5

Overall, I really really really enjoyed this book. I can see why my mom thought that it would keep me interested. I will admit, I thought that it was super slow in the beginning, but I think that all of the background information was necessary and I’m glad that Betty Smith included all of it. It just made it more enjoyable to read when I felt like I knew everything about the characters. The character development in this book was outstanding. I was able to picture every single detail in not only the characters, but also the setting and everything else in between. For me, that makes the book so much easier to read. Not having to do any guesswork was key to my understanding of the plot. Once I got through the first 100 pages or so, this book was really amazing.

Reading the Work 4

Through the whole book, I’ve been keeping an eye on Johnny Nolan’s behavior. When Francie was young, she observed her dad and didn’t really think that anything was abnormal about him, but as she grew I think that she started to realize that her dad coming home at three in the morning stumbling around wasn’t normal. His whole outlook on life had the potential of changing in the matter of minutes. His violent mood swings forced Francie to be very carful around her father and that put a huge strain on the relationship she had with her dad. I think that Katie Nolan is one of the smartest people in the book. She may not be book smart, but she sure knows how to read people and get to the bottom of things. At this point, I think that their marriage is crumbling, but Katie has nowhere else to go and I think that scares her. 

Reading the work 3

  I’m almost halfway done with the book and right now, my favorite character is Aunt Sissy. She is definitely the “cool” aunt in the family. I have one of those that I am able to go to for anything and everything and for Francie, I think that she is able to talk and relate to Aunt Sissy more so than her own mother. Aunt Sissy has been through a lot in her life. She has had ten miscarriages, most of which were stillborn. She has had three marriages and three divorces and at the time in which this story takes place, that was not socially acceptable, so she has very few friends because nobody really wants to associate with her. Aunt Sissy is very independent and she loves Francie and her brother very dearly. The kids always look forward to her coming over. Johnny Nolan isn’t a huge fan of her just because they have a weird history, but I think that he accepts the relationship that the rest of the family has with her.

Reading the Work 2

I’m about 100 pages into “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” and I am just read the chapters about the backgrounds of the Nolan family and the Rommely Family. It seems that neither family was really excited about Johnny and Katie getting married. The marriage between the two was doomed to have problems from the start. At the point I’m at in the book, Johnny and Katie have kind of fallen out of love, but they are staying together and putting up with each other because back then, divorce was very rare and neither of them have any where else to go if they were to end their marriage. Katie wishes she could work at a job instead of being a housewife. I don’t think she ever pictured herself staying at home seven days a week to take care of the house and the family. I also think that Katie wishes she were smarter. I think that she is like Francie in that respect because both girls really enjoy learning and becoming more intelligent.

Reading the Work 1

I started reading "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and so far I really enjoy it. I am, however, struggling to relate to Francie. Francie is a young girl who inhales knowledge and has to cut herself off from reading because if she didn't, she would spend all her time in the library. I don’t think Francie really has an idea of how poor her family is because she has never been able to see how a middle class family lives. She has only been surrounded by people with the same amount of income. I think Francie knows that there are people better off than her, but I don’t think she realizes how little money the family has. I am able to relate to Francie through her fierce independence. She looks out for herself and she doesn’t need anyone to tell her how to do something. She works hard and she knows that one day, that hard work will pay off.

Picking the Work 2

I think I’m going to do “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” It seems more interesting and after I did some research, I found out it might not be quite as easy as my other pick, but at least I’ll enjoy it more. The idea of the book being split into time periods seems really neat to me, and the characters seem rich instead of boring, like half of the books I’ve read. They actually seem real. 

Picking the Work 1

Honestly, I have no idea what to pick. It’s hard to find a book I can really get in to, so picking one for an entire project that will basically determine my future, or at least that’s what you say… sucks. I have a few ideas, though, and people have given me suggestions. Right now I’m looking at “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” or “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” I guess I just have to do some more research on them and then pick.

Favorite Poem

The Poetry of Innocence 

Author: Unknown

I hope you don’t lose the innocence, That easy contagious smile upon your face, That simple faith held within your heart, A gentle understanding, Not frayed by too many so-called insights. I pray you stay unharmed from the cold, and, Stormy weather that comes to visit from time to time, That tries to make this life, Something you wish to leave behind. I hope your innocence stays, Never to run astray, But always within reach, Whenever it is,  You are ready for a mend. I hope you will let the innocence affect you, Keep you grounded, Remind you of that little young care-free child inside, Whose hopeful countenance is going to be, The life line for a heart that sees nothing else, But the deepest apathy, cringing at its side. I pray that your innocence holds your hand, Even when the circumstance is pulling you down, And when you feel as if no one is around, Let it stand by your side, A shadow of an unstained truth, A reminder of your truest calling. I know you will grow older, But I want you to be wiser, I know you will recall the times when, Your innocence camouflages as the soft baby’s blanket, Sheltering you, From the bitter taste of crashed hope, And broken heart, Soothes you, holds the pieces, So you won’t break apart. But when the fight is heavy in you, It may get pushed aside, Misunderstood,  Cursed as an unwanted blind spot, Often willed to die a slow, Premature demise. I don’t want you to forget, That the innocence of the long gone youth, Further enhanced by time and experience, Can be all that you need, to change your thoughts, About this life, and will you then, Make it whole again?

Movie

"A Rebel Without A Cause" is an extemely hard move to watch. It was dramatic, slow and not believable. Some of the plot was also hard to believe as well.

I could never see someone dying by falling off a cliff in a car. When the high school kids are at the cliff, they are being loud and very immature. I could never see kids these days getting away with being that crazy. The plot was very slow moving and the beginning took what seemed like forever. While they were in the police station, I had really no clue what was going on because there was no explanation. When I watch movies, I don’t want to have to dissect every last piece of the plot. When I watch a movie I want to be able to relax. Call me lazy, but that’s what look for in a movie to watch on a Saturday night. The movie picked up pace after the exposition was done and overall, the movie was okay.

"Mean Girls"

The second movie that our AP lang party watched was “Mean Girls”. This movie is a dramatic portrayal of girls in high school. I have seen the movie too many times to count and at first I considered it to be a satire, but really it’s not. It is dramatic, but it isn’t that far off. High school girls are the pettiest creatures ever. They take everything way too seriously. This movie is dramatic because the girls get away with a lot without a teacher stepping in to stop them. The things that the “mean girls” say about other people are not far off from what really goes on in high school, it’s just all behind peoples backs, which in a way is worse than saying it straight to his or her face. We definitely put on a persona in high school. For us it's okay for people to bash on our persona because it's fake and not who we really are. And because of that we don't take that much offense to it.

Jordan E. and Luke S. movie party. (tools)

Movie partayy with Shelby Hendo, emat., and anneliese

Morals

Live life to the fullest. I have made some amazing memories with some amazing people. These memories, however, would not have been made had I not been willing to take the chances I did. I always have to be persuaded to do things that I think could involve me getting in trouble. I am never the one who comes up with the crazy ideas and I am always the one who drags her feet when it comes to going through with the plan. But all the wild things that I have done with my friends and family make for the best memories and stories. I remember the first time I t-ped a house and the first time I went water skiing especially. I was extremely frightened to do these things and rightfully so because after I got home from t-peeing I was grounded for a week and the first time I went water skiing ended with me getting four staples in my head. I wouldn't have had it any other way though because the stories I now have to tell are endless and the memories I have made will never be forgotten.

The stereotype portrayed in this video clip is that of the popular girls that are in highschool. The clip shows the three "queen bees" that rule the school. Everyone secretly hates them because they have no respect for their peers. This is not an accurate depiction of how the popular girls in highschool act. First of all, no teacher would allow a girl to be on her cell phone in the middle of class or to be carried out by boys. The popular girls at our school are the ones that are the nicest and that know the most people, not the ones that make fun of or put down others.

A lot of the pictures we take are fake. I have a hard time of making my smile look real when I would rather not be taking pictures. There is a very distinct difference between my real smile and my I-wish-I-was-anywhere-but-here smile. People are able to hide a lot behind their smile. A smile is a symbol of happiness and when people see that, they usually genuinely believe that your life is just peachy.

The picture above doesn’t say anything about what I like to do. By looking at this picture, a person would never know that I play volleyball, that I like being outside, or that I enjoy eating spaghetti. In other words, sometimes our pictures do more to describe who we aren’t than who we are.  

Growing up in a neighborhood where the only kids your age are boys, put me in the same kind of position. I have been friends with Luke, Craig, and Nicholas for about 12 years. We were always together and I always played the games that they wanted to play. I was into hot wheels, legos, wrestling, bugs, and sports. I refused to wear dresses and always had my hair pulled back into a ponytail. I kept up with those boys and they never saw me as the weaker person because I was a girl. I never really noticed the weird looks in elementary school, but looking back I can see why I had no girl friends when I would play light sabers on the playground with those boys. Us four never really grew apart. Sure, we found our own way through middle school and we continue to do so in high school, but I know those boys are still there for me. I wouldn't have had it any other way. And I could still take them all in a wrestling match... BRING IT.

No one ever directly yelled “Ewwwwww, boys have cooties!” but that sentence sums up everything I heard when I was in elementary school.  At a time when girls cliqued together and played Barbie’s and house I was swimming in the pool and painting pictures with my best friend: Adam. 

I have been friends with Adam since right around Kindergarten; however, we didn’t go to the same school until first grade.  On my first day, in a new school, I was quickly attached to the only kid I knew in school.  Being the new kid and having no friends, except Adam, when we spent every second at school together I didn’t find it weird at all.  (us as kids)  That is until people started saying things to me.  “Why are you friends with a boy?” “Is he your boyfriend?” “That’s weird.” The answer was always simply that Adam was my best friend and always has been.   As we started to get older and older for it became weirder and weirder that my best friend was a boy. In Middle School everything began to change.  I was the typical Middle School girl; all I wanted to do was fit in with all the girls around me and be “popular”.  While I was busy learning how to fix my hair and do my makeup my friendship with Adam began to be pushed to the side.  Although I know I was very busy I also know that at that time I thought that in order for me to fit in I had to not be the only girl with a best friend that was a boy.   I can remember a time in Middle School when I was walking down the hall and Adam was walking the other way.  We said hey to each other but I also remember thinking how tall Adam had gotten and how he looked nothing like the chubby 1st grader that use to be my best friend.  I didn’t stress out too much about losing my best friend until I got into high school and Adam was in the majority of my classes.  When we started talking we picked up right where we left off.  On the night of the Sadie’s Dance I couldn’t go because I had to leave for soccer the next morning bright and early.  I remember being sad thinking about how all my friends would be having a blast and I would be stuck at home bored.  Adam realized this and said that he would ditch Sadie’s and come hang out with me.  We ended up having a blast eating a bunch of junk food and playing Mario Kart all night. 

It was at this time that I realized that life isn’t about being popular and fitting in.  If I wanted to be happy all I need to do is pick my friends based on who loves me and will have my back no matter what.  Two years later when I look at my friend group it consists of a small group of kids that I know, no matter what, make me a better person and support me.  Although it took me awhile to realize this I know I am in the right place at the moment.  I am grateful for my family and friends and especially my friends that have become so close that they are considered family.