Just Listen to Yourself

In the book I'm reading, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, the main character, Annabel, is having trouble communicating with everyone she meets. There's her mom, who wants her to continue modeling when it's not in her best interest. There's her sister Whitney, who's eating disorder is adding weight on the whole family, and she just doesn't know that. There's Sophie, her ex-best friend, who doesn't really know the full truth about the night she fought with Annabel. And then there's Owen, a quiet boy at their school. Owen and Annabel barely know each other, but Owen has already taught Annabel to be honest, be courageous, and really listen to other people. The book is called Just Listen meaning just listen to others, but I think the title really has a deeper meaning.

Reading this book has taught me a lot about opening up to other people in your life. There are so many people worth getting to know around you that you wouldn't be exposed to otherwise. At my point in the story, you are starting to really get to know Annabel's character, and I'm seeing the way that she interacts with others. To me, I see that Annabel is a very good listener. She always listens to what her sisters and parents have to say, and of course what Owen tells her. Although she finds it easy to listen to other people, I feel like Annabel has a harder time listening to herself.

Annabel always tries to please others and tell them exactly what they want to her. I feel as if Annabel isn't listening to herself or her needs. Owen is always telling her to just listen, and Annabel always listens to Owen. I think that if Annabel really listened to herself, she would tell her Mom that she didn't want to model. She would tell her sister Whitney that she needed to take care of herself, and explain what a weight she was putting on the family. She would tell Sophie that it was never really like that and she didn't know the true story. And she would tell Owen what she really thought about him, and how she was planning to go about it.

I think that everyone can definitely relate with Annabel. I'm pretty sure there has most likely been a point in everyone's life when they didn't listen to what they wanted, and instead went the easy way out and put someone else's priorities before their own. Obviously, it's okay to put someone else before yourself. What most people don’t realize is it’s not selfish to address your own needs. There comes a point in everyone's life when it's important to show what you want and listen to yourself. 

Disabled Athletes Rights

The article I read, As Disabled Athletes Compete, Questions of Logistics by Mary Pilon, discussed the abilities of disabled kids and adults, and whether they should or should not compete in sports. This article talked a lot about physically disabled students participating in afterschool activities, and whether or not it should be allowed. It gave examples of children who were denied the right to compete in swim meets, track competitions, or tennis matches. This article really stuck out to me because soccer is extremely important to me, and I don't really know how I would go about being without it. I know tons of people whose sports mean so much to them, and it seems unfair that someone would take away such a big part of someone's life because of a disability they could not prevent.

I have strong feelings about this article. I've been playing soccer since I was six years old, and it has become routine for me. Every weekend I play a game, and I feel as if every weekend I get better. I love having something that I personally, and not my friends, am good at. A sport can be a lifestyle. To me, it seems unjust to take away something like that. The author discussed how they did not allow a deaf girl in high school to compete on the tennis time, even though she was equally skilled, if not better, then the rest of the team. Although they might encounter some problems if she played on the team, I believe that they honestly could try to make that work. Although I do agree that disabled people should be allowed to compete on teams, I do see the alternative side. It could be dangerous in some situations for them to participate, and the coaches and advisors are probably not as much discriminating as looking out for the safety of these students.

There are so many kids who play sports, and to some of those kids, a sport can mean everything to them. It is not fair to take away something that means so much. I believe that every kid, disabled or not, should receive that same chance to play on a sports team. Everybody should get the opportunity to participate in a sport, whether you're deaf, missing a limb, or in a wheelchair.

"Perks of Being a Wallflower"- Being Accepted

In the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, a boy named Charlie is a freshman in high school and his best friend Michael has just committed suicide. Although this may seem like a huge, huge deal to some, Charlie accepts it as an obstacle of his life, and this book (in my opinion) represents his journey to climb over it and somehow move on and grow as a person. Although he faces many more obstacles throughout the course of his ninth grade year, I feel like a really big issue for Charlie was the conflict of acceptance, and fitting into the school after losing the one person who really understood him.

For anyone, this would make for a pretty intense conflict. The issue of acceptance and how hard one strives to fit in is an issue at any school of any age level. I feel like in this story, though, the issue of acceptance wasn't really a main idea of the story, but one that was weaved throughout the book. Charlie shows that he wants to make friends and be accepted when he meets some seniors in his school. These seniors were the misfits and the kids who didn't really "fit" into their grade, and I think Charlie had feelings like those too. When Charlie joined forces with those seniors, I feel like he lost himself in bad decisions, and started to do drugs, sneak out, and disobey his parents, although all Charlie wanted to do was make friends. I think Charlie learned here, firsthand, that fitting in may mean taking actions that you're not really comfortable with in the longrun. Charlie never wanted to get addicted to cigarettes at such a young age, but because he wanted to be accepted into that group, he had to take measures such as those.

I feel as if fitting in and being accepted is a really big issue nowadays in our society, a bigger issue than it should really be. My opinion is to not push your own limits, and just do what you're comfortable with and be with the people you know make you happy. Almost everyone has been face-to-face with a decision like the ones Charlie has, and had to ponder how much it means to them to fit in. I feel like this may be a way of dealing with the grief that Charlie was.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

The book Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is a realistic fiction, coming-of-age novel, but is also a huge suspense and somewhat of a mystery. All those genres combined made for a great plot-line, involving the protagonist, Josie Cormier, and a school shooting that killed her boyfriend Matt Royston and nine other students at Sterling High School. The shooter, Peter Houston, happened to be Josie Cormier's ex-best friend; he was an unpopular boy in High School who was bullied horribly and felt he had nobody to confide in. This resulted in Peter going crazy, killing ten students, harshly wounding about twenty more, and permanently scarring everyone around him.

I believe that this book has many hidden morals and messages. As time goes on, even after a year, Josie is still engulfed in sadness, even after graduating. This is understandable, as an experience like this would definitely be traumatic and heartbreaking. But I think that the author is trying to teach us a lesson by putting us in Josie's shoes, and that lesson is that sometimes you just have to move on with your life (keeping what was lost in your heart) and not get swept away by the past. Although the author or any of the characters never really delve into the full meaning of this message, I can see when they show the characters a year after the shooting happened. Again, I know Josie has reason to be sad, but I think the author has kept her sad and gloomy throughout the whole book to show us as the readers that there is always an alternative, which is moving on and continuing to live your life without that dread always surrounding you.

Although this isn't exactly in the book, in the Acknowledgements section, Jodi Picoult writes: "To the thousands of kids out there who are a little bit different, a little bit scared, a little bit unpopular: this one's for you." I interpreted this as Jodi Picoult is dedicating it not to the kids that are like Josie, who were victims of this horrible shooting, but children you were like Peter-- kids that had to jump to actions such as these to make themselves acknowledged or even just heard. I think it is so brave of this author to really put herself in the perspective of a killer and why this killer might have done what he did, instead of doing what so many other authors might do, which is put themselves in the shoes of the victim. I also think she dedicated the story to the kids who are "different," "scared,"and "a little bit unpopular," because they are the kids that may be obligated to feel alone like Peter did, and maybe (it is highly unlikely) take actions such as he did. Jodi Picoult probably didn't want anyone to feel alone, and dedicated the book to those children so they could relate to it.

I understand this book because I feel like almost everyone has been in a place where they feel alone. Even at family get-togethers, there are times when you feel alone and wish there was someone who felt as you did. Sometimes you're with a bunch of friends and they're saying something and you don't get the joke, and that can make you feel alone too. These are really common situations that show that it doesn't take much to feel alone or sad. I think that the author Jodi Picoult really showed this through dynamic characters and a shocking, suspenseful, and beautifully thought through plot line.

Text-to-World Connection--Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks

In the picture book Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks, one antagonist, Fox, shows a text-to-world connection. The book is about a half-blind Dog and his friend, a bird named Magpie. In the exposition, one of Magpie's wings is severely injured and she can't fly anymore. Dog, being a good friend, allows Magpie to sit on his bag while he runs and enjoys the same sort of rush as flying gives her. In the climax, though, Magpie goes to Fox, a faster runner, instead of staying with her loyal friend. To me, this seemed like a poor and selfish move on Magpie's part, especially since Dog was doing the best he could with what he had. The conflict of the book is the way Dog and Magpie's friendship could now lose strength, and the problems for both protagonists.

The text-to-world connections I noticed were in cases of bullying. After Fox takes Magpie, he drops her in a desert and abandons her, and tells her she now knows what it feels like to "be alone." I related this to bullying because, as seen, she is receiving abuse, and it is delivered in a way that a lot of people in the real world also bully others. A lot of people who bully bully because they are insecure about their own problems, and take it out on others. Fox was alone when Magpie and Dog were friends, and then wanted Magpie (although she did nothing wrong) to feel what it was like to be alone. I've heard about people bullying homosexuals because they themselves are homosexual and feel bad about themselves for it. That's one of the ways people react to their own problems, is to make others feel bad about the same problem they may have. After thinking about this, I realized that this may be because nobody wants to be in their own boat, and doesn't want to be alone, especially when they could be judged or harshly bullied. This makes sense to me, because Fox didn't want to be the only one who was alone: he wanted Magpie and Dog to feel how he was feeling, which was sad, lonely, and jealous of them. This was a huge connection from the actual text to the world, and shows that even picture books aimed for kids can show huge resemblances to middle and high school life, and just the world and way of living in general.

This story really showed me and probably showed elementary school kids that being a bully like Fox was really isn't a great way to win someone's heart or make friends. This reminded me of "Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville, the short story we read at the beginning of the year, because the boy bullying Vincent about his sexuality was homosexual too. This seems like a pattern, and I realized that if you don't want to be alone about a specific problem, insecurity, or issue you're undergoing, then instead of making someone else feel bad about it, you could try and make them feel better about it. That may even make you feel better about it, too.

How Do Different Looks Look?

Cover of Looks by Madeleine George

In Looks by Madeleine George, the story is told in the perspective of two different teenage girls who attend Valley Regional High School. Although the author tries to make it seem as if the two girls have very different views and lives, I think that their perspectives are actually more similar than they seem. They both have many traits in common. The two girls are Meghan, a very overweight girl, and Aimee, a somewhat anorexic girl. Although they almost sound as opposites (and I believe they are supposed to), I managed to find many similarities between their characters.

The main similarity I found is that both girls try to make their selves smaller, and not only physically (although they do), but mentally too. In school, both girls try to hide themselves. For Meghan, hiding is a matter because she is bullied badly, so she hides to find a safe and comfortable zone where she can just be her. I think this is because overall Meghan needs an escape, and that relates the story back to Aimee. Aimee mentions throughout the entire story that she needs an escape from not eating, and although I'm not exactly sure how because I've never been in that position, I can understand how having an escape might be necessary. They both need escapes from the ton of kids at school, and I see how that may end up causing stress on a person. Sometimes, I get nervous before tests or drama performances or interviews or even essays. A thing you can do is to take a break from stressing over what you are nervous of and instead have a relative escape. Things I like to do are read, run, play soccer or even just go on walks or be with my friends, simple activities, otherwise that anxiety can build up and overrule someone. I think that's how Aimee and Meghan both feel, how they both need an escape and something they can do but they just can't find one. Because of this, they both try to make themselves invisible and not noticeable, but end up feeling ignored and sad. This is a cycle they're both going around, just in different ways.

Although I notice similarities, I also noticed a few subtle differences. Throughout the plot I've noticed Meghan has tried to take everything in and in someway tries to get everyone to like her and be her friend. She tries hard to make everyone like and appreciate her. I noticed Aimee has a very different attempt on high school. Instead of trying to make everyone like her or try hard to make friends, Aimee pushes people away and they end up trying harder to be her friend. The first year at camp, when trying to make friends, many people tried to push others away because of many different reasons. Others tried harder to make pals so that they wouldn't have to be alone. I admit I was one to kind of let people come to me instead of being the outgoing one in the situation, but that may have just been because I was shy. This reminded me of the way Aimee lets people come to her, and Meghan tries harder to befriend many.

Not Out of the Blue -- "Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville

Cover of Am I Blue by Bruce Coville

I recently read the short story "Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville. While reading, I recognized that a big part of the story was how the protagonist, Vincent, started to develop and evolve. In the beginning of the story, Vincent was lonely and different, and I think in a way this made Vincent feel ashamed about the way he was. Towards the end of the story, Vincent grew into a whole other person. I think in a large way, Vincent developed over his internal conflict of doubting himself. In the exposition, Vincent shows that he is vulnerable to Butch Carrigan and the other bullies when he is pushed face-first into the puddle. In that excerpt, Vincent doesn't stick up for himself. I think this is because he's full of doubt and maybe he's not okay himself with who he really is. When Vincent pushes himself away from the doubt, you can see he's seeing his sexuality and bullying and just the world in general in a new light. 

I think the climax is when Vincent states, "It was like seeing the world through new eyes." He is referring to his "gaydar," or vision that makes everybody who is to some degree homosexual turn blue (or at least some light shade or tint of blue.) But as he sees all of those others that are blue, I realized that Vincent starts to become more okay with being homosexual or at least somewhat. I think this may because he no longer feels alone. When he says that it was like seeing the world through new eyes, I don't think he was necessarily only talking about the blue. I also think Vincent's perspectives had changed and he saw the world in a different way. I also think Vincent reached a change when he gave everyone the vision for 24 hours. My first reaction was to question his motives of doing this. I realized after some speculation, that Vincent didn't want to be different anymore; he wanted it to be acceptable to be gay.

In the resolution of the story, I really noticed the change from Vincent's beginning character and Vincent's character at the end. I feel as though at the beginning, Vincent couldn't and wouldn't stick up for himself because he really felt that the way he was was wrong. I realized that Vincent had changed when, in the end, he wrote: "If I caused you any trouble with Blueday, I'm sorry. But not much. Because things are never going to be the same now that it happened." I think this is a valid example of Vincent sticking up and being able to defend his actions, simply something he wasn't capable of carrying out in the exposition of the story. I really think this shows a vivid character change from beginning to end in this short story.

Once I finished the story, I began thinking about how this connected to the world. I think a lot of high schoolers and middle schoolers can find themselves in situations like these at any given school or time or place, and I think the reason Vincent was given the blue vision was so that he would feel less lonely and know that there were others in the same situation as him. I realized there are a lot of ways that kids who are bullied can be helped to feel less lonely, even if one of the ways isn't blue vision.