Winter Time

Throughout my book, The Glass Castle, the Walls family continues to live in all these places in the west like California and Nevada and Utah. For me, life has been the opposite. I grew up In Georgia and Minnesota and so the east coast is more familiar to me. The thing that I think about sometimes when reading is that they love living in the desert and in the hottest places in the country. They love the sand and hot climate so have never experienced the snow and cold of Minnesota this time of year. I think of back when I lived in Georgia without the cold winters and kind of always hoped I would be able to experience it one day but the Walls havent and dont seem like they want to either. The kids have fun exploring the desert and finding scorpions and snakes. In Minnesota the snow right now kids live a completely different way and decide to explore the snow piles and make forts out of the white fluffy powder. I think if I were one of the kids in Jeanette's family, I would be begging them to move to the cold weather. I would hate moving to desert after desert but they seem to like it just as much as I like the snow. I find it funny how kids with very similar back rounds can find adventure, happiness, and joy in the most different things.

Outside Reading 4

As soon as Mr. Walls loses his job, or rather quits his job to look for gold and more money, the whole family starts to return to their old lifestyle of hunger and madness. There is no food in the house for weeks at a time and so Jeanette and Brian have found ways to get food that many would consider as wrong. They go to play at friends houses and steal food while there or get food from other kids' lunches at school during recess. Brian got caught stealing a jar of pickles from the neighbors and had to eat it as punishment since it was spoiled. The family is starting to fall apart again and no one will do anything to change that or help out. The family also gets into a big fight when Jeanette tells her mom she is hungry cause she broke one of the unwritten rules of their family. It is to never complain and to believe that their family is actually living a big adventure. Thw Walls family tried to keep this long optimistin life and finally it is starting to break down and become more realistic. After Jeanette says that, her mom and dad get into a big fight and try to fight over who is to blame. When a family just breaks under pressure, you never know what is to come of it. If they will break up or if they will be able to pull through and find a way around their problems. I am curious to see what happens next with the Walls family in The Glass Castle.

Christmas is coming!

In December many people all around the world celebrate some of the most important holidays for their religion. For the Walls, they know that Christmas is a time of present giving and celebrating too. It is different for them though because they dont always have enough money to get their kids the things they want. Jeanne, Lori, and Brian had been to school long enough to know about Santa and presents so theire parents had to explain the situation to them. The Walls know it is silly to believe in Santa and flying reindeer. They also understand that life in the desert means that their is not enough money for the family to pay for food, let alone luxury presents. For Christmas, their dad decided he needed to do something special so he took each of his daughters and son out into the desert at night and asked them each which star looked the best to them. Lori and Brian both got a star for Christmas and Jeanne decided that the planet Venus was the best, so her present was the brightest star of them all. I sit and think sometimes if I would have accpeted a star as a Christmas present when I was younger. The answer is probably not because I had already been accustomed to the spoiled lifestyle of barbies and puppy dogs. The Walls can see more importance in the little things that everyone else takes for granted.

The Glass Castle 3

Reading The Glass Castle this week, I started thinking more about what it means to live in poverty. The Walls family almost takes it as a learning experience and choose to live that way rather than having to do it. They teach their kids the importance of life and survival skills and it doesnt seem as though they really need a home or civilization to live. When they need food, they kill for it just like animals in the wild would. When they need water they drink out of streams and riviers. Their lifestyle is the exact same as just another animal in the wild who doesnt have a home either. But unlike other people and families tha are homeless, the Walls dont seem to care as much. They find their way around all obstacles and challenges and tell their kids the truth no matter what. Their family as a whole is stronger because of it and is able to face anything that comes in their way.

Research Paper

For my research paper, I decided to do the subjest of cheating related to education. I thought it was ironic because in heakth class the other day, i had my notes out during class and my teacher turned onto the subject of cheating. We are in our mental health unit right now so the subjects of ADD and ADHD came up in class. I thought it was interesting how as im hearing about my teacher speak I can also look through my notes and annotations from class to compare. I never realized though that cheating could be related to self-esteem and mental health issues. So listening to Mr. Nilsen speak, I decided to take some notes on the issue and it has helped my paper greatly. Its just another reminder to me how all my classes can relate to eachother in different ways. Everything relates to other things when we least expect it.

Outside Reading 3

This week in The Glass Castle, Jeanette and her family have been traveling all around the US to escape the people who want her dad. As her sister, Lori, and her were talking, they started to think about all the places the had lived. They counted until they lost track at 11 different cities. In my life, I have traveled and lived in many different places but none of it compares to how much they move. When thinking about how their lives would be different, i realized that it is pretty much impossible to have any friends but themsleves growing up. Because of this, Lori, Jeanette and Brian all get along pretty well and dont fight often. I also think about how my brother, Chris, and I relate to eachother. In the beginning we lived in the same house in the same place for a really long time. We fought and didnt get along that well until the first time we moved to Minnesota. Through the move we became close because there was no one else for us to turn to, having left our friends behind at our old home far away. In The Glass Castle, and jeanettes life overall, my guess is that her and her brothers and sisters got along better than a family living in a city of many people. It seems that through the troubles the Walls family face, there are also some positive sides to growing up how they are.

Thanksgiving break

On my thanksgiving break, we took a long car trip all the way down to Huntly, IL. Since I still had a cold we decided to skip the plane ride and take the journey in a maroon honda odessy through the fields of corn and soybeans. As we are driving through, there is a lot of time for mindless thinking and nothingness so i couldnt help but to think about Jeanette and her family living without a home, under the stars. On the way to Illinois there are many open fields and it reminded me of the way she described there new home. I was thinking about how cold it was at this time of year and how I dont think I could survive in such harsh conditions. The walls family must have had to deal with all of that and more. One other thing I thought about was on Thursday evening, my family got together and had a big feast for thanksgiving. After reading, I realized that their family probably wouldnt be able to have the fun and joy of eating a big meal baked my their moms and grandmas. Jeanette had cooked her own food while at home so imagine how life on the road was. No stoves and ovens to bake delicious pumpkin pie and turkey with. Its very humbling to think about those less fortunant than you on those days of the year when we have so much given to us.

The Glass Castle 2

This week for my outside reading, The Glass Castle, Jeanette and her family are still living under the stars without a home. She is dreaming off and thinking about the desert because the conditions are much like she expected the desert would be like. They are living out of their car but the kids still dont realize that they wont be going home any time soon. If I were put in the position of Jeanette's mother, I don't know id I'd be able to handle the situation quite as calmly as she had. She almost convinces her kids that they are just there to "live like the indians" and will be just fine. She doesnt once break down and feel ashamed of what she is doing with her life. She knows how to be strong through tough points in life. In America there are many families without homes that we dont think about every day. We dont realize the troubles they have to face or how strong they must be for their kids to grow up and become something. In The Glass Castle, we know that, in the end, Jeanette grows up to be successful and almost ashamed of the past. She knows how hard her childhood was but is still ashamed of where she came from. Her mom did not grow to become something like her daughter so when Jeanette sees her on the streets, she tries to ignore the old lady still in rags. Her mom is proud of who she is and where she came from and so chooses to not accpet the help her daughter gives her. Jeanettes mom is a very strong character who knows how to accept life and work with trouble.

Weekend Birthday

This weekend on saturday was my birthday and although I spent much of it hanging out with friends and eating birthday cake, I also had time to sit down and read a little bit. On busy weekends It is sometimes fun to take a break from it all to just sit and read. This weekend I focused on reading my new outside reading book, The Glass Castle, about the girl whos life was so bad from the beginning that she didnt know it. Later saturday night, when my friends came to wish me a happy birthday, sit by the fire, and give presents, I realized how lucky I am to have the friends and parents that care so much about me. Jeanette's parents dont care for her the same way that mine do. She has to cook her own hot dogs where my mom went and baked a full cake just for my birthday. She has to take care of herself at three years old where I, now a sixteen year old, still have parents to help out and care for everything that happens to me. This weekend I also got very sick and completely lost my voice from a cold that has been spreading around school. My parents have been so helpful taking me to the doctors and making soup for me to get better. In the story, Jeannette's parents take her away from the hospital that is keeping her safe and take off her bandages that are keeping infetion away. As soon as they bring her home, still burned from the fire, she is right back to cooking hot dogs and playing with fire again. I feel so lucky to have parents and friends that care enough about me on my birthday and the days that I am sick to not make me fend for myself.

The Glass Castle

For my outside reading book this quarter I am reading a book called The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. It is a memoir about a little girl growing up under harsh conditions. Her family gets kicked out of their house and are forced to live on the streets. Jeannette, who is only three years old, finds it fun to sleep under the stars for a night, it reminded her of living like the indians. At the age of three she is very developed in everyday skills. She can make her own food and cook her own hot dogs on the stove which leads to an accidental disaster one day which sent Jeannette to the hospital. In the process of cooking, her dress lit on fire and burned her body from head to toe. as a result of this the parents have no money to pay for doctor bills and so kidnap her from the hospital and take her to live on the streets. Im excited to see how the story unfolds as Jeannette and her family survive the rough life of homelessness and poverty in The Glass Castle.

All My Sons

Im my opinion the play, All My Sons, was very interesting and adressed many issues that I found enjoyable to read about. First When Chris and Ann are deciding to get married, there is conflict with Chris' mom, Kate. She believes that her other son Larry is still alive and that they should not give up on him. Throughout the play, Kate thinks that there is still hope until the end when Ann finally reveals his suicide note and the family is completely shocked. After all that the family has been through the one key element that seems to remain is hope. There is hope of Larry coming back, hope of getting married, and hope of being a family again. In the play, All My Sons, the Keller family pulls through life always thinking things will get better and never giving up on hope.
Also there are other elements that make the story so exciting. The stuggles the family faces and the personalitly of the characters shows how much time the author took in writing the play. First the stuggle with Joe and the plane crashes reveals a side of him that had before never existed. He actually led to the deaths of twenty one people just for the protection of the family. When he admitts to it in the end, his son, Chris, thinks that he took it to far and can not find a way to forgive his father. Athough he claims that he did it for his son, Joe also considers the fact that all of the people who died in the crashes could be considered his sons. It brings a new meaning to the title, All My Sons, because before he was referring to Larry and Chris and now it has changed to 23 people and all are important to him. We also learn how Chris' character is unable to forgive his father for what he has done and shows a side of hostility towards Joe. He calls his father and animal but not even that because an animal doesnt kill its own kind. Chris brings out a side of him that is not there when talking to Ann.
The last element of All My Sons that really adds to the overall effect is the setting of the play. The author does a great job in the beginning of describing how the house looks and refers to the beginning throughout the play. One example of a prop that truely meant something was the tree dedicated to Larry and how it broke during a storm. It is in a way almost foreshadowing to the suicide note at the end and we know for sure that there is no question about him being dead. The tree was all Kate had and once it was gone, so was Larry. In the end, the play, All My Sons, was interesting and enjoyable to read because of its theme, characters, and stylistic setting that brought the story together as a whole.

Jodi Piccoult

Throughout the book, Jodi Piccoult continued to amaze me with her sense of creativity and trickery. I started out reading one of her most famous books yet, My Sister's Keeper, in english class of the 9th grade. After reading that book, I fell in love with her style of writing. Mostly because she hits the topics that really apply to people my age and can connect with them in a really touching way. That book brought me to pick up another one also written by her called Songs of the Humpback Whale and after reading that I felt the exact same way as I did after the first. The reason why I pick her books out when I see them in the store is because I know that any book I read by her will automatically be enjoyable. After reading this last book, The Tenth Circle, I am now sure that it will always be true. In the beginning I was actually thinking that maybe this book wasnt going to be as good as all the rest but once I got into it, I now think that it might be even better than the previous ones. I can't wait to continue reading her books and advising others to do the same.

Outside reading end of book

The Tenth Circle is a book with many twists and turns to it. Throughout there were many things I saw that had obvious solutions and specific right answers. As the story progresses I found out that things are not always the truth; that things either arn't as they seem or are lies someone used to protect someone else. For example, we are convinced that Trixie has murdered her ex-boyfriend, Jason, because her hair, blood, and footprints are at the scene, she has run away, and there is no one else who I would expect to do it. In the end we figure out that Trixie confresses to her dad who takes the blame when the police find them. Her whole family, including her mom too, have confessed and are sent to jail until they can figure it out. When Daniel gets released, he walks to Trixie's mom's cell and explains that she will be out soon too. When we think everything is better and that Trixie will face the consequences, the story takes a major twist. Trixie's mom confesses to the murder and explains how. Trixie was just covering for her mom and made up the whole thing to protect her mom from going to jail. In this situation it seems that everything is going to be played out one way because it came as a shock that Trixie would even do that in the first place. The surprise distracts us from believing it could be any other way but after finishing the book and knowing how it ends, I realized how many aspects of foreshadowing were used. Throughout the book there were so many hidden things that are not interpreted the right way until the end. From the beginning it is known that the book will be filled with hidden meanings because of the words hidden throughout the pictures in the book, but not until after is it seen in the story and plot too. In my opinion, The Tenth Circle is a book definantly worth reading because of its use of great intellegence and trickery that makes it fun to read.

MEA Weekend

For our long holiday weekend I spent the time doing many different things. I went to a football game, hung out at a friends house, watched a movie, read, went to another friends house, read some more, got on an airplane where I read, flew to New Jersey to visit cousins, drove to New York and read in the car, went hiking in New York, read on the way back to New Jersey, watched some movies, got on and airplane and read again, and finally got home to read for the last time during my weekend of fun. The point if, you havent gotten it yet, is that I spent my whole weekend reading, except for the occasional fun hiking and movies. This weekend I realized that some books dont become interesting and hook you in until you get past the rising action and intro to the story. Before this weekend, I had (hate to admitt this) only read during the time we had to read our outside reading books every wednesday in class. I was regretting this on wednesday when I realized how much I still needed to read, but as the weekend went on I found that the reason I hadn't been reading is because I had never really gotten past the intro. On Thursday and Friday and Saturday and Sunday, I read a lot not only because I had to but also because the book finally started to become interesting. I think I finished atleast 3/4 of the book in this weekend alone. I learned this weekend that I just have to force myself to read the first couple chapters of the book once I get it so that I feel like I want to read it every week instead of feeling like I have to and then procrastinating. I learned this weekend that I need to find a new system.

Outside Reading

Trixie and her boyfriend have broken up, but Trixie doesnt want to let him go so she and her friend, Zephrus, get a plan together to make Jason jealous and want her back. They have a party at Zephrus' house and invite the whole boys hockey team; including Jason. While there, Trixie manages to flirt and do things with all the other boys that would potentially make Jason want her back. After everyone leaves, Trixie, Jason, Zephrus, and Jason's friend, Moss, decide to stay and play a game of cards. Being highschool kids, they raise the stakes and turn the innocent game into a much riskier game of strip poker which ends in Jason and Moss fighting and Trixie crying in the bathroom. When her father, Daniel, wakes up at the sound of her arrival home, he searches to find her curled up in the bathroom crying. She says, "he raped me." In this chapter of the book Trixie has the intention to only get her boyfriend back when her life is changed forever. The effects of her talking to the police and getting Jason arrested are shown in how she is treated at school a couple weeks after when she is brave enough to face her piers again. As she walks in she is greeted by name calling and pranks from the people she had once called her friends. We later find out that the story Trixie told to the police wasn't exactly the truth, but when explaining what really happened, things go from bad to worse. Her father who now has every intention to kill Jason at the first sight of him, must now hold back, thinking of his past and what it would do to him. It is not till after he hears Trixie screaming in the arms of him at the Winterfest does he really release his anger. The next day, a police officer winds up at their door explaining to Daniel what he had found. The news was surprising to everyone; Jason had committed suicide. At school the past few years a couple people have lost friends and family members for similar reasons. I think that there is no reason in life that peope feel the need to do that to friends or family or themselves for that matter. No one wants to have to deal with the pain and sorrow that occurs after an event like that. A book like The Tenth Circle really shows what impact something like that has on people and can teach us many things about life. We dont always know what people are going through because we havent experienced it ourselves, but hearing about it gives us a fraction of it and helps us understand.

Outside reading ... movie

As I was reading my outside reading book this week it occured to me that the book could be made into a movie. We have been talking about movies in class and in my opinion The Tenth Circle could easily be made into a movie that would be enjoyabe for girls and people in highschool. The plot would be exactly like the book's and the characters the same but there would be a bigger mental image of what really goes on at highschool. The setting and costumes for a movie like that would be very similar to what we hear about from the author. The elements would be the same, the way it is displayed would just be different. Trixie Stone's dad Daniel draws comics in the book so a movie could really show the meaning of his different works of art and skill. Trixie explains how she breaks a mirror in to pieces with so much detail that you truely have a vivid picture in your mind of what it would really look like. I think that making books into movies are just another way to transform a mental picture into a real one.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

How to Lose a guy in 10 Days is a movie I watched last week about two people in a bet with different friends who end up falling in love in the end. Its your classic chick movie that every girl loves and guys dread. While watching it i couldnt help but noticing all the things we talked about during class. The lighting of romantic parts was dimmed and set the mood of the scene where as parts of the movie where they were playing card games and laughing and having fun were more happy set and the lighting was very bright. Another thing I noticed was the music. Like with the lighting, the romantic parts had a calm soothing music and the happy parts had a music filled with excitement and well, happiness. The costumes and characters fit the movie's style and the actors were given rolls that fit what we think of them in real life. The drama of the movie related to the drama of celebrities and people in everyday life. The setting was that of a modern day city with all the parks and beautiful houses. It is definantly an enjoyable movie to watch, for girls atleast.

Soccer

With a soccer season there are times when you feel excited and times you feel sad and sometimes there are moments when you wish you were somewhere else. This weekend was our last game of the season and for a couple reasons, the emotions of everyone on our team were different. Some were saying they were glad it was over, others were sad. I think most of us were kind of angry though because we had to play our very last game 3 hours away in the city of Duluth. On the trip up there one of the girls was sick, another spent the whole time sleeping, and another doing homework. My status was socializing and watching the dvd player I was so intelligent to have remembered. In the end I guess I was excited to be able to spend our last bus trip together on a long trip we all had to face. The fact was, during the season a lot of us hadnt gotten along so well for whatever reason and were not always the perfect definition of a "team." The bus trip for me was just the end and resolution to a tramatic season. I felt as if it were the ending to a fairy tale where everyone was happy again, even if it meant ending the season. I think everyone felt the trip was worth it especially when we ended with a 3-0 win. Whoo!!

Outside reading 3

In the book, The Tenth Circle, Trixie stone has just seen her ex-boyfriend with another girl named Jessica. Immediatly, her friend, Zephrus, grabs her by the arm, discontinuing her staring gaze in their direction. She takes Trixie off campus to a place where they can talk and not be seen. Zephrus becomes the best friend that she can be and helps Trixie calm down. While reading this section of the book, I thought of the difference between having lots of friends and having one best friend. The difference is that a best friend knows everything there is to know about you and can help whenever. A group of friends are not always very close and dont know what you are going through when things happen. They dont care as much because there is more than just one person to worry about. In my opinion, I think a group of friends is important because there are many to help but within that group you should have one best friend because that person can help you specifically and care. In Trixie's life, her best friend Zephrus cares for her enough to help her through a tough time when everyone else just laughed.

Black Boy

In my opinion the ending of Black Boy was a little short of my expectations. It kind of ended without any surprise element incorporated. We knew that his goal was to bring his mom and brother up to Memphis and then to in the end find a way to Chicago. The true ending accomplished both of those things without any shocking twist which left me kind of bored. Black Boy the book, as a whole was surprising though. I found every chapter interesting because the customs of things in the early 1900s are so different then what they are today. Richard's life at home and at school surprised me as he got punished for what we would consider little things today. The segregation and difference in racial issues also brought on a different element. I have always been interested in the lifestyles and differences between my life and others. Richard Wright has done a great job in creating an eventful book of his life to imform others today what life in the 1900s was really like.

Outside Reading 2

The main character in The Tenth Circle is a 14 year old girl named Trixie Stone. She lives with her father, Daniel, and is very sensitive about her self image. As a freshmen new to highschool she is extremely self consious, for example, Trixie wakes up at 5:00 every morning to get ready for school. You would think she is getting all dressed up, pretty, but really she is getting dressed up to look like she just got out of bed, wearing flannel pajama pants and double long sleeve t-shirts. She takes a shower and dries it into a messy bun; the created look she gives herself is completely different than her true self. Her father can only hope that someday the true Trixie will come to accept herself how she really is.

Love vs Hate

The discussion in class about the strength of love vs hate interested me a lot. When I was thinking about the issue in class, my immediate reaction was hate is much stronger. It seemed reasonable considering revenge and the power people put into discussions can result in war or violence of some sort and also because there is so much more hate in the world than there is love. Once I thought about it more after talking with group members, I started leaning the other way. Hate might be more strong in force and physical strength, but love is more powerful emotionally. When you hate something, it doesnt always stay inside of you forever because people learn to accept and forgive eachother, but love is so strong that many times it result in a change of people's lifestyles as a whole.The people you love are the ones you make life-threatening decisions over and care about where the people you hate might also be important but many times you just keep it inside and never act. Love results in good and strength in a person where as hate only results in hatred and overall weakness in trust and care.

Outside Reading

For my outside reading book I chose, The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. I chose this book for a couple of reasons. One is because I have already read two books by Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper and Songs of the Humpback Whale, which I enjoyed very much. I like her style of writing because it is easy for me to read and shows the perspectives of all the characters. They also relate very well to my own personal life in many ways which is another reason why The Tenth Circle looked interesting. It is about a 14 year old girl who is in highschool and having trouble with her new boyfriend and life. The story relates to all highschool girls and the problems we face in school and life. Im excited to see what unfolds next in another book by my favorite author, Jodi Picoult.

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