Childhood, Tranquility & Personality

 In the book "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close", by Jonathan Safran Foer is about a boy named Oskar Schell that goes on a journey to find what a key, which he found in his father's room, opens to. Actually this journey is about finding a way that he can try to overcome his father's death. In the end, I think that he really finds no way to try to stop grieving but just understood more about other people's lives in order to find more about himself and responsibilities.

In the book when he is with Mr. Black he goes to the Empire State Building to find one of the Blacks. They both think they found her but they start to argue who is going to ask her. In this point it seems as if childhood never leaves and it seems as if it is always hidden somewhere within us. One quote was when Oskar admits one of his secrets. It was, "I told him I felt like I couldn't do it, and he said it was OK to feel like I couldn't do it. I told him it was the thing that I was most afraid of. He understood why." With this quote I think that this shows resolution because he was able to realize one of his fears. Many people don't realize that they aren't capable of doing everything, and sometimes don't accept the truth. With this situation in the book, I think that Oskar feels insecure without the presence of his father. He feels that his father is kind of like a super power that helps him make believe that anything is possible. Oskar doesn't realize that he was able to find who the key belongs to without the help of his father but just with faith. In the world many people believe that a certain object or a certain person brings them good luck, but actually it is that it makes them feel secure and sure of themselves that anything is possible. But when that object or person leaves they feel insecure, but what they realize is that with or without the object they can accomplish anything. 

Another part in the book is when Oskar is trying to find where the key belongs to, but has done nothing over the weekend. He is bored and says that he keeps the "Black" key separate, with a Band-aid because he thinks that it helps him be closer to his dad. He says, "Sometimes I like to touch it just to know that it was there, like the pepper spray I kept in my pocket. Or the opposite of that. " I think that with this quote he is trying to say that we like to keep our childhood within us and sometimes we don't want to grow up because life then becomes much harder. There are sometimes when we don't know how to face obstacles that have crossed our way and want to go back in the days when our troubles weren't that hard. Many people go through obstacles that probably don't seem hard, but actually really are when we haven't experienced it. We sometimes believe that the worst things can't happen to us, but when it does we need to find a way in order to overcome the problems. For example, Oskar would have never expected the death of his father, but he goes on this journey that he realizes that many people have also gone through the death of a loved one, but have found a way to keep on living their life. in life we never know what to expect we just have to find a way to overcome the obstacle once it happens.

In conclusion I think that one thing that we should hang on to is our childhood because it is what molded us into the type of person we are. It helped us define it and because for many, I guess, was when we are the happiest and nothing troubles us. As we grow up our troubles we confront are harder and harder and we always try to find a way to overcome them or find a way in which we are able to find tranquility. As we grow up also we learn to accept all of our flaws and along the way we are also able to define we are as a person much better. Any moment can make a difference in our lives, it just always depends on our perspective towards the moment.

  

Triumph Over Obstacles (EC)

      This photograph is a picture of beets on top of what seems like the leaves of the beets or some other types of leaves. This photograph was taken by Elad Lassry. The color of the beets is bright and intense while the colors of the leaves are dark. The color of the walls is a bright, yet dark turquoise. The color of the walls in the background is the same as the leaves and as the beets. There are also mirrors behind the beets, in which the beets are reflected from different angles and are shown with different colors, such as a blue, green, and red.  This photograph reminds me of the book Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac because Naomi shines now in different activities after the fall which causes her amnesia. The book and the photograph show us how some people shine, even though there are rough patches along the way.

      This photograph shows that some people can shine even if there are hardships down the road because the beets are really bright and they are on top of the leaves. The leaves aren't straight and smoothly laid out, but uneven. This shows the problems and the troubles that people go through every day. For some people their troubles are really hard to overcome. For some people their troubles aren't as bad. In the book, since Naomi fell and had amnesia, some of the people that she knew wanted her and was forcing her to be a certain way. Her true troubles were finding out who she really was and deciding who to trust. In the end, Naomi finds out who she is and what she likes and most important who to trust. She is the one that overcame all her troubles, at least the most important.

      In conclusion, many people don't overcome their troubles, instead they avoid them. They avoid them because instead they become a different person. Some in order to end their problems also end their lives. For example in the book, James, Naomi's friend has suicidal thoughts and has planned to end his life in order to not let anybody down. He almost came over his problems because one he didn't end his life; instead he went to rehabilitation center. He isn't fine, but he is doing better. Some people triumph because they were able to be better such as the radishes that are bright and on top of the leaves. The radishes represent how some people shine and overcome their troubles. 

True Meaning of Friendship

     In the book, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin is about how Naomi has an accident and loses her memory from sixth grade and backwards. Everybody that she meets has pity on her because she lost most of her memory. Many people try to make her fit in and try to fill her in on what has happened in most of her life. The one that helps her the most is her best friend, Will. Will tries to keep Naomi up to date with about everything that has happened in her life and let's Naomi decide her opinion on each event that has happened in her life. Also, in the book there is James who sent her to the hospital after she fell and stood by her side at every moment until he knew that she would be okay. Sometimes even though the truth is unpleasing Will tells her everything, even if he knows that she will not take it necessarily well.  Friends should always be by our side no matter how rough the times we spent are. 

     In the beginning of the book, when Naomi was brought to the hospital by a boy named James Larkin she thought actually that he was her friend. She thought that he was her friend because he was the one that took the risk to take her to the hospital. He was technically the one that rescued her. In the book it said, "'If I had been thinking at all, I would have said you were my sister. No one would have ever questioned that.'" Even though he did not prevent the fall, he was the one to take her to the hospital. Before this accident, Naomi didn't know who he was he was "invisible" to her. True friends would risk anything to see that they are okay. There are also some friends that seem to care about us, but when the moment comes to help us; they'd ditch us and let us suffer. These aren't true friends because they should always stick by our side Sometimes friends are unexpected and sometimes people don't realize who our true friends are because we don't want to be the one that sticks out. Friends should go through the rough and smooth moments together.

      Another part in the book is when Will gives Naomi a ride home. It was raining pretty hard and Naomi saw James again walking in the rain alone and soaking wet. In the book it said, "'I don't mind the rain!' he yelled. His hair was already soaked. 'James,' I said, 'get in the car, would you?'" We locked eyes for a second. I raised my eyebrow. He shook his head the tiniest bit. 'I'm fine,' James repeated. 'But it's storming,' I protested." Many people would say that this doesn't really matter, but actually it is the small moments that people spend with one another that count, especially with friends. Even though Naomi doesn't know James that much, but only the fact that he saved her and took her to the hospital, she takes him out of the rain. It is almost like she wants to take him out of the darkness and into the light. Since James is also having troubles in his life with fitting in, she tries to lend out a helping hand.  True friends try to help them whenever they need it. Something as simple as helping them with their home work to saving their life. Friends stick by their side no matter what.

      In conclusion, I feel that friends are sometimes hard to define. Everybody has a different definition of friendship. I think that the true definition of friendship is a person matter what gender that are but a person who sticks by your side and help you when you need the help, but also help them as well. A friendship is like a perfect machine, and when one of the parts don't work anymore; there is no longer a friendship. A friendship should also involve work from both "work" from both people. Not only one friend helps one of the friends, but both of them helping out each other. I guess also friendship involves confidence; how much one friend can tell the other. Also how a friend helps the other one out. If one of the friends is helping them to get hurt, then it is not a friendship either. To you, what is your definition of friendship. 

Personality Defines Us

            The book, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, is about how an adolescent, Naomi, falls and injures her head. Within this injury she forgets anything from the sixth grade and backwards. She forgets many important parts of her life. She forgets her parents' divorce, her best friends, and the ones she can relate to. When she "comes back" into her life she realized that the ones that she heard were her friends aren't really her friends. She also realized that the ones that she didn't pay attention were really the ones that should have been her friends. Before this accident, she was hidden from the truth. Sometimes we don't accept the truth even it is what we experience every day. 

            In the book for example she sees that the boy she goes out with doesn't like her for who she really is. In a scene in the book after homecoming, ace asks Naomi her if she want to do something. Naomi says no because she knows it is inappropriate. In the book it says," 'But honestly, you've been acting so weird lately,' Ace said quietly.  Maybe because I can't remember anything? I thought bitterly. 'Like yelling at Alex in the car, what was that about? And now you're in this play? And your hair!'" Naomi no longer has this prospective of doing everything every girl does. She "comes back" as a decent person, but mostly as herself. Her boyfriend liked her because she portrayed herself as someone that he liked, but not herself. In the book Naomi is having trouble with just being herself and ignoring what other people tell her to be. Sometimes some people tell a person to be a specific way in order to be liked, but sometimes just being yourself is what leads you to greatness.

            Another example in the book is when Naomi and her dad go to meet her dad's fiancée, Rosa. Naomi does not acknowledge her. She doesn't accept her because she is not someone who she can relate to and someone that she doesn't know. In this scene her dad tells her,"' Because sometimes, when someone wants to give you a gift, the best thing to do is accept it.'" With this the dad is trying to say that sometimes people should be a certain way to give "the right impression". The dad is forcing Naomi to like Rosa, even though she doesn't like her. She is being forced to like her, when doing things by force usually doesn't result positively. We shouldn't portray someone that we are not because if not we wouldn't be liked.

            In conclusion, this book tries to tell us how we should not change for a person. If a person doesn't like us for whom we are then they shouldn't do anything to change us because that is who we are. Our personality is who defines us, and if we change our personality; then we are someone else. I realized that sometimes we act like other people because some people want to fit in. This usually happens to new students or to people who have amnesia. They seem to do this because they want to feel that they can be appreciated also, but they are appreciated for whom they are. We shouldn't be forced either because then we are not ourselves, but we then seem like a doll. Dolls are toys that are portrayed to be perfect. Even then they aren't perfect because they don't have the opportunity to be who they really are. We aren't perfect either because if we were, then we are not human. 

I Can Cross Any Obstacle Because I Am Me

     The poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou is about a person who knows that can overcome anything. She knows that she can overcome anything because of her personality. In order to define a person we need to know who they are, which is their personality. Also many people live almost a double life; at school they are one person and at home another. Many people don't like others because of who they are, but they can't do anything about it because it is who they are. Some because they don't like a person, they treat them like dirt. So the ones that aren't being liked have to be strong and overcome anything with their personality.  We can't do much to change who they are so we have to deal with the fact that they are themselves.

     In the poem, the author says that no matter the way they are they can overcome anything and if not they have to deal with it. In the poem, for example it states "Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries." Here in this stanza, Maya Angelou is trying to say that if people wanted to see them fall and treat them like dirt, they are the ones that will weaken with their tears. They will be weakened because they are strong and overcome any obstacle. Another example in the poem is when it says, "Up from a past that's rooted in pain. I rise. I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide." Here in this part of a stanza Maya Angelou is trying to say that the person was past all the pain and able to overcome it. All the troubles are left on the past. Now this person is strong; they learned from their past and knows who she is defined as a person. Overall a person can overcome any troubles with their personality.

     The way I can relate to this poem is because even though I know I am not like the others I can surprise them. I can surprise them because I have my own personality who defines me. Another way I can connect to this poem is because some people have been treated like they are nobody, but now they are the ones that are weak. They are weak because they thought they could become superior by destroying others. People can be superior by being themselves and not worry what others think about them. The ones that are being "crushed" can overcome anything, but mostly it starts with confidence. Confidence is usually the key to do anything a person wants in life. Also personality is the key to anything also.

Love, Life & Family

     The article, "This Woman Lost Her Legs in a Tornado to Save Her Children's Lives" was about how a woman decided to risk her lives for her children. Her children meant so much that she covered her daughter and her son with her body. Her children were okay, but her house was destroyed just like her legs. Both of her legs were hurt really badly, that one of them was only half attached to her body. Her children called for help and thankfully she got medical rescue on time. Her children saved her life just like their mother had saved their life. Love between this family was so strong that they would do anything to see that they are each alive.

     The main purpose of this article was to show that a family should love each other at any moment and help the whenever they need help. Love between families should be so strong that they would care for each other no matter how bad the situation is. They should hold on together through moments of happiness just like in the moments of anguish. For example, in the article it said that, "...she kept her promise to her kids: They all made it." This line means that they would hold on together like a family should with all their love and keep each other safe. Family is like a promise. You promise that every member should come out alive each day with health and love. Family involves more than just a person; it also involves children that came from a mother, and they have a greater value. So the children should be happy that their mother had them, if not they wouldn't be alive; that is why there is love. Love is the fuel to keep a family together today and every day. 

     The way I can relate to this article is because my family always has stuck together. Thank god nothing bad has ever happened to us such as a tornado in which our lives are at stake, but I know that when a tragedy, such as death has occurred, we stick together. We help each other relieve that anguish inside of us. Just like something good has happened, such as a new year, we celebrate that together. As people notice that a family should risk everything that they have to save a loved one; something as small as clothing or even something as big as life. (Hopefully no one gets to risk their life for their family because nothing bad will happen to them.)Love helps tie a family together no and forever. How is is that your family loves and cares for one another?

     

     

SAT's and life?Too Much stress?

***SPOILER ALERT***     
     In the book "The Taker" by J.M. Steele the main character, Carly, takes the Sat's and desire to go to Princeton. She has been anxious to know what her results were. When she hears her results, she is devastated. One she won't be able to go to Princeton, and two who is the mysterious guy that calls her. In the book the taker is a person, most likely a guy according to the clues given, who tells her if he would want to get a better grade. She accepts, but now lets see if she can keep her secret. I think that sometimes not everybody gets the dream to go to the school they want to. I think that Carly is to over confident about herself that thinks that she can ace everything, but doesn't know who she is yet.  
     I think that Carly is to over confident and does not know who she is yet because in the book there is a part where she and this character Ronald are supposed to study, but end up going to a party. Anyways during those thirty minutes of studying, she keeps on asking how do you solve this problem. Ronald says it is so simple and tells her the formula on how to solve that type of problem. She then tries to show off that she knew that, but she really did not know it. Since she is the popular girl at school she also thinks that she has to be a perfectionist. She completely bombed the test and now has to cheat in order to pass it. Also she does not know who she is completely because when she goes on a "date" with Ronald, she didn't have this weird hatish feeling towards him any more. She started to like him as a friend. And now is starting to feel uncomfortable with the guy that she thinks she likes at least.
     I can connect to her life because there is somebody that I now that loves to be a perfectionist, but didn't pass the SHSAT. She know who she is,but now she has to show her true self. I can also connect to this because neither did I pass the SHSAT and couldn't get into Stuyvesant. I honestly would never cheat and I know who I am. It is just that sometimes I don't like the fact how sometimes many people think that I should be a perfectionist and I know Ia m not because I am human. Humans make mistakes and they are not perfect. Also there are people that I talk to that I thought I would never talk to. I also realized that life moves on no matter  what. So there is always hope at the end.
   

-Life-

   In the book, "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Nizzini there is a teenager named Craig. He is bulimic and has thoughts of suicide.He has now ended up in a physciatric department and realizes how bad he has ended up and doesn't find a reason to be the way he is. He is in the best high school, has an awesome best friend, and most of all has a family that loves him. I think that he has thoughts of suicide because he isn't confident of himself; he worries too much of others and his appearance towards others.
   I feel that Craig has thoughts of suicide becaus he isn't confident enough. In the book when Aaron got a girl, he wanted the same one. He wanted her. Also when he was trying to get in to the good high school he extra prepared, even though he was ready. He didn't believe that he could do it in himself. Aaron,lt that he was prepared and he took a shot at the test. I realize that Craig likes to be sure of himself. the biggest differencr between him and Aaron is that he wants to be sure; the other just guesses. Life isn't supposed to be guessed at. Life isn't a game, it is real. One little mistake could ruin your whole entire life, unless you don't care where you are headed. Everything is important in life and we shouldn't ruin it.
   In life, many people take life as a game, yet so many people take it so serious that they start to freak out about life. It think that this is what leads to suicide and other physcological problems. Many have to do with life and not knowing how to handle life. Life is almost like a glass ball, and if you make one mistake you can drop it and your life can end there. We should worry about life, but not exaggerate because it can lead to bigger problems.

**People should DEFINTELY read this book, even though it is kind of boring. Yet it is awesome**