Reading reflection 7

 

Mercy

Jodi Picoult

Read Pages 1-59

 

                While I have read many Jodi Picoult books before I have never really liked her writing style. To me it seems like she has an idea and writes it without much research, this book however is different. I find that she goes into just the right amount of detail about the past of the clan and why they are essentially trapped in Wheelock. It gives the book a whole other dimension that I’m sure will come into play when the “twist” starts to occur.

                A few predictions I had while reading the book were that for one the past of the clan will come into play in a big way. I’m not too sure how she is going to do it but I think that Uncle Angus is on to something saying that Cam’s Great Great Great Grandfather is not happy. A second prediction that I made is that Cam and Mia will have an affair. Although Cam says he loves his wife it doesn’t seem like he does. I feel like he just says it because it is another one of his obligations. I think he is attracted to Mia because she is a world traveler and that is something that he aspires to be.

                A huge question that came up for me was near the end of my reading Mia and Cam had officially met, Cam asks her “Do I know you?” and she thinks back “Yes, I think maybe you do.”. There are so many possibilities here as to why they might know each other. The first might be that History repeats itself and this potential affair could be mirroring events that happened in the past. A second is that Mia is involved with the murder. It is a little suspicious to me that she showed up to Wheelock the day of this huge and unusual crime, maybe she is not as innocent as she seems.

                A connection that I made while reading was a text to world connection. This being about the idea of assisted suicide. My mom told me about a case where a mother went to jail for killing her two sons who were suffering from Huntington’s, her sons were suffering so badly that she could not stand to watch without doing anything so she killed them. I know people have their own opinions on things like assisted suicide however I think that Jamie did the right thing. There is no point to living in pain when there is no hope of recovery; I think it is better to die with dignity than losing your mind slowly after being trapped in a body that is shutting down. I think that a letter from his wife saying that she consented to the whole thing would have made the situation easier but at the same time I can appreciate the reason they didn’t have one.

Character iPhone: One Mississippi

 

Character iPhone front: Apps

iLingo AB- Daniel uses this app to keep up with the slang in Alabama.

Sonny&Cher tube- Daniel and Tim both have this app and use it to watch Sonny and Cher on the go as well as comment on episodes.

House Tracker- Daniel uses this app to track where he has lived over the years.

Dancing 101- Daniel downloaded this app in hopes of learning some new dance moves for the prom.

InStyle AB- Daniel and Tim consulted this app before choosing thier tuxes for the prom.

Medic!Nose Bleed- Daniel gets nose bleeds so often that he keeps this app on his phone so he knows what to do in a pinch.

XCountry Messanger- This app provides free messaging across the U.S, Daniel uses it so he can stay in touch with old friends.

Moving Truck Tracker- After the previous moving truck disaster Daniel downloaded this app for future moves so he ca keep track  of the families belongings.

How 2 Cut Grass- This app comes with lots of tips and tricks for keeping the grass short.

Weather Comparer- When Daniel first moved to Alabama he was missing home so much that he decided to download this app so he would always know what the weather was like in Indiana.

Character iPhone back: The back of Daniels iPhone is a blue tuxedo with a green tie and a pink corsage. I did it this way because so far in my reading this is Daniels biggest moment, stepping out of the car looking sharp. It was a big deal for him and Tim to get these powdery blue tuxedos but they went out and did it together. I think this really represents the strength in their friendship. Even though they had ordered the standard Navy tuxedo's they decided they could rock the sky blue as long as they did it together. It shows strength in the face of potential crisis.

http://jamesstruthers.com/

Another great musician only this guy is a local! He graduated from St.Pauls high school a couple of years ago and is trying to make a career out of his musical talents. I can tell you that I really love his laid back style, very similar to Jack Johnson's type. He has been featured on Keeping Up With the Kardashians (I know this is not the best show to be featured on but good for him!) he plays around town and is incredibly good live. Take a listen to his music and let me know what you think! (I suggest looking up you me and optimus prime on you tube, probably the best videa I've ever seen)

http://www.kodaline.com/

This is a website that you won't be able to access on the school computers. I highly suggest that you check it out though! This is a band I discovered warching Grey's Anatomy. I fell in love with their song "All I Want" it's beautiful and emotional. Unlike most bands that I find where I only like the one song, I listened to the rest of the songs and realized that I loved them! Please check them out and leave a comment on whether or not you liked their music :)

Question #1

I have to say that I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do after high school. There is a lot of pressure on all of us to decide now what we want to do for the rest of our lives. This is an unattainable expectation because we have no idea what the world is going to throw at us or what we may fall in love with in a few years. Think about it; say we decided today that we want to be an astronaut so we shut ourselves out of all of the arts programs but ten years from now we end up hating our job as an astronaut and wish we had become a lawyer instead. That would entail going back to school for up to 8 years and that complete change in career paths would cause a lot of stress on us and our family. That is why there is so much pressure on us as teenagers to decide what we want to do and make the decision that is right, whether it’s for a comfortable lifestyle or an eccentric one. We really don’t know how we will be feeling in ten plus years when we don’t know how family friends the economy or our location will affect us. I would love to suggest that taking a year off to discover yourself is the answer to all the problems of deciding your life at an early age but the reality is most of us just want to be done with school, we want to “get it over with” so to speak. Waiting around until a career path falls in your lap just isn’t a realistic way of dealing with the stress. I know that life is long (it’s the longest thing you’ll ever do) but nobody wants to spend their whole life going to school to figure out what they love. At the same time I’m afraid I’ll end up going with a career path that was more or less laid out for me and the only reason I choose that particular path is because it was secure and had a generous income. The issue with this is I could find myself stuck in a job I don’t have any passion for and end up staying at because I don’t hate it enough to quit. My real fear is never finding what I love.

Question #2

Comment #1:  http://sjkennedy95.blogspot.ca/2012/10/blog-post_19.html?showComment=1350914727308

 I commented on Sarah’s blog, I really like this picture and the comment you wrote about that wasted minutes add up, thinking about that what is your opinion on movies? If you think about it it is kind of a waste of time to be sitting in front of a screen for two hours when often there are things to do. I obviously watch movies like everyone else but do you think all of those hours that go into the movies are wasted minutes adding up, or time well spent?

I was thinking about how much time people waste on tv and video games and once I saw Sarah’s post I had to comment. She suggests that every wasted minute adds up and I thought what about those wasted hours? Sure some movies make you think but those movies could probably be shortened into shorted segments and I am pretty sure that James Bond is not a real thinking movie. Even though movies can be fun and entertaining why not instead make your own adventure? I’ve definitely been inspired be movies and T.V shows but I wonder how I can inspire others. I am not suggesting that movies are bad and we shouldn’t watch them but next time you sit down to a movie maybe make a mental note on what you could have been doing instead. This will force us to realize that we are missing out on life because of all of our time spent on screens instead of outdoors in the fresh air getting exercise. Just to add a bit of irony to this post, just think of Wall-E, we don’t want to turn into fat floating blobs instead of people.

Comment #2: http://jdcreativewriting.blogspot.ca/2012/09/six-word-memoir-5.html?showComment=1350915028218

I commented on Jamie’s blog, this is a beautiful sentiment. I love that you can look at this picture and remember that there is sunshine in dark places. Have you ever used this thought to get you through any rough times you may have had? What other coping mechanisms have you used in the past?

I was looking at Jamie’s blog and loved her explanation of her six word memoir; it made me wonder if this was something that she looked at when she was feeling down. I think that everybody uses different things to cope with sadness and grief and I thought the way she put her description was just so beautiful she could probably even help other people dealing with difficult times with this thought.

Comment #3: http://samscreativethoughts.blogspot.ca/2012/10/surprised-at-how-exciting-it-is-to-see_764.html?showComment=1350915401396

I think that even if people end up stumbling across your blog they will enjoy the thought you have put into your posts. Your creativeness might keep them coming back! Have you ever stumbled upon any websites that you have enjoyed and gone back to? If so what was it?

I think that this is an example of somebody underestimating themselves. Sam said he didnt think that people would return to his blog after stumbeling upon it the first time. I think that people will come back because of all of the creative thought he has put into his blog. Everything is well laid out and there is lots of artistic posts that will keep people intersted. I wondered if he had found any other web sites that he had found because I would love to check them out and see what kind of things catch Sams eye.

Writing Reflection #3

About Blogging:

 

Blogging is a lot more work than I anticipated. I can't imagine running a blog for a living. Each post takes so much thought and time that doing more than two or three quality posts a day is difficult. I do enjoy this new way of learning it makes classroom work more interesting. I wish we had more time on the blogs in class so we could talk to friends about possible posts and ideas. It’s difficult to be creative for me when I fell I have to live up to expectations. I also find it difficult to write about my work, this class is definitely helping me with that.

 

About Six Word memoirs:

My six word memoirs are probably my favorite thing we’ve done in this class so far. I am a big fan of pictures with stories and in my opinion this project just adds that extra dimension as far as that goes. It made me look at the pictures in a different way and try to find new meaning for the words I wrote as well. I found myself editing the memoirs I had previously written so that they would fit the pictures more accurately. All in all I had a lot of fun with this project!

This six word memoir is pretty obvious and applies to so many aspects: school, love, family, friends etc... I chose to use this as a six word memoir because it does encompass such a wide variety of life. I chose this picture to go with it because it seemed to represent the situation. I honestly have everything I NEED however there is more that I WANT. The picture was obviously taken on a beach and what more can anybody wish for in life? A tropical vacation is the top of most peoples lists, so it seemed ironic to use this situation to mimic how even though we have so much, we still want more.

This is a six word memoir I wrote about rumors. I chose to use this picture because it seemed to accurately represent a rumor. A rumor starts as a spark, you tell your friend a secret. Then it turns into a sparkler, they tell their friend. All of a sudden you are standing in the middle of a fire because the rumor has caught on, everybody knows and everybody tells their friends. When the rumor finally quiets down you are left with nothing more than a path of destruction, a ruined career, social life or family life. The picture represents that first stage when all it is is sparks, innocent sparks. Because after all nobody will know, unless you tell.

This is a picture of my aunt and uncle when they were younger. I used this picture to contrast the memoir because they look so sweet and innocent in the picture but the memoir puts a different spin on it. The memoir suggests that we might not be all good and that is probably true, to quote the song Quiet Crowd by Patrick Watson: “Everybody’s got a little wrong in all the right places”. This song resonates with me and inspired me to write the memoir because I think it is true, nobody can be good all of the time. Including the innocent kids in the picture.

This is a picture of my little brother when he was five, I chose this picture to represent the words “I’ll grow old and be strong” because that is what he has done. He has grown up to be so strong standing up for what he thinks is right and learning so many new things and I am proud of him. Seeing him now in contrast to that picture is incredible, in the picture he is so sweet and innocent. Now he is old and no longer that innocent, he has to explain things to me that I don’t understand instead of how it used to be: the other way around. This memoir was something that I hope to live up to but I used a picture of Chris because I think he has.

This is a picture of me and my dog Cedar. My memoir says, “You’re always there, no matter what” because Cedar is always there. His love is unconditional mostly because he doesn’t know any better, but every day after school he is always at the door wagging his tail. He is such a cutie and he is so sweet, if I am ever feeling sad or lonely I can play with him and he will never get tired of it. I chose this picture because it just reminds me of some of the good times me and Cedar have had, at the lake, in the back yard and playing inside. I love Cece and I’m so glad he is in my life.

Reading Reflection #4

The fault in our stars

John Green

Read Pages: 3-313

Dear Mrs Mclauchlan

            Thank you for recommending this book. It was amazing; I went home and read I couldn’t even put it down. It just seemed like it should go on forever because it was so real and truthful. The characters moved me in their honesty and wittiness. The whole time I was reading I couldn’t help but wish they were real people so I could be their friend with them.

            Since I read the whole book it would be pointless for me to discuss questions or predictions because I know what happens. Instead I would like to describe the connection I felt to Hazel. From the first paragraph I knew she was going to be my favorite character. When we were introduced to the support group that she was “forced” to participate in I fell in love with the book and her all at once. I could really connect to Hazel, we share similar views on religion and even though I myself am not sick, the writing was so relatable I can imagine myself feeling the same way. Wishing people didn’t pity me because of my sickness, but still taking the inevitable sympathy for granted. Let me explain; throughout the book Hazel has a very obvious wish that people would see her as a “normal” person, see her as Hazel rather than Hazel with cancer. However she is shocked when people don’t greet her with the accustomed sympathetic eye, like Van Houten did. I believe she found this refreshing but obviously at the time he was hardly even a man, he was a blubbering drunk pig, so it was obvious that his greeting was insulting. When Hazel and Gus began getting to know each other I could not stop smiling, it was as if I was Hazel, falling in love. It was adorable the way they instantly understood what the other was thinking and I hope to one-day find something similar. (Hopefully with somebody a little bit healthier) I cried from the moment Hazels mom told her they (her and Gus) “needed to talk” (page 211) until the very end. I just could not disconnect myself from Hazel and imagined finding out the love of my life was going to die. It was horrible for me and it wasn’t even real.

            The strongest character in the book by far was Hazel’s mom. This was revealed throughout the book but the most obvious sign of strength was when she revealed her plans for the future. I couldn’t get past the live “I won’t be a mom anymore” it just made me so sad, but reading that she got past her fears of her daughter dying and knew that there was more to life made me so happy. You would have to be so strong to want to help other people through a situation as hard as pediatric cancer especially having experienced it all her self. In my opinion though, she would make an amazing social worker because she does have experience dealing with everything and can help other parents do the same.