Blog Reflection

I learned about myself as a reader and a blogger that it's good to stop and think about your book for a while and to understand where your book is coming from. Usually, I read a book and I don't really play much interest into it, other than the fact that I’m reading it. By blogging, I thought I kept up with my idea and thoughts about my reading books. I benefited by blogging because I learned to dig deeper into my stories and their conflict, rather than focus on the book as a whole. I learn to take chapter by chapter of a book to fully understand themes and main ideas.  

Writing online is no different than writing in a notebook. You can write the same things you would say in a notebook, but the only thing is you should be cautious about what you are saying because your privacy level quite knows that everyone can read your blog. I fine writing online can be liberating rather than limited. When you are online, the only way you can be limited is by having a maximum amount of characters to write with. But otherwise, when your online writing, I think as long as you let your thoughts flow and leave ideas arising you should be fine. 

I think people are less real online because many people probably would not know who you really are. When you are online, you can put yourself out there as if you are a better person then others, but the only reason they do that is because half the people on your site probably don't know you and would believe the first thing they hear which is just a part of human nature. I think most teenagers abuse the freedom they have online, especially sites like Facebook, because they don't know what they say now can harm them in the future later.  Maybe teenagers are very out there, meaning they put photos and videos, which are probably not appropriate and they curse and say things that show the false personality of who they truly are.  So having a Facebook gives you lots of freedom which kids abuse because they think what they say on their now wouldn't affect them in the future and they're wrong. 

This happens all the time where people type things that they wouldn't say to a person face. They could call you "ugly", "hairy", whatever the case is, but they wouldn't tell it to a person's face. This is bad because you can’t be physically harmed when you tell a person these things but if you say it face to face you never known how that person may react. 

I probably won’t keep up or make another blog because I honestly don't see the point of having a blog when you can just speak to someone in real life. But, if I had to make one it would probably be a food site. I would have recipes, images and cooking tips because I love to cook and would love to help others too! In general, I do think blogs has no point because if someone really wanted to know you, they could just meet you in person instead of commenting on blogs or making one of their own. 

Romeo & Juliet Essay

Can foes love? This is a question I had all throughout “Romeo and Juliet”  by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet are really in love with each other, but due to the fact that Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet, there supposed to be enemies and not be ‘lovers.’ Romeo and Juliet have a profound love for each other but being that there opposites,  Montague’s and Capulet’s,  turns their love ‘forbidden’ because they are constantly getting separated by their families and the fact that there are foes.

When the tragic play begins, Romeo and Juliet clearly didn’t know each other very well. But, as things elevated it became as if they have known each other for such a long time. They met during a party and right as they got to know each other better, the Nurse stops them and that is when Juliet finds out Romeo is a Montague. “My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, that I must love a loathèd enemy.” (Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 152-155). This quote is powerful because it’s telling us that Juliet is in love with the only man that is the son of the only man she hates, she saw him too early without getting to know him much and Juliet is saying she hates love for making her fall in love with her worst enemy. “Is she a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt.” (Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 131-132). They both have the same thoughts of being opposites and loving each other deeply. I think Shakespeare added the fact that they were enemies in the play to show what they would do for each other and how far they were willing to go for each other.

Romeo and Juliet cannot be together during the day, but that doesn’t stop them at all. Romeo comes to Juliet balcony scene where they talk about how they want to be together.  Juliet tries her hardest to be with him, but it’s just like something always gets in the way. “Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 37-39).  What Juliet is saying is forget about your dad and change you name. Or, just tell me that you love and I’ll stop being a Capulet. This shows how Juliet gets out of her way to tell Romeo that she loves him with all her heart and is willing to do anything to be together.  “I take thee at thy word. Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized. Henceforth I never will be Romeo.” (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 53-55). He replies that he trusts her words that he knows she loves him and he says he loves her too. Now, he has a new name and will not be Romeo again. Both these quotes really show how they go out there way for each other. The Nurse calls Juliet within, which proves that Juliet and Romeo have to secretive about their relationship with one another. Every time they try to be together, someone always calls and/or something always goes wrong.

Towards the ending of the play, Juliet plays “dead” so she doesn’t have to marry Paris as her father would like her to do.  She wants to be with Romeo and that is where her heart belongs.  Friar Lawrence gives her a portion so she can sleep and miss the wedding reception. Juliet doesn’t understand the consequences that she at risk at the moment she wanted to fake her death. Romeo finds Juliet dead in the tomb house and he kills himself. “O you, the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss, a dateless bargain to engrossing death/ here’s to my love! O true apothecary, Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” (Act 5, Scene 3, Lines 113-115/119-120).  These two quotes tells us when Romeo dies, and it shows us that he can’t live without Juliet and Juliet really does mean the world to him. Juliet wanted to be with Romeo so she faked her death to be with him and he ends up killing himself. Whenever, they want to be together it’s like something always stops them.

In conclusion, William Shakespeare has brought a lot of themes into his play. The main ones for me were young & forbidden love, innocence and opposites. Romeo and Juliet show their profound love for each other by going out of their way, but it’s like every time they want to be together something always goes wrong. They met at a party but that’s when they realized they were enemies and knew it wasn’t going to work out, the balcony scene, Juliet faked her death and Romeo ended up killing himself, so the few moments they wanted to share together ended up in death. They both went to extremes to prove their love for each other. Montague’s and Capulet’s, being foes is what I think got in the way because it shows that Romeo and Juliet weren’t supposed to be together. From the inception of their love there were obstacles that prevented their love to blossom. Sometimes forbidden love tends to have a tragic ending, and love doesn’t always have a happy ending!

Stargirl by: Jerry Spinelli

The book I am currently reading is Stargirl by: Jerry Spinelli. This story is about a girl that comes to a new school and everyone ignores her, but this one boy Leo Borlock, get his heart captured by her.

This book shows me an issue that happens in all schools. Why? Because she is a new girl coming to a new school and everyone shuns her. Nobody looks at her, talks to her, or even gives her a smile. But this one boy Leo, just loves her, he wants to go to lunch with her and her pet rat, just do everything with her. There’s a problem, the kids at her school don’t want Leo to talk to her, because they want her to be alone, the outcast. This always happens and it’s like you are that one person that gets suck in the middle and you never know what side to pick. Leo need to have his confident level up and really needs to stand up for himself. I think that he is scared to go on Stargirl’s side because he doesn’t want the whole school to be mad at him, and on the other hand he doesn’t want to hurt her feeling because she is new and he really likes her.

I think Leo should think about who he wants to be with because having the whole school mad at you is really depressing because that’s a lot of people, but you don’t want to see the love of your life so sad, having a say of who you want to be with is big because it just shows that you can stand up to your beliefs and not be scared of others or what they might think. This to me shows true love, because many people get intimated because they want to be on the side where most people are on so they don't feel left out. To stand up to hundreds of students to go for a awkward girl that you love, is very brave because not many boys/men can do that. So, I think that is something Stargirl should look out for.  

In closing, I hope as I read further Leo stands up for himself and realize that Stargirl is better than having the whole school, your friends control you, because you love her and I would love to see them together throughout the book. 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian By: Sherman Alexie

The book I am currently reading is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian By: Sherman Alexie. This book is about a 14-year old boy Arnold, who leaves to go to an all-white school in Reardan. This is a drastic change because no Indians usually goes to school outside the rez, so this could of been very interesting or something that he wold regret for the rest of his life. 

Arnold is very strong, but he doesn't show it. He always comes off like a dumb, helpless kid. This brings down is self-esteem because sometimes when you come off like that people want to bully you and call you names. I am connecting this to the real world now. When you go to a new school  students look at you very weird like almost saying in their head "Why is he/she here?". That doesn't put you in the right state of mind at all, now does it? When Arnold walked into his new school, many were shocked because their saying we are all white and there is just this one Indian here. But instead of everyone just saying why is he here? He came off brave first before they even had time to bully or talk crap about him. He walked in the class like nothing. I mean of course he was nervous and kept asking to himself if he was ready for this... but he never showed it on the outside at all. 

I learned from this book, that don't let anyone bring you down, because at the end of the day your the stronger person. An Indian goes into a all-white school, going in to class showing nothing on his face but just bravery. I mean yeah your going to have doubts about whether or not you can do it or not. But it almost seemed like he put a switch in his head to just show that he can do it. 

Blog post on another blogpost

  Link to Amelia's Blog Post: 
http://allflyby.blogspot.com/2013/02/mercy.html

            I read Amelia Olsen’s blog post about Mercy by Jodi Picoult. I thought she did a very good job about telling us what the book was about, a short summary, but not too much information to overwhelm the post.  She didn't really like the book, so this made this blog post a little more interesting than the rest because it engaged me to want to want to read more so she could tell me why she didn't like it and how the author could improve. She even gave a new title for the perfect, which I thought from reading this post sounds like a good title! She made it easier to understand and she compared this book to others.

            I have not read this book and I never heard of it before, but from reading this post I understood a little of what she was trying to say because of all her evidence and feedback about this book. She thought the book was interesting but she wasn't a fan of it. So what she did was compare it to other books by this author (I believe) and she said the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ things about this book to others. She even took it to the author’s point of view and said “I think that the author challenged herself when writing this one”. I like that she said that because it almost puts her in the author’s shoes.

            I thought this blog post was engaging because although she didn't like the book she was able to explain the main parts and put her thoughts into it as well.  Amelia made me change my ways in doing a blog post. Usually, in my post I always write a summary and just explain my thoughts and what the author did well so entice me to read the book. But, as I read this one it made me want to say the ‘bad’ things about the book and just say what the author could of improve on especially if I read more than one book from the same author.


            Amelia Olsen did a great job on this blog post. I thought it was informative but had constructive criticism in it as well. She did well on making it easy to understand but keeping it engaging and interesting to want to finish the blog post! She was able to even go in the author shoes and say “I think that the author challenged herself when writing this one” meaning by reading other books by this author she thought the author could have done better, which could be true. Finally, she was also able to improve the author’s way of constructing the book such as changing the title and ways to make the book better.

Pretties, by Scott Westerfeld

The book I am currently reading is Pretties, by Scott Westerfeld. This book has me a bit confused and angry. I say that because of what Tally has become. She is different. She is now a ‘pretty’ and she has a new perspective on life… being selfish and vain.  

Tally is changing. She is in a whole new world now. There is a saying ‘out with the old, in with the new’…Well this is what Tally feels like. She goes out late at night, makes out with boys and gets hangovers. This is shocking and disturbing to me. She is no longer the ‘sweet’ girl she used to be when she was an ‘ugly’. It is almost like being a ‘pretty’ was poison to Tally. She has become that pretty, but ‘bad’ girl. I am not sure where this story is going.  My feeling is…Can Tally really handle being pretty? Maybe it is not what she thought it would be.

Shay is Tally’s best friend (at least when they were ‘Uglies’).  She is no longer a part of Tally’s circle of friends. Shay was always supportive to Tally. She taught her how to ‘love’ herself and be true to who she is. Shay was what kept Tally focused. But the tables have turned…Shay has become a ghost in Tally’s life. It’s like she is not even there. She is lonely without her friend.  Tally now is acting like Shay is a ghost. It’s like she is not even there. 

I could feel shay’s pain. I mean if your friend betrays you, it is not a cool thing. I feel that Tally is not being true to herself. She is acting up to fit in the crowd of the ‘pretties’. She is acting shady with Shay because she wants to become popular… I mean she wanted this all her life… But how far will she go? 

I hope as I continue to read this book, their friendship will get better. I mean they have been friends for so many years…why ruin it now?

l8r, g8r , by Lauren Myracle

I am currently reading l8r, g8r , by Lauren Myracle. This book has my skin crawling with curiosity. Zoegirl is acting quite strange with Doug. She is making Doug control her and that is perplexing to me. Zoegirl is sweet, and she cares about school, and to me she is the ‘nerd’ of the group because she is always on point with her work. 

Zoegirl is a timid girl. She doesn’t like speaking around people while other people stare, nor does she use foul language. But when she gets a bad grade she wants to kill herself. Zoegirl is in love with Doug and will do anything to stay with him. Doug tends to tell her things like she is a slave, or he would tell her mean stuff, for instance he told her “go get me something to drink”, or “I can’t hang out today, I’m chilling with my friends”. The sad thing is she seems addicted to his harsh words. She would sit there and say “ok, ok, ok” and she doesn’t stand up for herself. She needs to find herself, and realize that she is a special person. She does not need Doug to make her feel better. Zoegirl is actually acting like she is his ‘slave girl’, and that is just not cool.

If I was in her shoes I would let him have it… and I mean have it seriously. I would let him know that I am a human being just as he is. I will put a stop to his abusive behavior, and tell him, “No Doug, I’m not going to do that! You always control me and I’m tired of it”. She needs to show Doug who she really is… and not be afraid of him. Obviously Doug has a ‘big head’. He thinks it is all about him. But again he feels that way because she is allowing it by obeying and doing everything he says.

Also, zoegirl is acting so different with Doug than she normally will around her friends. I say this because, when maddie says something mean to her, or just make a joke, she instantly yells and get angry at maddie. But, with Doug if he said something mean to her, it’s a different story. She acts like its ‘okay’ and nothing ever happened. She panics around Doug, it almost seems that he would hurt or do something terrible to her… so why is she with him... She needs to get away from this relationship.

Some advice I would give zoegirl is ‘be a leader not a follower’.  She needs to tell Doug how he doesn’t need to control her, and how she is her own person. Zoegirl is scared, yet she is in love with Doug which is so complicated. She doesn’t want to hurt him, but what about herself. You have to love ‘yourself’ first before you can love someone else.  Zoegirl just needs to let him know she is not a dog and she has a life.

I hope as I continue to read this book, zoegirl will become a stronger character, and love and appreciate herself and not let Doug control her life.