Literature Letter: To Jerry Spinelli

Dear Jerry Spinelli,


Your remarkable book Stargirl forever changed the way I will look at the world around me. When I was in fifth grade, as a class, we read and studied this book. I enjoyed if very much, listening to the voice and enthusiasm of each character. It wasn’t until this year that I came to a realization of what an impact this one book had made on my stance of life. Stargirl’s behavior and example helped me beyond measure to find and know who I was, and all the bliss I was missing out on. As I looked back at who I was before, I was amazed to see how much an impact this one book had on me that I had never taken the time to be aware of. This is how my story goes.

I grew up in a home where self-esteem mattered, but I could never relate. In my earlier years of growing up, I felt out of place and like an outcast around other people and other friends. I had many great friends, but I never felt like I could fit in correctly. My family is a great wholesome family, I just could never look at myself and see the true me, I couldn’t abide to even looking at myself in the mirror, and by fifth grade my self-esteem was below zero. I could not find one good characteristic about myself that I could voice or even think. I was a big dark cloud of misery and I went into a serious depression stage. Because I didn’t know who I was, I started to evolve as someone new. I became mean and very cocky; I tried to hard to be in the popular clique, I stopped caring about school and my school work, along with acting as if I was too good for everyone else. My world was a big down hill roller coaster, and I could never figure out why nothing ever went my way.

By the middle of eighth grade I was a total mess; I developed habits of severe eating disorders, I started cutting myself, and I would do things that weren’t part of a good healthy diet. I was running away from me; something I could never end up conquering. And let me tell you Jerry Spinelli, I thought I was happy.

In the summer of eighth grade I came across your book Stargirl again. I decided to reread it because I remembered how much I adored it back in fifth grade. As I reread it I can remember paying particular attention to how Stargirl had acted, since her happiness was what I was searching for. I finished the book within two days and set it back in my bookshelf just as every other book. A few days later I put a lot of thought into the matter, and I then realized who I needed to become, me. Over the summer period I had changed drastically. I got out of every single bad habit that I had endured previously all on my own. I started to realize that I was of worth and that I had so many qualities that I never even tried to distinguish. I altered my thinking habits, and eventually saw the real me. I started making friends so much easier and I gained a good bunch of excellent examples. It wasn’t till this year that I recognized how I was able to make this drastic transformation. Just simply reading of a girl who liked herself enough to not care if she stood out, changed my life forever. She didn’t care what other people thought of her, all she cared about was that she was herself, and I too can now proudly say that I am myself and I know who I am. I cannot but only imagine where I would be at this time if I had not come across your book. Stargirl is still present in my mind and hopefully will always exist. Your character taught me to find my one and true spirit, and to not act as anyone else but me. Stargirl, though fictional, helped me defeat the terrible battle I was trying to conquer against myself. I ended up learning a great life’s lesson that will never depart my mind. And I now know and can tell you what true happiness is. Jerry Spinelli, thank you for helping me become who I was always destined to be.

Sincerely,

Tori Fairchild

Adolf Hitler

Today is December 19, 2009. Sixty eight years ago from today one of the biggest dictators of our society began his rein of power; Adolf Hitler. The story of Hitler is very fascinating to me. It amazes me every single time I read or study about him. He simply just became power hungry. One thing that I think most people don't discern is the fact that Adolf Hitler was NOT always a bad man. His life before his "rein of terror" was really just like any other rulers life.
He was born in Austria and grew up wanting to paint, though his painting skills were not very good. Growing up he maintained good grades and had high education plans for his future. At thirteen his father died. And at seventeen he went to Vienna to be an art student. He ended up quiting art school and as high school came along, his grades began to fall. At sixteen, Hitler dropped out of high school. After his hard work of trying to get into the fine arts school twice, Hitler quit all art. His mother died that same year. In doing so, he was given an inheritance from his mom and his aunt. So he was pretty well off by himself.
In 1913, Hitler moved to Munich, Germany because Austria wouldn't let him be a part of their army because he couldn't pass the physical. After World War I, Hitler thought that Germany was threatened, so he started to fight for Germany in World War II. In 1923, Hitler tried to take over Bavaria but he was stopped and put in jail for 5 years. While in jail, Hitler began writing a book called Mein Kampf (my struggle). In this book was every little detail to how he was going to slowly take over Europe legally. On December 30, 1924, Hitler was released from jail.
On December 19, 2009 (68 years ago) Hitler was named leader of Germany by Hidenburg. This one act of placing Adolf Hitler in a rulers seat, is what began the start of his terrifying leadership. As he saw what kind of changes he could make, he grew stronger and stronger in a way we all hope to never see again. Little by little Adolf Hitler slowly tried to take over Europe. And when he accomplished taking over the greatest portion of Europe, that wasn't enough for him. He now wanted the whole world in his own bare hands.
He thought of Germans and blond haired blue eyed people as the Aryan race (perfect race) and sought to make sure that was all the world consisted of. He made concentration camps all over Europe that were for the purpose of killing away those human who he simply didn't approve of. In the end he suceeded in killing over ten million people. Six thousand of them were Jews.
The fascination that I get from his story is the thought of Adolf Hitler actually being a good decent man. And putting him in the wrong seat made him more powerful than anyone would have ever thought.
I absolutly love the story of World War II and I love teaching it to people who don't fully appreciate it. Ever since I was little I have had an obsession with war stories. Hitler's is one that I have mastered in. I could write forever and ever about him and his series of events. The most profound thought that I get is how he wrote a whole book, published it, and sold it into society. Little did anyone know, this book contained all the secrets he used to take over so much of Europe. If only this book was a Twilight book, everyone would've known what was coming for them and a lot could've been done.
I love hearing and learning about Adolf Hitler and his rise to power. Hopefully the story sets a good example for those leaders in our world today.

"There must be no majority decisions, but only responsible persons, and the word 'council' must be restored to its original meaning. Surely every man will have advisers by his side, but the decision will be made by one man".

- Adolf Hitler

What about August being the time of Service?

A few days ago I received a a note in the mail from a family in our neighborhood. It was about their son who is diagnosed with Autism. They have been working for a while to get him treated. They apparently found a doctor in South Carolina who I guess has spoken in front of public audiences. They looked into it, and found that he is a specialized doctor who has worked on many more autistic patients and has been successful many time. So they put on a fund raiser for him. So this morning I went to that. It was actually very very successful. There were so many participating people who donated a good proportion of their money to this boys future. They had Domino's pizza and it was two dollars a slice, along with one dollar brownies, and they also had a silent fund raiser with little things that people had the option to bid on and all the proceeds went towards his hopeful future. I though a lot about this particular thing as I was on my way home. With the huge turn out of willing people who would give enormous amounts of money for a charity made me think of Christmas and how everyone gets in the spirit to serve and do charity work around Christmas. But then I had a thought. People give up their time to do service and give, usually, only around Christmas, at least that's when the most effort gets put into play. If you think about it through a homeless persons point of view, they probably all look forward to Christmas because of all that's done by communities and groups of people. I know that LDS churches usually some kind of service project for other people or people who can't afford their own Christmas. It's actually a very helpful and good idea to help those who are in need for Christmas. But it seems like it's just around Christmas when people think about others. I don't know, but that is just what I have observed. And when you think about it, in August are you focusing on what you can do for others? I don't think so. September? March? April?... Now days there are so many people who are struggling and are in need of regular things that we get to use and are privileged to have. In this hard time we should always be thinking about what we can do for others. I guarantee you that there is a family near you that is in need of a job and money. I live in an area where a lot of the people are their own business owners and have done pretty well (money wise) in the past. But, right now, aren't doing as great as they could be. Our neighborhood is filled with a lot of larger houses so when someone looses their job, they pretty much loose everything. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be hungry and not be able to afford my own food. think that it should always be our priority to think of others first. Especially when you're in the mood to complain, think of all that you have, because what you might wish you could change, might be another's pure wish.

I don't know

It's Saturday night, I feel like crap, had a harsh painful week, and I have absoutly no idea what to write about. So here we go, I will just be pulling things out of the hat right now. Lets see what I end up coming up with..

So.. Lets start off with my week. I woke up monday morning with a head ache and more nauseated than ever. But my mom, being the mom that she is, made me go to school. I was running a bit late because I couldn't function how I would normally function if I was feeling normal. I just had to move at a slower pace basically and I don't have the time to do that so I was a bit on the later side. So  my mom took me to school, and the minute I  walked into homeroom I started to feel sick again. So I filled out one of those sweet homeroom papers and went on my way to Mr. Woods class room. On my way, I stopped by my locker to grab a sucker, (something to take my mind off my ailing state of mind) and continued to my old science teacher. As I approached his class I just stood in awe as I watched the people just pile into his classroom. I went in and me and him started talking science. Because of him I am the nerb I am today, so we sat talking about Tesla, Gravity, Physics, you name it! It was a blast, then I noticed that it was two minutes before the homeroom bell rang so I hurried back to homeroom. As I was walking to my next class, I realized my weakness was slowly getting better. It was B day so I hurried to geography. In geography we learned about Germany and World War II. My absolute favorite subjects to talk about! This is pretty much how the rest of my day went. In my pits of despair, school actually ended up saving the day. (and my amazing friends who always try to make me feel good), But as soon as I walked in my home, everything came back. I wanted to run away, but the energy loss kept me from acting upon that thought. So I tried to just act as though I was feeling fine so my home would be happier. As long as everyones in a good mood, our home is pleasant. So I ended the day and went to bed. Tuesday was a normal A day. Pretty boring. Wednesday and Thursday were pretty normal days, but I was still in the sick mood for a the whole week. By the time Friday came I was quickly amazed at how fast the week went by. I wasn't the most pleasnt person through the week but I sure learned a good lesson this week. Don't take out your own inside feelings on others. It only makes things ten times worse..

A Day Of Thanks

Though it was not called Thanksgiving at the time, what we recognize as the first Thanksgiving feast was celebrated in 1621 by the pilgrims of the Plymouth colony along with about 90 Wampanoag Indians. The Pilgrims had suffered through a devastating winter in which nearly half their number died. Without the help of the Indians, all would have perished. After the first harvest, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer to God. The food, which was eaten outdoors, included corn, geese, turkeys, ducks, eel, clams, leeks, plums, cod, bass, barley, venison and corn bread. The feast lasted 3 days.

On November 26th it was 2009's Thanksgiving. I'm sure a lot of the blogs will be about Thanksgiving but I have a lot to say on the subject so I will also be posting about Thanksgiving.

It amazes me how many people don't know about the first Thanksgiving or how the Holiday came about. Living with the family I have, I have learned a great deal about history and part of my heart lies in the paths of history. My dad is a found and proud American and that is how he raised his kids as well. Growing up, my mom and dad would read us historical kids books to bed. Every once in a while we'd get a children's picture book but mostly, we'd have books about American history or some kind of learning book put into a childs words so it is understandable. My dads dad and my moms dad both fought in the Vietnam war and are still alive to tell the story. Listening to them tell their stories is something that I personally have a serious obsession for. My dad is one of those people who knows everything. He's probably one of the smartest people I know. One night before Thanksgiving my dad sat down with our family and retold the story of the pilgrims. After he was done telling us I had a thought burst in my head. I wondered if, without a day of Thanksgiving, would we be even more greedy than we are now. I feel like the one day of Thanksgiving sets the mood for most of the year. I know that in elementary schools when it comes around this time of year they always have a little lesson about Thanksgiving and then they make little crafts about the pilgrims and stuff like that. So going through elementary you learn about Thanksgiving and then by the time you reach junior high age most people are pretty much educated on the subject. I think that just knowing that there is a day of thanks each year makes us have a good attitude towards being thankful.  I'm not saying that we would be a greedy society without Thanksgiving, I just wonder if anything would be different without it.

Living in the world that we live in, we see greedy acts every day. Nobody is perfect but we do have a brain. We each have the ability to think before we act. That is a line that is used in my house often. My mom will just simply say "think before you act" as a warning so we won't have to suffer the consequences is we didin't watch our actions. I think that everyday we should remember to be thankful for everything. I can't say I'm very good at this at all, but I have learned why it is a good idea to always be thankful. We live in a free country, we have a roof over our heads, food to eat, running water. To survive, that is really all we need. Sure I think the world is ending when my phone gets taken away or I get grounded. But I know that I need to remember that I have a lot to be thankful for, so before I go off looking like an outrageous stuck up, I have a lot to be thankful for, and my phone getting taken away is not the end of the world.

 "Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds."

~Theodore Roosevelt

The Legend lives on.

Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream”speech on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington in front of the Lincoln Memorial. President Barack Obama gave his powerful and motivating Back to School speech on September 7, 2009, to all the students of America as to how they should be prepared for the following school year. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech is known as one of the most profound speeches ever to be expressed in American history. How could Martin Luther King's speech have impacted President Obama's speech to the students of America? How can we disregard the things that Dr. King and our President has suggested to change such as discrimination, stereotyping, violence, prejudice, and racism? And what impact did President Obama's message have on me and the students across the world?

President Obama's speech clearly stated his opinions at how serious he wants the students of American to consider and compose an education for their futures, and to make education an important part of each of their lives. When studying Dr. King's speeches and his expressed thoughts and opinions, I could identify that he had very tenacious beliefs for each and every enrolled student and would do anything to voice his thoughts out in society. I think that strong and firm beliefs are something that President Obama and Dr. King share. When I reread over the message the President verbalized, I wondered if Martin Luther King Jr. and his own expressed opinions had influenced thePresident in any way to fervently and strongly speak to the schools across the U.S. and express all the desires and hopes he had for each person individually. They both have great eagerness to save and better help this country and they both succeeded in changing the world's history forever.

Considering the hopes of our President and Dr. King we can each assume that everything they want is only to better our nation. When thePresident directs talks toward schools and the young adults, a common subject that's talked about is eliminating violence, racism,stereotyping, prejudice and things along those lines. Martin LutherKing also talked strongly on eliminating challenging things that are in our world and society. After reading some of the talks of PresidentObama and Dr. King, I've found that if we sat down the troubled kids in schools, who cause the major problems, in front of a television and made them intensively listen and comprehend everything that was being said, I think that their lives would be changed and their minds would be turned to the reasons for a safe school and not so much ways to cause trouble. And I truly believe that if just us average folks payed good attention to the thoughts and suggestions that they've expressed,we could benefit greatly for future possible circumstances. Learning and fully understanding the declamation these great men are presenting straight to us for our own benefit could have a serious impact on our thoughts and how we respond to those types of questions. The troubled parts of the society we live in could very well be changed or affected simply by if we listen or reread the Presidents speeches on those specific topics, and understanding the principles Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to proclaim.

As an individual, I have greatly cherished what these men have done to change world I live in, and make it a much better place. When rereading through President Obama's message to students like me all across the U.S., I have gained such a better realization to how important it is for every determined student to stay strong in their school work and keep away from the awful thoughts that come when the blessed people of this free country forget their great miracle that they have the opportunity to live in such a place as this, and forget what it truly means to be apart of this free nation, and end up taking it for granted. I have also learned a great deal of determination as I reviewed through the Dr. King's great speeches. He taught me to never give up on a firm opinion, because one day I could end up changing the world for the better. My hope is that everyone will eventually realizeand consider these great men and their anticipation on turning the world into a much better and safer place to live in.

Martin Luther King Jr. changed the history of our world forever. He impacted the way we as Americans will live. He had a dream and succeeded in following and reaching it, and by doing so he created a nation of equality. His goal was to make sure that every man in theUnited States was equally free. Our President is following the footsteps of Dr. King in making our nation a finer and choice nation. No more racism, no more discrimination. Martin Luther King Jr. is a legend, and as we follow in his footsteps and strive to make America a nation of equality, his legend lives on.

True Happiness

Once upon a time... there was a teenage girl who would constantly disobey her parents and get in trouble with the school. The cost of this tribulation was greater than she could ever imagine, but ended up being the greatest life's lesson. This is how my story goes.
My first year of Junior High was brutal. I wasn't trying to get in trouble, believe me, getting in trouble isn't my nature at all. But, for some reason, I would just end up in situations that I didn't purposely mean to put myself in. For instance, I was caught for cheating and my parents were called by that specific teacher that taught the class I cheated in and I ended up getting in the most trouble I had ever thought I could ever get in. But as my junior high years went on things started happening and I wished that that specific incident had been the source of all my other future incidents that followed and, unfortunately they weren't and it just went downhill from that specific happening. After a series of fatiguing events, I kind of turned into a whole different Tori. I didn't exactly turn emo but I did turn a little bit depressed and I just wasn't an all around happy person. And quite frankly I would probably assume that I was not generally a very fun person to be around. This was me for a good year and half or longer. After about a year I started getting into some really bad habits and I though I was participating in these habits because they would make me feel better but that was not what I got. Man, I'll tell you, I actually got so much worse. I went through this long brutal stage where I wasn't sure what I wanted at this point and I just stayed on the ugly path I was on, disobeying my parents and choosing the wrong ways of life. Until one day I had a talk with my conscience and I realized what I had been doing with myself. I wasn't being truthful to myself and I was doing things that I had never though I'd even get into. So I made up my mind to change. It took a good 5 months to get back to normal and when I finally was back to my normal self, I witnessed the greatest thing of my life.


Happiness: The quality or state of being happy.

One's life journey should revolve around being happy. I learned a great lesson that I wish everyone could know for their own. Happines does not come from choosing on your own. Happiness is the souls desire. I learned that I tried to find happiness on my own. And then I realized that  real happiness was sitting right in front of me the whole time. And it was just simply obeying the rules. I turned into a different person because I was desperate to find something that would make me happier because I wouldn't make the greatest decisions and I would end up trying to find something that would make it so I wouldn't feel sorry for myself or feel like a complete failure in life. That is what I thought most of the time and that is what led me to turning into what I was.
Know right from wrong. Know who you are. And stay true to yourself and don't try to change yourself because you feel inadequate. Know right from wrong and always have a set plan to what your choices will be in the future. Ask yourself: "Is it worth it?" Is it worth the trouble, the pain, the missery?
I changed my life forever from this experience because I realized who my true self was and I made up my mind that I would never go against myself again.
My sister mentioned something that will stay in my head forever. "Life is a climb, but the view is what's worth climbing to". 

Variety

Variety. Think hard about variety. The definition of variety is the state of being varied or diversified. While walking down the halls of Fairfield Jr. High I get to see variety play in many different forms. The people, the teachers, the genders, the looks I get to approach, the athetics, the so called "clique's", the genius's, the slower ones, you name it. Before seventh grade, I was very distraught about going to Fairfield because the majority of my elementry friends would be at Kaysville, but there was drama in sixth grade that led me to come to Fairfield. The first part of my seventh grade year was pretty brutal. I was wishing that I would've made the decision to go to Kaysville because it was hard getting used to new people and having to start all over again with friends. Then as second semester approached I was pretty happy with a good amount of great friends. I ended seventh grade pretty satisfied, but there still was a little part in me that missed the Kaysville friends. Starting eighth grade wasn't too terrible. Some drama had happened over the summer which led to a little decrease of friends but I still had a good number of friends. Eighth grade was a pretty smooth year and eighth grade summer was even better. Starting ninth grade this year opened my eyes to so many things that I had not noticed or picked up before. One of these things was variety. As I went about school each day I begun to notice all the variety our school has and then I started comparing with Kaysville. To me is seems like theres a lot of the "same" kind of people there. And there's a lot of cliques. Being a Fairfield I could see how variety makes a big difference. Being at a school where not everyone is the richest person on the earth. We have low income to extremely high income kids. And being in a school that has that people learn to appreciate everyone and everyones circumstances no matter what they might be. And that is a great quality of our school.
Enough variety shows all the differences in all of us and sometimes, that's the better route.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Unknown.

Us being "Supersized"

I was thinking about what I should write about on this weeks post and I getting this same thought in my head that I, in particular, have a strong opinion for.
Do we take a good look around the world we live in? In previous blogs I presented the topic of the scary world we live in and all the dangers that lurke around us in every day life. What can we do exactly? Really, there isn't much except for being seriously over protective of what you see and do each second and minute of the day. But the topic that kept popping into my noggin was the fact of the basic "size" of the United States. It's time we look at the way we "size things". What I am basically refering to is the food we eat and the amount of food we Americans take in every day. Or just the basic thought of how much is a "good" proportion for what we need to get into our system each day. Study's have shows that us Americans tend to run larger than the rest of our world. We never know when to stop eating. Something that I have learned in the past foods and health classes that I've been in is that most Americans dont actually eat the average proportion size that we're suposed to. I don't find this hard to believe. America has been called the "fat" country. If you think hard enough about it, you'll begin to realize that, in a way, we kind of are. But also, something that fascinates me is that we are also the number one country for eating disorders. Crazy huh? Obesity, Bulimia, Anorexia you name it, we've got it. In my life I have known many people with eating disorders and seen what it's done to them physically and mentally. And, let me tell ya, it's definately not a good sight to watch happen day to day.
In the other country's such as france, I always wondered how they weren't the fat people because they are the major wine drinkers and they come up with terrible foods that don't do any good to our bodies, but yet, they're still the healthy looking ones. My mom told me something that has stuck with me and will stick with me forever. One day I approached this question upon her and this was her reply: "People from other countries know what a single portion is, and they don't eat any more than what is necessary". If only we could take this in our daily lives and use it we wouldn't be know as the "fat" country, which makes us just sound like a bunch of huge moose that don't know how to control what goes in our mouth and that just sounds extremely sad for our part.
Considering that today is Halloween this whole entry is just being thrown off the roof! We send our kids out of their houses to get play fetch with the neighbors for candy. Is this helping our kids know proper health? I would think NOT! And then for Christmas we think we need to stuff our stockings full of candy. Are these things really necessary? I would just hope that someday us Americans will think about what is good and what is bad for our bodies and hopefully this will add a bit more knowledge to us about food.

For the last five weeks my dad has been out of town in Quantico Virginia for a work training. He works for the FBI and just got a new job in the FBI. Because of my dads job, he has taught us a lot about all the terrirfying things in this world. We have family night and a lot of his lessons are about safety. For instance, one monday night he talked about honoring the flag and why the American flag is so important and what the significance is that we honor our flag. With him being gone for a good long time, I was thinking one night about why he does the things he does. For instance, he gives me strange rules like for awhile I couldn't have and Facebook or Myspace. He ended up giving in. I would say "but literally everyone has one!". My dad taught me that sometimes "everybody having one" still doesn't always have to mean that you have to have one and that it is the best thing in the world. He would say that there are bad things out there and we don't know when they're coming our way. Foro the while that I've been thinking about this I came to realize that there is a very scary world out there and it's not getting better any time soon so I need to take advantage of the warning signs that are coming my way and those that are getting bown into my face. So I was taking some things into consideration.  First off, I need to realize that the wacko rules that are being put into my life are only for my benefit and for my safety. He would occasionally say to me: "imagine how bad you would feel if something happened that I had already warned you about and you didn't listen? Do you know how stupid you would feel for not listening to me, and all I would be able to say was 'I told you so'". I often refer to this comment when I have strong emotions for the rules that hold me back from doing the things my friends want to do. But there have been instances when I was commanded to avoid going somewhere with friends and a couple days later the friend that asked me to hang with him told me that people ended up doing bad tings and there was bad things involved and he actually told me that he wished that he would've stayed home because of what had happened at this certain place. Having this certain instance happen to me helped me understand the imprtance of my parents concern for my safety. I just have to learn to realize that it wont be the end of the world if I miss out on one party... or all of them.... I just need to remember that it is only for my benefit and my safety only so I need to be greatful for the rules that are put in my way to keep me safer and that it will only make me prouder in the long run so i won't have to face my dad while he says "I told you so". Live your life and love every second of it!! :)

What has become of this world!?!

For the past few years I have witnessed a lot happen in our crazy world. It is amazing to me how the world can change massively in such a small amount of time. When I think about these changes the first thing that pops into my head is movies.


I remember about three years ago our neighborhood had a "movie in the park". In our neighborhood park people set up a sheet and a projector and we watched a movie. The movie was The Wild. And it was about animals escaping into the wild from a zoo, I think. I don't remember the whole movie but I do remember the plot. This movie was a rated G movie and was supposedly a good movie for kids and families. I do remember that it was very lame and boring but this was not what stuck out to me when I watched this movie. I can remember going to get popcorn from the candy stands and hearing a very alarming conversation between the giraffe and the hippo. THE GIRAFFE AND THE HIPPO!! Come on people! The conversation had to do with what the girl hippo was wearing. The giraffe was telling the girl hippo that she could run faster without her sea shells... but in a perverted kind of way. I just sat there in awe. Little things like this would happen periodically throughout the movie. And there was some swearing too. Remember, this movie was supposedly rated G. This was supposed to be a family show. Even though the little kids may not understand what any of the inappropriate parts mean, doesn't mean they still can't ask questions. And most likely the questions will be asked to their parents and their parents will wonder where they heard that from.. and so on and so on. It is just this big vicious cycle. Little by little movie critics are letting the little things and not so bad things slide. Soon, PG movies are going to be our PG-13 movies. Who wants their kids watching that?
Another thing that I've been told has changed very dramatically is the pressure teenage girls have on their appearances. My grandma told me that when she was my age there wasn't nearly this much to worry about. Every girl has at least something they don't like about the way they look. Some girls are more confident than others and have a higher self esteem while others don't. This has always been the case. But young adults have such a higher competition than ever. Looks are the "thing". The world protrays that looks mean everything. But they don't. Young actresses usually have the "perfect" body to some girls. But, believe it or not, there is something about the way they look that they personally don't like. So many bad things come from this problem. Girls develope eating disorders and can mentally screw up their minds. I have seen it happen with my own eyes.
I wish that I could say none of this affects me, but it does. I definately don't look at myself like I am the most adorable thing on this planet, but I do try to see the good more than the bad because eventually I could be mentally and physicallly ruined. My only advice would be to not pay attention to the world. Because, quite frankly, they are wrong and try to put things in your mind that do not need to be there. In the long run, it will only hurt you.

The Reality of The Pigman

In Mr. Thompsons english class, we finished a really good book called The Pigman. It is about two teeangers, John and Lorraine, who have some fun one day by goofing off and calling random people. One of these people just happens to be Mr. Pignati. He anwers the phone and John and Lorraine tell him  they are calling for the L and J fund. But they aren't. And Mr. Pignati asks them to go his house and, eventually, they end up going over there. Lorraine lives with a single mom who is very broad with her. Lorraine's mom tells her she isn't pretty and things like that but Lorraine still stays pretty strong and believes what she wants to all on her own. While John, on the other hand, is totally not afriad to be himself and really doesn't about what others may think. He's actually pretty stuck up. What I like about these characters is that they are so very similar to the real teenagers in this world. They deal with daily problems just like any other teenager would. The author made the charcters seem so lively and any teeanger, both girl and boy, could relate to John and Lorraine somehow. Another really cool thing that I loved about this book is the voice. You knew everything the character was talking about and you new exactly what kind of mood they were in by the voice of the book. The Pigman was an easy read because the voice was so crystal clear and you didn't have to decode everything they were saying and try and figure out what each thing meant. That, to me, is a really neat talent and it definately makes the book ten times better to read and you also can understand what you read so much easier.
In real life, the things that John and Lorraine were faced with are things that now a days teenagers are also facing. You would have never thought that this book was written in the sixties because of how real the problems are compared to right now. Things happen in the book that happen daily in real life for people all across the planent. For instance John does drugs. You go to any junior high or high school and try and find one person who isn't struggling with a drug problem. I promise you right now that you wont. And Lorraine has a hard time with her looks. Now you go to any girl in the universe and tell me she loves everything about herself. But you will be wrong. I think the lesson that could be taught about this is that it doesn't matter what you look like because Johna and Lorraine had that one intimate scene in the book and I'm sure that strengthened Lorraine's self esteem by a million. 
I absolutly loved The Pigman and I think every person should read it. Especially teeangers. There are so many great lessons that were taught throughout the book and there are little things that anyone could compare to their own life.

Drama... ugh

So today is Saturday, the day before this is due.. and once again I'm procrastinating. I wasn't sure what to write about this week. I did think about it, but all I could think of was how my crazy week went. So somehow we're going to make this my blog and have some kind of lesson learned by the end of this post.
On Sunday of last week I was texting a friend and my drama for the week already started happening! I thought I was going to go through the roof. I absolutly hate drama. Who doesn't.. But for some reason, everyone gets involved in some kind of drama throughout the year. And some people are magnents to drama and attract it like butter and TOAST! Those kind of people drive me nuts and I hate being around them because theres always something wrong because there always a drama situation in their lives! Luckily I try to stay out of it the best I can. Then throughout the week little things would happen with other people that I'd get stuck in the middle of and I'd find ways to get out of the stupid drama. If you haven't noticed girls are the one that cause the most drama. But sometimes I feel like guys like to drive people crazy and cause some intermediate drama as well. I would think that the guys would so much rather stay out of drama than be the center of it. I don't know. How would I know?  But whatever floats their boat I guess. So as the week went on I saw soo much drama unfurl right before my eyes! Girls were crying guys were being stupid to the girls.. blah blah. Sometimes I feel like people want drama just to show it off. But thats really stupid. On Thursday I went to frightmares with some really good friends, and aparently, I am completely under the radar. So many things have happened that I had no idea about. Drama is scary and people for some reason actually like it which is very bazaar! If you think about it, drama wouldn't be such a problem if people would think before they talk. We all have a filter from our head to our mouths, but its up to us whether or not we want to use it. Its really sad that when people think of teenagers or say something about teenagers that they first think how much drama we cause. It doesn't have to be that way but it's mostly those people who attarct drama and somewhat like it and the attention who have to start it and cause all the commotion. So it is up to the people who don't want to get into the drama to stop it or keep the drama low. My theory is that if you don't want drama then don't get in the middle of other people's problems. Life as a teenager would be ten times easier if people thought about what their actions would cause.

A Great World.. In the Long Run.

I have procrastinated this weeks blog post till the day before its due. I haven't had any idea at all to what I could possibly write about. So last night (which was saturday) while I was getting ready to go to bed, I was thinking of things that I could write about. I figured something would just pop into my head this morning and I'd know exactly what to write about. Yeah.. nothing came to mind today. So when I woke up, I started reading the book I am in which is called The Zoo Keepers Wife. It is a World War II book. While I was reading I had this brilliant idea that I could just go online and look at all the World War II holidays and write on World War II. So that is what my topic is today.
Sixty Four years ago from yesterday, September 26th, a date was remembered in Hong Kong. In 1945 Hong Kong surrendered against their enemies.
One day while waiting for my sister to get out of soccer practice, My mom and I were in the car and she was reading a book called the Hiding Place. Best World War II book I know of. But at this time I had not read it. I was in 4th grade. A year before, my mom taught me about World War II and got me very interested on the subject of war. (not in a bad way) but I absolutly loved learning about what went on in the second world war. Because of this serisous obsession I was so interested into what the book was about. So while we were in the car, I asked. She told me that it was about the sweetest lady you'll ever read of who cared for her sister and helped hide Jews from the Nazi's, and how she eventually got caught doing so. She told me about what different things she experienced in the concentration camps and what stories she had to tell. It was an amazing talk that me and my mom had. We both cried our eyes out thinking of all the terrible things that were done to this poor lady and her sister and how they both had such a great attitude about it. Then she told me how the second world war eventually ended. And it just so happens that September 26 is one thing she mentioned, and how it was very significant to the war ending.
Last night as I was thinking about what to write and I went through this in my head, I thought how much better of a world we would all have if everyone had a better attitude about things, and always looked at the bright side of life, and never getting too head strong in their own beliefs. Because this is part of the reason most wars get started. If only we would all realize what a difference it makes when everyone is positive an can see the great in everything, the world would not be how it is now. But because it is the way it is, it is important that each one of us individually seeks to show others our own ways of being uplifting. And maybe, in the long run, it'll rub off on others which could lead to a great and wonderful cycle.

9th grade!!

This year starting 9th grade has been pretty tough! The very first day of school I went to homeroom. Duh. But the whole thirty five minutes that we were sitting in homeroom my mind wandered and I could not stay focused on what my homeroom teacher was explaining. I wasn't that scared to start 9th grade, but I knew that it would be harder and tougher than all the other grades. And worst of all, it COUNTS now! As my mind was thinking about these things I got that anxiety feeling, but it was like butterflies in my stomach times 10! I thought I was going to explode! Then, after homeroom, I went to math. The teacher spent maybe ten minutes on the disclosure, then jumped right into an assignment. It's the first day of school for crying out loud! When the teacher announced there was going to be an assignment everyone just kind of looked at each other wondering if this was really happening... homework on the first day of school? Yep, I had homework day number one of school. So after the disclosure was presented to the class, we started notes on a brand new subject! Usually, from what I remember, we would review before we got started on brand new objectives. Nope, no reviewing for us! So we took notes for, literally, the rest of class. Since we have a,b days now, classes are eighty minutes long. We, no joke, spent sixty five minutes on notes! And of course, after notes, follows an assignment. So we had a whole five minutes to do our assignment so I had homework. And a whole lot of it.So I left that class in perfect amazement, walking to my next class which was biology. Biology wasn't as bad. We talked about class rules and the disclosure for a good amount of the time, then we went right into the term project. We discussed due dates for different things and regulations of the project for the rest of the period. It was a lot of stuff to take in during one class period. Let alone I had just sat through a dreadful first day of math. Man, it sure seemed like teachers wanted us to suffer in agony the first day of school. That's sure what it came off as. Then my next to classes I practically slept through, they talked about disclosures the whole time, so it's not like I haven't heard the rules anyways. So I just decided to sleep. I didn't really sleep of course but second and third period was very boring the first day of school. When I went home the first thing I did was get out all my disclosures and have my mother sign them. Then I took a breather, got out my homework, and exercised my brain for the first time in a while. It's been three weeks since schools started. Wow, its already gone by so fast. I think by now I am pretty caught up on how things work now. I'm not in a winding mess like I was at the beginning of the year. I'm hoping this school year goes great now that I've got it figured out. Ninth grade is going to be a blast! I'm super excited, expecially for Honors English!

Hello World!