What does it mean to be young?

I recently finished the book History of Love by Nicolle Krauss , even though it was mind boggling with the switch of characters at a unsteady rate it was a nice book that contrasted the difference between adulthood and childhood. Alma, one of the characters found ways on how to fix issues that bothered her, I think this made her gain a snippet of adulthood. Leopold, another character in the book found out things that he didn't expect and when he did find something out he, he found out later. Litvinoff tried to impress others around him and gain attention while Bird wanted to be accepted by people around him. All of the issues these characters faced are like pieces of the coming of age experience, each piece makes up what we call adulthood.

Leopold's "piece" of coming of age really relates to growing up because we find out things that we don't want to but its only for the good. When we were younger we may have believed and had a strong thought that Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy were real. The moment we found that they weren't real we were surprised and in disbelief because we believed in them so much and we looked for something in them. As little children we were also zoned out and in the world of freedom ; we felt young , wild and free, nothing could stop us from getting what we wanted except, time outs in the corner of course. 

"There are two types of people in the world: those who prefer to be sad among others, and those who prefer to be sad alone." This was a quote that stood out to me and I thought it really related to the coming of age experience. I say it is relatable because when your younger you are more dependent for certain things and as you grow older you seek more independence. Also when your sad you sometimes want people to comfort you and be sad with you but if the situation is serious and you want to be alone you choose that. It's all what makes you feel good in the long run. 

The characters in the book searched for many things and their is a quote similar to the characters , "And then I realized that I'd been searching for the wrong person." When the characters finally found what they were searching for they werent as pleased as they thought they would be. After they found what they wanted they maybe felt it was a waste of time since the anticipation they had for it was lost. Even when not getting what they wanted they learned from it and in the long run it was good. 

The coming of Age experience is one where we mature and see things in different standpoints. Each of us are different and we all have parts of us that are mature but at the same time we are still young on the inside. Even when we get older we still have traits from when we were 2 or 3 with us inside of us. That part of us that wants to cry is when we're 1 and facing the world for the first time. The part of us that feels hurt and surprised is when we were 4-7 and found out Santa is fake.

Attention + Age ? No problem .

The History of Love by Nicolle Krauss is a book full of moments that make you realize what it really is to come of age. You as a person can relate to some moments in this book and it makes you feel the memories of something that might of happened to you when coming of age or even now as you're still growing. Leopld Gursky, a person in the book, likes having attention and tries to get it in the simplest way, he seeks attention to make sure if he dies he doesn't go away without people remembering him. Another narrator in this book is Alma , her mom is lonely and her dad recently dies. Both people in the book deal with issues that occur in the real world so its easy to relate at some parts. The way these characters deal with problems can be a mentor to some people but for some it can still not be clear and seem unreal.

Okay so first off let me address the issue of attention , many people want it believe it or not even when you're not even trying! When younger their would be always be ways to get our parents, guardian, peoples attention such as crying , screaming , etc but we still seek it. It has grown onto us as we grow older every year and it stays apart of us no matter how old we get. Attention is a big thing for coming of age because we don't really lose it, we try to get it from certain people no matter the person until they don't respond. For Example, when I got in trouble by Ms.Robbins the other day she told me how she use to pick on her brother, then she told me she stopped bothering him after her brother began to ignore her. After she realized her brother stopped responding she didn't find any fun in it. That moment relates to coming of age because when we seek attention we want the person to interact or respond with us just for the heck off it because you only live once (yolo) and you should take advantage.

How does attention relate to the History of Love? well it doesn't relate to the whole book but it once again relates to Leopold. It relates to Leopold because he seeks attention, even from people he doesn't even know! he does this to make sure if he goes away at any moment, people will remember for what he did at that moment. I like how he does this just for the fact that he's old and he still doesn't find a reason to lose attention. He's determined to be known by others and he doesn't care how he does it , whether it's dropping dimes in a Starbucks or posing naked for a magazine he still seeks attention which can be good or bad.

Attention can be good sometimes but not always, the character of Leopold likes it because it makes him feel as if he's a star. Leopold just wants to be remembered like everyone else on this earth he is a small figure compared to all the larger ones. He himself wants to stick out like a soar thumb. Their are different types of attention the types to annoy someone and get to their head , the type to try to be remembered for something , or just straight up publicity. Coming of age can involve many moments when we seek attention and it doesn't leave with us even when we're gone.

Test prep 6

Remember the name by Fort Minor is a song in my opinion about everyone coming together as one to complete and overcome the challenges that each other face. I say this because he repeats the lines It's just ten percent luck twenty percent skill fifteen percent concentrated power of will five percent pleasure fifty percent pain 
and a hundred percent reason to remember the name. He does this to try and get the memo in our head and remember the steps it takes to get to 100%. I also think its saying that when we all work together instead of being alone we succeed in that.


Throughout the song I think he wants us to listen and embrace the meaning instead of letting it slip out of our ears. He wants us to understand this so we can maybe try it and see how it fits into our society. This method of working together has been used in sports and its obviously successful for the team that does it the best since they make it a long way and win. Comradely can be associated with this meaning of working as one and not leaving one man behind. 

As a Football player I think its good to work toghether because it brings everyone toghether and it makes you feel like everyone else is your brother. It helps to develop character and also how to work with each other to make something work. At times when you need help you can always look for someone to pick you up instead of dwelling and thats the meaning of the song remember the name.

Test prep 5

The song Pumped up Kicks by The Foster Children is a song about a kid with jealousy who go's trigger happy, with a gun obviously. In the first verse hes talking about the shooting and how no ones paying no mind of how sneaky he is since he has a revolver and no one suspects this, in this case he is in a state of innocence and a goody two shoes. He relates this experience to a cowboy saying how cool it might be to show that he has the power once he has a weapon in hand. Why does it seem that people automatically think they have power because they have a weapon? is it because the other person is put into fear or is it because they're conceited and in the moment of how cool they think they are? 

Secondly, with the chorus being , All the other kids with the pumped up kicks You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun All the other kids with the pumped up kicks.... this chorus is talking about how everyone else has whats in style and he might feel jealousy and peer pressure to have what everyone else has. This chorus is relatable to a poem called "Please don't take My Air Jordan's" since both characters feel the pressure and need to fit in with society. He is telling them to run if not physically but literally since he feels superior seeing that he has the gun. He knows hes going to kill them since you can't really run faster than a bullet.

Lastly, with the second chorus saying "Daddy works a long day" I think he is trying to say that his dad comes home drunk and beats him after his long time of drinking and getting drunk. The character is probably waiting at the dinnertable for his dad to beat him and get revenge. The feeling of drunkness might have a strong feeling on the dad and cause him to act out of hand.

Test prep 4

"This is the story they didn't want you to know."

What is a secret? What lies behind a secret? How do we find out about these secrets? is what I think when I read GHOST IN THE FOG - By Samantha Seiple since it has so much hidden details of World War II that is unheard of. The secrets in this book mainly are described as things the government or specifically the world around us doesn't know but the author does and I wonder how does she know more because shes a woman.

To start off I wanted to know why did the author want us to know these secrets? Maybe they could be interesting but, their had to be a more sophisticated reason because why now? Why should we hear about the secrets now instead of years ago after the war had finished. Hearing about the secrets now hasn't only made me wonder more about The United States secrecy but it has also made me develop a theory that maybe it was to avoid panic of other countries being overpowered by Japan since they had such a big expanding empire.

Another thing I thought about was how come the author isn't a man? I'm not being stereotypical but from research it said most women played roles as nurses and if women didn't get much exposure to fighting in war how could the author know so much, mainly since the secrets couldn't be mentioned? This being said instead of the author maybe being a nurse I thought maybe she was a spy or journalist that developed stories to keep people and countries updated on news. The news she personally developed into stories were probably her secrets.

The secrets maybe werent of the US or Japan they could probably just be her own opinion on what secrets of World War II were and she made them seem like facts. This way of writing is a mixture of nonfiction and maybe memoir so it seems new and fresh , its also quite interesting which makes my book solitary and original. Everyone has their own story and in this case, this is her story being told.

Decisions and key roles

Sometimes I wonder how the world would be if everyone could fully let out there voice ; maybe social acceptance would higher and looks wouldn't be judged from first sight, like a book, and its cover. Loneliness can also occur from this. For now judging can continue but, it will just worsen like all the other issues in our cursed world.

In Identical By Ellen Hopkins two characters Raeanne and Kaeleigh explain their lives in a long 565 page journey. At times one character or the others life can seem unfair but at the same time both have conflicts that are breath taking and make you think about life in a more complex and deeper way. Some parts in this book seem captivating and make you realize feelings do matter and they can affect another's decision of what they want to do.

I wanted to focus more on Raeanne's life for now because it's not as perfect as Kaeleigh's since shes the good girl and being perfect or at least trying to be can sometimes get boring.

Raeanne as a person sometimes frightens me with the failing decisions she makes, and it also makes me wonder what causes her to make these decisions?, what is affecting her could it be violence at home? or maybe bullying? The fact that she gave herself up to sex, drugs ,and alcohol made me think that she maybe wants to escape her life seeing that the majority of teens of reality do these things because they feel alone or need to redeem themselves. Another factor could maybe be peer pressure but I highly doubt that right now since so far the only friends she have are pills or whiskey.

Sixty six pages into my book and I already have a theory that is relate able to life ; People like to judge each other even if they don't know that person and it can really have an impact on different people. If someone LOOKS rich they might rob them and take advantage of their possession but if someone LOOKS people might gossip about them and make them feel insecure.

Acceptance could probably be lowered if people didn't judge but for now people still haven't "Woken up and smelled the roses" but one day we will regret our choices.

Ambition and Love lost

Complicated Water Situation

Romeo and Juliet was a great experience in my opinion not only because it made me feel for the characters but it made me want to try and join the movie and help characters out in situations that could of been fixed; I also liked Romeo and Juliet because I could contrast the original book to the movie like how the book is way more complex.

Water, water was a key factor to Romeo and Juliet not only for how it was used in the background but how it was used to show love connection and even death at some scenes in the movie. For example when Mercutio was slowly dying rain started falling to show how his soul was breaking away from him and the tiny raindrops that made up his soul came pouring out after he died. The usage of water was a dull thing at first for the fact that water made up most scenes but then once the quantities and forms of water increased or decreased I realized what had really been going on.

I also thought of water as 2 big families but seeing it as one could make sense, this can be seen when Romeo and Juliet's bond's to family start to deteriorate. The water (family) would turn more into a gas, and spread around try and get Romeos relationship to end. I'm trying to say that the families of both teenagers are not really enforcing love but they're not completely against it.

Even though this story between these "Star crossed lovers" is complicated I still get what the director/author is trying to express with his imagery of water. I think he is trying to state that relationships can last but it takes a matter of time before they break down and don’t stick as one.

Personal? Clueless?

Why do people make the decisions they do? Why do they think even dangerous things that can affect us further in careers are good for the time being? I just want to know the reason, is it to fit in? or is it out of frustration to just get it off their chest? ; even though the answer depends on the situation I would like to get in someones mind for a day and see what their reason is. In Identical by Ellen Hopkins Raeanne makes the decisions she does

because she faces lot of stress and she basically has no other way to escape the stress. Her way of relieving herself is not the best but it seems like her body takes over her mind and makes the decisions.

Raeanne relieves her stress by smoking with her friends , partying and having sex , their not the best things to do when your a teenager but once again its like her body is controlling her and shes not head over toes about it. Her conflicts in life are steering her in the wrong direction but at the same time she thinks what shes doing is right for her which is sort of a win/win situation because shes living her life but at the same time its not really benefiting her because shes harming her body.

Sometimes when I get in stressful situations and I start to build anger I try to just shake it off and try to resolve it without violence because its definitely not the answer, others might think they know whats good for them but sometimes a helping hand could help to steer in the right direction. I'm not Raeanne and i'm not trying to change her but theres other ways to get out of situations when things even seem bleak , I think she should maybe see a counselor that would definitely be a good mentor. It could solve her stress and also how she takes care of those issues.

Theory on Visual Arts

Can you guess what this is a picture of ? If you guessed a part of the Brooklyn Bridge then you are correct ; This picture by Georgia O'Keeffe makes me think of how New York keeps its power and stay connected with all bridges in particular and not only the Brooklyn Bridge. I also think of this artwork as Brooklyn and Manhattan's doors to the "kingdom" since the two openings look like big doors you would see in an unrealistic movie and the kingdom would be how you can explore both places without much hold back. Lastly I think the white cables on the side of each bridge represent to show that Brooklyn and Manhattan will try to keep you safe without you falling over the easily but, after years of keeping safe more problems and issues are going over the cables.

To represent my theory as I said before the 2 big openings could possibly represent how big New York is and the freedom to explore like a kingdom. I also said that the white cables could show how we as a country try to keep people safe from things but then a turn of events rips through just how someone committing suicide could bypass the cables to their death. With my theory on the connection of the 2 boroughs I think it shows how we as small towns? stay connected even through far distances in all situations.

The real world connects to this art and although its simplicity makes it hard to refer to , you can still make your own observations and theories to the painting and compare them to the artist which makes this painting interesting. Connecting this to humanity I would say this painting shows that we take our country for granted sometimes without realizing the freedom we have , unlike a lot of other countries and by staying connected we gained power over the years and became recognized as one of the greatest places to live in.

My nomination !

Many of my peers did great blog post but one that stood out to me was Kiana's from my class , 804. I liked Kiana's blog post because she focused on small micro details and connected them to life which was interesting ; she also crafted the conclusion paragraph in a way which tied in her opinion with examples in the book that caught my eye and I might start using that in my blog post since it seemed effective.

I also enjoyed how I could hear Kiana's voice in her blog because since I read her independent writing piece today I could tell how she incorporates some mechanics into blog post. I think this was a great way to write her blog post but just cut down on the retell a little bit and elaborate more.

Overall I enjoyed reading her blog since it showed integrity along with voice and tone , since I liked her's she will be getting a follow from me.

Everyone has their own story

Samantha Seiples style of writing in GHOST IN THE FOG really helped me understand the secrets and facts about world war II. Her interesting style of writing helped people in world war II stand out in different sections of the book ; but what made it interesting was she didnt only write about the good people but also the enemies.

Seiples writing seemed like a memoir and it was interesting how she incorparated it into non fiction or even non fiction. Firstly I find her writing interesting because it didnt only help people stand out but it helped their traits and their conflicts stand out as well. Doing this made every chapter fresh with new people to learn about and it also gave us background information of how a character got to where they were. I think Seiple's style of doing this was unique because it helped the history of the war not get boring by throwing everything in a clump, instead she spread everyones story out and let their voices be heard.

Another thing I liked about Seiple's writing was she alternated between 3rd person writing and 1st person writing which helped balance the characters stories and also the war itself. Balancing the stories and war made me feel engaged and at points I actually felt like I was one of the people in the war, I also hated some decisions the U.S made at first but after I realized what they were doing, I realized it helped them in the war.

As a non-fiction book it really helped the book stay engaging it also helped the reader understand different characters take on something instead of just one soldier/guard. It mainly helped the book stay fresh because each person had a voice that really spoke out to me with their actions.