Last Blog of the Year :D

Over the course of this year I've learned a lot about blogs. Personally, I feel that writing in a notebook is limiting, versus a blog. A notebook has lined paper, a certain amount of space and a tendency to have my hand cramped within minutes. The beauty of typing has lead me to not have any cramped hands and the internet has an infinite amount of space, and doesn't look imbecilic when you don't fill up the entire page. Yes, writing in a notebook is old fashioned and you must do it in order to be able to continue to high school, yet in the future there is a very huge chance that no one will be writing by hand, and we will all draft by computers. These assignments from teachers may be changed to the format of a blog.

In what ways can writing online be limiting or liberating? I think that when you have to write online about something that truly is something you don't have any strong feelings about, are not interested in the topic and you just feel forced to do the assignment, is limiting. That specific blog post will not be as impressive as the ones where I truly let myself go with my feelings and knowledge, to truly prove an argument or tell the story. The result of these two blog posts are what causes online to be limiting or liberating as well. For example, someone who sees my very good blog post can comment on it and truly show me that they enjoyed the post and that my feelings mean a lot to the readers, which is a liberating feeling. But when someone sees my mediocre blog post and points it out by writing in the comment section, it's limiting because you just want to delete the post afterwards and not start again, because you're ashamed.

I benefited from this experience in so many ways. When I was younger I always wanted my friends to see my work but not be around me when they were reading the many stories or essays I wrote. This is the perfect answer to that problem and I'm almost always thrilled with the comment section. I also truly was able to keep up with my reading and probably read more than in the past and wrote more because I was truly analyzing all the books I read and, draining them for more information for a blog post.

13 Reasons Why

"13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher is about a girl named Hannah who committed suicide. Hannah created 13 tapes to be her suicide note, and each tape is dedicated to 1 person. Hannah then sent the tapes to the first person on the series of tapes, and they must pass the package on, in order. Clay, a boy who had an immense crush on Hannah gets the package full of tapes, and the story follows Clay's reactions to the tapes.

I find this book very strange because of the topic the author chose. Yes, suicide is a very uncomfortable topic, and many people struggle with their suicidal thoughts. Why did the author choose to write this book? To make the reader uncomfortable. For example, one tape is about a classmate who once watched Hannah in her bedroom. Hannah then records herself watching the the person through their bedroom window and discusses all the things in their bedroom. This part is very uncomfortable because  you never know if you're being watched and it proves that suicidal thoughts can lead to a complete desire for revenge.

Another reason why this book is very strange is because Hannah created a map. Each time you listen to a tape, the number of the tape will point to a certain spot in their town. Hannah states in the tape that you, "may" go to all these places so you can "experience" what happened. By creating this map Hannah makes all the classmates on the tapes, absolutely obsessed with her death and, who caused what and why. I think that Hannah wanted these people to regret what they did to her and to be angry at other people whom had caused her harm, and also obsess the victims of the tapes.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post 2

*Spoiler alert* *Spolier alert* *Spoiler alert*

"The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by Emily Danforth, is about a girl named Cameron whose parents die as she is starting to discover her sexuality. Cameron ends up truly realizing she is homosexual and truly is afraid that people will find out. As the story continues, Cameron has three lovers (so far); Irene, Lindsay and Coley. Cameron is "kind of dating" Coley, but Coley has a boyfriend. Throughout the summer Coley and Cameron meet and go on dates, have a relationship, but then Coley's boyfriend returns. Once her boyfriends returns, Coley tells her parents that Cameron forced her into the relationship, and in the end Cameron's Grandmother and Aunt become ashamed of her. Cameron is then sent to boarding school for Christians who need to be saved from homosexuality.

I think that this book is a little too harsh for a coming-of-age story. When Cameron first starts to be in a relationship with Irene all is ended when her family becomes rich and wants to send her to a private boarding school. Cameron and Irene talk once before she leaves about how Cameron could go to the boarding school with Irene the next year, but Cameron's Aunt cannot afford it. Irene then goes off to her boarding school and brags to Cameron on how she has a boyfriend. I don't truly know if Irene is trying to show Cameron that she isn't homosexual anymore or trying to show off that she is the one in an actual relationship. Then their relationship is done. Over. Cameron is then forever scarred by the fact that her friend abandoned her.

Coley is the evil girlfriend of the three. I would say so, because she completely abandons Cameron by exposing her true secret, creates a gigantic lie, causing her to be sent away, and having complete abandonment from her Aunt and Grandmother. No girl would possibly tell the parents about their relationship if it is in the Christian faith. There are programs that people can take in their own town or discuss with their families and preach, but certain Christian faiths believe in "Gay Camp" as many people call it. Where people go to fix their sexuality. I think that Danforth really went too far to make Cameron miserable.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

There are many reasons to like this book, and there are many reasons not to. I think this may have to do with the controversial topics that surround this book. "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" is the story of a teenage girl named Cameron who soon realizes she is a lesbian. As if this realization isn't hard enough, considering she lives in such a small town, her parents die in a horrible car crash. Cameron's Aunt comes to live with her, and everything seems to be fine, except for the fact that she is a Born-Again Christian. Not only is the Born-Again faith not part of Cameron's religion, but it is a very homophobic culture. 

I personally like this book because it breaks the boundaries set by normal books. Most books these days are either about romantic love stories between a woman and a man or a girl dealing with normal problems of being a teenager. Both of these main categories are telling the stories of straight girls, and this makes the story unique. The author also loves to go into detail about everything from scenery to the description of the many characters. I find this truly important because in order for me to enjoy a book, I need to be completely immersed in the world that it takes place in. Therefore, by giving me all these details I am truly able to enjoy the story more. 

I dislike this book for only two reasons. One, I find that this book truly points out the problems with the Born-Again faith. For people whom believe and practice this faith, it must be completely unbearable to read. The Aunt is portrayed as an annoying woman who makes Cameron go to services that she doesn't believe in and makes her uncomfortable with the words of homophobic preachers. A small part of my family practice a faith similar to the Born-Again practices and they are completely friendly and wonderful, they don't truly disrespect the religions of others. I also dislike this book because of the heavy amount of kissing scenes or fantasies. Personally, I truly dislike all the kissing scenes in most books because it truly takes away from the story. Yes, if it is the climax of the story, then you can put the kiss in, but it shouldn't be used as a space filler because it will make the teenagers like it more.

I think that this book is a hit-or-miss since there are many people who would feel uncomfortable with the kissing scenes or the portrayal of the Born-Again faith. I find this book sort of interesting though since it breaks the pattern of girls who like to read about love for straight people. I also like this book because the environment and characters are completely realistic, and because I can imagine where the story takes place. This is what "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" is about. 

"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare

“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare tells the story of two teenagers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, who fall in love but cannot be together due to their families having a strong grudge against one another. Being the teenagers they are, they rebel against their parents (which is impulsive since they cannot help but try to defy their parents at their teenage age) and fight to be together. At the end of the play Juliet pretends to be dead by taking a potion that makes her look like a corpse so she can sneak away, but Romeo finds out about her death and commits suicide (a very impulsive act). Once Juliet wakes up she sees Romeo’s dead body and she commits suicide as well. Throughout the play you cannot help but notice how impulsive the two teens are. Romeo and Juliets’ impetuosity leads to their fast-paced meeting, their early marriage and their death. 

The impetuosity of Romeo and Juliets’ love truly started when Romeo courted her intensely at their first engagement. Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin) and Mercutio (Romeo’s friend) tried to help Romeo get over Rosaline. Rosaline was a girl that Romeo was completely devoted to, but she became a nun, so she could not marry Romeo. Benvolio and Mercutio helped Romeo get over Rosaline by sneaking him and the rest of their gang into the Capulet ball. This is completely against the rules since the Montagues and Capulets are sworn enemies, but Mercutio and Benvolio do not think this is a bad idea that could get them killed, which is a completely impetuous act. Mercutio and Benvolio were two teens just trying to have fun and did not think that by sneaking into the house of their sworn enemy they could cause any harm. Anyway, Romeo attends the party and falls instantly in love with Juliet. Romeo kisses Juliet before he is dragged away by Mercutio and Benvolio. Juliet then states, “If he be married/ My grave is like to be my wedding bed” (1.5.148-149). Juliet does not think she can live without Romeo, but this is definitely possible since she just met him. Juliet doesn’t even proclaim how sad she is, like every other teenager would, she states that she would literally die if Romeo turned out to be married. Juliet doesn’t seem to truly think that this is a very daring thing to say about a boy she just met. Romeo does not care about Juliet’s guards and  after the party he sneaks onto her balcony to see her again. Romeo says, “I have night’s cloak to hide me from their eyes” (2.2.80). This is completely reckless since Romeo could be killed by the guards if they saw him. By doing this folly act he is already risking his life for the girl he just met an hour or so before. Juliet then states something astonishingly regretful “Deny they father and refuse thy name/ And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (2.2.37+39). Juliet states here that she’ll leave her parents behind so she can be with Romeo. Without her parents Juliet would be without a home or life and she doesn’t seem to be thankful for her family or thoughtful to the fact that her family hates Romeo. Her parents seem to care for her and don’t want her to be so impulsive as to leave her family behind for a teenage boy. 

Besides being courted at such a fast rate, Romeo and Juliet decided to be impetuous and marry at such an early stage in their relationship. While on Juliet’s balcony, on the first day they met, Juliet states “thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow” (2.2.151). These two haven’t even had dinner together, gone on a date or been with each other for more than four hours, and they want to spend the rest of their lives together? This is completely impulsive because Romeo and Juliet are agreeing to something that will change their lives forever. The two teens don’t seem to have any seconds thoughts such as how the marriage will affect their family or if this is a terrible idea. Romeo and Juliet are suffering from the rush of hormones and are not thinking straight. Juliet asks the time she should send the nurse for their early marriage plans and Romeo states the agreement of “At the hour of nine” (2.2.168).  Juliet then manipulates the nurse to trick Juliet’s parents so she can go get married to Romeo. The nurse then says, “Have you got to leave for shrift today?/Then hie you to Friar Lawrence’s cell/There stays a husband to make you a wife” (2.5.71,73+74). Juliet rushes off and does not think of how she may be caught if the plan does not work or that the nurse may lose her job. In this case, Juliet is extremely selfish for risking her caregiver’s job and the nurse’s love for Juliet makes her completely blind to the fact that this plan is fallible. Luckily, Romeo and Juliet were able to get married even though what they did was completely foolish and flawed. 

Romeo and Juliets’ impetuous behavior lead to their untimely death. If Romeo and Juliet had let themselves think before they made these mistakes, Romeo would not have killed Tybalt and caused himself to be banished to Mantua. Juliet then came up with a plan with Friar Lawrence where she would drink a potion that would make her look dead so she could escape. Juliet succeeds with the plan but Romeo then discovers Juliet’s “dead” body. Romeo then said “For fear that I stay with thee/And never from this palace of dim night/Depart again/Thus with a kiss I die” (5.3.106-109+120). Romeo then commits suicide by drinking poison and dies. If Romeo had waited a couple of minutes and thought about his suicidal thoughts instead of being impulsive, he would’ve run away with Juliet to Mantua and lived happily ever after. Juliet then awakes and sees the dead body of Romeo. Just like Romeo, Juliet grabs a dagger and quickly says “O happy dagger/There rust, and let me die” (5.3.174-175). Juliet then stabs herself until she eventually dies. Romeo and Juliet lived without each other for almost their entire lives, it was extremely foolish for them to commit suicide because they could not be together, because they repeatedly thought they could not live without one another. Romeo and Juliet were so spontaneous that it lead to the deaths of Tybalt, Paris, Lady Montague, Mercutio and themselves. Tybalt and Paris were slain by Romeo impulsively because Romeo was enraged about the deaths of his loved ones. Little did Romeo know, that after he recklessly committed suicide, his Mother then passed away from the grief of his death. Romeo and Juliet didn’t think about how their deaths would affect their family or friends, because they didn’t give their actions a second thought. 

In “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, the two title characters’ impetuosity lead to their fast-paced meeting, their early marriage and their death. Romeo and Juliets’ impetuosity got the better of them since Romeo was almost killed by guards, Juliet threatened to abandon her family and her life, they forced the nurse to lie to her boss to help them get married and they end up causing the deaths of 6 people. Romeo and Juliets’ impetuosity caused the two to do things that were dangerous and very regretful. Shakespeare truly showed that Romeo and Juliet were impetuous and without any sort of second guessing, youths can cause the most harm.  

Tina Fey

I am currently reading "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. After the past couple of months of searching for happy books I found, as what Ms. Rear would say, "a candy book". This book is not for those whom want to learn a lesson about life that they can teach their children or recommend to their grandchildren because it taught them something. This is a book mostly about Tina Fey's life as a child into adulthood and how she got her start. Ms. Fey wrote this book in a particularly interesting way.

Tina Fey wrote this book as if she wants the reader to know her extremely well. She tells embarrassing stories such as when she was desperately in love with some guy, who did not get the hint that she was totally obsessed with him. She even tells the reader about how she climbed the mountain with the guy and how he complained about his girlfriend while they were hiking. The fact that Tina Fey was completely honest about her experiences really makes the reader feel as if they're in on some really private secret. You almost seem to forget that "Bossypants" is a best-seller, so hundreds of people are also in on the secret.

There are other things that she doesn't include though. For example, she could not include the name of her husband, so she continues to change his name throughout the book. She shared intimate details about her honeymoon with Jeff (the name she usually calls her husband), but she doesn't seem to want to explain stuff about her daughter or her husband that she experiences in her daily life. I find this especially strange due to the fact that at the beginning of the book she dedicated an entire chapter to her father. She wrote details about his childhood and how she felt towards him, and the whole time I was completely surprised by her blunt honesty. Why couldn't she include some hilarious story or include her husband's name? It's not like we're going to track him down or go around and tell everyone about him. It probably even says his name on her Wikipedia page.

I met Tina Fey once or twice when I was on Fire Island. She's really cool and she took her newborn baby girl out to a very public parade on the island. I don't truly understand why she would go out in public with her baby, let so many people see her in this intimate setting, yet not include funny things about her child, which would probably be hilarious. I understand that it is definitely her privacy and her choice whether or not to include the information, but I can't hep but feel a slight wall because she withdrew this information. Otherwise, I love this book and it makes me laugh so hard.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles (for some reason it didn't post last week)

I don't like chick flick books about adolescence or romantic comedies. I want to read books that impact my life or actually move me, not just keep me entertained. I had been struggling for awhile to find a book that I would not be able to put down. I kept finding books that were depressing or books that were interesting due to the advance formation of the characters. Then, in the instance of grabbing the first book off the shelf, signing it out of the library and then looking at the cover, did I find "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles. The plot starts simple: two boys, one introverted and one the star, who go to a boarding school during World War II. I thought that for the mean time this was a perfect book since it would be at least slightly entertaining and I could learn a little more about World War II. I didn't know that two days later I would be finishing the book.

"A Separate Peace" was also my first American classic. The classified type of "classics" actually deter me from the section, probably since the writing is incomprehensible and it is usually about subjects I do not understand. I was unaware that I had stepped into a new ball game and soon realized I was reading a classic by the very advanced vocabulary and structure. I quickly pushed away my troubles with the writing and focused on what I could understand. This book is incredible, mostly because the characters are so relatable. Gene, the introverted character, struggles to overcome his jealousy of his friend, Finn who is fantastic at everything he does. Personally, I get jealous of when people are better at things than I am, because I'm human. John Knowles also makes you vert attached to the characters.

For example, in "A Separate Peace" Knowles created a character named Elwin Lepellier or Leper. Leper is a very efemminate male who would rather go cross country skiing to see a beaver dam than play Blitzball (the new school sport). You become very attached to Leper as he is very sweet and doesn't really fight back when people bully him. At one point Leper leaves to join the war and he becomes a sensation at the school. All the kids wanted him to succeed and came up with fantastical stories about his adventures throughout the war, some stories were used to make fun of him and others to celebrate his wonderful personality. It is then discovered that Leper has become very angry and every trace of his wonderful personality is wiped clean. He was changed by the war and everybody is frightened of the stories he tells.

"A Separate Peace" has mixed reviews since the book is very slow for certain people. I think that the book takes time to be understood. From the many reviews I read, they stated they found it boring and nonsensical, but this may have been from a lack of understanding. "A Separate Peace" is an interesting, sad and incredible book that really shows an evil side to adolescence. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a fair American classic.