~Reading Response (In place of writers notebook)~

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (Warning- this book is so complicated to try and explain because of the two authors and strange plot. I tried my best.)

                      I stand up then say, "Um, I'm Will Grayson."

                      "W-I-L-L G-R-A-Y-S-O-N?" he says, spelling impossibly fast.

                      "Uh, yeah," I say. "Why do you ask?"

                      The kid looks at me for a second, his head turned like he thinks I might be putting him                         on, and then finally he says, "Because I am also Will Grayson."

          
(This is where the two Will Graysons run in to each other and discover that they have the same name. At this point in the book, the plot picks up and the story really begins to develop.)

In this novel two very different teenage boys meet under unlikely circumstances.. they share the same name. Every other chapter is written by John Green's version of Will Grayson and the chapters in between are written by David Levithan's version of Will Grayson. I am going to refer to them as "John's" and "David's" that way the same name doesn't get confusing.

John's version of Will is a boy with not many friends who sticks to two major rules... 1.) Don't care too much and 2.) Shut up. He keeps his opinions to himself and only really has a couple of friends.

David's version of Will is a boy that I picture to still be in the "emo" phase. He doesn't like anyone but Isaac. Isaac is a boy he met online and has been talking to for about a year. He finally gets up the courage to meet Isaac in public and when Isaac never shows up, Will realizes that one of his friends made Isaac up as a prank.

This point in the book is where the two Will's accidentally meet and then their lives change forever. (Stereotypical, I know.) This is also where I am in the book so I will finish the summary on the next response.

My picture for the response is in honor of John Green because I have now read every book by him so far and I really appreciate him as an author.

The project that I have wanted to do my whole life is trace my family history and learn more about who I am. Every time the topic of heritage comes up in class most people can just say where their families came from but I have never had any idea. I would LOVE to be able to do this for my research project. The only problem is... that I can't.

I talked to my grandma this weekend to ask how impossible it would be for me to do the research and she blatantly said, "Impossible." I knew it would be hard and I would be fighting legal issues, but I didn't know that it would be impossible.

Here's why:
My mom is adopted. She was part of a closed adoption and the only thing we know is that the mother was very strictly catholic and got pregnant during her time at MSU. She decided to have the baby and participate in an adoption before her parents could find out because she knew she would be in a lot of trouble. That is the farthest back that I can trace my history on my mother's side of the family. No matter how many times I call the hospitals or DFS, I am not allowed to know anything unless the original mother agrees to it. Unfortunately, I cannot get her to agree if I don't know her name or where she is.

A picture of my birth grandmother.

I started to do this research and was shut down so quickly that I didn't learn anything new. I had a plan as well. I was going to talk to the hospital and POSSIBLY try and contact my birth grandmother. I just want to know what she is like. Would she be able to see herself through my behavior? Do I look like her? Is she the reason I have this weird button nose? I just wanted to know. But I'll never know most likely. Unless one day she decides to try and contact us and tell us about who we actually are.

I guess it doesn't really matter because my adoptive grandmother is my grandmother. I wouldn't be who I am without her and how she has raised me. Especially since I live with her now, it doesn't matter to me that we aren't technically related because our blood and DNA are different. To me, we are related because she is the only one that has always been there for me and helped me deal with my crazy parents. She immediately took me in without question when I had nowhere to go and that is what matters. I love her and she loves me and that is how it was meant to be. Without her, I would be a completely different story, and I am so glad she is in my life.

The only way I can continue this project is if I only look into my dad's side of the family which would be kind of difficult since all of his relatives are out of town and don't see me very often. At this point, I have changed my topic. This was sort of the intro into why I picked my research topic.

I am going to research the effect of closed adoption on the adopted person/child. My mother and grandmother have agreed to be my primary sources and I could even be one myself. According to most research, a lot of the time children that have been adopted acquire attachment disorders that can lead to other behavioral problems. I'm interested in how that applies to my mother and other people that have gone through the adoption process.

Post 4~

Today we were told to read some examples of multigenre projects and reflect so I am going to talk about a project who's theme generally sparks controversy among many women. Feminism and how fairy tales can relate.

We have all heard the classics of Cinderella and Belle, but do these stories (key word-stories) play a role in how we view ourselves growing up? The answer is no for me. I am a huge Disney fan and I will proclaim that loudly. I grew up playing dress up as princesses and singing along to my favorite Disney movies. Yet, I am extremely independent and have never really been one to rely on guys for my happiness. Maybe that's just me and how I turned out, but I disagree with the author of Happily Ever After in the Media? who is, by the way, Tori Grinberg. 

The title immediately grabbed my attention. Although I probably wouldn't choose it as a topic for my research, it was a good example of what we should be starting to work on. 

If you want to know what I am researching, here is your answer... I don't know. I am waiting for a good idea to hit me and it just hasn't yet. I'll make sure and let you know as soon as one does though.  

Reading Response 3~ Millennium Development Goals
Ensure Environmental Sustainability

The environment has always been a priority to me. All throughout my childhood I wanted to be a marine biologist. My room was painted with sea animals and I had hundreds (not kidding) of sea books and encyclopedias scattered about in hopes that I would learn about a new creature. At that time you could ask me questions about anything involving the ocean and if I couldn't immediately answer, I would seek to the books and learn. This was all before I realized that I have a fear of deep water/clouded water that I can't see through (this did dampen the dreams of marine biology, unfortunately.)

Not only was I interested in the ocean, but the environment as a whole. I started recycling and encouraging others to do so at school. This is why I was so attracted to number seven on the Millennium Development Goals. Number seven is Ensure Environmental Sustainability.

In Missouri alone the Least Tern, Gray bat, Indiana bat, Ozark Big-Eared bat, Ozark Hellbender, and many more species are on the official endangered list. I found this information after reading the fact sheet for the environmental page.


"Although more land and marine areas are under protection, many species of birds, mammals and others are heading for extinction at a fast pace. Significant progress has been made in increasing the coverage of protected areas dedicated to safeguarding and maintaining biological diversity and natural resources. 14.6 per cent of the world’s land surface is now protected, while marine protection has more than doubled since 1990, from 4.6 per cent to 9.7 per cent in coastal waters. At the same time, species are moving towards extinction at an ever-faster pace, and reduced biodiversity will have serious consequences for the ecosystem services upon which all people depend"


I have always had an interest in environmental protection, and I always will. It is so interesting for me to read the goals and accomplishments so far of the Millennium Development Goals. I am really proud of the work that has been done so far to protect the environment and the species that inhabit that land and can't wait to see what they do next to help.

My absolute favorite photo describing the tragedy that has sparked regarding shark fins. I encourage you to look up the situation if you so desire, but it will definitely anger you. (as long as you are a normal caring person, I suppose)

Article 2 Response-

     My favorite Do Good idea that I read was called Art to Aid. It is an online site where people can sell their creations and donate a portions of the profits to their favorite charity. It was unique to me because anyone could help. All someone would have to do is sign up to the website and sell their creations. It is a really neat concept, I love it. If I were creative enough to make things, I would participate (but no one would buy my stuff because I am most definitely not artistic).   { http://startsomethingthatmatters.maker.good.is/projects/arttoaid?position=2&sort=alphabetical }
     I also read and idea called OAK which stands for Ordinary Acts of Kindness. By buying a backpack through OAK, you automatically donate another backpack and school supplies to homeless children and children suffering through foster care. But they don't stop there, they also help fund tutoring and counseling for the children in need. { http://startsomethingthatmatters.maker.good.is/projects/oaklifestyle?position=9&sort=15 }
     Last, but not least, a father went to his first daughters baby shower and was unimpressed with the childrens books. He claimed they were all too sappy or just plain boring, this view helped spark the idea for CoverForCover. Mike Nemeth has now published three of his own creations and has two more in production. But the cool thing is that for every copy sold, he donates a copy of one of his books to a low income family that may not have access to good chilrens books. I think it is really awesome that he is trying to fight child illiteracy. { http://startsomethingthatmatters.maker.good.is/projects/BabyDaddyBooks?position=4&sort=alphabetical }

All three of these stories caught my attention because they were something that I potentially could participate in. I like when people create something to help but also make it to where it can involve the community. It is a lot more fun to get involved if you know that you personally are helping by purchasing a product. It got me thinking about how I can help by just pursuing one of my passions. I have a dream of working on an Evidence Recovery Squad and getting a degree in Forensic Science. When I go to those crime scenes, I want to get the truth and help someone that was in an unfortunate situation. I want to be the one that proves someone guilty and puts that person where they need to be to protect the community. It's my passion to work with forensics and I hope on day that I can.

Article 1 Response~

I read the grammar article and thought that it all seemed like common sense. The topics that the author covered were fairly basic and simple to understand. The only things, out of those choices, that I know that I am guilty of is wordiness and bad parallelism. I tend to put a lot of words into one sentence and then word them in such a way as to confuse the reader. Of course I do this by accident, but nevertheless, it happens.

I believe the main points of the article are strictly based on opinion. For me, the main topics that I noticed were bad parallelism, wordiness (didn’t have its own section, but mentioned in opening paragraph), and the subjunctive section. I noticed the first two because I immediately knew that they pertained to me. However, I noticed the subjunctive section because I know multiple people that still use “were” and “was” wrong. Although it is not a big deal, it is still mildly irritating. In summary, this article basically listed seven common grammatical errors (whether big or not) and gave examples of how to avoid the mistakes. It was helpful for me to read through the examples and see how to properly word a piece of writing.

“As I noted in my previous article, the meaning of words inevitably and perennially change.”

The above quote is wonderful. No matter what, the meaning of words tends to change based upon society itself. People use words in different ways than they were originally intended, which can cause trends that briefly (or permanently) change the words meaning.

“On the other hand, no one thinks anymore that astonish means "turn to stone," and it would be ridiculous to object to anyone who does so.”

This quote, later on in the paragraph, further proves my point. It would be silly for someone to interpret astonish into “turn to stone” in this modern day. That’s the beauty of words, they are forever changing. And we are changing with them. 

This article just made me picture a giant rule book of good and bad writing styles.

Superior Skydiving

I watched a PechaKucha about a woman who loves skydiving. She says that she is always asked, “Why do you jump out of a perfectly good airplane?” In her presentation she answers this quickly, she does it to live life.

She easily had a good presentation just based on the topic. The only thing I noticed was when she lost track of where she was and said “Sorry, Sorry I lost my place”, which made me forget about the focus of the story. She had a good story line to go off of, because it is interesting. If someone says that they have been skydiving we automatically become intrigued because it seems like such a crazy thing to do.  The only thing I would recommend for her is to try not to lose her place and stay on topic as best she can. The pauses make it kind of awkward but hey, they happen. No big deal. I am just being particular because of the lack of things to criticize.

Only Child?

I chose to write about China’s One Child Policy. I find this policy to be outrageous, but I understand that someone from China, or other parts of the world, may not. I have heard about the One Child Policy before but when reading my letter from Ann, one of my correspondents from China, I became much more curious. She wrote,

 “I am the only child in my home, so I get all love of my parents. In fact, I am a bit selfish and paradoxical in this matter. I don’t want a brother or sister in the future because I am not patient enough to get along with a baby who will share even snatch my parents’ attention in the rest of my life. May other people will be in euphoria to have a sister or brother, but it is not my reflection to this kind of occasion.”

Although Ann does not specifically say that the One Child Policy is responsible for her being an only child, it got me thinking. How does the policy work? Are there exceptions? What happens when women accidentally become pregnant with a second child?

               After further research I learned that in 1979 China’s population was a quarter of the world’s people and following the Cultural Revolution, the government found it necessary to prevent the baby boomers of the 1950s-1960s from reproducing multiple children as well. The State Family Planning Bureau sets standards that are to be followed by the population. Of course, there are special situations and exceptions. Some of the exceptions include if the first baby has a disability, if both parents work in high-risk jobs, or if the parents themselves are from One Child families. Despite its name, the policy only caters to a minority of the population. In rural areas a second child is usually allowed as long as there is a five year difference between them and the first child. Despite the exceptions, this policy leaves many women without a choice but to use contraceptives or get an abortion. (The Effect of China's One-Child Policy).

               I, personally, could not even begin to imagine my life without my brothers. I can’t imagine being a parent who wants multiple children but knowing that I could only have one. I understand it from the government’s point of view (to an extent) because they are trying to keep their population lower to preserve good living standards. I hope China decides that the time for the One Child Policy is over. After all, it has been 35 years.

SOURCES:      

"The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years — NEJM." New England Journal of Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2014.

My correspondent, Ann.

My results from the Implicit Bias test were that I had no preference between African Americans and European Americans. I think this is accurate for me because I like people for their personalities and for who they are. Race specifically does not play a factor in who I talk to, and it never will. Who cares what race someone is? If they are a good person then I will like them. It makes me really angry when people try to categorize others because of things like race and religion. I view everyone as equal.

Today we looked at bias and racism in the world to see how it can effect us. These two factors are always there in the world, but I don't agree with them. Then again, I understand that how you are raised plays a large part in bias and what you believe, so every one is different. It was heartbreaking listening to those stories from Face to Face and hearing about how people were treated after instances such as 9/11 and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The fact that Japanese people were rounded up after Pearl Harbor and put into camps and were questioned about their whereabouts and actions. That angers me because it was such a generalization and assumption about the entire population of Japanese people in America.

I wish people as a whole could understand that every person is different and just because a group of people does something doesn't mean that their entire race is the same. I can't write this in a way to get my opinion across without feeling like I could be offending someone, so I am going to stop.

Reading Response #4

 I wanted to show the way he wrote the title.


Surprise! I am reading yet another book by John Green. (I am reading everything he has written so far so be prepared for next week as well). This one is called An Abundance of Katherines, and yes, it is important that Katherine is spelled with a "K." In this novel, a child prodigy named Colin has a rare preference. He only dates girls named Katherine (has to be spelled with a "K") and every single time he gets dumped. In John Green's own words:

"When it comes to girls (and in Colin's case, it so often did), everyone has a type. Colin Singleton's type was not physical but linguistic: he liked Katherines. And not Katies or Kats or Kitties or Cathys or Rynns or Trinas or Kays or Kates or, God forbid, Catherines. K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E. He had dated nineteen girls. All of them had been named Katherine. And all of them--every single solitary one--had dumped him."

By the time he has graduated high school and is seventeen years old, he has dated nineteen different Katherines. After being dumped for the nineteenth time, him and his best friend Hassan decide that they need to get away for awhile. Thus began their road trip to no where in particular. They decide to stop at a tourist spot in Gutshot, Tennessee that claims to have the remains of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. They start talking to the tour guide, Lindsey, they realize that a summer in Gutshot, Tennessee spent working for Lindsey's mom may be exactly what they need. Once they make the decision to stay in Gutshot for awhile, Colin begins to work on a formula for being dumped. It goes as such:

This above picture is Colin's actual equation as written in the book. I am using this as my picture because the formula is a very important part of plot and sets the motivation for most of the story.

Book Response #3~ Paper Towns

 

 

I happen to be writing, once again, about a novel by John Green. I have yet to find a book by him that does not continue the seemingly effortless flow of words. His novels are mostly well written so that it is not difficult to keep up with the words, however, the plot of Paper Towns is proving to be difficult to understand. But that may be due to the fact that I am only 63 pages in so far.

The book is written from the perspective of Quentin. He is a senior at Winter Park High School in Florida. As a child, a girl named Margo Roth Spiegelman moved next door to him. They became play mates, for lack of better words, and were friends. The opening of the novel takes you back to when they were nine and on their way to a park in which they often played in. Upon arriving, they could tell something was wrong and noticed a dead body lying against a tree. This is not a major turning point, nor seemingly important, so don’t get upset about the spoiler. Upon the discovery they ran home and Margo told him that she was going to investigate. This leaves him ending the first few pages with, “Margo always loved mysteries. And in everything that came afterward, I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one.” (page 8)

Years later, Margo and Quentin are no longer what we would consider to be “friends.” They haven’t talked since they were young and the cliques and popularity in high school seemed to have also separated them. Margo is a very popular girl, along with all her friends, which leaves Quentin to just admire her from afar. Until one night when she shows up and asks for his assistance in getting much needed revenge. He reluctantly agrees and an action packed night begins. The night ranges from catfish to spray paint to boxers to guns and nothing Margo does is expected. She has devised the perfect way to get revenge on someone who wronged her and has also perfectly planned it out.  

If you are confused by my summary, don’t worry. I am confused by the book so far so I don’t necessarily expect people to understand what is going on. I love John Green and I am sure that the book will begin to answer my questions soon enough, so I will continue reading.

 

I chose a picture of a map of Orlando, Florida because during the crazy night of revenge they drive all over the city and considering the title of the book, I figure that this will be important.

The Fault in Our Stars~

I honestly read this a while ago, but I decided to re-read it. John Green amazes me with his incredible writing that flows so effortlessly from paragraph to paragraph. I know that most of us has either read the book or seen the movie, but for those few out there, I will try not to give away the ending.

The novel is from Hazel’s perspective. She is a 16 year old girl with cancer. Her parents force her to go to a support group, which is where she meets Augustus Waters. Augustus is an amputee who is there in support of his friend, Isaac, who is about to get surgery for the cancer in his eyes that will make him legally blind. Hazel runs into him (literally) and there is immediately something there. Throughout the novel you get to witness their love grow stronger and stronger no matter what they have to go through. As Hazel’s cancer gets worse, Augustus decides to use his Wish to take her to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author, Peter Van Houten. When they get there, they discover that he is actually an awful person and they instead spend the trip together on what I consider a multiple day date. On the last day, Augustus reveals some information that really tests their relationship.

You have to read it to learn what the information is and what happens next, but I can promise you that it will be an enjoyable, emotional, and good read. You will become attached to the characters and find yourself rooting for them in every step that they take.

One of my favorite quotes from the novel is when Augustus comes over and they decide to make an ad to get rid of Hazel’s old childhood swing set. They have fun and laugh at what they can come up with for the ad and then Hazel makes a wonderful suggestion. “Lonely, vaguely pedophilic swing set seeks the butts of children.”

“Okay.”
I chose these two pictures because I honestly want to focus on the text of the book. John Green's writing style is so good that I can't even think of a picture that would significantly impact my understanding. Thank you to the wonderful John Green!

 

 

Every Day~ First Book Response

“I wake up.

      Immediately I have to figure out who I am. It’s not just the body—opening my eyes and discovering whether the skin on my arm is light or dark, whether my hair is long or short, whether I’m fat or thin, boy or girl, scarred or smooth. The body is the easiest thing to adjust to, if you’re used to waking up in a new one each morning. It’s the life, the context of the body, that can be hard to grasp.

      Every day I am someone else. I am myself—I know I am myself—but I am also someone else.

      It has always been like this.”

 

                The opening of this book is so powerful. It automatically brings you into the story because you want to understand what is going on. Here is the story:

                A is a person… well kinda. I don’t really know what word to use to describe A. Every morning A wakes up in a different body as a different person. He has the day to just live their life as they would, which has caused A to see some interesting things. Gender does not matter nor race. The only consistent factor is that the person is always the same age as him.

                As A goes through this routine learning about the person of the day, he meets a girl named Rhiannon. He is in her boyfriends body for a day and he falls in love with her. Every day A comes back to talk to Rhiannon as a different person, and finally tries to tell her the truth. Of course this begins a rollercoaster of events. I feel like A’s main questions are: Are there others like me? How would I ever know if there were? Is it possible to stay for longer than a day?

 

                The writing in this novel can be compared to no other that I have read. The odd story pulls you in and makes you think about being in A’s place. The life of A is so sad… but it is not. Everything bout the plot is complicated but once you understand what is going on, it is a wonderful read. I highly recommend this book to anyone. As long as you don’t try to guess the ending. I guarantee that you will not be correct.

 

This is a picture of a beach in Maryland. When A was in Justin's body, he and Rhiannon decided to go to the beach. This happens to be a key part of the book because the beach in Maryland is where A completely fell in love with her. A's love for Rhiannon drives the story line, which also takes it's place in Maryland.

Facts about me!

                                                              ~FACTS ABOUT ME~

• I am only slightly obsessed with the Harry Potter series. Slightly.
• Two Door Cinema Club, Panic! At the Disco, and Parachute are some of my favorite bands.
• I have broken 4 bones including: my elbow in two places, my toe, and my wrist.
• I am extremely accident prone. (^see above)
• I love every type of animal. Snakes? Yup. Cows? Adorable. Dolphins? Beautiful.
• You will probably never see my kill a bug. I tend to cry if I do that. I have been known to save spiders and all other bugs in class and everywhere else.
• I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. Other than a princess of course.
• I am involved in 7 clubs so far. I am also a member of TRiO. (college prep program.)
• I have had a boyfriend for the past four months and he is okay.. I guess. :)
• Tumblr is an addiction of mine.
• I'm very independent and love to get things done on my own.
• You will not EVER see me bully someone, or support bullying. I will also not be happy if I see it happen. I also will not be very nice to the bully. Fair warning.
• I went to an agricultural camp at MSU this summer and had a blast!
• Sarah Holt and Elias Jardell are my favorite people. They are pretty great.
• I have a shopping problem. However, I have turned over a new leaf and decided to knock it off. (After I get those super cute sandals.)
• I enjoy fashion more than I probably should.
• Please don't take me too seriously... I am very sarcastic. I'm always kidding.
• I am also hilarious. I may be the only one with that opinion though.
• What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta. See? Hilarious.
• What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear! Okay, I'll stop now.
• I have been in 5 theatrical shows. They are as follows: Les Miserables, The 36 Dramatic Situations, Hairspray, 13 Reasons Why, and The Scarlet Pimpernel.
• Family is very important to me.
• I think 22 is a good stopping point.