My Project

Romans 12:2- Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

This verse is the center of my project. I came upon it about a week ago and it clicked with everything I had been thinking about for my project. God is my rock and my strength, so it was very comforting to be my reminded that God wants me to be me. He gave me this life to be me and only me. He has given me this opportunity to do something great with my life not for my benefit, but for others. So here's the plan...

I want to inspire people, because I have been inspired by words, the thoughts, and feelings of someone else. I think that, that in itself is inspiring; the fact that you can be so moved to do something because of the words you read. Reading has generated my words, thoughts, and feelings for not only my project, but my life as well. I want others to feel the same way I felt after reading this book. I know I won't have the power to have everyone read The Catcher in the Rye or connect to it the same way I did, but I do have the power to relate with students. Just as JD Salinger inspired me with Holden Caulfield's story so did the Bible verse that is why I'm incorporating the two. I want to be the catcher in the rye. I want to help those who feel like they've completely lost who they are or feel like they've had to conform to what society thinks is "normal." 

I would like to speak to the incoming freshman class about the importance of being yourself. I find it important to speak to everyone about staying true to who you are, but I find it especially important because of the changes you go through as a freshman. Peer pressures seem to rise and people change dramatically. I would like to bring a panel of different students already in the high school to talk about their experiences of being true to who they are. I've thought about having the 8th graders (incoming freshman) write down several things that they enjoy, describes them, or anything that a friend of theirs or someone they're close to doesn't know about them. I've also thought about introducing them to an online diary that I found that would be a great way to express your feelings and who you are with the ability to put pictures and to personalize it to who you are.

I am always up for ideas from anyone who would like to share their thoughts and I might be posting new ideas about my project in the near future!

To Kill A Mockingbird -Connection- Ted Talks

Natalie Warne: Being Young and Making an Impact

My connection to my novel this week was a Ted Talk. I listened to Natalie Warne speak about her experiences of being young and inspired. There were many connections that I made while listening to her inspiring and motivating speech. At 17, Natalie Warne became inspired to do something for a country thousands of miles away in the continent of Africa. She began working with the Invisible Children movement that has inspired many to help with the Kony fight or to just be inspired to work for something they believe in.

MY CONNECTIONS:

1) Young and uninformed
  In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are both young and uninformed with the racial war going on in their country, in their town. Their father, Atticus, is a lawyer who is defending an African American man and the town of Mobile is in an uproar. Opinions are being thrown around, while Scout and Jem are left to question what they all mean. The two kids don't know what to think of it all, because they don't know what some of the words people are saying mean and they don't know why people are acting a certain way towards "colored" people. In Warne's talk, she explains how young she was as she started this huge project. She also explains how uninformed she was about the 25 year long war that had been going on over in Africa.

2) Race
 A small connection would be Natalie Warne's childhood that was affected by racial comments due to her mixed family. Her mother is an African American and her father is white. In To Kill A Mockingbird, one of the main focuses that pops out as you read the novel is the war between the whites and blacks. Not only is this an important part of the book, but it makes you not look at just race, but at the good vs. evil perspective that every person in the world has to make.

3) Inpsire
Scout inspires us as a reader. Her conflicts that she experiences as a 6 and 8 year old are conflicts that we as teens and adults face. Scout is young and innocent, so her actions and words are set aside because of her age (although she is taught throughout the book what is wrong and right). But what is our excuse to our actions and words that we do and say? Reading To Kill A Mockingbird puts many things into perspective and shows us that no matter our age, we can act foolish; that is why Scout inspires me to think and act before I speak. Words and actions can hurt and once they are done they can't be undone. Natalie Warne inspires me in a completely different way, but she inspired me and isn't that the goal? Her strength at 17 years old showed me that anything is possible as long as you have the dedication and drive to go out an make a difference. Not only did Natalie's talk make connections to the book, but she also made connections to my life and is now part of my drive for my project to do something inspiring. 

To Kill A Mockingbird // Connection

When in a hectic situation don't allow your emotions to control your mind. Breathe, and listen to what the person has to say. *Keep Calm And Keep Calm*

To Kill A Mockingbird // Free Response

Connection

As I have gotten farther into To Kill A Mockingbird I came across a part in the book that connected with a part in my life.

"You're real nice, Uncle Jack, an' I reckon I love you even after what you did, but you don't understand children much."

Scout had just been whipped by her Uncle Jack from beating up her cousin Francis. The reason behind Scout's beat down on Francis was because of his rude comments about Atticus (her father) and her brother and Scout. Atticus is a lawyer who is defending an African American in a trial in the 1930's and the turmoil of it all is just starting. Atticus knows that Scout will be very sensitive to the comments made by others about her father and family even though she doesn't quite understand what is going on.
My Connection...
Scout's comment to her uncle hit home to me. I have grown up with four siblings and of course, we all have an array of different personalities. My 14 year old sister and I have completely different personality traits and characteristics except for when it comes to speaking to adults. Growing up, Jill and I have always wanted to have our opinions heard. Jill does it on the loud, obnoxious side of it sometimes where I try to present my opinion civilly. Either way, we want our opinions thought about and understood by adults even though we are much younger than them. I believe that anything a person has to say is important. It is the hardest thing to do in some situations because you may just not want to hear it at all. But you would be amazed at what you could learn or take from that single sentence that person says.
Scout is the same way. She mentions to her uncle that he never even allowed her the chance to tell him her side of the story. Not only that, but he may have just turned her down and said that her opinion didn't matter. Luckily in the story Uncle Jack allows to hear Scout's side of the story where he learns something very important. It is better to be calm in a hectic situation than to light right into someone. The more calm you are the easier it is to listen and you never know, you may just learn something that you never would have if you hadn't...

To Kill A Mockingbird

Click it. Buy it. Read it. Get inspired.

To Kill A Mockingbird // Conflict • Setting • Theme

Conflict • Setting • Theme

I have just started my second novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. It is difficult to find the overall conflict of the story because I have just started it, but from what I have read so far the conflict is Man vs. Man. Scout is struggling with her first year of school due to teachers, other classmates, and even her brother. Scout speaks her mind, but doesn't know that it's wrong to do that now. Scout doesn't get along with all of her classmates, because she is more mature than them in ways. Lastly, Scout is struggling with the fact that her brother doesn't want to have anything to do with her during the school day.
The setting takes place in the 1930's in a town called Maycomb, Alabama. So far the setting of the book has always taken place in Maycomb either at the Finch's home, the school, or by the Radley residence.
The overall theme of the novel that I see so far is accepting the reality of growing up. Scout is finally faced with her first year of school and already sees many changes in her life. The changes in her life so far consist of Dill leaving at the end of the summer, going to school, realizing her brother is growing up which is changing him too, how Calpurnia treats her, how her peers treat her, and her relationship with her teacher. Scout realizes that since school has started she has seen Calpurnia change the way she acts toward Scout due to her going to school:

"For some reason, my first year of school had wrought a great change in our relationship: Calpurnia's tyranny, unfairness, and meddling in my business had faded to gentle grumblings of general disapproval. On my part, I went to much trouble, sometimes, not to provoke her." (34) 

Midterm Response // It's All a Cycle

So far I have read The Catcher in the Rye and now I have begun To Kill a Mockingbird. Overall, reading The Catcher in the Rye was much more of learning experience and an eye opener than I had intended it to be. When I first began reading the novel, it was definitely a drag. I just couldn't get into it as I hoped I would have. I never got to the point where I couldn't put it down, but I did get to a point where things started to make sense and I realized what the author's message was.
Salinger's message was to adults, not just adolescents. An adult or a teenager could read it and take something from it. As a teenager I discovered that there is a lot of conformity in our world today. Too many people follow the path that has been traveled way too many times and either realize that it isn't for them or don't realize it and are stuck on this path of no originality, phoniness, and artificial life. This novel taught me to just keep being me. Not only to keep being myself, but help others who feel like they are being swallowed up by the shallow lives of others. It was also a wake up call to point out the things I myself do in life that are phony and bland. My favorite part of the novel was the brutally honest, Holden Caulfield. Salinger wasn't afraid to give it to you straight and that's what I enjoyed the most. I would encourage others to read The Catcher in the Rye, but I recommend that they find a clean version. (If possible) :)
Reading books of any sort in school seems to be ancient history anymore. So, I appreciate the fact that we have been given this privilege to read again. The reflection part that is involved with our reading is probably the most important part. By reflecting what we read to others through our blogs or other means of communication inspires others to read, do something for someone, reevaluate parts of their lives, etc. It's a trickle down effect. What inspires us may inspire someone else in a completely different way, but the main achievement in it all, is that it is inspiring someone.
Our quarter project for Novels is to do something awesome. We are supposed to take something we learned from our book and do something with it that is well, awesome. I have an idea, but I'm just not certain if it's the idea. I learned from my novel that the world needs less phony, more real. So I thought about speaking to the incoming freshman class of the next school year. I would talk to them about how important it is to be yourself in a world full of people who seem to be all the same. If money wasn't an issue I thought about creating bracelets that would remind someone each day to be yourself and live your life with conforming or being phony to others.
Reading can really change the way people think. It opens your eyes, mind, and heart to look at a situation completely different. It's other people's words, but sometimes it's your words too. An author may write about exactly how you feel or what you are thinking and it can make you feel less alone. I love how no matter what, some part of a book will always apply to my life.
As for the rest of the quarter (and semester), I hope to become a person who inspires others because I was inspired by someone else. It's all a cycle.

The Catcher in the Rye //Free Response

Symbol

In many novels there is symbolism. A symbol is related to imagery where something or an object in the story is itself, but really stands for something more. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield talks about his red hunting hat all throughout the story. When I first read about his hat, I instantly tried picturing it in my head. Although Holden never describes the hat as being anymore than just a hat but as the story continued I felt as if there was a deeper meaning to it. So, I went back through and read some of the parts where he talks about it. One sentence that stuck out to me in particular was:

("I took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on – I didn't give a damn how I looked") (88)

When I reread this sentence I knew that the hat symbolized Holden's personality. His personality of being unique and not conforming to what others have. The hat symbolizes his individuality as a person. It also symbolizes Holden still just wanting to stay young where he didn't have a care in the world.

The Catcher in the Rye //Dialectically

 How are we, as adolescents, supposed to be real in such a phony world?

 From the beginning to the end of the story, Holden Caulfield tries to alienate himself from society. Although he is with people for most of the novel, he has a struggle within in himself. He struggles to choose to either interact with people and face their phony and bland personalities that are so much like everyone else or to be by himself and avoid everyone. Either way he is depressed and lonely. So the question that the text is responding to is "How are we, as adolescents, supposed to be real in such a phony world?" Holden Caulfield is constantly questioning or making a remark to how phony the people around him are, especially the adults. I pulled out a phrase from the novel that incorporated with my question,

"It's such a stupid question, in my opinion. I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it's a stupid question." (213)

As adolescents, we are always struggling. Our struggles range from family, friends, school, boy/girl problems, self-esteem issues, peer pressure, and the list goes on. This phrase is well stated. How do we know what we're going to do until we actually do it? As I stated before teens don't know much, our emotions are unbalanced and to top it off we have to somehow find out what we're going to do when we are constantly faced with a phony world? Seems unfair to me. So, the text addresses this question by using a teen as the main character who also tells the story. We, as the readers, definitely get a feel for Holden's emotions, but we can relate in so many ways. The text addresses this question by the thoughts, questions, and remarks throughout the novel that Holden makes. Lastly, the text's response to the question does match much of my own personal thinking. Sometimes I do get a little paranoid and a bit crazy when I think about how many phony people I have to deal with in one day. For once it would be nice to see everyone completely being themselves and cut the crap, so to speak. For once it would be nice to see people caring for things other than themselves or their phone. We live in a society where having the most updated and new technological device is more important than just being yourself.