One thing I am very passionate about is playing my guitar. I started out struggling and giving up multiple times. I kept thinking that my hands were small and that I needed bigger hands. The strings hurt my fingers and got all scratched up. I remember looking at them and seeing a line that was slightly lighter than my skin and all the dead skin around it. I started out simple, playing notes on one string and then advancing onto simple chords. As I progressed, I grew more attached to it playing about 5 times a week and singing songs that were popular on the radio. I remember singing with my dad. When we moved, it felt strange because I didn't have my guitar. My dad purchased one at the nearest guitar store and I started playing again. I played but not as much as I did before. It felt really odd. I took a long break away from my guitar. I am sure that I will return and feel a lot better when I start playing. Playing my guitar created a certain feeling. I don't know if it was the music it made or just me playing it. I enjoy my guitar. It is one of my favorite passions!
0 Comments
After much anticipation, the long awaited finale of the book The Outsiders was completed. And I have to say, I was not thoroughly impressed. Well, before I get into full detail of it, here is a quick overview of the general plot.
The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, was a first person narration by Ponyboy Curtis, the main character.It took place in a small town in Oklahoma, where railroad tracks distinctly separated people into two classes: those who lived on the East Side (greasers), and those who lived on the West Side (Socs). After being orphaned, Pony and his brothers/buddies stick close together. Pony, however, thinks differently than his peers, and is a bit more sensitive, making him a reliable source to narrate the story. But after one of his friends, Johnny, has an incident that can potentially cost both of them their lives, they make a run for it. They hide in a old church until they decide to turn themselves in, but before they can get far, an event happens that affects everyone in their gang. As Pony and the rest try to deal with it, a huge storm is brewing between both the East and West sides. But in the end, the underdogs (the greasers) come out on top, and all is alright. See, the book started off great, with underlying themes of "don't judge a book by its cover" and "treat others the way you want to be treated". And S.E. Hinton did a wonderful job with the book, considering it was her first (and most popular) of many books. I thought this book had great potential, it just ended poorly. As soon as Pony got knocked out, the book started getting a bit dry for my taste. A lot of loose ends weren't tied up, and many new ideas stopped, halfway finished. I understand that this was a first person narration, and because he had brain trauma it was going to sound odd, but I still did not like the last part of the book. Don't get me wrong, their were some parts of the book that I liked, and that were sweet, but for a young adult fiction book, there are plenty of others I would rather read. For example, if you read my previous post, The Fault in our Stars was much better than this book. Overall, I would not read other books by S.E. Hinton, and would not recommend this to anyone looking for a good read. 3/5 stars, only for the first part of the book. This week in class we watched the YouTube video titled To This Day, based off of the amazing poem by Shane Koyczan. The words from the poem create a powerful emotion, but when it is combined with the complex visuals and emotion from Mr. Koyczan's voice, the video/poem is a true inspiration and explains thoughts and feelings in the modern world. The poem describes multiple stories about children growing up not knowing the word love or the feeling of being wanted in this world. They were called freaks, ugly, fat, and were told to get over their emotions, yet to his day even though they are now surrounded by those who can see their worth, they still feel unloved, hideous, and worthless. The video made me feel upset, angry, and selfish. Knowing that there are still children and people that go through these emotions on the daily, wondering if they were ever loved, why they have no mom and dad, and why others can't see who they truly are. I believe that there are always going to be the bullies and people who try to tear down us and others, but in order to fix their broken souls we need to first see the beauty inside ourselves to find the courage and hospitality to share that inner beauty with others. In order to move on with our lives we must forgive those who stored us in the shadows for so long and take a look in the mirror to see that who we really are is wonderful. Shane Koyczan brought the feelings and emotions experienced daily by those broken souls to life with his poem and story to create an indescribable feeling that left me in awe. So, until next week I will finish out with the words of Mr. Koyczan, ". . .our lives will only ever always continue to be a balancing act that has less to do with pain and more to do with beauty"
This blog post is going to be about Johnny's and Ponyboy's experience in Windrixville from the book The Outsiders. In the book, Johnny had killed a boy named Bob. Johnny and Ponyboy went to Dally to ask where they should go. Dally had told them to go on a train heading to Windrixville. Right before they left, Dally gave them some money and a gun. When they went to a church Dally had told them to go to, they rested for the night. The next day, Johnny got some supplies from a shop. He would have to cut his hair short, and Ponyboy would have to cut it and bleach it, which he didn't want to do. Among some of the supplies was the book Gone With the Wind. After about 5 days in the church, Dally came to the church to talk with them. Dally gave Ponyboy a note from Sodapop, because he knew that Dally knew where Ponyboy was. As they went to Dairy Queen, Dally gave them some bad news. "...Hey, I didn't tell you we got us a spy." Dally said. That spy turned out to be Cherry Valance, the girl Johnny and Ponyboy were with the night at the drive-thru. As they went back to the church, it was in flames. There were people all around the church, telling some kids to back away. One lady had told a man that some children had been missing for several hours. They then heard some yells and screams coming from the church. Ponyboy ran though a window, not aware that Johnny had followed him. They found the kids in a back room, and started throwing them out of the window. One kid had bitten Ponyboy, but he gently dropped the kid out of the window. Right before the building collapsed, Johnny and Ponyboy barely made it out. The next thing Ponyboy knew was that he was in an ambulance, who took them in the hospital. Sodapop and Darry had met him there. So, I think that Ponyboy and Johnny learned that it doesn't matter what your background is, you can be a hero to anyone. Even though they were both greasers, they were also both considered heroes.
|
AuthorThe authors of these blogs are in my classes, but are anonymous. I only tell them and their parents that theirs is the blog that has been posted. Archives
October 2018
Categories |