Blog Reflection: last post of the year!

Although it was challenging, having to blog every other week through the year has taught me to better plan my time and be organized in advance. When everything is in order, everything gets done with no stress needed.

Your identity is something you with hold with pride. You want everyone to know that this is who you are and it's how you're going to stay. Sometimes when you don't have as much confidence, acting like someone else makes it somewhat better. Using social media online helps people achieve this view of not being yourself. By people using social media to show themselves to the world as something that they are not makes them feel powerful eva use if the attention they get. This practice of having an "online identity"; someone who acts a certain way online to cover up their true feelings about themselves, isn't healthy. You get so custom to being that way that you lose yourself on the way. 

Based on my blog posts, I learned that while I read I analyze the parts that pop out towards me. If I believe that it will have some affect on the plot later on, I will try and figure out how or why and connect everything together. Blogging the whole year has helped me become a stronger writer. I've learned how to get straight to the point and leave out the "fluff". 

I have learned so much from blogging and am thankful that I have gotten the opportunity to do this. No matter how annoying it may have been, in the end I learned do much more than I started out with and that was my goal the entire time.

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is the book that paints the picture of the ideal American dream. It shows how wealth and sociability consumes a person and clouds their minds. Nick the main character is living in a different reality than everyone else in east egg. His views on life are questioned when he observes the vanity of the east egg community.

The people wear invisible masks around the community. Wearing these masks cover up their pasts and their desires. This face is a total different person than what everybody knows, and the reason why it is in hiding is because they're afraid that everyone will look at them differently and they would feel like they've lost power. The less people know about you and your past the more power you have over them but once people know about you, they have the power to destroy you. 

It's a mind game that is fueled by greed and as Nick realized this he became more habitude to this way of living that he had to go back home. East egg was a different world, one that may have exposed the truth about what the American dream verily is and why it has to run off of fear and rapaciousness. How does that make you superior to anyone else?

Synthesis page-

Lock and Key: Post 2

Ruby's life has completely changed from  not having much to being to have whatever. You would think she would take advantage of this, but you're wrong. With all the new luxuries and money her sister has showered her with, willingly or unwillingly, Ruby still yearns for her old life back. 

With every new step into this new world her sister is welcoming her into, she takes a step back by retrieving small parts of her old life. For example, when her sister gives here 200$ to go shopping with she goes to Marshall, an old friend with benefits, house instead. Spending this time with her closer friends gives her more faith in getting her old life back, getting her mother back. 

The fact that Ruby's mother left her is something that she cannot accept and I believe that by her rejecting what her sister tries to do for her, she is trying to recreate the relationship she had with her mother. Soon enough she will have to realize that her mother is really gone.

 But when she does what will happen? Will she be able to hold herself together? Will she be the source of her own destruction without even knowing that she is the only one holding on?

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

     Now that Ruby's mother has abandoned her, she's living with her sister and her sister's husband. We hasn't seen her sister Cora since she left for college. Now Cora is living a new life new experiences and opportunities because of her money and motivation. While Ruby doesn't have very much and his custom to "riding solo". 

     Because their lives are so distinct, their relationship is monitored by Cora's husband Jamie. Jamie asked like a border between them and share both of their similarities and differences. He keeps them on the firm level.

     But my question is without Jamie what will happen between Ruby and Cora? What will hold them relationship together without Jamie? How will this affect both Ruby Jamie and Cora and what will it lead to? 

     I predict that maybe without Jamie being the center to their balance, they can work through their issues and become as close as they used to be. Maybe the key to their relationship growing is Jamie letting the beam tip until it finally balances out.

(Corresponding) Synthesis Page-

Non-Fiction Critical Analysis

The Non-Fiction article "Move or Else..." by Ian Johnson talks about the Chinese government forcing urbanization on his citizens of China. The government is participating in urbanization because they would like their economy to "boost". The reason why the citizens of China cannot fight against this is because the government owns their land and legally have the right to take it away. But In China there are many families Who has lived on that land generation after generation and refuses to give it up. For example in the article it's states that, "In recent years dozens of people have set themselves on fire rather than move". The being attached to your land was insult because the Chinese government only cared about what they have to do you to increase the economy.

The author Ian Johnson used strong words and imagery to explain the emotional distress the families being kicked off of their property were feeling. For example it says, "imagine government officials showing up at your house and ordering your family to move you don't get any say about where you go".  Johnson helps paint a picture and connect how you would feel and with the  families feelings. I think that by using "any" or "ordering" gives off a strong sense of stern or seriousness. Which emphasizes that the families are moved out of there will. I noticed that the author left out the side of the Chinese government. I think Johnson did this because he was on the side of the farming families and wanted to give the stronger claim to their side and make the governments side look weaker, while trying convincing the readers to agree with him. One way Johnson did this was by directly quoting more families then the government.

Although the article was obviously bias,  the authors to convince me even more that the government side was wrong and that the families don't deserve any of the treatment they are receiving. But still think about how both sides were beneficial from this large change in China.

A Wish After Midnight✨

  In the book "A Wish After Midnight" by Zetta Elliott Genna is a hard working 15 teen year old whose problem is that she has too much responsibility. Genna grows up the routine of picking her almost 3 year-old brother afterschool and taking care of him and the house, plus keeping up with her school work and doing homework. This is not just a chore it's her life, her way of contributing to her family. Her family lives in a shabby apartment building and they are struggling with money. Her siblings beside her little brother are both older than her and are sucked in to the bad ways of the people of the neighborhood. Genna is the child that got lucky and chose to follow a different path. 

  Genna knows where she wants to go in life and her hard work pays off but the extra load she pulls around everyday is too draining for a teenager. She goes through with every last bit of it because she is about her family. It's all that she has so she tries her best to keep it together. She babysits for a woman and her mother said not to just to get some money. She even tried to look for a house that was for rent for her family to live in but it didn't quite work out. The owner was racist and didn't want a black family living in her house. As you can see she's always routing for her family and although it is nice, it's too much. With everything she has to do plus this extra job while she's in school and she's trying to run the family. 

  Maybe it's because she is used to it and she's trying to step up her game but what's the problem. Why she putting herself in her mothers place, like a replacement? There is definitely lack of motherly love and attention for her and her older siblings because, they have stopped caring about what their mother thinks and just done what they've wanted  and turned into cold people who don't even realize they have a family until they get home and still don't care. Why hasn't Genna? She isn't the same as them of course because she has a goal and a drive but why is she now taking it upon herself to do tasks not even asked for, things that the adult of the family should be doing. It leaves me to think how does the mother not see this? Or does she see it and not think of it as a very big deal? When it is "Genna's mothers turn" to be the mother, how will this affect Genna, what is their for her to do if her life evolves around being the one always in charge?

Literary Essay: Response to Stick Figure

In the time between middle school and high school there are special expectations, especially for girls, to be considered cool. These expectations create an image that if most girls don't follow them they are bullied or judged because of it. Although popularity should be about who you are, is it really? Not everyone is going to except you for you, but should you deal with that?

Girls are vain when it comes to their skin or body. Take it from me, I freak out every time there is a blemish on my face. If you have acne it plays a huge part on your appearance and what you do with it. Using make up like cover up or foundation to hide your real appearance is a trick most girls use. In the book stick figure, the main character Lori was made fun of because she wouldn't wear make up and that she was still a little kid.

Looking older is  a key component to what most attention seeking girls want. It gives them power. Like they have a choice to do what they want because they look old enough so they're mature enough to. In stick figure, Lori was told that she was "still a child" because her parents still treated her like one. They never listened to what she said so she never got what she wanted. Therefore she wasn't mature enough to just do want she wants, and not be afraid of the consequences.

Weight is a problem many people struggle with. Mostly girls have disorders where no matter what they just feel like they need to lose more weight. This is a way to change yourself and make yourself seem apart of the mix. Or maybe to make yourself feel wanted or be noticed. Lori became anorexic because she wanted to look slim for a guy she liked. She wanted him to compare her and the "mean girl(s)" and let him be able to choose her because she had everything the other girl had. In the end she was hurt because it wasn't herself.

Changing yourself for someone else's approval is horrible. If they don't like you for who you are they aren't the right people to be around. Although half of the problem is their fault, the other half is yours. If you cannot accept yourself as you are then no one else will. You must depend on yourself first before anyone else.