Tuesday, January 23, 2007

"Signs" by Scott Russell Sanders

I think it is important to be able to write things down in order to understand them better. I don't do this often, usually only if I have a big problem that I can't think through clearly by myself. Sometimes, when you write things down and really take a look at them and fully grasp what's going on you see things in a new perspective.

For example, if I am having a fight with someone and I don't really know how to express myself right away, I take time and write a letter to that person, even if I'm not going to give it to them. I write down everything: what I think about the situation, my feelings towards them, my feelings in general, and whatever else I think is signficant. After I'm done, I read the letter over and over again. If there's something I left out or feel I worded wrong I'll change it and then read it again, until I say what I need to say correctly. After reading things over and over again, especially problems with other people, I tend to understand what's going on better and am able to cope with my feelings better. Many times I read and analyze my letter and then think about what the other person might be feeling as opposed to my own feelings.

Sometimes you just need to look at things from a third person so writing things down, as if it were a story, is really beneficial.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

"Shooting Dad" by Sarah Vowell

Obsession. We all have one. Mine is chocolate. Whenever I can have some, I take it. Well not so much anymore since I recently discovered I was addicted to caffeine. So yea, the dad in the story was obsessed with guns. I mean, guns aren't very conventional and it is a weird hobby but then again he was a gunsmith so of course his work is going to carry over into his homelife. Well, maybe he carried it about too far. He didn't really pay attention to Sarah when she was growing up since she didn't like guns so he missed out on his daughter's childhood. Then again, she didn't give him much of a chance either; she never really tried to like guns or to understand why her father did either. I guess it was both of their faults. I can't say I sympathize with either of them too much because they both rejected the others way of thinking/life. He didn't like her art, she didn't like his guns, so they're even. The only thing I sympathize about is the fact that they never really developed a relationship. I wonder if they would have even tried to make a relationship if Sarah wouldn't have made the executive decision to?

My dad has an obsession too: tidiness. Everything has to be neat, from the way our shoes are lined up to the way we fold our laundry. It literally drives my family insane! Usually one of us (myself, my mom, or my sister) get's a "talking to" about how things are supposed to be arranged since we obviously don't know how to put things away (sarcasm). I remember one time in particular when I came home from a long day of school and threw my shoes against the wall. It's not like I wanted to make the house "dirty" but I was tired and was going to put them up in my room when I went upstairs. So my dad comes home and immediately notices the flaw in his "clean house". Immediately I knew I was going to be in trouble. So after he grabs the shoes (angrily I must say) and puts them with the heals against the wall and the toes of the shoes perfectly aligned, I heard it like there was no tomorrow. I didn't know that shoes had a specific way in which they were supposed to look. I mean, is that not obsessive or what?

But it's not just me that is annoyed by it, the rest of my family is as well. One time he got so angry at my mom because the clothes on the bed were messy. Well the reason they were messy was because she was cleaning out her closet and they were the clothes she was getting rid of. Well, being the neat freak as he is, my dad folds all of the clothes on the bed... still angry of course. Let's just say that day was not a good day for either of them, they both stayed mad at each other for quite some time. My sister hears it the most I think. Since her room is small she doesn't have much space to place all of her things so it makes her room look messy even if it isn't. I think probably about 4 times a week she gets yelled at for having a messy room. It's pretty ridiculous. He even knows why her room is messy and because he is a neat freak he still gets mad. My obsession isn't that bad. I think the worst thing that has happened from my being a chocoholic is that when I was 2 I ate a bin of hershey's kisses all by myself.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

"Champion of the World" by Maya Angelou

The way Angelou describes the black race in connection with the defeat of Joe Louis (if it happened) made the passage more powerful. No longer was this just an ordinary boxing match but rather a fight for dignity and hope. If Louis would have lost it would have been another thing the white race defeated the black race in (at that time). Instead of the defeat only affecting Louis and his fans, it would affect the entire black race. I think this helps make her essay more personal and meaningful. It also helps the reader understand what type of era Angelou was living in better.

I only belong to one group and that is "The Fab 5" (cheesy name I know). This group includes myself, my boyfriend Justin, and our three friends James, Parker, and Kyle. We established this group when we were seniors in high school and it was pretty exclusive. We weren't snobs or rude, I mean we were open to other people it's just that other people who tried to hang out with us didn't understand our jokes and felt uncomfortable most of the time. I think we knew we were a group when we actually came up with the name "The Fab 5" and people actually recognized who "The Fab 5" were. We still maintin the Fab 5 friendships even though we go to different schools. And when all of us get together we still call ourselves "The Fab 5".

Thursday, January 11, 2007

"Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan

Amy Tan's short story "Fish Cheeks" exposed the reader to the vulnerability she felt as a young Chinese teenager growing up in America. Her story is something many kids can relate to at one point or another and that is being embarrassed about who they are. Tan felt that she was different than all the other kids because of her race and therefore was ashamed of herself and her family. She was so ashamed that she even wish for "a slim American nose". Once she found out that Robert, her crush, was coming over for dinner she became more critical of her family and they way they celebrate Christmas. She hated the fact that they didn't eat a traditional American dinner and they her father belched at the end of the meal to show his gratitude toward her mother.

She didn't realize until she was older that her parents cooked that dinner especially for her, considering it was all of her favorite meals. She also realized that it's okay to be different from the standard norm in America. Had she felt more comfortable around Robert and his family, maybe they would have felt more comfortable as well. Tan's ability to tell her story in a way that it had just occurred and to inclde even the slightest details makes it easier for the reader to understand her point of view.