Nicholas Sparks

I am not much of a reader, however my favorite author would have to be Nicholas Sparks. Anything that he writes, you had better believe I will be reading it. My all time favorite book of his would have to be The Choice. I also enjoyed Safe Haven  and well, all the others. :) Whenever I pick up one of his books I never put it down until I am done with it. It normally only takes me 3 days at the most, that is how much I enjoy them. I really wish I could find another author I love as much at him, but I cant seem to get into other books as much. It takes a really long time for him to come out with books. I feel like I have been waiting forever for him to write a new one! Its so hard because as soon as it comes out though I'll be done with it and have to wait forever for a new one! SO, hopefully he will hurry up and come out with another one. If you have not read any of his books, I totally recommend it!

The Pact

Last year I read a book that I rented at the library at my school. It was called The Pact, Judi Picoult. Its about a young girl and her boyfriend that go through a really tough time. The girl dies and her death is investigated. It turns out that the girl had committed suicide, and her boyfriend had helped her by getting her the gun. This book was so very good and I would definitely recommend reading it.

The Road Not Taken

The poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, is very interesting.  In my opinion he's basically saying that do not follow in the path that everyone else does, just because it may be easy. Go your own way and make your own path and see what good can come out of that. I'd rather be a leader than a follower any day. Make your own decisions because you are you and only you.

Harlem

In the poem Harlem, Hughes is talking about a dream. Dreams are something that everyone should have, whether they be long term or short term dreams. Some of the dreams I have that are long term are to have 2 children, and be married hopefully by the age of 25. I plan to build a house on my family's farm and continue raising animals. Some short term goals I have are to get accepted into Southside Regional Medical Center's nursing program this fall, and graduate in 18 months, and start working at the hospital. Never give up on a dream you may have, because after all you are the only one that can make them possible.

running out....

Running out of things to talk about that we have covered in class. I don't like blogging it kind of makes me feel like I am talking to myself. I'm really glad we didn't have to read that long novel because I am a procrastinator and only got to part II. The first part was good though, I just have a lot of other stuff to do rather than be reading that long novel. BUT this class was easy and fun all in all. I'm just so glad this semester is almost over with!

Hard Rock

The poem Hard Rock, really interested me. I think it was my second favorite poem that we've read in class. I really like the fact that is shows a story about a man in prison who was known for being a bad ass and running the whole prison. Then after he hurt some guards they took him to have a surgery that messed his brain up. Coming back from the surgery Hard Rock was no longer a bad guy, but instead his head was just full of mush and he was basically dead. Never to be the hard guy again.

Austrailan Guy

I thought that the Australian guy that came in to speak to us was very interesting! I liked the program that they are doing  for students at RBC and elsewhere. I think a study abroad program would be very interesting to participate in. I could never do it, myself, however I think it would be an awesome experience for others to expand their knowledge. There is no other place in the world as cool as Australia so who wouldn't want to visit and learn there!

Laura in the Glass Menagerie

Laura, in the Glass Menagerie owns a very fragile glass collection. In a way I feel like the author of the play used symbolism to represent Laura. In her collection, there was a single piece that was her favorite. It was a unicorn. To me Laura and the unicorn have a lot in common, they are both very fragile. Also, in the whole collection the unicorn is the most unique one, kind of like Laura in her own way. I thought The Glass Menagerie was very easy to understand and easy to follow. It was one of my favorites for the class.

Fish Poem

I loved the poem The Fish.  It was one of the many poems that we read that I actually found interesting. I actually understood the poem, too, which is a plus! I feel like if I was the fisherman, I would have done the same thing and let the fish go. He had been through a lot, and it was only fair to let him go.

Ol' Grandma and her Cat

In the other story that we read, there was a family who wanted to go on a road trip. They have decided to go to Florida and the little old grandma wants to go to. Well it turns out that there is a "misfit" on the loose that has just gotten out of jail, and grandma doesn't like the thought of it very much. So as they are driving the grandma is telling stories to the two kids, and you get the hint that she is a bit racist. A little while later they pass a dirt road, that the grandma told the kids that it had a house with a secret passageway. The kids threw a fit until the dad decided to give in and drive back to it. As they are going down this dirtroad the grandma suddenly realizes that the house was not even in that state, it was somewhere totally different! She had brought her cat, and at this moment it got spooked and jumped on the dad's lap causing him to roll the car. As they all get out of the wreckage, they manage to flag down a car.....but guess what.....it was the misfit. He then kills everyone in the family and then him and grandma have a pretty long talk about Jesus. Apparently that did not help grandma much, because just as you think the misfit might let her go he puts three bullets in her chest.

Yellow Wallpaper Lady

In the Yellow Wallpaper story that we read, I think that the woman had postpartum depression. I think she had this and tried to hurt her baby and thats why she got locked away in her room. I think her husband didn't really care for her much and was having an affair. It would really suck to have been her at this time, there she is all crazy and what-not and her husband is out messing with someone else. I think anyone in her situation would have went crazy, so I don't blame her. As for the ending, I believe she hung herself with the rope and when her husband came in he passed out.

struggles

Many people throughout the entire world spend quite a bit of time in a struggle with their inner self. Some people struggle more than others, while very few may not struggle at all. In the story we read, "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven," the main character is battling an inner struggle that many people fight everyday; and that is who they are. The main character is a Native American who is trying to make it in the "white-man's world". He struggles to hold down a "normal" relationship with a white female and fails at doing so. Life for him is a struggle of whether he wants to live and make it in this "white-man's world" or fall and succumb to the stereotypical Indian that lives on the reservation. He does everything in his power to make it in the world, but somehow always falls back down to the stereotype of a drunk and angry Native American.
 
In the end of the story he moves back to the reservation and his relationship with his girlfriend is over, but for some odd reason he doesn't mind that and no longer cares to make it work. I feel like he finally wins the struggle with himself when deciding to follow the stereotypes and move back onto the reservation. It is never easy to try and figure out who you really are, and the main character just went with his instinct and stuck to the side that was more natural. 
 
I feel that inner struggles are the worst kinds of stuggles to have. They are hard, make you question many of the choices you make, and you then become harder and harder on yourself. However, if you make the right decisions and just continue to live life to the best that you possibly can then that is all anyone can ask of you!