Work of Fiction- Part 1

1. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Total Pages: 529
Pages read so far: 106

2: Main Character: Calliope Stephanides. Now known as Callie is a hermaphrodite which makes her known as Cal. Cal unravels a guilty family secret that's three generations long to explain her condition. She will end up revealing the end of how she is the way she is and will explain her life in the present tense.

3. I like how Cal starts off with a little bit of her character and then starts how it was that she was made, then to the generation by generation sequences afterward. It's in chronological order which doesn't make things hard to keep up. I don't like however, the fact that its traced so far back in time. I mean, I understand that you have to go all the way to the beginning to actually show where things started out in, but the time periods are just too far back. The time does explain how each character is the way they are, but still. It's still a good book.

5. "'We fell in love,' Lefty said. He'd never announce it to a stranger before, and it made him feel happy and frightened all at once."

This quote, I don't know, made  me feel excitement. As far as I've read in the book, the fact that Lefty is allowing his and Desdemona's relationship be alive and real to the world just gave me joy and hope for their relationship. They are cousins married together, but in America now, Detroit to be specific, they can start a life together that will make them happy, but then again things like their relationship has its tolls.

Home is whenever I'm with you...

 We are like pets. We were raised a certain way with what is right and what is wrong just like a cat or a dog is trained to behave and obey. At some point we go to school, make friends and get influenced or involved with many new ideas and tactics that we never knew before like who to like and who not to like.
Unspoken rule #3764536. 
Unspoken rules that help us belong.

 Unspoken rules are rules that aren't said or written but simply known from a phrase, a gesture, or an action. Like in high school. High school is FULL of unspoken rules. Becky is walking down the hall with her best friend Sarah. As they pass a couple, a girl in a green sweater leaning against a stick-figure of a guy, Sarah mugs them with dark beady eyes growling at the sight of them.That right there is and automatic "Don't talk to her or him." Unspoken rule #785947685. Girl code and guy code are unspoken rules people should already know what's up. Unspoken rule #997694798740. If one doesn't know the codes, then he or she will not belong. Unspoken rule #14556

 The meaning of belonging is just as it sound, to be a part of something. These unspoken rules are a major part in the pathway of belonging. They are what creates a group in the first place. It sets a boundary; a boundary that is strictly enforced. In our own homes there are strict unspoken rules that we already know from our mothers tone in her voice. "Don't put your feet on the couch." Okay, no feet on the couch. Unspoken rule #5687946975. "Can you move?!" Keep at least 10 to 15 feet away from her. Unspoken rule #21454351384321. So many types of tones in a mothers voice is an indication at whether you should run or not. "Honey, could you make some popcorn?" Mom's in a good mood meaning movie marathon tonight! Unspoken rule #196705967905. With any authoritative figure we know, unspoken rules are what keep us belonging on the good side.

 Whether it's being at home or going to school, unspoken rules are what made you who you are and where you are. Belonging in the place you should be in.

What I read

Reading for me is like a light wind when I am reading just for me. When I read for a class project or something else, it's like a thunderstorm with lightning and thunder crashing my mind down with fear because I either don't like the book or don't understand it.

 In this past semester, I have read the following books:
- Just One Day by Gayle Forman
- If I Stay by Gayle Forman
- Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
- The Great Gatsby
- The Perfect Chemistry
- Loves me, Loves Me not
- Columbine
- The Best Of Me
- Marked
- The Truth About Forever
- Just Listen


 Out of all these books the books I enjoyed the most were The Perfect Chemistry, Loves Me, Loves m
Me Not, Just One Day, and If I Stay. I enjoyed these books very much because not only was the plot interesting, but I could actually relate to the main characters. They made me laugh, oh ho! They made me cry.  I have already recommended these books to my cousin in Oklahoma who LOVES to read.

 To be honest I don't remember any of my goals from the beginning of the school year. I tried to look and see if I had written it anywhere, but I can't find it. I don't remember if my reading rate goal to do  for each week was at least 200 pages or more a week at the beginning of the year or not but, I do remember having said that I wanted to read at least 20 to 30 books by the end of this whole school year. And so far I think That with this upcoming break, I can reach that goal of 20 to 30 books read. After school I try to manage to set aside 30 minutes to an hour for me to read my book, but since I'm the oldest of 4 kids in our home, it's been quite hard for me to fit those 30 minutes to an hour in my after school schedule. Don't get me wrong, I do read! It's just that it's a hassle to have some alone time. I will continue to overcome this obstacle and read more at home, though. It's a work in progress. I'm 20 books away from reaching my goal now so, it will happen.

Article #8: The Perfect Gift

 Bright lights are slowly one by one lighting up the streets and cities. Wrapping paper is quickly being taken from shelves. Chimneys are smoking. It's that time of year where everyone celebrates Christmas with many traditions leading back to our ancestors and finds the perfect gift for our friends and family. To be honest, finding the perfect gift is hard work! All we want is to surprise our loved ones with that one amazing gift. And what better gift of experiences?

 You're probably wondering, "gift of experiences? Is that even real?" Oh! It's real alright. Not all gifts have to be material wise. It's the thought that counts really. "Not only do experience make us happier than stuff,  but experiences bring givers and recipients closer together", says Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton in and article of myths of gift giving and it is completely true. On my 16th  birthday, I didn't get many presents. In fact, all I got was 200 bucks and a house full of family and a couple of friends. Sure the money, it was nice to have, but the thing I loved most was having everyone come over and celebrate my birthday with me. Laughing, dancing, telling jokes and embarrassing stories from when I was little. All which I cherish and shall keep forever and ever. Material wise, those 200 bucks went away eventually and to be honest, I don;t even remember what I had bought with it. 

 So, this Christmas don't just go for material wise gifts, but also go for experience gifts- one's where you and the receiver can do together. To build the relationship, to just have a memorable day with them. People may change, but the memories will always stay.

Col-um-BINE!!

Craft Study

Overrated

Freedom and safety.  To be free is to not have to care on what you were or where you come from. You are able to do as you please. To be safe is to be secure. Freedom is what man wants. Technically neither freedom nor safety exist. Take a look at all of the mayhem and disaster going on all around the world. If governments just let people try things out first and then see if it isn't best for the people, I'm sure none of this would've happened.

 One summer my brother and I were standing at the edge of a lake and just wishing to go into the water to cool our burning skin. My mother prohibited it which caused my brother to have a meltdown. He kicked and screamed and went into the water while my mother wasn't looking anyway. Once my mother noticed she didn't know what to do. She yelled and threatened to beat him, but that didn't work. He stayed in. So she sent me in, just like the government send troops to capture the criminals. I obey, afraid that I'd be beaten myself, and drag my little brother out of the water. I handed him off to my mother who pulled his ear to the the nearest bench and sat him there, telling him he was unable to move for the rest of the time we stayed at the lake. Wet and ear pulsing by the second, he pouted and a rage grew inside my little brother. Once at home, he caused trouble like there was no tomorrow.

 This is what happens today. Governments prohibit people to do certain things and the people rebel against the law, doing it anyways, and once they're caught, they are punished and soon, hate and rage fill up inside to where they truly cause a crime in the world. Wars, shootings, fights, and terrorist attacks start to happen, leaving the innocent unsafe and with no freedom at all because of the laws thrown at everyone to try and stop the insanity.

  See, if governments just let the people have a chance and do things right with no hassle, maybe all of this crime and felony wouldn't occur. Maybe then, can countries call themselves free and maybe then the people will feel safe. But they don't. They enforce more laws, one on top of the other, on top of the other, on top of the other, and at the end of the day the laws are in no concern of anybody. The governments need to stop enforcing laws and try to have some reason with its people, give them a chance and have things to settle down all into place again, because all freedom and safty are going down the drain.

Article #6: "... when you're fast asleep..."

"Scientists may still debate the meaning and purpose of dreams, but we ordinary dreamers seem to have an insatiable desire to parse the who, what and why of what happens when we doze off." Now there are apps to help define the meaning of our dreams. The article now is trying to help us decide on how reliable those apps are. That's bogus. No one knows what the true meaning of dreams are! They are dreams, "a wish your heart makes", like Disney's Cinderella sang. 

 You can't go up to two different people, tell them you're dream, and expect to get the same answer. It just won't happen because the meaning of you're dream is what you want it to be. Many say, "Follow you're dreams". Why of course! Follow you're OWN because I'm pretty sure Bill and Sandy don't have the same one as yours. So same thing goes to you're own dreams. No one can tell you what they mean. 

 When I was in 8th grade, I had a dream about my best friends boyfriend and the boy I had been crushing on having a fight over me. I wanted to know badly what it meant, so I went to my best friend at that time for the meaning of this strange dream, and she came up with this whole other idea of me just wanting to end a friendship. I, to this day, still don't see the connection between my dream and her opinion of the meaning because it turns out that I just had a thing for both of the guys! 

 So I'm wondering, if there are so many apps out there apparently telling you the meaning of you're dreams, why are scientist still trying to debunk if what they say is true or not. I mean, I'm no scientist and I know for a fact that no one can tell me the meaning of my own dreams. It's common sense, yet they do it. I just don't understand. 

 But, dreams do mean something, only to your own self. Through yourself and you're desires is where you find the answer to you're dreams meanings, not some app. "So it’s worth remembering that the same dream may not get the same interpretation from different people", says psychologist Deirdre Barret. 
"Sometimes dreams are better left alone — and private."

So maybe it's time you evaluate you're own dreams and thoughts, because no one else knows you better than... you.