Pressure on Girls

In fifth grade, no one cared what kind of jeans or sweat shirt you had. The only thing we cared about was getting done with lunch as fast as possible so we could get the four square ball first. But now that the media has so much power and so many people listen and conform to what's "in", we now have a million and ONE things to worry about during the day. I can even see it in myself how i've changed to fit the social standard or to somewhat be accepted by my "friends" (more like peers at this point). The pressure from even just walking into the mall you immediatley see posters and new brands or types of clothes that you "need" to buy to look the best or be "cool". Girls also see a lot of other girls following these trends and ultimatley feeling even more left out than before. i try and make sure that when i go to the mall, i buy what I like and what i'm going to wear. And when i see magazines with the newest brand, i know in the back of my mind that it will probably fade away within the next year and you'll then be "un-cool" for wearing it. Nothing in the fashion industry will last forever, so buy the things that you yourself will like and want to wear for a long time. Don't try and please everyone, you'll only end up hurting yourself in the end.

Caucasia Motif

At first this book was difficult to get involved in, but once i passed page 20, it just flew by. Even though i'm not able to say i've been labeled by my race, i'm able to understand how Cole, Birdie, and their parents feel. They're faced with racism in the grovery store, at Dot's party, and especially at school. It seems more difficult for Birdie and Cole because their parents were an interacial couple. You either had to be all black or all white. The family seems to be torn apart by all of this and can't function normaly. When Birdie and Deck went to the park, they were harrassed because people couldn't accept that there might be a black man with a white daughter. Birdie is realizing race because she's stuck inbetween it all. She gets made fun of from both races.

The Motif that stands out most in my mind, and whenever i'm reading, is hair. It's everywhere in that book! pretty much every chapter has some comment or story about it. Deck's afro, Cole's cornrows, Birdie's straight smooth hair, and Sandy's blonde hair that she always curls in her fingers through it. When Sandy gave Cole the locket for her birthday, all three girls of the family put a strand of hair in it. Cole's was wirey, Birdies was smooth, and Sandy's was long and blonde. It's the authors way of showing race in a different way besides names or the color of these people's skin. And even though there are so many differences in the appearance of different races, if they treat each other like equals, it's not impossible to get along as most people back then thought.

This I Believe

I believe that everyone controls their fate. That all the decisions in life you make decide who or what you'll become in life. I believe that that's why when you're younger, your parents want you to try new things all the time, and not just be a couch potatoe. They want you to do all the things they may regret not doing as a child. But not doing something could result in a bad after effect. For example, if someone decided to not study for their math test, they're also deciding to not pass that test which may result in them not passing high school or maybe not even going to college then. All the decisions we make whether large or small, in the end the chain reaction of it could make a large and significant difference.

Society from a text

Aah, look at all the lonely people
Aah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dreamWaits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near. Look at him working. Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Aah, look at all the lonely people
Aah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

I feel that our society is based upon the song "All the lonley people" by the ever famous Beatles. The song talks about how some never really "make it" in this standard we've automatically built in societ and how Eleanor doesn't have anyone in her life because of this. Obviously the song is describing an extreme situation, but it still compares to our society. Plus it's a really good song whether you want to be in a good or bad mood. in some ways it gives our world hope, something to live up to. But otherwise it's describing what we've always been.

Dear Donna,

Well i guess i will drop you a line or so, to let you know i am still alive! I suppose by now you have heard from verne. i hope so as i got a letter from him saying that he wrote you for the first time in quite a while he is epecting to come home soon but i suppose he told you all that and more. Donna i am encling a small pair of wings as you are a little girl. ha ha. hope you like them. well you remmebr i told you i had three teeth filled, well had an absess also and when he filled them he disturbed it so i had to have pulled out. then it got infected so he had to opperate and cut away some bone so now i am in the hospital in bed and suppose i will be untill the end of thw eek. i hope had so much novecanne and penicillin thats to kill the pain. taht i am punch drunk and can hardly see. i hear your folks did not ahve any lights af=ter 6 PM there dor a while see you should not feel to bed as we don't have any agter 9PM haha. well i guess i had better close now and go to sleep as the pain is killing me. Write and let me know if you get the wings. OK

Love, Casey



RESPONSE:
He's still got a sense of humor even though he's at war. For example, "Well guess i will drop you a line or so, to let you know i am still alive!" The main reason he wrote this was to let his wife know how he was doing and what had recently happened. he sent her a gift and wanted to make sure she got it and that she'd write back once she did. The thing that's unualy about this letter is that it has many jokes and it's written in a comedic sense considering the circumstances he's in and the issues he's talking about. About how he had to have fillings and teeth pulled and that the medicine made him feel drunk. He laughs at himself through out the letter as well. He shows his love by letting her know he's ok. And no, i wasn't making a million type-o's. The letter was actually written with them in it because he was so hopped up on his drugs to kill the pain!!

Censored everywhere

Having things censored lets go of the first amendment which is freedom of speech..

At school, we have a tech crew who is able to look at and see whatever sites we go to, i'm sure they're able to read what i'm writing right now too. But the fact that a lot of the internet sites here are blocked stops us from learning sometimes. Some of the sites that are blocked are completely unnecessary. Yeah, they might have a couple "naughty words" or a picture, but in some history classes, that might be necessary. If you're trying to look at art from the past, a lot of it consists of those elements. If they want us to be able to learn here at school, they need to be a little more lenient on what happens on the computers here.
If someone is looking up inappropriate things, then there's no problem with maybe blocking there internet, or just keeping a closer watch on them, but to have so many things restricted here, doesn't make sense. We're able to access it everywhere else, it's not like it's something we've never seen. They may think they're protecting us or having some kind of control, but they're very wrong.

Not trying to offend any member of the tech crew, or anyone who disagrees, just getting my opinion out there!

My Own Metamorphosis

Change to me is a very difficult thing to deal with. Whether it's changing into a new quarter or something more complicated as my parents getting divoced and remarried. Either way it takes me a while to find different ways to cope with it. I'm sure a lot of you have either gone through the same types of things, or maybe even worse...It sometimes sucks having new things happen, especially when it's out the norm for you. I was always used to living with just my mom, dad, sister, and a dog. But when they divorced, all of that changed. At first it was just the part of having two different places to live, but when my mom remarried, and then a couple years later my dad did...things got even weirder...My step-dad was someone who in some way took the roll of my dad. But then my dad, who remarried to my ex step-mom that was a different story down a long long road that we won't take the time to travel over this blog. He's now engaged to a woman, who i'm still not too fond of, but she does have two little girls who are awesome and a lot of fun. Once the change sets in, it's easy to look back and say, "what in the world was i freaking out over". But in the mean time, if you're going through change, read a book, listen to music, or pick up a hobby...it def. keeps your mind off of things, and seems to make time go by faster :) but that's just me..