"Stitches" by: David Small

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Wednesday 

December 17th 2014

Stitches by: David Small

                Stitches by: David Small is a brutal memoir about the author, Small’s childhood in an abusive family, whose members included his father, an emotionally distant doctor who treated David’s sinus troubles with carcinogenic X-rays; his brother, a bully who forced sensitive David to look at their father’s R-Rated medical books; and his mother, a brittle, closeted lesbian prone to silent rages and devoid of any love for her sons. In the book, David learns a lot about his family and their secrets.

                In the beginning of the story, Small starts off with when he was only 6 years old. As a kid he had a big imagination and would run around in the neighborhood and play. A lot of the time he would get yelled at by his grandmother because he was "ignorant" and he "needed to learn". He would run away from his grandmother and play in the neighborhood. Only to get called names such as "faggot, bastard, or queer" from the bullies. As he grew older he started to grow a sabaceous cyst, a strange infectious lump on his neck. As he would be put into surgery his parents would yell and abuse him for "wasting their time and money" and they said that he would pay. His parents disapproved of his fond for reading, so they burnt all of his favorite books and made him watch. The surgery leaves David with only one vocal chord and we wasn't able to talk. A couple years after his first dyagnosis he finds out that his parents have been keeping a secret; a secret that would change Davids life forever. David finds out that he had cancer and that his parents haven't told him all this time. As the book comes to an end, David starts finding out many secrets. He finds out his mother was a lesbian and that she had a sexual relationship with one of her co-workers. He then finds out that his grandmother has had the urge to kill her husband for over 20  years.

                Overall, the story was great. I personally love memoirs and this one was probably one of the best I have ever read.

        On my synthesis page I talked about important quotes in the story "Clean" by: Amy Reed. In this essay I will be talking about three of those quotes and I'll elaborate on how important this quotes are to the story
         One very important quote was " The scene does not end with fireworks. The girl did not get arrested or overdose. She just finally got caught. But the truth is, she never really tried to hide it. The truth is, the father just decided one day to open his eyes. And there she was, right in front of him. There she was, right where she had been. This quote is very meaningful because it shows how Eva has been treated, how she has never been really cared for. She is started to open up. Another important quote was "They were watching the game, and my dad saw me and said 'Come here you little pussy'. So I walked over even though I was sure he was going to kick my ass. But instead, he gave me a beer and said ' Drink this, it will put hair on your chest'. This quote is meaningful because it shows how Jason's dad got him to start drinking and it was his dads fault that he is an alcoholic teen in rehab. The last but not least was "The truth is, the girl wanted to feel something else, to get out of her body. The truth is, that was the best part, Do you know what it feels like to become someone new? Do you know what it feels like to do something as easy as swallow a pill and be transformed into someone you don't hate. This quote is extremely meaningful how it shows that Eva started drugs because of how much she wasn't pleased of herself and how much she wanted to change.
          In conclusion, there were many meaningful and important quotes in  the story "Clean" by: Amy Reed.

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11/10/14

Non-Fiction Reading Response

In the article, “ Watch out: Cell phones can be addictive” by: KathiAnn Kowalski published on September 17, 2014 it states that cell phones can be very addictive. This is because the average college student uses a smartphone for about nine hours each day. That’s longer than many of those students spend sleeping. In fact, such extended cell phone use shows that the technology could become an addiction, according to a new study. An addiction is a type of uncontrolled and unhealthy habit.

The quote “It’s well known that people can become addicted to drugs, such as alcohol, narcotics and the nicotine in cigarettes. What’s not so well known: “People can be addicted to behaviors,” says James Roberts. He’s a marketing professor at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Roberts also was the lead author of the new study. It appears in the August Journal of Behavioral Addictions. Some cell phone users show the same symptoms that a drug addict might have, Roberts explains. Certain people use smartphones to lift their moods. And it may take more and more time on those phones to provide the same level of enjoyment.” This quote really made me start to think because of how it states that cell phones can be as addictive to someone as things like drugs and alcohol. Another quote that made me think was “ For such people, losing a phone or having its battery die could cause anxiety or panic. That’s withdrawal, says Roberts…  “I spend more time than I should on my cell phone,” said one such statement. “I get agitated when my cell phone is not in sight,” said another. (Agitated means nervous or troubled.) The more calls someone made, the more likely they were to show signs of addiction.” This startled me because of how something like cell phone battery loss or not having your pone near can make someone panic or start to have anxiety. The last quote that made me think was how it started to talk about the difference between men and womens addictions, “The data also differed a bit for men and women. Among men, for instance, signs of a possible addiction showed a positive link, or correlation, with time spent on a Bible app and apps for reading books. As use of either app increased, so did the risk of addiction. Men’s use of social media apps, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, also correlated with risk of addiction.

Women were more likely to show signs of addiction if they often used Pinterest, Instagram, Amazon or apps that let them use their phones like an iPod. Apps for the Bible, Twitter, Pandora and Spotify showed an inverse correlation. That is, heavy use of those apps was linked to a lower risk of phone addiction.

In conclusion this relates to the world because when people think about cell phones, they don’t realize how, many people struggle with being addicted to cell phones.

Thoughts on Megan Cox Gurdon's "Darkness to Visible"

       I read Megan Cox Gurdon's "Darkness Too Visible". In the essay, MCG states how much young adult literature has changed and her take on how she feels about modern young adult books. Throughout the essay, MCG gives a handful of examples of how dark, inappropriate and gruesome these books are.

The opinion, the author MCG has about young adult literature is that is too dark and inappropriate for kids to read and she feels that if kids read these books they’ll get influenced to be doing the bad things the characters in their stories are doing. The author wants the me, the reader, to feel that modern young adult books are too gruesome for people in their adolescence and that these books should either be banned or should be put in a different age group.She wants to convince us to believe that modern young adult literature is that is too dark and inappropriate for kids to read.

My opinion on this is that I,a young adult, feels like I am capable of reading books like this and I love learning lessons because I get to know what to look out for and get to see what other people are going through.Books like Crank by: Ellen Hopkins and Tweak:Growing Up on Methemphetamines by:Nic Sheff are two of my favorite books,these two books are both banned and are both about young adults using drugs and it shows how their life has be. It teaches the reader to not use drugs and I feel young adults should know about these topics so that they to know to avoid things like this.

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I will be talking about the important and meaningful quotes in Nic Sheff’s memoir, Tweak: Growing Up on Methemphetamines.This book is about a young man named Nic who is addicted to drugs like meth and heroin. These drugs have taken his real life away and he talks about his journey on drugs and how he became sober. He started drugs at a very young age and by the age of 18 he was addicted to crystal meth. While trying to find a way out, he turned to drugs or sex. He found himself hopping around drug treatment and rehab centers, looking for something. But he just couldn’t find it. The people at the centers would tell him he was insane, but he didn’t

think he was because he didn’t want a different result. During the book the main character Nic changes a whole lot as he starts to question what he really wants in life, drugs or his family.

One extremely meaningful quote took place in his Spencer’s house (Spencer is one of Nic’s friends, a recent cocaine addict who quit a couple years back and now is fully dedicated to living a sober life with his wife and daughter). This quote is on pages 166-167 and was “Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful girl. Darling, darling, darling, darling Lucy. I press my hand against her back and sing softly, almost whispering. And then there are hot, salty tears streaming down… and then there’s that feeling in there, inside me - being small, with all the confusion and worrying and longing-but also the peace and safety… And now I’m here giving that feeling to Lucy. She is an angel - light, sweet, delicate and lovely. That is so there in her. But it is also inside Spencer, in my dad lying with me as a child on the futon. It’s even in me. Sure, I buried it. I buried it and buried it and turned everything from light and sweet and delicate and lovely and became so scared and scarred and f**ked up. But that goodness is there, inside - it must be.” This quote is so meaningful because it shows him realizing how much he has changed as a person and it foreshadows how he will continue trying to stay sober so he can change from being scared and scarred to delicate and lovely.

Another meaningful quote takes place on the beach when he sees how much he has changed and how he is regaining his old life back. The quote was “ As I raise my head, my first thought is to look toward the shore. My family is on their feet, cheering”. This quote is meaningful because it shows how much Nic has changed and how for the first time in a long time he is with is family happily. Nic had decided to have family over drugs because he started to realize how much he has left behind once he entered his life of drugs.

The last of these three quotes happened before he decided to become sober and to quit drugs. The quote was “ I think about Spencer, my mom, my dad, my job and my friends I’ve left behind. I wonder if I really came to far to come back.”This quote is so meaningful because it takes the whole story to a climax as he finally decides to quit using and to go back to his old life sober. This quote brings the story to a point where it shows him choosing all his friends and family and sober living over drugs.

Nic Sheff’s “ Tweak : Growing Up on Methemphetamines” is a great book and full of inspiring 

and meaningful quotes. It relates to the world and people in their adolescence because this book shows how easily your life will turn around and become so cruel. It teaches a lesson on how drugs 

can lead you to do many things you wouldn’t have imagined ever doing.

Blog Post September 11 2014

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The Outsiders by S.E HINTON
 Rate: 4/5

         Over the summer I reread the book The Outsiders by S.E Hinton to understand its complete meaning. It is a book about the life of a gang of teenage boys called "The Greasers". The Greasers are made up of seven teenagers.The Greasers never want to get in trouble until the HOT-SHOT gang called "The Socs" who get the Greasers in loads of trouble.

        In the book The Outsiders by S.E Hinton Ponyboy is a 14 year old boy who is having trouble in life with no mother or father and all he has is his gang. Ponyboy and Johnny-the second youngest member of the gang has a family but they don't give a crap about Johnny- are walking around in their neighborhood until the Socs come and start bugging Ponyboy and Johnny, trying to drown them and getting in to a fight.Worst comes to worst when Johnny pulls out his pockeknife and stabs Bob(one of the members of Socs). Ponyboy and Johnny are out late at night trying to find Dallas- one of the toughest members of the Greasers- so they can create an escape plan to run away and not get caught for manslaughter. Ponyboy and Johnny are out of the country for a couple days until the place they were staying in burns down. Ponyboy and Johnny realize how kids were in the burning building and save them. They become heroes and their manslaughter thing is almost covered................but Johnny is in the hospital and is crippled really badly with 3rd degree b urns and a broken back. Ponyboy sees he's brothers for the first time in a couple of weeks. Ponyboy and Dallas are constantly checking up on Johnny until Johnny passes away. The last thing Johnny told Ponyboy was to "STAY GOLD" and telling Ponyboy to never quit being himself and to always be the way he is.

        My thought on this book is it is very detailed with many great descrptions. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 because of the adventure in this book and how the author adds many metaphors in the book. I know how to relate to Ponyboy in some ways.Overall my experience with The Outsiders by S.E Hinton was really good from the exciting parts to the descriptive quotes S.E Hinton really made a great book.

The Greasers

LITERARY ESSAY

LITERARY ESSAY

MS.CUNNINGHAM THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON IS STUCK, SORRY

IN “THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS” BY: ROBERT HAYDEN AND “MY PAPA WALTZ” ARE ABOUT THE LOVE FATHERS GIVE TO THEIR CHILDREN. IN “THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS” IT TALKS ABOUT THE LOVE A FATHER GIVES THAT’S BEING UNNOTICED. IN “MY PAPA WALTZ” IT TALKS ABOUT A TYPICAL EVENING BETWEEN FATHER AND SON OF A WORKING CLASS FAMILY.

“THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS” BY: ROBERT HAYDEN THE SPEAKER REMEMBERS MEMORIES OF HIS FATHER WAKING UP AND “PUTTING HIS CLOTHES ON IN THE BLUEBLACK COLD”. “HE MADE BANKED FIRES BLAZE” AND NO ONE EVERY THANKED HIM. THE READER OF THIS POEM SEES A FATHER THAT HAD DONES CHORES LIKE THIS AND IT BEING UNNOTICED. THE POET GIVES US A THE IDEA THAT  THESE MEMORIES OF THE FATHER WERE IMPORTANT. HE ALSO ADDS ON HOW “ HE HAD DRIVEN OUT THE COLD AND POLISHED MY SHOES AS WELL”. THIS REPRESENT HOW ALL THESE MEMORIES OF THE FATHER WAKING UP EARLY ON HIS DAY OFF AND MAKING BANKED FRES BLAZE. THE SPEAKER SHOWS HOW HE IS REALIZING HOW MUCH HIS FATHER HAD DONE. THE SPEAKER IS SHOWING HOW  HE REGRETS NOT EVER THANKING HIS FATHER FOR WHAT HE HAD DONE.

“MY PAPA WALTZ” BY THEODORE ROETHIKE SHOWS THE SPEAKERS MEMORY OF HIS FATHER . HE GIVES US AN IMAGE OF A NORMAL EVENING AT HOME HANGING WITH HIS DAD AFTER HE HAD CAME FROM WORK. THE SPEAKER TALKS ABOUT A FATHER WHO COMES FROM WORK WITH HIS PALMS “CAKED HARD BY DIRT”. THIS SHOWS A HARD WORKING FATHER COMING REAL TIRED AFTER HIS WORK.” WALTZING WITH HIS SON IN THE KITCHEN THE FATHER HAD WHISKEY ON HIS BREATH THAT WOULD MAKE A SMALL BOY DIZZY”. THIS INTRODUCES US TO A FATHER WHO LIKES TO HAVE A DRINK OF WHISKEY AFTER HAVING A HARD DAY OF WORK. THE SPEAKER AFTERWARDS GIVES US AN IMAGE OF THE ROMPING UNTIL THE PANS FELL OFF THE KITCHEN SHELF MAKING THE MOTHER FROWN. THIS SHOWS HOW CLOSE THE FATHER AND SONS RELATIONSHIP IS.

IN CONCLUSION “THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS” BY ROBERT HAYDEN IS ABOUT THE UNNOTICED LOVE OF A FATHER AND “MY PAPA WALTZ” BY THEODORE ROETHIKE IS A POEM ABOUT THE CLOSE RLATIONSHIP BETWEEN A FATHER AND A SON.

Hunger Games CHARACTER CHANGE

      In the book "The Hunger Games" by: Suzanne Collins there is a lot of character change between the characters. Most of the characters have changed frrom the beginning of the book till the end of the book. I will be talking about how they had changed.
     In the book "The Hunger Games" by: Suzanne Collins there is a lot of character change between the characters, In my opinion I think Katniss changes the most, because at the beginning she believed everyone is motivated by self-interest, but she begins to change as soon as she volunteers to take Primrose's place at the lottery. An example of her change is at the beginning, she believes that Gale only likes her and wants to be with her because she is good at hunting, and could make a good and decent living together, but by the end, she realizes that Gale wants to be with her because he truley loves her. ALSO, Peeta changes because he becomes  more confident about himself. He admitts that he likes Katniss, which is something he was scared to do at the beginning.
    This is how most of the characters have changed frrom the beginning of the book till the end of the book.

ARGUMENT ESSAY: SHOULD COLLEGE ATHLETES BE PAID?

SHOULD COLLEGE ATHLETES BE PAID?

COLLEGE ATHLETES ARE PART OF A LONG TIME CONTROVERSY. WHILE THEY RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS  AND ARE ALLOWED TO GO TO COLLEGE FOR FREE, THEY CANT GET A JOB BECAUSE THEY PRACTICALLY WORK AT PRACTICE AND AT GAMES. THEY CANT GET PAID BECAUSE OF THE LAW THAT’S PROHIBITING THEM FROM BEING  PAID.

COLLEGE ATHLETES SHOULD GET PAID BECAUSE OF THE REVENUE THEY GENERATE FOR THEIR SCHOOL IS JUST AMAZING. FOR EXAMPLE, IT STATES IN “THE CASE OF PAYING COLLEGE ATHLETES BY MARC EDELMAN “THE COLLEGE SPORTS INDUSTRY GENERATES $11 BILLION DOLLARS IN ANNUAL REVENUES. 50 COLLEGES REPORT ANNUAL REVENUES THAT EXCEED $50 MILLION AND 5 COLLEGES EXCEED $100 MILLION!!”  THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY ,IN FACT IT STATES IN “SHOULD COLLEGE ATHLETES GET PAID” ON TEENINK.COM THAT THEY GET MORE MONEY THEN THE MLB THE NBA AND THE NFL IN THEIR POST-SEASON.THESE ARE TWO REASONS WHY COLLEGE ATHLETES SHOULD BE PAID.

COLLEGE ATHLETES SHOULD GET PAID BECAUSE OF HOW A HANDFUL OF COLLEGE ATHLETES ARE DEALING WITH MULTIPLE SOCIAL ISSUES. FOR EXAMPLE, IN “THE PRICE OF POVERTYIN BIG TIME COLLEGE SPORT” “DUKE BASKETBALL PLAYERS WERE VALUED AT $1,025,656 WHILE LIVING ONLY $732 ABOVE THE POVERTY LINE”. THAT REALLY ISNT MUCH ABOVE THE POVERTY LINE. THEY REALLY SHOULD TRY TO START GETTING COLLEGE ATHLETES TO BE PAID. IT ALSO STATES THAT 85% OF THE ATHLETES WERE ACTUALLY DEALING WITH POVERTY AS THEY WERE UNDER THE POVERTY LINE AND GETTING AN AVERAGE ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP SHORTFALL OF $3222” THEY CANT GET SCHOLARSHIP SHORTFALLS IF THEY DON’T HAVE ENOGH MONEY BECAUSE OF THEIR POVERTY. THIS IS WHY COLLEGE ATHLETES SHOULD GET PAID.

SOME PEOPLE WOULD DISAGREE WITHN THIS STATEMENT AND THINK, NO , COLLEGE ATHLETES SHOULD NOT GET PAID. FOR EXAMPLE, “ IN COLLEGE ATHLETES SHOULD NOT RECEIVE PAYMENT FOR PLAYING”BY:MOLLY BLOCK “COLLEGE ATHLETES WHO ALREADY RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIP MONEY SHOULD NOT BE PAIDBY THEIR UNIVERSITY TO PLAY SPORTS.IT WOULD BE UNFAIR TO OTHER STUDENTS IF THE UNIVERSITY PAID COLLEGE ATHLETES TO PLAY SPORTS”. ALTHOUGH ON THE OTHER HAND, IN “SHOULD COLLEGE ATHLETES BE PAID” BY: AARON CHESLOCK IT STATES “FLUKER LIKE EVERY OTHER PLAYER DID NOT RECEIVE A DIME WHILE HE DEALT WITH POVERTY AND HOMELESSNESS”. IF YOU’VE BEEN WONDERING, FLUKER IS AN ATHLETEWHO LED ALABAMA TO A NATIONAL TITLE AND GOT THEM $82 MILLION DOLLARS IN REVENUE. DOES IT SEEM FAIR NOT TO GIVE A PLAYER LIKE HIM MONEY? OF COURSE ITS NOT FAIR.THIS IS WHY COLLEGE ATHLETES SHOULD GET PAID.

IN CONCLUSION, I FEEL THAT COLLEGE ATHLETES SHOULD GET PAID FOR WHAT THEY DO FOR THEIR COLLEGES.

Drums, Girls,and Dangerous Pie

Blog Post January 23rd 2014

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In the story Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by: Jordan Sonnenblick it talks about a 13 year old boy named Steven who is dealing with a lot of problems. He has a little brother named Jeffrey who he finds out has cancer and has girl trouble because of how he likes this girl named Renee Albert. As Jeffrey’s cancer gets worse, Steven starts realizing how his brother means the world to him.

In the beginning of the story, before Jeffrey had been diagnosed with leukemia Steven never stopped talking about how annoying Jeffrey was. He kept on talking about how he was a nightmare. He got really mad at Jeffrey the time he had used his special drumsticks to make “Dangerous Pie”. He never let Jeffrey near any of his possessions, especially his drums. Once Jeffrey gets diagnosed with leukemia Steven starts feeling really sad, yet relieved it wasn’t his fault. Steven changes a lot in the story. For example, there was a part of the story when Steven had invited Renne Albert to his house to tutor him in math. Steven had been so excited since he had a huge crush on Renne and couldn’t wait to spend time with her. But when she came to his door to help him in math, he found out she was sick and didn’t let her in. He didn’t let her in because of how Jeffrey was really sick and couldn’t handle getting any sicker. This was a huge change in Steven. He put Jeffrey’s needs before his. This shows how Steven had changed from the beginning of the book.

In conclusion, this message relates to everyone with younger siblings. Your younger siblings can annoy you a lot but you still have to love and care for them no matter what is in your way.

Airport Mutts

Blog Post January 8 2014

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up-FRONT magazine: Airport Mutts

        "Airport Mutts" talks about how dogs are now being escorted in airports by passengers so it can reduce their stress from hard times rushing through the airport. I personally think that this is a good idea as it helps people stay calm and not rush so they wouldn't have as much stress as they normally would.

             

       In this article "Airport Mutts" it states "Los Angeles International Airport was voted the second most not stressing airport in the U.S after Chicago O'hare since it has stress relieving mutts". Also it states that many airports have started this because of how it had had worked really good and was a success. These are some reasons why this is a good idea and should be enforced in more airports.

       In conclusion, I think that this is a good idea as it helps people stay calm and not rush so they wouldn't have as much stress as they normally would.