Blog #10

For my blog I read chapter 4 of Fitz by Mick Cochrane. In this chapter Fritz finally confronts his father, Curtis Powell, a wealthy lawyer from Saint Paul. He observes him going out to his car, looking neat and composed as if he is in his own little world where there are no problems and no son that he ignores except for a monthly check. Before pulling out his gun, Fitz only stops for a moment to wonder if he should just turn around and not put himself through all the trouble and consequences of his next move but before he knows it finds himself running towards the car. He opens the door and shows his father his gun. Curtis seems calm but worried as he offers the stranger his wallet and his cell phone hoping he just wants money, but notices how fidgety and unsure of himself the boy seems to be. Fitz is very nervous because this is the first time getting the desired attention from his father or been so close to him.

Blog #9

"Fitz understands that puny boys love their violent video games so much because playing them makes them feel big, powerful, dangerous. That has never been his thing. But now he has to admit it, his piece, this steel brick he's carrying, it makes him feel confident. Today, his father is not going to blow him off. Today he is going to make himself visible to his father." This is a quote from chapter 3 of Fitz by Mick Cochrane. I think this quote does a great job of showing Fitz' rational behind bringing a gun to his first confrontation with his father because it is relatable in the sense that there are always situations where you feel inferior and wish there was a way to make people take you seriously. This quote definitely shows how committed Fitz is for taking such a big risk for something he is passionate about.

Blog #8

For this blog I read chapter 2 of Fitz by Mick Cochrane. In chapter 2 I learn more about Fitz time following his father. At first he thought of it as a game and suspenseful to sneak away from his house and learn new things about his father by stalking him. He soon realizes it is much more than a game for him and that he has much more at stake. Fitz would go home at the end of each day and write down new information about his dad and even write songs about him. He describes himself as an average 15 year old boy who has a messy room and plays guitar and is really nothing out of the ordinary. His secret life of trying to get to know his father is what he looked forward to and is obsessed with. Fitz compares his father as a drug where sometimes he felt like he needed a stronger dose. The last few sentences of chapter 2 explain his reasoning for bringing a gun with him: obviously since his dad has not tried to meet him yet, he was not interested so Fitz needed a "convincer". The way the author describes this puts a twist on such an extreme situation so that you can see how it feels to be in Fitz' situation.

Blog #7

For this blog I read the prologue and first chapter of the book Fritz by Mick Cochrane. In the beginning he introduces a boy who was imagining when he was a little that his father thought about him and wished he could be a part of his life. In reality, Fitz is a 15 year old boy who has never met his father and is trying to learn more about him now that he found out that he lives 5 miles away from where Fitz lives with his mom. In the opening chapters Fitz is "lurking" outside of his fathers apartment building in Saint Paul with a gun in his pocket waiting for him to come outside. He has been following his father around for weeks trying to learn more about him and finally decided to take action. I predict that Fitz thinks that the only way to get his fathers attention is to do something really dramatic so I think he is going to threaten him with the gun so that he can talk to him.

Blog #6

For this blog I continued reading the book New Moon by Stephanie Meyer. Jacob still does not return Bella's calls and even his dad has been acting weird towards Bella. She is getting really frustrated and worried and finally caves and decides to do something where she can bring back memories of Edward... go to the opening in the forest where they went when he was still with her. She had tried to find it with Jacob earlier in the book but never did. She goes off on her own with a map of the area and hiking equipment and sets off to find it. To her surprise she does find it and also someone else she wasn't expecting- Laurent, the vampire who she had met with the Cullens a while back and left to go live with Tanya's family where he could try to live like the Cullens do. For this reason she is not frightened to see a vampire coming up to talk to her. She starts talking to him and discovers he had moved out with Tanyas family with suggested that he was not safe to be around. Bella starts to hear Edwards voice hissing in her head and he tells her to lie to him. I predict that Laurent will try to kill Bella and Alice will see it in her visions and one of the Cullens will come and rescue her.

Blog #5

For this blog I read more of New Moon by Stephanie Meyer. Lately Bella has been noticing Jacob acting very strange. He seems very upset about this new group of guys hanging out with Sam Uley because he is taking his friend from him and he never hangs out with him anymore. This really upsets Bella because she cares about him and she can tell it's hurting him. She is also noticing that she depends more on Jacob to keep her from hurting when Edward isn't around. One day, Bella goes to a movie with Jacob and Mike which was not a good situation because the two guys both like Bella and were competing the whole time. They go to a horror movie because it is the only one Bella thinks she can see without it reminding her of Edward. On the way home Bella notices that Jacob looks like he doesn't feel too well and she feels his forehead and notices he is burning up. He insists he will be fine and leaves. Bella starts to get worried when Jacob doesn't call her for a few days and doesn't return her calls. She now spends most of her time worrying about Jacob and what is going on instead of thinking about Edward which demonstrates how much Jacob means to her. I am confused as to why Jacob won't answer and think that he is hiding something from her because he wouldn't normally act like that.

Blog #4

For this blog I read from the book New Moon by Stephanie Meyer. As Bella continues to try to adjust to life without Edward around, she discovers that when she does dangerous things or things that get her adrenaline going she can hear Edward urging her to stop in her head. She is not sure why she is hearing his voice or if she is going crazy but she continues to act like this because it is the only way she can remember his voice. After finding and fixing up the motorcycles, Jacob teaches Bella to ride them and just as she expected Edwards voice came back in her head and advised her to stop. Of course she keeps going and ends up crashing pretty bad and getting hurt. While driving back home, Bella spots people jumping off a cliff in the distance. She thinks they are committing suicide and as she is about to run and stop them Jacob explains to her that they are cliff diving and it's something they do for fun in La Push. He does not seem to like these people very much at all though. Bella asks Jacob to take her cliff diving one day.

Blog #3

For this blog I read chapters 4-6 of New Moon. Where I left off Bella had just recieved the news that Edward was leaving her and staying out of contact with her for the rest of her life. She wandered off into the woods and fell asleep because she was so disoriented and was discovered by Sam Uley when Charlie her dad had sent out a search team to look for her. Edward left no memory of him in her house and had no contact with her. She spent the next 4 or 5 months doing nothing but school, homework, making dinner and going to bed so that she could keep her mind off of Edward. Charlie starts getting upset with her for being so lifeless and tells her if she doesn't start acting different he would send her to live with her mom. Bella decides that what she needs to do to get her mind off of Edward is something risky, so when she sees two broken motorcycles for sale on the side of the road she takes the oppurtunity. Since Charlie wouldn't allow her to ride a motorcycle, she sercretly begins working on fixing them up with Jacob Black every day in his garage. I predict that Bella is going to start doing reckless things and Edward will find out and come back to help her.

Blog #2

For this blog I read chapters 2-4 of New Moon. After the accident at the Cullens house on Bellas birthday when she papercut herself and Jasper tried to attack her, Edward has been acting very strange. From the night after her birthday and for a few days after he had been keeping his distance from her, not coming to see her and not acting like himself. Bella has a really bad feeling that something is going to change and she justifies her instincts by convincing herself that Edward is just upset about the accident. She is taken by surprise when he asks her to hang out after school one day and wants to go on a walk. Along the way, he stops her and reveals that his family is moving because they have been in Forks too long and people are starting to get suspicious. Bella assumes that he wants her to go with but he tells her that she is not coming and that he doesn't want her to come because he is tired of pretending to be human when he knows that he is not. This is the worst thing Bella could have expected and she is unsure of how she is going to move on without him in her life. I predict that Edward is only saying this as an excuse because it was so sudden and I think that there is something else going on that the Cullens aren't telling her.

Blog #1

For this quarters blog I am reading New Moon by Stephanie Mayer, the sequel to Twilight. I loved reading Twilight so I am excited read this book. Twilight ended with Bella's close encounter with death when she was lured into an old dance studio by a vampire, and was saved by Edward and his family. Although she wasn't killed by the vampire, she was bitten by him and the Cullens had to decide whether or not to let her change into a vampire. Edward refuses to let this happen and takes the poison out of the bite. New Moon opens with a dream Bella is having on her 18th birthday where she is looking at an old woman she thinks is her dead grandma, and soon realizes that she is looking in a mirror at herself when she grows older. This dream reflects Bella's fear of getting older because she wants Edward to turn her into a vampire so she can stay his age and be with him forever. For this reason she is not in a good mood on her birthday because she feels like she only has a short time frame of a couple years when she could convince Edward to make her non-human before she gets a lot older than him. I predict that in this book they are going to get in a lot of arguements about this and he will eventually cave in.

2008 Elections

For my blog, I read an article on CNN politics called 'Poll: 7 of 10 say candidates' race is not a factor in their vote'. It is about a national poll taken that suggests that the majority of people voting in the upcoming election are not letting race of the candidates affect their vote. Only 5 percent of the people who said race would affect their vote said that it would be the single most important factor of their choice, 11 percent said it would be one of several factors, and 13 saying it would be a minor factor. Although I would like to see America's first black president be elected, I am glad to know that voters are, for the most part, voting for their candidate based on their political views without their race altering their opinions. On the contrary, half of the poll participants said that age would affect their choice for president. If John McCain wins the presidential election he would be the oldest person ever to be inaugurated.

Tennessee Crash

For my blog, I read an article called '4 High school cheerleaders killed in a Tennessee crash' from the CNN website. It is about a car crash that happened late Friday night in Huntsville, Tennessee when an SUV collided with an oncoming car and burst into flames. In the SUV were three cheerleaders who were coming home from cheering at their schools' football game and were all killed, and in the other car a passenger was killed, three were injured, and one of the injured passengers lost their unborn child. Investigators believe that the crash was caused due to the wet and foggy weather conditions. This story is really tragic because so many innocent people lost their lives and it's something that could happen to anyone at anytime. It also teaches an important lesson to readers, because the passengers of the SUV weren't wearing seatbelts, which could have potentially saved their lives. It also emphasizes the importance of careful and cautious driving when weather conditions aren't suitable for driving.

The Bravest Dog

For my blog, I read a story from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' called The Bravest Dog by Sherry Cremona-Van Der Elst. This story is about a man named Mike who set off into the woords by his house to take a walk with his 2-year old English setter Sadie. On the way, Mike recalls feeling "an excruciating pain slamming into his chest as though he'd been hit with an avil". He collapsed to the ground gasping for air realizing Sadie was his only chance of survival. Sadie, sensing that Mike was in trouble, allowed him to grab on to her collar while the 45 pound dog dragged 180 pound Mike half a mile through the woods to the nearest house. When she arrived at the house, she barked constantly until someone came outside to help Mike and call 911. When he was taken to the hospital, doctors told him he had suffered a massive heart attack and had to undergo emergency triple-bypass surgery. I think it is amazing that dogs' instincts can be so strong, and that she could pull a person 4 times her weight to safety.

Missing Oregan Hiker

For my blog, I read an article from the Kare 11 website called 'Missing Oregon hiker ate bugs to stay alive' published on October 20th, 2008. This article is about a 27 year old man from Philomath, Oregan named Derek Mamoyac who survived 5 days in the wilderness with a broken ankle. He was climbing Mount Adam's in Washington, and was descending after reaching the peak, when he lost his footing and fell, breaking his ankle in the fall. He had to drag himself down the mountain, and when he got to the bottom he ate insects and drank creek water to stay alive. Five or more days later, searchers found him dehydrated with a broken ankle but otherwise in good condition. This story is inspiring because it involved Derek having a very high level of determination to do this and not giving up when things got tough.

Hurricane Ike

For my blog, I read an article on the Kare 11 website called "Caught on tape: People looting school closed by Hurricane Ike" published on October 21st 2008. This article is about the search for teenagers from Houston, Texas involved in vandalism and theft at a Houston high school. They were caught on camera going into Wheatley High School just hours after Hurricane Ike hit, damaging several classrooms and stealing computers and more. They are offering a $5000 dollar reward for anyone who watches the security video released and can identify the people. I think it's very sad that people would do something careless like this, especially when the residents of this town were already so fearful and worried about the potential hurricane damage from Hurricane Ike. I hope they catch the criminals and that the school can replace the stolen goods.

Unstoppable

For my blog I read a story from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff' called Unstoppable. This story was about an average, hockey playing, fourteen year old boy named Nick Springer who goes to a summer camp and begins feeling very fatigued and nauseous. After a night of throwing up and an 102 degree fever, one of the counselors noticed purple splotches on his stomach and called 911 immediately. Nick was diagnosed with meningococcal, a very rare and fatal bacterial infection. After 12 operations and over a month of being in a drug-induced coma, Nick awoke to find that he had his lower legs and forearms amputated to kill the infection and prevent it from spreading. The part of this story that I find really inspiring is the way that he dealt with his new conditions and recovery. He never complained, and always looked at the positive side of the situation- that he truly was very lucky to be alive. Nick is grateful for all of the help he's received and has never given up, which has played a huge role in his success: he can write, open a door, type on a computer, and ultimately helped convey the central theme in this story... that you can accomplish anything you set your mind on doing if you commit to it and work hard for your goal.

Disney Movie Heroes

Generally, I've noticed male heroes in Disney movies appear very strong and big, such as Mr. Incredible and Shrek.


18) Violet, The Incredibles (2004) Violet may have twice as many superpowers as anyone else in her fantastic family of superheroes, but she easily has twice as many insecurities as well. The ability to turn invisible should be a dream come true for a socially-awkward teenager, but that power as well as the gift of force fields creates some angst for Violet as she and younger brother Dash show up on Mom's flight to Nomanisan Island. She is called on to save her family, and proves heroic a number of times. The experience certainly helps her develop some surely needed confidence. Overall, Violet may be a polar opposite from the flawless princesses who sing in the woods and save the day or (more likely) have the day saved for them. But like the other members of the Parr family, her imperfect persona is most appealing to postmodern audiences who appreciate side orders of reality and humanity served with their main course of fantasy.


Violet Incredible is considered a hero because she's your everyday teenager who does something unexpected and saves her family when they are in trouble.

9) Elastigirl, The Incredibles (2004) Some moms feel like they are pulled in every direction, but Helen Parr knows quite literally what that's like. Convinced that an ordinary suburban existence is the best for her three kids, Helen keeps her powers of flexibility secret, but still finds the occassional reason to call upon them in her challenging new job: mother of three. She's there to provide advice at the uneasy times that "fitting in" entail for insecure daughter Violet and restless son Dash. When not dealing with school and self-confidence issues, she's tending to Jack-Jack, a task which she makes look easy but clearly isn't so for others (like babysitter Kari). While she's fairly heroic in parenting, Helen tackles still more as she assumes a superhero role like the old days (when she was known as "Elastigirl"). This is to scold and perhaps rescue her husband who has already reverted back to Mr. Incredible without letting her know.

Elastigirl is considered a hero because her ability to manage multiple tasks at once kept her family from breaking apart and helped them to stay strong.

2) Mulan, Mulan (1998) Mulan, among Disney heroines, catches my attention not by her looks or her voice, but by her character. She's the Chinese girl who stole her father's armor, impersonated a soldier, destroyed [the Emperor's] palace, and she saved them all. Although I admire other Disney girls/women as well, Mulan definitely marks a standing point among them. She not only has a will of her own, but she has a desire that isn't the focal point of the movie. She proves herself by serving her father rather than by serving herself, which is rare. It was one of the few movies that Disney had released lately, at the time, that I truly thought had heart."
Disney's Divinity: Mulan is quite possibly one of the greatest Disney Heroines. Like most people in the world, she is afraid to be herself and disappoint her family. Nevertheless, she risks her own life to save her father's by posing as a soldier in China's army. Even after she has been discovered to be a woman she continues to attempt to save China from the Huns. In the end, it is her bravery, care and selflessness that makes her a great heroine

Mulan is considered a Disney hero because of her bravery and passion to find and become who she truly was, even if it meant betraying her family's trust and risking her life for others.

21) John Smith, Despite being admired by the men of the Virginia Company, Captain John Smith feels like he's never really fit in anywhere. His quest for the new and different leads him to Pocahontas, the adventurous chief's daughter and a poignant (albeit fictional) romance ensues. Misunderstandings abound, Smith is prone to prejudice like his fellow Englishmen and the natives who too are suspicious. Nonetheless, he is quicker to see the good in the so-called "savages", absorbing the lessons Pocahontas shares with him while teaching her about the land from which he hails. The good-looking guy who woos the beautiful lady might be one to envy, but Smith comes across as caring, compelling, and willing to discover the many things he's yet to learn.

"He was able to bring peace on the newfound land. He was ignorant at first, but throughout the movie, his whole opinion and view of life changed. His love for Pocahontas was so strong and witnessed by others, even Percy and Meeko found peace with each other! Had it not been for this hero (and Pocahontas) and his role in the Disney movie, the word "savage" would still be uttered."

John Smith is a Disney hero because he was able to see the good in people that were stereotyped as being 'savages' and bad people, and risk his reputation to teach others not to judge people they don't know.

1) Aladdin, Aladdin (1992) "There's some quality to Aladdin's character that causes everyone, or at least the male portion of the population, to identify with him. From his rise from the slums of life to his quest to get the girl to his efforts to defend her and figure himself out on the way, Aladdin is a strong protagonist and proves himself heroic in the face of everyone's least favorite vizier, Jafar." - Aaron Wallace • "There are six princes to match Disney's six fairy tale princesses: three are interchangeable, two need saving by their women, and then there's Aladdin, the only prince that can be called a hero in every respect. He's not the strongest guy in the Disney cannon, but he has the heart to triumph over them all. Aladdin makes it very clear early on that it's not about the bling, but what's on the inside that counts. Of course, in a true reflection of modern-day America, he gets caught up in the Hollywood lifestyle, forgetting his simple playful antics that wooed Jasmine in the first place. Aladdin learns his lesson, and all turns out well for this future monarch." - Prince Eric • "My pick for the greatest Disney hero is Aladdin. This was a hard category, but I picked Aladdin because he was the hero who overcame the most. He started out the movie as a 'street rat' and we saw as he rose up and fulfilled his true potential as a hero thanks to his wits(and a little help from the Genie). That, and he's the only hero to trick the villain into defeating himself!" - Raydawggie • "Aladdin found a genie, became a Prince, found his true love, defeated the enemy Jafar. Fast-forward through the sequels, and he demolished Jafar and the 40 thieves, became an actual Prince by marrying Jasmine." - RJKD23

Aladdin is a Disney hero because he rose up from his life as a 'street rat' as he struggles to find himself, and marries a princess and betters his life through his hard work and teaches the lesson that if you really put your mind to something you can do it.

"(singing) A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for, you keep. Have faith in your dreams, and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true."—Cinderella; Cinderella

Cinderella is also a story similar to Aladdin, because she put up with her lifestyle of doing her stepmother and stepsisters chores for too long, and ended up falling in love with a prince and lives happily ever after, which is another example of having faith in your dreams and believing in yourself.

‘Shrek' uses presentational devices to defy the stereotypical views of man-eating ogres, showing Shrek to be valiant and good- hearted.

Shrek is portrayed as a hero because he defies typical stereotypes of ogres and falls in love with a princess, which was something no one would have expected.

In the African PrideLands, Simba, the lion cub is born to the the wise lion king Mufasa and his queen Sarabi. He grows up to be a precocious, fiesty little cub who adores his father and loves to romp with his best friend, a lioness cub named Nala. Like any child, Simba's view of his future role as king is rather simplified. To him, growing up to be king means getting his way and telling the other animals what to do. However, the wise Mufasa tells him all creatures must exist together in the great circle of life. But Scar, Mufasa's throne- hungry brother, kills the king, and then blames a devestated Simba. Guilt ridden, the lion cub runs away into exile. He almost dies on the hot, dry african desert but is saved by Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog, who live a life with no worries. Hakuna Matata! Simba grows to adulthood with this carefree duo, but is still troubled about his past, his father's death, and the life he left behind. When his cub-hood friend, Nala, comes to the jungle paradise searching for help, she finds Simba and the two are reunited. The two soon discover that their feelings have deepened into love. Nala tells Simba that Scar and the hyenas have taken over the Pridelands and Simba must return to set things right, but Simba just can't let go of his guilt over what happened. Alone on the savanna, brooding, Simba meets the wise old Rafiki, the baboon who was there on the day of his birth. He teaches Simba that Mufasa lives in him and the lion rediscovers the courage to face his destiny and himself. He returns to the Pridelands with Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa and learns the truth about his father's death. He defeats the decietful Scar, who dies at the claws of his own hyenas, who he also betrayed. As his proud family and friends look on, Simba accends the great pride rock and takes his place as king with a mighty roar. Time passes... Once again Rafiki blesses a newborn cub, Kiara, Simba and Nala's daughter. The Circle of Life has been completed and begun once again.

Simba is considered a Disney hero because of his bravery after the death of his father to follow in his footsteps and becomes the king and learns a lesson about the circle of life.

• "Belle, the book-reading beauty, is the heroine of the most beloved love story of all time, Beauty and the Beast. She is beautiful, inside and out, and when her father gets locked inside a castle with a fearsome beast, she rushes to his rescue. She unselfishly exchanges her own life for her father's and is sentenced to be locked up in the castle forever. Over time, though, she falls in love with the beast, of whom has already fallen head over heels in love with her and suspects that if things continue this way, their love should break a curse set upon him and all the objects in the castle. When Belle returns home when her father gets sick, the beast stops caring about life and Gaston, the villain, strives to get Maurice, Belle's dad, put into an insane asylum. After learning about the Beast's feelings about Belle, Gaston hunts down the beast, and takes advantage of his morose attitude. Meanwhile, Belle and Maurice break out of Gaston's grasp and proceed on up to the castle, to warn the Beast about the villain. When the Beast sees Belle he regains his control and defeats Gaston, and he then he seems as though he is dying. He is transforming however back into a human and they then live happily ever after. Belle is a more modern heroine, not waiting nor needing a prince or a lover. She is unaware of her radiant beauty, and strives to help others when help is needed. She is a wonderful candidate for the coveted role of 'Disney Heroine.'" - James Taylor

Belle is considered a Disney hero because she teaches that you can't judge a book by it's cover, and learns to accept and understand 'the beast' when no one else would give him a chance.


"I believe Pocahontas to be one of the strongest Disney heroines because she went against what society had conformed to in terms of racial boundaries and followed her heart. She fell in love with John Smith because of the person he was inside, not because of the color of his skin. She could have easily dismissed him as another 'white demon' as the rest of her tribe did, but she chose the path of love, not hate. The dramatic final confrontation when she saves John's life moves me to tears almost every time I watch it. Even at the cost of her own life, she stood up for what she believed in and protected the man she loved. I find her story to be moving because she's such a role model even for people today because interracial love and marriage still isn't very common and is oftentimes frowned upon. You could even apply Pocahontas and John Smith's love to the issue of gay marriage going on in the United States at the moment. Forbidden love, love not accepted by society, love that's looked down upon. Pocahontas knew that love was love, no matter what the circumstances. When that same emotion is felt by two people in love, nothing else matters. At the end of the film, Pocahontas also displays her selflessness by staying with her tribe to help them instead of being selfish and running off with John to England. Although she loved them, she knew she had a certain responsibility to her people and stayed with them. That shows true strength, for she had to make the devestating choice to leave the person that she loved for a greater responsibility. I look up to Pocahontas even today, ten years later." - Izak

Pocahontas is a Disney hero because, like John Smith, she disregards stereotypes and teaches the lesson to not 'judge a book by it's cover'. She also is a hero because she stands up for what she believes in and doesn't let other people tell her what to do, and risks her life for the life of another.

In conclusion, I found that Disney heroes fall under two categories: Those that become a hero by defying stereotypes, and those that become a hero by helping others. Some examples of heroes that fall into the first category of characters that defy stereotypes are Pocahontas- because she falls in love with a man regardless of his skin color, Belle- because she teaches the lesson to not judge a book by it's cover when she gives 'the beast' a chance, and Shrek- because no one expected an ogre to fall in love with a princess. In all of these stories, stereotypes are proved wrong and an overall lesson about not judging others is portrayed. Some examples of characters that fall into the second category of heroes who go out of their way to help others are Simba- because he risks his life to fight Scar for the safety of others, Violet Incredible- because she goes to great lengths to help protect her family, and Mulan- because she saves the Chinese from the Huns.

Hitting Bottom

For my blog, I read a chicken soup for the soul story called Hitting Bottom by Jenny Hungerford. This story was about an eleven year old girl who moved to a new town and turned to smoking and drinking as a way to cope with her low self esteem. Before long, she was running away from home, doing cocaine and living in the basements of apartment complexes. She denied her moms efforts to put her multiple treatment programs, and finally her mom took the case to court and Jenny was forced to go to a long-term treatment center. She became sober and completely turned her life around. To prevent kids from following the same path she did, she started doing presentations and speeches at elementary schools and has never thought about doing drugs since then. This story teaches an important lesson about how drugs and alcohol will not solve any problems for you but will only complicate things. It also teaches how satisfying it can be to reach out and help others, like Jenny did by teaching elementary school students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

The Cost of Hope

For this blog i decided to read a short story from Chicken Soup for the Soul called 'The Cost of Hope' by Susan Hamilton. This story is about a woman named Danielle who is attending a womens group meeting. She has come to this meeting because she left her husband with her kids and was struggling to survive in a new city. She was having a hard time finding a bank to cash in her paycheck, and arrived at the meeting with only forty dollars in her pocket. When the meeting begins, she hears the story of another woman in the group, Amy. Amy was a mother who was just days away from losing her home, car, and phone service, and was living off the limited money she had left. Her husband had gambled away all of their savings. Danielle was very moved by this story, and claims to have heard "Gods soft whisper in her heart" and gave Amy 20 dollars-half of the money she owned total- after the meeting. When Danielle was about to leave, Amy came outside crying thanking her for the money because she was a medication-dependent diabetic who took the last of her pills that morning. She needed only 20 dollars for the refill. When Danielle was driving home, she tried one more bank to cash in her paycheck before she went home and found one to do it. This story is inspiring to me because it shows how much a small notion of kindness to someone can benefit them in ways that you don't know. I think the message portrayed in this story is that if you help others, it will come back around to you when you least expect it.

Character Comparison: Loyd and Codi

The two characters I chose to compare are Loyd and Codi. One of the differences between the two is that Codi is a lot more reserved than Loyd. When she saw him again for the first time since high school, it took her a while to get comfortable being around him, but eventually she started to open up more. Another difference I see is that Loyd has a better understanding about what his goals are in life then Codi does... she is still struggling to find a place in the world that she fits in and isn't quite sure what path she wants to take in her life. Also, Loyd has a much more stable family life than Codi. Although she is very close with her sister, she feels a lot of distance from her own father. Lastly, Codi and Loyd are different from each other because Codi is sensitive to animals such as when she tried to save the coyotes and she doesn't agree with Loyd's cockfighting, where he wins money off of two cocks fighting to their death, although he eventually quits. One of the similarities that they both have experienced loss in their lives... Codi lost her mother and sister and Loyd lost his brother. Lastly, another similarity between them is that they both enjoy nature and the outdoors. A lot of the time they spent together was outside such as when they watched the sunset and went on the adventure and went in the hot springs. Although Codi and Loyd have a lot of differences, they continue to possess a very close relationship.

Nineteen Minutes

A book that I read recently was 'Nineteen Minutes' by Jodi Piccoult. This book was about the life of a boy named Peter who grew up as a social outcast and was bullied on a day to day basis, until one day in high school when he snaps and brings a gun to school. I think in this book one of Jodi's main ideas/lessons she tries to portray is that the way you treat others can have a much bigger effect on them than you expected. The author proved this theory as she took readers back to Peters early years... as a kindergartner, when he experienced one of his first bouts with provocation, all the way through high school. By the end, you understand how a few kids messing around with someone can become a much more serious situation then it was intended to be. I definitly agree with this thesis and I think this book does a great job of teaching people about the negative outcomes of bullying.

Honesty

An adjective I would use to describe myself would be honest. Honesty is an important trait because when you lie to someone it's hard to gain back their trust. I would consider myself an honest person because I try not to lie about things. I know that being dishonest can ruin a lot of things, especially friendship, and that's something I don't want to risk. It is a trait that I value in my friends because I don't like when someone is dishonest with me either. Being an honest person shows integrity, and I would like people to see that in me.