First Review of The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

I am more than halfway through The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and I'm pretty sure it's the best book I have ever read. It's unreal how much I can relate to this book. It deals with a lot of teen topics like first dates/crushes, drug use, sex and introversion vs extroversion. The author Stephen Chbosky wraps it up in a wonderful, relatable way.

The protagonist Charlie is a shy freshman in high school. Then he meets his soon to be best friends Sam and Patrick and his life starts to change for the happier. Sure he starts smoking but that's not really the case. He's learning to be his own person and to not be so shy. He's really accomplishing that too. I'm happy for him... I'm talking about him like he's real person...that's how great this book is.

""I feel infinite." Sam and Patrick turned and looked at me like that was the greatest thing they ever heard." (94) I don't know about you but that's the greatest thing I've ever heard. The best thing about is that you can interpret "I feel infinite" however you like. I think it means you feel like you feel free. Like you feel light and can go on forever.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or just not exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this. That’s why I’m trying not to think. I just want it all to stop spinning." (94)  This is another very VERY relatable quote. I cannot tell you how many times I have felt like that. I know you have to. At least once. When Charlie said “I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like that" I was just amazed at that. I was basically like Charlie you know my life. I don't even care how mellow-dramatic that sounds.

I cannot wait to finish this book. I know it will end in a fantastic way. I just really want to see how.

Spring Break Blogs

#1:

My two favorite blogs from the list were Ruby's and Gaby G's. They are my favorites for a very similar reason. I find Ruby's reading response on It's Kind Of A Funny Story very relatable to me right about now. Gaby G's reading response on Glass is pretty informative and I can relate to it.

Two elements I found in both blogs were good structures and facts. Lots of facts. In Gaby's case, it was textual facts and "common sense" facts. I put quotation marks because that's stuff you kinda know. In Ruby's case, it was real life facts. We're in the last marking period. We only have two bittersweet months left at MS 51. Stress is envitable.

I want my blogs to have a relatable feel to them. They're obviously going to have my voice. I want people to look at them and say I feel that. And I think I can achieve it this time, with the help of the Blogger app :)

#2:

1. The main thing he (let's pretend) did wrong was that he made it pretty obvious that wasn't his voice. He just could've incorporated the source.

2. Original: There is the night sky filled with swirling clouds, stars ablaze with their own luminescence, and a bright crescent moon.
Paraphrase: There's a nighttime sky that has twirling clouds, beautiful, radiant stars and a big, shimmering crescent moon.

3. One way is to incorporate your sources. Another way is to PARAPHRASE. A third way is to make a bibliography.

#3:

Story read: "Guns N' Roses, Chili Peppers Bring Magic to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction" by Andy Greene

  I've been following this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction in my spare time and I'm very happy to find out everything turned out awesome. Even though Axl Rose couldn't make it, I heard everyone else rocked. I think the purpose of this article was to let people know that an American tradition had a tremendous turn out despite a few hiccups.

One example of this is despite it being the 100 year anniversary of Titanic, everyone was in high spirits: "The evening kicked off with a surprise performance by Green Day, who did a bombastic rendition of the American Idiot deep cut "Letterbomb."" This shows that Green Day delivered a solid performance that set the bar pretty high for the rest of the night. It also set the perfect "We're rocking out tonight baby!" tone. This is the first example.

Another example of this is that the years inductees were very well deserving. The list includes Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N Roses, Beastie Boys and the list goes on: "The Faces also soldiered on without their lead singer, recruiting Simply Red's Mick Hucknall to fill his slot. ... Ian McLagan demonstrated that he's still one of the greatest keyboardists in rock and roll..." This shows that '70s band The Faces, another inductee, still has it. That's a factor in getting into the coveted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is another example.

As a teen in this generation who has a high appreciation for our rock legends, I was glad to know that the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction went great. The author even stated: "In fact, it was one of the best Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in recent memory." I wish I could've been there. Even though Axl Rose, Rod Stewart, John Frusciante and Adam Yauch couldn't make it, this tradition went on with few complaints.

Well. Here's to a fresh start! :)

Reading Response on Social Issues

The social issue I chose to research was eating disorders.

Eating Disorders and diets are two very different things. Dieting is simply trying to lose a few pounds and having a healthier diet. An eating disorder is an illness. It can be for many different emotional reasons.

Eating Disorders are more common in women than men. There are different types of eating disorders. There is Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder and Compulsive Overeating.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that makes people lose more weight than is considered healthy for their age and height.

Bulimia nervosa is when a person binges on food or has regular episodes of overeating and feels a loss of control. The affected person then uses various methods such as vomiting or laxative abuse to prevent weight gain.

Binge-eating disorder is a serious eating disorder in which you frequently consume unusually large amounts of food.

Compulsive overeaters will typically eat when they are not hungry, spend excessive amounts of time and thought devoted to food, and secretly plan or fantasize about eating alone. Compulsive overeating often leads to weight gain and obesity.

Eating Disorders are very hard to break. You need doctors, nutritionists, and not to mention the support of family and friends. It all begins with admitting you have a problem.

http://www.something-fishy.org/
http://www.womenshealth.gov/body-image/eating-disorders/

Social Action (#4)

In my book Evermore by Alyson Noel, I've noticed that a social issue in it is bullying. The main character Ever is a victim of bullying.

One example of this is when Ever accidentally ran in to the mean girl Stacia in the hall. Ever had accidentally ripped Stacia's dress. Stacia went on to call her a "freak", a "loser" and took shots at her deceased family.

This isn't the first incident Ever had with Stacia. Another time was when she was initially flirting with Ever's boyfriend. She also tried to blackmail Ever with an embarrassing photo. Basically, Stacia hates Ever and vice versa.

I think Stacia needs to lay off of Ever. She's been through enough. And what is she getting out of it? I can't even begin to think why Stacia tortures Ever. It's stupid. The only solution I could think of is for Ever to tell Stacia to leave her alone once and for all.

Two Voice Poem

Topic: Sexual Orientation

Churches don't want us
Priests look down on me
Nuns give me dirty looks

Our peers don't understand
Boys push me around
Girls gossip too much

Our society is mixed
There are people like us
Yet people still hate us

But guess what
I am a happy gay
I am a happy lesbian

Reading Response

One main issue in Destined is trust. There are loads of trust issues. 

Not a lot of people trust Rephiam. They think he's going to be evil again. But he is really trying to resist.
I think they should cut him some slack.

Kalona wants to make a truce with Zoey but she doesn't trust him at all. I don't blame her. He tried to kill her twice. I don't think they should make the truce.

Make It Stop (Social Action)

  Rock band Rise Against made a song in May 20111 named Make It Stop (September's Children). It's about the people who committed suicide in September 2010 due to bullying. The song is also apart of the "It Gets Better" Project.

The music video tells the story of three kids who are the victims of bullying. They are all contemplating suicide. They end up not going through with it and they become succesful.

I personally love this song. The message is beautiful and the video is powerful. It also represents everything I stand for. I can't stand bullying. It's horrible and it ruins people. I think everyone can beneifit from this song.