The change and hope of growing up

        Melinda Sordino didn't want to speak. She was quiet, collected and kept to herself. She didn't have any friends and she ate lunch by herself. Melinda just didn't know what to do with herself and with the people around her. But it wasn't always like that. And it didn't stay that way.
        Melinda experienced a realization that what happened to her, what IT (Andy Evans) did to her wasn't okay. And she finally found the words at the end of the book to tell people what happened. She had changed. She learned what she had to say. And what she had to say was that he did what he did, there's no going back and I can't just pretend that it didn't happen. It's hard to just bury experiences under the gravel of your brain. It's hard to just not think about things and then pretend that they didn't happen. Experiences make us who we are. If we forget some or just leave some behind and forget them, we won't know who we really are. And we won't know how to deal with people. 
        As children we tell everybody everything. When I was little I told my mom everything that was going on. What I had done at school, what I had done after school, what kind of homework I had what other people in my class were doing and it would be a play by play of every minute. My little sister who is three goes up to random strangers and tells them "this is my big sister Scarlett". When we're little we are open about everything because that's the only way we know how to be. We don't have anything to hide because we are apart of the innocents. Those who haven't done anything or have become apart of something or pulled away from something. We're just little kids.
        When we get older we start having things to hide. Things that we don't feel like talking about. Things that for the most part should just say to ourselves. Things that shouldn't be shared and should be taken to the grave. But how do we decide what those things are. So many things happen in one lifetime because of all the life that we live. What should be spoken and what should be kept a secret? This is where Melinda got confused. She didn't know what should be said and what shouldn't be said.

Melinda Sordino

        Melinda is the quiet kind. The kind that doesn't really speak much in class or talk to people. But it wasn't always like that. She used to have friends. She used to have her own school clan. People used to not mind being around her or sitting with her. Key word: used. Ever since some party at the end of summer where she called the cops, she has to keep to herself or risk being laughed at, teased and being sneered at. All that happens anyways but at least she can pretend to ignore it if it isn't done right to her face.
        Melinda is also scared of things at times. The thing that she is afraid of the most though is IT. I think the reason she called the cops at the party is IT. But that's just a guess. IT is Andy Evens. He did something to someone, it may have even been her, but whatever it was, it has Melinda shaking in her skin every time she see's him. And there is no one she is willing to talk to about it. Her best friend will barely even look at her due to what happened at the party with her calling the cop's and everything. So, she just stay's quiet.
        Someone might think that a best friend will stick their best friend no matter what. But Rachel pretends that Melinda never existed. And now Melinda has no one to talk to about what happened at the party. She can't really talk to her parents. They're so wrapped up in their own fights and their own problems that they don't even notice Melinda's. They kind of just leave her to her own accord even though she's only 14. Melinda even says "At first, Mom was pretty good at preparing dinners in the morning and sticking them in the fridge, but I knew it would end. I come home to a note that says "Pizza. 555-4892. Small tip this time" ". She has one friend though named Heather. Heather encourages her to try new things like go to prep rally's and try to join this elite group in school called the Martha's. But Melinda is just not that into it. She goes along, but she's not completely there.
        Melinda is also the kind of girl who has had to grow up fast due to family issues. Like I said before, her parents are always fighting. And according to Melinda, she herself was the only thing keeping them together. Because of those fights  they don't really pay attention to Melinda's life. And her mom get's way caught up in her work. It was only a few years before when her and her mom and dad went apple picking and she remembers "The sun warmed my hair, and a wind pushed my mother into my fathers arms, and all the apple picking parents and children smiled for a long long minute". It's like in just those few years, she and her parents have become different people. A change took place that changed her to the person she is now. And I hate the fact that this new person, has to fend for herself all by herself.           

Cooking, Cleaning and Sewing

        Evie is just an ordinary girl in the 1950's. She has a step-father (who she likes to think of as her father) and she has a mother, both of whom love her very much. But in What I Saw And How I Lied by Judy Blundell Evie turns out to be anything but normal. She gets caught up in a complicated web of lies, some of them started by herself and and she doesn't know what to do. But as a girl, she really shouldn't be doing anything because girls in the 1950's only cooked, cleaned and sewed.
        Throughout the book women are portrayed as people who have and need to do anything to please their husbands. During world war 2, it was the job of the women to save a mans place. Not take it, but hold it, like a bookmark. And when the men got back from the war it was their job to make their home as comfy as it could be. No matter what it took. For Evie and her family, that meant not talking about the war and any feelings they had about it had to be kept to themselves. It was her mothers job to cook, clean and sew the family back together. As if the war hadn't happened. Her mother even had to quit her job so men coming back could have a place to work. I think that was extremely unfair.
        Women are looked at as weaklings. People who needed someone else to take care of them. Someone to shield them from the wrong in the world. Well I think that women can do that perfectly fine all by themselves. When Evie was born, Evie's mom didn't have a husband, back then it was a sin to do that. But she kept her head held high and she plowed through. And now she has this wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter. What else could she ask for besides a loving family?
        Women today are no longer looked at as a lower species, but there is still sexism out there. Some women think that the guy has to ask out the girl and that he has to but her dinner and not the other way around. But I say that it's ridiculous. Any girl who sets her mind to it can take care of herself. I once knew this women who had to take care of two children all by herself. And she did. Now she's a great success and so are her kids. It's easy, people just have to try.       

R+J The Movie

        One of the things that really popped out at me in the movie was the setting. This book was set the in the Elizabethan Era. That's the 1600's. Most people were poor, the place was filled with violence, religion was huge and people openly carried around arms. It's kind of hard to make that modern. But Baz Luhrmann did. In fact, at the time he was making the movie, similar things were happening in Mexico. So off to Mexico they went. I liked how Baz Luhrmann didn't just recreate the Elizabethan Era, but used real life happenings as his setting. By doing that, he made the movie all the more real.
        Even the filming was real. In the scene where Mercutio died they were filming in a real hurricane. And there were others just like it that delayed filming for a while. People were also getting sick. Lurhmann was out for a week, shutting down all filming due to a tempature of 110. The head of hair and make-up was kidnapped and was only released on the payment of 300 dollars. And when  he was released, he was thrown out of a car. Basically, filming took a while.
        Another thing that stood out was how everything looked. Catherine Martin had a challenge in which she had to give you a time that had no date. A place that would be on the tip of your tongue, but you wouldn't be able to say what it is. "It's a celebration of the eclecticism of urbanism. A celebration of the neon sign, if you like. The kitsch, vibrant, exciting, edgy."
        Finally, the thing that I loved the most was the music. It really described what the mood was in the movie. The music was a huge mix of different kinds of songs including pop, orchestral arrangements of those songs and hymn-like treatments of dance-floor hits. When the mood was sad there was slow opera music. When the mood was like a cliff hanger there was fast music. The music was telling you how to feel and I loved it. 
             

Saving Juliet

        One thing that really stood out to me in this movie was the relationship between Juliet and her parents. They had no idea what she wanted or how she wanted to live her life. They arranged her marriage to Paris and when she didn't want to marry him, her dad nearly beat her. But in the end he didn't because he didn't want to mark body before the wedding.
         In the book Saving Juliet her mother understands Juliet in the end and let's her go off with Romeo. But in the original and the movie, it's Lady and Lord Capulets hate of the Montague's that drives them to kill themselves. I think that in a parent child relationship it's important to let your child explore the world. And that if you don't trust your child to make the right choices and you make all their choices for them, then they will never grow or learn about how to make those right choices.
        In the book Burned in the House Of Night series by Kristen and P.C. Cast, a character named Stevie Rai ends up saving someone who is evil. But it's not that person that's evil, it's their father. He is just living in his fathers shadow. I feel like Juliet and all those before her had grown up to live in the hate of the Montague's. None of them probably know who the Montague's really are. But none of them get the chance to know because they were taught as little children to hate them. It's not something that can be helped. As a baby if you are taught something and you learn it repeatedly, then it will stick with you forever.
        In order for things to change, a generation has to change And that's what happened with Romeo and Juliet. They learned to love each other, and through their death, the feud was put to an end. But they shouldn't have had to have died. They probably don't even remember what the feud was about. And that is just sad.     

Katniss Everdeen

        In Mockingjay By Suzanne Collins, Katniss is the girl on fire. And she doesn't let that fire go out no matter what happens. In the book she has some rough times; she refuses to speak or even move, she refuses to follow the schedule and would rather hide from the world and she refuses to do things other want her to and again would rather just hide. But even after all that, she pulls through. She gets back on her feet and try's again. And that's one of my favorite qualities of Katniss Everdeen.  
        No matter what, it's important to strive to do your best and never give up on anything. In The Hunger Games Katniss doesn't give up once. She keeps going. And she doesn't let her fear get the best of her. If you just give up on the first try, you will never know what might of happened and you will never get to find out. When ever I get stuck on something, whether it be trying to fit a bead with a really small hole on to a string or a really complicated math problem, I stick through it until I see it through. And that's always the best thing to do.
        With a finished necklace or a finished math problem you can be proud of your work. And then you can show it off. And you can say "yeah, that' right, I did it". Ask yourself "Do I tend to leave things unfinished?". And if you do, you should try to fix it. 
      
         

Mentor Blogs

Cloudless by Molly Smith
        I chose this blog post because I thought it was a good mentor for writing something off of something else. I could completely see how the dance relates to the poem. I thought she did a really good job of connecting what the dance was about and the movements that the dancer used to what she wrote the poem about and the words that she used. I thought it was a job well done.

I'm On A Camel by: Louis Bonnet  
         I chose this blog post because I thought it was really funny. I liked how he took a picture that had nothing to do with anything slightly related to a camel and wrote a poem that was completely about a camel. Most of the blog posts that I write are fairly serious and I think I should start trying to write less like that.

Night Night Starry Night by: Tiffany Sabania  
        I chose this blog post as my last mentor because I thought it flowed really nicely as just a poem. I also thought she used a lot of poetry devices that we discussed in class. And just like Molly's, she did a really nice job of taking the painting and turning it in to something else. A poem. And I thought it was a really good poem.  

Two Faces By: Justine Neuberger Poem Written By: Scarlett Neuberger

Dear reader,
I was having a little bit of a problem with pasting my picture up here, so to see it, simply follow the link below. Thank you.
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/justineneuberger/5105734175/in/photostream/

Dark and Light fight against each other
But neither will give in
Destined to fight a never ending battle, they rage war
They need to be equal in amount
In every woman, man and child
Never tipping the scale
Always keeping the balance
Circling each other in an eternal dance
Black and White
Dark and Light
Good and Evil
Never tipping the scale
Always keeping the balance

Where The Sidewalk Ends

Where The Sidewalk Ends
By: Shel SilverStein 

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends. 

When I read the first paragraph, I felt airy and filled with light. I also pictured this beautiful scene. But when I read the second paragraph, I felt heavy and dark. I liked how Shel Silverstein created this to give you two idea's and two point's of view. It gives you an understanding of what the world around us has become and what there still is at the end of the sidewalk. He's also saying the place in the first paragraph is where humans haven't and can't touch. And because of that, it's where the sidewalk ends and where this beautiful lush paradise begins.

"And we'll go where the white-chalk arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know,
The place where the sidewalk ends"

These last three lines really stuck out to me because they are saying that we are the future. As children we have the power to grow up and stop all of the harmful things that are being done to our environment. The first line in the triplet says to follow the white arrows. And the second line says that we, as children have drawn those white arrows. I like that because white is the color of peace. So when we are older and wiser we will be able to lead the world in to a more peaceful and happy state.

Overall, I think this poem is about trying to save our environment and then enjoying it together.  Keeping our earth clean is important. But it's also important to not overload. Every once in a while it's important to stop doing what you are doing and have fun. Or go to a little paradise of your own. No matter where it is.

No harm will come in taking a step back in life and enjoying what mother earth has to offer as long as we keep it clean. I mean, have you ever stopped just to sniff the roses? I sure haven't. But after reading this poem, I do want to. There are so many important things that we miss because we want to be going, going and going. In The Phantom Tollbooth there was a city filled with buildings that were bright and beautiful that everyone stopped to look at and adore. But when people just kept walking, urgent to get to where they wanted to go, the buildings faded until they were close to nothing. Sometimes, sniffing the roses is the right thing to do. After all, roses, are delightful.

  

Wilderness camp? I think not!

        Have you ever heard someone say "I tell it like it is"? Or if someone is talking about something important they will tell the truth? Well this isn't one of those times. As I say above, Wilderness camp? I think not!
       
        Anna Wheeler is a girl who her parents would label as a "troubled teenager". But I can't help but wonder if they know what they are talking about. To me, it sounds as if they never even got to know her. Her dad is a religious freak and her mom is to scared of her dad to do anything about it. What kind of relationship is that? I'll tell you. Not a good one. And because of that, before Anna could blink she was in what's called a "Wilderness camp". But the correct term for a place like where she went is more like prison. Or worse if you will.
      
        I watched a movie called Boot Camp to see what was going on in these kinds of places. The whole movie was based on real events. It turns out that there are over 200 boot camps like the one in Bad Girls by Alex Mcaulay with no government regulation at all.
      
        There's no warning. They come. They take you. And there's no if's, and's, or but's. You try to fight, you pay the price. Once you get there, it's just down hill. All day you have to do physical and mental labor. Sofie (the girl from the movie) has to go through these seesions where everybody from the camp gathers to hear someone answer why they were there. If you say "I don't know" they call on people to call you names like "liar" and other worse things that I can't write and shove you around like a play thing until you crack. It's physical and mental abuse. And it just get's worse. If you stop doing work for even a second, you get beaten. And it's done by the girls you call your bunk mates. It's gotten so bad that people have died. There are reports that show over 40 deaths in these camps.
       
        Anna Wheeler is just another one of those girls caught up in these camps. It happens plenty of times. But what hurts the most to me, is that people get away with it. These camp's are still going on. And children are still getting hurt. But because it's not happening IN the states, no one can do anything about it.
       
        What do you think? Is there any truth in "Wilderness camps"?