Blog Reflection

              This year, I learned that making predictions and thinking deeply about my books helps me read more efficiently. Every week I had to come up with a topic for my blog, so I had to think about my book and dig to find even the littlest detail that struck me as odd or interesting that I could expand. In previous years I’ve done post-its or book clubs that helped me think about hidden messages in my books, but blogs create a more drastic difference, and this year I was able to connect books I’d previously read to books I was reading more easily than ever, because I remembered parts of the book I’d written blog posts about.

            Writing online is very different than writing in a notebook, because you have more freedom when you write online. You can write more quickly than in a notebook, which lets you write more because you have more time to write. You can also change your idea mid-post. In a notebook, you have to erase, and re-write, and waste paper, but on a computer you can just select and delete without wasting any paper. It’s less of a hassle on a computer, and in a notebook you’re more likely to keep writing about a topic you’d started off thinking was going to be easy to write off of, and then realize there’s not much support or evidence for it, so you’ll write something that’s not one of your best pieces of writing. However, writing online is also limiting because so many more people can see your writing than if it was in a notebook. If you have very strong opinions on a controversial topic, you want to write honestly about them, but you also don’t want to offend anyone. When you write in a notebook, only a select group of people will read it, and you can pretty much always control who reads it. Online, anyone can read your blog, you can always set privacy settings, but they’re less reliable than they would be in a notebook.

            I think people “create online personalities that project the best of ourselves”, because as I was saying, you don’t know who’s reading your blog, and you always want to make a good first impression. On your blog, for example, you don’t want to say that you hate blogging, or else people who are reading your blog for pleasure won’t want to read something you don’t really want to write or that you feel forced to write. Since we have a lot of freedom online and no one is on our backs, making sure we don’t lie or aren’t truthful, we can make ourselves out to be whoever we want to be, so why not make ourselves seem flawless?

            I definitely think that teenagers “abuse the freedom that being online gives you on sites like Facebook” especially recently causing countless deaths from cyber bullying. People do type things they’d never say to a person’s face because they have the freedom of making up excuses, like someone hacked their account, or that they never did such a thing and can delete a message or post online. People also have the freedom to be anonymous online on sites such as ask.fm where no one will ever know who wrote a mean comment, so no one can prove you wrote anything and no one can punish you, since there’s no proof that you’re the culprit. I think the Internet is a great thing; it’s certainly made leaps and bounds in terms of progress for research, leisure, communication, current events, etc. However, the Internet can be awful when it’s misused this way, intended to hurt people, because the Internet wasn’t made to be hurtful, it was made to be helpful, and cyber bullying is by no means helpful.

            I can imagine keeping up this blog, but not creating another one. I wouldn’t have created this blog in the first place had it not been for homework and school, so I can’t imagine making another one. I also wouldn’t know what to blog about. I could keep up this blog because it helps me with my reading, and I already know what to write about. I think blogs can be great, like the ones we keep for school because they help us and can help others by showing them how blogs helps make reading more effective. Blogs can also be harmful because there’s no limit on what you can write about, so you can hurt someone with a blog too. Basically, blogs are good if you’re using them the right way.

            This blog has been great for me, and I hope it’s been helpful for anyone reading this! Thank you!

June Non-Fiction Blog Post

            This week I read “Tornado Devastates Oklahoma Town” by Kelli Plasket, on the recent tornado in Oklahoma. The overall main idea was that the tornado caused a lot of damage to Moore, Oklahoma (the town it was located in) and it’s people. President Obama said the tornado was a ‘major disaster’ and that the city, Moore, “needs to get everything it needs right away”. The tornado was a category 4, the ‘second-most powerful type of twister’, and the winds got up to 200 miles per hour. Moore contains 41,000 people, of which about 24 were killed, and at least 120 people were injured. These details tell me that it was recognized nation-wide, that it was a dangerous twister, and that there were serious repercussions.

            The author wants readers to think that it was a devastating tornado that drastically affected Moore’s community. They also want us to feel sympathetic towards the people of Moore, and bad for the friends and families of casualties. The author describes the aftermath of the tornado, when injured people were transferred to stable hospitals, or when rescuers saved children from schools and returned them to their parents, in order to make us think and feel these things. The author also includes a first hand account of the tornado from Betty Snider, that it was “the loudest roar I’ve ever heard in my life.” These details help us realize what it was actually like being in the tornado, and what it was like after the tornado, and how things didn’t just go back to normal.

            After reading this article, I’ll take away the fact that experiencing a drastic natural disaster is life changing, and that things don’t just go back to normal once it’s over, it lingers and leaves a mark. I now think that towns that have experienced any kind of natural disaster let alone a tornado, should get as much help as they need right away. We should never assume a town is back to normal until it’s certain, and all obstacles have been overcome and taken care of. I’d still like to know how children are responding to this. Do they have a better understanding of it since they were in the tornado than adults who weren’t?

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/tornado-devastates-oklahoma-town/93961

Animal Farm

            I am currently reading Animal Farm by George Orwell for my philosophy book club. It’s a really interesting book, about animals taking over a farm and kicking out their irresponsible farmer so that they can rise above humans and eventually make animals the dominant population. As I read the book, I notice similarities between the book and historical events, such as World War Two. It seems to be an extremely obvious allegory of World War Two.

            The animals on the farm were being oppressed by their farmer, and decided to rebel in order to create their own species of animals who behave like “civilized” humans in their opinion. The allegory only begins when the animals have risen above the farmer and have kicked him out, when only the animals are living on the farm. The pigs are apparently superior and more intelligent than any of the other animals, and they’ve taken the initiative to make all of the farm’s decisions and boss around the rest of the animals. They tell the animals what to do when they’re working in the fields, and decide to save a large portion of the food for themselves. They seem to be the Nazis in this case, while the other animals appear to be the Jewish population. The pigs start to become oppressive, and the other animals are under their rule, thinking they are unable to question this oppression since the pigs are apparently so much more intelligent than the others.

            Earlier in the year, we wrote picture books on controversial issues that affect our community, like teenage homelessness for example. We had to present them to an elementary school class; so many of us chose to write allegories, stories that have a hidden meaning. I think Animal Farm has an obvious hidden meaning, since I’ve only just started reading it, I’m not sure what it is yet, but I can tell it will have one, since it’s already so similar to World War Two.

The Diary of a Young Girl Blog Post

          I’ve just started reading The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. It’s a good book about Anne’s life in the secret annex, her hiding place during World War Two. Anne is so removed from the “real” world in the secret annex, that when she’s brought information about the war from people who bring her and her family food and company, it’s shocking to hear. It’s a hard book to relate to, because it’s set in such horrible circumstances that are hard to imagine. The secret annex is very secluded and cramped with two families living there at the moment. They clash on many topics and instead of the proximity bringing them closer, it seems to be tearing most of the members apart. It’s starting off to be a good book, but hard to relate to due to the harsh and traumatic circumstances.

            Anne’s family is staying above her father’s old office building, and their allies are her father’s old colleagues. They bring the Franks and Van Daans (the other family staying with them) food, news about the war, and company when they stay over and act as a buffer for the clashing families. It’s particularly shocking to hear of the news of the war and Anne’s reaction to the news. I know a lot of the horrifying things that took place during WWII, and hearing Anne’s innocent reaction, thinking she will probably never experiences the horrible things happening, is heart breaking, since she doesn’t deserve any of it. I’ve read about WWII, and though it is shocking and disgusting, it has more of an impact to hear about it through the voice of a fourteen-year old girl (like me) actually experiencing (and about to experience) the harsh consequences the war had to offer. I think it’s very fitting that this book is written in the form of a diary, because even though it’s quite hard to relate to and connect to Anne, the diary aspect of it sort of breaks the barrier between author and reader.

            The secret annex is only a few rooms on two floors. The description was very detailed but it was hard for me to imagine so I’m still not totally sure what the layout of it was. They packed two families into it (at least for the start of the book), so they’re constantly together all the time. This can bring certain people closer together for a while, maybe at first they learn more about each other but still aren’t comfortable enough to get mad at one another. After so much time spent together, the Franks and Van Daans are definitely close enough and are comfortable enough together to snap at one another, and all this closeness is tearing them apart, because they’re starting to not be able to stand each other.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) Blog Post

             I recently finished Mindy Kaling’s autobiography, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). It was a hilarious book about her entire life, including all the embarrassing ups and downs that make any comedian’s autobiography worth reading. As I was reading this book, I couldn’t help but compare it to Tina Fey’s Bossypants. I actually thought this book was better, it gave me more of an insight into her life and was easier to relate to- there was less of a barrier between author and reader. I did notice that in both comedians’ books, there was a lot of humor. It made me think that if someone is writing an autobiography, of course they’re required to include their life’s story, but I think they’re also required to add characteristics of their profession in the making of the book.

            Many different famous people write autobiographies, comedians, actors, scientists, bakers, etc. When a comedian writes an autobiography, it’s usually required to be funny, and when a dramatic actor writes an autobiography, you’d assume there to be a lot of dramatic events in it, many long and complicated facts for a scientist, and different steps to a baker’s biography, like in a recipe, and maybe even a recipe in the book as well. If a baker includes a recipe in their autobiography, it’s like when a comedian includes a joke in theirs, they’re including their talent and profession into the book. It’s not required that you have to include the way your profession feels to people in your book, but most people do it. I think this is also a way of showing your readers that you love your job, and that you’re committed to it, like it’s a part of you. I think people are sometimes classified by their jobs, like “Mindy Kaling? She’s so funny, she’s a comedian.” and, “Have you read Buddy Valastro’s (Cake Boss) book? It has some recipes in it, and it talks a lot about baking. He’s a baker.”

            I’d like to know more about whether some people defy the stereotype that your job could define you, like comedians aren’t always funny, in their autobiographies. I think it would be really nice to read a book by a comedian, for example, and to see a side of them that’s more serious, because I think that would create a much stronger connection between the author and reader. I’d also like to know what some readers’ reactions would be to a serious book by a comedian, or a book that’s unlike what someone does in their profession, and maybe then you can see that some people just want to read a funny book, not actually about the author. I don’t think that this is defying what an autobiography or a biography is all about, because people certainly do have multiple sides to them, and I think it would be interesting to see another side of a famous person who’s known for the side they do show to the public.