Views on Social Awareness through Media/News Immersion

      Some injustices and general social problems that are covered in articles on/in the Newspaper, News-TV, and Videos online from the last five days are from:

(A) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/nyregion/28tolls.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion  The toll taxes on Buses and Subways by the M.T.A to allow it to build up its budget in taxes so it can pay its debt.

(B) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/nyregion/27frisk.html?ref=nyregion

Also people being stopped by police men with out a cause, and the police seem to

have  forgotten about the legal warrant forms and notions that they are obliged to show drivers.

Some stories that I’ve recently heard about bullying come from the Bronx. Its about how maybe 3 or 4 gangs have been finding and torturing LGBT* people in abandoned apartments and sometimes even beating them to death, just because of who they are. I find this really quite nauseous and revolting because these people are people like us and shouldn’t be treated in anyway that gives harm, just because they love someone of their own gender.  I don’t understand why people feel like this is bad that Gay people aren’t like us, because I quote from our own President “Change happens because of you!” as well as “keep believing that change is possible.”  So wouldn’t that stand for social issues as well?

What I’ve learned about the experience from all these articles and facts is that a lot of what other people are saying can be deciphered to pretty much the same thing “It’s JUST NOT FAIR” or “Gay people can’t, and sometimes can be a BAD thing.”  But really (what I believe) is that people would honestly not even care about gayness if not for all the attention it grabbed about religion or how people could talk about just to use as a gossip wheel about their friends or neighbors or people they just happen to know. As for the taxes and economy people are just desperate and really want to know what is really happening.

*LGBT-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual ,Transsexual

 Anyway this is probably the worst article I’ve ever written, but thanks for reading anyway!

RAINDROP!

Bridge to Mine, Yours, and their Childhood

Bridge to Mine, Yours, and Their Childhood.

      "Your girlfriends dead and Mama thought you was dead too."-Katherine Paterson.

                    I really appreciate Bridge to Terabithia because it shows how childhood is very important. Leslie Burke one of the most fascinating characters (in all the books I've read yet) died when she tried to cross a stream using a swinging rope she and Jess used to cross over to the secret magical place in the woods, a place they call Terabithia.

 She, Leslie seem to be ahead of everyone else no matter what the case and I admired her character for that, because she was is so conscious about how other people’s feelings and even though she is obviously from a wealthy family she did not think twice about making friends with the poor country boy Jess. She made herself a part of the school and inserted herself into a “boys” only activity because she was good at that activity.

Although she was sad about how the other kids saw her she did not let that stop her from making friends with whomever she want to. I makes me wonder what might have happened if the author made her a part of another kind of family. Would she still want to be friends with Jess, would her attitude about life been the same?  I have to admit her death was a complete shock. I would've thought that the author would have had some sort of sweet childhood romance started between them (Jesse and Leslie). But, it makes a lot of sense that she would end the best and most important wonderful, amazing, day of Jesses’ life with the saddest thing that could possibly ever happen to him. It really helps the reader think about how to make writing interesting.
                Without a doubt death is one of the things that make Bridge to Terabithia, so heart wrenching. In fact, all the characters are innocent and the behavior shows the characteristics of children, 10 and under. The events make them seem even older with all the ordeals they're going through. It’s really sad to see that people who are the most clue-less and lovable always end up the wiser, harmed and/or more disturbed in the end.

Jess is completely affected by Leslie death and I did not think the author would allow his character to come thorough it the way she did. She allowed a kinder Jess to do a number of things such as introducing his sister as the new queen of Terabithia. What I enjoyed, and what I think is good about that is, it shows the reader what it’s actually like to experience death through Jesses’ behavior after he heard about his friend.

 You could go crazy with sadness when death happens (I would know because someone who I care about recently died) and you just don't know what to feel anymore you're like an empty shell, almost as if there is no one living inside your body. In this book the author doesn't just say, "Oh, your friend died and hour ago." That would have made me devastated, angry even.  UGH,  I hate when authors just skip all the details and emotions over! It leaves you feeling like "Huh? What just happened?" And it doesn't allow the reader to grieve.

Here's in the details is where I think Jesse also feels like I do sad, shocked and unable to go on. For me, to read more was painful.  I imagine if this story was true, it would be like being a prisoner of war (P.O.W) he wants to get out of the prison but there's someone/something that is holding you down and that something Leslie amazing spirit.
Another thing that I really like about this book is that it lets you explore with your feelings and imagination. In our lives when we dream we're using our imagination so that means it can never really go away. Imagination can never die within you unless you let it.  I like this book because it really makes you imagine and think things through. I love that sometimes it reminds adults of what it’s like to "go back to" their childhood and re-experience the adolescent feeling of their younger self and their old imaginary friends if they had any. In conclusion what I really enjoyed and appreciated about this book was that it always will (hopefully) forever remind people of what it was like to be a young girl or boy over and over again and that feeling will also remind of safety and love.

This is the book that I read.

A Response to "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes

Mother to Son is an amazing poem that contains not only extremely well written detail , but great comparisons.

Even though I like this poem, I still have 1-2 questions about it. Like, when she (She being the Mother) says "Life for me ain't been no Crystal stair." I wonder why Langston Hughes because crystal seems even harder to climb the wood. It may-be pretty but that doesn't mean that it's easier to "climb".
 Also there's the part where she says "And sometimes goin' in the dark. Where there ain't been no light." Could this/that be translated to something like "And sometimes I'm not even sure what I'm doing, where in other ways other people have."
So to end my response to this poem; i translated it into my own words. HOPE YOU ENJOY AND THANKS FOR READING! -Raindrop
                                                                 Mother to Son translated by Me!
Well,son,I'll tell yo:
Life hasn't been easy
There's been things I'm unsure about
Family issues that weren't easy to live through
School problems 
And times I didn't know myself 
At all
But all the time
I've still been living 
Growing older and wiser learning to rule myself
And sometimes I'm not even sure what I'm doing 
In ways other people have 
so keep on chugging
Don't ever give up no matter how hard
Because even I'm still climbing
And I'm still learning
And life is never gonna be easy. 

MY ABSOLUTE LOOOVE OF BRIDGE TO TERIBITHIA!

Bridge to Terabithia   October 13,2010

         Bridge to Terabithia printed in 1977 by Katherine Paterson

After reading Bridge to Terabethia for the second time I looked up some reviews by other people who had enjoyed/ read the book and compared my opinion to theirs, and through it, it seems as though people thought that the book was going to be a messy, mushy, young children’s romance. (Cause that’s what I thought by looking at the cover.)

            But what I really appreciate is that the book was never what it actually was played up be. Bridge to Terabithia shows that no matter what there might always still be a twist to the story so don’t give up! This is can be shown when Janice Avery is being a total jerk to Leslie (One of the main characters in the book.) on the bus, and later on even after Jesse and Leslie’s revenge (Because she publicly embarrassed Jesse.) Janice and Leslie still had a chance at friendship, after Leslie proved to her what friendship really is, by talking to her about what’s happening at home and things that were on Janice’s mind.

            Another thing I noticed people talked about on http://www.planetbookclub.com/kids/bridgesrc.html was understanding and hope; well these things are obviously important in our current situation with the government and economy so we all know what it feels like to be able to believe in something that we want to come true.

            Like for Leslie and Jesse to believe that Terabithia exists; we hope that one-day and one day soon the economy will clear itself up.

For Understanding we all have to understand the current situation that other people are in, like poverty or homelessness. Leslie has to understand what its like for Jesse and his family because his father lost his job, and she doesn’t know what that’s like because both her parents were employed. 

One more thing I appreciated about this book is its natural calmness and the idea that all kids no matter what age have imagination.

If Leslie and Jesse are allowed to imagine Terabithia then anyone no matter what the age is and can be allowed to imagine whatever they like. 

I  appreciate this because  NOBODY EVER TAKES THIS TO THEIR ADVANTAGE! Whenever someone I know is having a bad day I know I can’t always say to them “Go to your HAPPY PLACE.” Because they don’t have one they’ve never taken the liberty to imagine them, themselves. So I appreciate it because it really makes your mind work to picture Terabithia.

This issue was also brought up on the website of : www.scholastic.com/kids/homework/pdfs/Bridge_to_Terabithia.pdf

This is what I appreciated about and after reading the book bridge to teribithia.

THANNKS FOR READING!

Raindrop!

What was with Jesse's Dad huh?!?!

                        October6,2010                     Bridge to Terabithia,

                                                Jesse’s Relationship with Father

Jess’s relationship with his father, Mr. Aaron is typical of large families in many rural American towns. His father works far away from home so he is often gone for long periods of time. When he comes home the children are familiar to him but since they are growing and changing they are also unfamiliar to him. Jess is a 12 year old boy who is growing and changing and learning about himself. Jess does not have an older brother, he only has sisters. He has two older sister and two younger sisters. Jess’s father could have come from a similar family; where his father did not show any tenderness to his son. Mr. Aaron is not comfortable showing any weakness and he is uncomfortable with Jess’s artistic talents which he thinks will make Jess feminine.  He thinks that only girls should be “artsy” it is a feminine trait, undesirable in a boy, therefore he appears very harsh in his attitude to Jess.  Toward the end of the book we see that his father is not so hard after all, he really loves Jess and was devastated when he thought he had died along with his friend Leslie. He was not afraid to cry and show tenderness to Jesse who did not die but had been missing for a few hours.