Sisters

Gracie and I


Whether I'm having a tea party with her and her dolls,


spending all my Saturdays lying on the floor watching looney tunes with her,


playing family with her,


Having to dress up as Cinderella for her,


the long car rides, and having her small head napping on my lap,


baking rice crispy treats with her,


giving her a never ending piggy back rides,


creating our fake languages,


spying on our Mom,


or playing doll house with her,


"It's always and forever" -Gracie


Gracie and I.

My Response to Romeo and Juliet, the movie.

  

Reading response

I read It's Kinda  Funny story  Written by ned Vizzini, and from the perspective of teen to teen, I completely understand the main character, Craig. 
I have had awful days. There are days where the world moves around me, and I feel very excluded. But as soon as I continue with the things that make me happy, the world keeps moving. It is kinda a funny story, for both Craig and I. Someone said just a few words, which must have been so eye opening, that our perspectives completely changed. 
In the moment, some things may really hurt, in the words of Craig: It's hard to talk when you want to kill yourself.  But sometimes, Craig, talking is what changes our minds and makes us want to live. Kinda a funny story, eh?


Though I understand Craig, I don't understand the way he choose to deal with things. In the book he completely gave up at one point. He decided he didn't want to get out of bed again, and stay in bed all day- like his roommate muqtata. He forgot how to move on, he forgot how to live. That is something I don't often forget. I know there are people out their who don't have the same opportunities as me, and I would never consider giving mine up.


Now  for Craig and I, the real issue is to find a way to deal with our problems, and quickly get back on track. In other words, get back to where you belong. Sometimes Craig and I wonder if everyone really belongs somewhere, or with someone. But Craig and I both do. Craig and I belong in our homes, our lives, and the in places surrounded by people we love and love us. "In the long run, it's important to focus on the positives", as craig says: Do what I love, breathe, eat sleep, bike, kiss my mom, hug my little sister etc.
Things always brighten up. Even when you think they never will

The message I stole from this book is: However hard it is in the moment, things always  get better. 

As most likely assumed, the theme of the book is teen suicide. The main character, Craig, is under pressure from school, home, and overall his whole complicated life. He is taken to a physic ward where he is forced to go face to face with all his problems.

Though Craig and I live very different lives, have very different friends, parents and schools, we share one very important thing. Craig and I are both teenagers, as well as a million other fourteen and fifteen year olds out there.

Though everyone is a teenager at one point, and knows how it feels (Quoting Craig again), "When there is a lot going on in you're mind", life can become a funny story. 

You may: end up in a psych ward, where you're surrounded by grown men who draw beavers, and men who are on all of kinds of messy drugs. You may fall in love your best friends girlfriend/boyfriend. You may later realize you actually love a girl who cuts her self, goes to a school called dolphin, and wears shirts which say 'I hate boys' on the front.

Or you may: End up taking care of your little brother, while your parents are on a honey moon in Hawaii. You may end up feeling lonely and temporally moving into your best-friends Mom's house, with your little brother. Your best friend may develop a crush on your brother, and you may have to move back home.

Whatever the case. Weather you're in Craig's situation, no situation, or my situation,

during all the commotion you need to always remember how to live & keep moving.

3 blogs i like

         Nurshat Pasha's Blog- Not afraid, was one of my favorites to read. I enjoyed it very much, because in the poem: Pathetic, you can really hear Nurshat's voice. All her poems are heartfelt, and show all the effort she put into it. You can really hear Nurshat's voice. Nurshat's voice and tone is easy to notice especially with her vocabulary choices. Kudos Nurshat, many people choose your blog to write about.
         I also liked Joanna's blog. Joanna did a good job using visuals- especially in "Observed surroundings"and "Media news impression". It is important to add pictures- as graphic as they may be, to get across a message.
"Observed surroundings" was my favorite post on her blog. I liked it because she used small details to build up to the big issue. I like how many of the posts build up to something important. Job well done Joanna.
      Lastly, I had a fun time reading Aymon's blog. It kept me interested, and held my attention for more than fifteen minutes (Which is amazing for me). I think Aymon did a fantastic job with the 'poem sequence', "Stopping time". It kept me reading till the last poem in the sequence, I was completely intrigued.  She defiantly captured the essence of a suicidal people, and let me peak into life from their eyes. Good job Aymon, you're writing can let people see how it is from a different pair of shoes.

forward :p

I choose this theme because "Leaving" is something most people can relate to, whether you are leaving or being left. Loneliness and feeling abandonment are feelings many people will feel at one point in their lives. If that isn't the case, and my readers can relate to other aspects of the poems, for example losing trust. But if my readers had never felt any of those feelings, I hope they try to understand how every inch of these aweful feelings feel.
From friends to family, even love, leaving is important to my personal life. I can most definatly relate to this theme. I'm never exactly sure why, but some people just disapear from our lives. Whether it's a brother, father, grandma, or grandpa, it's always helpful to remind myself that most things in our lives will not be perminant- (Coming home-poem #3).
When writing these poems, I did a little research about how many kids are missing a Dad or a Mom in their lives. And how many kids have parents in the US army. Aswell as how many kids have neither a Dad or mom and how many kids live with a step parent. These statistics are always shocking to me.  The numbers are some what flaberghasting.
In poems, I tried hard to express all the dificult emotions I felt when someone in my family left. After I slammed my room door, and flopped down on my bed, I felt more confused than sad- or any other emotion. In the following sequence of poems, the narrator will feel everything from forgiviness, to anger, to sadness. As my readers read the following, i hope they try to put their feet in my narators shoes.
-ShoHANNAH

leaving, a narative poem sequence for ELA

Leaving


Leaving for the first time


Tell me what i can do to change you're mind.
Walking out never does solve the problem

When i think of you, I think of you and I
the cookies we baked,
the smell of Cinnamon floating in the kitchen the following week
All the paper boats we sailed.
All the rocks we skipped.
All the memories which no eraser in the world can erase.

you were by my side when i cried   over my balloon floating away
now you are the one leaving, who will be there to wipe my tears?


Leaving and coming home.

Coming home.
You are back in my life.
I hope you never leave again,
I fill your pockets with trust and hope you won't loose it.

But maybe I'm just dreaming.
I know the words 'father and daughter' never exactly described how I felt for you.

I stick my tongue out at you, and you smile back at me,
i never know how i feel about you,
I never know where you are.

I'm never sure where you are,
I'm never sure what label to give you.
But I know you are not my Daddy, yet.


How could I trust you

Did you think about mom when you left
Or the life you left her with
The kind of life where you spend time alone preparing meals,
She even had to get a job.

Did you think about how scared she was.
The night you left.

I watched through the doorway as rivers streamed down Mom's face,

I crawled into Mom's lap, and she stroked my hair.

"Why did he leave Mom"
"We have to move"

You threw Mom's trust away last time,
this time you might as well have tossed mom out,
like all the tissues she tossed out when you left.


I'm leaving

My luggage is full.
Mom has kissed my forehead, and patted my back.
Her eyes well up with tears.
She doesn't think I am ready

I think about Mom and me.
Our lavender garden on the porch
our messy collages
our bitten nails
our wedding dresses

We have moved on,
I'm not leaving to find you Dad.
I am leaving to find me.

I'm moving forward
past the hallway of tilted empty picture frames, where pictures of our perfect lives used to hang

Our empty past.
which will always be a part of me
But now, I'm leaving.

DOES ANYONE READ MY BLOG!?