What do you think?

Between the 1st semester and 2nd semester of my freshman year in high school, I experienced some interesting changes and some tough choices. For one, I started playing basketball, which was a tough sport that demanded hours every day, six days a week, of my time. Also, because I played basketball, I got contacts and happily did away with my glasses. I started making friends with older girls that were on the varsity basketball team. But some of the older girls weren't very nice- in fact, they were pretty snobby and could be intimidating. Maybe they weren't taller than me, but they were tougher. My braces came off at the end of my first semester. And, in classes, I was definitely labeled as a "nerd" because I completed all of my homework and easily aced most of the tests. Grades were very important to me because, at some point around this time, I made the decision that I wanted to get out of Visalia, CA as soon as I graduated. But, by deciding to focus on grades and be the top student in most of my classes, I definitely included myself in a group of people that were not, to put it nicely, the coolest kids in school.

Melinda's story shows us about the toughness of survival for some people in high school. Do you think your 9th grade year is the most important year? Why or why not? Do you think Melinda could have changed the way she survived her freshman year- done it differently? Are there things you'd like to change about your freshman year? What about things for next semester? Read other students' posts as well to get a sense of where our class is as a whole. Post a comment expressing your opinion on this questions. We will be discussing your responses next week in class.

How to Tell a True War Story...

According to the chapter of the same title from O'Brien's book, what are some elements that are necessary to tell "a true war story"? Do you still believe that the stories he tells in this chapter are literally true? Or does he take some "authorial license" with them, like he has with other stories in this book? Please post a 100-word comment on my page, and make sure you read other students' responses.

Trees...

Find the image of a tree on the internet and work it into your blog somehow. Then, write a post relating your freshman year to the tree image you chose. There are several methods for incorporating your tree into your blog. You can a)cut and paste the link to the tree into your blog post, b)copy and paste the image into your blog profile (which means the photo will come up in your sidebar alongside your profile), 3)include the image in your title space. There are directions for inserting pictures via "help", or you can ask me for help as well.

For example, I chose the tree to the right because I love the bright, primary colors in it. Looking back on my freshman year of high school, I remember feeling similar to the mishmash of bright colors in the picture, except I had a mishmash of emotions. My awkwardness at starting high school. My love for my family yet the fact that I was often awful to them. The depression I sometimes felt (notice that the tree is blue) and that I couldn't name. The fact that I ate tons of food and watched dozens of hours of tv as an escape. The feeling that no boy would ever like me or be attracted to me. All of these are ways this tree represents my freshman year of high school.

Melinda's tree

Melinda's growth and healing throughout the year is compared to the growth and energy she puts into her tree art project. Looking at her struggles with the tree, compare and contrast that to her struggles in 9th grade. For instance, one similarity could be that just when she makes progress with her tree turkey bone sculpture, she backslides by losing her artistic vision and becoming "stuck". In a similar way, just as she is gaining confidence in art, and Ivy talks to her a bit, she has a run-in with IT that sends her scurrying away and causes her to have nightmares. What are other similarities/differences you see? Please add a comment pointing at least one similarity and one difference out between the growth of the tree and Melinda's growth throughout the book.

Elroy's thoughts

Post a comment on whether or not you think Elroy Berdahl wanted "O'Brien" to run away or go back home and face life as a soldier. Support your position with evidence from the book (you could use quotes, if they make your argument stronger). Now, rewrite the second half of chapter 4 from Elroy Berdahl's perspective. Express what you think he thinks about "O'Brien" the young man coming and staying with him for 6 days. Use what you read in the chapter as a jumping-off point. What do we, as the audience, know about Elroy? Do you think he wanted "O'Brien" to run away or go back and serve as a soldier? In your re-write, make it clear that you have evidence for Elroy's thoughts, actions, and feelings. Your re-write should be a minimum of 500 words long. It is due on Friday.

Books, books, and more books...

Now, I am reading five books at once: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin, Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger, The Disappearing Girl (all about teen girls who struggle with depression, non-fiction), Utopia by Thomas More, and I'm re-reading The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck to prepare for AcaDeca competition. Oh yeah, and I'm re-reading The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien with my seniors. I really need to get a life! That is my goal for the New Year, to reacquaint myself with the joy of simply being with people and enjoying the adventure. I can be a bit of a workaholic control-freak who seriously needs to take a chill pill. Aside from the latent OCD, I love to dance, eat food from different countries, laugh, and tell stories.