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.

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.

Melinda remembers...

How do we know who to trust? We are witnessing Melinda's struggle with this. It seems she can trust no one. Her supposedly "best" friends have betrayed her and ditched out on her, making her a social outcast. Her parents think she is going through a "phase". Teachers/counselors/principal think she is just rebellious. Is it true that she doesn't have anyone trustworthy in her life? Or is fear ruling her decision not to tell anyone about what happened to her? What do you think? Do you find it difficult or easy to trust others? Has your trust ever been betrayed? After thinking about these questions, post a comment that addresses the issue of trust (min. 250 words).

Monday morning- P.2

Melinda had a group of friends in jr. high, now, however, she is Outcast because of what happened at the party. I remember my transition between middle school and high school. It was awkward, to say the least, because I stood out already so much physically (I was already 6 ft tall in the 8th grade). I remember playing volleyball and really liking it before starting freshman year, yet when I tried to make friends with the girls on the team, most of them were already busy with their own childhood friends. Also, my family went on a trip through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada the summer before 9th grade. I missed out on many of the "summer" activities because I was riding around the western U.S. a road trip with my folks. My first day of school was filled with social displacement until I connected with my choir friends. Suddenly, I remembered why I loved my fellow musician-dorks. They were all pretty much as socially awkward as I was! What are some of the things you see Melinda learning about friendship in the book SPEAK? What have you learned about friendship during your freshman year? How do we choose our friends and who we spend time with? Is it a choice, or is it a natural occurrence? Post your thoughts on these questions.