Blog Question for Monday
How has the book changed you since you began to read it?
1. Has it made you go about doing things differently?
2. Has reading this book made you appreciate certain things more than you used to?
3. What aspects of life or things around you do you look at differently?
4. Choose a quote that caught your attention when you read it and record it here. (This will be good to come back to in future essays.)
5. Have you ever wondered how people came to be the way that they are? Now that you’ve read this book do you wonder about the events in their past? How did you come to be who you are today? (think of a specific event)
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22 comments:
1)the book has not changed me when it comes to going about doing things but it has changed the way i see things.
2)yes it has made me apprecitae things. i thanks God that im not living in poverty like the people in the book.
3)i look at my environment and how im blessed with the things i have.
4)in the inrtoduction david Isay said, "just give a kid something-a microphone(or a camera, or a paint brush, or a computer), and watch what he can do." this quote affected me because children need to be heard and sometimes thats the only way to hear them. as you get older you sometimes pay less attention to children as they cry out for you. if you give them anything they can use to espress their feelings they will tell you a story.
5)the past is the foundation to what the person might be. it is what makes them who they are. im my past one tihing that made me who i am today is the fact that i was never listened to. this made me find what my true talent is. i want to be listened to so i decided to act. i may not always tell my story but the saisfaction of knowing that im heard is good enough for me. and ine day i will be able to tell my story.
Since reading this book, ive started to read various of other books. It has gotten me into the habit of reading more.
1) it hasnt made me go about things differently at all.
2) It has made me appreciate things much more, such as my family and etc.
3) I compare my home, to the characters living situation, clothes, me not having to hunt for food. I mean never the less, time has changed, but im still fortunate.
4)The following quote caught my attention,"I need to get the land. The land! I dream it. I want it. I will sacrifice for it."
5)Yes, i do often find myself wondering how people are the way they are. I've came to be the way that i am, through trials and tribulations, being somewhat stubborn and hardheaded, and by falling down, then standing back up.
I appreciate that I'm reading this book because it lets me inside the world of other people. I get to know different characters. I work as a cashier and I see different people everyday. Before I judge those people I think of all the things they probably went through that I'll never know. I have also learned to appreciate my mom more because she is able to give me a better life than the other homes in this book.
"Don't look at us like we're an alien or an android or an animal or something. We have a hard life, but we're sensitive. Ghetto kids are not a different breed-we're human." (pg.83)
In this quote LeAlan asks from us a very simple favor. He wants us to connect his words to our lives and have consideration for kids like him.
Some events in my life have shaped me to be who I am. Events like me getting in trouble has made me more cautionate. Sickness has made me more careful when it comes to dealing with stuff that might make me ill. Close ones doing me and my family wrong have made it hard for me to trust people. Great people have brought that trust back.
The book has not made me go about situations differently thus far. Since reading the book I have had a higher respect for wrestlers and their dedication to their sport. I look at the state of Montana alot different now that I have read this book. "Did you hear that applause? We won. We defnitely won." A drunk young guy says, "So what do you win?" And the girl says, "There's no prize or anything, but we're the definite winners." (pg. 7) To me this quote means that you should always try your hardest to be on top weither there is prize or not. Your goal should always be to be on top. I've always questioned what people have gone through to be who they are today. In the stories you definitly question how these people came to be who they are today. I've come to be who I am today by many different events. A specific event which have shapped my life is when my grandma was diagnosed with alzheimers (which runs inthe family) It's very traggic and life changing to me because she doesn't know my name or even know who I am. She's always in a daze when I see her and she constantly asks me the same questions over and over again whenever we see eachother. She once called the police because she swore that my uncle just dropped her off on the side of the road next to a railroad track (which never happened) With that experience I have learned to look at things differently. I try to take a ton of pictures and do as many things as I constantly can. Because I've learned that life is too short to waste time and take things too seriously. I justy have to go with the flow and enjoy things now because one day I may not be fortunate to remember any of it.
Our America is defintely a life chaging book, whenever you examine another lifestyle it makes you look at things differently. Our America has made me look at alot of things differently, but most of all it has made me appreciate things more.Growing up in a similar environment as Lelan and Lloyd,Our america has really made me think about how much worst things could be for me.Looking at the life of two young black men growing up in a very rough environment makes you grateful, and very thankful that you didnt have to go through some of the things they did." If you play childish games in the ghetto, you're gonna find a a childish bullet in your childish brain"(pg.33). That qoute really shows how quick they had to mature and live a life most people their age usually don't have to live. To be specific My parents seperating and me getting robbed has really made me who I am today. When my parents seperated it made me realize im going to have to do alot of things on my own and I have to step up and be the man of the house.When I got robbed the first time,it made me a man it tought me how to protect myself and develop a trust none attitude. I actually thank GOD for those two events because living in a single parent household makes you mature and look at life totally different. It gives you something that everyone cant have.
Reading this book has made me appreciate things more than what i used to. Hearing and seeing pictures about people struggling to survive, kids killing at young ages, fatherless children, parents on drugs and poverty has made a big change over my life. I can say right now i am truly being blessed and i should take nothing for granted.
I look at my neighborhood and communties and realize that nothing is the same as the characters. They grew up learning the harsh reality of life and seeing the dark side of it.Life and death was a everyday thing to them. Seeing people killed and brutalized was nothing, it was just like watching t.v(having no feeling).
"No. There's not enough apologizing in the world. What they did to that baby i wouldn't do to a roach. I hope that they both rot in hell". Seeing this quote caught my attention because of the harsh meaning behind it.
This person felt hatred and angry while saying this. In a way i can understand why she is mad and upset. For the simple fact of getting tired of all the violence going in the neighborhood.
I never went through alot of things growing up like some people. I lived a normal life came from a loving and caring homes, and had problems just like any other person. I have become who i am by the motivation and determination of my family friends. I was always to taught to be and express myself any kind of way . I am very creative person that expresses myself through dance.
"people set their minds, before they come here, to expect problems, and generally you get what you expect".The book Our America has changed me because i begin to respect not only where i come from more but also my life. in the book many people
from where they come from die everyday due to violence and i never had that experience. Now I never take advantage of my life and I see things for what it is worth like family and friends, I have much more appreciation for them because they can be here today gone tomorrow.I look at my neighborhood differently, i thought i had it bad but the characters in my book has it much worse.I look at my school differently because its not subject to drugs and violence.I look at my family different because I have a mother, brothers, and sisters that are still breathing, are not on drugs, and doing something with their life. I came to be how I am today by believing in myself and never giving up. knowing that I can do anything if I dedicate myself to what it is I want to do even if its school,work,dancing,singing,etc.
When reading Stranger Than Fiction, I've relized that my morals have changed. I do what i have to do to get what i need instead of doing what i want to get what i want. I appreciate things more and more and i thank the book for that. I didn't relize the risks i take everyday. How ow the book helped me was, it sat me down and made me think. I don't judge when i see a person taking risks anymore, but rather understand and look at what i might need to do. In STF. Heidehher said, "The problem with seeing the world was it leads you to use things, enslave and ezploit things and people, for your own benefit (Pg. 32). This quote really got beneath my skin because it really does express what i believe. I know for a fact that some attitudes and ways of doing is heridtery, but most aren't. For that reason you never know what the past has done to them so that is what i think about sometime when i see a person with an unusual way of doing something. How i came to be who i am today is a simple talk. Talk with the family and told them i wanted to be better than you. I want what you never had and i'm gonna get it.
The book Stranger Than Fiction hasn't really changed me in making my habits and how I do things differently, rather I just think more about the cultures and customs of people in different parts of the country and world. For example Rodger building his castles he says "Basically I thought it would be fun. Fun to live in. Fun for people to look at." This surprised me because even if I had all the modern conveniences such as electricity and heating, I would still prefer a "modern" house to live in. When I think about my own life and how I came about to be here today, I think that's a culmination of many things both large and small and difficult to narrow down to one event. Rather it's the sum of my experiences and what they have shown me. If I would have to narrow it down to just one I would say that an incident when I went to Vietnam, where my father was a medic in the Vietnam War. When we went, we visited the town where his translator was from during the war and we visited a village. After the visit we went to the top of a mountain that had a monument at the top. When we got there however we saw Vietnamese Army soldiers drinking rice wine, my uncle and I stayed away and my father approached them. After they discovered that my father was an American that served in the war that they also fought in, with the help of our guide who translated for us, they had him (along with my uncle and I) over for a few rounds. To make a long story short, that day I learned that even sometimes an enemy can become a friend.
this book hasn't really changed me but the way i look at things. i think i look at things differently to a certian extent. like normally i would just do things with out hesitation but now i think bout it before i do it. yea i learned to appreciate the fact that my mother taught me how to grow up in to a young lady and not into someone that is out of control.Sean harrington said to chris "you see the other athletes in the schools, the basketball players and the football players, they'll talk about how werstling's not that tough, but then they'll join the team, and they quit within the week". the reason why i like this qoute is because i can compare to it, i was on the swim team and alot of people said that swimming was easy,but right when they join alomost half the people that tried out quit. i think people are the way that they are now, because of society the world and the internet and television are telling us that the right things are really the wrong things. i think i am the way i am is because of my mother and high school. high school is really a learning experinece for most teenagers you go through so much and learn alot about life. high school is also a test of seeing were you are heading life after school.
I dont know if the book "Last American Man" has really changed me in to many ways. I have read "Into the Wild" and this mans story is similar to his story. After I read "Into the Wild" I did appreciate my friends and family more. I also looked at what i had, and asked if it was really important. "The Last American Man" is re-enforcing those thoughts and values in me.
"I believed in what we were doing because i wanted to learn those skills, I believed in what we were teaching. I was on a spirtitual mission, and mine parreled his" pg106.
I do wonder about why people are the way they are, why do we do the things we do, or believe the things we believe. I think this story pretty much spells out why he lives the way he does and how he came to be that way. I wonder why I am here, and where I am going quite often. Everyday really. I think I am the way I am is because I have chosen my choices very carefully. I have a great group of friends back home who help me be a better person everyday. I great family who believe in me and I dont give enough credit to. I think I am where I am because of the relationships and the dreams I have. I think we all are.
The book Stranger Than Fiction has not changed me a whole lot yet. The first few chapters that I have read this far, I could not relate to that well. I have though started to look at the world more openly and see things for what they are. I do not do things any different than how I did them before I read this book. It made me appreciate what wrestlers go through for training. I did not know that all that work was required to be successful in wrestling. I now look at people differently because instead of just seeing them as a person, I try to see them as for who they are. We should all learn to see people for who they are, instead of judging them by the way they look, act, and dress. In Stranger Than Fiction, the author says, "If we can reflect and know our lives, we might stay awake and shape our futures.(pg. 38)" What he is trying to say is that we all need to know who we are, not just by how we act and dress, but how we think and react. If we can do that, then we can be prepared for what is to come in the future. I have wondered how some people became who they are today. And sometimes I think about what could have happened in their life, that caused them to be what they are today. I came to be who I am today, because my dad taught me a lot of useful knowledge for life. Before he died, I used to be a very quiet person. He would tell me to just be myself and be open with other people. I started to take that advice, and soon everyone began to know who I was, and also made friends very quickly. Although I may seem quiet at first, I'm the complete opposite once someone gets to know me. I feel that being open with friends, makes them understand who you really are. Once they know who you really are, they will appreciate you for who you are.
Stranger Than Fiction shows me that theres so many interesting ways to get people to come together. This book is a peek into a worlds I didn't know existed.
"One danger is, we might hurry through life, enduring event after event, in order to build our list of experiences," (36). This quote is taken from the narrator of the chapter You Are Here, were he's talking about some people jump into life experiences so they can tell stories instead of letting life naturally happen to them and I definatley think about this all the time now. When I walk down the street and look at the people around me I just want to ask "whats your story?" And after I hear the story I know I'm going to question how pure there motives are? Has life just happen to you or have you planned it so much chance does not exist? Not that ether one is bad, the people that do things for a story seem more interesting, you get to think about there thought process. But have they truely lived a "life." Are they bored to death?
My book Stranger Than Fiction has not really changed me or my life since I started reading it. But I have to say I made a little bit of a connection with the wrestlers from "Where Meat Comes From" because I played high school football and football and wrestling are two sports you have to dedicate a lot of your time to. And although they require a lot of time, it's more to it then just that. You need to change your whole life style around just to be an athelet in one of these sports. Like most athlese that ether wrestle or play football, they take their sport seriously. They change their eating habits around. When they are done with practice they work out. Even though you need to have the skills to play these sports, its going to take a lot more than just that to be a great athlete. You need heart! And because the athletes put so much time into this new life style its heartbreaking to most when they loose a match. "'The toughest guys I know cry after macthes beacuse they put so much into it.' Joe Calavitta says." (pg. 20)Something similar happened to me when I first started playing football my juinior year. Being a player for an 8A high school football team is a big responsibilty. And although I wasn't a starter I still gave it my all every day. And my coaches saw my pride in every down that i was in. Then when the playoffs roled around I got excited because my team was top 5 in the state. And when we lost in the second round it was more upsetting to me than some of the seniors. As we head back to my school after a tough loss, I kept my helmet on until we changed in the locker room. I left it on because after the whistle blew at the end of the game I knew that that would be last time I would wear a football helmet. The sport of football really made me want to give it my all. And that was first thing I could say that really pushed me to do my school work for the remainder of my school career. Which helped me to come Columbia.
The book has just really left me wondering, wondering about what goes on in the average persons life. You can't look at someone and tell how they live there life nor know weither or not they choose to live that way. This book has made me realize that I'm very blessed to have the things that I need. I feel as if you can never complain about the little things, because there is always someone else out there that may not have anything or anyone. In the book they say "Just the fact that you've accomplished , and you've set your goals and you went after them, and you never were a 'woulda,shoulda, coulda.' You actully did it. I feel as if a person trys at something ,but even though they may not have exactly went all the way through with it, its basically the first step, if you fall get back up again. People are really molded into what they are as they get older, and I think it starts from the parents, then teachers, then friends. Were you grow up is a very BIG part in how people become the way they are but then again you become your own person as you get older, even if you still have some traits from that friend or teacher. I'm the person I am today because of telivison/movies. Ever since I was younger, I've always said I don't ever want to be like those bums and drug addicts, with no jobs no family no life. Thats why I always say education first the fab life second...:D
So far the book really hasnt had that big of an impact on my life. In some of the things that happened in the story I can see and relate to most of the battles that went on between the characters. In reading the book I can say that I do appreciate the movie and story writers. They struggle alot just to get there seven minutes to pitch there ideas. I look at wrestelers in a different way now because of the fact that they also have a seperate life apart from wresteling. At first I would look at a wresteler and just think that they were people who just liked beating up on others but now that I read teh story I see that its more to there lives than just wresteling and training. "Already our freedom of speech is headed for a collision with every other law."(Page 36)I chose this quote because I to feel that our freedom of speech is being jeopardizes. I always look at a person and wonder how or what makes them who they are. I find it interesting to see what another person has been through and compare it to my own personal struggles. There are alot of things that shaped me into being the person I am today. I really just grew up always wanting to be like my father. Ive been through alot of things from being hurt by my mother to feeling like the whole world is aganist me. But it was all just a test to show to myself how strong minded I was and helped me develop my ability just just let things go and push forward no matter what. A event that shapped me into who I am today is my freshman year. My freshman year really molded me into who I am because before that year I really didnt care about school or anything at all. But after seeing and feeling the disappointment in my family and even in my own eyes I realized that I needed to grow up and use the head on my shoulders. It really just helped open my eyes to see the big picture. I found out that if I wanted to be successful in life nobody was going to help me but me. Sometimes I sit around and talk about what/who I would be if I didnt go through what I went through my freshman year and my whole life. Honestly its scary but I know that this is where God wanted me to be and im going to make the most of it.
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