In Response To "The Walking Dead Volume One" by Robert Kirkman And Tony Moore

While reading The Walking Dead, I had a lot of thoughts about what I would do if it were me who had to make my way through the zombie apocalypse. I don't think I'd even be able to grasp the fact that nobody could go outside of their group's area without having the high probability of being attacked by a flesh-eating monster. I tried to put myself in Rick, the main character's, shoes: like when he wakes up in a hospital, completely deserted of anything living. What would I do? I'd most likely freak out and end up getting eaten within the first ten minutes of being aware that the world was basically ending.

I think reading books and watching shows about this subject makes us think that we'd know how to handle ourselves if the world was taken over by zombies. The truth is, we really have no idea what we would have to do in order to survive. The rules might be different in our case. The "Walkers" might not be defeated by a good blow to the head; they might have to have every part of their bodies torn to shreds. We won't really know until it happens, which it might not.

We don't take advantage of what we have here

With perfection so close, so finally near

In dimensions unknown, we might have to fight

We might fight to survive, fight for what's right

But right at the moment, nobody cares

Nobody cares for what's rightfully theirs

That's why we do everything that we do

To forget all those things that the walkers would shoo.

In Response To "Anna And The French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins

   I have been reading a lot of books where I want to go in and help out the main character, tell him or her about what all the other characters think or feel. Then when all hell breaks loose, I think about what could have happened if I could have just told the main character, in this case, Anna, what had been going on.
   Anna started out fine. But once she met Saint Clair, she lost control of her thoughts and words, as in what she said and how she acted around the people who cared about her. And at many times, whenever she would hurt someone who was one of her loved ones, I wanted to help her solve her problems, to use words to prove that she could fix her mistakes.
   I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think all authors try to have that affect on readers where the readers actually want to be involved in the story, not just to read it. Life works a little like that, too. You can't make people listen and want to be included, but from what you say and do, someone will eventually take notice of what you have to say, and put it into some kind of meaningful importance, like the books we read on a daily basis.

"Quality, Taste, and Style" by Tim Gunn

I've been reading a book that Tim Gunn wrote. Though it's about fashion, which truthfully I don't really care about, it's also been about learning to embrace yourself, to be happy with who you really are inside, not being ashamed to show your true self, things like that.
The thing is, well what I've noticed so far, is that its not as easy in reality to accept yourself in all ways. There are so many expectations of people nowadays, and its hard to live up to them. The main struggle with acceptance is just about trying to fit in and to not be an outcast. I know a bunch of girls who get all worked up over wearing makeup and making sure their hair is just perfect and buying the right kind of clothes and saying the right things and talking to the right people.. the list goes on and on. Mostly, I feel sorry for those people. That's because while they are trying to be a person they aren't, I'm having fun hanging out with who I like hanging out with, not worrying about what I say or do, and not letting other people's judging get in the way of how I act towards myself and the people around me. Believe me, it took a long time to be able to understand all that, and it also took work. You can't just say you're going to change and expect to be completely different the next day. Your mind doesn't work that way. Nobody's does. That's why people give up on being themselves--it takes time.
I think that overall, even though I've only read about 5 chapters, this book is going to be about expressing yourself in different ways, and in the end, it could help me to have a better point of view in the issue of acceptance of yourself. It's good that authors can have the ability to help make choices for readers. It shows them that they aren't completely alone, but also to show them how to take advantage of their independence.

In Response To "Hurricane Song" by Paul Volponi

We must remember the people in the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina because of what they had to live through. Under those conditions, it’s surprising that anybody trapped in there even got out alive or healthy enough to survive. We must remember the sacrifices they made, such as the loss of food and water in their bodies, making them extremely tired, weak, and vulnerable to the smallest dangers. By telling the story in the point of view of Miles, the protagonist, Paul Volponi shows feelings of loneliness and helplessness. Volponi uses Miles as a way to show how bad it really was in the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina, but also as a way to show how it made the nation and its people stronger. Throughout the story, Miles and his father’s relationship grows stronger as well, all because of the hardships he and his father went through as they spent their days wasting away in the trashed football stadium, waiting for the one day when they would grow free from the storm’s curse.

When Miles describes the way his family and many others had to live like for those many days that they were stuck inside the Superdome, he reveals the fact that they had been living like animals. With urine on the floor and robberies and rapes occurring everywhere you turn, Miles’ thoughts about what was going on showed just how much worse the situation became than everyone thought it would be. In the beginning of “Hurricane Song”, Miles and his father had no doubt that the storm would be over within a day, and they’d all get to go home to their secured houses untouched by any storm. But once they realized that there probably was no more home to go to, their relationship grew stronger, bringing them closer than they ever thought they’d be. When Miles and Pop discover their home to be destroyed, along with Pharaohs, the jazz-filled restaurant where Miles waited tables and Pop played his music, their bond grows stronger. This is because they had something to miss together, meaning that they understood each other’s pain.

The process that Miles and Pop had to take in order to gain a special father-son bond showed me that I should be more appreciative of the love, wealth, and support I get from my own parents in my own life. It made me think about some of the parents in the world, and how they abuse their children or don’t pay any attention to them or act like having kids was a mistake they can never fix. Miles had thought that his own father loved music more than his own son, and that he didn’t approve of Miles’ love for football. Because of this, they grew even further apart, just assuming that neither one of them loved the other like family. This made me think about just how lucky I am to be able to know that my parents accept me for who I am and to know that they love me more than life itself. That’s a feeling not a lot of kids get from their families, like with Miles, and the kids who do get to have that privilege should take notice that they have it.

In Response To "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins

Let me just get this out there. This book is wacko. Completely and utterly wacko. The main character has two different sides. The good side is called "Kristina", and the drug-addicted side is called "Bree." I have to say, the way Kristina fought so hard to get Bree out of her system made me think about whether she ever really wanted to do drugs in the first place. Well then again, she kept going back for more and more. I find it sickening that someone could have the power to change their life with a snap of their fingers. How must that feel? I guess it depends on whether your new life is good or bad.
I actually feel bad for Kristina for having to put up with herself for so long. But what I really feel bad about is Bree. I mean, we all have her inside of us, It's just that most of us know how to control her. She's just this creature at the bottom of our minds, waiting for the perfect moment to attack your only reasonable way of thinking, ready to attack at the exact moment you gain the slightest vulnerability. And I've found that once she attacks, she never intends on leaving. You fight a war with her, both physically and mentally. Then, she takes you down and rips you apart bit by bit, until all that is left of you is your beaten body lying in the middle of the floor. Everything you knew left you a while ago, when Bree first decided to take control. Everyone abandoned you when she pushed you to show them that you didn't need or want them, even though you did. Bree came upon your soul and bit at it and killed it and made you wish you'd never listened to her. Now there is nothing left for you except for her, and yet you've pushed everything away so far, that even Bree left your mind and evaporated into thin air, leaving you as a pile of nothingness, a load of trash, worth not even a cent.
That's what Bree did to Kristina, and everyone who followed her crank-filled ways.
That's what Crank told me.