2 Voice Poem Social Issue entry #3. (Option 6)

I always feel like people are looking at my body.
Because I'm disgusting.
Because I have the perfect body.
Sometimes I wish I was skinnier.
Because I'm obese. 
Because anorexia has made me think like this.
When I look at myself in the mirror
 I see a big ballon ready to pop.
I see skin and bones.
I wish I could fix all my problems. 
But nothing ever seems to work.
Then I wouldn't be the skinny perfect girl I want to be.
Nothing seems to be working.
I use food to comfort myself.
Because if I got help, I would be losing this battle. 
What should I do? 
I'm going to try my hardest to feel good about my body and change it.
I'm not going to give in, I'm fixed on keeping my body this way. 


     I wrote my poem about body issues. I just finished reading winter girls which dealt with anorexia. I think it something i would really like to explore and learn more about because it is such terrible thing but it is a huge issue among teenage girls.

2 Social Action Articles on the Issue of: Sexual Orientation(Option #1)

2 Social Articles on 1 Social Issue and Reading Response:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/a-long-winding-road-to-marriage-equality.html?scp=18&sq=homosexuality/gay%20rights&st=cse
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/us/15lawsuit.html?scp=3&sq=Youth%20Pleads%20Guilty%20to%20Killing%20Gay%20Classmate&st=cse


     The two articles I read were quite different but on the same topic. One was on how states are really trying to accept gay marriage and the other was on how just because a boy told another boy he had feelings for him but the boy thought that it was "wrong" so he shot him. Now to me that is one of the most disgusting, sick things that you could ever do. I don't know what was going through this kids mind when he thought that just because someone had a feeling he didn't feel was correct so he shot someone. I can't express how angry it makes me to think about it. 


     But on a better note, I think the amount of action the government is taking to prevent things like this from happening and really taking a stand against homophobia and having a zero tolerance for hate crimes is great. I also think that most states saying that gay marriage is fine, it would be great if it was all which one thing that is also sad to me. That why it might bother someone that a girl might like a girl and a boy might like a boy or wanna marry a boy. To me the fact that this was ever a problem is absurd. Everyone should have the right to love who they wanna love. After all, it is a free country. 

WIntergirls Reflection

      I finished Wintergirls on this past Tuesday. Overall it is probably one of my favorite books. Now that I have read it for a second time I spent a lot of time focusing in on the little descriptions in the book. I think for me and a lot of people i know who have read it, I didn't quite understand what happened towards the end of the book. Everything got very hazy and mystical. You couldn't tell whether or not Lia was alive or dead or what was going on at all. When I got to this point I read it very slowly and carefully. It's quite scary but at the same time it's absolutely beautiful. The way she describes Lia while she's dying is amazing. You never know exactly what's going on or how she got there which I think is what really confused me the first time. But after reading it again that's how I think the author wanted you to feel. She wanted you to be able to be on the same page as Lia in what was going on because she (Lia) didn't know either.
      I think that the way Anderson ended the book really fell into context with all the characters. Lia needed to be fixed and realize what was going on with her. She needed to prove to Emma that she would be fine. She also needed to find a way tog et rid of Cassie's ghost. The way she put all these things in one mix at the end of the book was very interesting seeing as Lia's thoughts always seemed to be mixed and jumbled. I think the plot,writing style and characters of the book really make it worth reading.

Social Issues Post #1

Observe your surroundings (school, home, neighborhood, media). Write a list about all the scenes or situations you come across on a daily basis that you think are unfair and/or not right in some way. Pick one of the ideas from your list and write a longer entry about it - 2-3 paragraphs. Describe the problem, what's wrong with it, cause and effect, and possible solutions.

1. The man on the corner of a street begging for money.

2. A man yelling at what seemed to be his girlfriend then hitting her and no one doing anything about it. 

3. A mother yelling and screaming at her son who looked to be about 3 for spilling his juice box.

I picked situation #2. This is something i feel i see way too often. But yesterday it was especially wrong. I was sitting on the train and a man and a woman were standing near the doors arguing about something. I remember hearing her say she was done with him. And it sounded like he hit her. Now as horrible as that is no one did anything about it. And I didn't do anything about it either. I didn't know what i was supposed to do I'm only 13. Everyone on the train sat and pretended not to notice.

This to me is crazy. In a train car maybe full of 50-60 people not a single person on the car had the courage to come out and stop this from happening. To me that’s insane. I guess people were scared of what might happen if they did. Who can blame them? I didn’t speak up either which I felt bad about after. But I was scared too.

Abuse is a terrible thing but a lot of the time the problem is that people are too scared of what might happen to them to say anything. On trains they always say “If you see something, say something.” Now, there they are referring to suspicious items and actions but it could also apply to this too if you think about it, it’s another thing that we see a lot that isn’t talked about or reported and people elt it slide way too often. 

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson Post No. 2

   I think that Lia is probably one of the most complex characters that I have read about in a long time. She can never seem to have clear thoughts about anything. She hallucinates and always sees Cassie everywhere she goes. She also has a very sick twisted definition of perfect. Personally, I think that the way she starves herself and thinks that she's fat when she weighs 93.5 lbs. She talks about how she can feel the yellow bloat oozing out of her. How it covers her butt and thighs and stomach and arms. She is nothing but perfectly skinny. 

I understand that a lot of people can feel this way about their bodies but reading this book again really made me realize what an awful thing it is. You don't just throw up and be fine. You hate yourself. You think your ugly and fat and in Lia's case, you could be perfectly normal or in fact too skinny already. For example, on pg. 202 Lia is talking about her body. "I'm a fat load and I disgust myself. I take up too much  space already. I am an ugly nasty hypocrite. I am trouble. I am waste... I want to eat like a normal person eats but I need to see my bones or I will hate myself even more and I might cut out my heart or take every pill that was ever made." That was probably one of the most shocking and disgusting things I've read in the book so far. It's mind boggling to me that someone could think of themselves that way. That the only way she is happy is to be the skinniest person she knows. Her friend died because she was anorexic. I don't understand how after that someone could still want to keep going with it. It's kind of like an addiction. To be as skinny as possible. In another part of her book she says she wants to weigh 85 pounds. 85 pounds is “dangerland” and “heaven”.  So she can be just bone no fat. Nothing.

I think for someone to want to go this far with anything she really needs help. The fact that her parents are so blind to see it is mind boggling too. She refuses to talk about it with them. She’s killing herself and she knows it. Sometimes I think it’s so she can be with her friend Cassie again. But at other times I just think she’s crazy.

People don’t need to be perfectly skinny to be beautiful. It’s not something that should be advertised as something perfect. It’s changing young girls minds. Models who are incredibly skinny are sickening. They are often anorexic so I think by being put out and advertising this, companies are basically telling girls: Be anorexic. It’s okay as long as you’re perfect. And that needs to stop. 

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

I think that the language the author use's in this book is absolutely exquisite. Seeing as this is my second time reading this book I think that being able to focus on little things especially in such a complex book makes it a wonderful book to read again. I feel like every sentence within the book she put thought and care into and is as detailed and powerful as it can be. Whether it's describing the setting or the main character's thought she does each one wonderfully.
     I feel like the smallest details are always described to there fullest without them being pointless at the same time. In one part of the book, she is describing how Lia's step mother looks. Down to her messy eyeliner and bleeding lipstick. And when Lia is drifting off into sleep the way she describes the dark surroundings of what's around her is so chilling. It gives the book a very unique tone.
     I've always looked for books like Wintergirls but so far everything i read hasn't compared to it. It really is one of a kind. The most powerful parts are when Lia is denying food and the things she says to make herself stop. And when Cassie visits her in the night she seems to describe every little detail.
This is what really makes  one of my favorite books.