Coloring Outside the Lines

Author's Note: This is a text analysis of a specific sentence in a specific section of the book, Speak.

"Maybe I'll be an artist if I grow up."

This line in particular made me think about things, because I mean look at it. The whole, "If I grow up" thing really means something. It means that if you believe that you will never grow up to achieve something, what do you think is going to happen to you? I suppose she is saying, "Well I guess I will try being an artist, but if I can't grow up, oh well." It is like she has no belief in herself that she can do something.

The section as a whole means that she really likes art and it makes her happy to be around it. It is a free thing for her to do and no matter how many times she messes up, she can always restart. It shows that she has a passion for something, but she would rather watch other people be creative. At least that is sort of how the section explains it. 

wing$

Author's Note: I know this isn't a book that I wrote about, it's a song. I found that listening to music really makes me think about things. I thought I should write about something that I actually care about.  

*Before reading this, feel free to listen to the song first, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAg3uMlNyHA

Why do we dream at night? Because we have an imagination that can take us anywhere, and if you can dream it, you can do it.When you first say what you want to do with your life, everyone tells you that you can't do, the dream is too large. Dreams are never too big, and you are good enough. "I wanna fly, can you take me far away, give me a star to reach for, tell me what it takes, and I'll go so high-"I think that the song "wing$" by Macklemore gives a great sense of hope, inspiration, and encouragement to make me go after my dreams. 

You are probably hopeful for a lot of different things. Maybe you want to go to college or have a painting in a museum. Maybe you even dream about something like hitting the rim on the basketball court just like the song says. "And I was like, "Momma, this air bubble right here, it's gonna make me fly" This part of the song really describes how somebody is hopeful that something is going to happen and that is all what leads up to dreaming. Hoping that you can achieve something greater than what you think you can do. 

Something extraordinary just happened; you are inspired to do it again. That is very important too, having something to push you further in what you want to do. Everybody has inspiration for something but it takes a certain something in a specific someone to make you feel like you are worth something and that you have a chance. "I touched the net, "Mom, I touched the net," this is the best day of my life"" If you listened to the song, you would know that his shoes are what gave him the inspiration to be better, and with that, he felt like he was successful at something.

You've reached it, yes. It might be difficult to push on, but you have to keep going to succeed. Being encouraged is a strong part of reaching your dreams. When listening to the song, I noticed that everything revolved around his shoes, and because he had better shoes, that made him feel more confident and thinking that maybe it was possible to do what he wanted. Maybe it would to you or maybe it wouldn't, but that is how he became encouraged to do something.

Hope, inspiration, and encouragement are three strong aspects that the song "wing$" by Macklemore carry. This song has a real example being that you can have as much money or as little money as you want, but money will never make everything possible. Everyone has exactly the same chance at being good at something and this song really taught that. You just have to find what speaks to you, and makes you want to go after your dreams.

Awkward

Author's Note: Yeah, things are just awkward.

People that used to be such great friends

Turned into people you just see in the hall

You don't say hi to each other anymore

It's sad in a way

But not totally...

Because they did something to get themselves that position anyways

Don't be sorry that they are gone

They should be sorry

Crushed Me.

Author's Note: This is how I feel towards certain people right now. "We can have a problem, we just need to figure out if it is worth fighting for."

Sometimes,

You have to hurt those

Who hurt you

To let them know how it feels.

That feeling of being crushed by someone

Who you thought 

Would never.

Ever.

Leave your side.

Finding A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Author's Note: In this piece, I wrote a similarities and differences essay that would compare the short story, "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," with the short film with the same title.

Nothing can be exactly replicated; it's impossible. No toy, painting, or dance move is interpreted in the same way and simply cannot be duplicated the exact way it was thought of. Similarly, the short story, "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," and the short movie with the same title, are just the same way; you cannot make it exactly the same, and that is where I am finding the difference and similarities.

When you are watching a movie, you don't pay any attention to the camera angle unless it is a horror movie and you are waiting for something to be hiding behind the camera, or something like that. With this short film, I really noticed that the camera angle was dead-on pointing at the people that were being displayed in the scene. That is not how I envisioned it as I read the story. I don't know if that was possibly supposed to be like that, but it was just one thing that I would've considered changing to give the scenes more character and texture.

One thing that I thought they displayed very well, was how the characters had gruff in their voices and you could tell that they were angry by the way that they carried themselves. Clomping feet, lagging voice, and sitting in a hunched position compared to sitting up-right, looking at the old man, and tears slowly falling down his cheek. You could just really tell that they were feeling two totally different emotions, and that really stood out to me. You can also tell that they put lots of emotion into it as well.

"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," the movie and the short story, had things in them that I would've thought of different and carefully picked out, and a something that they did really well, too. Though things cannot be perfectly replicated, I thought that the short story to the movie did a pretty good job making it very close to what the story was written by Ernest Hemingway. 

You're Obviously Not Cinderella

Author's Note: This piece has two parts, and it is just describing how things can be different and how life isn't a fairy tale. 

Ever lasting love...

As precious and adorable

Like Cinderella

That's how she thought it would be

A fairy tale

Something you can't mess up

But maybe her glass slipper was never destined to fall off

Because her prince didn't want to find her again

Bippity Boppity Boo

He's gone

------------------------------------------------------

It starts as a carriage, rather

Not a pumpkin

Because as you see

The story is backwards

The opposite of a "happily ever after"

Nothing went well for our Cinderella

Nothing at all

Fabian and Christopher

Author's Note: I wrote this piece because we have just recently finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and we had to write a piece on it, so this is what I did. I was supposed to write it about text analysis and it sort of is, but I already finished that goal so my piece is a little different. 

For Christopher, everything has its way, and everything has a pattern. His day stays mostly the same constantly. Without a standard schedule that he lays out for himself, he feels off and it just isn't right. He has to teach himself subjects because it is confusing otherwise. For Fabian, nothing has a pattern that anyone can see, just him. His day is always changing. With a standard schedule, he feels calm. Fabian needs to be taught all the subjects, because it is too difficult to concentrate otherwise. Fabian, in my mom's fourth grade class, and Christopher, from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, are similar and different in a couple of ways. 

Everything has to be perfectly perfect and nothing can be off...Not. This is how Fabian and Christopher are different. Fabian doesn't always have an organized schedule, however this causes him to have break downs. He needs to be helped by somebody else to make it, too. Christopher has his own mental schedule, and he does what he likes to do, when he feels it is necessary. Another way that they are different is that they Christopher is much brighter than Fabian. Because Fabian comes from a family that speaks Spanish all the time, he had to adjust to English at school and that really confuses him with learning and it makes it more difficult. 

In case you haven't been able to tell, because I haven't made it a statement yet, Fabian is autistic. This is the main way that him and Christopher are similar. They both shared the same difficulties when they were young and they went on their own path from there and that is how I believe that they are similar, mainly. Another way that they are similar, is that their parents are split up or divorced. This has made it more difficult on both of them because they either don't know their other parent is alive, or they have to go between households.

Christopher and Fabian, two people with the same disease, autism, are different and similar in a couple of ways. This just goes on to show that just because some people around the same age level are diagnosed with the same disease, nothing is perfectly similar or precisely different in either of them. They are their own person and they function just how they want to and need to, and that is what is important. 

What A Cheat.

Author's Note: I tried to use a wide vocabulary throughout this piece. 

Her blood churned inside her

Like a volcano ready to burst

White steam blowing out both ears

Her face, now a vivid red

Guess he didn't realize that what he did

       Was so horrible

He would regret ever breaking her like this

They're done

The Story of An Hour

Author's Note: In this essay, I had to describe three symbols that have really pulled this story together. I thought that it was somewhat of a challenge to choose the correct symbols because there were so many.

In an instant, what seems like everything you have, gets taken away. Your husband dies and nobody wants to break it to you. Your sadness inside is unbearable; people are the enemy. You think it would just be better if you were dead. Would it? This is how the main character, Mrs. Mallard's life goes about. The reason that this story has meaning, and it makes sense, is because there are symbols that pull it together. The three symbols I found were an arm chair, spring weather outside, and the stair case.

When you're sad, you want something to comfort you. In this story, I think that the armchair is a symbol, because when she is sad it accepts her. Because she no longer has her husband to comfort her, she needs something to turn to where she can feel better. "There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul." The chair stands as a cocoon to protect her.

Everyone has different things that make their lives positive just by taking a look at something. Whether it is seeing a child giggle, or looking outside to see the weather changing. In this case, Mrs. Mallard looked outside. "The tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air." She sensed that it was a new life for her. The new life outside signified to her that there was a possibility for change in her life. Just because one bad thing had happened, didn't mean that everything had to come tumbling down with it. 

Figuratively speaking, I think the stairs are a symbol, because though it was a difficult 'barrier' to cross, they did it, together. "She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs." It is almost as if it is an emotional barrier as well as a mental one, too. It is showing that they are stepping over the past and everything will be somewhat normal when they decide to forget it was ever there. 

              

An arm chair, spring weather, and a stair case made up the basis of a story, and did it in a very precise, detailed way. Certain objects, when used in the correct sense, can make up and mean a whirlwind of things. They all stand for something important in the story, but specific objects can be more difficult to pick out knowing that it actually indicates that something is a big key element to the story itself. 

;

Author's Note: This piece was inspired by a picture that I saw on Facebook. It said, "For all those who have ever tried to self-harm or anything close, write a ; on your wrist, because though you didn't want to continue on, you life acted as a sentence, continue it." 

Don't pick up the weapon

Look away

You don't want this

Not this badly

You are wonderful

A glorious human being

You think that nobody would miss you

Everyone would miss you

You are loved

Think of your life

As a semi-colon

You shouldn't end

Because the story of you

Must go on

Forgiveness

Author's Note: I guess for one of my goals, I had to write something about forgiving people, so here it is.

I know I can't trust you

Our fights won't be forgotten

It's simple to say, "I forgive you"

But it's also easy to say, "I hate you"

One syllable's difference

The one I would be willing to speak for you

I forgive you

Coming Home

Author's Note: Mrs. Reagles told me I had to write something positive, so I wrote about somebody coming home from a war.

She had been awaiting his arrival

Would he come home?

Nobody could tell her

If he didn't get off this flight

     She knew he wouldn't be coming home

She pondered her thoughts

     Picked them one by one

She gazed up

He was there

     Walking towards her

They fell into each other's arms

They just held on

     She had him

      He had her

Nothing could be better

Click

Author's Note: To be honest, I don't really know what I was thinking while I was writing this. 

There is a click

Constantly in the back of your mind

It just keeps going

       And going

        And going

You wonder what it is

You can't ask anyone because they can't hear it

They can't feel it

They'll probably think you've gone mad

But what if I told you...

You're not crazy at all

It was them all along

Hurt

Author's Note: I was watching a movie a few weekends ago and this kid's dad was really horrible to him, and it gave me inspiration for a piece. 

Slapped and hit and pinched

Shriveled into nothingness

Bumped and bruised and kicked

Pushed into a corner

That's how it feels

When nobody cares

"You're just a living thing. You ain't important anyways."

His father told him

Everyday

Author's Note: This piece is what it sort of feels like to be invisible. 

Everyday

I hear the same words

Nobody likes you.

Everyday

I see the same faces

Only to deliver nasty looks

Everyday

I feel as though I'm invisible

Pushed into lockers as I walk down the hall

You're not the head of this school

Nobody will bow down to you

Nobody likes you

I. Am. Not. Invisible.

Black Streaks

Author's Note: This piece was just a random thing that I wrote.

Her eyeliner

Ran down her face

Black streaks of tears

Flowing

Like a waterfall

There was no reason, really

She just had had enough

X

Author's Note: I wrote this, because as I see it, there are two ways that you can be loved, but it can show that through the same object.

Heart with an X that is marked through it

Symbolizing that it does not only deliver love

It delivers a kiss, too

Simply, to know you are loved more

Than what you originally thought

It forever holds that love

                   ***

It can also mean you've been hurt

Bandages cover your heart

To make sure you don't fall apart again 

Don't let other break your heart

You deserve better 

Break

Author's Note: This is a piece that I wrote in math class because as usual, I got bored.

You are impenetrable

A solid sheet of steel

You should be breakable

Everyone is

Shed a tear

Take a look

You've build a wall

Someone has to knock it down

Nobody can come in

It's just you

Alone

In your world

Someday, you will shatter

I may not be there

But it will still be you

Alone...No one will come running

Because you've pushed everything away 

In this world that is good

When are you going to realize you've made a huge mistake?

Rude

Author's Note: This is how I feel towards people when they treat people meanly. People need to take into account, if you don't respect me, I won't respect you; simple as that.

I laugh at your pity

        Your sadness

You look at me like I'm some sick animal

        Festering wounds and all

You don't know what to do without me

       No where to turn

You brought it on yourself

       You asked for it

I'm delivering everything back

       So be ready for it

Because when it hits you

       It's going to hit

Hard.

Thank You

Author's Note: This piece was inspired by an event that took place over the weekend.

Though I never met you

You will always inspire me

You've done great things

You deserve to be remembered 

You are, and should be remembered, a role model

It is horrible that you had to go the way you did

You did something to help somebody else

It was beyond courageous

Knowing you had such a short time to do something

You did it

And nobody can ever forget you

Thank you for serving our country, thank you

Over

Author's Note: Change is a big word, and can be used in many definitions. Some change for the good, some for the bad. In this case, they have changed for the worse.

They follow you around

You're your own cult

You all think that everyone likes you

Even I've tricked you into that

But why did I ever bother wasting my time

I haven't liked you for a few years now

It's all just a show

That is how you operate

You pull people in and spit them out because they've changed

You know what?

YOU'RE the one that changed

Karma

Author's Note: Being that people are horrible, I wrote this piece. If anybody EVER treats you less that you deserve to be treated, let them go. Somebody will get them eventually.

You are a horrible person

You always have been

You always will be

You won't change because it's not possible

People that turn out like you this early on

Have no chance to change

The comments you make

The judgement you leave on people

Scars them for life

You make the pettiest comments about people

But really

You're judging yourself too

You'd better watch what you say because someday

It will come back

To haunt you