This I believe

I believe that friendship is stronger than any fight. I believe that friendship can drag you out of a whole that you dug yourself into. I believe that friendship is the perfect thing for making you feel happy and secure. When I think of friendship, I think of the group of friends that I’ve had for four years, but I also think of the new friends I made, the ones that I don’t tell all my secrets to, but can be myself around.

I have a group of friends that I have had for four years. Some I met seven or eight years ago, some I met only four years ago. I’ve told them all my secrets, and all my hopes, my dreams. But that’s not only what friendship is about. Friendship is about, knowing how to make each other laugh, or knowing when they’re hurt. I walked down the block with my mom, wondering why I even agreed to do this. If I knew my friend, I knew that she would not be very happy to see me. When I got to her house, I paused a minute before knocking on her door. “Hey Grace,” Her mom opened the door and I came inside. I looked around at the same hose that I have seen for five years, only today it looked different. “She’s upstairs,” her mom directed me up the stairs and into my friends’ room. I walked in and looked around; she was nowhere to be seen. Her mom took my hand and gestured for me to sit down on the bed. That’s when I saw her; she was sitting in her closet with her back to me. “Honey, Grace is here; you have to come out now.” My friend just shook her head. I put my head in my hands and my hands through my hair; remembering that I had forgotten to wash it this morning. We talked about 10 minutes, me saying the same thing over and over, and her not really saying anything besides giving a little “No” or “You know what you did”. She finally faced me and sat next to me on the bed. We started talking about the good thing, and we laugh and laughed.

I believe friendship is also about forgiveness and understanding, Sure me and my friend fight, more than anyone else in our little group, but that doesn’t mean we’re not friends, because friendship is much stronger than a couple of fights.  

Revolt of the Evil Fairies

The short story “Revolt of the Evil Fairies” by Ted Poston is about boy who doesn’t get the role he wanted in his school play because he has darker skin. Ted Poston does a great job in showing how this boy faces discrimination within his own community, but is determined to fight for what he believes in, even though it might be a very hard journey.

                The protagonist in this story shows determination in the face of discrimination. For example in the story Revolt of the Evil Fairies it says, “I went out for the prince charming role with all my heart. If I had declaimed boldly in previous contests, I was matchless now. If I had bothered mamma with rehearsals at home before, I pestered her to death this time” The protagonist really wanted the role of Prince Charming he was determined even though he knew he probably wouldn’t get it. For example in the story Revolt of the Evil Fairies it says, “There was never any doubt about Prince Charming and the Sleeping Beauty. They were always light skinned.” In the Brooker T. Washington Colored Grammar School all the kids are black, so the protagonist experienced discrimination within his own community. Anyway this line shows that for him it’s just a fact, Prince Charming got to be played by lighter skinned people or yallers. But this also shows how determined the protagonist is because even though he knew this was the case, it didn’t stop him from trying.

                Another way that the protagonist showed determination and strength, in the face of discrimination is when he says, “Well, the show must go on, even for little black boys. So I threw my soul into my part and made the Head Evil Fairy a character to remember.” The protagonist didn’t get the part, and if it were me I would have fallen apart, but not him. He did the best he could with the part he got. And again since he didn’t get the part he wanted, he of course didn’t stop trying.

                The last way the protagonist in this story stood up to everything he’s known, and gave it his all. The protagonist went through a lot of hurt and discrimination, but came out a lot stronger. The last way that the protagonist tried to get his point is not one that I agree with, but it is a way. For example in the last scene of the play in the shot story “Revolt of the Evil Fairies” the protagonist ruins the show by punching Leonardius who had gotten the role of Prince Charming. This shows that the protagonist just couldn’t hold it in anymore. He had tried three times for the thing he wanted more than anything; he wanted to be Prince Charming. But after all those times, he felt like either he had to give it his all or else he’ll never feel complete. And guess what the protagonist did give it his all and he did try.

                In conclusion things don’t always turn out how you want them to. For example the protagonist spent the whole story trying to get something that he knew was nearly impossible, but that didn’t stop him. I want to end this idea with a quote from the story. It says “They wouldn’t let me appear in the grand dramatic offering at all the next year. But I didn’t care. I couldn’t have been Prince Charming anyway.” I like this quote because it seems to tell a lesson, but indirectly. It says that even   though you put your heart into something it doesn’t always mean you’ll get what you want, and sometimes you can keep fighting, but sometimes the problems are just too big for you to handle on your own.

                

                

Where She Went

                     I just finished reading this breath taking book called Where She Went by Gayle Forman. In this book the main character Adam can't let go of the girl he loved in high school, even though it had been three years of constant travel for Adam and his band. Though when they finally see each other again in New York, Adam has to try to man up and either get over Mia or tell her how he feels. Through out the book Adam really grows as a person, and changes, for better or for worse.

                     Through out the book Adam really grows as a person. For example in the beginning of the book Adam is in the middle of like a two year panic attack. Adam can barley be around people anymore, he's not talking to his band anymore, and to keep from yelling at everyone he sees and to help him sleep, Adam was taking a lot of medicine. Adam tries to forget about Mia any way possible, but he can't seem to. Then when Adam finally seems at his worst, he reconnects with Mia.

                     Through out the book Adam really grows as a person. For example at the end of the story things start to look up. Adam, who at the beginning of the book could barley be around people, stood on a crowed train for an hour without freaking out. And yes I know for most people its not that hard, but for Adam it was almost impossible in the beginning of this story. Then Adam started to talk to his band again, which after their fight at at the beginning of the book seemed impossible. Finally Adam started to sleep without medicine. These seem very small, but they helped Adam a great deal.

                      In the end, Adam not only became a better person he also, got to be with the person he loved, while he did the thing he loved. And I think that's the most you can ask for, right?

                     

Boy Or Girl

                In my ELA class, we were talking a lot about what makes a book a boy book or a girl book. In my opinion there isn't really a clear line between a boy book or a girl book. For example, sure some boys won't want to read a book with so called "girl problems" in them but some boys like book like that, i think it really depends on the person. 

                For example  lets look at the book The outsiders by S.E Hinton. This book is about a boy and his life in a gang area living with only his two brothers. The main character, Ponyboy, faces what you would call "boy problems," like girls and growing up, but i didn't think that I couldn't relate to him. I felt when he was struggling and was happy for him when he was happy. 

                Sure there might be some topics that some girls like reading, but some boys don't, or the opposite. But that doesn't mean there are boy books, or girl books, because in my opinion, books are just books.