Translations

When I first began reading this novel, I immediately thought of a student at the daycare I work at... his name is Mason. This little boy came to my work in the middle of November and did not know a single word of English. He would sit in the corner of the classroom and bawl his eyes out and speak to me in his language Japanese. I felt absolutely terrible for this little boy. After about a month Mason began to realize that his crying was not accomplishing anything. He began pointing to objects around the classroom and I would tell him what the object was and he slowly got used to it. Then finally Mason learned "What's this" and would constantly ask what things were. Now he speaks English almost perfectly and is one of the happiest kids at the daycare.
There are many things that can be lost through Translation. In the novel Translations, the characters cannot fully express themselves by talking through an interpreter. Especially because Mason was at such a young age, it was prolly so confusing for him to understand that certain things mean different things in a different language.

Torn between two worlds

Torn between two worlds.
by Tina M Clark
On one,
My family and friends
It's a place I know.
A place I've always been.
A secure place.

Where love and acceptance is a given!
My place,
My Values,
My goals,
have grown and risen.
A place I thought to live
until I was very very old.


On the other there is us,
and a love I cherish and hold dear.
Someone to be with me
through my "golden years"!
I think to say goodbye to the first
and embrace the other,
But,
Fear rises up
strong enough to smother.
I know not what to do!
Once I was a wife
then just 3 son's Mother.

The Distance is great
many long miles between,
the thoughts of the first
shakes my faith in the other.
You see,
I know the rules
what to expect
being nothing but
mother
or grandmother.

I've tested those waters
and found them soothing.
They wash over me
and settle into a shimmering pool.
I can choose to swim deep
without any fear.
When I surface
its always the same....

My family,
My life,
My hopes,
My dreams,
and they all felt so serene.

I'm caught between one
and the other.
In the middle, I see both.
My heart misses one
and longs for the other!
Is there no way to have both!?

So, still the tears flow
for this world I may never know!

For this love I may have to let go.

In the story Power, Omishito is torn between the life of her Taiga tribe and the real life. It can be hard to believe in something when your surroundings are pulling you another way and especially if there is no proof. In Clark's poem, she is describing how she torn between her many lives of being a mother, wife and even grandmother. It can be hard to be one thing, then wake up the next morning as someone else. You slowly begin to lose "yourself." I think Omishito wants to make her Aunt Ama happy, so she really tries to follow Ama's beliefs. On the other hand, Omishito goes to school and learns so many new things with evidence to back them up. At Omishito's stage of life, this is when you begin to really think about what is true and what is not true. This is also the time when you begin to truly find who you are by understanding your beliefs and what you know to be true.

Power of "Pretty"

According to dictionary.com, adjective prettier -·tier, prettiest -·ti·est

1. pleasing or attractive in a dainty, delicate, or graceful way rather than through striking beauty, elegance, grandeur, or stateliness
In the novel Power, being pretty is an important ingredient their culture strives for. Omishto describes her friend/Aunt Ama to be a person who is not pretty but has very strong confidence and posture. My idea of "pretty" or true beauty, is if a person truly believes they are. A persons bubbly personality, intelligibility, or how kind a person is can dramatically shine through their skin and bring out their true beauty. What is the general look of pretty? There is no right or wrong answer, but generally a simple opinion. Some are attracted to bright blue eyes, some the tall lengthy model type, and others prefer shapely figured with curves. According to our days, the ideal "look" or the celebrities and supermodel portray this image of skin to the bone beauty. But because a group of people say someone is pretty, does this gear your mind to agree? If young girls today are shown women who carry the same characteristics and are placed in the category of "the ideal girl" who a typical man drools over, is what a girl could strive for.
In the movie "Pretty Woman" Julia Roberts plays a hooker and is looked down upon by men because of her "career." Throughout the movie, her character begins to shine and her co-star slowly begins to fall in love with her. Despite her sterotypes and what she did for a living, once he gets to knowher he slowly begins to realize that she is truly a "pretty" woman.

Significance of Names

In class we discussed the importance of names. The way my parents decided to name me is actually quite embarrassing... My parents were watching television and a dill pickle commercial came on with a father and daughter.. the daughter asks her dad if he was going to finish his pickle and he said, "No, Katie." And ironically thats how I got my name. Once my mom told me this when I was a kid, I went straight to the refrigerator and grabbed a full jar of pickles... thinking it was my destiny to love them. I hated the way their sour slippery taste but I tried and tried to force myself to like them. After finishing the large jar... one can only guess what happened... never again have I ate a pickle and my stomach turns whenever I see a jar of pickles in my refrigerator. So I guess your name doesn't always have to live up to the expectation.

Significance of Names

Weather Appreciation

One of the main reasons why I love reading Lucy is because of her beautiful usage of imagery. Her words flow smoothly throughout the novel and I feel as if I am walking in Lucy's shoes. Since Lucy is living in a place she is unfamiliar with, she describes the weather often. She describes how through the windows, the sun is shining brightly... but when you go outside, you need a winter coat! This type of weather brought up an issue I was discussing with one of my good friends who is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He always complains about the terrible weather in Indiana, and how one day you can be wearing flip flops and shorts, and the next you might need mittens and a thick sweatshirt. I told him that because of our bipolar weather, I grew to appreciate the nice weather. Whenever it's a beautiful warm sunny day (which is very rare!) I am usually in the best mood either outside studying or playin frisbee. Since I am not used to the weather being warm all the time, the cold weather doesn't seem to bother me as much. I don't take the warm weather for granted and I appreciate the sun when he shows his rarely shines.

Lucy

Becoming familiar with a place

Bless Our House

Growing up, my own mother; you wouldnt believe this: refused to let me have any animals in my house. I tried keeping a pet cricket once, and she found it and made me step on it in front of her until she heard it squish. Well, anyways, one summer, my parents decided to remodel our house.I was so young and my parents worried about the sawdust bothering me, we moved into a temporary house. At this house, there was a stray dog that lived in the bush in the backyard. Due to my mothers hatred of animals, i thought most dogs were bad news. I didn't like the dog when I first found it, but after it walked up to me and licked my face, I knew that I had found my new best friend for the rest of my life. I later found out that I was allergic to dogs. But the point being that I had found a friend in a dog that I never would've guessed I'd have found.

"O"

When I first read Othello, I never thought it could ever be related to our day and age. The movie "O" takes place in the 21st century and the themes of love, jealousy, and revenge still remains intact but the settings have been changed. The characters names are almost the same and their personalities are identical. Before the movie introduced the characters, I could easily point out who was who. I thought it was really interesting that instead of fighting a war, they were college students fighting for the basketball championship. This film helped me realize that Shakesphere's writing can easily be related to our times today.

Othello

He said, she said, they said I heard. In the play Othello, Othello is being told many lies by Iago. These horrible lies transform Othello's actions into total madness. In the play,Iago convinces Othello that his wife Desdemona cheated on him with.. which caused Othello to becomes crazy with jealousy and murder his faithful wife.
-Hearing a rumor is one thing, but hearing it from a trusted friend is another. If a close friend of mine told me something and was positive it was true, I would definitely consider what they had to say. In the play, Othello trusted Iago. Iago seemed like an honest man because he had never been caught in a lie, or even disrespected... so it was completely considerable for Othello to listen to what he had to say, and even, believe him. Since Iago painted this image in Othello's mind.. Othello could see it, therefore it was true to him.
-Othello also thought it was true because of the handkerchief. He had given Desdemona his handkerchief because it was very important to him. The sneaky Iago takes the handkerchief and leaves it in Cassio's room for Othello to suspect Desdemona had left it there.
-Also, Iago (being the good friend he is) said he would talk to Cassio about his relationship with Desdemona while Othello was outside of the room listening. Iago knew Cassio was with another woman and could get Othello to believe that he was talking about his wife. This was another step for Othello to believe that this rumor is true.
If Desdemona were to cheat on her husband- she would be most likely to lie and deny the situation.. so how else would Othello discover the truth? He had evidence... so all he needed was to hear it, and witness small proof.
Result- How would you feel if you were 99% sure you were right... but were wrong. Total guilt. If everything your loved one said was true and you refused to believe a word they said.. she was right all along and you were wrong... Life Ending Pain.

Girl Interrupted

When we were young, we dreamed of becoming things that weren't necessarily "long lasting fulfilling jobs" and usually changed our minds a million times. Maybe dreaming of becoming a superstar, hula dancer, professional juggler and work for the circus. As for me personally, I wanted to be a "pizza girl" and toss dough in the air and make pizzas all day long... but there comes a time when you realize that these dreams are unrealistic. Eventually these childish fantasy's disappear. You begin to think about a job that could help you maintain a steady income... like a doctor, teacher, or a lawyer. In the film Girl Interrupted, Angelina Jolie's character Lisa says she someday plans to become a professional Cinderella at Walt Disney...
In Lisa's fantasy world, anyone can be anyone, and anything could happen. Lisa roams around in her own little world by manipulating people, spying on their lives, and getting a background check on everybody. She feels as if she is in charge and everything is to happen her way. In Lisa's world, she imitates someone she is not.. she plays a role. In order for her to find her true self and stop pretending to be someone she's not, is the only way for Lisa to find her freedom...

Yellow Wallpaper

While reading the "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, I had heard before about depression during and after pregnancy and found the issue very interesting. The narrator in the story is described having some sort of "nervous" disorder and is kept locked in a room to have time to rest and think. In her times, the symptom Postpartum Depression was undiscovered and researched at the time, so this disease could be viewed upon as a crrazzy person.
Postpartum depression isn't a character flaw or a weakness. The birth of a baby can trigger a jumble of powerful emotions, from excitement and joy to fear and anxiety... and especially depression. After having a baby, a mom's hormones are all mixed up and can cause the mother to feel very unusual. These baby blues a mother experiences can be helped with treatment, TLC, and can be accomplished overtime. The actress and former Calvin Klein model Brook Shields expressed her views on how she experiences these issues and explained her situation by saying, "I really didn't want to live anymore," she admits frankly. She says that, during this time, simply seeing a window was enough to prompt her to think, "'I just want to leap out of my life, but then the rational side of me [would say], 'You're only on the fourth floor. You'll get broken to bits and then you will be even worse.'"
This famous actress had a successful career, happy family... and brand new beautiful child in her life. This shows that this issue can be possible with anyone. She admits that she was perfectly fine before but once she had her baby she had been hit with a mixture of jumbled emotions. "Without therapy, I wouldn't have understood as much, and I think that without medicine, I would not have been clear enough," Shields says.
The narrator in the "Yellow Wallpaper" was never given therapy but placed into room that was almost like a prison. This unhealthy treatment could greatly affect the issues she had and even make them worse. Locked in a room and depressed.. can make you even more insane.

A Room of One's Own

According to Virginia Woolf's Novel, "A Room of One's Own," she explains how woman are portrayed in the times of 1928. She explains that in order for someone to write, they need to have a room of their own, and to have a room of your own.... you need money. It can be more difficult for those who strive to write without the important necessities then the ones who are born with and blessed with everything they already need. At this time, the voting rights for woman were recent and was the time of the stock market crash which lead to the Great Depression. So especially at this time, money was a necessity. Unlike the 21st century, it was indescribably impossible to conquer your dreams without the benefit of money.
In the story, Virginia Woolf introduces character Professor von X. She describes his physical characteristics without truthfully knowing what he looks like. She describes the way he looks based on his writing style. Professor von X's writing seems like he is very angry so she describes him as a heavy built man with a very red face. She also gave suggestions on why this man could be so angry. "Could it be his wife, I asked, looking at my picture. Was she in love with a cavalry officer? Was the cavalry officer slim and elegant and dressed in astrachan?" (31). This is one man giving his opinion on women. This one man could have been negatively affected in some way by a women, putting all women into one category... evil. This man could possibly be expressing all of his hatred toward his wife and not taking into perspective that not all women are the same...

Writing Metaphor

Hula Hooping, My Penmanship.

Seeking the perfect hula hoop is the first step. The right color, texture, and size all play a huge role in defying your hooping skills. You lower the hula hoop about ankle level and leap into the circle with both feet. The hula hoop is then brought above your waist and you hold it with both hands so it's resting right above your back. This is where the magic begins. You swing the hula hoop to the left and move your hips to the left to join the hula hoop in a rotating formation. Leaving your feet shoulder width apart, you circle your pelvis Elvis style. Before you know it, your moving in perfect harmony mindlessly.

When I first begin writing, I create an outline to get an overview of my future paper. Then I just sort of leap into it. Once I start writing, the words begin to flow. I can start to write faster, or gradually slow down. But I usually maintain a sense of rhythm and the flowing continues. The great thing about writing like a hula hoop, is if I mess up it's easy to pick the hoop back up and start over.