IRJE #2 Book Lovers, Emily Henry

Over the weekend, I started a book called Book Lovers by Emily Henry. The book is about 2 strangers Nora and Charlie. It is a rom-com book so it would be quite interesting. The quote from the book I’m picking is something Nora is describing.

The city is baking. The asphalt sizzles. The trash on the sidewalk reeks. The families we pass carry ice pops that shrink with every step, melting down their fingers. Sunlight glances off buildings like a laser-based security system in an out-of-fate heist movie, and I feel like a glazed donut that’s been left out in the heat for four days.  (p. 15).

I love this quote since Nora is just telling the reader how she felt when it was summer time. When she said “The asphalt sizzles.” It is just a metaphor that the weather is so hot it is like the asphalt is sizzling.

IRJE #2 Leadership, Alex Ferguson

Months ago I read a book about leadership from Alex Ferguson’s point of view. The book it’s mostly about how Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United soccer team with his leadership. The book has a lot of important quotes for me about leadership, like for example.

Nobody can be a leader if these people feel that they do not have guaranteed permanence in their position. (p.189).

This quote is told in soccer terms, but if you think about it is true because I don’t think that anyone could be a leader if they have a lot of pressure all the time, like since the beginning to the end of the time that they would last as leaders. Also because nowadays a lot of people is afraid of being a leader because of the pressure that a leader carries. Like I know that a leader will always have pressure but what the quote is telling us is that no one can be a leader with so much pressure, like no human being will bear it.

 

IRJE: Haroun and the Sea of Stories

In the book I am currently reading called Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The son of Rashid called Haroun lived in a country called Alifbay. Alifbay was a country of sadness where all of its inhabitants were something of a sorrow crowd, where the cities were towered with soaring sadness factories. In this country of sadness the was a story teller Rashid Khalifa who was loved by all the country. He would rattle on story after story to the people. His wife Soraya was a sweet woman and used to sing and hum to her hearts content however one day her song disappeared. Rashid: who was to enveloped in his stories didn’t pay much attention to Soraya’s lack of song.

“Then something went wrong. (Maybe the sadness of the city finally crept in through their windows.)                                                                                                                  The day Soraya stopped singing, in the middle of a line, as if someone had thrown a switch, Haroun guessed there was trouble brewing. But he never suspected how much.

Rashid Khalifa was so busy making up and telling stories that he didn’t notice that Soraya no longer sang; which probably made things worse. But then Rashid was a busy man, in constant demand, he was the Ocean of Notions, the famous Shah of Blah.” (pg. 15 – 16)

This quote shows how even in the happiest household in the country became infected with sorrow. As well as this, the quote serves an example of overshadowing the future events when Haroun told the reader that: he never expected how much trouble was brewing. This could infer that in future chapters there will be much more at sake than Soraya’s singing. As well as this the quote talks about how even Rashid Khalifa could be so busy as to overlook his own wife’s happiness. This also connects to when Soraya becomes to feel neglected later in the book, and leaves Rashid Khalifa for Sengupta who- in her words – has no imagination.

 

IRJE #2 You’ve Reached Sam

The book that I’m currently reading is You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao. This book has many quotes that I represent myself in and it makes me relate to the main character Julie, Julie is a young teenage girl who is passing through many problems in her life making question herself about the reality.

″You end up missing the little things, the moments you don’t think matter- but they do. Moments that make you forget about everything else.”

This quote really impacted me in someway because I related to it. When I was in Mexico I thought I wouldn’t miss the little details like going for ice cream with my family or even watching a movie with some friends. Once Ive been in Canada I noticed that I do miss does little details even if they don’t have anything important, when I get stressed I just remember does small intercations and forget all about my actual problems, just like Julie, she remembers details she had with her partner before he died and how does memories she thought weren’t important are now the reason why she is happy.

IRJE #2 – Women and Weapons

The book that I am currently reading is titled Lady Smoke, by Laura Sebastian. It is the second book in the trilogy and follows a fantasy plot with political intrigue, romance, and adventure. One of the many quotes in this book that stuck out to me the most was found in a scene where the main character, a young woman vying to reunite her country and take back her throne, spoke with another woman about their struggles. The quote is found on page 233, and is described as the following:

“As women, we must have our weapons in this world, whether they’re our minds or our fists or our wiles or our tears.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

This, specifically in the past tense setting of the book, gave me further insight into what the world was like for women in particular. Despite being a fantastical writing piece, Sebastian still manages to include relevance to reality within the pages while also adding a deeper layer of personality to the characters and their efforts. As a woman myself, this provided me with an opportunity to not only read of the characters but also place myself in the character’s situation. Ultimately, this quote added many important aspects and layers, overall enhancing the story.

IRJE #2 – Laura – Interpretation Makes All the Difference

On page 23 of the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caufield, describes how he interpreted an interaction he had with his “friend”, Stradlater.

” ‘Hi’, he said. He always said it like he was terrifically bored or terrifically tiered. He didn’t want you to think he was trying to visit you or anything. He wanted you to think he’d come in by mistake, for God’s sake.”

I have chosen this excerpt because of the realizations I made about the character while reading it. A formulation of ideas about Holden’s character have dawned on me at this point. The first is that he is someone who has a heightened awareness regarding his surroundings. He calculates and judges every little detail of the actions of the people around him. He is constantly making conclusions for why people act the way they do, and these conclusions are mostly negative. Holden Caulfield is an overthinker. He even goes as far as making justifications up. In order to give himself an explanation for why people did things he does not agree with. It is near impossible for Holden to think, ‘he simply said ‘hi” because he wanted to say hi’, because there must be a reason.

The last thing I realized about Holden is that he doesn’t really like people. I do not relate to the character in this way, but I understand why he does not prefer to be around people, sometimes. While reading, one can see that he always has something to say about someone. There is always something he doesn’t agree with or thinks is annoying. Knowing this, I must read this book with the understanding that it might not be the other characters that are irritating and arrogant, but instead it is Holden’s interpretation of the other characters that makes them appear this way.

PW#2 A Mystery Dynasty Xia

Chinese had long history recorded, by this long time zone, the first dynasty they had record was dynasty Xia. To us, it was still a mystery, it was hard to prove this dynasty had existed, it had no words and language that was found yet. The first Emperor in Xia, which was Yu was quite first legend in Chinese civilization.

But recorded on my first personal writing, the civilization must need a common language or the word that was able to speak or written to be founded then it can be proved that it was existed. But we still don’t find word recorded on Xia Dynasty and that was one of the reason that it became an mystery dynasty.

The first Emperor of Dynasty Xia was typically like a myth, when Yao conqueror the China, there was a big flood happened in full China, he gave permission to Yu’s Dad which was Gun to solve the flood. In legend, Gun stole a wall from god he use that wall to block the water. But someday the wall broke, Gun was killed by Yao due to his fail, then his son which was Yu continue to solve the flood problem. He used a different ways to separate water into many rivers and guided them into the sea. After few years, the flood was solved and Emperor Yao abdicate and hand over the crown to Yu, people was thankful to Yu and called him great Yu, dynasty Xia, which was the first dynasty of Chinese civilization was created, which start a new chapter in Asia.

There was a famous story about Yu, when he try to solve the flood problem, he had pass by his home, and he heard her wife give birth to his son. His subordinates all suggest he to take a look but he disciplined due to the flood. On second time he pass by his home his son already knew how to speak simply and waved to him, but he didn’t stop again because his work was not done. Third time he passed by his home his son already about 10 years old and pulled Yu to the home, but Yu declined again he said,”The flood haven’t solve yet, I can’t get back to home.” This is one of the reason that people respect Yu.

Dynasty Xia hadn’t been proved to existed yet, but I believe this blank dynasty will be proved in one day, because this was the start point of all Chinese history and it should be existed.

PW #2- Liath, the Kindest Man on Earth #1 (part of the PWCU) Brookes Chronicles #2

The evil witch Tish, wanted to make a potion to make herself taller. Sadly, she needed human hearts to concoct this potion, and so she resorted to a life of despicable crime and MURDER to accomplish her goal. Through many sleepless nights of research the evil witch found that the biggest heart in the world belonged to one LIATH DE LEON, who had done so many good deeds that his heart had grown to 100x it’s average size. His good deeds include opening up the first vegan cheese place in Victoria B.C, as well as donating all his proceeds from said vegan cheese place to a vegan orphanage, which had been struggling without his help. This one heart would be enough to make 50 potions for the evil witch, and so she devised a nefarious plan to take his heart. Liath was on his way to a children’s hospital to throw a performance of Hamilton for kids with terminal illnesses, when suddenly Tish burst into the room. Supercharged with the experiments of the Evil Dr. Neil, she started to order her Three-headed Cerbersage to go after LIATH DE LEON, who never flinched in the face of danger. He stared down the three headed beast, and challenged it to a staring contest. The beast had three sets of eyes, and so it was sure it could outnumber the “puny” LIATH DE LEON. “You’re crazy!” the children said, but LIATH DE LEON knew that no challenge was too much for his might. The beast started with his right head, the arrogant and foolhardy side of Cerbersage and confidently stared deep into LIATH DE LEONs pale green eyes.

 

To be contiuned on the next issue

PW #2: reading in the rain

It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon, and she hears the tempest outside swirl and paint rushing images with whistles and roars of wind. It’s been raining since she woke up, and her breakfast was splattered with the delicate echoes of droplets pattering above her head.

The trees outside look dreary, as if they’ve been half-saturated, and the grass is dyed a darker shade, coated with water, but she loves it. On days like these, the clouds look like a blanket of grey cotton balls tinted with slight stains of darker grey tinged throughout. They stretch as far as she can see and suppress memories of sunshine and cerulean skies. The beads of water inch slowly down the window next to her, intersecting and conjoining. Rain patters over the sombre skylights as she sits reading in the dim light of an amber lamp, and the gale brushes her ears.

It reminds her of sitting in a classroom years ago while everyone was working quietly. Rain would splatter against the windows, and the class would become still and calm, a hush growing over the group. She would sit with her friend, looking out the slick windows at the shadows shifting as the world transformed into a cooler, greyer version of itself.

As her book’s pages crinkle, the incessant deluge pounds on. It drums and patters, joining in with the whispering flips and whirls of the wind as it dances across the grey sky.

My love for the beach PW #2

I have always loved the beach, I have live in a port my whole life.

I sometimes miss going to the beach in my hometown, with my friends or family. The beach gives me comfort, I could spend hours just laying there, even at winter I love going to beach in a hoodie.

An activity I really miss is going on yachts or catamarans with my friends, it was my favourite weekend plan, just be there with my friends and jump to the ocean. Where I live there are three islands so the boats park near them, so I used to jump off the boat and swim to the shore of the island, at the island you have to be carefull where do you swim because there are rocks, you can find some red rocks that when wetting them they paint so its really fun to made random doodles on your body. You can go on jet-ski too, I usually never drive them because I am a little scare I’ll messed up, so when I ride one a friend drives for me so I just feel the breeze and I love that.

I never noticed how much I actually loved the beach, specially the one in my hometown until I was far from it.

The Brookes Chronicles Volume #1 The Evil Saga (Made By Liath and Emmett Industries)

There once was brilliant but vile prodigy by the name of Evil Dr. Neil. He was the founder of Evil Knievel Industries, a software company used by major companies in North America. One dank afternoon after a lonely night of drinking from Evil Dr. Neil, he got fed up from the ‘one’ place that did not use his software. That one imperfection that mocked him and consumed his every thought. That night the drunken genius, in an act of pure lunacy, sent a lethal device towards that one place. A device that would turn all the people to mice in that ‘one’ place. This ‘one’ place went by the name of Brookes Westshore…

The oblivious students and faculty carried on with their day, unknowing the sheer dread that was awaiting them. It was at lunch time when the device emerged from the clear blue sky, strapped unto a balloon as red as blood. It was not Evil Dr. Neil’s best work but you must remember he was stoned out of his mind. As the entire school confusingly stared at the floating metal box, a hero emerged from the bathroom stall. A student named Emmett Hastie instead of becoming frozen by fear, acted to save the school. Emmett Hastie Hastily grabbed a sharb pencil and with perfect aim launched it and popped the balloon. The box came crashing down and the school was saved from Evil Dr. Neil’s destruction. The sheer force in which Emmett had launched the pencil had broken his arm and he was forced to rest for the next month. Thought it was a happy day one incident had happened that day, when the box fell from the sky a green liqued shot out from it landing on a different student, a girl named Tish. This liqued infected Tish and amplyfied all her most Evil desires in exchange by giving her powerful magic fueled by hate. With Emmett injured who would put a stop to the new threat, the Evil Witch Tish…

To Be Continued In “The Brookes Chronicles Volume #2 The Rise of Tish”

PW #2 – Remember to Get Back Up

This year I bought a pair of roller skates with my mom. They were a beautiful shade of arctic blue, with fabric resembling that of velvet. My mom and I vowed that we would begin roller skating in the summer at a local roller skating rink. We tried on our roller skates beforehand and watched a few tutorials. There was so much advice online about how you should do this, and how should you do that. I found it quickly overwhelmed me with loads of information, but that is just how starting new things work. You just have to start.

The local rink was open on Thursday afternoons, entering the building we expected at least twenty or so people to be there. But there was no one. It was quite comical, we had been anticipating seeing an expert or anyone at all. The clacking of our steps cut through the silence like a knife. Once we sat down on a bleacher near the entrance to the rink I began to rack my mind of all the advice from those tutorials.

I started by tying my laces. This part although simple was very important. If I tied my laces too tight it would have felt like my foot was about to pop from the pressure. If my laces were too loose my ankle would have no support increasing the chances of self-injury. I crossed over one side of the laces, hooked on to its opposite side, tightened and repeated until the top where I tied it off with a bow, just as the tutorial had said. I remembered to look forward, not down. Keeping my back and shoulders straight, bending my knees and not flailing my arms around. To move forward I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. After stumbling around for a few minutes, I finally got the hang of it. It was a process of trial and error. I fell, I crashed into the sides of the railings, and I stumbled over my skates, but that was okay. I just needed to remember to get back up.

PW#2 My love for animals

I’ve loved animals for as long as I can remember. They’ve always had a special place in my heart.

It all started with a neighborhood dog that visited our backyard when I was a child. I’d watch her play for hours, and I felt a connection, I even named him Cookies and Cream because of his white and black hair. Animals had a weird way of making me feel at ease.

As I grew, my love for animals grew with me. I read books about them and went on adventures to see them in their natural habitats. I was amazed by horses, dolphins in the ocean, and hummingbirds in my garden.

I remember I started volunteering at animal shelters with my grandma because I wanted to help protect animals and their homes.

My pets, like my two dogs taught me about trust, friendship, and the beauty of everyday moments.

My love for animals is more than a feeling. I want to protect their rights, support conservation, and encourage kindness and understanding in others.

My new plants PW#2

I filled my room with plants. It might not seem that meaningful, they might wither with lack of sun or over watering. I might have them for a month until they no longer look pretty in my eyes, but right now they add life to my life. When I burn out in the evenings, I have something to look at that is full and  alive and beautiful. When I can’t wake up on time in the morning I have something to look at that is fresh and bright and cared for. I love my new plants. To anyone else, they may have no significance, but I think that makes them all the more special to me.

PW#2 ‘Love Bombing’

Every day you showered me with gifts that started from the smallest thing that made me happy and slowly turned into something expensive. You always say ‘I love you’, asking me where am I, and always get angry when I don’t answer. I thought it was normal. until you did it every second for months. You started to get angry for no reason. I guess it all because you were love-bombing me. You start to get dry and call me names. From ‘love’ to ‘annoying’, ‘pick me’ and ‘ugly’. why… just why did you fall for me? what did I do to deserve this treatment from you? A few months later you come back acting normal and love bombing me. like nothing ever happened until I blocked you.

PW #2 – “Deep” Thoughts: Cycles of Reflection [Satire]

I have the deepest of thoughts. Like waves, they crash over me; sending my consciousness spiralling deeper into the darkness that is my mind. Ask me to write poetry and I’ll write the most vigorous of tales. Ask me to create a painting and I’ll make something that brings even the coldest of hearts to shatter like  fragile pieces of glass. My thoughts are deep because everything in life must have meaning. All our actions, all our emotions, everything the human species does has a deeper meaning. Ask me to analyze the most dull and passive works of literature, and I’ll construct a web so complex that it shows things that even the authors never thought of. I see everything that is not there. My thoughts are filled with meaningless words that can be spun into something that almost contains meaning, for those are what deep thoughts are. Thoughts that are deep hold meaning because they are meaningless, allowing them to be turned into whatever pleases the reader the most. My thoughts are hypocritical, therefore, they are deep. I reflect on my thoughts so much and so often that my reflections contain no more meaning. I keep my real thoughts to myself, as no one will value thoughts that are simple and discuss information that anyone can see. Each thought must be original, because depth is the only thing that allows you to stand above your peers. My thoughts are so deep that even I can no longer understand them.

 

PW#1 – Just another love letter.

We tried to prove them wrong, but at the end, we forgot we are just teenagers. Your feelings were as confusing as a riddle, most of the time, even your own thoughts were like a puzzle for you. I won’t blame you because I can’t. If someone’s fault it is, it’ll be mine. I knew since the beginning who you were. I was aware of the fact that loving you could hurt more than falling from above to land on a field full of roses and thorns. Even though, I did not care about that; I was willing to bleed until I breathed for the last time just to be by your side.
Time was never a friend of us. Before we knew, we ran out of It.
You were never sure of what you wanted and that was hurting me worse than you could ever imagine. It was only matter of time for me to get tired of it.
If we ever meet again, please don’t treat me like a friend. I’m afraid I might fall for you again. Perhaps once we used to be close, but now, we are just strangers who know everything about each other even though “they’ve never met before”.

“PW #2” – How my boyfriend cheated on me

It all started when we were in Mexico, we had been together for 1 year, everything between us was perfect, we had fights but we always find a way to solve it. We were so happy together and we were trying to do our best to have a long distance relationship so that we could be together when I came here to Canada.

It was summer break and he was going on a cruise in Europe with his family, Even though I trusted him, I begged him not to cheat on me. He promised he would never do it so I stayed calmed. One day he started acting super weird with me, he didn’t texted me, he didn’t called me, he erased our profile picture and everything we had together on social media. I started suspecting he was cheating on me but he always told me he wasn’t doing it.

A week later, I was on the airplane because I was going on vacation, and I got a Instagram dm of a weird girl, I opened it and she told me that he had been cheating on me for 13 days, and that they had met at the cruise. I didn’t tell him anything and when he came back from his cruise I broke up with him.

PW #2 – Read this if you have travelled before

This past long weekend my dad, sister and I hopped on a plane, and flew to Toronto. We went because it was my grandfather’s, brother’s 60th wedding anniversary. Personally, flying on planes and travelling is a love/hate relationship, let’s go through a few prominent moments one might experience. Starting from the beginning, the very beginning. You wake up, giddy with excitement to wear a specially picked-out airport outfit, fitted to the “travel aesthetic” you once saw on TikTok. You put it on, and may I add, you look gorgeous. You walk downstairs to meet your dad making breakfast, the smell of fresh eggs paired with the still-dark morning sky gives you a warm but refreshing feeling, that feeling you get when you have a big journey ahead. You eat breakfast, brush your teeth, do your final packing of toiletries and chargers and then you and your family are in the car driving to the airport. Not suddenly or surprisingly, you get the feeling you’ve forgotten something. Oh goodness what could it be? Underwear? No… Face wash? No… Book you packed to read for Mr. MacKnight? No… definitely have that. Ahah! It’s that “cute” shirt your parents would never let you wear anyways! Ok perfect, its fine, not too big of a deal. Now we are at the airport. Bags unloaded and walking to security. This part gets your nerves up for some reason. Knowing that these people are trained to find dangerous goods makes you question your own innocence! And plus, you didn’t even bring anything dangerous. Right?! Wrong. You brought your pencil case for homework and forgot that scissors were a hard no when going through security.  So, the security guard measures the scissors, and they are waaay bigger than they allow. So now what? You are still wearing that not-so-innocent innocent face when they throw, them, out. Dang, you’ve had those since you were eight years old! After you spend a few seconds mourning the loss of those scissors you spent so many years cutting out Halloween decoration skeletons with, you and your family move on to the stressful wandering around gates to find gate A47. There we go, dad found it. Now, we wait. Wait for the children and family (which you just didn’t make the cut because your sibling is too old) section to go, then the elderly and disabled, and finally, the majority. A mix of funky travelers, businesspeople, and very talkative middle-aged women going on their adventure retreats to Greece. Alright, you are on the plane! Finally, the flight attendant that speaks over the speaker says “May I have your attention ladies and gentlemen. We are about to take off so please fasten your seatbelts and listen to the very long presentation for safety precaution, and then listen to it again in French because we have to, enjoy your flight”.

PW #2 The bet I lost

The bet I lost. The movie Toy Story can brainwash most kids, myslef being one of them. From the ages of 4 to 7, I was pretty sure all my teddy bears and toys could listen, move, talk and even feel. Just like humans, but the toys in the Toy Story movie can only move and talk when there are just toys around. Ines and I where both playing at our house, my parents and Melissa had already left. We did not have class that day because it was a Mexico’s historical day.

We were bored, so we started playing with my toys. Ines decided to play with my one of my most precious possessions at that time. It was the cutest fluffy, yellow teddy bear with a red shirt, that loves honey and if you hadn’t guess what bear is it let me tell you… Winnie the Pooh. See, the thing is that I had something special with that teddy bear. Ines was playing somehow rough with him, I remember that I get pretty mad and I started yelling and crying. I told her to stop, she could do that with any other of my toys. “Pleaseee don’t do anything to him, Pooh is my adventure partner in the worst of my nightmares” I told her. I also start arguing with her saying that toys could feel and get hurt. She told me that it was scientifically impossible, so we decided to make a bet.

We bet some candies from our kitchen. I threw Winnie the Pooh from the second floor to prove to my sister that toys can get hurt. When I ran downstair to see what had happened to him and saw that nothing happened; I grabbed my teddy bear, immediately ran to my mom bedroom and draw him a red bruise with my mom lipstick. I saw Ines so suprised that something had happened to my favorite Teddy Bear and she did not believe me. When my mom arrived, Ines gave her my bear, my mom looked and me and told me that she was going to try to remove the lipstick yet she saw it quite impossible. I started crying and Ines gave me a hug and a chocolate so I could feel better. My mom decided to donate my favorite teddy bear and I cried myself to sleep evey night for the next couple of weeks.

Months later we went to Disneyland. It was late, and we where going back to the hotel. When we were about to leave Ines ran to a Disney store and comes running back to me screaming my name. She made me close my eyes and directed me to a shelf where at the top they had enormous Winnie the Poohs bears. My family gave it to me as a gift and it was perfect. Winnie the Pooh was bigger and larger than me at that time, now I still have it but he is not that giant. He still is my favorite toy.

PW2 Day of the Dead, mexican tradition

The mexican tradition, “Day of the Dead”.

In Mexico every 1 of November we celebrate the “Day of the Dead”. The “Day of the Dead” it’s a very famous mexican tradition that it comes from a prehispanic origin, in this tradition we celebrate and honor our deceased relatives by placing altars and offerings on their graves or in their homes, depending on the region of the country in which they are located.

On famous thing on this celebration is the bread of the dead, it’s a sweet bread that has become very popular because of it’s flavor and shape.

Creative Writing #2: A Star called Luna: Chapter 2

“Luna” Luna repeated to the girl in the crater. “Yes, I am Luna” It said smiling. “You are—- Hunman?” it remarked tilting It’s head, its grey hair shifting slightly. “Uhhhhh huuuuuh” Luna breathed through her teeth. Meanwhile her head was exploding. Not only was something like this highly un-logical, It wasn’t even possible! A Person, not at all an orange or purple alien! she thought defeatedly. Especially given the fact that that person should be BURNED to the bone and splattered into pieced from that impact. “What’s a splattered?” It peeped, no less than one inch away from Luna’s face. “ACK” Luna blurted, jolting away from the alien. It stared at her transfixed, looking a mix of confusion and curiosity. Suddenly the alien’s gaze snapped right above her head, a heavier look of confusion fading onto her face. Out of curiosity Luna swiveled her head around to see what it was looking at. Her mood immediately became deflated when her eyes met the baffled blue eyes of Bane. He stood still in utter shock, his shoulders pinned up and his eyebrows raised. “Who are he!” It exclaimed, pointing its pale finger at Bane. “T-that’s Bane” Luna breathed “My brother”. The girl-like alien looked down, her expression almost saddening and damp. Should I comfort her? Luna wondered as she glanced at it’s sorrow expression.

Luna reached out her hand to comfort it, feeling the warm aura radiating of it’s skin. Suddenly, Bane angrily swatted her hand away. The girl flinched away from Bane reverently, her expression only dampening further as Bane gritted his teeth at her. “D-Don’t touch her!” Bane lashed at the girl, pulling Luna behind her protectively. Luna glared at Bane and yanked her hand away. “Don’t yell at her!” Luna lashed back furiously. Bane stared at her with a blunder of confusion and anger. “That girl did Nothing wrong! And I’m not a child anymore so don’t treat me like one!”. Luna seethed at Bane. “Then stop acting like one!” Bane shot back, looking Luna dead in the eyes. “I’M acting like a child!? Bane really?!” Luna retorted. Bane scoffed at her remark as if she’d just said the most ridiculous thing. “Luna you were just about to approach an monster who JUST shot out of the sky!” Bane yelled, “Your acting like a damn baby!”. “She’s not a monster!” Luna shot back at Bane “Your a monster for thinking she is!”. Bane didn’t respond, his eyes were focused at the girl. “Oh you have nothing to say do you?!” She retorted at him, looking for a response. “Luna” he said pointing behind her. Luna whipped around impatiently, getting hit with guilt as she saw the look on the girl’s face. the first thing she saw were glowing white tears falling down the girl’s face, her face distorted in sadness. We must have scared her with all that yelling. Luna realized. “Hey now” Luna said softly. But the girl swatted her away and began running through the field. Her tears of glowing white pelted heatedly down on the fields of amber. Suddenly, like a flint to a steel the amber caught fire in the contact of the tears. The trail of fire following the girl as she ran. Nothing but fire lay ahead of Luna and Bane as she ran.

PW#2 Love

What is love? Love is the weirdest thing on the planet. It only goes both ways never one way when it only goes one way you have failed already is not called love, is only “like” but when it comes to 2 people “liking” each other it can turn into love but always the both of them would be shy and don’t know how would the other one think and it turned into lost love did that happen to me? Not particularly but similar we weren’t shy to say it we had short great memories but for whatever reason we ended it. It was like a dream it was so good that I couldn’t believe that it ended and I couldn’t stop thinking of the sad side I couldn’t really remember the good things I cried and cried the sky was crying with me too, my friends had help me a lot I calmed down but still until now I am continuously thinking of it…

New life, new me (PW#2)

Since I was in 6th grade I dreamt of going to study to another country and live a year abroad, everything in my mind was really different from what it actually is. In my mind it was all going to be easy and I would have a sabbatic year but now I realize it isn’t like that. School is more difficult than I expected and I am losing my mind trying to figure out how to use Manage Bac but I know that with patience and giving it is time, all will get better. Now I see that everything is not what it seems and sometimes we can make mistakes trying to choose the right choices for our future and our life.

Studying abroad is a complete life changing experience and that is the part that I am most excited about, I really enjoy taking risks and exploring new horizons, and I think this one is a great opportunity.

PW#2 The Independence Day

The Independence Day in Mexico is a very important celebration. It is celebrated on September 16th to commemorate the beginning of the fight for Mexico’s independence. During this day, there are parades, the Mexican flag is waved, people dress up with the cultural clothes and cultural events take place throughout the country. It is also a tradition for the President of Mexico to give the famous “Grito de Independencia” from the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City.

I like to celebrate it by having a big dinner with my family and putting “Mexican” clothes on, like a red, white and green outfit or even the Mexican soccer jersey.

Personal Writing #2

My experience in whale watching

In the past weekend, I went with my friends to whale watching and was an unfordable experience, although in Mazatlan where I live we have whales also but have seen the whales in Canada is a super different experience, beginning for the weather was so cold as much that I caught a flue, also we watching dolphins and sea lions, I love this experience. We took many beautiful photos and videos and I sent it to my parents and they love it.

PW#W2 Everyone is home

You’re 10 years old and everyone is home. Mom is cooking, Dad is cleaning, and your siblings are doing their own thing but everyone is home. You look out your window dreaming of the day you grow up and be alone. You wanted to be older so badly that you forgot to live in the now in the comfort of everyone being home. Now, you are in your 20s and you wish you could go back. You and your siblings have moved out. Your parents have aged, they are trying to get used to the empty house you notice their gray hair and wonder where the time went. You realize there will never be another day you all live together, your siblings aren’t just in the other room, they are somewhere else. Now and then you will visit. But won’t stay. You will never be 10 playing with your siblings again, you won’t wake up and eat breakfast together every morning. You won’t even see each other every day. I long for the feeling of “home”, but I can’t ever return. My childhood is gone pieces are scattered but it’s gone. 

Nobody is home 

PW#2 – Short Story

The Stranded Dawn – A New Horizon (Continuation)

The wounding reminders puncture my soul like daggers. As if my life had been replaced, the disowning and isolation from my parents felt like annihilation. The tension and rejection build up inside of me, on the verge of eruption. I explode and run, praying for an escape from reality.

My body directs itself until my legs waver with exhaustion, my breath rapidly escaping my chest. I refuse the enervation to control me, adjusting my vision to the unoccupied harbor encompassing my vision. I ascend towards a stranger inclined on a ship, desperate for any source of escape. My wording staggers, fatigued from my run. “Passage, please? For anything.”
“Passage to where exactly?” His cunning smile almost appears as a guise, unable to reach his eyes. His irregular coastal accent attracts my attention, but my mind appears too overwhelmed to acknowledge my instincts. Only a subtle intimation consumes my stomach, sensing a devious and unreliable situation. My desire for escape consumes my naive mind, dominating any wariness I had developed against this individual.
“Anywhere” I reply, anxious to disappear from this situation. Before the stranger forms a response, his attention staggers to a young boy on his ship.
“Hey! Cap, when are you planning to get the show on the road” the boy hollers, impatience ringing through his tone.
“We got ourselves an addition to the crew Alcan.” I recoil as the pressure of the captain’s hand clasps my shoulder, directing me towards the boat.

I compress my body below deck. “New crewmate, how about it?” The brunette boy from earlier prevents my entrance, evaluating me. I avoid his broad figure to approach the sleeping quarters I was instructed to settle. “What’s your story?” The boy persists in his pestering. I counter his irking with a subjective smirk.
“I’m a convicted felon, ran away.” I glance back at him to witness his humor and expression drain from his character, replaced with cold apprehension. Satisfaction reaches my features. My body responds in automata, hypnotizing my body toward the sleeping quarters where I collapse from exhaustion.

𝒜𝓈 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒯𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈 𝐸𝓁𝒶𝓅𝓈𝑒 𝐻𝑒𝓇 – 𝒫𝒲#𝟤

𝙰𝚗 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚞𝚖𝚙 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚔𝚢 𝚙𝚑𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚝. 𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚊𝚝. 𝙰𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚢, 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚝.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝙰𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚍𝚜 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢. 𝙴𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚒𝚍 𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜, 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚠𝚊𝚢. 𝚂𝚒𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢.

𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚍 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖. 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚙𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚜, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚢𝚣𝚎𝚍. 𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚊𝚝𝚜𝚋𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚊𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔, 𝚆𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚖?

Today, she is a teenage girl – Personal Writing #2

Today, she is a teenage girl. She wakes to the sounds of a house full of life and the smell of fresh coffee. Everyone is home. Her father watches the television while her mother bakes fresh brownies. She groans at the sound of her pestering alarm and stares up at the ceiling. She is warm, cocooned in her sheets as if she were a caterpillar, not quite ready to leave just yet. It is in moments like this that she reflects upon the future. One day, she realizes, she will wake up alone. The house will be still as never before, and the silence will be deafening. One day, there will be no more laughter echoing through the empty halls, nor will there be any more pestering comments from her siblings. There will be fewer family dinners and movie nights. Fewer long car rides and conversations. Fewer opportunities with less of the world laid out in front of her. She will grow up, and with it, she will lose this piece of her, this aching familiarity. Tomorrow, she will grow up, and all that will be left of her childhood are memories. Moments that she will never relive, reflections of her shattered past, held in her heart and forever scattered across her path.

– Meghan

 

PW#2 A Mexican living in Canada

Being in a place where they don’t speak your first language is kind of hard, you don’t have the same humor nor the same cultures or traditions. People use to say that going into an exchange year is easy, that is like a sabbatic year but not in my occasion. When I arrived to Canada it was like a dream everything was easy and I couldn’t believe that this would be like vacations for one year. School started and reality came through, everything was way different that in Mexico, I got desperate and stressed cause I did not understand this new things. The reality is that exchange year is not easy and even more if they use different things such as ManageBac, I hate ManageBac I couldn’t understand it at first but through the last couple of days I have understand it way more. However I love Canada, its normal to feel stressed at the beginning, you just have to adapt yourself to the situation with help of others or just placing way more strength into the situation, through the time goes by everything will fall into place I just have to keep pushing my self.

Pretend It’s a deep title :D

Greetings dear reader!

My name is Ximena. I’m from the capital of a very beautiful country, Mexico.

While seeking for a new challenge, I ended up here at Brookes. Since I was 6 years old, one of my dreams was to someday study abroad. I thought that it would remain as an unreachable goal, until February of this year. For me, being now a boarding student in Canada is a dream come true. It feels like my efforts are finally giving results.

Talking a little bit of my interests, I love playing music. The instruments I play the most are piano and violin.

I’m really into law and debates. I realized I liked it the first time I attended a Model of United Nations in grade 6. The idea of fighting for a good cause in a polite and diplomatic way caught me instantly. Two years ago, I participated in my very first MUN in English. I don’t even have words to describe how incredible and exciting it was, I participated as Canada, and I won as best delegate!

Now, let’s talk of me as a reader. I realize it’s difficult for me to be consistent with my reading because I often get distracted with silly things. But, when I get to read something, it’s usually romantic novels, murder mysteries or things related to mythology and the divine. These kinds of literature easily catch my attention and I enjoy them, so it’s easier to focus while reading. I also love reading poems because for me, they are like a window to the soul of the writer. You get a better understanding of someone’s background, ideas, and perspective by reading their wonderful texts.

Last but not least, now that we’re talking about writing, I love writing poems and stories in my mother tongue. I think of myself as a very skilled writer: I’m creative and I always have stories in mind to write about. My writing style is mainly based on using big fancy words to give my creations a more deep and dramatic meaning, then when I’m done writing something, I share it with my friends to receive a little feedback. I appreciate their comments and observations, but the thing I like the most about sharing what I write is the expressions my friends make while reading. This means that I’ve reached my reader’s feelings and heart through a bunch of words arranged in a certain way to give them a pretty meaning.

IRJE #1

I selected a quote that caught my attention from the class book, All Quiet On The Western Front.

“We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers- we reach the zone where the front begins and become the instant human animals”

This quote caught my attention because it highlights the importance of showing up and fighting back, no matter how the soldiers felt. War is a sensitive and emotional topic, but it’s clear that soldiers must push their feelings aside and give their all in battle. It’s almost as if they flip a switch and tap into a deep reserve of strength and determination.

IRJE #1 It’s not summer without you

In the book I am reading, there is this girl who is crazy in love with a boy she has known all her life, who she has recently broke up with.

I used to believe. I used to think that if I wanted it bad enough, wished hard enough, everything would work out the way it was supposed to. Destiny, like Susannah said. I wished for Conrad on every birthday, every shooting star, every lost eyelash, every penny in a fountain was dedicated to the one I loved. I thought it would always be that way. (p. 6)

I think this quote has a big impact in how she said this, how she realized its not gonna always be that boy.

IRJE #1

The book I’m reading is called Twisted Games and it’s about a princess and her bodyguard that fall in love but it takes them years to make a single move and after that, they have an affair that is then sort of discovered and leaked by the news. But the princess is soon to be queen because her brother abdicated and her grandfather is retiring due to a heart condition, so according to the Eldorra laws she can’t be with her bodyguard Rhys because he is not in the bloodline so she is marrying someone else she is not even interested in, and she doesn´t even want to be queen because she loves her simple and low profile life. I haven´t finished the book but It’s very addictive and entertaining. The phrase of the book that I chose was one where Bridget the princess asks Rhys if he ever has been in love when he was helping Bridget complete her bucket list before she went to Eldorra to start arranging everything for the next queen.

“Bucket list number four.

Have you ever been in love?

No. But I hope to be one day. 

Look up, princess.”

 

IRJE #1 The waves of life

The most recently finished book of mine was one recommended by an old friend. “It Ends With Us” written by Colleen Hoover is book of heartache, sorrow, and mad love. When i first started reading the book I thought “it ends with us” meant that Lily and her boyfriend Ryle would be together forever, however my idea was contradicted. At the end of the book Lily gives birth, after being sexually harassed and abused, her first words to her newborn are “it ends with us” meaning the generations of abuse in their family end with this new life.

“I think about how sometimes, no matter how convinced you are that your life will turn out one way, all that certainty can be washed away with a simple change in tide.” pg. 209

I have a mutual feeling about life’s uncertainties, I believe the waves of life can knock you down, and down again, but it’s ones choice to get back up and try again, for being knocked down and finding the motivation to pick yourself backup again grows you stronger and stronger.

IRJE#1 “The pearl has gone.”

In Pearl, by John SteinBeck, before Kino depart his journey to sell his pearl he had a sleep and his wife Juana stole his Pearl and threw it into sea. They arugue about this:

“They have taken away the pearl. I have lost it. Now it is over.” he said, “The Pearl has gone.” (Page 61)

Kino said this so calm that I literally shocked for this because they really need the money that pearl brought but after the gone of pearl he still kept calmness. (Juana have the pearl but Kino don’t know now).

IRJE #1 “a sin is a variation of theft”

In Khaled Hosseini THE KITE RUNNER, the father of protagonist Baba talks to his son about what he thinks is sin.

“there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft.”

“‘When you kill a man, you steal a life” Baba said.” You steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. Do you see?'” (p. 19)

I like what Baba said, because it is true, and it feels more wrongdoing a bat thing after reading this.

IRJE#1 Not one damn thing.

In the book “the CATCHER in the RYE” by J.D. Stalinger, Stradlater, a side character had asked Holden, the main character, to do his work for him, because he had gone on a date with a girl.

All of a sudden, he said, “For Chrissake, Holden. This is about a goddam baseball glove.”
“So what?” I said. Cold as hell.
“Wuddaya mean so what? I told ya it had to be about a goddam room or a house or something.”
“You said it had to be descriptive. What the hell’s the difference if it’s about a baseball glove?”
“God damn it.” He was sore as hell. He was really furi-
ous.
“You always do everything backasswards.” He looked at me. “No wonder you’re flunking the hell out of here,” he said. “You don’t do one damn thing the way you’re supposed to. I mean it. Not one damn thing.” (p. 46-47)

Stradlater was angry because Holden had done his work wrong and was saying that he never does anything right. Holden later said to stradlater that he should give the essay to him, just for him to tear it up and throw it in the trash, making them both get mad at each other.

Jose Tostado IRJE #1 Think Again

I just finished the book “Think Again” wrote by Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at The Wharton School. Before reading it, I didn’t understand why the book was #1 New York Times Bestseller but when I started to read it, I found the reason. The book is about how we can rethink our beliefs in life and also how we can learn from the fails of our lives and take advantage of them. A very important quote for me was this one.

How to acquire wisdom, live, make mistakes, learn from your mistakes, repeat steps 1 to 3 until wisdom is acquired, realize that the wisdom you acquired in step 4 was not really wisdom at all, repeat steps 1 to 5 for the rest of your life. (p.58)

This quote is very important to me because when I first read about it and I reflect it, I realized that it was true like, when you make mistakes you learn about them, maybe it can take time sometimes but you always learn. Like now in these days a lot of people is afraid of making mistakes so they don’t learn anything about themselves and their beliefs. Since I read that quote I’m not afraid of making mistakes because I know that every mistake it’s an opportunity to learn something new.

IRJE #1: “I know where I’ve seen him before”

In the couples trip, by Ulf Kvensler, the main character, Anna, tells her boyfriend Henrik where she has seen the new boyfriend of her friend Milena, Jacob. When they looked for information, and think he changed his name and doesn’t earn much. Anna tells Henrik that he needs Jacob’s ID to see if the person they are going with to a trip is a convicted abuser.

“I know where I’ve seen him before.”

He looked blank. “What?”

“Jacob-I know where I’ve seen him before- I told you yesterday that I recognized him.”

“I explained that I was sure he’d been involved in a domestic abuse case when I was working as a notary.” (p.87)

The line “I know where I’ve seen him before” is something I use in a normally in my life. When you see someone and you do not remember the name and suddenly you remember and saying that is a fulfilling emotion I believe everybody has felt. Moreover imagine what Anna feels to remember who he was and finding out he is a convicted abuser.

IRJE ‘DragonSlayer’

In the book I am currently reading Dragonslayer, One of the main characters: Leaf, was dubiously deceived by the village Dragonmancers and his parents. In doing this they told him that a dragon had viciously killed his sister Wren when she was off in the woods. However, unknowingly they set Leaf down a path of vengeance against all dragon kind.

“Gone?” Leaf echoed, puzzled. “She ran away again?” Once she’d disappeared for an entire day, then reappeared the next morning with a grin on her face and twigs in her hair. Saying she just wanted to see what it would be like to live on her own in the forest with no rules. She’d lost all three of her toys for a month because of that, and Leaf had secretly carved her a little wooden snail to replace them. “No, dear,” his mother said, looking more tense than he’d ever seen her, which was saying something. “She wandered off and got eaten by dragons. ”Leaf felt like he was in a story, but the wrong story, one he’d stumbled into by accident, where very dramatic sad things were happening to someone, but of course that couldn’t be him. “She wouldn’t,” he said. “You’re wrong. Dragons wouldn’t dare eat Wren. ”His father let out a shaky laugh. “That is what she would say,” he said. “But as I’m always telling you, death could swoop down at any moment. We should all be more scared. She should have been more scared,” he finished mournfully. “It was really her own fault,” Leaf’s mother pointed out. “You know how disobedient she was. She brought this on herself.” She had her hands wrapped tightly together, as if she was pressing her feelings flat and thin between them. (pg. 18-19)

This quote basically shows the narrowmindedness that most the village people have, Leaf’s parents were not even affected by the loss of their daughter and instead using it to push this ideologies of Leaf. What I made out from this quote is that Leaf doesn’t want to face the fact that her sister is dead and rather uses minor meaning excuses to push away her death. As well as this I gathered that Leaf’s parents were almost glad to be rid of Wren and saw it as a relief.

IRJE#1 -The catcher in the rye

The catcher in the rye is a novel made by J.D. Salinger, in short, this novel is about a 16-year-old boy, that when he was little his life was fine but then his little brother Allie dies of cancer, that leads Holden to have depression and just have a bad attitude.

“How was the fencing?”

“We win or what?”

“Nobody won,”

“What?”

“Nobody won.”

 

IRJE- The Glass Ballerina

In the book I’m currently reading (The Inheritance games, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes), the main character, Avery Grambs has been left an incredible amount of fortune from a man she never knew. Avery is trying to solve the mystery of this situation and in this quote, one of the man’s grandchildren is making her view things differently.

”Did Jamie tell you about the old man’s weekly riddles?” Nash asked as we walked. ”Yeah,” I said. ”He did”. ”Sometimes,” Nash told me, ”at the beginning of the game, the old man would lay out a collection of objects. A fishing hook, a price tag, a glass ballerina, a knife.” He shook his head in memory. ”And by the time the puzzle was solved, damned if we hadn’t used all four.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. ”Why are you telling me this?” I asked. ”Why tell me any of this?” About their birthdays, their presents, their expectations. ”You might think your playing the game darlin’, but that’s not how Jamie sees it.” Nash’s voice was gentle enough, but for the words. ”We aren’t normal. This place isn’t normal, and you’re not a player, kid. You’re the glass ballerina —or the knife.” (p.154)

This quote is basically telling Avery, and the reader, that she’s not one of the people trying to solve the mystery, but she is being used to solve the mystery. What I made out from this quote was that no matter how hard Avery tried to be among and figure out the truth, the brothers will not accept her as one of them and will only use her as an advantage.

 

IRJE#1: “ISHMAEL.”

In ISHMAEL a novel written by Daniel Quinn, the author of another book called “The Story Of B”.  The reason why I chose the following paragraphs is because It made me crack up when I read this part. Because of the sentence” Stupid, no? Childish. Naïve. Simple. Callow. Or just fundamentally dumb. In one so manifestly normal in other respects, it needs explaining.” how he denied that he is stupid but he had synonyms after denying it.

a couple decades ago, when I’d had the silly notion that the thing I most wanted to do in the world was… to find a teacher. That’s right. I imagined I wanted a teacher—needed a teacher. To show me how one goes about doing something that might be called. . . . saving the world.

Stupid, no? Childish. Naïve. Simple. Callow. Or just fundamentally dumb. In one so manifestly normal in other respects, it needs explaining. “ISHMAEL” p.4