The Importance of Work

In the article "The Importance of Work" it makes some very valid points. The article starts off with discussing the issue that many people think the book, The Catcher in the Rye, should be taken off the market and out of public libraries. The article argues that the book shows the “graphic realism” of the world in which we live in. Other books that challenge authority such as Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were also threatened to be taken off shelves. This goes to show that people in power do not like the idea of authority being challenged or giving young people the idea to challenge the world in which we live in. The article makes many valid points, stating that the reason the book could possibly be banned is because of the langue that it uses however, it is appropriate to get the message and Holden’s frustration across to the reader. I agree with what this article says largely and believe it gives a good view of Holden’s frustrations with the phoniness of people.

My Color of Yellow

Y outh has thought me the joy of happiness so I try to be that happy person everyday. From summers down the shore to winter snow storms; all of these are happy memories from my youth.
E verything I do I try to remain optimistic. From a fourth grade health class I saw a picture of a glass with water in it. I remember thinking why is that here? I always thought the glass was half full, and I realized it is better to look at situations in a positive light rather then negatively.
L ooking at different situations I always weight the hazards and rewards. Always cautious to see if the risk is worth the reward that the situation may bring.
L oving the color displayed in nature from sunrises to flowers. I love nature and all of the wonderful colors it reveals. However, I believe the shades of yellow in nature are the most beautiful. I love sunrises on the beach or the bright flowers in the gardens.
O vercoming challenges. I always strive to reach my goals that I set. I believe what is the point of setting goals if you do not achieve them. In order to reach most goals I have to overcome challenges, some challenges are larger then others. For example, it has been my goal to become a good athlete and through hard work and dedication I feel I have reached that goal, yet I know I still have much room to improve.
W ondering what the future holds. It is the time in my life when I wonder what the future holds. I have set goals and I know I will achieve them. However, I want to know how I will go about doing so. Where will I be 20 years from now?

The Cell Phone

An object that is important to me? Well, this may sound cliche however an object that is important to me is my cell phone. I am a person who needs attention and communication, my phone gives me that. Cell phones are the way of communicating to the people around us in this day and age. The popularity of cell phones have come to be popular through their accessibility and reliability. These factors plus many others lead me to why I like cell phones. However, one experience brought me closer to why I need a cell phone:

A few years a go my family went to the Bahamas on vacation. Now, it was was not just my immediate family; my cousins and aunt and uncle went too. The islands were very beautiful, I mean blue-great water huge hotels, it would be paradise for most. However, I did not like. To me, the airport was a warehouse, a blind person could drive better then most of the people there, and the hotel smelt funny. To top it off the trip I get off the plane excited and cannot wait to see what lies ahead. I grab my cell phone from my carry-on bag, turn it on and..... it does not work. It say "SEARCHING FOR SERVICE" for the entire rest of the week.

Now, as if that is not bad enough, it gets worse. During our week in paradise, I spent at least two day locked in the hotel room sick as a dog. If I were at home and I was sick it would not have been that bad, at least I would have been able to communicate with the outside world. In the Bahamas no such luck. I laid there in bed with nothing to do but watch episodes of the Golden Girls. My parents had brought two way walkie-talkies so this way we could keep in touch. Yay, just what I wanted to do. I amused myself by changing the channels on the walkie-talkies trying to find someone to talk to, even if it was a hotel janitor, no success.

From there I tried to use a pay phone to call my boyfriend. It was a good plan until I realized I did not know how to use a pay phone. Later I decided that i would just call from the hotel room phone and pay the charges on check out. How much could it possibly cost? Fifty dollars later, I learned never to call anywhere from a hotel room phone.

It is hard to believe that I rely so heavily on technology in my day to day life. However, this three inch piece of pink plastic helps to define who I am; my constant need for attention and to communicate with others. My cell phone is one item I am lost without.

The Glass Castle - Book Review

The Glass Castle
By JEANNETTE WALLS
Published: 2005


The Glass Castle
A Memoir
By Jeannette Walls
288 pages. Scribner. $14

The Glass Castle is an amazing piece of literature written by Jeannette Walls, published in 2005 containing 288 pages. Jeannette' memoir tells the story of her childhood as she saw it when she was a child. The poverty, alcohol abuse, and many other obstacles these young children faced are expressed in this story. Through the memoir the reader is able to view all of these obstacles and experience them as Jeannette did.

The story opens with a very catchy scene of Jeannette in a taxi in New York City, watching her mother loot through a garbage can. From then on the book is told in flashback, looking at her very transit childhood, and dysfunctional family. The story is told on how she over came her family issues and made a name for herself. Jeannette was a very bright young girl, always doing well in school. She was able to attend Bernard University, the sister college to Columbia at the time, on a very large scholarship. However, getting to the point of moving to New York and going to college did not come easy for Jeannette; she faced many set backs.

Jeannette's father was an alcoholic. He would abuse his wife, could not hold down a job, and could never be trusted with money. Jeannette was one of four children. She was the one person in the family to try as hard as she could to not give up on him, always believing in his plans to build the Glass Castle, or listening to his old stories. Jeannette's mother was also very irresponsible. She did not like to work as a teacher, the career which she was certified in, and made money from. She preferred to be an artist. The four children would be the ones to help her grade papers and make sure she was up for work on time. These children took on a lot of responsibility.

This book is an amazing story on the life these children lived and how they over came their family situation. Poverty, alcoholism, and irresponsible parents did not get to them in the end.

The Glass Castle

"You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it." - Bill Cosby

This quote can be applied to The Glass Castle in many ways. Poverty is a key issue that the Walls family is being faced with. They have no money, and travel from town to town often. The children have known nothing else but struggling to get by. However, they are never down or depressed. The children get by with what they have, and they are resourceful. These are some of the most resourceful and happy young children. Throughout the entire book there are many situations in which this quote can be applied. However, one instance that stands out is when the family was living in Phoenix. During the summer months they slept with their windows and doors wide open to get air flow due to the lack or air conditioning and the extreme heat. One night a man walked into the house, and upstairs into Janette's room. The man attempted to get into bed with Janette. She screamed and Brian, her brother, came running. Janette and Brian chased the man from the house. During the time in which they were looking for the man, they made it into a game. The game kept the mood light, as they were looking to for all the drunken burglars.

This is just one example of how a bad situation can be turned into a pleasant one, as long as you keep the mood light and full of humor. These children did things like this everyday. They tried, no matter the poverty or hardships they faced, to keep laughter and happiness in their spirits.