Eudardo+Q2

12-10-10 The Ender's Game series was great. One book can make you realize and remember things you once knew. I've always lived my life trying to understand why it was people acted in one way or another towards each other. What was going on in this persons life to make him want to hurt other people whether that be physically or emotionally? I've found that people who do act in a rude or mean manner are just letting out their bottled in emotions. I've lived my life trying to be nice and yet bad things happen. No matter how much good I try to inflict on the world it seems as if the world has a vendetta against me. Something bad always happens, but because I understand that letting my pain out others and be very harmful I don't do it. It's an interesting phenomena that we go through to discover such simple things. To understand someone you don't really have to know them, you have to see them for who they are. People always show there true colors. In the Ender's Game series, we are introduced to Peter, Ender's older brother. This envious brute becomes the hero of humans on Earth even though he banished his brother from returning. While his brother the true savior of human kind is deemed a monstrous killer. Ender who knew how to see people never hated his brother. He understood his brother of course was jealous that his younger brother was considered better and no matter what he did he would always be in that shadow. He knew in order to understand a person you don't have to know them, you have to love them. Through love's eyes you can see things clearly. It was a great read that reminded me to always love and to always try to understand. 12-3-10 I started reading the color purple. It's a very strong book. Luckily I don't feel as if I'm a weak reader. By this I mean that I can handle very emotion conflicting content. I am not a person who is easily discouraged. I recall reading Memoirs of Boy Soldier. The first chapter made me cry, but I kept reading it. The truth evoked in that book is like no other. These were children who were suffering. War has been my life long enemy. I hate bloodshed and never really appreciated all the innocent lives that were terminated. In the first chapter of The Color Purple we are introduced to a horrible scene. Someone gets raped. This disgusting act of human kind is appalling. I can't even come to understand how the human brain can voluntarily choose to inflict this kind of disgusting pain to another person. This book seems like it will an interesting story. I particularly like how I can relate it to actual history. These acts were committed towards people. It only makes me remember the future I want to be a part of. 11-26-10 I don't know if my encouraging to read did much for the 7th Graders. Even though I lived with them I felt like I hardly got to see them. They were great to watch, and they actually have book lovers. I know of someone who is a fan of the Ender's Series so I'm excited to see if I can encourage them to read the Shadow Series. It feels awesome to have someone to discuss how great the book is. I want to say I feel like a nerd, but I don't care. I remember the negative view I had of book lovers and it is not a pretty picture. I feel so dumb for never truly doing this good to myself. I wonder where my hate for reading came from. My grades were good, so I only did the required amount, but never sought to find anything that would improve me: spiritually, academically, or emotionally. The Ender Series, gives me a sense that no mater how alone you feel you never are. And that choosing to be happy is always a choice. You either want to be happy or you don't. Even if it's hard. Ender went through some strong ordeals and he always finds the light. 11-19-10 Running with Scissors was an interesting read. It gave me hopes to want to do something I love. I also did some research and there is a sequel. This book stops when Augusteen, the main character turns 19. He wrote a book that's about his adult years. Being that he ran away basically from everything and everyone. It's interesting to see these kids who do runaway from all there problems. In Augusteen's case I was living his life through his book, so I was able to realize he ranaway because he would have to choose a side. Either your mother or your friends. The mother who had you but never really raised you. Or the friends that care for you but didn't really know you. Augusteen couldn't choose so he ran. In my life I've never truly dealt with things I just boddle them up and ship them away to a deep sea. In my family my cousin ran away, and it bugs me not knowing why? Why did she have to run? What couldn't she take? Now she is back home, and I very much love her, but I always wonder. Was her life that bad, and did I truly never see the pain she went through? 11-12-10 I've just finished the third book in the Ender Series, Speaker for the Dead. It is definitely strange to see how involved I've become with reading. It's honestly something I can do for fun, and recommend for people to do the same. This week I headed the initiatives for the 7th Graders. It was a different face of Chinquapin. I recall when I was younger I despised reading and I thought it was a waste of time. I also realized that no one older ever praised the few of my classmates that did enjoy reading just for pleasure. It was deemed that reading is boring and TV is fun. I'm going to make it a priority to get these kids to start loving to read. We are all here to go to college and when your older you have to read a lot. It's easier if you already love reading so it can be a joy to do instead of a forced action. This coming week I'll be taking care of the 7th Graders. I hope that a week is enough time to get them interested in reading. 11-5-10 Why do kids that suffer through some sort of abandonment not have the will to forget? I personally have felt the pain of living a life without a father. As I recall my sad younger teenage years, I remember always being depressed. I didn't understand why not having a father chained my life in a circle of sadness. This year my Speech topic in Original Oratory is abandonment. I didn't realize how much I've grown. I used to let this memory of being fatherless, make me a depressed child. However, now I'm able to talk about it because I've confronted it. I used to play a hide-and-go seek game with my pain. It finally found me and honestly I can say it no longer affects me. I bring this topic up, not only because of some poems we wrote in class, but also because of this new book I'm reading: Running with Scissors. The main character has a horrible life. His mom is psychotic and his dad acts like he doesn't exist. It's a very sad life to live. It's a true story. I know a lot of us in the class, can relate to the book. When I'm done with it, I'll surely recommend it to some people. 10-29-10 As I commenced my journey I couldn't help but feel afraid. Scared that if this kid with all the things pushing against him didn't make it then why should I? I talked to Molly about this interesting phenomena. A book had the power to scare me into not reading it. Not the buggy man type of scare but the so close to the point of emotional damage scary. A Hope in the Unseen is a great novel designed to encourage people to never give up. The book gives us an example of kids who are like us in the fact that they come from economically unstable families. I like books I can relate to, however this book struck something that's been hidden in my core for a very long time. What if at the end of this journey at Chinquapin, through all my hard work, I end up like the rest of my seven brothers? They all lived almost the same life as me. No, they didn't go to private school, but they became citizens. They could have applied for scholarships or even finished high school. I've always had this great burden of pressure put on me to be the first. I have to be the first to finish high school or else. They have me on guard all the time. They give me the necessary freedom to be a teenager, but the chains of untrust keep me locked in my skin. My whole family for some reason believes that one way or another I'm not going to make it. Do they not see the effort I put not only in my grades but also in my involvement. How I am stressed trying to balance a job, homework, and community service every weekend. I wished they could see that nothing is going to stop me from going to college. The fact that they have this lack of trust is the only thing that burdens me. I am almost done with A Hope in the Unseen. I know the book will end in a motivational way so I will finish it, and prove to the book and my family that nothing will hold me down from reaching college. 10-22-10 The Holocaust was a horrifying wrinkle in the face of human history. I can't come to comprehend why we would come to the conclusion that people had to be killed in order for a dominant race to be on top. I just finished reading Night by Elie Wiesel. It was a sad story that made me recall why I hate war and why Gandhi is my role model. War is a tool used to kill humans. It's an excuse to waste blood and I hate it no matter what the cause is. Gandhi was an inspirational being that revolutionized India without war. Next year I hope to encourage everyone to go to a walk in Herman Park in commemoration of Gandhi. Peace can make the world go round. 10-15-10 Now that I've accomplished reading the Shadow series I plan on starting the Ender series. According to Mr.Duncan there is a better way to go about reading all the books. I should start with Ender's Game, which I read in 8th Grade. Then the Shadow series, which I finished last quarter. Now I'm in the process of starting Ender in Exile. This book was made after the Ender's Game series was published. It's an intermediate book that will give me the big picture concept for both series. I just started Night by Elie Wiesel. It was a book that was strongly recommended by Bryan. He mentioned to me some of the greatest books he's read and this one was one of his favorites. I've for some reason always loved reading about Holocaust events. It makes me see the horrible things man kind can come to do. However, it also shows me that hope is everywhere. People who suffered through the Holocaust never gave up and therefore neither should anyone else. I will also be finishing A Hope in the UNSEEN. I know that not knowing the way the book will play out will kill me. I want to see how Cedric copes with everything. Fear will not be the thing that makes me stop reading. So far I've read the entire Shadow Series. It was a mind blowing experience. My goal was one book for last quarter, yet I managed to finish four. I actually made it. I love reading and it feels good to know that when my best friend, Eric Volpe, comes back we'll be able to share books the other can read. I'm ready to see how everyone else is doing. I know Alan is doing something good for his future career in business. I wonder if anyone else has gone through a breakthrough. It'll definetly be great to see how we all do reading after we no longer get a grade for it.
 * What I'm Reading Now**
 * What I've Read**
 * What I'm Thinking About**