Searching for Clues in "Where She Went"

     Just by observing the first part of Where She Went by Gayle Forman, you can see the author putting in subtle clues as to what happened between Adam and Mia. At the end of "If I Stay" we were left in the dark, not knowing what was going to happen next, which I personally didn't like because I hate cliff-hangers. This book is taking place much later than the other one, and I can tell this because Mia isn't around and from what I can see so far, she is a sensitive subject for Adam to talk about. So he doesn't talk about her. He sings about her. The album that he wrote is named "Collateral Damage", this is interesting because the definition of collateral damage is "injury inflicted on something other than an intended target." (Webster). This makes me wonder why he named it that, was he referring to Mia being hurt by something of his own doing? I guess I'll have to read more to find out.
     I can also tell that Adam is putting up a front. He is trying to be a tough rockstar, when in reality something from his past is haunting him. The obvious inference here is that he's remembering Mia, but we don't know for sure. You can tell when it's a sensitive subject when the interviewer starts talking and Adam thinks to himself, "Immediately, I frown. That's exactly what we're supposed to be talking about. That's why I'm here. Not to be friends. Not to swap secrets, but because it's part of my job to promote Shooting Star's albums." (Forman 13). He doesn't want to talk about his past, or the meaning behind his music. This is suspicious and I can't wait to find out what happened that is so big that Adam has to basically hide from it.

Blog Post #7

      I must admit that I have been slacking off on my independent reading lately.. it's been hard to find time to do the homework that's due tomorrow, so trying to find time in my day to read has been nearly impossible! I am still reading Where She Went by Gayle Forman, and I'm excited to really get into it. Hopefully I'll get further into the book this week in the Harvard Room.
      I've heard that this book is better than the first one, which is good news for me because I thought the first one was just ok. It was a good book, and it interested me until the end, where it lost me because I didn't like the ending very much. It left off at such an awkward point that I genuinely thought there was more to the book. That's not a good sign. I felt like there should at least be some sort of cliff-hanger, which would have made me want to pick up the next book and start reading it as soon as possible, but there wasn't. It just ended. Yet another reason why I haven't been motivated to read. I'm interested to see what Adam is going to be like, because I know that he's almost famous now, so will he remember Mia? Does he still love her? I guess I'll figure out when I read in the Harvard Room later this week...

Blog Post #6

Recently, I have been interested in the value of friendship. I am very lucky to have an awesome group of friends, and I hope that everyone is lucky enough to have friends like mine who will always have your back. I found an article recently about why good friends make you happy, and I thought it was interesting enough to share.

My favorite quote from the article was when it said, "Solid friendships provide needed validation that a person is valuable and of interest to other people." (Moeller 4). This was my favorite quote because I could relate to it so well. When you have good friends by your side, you do feel wanted and loved. You feel like they'll be there for you on your darkest days, as well as your best days. Whenever you're sad, they somehow know, and try their best to cheer you up because they don't want you to feel sad.

I guess it would make sense that my topic for the creative nonfiction unit is that the people you surround yourself with help shape who you are as a person. I picked this because it is very relevant to my life right now, I have found that I pick up on qualities that I see in my closest friends. For example, when I hang out with the friends that are very confident and outgoing, I find myself being more confident and loving myself more. I think it's a very cool thing that your friends can actually make you a better person just by being themselves.

Another cool quote from the article is when it said, "'People should learn to value relationships,' Antonucci concludes. 'They will make them happier. And with longer life expectancies, they really have to think about the kind of life they want to lead ... I think we underestimate how important it is in our lives to have relationships.'" (Moeller 9). I liked this quote because before this year, all of my friends had been relatively around my age but due to softball, I have met a lot of new friends that I would not have known otherwise, especially the seniors. It's good to have friends that are older than you because they can give you advice on things that they have been through and I haven't. It's also nice to have friends younger than you so they can help you get your mind off things and you can give them advice.

Here is the link to get to the article: http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/03/15/why-good-friends-make-you-happy?page=2

Blog Post #5

Some of these readings were funny and lighthearted, where others made me feel sad and depressed. For example, the reading about the Boston Marathon bombings was very serious and heavy, and the ones about getting a dog made me laugh.
My favorite one was the article about the birthday party planning was my favorite. It made me laugh when it said, " It would be different if dads planned birthday parties. First off, the party would be about a month after the child's actual birthday, which is when Dad would remember it. Dad's party theme would be 'delivery pizza,' which would also serve as the cake, the craft project and the party favor. The entertainment would be pulling Dad's finger. The kids would have just as much fun." (Barry, 5). This made me laugh because it is very true that moms are *generally* better at remembering birthdays and planning things like parties.
What I didn't like about this article was the stereotypes that were involved in it. This reading suggested that all moms were good at planning and setting up parties and such for their children, and the dads are just lazy men who would sit around for a month before realizing that it was their child's birthday. Although this was meant to be funny and lighthearted, it was not as funny considering the problem with stereotypes in modern day society. I think this would have been funnier and an overall better article if this part would've been eliminated. Other than this, I think this reading was humorous and well-written.

Fahrenheit 451 Theme Handout

Theme: Engaging with difficult and uncomfortable thoughts and experiences is the only route to true happiness.

Sammi St. Arnold, Brian Whitney, Hannah Lea, Stephanie Schoenlein, and Evan Haas Bell 3

Events

---

1. Clarisse asks Montag if he's happy.

2. Montag realizes he's unhappy, and threatens to start reading books.

3. Montag meets Faber and realizes the power of reading/ learning

4. The firemen went to Montag's house.

5. Montag burns Beatty.  

6. Montag meets Granger.

Quotes

---

1. "He was not happy.  He was not happy.  He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs.  He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there wa no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back." (Bradbury 12).

2. " 'If there was no war, if there was peace in the world, I'd say fine, have fun! But, Montag, you mustn't go back to being just a fireman. All isn't well with the world.' " (Bradbury 104).

3. " 'We all made the right kind of mistakes, or else we wouldn't be here.' " (Bradbury 150).

How it Relates

---

1. This theme is important to our understanding of the story because the story is based on a society that believes in the opposite, that thoughts and uncomfortable experiences actually diminish a person’s overall happiness, and have rules against people creating their own thoughts and opinions.  

2. This connects to our society today because people are depressed and don’t realize that they have to deal with and engage in uncomfortable and difficult experiences is the only way to achieve true happiness.  It is important to study and be aware of this theme so that we can grow and be happy in our daily lives, dealing with the hardships in our modern world.  

Blog Post #3

          Before the book, Where She Went, even starts, there is part of a poem, which I found interesting. I began wondering why the Gayle Forman would incorporate another author's work into her own, so I looked into it. The poem reads, "It well may be that in a difficult hour, / Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, / Or nagged by want past resolution's power, / I might be driven to sell your love for peace, / Or trade the memory of this night for food. / It well may be. I do not think I would" (Edna St. Vincent Millay).
          As I read this poem, I first started thinking about how this could possibly relate to the book, but as I looked at it more and more I began to see the relationship. In the poem, it mentions a 'difficult hour' which we can relate to the time period of Mia being in the hospital, which would be difficult for both Mia and Adam. Also, when the poem mentions, 'I might be driven to sell your love for peace, / Or trade the memory of this night for food. / It well may be. I do not think I would', I take this to mean that since Adam is currently away from Mia, in New York, and has a celebrity girlfriend, and even though Mia is part of 'his past', he would not give up those memories and experiences for anything. Which I think is pretty cool.
          I think that Gayle Forman included this poem in the start of her book to show a bit of how Adam is feeling, before the book even starts. To be perfectly honest, I do not usually read the beginning pages of a book, and I would assume that I am not alone on that. It makes me wonder if there something meaningful like this, whether it be a poem or a phrase in many other books, and if so, then maybe I should stop and read it more often.

This is the full version of the poem that was mentioned.

Blog Post #2

          I sobbed. Gosh, why did I sob like that? I need to leave. I need to leave and never come back. Never come back to this house. Yes, that's what I'll do.
          I step outside and find Mrs. Bowles pacing back and forth in the driveway.
          "What'd you do that for?!" She angrily whispered.
          "I'm sorry! It's hard to remain emotionless all the time! Especially with that poem being read to me." I replied.
          "Emotional? There was nothing emotional about that poem. Trust me, there are better ones out there. We just need to find them before Mr. Montag does. He'll blow it for all of us." Mrs. Bowles shot back.
          "Don't you think I know that!? I am trying my best here! My first husband wrote that for me, back when we still married for love. They think that we don't remember those days, but I do. We do." I say.
          "Alright. Now if you're done psyching yourself up, let's talk about something important. Montag's onto something. And if we're not careful, we're going to get ourselves caught."
          "Mildred's on our side though right?" I ask.
          "Debatable. She's either with us to bust her own husband, or with her husband to bust us. It's a hard choice. I just hope that she chooses correctly, for her sake."
          "What if she chooses wrong? What'll happen to us?" I ask timidly.
          "We have nothing to worry about. If she chooses wrongly, she'll end up like Clarisse." She said without the blink of an eye.
          'This was so easy for her. How does she do it? She's so ruthless, cruel even. I can't let this happen. Mildred is too nice. She's a bit naïve, yes, but she is nice all the less.' I think to myself.
         
          Just then, Mildred walks out the front door and is shocked by the fact that her friends are still there.
          "What are you guys still doing here? I'm sorry for Montag. Those poems that he brought home are quite silly, don't you think?" She addresses her friends.
          "Quite," I reply for the both of us. I don't know what to do, of say to Mildred. I refuse to let Mrs. Bowles treat her poorly. I decide that I'll give Mildred the scoop later. Just as I decide this, Montag walks out the front door as well, and gives us a weary glance.
          "What are you people doing out here? Come on Mildred, let's go inside." He practically demands, as he leads his wife back inside the house despite her numerous protests. He comes back outside and gives us another glare.
          "Whatever you two are up to, leave my wife out of it. She knows nothing!" He says, acting like a completely different person now that Mildred is inside the house.
          "Doubtful. I saw that warning look she gave you when you started to read us the poem, that look could kill!" Mrs. Bowles speaks up.
          "Look, I know you're looking for books too, well if you haven't guessed it, so am I. How about we team up and find twice as many books together as we would be able to separately." Montag suggests.
          After a few skeptical looks between the two of us, I speaks up. "I guess that sounds like a good idea."
          I can tell that Montag is glad that we agreed. He thinks that the threat of us telling the police about his search are over. If only the poor guy knew that we were only getting started. Sorry, Montag.