Non-Fiction post- "On Staten Island relentless bullying is blamed for a teenage girl's suicide"

In the article "On Staten Island relentless bullying is blamed for a teenage girl's suicide" Vivian Yee wants readers to know about an incident that happened at the train station just outside Tottenville High School in Staten Island, where a young girl named Felicia Garcia who had been bullied, jumped to her death in front of a train. Yee wants readers to be informed about how bullying can force young teens to do drastic and dangerous things that can result in death. She wants them to be aware of the dangers of bullying and how it can affect others and themselves. She also wants her audiences to try to understand better if the reason that Felicia committed suicide was only because of the fact she was being bullied, or something else too.  Finally she wants to help people realize that even though there are laws that require schools to develop policies to get rid of bullying and stop any harassment of students by other students things like this still happen.

In this article Yee wants readers to feel suspense and shock. Yee is able to capture these emotions by opening the article by saying "Felicia rarely cried, so when her friend saw her sobbing alone in a hallway between classes at Tottenville High School she knew something was wrong." This is giving us some suspense, we don't really know what's happening but the idea of bullying gets introduced at the very beginning. It makes you wonder why this poor girl is sobbing. Yee then goes on to state that two night before Felicia had posted this message on twitter "I can't I'm done I give up" this also is giving you suspense like what is going to happen. Yee makes you feel shocked because right after she informs you this girl had "given up" she tells the readers that Felicia had hurled herself in front of a train after school on Wednesday. The shock of the train hitting her is like a shock to the reader. It really makes you think about why she did it. Was it because of the fact that she was being bullied or was it something else? It makes you feel terrible that this poor 15 year old girl killed herself. It also makes me really mad, if she was being bullied why didn't any type of authority step in? Schools need to be more aware about what's going on.

Yee also makes you feel really sympathetic because on the front page of this article there is an image of two girls hugging each other right outside a makeshift memorial for Felicia. Seeing these two girls crying and holding each other it lurches something inside of you. This girl obviously had some people that cared about her but I guess she didn't know that. It's so sad to think that someone that young would think that suicide would be the right answer. I bet the author choose this image to display the hurt and sadness of this girls death in order to make you feel sad. Once again it also makes me feel upset that this girl felt like she had to hide all her feelings. For example in the article one of her friends said "If you tried to bully her she'd laugh at you"I don't know if this was a defense mechanism for Felicia or what. It just really makes you think about what some people could have done to prevent this from happening in the first place. It makes you feel angry that this happened at all.

Finally the other thing that Yee really makes you think about is who should be blamed? They really haven't identified one person who bullied her on a regular basis, and even if they did what would they do to that person. It really makes you think about the power of the internet and the power of words. In the article Yee states "It is not clear whether anyone will be disciplined in Felicia's case." It's awful to think that no one will really be punished for this, but on the other hand would it get through to the kids anyway? I don't know. It makes me feel like something needs to be done about this kind of thing. Lots of schools are aware of bullying but they don't know how to get through to the kids.

My ideas about bullying really haven't changed because of reading this article it made my opinions stronger. I think bullying is a terrible thing that needs to be stopped. Yee made me think a lot of things about suicide and why kids do it. After reading this article I feel like I need to do something to help administrators open their eyes. People need to be informed about the horrors of bullying and why it needs to be stopped now!

Becoming Chloe Part 2

I am still reading the book “Becoming Chloe” by Catherine Ryan Hyde. In this book the main character Jordy doesn’t have a lot of money and ends up living in this under ground cellar with this other girl he comes to know over time. This girls name is Chloe and there is something a little bit off about her. She is 18 years old but she is totally like a child. Jordy and Chloe become closer and suddenly he starts taking care of her like his child. It’s very strange.

This is making me think about responsibilities that we as humans have. I understand that in this book because Jordy and Chloe sort of live together and depend on each other I guess Jordy would feel like he has to protect her but then again it’s also kind of weird. They became so close so fast and they barely even know anything about each other, or about their pasts. On one hand if I were Jordy I might feel like I need to get a job and live my own life and not take care of this strange child like girl. On the other hand I can understand that maybe they are attached and he cares about her.

In this book Jordy and Chloe don’t have any kind of romantic relationship, it’s more like father and daughter. It’s weird that he suddenly took on that role in her life. It makes me wonder about her and what might have scarred her in the past to make her so child like in the present. I think that in life some people feel the need to take care of and protect others, even when they might need their own protecting. Now that Jordy knows that Chloe is childlike and maybe has something wrong with her he feels the need to help her. That shows that he is a caring person but it also shows that maybe he is taking on too much. If I were him before I started “looking after” Chloe I would find out more about her, more about what she’s been through.

I don’t know why there is something off about Chloe but there is. In the beginning of the book she was being sexually harassed but seemed completely unfazed. When Jordy tried to help her get to a clinic she said that kind of thing happens to her all the time and nothing bad has happened before. Even when she was telling him all this she seemed childlike and laughing and weird. I don’t know if it’s her childhood or what she has been through that makes her so strange but I want to find out more.

I don’t know If Jordy is going to continue looking after Chloe but in my opinion he needs to get his life together. Instead of worrying about some girl he barely knows he needs to worry about himself and what’s best for him. It sounds kind of mean but he doesn’t know this girl!

Becoming Chloe

Recently I have been reading the book Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde. In the first scene the main character Jordy is in a basement that leads to the street and he hears a girl getting sexually harassed above him. He doesn’t know what to do. He decides to say that he’s calling 911 but the main harassing her won’t know it’s him because he isn’t visible. It was definitely the right decision because the guys ran away and then girl jumped down into the basement to thank him. Situations like that can be really tough. It makes me think about being a bystander and what you’re supposed to do when you’re in a situation like that.

It was definitely the right move that Jordy said he was going to call the police because he couldn’t just stand there are listen while this poor girl was being sexually harassed. In the real world when things go on like bullying, or harassment people tend to sort of stay back and out of the way. I can understand why maybe they wouldn’t  want to involve themselves, but on the other hand it makes me feel like that person would be kind of heartless if they didn’t. How could Jordy not do something when a poor young girl was being harmed. People are supposed to look out for each other in this world right? They don’t always do it but they should. Even if those guys hadn’t run away when he said that he was going to call the police it would be worth the risk of Jordy getting hurt wouldn’t it?

People are so self involved in this world that they don’t always want to help even if they know they should. Some might say “it’s none of my business so why should I get involved” but at a certain point it becomes the person’s business. In my mind if something terrible is happening right it front of your eyes but you do nothing to stop it then the person who did nothing to stop it is just as guilty as the person who actually committed the crime.

If Jordy hadn’t done something to stop this man from pretty much raping this girl then what would have happened to her. It makes me wonder about her, is she used to stuff like this? Is this man much bigger then her so she feels like she can’t fight back? Why isn’t she trying to fight back? It’s obvious what was happening in that scene wasn’t her choice. People do terrible things to other people every day, whether it’s a little thing or a big thing it’s something. Next time I see someone doing something to someone then I’m going to step in.

Now I do think there is a line though. It really depends on what’s happening. If there is a small argument going on and it has nothing to do with you then don’t get involved because it’s none of your business and no body can fix everything. What I’m saying is think about the situation before stepping in. It’s very important to speak up when something dangerous is happening or someone is being harassed and bullied, but otherwise maybe you should stay out of it.

Life is going to throw you many things and you can choose your battles but just remember to step up to the plate when you see something going on right in front of your eyes you know is wrong 

Pride and Prejudice -answering a social action reading question

I am currently still reading pride and prejudice. One of the social action reading questions I was thinking about was everything about justice. What exactly is justice and does it always have to be a knight in shining armor slaying the dragon—no. In this book Elizabeth is struggling with her life and who she loves, if she wants to get married or not. Since I’m still reading the book I don’t know what’s going to happen but I’m wondering is there really “justice to be served” in this book? I mean would Elizabeth doing what she wants in the end sort of be her justice? That’s what I’m thinking. I mean since the beginning her mother has been racing around and making judgments about men for her daughters to marry and if Elizabeth does something unexpected would that be like throwing it in her mother’s face to get her justice?

 All their mother does it try to get one of Elizabeth’s sisters to marry a man named Mr. Bingley and that’s literally all she seems to live for, I feel like if Elizabeth does something drastic it would kind of be like getting justice for all women in that time period. I mean as I was talking about in my last blog this is what all women seem worry and think about, is who they’re going to marry. In a way that’s all they do have to live for because if they didn’t then they would be looked down upon, but maybe if someone introduced them to a new way of life they might be able to feel like they had some freedom. What I’m trying to say is maybe all women would feel like they got some justice by realizing and knowing they had more of a place in life then to just marry and cook and clean. That would be like a bigger sort of justice and it might show their mother along with all men that women are just as important and that maybe they don’t even have to marry the first person who comes their way, or even anyone at all.

In a way since you’re mostly following Elizabeth’s story that you the reader would expect her to bring justice, but the outside world (inside the book) would not see her bringing justice. You would never really think that a girl from a family where all her sisters follow the rules of society and marry who their mother wants them to marry, would be the one to bring justice. I think the reason people wouldn’t expect it is because of the way society categorizes people and makes people seem one way just because of their race, or gender. For instance in this book you would never think of Elizabeth to bring justice really, but that’s only because of what she might come off to be in the book, to the other characters. This isn’t exactly fair but it’s just sort of how the world works, now I’m not saying she doesn’t have any of the traits that people think she has, because she is a very strong independent girl, but still people are so involved in their own personal gain they would never really think a girl like that would stand up and say what she wants to do in terms or marriage or anything else for that matter. 

Finally I think that in this book society, and Elizabeth's mother blocks justice. Since society has made up what a perfect girl should be like and do in that time period it's hard to go against it. I also think that since the mother has been dragged into what society has made her to believe is right-which is you have to marry to have a good life. In my mind I'm wondering who makes that decision and why? It's not fair shouldn't everyone get to decide things like that for themselves? 

Pride and Prejudice

I recently just started reading "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. There are a lot of social and complex issues I have noticed even at the very beginning of this book. One main one is the idea that women are nothing if they don't get married. I find this a very unjust issue that doesn't seem fair at all. In the book Mrs. Bennet is running around trying to find her daughters men to marry, it's all she really seems to care about. I know that in that time period women were considered just people of the house and all they did was look pretty and cook and clean, but why should it be that way? I mean in my mind I feel like that's really unfair. Maybe I'm wrong though because it didn't actually seem that wrong to these women. I don't see any of the daughters really doing anything about the fact that their mother is setting them up with men, they actually seem to enjoy it, maybe that's because that's all they have to live for or else they're considered trash and looked down upon. In that time period I guess it didn't seem bad I mean I'm sure that we are doing things in our society right now that's considered normal that one day people will look back on and think oh my gosh wow they did that?

I think that when you grow up in a society and things are they way they are you just sort of go along with it. I feel like that's what's happening here on top of the fact that they would be looked down upon if they didn't marry. When something is so set in stone for you at such a young age and you are made to believe that that's all you have to live for, then you go along with it because you think that's what's right. I think that that's what's happening to these girls. They are being treated like dirt but they don't even know it. I'm wondering if anyone of these daughters is going to think twice about the whole thing. I would hate to be forced to marry someone especially if I barely knew them and I was so young, or would I just think that's the way life was?

I can already sort of tell one of the daughters Elizabeth is a little suspicious about the whole marriage thing but she doesn't really say anything, maybe it's because I'm really not that far into the book but I also think it's because she's scared. I mean I would be terrified to actually speak my mind about the whole issue. You would not only be really looked down upon because you didn't want to marry but you would also be looked down upon by your family, especially your mother who is probably the most involved in finding you a husband. It's crazy cause women in that time probably wouldn't think to speak up but I hope Elizabeth does because it's important that women have a voice in life and in picking a husband.

I'm curious to find out what happens next. I think that one of these daughters will say what they actually think. Isn't marriage supposed to be about love, not so you will be accepted in society? I guess times really do change. I wonder if Elizabeth will start to change society in this book.

Run The Game Part 2

I am still reading “Run the Game”  by Jason Myers. On my last post I was talking about love at first sight and whether or not Alexander and Patti were actually in love or if it was just some dumb little fling. They are still together so I guess I’ll have to keep reading and figure out what happens.

There are other ideas in this book though. Alexander and his friends and Patti whom might I add is only 14, do a lot of drugs and drink way too much even though they are underage. I mean it brings up a lot of questions in my mind, like why do they do so many harmful drugs like cocaine, speedball(which is a mix of heroin and cocaine), and meth, and pot, and act like it’s no big deal and barely address it when actually it is kind of a big deal. I mean maybe doing these drugs like sometimes, or only like once or twice would be ok(although it also isn’t good for you) except these people in the book literally do it all day 24/7. Every scene of this book involves the characters doing drugs. It makes me wonder what kind of message this is sending to a younger audience, who I hope wouldn’t be doing cocaine and heroin at this age! I mean the author makes it seem like it’s no big deal, and kind of like it’s fun. Maybe it is appealing to these characters, but not addressing it at all seems a little weird on the authors part. I mean what do people think about this? Is it really ok to project serious issues like alcoholism and drug use like it’s no big deal? I sort of feel like it shouldn’t be swatted away. After a while of reading the book you sort of get used to them doing all these drugs and it doesn’t even seem that important anymore, when reality all this stuff can be very harmful in some cases.

Sometimes in books and movies I feel like important issues like drugs, sex, alcoholism ect. are sort of put to the side in order to make it more interesting and to stick to the plot, and no I don’t want to be reading a book or watching a movie where all it talks about is why you shouldn’t do drugs because that’s dumb and boring, but then again if it’s not a actually issue or plot point in the story why put it in there. I’m actually curious. I mean in this book “Run the Game” it is very entertaining, not just because they are doing drugs and whatever but that I guess is one of the reasons. Why are we as people so intrigued about things like drugs and sex? I mean my questions are a little out there but they are valid. This book is pretty graphic and gross and has a lot of bad messages but yet still I’m reading it and I find it interesting and entertaining. Is it because of my age? Why am I so curious about all this stuff, maybe because this is the time in your life when you start being introduced to all these things.

This book is interesting and weird and I want to know what people have to say. I wonder if these drugs will have an effect on Alexander at the end of the book-somehow I highly doubt it. 

Run The Game

I am currently reading the book “Run the Game” by Jason Myers. This book is mainly about a boy named Alexander who is a messed up 19 year old kid that does way too many drugs, drinks a lot, and does meaningless things with girls he doesn’t care about. He is in a band but other then that doesn’t really know where he is going with his life. To make money he prostitutes himself at a place called the A-lot. Alexander’s life is pretty much going down hill in his opinion until he meets Patti. He instantly falls in love with her even though he barely knows her. She is 14, tough, cute, and also works at the A-lot, the place where they met. Alexander has never felt this way before. This book is about love at first sight and the costs that come with it.

In the book Alexander has always fooled around with tons of girls in lots of ways but never really felt anything real. When he sees Patti for the first time he lights up inside and for some reason he just knows. I’m wondering is there really such a thing as love as first sight or is it all just a big load of cliché stuff that isn’t true at all? I mean I like the idea of love at first sight and it sounds all amazing and romantic except really does it happen? Maybe you can’t ever know until it happens to you. I don’t know. Even though Alexander and Patti do end up falling in love I also wonder if what they are feeling is real, or if it’s just like in the moment crazy talk. There are many obstacles in their relationship. One being she is 14 and he is 19, another that they both are very young and poor and both work in the A-lot when money is running low, and finally one of Patti’s 40 year old “clients” claims to be in love with her and is very creepy and is a stalker. If they are able to stay together by the end of the book I will know that maybe they really are truly in love. On the other hand they have already had lots of fights and because of all the obstacles it might be very hard to stay together. I mean if you are really actually in love with someone how much would you be willing to do for them? How far would you be willing to go to protect them? I think that Alexander is willing to do anything for her. He has even said it himself in the book.

Alexander and Patti are love birds but for ever is the question? How could you know that you really love someone at 14!? Especially when the person you think you love is 6 years older and the both of you are always drunk and high on some sort of drug. Love should be special and sweet and romantic. Not a 14 year old girl doing drugs and other things with a 19 year old boy. It kind of disturbs me because Patti is about my age and I would never do anything of the things she is doing right now. But on the other hand who am I to judge I haven’t been in love so what do I know? One thing I do know though is that both are headed down bad paths and I wonder where all this is going to lead them.