Perception is Everything

Nature is the reality that we give it. I may see something one way, and somebody may see something in a totally opposite parallel. So many things in society are based upon things that we see, but everything that we see has been constructed for us. The values we have are constructed by our parents and friends, our actions have been constructed by the wrongs and rights of society. I have recently been told I need to wear glasses because words and pictures have become blurry; have the words really become more blurry, or are they actually more clear now? Has my mind been constructed to think that when the words are blurry they are essentially "clear" and easy to read, but when they are actually clear do I perceive them differently? I will never be able to know, because my mind has been fabricated to think this way, molded by the hands of society. In history, and currently there has been so many issues over racism, people discriminating against colour. How can we discriminate against each other if we're all apprehending things discordantly? I may see the colour blue, and somebody else may see the colour red. Therefore, nobody should discriminate because of the colour of ones skin, because you may not actually be seeing the right colour, in fact you may have the skin colour that you are trying to discriminate against but your brain has trained itself to think otherwise. No human has the ability to see things how they genuinely are. Everybody has been fashioned to think a certain way at some point in their life. There is no such thing as beautiful. People often base their opinions on beauty from what they see, although this is complete idiocy because you aren't actually seeing the reality. I might see beautiful blond hair and gleaming white teeth, but in reality I'm only seeing what I wish to view, what I think I should be seeing, what I have been told to see. Nobody knows what they are actually seeing, or touching, or feeling, or hearing, or tasting. We only know these sensations through what we are told to know about them. Nature is the reality that we give it, perceived differently to each eye.

Sidewalk Chalk, A Review

Sidewalk chalk, bringing life to sidewalks. One of the most ingenious inventions in the world of children's toys. Easy to use, and easy to wash away. There is no reason why one wouldn't enjoy sidewalk chalk. Children can create beautiful masterpieces, decorating your driveway and sidewalk with lavish designs, making your house all the more welcoming and tantalizing to the eyes. You can create a hopscotch game right on your driveway to tire out your children from the relentless jumping, finally getting them to lay their heads on a pillow for a long afternoon nap. While they are napping, you take out the hose and voila, the hopscotch is a figment of the past! Sidewalk chalk is a great alternative to felts and crayons, which will undoubtedly end up on the dining room table, or the family room walls, creating maps of lines that will never be washed away. Although those may be great memories of your children's foolishness, a picture will surely capture the sidewalk chalk masterpiece without leaving an eyesore for your company to gawk at. All in all, sidewalk chalk is a 5 out of 5 star product!

Journal: The Glass Castle

The quote, "'Why do I always have to be the one who earns the money?' Mom asked. 'You have a job. You can earn money. Lori can earn money, too.l I've got more important things to do.'" is just another piece of evidence proving that Mrs. Walls is a very selfish person.

Mrs. Walls is supposed to be a mother to four children, but in reality her children are the ones mothering her. I cannot even understand how a person, who grew up very wealthy, could ever tell their kids that if they want to have food in the house, they must work to earn money to buy the very food that you should be providing for them. Jeannette is a 13 year old girl who, yes is much more mature than normal, but who is running a household. No child should have to worry about being able to pay the bills and buy groceries because her father keeps taking money for alcohol and cigarettes; completely oblivious to his children's needs.

This selfishness is proven on several other accounts in the book. When all four Walls children are starving and picking through the garbage can at school for food, they find their mother hiding a chocolate bar and eating it all to herself. She blames it on being a "sugar addict", but for me that is absolutely no excuse to let your children starve while you are indulging yourself with treats. Personally, I think that most mothers would rather starve themselves, than watch their children starve and dwindle away before their very own eyes. Also, another time Jeannette and Brian find a two karat diamond ring. They are filled with excitement from the idea of pawning the ring so they finally had money to feed their grumbling bellies. When they tell their mother about the ring, she decides that she is going to keep the ring to boost her self-esteem, in the meantime letting her children go hungry for even longer.

At one point in the book, I was so full of anger at Mrs. Walls I was overwhelmed by a feeling of disgust. Jeannette and the family had gone to visit their Uncle Stanley, but while Jeannette and Uncle Stanley where watching the television he started to touch her inappropriately. Jeannette was frightened and went to her mother for help, but her mother actually told her to suck it up because she didn't want to make Uncle Stanley feel bad, because it wasn't physically hurting Jeannette. I do not understand in the least bit how a mother could ever subject her child to something so emotionally scarring. A child should be able to feel protected by her parents, she should not have to bury her fear inside her and wait until the worst is over.

In conclusion, I feel as though Mrs. Walls is an absolutely despicable person, and a horrifyingly terrible mother. She builds extreme amounts of disgust and hatred inside of me. I feel that no person like Mrs. Walls should ever have children because she is detrimentally traumatizing them for life, while she is stealing their adolescent innocence.

The Glass Castle: Literary Luminary

1) " All we had to do was find gold, Dad said, and we were on the verge of that. Once he finished the Prospector and we stuck it rich, he'd start work on our Glass Castle." pg. 25

This quote emphasizes how the Wall children had hopes built on empty promises. I think that the "Glass Castle" symbolizes the void and unfulfilled lives that the Wall family leads. Their father always told them wild memories of his past that are so unbelievable he could only ever expect his children to have faith in him. His erroneous plans to find gold seem like a barrier to keep his children from realizing that he is actually scared inside to. Just like them, he has a belly that aches for the food which he cannot provide for the family, this realization filling him with dread, making him feel as though he needs to tell these stories so his kids think he was great at one time. Stories that will make him appear as their hero.

2) "One time I saw a tiny Joshua tree sapling growing not too far from the old tree. I wanted to dig it up and replant it near our house. I told Mom that I would protect if from the wind and water it every day so that it could grow nice and tall and straight. Mom frowned at me. 'You'd be destroying what makes it special,' she said 'It's the Joshua tree's struggle that gives it its beauty'." pg. 38

This quote symbolizes the path of the Wall children. They have never lead what is considered a "normal" life. Being uprooted from each home as soon as they get settled, then moving into yet another obscure situation. With each different home comes different experiences that no child should ever have to endure. Their parents throwing their pet cat out the window, or not noticing that Jeanette tumbled out of the car while they were driving. Although these are not normal experiences for one to grow up in, they will eventually shape the Wall children's character and personality when they are adults, just like the Joshua trees unusual path.

3) "I never believed in Santa Claus. None of us kids did. Mom and Dad refused to let us." pg. 39

This quote is important because it portrays how the innocence of these children has been stolen from them. Their parents never gave it a chance of surviving. When Quixote, their pet cat was thrown out the window by their father on one of his rambunctious episodes, Jeanette started to cry, then her mother told her to stop being so sentimental. How can one expect a child to be mature if they haven't even had a chance of adolescence yet? Personally, I think this is a form of child abuse. I don't understand how someone is supposed to become a regular adult when they haven't had a chance to be a carefree child beforehand. No one should ever be denied those wondrous years of mischief, they are the base upon which you eventually will build your character.

Passion and Interest

The career that you will eventually end up with, should not be something you dread doing with all of your heart. I don't necessarily think that you have to be fully passionate and enthralled with your job, but I do think that it needs to be something that interests you, and something you enjoy spending your time doing. Most likely you're going to be spending a large portion of your life at work, so why not make it worth while. I also believe that if you are passionate about your job you'll work harder and produce something a lot more meaningful overall. On that note, when I grow up and have a real career, as of now I hope to be a Speech Pathologist. Next year I will hopefully be attending the University of Toronto (fingers crossed!) to start the long path towards it. I will be taking a 4 year General Arts and Science Program, taking various linguistics and phonetics courses. During those 4 years I will need to be volunteering to work with a certified speech pathologist to gain experience. After those 4 years have been completed I will apply for entrance to a 3 year Masters Program in Speech Pathology to become certified to have my own patients. It will be a very long journey, but one that will hopefully be rewarding. Speech Pathology is not necessarily something that I am extremely passionate about, but it is something that sparks a very large interest in me. I eventually want to have a family and this is a job that has a schedule that can work very well to accommodate motherly needs. As well as good hours, I think that it would be a very rewarding job. It is a lot like being a teacher, except you only deal with one child at a time which is much better suited for me, and my patience. I hope that Speech Pathology will be a career that I love spending my time pursuing and performing, if not I guess it's back to the drawing board for me.

Waiting backstage before the big performance, her stomach is turning and twisting into knots. In costume and makeup almost all ready. She procrastinates putting on her pointe shoes, delicate and dainty as they look, the pain harbored up inside of them waits to relinquish upon her feet. Stretching her muscles thoroughly, warming them up and getting the blood to surge through her veins. As her heart beats at the speed of a humming birds wings, her dance instructor stands next to her, tugging on her tutu, nattering at her. All of this adding to the constant motion of thoughts in her head, choreography and corrections swirling like a tornado throughout her brain. As she bends over touching her toes, the tule of the tutu flops over her shoulders; a veil hiding her from the world, hiding her from the realization that this is her one and only chance. Scratching at her shoulders, nervous sweat beading along her hairline, she awaits her moment to step out onto stage.

How To Do a Pirouette:

1) You will need to find a wide open space, preferably without a very sticky or slippery floor, and definitely no carpet. This will ensure you not to get hurt if you fall or stumble.

2) Next place your feet one in front of another about a foot length away; this will vary with foot size and body type. Now that your feet are apart make sure they are turned out (toes facing away from each other towards the sides of your body, this may be slightly uncomfortable but is very necessary) Make sure that the foot that is placed in front is the one that is easiest for you to balance on.

3) Now take your arm that is opposite to your foot in front, and raise it to belly button height, palm facing to the ground. Your arm should be straight, but not overextended.

4) Bring your other arm to the same height, but out towards the side palm facing the ground. The arm should be straightened like your other one.

5) Straighten your back, put your shoulders back and keep your core tightened.

6) Before you get ready to turn you need to make sure your hips are placed evenly between your feet to balance your weight (if weight isn't placed properly you will most likely fall out of your pirouette).

7) As you begin to prepare for the pirouette you bend you knees and push off of your back foot (the amount of push needed depends on how many pirouettes you'd like to do). Simultaneously your front arm opens, and your torso will start to turn in the same direction.

8) The foot that you pushed off of will come to a retire position (leg bent, knee facing to the side while your toe is pointing just above your opposite knee), while your rise onto the metatarsals of your other foot. Your arms will have snapped into a position with them both rounded facing towards your stomach at belly button height (will look like a circle).

9) While turning around your head needs to "spot"; look at your destination as long as possible before needing to whip your head back around to see the destination point once again (this will also stop you from getting dizzy)

10) When you have completed as many rotations as you desire (or you can manage to balance for) take the leg that is bent to your knee and place it back on the ground. Your arms will open slightly to this sides but keep rounded.

11) Smile, you have just completed a pirouette!

Top 3

Disneyland is a magical place filled with wondrous rides that make you feel like a kid no matter what your age may be; I have chosen my top three favourite rides to discuss. I have critiqued these rides based on originality, thrill, and popularity. The top three that I have chosen are Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, and Space Mountain.

Indiana Jones is a rustic ride that takes you on an wild adventure. As this ride lacks in originality because it is based on a movie, it makes up for in precision. Throughout the ride it feels as though you have been placed into a very surreal Indiana Jones film. Monstrous snakes attempt to strike at you, while arrows are being shot your way. All these elements make this a very thrilling ride due to the anticipation of what is going to come at you next. The ride is a fairly meandering roller coaster, more for the effect of the surroundings than huge upside down loops, but near the end of the ride when a huge boulder is swiftly rolling towards you the wooden cart quickly drops below it giving you that "classic roller coaster thrill" as well. Indiana Jones is a very popular ride, because it is something people of most ages would enjoy. Being so popular the lines can be quite long to stand in, although after the fireworks at night the ride is still open for those few sneaky people to race through for a few extra (line free) rides.

Splash Mountain is a ride that is sure to wet your appetite for fun. This is a ride that screams originality, from the log that you are seated in, to the unique characters surrounding you from either side. As well as original, it is full to the brim with thrilling excitement. Sitting in the log as it climbs up the slope, clunking the whole time anticipation builds in the pit of your stomach cooling for a moment as you come to the top, until you start barrelling towards the ground instead hitting a cold pool of water (very refreshing on a hot day in California). Having this be a very traditional Disney ride lines are long to wait in, especially since the ride is so quickly over. Although it is nice to wait in the line and be rewarded with the splash of water when the temperature is near boiling outside.

Lastly comes Space Mountain. A ride filling your head with stars and planets, while making your stomach flip and flop. The creator of this ride gets a 10 out of 10 on originality for this ride. Getting into the roller coaster in the pitch black pavilion forces you to focus on the beautiful (not to mention realistic) planets and constellations, distracting you from the drops and sudden twists and turns of the ride. This also adds to the fantastic thrill of the ride. As many times as you make go on the ride you'll never be able to predict which way you'll turn next or when you'll suddenly drop into the dark abyss. Once again this is a very popular ride, but is more targeted towards a little bit more of an older crowd because it is a roller coaster and may scare children or make some nauseous. The long line is definitely worth the wait, having no disappointment in the end.

Superpowers.

If I could have any superpower in the world, I would choose the ability to hear what people are thinking. Hearing people's thoughts and ideas would make sure that you were always hearing the truth, whether people say it out loud or not. With the capacity to read minds I would also like the capability to be able to decide when I can hear peoples thoughts, because sometimes I may hear things that also are very unpleasant, and unnecessary. If I ever had to write a test in school, I could sit next to the smartest person in the class and listen to them think of all the answers, making me come out as the genius. Never would anybody keep a secret from me again. Hearing peoples thoughts is a power that could never malfunction, unlike being able to fly. If I were able to fly, yes it would be great to go wherever, whenever; but what if a plane couldn't see me coming and they flew right into me!? Or if I were able to teleport, and mid-teleport I got caught in a transporting abyss, stuck between the place I came from and the destination I was ending up in. In my personal opinion, hearing peoples thoughts is the greatest superpower to have.