"Sometimes what we want the most we have to do what we want the least."-Julia, from My Sister's Keeper. It seems that everything comes so easy. But it's not. Everything usually comes with a price. Just because we want something doesn't mean we always get it easily. I think what Julia is trying to say in this quote is that to get to that one thing, that one wish or desire we have to the last possible thing you want to do before that happens. Say your want $5, before you get the money you have to make your bed, it isn't fair but in order to get the money you have to do it. This shows up in life, a lot. It may not always be that simple though, and it may not always be hard,like in My Sister's keeper where Anna only has two choices giving her sister a kidney and she lives or not giving her a kidney and she dies.
   
     "How does someone go from thinking if he cannot rescue he must destroy."-Brian My Sister's Keeper.    In this part of the book Brian just found out that Jesse was the one setting off the fires everywhere, and Brain is aghast. He didn't think Jesse would've done something like this. I think Brian is saying through this quote is that just because you can't make a HUGE impact in the world you can do small things that will help out. For example you don't need to stop animal abuse or something but your should try and make people aware of it. That's a small step in the right direction. Jesse in this case goes in the wrong direction and makes things worse for the family. He's the troubled one and everyone thinks badly of him. Even though he is a good guy.
 
     "We don't love people because they are perfect we love them because they are not."-Sara, My Sister's Keeper. Sara in this book can be annoying at times. She tunes out Anna's opinions and only thinks about Kate. How will this help Kate? How ill this hurt her? But in this line it sums up all of the love she has for Anna.She realizes that she is not perfect. She tried to save her sister's life but couldn't do it anymore. And her mom didn't understand that. But now after this whole trial she realizes just because she didn't do all of the things she wanted her to do she did try. So she isn't perfect.  But no one is.

    "A rule book that says it is all right to wake up crying, but only for a month."-Kate, My Sister's Keeper.  At the end Anna dies instead of Kate. It was a surprise ending but it was exciting. You finally heard Kate's voice. Not just other peoples point of view on her. In this quote she shares, all in one line how much she loved Anna, without saying she loved her. Anna was Kate's only friend. And I can't imagine what it would be like losing your best friend. Kate had to deal with so much too. and to not even be able to have a friend's shoulder to cry on is just sad.

Is there a limit for Love?

   In the book My Sister's Keeper the protagionst is born to help save her sisters life, Anna; who is battling lukemiea, Kate. The mother, Sara is a little over the top, in my oppinion. She never asked Anna if she wanted to donate. Even when she had a voice. So Anna files a lawsuit against her parents for the right of her own body. Even though you might not realize the hard times your going through now it will hit you later.     One example is when Sara says this line"I learned from my own daughter that you don't need to be awake to cry."  Sara means that your body reacts to things even if you don't know it. When Sara says this line Kate is going through one surgery. Even though Kate is knocked out her body is still experiencing the pain. There is no way to avoid it It doesn't matter if it's mentally or phisicaly. And with this line it proves that you don't even need to be awake to realize the pain.
    Another example is when Anna says " To tell you the truth, I'm afraid to hear my own answer." Anna means that she doesn't realize what shes just done. She just filed a lawsuit and doesn't know how her mom will we react. I mean how would you react to something like this? You can't win in this situation. Espically with a daughter on the edge of dying.
    In conclusion even though you might not realize the hard times your going through now it will hit you later. I think this happens in life. Things don't realize now can you hurt you later. No matter what you do you can't avoid it. 

Beautiful

     A lot of people judge themselves poorly. They think they aren't pretty enough or skinny enough or even tall enough. The media plays a big role in this. They pressure girls to not even feel comfterable in their own skin. This should not be the case. In the song "beautiful" by Christina Aguilera she talks about not letting anyone tell her she isn't pretty or anything. She doesn't let anyone get in her way. Christina Aguilera is trying to tell girls that it is okay to be who you are. Not someone your not.
     First, she is trying to tell girls that it is okay to be who you are when she says in the song,"I am beautiful no matter what they say." In this quote I think she is trying to say no matter what anyone says I am me and no one can change that. That it's okay to be true to yourself. And that you shouldn't let anyone get in your way. Another example is when she says" To all your friends your delirious." In this quote I think she is trying to say that don't let your friends judge you. If they were actually your friends they wouldn't judge you for who you are.
     In conclosion this song is about being true to yourself and being who you are. This does happen in everyday life. Kids feel like they aren't good enough because of what they look like. And the media does have a hige part in that. The magazinzes are always telling you how to fix yourself. The media should make you feel comfterable in your skin not uncomfterable.

Down to Earth

      A lot of people deal with divorces or seperations in many different ways. They talk about it or hold it in. In the song Down to Earth by Justin Bieber, he writes about what it was like for him, about his parents seperating. It's a hard thing to do. This song really speaks out to many kids about dealing with a seperation/divorce. And that it is okay to feel whatever you want to.
      First, this song speaks out to kids by him expressing his emotions in the song. For example in the song he says "So tell how could I ever be normal somehow/You tell me this is for the best/So tell me why am I in tears?" This really connects to kids because some kids may think that their friends might think they are different or weird or maybe even scared of them. So they hold it in. Hopefully they tell their friends.Another example is when he says"And we're wondering how/No one has a solid answer/But just walking in the dark/And you can see the look on my face/It just tears me apart." This quote, to me, expresses how the kid is confused. Like why did this happen to me? This song connects to listeners by him expressing his emotions in this song.
     In conclosion this song speaks out to many kids who have to deal with a seperation or divorce. Sadly, this does happen in life. My parents are split so I undersatnd how hard it is to deal with this. Some kids may think it's their fault. When it's not. The kid should never think it's their fault.

     In the book Just Listen by Sarah Dessen the main character, Annabel. Annabel seems to be dealing with an external and internal conflict. Her best friend just stopped talking to her after about 6 years. And her sister had an extreme eating disorder. On the inside Annabel is dealing with what happened the night her and her best friend, Sophie, stopped being friends. Annabel has so much going on in her life she can't even admit that she was raped.
    "But Whitney didn't eat. Not that night, which she slept straight through, not stirring each time my mother came in with a tray." When Annabel says this I can imagine her being worried. I would be worried if someone I knew wasn't eating. I mean who wouldn't? Annabel must feel trapped. Like her family would be disappointed in her if she told them if she was raped. So she has to hold back her emotions. So that she doesn't make her family more broken then it already is.
     Annabel has so much going on that she can't come clean about what happened the night when she stopped being friends with Sophie, that she was raped. I can't relate to this at all. None of this has ever happened to me or a friend. Which is a good thing. But there is people who one of these things has happened to them. I don't know how they would react but it is a big deal. And people should not keep that big a secret from family.

The Road Trip of a lifetime

    In the book How to be Bad by Lauren Myracle, Sarah Mylnowski, and E. Lockhart one character, Vicks learns how to open up and except her feelings. In the beginning she seems all bottled up and thinks it's bad and weird to show how a person feels. She thinks that people who show how they feel are needy. At the end of the story she learns that its okay to tell someone how you honestly feel about them or about something. Vicks is a person who is very protective of her feelings.
    Vicks has a boyfriend who is at college and suddenly stops contacting her. She gets a text once in awhile but thats it. Vicks says that she doesn't care but deep down she really does. When she says "I know she's sad that I didn't tell her right off about what's been going on with Brady since he left for the U." I think that Vicks doesn't want to be judged by the way she is feeling. With everything going on she thinks that if she asked for help then she would sound needy. And she would hate that. It's so personal to her she can't even tell her own best friend. At the end of the book she says "Yeah, but what I mean is, why didn't you call me at all, ever, since you left home?" In this scene Vicks finally opens up to Brady, her boyfriend. It seems that she feels relieved that she is getting all of this out. She learned during the road trip that its okay to except your feelings. Every person has feelings and it's okay to show them once in awhile.
  Vicks has a problem representing her feelings but at the end she leads that she can trust others with her feelings. This change teaches me about life because I think it teaches a person that it's fine to have feelings.That it's okay to show a persons feelings. But it also teaches me that a person doesn't need to know everything that is going on in their life. That a person shouldn't push them to tell them what's going on.

Is learning how to ride a bike nessessary for a child?

  In the book Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen the main character Auden had no childhood a "normal" child would have. She never played with toys hung out with friends or even learned how to ride a bike. And you would think that every child knows how to ride a bike. Auden spent her childhood workin, studying, doing homework to impress her parents. Auden trys to impress her parents throughout the book.
 One reason I think this is because her mom is never paying attention to her. She's always studying and talking about grades in front of her mom. But her mom never really praises her. At least you never see that in the book. And the only reason Auden did not have a "normal" childhood was because she was trying to get her mom's attention by doing amazing in school. A regular parent what be congraulating their child. But her mom is just so up in her own world she can't even notice that her daughter gave up on her chlidhood just to have some affection from her mom.
  My parents have always congratulated me from doing well in school. I don't think a child should try to impress their parents. It's wrong. The parents should realize they have a kid and notice them and not be so worried with work or something else that their kid feels left out of their parent-child relationship.