Catcher In The Rye : A Walk Through The Book

Writing 1 (Chapters 1-4): Memories

High School Football games are really fun. From the game itself, to the atmosphere, to the school spirit, being there with friends, the energy brought by the players and the fans, the unhealthy snacks, to hanging out with peers after the game is done. Everything about football games brings me joy, it is sad to think I only have one more season left of high school football to watch and enjoy. After that, it will all be memories to reminisce upon. 

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Writing 2 (Chapters 5-7): Siblings

Having siblings is okay I guess. Sometimes they’re cool and you get along. Other times you could physically hurt them if your mom wouldn’t get mad at you. Sometimes it seems like their sole purpose of being on this planet is to pester you. Occasionally, when they decide to reveal they have somewhat of a heart inside of them, they can be kind and loving. Having 5 siblings is cool, but the majority of the time I am not around them due to our age difference and them being adults with their own lives. But whenever I am around them, I love them, because I miss the crazy ups and downs of being siblings. (pixabay)

 

Writing 3 (Chapters 8-11): Snow

I love snow. I have only seen it a few times in person. My first time being when I was too young to remember, but I’ve seen pictures from that trip. Tubing with my siblings, it seemed to be a lot of fun. My second time being when I was 9, my dad took me and two of my siblings to big bear. I didn’t have a camera yet but I used my DSI to take pictures of everything, including some snow, some trees, some more trees and a lot more snow. My third time was during a school trip. Our fifth grade class went to the mountains for a week, and there was actually a snowstorm. Snow and winds up to 60 mph, not very fun for a fifth grader. The next time after that I was 12, and I went to Utah with my family and one of my siblings. It was super cold, but a lot of fun to go tubing and everything. I am now 17 and I have not seen snow since I was 12, and I really want to see snow again.

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Writing 4 (Chapters 12-14): Over Hyped

I don’t understand the big deal about California. Sure, famous people live here and the weather is nice. I don’t think that outweighs the cons. It is ridiculously packed, meaning always traffic and not even just on freeways. People are mean and grumpy a lot in certain areas, not making it very fun. People have this stigma about coming west to California to chase their dreams, pushing Californians out of their home state. I am planning to go to college out of state, simply because of there being too many dream chasers here, and it kinda sucks. Like there are other cool states to like New York, or Florida, or Hawaii. Quit coming to California.

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Writing 5 (Chapters 15-18): Calling out of the Blue

I find it kind of weird for people to just call someone in today’s age. Like a normal thing to do is to shoot them a text, ya know? See if they are available to talk on the phone, before you just call them. People can be at work in a meeting, or at the cash register at the grocery store, or in class. Calling someone without warning is kind of irritating.

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Writing 6 (Chapters 19-22): “Catching Up”

Meeting with old friends is kind of awkward. Like depending on how long ago your friendship was, you both could have changed so much. What if you’ve changed to the point where you won’t like each other or get along anymore. What do you talk about that won’t bring up unwanted things or topics. I feel like it is a bit more stressful than it should be when meeting with old friends to ‘catch up’.

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Writing 7 (Chapters 23-26): A Very Disney Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Most people are a lot nicer, it’s colder outside so you can dress more cozier, the food and drinks are so comforting, spending time with your family can be fun, and of course presents. One of my favorite things in particular about Christmas is going to Disneyland. Like yeah I absolutely love Christmas, but Disneyland Christmas is a whole different story. It is my two favorite things combined, Christmas and Disney.

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Blissful Bubbles

In my English class, my teacher decided to let us participate in Global School Play Day. This sounds normal, for younger children. For high school students, it seems a bit weird, right? Do high schoolers even know how to play without their phones? What would they do? Would they even enjoy it? Let me answer some of these questions for you.

For the day of play, I brought bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and a jump rope. Others brought board games, some brought balls to play sports, some even brought slime. There were so many different options to do, and each option brought happiness to at least a few students. It seemed as if all the students had a blast, personally I did. I enjoyed spending time with friends and having a little stress reliever moment in my day.

Playing was something that high schoolers aren’t used to. The only form of play we usually get is sports, but sometimes it doesn’t really work as a stress reliever. Getting the chance to play, without anything to worry about, was amazing. I don’t think anything should be done differently, because giving the freedom to the students to choose what they want to do is important. Often times, students feel out of control of what is going on in their lives, so giving them some control over something seems small but makes a huge impact.

From this experience, I have taken a few things and thoughts of my own. After watching the ted talk, I realized how important playing is for growing children. As a parent in the future, I will make sure to prioritize play time for my children, no matter their age. I worry that by the time I am older and have children of my own, the world will no longer be a safe space for my child to play outside in. Hopefully, the people living today see and understand the importance of play time for children and work towards making safer environment for them to do so.

Silence Allows For Violence

Violence has been a constant problem for humans. Whether things happens behind closed doors, or in the middle of a supermarket, often times little is done against the violence. It doesn’t matter if the violence is towards a different race, gender, social class, or even species, violence is everywhere. People know that violence occurs in everyday life for many people, and can do a lot of damage against a person’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Why does nobody help or speak out when they witness, or know of violence and abuse that is occurring?

In The Narrative Of The Life Of Fredrick Douglas, Fredrick Douglas speaks of how every aspect of slavery includes a form of violence and abuse. The slaves are beaten, humiliated, forced to work without pay, and deprived of everyday needs such as food, clothes, a bed, etc. Douglas also talks about how the violence and abuse is no secret. People know what is happening to these slaves underneath their slave owners, but do not care to do anything about or against it. Even when people felt it was wrong, they stayed silent. Their silence is what allowed slavery and abuse to be thrive and continue to be alive in present day.

Modern Slavery. A topic that is saddening to most and surprising to many. According to Anti-Slavery International , there is an estimated 40.3 million people that are slaves today. Modern Slavery includes debt bondage, child slavery, forced/early marriage, descent based slavery, human trafficking, and forced labor. These things are happening every single day, and too many people still do not know about it. Those people that do know about it, do not care to help, or feel that them helping would not ‘solve the issue’.

The Bystander Effect, as explained in Psychology Today , is when the presence of others prevents a person from intervening or getting involved in an emergency situation. This is the case with violence and abuse. When people see or know of what is happening, they assume that other know as well and that the others will do something about it, so they themselves are not needed to help. If every single witness assumes that others will help, nobody will help and nobody will receive help.

In order for violence and slavery to stop, people need to stop assuming that somebody else will help. The more people that help diffuse a situation or attempt to help, the faster the violence and abuse will come to an end. People need to realize that just because a problem does not seem big or does not affect them, does not mean it is not a problem. The world needs to stop brushing off things such as violence and abuse, and start working together to end them. 

What Causes People to Lie?

“Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God’s fingers?” The Crucible

Lying can be caused by many things, and everybody lies. In my opinion, people lie because of fear or weakness. The fear of what others think or say causes people to say things other than the truth. Others may lie because they feel weak, and the manipulation of others through lying makes them feel powerful. At times, saying the truth is harmful in many aspects, whether to yourself or to others. Lying is something considered so simple and effortless, many would rather take the easy route and lie, even with possible repercussions if the lie is discovered.

People lie often times because they are selfish, and benefit in some way from the lie. Lying for selfish reasons is proved to be very common. According to National Geographic (data graphic), 36% of lies told are for people to protect themselves. 22% of the 36% is covering up a mistake and the other 14% is avoiding or escaping people. For example, when a child breaks something and knows they will be punished, they can simply put the blame on someone else and not get in trouble. Another example is if you work at a restaurant and you mess up someone’s order, you could simply blame the chef for preparing it wrong rather than taking the blame yourself for the mistake you have made. One last example comes from the crucible when the young girls all lie to the people of Salem. The young girls lie not to protect Abigail, but to protect themselves from her actions of aggression and threats towards them.

Also from National Geographic, 44% of people lie to benefit or promote themselves. 31% of the 44% is for economic or personal gain, 8% is to shape a positive image of themselves and 5% is for humor. This all goes back to how lying is a selfish act, because the reasoning behind lying only has to do with the liar themselves. An example would be a person lying during a over the phone job interview in order to sound appropriate for the position they are applying for. Another example would be a man or woman lying in order to get someone to go on a date with them. An example from the crucible is when John Proctor does not come forward about his knowledge of the girls dishonesty. John proctor does not lie to protect the girls, but rather to protect his name from all of the judgement he would receive from people discovering the truth of him cheating.

A total of 80% of people lie because in one way or another it is beneficial to themselves. So this leaves us with the question, “What causes people to lie?”. If you think of the crucible, people lie to save or protect themselves and people also lie to hurt others. Looking at today’s world, people lie for all kinds of reasons whether it be for themselves, to protect others, to hurt others, to help others, ect. Most people can agree that lying is no good deed, but if most people can agree that lying is bad then why do so many people do it on a day to day basis. 

Fear pushed me off the edge

Every summer, my family and I travel to Maui, Hawaii. For those that don’t know, Maui is an island, which is surrounded by water. I absolutely love the beach, the ocean, the wildlife, everything. When it comes to the water,that is kind of a different story. I am afraid of jumping into water, falling into water, and simply being underwater, for I am not the best swimmer out there. I can swim in the ocean, snorkel, paddle board, almost all activities that include water except for one. I am a very big fan of adventures, and one of the biggest adventures I have had included conquering my fear, trying something new, and living on the wild side. I jumped off a cliff into the ocean. To some it is just a small jump (approx. 20 feet), but to someone who is afraid of falling and jumping into water, I might as well  jumped off the volcano. Fear pushed me off the edge, metaphorically and literally. My fear mixed with my love for Maui and the adventures it has, helped me create a memory to last lifetime. I was tired of having my fear and figured ‘Go big or Go home’, right? If I could do something so out of my comfort zone but still be somewhat related to something I love, that would work best. Which it did. I used my fear to push me and try something I never thought I could have done, and now I feel as though I could conquer the world, even 3 months later. 

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Coffee Drinker, Tree Climber

I wish I didn’t drink coffee. I wish I still questioned everything. I wish I still had the time of my life climbing trees. I wish I still had the same imagination. Growing up just sucks. You lose friends, dreams, and goals. Some people enjoy the challenges they face, I do not. I miss the simple times when nobody asked me such important questions like “What do you want to major in?” “What colleges are you applying too?” “Where do you see yourself in 10 years.” “What careers are you thinking of pursuing?” Most of the time my answer is “I don’t know”. Being a little kid, “I don’t know” is an acceptable answer. Once you’re a teenager, you’re expected to have your whole life figured out. If I don’t know what I am eating for lunch, how am I supposed to know what I want to do with my life?

Help with Happiness

Happiness is different for everyone. Something that makes me happy may make someone else sad, it could be someone’s fear, or even something they hate. Other people may need help finding things that make them happy, or they struggle being happy in general. I used to struggle with being happy, and the things that made me happy felt very out of reach. At one point I needed help with my happiness, and as a result I was given a list. Some things on this list I found ridiculous, but others were some of my favorite things. I am not saying to find a list, the point I am trying to make is everyone has something that makes them happy. Sometimes we just need a little reminder.

A few things on the list:

1. Music
2. Think of times you were happy
3. Draw or paint something
4. Take a walk
5. Talk to a friend
6.  Read
7. Spend time with with friends
8. Try something new

Some things that make me happy that were not on the list are memories, adventures, autumn, Christmas, animals, helping others, and the beach. When you are feeling down, think out of the box and try something new. Or try digging deep and think of something that makes you happy, or has made you happy in the past. This picture is an example of few things that make me happy. What makes you happy?