http://www.giveforward.org/sofias-eating-disorder-treatment-fund
Many people don’t know how to speak up for themselves to other people about the things in which they believe. Some people even have trouble speaking up for themselves to themselves. I’m going to talk about both of those things today. I’m going to talk to you about book banning and about eating disorders, specifically the struggle of a girl named Sofia.
First order of business, speaking out for what you believe. Well I guess this counts as speaking out against something we believe is wrong. For me, and much of the literary masses, this is about the challenging the books put into school curriculum and libraries. One of these has happened very close to me. This is the challenging of books in the Republic school district by a man by the name of Dr. Scroggins. This man claims that certain books are not appropriate for kids that age to be reading. The only thing he should be doing is monitoring the books his own children read. The books are in the curriculum for a reason and they don’t convey anything other books haven’t before. Besides the fact that his kids DON’T EVEN ATTEND THE SCHOOLS! That’s right, these kids are homeschooled.
So the English Society at my school, his workplace, is going to be outside of his building in the afternoon reading some of the books he thought were inappropriate. Hopefully I will have full results of this tomorrow.
And now speaking up for yourself, to yourself. People suffering from eating disorders often don’t seek the help they need, but when someone does, it’s a big step and a long struggle. This is especially true in Sofia’s case. Sofia has been struggling with her eating disorder and trying to get better for over four years now and she has been trying really hard. The problem is the recovery necessary for her is not covered by her insurance. Her family is not financially able to pay for her recovery and she is fully dependent on the support of others. I think this is really a huge thing, Sofia asking for help the way she has been because it means she is fully committed to her recovery. All I ask is that everyone who reads this, click on the link and learn more about Sofia. If you can make a donation, that would be amazing. I would make one if I weren’t a poor college student, but I think about her daily and send my prayers. I hope that you all do the same.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
DramaDaddy
So, as you may know, my dad, DramaDaddy, has a blog of his own and on it he posts videos of songs or musicians he likes. As you may not know, he also plays music well. This is my video of DramaDaddy playing guitar for me.
Friday, September 17, 2010
YA Fiction, an Emerging Genre
As some of you readers may know, I am an aspiring author. Specifically I want to write Young Adult fiction. This is a growing genre which hasn't been around for a very long time. I believe I heard somewhere the first Young Adult genre novel was Go Ask Alice, a supposedly true diary of an anonymous teen who had a very big drug problem. Many people now believe it was written and published to scare kids away from drugs. But, that is not the point, the point is that the book was first printed in the 1970s. Do you see how recent that is?
Since then the world of YA fiction has been growing and expanding and forging its way through the world of literature. The point of this genre is to relate to young adults and write about things that would interest them and even get them interested in reading for later in life. I am such a big fan of these novels and the people who write them that I receive tweets from authors I like. This, other than helping me get a glimpse of what they do when they aren't writing, gives me a way of communicating with them. The people who write YA novels are really great with communicating with their target audience and I have a few ways to prove it.
1. The Nerdfighter Phenomenon: John Green(author of Looking for Alaska; An Abundance of Katherines; Paper Towns; and Will Grayson,Will Grayson) started making regular Youtube videos with his brother Hank and since then the following of these two brothers has grown to immense numbers. The brothers interact with this group of people they have named Nerdfighters (nerds who fight to decrease world suck) to help out in communities and just have a lot of fun.
2. My Interview with E. Lockhart: E. Lockhart is a YA author who knows how to write romance and also how to expand the way young adults think. In her novel, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, she presents the ideas of the panopticon and secret societies to the reader. The panopticon,which was originally the architectural design for a prison in which the guards were placed in a centralized area and the prisoners were in rooms that formed a circle around the guards. This made it possible for the guards to see the prisoners at any given moment, thus creating the fear that they are always watching. I found this concept interesting, especially when she applied this to the way we view other people and the "rules" of society. Since I liked it so much I used the idea for a research paper and casually asked E., via Twitter, if I could get an online interview with her. She responded by telling me that she normally doesn't do interviews, but since she was on Twitter at the time, she would let me ask a few questions. This was one of the best moments in my life. Not only had an author I loved replied to my tweet, but she was willing to let me interview her as well. I have to say, if I had any doubts about wanting to write YA fiction, they were shattered in that instant. I knew I someday wanted to be the person who made young adults think, really think. And I also wanted to be the person to give them the time of day, like so many other celebrities neglect to do.
Those are some of the reasons why I love YA literature and how it got me to want to be a writer as well.
Since then the world of YA fiction has been growing and expanding and forging its way through the world of literature. The point of this genre is to relate to young adults and write about things that would interest them and even get them interested in reading for later in life. I am such a big fan of these novels and the people who write them that I receive tweets from authors I like. This, other than helping me get a glimpse of what they do when they aren't writing, gives me a way of communicating with them. The people who write YA novels are really great with communicating with their target audience and I have a few ways to prove it.
1. The Nerdfighter Phenomenon: John Green(author of Looking for Alaska; An Abundance of Katherines; Paper Towns; and Will Grayson,Will Grayson) started making regular Youtube videos with his brother Hank and since then the following of these two brothers has grown to immense numbers. The brothers interact with this group of people they have named Nerdfighters (nerds who fight to decrease world suck) to help out in communities and just have a lot of fun.
2. My Interview with E. Lockhart: E. Lockhart is a YA author who knows how to write romance and also how to expand the way young adults think. In her novel, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, she presents the ideas of the panopticon and secret societies to the reader. The panopticon,which was originally the architectural design for a prison in which the guards were placed in a centralized area and the prisoners were in rooms that formed a circle around the guards. This made it possible for the guards to see the prisoners at any given moment, thus creating the fear that they are always watching. I found this concept interesting, especially when she applied this to the way we view other people and the "rules" of society. Since I liked it so much I used the idea for a research paper and casually asked E., via Twitter, if I could get an online interview with her. She responded by telling me that she normally doesn't do interviews, but since she was on Twitter at the time, she would let me ask a few questions. This was one of the best moments in my life. Not only had an author I loved replied to my tweet, but she was willing to let me interview her as well. I have to say, if I had any doubts about wanting to write YA fiction, they were shattered in that instant. I knew I someday wanted to be the person who made young adults think, really think. And I also wanted to be the person to give them the time of day, like so many other celebrities neglect to do.
Those are some of the reasons why I love YA literature and how it got me to want to be a writer as well.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Labor Day Weekend
Today is Labor Day and all I can think about is the homework I have to labor over. Okay, so it's not a lot of homework, but I really wish I didn't have any homework to worry about. I've had such a good time this weekend that I'm really sad to see it end.
I wasn't able to get home this weekend so my roommate and I spent it the best way I know how, we had adventures.
Friday: After all of our classes were over my roommate and I went to Wal-Mart to buy some stuff and we ended up getting a hair bleaching kit for my hair. Oh, that didn't turn out well. After the failed attempt we went to a Chinese restaurant and then back to Wal-Mart. We wanted to see if there was anything I could do to fix my hair. There wasn't. So we came back to our dorm and watched a movie instead.
Saturday: The morning started around ten thirty and we decided to do our laundry. After that we went to IHOP because we really wanted pancakes. After that we went to a hair salon and spent three hours there while they fixed my hair. It was a long time, but I'm glad I did it. After we got my hair fixed we picked up Dave and went to Fazoli's. Then we ate ice cream at the Andy's next door and it was really good. We decided to watch V for Vendetta after that. When the movie was over we thought it might be a good idea to walk around and we ended up at a gas station on Sunshine where we each bought a soda and Dave got a muffin. When we got back to the room it was about one thirty and we decided it might be a good idea to sleep.
Sunday: We went to see my roommate's father and brother in Carthage in the morning and had some bbq chicken at a park where they were fund-raising. We got back into the area at around six and went to Starbucks for some iced coffees. After that we came back to the dorm for a little while before attending seven thirty mass. After mass I called my mom and talked to her for a little bit before Crystal and I decided to go to IHOP again. The waitress there was really perky and we got some great laughs out of that. When we came back from IHOP Hairspray was on TV so we decided to watch the rest of that. I called my brother at midnight because it is his birthday and then I watched some TV before falling asleep.
So, as you can see, there is reason why I am extremely nonplussed over typing an outline for the speech I have to give tomorrow and doing some math homework. Hope everyone is having a good Labor Day and I'll post more when I have more to post.
I wasn't able to get home this weekend so my roommate and I spent it the best way I know how, we had adventures.
Friday: After all of our classes were over my roommate and I went to Wal-Mart to buy some stuff and we ended up getting a hair bleaching kit for my hair. Oh, that didn't turn out well. After the failed attempt we went to a Chinese restaurant and then back to Wal-Mart. We wanted to see if there was anything I could do to fix my hair. There wasn't. So we came back to our dorm and watched a movie instead.
Saturday: The morning started around ten thirty and we decided to do our laundry. After that we went to IHOP because we really wanted pancakes. After that we went to a hair salon and spent three hours there while they fixed my hair. It was a long time, but I'm glad I did it. After we got my hair fixed we picked up Dave and went to Fazoli's. Then we ate ice cream at the Andy's next door and it was really good. We decided to watch V for Vendetta after that. When the movie was over we thought it might be a good idea to walk around and we ended up at a gas station on Sunshine where we each bought a soda and Dave got a muffin. When we got back to the room it was about one thirty and we decided it might be a good idea to sleep.
Sunday: We went to see my roommate's father and brother in Carthage in the morning and had some bbq chicken at a park where they were fund-raising. We got back into the area at around six and went to Starbucks for some iced coffees. After that we came back to the dorm for a little while before attending seven thirty mass. After mass I called my mom and talked to her for a little bit before Crystal and I decided to go to IHOP again. The waitress there was really perky and we got some great laughs out of that. When we came back from IHOP Hairspray was on TV so we decided to watch the rest of that. I called my brother at midnight because it is his birthday and then I watched some TV before falling asleep.
So, as you can see, there is reason why I am extremely nonplussed over typing an outline for the speech I have to give tomorrow and doing some math homework. Hope everyone is having a good Labor Day and I'll post more when I have more to post.
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