FINDING BALANCE IN YOURSELF

balance

Brent was a teenager who was oblivious to his own cluelessness. His whole life he had been chasing popularity, wealth, girls… although he was unaware that he was chasing the wrong thing. He was so set on being popular that it took someone’s life to make Brent reconsider his lifestyle choices. He was very drunk, very depressed. Driving mad down the highway, he swivelled into Lea’s car. For whatever terrible reason, she died and he did not. Lea was an amazing person, touching the hearts of anyone she saw. Brent was not sent to juvy, and did not have charges pressed. Instead, he slowly went crazy as he realized he wanted punishment to make up for what he did. Everyone knew him. The innocence that he once contained had spilled out, and turned into envy for those who now controlled the innocence. He was a murderer, and needed to be punishment. He met with Lea’s mom finally. The sleepless nights and gallons of tears were physically visible, and the pit of depression inside Brent’s stomach continued to grow. Lea’s mom could’ve asked Brent to do anything for her, but of all things she could’ve asked, she chose this: Brent had to build 4 whirligigs resembling Lea, and put them in all 4 corners of the United States, spreading the same love and happiness that Lea would have. Although she was dead, her spirit didn’t have to be. He began travelling, and learning about the earth. He called this his afterlife, as he started to rebuild his entire lifestyle. Through the frustration of whirligig building, he played his harmonica, read books, even made a new friend or two along the way. The spirit of Lea had been able to touch two girls named Alexandra and Steph, who found love in the presence of the whirligig. The spirit had also enlightened a Puerto Rican immigrant who was unhappy with his community.

Discipline + Determination = Balance

With the propor mindset based off of hope, discipline, and determination, you will achieve balance in your life.

Connections:

In Miami, Florida, the whole plot was based on how humans need each other. The man was searching for a certain bird because he once had seen a picture of it, free, and alone. When he finally sailed out to see the bird first hand, it was in a flock, arguing with all of the other birds. In twinkle twinkle little star, page 66, Brent thought: “It dawned on him why animals live in herds.”

What are the consequences of an individual not pursuing his identity? Throughout the beginning of the book, Brent was trying to be something that he wasn’t. He wanted to be popular, even if that meant acting like a completely different person. During Brent’s afterlife, he was finally discovering who he really was. He was finding himself.