- I used Photoshop to create a scene using various pictures from the internet.
- I learned how to photoshop shadows into photos.
- I enjoyed finding all the hilarious pictures of the Marvel cast on Google.
Month: April 2016
Building Understanding: Whirligig and the Theme of Interconnectedness
Title: Everything is Connected. Your name:Alex Redwood
| Which Essential Question(s) is addressed in this piece of literature? | Content:
a) What happens in the text/movie/Talk? b) What is the main message/theme? |
Understanding:
How does the text answer the EQ? Answer in full sentences. Record relevant quotes and page numbers/lines if needed. |
| How does the influence of others impact our own lives? | There are multiple themes in this book, but I’ve decided to focus on the theme of interconnectedness, and this theme talks about how everything in the world is somehow connected to one another, almost like a web. An small action that is preformed one one side of the world could affect someone on the other side of it. |  Somehow, in some way, everything is connected. Your actions in one place can have a ripple effect across the WORLD.
I feel like this book’s main theme is interconnectedness. Think back to the very beginning, where Lea was just a normal, very successful kid, brightening up the whole room with her smile. Now she’s all over the United States in the form of whirligigs, influencing everyone’s life for the better. In The Afterlife, Brent begins to think of the word karass, and it’s a term for a goup of people that are someone connected; linked together without even knowing it. He believed that Lea was for sure, part of his karass. Lea was a woman that Brent didn’t know of until he killed her in a car crash. And because he killed her in this car crash, he’s now sent across America building whriligigs with her face on them. These whirligigs end up influencing tons of people’s lives, changing them for the better. Who would have thought a typical girl would end up marking her spot all over America, helping people through the tough times of their life. In Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, two people attempt to rob him of his belongings. He alerts the bus drivers in time for the muggers to back off, but then he has this thought, “It dawned on him why animals lived in heards,” and this is connected to Miami, Florida, where Flaco sees the shearwaters for the first time, and he’s surprised to see them flying in a flock. Fighting over fish. He’s disappointed to see them flying in a group because he saw them on TV flying alone, looking majestic and all. When he gets backs, he also sees a wooden marching band. It’s a whirligig that Brent made. This whirligig told Flaco, “Birds don’t live alone. They live in flcoks. Like people. People are always in a group. Like that little wooden band.” |
Whirligig Pre-Reading Activity: Forgiveness
“Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offence, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well.”
This definition is telling me that I am not a forgiving person.
But vengefulness is not a part of me either.
I can forgive someone for doing nearly anything, but wishing them well is far beyond me. I understand forgiving someone that hurt one of my loved ones, and then moving on from the past. Continuing to live in the past is, to me, a dangerous thing to do. You can get stuck, metaphorically speaking, in the past if you stay there long enough. Your brain will only think about that one horrible accident with your loved one and the offender, causing you to change, and not for the better. It’s just better to move on.
Forgiveness is one thing. Wishing the person that possibly destroyed your life well, is a completely different story.
Your Phone
Small, in the palm of your hand.
It can do almost anything.
It keeps you connected to the world, your family, your friends.
Your phone.
You constantly care for it.
It’s like your baby.
It is your baby.
It’s your phone.
You’re babysitting your neighbours.
You give them their parents’ iPad.
Angry Birds captivates their brain.
Three hours, and they haven’t moved.
Your phone receives a text message.
It’s your mother.
You went over your data plan.
She is taking your phone away for one week.
Sitting in your room, your leg vibrates.
You reach into your pocket to fish out your phone.
It’s not there. You’ve been grounded.
Your phone is gone.
You begin to worry about it, wondering if it’s been cracked.
If it’s been hurt.
You’re worried you’ll miss someone’s Facebook post.
You miss your phone.
Only your phone is on your mind.
You think about it all the time.
You think you’re going to go insane.
It causes you oh, so much pain.
One week later, your phone is back.
You start to realize what you lack.
But before you realize what you truly need,
Your phone distracts you with a special DING.
Self-Esteem and Identity in Teens
Nowadays, I’ve seen more and mor
e kids with self-esteem issues. Kids don’t like themselves, some hate themselves. They hate every bit of their body, their face, their height, their weight, everything. It gets to the point where they can’t even think properly about anything else, all they do is think about themselves, making sure they’re appealing enough so that they fit in, or that they won’t get singled out. When all they do is think about themselves, they can’t compete anything. Their brain is too busy with thinking about themselves that they can’t complete basic things like homework. It’s not just themselves, it’s also peer pressure. A person’s friends or peers can pressure them into doing things they normally wouldn’t do on their own, like drinking or smoking. And if they stand against that peer pressure, the person becomes different in other people’s eyes. There’s only so much pressure someone’s brain can take, eventually the person will cave in and start drinking or smoking in an attempt to self-medicate, or to make themselves feel better. Except it doesn’t, it just ends up making them feel worse. The person just ends up coming back again and again to–
No, no, that’s not it.
People turn to drugs, or drinking, or smoking because they believe it will make them feel better. But it doesn’t. It may help them calm their mind o