Brent a teenager, goes to a party to talk to a girl he likes. She makes a big scene of a small and quiet conversation. Brent leaves the party after he drinks, he drives home not knowing which way to go. He’s moved to end his life, yet he survives and kills Lea by accident. He’d never known her but she was very dedicated to the community, family, etc. Her mother asks Brent to honour her by building 4 whirligigs, planting them across the states to honour Lea’s life as he rebuilds his own. He meets new people as he becomes a different person by growing from new experiences in his journey.

Making decisions, acting upon them, while unaware of consequences can affect others in a variety of ways. Brianna makes a big scene, yelling at Brent, overexaggerating his interest in her which caused the others to laugh at Brent who was mocked by Chaz. We don’t know what caused her to be upset, maybe she was annoyed or maybe her parents said something that’s keeping her contained yet ready to explode, like an aneurysm, at any moment. Brent leaves the party attempting to end his life, not thinking that he could injure somebody. “He saw that the car was drifting to the left. He felt his hands jerk, but kept them on his thighs.” Even his body reacted to his decision but he didn’t change it and Brent had killed Lea. Another quote, page 38, “We never know all the consequences of our acts. They reach into places we can’t see. And into our future, where no one can” A great example of interconnectedness. We affect each other, positively, negatively, through time, we live on forever through our actions.

Maybe Einstein was motivated to exceed and discover because people thought less of him due to his disability. Those thoughts/words motivated him to change the world, he did. When upset, I’ll take it out on the few people I encounter with frowns, a tone of voice and attitude. I know it’s wrong yet I don’t change. Why do we act wrongly knowingly? The simplest answer to that would be that we aren’t cautious or we’re stubborn. Brent hadn’t known he would kill anyone but himself. He wasn’t aware, no but he didn’t think ahead of time because of the emotions that were clouding his better judgement.

Another important thing, forgiveness. Brent had to honour Lea’s memory but Lea’s mom needed to forgive him. It makes us scared to have anything to do with the person we hurt while not being forgiven. We act like dogs in a submissive position when there’s a superior. Letting go of anger, not hauling it around, is essential. What if Brianna didn’t have such a harsh reaction to Brent’s small talk? Would Brent have been calmer and been able to deal with rejection? Stop, fast-forward, play, how do your actions play out on others? Rewind, do it or don’t.