Log #7

The Undomestic Goddess

Samantha has worked as a lawyer for 7 years, and she has always dreamed of being a partner in Carter Spink. When she almost got the chance of being a partner, she found that she made a big mistake— forgetting to charge a debt for a bank. Accidentally, she was mistaken as an applicant for housekeeper. However, she was unable to do household chores, such as sawing a bottom, let alone cooking like a five-star chef. Fortunately, a gardener called Nathaniel found out her secret and let his mother to teach her. After leaning for months, Samantha finally became a well-trained housekeeper and found her true love, Nathaniel. One day, she accidentally found that Mr. Arnold framed her—putting a note that missed the deadline on her desk— and decided to lay off her. Struggling to prove her innocence for a long time, she finally succeeded and kicked Ms. Arnold out of Carter Spink. After the scandal, Carter Spink offered her a partnership. Sadly, getting the partnership made her have no time with Nathaniel, and Nathaniel was forced to leave Samantha. She began to doubt her decision. A few days later, after an incident, she knew that the lawyer’s life was not suitable for her anymore. She couldn’t be a person—only focusing on business stuff and ignoring the surroundings. At the end of this story, Samantha gave up the partnership and came back to her lover Nathaniel, living a life that she like.

I think I am like Samantha, working hard to become the best person. On the other hand, when we face setbacks, we choose to escape at first, but later we will try to solve the difficulty. When I became a senior high school students, I fell behind my classmates a lot. Because I was poor at English at that time, I couldn’t understand what teachers taught, which made me feel embarrassed and sorrowful. I deeply remembered that I got 59 on my listening test, and I was the worst. It was hard for me to accept this reality because I always ranked 1 to 3 in my junior high school. To me, it seemed that I fell from the Heaven to the Hell, so I was really depressed. Like Samantha, she was originally a well-known lawyer and later became a housekeeper. Little by little, the negative thoughts engulfed me and I wanted to escape from the reality. Therefore, I told my mother that I wanted to quit the school because I couldn’t put up with the pressure that I always got awful grades and was the worst student. Even now, I still could feel the bitterness. Fortunately, I met a good teacher, Joanna, who helped me make a great progress in English and become a more positive person just as Samantha met Nathaniel’s mother, who taught her everything to become well-trained housekeeper. This story made me think of my experience and wanted to be a teacher like Joanna and Nathaniel’s mother to help those who encounter the difficulties and need a person to help them go through the down side of their lives.

Log #6

Helen Keller got sick and became blind and deaf when she was a child. It’s clear that it’s hard for her to learn, but she never gave up, neither did her parents. Her parents tried their best to look for a blind school for their daughter. At last, Anne Mansfield Sullivan agreed to be Helen Keller’s teacher. Ms. Sullivan was once blind, so she had a better understanding of how to educate a blind and deaf girl. She didn’t resemble most of the teachers just teaching boring textbooks; instead, she used the teaching materials to create games, which did make Helen Keller learn well while having a lot of fun. In addition, Ms. Sullivan invented a useful method for Helen Keller to learn words and know the meanings of these words. For example, if Ms. Sullivan wanted to teach Helen “water”, she would let Helen touch her lip and write down this word on her hand first so that Helen could know the spelling and sound of water. Afterward, she would lead Helen to touch the water. This kind of teaching method could help Helen Keller a lot because she could combine all the senses at a time and have a better understanding about water. Little by little, Helen Keller knew more and more words. It was easier for her to communicate with other people.

Actually, Helen Keller’s story is a little bit similar to me. Although I didn’t suffer from a weird disease, I encountered a lot of problems like Helen Keller when it comes to learning. When I was an elementary school student, all of my classmates got good grades on their academic performance ( 90 or above 90); however, I only got 80. Once I heard that my teacher told my mother that I was not good at math. I was kind of disappointed because I had a high standard for myself. After overhearing my teacher’s words, I felt more disappointed because I thought I was the kind who lost the competition on the beginning line, and I couldn’t catch up with other classmates to make my parents proud of me. My academic performance didn’t improve until I was in fifth grade. My homeroom teacher knew I was a little bit pessimistic, so sometimes he would write down some inspiring words on my book to encourage me. He told me that Edison once said, “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.”  He said that although I wasn’t as smart as others, I could study hardy than any other student. Gradually, I would make a great progress and be the first person to get to the finishing line. Ms. Sullivan is to Helen Keller what my fifth-grade teacher is to me. 

Log #5

Helen Keller was able to see the world at a young age. When she was one-year-old, she could even make a sound of “tea”. However, an unknown disease, acute congestion of the stomach and brain, came, deprived her of her sight and sound, and plunged her into the unconsciousness of a new born baby. At that time, the doctor told their parents that this baby couldn’t survive. Fortunately, the fever disappeared mysteriously just as it came. Although Helen Keller survived, she woke up in a silent and dark world. She was frightened and bewildered because after she slept for a while, the world was totally different. Sometimes accidents will happen, and the only thing we can do is accept it. I appreciate that Helen Keller’s parents didn’t dwell on the bad things happening to their daughter; instead, they calmed down and soothed her daughter with tenderness because they clearly knew that it was Helen Keller who lived in the abyss of desperation and perplexity. The reason why I admire their parents’ behaviors is that most people will lose themselves in desperation when they encounter something bad happening to their family. However, they forget an important point that it is the patient who is the last person to accept the reality. I have once been in the similar situation, so I know it’s hard for the patient’s family to calm down and think about what is the best way to help him/her. Mostly, it will take some time and effort for the patient’s family to believe the fact and help the patience to go through the darkness of his/her life.

Most of the parents will spoil their child when this kid has a disease. They will feel that this kid is poor, so they would give this child whatever he/she wants to make up for his/her misfortune. However, I think it’s not a good way for compensation because this child might become too naughty and mean like Helen Keller. For example, Helen Keller locked her mother in a pantry and her teacher in a wardrobe in the hall. Worst of all, she threw the key away and refused to tell where the key was. Finally, her father got a ladder and took her out through the window. Also, she was like a tyranny; when people didn’t act the way she wished, she would lost her temper and flew into a rage. As an old saying goes, “Spare the rot and spoil the child.” In my perspective, indulging a child is not an appropriate method to make this child better but an awful approach to harm this child. Sooner or later, this child will suffer from the consequences. Therefore, if you love your child, please choose the suitable way to teach his/her.

Source: http://www.afb.org/MyLife/book.asp?ch=P1Ch1 (the story of my life-Helen Keller)

Log #4

The Evil Behind the Smiles

In red-light districts in poor countries, we often find teenage girls surround men laughingly, tugging them toward the brothels. Generally speaking, we will assume that these girls volunteer to do this because of money. However, sometimes, it’s quite opposite. Some girls are kidnapped and sold by sex traffickers. They are forced to tug men toward brothels with a smile because if they are not chosen by a man, brothel owners will punish them. They will lock them in a torture chamber and use electric shocks to harm these girls. The reason why they use electric shocks is that it can cause agonizing pain and terrify these girls without damaging their looks or undermining their market value. After the beatings and shocks, they will be put in coffins and there were hundreds of thousands of ants biting their bodies.

After reading this article, I feel scared and fly into a rage. I think sex trafficking and slavery have prevailed for a long time. To my surprise, the governments from all over the world didn’t cooperate with each other to prevent these cases from happening again. I know that some countries have made laws against sex trafficking and slavery, but I think it’s not enough because there is no sign that the case of sex trafficking and slavery declines. This issue is closely related to women, and I think women and girls from all over the world should take actions to persuade their government to come up with constructive solutions. For example, we can propose the government create more organizations, where the victims can ask for help. While staying in these organizations, women can get psychological treatment, receive education, and have a job. In addition, we should request the governments let the police check the brothels, where there are a lot of illegal transactions happen. I hope everyone can take it seriously and manage to help those who are forced to have sex with strangers. They are suffering from the unbearable pain and need us to help them escape from the abyss of desperation. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/opinion/01kristof.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FSexual%20Slavery&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=16&pgtype=collection

Log #3

Why Do We Lock Up Survivors of Sex Trafficking?

At the age of 17, Macy was sent to the foster care system. Soon after, she met an older man who gained her trust with promises of love and safety. However, it was not Heaven for her to live a better life but Hell filled with torture for her to suffer from. She was coerced into having sex with different men, or this old man would strangle her to death. One time, she was almost rescued, sitting in the police station and wanting to ask for help; however, she feared the police would arrest her and that her trafficker who tracked her phone would beat her, so she gave up the chance, and the police let her go without noticing the signs of sex trafficking. What’s worse, it wasn’t long that she was arrested again. The prosecutor didn’t provide a service or a safe place for her; instead, the prosecutor threatened Macy that if she didn’t testify her traffickers, she would be charged with prostitution. Fortunately, after she testified her trafficker, she stayed at FAIRGIRL, a non-profit organization that offers safe housing and emergency services to survivors of human trafficking.

As far as I am concerned, although the police were desperate to track the cases of sex trafficking, they shouldn’t threaten these victims. These victims were so poor that they were treated like a toy, forced to have sex with numerous men, and traumatized by cruel and inhuman behaviors. As a babysitter of citizens, instead of bringing more scars and fears for these victims, the police should have connected them with some nonprofit organization to help them. I think if these victims feel safe, they will be willing to testify their traffickers; after all, these traffickers were those who make them hurt physically and mentally, so these victims must desperately want to see these monsters put in jail.

I was perplexed how the foster care system functioned because a lot of victims had stayed here before. When they let a child adopted, they just let them go without inspecting people who wanted to adopt children. In my opinion, this system should not exist at all because it didn’t help these poor children who were abandoned. On the contrary, it put these homeless children in danger, and they experienced they lived in a world full of lies and betrayal.

https://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/why-do-we-lock-up-survivors-of-sex-trafficking/?_r=1

Log #2

To maintain supply of sex slaves, ISIS pushes birth control. A 16-year-old girl named Dohuk was one of the victims of sex slaves. Dohuk was traded from one man to another and forced to take a pill so that men wouldn’t worry about the child. I was so horrified to know that these monsters only cared about the troublesome thing that if their sex slaves were pregnant, they would have to deal with the child and couldn’t have sex with her temporarily. Knowing these disgusting things, I think these men’s conscience was bitten by dogs and that the brutality of men is second to none. To enjoy the pleasant moment, these monsters didn’t care that this girl was only 16-year-old and that these pills would do severe harm to her body.

I was surprised that the Islamic State has stated that it is legal for a man to rape the women he slaves under any circumstance. Even having sex with child is permissible. How could this kind of things happen in this civilized world? If these women were our mothers, girlfriends, and siblings, we would definitely try our best to prevent these vicious behaviors. Thus, I hope people from all over the world can pay attention to this issue and don’t think it doesn’t have something to do with you. If we get a chance to stand up for these victims, please don’t hesitate to do it.        

Log #1

Shandra Woworuntu was a tough woman in my mind. To raise her daughter, she looked for a hotel job in America to earn money. Unfortunately, she was caught in a trap and imprisoned by sex traffickers. She was forced to sleep with several men. What’s worse, when there were no customers, sex traffickers would rape them. After Shandra Woworuntu tried so hard to escape from these traffickers, to my sadness, no one was willing to help her escape from the hands of these monsters. At last, she encountered a man listening to her story and seeking help from FBI to arrest these traffickers. Because of her own experience, she tried to raise awareness of the risks of coming to the US among people who still see this country as some kind of dream land. She decided to found an organization to protect the victims of sex trafficking.

I really respect her because after going through a lot of terrible experiences of having sex with strangers, she didn’t choose to kill herself; instead, she tried to bring these criminals into justice and found an organization to prevent other victims from having the same ordeal that no one wanted to assist them. In my perspective, telling the story of being treated as a sex slave is really hard for the victim because the nightmare will haunt the victim day and night. I really appreciate that she was willing to share her story with the public to let more people know how frightening sex trafficking was. I think everyone should pay attention to sex trafficking rather than be indifferent about it.

log#8

Not until Gus was dead did Hazel realize that when she dies, her parents will still be her parents and love her forever just as she couldn’t have stopped loving Gus. In the past, she thought that it was ridiculous for people to think that pain is like fabric: The stronger it is, the more it’s worth. Finally, she knew that pains given by Gus’s death like scars which were left in her mind forever wouldn’t eliminate the joy of falling in love with him.

When we really love someone, we don’t want them to be hurt. Thus, we keep the distance from them. Like Hazel, she thinks she is a grenade; at some point she’s going to blow up, and she would like to minimize the casualties. Nonetheless, her behavior was actually a bomb for her parents. In my perspective, her parents do have the choice to be hurt because they feel that having Hazel is a burden of happiness, and they would like to take on the consequence. What her parents’ unconditional love for her is like her love for Gus whom she couldn’t unlove. As far as I am concerned, I do have some say in who hurts me. I would rather have a scar in my mind reminds me how deep I love a person than regret that I didn’t seize the chance at that time. When the result doesn’t meet our expectation, I can feel relaxed because I try my best at least.

I really like a sentence, “Without a pain, how could we know joy?” In the past, I always take my parents’ dedication for granted because when we are used to being taken care of, we will think it’s their responsibility to look after us. However, we ignore that they do everything for us not because it is their duty but because they love us unconditionally, and they are willing to do their best to make us happy. It’s not until my father got sick that I realized that he loved me very much and that he devoted himself to making me live a happy life. Painful as I felt about his suffering, it granted me an opportunity to realize the joy of having good parents and quality time with my beloved family. Now, I often go back home and accompany them to do what they like, such as going hiking. If I hadn’t gone through the experience of almost losing my precious family, I wouldn’t have tasted the sweetness of having the best parents in the world.

log #7

I think some people didn’t want others to take pity on us, but it’s this personality that makes us a human being because human beings will try to put themselves in others’ shoes and hope they could bring optimistic power to those who face difficulties so that they could hang in there and have the courage to move on. In previous days, I saw a disabled man almost falling down, and I felt sorry for him from the bottom of my heart. Thus, I came toward him to see whether I could help. Although he didn’t ask me for help in the end, I felt great that I had tried to offer a help at least.    

     Afterward, Hazel and Gus planned to go abroad; however, both Hazel’s parents and Gus’s parents were worried about their health. Gus shouted at his mother, “Because it is my life, it belongs to me.” In my perspective, If I were Hazel and Gus, I wouldn’t go abroad to achieve my dream. I don’t want to disappoint them because no one could promise that I would come back safe and sound. What if my cancer became severe and kicked the bucket? I believe my parents couldn’t accept the truth and would feel guilty that they granted me the permission and put me in the risk. I hope that when I walked down the last passage of my life, it’s my parents who kept me company, and I could bring the happiness to them in my limited life. On the other hand, if I were their parents, I would let my children make their dream come true because I didn’t want them to go to heaven with regrets. In my eyes, they are the masters of their lives, so they have the right to do whatever they want. I know I would definitely feel heart-broken, but I would rather let my children go to heaven when they were engaged in what they liked instead of dying with wishes unfulfilled.

  Unfortunately, Gus’s cancer relapsed, and he told Hazel this bad news. I felt touched by Hazel’s words, “Only now I loved a grenade did I understand the foolishness of trying to save others from my own impending fragmentation.” Although Hazel knew that their love was destined to be temporary and that she would feel her heart stabbed by a sharp knife some day; however, she couldn’t give up their relationship. When we really love someone, we are willing to pay the price no matter how dear it is. She made me think of my father who got a cancer, too. The doctor said, “Your father might relapse and he needs to transfer a lung next time.” I know that cutting the lung is painful, but if it happened, I would be willing to give my lung to him because I love him very much, and no one could replace his position in my mind. 

  I think Gus will die because it seems that the cancer spread to all his body. What Hazel can do is to accompany him until the last minute of Gus's life. 

Log #6

Upon Hazel’s parents’ request, Hazel attended The Support Group where there are a lot of people suffer from cancers like Hazel. Patrick, a leader in this group, wanted to make people realize the definition of life. He suffered from cancer before, diagnosed that he had little time to live; nonetheless, he survived and stayed with other patients to support them. 

In my opinion, God closed a window in your world, and afterwards God would open a door for you. Never lose a hope because as long as we have a hope, we have the chance to survive if a miracle happens to us. In addition, with the hope, we will have the power to move forward and the courage to fulfill our dreams without fears. Even though we died at last, we enriched the last path toward death, and our life was colorful and meaningful at least. On the contrary, if we live without hope, the last journey of our life will be meaningless and we will definitely feel remorseful because we kick the bucket with unpleasant feelings. Death sounds a little bit scared, but we have to think about it and accept it. So long as you are a human being, you are doomed to die sooner or later. Therefore, death is an important issue for us to be aware of. After think about death, I feel that life is limited, so we should live at present and seize every opportunity to achieve our goal and fulfill our dream. One of my favorite quotes is that what matters most it’s not how longer you live but how much you gain in your limited life.

Every time I read, I feel this book is teaching me lessons. I learn a lot from this book. For example, I think about death and how to accept it and embrace it. Also, no matter what happen, there is also a hope, so don’t give up.

log #5

This is a story about a girl named Hazel who had a cancer and was strapped in her world. She had some symptoms of Depression; thus, her parents urged her to see a doctor and join The Support Group. To make her parents happy, she did what her parents wished. If I were Hazel, I would do the same thing for my parents. When we suffer from diseases, it’s our parents who will shoulder a lot of pressure and should endure the pain the most. It’s like a person using a knife stabbing your heart; however, they can’t express their feelings. They have to pretend nothing changes and everything will be alright because they don’t want to inflict more pain on their children. I can imagine how heart-broken Hazel’s parents were when they knew that their daughter got a cancer because I have been confronted with the same situation.

 At that time, I felt like it’s the end of the world, and I lost a thread of hope to move on. I lived in my own world for a long time, and no matter what others told me, I just couldn’t listen to them as if I were a deaf. I kept complaining why the predicament happened to me without expectation and why I would face this kind of situation when I was only 19-year-old. I like this prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. This prayer inspires me to think about just focusing on what we are able to do instead of drowning ourselves with unchangeable reality. Sometimes depressed or frustrated, we tend to bury ourselves in thinking about bad things continually. However, is it useful to think about it and if we keep doing so, anything would really change? I think we all know that it’s impossible to change anything, so why not embark on things we can change? This is the answer that I find out after contemplate for a while.

       

I really look forward to reading it because I think this book resembles a guideline of life, telling us people’s life story and making us introspect. 

three best presentations

I am impressed by Jenny’s sharing. She mentioned that she didn’t have the habit of reading books, nor did I. After taking this course, I found myself willing to carve time for reading English books. I will read 10 to 20 pages every day and reading seems to be my daily routine. The books that she shared were inspiring because they were like life lesson for everyone. I am found of Life Without Limit, which is describing a man called Nick. Nick was born without arms and legs; however, he didn’t live in the abyss of despair. Instead, he learned how to take care of himself without asking for help. Nick can walk out of shadow, accept what he is, and overcome his difficulty. How come we, physically and mentally healthy people, can’t face the obstacles and pursue our dreams? Nick sets a good example for us. No matter what happen, we should learn to accept the truth and become a better person.

In addition, I like Alice’s sharing. The book that she shared with us is called Still Alice. Alice is a linguistic professor, teaching at the Harvard University. She has a wonderful family, including her husband and lovely children. However, accidents will happen. She finds that she suffers from Amnesia and she may forget everything. She looks on the bright side rather than escape from the reality. She feels that although God closes one window at this moment, god will open a door for her. In her opinion, her Amnesia gives her a new vision of the world. Because of Amnesia, She always has different perspectives of everything. I think she is worth respecting. Sometimes, when misfortune happens to me, I just can’t let go of the negative emotion and keep burying myself in complaining why I am so miserable. She inspires me to look a thing from different angles and accept the predicament.

I like Fred’s sharing, too. He talked about a bullfight’s son expected to follow his father’s footstep. He is a coward and he doesn’t want to be a bullfighter at all. Fred shared his experience that he was forced to learn martial art because his father wanted him to be stronger and grow taller. He was so brave that he refused his father’s suggestion and took on the consequences. In this society, it’s common that children are requested by their parents to accomplish what they wished, but they don’t like it at all. As far as concerned, everyone has a gift in a certain field, so we should plunk up the courage to pursue what we like instead of be a puppet manipulated by others.

Log#4

EAT PRAY LOVE teaches me a lot of lessons. Reading this book is like exploring my life, and I obtain a lot of treasure in this book. There are three parts of the novel that I cherish the most.

After Liz got divorced and went through a lot of disasters in her life, she has never thought of getting dressed. Afterwards, she met Armenia, who said to her, “I always tried to look nice and be feminine even in the war zones or refugee camps. Even in the worst tragedies and crisis, there is no reason to add to everyone’s misery by looking miserable yourself.” She seemed to be hit in the head and decide to dress up from time to time. I was in the same situation as she. Recently, I have learned of a painful truth, and it’s hard for me to believe and to accept the truth. I was buried in the abyss of despair and didn’t care what I looked like those days. Knowing the philosophy of Armenia, now I find it useless to add to other’s misery by looking miserable myself. The solution of my hurdle is to face it and to solve it instead of escaping from it because it will exist for good if I am not confronted with it.

On her journey, Liz met a woman called Wayne, who should be held in high esteem. Wayne, a single mother, faced eviction; however, she took in two homeless children and raised them as if they were her own children. Liz was touched by her so that she asked her family and friends to donate money in the celebration of her birthday to help Wayne. Through word of mouth, not only Liz’s friends but also strangers donate money to buy a house for Wayne and her children. I respect Wayne very much because she came to assist those in need when facing difficulty herself. She didn’t turn a blind eye to those poor orphans; instead, she tried to help them lead a better life. Wayne is my role model that I should learn from her to devote myself to helping people. I believe that if everyone is as kind as Wayne, the world will become better.

Liz has traveled from country to country to find peace and happiness. She has been perplexed about her life for a long time. Until her life in Indonesia, she found out that what she looked for has always stayed beside her. In our life, sometimes we keep pursuing things that are far from us, feeling unhappy about our current situation. However, we forget something wonderful within our reach. I want to keep this lesson in mind that I should be content with what I have and never insist on pursuing things that are out of reach. 

Log #3

As far as I am concerned, Liz is a little bit irresponsible and childish because she didn’t think of marriage carefully and realize what marriage would be like in her life. Later on, she just regretted and wanted to divorce her husband. However, things never go smoothly. Although they have already separated for a long time, her husband hasn’t accepted her deal to get divorced. Going through a lot of trials and going to the court many times, she almost went bankrupt and decided to give up everything belonged to both of them. Also, his husband asked her to share the money that she earned from publishing her books. I think this is a good lesson that we should think twice before walking down the aisle and don’t get married with impulse; otherwise, it would cost us dearly. Another reason why I dislike Liz is that she had a love affair with David while she hasn’t divorced her husband. It seems that she cheated on her husband because she lost the romantic feelings and was sick of her husband. What’s more, after she had a lover, she would be attached to him crazily like chewing gum, which sometimes made his lover want to keep a distance from her. The relationship between David and Liz made me crazy because they broke up and made up many times. It seems that they loved each other, but they couldn’t untie the tangled thread between them.

A lot of people suffer from depression after facing lot of obstacles, and Liz was no exception. She was in the abyss of depression, losing the direction in her life. Not until her best friend took her to see a psychologist did Liz’s condition improve a little.

Sometimes, people are ashamed of suffering from depression and kept procrastinating seeing a psychologist. Eventually, their condition went from bad to worse and it took these patients more time to be cured. Thus, we shouldn’t seek help immediately when finding us feel depressed all the time.

          When it comes to courage, Liz flashes into my mind because she could quit her job, leave her hometown, and travel to Italy, India, and Indonesia without second thought. I appreciate that she was proactive in learning Italian. She flew to Italy and found a partner for language exchange. At the beginning, she was frustrated because she couldn’t speak Italian and it was hard to communicate with the local. However, she was able to understand what others said and chatted with Italian little by little.

On her journey, she introduced a wide range of authentic cuisine and beautiful spots, making me desire to travel with her. Through traveling, she seemed to feel well and find her way and I feel happy for her.

          Her life changed a lot before being on her journey. Traveling is indeed a fabulous way to help people walk out of shadow and into sunshine. After reading Eat Pray Love, I feel like traveling around the world. I want to have the courage to travel on my own, experiencing different cultures and finding what is my goal. Actually, reading this novel, I feel I am lost and it’s time for me to figure out what I want and what my future life would be like.

Log #2

        MOCKINGJAY is the final book of THE HUNGER GAMES. I have already seen this movie, so I want to see the difference between its movie and book. To my surprise, I found its book more attractive to me because the author described the plot vividly and beautifully as if these characters in the story existed in real world and we were on the same journey as them.

        There were two parties against each other. One was governed by Coin, while the other was ruled by Snow. I think it’s like two countries were at war, and it’s their citizens who suffered from the consequences. These citizens didn’t have the sophisticated equipment or protection from the bombings or assault. What they could do was to wait for death or their leaders to protect them. The heroine, Katniss Everdeen, whose neighborhood was destroyed and burned to ashes, was asked to be Mockingjay to stand up to fight back. The scene was really horrified because you can see a lot of bones and blood stain on the ground. I felt sorrowful and agitated when these unarmed citizens were killed cruelly. My heart was torn apart and thought to myself why these leaders couldn’t have a peace talk and protect their citizens well. In addition, these victims couldn’t rest in peace because they weren’t buried gloriously.

        Katniss was in a dilemma because she didn’t know whom she could trust. Also, her lover, Peeta, was imprisoned by Snow, so she was afraid that he would be tortured. In my mind, Peeta, who was handsome was like a savior, for he tried his best to make Katniss safe and was loyal to his party. He was so tactical that he revealed Snow was going to attack them with powerful missile when interviewed by the anchor. This warning made people from districts of 12 and 13 escaped from the horrifying attack.

        One scene that Snow sent airplanes to attack a hospital, which was crowded with unarmed and injured people branded in my brain because no one survived in this attack and their blood splashed everywhere. How come Snow could kill these innocent people without mercy? I felt poignant by Katniss’s roaring statement, “I want to tell people if you think for one second that Capitol will treat us fairly if there is a cease-fire, you’re deluding yourself. Because you know who they are and what they do.” Her hatred impacted me, which made me feel angry at Snow’s behavior and want to take a revenge on him. To sum up, I am really into the plots of Mockingjay and I hope that there will be no war happening in the future. 

Log #1

      I have been reading CHARLIE ST. CLOUD for a week. It’s a novel combined with love and tragedy. Charlie had a brother called Sam, and they lived in harmony with each other. However, a car accident completely destroyed everything because only Charlie survived. From then on, Charlie felt guilty, limiting himself to the cemetery near his brother’s tombstone. Much to his surprise, he was given a gift by God, having the capability to see spirits wandering around. Charlie was not afraid because he could have the opportunity to meet his little brother and made a promise to play catch at sunset to make up for Sam.

      Charlie harshly blamed himself for his brother’s death and lived like the dead. He spent a lot of time with his brother and was indifferent with his girlfriend, who eventually broke up with him. Afterwards, he seldom approached a woman, let alone having a relationship. Until he met a woman called Tess, who was bold and gorgeous and fond of sailing around the world, he found himself hard to keep a distance from her and wanted to stay with her. Thus, he stood up Sam and sometimes was absentminded while playing catch with his little brother. Sam was so irritated that he lashed out at Charlie and said, “You broke your promise to keep me company and play catch with me forever.” The guilt flashed into Charlie’s mind, and he was in a dilemma because he was obsessed with Tess and loved his brother. It was hard for him to abandon one of them. 

      Fortunately, Sam let Charlie pursue his love and was curious about his feeling of kissing a woman. After going through the turmoil and agony, he had a relationship with Tess. Later on, Charlie found out Tess, who was actually a spirit like Sam and told her that she had the two choices—one was to stay here like Sam and the other was to go to the next level. Tess thought of Charlie as his Mr. Right and loved him very much so that she decided to stay with him for good. Nevertheless, things never happened as smoothly as you thought. It’s not her call to choose whether to stay or to leave. Tess’s body began to vanish and was frightened to let Charlie know, for she didn’t want Charlie to see the way she faded away. Tess had left with a note that read “I hate the thought of leaving, but I am hopeful about what’s to come. Someday we will be together and I want you to dive for dreams, to trust your heart, and to live by love.”

        In my opinion, it wasn’t Charlie’s fault for the car accident. It was the truck driver who was drunk driving that should be blamed and had the responsibilities to feel guilty. Charlie shouldn’t dash his dream to accompany Sam because they were in different worlds after all. The living should keep going with hope, while the dead should go to the next level instead of bothering their beloved ones’ life. “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity. A time to weep and laugh, to love and hate, to search and give up. A fireman thought these words were nonsense because he wanted to live; however, he didn’t have a choice.” I really like this paragraph because it made me enter the world of the novel and felt as frustrated as the fireman. How come good guys always kick the bucket early? 

      Charlie had a dream of sailing around the world like Tess, but he decided to work in a cemetery without play to compensate for Sam. Personally, it’s ridiculous that he lived a life as if he was dead because no matter how he treated himself poorly, nothing would change the disaster. I really adore Tess, for she was determined and courageous. When she faced the shipwreck, she calmed down to save her boat from sinking and tried not to ask coast guard for help. What’s more, although she loved Charlie with all her heart, she didn’t request him to be with her immediately; on the contrary, she wanted him to fulfill his dream, which made me feel touched with tears rolling down my cheek. It was Tess who made Charlie figure out that he wasn’t accountable for his brother’s death and he had the right to chase his happiness.

      Not until Tess couldn’t see her shadow reflect on the lake did I realize that she was actually a spirit, so did Charlie. I appreciated the way the author described the plot that Tess was a spirit, wandering between a land of the living and the dead. I was really attracted to this novel, and I was moved by the love between Charlie and Tess and the relationship between Charlie and Sam.

My Reading History

        I was a reader in Mandarin. I used to read Chinese literature, such as茶花女,苦兒流浪記, and小婦人 because my mother requested my brothers and me to develop the habit of reading. To push us to read a lot of books, my mother would accompany us to read in our room every day and often took us to the library. Also, my parents bought a wide range of books such as Chinese literature, encyclopedia, and novels to name just a few with an eye to arouse our interest. Compared to my older brother, I don’t really like reading books. I prefer to watch dramas or movies because I think books are always full of words and make me spend a lot of time reading them. When I was a junior high school student, I only read reference books or extracurricular books related to what I learned at school. Because of schoolwork, I was fed up with reading so I seldom go to the library since then. Until my summer vacation, sometimes I would read comic books, detective books, and romantic novels to kill time. When I was a high school student, I began to read books because my homeroom teacher suggested that we read books to enhance our background knowledge and asked us to join the reading report competition held by the government. After graduating from high school, I read some English materials to maintain my English ability but mostly I hung out with my friends. To me, summer was a thief who stole my English skills and I found my English level terrible. At college, I read a few English novels and I never finished them because there were lots of words I have never seen before so that I couldn’t figure out the plot of these books. I didn’t have a passion for reading English books. Now, I am going to embark on my reading journey.