Log #7

        Last weekend, I was back to Changhua and went out with my friend who hasn’t met each other for a while, sharing our current lives. Within our talk, from his saying, I got the concept from him and reflect myself—choose your love, love your choice.

        He is a junior, major in medicine in Chung Shan Medical University. In the beginning, he chose the school of medicine in order to make his dream come true—curing patients and helping people maintain healthy. For those three years in his college life, he has felt himself hard to catch up with the other classmates. He needed to spend double or triple time preparing his work but got the poor feedback or just in vain. He was frustrated in his poor performance. In his second year in college, he was quite unsure if he was the one who will become a good doctor. Doubt of himself, he became unconfident about his academy work and almost lost himself. Looking at piles of books and collaborative writings (共筆), all he got is nothing but only hopeless. For him, the way to be an excellent doctor was the toughest period he has had. Fortunately, in this tough period, his family and friends around him cheered him up and gave him lots of helpful tips for medical learning. Thanks to his perseverance, he has obvious progress on his academy now. Although the knowledge of medicine still hard for him to understand, he isn’t afraid of facing it anymore. Moreover, he finds his original passion and dream back, studying hard but with joy. He told me that loving what he chose is an idea which push him go ahead and make him study with passion. Now, he enjoys his major, and head to his dream job step by step!

        After hearing the experience about his way on learning, I think of the condition of myself. I am just like him in the past, struggling the hole I dig for myself, regretting any decision which I made, and even wanting to quit what I liked. However, those tough obstacles I have encountered make me forget the original passion for English. Am I really an inappropriate one in this department? Am I really tired of English? It seems not really. I am tired of it just because of having bottlenecks; I am frustrated in it just because of being scared. After reflecting myself, unconfidence and difficulties should not be the excuse to quit. “Choose your love, and love your choice.” It reminds of me that never let obstacles stop myself go for what I like. It is the shortcomings do I need to learn. It is the passion for what I chose do I need to face the difficulties bravely. After refinding my original passion for English, I hope that I can hang it on and learn much from what I like!

Log #6

Homeless to Harvard: The Story of Liz Murray

Always, it is not until people encounter serious disasters or lose what they have that they realize how happy they were. Always, it is not until people are frustrated and in terrible chaos that they start to find out what on earth they want for their lives. Like I am, I am usually disappointed with my current situation that I look down on myself from time to time. However, I have tried to believe that I might be not as terrible as I think of myself and I found that there has been so much happiness around me since I watched a movie few days ago— Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. This is a movie which made me stop for awhile and go for figure out my soul. I have value

Liz Murray was born in a poor and troublesome family, with her sister. Both their father and mother were drugs addicts. Because of the drug addiction, their mom needed money to have more drugs and ended up causing these two children into starvation. The house was in a mess. Both their parents couldn’t take care of themselves, to say nothing of caring the house environment, caring Liz and her sister. In school, Liz was bullied by peers for his smelly body—she couldn’t have a shower because the bathtub didn’t drain. She liked to study, but she didn’t like to go school. Adults considered Liz to be the child who likes to study, but they would ever knew it was the family factor or the bully that she retreating to go to school. At her age, it was quite hard to tell teacher the truth.

For her absence, she was sent to the care system. At fifteen, she moved to live with her grandfather’s home; however, he didn’t like her. In the end, she went away from her grandfather’s home, wondering with her friend who was born in an unfortunate family. The most important turning point in her life is the time when her mother died of AIDS. The bad news was the real slap on her face. She started his academy work, finishing her senior high school only in two years. it was not so easy for ordinary students to finish the four- year academy work in two years, not to mention a girl who was homeless and tough on her life. What’s more amazingly, she also earned the scholarship donated by the New York Times and got the master degree from Harvard in the end.

In this movie, there are many plots touching me a lot. I still remember that in the previous parts of movie, Liz’s mom came back home from the hospital. It is just the time she was diagnosed with AIDS. Liz wanted her to be happy, showing her the test marked on 100. Tears welled up in her eyes, but it made Liz confused and anxious. “No. no no no. 100 is good, 100 is perfect.” Liz’ saying and the worry flowing out of her eyes touched me a lot. It made me think of the total difference between me and Liz. For getting the test paper with the same grade of 100, I show my test paper with my parents for my allowance; while Liz showed hers just in order to make her mother happy. The conversation of Liz and her mother indeed dawned on me that how happy the family I have!

Besides, the process that Liz fought for the chance of entering senior high school also makes me reflect myself and makes me commiserate her with the tough childhood. “I guess I always thought that she was gonna get better and take care of me. She had never been taking care of me. I took care of her. She was my baby, but now she’s gone.” During the interview time, Liz said to the professor like this. With the feeling she said word by word, all the feelings and images in my life flashed through of my head, quickly but clearly. I may be in a great depression if I encountered the death of my relatives. I am so vulnerable that I will be hard to embrace the news and bear the pain. In contrast, Liz took care of her mother before she died; Liz cheered herself up quickly and strived to her study. She is always strong in heart and mind, ALWAYS! Liz Murry once said: Wherever my mom was, that’s where my home was. The saying almost makes me cry, especially for me, haven’t gone home for a while. For the coming Mother’s Day, I wrote a card for my mother last Friday. I cried, while writing the card. I didn’t figure that I truely miss them so much until I put my assignment behind and picked the pen to write for my mom. After watching this movie, it reminds me of that I should, and I must cherish the time I spend with my family.

The plot which impressed me so much is that she visited Harvard. She wanted to enter Harvard, reading the best books in it; however, she thought it was impossible in her deep mind. Some fear in her mind made her retreat to go pursue her dream. This part made me think of myself. I just like her, afraid of going ahead to my dream. It seems that some mental fears stop her keeping going. “Not people like me. Why not people like me? What made them so different? Because of where they were born?” Standing in front of her dream college, looking Harvard students in the campus, she asked questions to herself. Maybe, I also need to ask these questions for myself. Is it really impossible for me to reach my goal? Or just my fear stops me from heading to my destination? I ask to myself, thinking of them, deeply.

Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story concluded many concept and self- discovering issue that inspired me a lot. However, I haven’t found the true myself yet, and haven’t found my dream back, the story of Liz cheers my up, encourages me to face it bravely. Liz Murray, not only reminds me to cherish the present happiness around you, but also push me to face the challenges on the way of heading my dream! “There is no going back. Just going work as hard as I possibly can, and see what happens.” Said Liz Murray.

Concept Map

Log #5

        These days, I feel that I always live a busy life. However, I don’t know what I am really busy for. It is a terrible warning. This sign makes me down and makes me start to inspect myself that whether what I chose is correct or not.

Sometimes, I regret my choice I decided for entering the school which is not appropriate to me. From time to time, I imagine that what kind of the condition I would be if I pick another choice instead of studying English. In college life, all I found was my shortcomings, such as disabilities on work and study, my terrible social skills, or common sense. I found myself was a person who is unable to do anything well, a person who is not skilled in any substantial aspect. To be honest, I have got so much pressure since I entered the college. However, I seldom tell others my true feelings because I thought it was ashamed. Everyone seems to adapt themselves in their college lives. Most of the classmates can handle almost assignments on study part, finish homework affluently, and make projects going smoothly without spending too much time. Instead, I was worried about any of thing happened to me because I have too many insufficiencies to do anything quickly and well just like others do. I would feel humiliating because I lack of the fundamental abilities which NTUST students should have. I really want to strengthen myself and do something to complement what I lack of; however, I even have no idea that what I can do and which way I can use. Even I know what I really want, it is hard to attain the goal for me, without any appropriate way to improve myself.

Even though I am disappointed with myself, I know that there is no room for me to keep retreating. The more upset I am, the more courage I should have! I hope that I can find myself back and become the original person—vigorous, happy, and positive—as soon as possible!

Log #4

Getting know how the social media impact girls, I found that there have been lots of news and cases all about girls losing their confidence, even themselves. What’s worse, girls are diagnosed with eating disorders because of the extreme diet. Why on earth do the social media have such great impact on girls, leading them into the dark—facing the disease—in the end? The more related information about the issue I search, the more tough feeling named heartbreak I feel.

Among the stories that some girls experienced, there is a story which makes me upset so much. A girl, named Meg Masseron, was told by her grandmother that she was too heavy, even if she had been underweight. What’s exaggeratedly, she was 4 years old then. After growing up, under the condition of the pressure from both her relatives, peers, and the social media, she went on a very strict diet to attain her goal. Unfortunately, she finally got anorexia. “It’s always going to be a struggle” said Meg Masseron. During the period in the hospital, she was tortured by lots of pain and sorrow. Time past, she gradually figure out that what’ the importance is how she think herself instead of others judge her.

The impact of the social media has spread all over the world, and the negative consequence is almost out of control; however, people tend to ignore it either intentionally or unintentionally. Perhaps, the happy and healthy society needs all of us to maintain and to make efforts; the society issue is also the one we should focus on and deal with. The more people not being impacted by the social media, the happier girls live their lives.

17 stories of eating disorder survival
https://www.buzzfeed.com/carolinerothstein/17-stories-of-eating-disorder-survival?utm_term=.gbk5k1AzG#.qdl14kg5m

Social media helps fuel soem eating disorders
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/01/social-media-helps-fuel-eating-disorders/9817513/

Log #3

Is Social Media Causing Eating Disorders

Living a life in the world, the world that social media exposes wide range of information to people and without any sensory, people (especially young girls who cares their appearance so much) are easily get twist concepts about the beauty. What’s worse, some girls always dissatisfied their appearances, their body shapes, even all of themselves. To attain their goal—being the one who they want to be, girls keep a diet unhealthy or do some extreme ways. Because of the wrong and twist notions of girls and the dangerous ways of diet, so many girls suffer from eating disorder. Cited the investigation from the Huffington Post, patients are more and more girls who are under 15 years old. It is the very time to face this problem and lead the girls, teenagers, even the whole society return to the right ways!

Speaking of the solutions of this problem, educating may be the important and feasible way to practice. First, parents and schools should educate children that what is real beauty and what is really matter to them. Moreover, there is no standard to evaluate what kind of body shape is good or not. Next, parents and schools also need to make children learn how to tell right from wrong while facing lot of information from social media. The data from social media are countless and without any filter and proved. Therefore, they should have the ability of critical thinking.

Teenagers, children who are in this age, are still lack of certain types of knowledge and easily influenced by peers and outer worlds. Therefore, it is a crucial period to input the health ideas to teenagers. With the parents and schools’ help and concern, this kind of tragedies would decrease and teenagers also have a happy and health childhood instead of staying at hospital unhappily.

Reference

https://netsanity.net/social-media-eating-disorders/

Log #2

     “fashion” and “model beauty” are the targets which girls pursue, and I am no exception. Because of the spreading of the social media, girls, including myself, have already evaluated a girl with a standard formed by the social media—white skin, thinner body or big eyes. It is incredible that I have been influenced deeply by the social media toward what the beauty is; even, I don’t perceive it at all! Sometimes, I dream of becoming that kind of girl who had big eyes, slim shape; at the same time, I never aware that I have been trapped in a circle, a circle with twisted concept of beauty. How influentially the media spread! However, should this kind of information be abolished just because of its strong impact?

        After reading some articles and searching some related information, there are some perspectives changing my original thoughts about the notion of the social media. Facing the phenomenon, all we need to do may be not to prevent the social media from spreading their concepts, not to stop companies from advertising their clothes or products, but to educate and emphasize teenagers the importance of the critical thinking. For girls, they need to learn how to perceive and evaluate the information from social media, learn to definite their own “beauty” instead of others controlling their thoughts.

        The images that media and companies gave are quite popular and stylish; however, girls should have the ability of thinking on their own without being impacted by outer world. Speaking of this ability, I think I am also the one of girls who need to learn how to have my own perspectives rather than following others and trend without thinking.

Reference

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miribel-tran/the-effect-of-social-medi_b_5161886.html

Log #1

 Image of Social Media on Girls

       Nowadays, many teenagers, especially girls, are easily influenced by social media, such as facebook or instegrams. Originally, teenagers just want to share their lives with friends or post their photos with wearing style. However, it gradually becomes an ideal and standard shape or model who people want to follow and imitate without knowing what they really want.

        As for girls, most of them desire to become thin and beautiful by all means, not caring how dangerous and unhealthy the ways are. Being conveyed such this shape of girls, being stimulated by model girls’ style and beauty, we started to compare others, even ourselves. What’s terrible, girls considered that it is beautiful only if they are thin or wear some clothes like model.

        There are many platforms people can get information for lot of things, making girls earn approval for their appearance, getting the sense of superiority. Instead, girls forget follow their mind, searching for what really matter to them. In this world, the world which has lots of social media, it is convenient and rich for people to use. In the other hand, it also easily misleads people’s perspectives, letting teenagers lost theirselves. Therefore, teenagers should be educated and be told to learn the ability of tell things right from wrong.

How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror

http://time.com/4459153/social-media-body-image/

Log #9

Log# 9 The Book Thief

Book: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

        For the final part of the book, there are many short chapters talking about how Liesel and her father’s action toward the Jews and about the reaction to the war. After Max’s departure, Liesel and her foster parents was in a desperate atmosphere. It was because that they feel guilt for not treating Max well. In one day, the troop led a parade of Jews, walking through the town. What made people’s surprise, Hans gave a piece of bread to a Jew, a Jew who was old enough and couldn’t stand steadily. That old man held Hans’ ankles and started to cry, tearing with touched mood. Of course, both that Jewish person and Hans were punished by whipping. Liesel did the similar thing as her father was when she saw Max in the concentration camp team. These two parts of stories totally show the struggling mind in both Hans and Leisel. The other part which is important one for me is that air strike without warning. This is the plots that make the whole story into truly desperate and hopeless mind. Except for Liesel, all her family died in that air strike, and the Rudy’s family was no exception. After her family passed away, she ended up being adopted by the other foster family, living the rest of her life.

        The issue that I want to focus and discuss the most is the humanity. I can see the different kinds of humanities from different angles at the same time in this book. What impressed me the most is that compared to the troop treated the Jews strictly, Hans and Liesel showed the kind heart of humanity. There was still hopeful lightness hided in such this gray gray desperation. It was not easy for Liesel that she was brave enough challenge the trend, showing the relationship with Max, neglecting others’ thought to her. I admire her strong will and kind heart. If I were her, I would rather hide what I really think of instead of fight against the rule.

        The other part what I care Liesel very much is the air strike. Because of the insomnia, Liesel went to the basement to paint on the wall, missing Max. It is that made her escaped from the air strike, form the death. However, the truth of the death of her family and best friend started to torture this little girl. I put much sympathy on Liesel for all she had encountered during the war period. She experienced the departure of the family, again and again. It is the deep hurt for her, especially in a little age. It was a big challenge for Liesel, but she still hanged it on, with strong will. She really deserved a big applause!

Log #8

Book: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

        Because of the coming of Max, everything changed in Liesel’s family. They needed to live a life under the fear of being found the truth, they needed to arrange less food and leave one for Max. Although the coming of Max brought many inconvenience to this family, they also had experienced many happy and unforgettable memories. For example, on the Christmas day, Liesel brought much snow into the house, playing with Max in the basement. Then, father and mother all came to join them, throwing the snow balls to each other and making the snow man together. For Max, it is the happiest moment he has had since he started to escape from the arrest of Nazi. Unfortunately, he was sick because of the cold of the basement, and the joy of playing snow that day. He hasn’t woken up for almost one week. Liesel and her parents were quite worried about his health for reasons. One was their concern about Max’ disease. The other is the trouble of dealing with his body if he died.

There are some parts of plots I am touched for. During those days Max’s illness and no waking up, Liesel encouraged him by sharing her day and brining something special for her from the street, recording her everyday life. Furthermore, she spent much time staying beside Max, reading books for him, chapters after chapters. I see the care of Liesel for Max. Some thoughts come into my mind that, sometimes we do many things for others just for the caring, no searching for the repay. This kind of giving is selfless and valuable, especially seeing from a little girl, especially under such this tough situation—the pressure of hiding a Jews.

        The other part which I think there is important plots is that Nazi troop searched for some appropriate basement as shelters. Nazi troop found the suitable ones form house to house. This news was heard by Liesel when she was playing football with Rudy. Her intelligent and quick reaction saved her family and Max. When I read this part, I was very nervous that what if Max was found by Nazi. For Liesel’s brilliant resolution, I admire what she had done calmly in an urgent time, especially in her age. Another thing that I am impressed is Hans’ strategy. In his opinion, doing nothing and acting like nothing happened were the best ways to not make Nazi troop suspect of them. Thankfully, they were safe in the end; the Nazi troop didn’t find Max. Sometimes, we all have chance to face the tough moment and dilemma, and they are not be avoided. All we can do is to wait out the development and it is no use getting nervous. I seldom can handle such this emergency, so I have much feeling about what her reaction, not to mention it is about their lives.

Log #7

Book: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

       Imagining that if you are a 9-year-old child during the World War II, acting under Nazi’s controlling, and you must salute forward to Fuhrer and speak out loud “Heil Hitler!”, no matter you like it or not. For me, it is very cruel to children that they were forced to do things and acted following the rule, without letting them know any reason. What’s worse, adults even stopped their children from doing the right thing and forward to the positive and fair concepts, protecting their children from any trouble. It is selfishness of the adult society that killed the thoughts of children at that time. What’s a pity!

        In the story, Liesel found by chance that all the miseries about the word communist, large bonfire, the suffering of her mother, and the death of her brother are something to do with the Fuhrer. Therefore, she uttered out the hatred of Hitler in public. In Liesel’s foster father’s view, he should comforted all Liesel had encountered; however, at this key moment, Liesel’s safe is far more urgent than anything. Therefore, Hans, the father, slapped her without telling her where was wrong she had done. In the story, Liesel stood up and raised her arm. With absolute misery, she repeated her father: Heil Hitler! Liesel, an eleven-year-old girl, strived to not to cry on the church, saluting the Fuhrer. This part of plot makes me come out with the previous pages. The situation is quite similar to the event Liesel had experienced.

        One day night, Rudy, Liesel’ friend and neighbor, made all his body with kerosene, imitating Jessse Owens—he was a champion in a race competition; however, Hitler refused to shake hands with him because he was black. He made himself as his idol, Jesse Owens, and imitated the condition of the competition that day. Nevertheless, his father also refused him to do it again, just like Liesel’s father had done to his daughter for protecting them. I am so impressed of the words Rudy’s father had said “is it clear that you have a blond hair and safe blue eyes? Never act like Jews or black, never!” Reading to these words, I think that Rudy just made it clear what should not do, but didn’t clear why should not do at all.

In addition to the issue of the children education, it also clearly showed that the racial discrimination here. This short part of story reminded me of that even racial discrimination had existed at that era; we still not thoroughly solve and eliminate the gap of it nowadays. The issue is hard to deal with in today society, let alone in the past. Obviously, how terrible and cruel to the racial discrimination, no matter in these days or in the past…

Log #6

Book: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

        This book is written by a quite special tone of the death. It is book just like the death told a story what he had seen about Liesel’s experience during the war. In the first chapter, Liesel took a chain, moving to Munich, with her little brother and mother. Her mother intended to send Liesel and her brother to the foster family. When the train kept moving, her brother had no breath anymore. Heartbreaking, Liesel and mother were forced to bury him at the next stop, and then kept going. During the simple funeral of her brother, Liesel stole a book, which is left by a gravedigger. This is the first time the book thief, Liesel, stole the book—The Gravediggers’ Handbook. After arranging her brother, they came to Munich, going to her foster family.

        In her new foster family, the mother is a woman who have a kind heart but with all dirty words in her mouth. In the beginning of her staying, Liesel often had nightmares. The father, Hans, discovered Liesel’s condition at night; he started to read her book—The Gravediggers’ Handbook—for her after seeing it is always held in her hand. To me, what Liesel had done was the action of missing her brother.

        I was quite touched at the front pages, the pages which Liesel and her mother cried for her brother’s death. In the book, the author purposed a question that why people always shake the death people. Why? I asked myself, assumed I encounter the departure with my parents or siblings, forever, and what I would act like. Would I act like Liesel, shaking them too? Out of disappointment, we all really hope that people who we beloved can still company with ourselves, and then hard to concept the death of their beloved. I was sorry about what Liesel had experienced at a such little age, and think of the definition of “the death” in my mind at the same time!

Log #5

Book: Sister

Author: Rosamund Lupton

      I am so sorry about what Beatrice had encountered. At the beginning, she figured out some clues about Tess, asked information from her psychological counselor, and strived to find anything about her’ death by all means. The murder, who killed Tess, was a doctor. He showed his hospitality for helping Beatrice find all clues and news about her sister at the beginning; however, later she was be tortured by this doctor, and was treated violently as the same way of what Tess had experienced before death.

        I was quite afraid of this plots and the consequence because the encounters what both sisters had were too much more horrible than I can imagined. He took any actions to torture her and keep her overdosed with drugs, with jailing her with old clothes tucked in her mouth, in the restroom—a same place which Tess was stayed. In one hand, I blamed in my mind that how vicious and cruel behaviors the doctor had done; on the other hand, I was quite upset and worried about what they had encountered such like this unfortunate thing. When I read to this part, I was very worried about her dangerous condition. I feel that I was really in such the same danger as her and be sensitive to the any sounds of beside me, imagine as if I was Beatrice herself.

        I really like this book which has two materials blended in it: suspicion and relationship. In this book, the author wrote it just like Beatrice was really talking to Tess. When I read the letter or the saying for Tess, there is touching and heartbreak in my mind. I nearly cried out for Tess’ death and Beatrice’ helplessness. This story makes me think of the relationship in my family again. I really should cherish the relationship with my two siblings or even my parents. After leaving Changhua and studying in Taipei, I seldom go home and get along with them. It downed on me that how much I miss them during these time in Taipei and that I should hold on tight each of the gathering with them.

Three best presentations

Ingrid

I really like the presentation what Ingrid prepared for us. Divergent, is a book (or a movie) friends recommended; however, I haven’t read it yet. With the education branches of China as a metaphor, she clearly shows that the five factions and how is the meaning for each of faction. This part made me more interested in about this book, and wanted to know what’s going on next in that book.

Tiffany:

After Tiffany’s book sharing about “Before I go to Sleep”, the way of expressing of the book is a kind of dairy. Reading this book would be as if you are reading other’s diary. What Tiffany said is right and impressed me a lot: I cherish my life because I have memories. If there is no memory, it would be like there is no life. Something came of my mind that sometimes, we all feel ourselves trapped in certain memories, no matter it is good or not; however, there are parts of experiences in our life, as important as other parts.

Sally:

I don’t think I am quite interested in “Brooklyn”. However, for her book sharing caught my heart so much. Studying out of hometown, it is a lie if someone tells you not missing home. Although this book is not kind of type I like, she made the plots and contexts to close to our real life, made us more experiences about this book and her emotion, even if we all haven’t read it before.

Log #4

Book: Sister

Author: Rosamund Lupton

        Beatrice, receiving the news of her younger sister’s missing from her mother, flew to Heathrow in a rush. This story is written in the tone of the first person. In the book, the word ‘Tess’, Beatrice’s younger sister, is replaced by the word ‘you’. I like this way presenting the story because it seemed that Beatrice kept talking in her mind to her sister. In addition, by using this way, it showed entirely the emotion that how much Beatrice was worried about Tess and how deep their relationship was.

        The front chapters are talking about Tess’s mother and sister received the bad news of Tess. Beatrice flew to the place which Tess lived in, reuniting with her mother, searching for Tess’s news. During finding Tess’s whereabouts, there are many presses managed to interview and ask Beatrice’s feelings for Tess’s missing without any warning. On the other hand, Beatrice still cooperated with the police, offering some useful clues. Those days in a great pressure from the press, the police and the missing event, Beatrice was almost cried out, feeling physically and mentally draining. In the process of searching some clues from Tess’s home, she found that all her clothes, furniture, even windows are third-hand, old, and broken. However, her baby’s supplies are expensive and the clothes are soft. It confused Beatrice that where are these items which were for the baby from, in a condition that Tess had no enough money to afford them.

        In the story, I was impressed by the plots that the press rounding outside Tess’s house and waiting for Beatrice’s saying. I can totally understand Bee’s exhausted heart and emotion when being chased by the press. “No wonder the press are called the press” said Beatrice. These words make me have the same feeling in the real world. On the TV, I usually see the slide that many reporters scramble to ask the victims, hoping they can express their emotion for their relatives’ terrible encounters. To me, such behavior is very cruel to those victims who lose their relatives or friends. I am quite sick of their behavior — keeping touch people’s wounds, making them almost suffocate. For the press in Taiwan, I can entirely feeling the pressure from the press, which is not a good phenomenon.

        The other plot which makes me impressed is the process Beatrice tried her best to find any clues about Tess, and believed in that Tess’s was still alive. From 10:20 p.m., picking up the phone to check that it was working, 1:30 a.m. hearing herself shout Tess’s name buried in the silence, to 2:00 a.m. being hurry to answer the door only find a cat passing. This paragraph touched me very much. These words entirely express Beatrice’s worries and the desire of seeing Tess’s back. I felt that I was Beatrice, worried about Tess as well. It makes me imagine that If I were on the same condition as Beatrice, I might not stay calm and search the clues step by step, just like her. Therefore, I not only take a pity on what Tess had encountered, but also respect Beatrice’s courage and perseverance.

Log #3

        Actually, the housekeeper, Ursula Monkton, was from another space. It came to the boy’s life last time he had chased the tornado with Lettie. Afterwards, this thing occupied his families’ minds, including his father, mother, and his little sister. They were all attached and behaved under the thing’s control. Only the boy found something wrong with it. Because of informing behind the scenes, it resorted to every conceivable means to jail the boy and destroy him. Thankfully, his friend, Lettie, lived in Hampstock’s Farm, which is down at the end of the lane, strived her hardest to help him defeat the enemy.

        As a saying goes in ancient China, “One has its own natural enemy.” Although Ursula Monkton was conquered by the hungry birds, which is called by Lettie, the hungry birds weren’t willing to go back to their world after finishing their task. It made the Hampstock’s almost fall apart. The existence of them would lead the whole village in a great danger. Hearing from this awful news, the boy was so exhausted and didn’t want anyone to be hurt, especially Lettie. For him, it was all his fault to drag his family and the Hampstock’s down to the chaos.

        Therefore, the boy decided to leave Lettie’s farm, making Lettie out of this danger. In his mind, it started from him and then should end with him. However, on the way he running out of the farm, Lettie caught up with him. Originally, what the boy had done was to protect Lettie; nevertheless, his rude and careless behavior made Lettie hurt by those hungry birds. Seeing the boy run out of the house and in danger, Lettie rushed out following him and protected him from hungry birds’ fierce assault. Beaten black and blue, Lettie passed away, having gone for good following her ocean. Her death, end this whole disaster, totally.

After reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane, I am a little bit upset for Lettie’s death. How kind and brave this girl was, and she just ended her life in such a young age, 11 years old. In my opinion, for a long time hasn’t gone back to the home town avoided him from recalling this painful experience, the death of Lettie. However, he came back, checking Lettie’s farm was alright and, of course, her ocean, picked his childhood again, and visited his old friend in different way.

The end of the story echoes with the beginning statement, and makes me arouse the throbbing, again: Childhood memories are sometimes covered beneath the things that come later, like childhood toys forgotten at the bottom of a crammed adult closet, but they are never lost for good.

Log #2

Book: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Author: Neil Gaiman

        What the boy had encountered was so extremely dangerous and horrible that I was nervous for him. In his dream, he was chased and put something in his throat by the waxwork of his grandfather. Strangely, there was really a coin stuck in this throat when he woke up. Logically speaking, if someone had put it into his mouth, he would have woken up. After going downstairs, his little sister stared at him and blamed him for throwing coins at her and her friends, but he didn’t.

Confused of series of odds, he went to ask for Lettie’s help, with the coin in his pocket. Lettie considered that someone tried to give people money, but in bad ways, making things to be more complex. For example, there was a couple shouting at each other when the boy and Lettie went pass by the farm. They argued because they have been money problems. Last night, the husband dreamed his wife did bad things in order to earn money. The next day, he looked in her hand bag and found lots of folded-up ten-shilling notes, but the wife didn’t know where these notes came from actually. The husband didn’t buy it, anyway. There is a sentence the boy said, “All the fighting and the dreams. It’s about money, isn’t it?” this saying makes me stop reading and think of it for a while. It really makes sense even in our own lives. We human often dream of being the rich, and fight against with other even family or friends, just for money. This plot lets me to experience again how vicious people’s minds are, and how crazy the greed drives people into.

        Few days later, the boy’s mom found a job and there was a housekeeper, Ursula Monkton, took charge of looking after him and his sister. However, in the boy’s sight, she is not a normal housekeeper but a monster, a monster which want to damage his family. This part, depicting his thrilling escape from home, also attracted me a lot. So much as he hurt himself on the way to Hempstock’s farm, he still kept the strong willing. It is quite a valuable sprit for a 7-year-old child. If I were that boy, I might have shrunk back instead of doing like that boy.

How on earth would the boy and Lettie deal with the whole odds? I was looking forwards to the following story!

Log #1

The Ocean at the End of the Lane was written by Neil Gaiman, who is New York Times bestselling author. Upon getting a glimpse of this book at the library, I was totally attracted by its mysterious cover. In addition, its title was the other incentive for me to check it out what this book looks like. “Childhood memories are sometimes covered and obscured beneath the things that come later, like childhood toys forgotten at the bottom of a crammed adult closet, but they are never lost for good.” extracted from the prologue, the short saying makes many thoughts and feelings flow into my mind, and makes me touched a lot. Therefore, I decided to choose it as my first English novel in this semester.

        This book was written in the tone of the first person, so there is no mention of the main role’s name. Readers just only know that he was a 7-year-old boy. In the first two chapters, it talks about that the boy usually lived in books more than he lived anywhere else and that the change of his family economic situation. His family was not affluent anymore; as a consequence, his parents told him that they need to make sacrifices, and that what he would be sacrificing was his bed room, a little room at the top of the stairs. Even if the boy loved his room very much, he could not but move to his little sister’s room. In one of the plots, it described that how fiercely they argued for any different habits. For example, his younger sister liked to close the door during bed time, while the boy tending to make it stay open. Finally, the argument was solved by their mom writing a chart that hung on the back of the door, showing that alternate nights were his or his sister’s. I am impressed. This plot makes me recall my childhood, getting through with my older brother. When we are all children, we always fought for anything, little from grabbing the remote of the television to the serious thing like blame each other about breaking the bowls. Their interaction strikes a chord with me, making me thinking of my aged-old memories with my older brother.

        In the third and fourth chapter, with a crime as a touch paper, the boy started an incredible adventure. After his father’s van stolen and abandoned, with the corpses of a couple, there were series of strange and horror things happened to the boy and others in that village. Because of this accident, the boy met a girl, Lettie Hampstock, whose family had a big farm called Hampstock Farm. The Hampstock looked not like normal family; they seemly knew the information behind the crime.

        The following chapters, it would open an unexpected journey between the boy and Lettie. I can’t wait to know what is going on next about this story!

My Reading History

I consider myself a reader in Mandarin. I like to put myself in any plot of books, seeing myself as the main characters and experiencing the same situations together with them. However, I don’t think I am a reader from time to time while reading what I am not interested in. It is painful for me to be forced to read what I dislike only for meeting the assignments at school. Speaking of being a reader in English, I am not quite sure that I am that one. Since senior high, I seldom read extracurricular books because I spent almost time dealing with school work, let alone reading English novels.

      The novel which affected me a lot is “The Book Thief”. I have already read this translated fiction for three times. This is a story including love, friendship and relationship. The main character, Liesel Meminger, a ten-year-old girl living in Germany during World War II, was so brave enough to save a Jews’ life; she was even so kind to company with people hiding in the basement through the tough period by reading books. This novel not merely shows that how dark the society situation was, but shows that how warm and cheerful the humanity can be at the same time. It is so touching that all Liesel had done for the residents in that village. In addition to impressive contexts, this book also made me start to reflect some issues I hadn’t thought of. Reading this novel, I seemed to experience the danger of the war in person, and to realize that their lives then were so tough that I can’t imagine. “The Book Thief” is quite meaningful to me. I hope that I can read the original one someday.

      Since I was a little child, my mother often brought my two brothers and me go to the library to borrow books. However, I just read fairy tales and picture books until my older brother recommended me a novel, 虎牙, one of series of Arsène Lupin. At the beginning, I weren’t willing to that kind of book because of its too-many-words. However, under my brother’s influence, I started trying novels and gradually loved to read, for its magic power of words in books. Strictly to say, it is my older brother that leaded me into the world of fictions, gave the environment of reading to me, and made me become a read-lover, even though I am not anymore after senior high.

      Today, in this reading class, in such an appropriate environment to read, I hope that I can find my enthusiasm of reading back, being a good reader, not only in Mandarin, but also in English.