Being Nikki: Bad Influence

Who influences your protagonist? Is it a negative or positive influence? How have they been influenced by somebody else?

In this story, the main character Emersom Watts, who had a brain transpant, and was now the world's most beautiful super model Nikki Howard, has been influenced by her best friend LuLu Collins. LuLu Collins is not the most intelligent person, actually she is aloof. She spends her days sleeping, drooling over Nikki Howards brother, and getting massages by their housekeeper. She dropped out of highschool, and tries to explain to Nikki that school is not what she should be doing, she should be having fun, enjoying her "wonderful" life, and having photoshoots.So when LuLu Collins comes into Em Watts life, things change a bit, and not necessarily good changes.

On the other hand, Em Watts was always an A student, studied, did not care about what people thought of her or her image. She never did anything bad, or anything that she was uncomfortable with, and she spend her days playing the Journey Quest video game with her best friend Christopher while eating bags of potato chips. But it all changed when she was transferred into Nikki Howard's body. LuLu convinces Em that going to clubs until midnight is better than studying for finals or going to school. Although Em Watts tries her hardest to stay on top of her grades from school, her social life is taking over. Em Watts is slowly taking on LuLu's habits, and I'm starting to wonder if Em is going to be able to stay in school and have the good grades she wanted. Being Nikki is harder than Em thought it would be. I don't think it will be long until Em drops out of school. Maybe it is too hard juggling school, modeling, boys, and her family problems. LuLu did not think school for Nikki was a good idea in the first place, and I think Em is starting to think that too. LuLu is sidetracking her from what Nikki really needs; school.

There have been times where I have realized that I have not been doing what I needed to be doing. Plenty of times I have been sidetracked from school, and thinking about other things. I've realized in the past that I have been influenced by my friends, and I have been more focused in my social life than my schoolwork. But I have also been influenced in good ways. My parents influence me. They show me that hard work pays off, and that I should never give up until I accomplished my goal. This is what I use for my races in track. During a race I work hard, and it usually pays off at the end, and I accomplish my goal, whether it's to get a certain time or finish in a certain place. I also use this way of thinking for school. I study for my test, therefor, I get a good grade. I do all my homework, so I get a hundred on my homework grade. There have been times in my life where I have been influenced in a bad way, like Em Watts, and in good ways.

I am not sure how things will turn out with Em Watts, but she is being influenced by LuLu, and I think she needs to realize what are important things in life, and what things she can put aside for later.

"Am I Blue?" : Don't Judge

I recently finished reading a short story called "Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville. This story teaches a great lesson to everyone who has been bullied or has been in a bad situation. Nobody deserves to be judged, and you cannot assume the way people are just by the way they look, talk, or walk. In the story, an indecisive  teenage boy gets to see what the world is really like, when a fairy god father comes into his life.  Vincent, the main character, has been deciding for the last year if he is gay or not. Even though he still does not know, people think he is, so he is brutally bullied by one of his classmates. His fairy god father tells him, "You may be, you may not. The point is, you're getting picked on because people think you are- which is why I've been sent  to work with you. Gaybashing is a special issue to me." This quote supports the idea, there is no reason for people to place their judgement on others.

When Vincent finds out that his fairy god father, Melvin, likes the same gender, he was a  little offended that Melvin had to be his fairy god father. Melvin was there to look over Vincent. He told Vincent that he wanted to be this way, that he gave up his life to be this way, and he does not care what people think of him. Melvin explains how so many people are hiding who they are because they are afraid of being bullied. That is when Melvin lets Vincent use the Gayard, which lets you spot people of "similar persuasion". This Gayard plays a huge role in this story, and it shows Vincent how many people are hiding that they like the same gender. Vincent is surprised to see how many people were judged, and that they are different than people think.

Melvin explains to Vincent that he should not let anyone define him, or to tell him who he has to be, because he can be anyone he wants, and there is not a reason to hide it. This is what everyone in the world should be like, they should not be afraid to be who they are. I have had times where I have been bullied because of the way I am. I am short, very short. Throughout elemetary school, and a little bit in middle school, people have teased me for being so small. Yes, it did hurt my feelings in the beginning, but I learned to accept it and not let anybody's mean comments get to my head. People assume that because I was short, I couldn't do things they could do, and that I couldn't stand up for myself. But these people are wrong. Being short is no different than being "normal size" or tall, besides that you could reach a book from a taller shelf.  But I realized... who are they to judge me because I'm short? Although I have never been bullied like Vincent has, and I am not in as bad as a situation that he is in, I am still able to understand that his character is being judged, and it is just wrong. Both Vincent and I have been judged just because the way we look or seem. It is never okay for someone to hurt someone else is because they are different. So many people in this world are afraid of showing who they really are because of fear.  There have been cases when bullying causes others extreme harm or even death.

"Am I Blue?" is a great story that has a very meaningful lesson. I hope one day, everybody in this world will be accepted for who they truthfully are without any problems. At the end, Vincent says, "And my third wish? I've decided to save it for when I really need it-maybe when I meet the girl of my dreams. Or Prince Charming. Whichever." This shows how Vincent changed. He realized he could like whoever he wants to like, because he is his own person and no one can tell him who to be.

The Drummer Boy Of Shiloh Response

What changes did Joby go through the story? Explain
I recently read a short story called "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury. Throughout the story, Joby goes through a big change. The reason he changed was because he had someone to encourage him, and he was able to believe in himself.
Joby is the Drummer Boy of an army, but he does not feel like he has a purpose in the army. So he hides. When the general finds him hiding and crying, he starts talking to Joby. He told Joby that it is okay to cry now, that he can't cry while war is going on. Joby is very different person before he talks to the general compared to after he talks with the general. Joby starts out the story scared, nervous, anxious, and has a lack of confidence. He did not think he was prepared for war because all he had was a drum, and two sticks to beat it. But the other soldiers had weapons. One line in the story is, "Me, thought the boy, I only got a drum,two sticks to beat it, and no shield." He was saying how he didn't have a shield so he could nto ptotect himself like the other soliders could. Though, neither Joby nor the soldiers were prepared mentally.
But when the general was talking to him, he was telling Joby that he does have a porpose, and he could really make a big change in the soldiers and how they fight in the war. The soldiers needed Joby, and so did the general. The soldiers were all over the place and disorganized. The general was telling Joby how he is needed because he needs to help organize and pull together the soldiers so they would be ready to fight tommorrow. The general said to him, "You are the heart of the army. Think about that. You are the heart of the army. Listen to me now." When these words came out  of the general's mouth, Joby realized that the soldiers needed him, and he needed to lead the army. Joby's part in the war was actually very important because he was the one who set the "mood" for the army. In the text, it explains that if Joby beat slow tommorrow, the heart of the army would beat slow. They would be lagging and not ready. But if Joby beat fast and steady, the men would be ready to fight.
Another thing that changed the negative thoughts that Joby was feeling was when the general told him that if he dies in the fight, Joby would be the one to be in charge. Joby would keep the in order. This gave Joby a small confidence boost. Joby was no longer scared,or doubtful in himself, he was strong, believed in himself, and he was ready to lead the army. He also believed he could make it out alive. Joby showed a huge change that could affect his army. Without the general finding him,Joby wouldn't have learned what he did, that he was the heart of the army. The general helped Joby find himself. Although Joby did not have any experience in war, that could no longer stop him.
I think this story showed that everyone is important and has a porpose in this world. Also to never give up, becasue good things will happen if you keep trying. Another message you could take from this story is that everybody deserves a piece in the puzzle.

Airhead

How does the characters actions affect other people in the story?
In the book Airhead, by Meg Cabot, the main character Emerson affects many people with her actions. Emerson gets into a very bad accidennt, that changes her life forever. Em had gotten a whole-body transplant in order to survive. But the doner was a super model. When Em (Emerson) finds out that shes trapped in a supermodels body, her life seems to turn upside down for a while. She isn't who she used to be. she doesn't like the things she used to like, her family acts weird around her, and everyone thinks she is Nikki when inside she is really Em. Em doesn't know who she is anymore. She is a shy tomboy living in a rich, snobby, supermodels body. Before Em knew that she recived a whole body transplant, she thought she had just been in a small accident. But when she found out she had been in a coma for about a month, she comletely flipped, worrying about catching in school, and homework. But when she found out about the body transplant a little later, she was angry because her family hid it from her. She worried about how she wasn't Em anymore, how Em died, and now she's Nikki.
"Nikki's" friends are devestated when she doesn't remember them. Em keeps trying to explain to them that she isn't Nikki, that she is Emerson Watts. Em does everything she can to try and convince Nikki's friends that she is not Nikki. These actions scare her friends. Lulu Collins (Nikki's best friend) feels sad, and angry that her best friend doesn't remember her. When Nikki cannot remember anything about her life, Lulu is deeply affected and tries her hardest to help Nikki gain back her memory. But it is Em inside Nikki, so she won't ever be able to remember Nikki's past. Nikki's boyfriend is frustrated that she can't remember him. He got angry when Em pushed him away from her. Em feels sorry for them because they think she is Nikki, but she cannot do anything about it. She cannot convince them that she is Em.
Em also affects her family with her actions. She dissappears from the hospital for one night, making her mother, father, and sister go crazy worrying about her. Also, Em's family are the ones who kepthe secret from her that she got a whole body transplant, so when Em discovered by herself that she was now in Nikki's body, they felt sorry that they didn't tell her before. When Frida, Em' younger sister see's that Em has Nikki's body, she is shocked. I think she is mostly jealous because Frida idolizes Nikki Howard. I think she was flabbergasted to see that her idol was basically now her own sister, who she used to insult, and be ashamed to be related to such a "loser". Em is also affecting Nikki's fans. When a goup of young girls came up to her and asked her for Nikki's signature, Em told them she wasn't Nikki, and tried to leave.
Em has affected many people so far in this book, and as I keep reading, I think she will affect more people with her actions. She has to be careful how she acts around people, now that she isn't just a normal teenager anymore, she is a celebrity, a supermodel, an idol to a lot of young girls. She has to make adjustments to who she is and what she does. I think Em just wants people to understand who she really is inside, and she wants people to know what happened to her.

Reading Response on Make Lemonade

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff is a short, yet meaningful read. It tells a story of a high school girl who is trying to get a job, so she could simply save up money for college. While LaVaughn, the main character, is in school she finds a bulletin board with a number of sheets of papers asking for a housecleaner or a painter or a babysitting job. Lavaughn ended up getting the babysitting job, but she had no idea what she was getting herself into. The mother who needed a babysitter ended up being 17 years old with two children and was a complete mess.
 Although LaVaughn is only 14, she ended up playing more of the mother role than the childrens actual mother (Jolly). As a child Jolly was homeless, did drugs when she was a teenager, and ended up with two kids by the age of 17, and never got to college. LaVaughns mother starts to question the babysitting job when she notices LaVaughns school and homework patterns are changing. Before the babysitting job, LaVaughn had good homework and school habits and very good grades. But after a while of spending time with Jolly, she failed to continue completing her homework each night, and made excuses for coming home late. As her mom begged and tried to convince her to quit the job, she refused. LaVaughn felt that she needed to help Jolly and her two children Jeremy and Jilly. She wants to clean up their house, which is infested with roaches, and other bugs. She is the one who cleans up after Jilly, who is only an infant, and Jeremy, who is a toddler. She is the one who bathes them, sings them to sleep, feeds them, and treats them as a mother should. Throughout the book, LaVaughn tries to get Jolly back on track and get her to go back to school. She delt with Jolly's mood swings, but at times she felt that maybe she could quit. She never did. At the end, Jolly's life changed. One moment at the end really shows that if Lavaughn was never in Jolly's life, things would have taken a turn for the worst.
This book was one of my favorites. It showed me that its good to help someone. Even if its just something small, it could still change the way they are, or just make them happy. I also learned a bigger lesson; people come into your life for a reason. Also, dont be scared of change. Jolly was scared to change, she did not want to go back to school, she didn't want to change the way she lived. She didn't know how to change. But when LaVaughn came, she taught her how to change, she taught her that its okay to change. She made her realize that she was changing for something good, to improve her life, and her children's life.This book had so many lessons, advice, and important information that people could use thoughout their lives. One peice of advice/lesson is that its good to take changes, and see what happens, becasue it could end up helping you.
I would definitely recommend this book to middle school girls. It is a very easy read, but a nice story, and very enjoyable. I couldn't put the book down! Each chapter leaves you of to want to keep reading. I loved this book so much!