Where do you belong?

Where do you “belong”?
Where do you not feel like you “belong,” even though it might make sense (geographically, culturally, etc.) for you to do so?
What makes the difference?

I was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I only lived there for about two or three years, then I moved to Indiana. Since then, I’ve been living in Indiana. I in some ways feel like I belong in Indiana, because I have been here for a majority of my lifetime. But, I still consider myself a native person from Michigan. I still want to go back and visit there. I haven’t been to Michigan in quite a long time. In spite of that, I still feel as if I belong there. It is my real home in a way, because I was born there. I can identify with people that live in Indiana, though, too. I have started to show somewhat of an Indiana accent. I don’t really like that fact, because sometimes I sound a little bit hickish. I know that my accent would not belong in Michigan. I also feel connected to Michigan, because it has been one of my dreams to go to college at the University of Michigan. It’s not that I don’t necessarily feel that I don’t belong in Indiana, I Just feel that in some ways I relate more to Michigan. In other ways, though, I feel like I relate more to Indiana, because of the fact that I live here and because I have grown up here and friends and I am sometimes proud of Indiana. For example, when the Colts won the superbowl, I was so excited. I felt proud that Indiana was known for something. The difference is that I was born in Michigan and that is where my hometown is kind of. I have lived in Indiana for my whole life basically. I could consider this my hometown in a way also, but I like to think of Michigan as my home, because not many of my friends are from Michigan so I feel more unique. I am proud of where I am from. Where I am from being Indiana and Michigan. It just depends on what I am proud of and then that determines which state I feel like I belong more.

Favorite Character

One of my favorite characters in the book, Of Mice and Men, is Slim. I like Slim, because he is the leader of the group and is the most respected. He also seems to be the wisest. He knows what to say in difficult situations. He also knows how to comfort someone and can relate to people in some way. He makes you feel good and he knows whether or not something is good or bad. He is the one that is turned to for advice and the one that is always there for you in some way. He is also trustworthy. He is the guy that everybody likes and wants to be friends with. He has many good qualities. He knows how to read people so that he can help out with things that are wrong or knows that something is wrong and wants to help. In George’s case, Slim read George and knew that George had done what he had done, because he had to and that he did it out of the goodness in his heart for Lennie. In this way that Slim read George, he could tell what needed to be said and how to comfort George. He is a good friend that is always there for you.

Euthanasia

Euthanasia-
Def: the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma.

There are debates over if this is right or not. In most countries, the practice is illegal. This makes sense. But, I also think that sometimes it should be legal. If you are doing it to help a person, then it should be somewhat acceptable. The definition basically means that you are helping someone out by not suffering with something that can’t be cured or is very painful. You obviously must care about the patient to do something like this. You wouldn’t do this if you didn’t. You could let them die in pain and suffering. Then again, it does seem a little bit bad. It should be legal in certain cases of patients. It should be that you should get the patients consent and the families consent first. It would be bad if you killed the patient without anyone aware of the situation. It should also only happen when there isn’t anything that can be done to cure the patient. If there is a cure to the disease, you should do that first before you do anything else. In Of Mice and Men, it is a way that euthanasia seems just. What was done was a favor in a way. There might have been another way to help Lennie out, but at the time, George knew that it was probably the only thing that could be done.

Why Do Dreams Fail?

There can be many reasons why dreams fail. Some dreams can fail, because of money issues. Others can fail, because of lack of skill. Or dreams can fail, because sometimes things just don’t work out or someone or something is holding you back. And another reason is that sometimes, you just give up. There are many more reasons as to why dream fail, but these are just a few. I am not old enough yet to really say that some of my dreams failed. I think that sometimes I have had dreams that were not very likely or attainable. For example, I used to want to be a singer or a movie star and I knew that was not going to happen. In a sense my dream failed, but not particularly, because I never tried or worked to get it. In the book, Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie have a dream. Their dream is to own their own farm one day. They are going to have crops like, alfalfa, berries, berries and fruit trees, and a big vegetable garden. The alfalfa is for the many rabbits that they are going to have. Lennie is the one that wants the rabbits, because they are one of his favorite animals and they are very soft. The animals that will be on the farm are rabbits, pigs, cows, dog, chickens, and pigeons. There will also be fishing and hunting. It is a wonderful dream to them that would be a dream come true when they actually achieve this dream. They want so much to have their own farm. They have to make sure, though, that nothing bad gets in their way. I really hope that they do end up getting the farm. It is also very likely that they don’t get the farm, because something bad happens. I’m not really sure what will happen, but I think that in the end, their dreams of having their own farm doesn’t happen.

Belonging

“How important is it for human beings to have a place where they “belong” where there are people who know and love them?”

I think that it is very important for human beings to have a place where they “belong” where there are people who know and love them. I think this is important, because if you have a place where you belong and people love you they have a good influence on you. If you don’t have a place where you belong and no one loves you, you don’t have anyone to have a positive influence on you. In the long run, that can affect your life. It also is important, because you have people that can give you moral support or help you during rough times. It is also nice to have a home where you can go to and know that you are loved. If one had no place to go, they might be depressed that they didn’t have anyone that was there for them. It would be difficult to wake up every day and realize that you have no one that truly cares about you. It is very sad when one doesn’t have a place to go to. I am glad that I do have a place to go home to.

Friends

"What makes a friend?"
"Why do we have friends?"

What makes a friend is a combination of things. Having good qualities is one of the things that make a friend. It is important that a friend has good qualities, because then they can be a good influence on you. You want a friend that is nice and caring so that at times when you need to be comforted or anything, it is nice to have a friend that is nice. Other qualities that makes a friend is trustworthiness and honesty. If you want someone that tells you the truth and is loyal you know that you can trust him or her. There are many other qualities as well. The reason we have friends is so that we have someone to be able to relate with and console with. We also have friends so that we can have fun. Its not that you can’t have fun on your own, but it is nice to do things with people you care about. If we didn’t have friends, the world would be different. I think that people may not be as nice and they wouldn’t have much of a personality. Your friends are a part of what defines you as a person. If we didn’t have friends, we would lose a part of us.

Anticipation/Reaction Question

Statement: Being rich is more important than having close friends.

I think that this statement is false. It is good to have money, but it is somewhat better to have close friends. If you have close friends and you are not rich, they can support you and help you out when you are in money troubles. It is good to have close friends all the time, even if you do have money. This is good, because if you do run into money trouble or some type of trouble, your friends will be there to help you out. This question is also a bit stereotypical. It seems as if the statement is saying that if you are rich, then you don’t have any close friends. It is kind of saying that rich people are snobby. I’m sure that there are son wealthy people that are snobby, but not all. You can also have a good sum of money, but you wouldn’t be exactly rich. I would rather have close friends that I could talk to when I needed them. In any case, though, it is always good to have close friends. It is also important that you do have some money that will help you throughout life. Even if you don’t, though, close friends should always be there for you in times of need.

Romeo and Juliet Q&A

Who was ultimately responsible for all of the death that occurred in the play? Why?
The one that was ultimately responsible for all of the death that occurred in the play could have been Friar Laurence or Prince Escalus. The Friar could have been ultimately responsible for all of the death that occurred in the play, because he was the one that agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet to each other and then carried that plan out. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing to marry Romeo and Juliet it just caused many problems. He agreed to do the marriage with good intentions, though. He hoped that Romeo and Juliet’s marriage might bring the two family rivals together and stop their on-going feud between each other. On the other hand, the Prince could have been ultimately responsible for all of the death that occurred in the play, because he didn’t enforce his warnings very well. He also should have disciplined the Montagues and the Capulets more completely after earlier situations between them. The Prince even recognizes this at the end of the play. If in fact the Prince had disciplined the two families more fully, then he wouldn’t have lost Mercutio and Paris, his kinsmen, and maybe Romeo and Juliet would have been saved.

Why does Juliet kill herself when she could be free?
Juliet kills herself when she could be free, because she couldn’t be free without Romeo alive. He is her one and only true love and she cannot live without him. So, in her eyes, the only way that she could be with Romeo was if she was dead. So, she did the only thing that seemed logical and killed herself. To her, the only way she could live was if she was with Romeo. And because Romeo is dead, the only way she could live was if she was dead as well, because life without Romeo is nothing.

Do you think that The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is really a tragedy? Explain your response.
I think that it is and it isn’t a tragedy. I think it is a tragedy, because there are many deaths involved in the play. Some people died and were killed for silly or stupid reasons. There were many deaths that probably should not have happened. If some of the characters had done different things there would probably be a very different outcome. If the Prince had enforced his rules more and disciplined the two families more completely, a lot of the deaths could have been prevented. The way that is wasn’t a tragedy is, because the deaths were in a way necessary for the story to work. Even though these tragedies could have been prevented if some characters did things differently, it would have changed this famous story entirely. And when Juliet died, some people may view it as a tragedy, but I think of it as a good thing. I think of it as a good thing, because Romeo and Juliet can finally be together in peace.

Romeo and Juliet Act 1

Romeo and Juliet is a very interesting play so far. I don't really know what I expected the characters to be like. I think that Romeo does love Juliet. Although, he started loving her when he saw her, so it's a little bit superficial. Not entirely though. I don't think that Romeo ever really loved Rosaline. The puns and the wordplay are hard to figure out at times, but when I went back and read them again, they all started to make sense. The language is difficult to get. Most likely because I don't speak that way or read things that are spoken in that form. I don't think I have any questions at the moment. I think that reading the spark notes version is helpful, because it explains a lot and gives background to things. It also gives a commentary on each scene, which goes over what had just happened and explains it in modern-day English. I was kind of excited to get to the party scene, because I wanted to know what was going to happen. I haven't read this before, but I am looking forward to reading more and discovering what happens between Romeo and Juliet!