What I Read that Mattered

Throughout high school I have read countless pieces of literature and I’ve hated some and loved others. Some of my favorites include Of Mice and Men andThe Catcher in the Rye, but my absolute favorite was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I read the novel in Mr. Weidman’s honors English class sophomore year, and have been in love with it ever since. The novel is about a 14 year-old girl who is raped and murdered by one of her neighbors, Mr. Harvey on her way home from school. Although she is dead, the protagonist, Susie, watches her family from heaven and witnesses the wide ranging effects that her murder had on her family, friends, and even people she hardly knew.

          The novel mattered so much to me because it revealed a lot about life and death. It brought to the reader’s attention the fragility of life and how quickly it can be over, inspiring the desire to make the most out of every day. After reading the novel, I began making an effort to focus on small details and the little things I love about life like the warm feeling when you walk out of an air conditioned classroom, my mom’s cooking, or the sound of the rain. It also taught me to be more careful and avoid reckless behavior because you never know what can happen. Doing things you know are dangerous and assuming bad things won’t happen to you is just stupid and not worth the risk. Another important aspect of the book was the concept of heaven. Sebold provides the reader with an idea of what comes after death. However, her model of the afterlife is special because it does not involve any type of religious notions about an afterlife, but one that Sebold created herself. It presents the idea that there is some kind of afterlife that’s a beautiful place where you can watch over people you care about and be completely at peace. I really liked this concept because it’s what we all want to believe, because no one wants to be finished living, but a place like that gives hope that the journey is not over.

          The most important thing that I will keep with me from the novel is that now I know how important every life is. The novel showed me that no matter how insignificant you might think you are in the world, your life is important to so many people. Like Susie, now I know how many peoples’ lives would change if I wasn’t here anymore, or if I never was. Finally, the novel showed me that revenge won’t change what’s already happened and that moving on from horrible events is already enough of a struggle without seeking revenge or hurting someone else just because you’ve been hurt. The Lovely Bones shows that there are more important things on earth than vengeance such as love, relationships, and forgiveness.

What are your favorite book(s) you've read in high school and why did it (they) matter to you?

-Hillary D.

Oh Blogging..

Blogging. Everytime blog sheets are do my team and I find ourselves cringing at the thought of having to rumage through the rest of the blogs trying to find something interesting to comment on. Everytime before this last one its the same old story. Everyone posting about the same book or the same assignment or discussion we had in class. This time however, and the last time at that, blogs are filling up with posts about graduation and college that seems ever so close now. Looking back on the year maybe it would have been wothwhile to continue blogging about things that are more interesting or more entertaining to comment about (not that there is anything wrong with blogging about our AP Lit class). Speaking for my team at least, I would have loved to read about more than just the experiences we have had in the classroom and more of the real world situations we will be cast into shortly. Although The Justice League may not have been the most persistant bloggers we certainly fulfilled the duty of doing so in a descent manner. Ultimately however, this last blog sesh has turned out to be one of my personal favorites because I am beggining to see where my classmates are destined to be come next fall and its all quite exciting, and unfortunately bittersweet. Oh blogging.. this is the end. :)
-Kelli

what come next?

As I sit here listening to music and reading other peoples blogs i have realized that in just eight short days everything is going to change. For this past year I knew that graduation would come, but i was not expecting it to come this fast. In a blink of an eye my whole senior year has gone by and i dont know if I am ready to face what comes next. Am I ready to face the real world? Am I prepared for what comes next? These questions race through my head as i contemplate what the days after high school are going to be like.  Eight days are left, then what? What happens after?
Summer vacation and then school, but this time there aren't going to be bells and there aren't going to be people making sure you are there sitting in your assigned seat. Instead you are truly going to be responsible for yourself. Am I ready for that kind of responsibility? Can I handle that much freedom after all these years with bells and attendance? I have no idea, but I guess I will find out after these next eight days flash by.
-Allaura