Review for Crank

Crank is a book by Ellen Hopkins about a girl that gets down with the monster, crank, ice, meth. The story is in poem format, but the book shows raw emotions better than any story formated book that I have ever read. Crank really showed me the life of someone that was hooked on meth, without knowing she was hooked (she thought she was in control).

Crank is a story that is based on the really experiences of Ellen Hopkins's daughter. The story is only coming more and more familiar in our modern day society and that is extremely depressing. To know that many Americans spend their lifes revolved around a substance that is killing them, and this story shows that to the fullest. The main character, Kristina or Bree, is not some slum street kid either, she has a good family and is "the perfect daughter."

Crank tells Kristina's or Bree's struggle through a hard society and where, for her, courage is only a snort a way. It is a very real story that warned me about the dangers of meth, while inspiring me to be the best I can be.

Taking a Stand

Taking a stand is not always easy; I once took a stand for McCain and against Obama. I was the odd man out, the black sheep of the family. I was the blemish on the face of my Obama-supporting family, which was not the greatest feeling in the world. Also equally distressing, I was often ridiculed for my choice of candidate in the presidential election. My family seemed to take delight in poking fun at me for my choice of McCain. I was deemed "the little Republican," a title that was labeled as funny in my democratic family. Finally taking a stand for myself, I debated against them, thrusting my opinions in their faces whether they wanted to hear my opinions or not. Of course, my family is very stubborn, so for me debating against them was as if I were trying to swim up a river. I would get very upset, and because the opposition came at me from all sides, I felt like I was cornered. I acted accordingly, like a snarling animal, which earned more chuckles. To my eyes I was a seething tiger, but to their eyes I was a furious kitten. Even though I was mocked, debated against, and the outcast of the family, I still took a stand for myself against my own family.

So take a stand even if doing so is hard. Let everyone know your feelings and don't just bottle up anger if someone is pushing you around, stand up and make them back down. Even if standing up is hard sometimes, standing up usually makes obstacles easier to overcome.

Sophmore .5

This was the first semester of my sophomore year. Was this year much to my liking? No. I feel like I'm on overdrive all the time. I miss 9th grade. But, don't get me wrong this year was pretty fun. Homecoming was crazy fun, I danced the whole time and hung out with friends. The year is going by fast and personally I can't wait for it to be over. When school ends I will finally be sixteen and hopefully my car will be in by that time. But back to what has happened so far this year.

Nothing to terribly exciting has happened. There has been very little drama and I haven't gotten in a fight with anyone, so I guess that is a good part of this half year. Managing for basketball is sometimes mentally stressing, only because some games we get back late and I'll have homework that I have not done to do. But, managing is also rewarding, it makes me feel like I am still apart of the team, basketball was a part of my life for to long for me to completely get away from it.

I look forward to the last semester of this year, and I pray that it goes by as quickly as this one has.

Fate?

Fate, it is a widely discussed topic. Fate is discussed today and it was discussed back in the time of Shakespeare. So the question is do you believe in fate? Or do you believe in free will, or maybe even a mix of the two? Back in the time of Shakespeare, most people believed in absolute fate.

Shakespeare used fate in many of his plays including Julius Caesar. In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare shows his belief in fate by using the Soothsayer and the ghost of Caesar. The Soothsayer tells Caesar to beware the Ides of March, and as it comes to pass, that is the day that Caesar is murdered? The ghost of Caesar warns Brutus that he will see him again at Philippi, which means that Brutus will die that day. At the Battle of Philippi, Brutus commits suicide by running upon his own sword. So is it fate that Brutus and Caesar die on the designated days, or was it free will? Is it fate that guides us through the day, our own free will, or a mix of the two, fate that has set a path for us but gives us decisions for which path we will take? Think about it.

Leadership

Leadership, a great characteristic to have, is very important to the world and to society. Without leadership the world would easily fall into chaos. We have to have followers as will, but what would they do without someone to lead them? Without leaders, nothing would ever get done. In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, leadership is a main role for the many characters of the play. In Act 3 Scene 2, Antony took control of the plebeian crowd. Antony turned their hearts and changed their minds. He turned a Caesar-hating crowd into a Caesar-avenging mob. That act took a huge show of leadership.

Act 3 Scene 2 reminds me of my summer. This summer, I went to an FCA leadership camp. Leading in a gentle way, our teachers, our leaders, taught us how to lead. They taught us the skill of leading and also the skills of team work and following commands. They taught us in fun methods that struck home with us, while is also showed the leadership skills of the staff. After every day we would go into a cathedral and listen to the main leader preach. Although, there were some exceptions, especially on the last day of camp while everyone was riled up. Taking control of the crowd, the preacher started to talk, and we all shut up and listened. Without his skill of leadership, we would have continued to be a chaotic crowd. Leadership is necessary in everyday life.

Genuine Listening?

We are currently reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, a book by Sean Covey, and in Habit 5 the book talks about seeking first to understand and then to be understood. Reading Habit 5, I learn to listen genuinely.

When I read about genuin listening and all the other wrong types of listening, I thought I hardly ever do the wrong listening and I almost all ways listen genuinely. Then I called one of my friends just to talk. During the whole conversation I was spacing out and selective listening the whole time. And I realized that maybe, just maybe, that I wasn't the great listener that I thought I was.

When I went to school the next day, I was confounded that I spaced out and selective listened again. It is now my goal to space out and selective listen less, and to genuinely listen more. I understand that it is important to understand someone before they can understand you.

Patadigms of Life

I have been reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens and paradigms of life, one of the subjects, really made me think. Paradigms help us to see what we center our lives on. The story on paradigms said that we should center ourselves around principles rather than other things. The list of center items are friend-centered, stuff-centered, boyfriend-centered, school-centered, parent-centered, and some other possible centers. When I read the school-centered paragraph I immediately thought of myself.

Early in the year I had completely centered myself around school and homework. I would get home and go up to my room and start on homework, the bane of most students. I would start at about 5 p.m and end at about 9 p.m, I would work on the homework due for the next day and for the homework assigned for the day after that. I was exhausted at school and I didn't sleep well at night. Pretty soon all I thought about was homework and what assignments were due. Homework had completely taken over my life, and I had let it.

I finally got balance in my life, and now I don't stress to much over homework. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens says that we focus so much that we forget why we are even going to school, which is to learn. It says if we focus on principles then all the items we could center on will get better then what they would if we did center on them. That is just something to think about.