Dynamic Character

Throughout the book "Will Grayson, Will Grayson", so far the only character that seems to have changed and developed  the most is Will Grayson #2 (the one that has very bad attitude). In the beginning of the book Will was an ordinary high school student that struggled with socializing and finding self confidence. But as I read on, Will seemed to have opened up more in this whole new friendship he found unintentionallty when he had a dissapointing meetup with Isaac

A quote from the book that supports the development is on page 148, "it's not fair, because i didn't ask for dad to leave, and i didn't ask to be depressed, and i didn't ask for us to have no money,..."(this quote in taken directly from the book, even the format.) This quote shows Will self reflecting on his life and letting out what have been on his mind and what have been bothering him. This is something Will would have never done in the beginning of the book, since he was always an introvert that kept everything to himself even when he needed someone to talk to, because he felt that no one would have understand him. This sort of shows people that are suffering from maybe socializing or expressing yourself that you will eventually find someone, anyone that will understand you and help you through the hard times.

Here is a website showing self confidence booster:
http://zenhabits.net/25-killer-actions-to-boost-your-self-confidence/

Connection with our society

As I was reading the part of the book where Will gets into a band's concert with a fake ID, it made me think of our society. What happened was Will wanted to go to one of his favorite band's concert named "Maybe Dead Cats" (the name is kind of weird.) Will has to be over 20 to be able to get in but he is only 20, so he decided that he will get a fake ID in order to get in. When he arrived at the concert'a entrance he was told to show his ID and drivers license, even though the birth dates on the two cards did not match, the guy at the entrance did not notice the mistake and simply let Will in anyways.

It seems as of the author was trying to hint an indirect message through these text showing how our society has become less observant of our surroundings, actions and objects around us. Reading this made me think of Fahrenheit 451, how in their society no one bothers to slow down and put their technologies and device away to truly observe what's around them. I feel as if our society is slowly changing, as we advance into a more modern world creating new devices and technologies that would soon stop us from enjoying the nature and the world around us. I agree that advance technology has many benefits in our world today, it helps with communication and transportation. But even so, we should also take some time out from our busy life, to slow down and enjoy our nature because that can also help with our health and stress.

Here is a link explaining how our nature could help relieve some of our stress: 
http://dirt.asla.org/2011/09/08/research-shows-nature-helps-with-stress/

Text to self connection

We could all agree that at least once in our life we disrespected our parents. We yelled, ignored, complained. It's often that we forget about how we should be grateful for everything they have done for us. Which is why I felt connected as I read about the relationship Will has with his mother. In the book, the author made it pretty obvious that Will is not close to his mother, that's the reason why he started chatting online with Isaac, his only close friend.

Will felt as if his mother doesn't quite understand how he feels and what he's going through, there's a disconnection between them because of the loss of communication. Reading this line from the book I can connect with the guilt I get disrespecting my parents, "i just want to say, 'i feel sorry for you, really i do.' but that might start a conversation, and a conversation might start a fight, and then i'd feel guilty i might have to move away to portland or something." Not saying sorry to them after a fight to keep our pride and dignity, having that guilty feeling that bothers us for the whole day, we can definitely all connect with and learn to be more grateful and appreciative towards our parents. Mom and dad, thank you.

Link to a blog that talks about respecting our parents: http://www.parents.com/blogs/fearless-feisty-mama/2014/03/19/losing-a-parent/a-warning-to-those-who-disrespect-their-parents/

Krista Ramsey: Raising kids to embrace the world, then they do

The column written by Krista Ramsey called, "Raising kids to embrace the world, then they do" is about parenting, Krista wrote this column in chronological order, she describes the emotions and actions a parent takes to encourage and guide their kids when they were young and as they slowly grow older. She talks about the happy, sad, proud and many other emotions parents experience and they see their children grow to be a better people and going out to tackle the world. Instead of writing this column formally, she made it very easy to read also extremely inspiring and touching. As I read I feel as if she's reading the column to me because the column is written in a conversational tone that expresses her voice and tone very well.

One of my favorite lines from this column is the lines, "There's something about their looking so young and connected that makes us feel old and left behind. They're off to things. We're winding things down. They're planning adventures. We're planning retirement. They're in constant motion. We're willing everything just to be still." These lines contain many repetition in words and some telegraphic sentences. This line shows the difference between parents and their children as parents watches them grow up, almost making my eyes year up.


Krista Ramsey's writing style is very conversational, inspiring also tend to be written in a form of persuading people on a topic. Three questions I would like to ask her if I was given the opportunity would be:

- What inspired you to write this column?
- Where do you get you inspirations to write?
- What made you want to become a writer?

The column: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/03/06/krista-ramsey-young-adults/6144909/

Real life issue that is reflected in the text.

Since I am not too far into the book, there are not a lot of conflicts or big issues happening in the book yet, but one of the main issue so far is Will Grayson #2's attitude toward his mother. 

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, Will's personality is very negative, unfriendly, and does not seem like an easy person to approach. Even towards his mother he talks rudely and does not open up and tell her his inner thoughts like other kids. I can tell that he cares about her, but also distance himself from her because he felt that she doesn't understand the things he does or his views on things, and that's the reason why Will started talking to a friend he met online named Isaac and slowly they grew closer because of their similar views and ideas.

I felt that this related to real life issues because a lot of young kids especially teenagers these day that distant themselves from their parents because they felt that their parents don't understand them. I felt like the author was trying to send out a message that communication is key to a healthy relationship, and that we should never just assume that a person would not understand you when you haven't even try telling them your story.

Here's a link to read about communication and it's importance: http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/family_times/family_times_eng(sum04).pdf

Best part of my book...

So far I've been loving my book, "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green, the plot is very unpredictable, unique and fun to read!

Since my book has two main characters, one of the best part about my book is being able to see the difference between each of them. They both have the same name, Will Grayson, yet they have completely different personalities. Will Grayson #1 is very positive, smart, literal and just seems like a very normal guy that fits right into the crowd. Will Grayson #2 in the other hand is not so positive, gets easily irritated, unfriendly and he seems like someone that's really hard to get close to.

Looking at how both of the main characters of my book have such opposite personalities make me want to read more to find out how the two characters are going toner each other and become friends, also how they are going to get along and influence each other.

Here a video for you to learn more about the book:

Why did I choose this book?

The book that I chose as my independent reading book is "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" written by John Green. 

After reading the book "The Fault In Our Stars" also written by John Green, I was very inspired by the story and his style of writing. (By the way, I am so excited for the movie coming out!) He was different, fresh, funny and extremely easy to connect with, since his books are mostly based on teenage life. I was never a great reader, in fact I hated reading but that book left me asking for more. 

So naturally after reading one of his books I got curious and started researching more about him hoping for an opportunity to read more of his books. The book "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" caught my attention because the summary was extremely intriguing. It said that it is about two strangers with the same name meeting each other unintentionally one day, and their lives will suddenly change. Just imagine meeting a person out of no where with the same name as you not knowing that person will affect you and your life, that's so interesting! I am eager to know what's going to happen to them and really excited to start reading.

You can read in more details about the reviews of the book at: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6567017-will-grayson-will-grayson