Life As A First Generation College Student: reading

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

30 Day Writing Challenge: A Book I Love and One I Didn't

A Book I Love and One I Didn't

I am a book lover. I could read books all day every day if I could. I read so many good books, a lot of great books, and a good group that I've fallen in love with, so it's hard to comb through the books I've read, probably hundreds by now, in order to pick one that I didn't enjoy reading. But here it goes. These are some that I remember off the top of my head; they're not completely representative of all of my reading adventures.

Book I Love: The Giving Tree

Photo credit:
books.google.com

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, is my favorite book of all time. The book follows the relationship between a tree and a boy. As the boy ages, the boy takes and takes from the tree to the point where the tree becomes nothing more than a stump. They tree cares for and loves deeply the boy, which is why it is willing to sacrifice itself over time. In the end, the tree has nothing left to give, and the boy finally ceases to ask for anything, just to sit on it's stump. The book ends with the phrase, "And the tree was happy."

This story is a story of friendship. Though I don't think the friendship was a completely healthy one, as the boy basically uses the tree throughout the vast majority of their friendship, but it introduces children to the concept of empathy and the beauty of giving. It teaches you that money and material things can't buy you happiness, that relationships, whether it be with other people, or with oneself, are critical for happiness. We need more love, more giving in the world. I aspire to be that tree. I want to give and give until there is nothing left of me, because for me, that will make me truly happy. I don't need a lot to be happy, just to know that I am helping others.

Other Books (and other literary works) I Really Like:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Animal Farm by George Orwell
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Book I Didn't Love: Heart of Darkness (sorry Seematter!)

Photo credit:
books.google.com

I read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad my senior year of high school in my AP Literature class. This book follows the journey of a man named Marlow during a trip to Africa as a member of an ivory trading firm. Along the way, he witnesses struggle and brutality between the native people and the colonizers. He meets a man named Kurtz, who is a "prisoner" and "god" of the native people and "rescues" him. Kurtz eventually dies and Marlow spends the rest of the book picking up the pieces after his death.

It's a rough book to get through, in my opinion. The writing style, the events of the book, it just took me awhile to get through. Keep in mind though, I was also a senior in high school with little motivation to do anything. I'm not sure if I didn't love it because it was a challenge or because I didn't actually understand it completely. Literature is also not my best subject, so I missed a lot of the literary elements present in the book. I also don't think I understood the context of the book well enough. Eventually, I plan to go back and read it again and see if I come to a different conclusion, now that I'm in my third year of college.

Other Books I Didn't Love:

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

30 Day Writing Challenge: My Current Relationship

My Current Relationship (or lack thereof)

No surprise here, but I am currently single. Or maybe it is a surprise. I don't know what you assume about my life, nor do I really care. I've learned to be confident in myself and not let what other people assume about me bother me. Though I'd like to be known for my kindness and my passion for helping others, you may not see that. I hope you do. If you do feel like making assumptions, honestly just ask be and be blunt; I respect that. Heck, I learned today after talking with some women in my class about, I don't even know what we were talking about, that people, at least those in my study abroad program, think I do nothing with my life. They told me that they assume I don't do anything because they never see me out at the bars during the week. I could see how they could come to that conclusion, because they're right; I don't really go to the bars during the week. One, I've got a lot of school-related stuff to get done and I don't think that staying out until the odds hours of the morning before heading to an 8am the next day is the best decision for me personally. Two, that scene is just not my jam; it's not really fun for me. I don't enjoy going to crowded places, paying a ton of money for drinks, and getting drunk most nights of the weeks. Why would I want to impair my judgment and make decisions I might regret? That's my personal decision not to engage in that scene. If that's your scene, you do you. But personally, I'm more the person that likes movies, getting out in nature, having a drink and dinner with friends, going to plays and museums and parks, reading, volunteering. I like the occasional club or bar to get out of my comfort zone a bit, but not all the time. That's too much for me. Three, I don't get invited, because before even asking me about my interest, they've already assumed that they know my life. It's unfortunate because they made that assumption before even giving me the opportunity to express interest or disinterest, or knowing my feelings about drinking and going out. But to say that I do nothing with my life, I feel like that's a bit of an exaggeration. I mean there are plenty of things to do that don't involve drinking, and I choose to partake in those activities instead. I personally find it sad that they thought that if I wasn't partying, I must not be doing anything. I think it's sad that non-drinking activities did not even come to their minds when making that assumption. That's the problems with assumptions: we make them and stick to them before even attempting to gather evidence to create them in the first place. Their loss, though.

I got way off topic. Sorry friends. End of rant; I promise. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah, the single life. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I'm okay with being single. I've been single my entire life. It's not that I wouldn't eventually like to find a best friend that turns into a life companion; it just hasn't happened for me. I love the idea of love. I love the idea of companionship. But I haven't found it yet, and I'm okay with that. After all, I'm only 21, and I've been growing and changing my life for the better. I've been going after my non-romantic dreams and aspirations and pursing my passion to change my community for the better. Sorry I don't have a story, or a relevant blog entry. Actually, I'm not sorry at all. I won't apologize for living my life as a strong, independent, ambitious young woman.

If you aren't sure what activities are out there for us non-drinkers, I encourage you to check out the non-exhaustive list at: http://theodysseyonline.com/tcnj/51-things-that-you-can-do-other-than-drinking/209464

Or you can check out a short snapshot of the things I enjoy doing that don't involve drinking and getting drunk and going out to bars and clubs all of the time. These are also things I can really enjoy and appreciate solo while living the single life.