Love on Maher Avenue

After Mr.Kunkle gave his somewhat inspirational story about his grandfather's spring factory, I was kind of excited to write a blog post about my own interesting family story. This tale may not be as exciting, actually it sounds like it could be another chick flick movie, but I think it's adorable, to say the least.

It all started on Maher Avenue. My mother lived at one end, and my father at the other. They "knew" each other from a very young age. My dad's cousin lived behind my mom, so he'd constantly be playing football/soccer, etc. right in her backyard! My parents weren't really friends, but they must have admired each other from afar. Their childhood went something like this, until they reached high school.

To put it mildly, my dad was dirtbikin' hippie stud by the time he reached high school. If you're wondering where I get my beautiful blonde locks from, just look at him! ha. My mom was the good girl (stellar G.P.A, goody two-shoes), and she was also the study hall monitor. My parents didn't hang out in the same clique, but they got to know each other more in study hall. Since my mom was in charge of the attendance and she thought my dad was smokin' hott, she told him that he didn't have to come to school for study hall and she'd still mark him present. After a week or two of him not showing up, my mom felt like an idiot for telling him NOT to come because then she couldn't stare at his gorgeous face!

Eventually, my mom quit being a study hall monitor and spent her study halls following my dad around. They frequently went on dates during open campus to Taco John's (they went to good ol' LaFollette) and eating 33 cent tacos, because they were apparently really cheap. They didn't have too serious of a relationship in high school, but everything changed once my dad graduated.

My parents took a stronger interest in each other as the years went on, and after breaking up and getting back together, they realized how happy they were together and BOOM! they got married. Now they have a happy life and we're the perfect family :) It's just crazy to think they've known each other since like age 7, and they ended up becoming soulmates. It's precious, actually.

I hope that happens to me someday. Oh wait, it kind of is. I think I'm having a slight repeat of my parents history.

I lived on Oakridge Street in Madison until I was three. My best friend was this boy named Connor that lived two houses down. We played all the time and our families were super good friends. But then I moved to McFarland, and he moved to Monona Grove. His parents worked in the Madison school district, so they kept in touch. However, I didn't see Connor for at least 10 years. As fate would have it, he came in with his mom to Buffalo Wild Wings when I was working, and I recognized her from their family Christmas cards. Connor looked completely different though, probably because he wasn't three anymore! We started to talk and now we are kind of dating, so maybe this will end up just like my parents neighborhood love story!

Kandinsky and Obama

As I'm writing this post, I'm wishing that I would've gone to the MMOCA to view the Apple Pie art display. Not to go on a tangent, but apple pie sounds delicious right now. Anyways, it's going to be kind of difficult for me to make some kind of legitamite connection, but I think I've got one.

Kandinsky and Obama !!

Although it's been a while since reading our wonderful 44th president's inaugural address, I clearly remember some of the main points that he made. Obama's message was full of hope and promise. He wanted to convey the message that our nation was in a mess and and need of repair. Obama was (and still is, for that matter) trying to get our nation back on top and in pristine shape.

Something about this wonderful work of art reminds me of Obama's address. Looking at it, it kind of seems like a jumbled mess with no chance of being put together again. This kind of seems like the USA. However, if you look beyond the scrambled images, you can see beautiful colors that work harmoniously together to create an aesthetic work of art. I think that people in America dwell too much on the negative and forget to see all of the beauty that surrounds them. Taking a minute or two each day to optimistically reflect on the world could make a huge difference!

The Tenth Circle

For our chosen novels, I decided to read The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. I love her books The Pact and My Sister's Keeper. I've always wanted to read more of her books, but I could never find the time to do it. I'm glad that I finally have the chance to start another one of her books.



The feeble beware: this book is very intense (and I'm only on page 80!). It is about a girl named Trixie who clearly has some kind of hormonal imbalance in her brain that is causing her to think illogically. She is a freshman in high school and her boyfriend of three months just broke up with her. Her bad-influence friend, Zephyr, is very casual about hookups and partying, so she invites Trixie and her ex-boyfriend, Jason, to a party to see if Trixie can make him jealous and he'll want to get back together. I'm not going to give anything else away, sorry. You'll just have to read it for yourself!



I think that it's so weird to analyze these girls and look back on my freshman year. I guess that I was a little more crazy and desperate than I am now, and I'm glad that I've morphed into such a great person! A few years can make such a big difference in someone's life.

Anywhoo, this novel is incredible and I'd recommend it to anyone!!

I, Too, Sing Myself

Alright AP Compers, here's a little poem that I wrote about myself. It's not all entirely true, but I think it's humorous. Also, a special thanks to Andrew for helping me out!!

We all know that I'm a little slow.
I usually don't pick up on sarcasm or other things
unless it's about diamond rings.

I don't wanna be in schol*
I'd rather be by the pool,
chillin with Paris Hilton
because she's so cool.
And I ain't no fool!

Shoppin' for shoes
is what I like to do's.
But I got some better news:
on my ACT i got a 32's.

For all you haters out there,
I really don't care.
And I'm going to steal your underwear

You might think that I'm shallow
because my hair is yallow.
But actually I'm super nice,
and I used to have pet mice!

You think that I'm stupid but I'm not.
You're just jealous 'cause I'm hottt,
and I also don't smoke pot!
I like to shop online a lot;
I'm not a dumb blonde robot.

The point of this poem is that I'm trying to say
that I ain't tryna play.
Everything's gotta be my way.

I'll do what I want
while I flaunt
my cute little smile,
and I hope you've listened for a while.
Cause I'm the bomb,
and I really love my mom!



*Schol is supposed to be school, but was misspelled to add humor to the poem.

:)

"If you can love me for what I am, we shall be the happier"

"I cannot break myself any longer for you, or you. If you can love me for what I am, we shall be the happier. If you cannot, I will still seek to deserve that you should."

This was my favorite quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance (located on page 104 of our course reader.) I feel like this quote really identifies with who I feel like I am as a person, and it's also how I want other people to think of me.

I'm the type of person that always stays true to myself. Sorry, but I'll never change who I am for you or anyone else, for that matter. I don't care if people don't like me or how I think, because I only care how I view myself. I do what I love and love what I do. If someone can love me for what I am, then that is real love. It's sad when people fall in love but they don't act like themselves around the other person, so it shouldn't be allowed to be called "love."

I love that Emerson brings this point up. The whole essay was about staying true to yourself, which I absolutely loved! The main argument of this notable quote is that two people can be totally happy with each other once they fully get to know and be comfortable with the significant other. If this doesn't happen, they should still try until they reach this goal.

Nothing's Changed Since The '20's.

What comes to mind when you hear 'the roaring twenties?' Well for me, not a whole lot. I know that it was a time when women got a lot more independence and lost a lot of hair and dress length. I'm guilty of not knowing very many historical facts about this time, but I just assumed that everything was still really old-fashioned and traditional. After reading The Great Gatsby, I believe that I may have been dead wrong.

I'm not a big fan of historical things (movies, books, etc.), so I wasn't really looking forward to this book. However, it seems as though F. Scott Fitzgerald is describing a dramatic love triangle drunken party scene that could have easily taken place in the 2000's. After reading the first chapter, I was totally stunned. I pictured a 1920's party as being very sophisticated with waltzing and expensive wine, not some huge drunken brawl where everyone was totally wasted. Seems more like our modern times, yet also more barbaric.

The way that the characters talk and act is also so similar to us humans now. I thought that all of the new advances in technology, etc. had completely morphed us into a whole different species. Apparently I was wrong. In the 1920's there was still cheating on spouses, fighting, and awkward conversations. I guess things never fully change!

America is . . . Gran Torino!

I have to admit that I enjoyed doing the 'America is a Movie' presentation much more than the summer chosen essay presentation that we did last quarter. I think that it is super interesting to see how my different classmates view America. Some have totally optimistic points of view, and others view America in a very pessimistic way. Usually I've noticed that everyone focuses on family, which I believe is a huge part of America (and the rest of the world, for that matter!)



(For the 4th block AP Compers, the movie that I chose was Gran Torino). Not only do I HIGHLY recommend this movie, but I think that it represents America very well. Mr.Kunkle told me a funny story about his cranky old neighbor who is really racist and he ACTUALLY told Mr. Kunkle that Gran Torino was written about him! (I guess it actually does hit home closer than I thought!)



One of the main themes of Gran Torino that I've noticed in a handful of works that we've read so far is racism. I wouldn't consider myself a racist, but in certain situations it is very hard to not notice or even discriminate against those who are of a different color than I am. I am always kind to people from other races, but it can create a barrier that makes it awkward of difficult to be completely normal around each other. America is known as the giant "melting pot," so we are surrounded by so many different races and cultures. I think that more people need to learn the history of other races (such as Walt did with the Hmong in Gran Torino) in order to fully understand others and be less judgemental! We can all improve just a little bit more to make the world a better place :)