Numerical poem 2

2 twins born from a bipolar mother

2 seconds apart

sang a duet while eating biscuits

on bicycles

they fell on their biceps

and crushed their bowels

so that they both had to go to the hospital

riding on an ambulance using ethanol

the twins had to go through a biopsy

in which the general surgeon was bipartisan 

for that reason and to this day

the death of the two twins remains an disgusting case

Blog #6 5/27/09

For this blog post, I would like to make a connection from a quote to a song. Jo thinks, "Boy, you had to kiss another girl's boyfriend to know who your real friends were. In her case, that was absolutely no one" (Brashares, 211). This quote is talking about Jo, and how after she made out with Effies ex Zach under the boardwalk and she witnessed it, everyone that she considered to be her friends turned away from her and melted under Effie's command. I think that this exemplifies a mood of hurt and shock, because really, it shows how people just follow the person with the most power or popularity when it won't get anyone farther in life! A song I think relates and shows the feelings expressed by Jo is What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts. I believe that this song is a good connection to Jo's shock and hurt by when she realized all her friends had turned on her because it portrays loss and hurt. If you watch the music video, the song is supposed to portray the hurt and shock of a loved one being dead, and its repercussions on the people who care about that person that when it happens, everyone around them is crushed into depression and grieving. Of course, what Jo experienced is somewhat of a more common occurence than a death of a close friend or relative, but the song does represent again what Jo was feeling when it happened. Hopefully, things like these won't happen as much in the future, but they do and we just have to deal with them one step at a time. 

Blog #5 5/20/09

For this blog post, I wanted to analyze a quotation from a main character Polly, from 3 Willows. Polly said, "She didn't want to be interesting. Maybe it was okay when you were grown up and you were in control of it, but being different in high school was no fun at all"(Brashares, 143). Pollys mom Dia was an artist, so of course Dia felt comfortable being unique and "interesting." But, after Polly went through modeling camp, she was exposed to how the world viewed people, and being "interesting" definitely was not it. First off, after being told that being different was way better than normal, it came as a shock to Polly when she entered high school and modeling. This especially became true when her friends split apart to go into "better" friend groups, feeling ashamed when they talked to her, mostly because they thought they would hurt her feelings, which in a way, they did. This quote shows how even though parents and teachers stress that being yourself is the most important thing, it really is false when you are a student, and it is angering that adults feed their kids with those kinds of things, only setting them up to be dissapointed in the future. Sure, being unique is fine, but many people in high school don't view it as "cool" or "normal." Moreover, this quote shows how hurt Polly was after being abandoned by her friends and being told lies from her mom. 

Number 8 poem

There once was a lady

who had octuplets 

that were born on the 8th day of october

who lived in a state

with only eight cities

in which all eight resided

in a house with 8 rooms

shaped like an octagon

from which all 8 shared a dinning room

where they would eat

8 octopus every 8th day of the month in october

they would go to school riding octacycles

because the gas was far to high 

at eight dollars a gallon 

for the mom of the octuplets to pay

so she put them in eight races

were each got 8th place

and won 800,000 each

so they could pay 

the mother with octuplets

Blog #4 5/13/09

For this blog, I wanted to do a connection from one of the characters, Jo from the book 3 Willows, to the real world. I would like to make a connection from Jo's parents divorce to ones that happen all across the world. Brashares describes, "Jo began to get a feeling, faraway but powerful, of just how unhappy they had been, how much had been sacrificed because of it"(Brashares, 248). This quote describes how Jo had known that after her brother Finn's death, they just weren't happy anymore and that it changed who they were. For example, her mom turned to cleaning and her dad to work, but they both were afraid to talk about it because it brought up to many memories. As in many divorces, they happen because of some sort of tragedy or misfortune, in this case the death of a son. Or, just because they don't love each other anymore. The divorce of Jo's parents affected her in more ways than just one. She lost touch with her dad, and her mom was always trying to be outgoing, being at party's all the time, as a way to avoid loneliness and the acceptance of loss. Also, the divorce affected Jo because she had to find a balance between seeing her mom and her dad on an alternating schedule, while they told her they were just "trying" it out. In effect, many divorced couples face issues of possession over children which can lead the children to be confused, lost, and hurt without anyone to talk to. The worst part about divorcees is that they tend to feed their children false hopes as if they were to mend things up. Moreover, it is not always best to blame the parents, but they should keep an open mind to their children and maybe invest some time into sessions to talk about what is really going on so that no one gets lost in translation. 

Blog #3 5/6/09

For this literary blog post on 3 Willows, I want to make a connection from the book to the Media/world. In the book, Polly aspires to be a model which is due to the pressures from her friends. I would like to make a connection to the pressure of body image and conforming to a certain mold, especially in modeling. For example, in the book, during modeling camp Polly is very much forced to go on extreme dieting and other appearance extremes. This is shown through the online article, "Pressure mounts for ban on size zero models." The article explains that people are beggining to realize how much pressure there is on models to be unhealthily thin but that people still are against making changes to improve the standards and expectations on models. In the article, a 22 year old Ramos from Uruguay died from eating a diet of only lettuce and diet coke for 3 months! Of course, it is also not good because models on the runway are also role-models for kids and teens, such as Polly whom it has gotten to. Fortunately, after the modeling camp, even though Polly went to a runway show, she realized who stupid it was and that she was tired of trying to be someone she was not. As theorized by Polly, "She was never going to be a model. Never, never. Even if she did look like her grandmother. To want it was the same as hating herself. That was the truth"(Brashares, 291).

Blog #2 4/29/08

For this blog post, I would like to write a letter to Polly in Jo's point of view. This is after Polly came to visit Jo at her beach house but Jo was talking to another friend and Polly heard Jo say that she isn't really her friend. Polly left and was extremely hurt. 

 Dear Polly,

I am sorry for what happened when you visited. I know you must have overheard the things I said, and I feel miserable every time I think of it- which I do a lot. I know I should have told you the truth before I came but now when I come to think of it, it was better I didn't because then I didn't realize what a real friend you were when at the end everyone left me but you were the only one left. The truth is I really didn't want you to visit. I know that's mean and I'm ashamed of it. I was so caught up with the scene at the restaurant and these older girls. I just thought that was the most important thing and that you would get in the way of it. Its' kinda scary to be so wrong. Those people weren't important. They weren't real friends at all, but you are. I understand that better now and no matter what happens I will always know what a real friend is because of you and Ama. I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't really think you should. But I just want to tell you the truth, because what I said to her was a lie. You are my friend. Even if we never talk to each other again, you have been a better friend than I have ever deserved. And that is the truth. 

From, 

Jo (aka me)