Open Letters

Honestly, all of the open letters that I read on McSweeney's really disturbed me. I'm not sure if that's because of the subject matter or it is simply the idea of writing to someone who is never going to read your letter that bothers me so much. I prefer to speak rather than write when it comes to getting my ideas across to someone or something that is never going to respond. I know that talking to oneself may be seen as crazy, but if that's the case then call me crazy. I have no urge to talk to inanimate objects, celebrities, or mass groups of people, and if I know someone then I can go directly to them to talk. The only time I can imagine writing a letter is if I want to say something to the deceased, but even then I would just want to talk to them like they were standing in front of me. Is it not a tad bothersome to think that there could be a letter out there written to you? A letter that so many people have been given the opportunity to read except for yourself? The thought of not knowing is irksome.

I would like to say that I didn't write my blog against open letters just so that I could be different. They legitimately freak me out.

Stress

Lately, my stress level has gone down a bit from the beginning of the school year.  Knowing that I've been accepted to every school I applied to and that I'll be receiving scholarships to each of them is a relief. For most students, school work is less important than the ACT or SAT that decide standings among colleges, but for me, school work comes first. I have never once studied for an AP exam or the ACT, and while I may have done better if I had, I am very proud of my scores. To me, the ACT was only a burden because it meant waking up on a Saturday morning, but when I sat down to take the test I was excited. I love taking tests, especially the ACT because I know I have all the skill sets necessary to do well. I've been in an accelerated program during high school for the math and sciences, and ironically those are subjects that I have had the lowest scores in. English and reading are my strong points. I think the difference in stress level is based on how much pressure your parents and teachers place on you to do well, along with how much pressure you put on yourself. I didn't do as well in math and science because I've been required to take specific classes in the two subject areas, while I've been able to choose between advanced, AP, and dual credit courses in social studies and English. AP US History and AP Senior English have been my favorite classes while at Dunbar because they are two that I got to choose for myself. My parents have been very hands off of my schooling since middle school, allowing me to manage my own time because they know that I have a desire to do well and I don't need the extra push. When I receive the occasional low grade on a test, they tell me to just study harder next time. I feel like I place more pressure on myself than my parents do, even though I do know they want me to do well. In conclusion, I believe that as long as you go into a standardized test and plan on doing your best then you will do well. The problem comes when you set a specific goal and are worried about not reaching that goal.

Letters

This summer I spent one month volunteering at a Young Life camp in Minnesota. For the campers, all electronic devices were taken away for the week that they were at camp, to avoid distractions and to provide them with an opportunity to focus more on one another. The only form of communication that they had with their parents was through letters and many of the people volunteering at the camp chose to communicate with their friends and family in the same way. I received more letters in one month than I have in my entire life, but I have only written one letter. My grandfather sent me a letter while I was away, explaining that he had made the decision to go off of his chemotherapy so that he could enjoy the remainder of his life without constantly sleeping and being sick. He wrote about his faith throughout his battle with cancer and about how proud he was of the work I was doing. His letter gave him the chance to tell me something that he may not have been able to say in person. After reading his letter I spent two hours of my free time crafting my own. Everything that I had felt from the time I found out about his diagnosis to reading his letter, I wrote down, finally coming to terms with his illness. Such a large topic doesn't seem fit for a text or email. What you can't say in person, you should be able to write in a letter. Feelings seem to flow much more freely on paper than they do on a computer screen.

Beloved

I found the newspaper article that we read during class on Tuesday to be very interesting. As I've started to read Beloved I've tried to piece together who is who in the newspaper article and the novel. I believe that Sethe killed the baby that haunts her home and that Denver was the newly born infant in the newspaper clipping. The novel is confusing with the non-linear plot, but I've caught on to the gist of the novel. My question during class was how Sethe was found by the schoolteacher and how she ended up getting her children back to Baby Shugg's home. Somehow, she managed to avoid going back to the plantation, but ended up in jail. The only explanation I can think of for this is that Sethe killed the schoolteacher, because even if she had mouthed off to him, she would have been whipped and sent back to the plantation. Also, I want to know where Halle plays into all of this. Is he dead or did he just leave Sethe? Could he have left her because of the incident that sent her to jail? If he did leave, then I think he is a coward just like her two sons. There is almost nothing positive about any man in the novel, except for Paul D, but even he scared away the ghost that kept Denver company.