Sketches Discussion #4.5

Hello everyone! Special welcome to Karran, Andrianna, Arianna, Haneen, Melissa and Sara!

This week Haneen and myself are both the discussion leaders! We decided to split it and both make a question, so also make sure to check out her blog. I'm pretty sure her question is related to section four and mine is a question for everything we've read in Sketches so far. Man was section four good! Sketches is covering a lot of interesting topics and it's probably one of my favourite books. My question is...

If you could pick a theme song for the book what song would it be? If possible, link to the song. Tell us which part of the song or which particular lyrics made you think of and relate to Sketches.

Enjoy!

How to change your privacy settings

Facebook Privacy Video

Readers Response A (Sketches)

I am in the group Reading "Sketches" by: Eric Walters.

This is my first Readers Response, or Readers Response A.

Question 1: Copy down a quote from a character and explain why you think it's meaningful. What does it suggest about this character's personality? Personal qualities? Etc. Explain your thinking.

The quote I chose was, "I'd rather have smokes than food." Brent said it on page 21, paragraph 7. It was the quote that made me think the most and that is why I chose it. I think this quote is meaningful because it shows that if a starving street kid would rather have cigarettes than food then smoking must be very addictive. I think it's so sad that so many homeless people are addicted to smoking because it takes out a large chunk of their money and there are many health concerns around smoking and most street kids (mostly in the states) can't afford healthcare. I think Brent is probably trying to get off all other drugs--which are even more expensive--so he got really addicted to smoking so he could wind off of other drugs. Fortunately Ashley threatened him so he doesn't seem to have a problem with other drugs anymore. I don't think the fact that Brent smokes suggests anything about Brent's personality, other than the fact that more people might know he is "Street" but based on what we know about his appearance it's not hard to guess. I think the fact that he has a drug problem makes him more interesting of a character because it makes him seem more realistic. I wonder if he smoked before he was on the streets or if it was after he was on the streets because he wanted some sort of pleasure and a way to deal with stress and then he got addicted.

Question 2: What were your feelings and first impressions after reading the opening chapters of this book? Explain.

When I first starting reading the book it wasn't an insane page turner but I still wanted to keep reading. I found the beginning a little bit predictable, but it does still have mystery. I like the fact that Eric Walters decided to not tell us right away how and when Brent ended up on the streets (although I'm dying to find out) and what exactly Dana's step-father did to make her leave home. Even though the characters don't have many personality traits so far I still felt emotion towards them all. I felt like I could relate a lot to Dana, I felt a strong dislike towards Ashley (she is growing on me now though) and I felt like Brent would make a good friend and like I mentioned before, he seems very real. I found this to be a spectacular book for discussing. I could go on and on with this book and after reading 46 comments (between both discussions) so far I think most people would agree with me. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen next for Ashley, Brent and Dana.

Assignment #19- If I had $100

Hello, hello! I'm very sorry that I haven't been posting on my blog much lately. I finally finished my 41 page portfolio for Canterbury (I had to stay up till 3 ante meridiem)! Anyways, we have this cool assignment where we have to research 4 charities (Oxfam, World Vision, Plan and Salvation Army) and pretend that we have $100 to spend on ethical gifts for these orginizations. We also have to option of picking charitable orginizations different from the 4 above. I did some research on these orginizations. Although Salvation Army probably had some of the best prices (Only $40 for a goat!) I found them to not have as many gift options and I don't completely agree with their missions and values--this has nothing to do with religion or Christianity I just don't want to be supporting an orginization that I do fully agree with--so I chose to not use any of my money toward Salvation Army. World vision had some great gifts and a large variety but most of their gift had much higher prices than the others. For example, it was $100 for a goat compared to $58 at Oxfam. One thing I found better at World Vision though is it's $50 for a whole community of children to have birth certificates whereas at Plan it's $25 for just one child! All in all I found Oxfam to have the overall best selection of gifts prices and mission statement (or the thing in the About section). I noticed that all four of the orinizations had animals that you could buy for human use so I decided to look for other charities that do the opposite and protect the animals rights. I decided to research the Humane Society and WWF and see if they had ways that you could sponsor an animal. The Humane Society had a lot of stuff to do with actually adopting an animal such as a cat or dog rather than an exotic animal that you sponsor. WWF (World Wildlife Fund) had a really cool thing where you pay money to sponsor an animal and they send you a picture of the animal you are sponsoring as well as a stuffed toy version of your animal. I chose to purchase a polar bear because they are a Canadian animal and are highly endangered at the moment. Sponsoring this animal will ensure that the polar bear is cared for, fed, healthy, etc. With my remaining money I decided to look at Oxfam for some gifts because like I said above; I prefer them over the other three. I ended up choosing to plant 50 trees that will provide fruit, shade and oxygen to a community as well as a radio to provide information on health, education and local news to different parts of the world. For my remaining 25 dollars I went to Plan Canada. It was a big toss up between Art and Play therapy in Haiti and Birth Certificate. In the end I chose Art and Play therapy because after such a horrible earthquake children really deserve the right to play and have creativity in their lives and it is also a way to heal from the tragedies they may have faced.

So here are all my purchases:

Sponsoring a polar bear ($25)

Planting 50 trees ($35)

Radio ($15)

Art and Play therapy in Haiti ($25)

25+35+15+25= $100!!!!

There was one thing that I was trying to look into that they started a bit ago in the UK and New York. It's through Street Pianos and is called "Play me, I'm yours". What they do is put pianos is Parks so that anybody can play them. It gives people who cannot afford instrument a chance to play and it adds a creative vibe/atmosphere to the parks which I assume makes people happier. I couldn't find a way to pay for a piano (even if I could it would be more than $100) or a cheaper way that I would pay for someone to maintain the piano or a cover for the piano. Perhaps I will look into that on a later date if it still interests me.

I wasn't as excited about this assignment as I was others but I have to say this is probably one of if not my favourite assignment so far. I just wish we actually had $100 to use for this assignment!

For more information, click on the links:

Street Pianos

WWF sponsor an animal

Oxfam: radio

Oxfam: Plant 50 trees

Plan: Art and Play therapy in Haiti

Finished draft of my Poems

You open up your drawer to make yourself bleed

And then hide it under wristbands so no one can see

You show a cut here and there just to show that you're scared

But people think it's just a papercut, they think it's just an accident

But you know that it's your fears that you can't show through simple tears

Ya, Your caught underwater and you're struggling to breathe

But you just keep sinking deeper and deeper into your blood

But what's blood and what's tears, just ways to cover up your fears?

You're just one big mess trying to hide under your dress

Or better yet your fears, that trigger the tears

A child takes their life almost every day

Open up their facebook page to see "I hate you 'cause your gay"

Hey kid your life is worth it, just see the light through the tunnel

It's okay to make a puddle when your eyes become rainclouds

Because the puddles will dry, don't be ashamed when you cry

Just know you're hurting more than yourself when you die

Your life is yours, you owe nothing to no one

Just be yourself and your haters wont mind

It's gonna hurt when you fall from Heaven, becuase death can wait

No one lives forever but life can be great

Live, love, laugh may not always be true

But it sure as hell is better than cry, hate, die

I like the sound of his voice but I'm afraid I don't agree

The good shouldn't die young

They should make history

Don’t let your life be a mystery

Take a step out of the darkness

Just because some people are heartless

Doesn’t mean that you should be in fright

Take a step into the light

And know that it gets better

Eric Walters response

Part 1

Sketches- This book is about a girl who runs away from home and is living on the streets of downtown Toronto. She joins a drop-in art centre for homeless teens.

Black and White- I think the message Eric Walters is trying to convey is that we shouldn't judge people based on the colour of their skin because in the end we're all the same and should all be friends.

Safe as Houses- Safe as Houses is about a hurricane that hits while Elizabeth is babysitting and she must work out her problems with the children to keep them all safe.

Part 2

Some days you just sit there, as if there's no one with the heart to care. Teenage angst: you'll dye your hair black, blast screamo from a repeating track, lay on the floor, lock the door. Sometimes you want attention and sometimes you just want to erase the numb. It's like this; anxiety becomes numb, numb becomes pain, pain becomes adrenaline and and adrenaline becomes calm. It's your little cycle of angst. We all know the feeling. Here's my story.

I'd go to school and come home day after day. It seemed as if I wasn't getting noticed and I needed to do something about it, I needed to do something quick. I wore odd clothing but it only made me seem like a bigger dork. I tried to socialize with everyone but it only made me seem desperate. I had so much bundled up inside of me, so much I wanted to express.

One day I was having one of my usual mood swings, the type where I feel nothing, only numbness. I needed to be able to physically feel something, just to reassure myself that it would end soon. I could scream but then my parents might hear and come to see what was wrong. I opened up my drawer to try to find something to distract myself with. Then under a bra and some kleenex covered in lipstick I saw my distraction, my de-number. It was one of those compass things that come in geometry sets. They tell you to get one every year but you rarely ever use them. I pulled it's sharp side to my wrist, it was cold against my skin. Slowly, I closed my eyes and pulled it across my arm. The numbness quickly left my body and the adrenaline from the cut put me back in my usual state. I tucked the compass back in the drawer and covered my wrist with a checkered band.

In the days, weeks, and months that followed I would repeat this routine with whatever sharp objects I could find. I had heard of cutting before on TV, in books I read, from friends, but I never thought that I was a cutter. The first few times that I cut myself it was just a way to get noticed, just a simple cry for help. Then it became addictive. Eventually I realized that it wasn't the cutting itself that I was addicted to, it was the attention. I was addicted to the attention I got when I cut myself. I liked the fact that people felt sorry for me; it was a sense of recognition.

Once I finally convinced myself that I was cutting myself and that it wasn't healthy I brought up the nerve to seek help. Thanks to a wonderful teacher, my parents and writing, I am now cut-free! I would do anything to go back and tell myself not to do it but in a way it made me a stronger person. Now I'm more happy and confident than ever before. I didn't realize it at the time but I--just like everyone else--always had the potential to be happy confident and noticed. I was just so wrapped up in wanting to be liked.