If I Only Had Five Days to Live

This past weekend, I watched The Bucket List for the third time. Although I had seen the movie before, it not only caused further contemplation but also, of course, made me think of AP English. As the two terminally ill men in The Bucket List escape from a cancer unit and initiate a road trip to accomplish their “must-do’s” before they die, I thought of Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam. In the section of Amsterdam that we read for last week, Clive and Vernon, in reference to Molly, a recently deceased friend, often noted, “she never knew what hit her” (McEwan 3). Additionally, Clive came to his own conclusion that he, like Molly, was soon approaching death. The sudden nature of death and thoughts of death, in both The Bucket List and McEwan’s novel, both caught my attention and intrigued me. After watching the movie, I began to reflect. “If I learned I would die in the next few weeks, what would I do? Where would I go? Who would I want to be with?” These questions boggled my mind for a few hours then, thankfully, drifted away, only to resurface again following the conclusion of tonight’s reading. In hopes of reducing any anxiety about pre-death plans, I decided to blog. I think if I received that type of devastating news, I would invest in an immediate vacation. Instead of ruminating about my inevitable death, as Clive has exemplified, I would either embark on a cruise to the Caribbean or travel to Germany, Switzerland and the Alps. I would ask close family members and friends to join me on my voyage. What better way to spend my last few days than with those I love? For Clive, work and fame come first, but if I thought I would die in the near future, money would make no difference to me. I would go parasailing again, snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and possibly skydive. I would love to walk on glaciers in Alaska and kayak in Washington.  Additionally, I would love to sightsee from a hot air balloon or jump off a cliff, attached to a hang glider. Although, with college costs looming in the near future, I cannot afford all of these activities, I can, however, in a less anxious manner, say that I have fashioned my own “bucket list.” 

Parasailing in West Palm Beach

A New McCandless?

On Monday in class, Ms. Serensky mentioned that almanacs may currently be used to help terrorists with target selection and pre-operational planning. The FBI has alerted police officers to watch during searches, traffic stops and other investigations for anyone carrying an almanac and to pay special attention to suspicious annotations. To me, this sounded absurd. I would have thought that terrorists would locate targets, like the Twin Towers, with something more technologically savvy than an almanac. I never realized that my constant desire to mark literary devices when reading could eventually get me into trouble, let alone cause me to fit the appearance of a terrorist. Intrigued by the bizarre “news” I researched “almanacs and terrorists” when I returned home from school. In my search I stumbled across an equally bizarre story about a man named Keiichi Iwasaki. In 2001, Keiichi Iwasaki at the age of 36, left on his Raleigh Shopper bicycle to tour Japan. He enjoyed himself so much that he then ferried to South Korea and since then, has cycled through 37 countries without returning home. Even more bizarre, he began his trip in 2001 with the Japanese equivalent of $2. On his travels, Iwasaki has been robbed by pirates, arrested in India, nearly died from a rabid dog attack, and escaped marriage in Nepal. Despite these troubles, Iwaskai’s strong will has helped him cycle over 45,000km (27,961 miles) on his favorite Raleigh shopper bikes (two of which have been stolen and two of which have been destroyed).  In one interview Iwasaki mentioned that ''Most travelers and adventurers need money but instead of giving up an opportunity to travel the world [he] wants to clarify that dreams can come true if you have a strong will.” As of 2009 Iwaskai had been travelling for eight years, living from money made from street performances, as he refused to carry a credit card or a traveler’s check. Yet again, outside of English class, my mind flashed back to AP English 11. Although still maintaining some contact with the rest of society, Iwasaki’s story reminded me of the story of Chris McCandless. The level of determination and courage in both men significantly inspires me; I just hope Iwaskai’s story ends more pleasantly than McCandless’.  

Iwasaki with his first bike

Iwasaki's bike route as of September, 2009

Goodbye Analysis, Hello Freedom

When Ms. Serensky first assigned the semester long blog project, I became extremely nervous. In class, I anxiously asked myself, “How hard do you think she will grade this? Can I really write about anything English related? When she says one paragraph, does that refer to a double spaced page in Microsoft Word? How will I ever think of stuff to blog about when we seem to cover the entire reading from the previous night in class?” As you can tell from my first two blogs, this anxiety did not diminish when I initially sat down to write. I felt extremely nervous and tense. I could not fathom the idea of writing a non-analytical paragraph for Ms. Serensky. Surprisingly, an analytical paragraph actually seemed more comforting than this free-style idea. So, sadly, with a lack of self-confidence, my first two blogs followed closely the analysis writing style we have learned in class. As blogs became more frequent, and the due date shortened to every Thursday night, I became less concerned with analyzing quotes and more determined to submit a timely, well-written paragraph. Thus, my blogs became more creative and somewhat humorous. Since the first two nerve-wracking blog entries, I have really enjoyed the blog assignment. Not only is it interesting to read all of the unique entries, but also developing a writing topic often demands contemplation and imagination. After reading many of my classmates’ blogs, a certain idea or concept would float around in my brain for days. It was interesting to see that even outside of Ms. Serensky’s classroom, in-depth analysis and contemplation occurs subconsciously. The blogs have definitely affirmed for me that AP English 12 applies in myriad situations in the real world,  not just through analysis of text and poems in class or through performance on an exam in May. Although these applications in the real world may seen at times somewhat frightening, (dreaming of Ms. Serensky, experiencing situations identical to characters in the book, etc) I am oddly excited to see the future applications and benefits of AP English in my life. Blogging has helped me to realize that I, thanks to AP English 12, now have the ability to write well on any assignment, regardless of whether it requires literary analysis or not. Through my two blogs over Christmas break about AP English in the real world, I have realized that even now, I am beginning to reap the benefits of all the hard work and time we have devoted to AP English over the past two years. At the beginning of junior year it seemed as though these benefits would only become apparent in college writing classes, but thanks to the blogs, I recognize I don’t have to wait for college! I have really enjoyed the “comment” feature. It was neat not only to read what others thought about my blog entry but also to expand upon a classmate’s idea outside of class. If the blogs do not continue in this upcoming semester, I will surely miss this creative writing outlet as well as Bobbie’s Blog Banter (including the songs of course).

"Story of My Life"

Last week, Ms. Serensky announced that instead of humming little jingles for Bobbie’s Blog Banter, she would start up the blog talk with music from her own ipod.  I loved the sound of this new idea. Given Ms. Serensky’s uniqueness, I was excited not only to hear the music she likes and listens to, but also to see the unprecedented parallels she would draw between the blogs and the lyrics. On Thursday, as the music began to play, I recognized her song choice as I had heard it the song before on the radio and on Guitar Hero. After a few seconds of “I know this song!! What is it called again? Ah shoot! I know this!” I realized Ms. Serensky had chosen “Story of My Life” by Social Distortion. I returned home that day to investigate the lyrics of the song which had not been played in Bobbie’s Blog Banter. The lyrics, “Life goes by so fast/You only want to do what you think is right/Close your eyes and then it’s past” caught my attention. Not only did this song relate to English class but also it related to my current situation. Almost a second-semester senior, it seems as if we received our third grade Gurney t-shirts, with “2011” on the back, only a few months ago. I remember talking to my friends at the time, about how far away “2011” seemed. “It will never come,” we joked. Until this reflection, I had not realized how quickly time has seem to have passed since my first day of kindergarten. I am left to wonder, will the rest of my life seem to pass this quickly, too? As I continued to scan the lyrics of “Story of My Life,” I again stopped as I read, “ Good times come and good times go/ I only wish the good times would last a little longer/ I think about the good times we had and why they had to end.” I must admit that when people ask me, “Hey, do you know where you’re going to college yet?” I become excited at the thought of leaving high school behind me to start a new chapter of my life. However, these lyrics really got me thinking. Will I end up missing this town?  Will I make as close friends in college as I have made here in “the bubble?” When looking back upon my high school years, will I actually wish that I could have stayed here longer?  I guess most of these questions cannot be answered until at least next September, but even after thinking about these somewhat depressing lyrics in Ms. Serensky’s song, I still feel more than ready to explore this new chapter in the “Story of My Life.”

All Hail, Oprah!

On Monday, Ms. Serensky entertained our class with a short anecdote about her conversation with her mom the previous night, which stemmed from her avoidance to pack her lunch. Her mom informed her that she needs more self-worth and therefore should watch Oprah. Ms. Serensky humorously responded, “You’re mistaking the problem, I have too much self worth… that’s why I do not want to pack my lunch.” A non Oprah fan nor critic, I remained puzzled for the rest of the day. What makes people love Oprah? Why do people feel she has the power to help a person gain self-worth? What makes Oprah so popular? Is it more than her amazing free gifts for the audience? These questions obnoxiously lingered in my head until finally, I decided I would spend a few minutes to research the amazing, Oprah Winfrey. Merely typing “Oprah” into the search box on Google, returned about 28,300,000 results, so I figured I would have to refine the subject. Next, I decided to search “Blogs about Oprah.” One website title jumped out at me, “An Oprah Rant” I quickly became absorbed in the site on the screen. The author, strongly biasedagainst Oprah declared, “The few clips and shows of Oprah that I’ve watched have frighteningly elicited an involuntary physical response in my body that makes me want to seek a blazing hot fork and jam it deeply into my cornea.” Wow. I never knew a single, seemingly harmless talk show host could excite that intensity from an audience member. Amused by this Oprah rant, I searched for more. In a blog titled, “Had Enough of Oprah?” the author began, “A nod from Oprah Winfrey moves best-seller lists. Stocks rise when her name is attached to a company or product. Millions listen when she speaks at Coretta Scott King's funeral, and millions more cheer when she loses 20 pounds.” I still cannot comprehend how one person, one talk show host, can elicit these reactions from so many people. As I continued to sift through the seemingly endless sites regarding Oprah and her show, I found nothing that seemed to answer any of my questions. Whether positive or negative, the number of sites dedicated to this woman and her show fascinated me. Yet at the same time, as I continued to read intense rants and overly complimentary brags about Oprah, I became extremely frustrated as one man commented, "Does Oprah have some sort of mind-control device we don't know about? Her impact is scary." I feel as though people should not let one person, one talk show host become this powerful in their lives. I believe everyone, Oprah fans or not, has potential. If people want to empower others, should they not at least be people with whom they have had meaningful interaction? I just do not understand.

Talk bubble reads, "Bad news... Now you're running second to Oprah."

The Straitjacket of AP English

Thursday night, as I finished the two sections of the datasheet that I had hoped to have completed by Thursday morning, I decided to take a break, and watch one of my favorite shows, Criminal Minds.  I eagerly turned on the TV and scrolled to the list of recorded shows. Having used more brain power in the prior hour than in the previous 12 days of break, I clicked on the first, “not previously viewed episode,” “The Instincts,”  and sat back to relax. Toward the end of show, to my surprise, Dr. Reid spent the night with his mother at a mental hospital. Seriously?! I thought I had left One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest behind me when I had turned off my computer. I should have known, trying to escape AP English is never successful. Sadly, I could not seem to focus on the end of the show (I have no idea how it ended). Instead, I contemplated the similarities and differences between the image of the mental hospital portrayed on TV and the description of the psychiatric ward in the book. This contemplation spurred many unanswered questions to hover in my mind. I wondered if any major differences exist between a man’s experience in a mental hospital, compared to a woman’s, since in the book, only men resided in the ward and Reid’s mother received little focus in the show. I also could not help but speculate if a figure similar to Nurse Ratched works in all psychiatric hospitals. Do all patients in psychiatric units lack self-confidence like Bromden and his peers? Eventually the show concluded and another episode immediately followed. My brain paused from the constant questioning as in a deep, didactic tone, a character read, ‘“It is a wise father that knows his own child.’ William Shakespeare.” Ahhh, AP English stalks me! At first, I admit, I felt a jolt of disappointed that again, even in a different episode, I was reminded of AP English. The irritation quickly faded however as I realized that I, because of a lengthy datasheet, probably know more about William Shakespeare than most people who have watched that episode. I became somewhat proud to be an AP student, proud of my ability to recall useless facts about Shakespeare’s life and writing career, proud that I have analyzed one of his great works and proud that I can refer to him as more than “one of those famous playwrights.”  Even though my attempt to release myself from the hold of AP English failed, I recognized not only that I experience pride as an AP English student but also that AP English proves impossible to escape.

Reid talks to his mom in the psychiatric unit