Response to Sherrae

My parents sent me away January 6, 2008 for doing poorly in school. My goal was to become a really good guitarist and I didn’t feel like I had time for school. I also had a band at the time so leaving was a huge risk. I told everyone that I would be gone for 2 months which is the amount of time I thought it would take to get caught up in school. First off, I was sent to north Georgia where I had to survive in the woods. I was really confused because I thought it was a school that I was going to. After 2 months of living in the woods they decide to send me to a boarding school in north Idaho. This was honestly the worst 6 months of my life because they didn’t let me get started in school. My whole purpose was to leave for a month or two just to get caught up in school. What I had to do was work on a farm for 4 months straight, every single day with only a lunch breaks. With only one monitored phone call for 5 minutes a week, I was unable to tell my parents that this place was “hell”. They still thought that I needed to be there because apparently I was doing “excellent” and I was “catching up with my school work”. I finally had it and I decided to run away with my friend. Our consequence for running away was getting sent to another wilderness program where we had to saw wood for 3 weeks straight. I arrived back at the boarding school and they told me that I have to start over and work on the farm again. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of being a professional guitarist and the thought of following through with what I told my friends. As I was about to accept that I would be stuck there for 2 years straight, my mother allowed me to come home in my last attempt to leave. I returned right at the beginning of my junior year and things were better than ever with my band but a few good relationships with friends were ruined. I attended a public high school and nothing was really the same but I had an extreme amount of motivation and confidence with my music. I allowed things to change for the better with the help of all of my friends and most of all, myself. Things were back to "normal" within a matter of months.

No Place Like Home

I just recently moved back to the neighborhood that I grew up in for most of my adolescence. I was gone for about four years. I moved back to this god awful place just so that I can to the bridge. My first day back I wanted to see the old apartment building that I lived in. When I was walking down Madison street I noticed that the stores had changed. Some were closed and others were worse and few looked better. The houses that were occupied when I left were now condemned and boarded up with tall grass and weeds growing all over them. When I got to the block and walked down the street to the house that I lived in I couldn’t believe what had happened. It had turned into a crack house. I saw junkies walking in and out of the once carpeted and nicely decorated hallway. Now the carpet is pulled up and the walls are covered in god knows what. Windows that had curtains on them now had old ratty sheets on them. It was such a disappointment to see a place I once called home look like that I felt horrible and ashamed everything changed.

Response to Sherrae (Tationa)

I was locked up in my own box. Not literally but like Jimmy in True Notebooks I was stuck in my box which was my room for something that I was supposed to do but I didn’t do it. My friends NJ and Ashley were going to Ashley ‘s house to spend the night. I wanted to go and I was bent on going, but the day before my mom came into my room and told me that I should of done something that I could not remember a long time ago and since I was so lazy and didn’t want to do it she decided to keep me home. It was terrible for me because I really wanted to get out of the house and with me not doing my chore I spent the rest of the day shifting from channel to channel on television and drawing. Later that same day, my friend NJ called me from my friend Ashley’s house because they were bored and wanted to see if I was ok. It really sucked because I was always trapped in my box and now my box was my house. I can understand Jimmy because being trapped in your room is like being in the box. Your in a room with nothing to do but in comparison I could do a lot more. I was just upset that I was stuck in my house that whole day. Just like how jimmy looked when he got out the box was the same way I felt when I was off punishment.” You know the way a baby cries? That all-out kind, where it sounds like he’s gonna die? I didn’t know I could still cry like that, but I did in the box.” (175). The way Jimmy felt was like how I felt. I was upset and while my two good friends were out the house, I was stuck in the house. The next day I was off of punishment and from what I heard from school, it wasn’t all that fun that I thought. All they did was watch movies and talk. It would have been fun going over my friends house, but I’m pretty sure I would have had more entertainment watching television. : /

Response to sherrare (sean Mackenna)

ive been in trouble countless times. when its more serious though and i have to leave, when i come back its always been the same and we get back to doing the same stuff we were basically. the one time i experinced change was when i came back from a church mission trip. when i used to go to church i was part of a youth group. every summer they would take us to some place in the U.S. where people who had little or no income lived and needed our help. i couldn't go back this year because i cut ties with the church and i had to be here for the bridge program. last year though we went to Fort Wayne Indiana. while we were there we met and helped refugees who made it to America from Burma. i didn't know a lot about Burma when we got there but the group we worked with breifly explained that these people don't know a lot about America but they came here because there government was killing everyone in there country. it really showed when we had to teach grown adults how to read simple words and speak English. that was a real eye opener to me because i wasn't sure how to go about it. the thing that hit me the hardest was when we met the kids. from the beginning i became attach to a boy named Friday and his two brothers Thursday and Sunday. they had names that were days of the week because their parents didn't know that those weren't names. they were the sweetest kids i had ever met in my life. they were grateful for everything. Friday was six, Thursday was five, and Sunday was three. the way they stuck together was so amazing to me and for them to welcome me into there "group" was indescribable. we split into two groups within our organization and would switch off everyday between playing with the kids and teaching the adults. i was told everytime that when my group didn't come that day the boys would be sad and beg for me to come. this kind of compassion they showed towards me was something i never experienced before. i guess what i was trying to get at with this story was when i got home i realized how good we have it. they didn't have water,food, very limited clothing, no cars, computers, t.v.s, and even education. to still be that happy to be running around playing all day enjoying life was just amazing to me. when i got in my room i was so thankful that i lucky enough to have all these things that we take for granite. i felt out of place with my friends for a while because i had grown attached to the boys. since then i haven't heard from them. ive tried sending them mail but seeing as though they cant read i don't think ill be getting a response back. i send them pictures of us and i know they understand that. they made me realize how good life is and how you don't need materialistic objects to be happy.

Day 11 Response to Sherrae' / Arianna King

When I was 14 I was sent to a camp so I can get to know other kids. When I went away I found myself getting to know other kids and forgetting how I use to be. I was known for being a mean person and very self indulged. But, as time went on in camp I became a better person. While in camp my director was a 19 year old college student. She stayed in the little room in the loft. She always said to us if we had anything to talk about to come to her and tell her what was up. But, she made sure she gave us space but the space was to help us become who we are. But, we know that she was very serious about what we should and should not be doing. The night before I left she pulled each one of us and talked to us and gave us her number. I still to this day talk to her. She is one of my older friends that I seek out for advice many times a day. When I came home I talked different and I dressed different. Some of my friends could not understand why I acted so differently. As the school year went on I found myself hanging out with a different group of people and being nicer. My grandmother says she was very happy for my change in attitude and my actions. My old ways was making people not want to deal with me and that left me with a small group of friends that had the same problem as me. So now when I see girls act so mean and always rolling their eyes. I try to understand what’s wrong with them. Then I think back to when I was like that and how I thought the world revolved around me. I am still learning that the world does not owe me anything. But, I think that I have come a long way in my life where I may not fall as hard as any other girl that is my age now. In Persepolis Marjane came back to her once called home to find everything had changed. “I felt as though I were walking through a cemetery. Surrounded by the victims of a war I had fled I was unbearable, I hurried home. (251). This shows how much change her and her once called home had changed.

Answer to Sherrae- Sam Johnson

I have been on punsihment plenty of times but I never really felt anything has changed. I think I was just more excited that I had gotten everything back. Like one time my father took my drums away from me, my freshman year because he felt I was putting music infront of my school work. That day I swore I wasn't ever going to talk to him again and when I get older enough to start really making my own money, I was going to move! Reality came in years later, but that hurted me more than anything any punishment I ever had. Theres been times when I couldn't go outside, watch T.V., and gotten my cell phone token, but nothing ever compared to this. How I got out of punishment this time, I just got real mad one day when my parents wasn't home and I just set my drums back up and just played til they came home and when they cam home I would run to my room. My dad noticed that it was set back up and he didn't say nothing to me about it. So from then on, I continued on with the same procedure until one day my dad came home early and he walked in the basement and seen me playing. I kept playing like nothing was wrong and he just smiled and walked away. So in a way I got lucky back then.

Response to Sherrae (Christopher Johnson)

The summer before my freshman year in high school was very rough. My mother was unemployed and we were behind on all our bills. She applied for several jobs and finally got a call back to be a Correctional Officer in Colorado. Now my mother gets on my last nerves. Not a day goes by that we don't argue about something. I guess you can say that's how its always been because I'm her only child and its just basically been us my entire life. When she left to go to Colorado I was beyond sad because I'd missed her so much. The things that I was used to having my mom do for me I had to do. When she left she asked my older cousin to look out for me because she wanted me to have a good transition into high school. However the transition wasn't smooth because I wanted her around to give me some advice. Not only was school not okay but my eating habits were awful because i had no one to cook for me and therefore I wasn't in the best health. As it turns out she got injured one month into her training so she had to come back and she returned to her old job as a substitute teacher at my school. That month was probably one of the hardest months of my teenage life because I really missed her. I learned two things while she was gone. 1. Never take your mother for granted because she will not always be there when you need her (not necessarily because of death). 2. Eat your vegetables lol because when she was gone my dinner consisted of junk food and I ended up being constipated for a whole week (too much information I know.) ;) In True Notebooks the boys constantly speak about how they miss their parents and if they could do it all over again they would do a lot different especially Francisco Javier " I know you think I don't appreciate everything you've done for me , but its the opposite. I love you more than anything in this world and I think that there isn't no better mom than you." (96)Although I'm not locked up and my mother is not dead for that one month she was gone I truly felt their pain and truly. Now I know its important to love and appreciate your mother.

Summer Time- Answer to Sharrae'- Antonio Hill

Back when I was a kid, there were lots of trends that came on a daily basis. One day one thing would be in style and then next day another thing would be in style. It’s funny because now I look back at how I used to dress back then and wonder what I was thinking. Well one hot summer day, my little brother went down to his father’s house in West Virginia. A couple days passed, days quickly turned to weeks, and weeks ended up being the whole last 2 months of summer. I think that was the summer that I had the least amount of fun. Everyday something bad happened to me, literally. I had gone over my cousin’s house in Grosse Pointe, MI which is a suburb outside of Detroit. A very racist suburb I might add. I was walking down the street (in the street) and was pulled over because the cops said I was looking suspicious. It just sis happen that I had marijuana on me at the time which actually wasn't mine, it was my cousins I forgot I had it in my pocket. Ended up going to jail and pleading guilty to possession of narcotics, but by the grace of God I had gotten off. Long story short, my mother put me on punishment for the rest of the summer. My brother ended up coming back from West Virginia and it seemed like everything changed. He came back with his ears pierced, a couple tattoo's and car. How crazy is that? I was happy for him but at the same time, you know how people act when they get a car for the first time. His personality somewhat shifted into an "I think I’m the man" mode. It wasn't towards me but seeing his attitude change did bother me. We still have fun and hang out together though.

Day 11 responce Dacia Hill

I’ve always been considered a well behaved young lady. I never did things to get subjected to a punishment like getting into fights at school or failing classes. I was always taught to respect my elders and that helped me learn how to establish relationships with them. The most my mother would ever say to me is that she was disappointed in me and because I had never got into any real trouble that made me feel really bad. Once I go into seventh and eighth grade I began to change. I acquired a smart mouth and a headstrong attitude to anyone who disrespected me and looked down on me. I had lost myself. I turned into one of the people who made my life hell. I found out it was so easy to insult others to copy off someone else to protect yourself. It is hard to stand up for yourself and embrace your true identity. When marjane became caught up in her lies while in Austria, it took insults to herself and her country to bring her back. “That’s a relief considering how ugly she is, it would be unfair if she got a guy like Marc”, “I would commit suicide”, and the highest comment hit her directly. “She lies about knowing war” all of these quotes are found on page 196. For me my wakeup call was when some kids told this heavyset girl if she kept eating she would die. Since I had self image issues that almost made me cry.
My punishments may sound sill to you but I had my books taken away from me because I sent most of my time reading. Another was I had to sit on the couch and watch television I hated watching so much TV and my mom knew it all.

#11

I have never got anything took away from me nor have i ever been put on punishment. One of my close friends (Ria) stay in trouble while she was in school. She always stay suspended because she stay fighting and being disrespectful to her teachers. I used to always tell my mom about the trouble she gets in , my mom felt as if i didn't need to hang with her. But to me she wasn't as bad as she acted in school. My mom felt that i didn't need her as a friend no more and she is acting that way maybe because she needs attention.
Ria mom tried punishment but that didn't stop her from acting that way.Taking away your personal items can hurt you in a way but after a while you start to forget about it. During the middle of the school year Ria mom decided to send her to Texas with her father and just maybe Ria will change her ways. I was a little bit upset at first when she left but i start to realize things was much more peaceful in school with out her starting trouble. Months went by and those long Months started to turn into years. Five years later Ria came back but only to find out everything around her was different. I told her i couldn't be her friend anymore. i felt bad saying this but it was only for my own good.
And after while Ria started to feel bad about putting her mom through all that trouble , she didn't realize it until nothing was the same anymore.
In True Note Book on pg.96 Francisco wrote a letter to his mother telling how sorry he was. " sometimes i want to throw myself in your arms and cry, but since i am so big i don't dare to. you know what mom, when it seems like i wasn't listening your words stayed in my mind.

Answer to Sharrae- Jamahl Jackson

We all seem to have things like loved one and material things ripped from us in a instance and withour notice.I often feel like things are always taken from you then your life is changed.

I remember a time when my life changed dramatically.I left from the U.S.A because my dad was in the military so we moved alot.At first I was excited about moving to a diffrent country then soon my feelings changed from excited to dispair and madness.It changed about because i thought at first i was movin to tokyo but later found out that we were moving to manilla,Philipines."I never heard of that place" I thought to myself but I have heard of china and things like bruce lee,Jackie Chan,and Jet Li.So this is what I associated Asian culture with.

But my life changed so dramatically because when i got there i found out that it was nothing like that, it was nothing what i thought.It was very traditional and laid back.The atmosphere was very tranquil. I thought to myself "they dont do the same things that we do in the usa.

I just wanted to blend in and hurry and get it over.

I saw myself in a new atmosphere and as a human being I tried to manipulate the natives mind and tried my best not to be seen.I just wanted to blend in.

But that was even harder because i was taller than everybody and i was like 1/3 black people in the whole school.The otheres were miliatry brats like me.

But that didnt stop me from making friends.The change didnt really affect me the way i thought it would.I still made friends and didnt become socially awkawd I did pretty good because the change was for the good!

Day 11 Response to Sherrae' {{Sherrae'}}

I wouldn’t call this a punishment, I would call this more of a consequence. There was the one time when I was about 15 and I didn’t clean up my room. I mean I didn’t think it was so messy. There were a couple of shirts, pairs of shoes, jeans, and belts. But I didn’t think it was that dirty that I had to suffer a consequence. One day my mother, younger brother, and older sister was about to take go shopping and to the movies, but I couldn’t go because my mother thought my room needed to be cleaned. She told me to clean it up at the beginning of the week, when it wasn’t as messy, and I chose not to. So they left me home, all alone cleaning my room. I honestly think they could’ve waited just a few minutes for me to clean it but instead they left. So I spent about 15 minutes cleaning my room, while they took the entire day to shop and see a movie. When they got back they had several shopping bags from dozens of stores, ice cream, from Baskin Robins, and smiles on their faces. And to top it off they’d met Lisa Raye and her mother while shopping. And I like Lisa Raye because her wardrobe is pretty nice and she’s funny. So yea, I cried because I felt like I’d missed out on fun. Just like in the book, True Notebook, Jimmy felt like he was in the “box” forever. He was only there for two days, and when he got out he got his personal items take away. (pg. 77) I can imagine how he felt, probably sad and angry because if we’d done the right thing from the start we wouldn’t have had to suffer a consequence.

Day 11 Blog Question {{Sherrae'}}

In the book, True Notebooks, Jimmy writes about a time he was sent to the “box”, and what was only two days seemed like two years to him. After he came back from the “box,” he realized that just within those two days so many things had changed. He states in his writing, “I came back from the box, went to school, and found out that not only did all my material things get taken away from me but I was also now out of the play I was participating in.” (pg. 177) Have you ever been put on punishment or been away from something or someone, and when you came back, you felt everything had changed? If so tell about a time you encountered with, and how you felt.If not, do you know of a friend, or someone else that has?

Day 10, Response to Antonio:Kiarah Lazo

There was a time in my life where I felt as so I lost both my parents due to stupidity. Three years ago I wasn’t myself. I was acting a fool and being the complete opposite of who I was...who I am. The person I am, I sit back and observe my surroundings. If there’s something I don’t agree with or know what not to do, I don’t do it. But three years ago, I wasn’t that person. I was the girl who tried being one of the cool kids and not listening to my parents. I was failing some of my classes horribly and gained a few friends who I don’t normally hang out with. The friends that I would tend to hang out with would point out all the things they didn’t like about me and for some reason I agreed with them. One friend in particular disliked my parents only because they disliked her also. The things she would say about them were so cruel and out of line but I pushed that to the side and became a failure in both parents’ eyes. That year I lost my sweet sixteen, truck, phone, shoes, iPod, school credits but most importantly I lost love, trust, happiness, and sadly…my parents. They didn’t want to put up with me, I went from house to house since my parents aren’t together, and it was a hassle. I lived with my father for three and a half months; I swear it felt like I lived there for years. My father and I don’t get along. I can’t say I hate the man but I sure do dislike his mind with a passion. Those couple of months I felt invisible. If I were to walk straight at my dad he’d probably go right through me as if I were a cloud of smoke polluting his air. My mother didn’t speak to me, only when she had to. It was the worst time of my life…never again will I put my parents though the pain. And I shall not feel invisible again.

No Homos Allowed

I remember I used to go to a dare care when I was four years old. I didn’t really want to go because I was a mommy’s boy and never wanted to leave her side so when I got there I cried, sat by myself and didn’t talk to anyone. That’s when a boy the same age as me came over and asked if I wanted to play race cars with him. I didn’t want to but he bugged me until I did because we were the only ones there at the time. Hi told me his name was Dion and he became my best friend from that moment on.
Flash forward 13 years and we were still the closed friends anyone had ever met. Dion and I were always together he was the funniest person, smart, caring, all the things you could ask for in a best friend. He was always there when I needed advice or somebody to just talk to. It was hard when he moved to Minnesota because always having someone next door or 30 minutes away was easy but having your best friend up and move to a different state was hard.
Unless you really knew Dion you wouldn’t have known that he was gay. When he moved to Minnesota the guys that he talked to there had no idea and he was on the football team with them so he formed that bound with that the plays have with one another. I don’t know exactly how they found out but it wasn’t good. They were at a party and I guess that’s when it came out and the team was made. They jumped him and he was beat so badly that he didn’t make it. My best friend died because of his sexual preference.
I was so upset and angry for the longest time and it hurt me the way he had to be taken away like that. You hear about these things happening but you never think it would affect or happen to you. I never thought that would happen. I stared to question my faith the same way Jimmy did in true notebooks when his brother was given a time limit on how much longer he had to live in his essay, “Why does he allow certain things to come into our lives and make us doubt his existences” pg 82.
I miss my friend but I’m not sad anymore because I still have the memory and his still with me every step of the way.

Response to Kiarah

I have had a specific situation where I unexpectedly lost someone. It was Valentine ’s Day and bought my girlfriend a pair of earrings that I put a lot of thought effort into purchasing. She was an amazing singer so I enjoyed writing songs and playing gigs with her I was also really attached at the time so I wanted to express my love and affection towards her by buying her a nice present. She was happy to see me and we both exchange our gifts. We kiss and go off doing our own thing when suddenly out of the blue I receive a text message saying “It’s over”. After this text I was devastated because everything seemed perfect, I thought she was the best thing that ever happened to me because we had so much in common. I tried talking to her about it but she remained silent for about 2 months. I tried everything to let it go and move on but there was some part of me that was still attached. The fact that she kept the earrings was really bothering me because not only did she break up with me but she kept the earrings. I couldn’t even talk to her so it was impossible to take them back. I couldn’t forget about her because she still had the earrings. I realized that I shouldn’t spend my time dwelling over a girl I thought I loved when she clearly didn’t love me. From there on, I erased her from my life as if she didn’t exist. She eventually came back after a few more months but there was no way I could forgive someone for doing something like this for no given reason. I have lost more than I gained throughout this experience but I have learned how to cope with losing someone important to me.

Day 10: Answer to Kiarah (Jorgina Kelly)

In the summer time, people visit their family or friends for the summer and just for the summer. In summer of 2008, I met this boy named Ryan. He was working in the summer program with the rest of the people that live out in Aurora. I was completely unaware that he was just visiting for the summer. We started talking and became a couple. As the end of the summer started to come, people kept asking him when he was going home. He then told me that he lived in Milwaukee and was just visiting his cousins. I was very shocked and not so much disappointed. I didn’t think before to ask where he lived or what school he went to. He wanted to ask his aunt can he stay with her and attend school at the same high school I went to but he said he knew she was going to say no. I told him that it’s ok and just leave it alone. That was the most unexpected lost I ever experienced. Until this day he still visits his aunt and cousins and I get a chance to see him. August 15 of this year would have made a two year anniversary for us. There wasn’t any negativity out of that situation besides a broken heart for him. The positivity is that he will be attending Columbia College next year. I truly believe in that saying, “If You Really Love Something Then You Should Let It Go, If It Comes Back Then It Is Truly Yours.”

Day 10 Response to Antonio {{Sherrae'}}

In April of 2008 I started dating this guy. And we were together for a long time. He was sweet and he was always there for me whether if it was good or bad. He and my parents got along well so that’s was a really big plus. He barely ever let me pull out my wallet when we went out. And we went on several dates. Then slowly everything started going downhill. We were spending so much time together that we drove each other away. We still cared for each other, so we decided it was time for a break. It really wasn’t a break because we still saw each other but just not all the time. During our break we got pregnant. And when I went to tell him that I was pregnant with his child, he basically was trying to leave me. As tough as I tried to be, it still hurt me that he didn’t want to take care of his responsibility. I cried each and every day. Once I’d told my parents, which was a big step because my parents are pastors, and they gave me the “yes” that they would help me take care of my responsibility, I went back to my ex- boyfriend and told him that I no longer needed him and he could go on with his life, slowly but surely he turn things around. He tried to be in my life as well as his child life also. As the months went by I continued to be pregnant until one day in March I felt an extremely sharp pain. What was happening? This pain was a sign that I was having a miscarriage.

answer to Antonio ( Tationa)

I understand Mark a lot because back in the sixth grade in my elementary school Reavis, my class was a bit rowdy. A little more rowdy than the other sixth grade class that appeared more like angels compared to Mr.James classroom, who seemed like a good guy but none of the students took him seriously. There were good times and there were bad times. The good times was when the class actually stood quiet enough to do their work. The bad times was when they would argue about stupid retarded things like if wearing dirty clothes or he said she said . I hated that class with a passion and sometimes I wish that I was put in another school or another class that was less annoying and stupid. It even came to the point where I almost got into an altercation with someone and with me being the quiet girl it wouldn’t be a surprise that some idiot who was in a group with a bunch of people I did not like tried look all cool and try to get in my face. Too bad in the end he was the one looking stupid. Anyways, I always had a thing where I believe that when there are less students in a classroom you get to learn more and less trouble then having the most rowdy children in a class that’s where I believe in this quote, “Too many clowns spoil the circus” (222). I can relate to this quote because it’s true. Even though I was a transfer student, it was so much trouble in the classroom. My classmates arguing, fighting, talking back to the teachers, it was that much of a pain being in that class that even the principal had to come to the classroom and yell at another student. I don’t believe that everybody is angel and never do anything wrong, but I just believe that there were just too many clowns to learn.

day 10 response to kiarah (sean Mackenna)

theirs been a lot of people in my life that have come and gone. some i'm happy there gone but others i miss a lot. there was this one girl in my 7th grade classes. her name was Farah Mir and she was the nicest person you could ever meet. we used to just spend hours and hours on the phone just talking about whatever came to mind. we would hang out almost everyday and in classes we would be inseparable. it was her birthday when things took a turn for the worst. she had a party that night and me and a few friends went up there to go hangout. when we got there some big ass kid came up to me and told me not to ever talk to his girlfriend again. i was confused because i didn't even know him or who his girlfriend was. then Farah came running up next to him, looking like she just got out of a tornado and her eyes were bloodshot beyond belief. i asked her if she was OK and she didn't have time to answer before the other kid did. he told me to get out or we was gonna beat me up. at that time i was still afraid to fight so i left. thinking back on it now i should have stayed and made sure she was ok. needless to say i waited a few days before i called her and she answered the phone laughing and being very jittery. she told me that she was sorry and that we couldn't be friends anymore because of her boyfriend. then she hung up. i was devastated and couldn't believe that the one person i felt i could tell anything to just dropped me. this is probably how the boys feel from true notebooks because while they were on the streets the other gang members would always call them and be down to help them out. now that there locked up they could care less about them. which sucks.. i know how they feel