The graphic novel given to me was Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine. At first I was a little skeptical about this whole graphic novel assignment, but I was definitely going to give it a try. First looking through it, I felt I was about to read a comic book, but my friends laughed and told me there is a difference.

So this book has four different stories in it and none of them have the same characters. The first story is Alter Ego, and this one is my favorite. It is about an author, Martin who is trying to write another book. In the beginning he received a postcard from a girl back in high school names Samantha. He always liked her but never had a chance with her. When he went to find her, he met her sister Jenna. Jenna was in high school still, so there was definitely an age gap. Martin has a girlfriend, but for some reason I can sense that he was being drawn to Jenna. We know that Jenna likes Martin and I felt that he liked her back, but I was wrong. In the end, he pretty much explains that nothing can or will happen. Also, in the end, his girlfriend finds out about Jenna and dumps him. Finally, he knew what he could write about, his life.

The second story in the book is Summer Blonde it starts with a guy in charge of the Ads. He is a little lonely and goes to the card store to buy cards for different occasions, except he was no one give them to. Instead, he just throws then in a drawer in his office at home. His neighbor is Carlo and he is a bit of a man whore who tries to make these two girls make out, with each other. When the one friend wanted to leave, Nessa decided to stay and she and Carlo hooked up. One night, Carlo and Nessa were on the porch and Carlo was singing to her. The neighbor, remember he is very lonely, called the cops due to the noise.  From this, Carlo continues to play and he gets agitated. Towards the end, Carlo and Nessa start sniffing drugs, shooting heroine, and fool around. As Carlo and Nessa walk out of his house, we find out that Nessa has a boyfriend. So he proceeds to kick Carlo’s butt, and the story ends with Carlo in the hospital.

The third story is Hawaiian Getaway and I did not really like this one at all. It is about this girl who pretty much hates her job, and has the worst mother. Her mother rags on her for being fat, lazy, dumb, etc. and this girl has boy problems. So she gets fired from her job and wastes the day away. She gets by her windowsill and watches people walk by the telephone booth on the corner. She finally dials the number and has people answer. For the first few people, she says weird things to. Then she tries to pick up a guy and he actually goes on a date with her. To me this is just creepy! They go on a few dates, make out, have sex, and he promises her to go with her to her grandmother’s wake. At the end, she has this Hawaiian fantasy dream getaway, and then the story ends.

The final story is Bomb Scare. This story was alright, but it was not all that great. It is about this girl who is a total slut at her school and does anything with anyone. This one kid, Scotty, thinks his best friend, Alex, is gay. So he tries to not be too close with him anymore. The slutty girl, Cammi, gets so wasted at a party and makes a mockery of her. Everyone is not her friend anymore because she is gross and she is a slut. She tries to run for treasurer and Scotty helps her because he thinks they are friends. When the only reason they are talking is because she lost all of her friends. When she gives her speech to everyone, they throw toilet paper, diapers, and garbage at her. She runs out crying, Scotty follows her, and she swears up and down at him. A few days go by, and there is a bomb scare. Cammi and Scotty see each other and talk. She finds out how he has never kissed a girl, touched a girl, or anything of that sort. The story ends with her naked in his room.

Graphic novels are very graphic.  Mine had a lot of sexuality in it but the book was not that bad. I am not into picture books but I am glad I gave this book a chance. I am not saying that I will read graphic novels from now on but I might recommend people to try them.

My Top Five Favorite Movies

1.    A Walk to Remember
This movie is such an inspirational movie because of the plot. In this movie, the main character was diagnosed with Leukemia and instead of dreading about it, she lives her life. Jamie, played by Mandy Moore, sings in the choir, participates in school plays, tutors and really puts herself out there to accomplish great tasks. Also, she does not care what others think of her because she has her faith in God. No one knows about her disease except her father and her love interest, Landon, played by Shane West. A Walk to Remember has my favorite singer and my favorite actor, this movie is perfect. This movie is so emotional and it can really teach others a lesson. I cry every time I see this movie and A Walk to Remember is my favorite movie.

2.    The Notebook

Rachel McAdams is one of my favorite actresses and Ryan Gosling is also a favorite of mine. This movie is a love and romance and I am a sap for these kinds of movies. They are in love during their teenage years and when summer ended, Allie’s family moved. After many years they see each other and things are heated up from there. The acting in this movie is so real and the audience can see the intensity. I feel that Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling definitely had the chemistry offset to play their characters so well. I love this movie so much and once again, I cry every time I see it. It is so sad!

3.    Knocked Up

Knocked Up is hilarious and contains another great actress, Katherine Heigl. She stars in my favorite TV series, Grey’s Anatomy and is now in one of my favorite movies. She plays an E! Entertainment Interviewer and on the night of her big promotion, she goes out. As she is out, she meets Ben (Seth Rogan) and things get a little frisky in her room. From there, the movie is a comedy about these two complete opposites who are having a baby. This hysterical movie keeps the audience laughing and that is a main reason as to why I love this movie. 

4.    10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You, is an all time classic movie that I can watch numerous times without getting sick of it. Julia Stiles is an amazing actress who really uses her talents in this movie. She is a strong headed senior in high school and really does not care what others think. When Patrick, played by Heath Ledger, is paid to take Kat (Stiles) out on a date, at first she refuses, then caves in. In the end, he actually falls for her and although the bet is revealed to her, this still changes the way she thinks about life. This movie had a great theme and really pertained to high school students. 

5.    Rent

Rent is my favorite musical and when it came out as a movie, this was a must see. I thought this movie would not live up to the musical but I was wrong. The singing was phenomenal, especially major props to Tracie Thoms who plays Joanne in the movie. This movie is about love, hope, struggle, and triumph and is an emotional movie. I cried the first time I saw it, and to this day, I still do. The acting is exceptional, the effects were visually present, and this movie is a must see. I love music and acting, so what better than to take a musical and make it into a movie? I love it!

“All the world is a stage and men and women are merely players” -Shakespeare. These few words can sum up my favorite place from not only my childhood, but even now. Ever since I was little, the stage has been my favorite place to be and where I feel most comfortable. One stage that will always remain close is the stage at Resurrection College Preparatory High School. I first came there and saw how big it was and I knew this stage would be very close to me my four years in high school. During our first play, Little Women, I felt that it was too large to use all of the space. Quickly after the director helped us all, I quickly realized how wrong I was.

We had numerous crosses to do and furniture that took up the whole living room on stage. Not only did we use the whole stage, the stage crew put up an add on. This addition to the stage was on the left side, coming off of it and into the house area. After the show, this area or location quickly became my next home.

 I was always in the theatre at school and sometimes the hours I was there exceeded the number of hours than me being home. We would rehearse very late and the latest I stayed was around midnight. Leaving high school was very hard for me, especially knowing I would be leaving the stage. I knew I wanted to fulfill theatre in college, but I did not know if would be able to with the rigorous courses. I was very committed to the stage and I cannot wait to go back just to see it.

Now coming here to Purdue University, when I saw the stage, my jaw dropped. In the Elliott Hall of Music, the stage is magnificent and I cannot wait to embrace it. I saw it my first day during BGR and fell completely in love with it. It is huge and makes my other stage look small. Even though my high school stage will remain close to me with memories, I cannot wait to embrace this new stage, make memories and leave marks.

When it comes to Streetwise verses “Postcards from the Edge”, I feel that the reading prepared me more for the documentary. Streetwise is very straight forward and is something to watch. Listening to the children and what they are going through is just crazy. I feel bad for them, but at the same time, the children have a place to go. One example of what I mean is Tiny. She looks as if she has nowhere to go but later in the documentary, we see her go home to her mother. Her mother loves her dearly, and tries to provide for her, but it easier said than done. Tiny wants too much, like in the makeup scene, and her mother tries so hard to provide the “wants” for her. Tiny brings home money all the time and she will not use it for her “wants”, instead she makes her mother pay.

In “Postcards from the Edge”, the children are somewhat the same. They are all homeless, dealing with money issues, and use the money for items that are not needed. One example from “Postcards from the Edge” is Julie. She tries to bum money for her dog, but others think she will use it for drugs or something. Although it says she has been drug free for quite some time, the people giving the money do not know that.

The characters in “Postcards from the Edge” are different in some ways. Shane went out into the world to escape from the rules of the house, and he earned his high school equivalency diploma. Instead of breaking off completely, he still keeps in touch with his mother and really does love her. In the documentary, the kids do not want a lot to do with their parents at all. They would rather live out on their own than live with their guardian or parents.

In the documentary, it is pretty straight forward; although some parts the viewer can draw his or her own conclusions. I definitely preferred the documentary over the postcards only because I am a visual type of person. Also, I really like the fact that it was them, straight forward, no acting or putting on shows.  The documentary was very real yet I laughed. I laughed because the mother feels that this is a “phase” for Tiny, and I laughed not because the comment was absurd, but I laughed because the mother actually believes this.

The photo essay was nice to look at, but the documentary felt more real. The captions to the pictures were a nice asset and helped me to remember the names. Overall when it comes to my emotions, the documentary hit me a little harder. I feel terrible for the kids, but this could be prevented. All in all it was something to definitely watch and read because this is someone’s life out there and it makes the viewers a little more grateful knowing what we have.

After being assigned to read this essay by Susan Bordo, I find it that she and I have similar disputes on our media and society. Day to day, our media finds ways to make us look better or have the perfect hair like the stars, when in reality, we know that will never happen.

When I was younger, I was one of those “I want to be like Hilary Duff” kind of girl. I wanted to be blonde, flawless, talented, on television, and just perfect. I would try to dye my hair but somehow my Mom always caught me when I was about to do it. Mind you, I was about eleven or so at this point. I would tell everyone that I was going to change my name and such because I really wanted to be just like her.      

Now that I read this article, I can actually say, I am a victim of it, but then again who isn’t? Through my teenage years, I would buy every Teen People, Vogue, Cosmo, People, etc. and I would try to put my hair like the famous girls or try to find the same shirt. That is pretty pathetic right? I mean I was not acting differently, as in snobbish, but I was not dressing like myself. My Mom caught on pretty quickly as to what I was trying to do, and then we had “the talk”. You know the mother daughter talk of, “you’re perfect just the way you are”. Yeah, that conversation went through one ear and out the other.

In my freshman year of high school, everything changed. Going from a coed public elementary school to an all girl Catholic high school, things changed pretty quickly. I wore less make up to school, did not care about how my hair looked, and I concentrated so much more. I still read the magazines, but laughed about the articles that would try to sway young teenagers to believing something that should not be believed. Our teachers would press on us that we are women who are going to make a difference and hold important job positions. They pretty much told us not to believe the garbage coming from the television, movies, magazines, etc. that would change our perceptive on life. After my freshman year of high school, I was not a victim anymore.

Do not get me wrong, I love clothes and the styles coming out, but I do not try to look like a famous star or do the things they do. I do not run out and go get the same dress Hilary Duff was wearing because she wore it. It is not like that anymore but it is sad that the younger generation is going through it, just as I did.

I definitely agree with what Susan is trying to say and she is right as to how our media affects younger teens. Many go through physical and emotional problems, such as bulimia or anorexia, and that is something that will affect them for the rest of their life. And what makes them “think” they have to look like this? The answer to that is media.

It was a warm Thursday morning in July. My Mom had left for work at 7 a.m., while my Dad prepared breakfast. Before the cooking began, he set up the newly furnished kitchen with the cooking items needed. As my Dad was leaning over the sink to clean the previous night’s dishes, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He would always tell us that “dirty dishes make it harder for a professional to cook”. As he stumbled to the living room to catch a breath and a few words, I can still hear the screaming for me to come down. I ran as fast as I could to see what was wrong and he asked for some water. As I came back with the water, my Dad was sitting on the couch clenching his chest.

He stared at me in the most petrified way and I began to cry. I had no idea what to do. As he cried out in agony, words spued out at me, “Go upstairs and get your sister!” I still stood there, motionless as if I did not hear him. I was so scared that if I left to get him, he’d leave me. Quickly I ran up the stairs crying hysterically with words just coming out. I could barely speak and my sister then realized. As she ran down the stairs, I sat at the top of the stairs crying because I have never seen anything so horrific in my life. My sister came down and saw that the diabetes had taken over, and my Daddy died. I was six years old, and I felt so alone.

Now that I am older, and have the option to choose a career, this decision is an easy one for me. I want to help people in the time of need in a way only some can do. I want to be a doctor and save lives so that no one would have to go through what I did. At least doctors can say they tried, I cannot. If I had acted upon instinct, went to get my sister right away, maybe my Dad would still be here. I’m not going to dwell on the past asking the “what if” questions, but one could never tell. Instead I am going to take that horrendous memory and use it to help others.

I miss my Dad dearly and I think about him constantly; his death is the drive I have for succeeding. Whenever I feel like giving up, I think of him, and I try even harder. He has shaped me and driven me to reach my goals; so far I have not failed, and nor do I intend to.

“If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.”- Maya Angelou

Hi, my name is Heather and I am majoring Biology with a concentration in PreMed. I am minoring in Forensic Science and Math (this could all change). My goal is to go to Medical School (University of Chicago or Standford) and be an E.R. doctor.  I know that with these rigorous courses I have to study my butt off, but I am willing to do so. Starting here at Purdue University, I was skeptical. I was so nervous to leave my friends and family behind, but I was ready to start a new chapter in my life. I come from a very large family (I have six other siblings), and I have a nephew and two nieces. I am passionate about the piano, singing, music and acting. I am very open to new ideas and exploring new things. I love the show Grey’s Anatomy, I could watch it any time of day, consecutively. I am looking forward to the college life and I am hoping to get the best experience out of it.

“At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don’t keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That’s how we’re made. So, you can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them. But there are some lines… that are way too dangerous to cross”–Meredith Grey from Grey’s Anatomy

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