Outside Reading #2

“Even if it was relatively insignificant, it was something and I needed to do something, like sharks who die if they don’t swim, which I know” (Foer 87). This quote is in a section of the book when the characters are talking about how anything you do changes history, no matter how small the change may be. I think this quote is important because many people feel that if they aren’t changing the world, then they aren’t doing anything important, but that is not true. Everything that we do makes a difference. For example, if your family recycles, you are helping the planet. You aren’t completely changing the earth because not everyone recycles, but you are still doing something to help. I think that this quote really makes people think about their life and their goals. I feel that if everyone knew that everything that they did had an impact on history that more people would strive to do bigger and better things. Another quote that supports this is, “If you hadn’t don’t it, human history would have been one way…””Uh-huh?” ”But you did do t, so…” I stood one my bed, pointed my fingers at the fake stars, and screamed: “I changes the course of human history” (Foer 86). The example in the book was about how if you moved one grain of sand in the Sahara Desert, would it really make a difference? Well, how will we ever know? We don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t moved that grain of sand. Foer does a good job of getting into the deeper questions that people have about life, throughout this book.

Blog #2

The car flies through the mountain
the fresh smell of the trees dances through the window
the sun slides from beneath a cloud
while seven little birds run through the sky
the laughter of the kids fills peoples' ears for miles
hikers are walking through the forest smiling
a rabbit jumps and hops like a stone skipped across a lake
the sweet taste of nature sung in a book.

Outside Reading #1

“It wasn’t a mistake! It was a message to me” (Foer 10).
This quote represents the things in life that happen for a reason. Throughout life things happen, but we just assume that they are mistakes and don’t have any meaning. I feel like this book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close does an excellent job of showing hoe everything in life has a meaning and a purpose. When we look at ordinary things in life, like a bird or leaf, we just pass on by because they are so typical. But, maybe those ordinary things have a hidden meaning. Maybe that song that you have been struggling to write is hidden beneath a bench in Central Park, or the speech you have been trying to write is tucked away in the newspaper. We get ideas from so many places, but when we are looking for something specific, we look in the more unusual places, when that something that we have been looking for is right out in front of us.
This quote also shows that people help in mysterious ways. The ways that people help may be so hidden and strange that we may not realize the help until we really look at the situation. Some people help in mysterious ways because they do not want to be recognized personally for their contribution. Which is understandable because help isn’t about you it is about the person receiving the help and the impact it is going to have on their life. Other people help in mysterious ways because they want people to work for what they want. They want to help people, but not just by telling them easy to understand advice, but by making them look deeper into life and what surrounds them. This way, the person being helped gets more out of the advice or guidance because they have to think about it and ponder the meaning of what is being given to them.

blog post #1

Candy poem:

So much depends
upon

a lightly covered
delicacy

with the aroma
of tempting sugar

the shimmering aluminium
crinkling as it is unfolded

one whiff of the chocolate delight
sends my brain into a mode of tranquility


Spring Poem:

So much of spring depends
upon

the chatter of birds
in the air

the blanket of the
peaceful blue sky

a forest of bare trees
waiting to bloom