Pardon the Interruption

Pardon the Interruption

 with 

Anna and Rachel

Watch it on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kToKrJzP81M&feature=youtu.be

Personal Narrative

Baby me circa 1999

My Life Journey 

12 Moments of my life: 

Me and Jared when we still got along.

1. My brother Jared was born--We're two years apart and we used to fight a lot but I think it has gotten better. I take advantage of him on a daily basis and people say that we look alike. 

2. Made my first friend--I didn't really have a best friend until 2nd grade when I met Nicole. Our mom's forced us to play Barbie's together and we discovered our mutual love of The Littlest Pet Shop. We stayed close until 8th grade when we went to different high schools. 

My brief time as an ice skater. 

3. Determined I had no talent in physical activity- I tried figure skating in 2nd grade since I was terrible at every other sport. I thought I was pretty good at it until 7th grade when I decided I hated the cold and falling on ice all the time so I stopped sports all together. 

4. Started choir but never sang in front of anyone- I loved choir in 4th grade, I don't remember if it was for the singing part or because we always got candy at the end, but I remember looking forward to every Tuesday recess to go to choir. I had never sang by myself in front of anyone else, but it was a start. 

5. Starting developing my own personality- Until 6th grade I didn't really know what my personality was, I tried to act like everybody else, but this was when I started to become my weird self. I became friends with Shulie who I'm still really close with, and started to act more like I do today. 

6. First time going to camp- I started going to a two week camp in 6th grade. I had a lot of fun and made some really good friends but I ended up switching camps a few years later. 

Me in the height of my awkward phase with Shulie. 

7. I was in my first play- In 7th grade my school's musical was Beauty and the Beast and I decided to try out for it. I had been taking voice lessons for a couple years before that but had never sang in front of any of my classmates. I ended up getting the role of Belle and that was the start of my involvement in musical theater. 

8. Went to Israel on an 8th grade trip--Going to Israel was the first time I had been out of the country, and I realized how much I really enjoyed traveling. I loved seeing cultures outside of the United States and this started my love for travel.  

9.  Started a new camp and met Cari- I started going to a different camp where I met one of my best friends Cari. This was the summer before I started going to Parker and she really helped me get used to going to a new camp as well as a new school. 

10. Started high school--This was my first time at a new school, I had gone to the same school my whole life before that, and it was very different for me to change school environments. 

11. Travelled to Belgium--This was the only time, other than Israel than in my life (so far) I've been out of the United States and again I rekindled my love for travel. I made a lot of new friends and felt a lot more adjusted to Parker afterwards than I had ever felt. 

12. Made a solid group of friends- I established a group of friends that I can talk to about anything and feel like I have found more of a place for myself in high school. 

Me on my first day of camp this past year. 

My first day at Lake of the Woods was not really a good precursor for what awaited me the next 2 summers. I was nervous the night before and the morning I was leaving for camp. I had never been away from home for more than 2 weeks and a month sounded like a really long time. I didn't drink any water all day and the heat that day was over 100 degrees, a bad decision on my part because I was the only new kid to my cabin that year and also the only one who did not pass their swim test that day due to dehydration. I probably didn't make such a good first impression. I was worried before I started camp because I was joining the year before I started 9th grade, and these girls had been together since they were 7. Fortunately, I was completely wrong, and by dinner that first night I was a part of the family. On my first day, I met Cari, who already went to Parker. I didn't know anyone else at the time and Cari helped me make a much smoother transition into starting school that fall. She became my best friend as did the rest of my cabin.

Me on my first day ever at camp. 

Going to camp is something everyone should try to experience. I count down the days to leaving for camp every year. My friends from camp have become people that I can tell anything too and we have become like sisters. I love camp, and it has become a large part of my life. Living with people for a month can create much closer bonds than anything else I know. Camp really tested my leadership abilities and gives everyone the opportunity to be responsible for yourself and I want to continue having camp as a part of my life in the future, whether it be as a counselor or even running my own camp someday. 

Because of camp I have become more independent and I have become who I am today. The experiences I have had at camp have been some of my best memories and I have made some of my closest friends. I'm not sure who I would be today if I never went to camp. Camp  made me less shy and socially awkward and forced me to be independent by taking care of myself. It prepared me for the future by living outside of home but has become one of the places I think of as home at the same time. I learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses at camp and who I am. Every year I tried a new activity and I have established that I again have no talent in sports but I enjoy art activities and sailing. I have tried a lot of new things at camp and have been pushed out of my comfort zone in the best way possible. Camp will remain my favorite part of every year and it has given me some of my best memories. I don't think I would be the same person if I never attended camp, and I'm so glad that I did.

Persepolis: Journey to Adulthood

Journey to Adulthood 

"With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye. Now I was a grown up." 

The moment Marjane decides to grow up was the moment she changed her whole future. 

12 moments from Marjane's life:

1. Marjane tries to first act grown up. Marjane wants to join her parents and go to demonstrate with them but she is thought by them of as too young to go along, and this only makes her want to demonstrate even more. On page 17. 

2. Marjane goes by herself to demonstrate. Marjane makes the decision herself to go out and demonstrate and becomes less dependent on her parents, instead she sneaks out by herself. On page 38 

3. Marjane stops relying on God. Marjane decides that she does not want to speak to God anymore, someone she used to be so reliant on, and decides she never wants to see God again. On page 70.

4. Marjane attends her first party. Marjane goes to her first party and it is physically shown that she starts to act more like a teenager than a child. On page 102. 

5. Marjane kisses childhood goodbye. Marjane decides she is done being treated like a child and tries her first cigarette to prove to herself she is now an adult. On page 117. 

6. Marjane becomes a true teenager. Marjane acts more like a teenager than before when her parents risk their lives to bring her back posters from Turkey, and she does not really care, instead she acts like a bratty teenager. On page 130. 

7. Marjane rebells like a teenager. Marjane goes out wearing clothes that are not considered appropriate, like her own teenager rebellion, but gets in trouble with the law. On page 133.

8. Marjane leaves for Austria alone. When Marjane's parents decide she needs to leave Iran and go to school in Austria, Marjane is not ready to leave her home, and it shows she is not ready to live alone and act like an adult. On page 153.

9. Marjane starts to find herself. Marjane developes her own group of friends, something she never had before, and starts to find herself through making a choice to be friends with this group instead of just falling into a group of friends like she did in her childhood. On page 167.

10. Marjane's mother treats her as an equal. Marjane's mother comes to visit her in Austria and offers Marjane a cigarette, something that used to seem so grown up to Marjane has now become her daily routine, and they start to bond more like friends than as a parent and child. On page 204. 

11. Marjane makes a big decision of her own. Marjane's health has rapidly declined from living on the streets and she makes a decision for herself to return to Iran for her own personal health instead of letting other people decide for her. On page 242. 

12. Marjane leaves home by her own choice. Marjane leaves home alone again, but this time by her own choice because she is doing what she thinks is best for herself, proving she is grown up enough to live alone and lead her own life. On page 341. 

Description: 

An image I found that really stood out to me was a picture of Marjane declaring she was done being a child. She is holding up a cigarette and decides it is time for her to be a grown up. I think this stood out to me because I remember going through a phase similar to how she is acting. By trying to smoke a cigarette, she is jumping into adulthood too fast and is not really understanding how to act like a grown up, but more how to look like one. In the picture, her face is very determined and driven and she is holding the cigarette in the air as a sort of declaration. From the expression on her face, it seems as though she has made this a final decision. In the images leading up to this one, Marjane is shown coughing and having trouble with the cigarette. In the image  where she declares herself a grown up, she appears to look as though she knows what she is doing. She is done being treated like a child and is ready to be an adult.  I think this really stood out to me because people always think I look younger than I am, and treat me more like a child than an adult. I can understand how she feels and why she would make the decision to be a grown up.

The caption of the picture is a speech bubble from Marjane that says, "with this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye." And in the caption it says, "now I was a grown up." I think that this was striking to me because I went through a similar phase and understand why she acts like this. I think Marjane wants to be heard by her parents and feels like she is being treated like a child. When she says that she kissed her childhood goodbye, she decides to force herself to grow up. For most people adulthood comes naturally, like through puberty or even life experiences. Majane is making herself act older when she is too young because she is unaware of what growing up means for her. She sounds like she has made a decision from this and forces herself to act more grown up by having her first cigarette and ending her childhood.

I think that by having the cigarette, Marjane made a conscious decision to end childhood for herself. Most people do not want to leave their childhood, but she is eager to grow up. She wants to be heard and be treated as an equal by her parents and other adults around her. She forces herself to grow up by trying a cigarette and kissing her childhood goodbye, I think that this image was chosen because it illustrates that she still looks physically like a child, even when she is holding the cigarette,Marjane is already a mature child, but she wants to look older by trying something generally used by adults. The cigarette gives her an older status and makes her feel more adult even if she is still a child inside. 

*The image I chose was on page 117 in the bottom right corner*

C is a Witch?!

Odysseus here, your one and only source into Greece's elite.

"Let me tell you of all the witch's subtle craft..."  (239) Nice hat Circe, it really works for you.

Hey all you gossip-seeking-Grecians, wondering what I’ve been up to lately? I’m sure you have. Well, I realized I haven’t updated you all in such a long time, so I decided to give you the scoop. We landed on this island Scheria, oh, a couple days ago, and I have finally found a place with internet! Well a lot has happened since my last post, but now’s for the real gossip. I stayed with Circe the Nymph, for what, a year maybe? You might have seen her in some of the magazines; she’s very popular on the Aeaean Island. Oh yes, last month’s issue of άνθρωποι showed how to get those glossy braids of hers. Anyway, while Circe may look fine to the rest of the world, she’s keeping something big from everyone, and I was great enough to find out what. After a long journey, I can say with certainty that Circe is a witch. I saw it with my own eyes. She turned my men into pigs! My sources tell me, “off they went to their pens, sobbing and squealing as Circe flung them acorns, cornel nuts and mast, common fodder for hogs that root and roll in mud.” Just terrible, but don’t you worry, I saved them. Looking for some more scoop? Hermes helped me. Yes, that Hermes, the one who lives up on Mount Olympus. Do I even need to explain who that is? Anyone who has been following my blog for some time should know he's a god. Anyway, after I found out about what happened to my men, I immediately tried to send an update to you guys but I couldn’t find internet, so I had to yell at Eurylochus, “stay right here, eating, drinking safe by the black ship. I must be off. Necessity drives me on.” I mean, I  had to find Wi-Fi right?! Ok back on track, I was walking and then Hermes (in disguise I might add) told me to go and talk to Circe, and gave me a magic herb to take. I still don’t understand why he disguised himself, I mean, maybe he didn’t want to be on my blog, who knows. If your reading this H, too late! So I went on to the halls of Circe and my heart was a heaving storm at every step, she was a witch,  I’ve never blogged about a witch before! She tried to bewitch me when I got in there, but I was too smart for her because of those magic herbs. Sorry C! She tried to turn me into a pig too, but I was too fast for her, take that! I got my men turned back to normal after sleeping with her, of course. It always works, I have to say! Since I always am treated in the best way, I was given a bath, rubbed with oil, and then put on a warm fleece and had a shirt put around my shoulders. It was all nice, not a 5 star hotel, but close. Then my men and I feasted and ate. That went on for a year or so, it was nice while it lasted. We tried to go home after that, but Circe gave us a few tasks first. That’s a different story and you’d be surprised what kinds of things you find out in the Underworld. I guess it’s a small Underworld as after all as well. 

I guess that I learned a few things over there. First, do not trust witches. C, I'm talking to you. You will be with them for quite some time... Resist! And also get some magic herbs before you face Circe, otherwise you will not be human when you get out of there. Additionally, if someone come's up to you in disguise, they're probably a God. I would know, the gods can't resist me. I guess I shouldn't leave anything up to my crew either. Something always seems to go wrong with those men. Furthermore, do not stay with Circe for long period's of time, I think she has attachment issues. She wasn't so keen into letting me off her island. 

To recap, Why is C keeping it from everyone that she’s a witch? What does H have against C? How is C going to possibly live without me?!

And who am I? Thats a secret I'll never tell..wait a minute of course I would!

You know you love me,

Xoxo,

Odysseus 

Want to know more? Look at older blog posts more Grecian Gossip.

 Entries:

Ithaca- My first post!

Troy- Trojan Horses, the new way to get around? 

Scheria- Best new city to travel, be treated in godly ways!

Ismarus-  Do Cicones have anger management?

Lotus Island- Lotus, is it the new Caviar? 

Cyclops land- No one can hurt you here!

Aeolia- The next Windy City?

Laestrygonia- Cannibalism, in or out?

Aeaea- C's glossy braids appearing on a red carpet near you. 

House of the Dead- Its a small Underworld after all! 

Island of the Sirens- These are not the Little Mermaid's you know. Charybdis and Scylla Island- Why is eating my men becoming a trend?!

Thrinacia- Solitude- it's not a happy thing.

Calypso's Island- Beware of people who's name starts with the letter C.