Reading Response: If I Stay
                                    If I Stay is a really sad but inspiring story by Gayle Forman. The story starts off with a tragic accident, in which a car crash kills Mia's father, mother and younger brother. The crash leaves Mia in a comatose state. The reader will follow Mia as she fights the battle of returning a orphan with no family or dying. As Mia is fighting with this decision she is having an outer body experience. She can hear and see everything going on around her, but no one can see or hear her.  Mia starts having flashbacks of different events, such as family evenings or late nights with her boyfriend. He is one of the biggest reasons keeping her here. Mia will to survive will determine her fate forever.

 

Reading response: January 27, 2015

             The first multi-genre papers that I read was Happily Ever After in the Media?  I found this particular topic interesting because their are always debates about the effect Fairy tales have on young girls. Does it really have a great effect on girls as they are growing up? Tori Grinberg makes a excellent point when she says that fairy tales teach little girls that they need a prince to rescue them in order to be happy. I agree in ways that it can effect girls as they grow up that they need  man in their life to be happy. Tori talks about the reality show The Bachelor and how it is a tradition modern day fairy tale. The contestants are held to a certain standard of beauty that is completely inaccurate. post might lead me to my project to work with young women to show them what beauty is or should be. Beauty should be all about you and how you feel about yourself.

Reading response: Kids who give back

                   I read about the goal 4 which is to reduce the mortality of children. I think that this relates all around the world. More and more children die each day, it's really tragic. Although the rate of deaths under 5 has dropped from 90 deaths per still birth 1990 to48 in 2012 according to un.org. In 2012, an estimated 18,000 a day died from mostly preventable diseases.

To fix these problems different countries are trying different things. For example, Bangladesh is starting by teaming wit UNICEF to train and educate local community healthcare providers. In Peru, farmers teamed with MDG-FUND to help against the malnutrition of the children. For example, participating in a program that provides training on agriculture management techniques Nigeria is taking initiative by spreading access to healthcare. They have included telephone lines, ways to prevent mother-to-child HIV spread, bed nets, and more. India has started building more healthcare buildings to link rural communities to bigger upscale district hospitals. I am interested in this because I used to want to be a pediatric oncologist. I wanted to help sick children in any way that I could. If I could make one child's day even the slightest bit brighter than it would all be worth it.

Reading response #2: Start something that matters

If I did not have to worry about money I would want to be teaching kids music. I think that music is an amazing outlet for stress, anxiety, or even hopelessness. When I was younger, I never knew what to do with all the emotions that I had. I wish that someone had thought me what I now know. I want to take girls of all ages ( 8-19) that have no place in the system and start a group home. I do not want it to be like a foster home, rather a family. I want to teach them music, and how they can use music to  express themselves. I hope to give these girls a purpose in life and the skills they need to survive in society. Above all else I want to give them a chance at living a happy life.

http://www.oaklifestyle.com

This link will take you to the website of OAK lifestyle. OAK is a project trying to spread education to every corner of the world. OAK creators have designed a backpack that is for sale. With every backpack that is sold, they donate a backpack and school supplies. What makes OAK unique is that they realize there are loads of organizations like them but their view is "We know there are many more organizations like these (across the world), and the more we take care of their backpack + school supply needs, the more money they can free up to help more children with more full-service resources." I was scrolling through the choices and saw the picture of the backpacks. It caught my attention because I thought that they were really cute.

http://www.etkie.com/

When reading about The Etkie organization, it really stood out to me that they were focused on helping struggling women artist.  Most of the women in Turkey are lacking materials and a solid market to sell their jewelry.  Due to overcrowded markets, they were forced to sell on the streets. This organization helps by securing those sells, and supplying materials necessary. "Many of our artisans are faced with abject poverty, sexual violence or homelessness. We must understand these issues and translate this understanding into realistic expectations about what we can achieve. "   This quote shows that they understand the under lying issues the women the sponsor face. I think that is really what sets them apart or makes them special . 

                                                                http://www.a2ndcup.com/

A 2nd cup is all about second chances , especially for those who have survived the horrific world of human trafficking.  A small coffee shop in Houston is taking big steps to help those survivors. Counseling , mentoring, GED training, resume writing, job skills, financial counseling, and technology training are all services that A 2nd cup provides through funds. A 2nd cup not only looks out for how the survivors lives will be impacted but also the business aspect. This made them stand apart from others to me. 

Reading response #4: Wake

         This book starts of slow and the first chapter starts off with a scene of Thea and Penn. It describes the smell of blood that Thea can smell on Penn. Knowing it is late the girls must go but not before Penn gets what she wants, because after all she always gets what she wants. In the second chapter Gemma, Alex and Harper are introduced to us. Harper is Gemma's older sister, but Gemma is always described as the prettier one. Harper and Alex have been best friends for a long time, but recently Harper has secretly grown feelings for Alex. The only problem is it seems little sister and Alex have developed feelings for each other.  One night when Gemma's car breaks down before she can get her nightly swim in, Alex offers to give her a ride down to the bay. Alex agrees to get in the water with Gemma and race. Gemma being be the swimmer in town, of course wins. The two rest against a rock, and when Alex takes Gemma's hand neither move. Until the sounds and shadows of Penn, Thea, and Lexi, the three mysterious tourist girls. No one knows where they came from, but the fourth girl has suddenly disappeared. They are outsiders and they do not belong.
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" Penn, Lexi, and Thea were sitting in a booth by the window at Pearl's. The other two girls were sipping their drinks, behaving like normal customers, but Penn stared out the glass, her dark eyes locked on harper. Her full lips turned up in a smile.. She put the car in drive and sped off so quickly she nearly clipped another driver, and that was very unlike her. AS she drove down to the docks, slowing her racing heart, Harper once again thought how much better it would be if Penn would just leave." This quote is meaning full because it really shows how Penn behaves, and how much affect she has on other people, almost like magic.

This is a picture of what Capri is supposed to look like. When Gemma and Alex go swimming, the cove is described as a pool of water surrounded by rock, cut off from the rest of the bay.

Reading  Response #3: Live through this
          

                                      This book follows a sixteen year old girl named Coley. On the outside she seems to be a normal high school student, on the dance tame, great friends, and now a cute boyfriend named Reece. However, Coley has a deep dark secret and has never told a soul, Afraid of thee consequences. After stealing Coley and older brother away from their abusive father, her mother has spent her entire life protecting them . This secret would destroy her mother, but it is slowly destroying Coley. This book is very descriptive and has some mature content. I would not suggest this to someone who is offended by mature content such as this book contains. Mindi Scott (the author) does an amazing job in writing a book that pushes the boundaries.


                                            Coley is described as a simple minded teen who is just living out her high school career. Although there is a lot more than meets the eye though. Coley does not have a normal relationship with her brother, and it causes havoc when Reece (her new boyfriend) comes into the picture. During a family ski vacation in Canada Coley's older brother, Brian, does something that changes Coley forever. Coley is a strong character even through her struggles. She has strong opinions and a big influence on her friends.

PechaKuha: Music moves me by: Breanne Tepler

         Breanne does a really good job at staying on the topic, she describes what happened in her earlier years that lead her to music. She very well at speaking clearly, and her voice had a lot of power behind it. The viewer/listener can tell that what she is saying has a real meaning to her. Watching and hearing her you can hear the passion she has for music. One of the criticizes I have for Breanne would be to slow down a bit. She talks fast in some parts and it can be hard to understand.
                            I enjoyed the presentation, although it surprised me. When you first see the first photo, it is of Breanne standing with a guitar, smiling in front of a microphone. So it seems as if it will be a happy go lucky presentation. When she tells what got her started in guitar and music, it is a very sad story. Her dad played guitar and after he committed suicide she tried it out. When her younger brother died in a car crash 3 years later, that was her way of dealing with the pain. Her message of finding something that you're passionate about and sticking to it is very inspiring. I think that for my presentation it will be a struggle to fill 10 slides, but I'll get it done.