Extending The Theme

   In the book To Kill A Mockingbird something that really stood out to me was how much I related to the characters. I related a lot to Scout, but I also related to Jem. Like Jem, I am an older sibling. My younger sister is someone who is very important to me, but who can also annoy me beyond words. That is always how its been. As siblings grow up, they grow up together, and they have no choice but to have interaction. Scout and Jem spent almost every waking minute together or so it seems. My sister and I spent a lot of time together also. I can relate to Jem's feelings that at school, I want to hang out with my friends, and my sister should hang out with hers. We both know each others friends so we did have some interaction when we went to schoo together, but so did Scout and Jem. Jem was a great older sibling for Scout and he was a really supportive brother. Though he was very mood-swingy at times, he did a good job of being there for Scout, and I like to think that I'm a pretty good older sister.
     As much as I related to Jem, I related to Scout, too. When I was younger I hung out with boys a lot. At preschool one of my best friends was a boy. A big difference between mine and Scout's childhoods, is that I had surgery when I was four, and again when I was five, and this resricted me from running and jumping and playing as much as Scout did. Granted, I still got to do a lot of things, and my childhood could have been much more affected than that.
    Another way I related to Scout was during Scout's experience at Tom Robinson's trial. When I was younger we had a babysitter who in recent years was put on trial. My mom took me to the trial so I could watch what was happening. I was older than Scout while she was at Tom Robinson's trial, but I had about as much insight as she did, and I was just doing my best to keep up. I wasn't able to do anything from my seat in the audience and neither was Scout. We both felt a little helpless. I don't know what I could have done to help in that situation, but I just remember feeling really overwhelmed with lot's of things going on. Scout also felt smothered by all the things that were going on that day. As the reality of my babysitter's trial englufed me I realized I couldn't do anything to control the outcome of the jury. Neither could Scout. The trial of my babysitter was much more fair than that of Tom Robinson, but it was a similar experience for Scout and I.
     I have always had the ability to compare myself to characters in books well. Finding a reflection of my self in To Kill A Mockingbird was more difficult for me than in other books, but I still did pretty quickly. As I read the book and got to know Scout more, I found more ways that we were similar, and I got more into the book when I realized that I was like Scout.

My Boo Radley

    I met my Boo Radley when I was three years old. She was just born. My Boo Radley is my sister. When she was born I was so excited. I would finally have someone to play with and someone to be able to be with when my parents were busy. Soon after she was born we moved, to our current house, which was bigger and gave us more room to play together. When she was a baby, I could always make her smile, even when one of our parents couldn't. I could make her laugh, and she loved me. I was her incredible older sister.
    As we got older she began to talk more and express her opinions. My mom told me a few years ago, that when we were little we were playing some sort of imaginary game, as kids often do, I was explaining to my sister all these ideas, and things we could do, and she just said, "No, this is how it's going to be." And she told me. My little sister told me what to do. And I listened. From then on, I have often done what she says. I know everyone says, "What? No, old siblings are the boss." Not in our family; sure I tell her what to do and she listens, but it goes the other way, too. 
     When I was little, I thought that she was better and more powerful than me, so I listened to her. Now I realize that we are equally as powerful. She has good ideas, and I have good ideas, and neither one of us is better than the other one. We both have our bright moments...and our not so bright ones. My misconception about her was that she was better than me, and therefore I had to listen and do what she said, but really neither one of us is better than the other. Of course, we have our days where we just do not get along, but we deal with it, and figure out how to move on. I know we could both tell people horrible things about each other and make life very difficult for the other, but there is some unsaid thing between sisters. It's that no matter what you do to each other, you are still sisters and you have to love each other. You may never get along, and fight and disagree on everything, but you still will have a place in the others' heart. 
     It took me until recently to realize this. Now I try to respect her, and get along with her as best I can. We have both been making more of an effort lately, and it's been really nice to have her there. I wish that I had figured this out earlier, because knowing this before, would have been really nice. Now, though, we just have to make the most of each other and have fun. I'm glad that I know this because having my sister by my side is a really special thing.
    Scout didn't really know Boo Radley very well, and she never really had the opportunity to get to know him, because she only meets him once. On the other hand, I have many years to get to know my sister. I do know her, but I could get to know her so much more, and now that I know how special having a sister is, I can't wait to know more about. She is a very interesting person, just like Boo Radley is very interesting. My sister and I have the rest our lives to get to know each other and this is only the very beginning. I am luckier than Scout, because my sister is someone who shaped my childhood and now I get to know the real her. Unfortunately, Scout doesn't get the rest of her life to get know some one who created fun for her and Jem and Dill as a child.

Introduction to my Blog

Hello World of Blogging-

  This is my blog. I love reading; I have absolutely way too many favorite books to name one here. I also love to write. I think that being able to write is freeing. To be able to create an entire new world, just with words, is incredible. 

    English is one of my favorite classes. It always has been. If you are reading my blog, you should expect to see my personality come through when I am writing. With free writing (even though we have assigned topics) I think that people should really be able to get to know the writer through what they are writing. I do hope that all you readers of my blog do enjoy what I write and you find it interesting. To me, the meaning of English class is to be become more familiar with our language. English is a really important class because you can never really run out of things to teach. There are so many different books to read, and to discuss, it's hard to imagine that there would ever be a shortage of things to do.

   I think that having English for four years is important because later in life it is going to be a make or break it skill. It may be that you need to get into a class in college, or that you need to find a job, and if your English skills are good enough you might not be as eligible for that job. To be successful in life at all, you need to be able to communicate with people. Whether you live in New York City, and deal with many people on a daily basis, or whether you choose to be a hermit, and have someone in a helicopter bring you food once a month, you still need the skills to communicate with those you interact with. Academically, you have to know how to read, write, and communicate. If you can't do that, you can't excel in any area. Whether you like science, math, or history, reading and writing are still parts of those fields. English is something that anyone can be good at, as long as they apply themselves. 

  My blog will be full of posts like this one in a few months time. I hope will come back to read more!