Blog 8: The Final Four

I have continued reading my book "The Final Four" and things have gotten intense and interesting. While attending Michigan State university and playing for the basketball team, Malcolm, Roko, M.J., and Crispin wished to make the NCAA tournament and win the national title. Now, they are getting a chance for their dream. In the book, Malcolm and his friends had a good enough regular season and made it to the tournament! They know that this is their only chance to prove that dreams do come true and the only chance to win the national title they wished for. As they begin the tournament, they only have one team to worry about who they are enemies with. The Troy Trojans. Neither of the teams like each other, and tempers are going to flare if they ever play against each other in the tournament. Roko hates playing against the Trojans because he loses his focus on the game because of the aggressiveness they bring. An example from the book is during one of their games when a player from The Trojans pushed Roko and they started fighting. He knew that they were a dirty team, but he did not think they would pull anything like that. Ever since that moment, Roko has hated playing against the Trojans. But as the book continued, his friends and teammates encouraged him that they have his back and that he is going to be alright in this tournament as long as he remains focused. As they play their first game, they continue to push to keep their grades steady and know what is on the line. Not only are they participating for the championship for the school and for teammates, but also for their dreams to continue and to make their parents proud. Let's see if the Michigan State Spartans win the national tittle.

After getting close to the end of the book, I think I am able to tell the theme of the story. I believe the theme of this book is to never give up and that nothing is impossible. The reason I believe this is the theme of the book is because throughout the whole book, Malcolm knew that making it to the tournament and keeping their grades high was not impossible and that him and his friends would be able to succeed. All it took was confidence and the urge to accomplish those goals. While Roko started giving up, Malcolm was always their to remind him that nothing was impossible and to remind him of the reason they were here. An example from the book is when Malcolm tells Crispin, "We aren't here because of luck, we are here because we fought hard and had the courage to succeed and to push ourselves to the farthest limit." This is a good example of the theme because it proves that Malcolm was going to do whatever it took to be successful for his education and sports because he knew nothing was impossible and that dreams could always be chased. Malcolm is my favorite character in the book because of this. I too believe that if you really try and give it your all for education or anything you like, you can always achieve your goals and chase your dreams, because nothing is impossible.

Blog 7: Final Four

After finishing my last book I am now reading "The Final Four" which is a book about college basketball teams playing in a huge tournament, and the tournament coming down to the final four teams. This book took place in 2009, during what is called the NCAA tournament. I started the book a few days ago and have gotten pretty far in the book. So far they have talked about how the seasons are going for the different teams but mainly the Michigan State Spartans, and the Troy Trojans. The main characters in the book are Malcolm, Roko, Crispin, and M.J. All of the boys play for Michigan State and are fighting hard to accomplish their sports goal, which is to win a national title for their school. All of the students have kept their grades good enough to participate on their team and are fighting to make everyone on their team happy. I chose this book because I can easily relate to the book. I also chose this book because it includes one of my favorite sports which is basketball. As I get near the more interesting parts of the book, the tournament is about to begin and the four close best friends are hoping to bring home a national title this year. It is win or go home, and being a Michigan State Spartan, they understand how hard they are going to have to fight in order to be successful in the tournament.

I chose this book because I can easily connect to the book. One way I can connect to this book is how Malcolm and his friends push themselves to succeed in school and have good grades knowing how important their education is if you want to play sports. This connects to me because I quickly learned and understood that education is far more important then sports because without the books, you aren't able to play. Another way I connect to this book is how the book contains college basketball and the final four. I connect to this because my dream is to play college basketball because of the atmosphere and because I watch college basketball and the final four. I believe college basketball is part of the big stage, because the fans get tremendously loud and make you feel the hype and enthusiasm. But I think I mainly connect to this book because all of the friends in the book love the sport of basketball. They all love waking up everyday, going to practice, and playing in all of their games. And that is how I feel about basketball. Knowing that if I chase my dreams for basketball and that there is a chance of me making it big, I love playing this game and I love that I was introduced to this sport from my family. I enjoy playing with my AAU team and wish to go somewhere with this sport just like the characters in this book wish to do. That is how I connect to my book, "The Final Four."

Blog 6: The last invisible boy

I am near the end of my book The Last Invisible Boy and the book has sort of changed in terms of the tone. In the beginning and middle of the book, it was more of a dark and awkward tone from the author while talking about Finn's family and how his life has continued without his dad. But towards the end of the book, the tone changes to more of a sad and upsetting tone. One reason is because Finn thinks about how he is no longer important in this world and he believes that without his dad, he is a nobody type of kid. Another reason it get's sad is because Finn's family starts to have rough times after just recovering from a long tragic loss, and Finn breaks down and cries about it for a few chapters. As I get farther and closer to the end, Finn continues to have a sad attitude and continues to explain how he still is being picked on at school and how he does't think he can go any farther without his father. Besides the sad scenes towards the end, Finn has finally went back to school and fought through the pain. Throughout his first week back he quickly was able to talk to normal friends and live a normal kid life. But as the second and third week of his return to school arrived, the reasons in which he didn't want to go to school in the first place arrived again. Finn started to get picked on again about his dad, about how he has changed and about his family in general. After that was when Finn started having more of his emotional breakdowns. Hopefully at the end of the whole book, Finn finds away to avoid these obstacles and overcomes the long and painful conflict.

After reading far into this book I was able to tell what the theme was. I think the theme is about having to overcome problems in life because if you don't, you go nowhere except for the path of pain. I think this is the theme because it has been two years since Finn had lost his father. He was just ten years old when his dad had died. Now, two years later at the age of twelve, Finn still avoids some of school and doesn't bother to meet new friends because of what happened. He is avoiding the solutions to his problem which is why it is hard for him to continue with a normal kid life. It's understandable about how much pain he is going through because he has lost his dad, but he just has to not think about it for a while so he can overcome this conflict and take a path towards more happy feelings. That is what I believe the theme of this book was all about. If Finn doesn't want to continue getting picked on, he has to avoid all of the negativity and see where more of the happiness get's him rather than staying by the sad side of his feelings.

Blog 5: The Invisible Boy

As I read more into my book "The Invisible Boy" Finn starts having flashback memories to the days when he was with his dad, his whole family, and talks about how the house he lived in now will always be a remembered part of the family. Finn had explained a story about how his uncle and grandmother had lived in the house a long time before Finn was born and that his Uncle Victor had helped construct the house. After it was finished, his uncle and grandmother quickly were comfortable about the house and knew they would be staying their long. That is when Finn's dad was born, and both Uncle Victor and Aunt Nedine had passed away. So Finn's dad took the house, and married to Finn's mom Enid. Finn had also told stories about the different damages the house had been through from different storms and from his uncle starting a fire in the living room burning the couches and half of the room. But there was a moment in the house during a storm that Finn would never forget. Like always, Finn, his brother Derek and his dad were getting ready to watch another baseball game of their favorite team the Reds. Finn had said as they turned to channel seven, they found out the game had been canceled due to severe thunderstorm warnings. Eventually, a huge storm had moved it's way to Finn's area. To be prepared, him, Derek and his mother all went into the basement. Instead of joining them in the basement for protection, Finn's father had stayed upstairs the whole time reading a magazine. After the storm had finally ended they did not know if he was still alive or not because he said that he would be downstairs. Fortunately he was still in his chair reading his magazine, but nobody really knew why he stayed up there. Now that he is gone, Finn had realized that it was really a test. He believed that the reason his father stayed upstairs during the storm was to show them all that when the day comes to where he is gone without his protection, they would be able to stay strong and protect themselves. So far, Finn had said that he and his family are failing that test.

After reading a few chapters into my book I am able to reflect on what I have read so far. So far in the book, the main character Finn gives a biography about his life and how his family is struggling without their dad. He still hasn't said exactly how his dad died, but it is easy to tell because Finn has flashbacks to his childhood memories with his dad and keeps saying that they miss and need him. Finn has mainly been talking about how he has changed ever since his father has been gone. Example would be when he talks about how his hair has gone from shiny black to clear white and that his skin has gotten even paler. He considers himself a ghost. Even at school he considers himself as a ghost because nobody talks to him there and always make fun of him because of the new changes. But they do not understand what he has been through which is why he refuses to say anything. Mainly Finn has been talking about his family right now and how they are dealing the problems without his father. He has admitted that it has been hard and that he wants him, his brother, and mother to continue fighting to show his father that they are strong. And that is mainly what has been happening in my book "The Last Invisible Boy".

Blog 4: The Last Invisible Boy

I am reading a new book called "The Last Invisible Boy" by Evan Kuhlman. The main character in the book is the "invisible boy" Finn Garret. Living with him is his mom, Enid, his younger brother Derek and his cat Henry. So far in the book, Finn has talked about his household, his life, how he has been ever since his dad has died, and how he has become the Invisible Boy. Finn has not yet stated exactly how his father had died but it is easy to tell he has because in the book Finn states "Life would be easier if dad were still here. He loved his wife and his two kids with all of his heart." Based on that statement I was able to predict and tell that his father past. Finn is called the invisible boy because he says that ever since his father had past his skin has become even more pale than ever, and his what used to be shiny black hair is becoming more white and clear. He related these changes to a big eraser falling straight from the sky and onto his body, erasing everything he has. That is what he also compares his life to. Finn has been picked on at school for these changes as well. That is why to start this new school year which has started two weeks ago in the book, he is still yet to go because his mom is giving him time to recover from this big tragedy. As for Derek, he had no problem going back to school and has actually been doing well, at least that is what Finn says. Finn also says that school was part of his "dad is still here world" since dad would always help them with their homework, drop them off a school and even teach them lessons about what a good education could do for them. But since he is gone, Finn is taking a few weeks away from the bullies and memories. And that is what has been happening so far in the book "The Last Invisible Boy."

After reading a few chapters I was able to tell the first conflict in the book. The conflict that the whole Garret family is facing right now is that the dad in the family is gone. He was a big part to the family and loved every single one of them. He would help Finn and Derek with problems at school and even teach them lessons for their soccer lives. He would help their mom around the house and would always make sure she was ok and rested after she came home from work. These are clear examples that the dad was a good man and a great father and husband. But unfortunately for the garret family, he has past. In the book Finn even states "He was a good man and a good father. He worked very hard at a job he didn't like much, managing a sporting goods store called World Champs Sports." This statement clearly proved that Mr. Garret was a good man and even though he did not like his job that much, he knew the money was important for his family. So that is why him being gone is a huge conflict. Finn now feels like he is invisible without him, Edin, the mother, has been even more depressed than ever, and Derek is trying to hide his feelings at school so he doesn't get made fun of. They feel like with their father there, he would be able to solve all of these problems. But the sad part is that he is no longer there, and that is the conflict.

Would we be Killed?

Before, Native Americans were marginalized and were pushed off to the side by society. One way they were marginalized was by being forced to change their names to change the person they were. An example from the article is when it states "The changes began the moment Ota Kte stepped through the iron gates of Carlisle. All the students were given Christian first names. Ota Kte was given the name Luther." This was an example that Native Americans like Ota Kte were pushed aside by society and forced to change the person they were by changing their names. Another way Native Americans have been marginalized was how the boarding schools Native Americans were sent too gave them a whole new look with different clothes and even how they act and look in school. An example from the article is when it says "They marveled at the girls in the long wooden dresses and pulled back hair working at their sewing machines, at the boys with their military haircuts and neatly pressed trousers sitting obediently in their classes." This clearly proves that Native Americans were forced to act, look and even do different things that they were not used to doing until the unexpected change. One final way I believe Native Americans were marginalized was because of the fact that every valuable meaning to their family and ancestors were forced to change. Wether it was their clothes, hair or even their names that were passed down from one generation to the next. Another example from the text is when it states "Along with his new name came a new look. His long hair was cut short. His leggings and moccasins were taken away, replaced by an itchy wool uniform and black leather boots that squeaked with every step." This is a clear example that Native Americans were not accepted the way they were. This was how they were pushed aside from society. Just because they looked and did different things than we did, they were forced to just throw away memories from loved ones and ancestors just so they could fit in. That is how Native Americans were marginalized.

I think the purpose of Shanice Britton writing the essay was to show us what her ancestors had to go throw to fit in and not be pushed aside. I believe she wanted to express her feelings to us in a way to show us how Native Americans were marginalized and forced to change their looks and actions. She wants us readers to understand the history of Native Americas and the struggles they faced fitting in and acting like someone they weren't. An example from the text is when she referred back to Ota Kte's time and when the Native Americans faced the discrimination and were pushed aside then. That would be an example for Shanice to teach us about what her ancestors and culture had to go through. I also believe she wrote this essay possibly to prove that just because you are a certain race doesn't mean you have to dress or act the way people expect those races to look or act. I say this is a reason she wrote this essay because in her essay she states "When people find out I am Native American, they have all those ideas about what that means- that I live in a teepee and wear moccasins and a headdress." This clearly proves that Native Americans were judged being Native American because of how people expect different races and cultures to just look and wear different clothing than us. So that is why I believe Shanice Britton wrote her essay. To educate us more about how just because someone is a different race or culture doesn't mean that they have to look different, speak different from others, and do unusual things that we do. She wrote this essay to teach us about how not only Native Americans, but other races as well, are pushed aside and looked at differently because they are from somewhere else and have different traditions than we do.

Blog 3: Michael Jordan

I am now reading a biography of Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 and his parents were Deloris and James. They lived in Brooklyn New York, but moved to North Carolina shorty after Michael was born. Jordan had four siblings, two sisters and two brothers. During his times at his home in North Carolina Michael would play one on one games with his older brother Larry. Michael believed that if he put dedication and hard work into basketball that he could be a good player. But most of all, he wanted to beat Larry. Soon enough Michael beat his older brother and believed he could go far in his basketball career. Although baseball was his favorite sport, basketball was something special to Michael. He played at Laney high school and went to the university of North Carolina for college. In college, Michael hit a game winning shot to win the championship. Michael was then drafted by the Chicago Bulls after leaving North Carolina after his freshman year and became the best basketball player in the world. After a few seasons with the Bulls, Jordan had retired to play basketball. He played for one year in the minors, and decided to go back to basketball making his return. With the Bulls, Jordan brought six championships to Chicago and was known as a legend of Chicago. Michael retired yet again after winning the sixth championship in 1998, and ended up returning again in 2001. This time he played for the Wizards and donated his salary money that year to foundations and charity's. Today, Michael Jordan is the owner of the NBA team the Charlotte Hornets and continues to donate to those in need like the Katrina foundation and the Habitat for Humanity Foundation.

I figured I would read a biography about Michael Jordan because of my connections I can make since he is my idol. One connection is that my dad grew up watching Michael Jordan. He would always watch Bulls games just to see Michael play and even keeps his basketball cards in a special hiding place since Michael is now in the hall of fame. Another connection I have is what Michael did in his childhood with his older brother when playing one on one. When I play my older brother in one on one games, I always wanted to win. Eventually, I ended up beating him for my first time and ever since that happened, I thought that I can beat anybody. And that is how Michael felt when beating his older brother because it brings a lot of confidence and shows that hard work pays off. One final connection I can make about Michael and this biography is how baseball was his favorite sport but thought basketball was his best suit. I play both basketball and baseball as well and baseball is my favorite sport. I have been playing baseball for ten years now and have become a good player for my age. As for basketball, I have been playing for about four years only. But with all of the work and pride I put into being good at basketball, it has become a part of me. Ever since I started playing organized games at the Rec I have fallen in love with the game. That is just like Michael. He loved baseball but basketball was the sport he could not give up because he was so good.