Finally

?: Where and when did you find yourself sitting down to read? Do you tend to read with music on, or in silence? By the computer? Did you find yourself checking your phone a lot, or do you ever lose yourself in the reading? Do you ever talk about the books you read with your family or friends or teachers?

Before this class I never read. I read a book only if I had to and it wasn't a book that I picked or looked forward to spend time getting lost in it. This class pushed me in the way that I needed. As the semester went on I looked forward more and more to crawling under the covers in complete silence and get lost in my book. My grandpa always used to tell me that if you have a good book you will always have a friend. I never understood what he meant until this class. He's the kind of guy you don't see out in public without a book and can read a 500 page book in a day. This class made me relate to him more and helped me realize that reading can be so exciting and amazing if you let it. I found myself getting in bed earlier in complete silence just to read my book. I got to pick books that I was interested in and got to a point where I couldn't put them down. I now pick up my book before I pick up the remote. This class has changed my view of entertainment and getting absorbed in the life of a book is definately better than killing my brain cells watching TV. Now I look forward to piece and quiet after a long day with my new best friends. My books.

Currently 11-4-11 (Week 3)

Books I Read This Week:
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Pages This Week: 54
Pages This Semester: 1217

Sentences of the Week:

1. "And our names on that ring,

they’re only the most ordinary names." - From the poem "Identification" by Wisława Szymborska.

 

2. Henry contemplated the great red face, with its unfortunate contrast to the slicked, black hair, and wondered if he would ever make the old man happy. - From The Luxe by Anna Godberson

 

3. "You might not know it was unless you knew." From the poem "The Crossroads" by Joshua Mehigan.

 

In sentence number one the women is in denial that it is her husband that she is identifying as the man

who had died in the plane crash. Your heart immediately starts to ache for her as she hopes and prays

that it is not him, but in all reality everyone knows that it is. Sentence number two caught my attention

because I think most kids try their hardest to make their parents proud, as much as they do not want to

admit it. We strive for their approval, and in sentence two the son feel as if he never will get that from his

father. I related to sentence number three more so than any of the other sentences. This was a poem

a spot of a car accident where a loved one had died and cars drive past it every day and have no idea that

someone so important was killed in that very spot. Therefore, you might not know unless you knew. It just

sort of makes you think.

                      

Today is a difficult day. It marks the one year anniversary of my father's death. This past year has been filled with so much sorrow and grief that sometimes it was hard to stand. I know many people say that their dad was the best father in the world, but I strongly believe that mine truly was. This past week has been especially hard, as I go through the entire week of his accident all over inside my head. Seeing him laying there, hopless and comotose was something that is imprinted in my memory forever. It was a week of  true tragedy and shock that still to this day I can not comprehend. Getting the call from the hospital, telling me they had air lifted my father and to come to the ICU immediately without any other information sent a surge of terror and uncertainty through my body. We had no idea what to expect until we walked into his room, a sight I almost regret seeing..but I know to make it a reality to me, I had to see him. I was scared, more so than I probably ever will be. When I actually realized how bad the accident had actually been I physically could not stop the tears from streaming down my face. It got to a point where I was completely numb from the pain and I could not understand why the tears would not stop. My head was trying to catch up to my heart with this mass of shock and the only reaction my body had was to cry. Cry, sob, and cry. Between the dates October 28, 2010 and November 2, 2010 my world was changed forever. I have come to realize that most people take their day to day life for granted. Before his accident I would get up and the hardest thing I would have to think and worry about was wether or not I should straighten or curl my hair. Now I say let's go natural, and worry about making sure the ones around you know that you love them. Because you never know when your last moment with someone will be. Don't take any relationship for granted, ever. I have learned to live with an amputation. Life without my father. My best friend. I am healing, but I will never be the same.  I seldom stop to thank God, with a pure and sincere heart, for all I do have. All joy and happiness comes from love. And that is what my father taught me. Having such a terrific father for fifteen years of my life, raising me with pure love and teaching me right from wrong, is more than some kids get in an lifetime.

I try now to make you proud, dad. I want to work towards everything you have ever wanted for me. Love and happiness. Everything else is just a bonus on this earth before we get to our true destination, which I know is where you are waiting for me and all your loved ones you left behind. I know if anyone deserved a shortcut to eternal happiness, it was you. I love you forever. <3