My Girl: A Closer Look

                The movie, My Girl, opened my eyes to multiple new ideas for the children’s book I am writing. The main character, Vada, is a young girl whose mother died giving birth to her. She struggles with many things but throughout the story she has her best friend, Thomas J to comfort her. She is extremely close with her father and tells him everything about her life. When he can’t help her, Thomas J is there to be her friend and tell her how perfect she is. One day Thomas J went out into the woods by himself looking for a ring that Vada had dropped the day before, but he never came back. The ring was next to a bee’s nest they’d knocked over by accident and when Thomas J went to grab it, he was attacked. Because of his allergies to bees, he did not survive.

                It is then that Vada realizes that she loved Thomas J and would do anything to have him back with her. She struggles to overcome the death of her best friend and helping her, is the new girl friend she meets at the end of the book. This relates extremely to my book because I am also writing about a young girl whose mother died. Best friends are also a main component of my book in the sense that the people that are there for you now, will always be your best friends. In my story, a boy will stick up for my main character when she is made fun of in school and eventually they will become best friends, thus falling in love in the end. The story lines are extremely similar and I will adopt many ideas from the movie My Girl.

                One scene in particular that I would like to redo somehow is when Vada and her father are sitting outside one the hammock talking under the fireworks. The scene itself was beautiful but the conversation was moving because it showed the real relationship between the two of them. This is important and I would like to include a scene like this in my book. Another thing I liked a lot from the movie was when Vada yelled at the end about Thomas J’s glasses not being on his dead body. The violence and anger was a great point in the story and it made the climax more exciting to watch.

                Both stories have similar character personalities, especially the main characters of each that just happen to be girls. Molly from my story just wants to be left alone or talked to politely, as well as Vada from My Girl who just loves her best friend and wants him back. They are passive characters, unlike the antagonists of both stories. In My Girl, the girls that taunt Vada and Thomas J about dating each other are antagonists because they start trouble. In my story, the antagonists consist of a group of four boys that taunt Molly just out of pure enjoyment and pity for themselves. They are extremely similar and because of this, I will be able to use many great ideas from the movie and rework them to be my own.

The Importance of Family: Not Even a Question

"The Family is the corner stone of our society. More than any other force it shapes the attitude, the hopes, the ambitions, and the values of the child. And when the family collapses it is the children that are usually damaged..."   as the great Lyndon Baines Johnson has said. Family is my first priority in life and to me, it is all that matters. There are no words to describe the love within a family and the bonds made between them. They would do anything for each other and give themselves up just to make the other happy.

When people talk about family arguments, I pity them because I know that they are angry and don’t mean what they are saying. No one can hate their family because they are the people that have housed you since day one. They feed you, care for you when you’re sick, keep you warm, and buy you whatever you want. The parents of a child will go to the ends of the earth to make their kid happy and will not hold grudges like most people. They will always be there for you and no matter how bad you mess up, they’ll catch you when you fall and help you get back on your feet.

Without my parents, I don’t know where I would be right now. We used to fight occasionally but my respect has grown for them over time and I could never find words to thank them for what they’ve done. They got my first car, paid for my education, brought me places, and sacrificed all their free time to satisfy me. Thinking about it all, I would love to give it all back and refuse all their new gifts because it doesn’t seem fair. They went through life to be successful and even though they could have anything they want, they give me what I want instead.

As a child, I didn’t appreciate my family as much as I should have and I’ve realized how much I hurt them. Taking back my actions is out of the question and I spend all my time trying to make them happy now and make up for what I’ve done to hurt the family. Embarrassing them as a kid is a regret that I can’t get out of my head because they’ve tried so hard, just to get a kid that didn’t care.

They say family is forever and whoever wrote that, is a genius. Friends will always come and go but when it comes down to bailing you out of jail, it will be the parents coming to save you. This needs to get stressed more in high school because when we leave, all we have is family to fall back on. It’s the family that is going to push you to succeed because it is their job, their dedication, and their reason for living.

Comparison: Brick

In order to write a children's book, I need an idea to expand on. I will be writing a book with three main characters; one girl and two boys. The main character, Molly, is traumatized by her mother's death and is forced to deal with bullying on a daily basis on top of it all. Things finally start going her way when a courageous boy named Ben stands up for her. In comparison to the book I am writing, I have watched the movie "Brick" in hopes of expanding my story. Brick is about a teenage boy who receives a distress call from his ex-girlfriend, only to find her dead three days later. The movie is about his journey to figure out what happened to her.

The relation between the two is the concern present in both boy's attitudes. The protagonist in my story is Ben because he is not violent but he stands up for Molly anyways. Even though they have never met, he is too kind to sit aside and watch her be tormented. The antagonist is the bully, Craig. His self-conscious attitude makes it hard for him to be nice to people because in order for him to feel good about himself, he has to belittle others around him. In "Brick" the protagonist is Brendan Frye because he is the one who solves the murder of Emily, his ex-girlfriend. He spends all of his time and risks his life many times to solve her murder. The antagonist in the book is Tug because from the start he lies to Brendan, when in reality, he is the one who killed Emily to begin with.

The two books relate in numerous ways and both infer the lesson of standing up for others around you. The antagonists do not put themselves in the victim's shoes and therefore will never know what it feels like to be hurt. I will use some ideas from "Brick" in my story such as how Brendan was constantly pre-occupied with solving Emily's mystery. That interested me and made me want to make my book a little more exciting and add more mystery to it. I would love the protagonist, Ben, to research why the bully is doing what he does to Molly and possibly propose a solution. Eventually the two could end up friends once they settle their differences, but Ben has to solve the mystery first of why he does the things he does.

The movie "Brick" was inspiring in many different ways. Because I watched the movie with the state of mind of writing my children's book, I adopted a lot of great ideas. While watching the movie, I was thinking about how it related to my book and also thinking about how I could ammend some ideas from the movie to fit into my book. Humans are born with compassion and no matter what, it will always be hard for someone to watch someone else get hurt.

Personal Narrative

Regret eats at me on a daily basis. The cause: not fully applying myself right from my freshman year. I was filled with uncertainty as I entered high school, but by sophomore year I began to focus and I received the “ Most Improved Student” award.  Finally, my effort was being noticed and it helped me to endure the pressures of school and to relish rather than fear a challenge. I now realize that improving, academically, is the best way to open doors of opportunity in my future.

The most consistent influence in my life has been my family. They taught me that any degree of success requires hard work and perseverance. They taught me by example and I can never thank them enough. My teachers and my employer can testify that I have the work ethic and focus required to succeed. I have some ground to make up and I intend to spend my senior year demonstrating that I am driving toward a new beginning , not an end to anything.

My next step is to pursue Occupational Therapy as a career goal. My mother has a background in physical therapy and is the owner of an Adult Day Care facility. This has afforded me the opportunity to benefit from her knowledge and to obtain first-hand experience with the OT procedure. For example: I was taught to redirect and reassure clients with Alzheimers to insure their safety and well-being.  I assisted with transfers of non-ambulatory clients, I was instructed on how to provide range of motion to arms and legs, and I observed how the staff dealt with clients afflicted with mental illness and those struggling with anxiety. Being directly involved with the many and varied needs of these clients opened my eyes and guided me to this career choice. Because I had the advantage of direct exposure to this field, I am pursuing this goal with eyes wide open and the confidence that this career choice is right for me.

I have steadily improved, academically. I’m a good multi-tasker. I love working on projects and often seek extra-credit work from my teachers. I work 22-30 hours a week dealing with the public. I love art and being creative. In short, I have the self-motivation, the self-discipline, the people-skills, and the desire to make a difference in the lives of needy people. I am eager for the challenge and plan to achieve this goal as a licensed Occupational Therapist!