I interviewed two school age girls on the importance of reading and writing. These were their responses.

Amelia, Age 12, 7th Grader at a Catholic (Middle) School:

"Would you classify yourself as an avid reader?"
No.

"What do you think the point of analyzing literature is?"
So we can read better.

"Why do you think reading better is important?"
In case you have like a test on a book in the future, you can understand the book better and be able to do better on your test.

"Why do you think your teacher wants you to study literature and to analyze it?"
Because they're trying to prepare us for college, and in college in case you have like a test or something - or in high school - on a book, you can do good on it.

"Why do you think being able to write well is important?"
Um, so you can do good on your college essay and get into a good college and be able to do good for the rest of your life.

"How do you think analyzing literature helps you to be a better writer?"
Ummm... I think if you wanted to write a story it could help.

"How do you think it could help?"
Hm, I don't know...

Laura, Age 15, 9th Grader at a Public High School

"Would you classify yourself as an avid reader?"
Is that even a question? Yes.

"What do you think the point of analyzing and reading literature at school is?"
So that we can learn the techniques that the author uses and we can develop those techniques and apply them to our own writing so we can become better writers.

"Why do you think it's important to be a better writer?"
Because writing is used in your daily life.

"For you, how will writing help you in your future?"
I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

"But how could it help you?"
I think... I mean if you're an author.

"Do you think its important to have authors in our society?"
I mean its just a big circle - the aspiring authors are in school and they read work that other authors wrote and they learn those techniques and they develop those and techniques and then they apply them to their own writing and then other aspiring authors read that and its just like.. ya.

"So do you think that techniques are the biggest thing you get out of reading?
Well I also think its important that you enjoy yourself., I mean I like the books that you read for fun. Those are the best ones.

"Why do you think those are the best ones?
Because you enter a whole new world.

"Ok, one more time, what do you think that your writing will be able to do for you in the future?"
It will help me in my job.

"How?"
Cause you write in your job. Like if you have some sort of presentation for a new idea you have to write and you have to captivate the people, especially if you were making a commercial or something.

"So when I say 'when will writing help you,' what is the first thing that comes to your mind?"
College Essay. First thing.

"Really?"
Yeah, cause everybody's like "yeah your grades are all important, but your college essay's what really gets you in."

"Why do you think that writers are important in our society?"
Well, if your talking about reading for pleasure, then they help you like... I love to read.

"So entertainment?"
And, they're informative. Like journalists and newspapers are really important cause sometimes, usually, those things are really boring, but like journalists can make it really interesting. I think writing is just a really good tool in our society cause if we didn't have books then I don't know what I would do with myself cause reading is so fun. I just really like it.

The Thing About Religion

The sad fact of the matter is that you can't choose where you come from, what family you are born into, or what lifestyle you are brought up in. And the thing about religion is that your beliefs to which you root your life, morals, and decisions are generally tied to the religious views you were pummeled with as a child. A prime example of this being pure and innocent little 14 year old C entering into the world of public school after nine years of isolated catholic education. I happen to live in one of the most atheistic cities in the United States, and was born into the family of unbudging-ly devout Christian mother and sisters. Now, the harsh reality is that my personality is that of a hard core atheist, skeptical of everything and rooted in science and reason. And I am certain that had I been raised in an atheistic household, my beliefs would not waver from what could be determined by logic and proof. However, I was not raised in such a household, and now it seems I have a bit of a predicament. 

Trust and faith are of the utmost importance to my family, specifically my mother and younger sister, and the level of astonishment and disappointment they expressed when I brought up the skepticism I had for some of the catholic beliefs was overwhelming; from then on I knew that if I ever decided to delve deeper into the roots of atheism, I would have to do it apart from my family's guidance. This is not to say that I am claiming to be an atheist, just that a church who is wrong about homosexuality and the creation of the world could be wrong about a few other things, right? Right?? 

What about the people starving in third world countries, what had God done about that? Why wait around while people kill each other over material goods? Why choose some people to save and work miracles on and leave others to die? 

The only way that I could make sense of the doubts I was having at 16 years old, studying the oh-so-sensible evolution in an Advanced Biology high school course, was to find things that I concretely believed in and come up with reasons why. So these are a few of my truths:

1. There is a God.

2. God does not interfere with human lives.

3. Evolution is REAL. God may have created the beginnings of the universe, but he did not create man.

4. Homosexuality is not just a bunch of bullshit. It's something you are born with and cannot change.

5. Ending human life, for whatever reason, is wrong.

6. The rationality behind my actions should be because I believe it is wrong or right; not to please a higher being.

Asking yourself whether you believe what you believe because you were born into it or because you have looked at all the options and decided for yourself is difficult; easily one of the things I have struggled most with in my few short years on this Earth. But finding your own truths and morals build your character; who you are and what you stand for. If you act a certain way just to go to heaven or to please God, is that really a big enough reason to do the right thing? If you don't question the reasons why you believe in the things you do, how will you ever justify your answers? Do the right thing because it reflects who you are and what you stand for. Only then will you truly develop character. It's the little things that add up to the big ones.

The Search for Extra Ordinary

Hi. 

The name to which I preferably go by and most commonly answer to is C, and I undoubtedly have a worst fear. 

This is not to counter that most humans are inherently afraid of something, just that if you dig a little deeper, we all have that one thing that makes our fingers go numb and stomachs turn while our internal clocks refuse to sputter out of battery as we lie in bed at 3 am. This worst fear, lets call it WF, can range from failure to isolation to death, dependent on the individual. My personalized WF happens to be a life of contentment and routine; numbness disguised as happiness and security. Let me explain myself; it all started when I, an adolescent girl whose biggest concern was how to talk to the cute lacrosse boy in history, was asked to state how the rest of my life was going to pan out. "What college will you go to?" "What will you major in?" "What profession do you want to enter into?" "What will your life look like?" "What scores do you want on your SAT and ACT?" "What scores do you NEED to get into your choice college?" "What volunteer work do you need to be doing?" The wave of responsibility and choices that determined my life dragged me out to sea and refused (and still refuses) to return me to shore until I had my life planned out and said good-bye to my childhood. But here's the thing: you can plan your life out as much as you want, but it will never turn out quite as picturesque and perfect as you planned, because, ironically, life gets in the way.

A lack of spontaneity has undeniably always been my vice; I have never been quite able to dismiss the miniature heart attacks that come from a wrench being thrown into my schedule or bumps in the road that screw with my plans. However, I believe that the cowardice of saying no to climbing a fourteen-er at 2:30 in the morning, or cliff diving while on vacation, or going to that one concert from a band that will never be in town again, will slowly but surely break you. As the ingenious Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Do one thing everyday that scares you." I 100% believe this. Without the self-discipline and ambition to do something great, whatever it may be, we slowly sink into sameness; unknowingly slipping into the shadows of an ordinary human life, with nothing to show for it as we lay on our deathbed. The thought of this becoming my reality causes me to freeze up and blindly search for something, anything that can save me from this seemingly inevitable fate. Once I have calmed myself considerably, I remind myself to do three simple things in order to find the extraordinary. (Of course these three things are the answer to everything, I came up with them myself...)

1. Look for the beauty in everyday things (that are taken for granted more often then not).
2.  With an understanding of its instability, plan for the future; plan for adventure and service to others and a life that incessantly reminds you to live life in order to build character; for that's all you'll have left in the end.
3. Do one thing everyday that scares you.

In the end, your plan for life will never be fulfilled completely, but if your plan includes a little bit of adventure, spontaneity, and selflessness, I'd like to think you're on a pretty good track.

So consider this a pledge from me and a challenge to you; to live your life extraordinarily, one day at a time. 

With the help of this blog, I plan to conquer my great WF and live a life inspired by creativity, spontaneity, and character.

- C.