Clearly the Best

When we read One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest I was ecstatic.  I loved the book from the minute we read Vintery, Mintery, Cutery, Corn to the final moments of Bromden running majestically away from the ward.  I felt “a happiness so strong [I] knew [I] was going to pay for it” knowing that I could have another Othello lurking in my future.  But my fear quickly faded with Everything Matters! When I saw the book I naturally did the right thing and judged it by its cover.  The title had an exclamation point in it and the cover included pink and blue, my two favorite colors, what more could I ask for?  Then when I actually started reading it became my favorite book. And let me tell you, “there is love, and there is love” (233). I love this book so much that it is not just my favorite in AP English, but one of my favorite books of all time.  For those who feel otherwise, I “feel pity, for … [I] wish they understood, as I do” (302).  I actually looked forward to the mass amounts of reading each night and would enjoy talking about it outside of class.  That, if nothing else, should prove my love of the book. So some may ask, why is this book such perfection?  Well, first of all, I love all the characters, specifically Rodney and John Senior.  Unlike The Namesake or Amsterdam, each character has a likable personality and deals with real problems, sort of.  They do not stress over petty problems, such as their name or writing a symphony, but work on overcoming addictions, money problems and the end of the world.  The book also covered family relationships and the effects of one’s actions, which can be very applicable in everyday life.  Every chapter was a whirlwind of emotions with realistic highs and lows which always kept me on my feet.  There are too many reasons to like Everything Matters! So as Ms. Serensky would say “be smart” and like it. 

Top 10

10. 10^th Grade Research Project.  My group worked tirelessly on our eating disorder research project and even when turning it in still felt that we did not complete everything.  Somehow we managed to receive an A though and it felt very rewarding.  “I felt like I was flying.  Free” (Kesey 324).

9.  First day of high school.  It is an important beginning.  Sitting in all the freshman classes and wondering aimlessly through the crowds of older kids, I felt nervous and excited.  I started planning out everything I wanted to do and accomplish in my time at Chagrin.  Even though it does not seem like a large accomplishment “It does matter.  All of it” (Currie 268).  

8. Finishing summer reading.  Every summer I do not think I can do it.  I spend the first two thirds of summer reading one book and then struggle to cram in the rest.  Yet, I manage to whip them out in the waning days of summer and feel very accomplished putting the last book down after a 24 hour reading spree.  At times I did not want to stick with it and finish the books but I remembered that “more than half of modern culture depends on what one…reads” (Wilde 4).

7. Shaking Mr. Brownlow’s hand about AP results.  He complimented me on my hard work in APUSH and how he enjoyed having me in class.  Not a generally complimentary man, it meant a lot to me, especially from someone who had been “working on this [his] entire life” (Currie 296).  As one of my favorite teachers, I felt happy to have done well for him.  

6.  Receiving my best score on an in class writing.  I received two stickers on it which added to my excitement.   It made it feel like all the hard work was paying off.  I felt that “I was getting so’s I could see some good in the life around me” (Kesey 256).

5.  Winning the multiple choice game the third quarter.  My talented teammates, Mariel, Kelly and Jillian, won the multiple choice game the third quarter after hearing that the so called “Dream Team” came in third during third period.  It was very satisfying as my team announced this in the hallway to them.   It must have been “very painful…to be forced to speak the truth” that our group was better (Wilde 40).

4.  Finishing extensive tests.  Closing the booklet to the SAT, ACT and AP tests is one of the most fulfilling feelings.  After enduring and suffering through long hours of testing I have to can let go.  I tried my best and cannot change anything. I simply turn in the answer booklet feel a sense of relief.  I take a deep breath and forget about testing for a while, I could sit “silent and relaxed” (Currie 302).

3.  Preserving through the dreaded data sheets.  With an older brother and older cousins I knew the pain of a data sheet.  Even before I entered AP English 12, I feared the data sheets and already built them up into a massive obstacle in my head.  But when it came to actually facing these foes I found I could complete them and do quite well on them.  The length and time commitment still served as difficulty but it also added to the sense of accomplishment when turning them in.  I started to feel that “there’s something bigger in…all this mess” (Kesey 192).

2. Being chosen as Rotary Student of the Month for December.  I have always admired all the talented students who were selected both before and after me so I felt very honored to be chosen as well.  I never thought I would receive it, but it “had always been a girlish dream of mine” (Wilde 33).   

1.  Acceptance to Miami University.  I always loved the school and wanted to go there.  When I received the envelope with the acceptance letter I felt that all my years of hard work were worth it.  I look forward to the exciting times ahead, taking with me the knowledge I have gained throughout high school.  They have taught me that “anything, anything, anything is possible” (Currie 302).

Chester

My favorite poem this year was John Koethe’s “Chester.”  It emphasizes simplicity and displays how the smaller aspects of life matter. I like this poem because it conveys a different perspective then modern society generally prioritizes.  It praises calmness and idleness rather than movement and competition.  This theme has been prevalent in many of the literature we read this year, such as Everything Matters! by Ron Currie Jr.  He has the main character, Junior, assess “Does anything I do matter?” (9). Junior comes to the conclusion at the end of the novel that everything does matters, especially the simple aspects of life.  At one moment Junior looks at his child and realizes “She is…happy, still quick to laugh, and that, more than anything is what matters” (287).  The effortless action of laughing serves much more of purpose and lends to a happier life than frantically attempting to get ahead in society.  The speaker teaches him “Everything is all you’ve got-your wife’s lips, your daughter’s eyes, your brother’s heart” (292).  The speaker conveys that these small, sometimes overlooked aspects of life matter the most.  Junior realizes this, too, in his last moments of life.  He does not think of how far he got in his career, how much money he made or of the superficial materials that surround him, but the people and relationships he formed.  This parallels Koethe’s emphasis on the cat in his poem.  He stresses the importance of living happily and appreciating the life that surrounds people, such as the cat does.  Although I do not think it is realistic to live completely as Koethe preached, living completely like a cat with little movement and motivation, I do think that people should take in a small amount of this lifestyle for it will help them keep things in perspective.

  i do not like cats though.

A Good Day

                I walk in the room.  I calmly sit down at my desk.  I hear some students talking about their data sheets but I do not join in.  I feel fine with mine and I do not feel like stressing over it.  But more importantly, I feel well rested.  Ms. Serensky walks in and tells us to turn our One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest data sheets, I willingly go up to her desk and hand mine in.  I sit back down and feel strange.  Not only did I spend ten times less time on this data sheet, I also feel that I will get a good grade on it.  Yes, I did stay up later than usual the night before to finish it, naturally, but no where close to how late I was up for the first two.  I realize that I “chose to suffer” for the other data sheets. (Currie 292).  I spent too much time stressing over small details and second guessing everything I wrote, rather than believing in what I wrote and getting it done efficiently.   As I sit there it is “painful for me to...speak the truth” that, alarmingly, I did not even mind doing it (Wilde 40).  I liked the book; it is actually one of my favorite books.  Plus I could start to see that “there’s something bigger in making all this mess” (Kesey 192).  I know it will be beneficial in the end for both my grade and the AP test.  I feel a happy knowing how far I have come, even from a few weeks early.  I feel sense of accomplishment and acceptance of English. I coast through the rest of class stress free.  And, let’s be honest, not having homework afterward greatly adds to that happiness.

When Lane Met Reggie

R: You’re late. What am I paying you for?

L: I’m sorry, sir.

R: Whatever.  So I was thinking about “The Social Security building” (108).

L: Oh yes, “I went down twice today” (8).

R: Why did you go down twice?  It better not have made you late.  Well, anyway “I’m-a blow that...up” (109).

L: I don’t “think it polite,” sir (1).

R: Will you help me?

L: “No, sir.  Not even for ready money” (8).

R:  “This ain’t about the money” (108).  Lane, aren’t you sick of serving people? 

L: “Yes, sir” (1).

R: Then it’s settled.  What do you know about explosives?

L: Surprisingly, “I have had very little experience of it myself up to the present” (1).

R: That’s fine.  “I know a guy” (113).

L:  I’m not sure if I should “attribute it to the superior quality of the wine” but I’m looking forward this.

R: “You tellin’ me” (117).

L: Could we arrange for a man named Algernon to be in this building?

R: I’m not sure how we would manage that. Why do you ask?

L: Oh for no reason.  But if I were to organize it would that be alright?

R: I don’t see why not.  But “I don’t see why you getting’ so worked up” all of a sudden (117).

L: Never mind that. Let’s just focus on tomorrow. “I’m gonna get real weird with it.”

Rodney's Worst Day

Oh no.  AP practice multiple choice.  This can not be happening.  I always dread English class due to the daily discussions.  In all honesty, “I don’t understand why it’s important that we talk” (135).  I mean come on; I do not know a deeper meaning in this poem.  It doesn’t even rhyme.  Plus whenever I talk my classmates exchange looks and “they think I can’t tell they’re making fun of me” (128).  But today will be worse.  I begin the test trying to understand the large words.  With the clock constantly ticking and the students around me fidgeting I can’t focus, well can’t focus more then usual.  I want to prove to the class that “I’m…not as stupid as [they] think” (129).  Yet, I can only do so much. Ms. Serensky keeps repeating “everyone keep working, use every second.”  But I can’t do it.  I get lost in my thoughts and look around the classroom, still trying to think through the first question.  Before I know it I hear “pencils down” and my time is up.  I try to finish bubbling in the answer to number two when Ms. Serensky glares at me.  She repeats “pencils down.”  I state “It sure sounds like you’re questioning my honesty” (129).  Ms. Serensky shakes her head and mumbles some large words I don’t understand.  My writing partner, Henry, “the brains of the operation” helps me out explaining “You’re always looking at us funny.” (127). Thankful for his help, I duck my head and hope the class will end soon.  Unfortunately we still need to make groups for the multiple choice game.  With only two questions answered no one wants me on their team.  I sit there silently, ashamed, as the “Dream Team” forms and starts bragging about how they plan to dominate.   To say the least “I want to…leave and never come back” (137).  I sit there silently as the class whirls around me in an excited intellectual world I will never quite understand.   I could not feel worse.  

  

Interview

Interviewer: Tell me, why Junior?

Subject: To answer the question “Does anything I do matter?” (9).

Interviewer:  Yes, I understand, but do you not realize that this information would not be helpful for someone else, say an AP English 11 student?  They could definitely use your privileged help and knowledge.

 Subject:  Well, keep in mind “we in fact know only one thing for certain” (8).

Interviewer: That is true, yet, you continuously guide Junior throughout his life.  You push him in a positive direction and attempt to keep him on track.  Don’t you think an AP English 11 student could use that help?  With the constant stress and worry, they could use some guidance.

Subject: Again, “Although to you we may seem quite knowledgeable, even omniscient, we only know one thing for certain” (8).

Interviewer:  Still, I can say personally, that even with your slight help, although you only know one thing for certain, would still have helped me through my time with Ms. Serensky in eleventh grade.

Subject: “We understand your frustration, but you need to stop worrying about what’s done and start worrying about the current set of circumstances” (281).

Interviewer:  Yes, wise advice, but let’s go back for just one moment, and think of how things could have been with your help, a more carefree and confident life.

Subject:  I disagree, you would “fall short, inevitable, inevitably” (288).

Interviewer:  That’s rude.

Subject:  Just understand “we gave you infinite options…you chose instead to suffer” (292).

Interviewer:  But as I stated, with your help I would not have.  I would not have felt so intimidated by Ms. Serensky if you told me stories to understand her better.  I would not have felt the constant anxiety of going to class if you told me what we were going to do and how it would help me.  I would not have stayed up night after night suffering and stressing if you helped me put things in perspective.

Subject: That’s not my fault “You could have stopped this from happening.  You could have prevented this” (292).  You didn’t have to take AP English 11, you didn’t need to feel that way about it.

Interviewer:  I know that, but I wanted to.  And feeling that way about the class is inevitable, much like your stance towards death, it’s unavoidable, everyone feels the pressure of it.   

Subject:   “You could not be more correct” (268).  The stress is inevitable for an eleventh grader, but it is the knowledge you gain from that that helps you in the future.  And “that matters.  All of it” (268).

Interviewer:  Fair enough.  But still, it would have been nice.

Subject: Well, “we only know one thing for certain” (8).

Interviewer:  Goodbye.

Subject:  “Everything matters”