nonfiction blog post for december eating disorders

In the article "Eating disorders" of teenshealth.org  the author of the article discusses eating disorders such as bulimia anorexia and binge eating. Recently I have been writing a picture book on anorexia and bulimia so when i saw this article it caught my eye. Eating disorders are horrible things but the biggest issue is like all mental disorders it is hard to diagnose. Further more people lack the help they need and hide there disorder from the public. Eating disorders don't just make you skinny they take away your social life and mess up your body too. In the article it said that you can actually have heart and kidney failures in result of not eating other severe side effects include swelling and bitterness of  bones, layers of hair to keep you warm without fat, and even loss of hair.

The author had a strong stance on the issue, he believed that eating disorders are no joke and they must be given help. He shows us this by showing us his sympathy for people with disorders. He shows us there is no problem with having these issues but that all adults are here to help. He discuses the harshness and mystery of the diseases by lying raw facts down then he explains how easy treatment is. By reading the text the reader immediately knows the authors stance.

After reading this article i thought to my about the issue. the article really made me think about kids that suffer from eating disorders. How someone could so simply stop eating and do so much to their body. Then i thought more and i thought more and i thought about how many kids there are that don't realize they have a problem.

THE OTHER NORMALS BLOG POST

     Recently I've been reading "The Other Normals" a book by Ned Vizzini. In previous Vizzini books Ned fallows kids during ruff high-school and middle-school times. This one starts out like his previous books with a socially challenged boy from new york when however the plot changes into a new direction completely when Perry the character is sucked into a new world. This world is based off of a world in his role playing bored game "The Other Normals". When he is first sucked into it all i could do is hang my head in disappointment. Perry ignores the fact that he was pulled into the world to save someone and doesn't stop thinking about himself. He says things like "why would you need a kid like me" and worries about how a girl in this world thinks about him and all i want to do is tell him to shut up. However as the story goes on a new side of him opens up.

        When his friend and him get put into a jail cell he immediately steps to the plate and breaks them out. When this happened I was relived the that we wouldn't have to see more of ' negative side. after reading this all i could think about is how maybe sometimes I act like that; with a negative attitude, i act like its just my problem but truthfully it effects everyone. 

The other normals" blog post social topic in the book?: self-esteem of kids

Recently I've been reading the book "The Other Normals" by Ned Vizzini. "The Other Normals"is a book about a socially awkward boy Perry who gets sucked into a world similar to his favorite role playing game: The Other Normals. Throughout the story so far Perry has consistently been putting him self down. On Perry's first day of camp, he sees his best friend Sam, yet hesitates to say hello to him. The reader understand this hesitation because throughout Sam was better then him. the whole story we have gotten to know Perry's behavior: his shyness is so severe it's almost paralyzing him to the point of having virtually no social life. This specific type of issue is not the first of its kind. Throughout the hole story Perry has pushed himself  to think low of him self.

In my school I know a lot of kids that i could relate to Perry. These kids in no way are lame, if anything they are extremely cool and funny, but when they get into situations where they have to talk to people sometimes things change. They don't talk to other people or even let people talk to them. I think that through the story Perry will go through a loss of innocents story and become ok with who he is which is something most people need to go through in there life.

Study links BPA to Obesity in Kids Summery

In the article "Study Links BPA, Obesity in Kids" Genervra Pittman discusses a common issue obesity in kids. Obesity is often talked about as an unstoppable issue, people usually think that  there is no way to control what kids eat. However Genervra discusses a new discovery that BPA a chemical banned in baby bottles is in fact used in cans and can cause deformations in the body. The main reason its bad for kids is because kids respond differently to chemicals, their bodies and hormones are effected. Dr. Leonardo Trasande from New york University says "Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental chemicals" meaning that chemicals change kids differently by stunting growth of hormones their brain and metabolism. "Unhealthy diets and poor physical activity are still the biggest causes of obesity" Dr. Trasande says but small chemical changes like this can change metabolism hugely.

The author Pittman believes that this is a great discovery and does not like obesity in children. He wants you feel the same by making children look innocent. He isolates kids from everyone else and says that they are "involuntarily" getting harmed. He wants you to believe that kids are becoming harmed by this a lot but fails to give any information about its affect on adults. I Think he did this to make the kids come across as more susceptible to this problem. Most likely it effects adults just as much as kids but most people reading the article are moms which means that most of them care more about there kid. 

When I read this article i felt a mixture of feelings, i felt both sad because obesity is such a shunned issue but happy because with one stoppable cause of obesity it will help stop it completely. With help of   people like me around the world if we that acknowledge that chemicals like BPA cause growth problems like obesity soon enough they will be outlawed and taken out of certain beverages and cans 

Ned Vizzini "Teen Angst? Nah!" final response

I have just finished an autobiography on Ned Vizzini called "Teen Angst? Nah!" The book is about Ned's experiences from 2^nd grade to high school. This book is a extremely original book in that no other book explains high school in such a easily relatable way. Other books, songs and movies promote you to dream about parties “true love” and high school “Angst”. This book takes all of those things and throws them down the drain. Ned talks about high school, girls and drugs that everyone can relate too but no other author can right like him. In the book there is only one theme that is easily compared to other books and movies: discovering yourself.

        

There are only two reasons why you go to school to educate and to get a job which both help you discover your self. Other things might be added to that as time goes on like your social life but mainly the only reason you go to school is to discover yourself. In “Teen Angst” Ned has many problems with this. In one part of the book Ned decides to smoke with a friend he believed if he felt it he would never need or want it again and he was right. He described it as simply a disgusting taste and he never smoked again.  Ned tries new things, gets jobs internships and goes through school all to discover himself.

Towards the end of the book Ned goes out with a girl the girl pushes him around yells at him and puts him down. At first he feels horrible he thinks about breaking up with her and then he finally does. But soon after it is made up and he realizes he truly did like her. It never explains what happens to them in the end of the book but well they lasted Ned evolved as a person and began to discover himself. By the end of the book Ned had no doubt created himself a paved future. He had a girlfriend was heading off to collage, Published a book and got a job working as a book reviewer in the New York times

Teen Angst Nahhh blog post

I am currently reading “Teen Angst Naaah” an autobiography of Ned Vizinni (author of “Its Kind of a Funny Story” and “Be More Chill”) in “Teen Angst” Ned tells stories about his life from second grade to collage. When I first picked up the book I expected a book to be like “Its Kind of a Funny story” with a kid facing high school problems like depression and drugs. However In “Teen Angst” Ned talks about him going through high school as this grade obsessed kid that ironically doesn’t fit with any high school cliché.

I kind of relate to Ned when he explains he school years. Not because I’m grade obsessed but I sometimes laugh at movies when high school kids are either dancing and singing everywhere, (like high school musical) or partying a lot (like 21 jump street). Instead teen years can be slightly lame compared to movies. In one of the chapters Ned explains a summer camp he went to. At the summer camp a friend invites him into the woods to smoke a cigarette. When he does it he describes the feeling as gross tasting, gross feeling, but was happy he at least learned to never smoke again. This chapter made me crack up because it goes completely against what high school is like in the movies.

I think although Ned Vizinni is telling a story from his own life he’s telling it to show that high school clichés are hardly ever true. He also is trying to get a point out to kids telling them not to listen to stupid movies and books that talk about drug filled high schools cause most of the time they are completely wrong.

"Am I Blue?" SPOILER ALERT

I have just finished an excerpt of the story " Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville. This story is about a 16-year-old boy Vincent who struggles in deciding on his sexuality. In the beginning of the story Vince is bathing in a dirty puddle he was recently pushed into by the town bully Butch Carrigan when he meets Melvin his new fairy godfather. At first Vince pushes him away as the antagonist to himself, but as the story evolves him and Melvin grow together and Vince starts to accept himself as “Blue”(or gay). The main theme of the book is acceptance not only acceptance of others but mainly of yourself.

             Through out the book Vince is faced with an important question of his sexuality. In a way he always knew he was gay but he couldn’t accept it. As the story goes on he realizes he shouldn’t be ashamed. In the story as Melvin explains all gays third wish that everyone would see gays as blue. He said, “They’d have to face the fact that there are gay cops and gay farmers, gay teachers and gay soldiers, gay parents and gay kids.  The hiding would finally have to stop.” Vince then asks if he could see that way for a while. When he does he is surprised to see that so many of the people in the café are gay. This one moment is very important for Vince’s change. He realizes that he is not the only person out there. I feel like I can relate to that at sometimes when I think I’m alone in the way I think or feel but then I realize other people feel the same way. This can be connected even further into the world. It reminds us that no matter whom we are or what we do there’s always someone who agrees with us. The authors almost telling us directly that we should never put our self’s or anyone else down because of how we think.

           

            In the end of the book Vince uses his last wish to make every gay person in the world blue so that no more straights could say they didn’t know any gays and no gays would have to hide. But then he realizes that some people might be treated bad by bullies Vince’s last wish is to make Butch Carrigan blue but to his surprise he already was. This small part wasn’t just a joke for the author he included it to remind us that we should never be put down by others calling you gay or stupid cause they might even be “gay” or “stupid”. 

The Drummer Boy of Shilo

Drummer Boy of Shiloh is a story following a young boy the night before the battle of Shiloh. The boy Joby is not only scared but is ashamed because he has little importance in his job. He thinks that he is just a blip in history and nothing he does has any effect on the war. But throughout the story he slowly realizes his importance in the war.

In the beginning of the story the drummer boy starts to think about the war. He believes that he will be the first to die and no one will ever care or even know. He thinks, “I got a drum two sticks to beat it and not shield”. Joby then starts to cry he feels alone and unimportant. He faces doubt in what he’s doing. Sometimes I can easily relate to him. I know I’m not going to go to war any time soon but I sometime feel like everything I do is unimportant. I think nothing I do will ever affect the world but I am wrong.

Towards the end of the story the general over hears his crying and talks to him.  At first the general comes out as a mean person but then he tells Joby that he is not the only one crying he tells him that all the other solders and even him feel the same way but Joby shouldn’t be because he is the heart of the army. The general didn’t mean that Joby was the most important solder but he meant that everything he does would affect something or someone. When I read this I thought of quote that said a flap of a butterfly’s wing may cause a hurricane in the other part of the world. It reminded me of the story because Joby is like a butterfly any thing he does might affect the outcome of the war.  Which goes back to my point that everyone has an importance in the world.

The Absulutly True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Over the summer I read the book "The Absululy True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" the book was one of my favorite books I've read for a while. I't had a strange mix of a sad story and a funny story but worked out perfectly.

In the book the main character junior a native from a reservation decides to go to school out of his reservation. throughout the book he faces problems like love poverty bad luck but mainly not being excepted but pushes through.

Junior was born with a stutter, lisp, big head and scrawny body. From the start of the story junior is challenged with finding friends at his home. His one friend is kind of a jerk. When he switches schools it makes it worse for him. He is pushed out of his tribe and thought of as a trader. Then his one friend leaves him too. Then everyone that believes in him falls away, his sister moves to las vegas, his dad becomes a drunk, his mom becomes depressed his dads friend dies and in the end his grandmother dies.

However when all this happens he still goes through school. He becomes the number one basket ball player at the school and makes them number 1 team. In his first game he plays against his home team and the natives are so furious the throw a penny into his head. when junior finds out he'll need 4 stitches he asks for them right away (with out pain meds) so he can play the game. when he goes back up he ends up getting elbowed in the face by his friend and sent to the hospital. his first respond to all the problems he faces is to just walk forward like he does here he moves on so easily always doing the right thing and every one else cant move past how he's at a different school. If i were him I'd probably leave the school right away. the amount of bravery he has is amazing and while he is always going on about how he's a failure but really he's a better person then anyone id ever met.