So far, I haven't directly related too much with the events of the book, other than two. But something I think everyone can relate with is getting help from the people we are closest with. Romeo shares his love problems with Mercutio and Benvolio, and they give him pretty good advice, which is to move on. Maybe it wasn't this exact scenario, but I have been in a position to give my friends advice on what to do, and I've of course asked them for advice as well. I think the relationship between his friends is very important for Romeo. The two guys kind of pull Romeo's head out of the clouds and just want him to enjoy his life. Romeo is lucky to have good friends such as these. To go along with the theme of feuding families, Romeo and Juliet are caught in the disagreements between their parents. I'm sure other people than myself have also been caught between to fighting parties, and not sure what to do. The story of the Montagues and the Capulets is relate-able on a variety of levels for many people, these are just the ones that fit to my life.
Reading in class sure does take up time, but it helps me a lot! I read at home every night and even though it's hard to decipher sometimes, I get the main things that happened in that scene. However, the humor isn't very clear until we read it in class, so the in class reading is helping me stay interested in the book by giving me a laugh. I usually read the scene, and then go back and read the left side pages. That helps me understand the context and it makes more sense. When we read in class I find even more things that can be more clear. It's showing me that every word Shakespeare wrote in this book means something, and helps me follow the storyline a lot better and keeps me interested.

Great Expectations All Wrapped Up. Last week :)

I think it's a sort of universal experience for someone to be lost in their life for an amount of time, like trying to find your true self. Charles Dickens uses Pip's family and friends to show how the story usually goes. A good example of this is most peoples' teenage years. The kind of generic story is kids saying to their parents "Just leave me alone." Which, I've never really seen or done that, but I've definitely felt it! When some one is trying to go off on their own and try to understand them self better, and they become lost, or get into trouble, what they need most is not to be alone, but to be around the people who know them the best and are the closest with. I think Dickens was probably realizing that the best time periods in his life were not filled with solitude, but swarmed with family and friends. In general, people tend to feel better when they know that there is a net to catch them when they fall, or friends to share laughs with, because laughing by yourself isn't that fun.The key message within Great Expectations is that friends and family make tough times better, and good times great.

Thoughts. Reading. Dickens!

I was pretty pleased with the way the book turned out. The characters were intriguing, and could keep my attention, although I confused their names more than once. In my mind, everywhere Dickens described was grey and depressing, besides Mrs. Havisham's garden. I like that because it kind of gave me hope every time he went back there. Dickens is definitely not my favorite author. Once I made it past stage two of the book it began to be easier to read, but his detail and structure of dialogue and interactions between the characters was the opposite of enjoyable for me. Pip's story was pretty touching to me. I think we all kind of take people for granted sometimes. Especially those who are closest to us, so this helped me realize how lucky I am to have such a great family and group of friends. I had to re-read things a few times to fully understand, but I got it eventually. Without anyone telling me I was able to guess that Pip's convict was his benefactor, and I was the most excited when my prediction was proven.
Reading was really difficult for me to fit in my schedule, and I didn't necessarily look forward to it. Towards the end of the book I listened to it on tape, but before that discovery I had some issues. I read in my living room at first, and that worked fine, but I couldn't quite get comfortable so I wasn't focusing as much as possible. I also tried to read in bed, but I just ended up falling asleep while reading the book. My homework load had exploded and I was not finding much time to read. Then I changed my study schedule so I had some breaks, which helped me focus more while I worked, saving me more time. once I completed my homework for other classes then I sat in my chair at my desk and read. But I still compared with Sparknotes afterward to make sure I understood. Reading outside of class was not what I looked forward to, and often time I dreaded it, but it wasn't completely horrible once I got there. I needed a better attitude about reading. However, I am much more chipper if we read in class, and I usually understand better that way. But this has sort of helped me grow as a reader.
Have a nice spring break Mrs. Gilman :-)