Test Prep 6: Responding to Non-Fiction

     I just read an article in New York magazine called The Vulnerable Age. The article follows Conrad Tao, a child piano prodigy. Although, this article isn't just about his amazing talent and phenomenal accomplishments. The article talks about the decisions families have to make about what to do with their uber-talented offspring. One can make their child into a celebrity, by making them practice 24/7 and isolating themself from the rest of society, or, one could throw out their child's talent, and have them live a normal life. This article discusses the pros and cons of both decision, and shows readers how hard the choice really is for parents to make.
     The author doesn't express a clear point of view on the issue, as he thinks both options have advantages and disadvantages. If one decides to show the world their kid's talent, they can become famous. They can showcase the amazing abilities of their child, and provide a good rest of the life for their kid. In doing this, however, their child may never acquire good social skills. The kid's time is completely devoted to practicing, and nothing else. Although, if you decide to throw out their talent, then they can live a happy normal life, like every other kid. But you will be throwing out an amazing skill that your child has. You have to give up on their talent, and not let anyone else know about it, no matter how impeccable he or she may be. You also may not letting your child succeed to the best of his/her abilities.
     I have to say, this is not an easy situation to have to deal with. If I were in this situation, I would want to showcase my child to the world, but I also wouldn't want them to have messed up childhood. There have been more than a few cases where child prodigies have committed suicide, unfortunately. I would not want to put my child in any situation that could possibly increase the risk of this kind of behavior. I definitely would want my child to be able to interact with people, and have a social life, because I think that's very important. However, I wouldn't want to forget about their skills. I would want to nurture their talents and have them shown to people, because they are so amazing. If someone has an outstanding talent, you should do something about it, not just let it float away. Therefore, it's a very hard decision to make. If I had to do something, I would probably have a balance between the two. If I was the parent of a prodigy, I would send them to school and have them hang out with friends, and have free time, but also work hard on practicing, and try to get them to showcase their talent as much as possible. As much as it would be really amazing to have a child of so much great talent, I would not want to have to be in a situation like this.

Test Prep 5: Responding to Narrative Writing

     At the moment I'm in the middle of a really fabulous book called The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. The book follows Logan, a young man in the army. One day in the middle of battle, Logan finds a picture of a beautiful women, with "keep safe" written on it, and Logan feels compelled by the picture, he knows that the women in this picture is someone special, someone he loves. The author expresses the theme that one person can change someone's life so greatly.
     Logan's life was always rough. He had a hard time in the army, working all the time, and being put in terrible conditions. Logan barely had anyone close to him, and his life was really at risk. Logan had to go through three duty tours in the army, and he could've died any second. Although, Logan now had this picture, so he was always safe. Logan credits the miracle of his existence to the power of this photo. Logan has so much faith in this photo, and obviously if this photo was the thing that kept him alive, it has clearly made an impact on his life. Then, when Logan finally leaves the army, he goes home and finds the girl in the picture. Logan is set on spending his life with this girl, and having true love. Just from one picture, Logan's life has taken a new turn. He is completely devoted to the girl, and she has changed everything in his life, and she doesn't even know it yet. I love the idea of this girl's picture saving Logan's life, and I love how Logan believes in this photo so much, and knows immediately she is his one true love. The girl in this picture was able to make Logan hopeful and happy all the time.
     In conclusion, from one picture that Logan has come across, his life is different. The girl changed everything, and I believe this book gives every reader hope that they can find a true love, and this person will change everything for them, for the better. Nicholas Sparks truly expresses the amazing impact that one great person can make on people's worlds.

Test Prep 4: Responding to Narrative Writing

     I recently finished reading one of my new favorite books Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. I feel terrible for John, as he has had to face a ridiculous amount of hardships in his life. John has grown up with no mother, and a father who barely knows how to interact. Also, John finally found a girl and was smitten in love with her, until she found a new guy. He has been in the army for almost 10 years, and has had to work so hard and experience some extremely traumatic things. Lastly, the one that really hits home for him, (as if all the others don't) are his father dying.
     During the past year of John's life he finally got really close to his father, but unfortunately it was his father's last year. Naturally, when his father died, John was beside himself. He had no idea what to do or how to deal with the terrible event that just occurred. John hadn't talked to his prior love, Savannah, in over 2 years, but she was his last resort. John took a long journey to find Savannah, the one person he knew would always be there, even if she wasn't there for him to love. John definitely found comfort in Savannah, because he knew her so well and once loved her. Another thing that John did was go back to the army. John felt the need to serve people, and also go back to normal ways. I think by the death of his father, John realized how important people are, which is why he wants to serve his country as much as possible. Also, John was clearly trying to forget about everything by basking in his normal everyday live, without his father of course.
     The way John reacted to the death of his father was most definitely understandable. In a time of such misfortune, disarray, and pure sadness, it's hard to keep sane. John thought he would never ever see Savannah again, but after desperation, she's what he needed to keep him feeling okay. If it was a normal day, John would never, in a million years, go and see Savannah, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I also totally understand him wanting to go back to everyday life, in order to attempt at forget the horror in his life, although I doubt he was able to forget about it. Since John did become so close with his father, I can see why he would want to go back to the army and help other people. John made a realization about the wonders of people, and although that sounds odd, before his dad died he didn't appreciate people as much, and how much impact they can make on one's life. Thankfully, I have never been in a situation like John's, but they way Nicholas Sparks describes the emotions and action of John, I am definitely able to relate and connect to John, and I feel complete sadness towards and empathy for him.

Test Prep 3: Writing About a Poem

     I was recently introduced to a wonderful poem called "Birds," by Marilyn Feldman. The poem described the author's visit to her old apartment building, and how everything has completely changed. The author used birds to symbolize changes in the apartment, and her life.
     This poem shows the reader of two encounters with birds. The first example is a flashback of when the author lived in this apartment building. The flashback reads, "One day Mrs. Dumberman's parakeet/ flew across the courtyard/ and into our kitchen window." Then the poet describes the feeling of the moment and how it was exciting and crazy and interesting. She also remembers thinking birds could fly endlessly through everything and just keep going forever and ever. This was a simple time for the author, she thought birds were invincible, and everything was super easy and carefree and happy. Then the poem shows the author presently, visiting the apartments again. This part reads, "When I heard the house was abandoned- .... I wanted to go back/ for one more look/ at the bird." Now that she's gone back, everything is gone. She doesn't see lively birds flying around everywhere. Now, the author sees an empty place with no exciting wild life to roam free. The author also talked about wanting to go back, but now everything has changed, so she can't go back in the past. The poet expresses that she misses these times, and wish they were the same.
     This poem can most definitely to relate to everyone in a figurative sense, rather than a literal one. Not everyone has had special encounters with birds. Not everyone has an old apartment to visit that has become abandoned. However, change does happen eventually in everyone's life. Whether it be school, home, family, friends, you, almost everything changes in one's life, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. What also happens in almost everyone's life, is people missing old ways. There are so many times when I wish things were the way they used to be, and I'm sure many other people have similar feelings. This poem is a perfect example of something changing, and the person wanting to go back to the times before. I think it is easy to realize that this author wishes they could go back in time, ad because of that, readers will be able to connect to this poem, and really enjoy it.