Day 4: Ashly

Natalia's question:

I think that the characters in the novel could have gone about the situation in a complete different way. He father shouldn't have gotten involved. I do not believe that Mehri shouldnt get the chance to be with the guy next door simply based on her socail class. I think that it should not matter that shes not rich and doesnt have materailistic things, I think that she should be loved for the person she is. The boy next door shouldn't have judged her so quickly because of her class. In the letters written he was starting to fall for her, shes still the same exact person in the lettters. I think it's sad for her not to be loved based on something so superficail. I think this because it is so sad that society judges people so quickly. This is a problem all over the world, I think people should learn to execpt peole for who they are not because of theyre socail class, gender, or race. Most people are more alike than they think. I think it is enavadiable for people to judge which is sad, I think we live in a time where people need to get past these things.

I went to a public high school, and people were supposed to be allowed to come to our school no matter where they were from. I grew up in a middle to upper class town of mostly white people. My school refused to let kids in that were from the city. There was a larger city not to far from us and its a bad place to grow up in. The kids that wanted to get out and recieve a better education weren't aloud to come to my school simply because judgements were made. The school thought they would bring in viololnce and drugs but the kids that wanted to come there actually were trying to escape from that. I don't think it was fair that they were turned down from an education because they were from a city that was lower class, that had higher crime rates. The children that wanted out weren't aloud out, and were forced to go back. I think that some of those kids could have gotten out of the bad situations that they were placed in and could have graduated and gone to college but my school simply would not allow it. The schools they were coming from had graduation rates of 10-15% and mine had a 96% graduation rate. They were turned down because of something so stupid, and my school was to ignorate to see that the kids were trying to better themselves. It reminds me of both the books, how these kids had to go about against the odds. Like in the novel true notebooks, these kids will never be able to prove themselves because they were born into a wrong situation.

Ashly's question:

There are many chacters in my book that have struggles. Most of the kids have killed someone or multipal people. I think it in way is almost too late for them to overcome it becuase most of them will sit in jail for the rest of their lives. They are working towards realizing what they could have been and what they could have done differntly, which I believe is a step in the right direction. All the boys who have been incarcerated in my book are living with the chioces that they made. The boys in the writing class are trying to get an education and prove that they can be rehiblitated. Most of these boys were born into poverty and were not placed in a supportive home, which ultimatly led to these kids joining gangs to feel loved. It doesnt matter who you are as a child and even as an adult I think you still need love and support, these kids just were getting it in the wrong places. Yes it is their fault for comiting the crimes they did, but they grew up in that, they grew up somewhere where it was kill or be killed. I think that most of these kids thought that was the only life they could live, they didnt step back to see the bigger picture, which now that they are locked up are begining to realize they could have taken there life in a complete different direction. I have made bad chioces too, and I have had to be punished for my decisions. Everyone in the world has done something wrong and had to face it. Whenever I got introuble I felt terrible but I always knew I would never make that mistake again.

I think in a way I have been in a similar situtation, I made alot of the wrong choices in high school and I'm living with the consiquences now. I didn't go to high school much I hated being there I had trouble focousing, and now i am in this program to change myself. The thing I do get that the characters in my novel dont get is a second chance. I am making the effort to change by actually showing up to class, by doing my work. I think that I am realizing i made th wrong chioce and now it's time to grow up and change my old ways.