Reading Response- Day 3 Kyle Rich

George- I have not read True Notebooks, but if i were to guess i would say that the clouds represent redemption and a clear concious. In Persepolis, the young girl hasn't really made any negative life-changing decisions, therefore redemption for her is basically out of the picture. To me, i think that the girl's "clouds" are the way things actually work in the real world. This girl has gigantic thoughts and ambitions, however she doesn't see the big picture of things around her and tends to have difficulty looking in a world outside her own. For example, when she declares her "commandments" on how things should be, she lists off solutions to fix problems that only effect her life. Although a few of them would be beneficial to society, she does not fully grasp all the other problems outside her own. It always helps to have witnessed something negative to try to fix; however the girl's young age doesn't leave her with much experience and keeps her nieve. And i kind of feel the same way. Without getting into much detail, my life in the past two years hasn't exactly been going smoothly, but once i got past the pain and turned it all into a learning experience, i am confident to say i am a much better person. I looked past it all and the clouds to me right now are brighter than they ever have before.

Michelle- Right when she announced she wanted to be a prophet, a red flag went up a bit for me. Although i am not religious, religion in general is just one of those touchy subjects. I feel as if i stood up and said i wanted to be a prophet, it would be blasphemous. In my humble opinion, I feel  like any modern "prophets" or "religious figures" are nothing but trouble. Look at the Pope and the frequent sex scandals in the catholic church. Or look what ended up happening with religious figures turned cult worshippers, like David Koresh or Jim Jones. I think she is hiding these goals too because after her teacher calling into her parents, and them frowning upon it, she knows it's a farfetched obstacle. And i think like most kids, she says she wants to be a doctor just to please her parents and give them what they want to hear so they can go about their business. It seems by not telling them she wants to accomplish this all on her own, and the way she sees it as the less help and involvement from her parents, the better. A real life example for me, was falling for my one of my best friends a few years ago. We started off being real cool and everything, but after getting close and situated with her, and not finding anything better out there, i figured everything i wanted was right in front of my eyes. However, i thought of how much i valued the friendship and how much i relied on what she did for me. So i just bit my tongue and didn't say anything to put that in jeopardy. Eventually the feeling passed, i gotten a girlfriend, me and my friend remained best, and everything just seemed to work itself out. However, i do not think that biting your tongue is always the best solution, but it just depends on the situation.