The Social Outcast

“And you are finished”, I said to myself as I put the last finishing touches on my rocket. The package had just come in the mail a couple of days ago, but a great scientist never wastes time….

“Derek are you down there?”, my mother yelled at me interrupting my thoughts.
“Yeah”, I said starting to walk towards the stairs.
“”Well get up here, school starts in an hour and I will not be late for work!” She never really understood me and my interest in rockets, but quite frankly nobody did.
So I started up the stairs, ‘time to get ready for another terrible day at high school’ I thought, trying not to let my emotions show. I only knew that if I let my shield down that my mom would start to question me.
“You weren’t down there working on that rocket again were you?” she asked, a knowing look plastered on her face. “I told you Derek Samuel Rodgers that’s dangerous!” “Your only 15, you could blow yourself up, has that ever occurred to you?”
I felt like not talking, just walking away and leaving it at that, but I knew my actions would only make my punishment worse.
“Yeah mom it has occurred to me, but what you don’t understand is, I… I am a fanatic for rockets” “Just because you disapprove of them won’t make me think of them any differently.” I could see that my words hurt her, and that maybe I should stop, but I couldn’t, I couldn’t keep this inside any longer. The truth may slowly tear her limb from limb, but the struggle she is putting me through can go on no longer.
“Mom you have run my life from day one, treating me like just another appointment in your planner, well I’m sick of it, totally sick of it!” I said while throwing my hands around. And with that I left to get ready for school.

On my way up the stairs I passed my 12 year old sister Patricia.

“Mom sounds pretty mad Derek, looks like you really blew it this time”, she laughed, an evil grin spread across her face.

“Shut up Patricia, nobody needs your snotty comments!” I didn’t mean to be so harsh, it’s just that she’s always in my business.

“Why don’t you just leave, nobody wants you here anyways!” She knew how to get on my bad side, and believe me, she was way past there.

All I could manage to do was glare at her, I was speechless, she had never come on this strong. ‘What a brat’ I though silently, still glaring at her.

“You know I’m right Derek, I can see it in your eyes, your just afraid to admit it!” She stared at me, enjoying my uncomfort. And without another word she skipped off down the stairs.

Patricia has always been mom’s favorite, she’s such a kiss up. I mean come on mom, it’s so obvious. The little kid smiles she gives her, and the toddler “I’m sorry’s”, yeah I don’t think so.

After I came out of my little daze, I knew I had better get ready, otherwise there’s going to be an unsolved murder in the small town of Pewaukee, Wisconsin. So I quickly threw on a shirt and some pants and put on my favorite sneakers. Next thing I knew I was in the front seat of the car listening to “America’s Favorite Pop Hits”, Patricia’s favorite.

“Can we please change the channel, I’m not a huge fan of Lady Gaga”, I said in disgust.
“Yeah but I am, and plus all you wanna listen to is the news, bor-ing!” Patricia said while spacing out boring into two words.

I just huffed and laid back in my seat. All my mom cares about is Patricia, herself, and her money. She didn’t even ask me what I wanted to listen to on the way to school. The high pitched scream was what broke me out of my day dream. I turned to the back seat, and saw Patricia sitting there with her mouth hanging wide open.

“What?”, I asked her annoyance clear in my voice.
“Did you just hear the radio!”, she screamed again, bouncing up and down in her seat.
“No, I was actually trying to ignore it.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Whatever Derek, your such a downer”, and with that she turned back to her music.

I decided to listen to the radio and see what was going on. All I heard was a young girl yelling and going “Ohhh my god, this is not happening, I must be dreaming”.

I was so confused, why is Patricia screaming it makes no sense.

“And tell me again why your excited?” I asked her, she just looked at me and rolled her eyes again.
“Are you brain dead or something, that’s my best friend Brittney on the radio, she just won 2 tickets to the Justin Bieber concert!” She made sure she rubbed it in my face. She can be a total brat when she wants to be, and she usually wants to be.

We finally arrived at school, great I can get away from Patricia for a while.

Speak

In a world of hate there is no one to run to. Feeling alone and isolated is just the start. Depression hurts, especially for Melinda Sordino, the main character in the book Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson. Melinda a 14 year old girl, calls the cops at a college party when things start to get out of control. But what happens when school starts up again, and nobody talks to her? Things take a turn for the worst, as seen through the symbolism.

First, Melinda’s parents are a huge part of symbolism in the book. Not only does going to school suck the life and happiness out of Melinda, but going home isn’t much better, due to the fact that her parents are always fighting. For example on page 35 and 36, Melinda and her parents are sitting at the dinner table, and they are yelling at Melinda and each other about her grades. Melinda’s parents represent anger and frustration, they feel like they have failed in life, and are only making it worse by taking it out on Melinda.

Although her parents do make an impression in her life, mirrors truly do reflect Melinda inside and out. Melinda’s personality is troublesome; depending on her mood, she can be a totally different person. For example on page 44 Heather and Melinda were best friends, complimenting each other and laughing together. But on page 178 and 179 Heather expects Melinda to help her decorate for prom, even if she just blew her off as a friend. Even though it's pretty obvious Melinda is in need of a really good friend, she doesn’t take Heather back; she stands up for herself and says no! This part of the book really shows Melinda breaking out of her shell, which is why it resembles mirrors. Melinda used to be just another face in the crowd, just another ordinary mirror, but at the end of the book Melinda steps up and faces her fears, which also indicates the mirror breaking and Melinda becoming a new person.

While mirrors reflect Melinda’s personality, trees show the good times and bad of Melinda’s life. During Melinda’s freshman year many things happen, for the better and for the worst. Some includes losing a best friend, being hated by the whole school, making a good friend, and learning to express her feelings. Trees are a big part throughout this whole book, every time something good happens Melinda’s tree gets stronger and more powerful, but every time something bad happen it pulls the tree down. Throughout this story Melinda has learned how to balance out the way the tree grows, and to cope with her own feelings.

Overall Speak truly captures the heart and soul of its readers. Not only does Speak make you think about how good you have it, but it also makes you feel the pain of the character. Between the emotions and the character this book truly is a tragedy. But rest assure Speak is a one of a kind book, and so is every little piece of symbolism in it.

Gossip Gang

About a month ago, a couple of my neighbor's and I started this group called the Gossip Gang. It's made up of me(Gabby) of course, and my 7th grade buddies Derek, Sammy, Hayden, Nick, and Brandon. After school sometimes we'll hang out and play a game or something like that. We named our group the gossip gang because it was a dorky name and it was kind of like an inside joke.

Chubaca

I wanted this really awesome cat that weighs like 60 pounds, and my dad says he likes it too! It's called a Maine Coon cat and I love them! I think big cat's are the coolest cat's ever, not those little tiny cat's. This cat's name would be Chubaca because it's so big and fluffy!