Best of Week: Trust Issues

Only attending one English class this week due to being sick, I had a limited amount of discussion topics. Luckily for me, though, Avi touched on something I found extremely interesting when we split up into small groups to work on the discussion questions.

The last question asked, "What else did you notice in the chapter that you'd like to share and discuss?" Avi then pointed out the first paragraph of Chapter 3, where the biographer explains that much of the documents describing Orlando's life during this time period had been left with large scorch marks or holes through them. She ends the paragraph with the sentence, "We have done our best to piece out the meagre summary from the charred fragments that remain; but often it is necessary to speculate, to surmise, and even to make use of the imagination." This leaves with the question, "Which parts of this chapter are actually true?"

Chapter 3 is filled with mystical and interesting "facts" about Orlando's life and transformation into a woman, but because of the biographer's opening paragraph, I began to wonder which of it was true to Orlando's life and which of it was fabricated. This started me thinking about real situations. Often you'll hear second-hand stories on something that happened; whether on the news or from a friend. The stories are always interesting, but after this chapter and Avi's comment, I realized that you never really know what is completely true. Almost every story, unless a first-hand account, is piecing together different bits of information to complete itself. You can never be sure that something is completely accurate. The story teller isn't trying to lie, but it's difficult to keep all of your facts straight when the story has been passed down through many different people. Even someone who experienced the situation first hand might have a piece of the story off just because they can't remember perfectly.

I'm really happy Avi pointed out the first paragraph to this chapter and made me think about it more. At first I thought that the biographer was just trying to juice up the story, but I realize there's a different, deeper meaning. Not only has this comment brought me to connect to real life, it also has made me analyze her writing more. Not much is put into this book just for fun; a lot has a deeper meaning than just at first glance.

Carry It Forward: Orlando

In class we had a discussion on Orlando as a writer and what he had discovered through his writing and experiences. One conclusion he came to was that he needs to write for himself and to make himself happy, not anyone else. Building on that throughout the discussion, we also touched on the idea that you need to live life and do things to make yourself happy, not anyone else. Your life is your life, and if you're not happy with yourself, it's hard for other people to be.

Being a teenager and in high school, you're surrounded by people that criticize your every move. You constantly think if you're wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, or even talking too much. Most people, if not everyone, strive to be liked and included. Some people even take that to the extreme and change themselves completely just to be a part of the "cool" crowd. I find myself second-guessing my actions as well. I tell myself, "It's fine. You don't need to be liked by everyone if you like yourself," but that's hard. It's hard to completely love yourself if other people don't like you. If I tell my parents that someone doesn't like me, they often say, "Well, that's their problem." I've found myself saying that as well, but I don't always believe it.

This discussion touched on a subject that I am frequently in conflict with. I like who I am as a person and I'm happy with myself, but if I don't always get invited to all the parties or talked to by the "cool" kids, I ask myself if I did something wrong, even if I know I didn't. Being happy with yourself and doing things that make you happy are key concepts in life, ideas that everyone should acknowledge and follow, and something that I'm working on.