The End of Extreme Poverty? I certainly hope so.

I read a really heart-touching article in Upfront Magazine called The End of Extreme Poverty? by Nicholas D. Kristof. It wrote about how over the past century, poverty levels have lowered A LOT and how by 2030, we might be able to end severe poverty. I thought it was so inspiring and gave me many emotions. I really want to help make a difference in the world and working towards getting rid of poverty is a perfect way to start.It made me think a lot about the world and how lucky I am to just be healthy and going to school.

As I read The Extreme End of Poverty? I think that Nicholas D. Kristof wanted us to know as readers that the impossible is becoming possible. Poverty is such a large issue (something he speaks about continuously throughout the article) and over the past century or so, banks have been donating, doctors volunteering and people trying their best to help the less fortunate, and it is really making a difference. A few mindblowing facts the article states are that in 24 years, cases of polio have dropped from 350,000 people in 120 countries has dropped to 123 people in 3 countries! Between 2000 and 2012, the amount of people taking AIDS drugs has gone from less than 200,000 to 9.7 million! There are so many facts like these provided to show how much of a difference is being made.

When I read the article and facts, I think Nicolas D. Kristof wanted me to feel proud of the world, and I do. An issue as large as poverty is on its way to becoming extinct and I feel inspired. It makes me feel that anything is possible and really teaches me to never give up, because if all the people had stopped helping the less fortunate after 10 years because they were tired, we’d be nowhere. This relates to school and working. People who give up because they didn’t succeed right away will never know if they could have done something extraordinary for themselves or the world. I, also, feel sad for the less fortunate and it makes me want to help even more. After reading this article, I want to help finish what others started and try to help the less fortunate much more.

I think that this article was really great and a boost to help everyone want to finish and succeed. Living in NYC, I can really relate to seeing poverty on the streets. I find organizations that help homeless or hungry people and I think that it’s great that these people have someone to lean on, someone to help. I think it’s so inspiring to think that the world is getting rid of one of its greatest problems and love the feeling that I am helping when I give my old clothes to the Salvation Army or giving $10 to the sick or bringing in 3 cans to school to give to a hungry family. I think this article was written in a way to lift people’s spirits, and it certainly worked on me.

Every You, Every Me

I read an AMAZING book called Every You, Every Me by David Levithan. I was about a boy named Evan who was best friends with a girl named Ariel. When she leaves, Evan finds these pictures that he thinks Ariel left because in them, the moments captured only happened with Ariel. Evan begins a hunt with his friend Jack. There are many conflicts away. It’s a mystery in a way because you have to figure out what happened to Ariel and place the pieces together to try and see who is setting Evan up to find these pictures. When I read the book, I fell in love with three different sections: 10A, 9-9D and 14. In each, I looked closely with the lenses Word Choice, Power and Resistance, and Symbolism. I came up with conclusions that I never would have reached with just a glance at the pages.

In section 10A, my favorite lense I used was Symbolism. Ariel gives Evan a dark marble and Evan gives Ariel when they plan an arbitrary anniversary. I think that Ariel represents the marble and Evan represents the roses. They’re giving each other a part of themselves. I think Ariel’s giving Evan a dark, depressed part of her and Evan’s giving Ariel a sweet, loving part of him. I used to think that it meant they both had good and bad sides to themselves but I now realize that everyone has a good and bad side to them. The thing that caused Evan to become a little paranoid was Ariel’s leaving, not because she gave him a part of her. Yes, she rubbed off on Evan when they were friends but they her leaving caused his depression. This section was tough for me to figure out, but I enjoyed it very much.

In section 9-9D, the lense I liked using the most was Power and Resistance. Evan talks to himself and replays conversations he had with Ariel before she left. I think that Ariel (and not just in this section, in most of the book) has a strong power over Evan. She clouds his thoughts and almost holds a trance over him. Evan blames himself for what happened to Ariel, even though he did the right thing. Evan cannot resist because he doesn’t realize that Ariel has a power over him. Instead, he fights himself and beats himself up emotionally. I think he’s fighting the wrong person. I used to think Evan had to get rid of Ariel and forget about her so he can move on. I no longer think that. I think that Evan needs to fight the part of him that blames himself. He needs confidence and strength. Then he will be able to stop going a bit paranoid.

In the section 14, my favorite lense was Word Choice. It used the word every a lot and spoke about how Ariel once told Evan that she cannot know every him and he cannot know every her. I think using the word every is like using infinity. It’s so hard to know every. I think Ariel is right in saying that they cannot know every side of each other because someone is different with different people. Evan is Evan and Ariel is Ariel to each other. They’re not different people and never will be to each other. Evan blames himself for what happened to Ariel but the truth is, he thinks he knows everything that caused her depression when he didn’t. No one can know “every”.

Every You, Every Me by David Levithan is very realistic because everyone can connect in some way to Evan. I can connect to Evan in the sense that I can dwell over things that have happened and cannot be changed. I am trying to just accept the fact that the past is the past but it can be hard. Just like life. People have good and bad sides to them. No one can know every side of one person, even if they think so. People are lost, clueless and NOT perfect. Just like Evan.  

The Stolen Party by Liliana Heker

I recently read an incredible story The Stolen Party by Liliana Heker that I looked at from two different lenses. The Stolen Party is a story about a maid’s daughter named Rosaura who gets invited to her mother’s boss’ daughter’s party and thinks everything is going to go well. At first, it does and Rosaura has fun. However, in the end, instead of getting a gift, Rosaura receives money and suddenly realizes she was just invited to help. I looked at the story through the lenses word choice and power. I ended up coming up with some pretty interesting thoughts. For word choice, I thought that Rosaura just wanted to be a normal girl and she’s fragile. When I looked at power, I thought that Senora Ines had the power.

Some of the words I found when I was looking for word choice were horribly ashamed, odd one out, my pet, never completed, stiffen, instinctively, cold, clear, slightest change, shatter, and infinitely delicate balance. I looked carefully and came up with the idea that Rosaura just wants to be a normal girl and be a simple guest of the party. Rosaura symbolizes a frame of glass and when Senora Ines gives her money instead of a bracelet, Senora Ines shatters the glass, Rosaura. In the last sentence, Senora Ines doesn’t move or pull back her arm after Rosaura steps back and doesn’t accept the money, because she thinks she will shatter the infinitely delicate balance. However, she doesn’t already know she has.

I, also, looked at the story through the point of view of power. I thought Senora Ines had the most power. I think this because Senora Ines calls Rosaura her pet and tricked Rosaura during the party into doing orders by giving excuses like “You know the house the best.” In the end, Rosaura resists by stepping back, not accepting the money, and giving Senora Ines a cold, clear look. I think Senora Ines has the most power in the end, however, because she doesn’t drop her arm or move. This shows that she wants the last say or that she shows respect to Rosaura by dropping her arm.

This connects to the real world because people manipulate others into doing things. Others don’t realize it until the end and usually feel disrespected. I think Rosaura felt this way, too. The Stolen Party by Liliana Heker reminds me of Fox by Margaret Wild because the fox manipulated Magpie into leaving dog. All in all, I loved The Stolen Party and observed it in many different ways.

Top 3 Books of 2013

This year I read soooo many great books and I knew I couldn’t choose to only one favorite, so I went for the best 3:

I absolutely loved Everyday by David Levithan. It touched my heart as a soul travels from body to body everyday and falls in love with a girl. It was such an emotional book, one of the reasons I liked it. There was suspense of finding out what body the soul, A, would be in and, also, about what would happen with the girl A fell in love with. Even though it was a short-ish- book, it felt like there were 20 stories in one, making it feel longer. I loved that feeling because I never wanted the book to end. There were many fun issues to keep up with including love, identity issues, gay rights and so much more. The ending was so sad yet so happy. I loved it and didn’t expect it at all.

Another book I loved was Sold by Patricia McCormick. It was short yet powerful. It dealt with women’s rights which can be a tough topic for me to read about, because I tend to think that equality is normal and we didn’t have to fight for it. It was a book in verse which I absolutely love reading. They just make reading much more fun for me. The protagonist was a 13 year old girl who has very little wealth in her family. She is treated poorly and, for me, it was interesting to read this book because I recently did a picture book who one of the protagonists was a homeless man. It showed me different ways of portraying less fortunate lives, which I loved.

My third favorite of 2013 was Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. Even though I read this book in the beginning of 2013 and end of 7th grade, it’s as clear in my mind as if I read it yesterday. I absolutely adore this book. It brought so many emotions which I love in a book. It was so suspenseful because not everything about Elsewhere was revealed right away. It was so sweet and sometimes felt like it was meant for younger children, but it was also deep and had a greater meaning/message. It really made you think about if there is a place that you go to after you die and I thought about it on end, which was fun for me because usually after a while, I don’t always think about the book I read a month ago or a year ago.

These were some of my favorite books of 2013 for many reasons and hope that after reading this, you will want to read them.