I can relate to Anne

I have realized that I rarely try to relate the poetry I read to my personal life.  I guess one isn't supposed to go out one's way and try to make connections, but I have never even naturally made connections before.  That is until I read "By Night When Others Soundly Sleep" by Anne Bradstreet.  This poem is about Anne as she lays in her bed in the midst of the night, dwelling on her life's problems.  She is stressed and is kept awake but when she thinks of her God, her discomfort is eased.  I can relate to this poem because I sometimes find myself laying in bed after a tough day and thinking of the passing time.  Stress overcomes the sleep and before I know it, it is 1 a.m.  However, when I am able to calm myself down and think about the big picture, with the help from God, I am able to relax.  Also, I have noticed that Anne's poems are not very specific with her time, which was the 1600s.  The poems I have read from her have all been on very broad and general topics that most people to understand.  If she meant to do this or not, I do not know, but that was very smart of her to do.  Because her pieces are not specific to one period of time and are such popular things to write about, religion and love, her work will never die down and be forgotten.  It won't be forgotten because she is a classic but she also won't be forgotten because she wrote about true events that happen in most people's lives.  Many people are kept awake at night due to their racing minds but stress is eventually relieved and the rest can take over.  Also, "To My Dear and Loving Husband" is about true, unconditional love which most people encounter in their lives.  Overall, Anne's work will never be forgotten because she spoke for the general public in a very relatable way.

The Book My Dad Came Home With for Me

This past Saturday I was running all over the place, busy doing various things and for the hour I was home, my dad came up to me and told me he got me something.  I was very excited because who doesn't like a good present?  Especially a surprise!  But, my dad retrieves the gift and hands me a book and the title read STOP Wondering If You'll Ever Meet Him.  I took it and just smiled.  I could not believe my eyes.  That my own father is buying me self help books at the age of eighteen, let alone a love self help book.  I was dumbfounded, completely hit with the fact that my life had come to this at such a young age.  And I know how bad this must look to you Mrs. Healey and all others who may be reading this, but I swear I am not that desperate and pathetic to have my own dad buy me this.  He knows I have been pretty unlucky with guys recently and he can probably tell that I have been distressed over it.  But this distress is normal for teenage girls so there is nothing to worry about.... I hope.  Anyway, I began to read this book and I can already understand and partially relate to what it is about.  The intro brings you across this fake scenario with a girl named Julie who meets fictional Sam and they hit it off for about two nights.  Then, out of nowhere, Sam drops off the face of the earth leaving Julie sad and confused.  She thought she had gotten so close to real love and a great future even after just two dates with this man.  The writers of this book, Ryan Browning Cassaday and Jessica Cassaday, get this spot on.  Girls dream even if given the tiniest of bait from a man.  We read into literally everything they do and say and we put our every happiness on the line when we plunge in with a man.  We also exaggerate all of our feelings and make our expectations way too high for realistic.  The realistic place this book brings me down to is that love is truly out there for me, even if it takes me decades to find it.  It is nice to be reminded this right now, because quite frankly I don't even have time for a guy nor should it be one of my priorities.  It gives me comfort thinking that when the time is right, it will happen and that I won't be alone forever.  I just need to stop looking and then it will be a natural occurance.  So, I am grateful for this book even though it was most likely written for a woman in her mid twenties.

To My Dear and Loving Husband

Anne Bradstreet, to me, is a very unique poet.  She is able to speak so easily of her love for her husband and then switch directions completely and give thanks to her God that eases her troubles in great symbolism and carefully chosen words.  "To My Dear and Loving Husband" is my favorite piece of hers because of the topic.  The simplicity of the message gives me chills because she has perfect comparisons entangled in the work.  For example, her love for her husband is so large that even the riches of the earth could not mean more to her than him and that her love is like a river that cannot be satisfied with all of the water on the planet.  She also compares the incompleteness of two halves to one whole.  The two halves are her and her husband and the whole would be her and him united.  She expresses the love and bond she has made with him and it truly warms my heart to read about it.  In fact, her poem gives me hope and has made me dream about my life coming to this place eventually.  The place in which you are no longer just living for yourself but you have discovered this completely new conception of your purpose.  For now, I can only look forward to this time in my life, whether it be sooner or later, but Anne helps me see how it is to love unconditionally.  Being a teenager, it has been hard to experience this feeling.  I have had my share of flings with other guys but they have never materialized in such a way as love.  But, I can imagine how great it must feel to be in Anne's shoes.  She knows that when she goes home at night, she'll see the reason she was put on Earth, the reason she was given a soul and a heart.  I am unbelievably jealous of Anne because I would love to skip over all of this awkward time of meeting guys and finding out who I am.  But, Anne must have gone through this too to find her other half so I guess the journey is unavoidable.  I am sure Anne would be pleased that even a young girl in Delaware in the twenty-first century has taken her feelings put to paper so seriously and thankfully.  Also, this poem serves purpose to anyone.  All can relate to it, even if you are not married because you could be like me and have no current relationship and find it meaningful and relatable.  Humans were made to love and created to serve others and Anne's work reminds me that this is to come in my life and that I should not give up hope yet.  So thanks, Anne.

The Notebook

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks is one of the most famous, modern love stories of our time.  One may ask what makes this forbidden love novel so monumental.  The answer is simple and it is all about how Sparks portrays the characters.  In the beginning, the two leads, Allie and Noah, are from two different worlds, having  no idea about the other world that is not theirs.  Little did they know that their worlds would eventually collide breaking down the horrible barriers their community created between the classes separating them.  In addition, Sparks makes us feel like Noah and Allie are at their peak in life, being as healthy and emotionally stable as ever before.  Then they meet turning their worlds upside down, but in a good way.  Also, innocence is large part of the two main characters image.  Their innocence in the story makes their love worth knowing about.  Sparks mostly shows them when they are having good, memory-making times together.  My favorite of these moments are when they are at the beach and Allie makes Noah call her a bird which makes Noah say, "If you're a bird, I'm a bird."  This line in the story makes my heart literally hurt.  This love scene makes it apparent that while still being young kids, they are mature enough to realize that where ever they are, they want to be together.  Next, the last thing I believe that makes this book so good is the perfection of their love and everything they go through.  Allie and Noah share the most beautiful of moments and this makes every girl writhe in jealousy.  People continue to watch and read The Notebook because they want to fulfill this need for love even if they are not the ones who are involved in it.  This idea is a bit messed up, but it is truly what is behind every girl's love of Sparks' novel. 

How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul

I am currently reading the book How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul by Jason and Crystalina Evert.  This book was introduced to me when the author, Jason Evert, came to speak to the student body at Saint Marks High School.  I really enjoyed the man's talk; I know it opened my mind and the minds of the other audience members, who were also my peers.  The talk he gave us was the basis for the book he was promoting us to read.  The book is basically a "how-to" guide to relationships and love for girls.  I really love the message of the whole book which is generally to care about myself and do what is best for me even when there is a boy in my love life.  Next, I am at a great part of the book in which the "types" of guys girls need to avoid  are listed and described.  He really identifies each type with clarity and I know I can definitely relate to some of the guys he talks about because I have sadly known of or have had relations with those types.  Also, I feel like this book is so good because it is a self help.  I know that by reading it I am not just reading a story that will slip into my mind and depart within a few days.  It is a book that genuinely guides me down a safe path to be on when wanting to get involved with boys.  I recommend this book to any girl regardless if they are looking for love or even in a relationship.  This book's purpose is to put the morality back into love which is something that I believe is lost in our world today.  However, I sadly am not as impressed with the quality of the literature as much as I enjoy the messages and examples within it.  I do not think it is written as good as it could be but I don't even think that Jason or Crystalina are experienced writers or authors anyway.  But regardless of the quality, the book How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul is very enjoyable and eye opening while being a great read for any female.  

Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Over break I saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at the Wilmington Drama League because my mom produced the play.  I also was genuinely intrigued by the play because I have never seen or read the story before so I had no idea what was in store.  Turns out that it is a very different and enjoyable plot.  It is about these four kids who enter a wardrobe and enter a completely alternate universe, one in which animals speak and an evil witch ruled the area, Narnia, bringing fear to all who inhabited.  There is a prophecy in Narnia that the four children fulfill the moment they enter Narnia.  They come across many characters who help guide them and bring peace and justice to Narnia in the very end.  They eventually become the new rulers of Narnia resulting in a very happy ending.  I liked the story, but not necessarily the production itself.  The scenes and the effects that were needed in order to portray the book properly were not done that well considering the Drama League is a community theater.  So, that part was not really a part of the work that I did not like, I just did not find the set or some of the actors believable.  However, there was a huge symbol in the middle of the story which was that the good, Christ like leader of Narnia, not the witch, was put to death so the other four kids could live.  When this leader, named Aslan, was killed, he Resurrected the way Jesus did when he died to save man kind.  Aslan also died in order to save his people which is why the religious figure and the fictitious lion have a similarity.  If Aslan did not die for the kids, the outcome of the story would have been completely different and the prophecy could not be fulfilled.  Aslan knew what he had to do for the higher figure above and he did it.  He did what was right and I loved seeing this come to life because it does remind me sometimes to take the higher road when I come across a decision I must make.

A Red, Red, Rose

A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns is the poem I chose to read in the Poetry Out Loud recitation in our AP Lit class.  This poem is basically just a proclamation of love for the subject, whether it be a man or a woman.  The reason I say a man or a woman is because it never specifies which gender the author is speaking to, so no assumptions are necessary.  First of all, what I think is special about this poem is the diction; it has very old fashioned, nineteenth century language which makes the poem very unique.  Also, I was right when I thought these special words would help make the poem easier to memorize because it took very little time for me to lock into my memory.  However, one of my audience members may beg to differ on this point considering I had a complete mental block the moment I entered the third stanza.  Oh well.  Another reason I chose to recite A Red, Red Rose was because I enjoy the message of the poem.  It is just a sincere, innocent profession of love to a person and I love the ending line "and I will come again, my luve, though it were ten thousand mile."  It beautifully wraps the entire meaning of the poem into one simple statement.  This person will do anything to be with the subject even if it takes much effort such as traveling ten thousand miles.  I can assume the ten thousand miles part is an exaggeration but still, the importance comes across clearly with the use of hyperbole.  Also, in the beginning stanza the poem starts off very innocently and simply comparing this person's love to a red rose that has been recently bloomed and also to melody that is nicely played in tune.  This simplicity is something to marvel at and it surely caught my eye when I was searching for poems.