Hunger Games - Personal Responses

Suzanne Collins has written a fantastic book that teenagers will read at least once. There are so many great aspects constructed into the novel. One of these is the main character, Katniss Evergreen. I personally think she is an amazing female character. She is strong, independent, loving, helpful, just everything about her personality is something young girls should look up too. I think this because, she didn't care about how people view her or thought about her, which I really admire. Girls in this day and age need to have the same opinion. They shouldn't care about what people think of them, they should be able to wear whatever they want and feel comfortable and confident. I myself need to take my own advice. I need to put clothes on that I love and not feel guilty or self conscious about wearing my old jumper and comfy track pants and rock the living life out of them.

I really liked the concept of the Hungers Games, even though it is really violent and brutal. I would actually like to participate. When reading the book, I would wonder what character I would and how would I go. Would I be like Katniss? Smart, very quiet, try and survive rather than try and kill everyone. Or would I be like Peeta? Try and get into a pack and then be injured constantly and rely on others to get me through. In reality, I probably not make it through. I wouldn't be able live without constant access to food and I wouldn't be able to survive without my phone or Wi-Fi.

In the novel a quote that really struck me was, "stupid people are dangerous." I didn't want to bring politics into this, specially politics in a different country. However when I see this quote there is only one person that I can think of, the idiot himself, Mr Donald Trump. He is stupid and he is dangerous. My dad said, "if he was to become president, we would all be screwed." I can't express enough, how stupid he is. The fact that he is constantly insulting someone or some race really grinds my gears. He wants to build a wall so Mexicans and immigrants, yet his wife is an immigrant? Doesn't make any sense to me. I am all for femmisnm and women equality. Watching the documentary of him calling the beauty pagent Alicia Machado fat, allowing the paparazzi to watch her work out, really bugged me. Who cares if she likes to eat, everyone likes to eat. But the fact that he made it a real issue and made it public, is just disgusting.
tching the documentary of him calling Alicia Machado fat, allowing paparazzi to watch her working

If I Stay - Personal Response

If I stay written by Gayle Forman is such a love tragedy. Mia who is the main character goes on a family road trip and ends up getting in a car accident, and she and her whole family end up getting in critical shape, the whole book is based around Mia's life events. I honestly loved this book, one reason I loved this book is because it really made me think about my family, in this book her whole family didn't make it alive, they all passed away except for Mia. It made me realised that at any given time, my mum or dad or even my little brothers lives could be taken away for good. I shouldn't take my family for granted because at any moment they could leave my life. I would be extremely devastated if that happened to me.

There was one part of the book that really touched my heart. It was when Mia was in the hospital in a coma and her Grandpa was visiting her. I think he was upset to see her there before he was. He was telling her how much of a fighter she was and how strong she is here's how it went:

  "“It's okay,' he tells me. 'If you want to go. Everyone wants you to stay. I want you to stay more than I've ever wanted anything in my life.' His voice cracks with emotion. He stops, clears his throat, takes a breath, and continues. 'But that's what I want and I could see why it might not be what you want. So I just wanted to tell you that I understand if you go. It's okay if you have to leave us. It's okay if you want to stop fighting.''

This just really hit home for me, while reading it, all I could think of was my Pretty Nan. (This is my Grandma, all her mokopuna's called her this.) She had leukemia in 2012, and she was in intensive care just like Mia, she put up a good fight in the hospital. She wasn't going to give up so easily, a few months later she got released from the hospital and went home. A few weeks from being released she past peacefully in her sleep, it was a sad but blissful night when she passed. Before she forever went to sleep she told my dad that my Grandad was calling her home (he passed away as well). I feel like Mia could feel like this because her whole family passed but her, she could stop fighting and be with her family, but towards the end of the film we see that Mia does decide to stay.

The seahorse and the reef - Personal responses

The seahorse and the reef by Witi Ihimaera is a short story, and personally I am not a big fan of short stories, I just find them quite boring. But for some reason I quite liked this story because I feel like I can connect to it, because I have a Maori background. I remember going on haerenga (trip) in year 8 going up to Whangarei and we stayed at beautiful Marae, and right next to the Marae was a little secluded beach, just like how the dad had a sack and a knife to catch the kai moana, I did too, however this was my first time going diving and I just couldn't catch anything, but the scenario was just so similar, everyone that was diving was at the shore talking and walking in the water.

There is a quote that I think is extremely important it was, "he taught us to respect and to have reverence for the life contained in its waters." I feel like more people in this world today need to be taught this. I feel like not enough people respect the sea, there is always rubbish and junk in the sea, the sea is home the many marine life and people just chucking rubbish in the sea is just destroying there home. I also think many big companies need to learn this, it really does break my heart watching documentaries of killer whales in tiny tanks trying to beach themselves because they don't want to be trapped they want to be free in the sea, where they home and family is. I mean I would have the exact same feelings if I had been captured and be put in a tiny room and can barely move. I think creatures like that SHOULD BE LEFT IN THE SEA!!!

I think my generation and younger generations needs to read this short story because all our favourite swimming spots and beaches could end up like there shore in the story, polluted and dangerous to swim in. If we could just stop being lazy human beings and put our rubbish in the bin, we could save our beautiful beaches!