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pinkcadillac389
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Name: Katelyn
Country: United States
State: Iowa
Birthday: 3/21/1990
Gender: Female
Interests: for starters, shauna, my lover. hunter, my baby that i love forever and always <3333. ice cream. books. poetry. dancing. broadway. singing. rock & roll. MUSIC IS WHY WE LIVE: [dashboard confessional. coheed and cambria. dave matthews band. maroon 5. jason mraz. john mayer. jewel. lisa loeb. eric clapton. nirvana. something corperate. the used. my chemical romance. three days grace. the vines. taking back sunday. greenday. the beatles. the white stripes. relient k. ben folds. lynyrd skynrd. switchfoot. brand new. smile empty soul. van halen. goo goo dolls. yellowcard. red hot chili peppers.] need i go on? vanilla. roses. love. diamonds. teddy bears. pink. earrings. big hair. piano. soda pop. tight shirts. short skirts. not sleeping. parties. phone calls. you.
<33 jesus loves you.
Expertise: being messy. moody. inconsistant.
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
AIM:  pinkcadillac389
MSN: katelynsuzanne09
Member Since:
6/21/2004
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| Patricia Mccormick
"I grew up in a rather bland suburban development, not unlike the settings in my books. It was a place that, perhaps because of the sameness of all the houses, often made me feel different, out of place and lonely.
In particular, there's a scene in the opening of Cut where the main character, Callie, is coming home in the dark and sees 'houses with windows of square yellow light where the mothers are inside making dinner, and houses with windows of square blue light where the kids are inside watching TV.'
This is a memory straight out of my childhood from a lonely night where I was on the outside looking in on homes that seemed perfectly ordinary and therefore perfect."
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| Selection Process
I chose this book because I am aware that cutting is a major teen issue that needs to be drastically addressed. I was very interested in finding out more about what drives not only people in general, but a narrower subject: teenage girls to cut themselves. I wanted to know exactly what they felt to make them do such a harmful thing to themselves.
Setting
There is no actual time period that is mentioned, but from the tone and vibe that the author sent me, I gathered that it must be in modern day America. The whole book takes place at Sea Pines, a residential treatment facility for young ladies with behavioral disorders, such as harmful to themselves or others. This definitely affects the story as a whole picture because there is no where else Callie (the main character) is allowed to go. She sits in this home all day.
Characterization
Callie is what you would call the “star” of Cut. She is a patient at Sea Pines. Her main conflict is learning to cope with life and love herself as a person. She cuts her body for a sense of a relief, to get “high”. She is a very troubled person, and never speaks at the beginning of the book. Toward the end she starts to say more, but not much.
“You” is what Callie calls her therapist. Callie sees her almost everyday and talks about what is on her mind with her. When Callie first started treatment with “You” she just sat and let her do all the talking. But Callie started to like “You” and they ended up having very effective conversations and therapy sessions.
Debbie is a patient at Sea Pines as well. She is extremely overweight. Nothing is actually said about any distructive behavior on her part, so everyone just assumes she’s there for weight issues. She keeps mostly everyone in line and is completely rational.
Syndey sleeps in the same room as Callie. She calls her “S.T.” (silent treatment). They don’t talk or get along much.
Debbie is a character that I think the author tried to make you dislike her. There were times when I felt sympathy toward her, but most of the time the author was tugging at my heartstrings to think Debbie was just an annoying “nobody”. She would talk about how Debbie always thought she knew exactly what she was doing and acted like she was so cool. I looked past the authors description and saw a sad, broken girl longing to be accepted by other people. But if I didn’t do that for myself, I probably would have hated Debbie.
Connections
TEXT TO SELF: I know exactly what Callie went through. I’ve lived it out situations similar to this. It’s not a fun experience. When I first started reading this book, I felt sick to my stomache because it had been such a long time since I had thought about teens cutting and thoughts of suicide and self- destruction. But once I really got into the book, I realized that it is the living word of the beauty of life. Life is a gift, and it is too short to be hurting yourself and grieve all the time. It helped me put most of my past behind me and look toward the future positively.
TEXT TO TEXT: This book reminds me a lot of the book we are reading in Young Adult Literature class, “Speak”. Both Melinda of “Speak” and Callie of “Cut” feel like they are completely alone in this world. Neither of them posess many friends, and both of them don’t care about much of anything. I get the same kind of feeling, or vibe, when I am reading both books.
Style
The author uses a lot of sarcasm in her writing. She has a very distinct voice.
Meaning
I think Mccormick was trying to get acorss to all age groups, not only teenagers, that self destructive behavior is not the way out, but it is a real thing. I think she made this book to make people aware. Cutting is a real thing that affects billions of people around the world, and Mccormick was simply raising awareness of the situtation. Callie had a very normal lifestyle, and Mccormick tries to convey that it doesnt matter how perfect your life may seem on the outside, everybody has problems: some bigger than others.
Reader Response
I enjoyed every minute of this novel. Yes, the tone and voice of the book was low key, even depressing at times, but it was still a fantastic read. Mccormick made you feel like you were right in the shoes of Callie, right there slicing into your own flesh. She made you think on your toes. Questions in my head arose. Things like, “would I ever do that?” or “what would drive me to do such a thing?” By the end of this book I had to sit down and take a couple of deep breaths and clear my head, because there is so much thought process that is necissary to read this book successfully.
Recommendation
I think that anyone with an open mind and heart can and should read this book. It is filled with, like I said before, so many unasked questions and hidden messages. It makes you think about your own true identity, and who you want to be, and what you don’t want to do that will mess up your life.
Besides young children, I honestly do not think there is a group of people that shouldn’t like this book. Even judgemental people with a closed mind should read it just to expand their brain a little more, because who knows, they could change their mind.
The only thing I can think of to make this story better would to have it be a little more quicker moving and interesting. Sometimes I felt like it drug on forever. But all in all, it was an exquisite read. I wouldn’t even mind reading it over again! | | |
| Synopses & Reviews
Winterdance is an unforgettable account of Gary Paulsen's most ambitious quest: to know
a world beyond his knowing, to train for and run the Iditarod. Fueled by an all-consuming
passion for running dogs, Paulsen entered the grueling 1,180-mile race across Alaska in
dangerous ignorance and with fierce determination. For seventeen days, Paulsen and his
team of fifteen dogs ran through breathtaking and treacherous Arctic terrain. They crossed
the barren, moonlike landscape of the Alaskan interior and witnessed sunrises that cast a
golden blaze over the vast waters of the Bering Sea. They endured blinding wind,
snowstorms, frostbite, dogfights, moose attacks, sleeplessness, hallucinations — and the
relentless push to go on. He crossed the finish line, but it wasn't enough: Paulsen was
obsessed and wanted to race again. Though the dangers of the Iditarod were legion, more
frightening still was the knowledge that he could not stop racing dogs of his own free will. | | |
| Performing In It’s Truest Form
Katelyn Epperly
Mrs. Johnson
Fundies, Period 5
What is performing? Take a look at my life. I love to write music, sing music, act, and dance on stage. I like to share what I love to do with the entire world. I think that everyone should know who I truly am, and I express that very well through all the arts that I love to perform.
My first performance occured when I was merely five years old. I partook in the Omaha World Herald Show Wagon competition. I sang the song “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie. The only way I can remember it is by watching the video tapes, and seeing the joy on my face. I was not the least bit nervous. The love I have for performing started from the day I was born. And to prove this, at the age of five, I had already won a second place trophy in a major “junior’s” competition.
Performing is relieving stress. It is being able to cast all burdens to the wings of the stage and the second entered, becoming refreshed and brand new. Performing is expressing one-self, and not caring what anyone else thinks about it. It is letting inner-strength shine through. Performing is forgetting all hardships and troubles in life. Performing is showing a true passion for what you do.
Performing is not showing off to make yourself look like a better person. Performing is not to look cool. Performing is not “performing” for the wrong reasons. Performing is not an entertaining show, performing is a state of mind. Performing is not getting on a stage so that everyone will look at you and want to be like you.
Performing is a craving for the feel of the soft, pink lights. It is feeling, not acting. Performing is staying up all night to reherse, and not complaining for one minute of it. Performing is feeling comfortable in shoes that aren’t yours; wearing a costume that is someone else. Performing is getting scratched up from the rough, dirty backstage floor, abundant with splinters. Performing is the adrenaline rush when standing backstage. Performing is awaiting your entrace to steal the stage, not just to wow the audience, but to take your own breath away. Performing is the constant passion felt- summers and winters. Performing is your panting breath, the sweat on your brow, and your aching legs. Performing is the amazing feeling recieved when the last bow is taken.
Performing is a love for what you do.
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