What Not to Do in High School

1.      Don’t steal anyone’s parking spot. It’s rude and inconsiderate to take a spot that was rightfully paid for by another student. Did you pay $100 for the spot in the front of the lot? No, you paid for the one in the very back…so get moving.

2.     Don’t make teachers your enemies. Although they can often drive you nuts, they are there to be of assistance to you. They are a resource for succeeding; use them to your advantage.

3.     Don’t consistently ask throughout every class if the assignment you are assigned is going to be worth points. Just do the work like everyone else has to, and hope that you are rewarded.

no.

4.     I know it’s tempting for some girls, (especially freshman), but it is strongly suggested that you refrain from wearing jean skirts and uggs, or uggs with any type of skirt for that matter. 

5.     It is also tempting for some girls, once again, typically underclassmen, to wear excessive amounts of eyeliner or some crazy accessory to make them appear “edgy.” You don’t look edgy, you look ridiculous.

6.     It may sound cliché, but don’t procrastinate. It may seem like everything can be put off until the last minute, but if you do the work ahead of time, it relieves a lot of unnecessary stress.

7.      Offer help to friends that need help with an assignment if they’re struggling…you never know when you’ll be needing their help.

8.     Remember the Golden Rule from Elementary School? It still applies in high school. Treat people how you want to be treated. Don’t gossip about one of your friends behind their backs and get all out of whack when you find out they’ve been talking about you in return…what goes around comes around.

9.     Never write one of your friends a note consisting of extremely embarrassing things and address it with your real names. It could be misplaced and you and everyone that witnessed reading that note will be scarred for life.

10.  Enjoy yourself. This is the last chance you get to spend time with a lot of the people you’ve known for nearly twelve years of school before they all go their separate ways. You only have four years of high school. It may seem like forever, but don’t wish it all away.

Marlena and August's Dysfunctional Relationship

In Water for Elephants, one relationship I didn’t much care for was Marlena and August’s marriage. August was a paranoid schizophrenic who drank too much and pushed Marlena around one too many times. He was an extremely masochistic man. For example, when Marlena’s prize horse, Silver Star, had to be put down, August feeds his remains to the lions in the circus. The importance that that horse served in Marlena’s life should have conquered the poor, inconsiderate choice that August made. August also gets violent with Jacob Jankowski, who Marlena eventually ends up with anyways. She should have been with Jacob from the beginning and the moment she met him and saw the kind of person he was. Nearly seventy-five percent of the novel is about Marlena continuing her abusive relationship with August while Jacob just waits around for her. I think the novel overall would have been better if it shared more of Jacob and Marlena’s happy life together rather than her and August’s dysfunctional one. However, as a reader, I understand that it makes for good reading for the audience to watch the “damsel in distress” persona that Marlena portrays, but I also feel like so many books I have read have the kind of character. It would have been nice for a book for once to just have a solid relationship from the get go, and for the audience to read of different troubles and struggles other than an abusive husband that a woman just can’t seem to get away from. My intent is not to dismiss abusive relationships as ones that have little or no importance, but a nice change of pace in this novel would have made it a little more interesting.

Aunt Tootie

If I had to pick one supporting character from Saving CeeCee Honeycutt to go to lunch with, I would pick Aunt Tootie. She is a very loving and fun woman and she has a very warm nature to her. I feel like I would feel right at home with her and I think we could have a lot of interesting things to talk about. I think we would go to Red Robin because they have awesome milkshakes and chicken caesar wraps. I’d ask her about her late husband Taylor and all of the adventures they had together when they were married and before he passed away. Then I’d probably ask to move into her giant estate in Georgia with her because she has a super sweet house.