Reflection of Reading and Writing

   

Cover

            The writer was eleven years old and he wished to become a writer, that was one of his ambition dreams.  The boy lived in India and his father always read to him stories.  He participated in exhibition class of reading, he loved it very much and felt like if he was in a Cinema.  Unfortunetly, one day he had to move to the city, because his father got a job at the local paper and lost contact with the exhibition class.  But this did not break down his dream of becoming a writter and a good reader.  He was about twenty five years old, when he considered himself a writer and a good reader, but admitted his father was a much more better reader than him.

V.S Naipaul

              It is amazing the way the author describes to us this child and his story,  It is so perfectly described that you can imagine the places, trees, houses, people and city with her descriptions.   One of the things I found interesting was when the boy informs that the new place he went to live to was very noisy, I can compare that with tourists that visit our island. Most of the tourist love coming to Puerto Rico, because the opinion they have is that in our island the people are noisy, "fiesteros" and happy. This demostrates that when people want to suceed no noise or party can stop you.

My Journal Experience

A journal is a written record of our daily observations, experiences and thoughts.  You can write daily or just when you have that urge of liberating feelings you have inside or write about things you have done and want your spirit to feel free.  In my case I mostly did a daily journal with 40 entries. At first it was a little bit difficult but after a few days it became more fluent because I have a very active life in school, work, home and personal activities. I also had to do a compass; this is reflection of how I felt emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally two times per week. So I will explain some of the things that I wrote in my daily journal.

At the beginning as I said before, it was a little bit difficult, because I was not suppose to think of what I was going to write, I’m not suppose to worry of my grammar and I wasn’t suppose to make any cross outs. In about the first ten entries that I wrote I tried not to correct thing but it was impossible I did it automatically. And I also thought of what I was going to write, but after a few entries I started writing fluently, I felt more secure of what I was doing and writing.  These observations and emotions made me feel better.

Front Cover Journal

            My first journal was about what I was doing in that moment and how I felt and thinking of my future in my education, my boyfriend and helping my family. Through the days I wrote of all the work I had in school, the stress I had with the child I give tutoring and then of my future, this thought most of the times was always present. I wrote one day of my future as an aunt. It’s amazing the things I feel and what I can write with the emotions and experiences I live daily. Some days I really didn’t know what to write and just wrote exactly that at the begging but then things came to my mind because I was either seeing my dog or hearing my mother about what she was going to cook and stuff like that.  The days I had to write in the classroom I felt more concentrated. When I was writing my feelings my thoughts came out more fluently written maybe the silence helped me feel more relax and I used that time to feel my emotions at that moment and simply wrote it down. Day by day I wrote almost about the same things, but what changed as I wrote my journal was that I started not to worry of my grammar and not making cross out. I wrote more and more everyday.

On the other hand the days I had to do a compass I noticed that my feelings where different. At first I was a little lost of how expressing my feelings and emotions on the compass. My first compass was after I did my first five entries and I did it in the classroom. I realized I was spiritually down my number was 1, but emotionally, physically and mentally I had 2. Even though I had a lot of things to do these were not affecting me, but spiritually they were. My rate for this first journal was 7. From my compass two through seven my rates where high 8, 9 and even 10; even though I had a 3 in the spiritual cycle and it was because I had a road trip and felt more connected with nature and relaxed. Meanwhile when I did my eighth and ninth compass at home and my rates where low 5 and 4. I assume that I got these rates because I had a lot of stress that week, I had two test that I was studying for, I had to help the child I give tutoring make a project for the Science Fair and my shift hours that week where in the morning, I was totally exhausted. And finally in compass eleven and twelve my rates went back to normal to 8, 9 and 10.

I liked this experience of writing a daily journal; it helped me feel more relax after writing and it also helped me to write much better with out errors.  I think I will continue writing a daily journal instead of writing in my diary. And save this first journal I did to compare and to see if there is any progress in my future or if it continues the same through the years.

Life is a Trip

The best way to summarize this book is with a quote of Judith Fein. She is the author of this book and she said:


"Life is a trip is about transformative travel. In it, I take the reader with me on 14 exotic adventures. Each time, I learn a new and different approach to some life issue like family conflict, success, healing, overcoming trauma, death, forgiveness, faith in the face of adversity. The book is highly informative, I'll stick my head in the microwave if it's not entertaining, and it appeals both to those who love to travel and those who love to read about it in the comfort of their homes. My wish is that it will inspire you to have the kinds of cultural adventures that can transform your own life--either across the world or across town from where you live." 

In Chapter 8, it tells us of a man best known as a God of Guatemala, called Maximon. Fein was interested in the figure of Maximon from the first store she visited, but it was not until the third time she saw him that she asked one Guatemalan man if he could talk to her about Maximón. He explains to her that he is a God who loves drinking and smoking and comes from Santiago Atitlan and she decides to go there to learn more about this God. When she got there, a girl takes her to where Maximón is. People came in and prayed, gave donations, but she still had doubts. Then comes a lady and asks her that if she already gave a donation and she says she has dollars and nothing more and the lady tells her that Maximón accepts everything, but she did not feel very comfortable giving money to a religión that she did not understand. Then this man enter and he was explaining to a couple of Canadians of Maximón and she heard all of it. It was here that she understood that Maximón forgets and gives hope to those who need it, Even if they have committed terrible acts because he is also a sinner and has the right to forgive and forget.

I think that is amazing hoe Judith Fein was so interesting about knowing of this religion that she traveled to Santiago Atitlan to learn more about it and  founded the answers that she was looking for. Another thing is that she was able to share that experience and knowledge with her friend that needed help.