Author: jolaynie

I never actually thought about writing about experiences where I stuck out, so I found it very interesting that you used your past experiences as a description of not fitting into a category. It reminds me of when I would be that one kid at lunch reading a book instead of talking or playing with my friends. Or liking math when everyone else hated it and couldn’t understand. I never really fit in either with other kids at my elementary school, it’s nice to know I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Your blog post also mentions living in New York City and so I think about all the times where I had to stay out of the state or in another country. And sure a change of scenery is nice but after a few days I just miss the sound of city traffic or the sound of the train passing by and halting my conversation. Some things you just get used to and when they’re gone you feel out of place, or at least that’s how I feel.

I have discarded so many plans, attitudes and beliefs because I always change my mind. I’ve been told I contradict myself to the point where I make no sense. I also never like to say I am right or gloat but in my head I certainly think I’m always right. Every time I get into an argument with my sister I start off yelling and then just change tactics and walk away or just become silent because I know that yelling doesn’t work for my sister. Or the time I wanted a job an thought it was a good idea and that I could manage going to school and working. Afterwards, I realized that it wasn’t such a good idea and then I quit my job. Which was the best decision I’ve ever made. I always live in the subjunctive mood. I can not live without thinking of the what if’s or what could’ve beens. So even though I think quitting was the best decision it was probably only the best decision for a couple of months. Maybe I should’ve kept my job. But do I need that extra stress on me?
I exist between being American and Hispanic. I can not be fully one or the other. I also lie between stupidity and intelligence, there have been some moments in life when my intelligence just seems to have escaped me. I can not think of any other categories I can fit between but I am sure there are multiple categories in which I fall under.

https://youtu.be/XkWFtTVoDAE

When I read the four quotes, I didn’t really know what to say. I needed to go over the article again to get the full understanding. The article gives many examples which made it easier to find what the quotes mean. I also feel like the quotes build on each other.

1)  “The only way people can really describe pain is to objectify it.”

Boxer is listing the words people often use to describe their pain and says that all the words she listed were of things and actions that cause pain. From that moment my mind was blown, I never thought of it that way or even realized it. When I have headaches I usually say it feels like pressure in my head but it’s not really pressure, there is nothing squishing, pushing or causing tension in my head. What I am really doing is describing and relating my pain to something I think would feel similar.

2)  “When people forge tools or build things, they are often trying to alleviate discomfort. But first they must define the discomfort”

This is like saying anything that is created even beyond art is made to relieve us of any pain. She uses an example of a chair, someone made a chair to rest their tired and heavy body. This is an extension of the first quote, to define discomfort we objectify it. It’s like Boxer is saying first we figure out what’s wrong or what is bothering us then we make something to dull our suffering.

3)  “the sculpture [of Laocoön] didn’t change, but the idea of pain and justice did”

This quote I understand what it is trying to get at but I don’t agree. I’m sure people in Greece saw that Laocoön and his sons were in pain but they knew of his story and no longer felt remorse. No one would pity the man who disrespected their god. But now people see Laocoön and pity him and feel his pain for a few reasons, one being that people do not have the same beliefs, and two they might not even know of this story. Some people just like to look at art and see what they want to see and not what it is meant to be.

4)  “she suggests (Scarry) every impulse to make things—whether a painting, a chair, a poem, a vaccine or a building—is an attempt to ease the burden of sentience by shifting some of it onto the object.”

This quote was extremely funny to me because how is a painting of a chair supposed to make me feel anything. And then, I saw the painting and how used and beaten up this poor chair was. I start imagining what it would be like to be a chair, just constantly being sat on by strangers. Not a great way to spend the rest of your life, wasting away while people only use you for their own benefit. But then again maybe chairs are happy, that is their main purpose. (This started getting weird.)

The process of creation is natural. You want to shelter yourself from harsh winds and snow so you make yourself a shelter or a little home. That old spring mattress is too rough and doesn’t give you enough back support so you go out and make a tempurpedic bed, etc. And sometimes it doesn’t have to be natural, it could be an accident or with the hopes to relieve someone else’s suffering who you may never even see.

Part I.

The judges monologue is very depressing. He’s very descriptive on how the Bronx is disgusting and he seems to focus only on the bad. While reading this I felt so disgusted that I wanted to throw up. Afterwards, I had to tell myself this is not the only thing that happens, there is some good in the world even if we don’t see it. It makes me realize that people tend to weigh the negatives more heavily than the positives.

Part II.

The two cases are completely different and went to the same judge and Judge Soderberg had complete different reactions to the two cases. He was overjoyed at having the tightrope walker case. He gave Tillie 8 months in prison for an old charge and only gave the walker a fine of less than two dollars because he believes his walk was a “meaningful monument.” Since there were reporters present for the tightrope walker’s case, Soderberg was more strict than usual because he was under the scrutiny of the public.

It connects the two events and forever binds them. Jaslyn even carries an old photo of the tightrope walker’s famous walk between the towers because this event happened on the same day as her mother’s death and “the sheer fact that such beauty had occurred at the same time” is what attracted her to the photo. She says it’s “One small scrap of history meeting a larger one.” I feel as though this book purposely connects peoples stories to show us that affect and impact we could all have on each other. It also shows that beauty surrounds us even when things are going wrong.

Part III.

After reading the prologue over again, I have determined that what has been bridged is the tightrope walker and every character in this book. He was in the same courtroom with Corrigan, Tillie and Jazlynn, which then affects the Jazlynn’s daughter Jaslyn, his judge was Claire’s husband, Solomon Soderberg. In every characters story, we can see that the world keeps on spinning or everything keeps moving forward which is what I feel is the connection.

A bridge that surprised me and unsettled me at first was when Gloria went back home to her apartment and saw social services taking Jazlynn’s children. In that moment I wasn’t sure whether she was just going to let them be taken or if she was going to step up and make them her own. I feel like if she hadn’t stopped social services from taking them that Jaslyn and her sister would’ve had totally different lives, Gloria raised them with more opportunities than they would’ve had if she had allowed them to be taken.

I think pretty much everyone is surprised that Lara ended up marrying Ciaran but it made me really happy (I guess it made my heart sing) that she left her husband for him and that she moved on, her ex was an a**hole. Jaslyn and Pino honestly made my heart sing (I know it probably doesn’t qualify as a bridge but let me have this), she went from basically fearing men because of her mother and grandmothers history as hookers and then meeting this guy and instantly becoming enamored and attracted to him. Their communication and conversation were also pretty funny and adorable.

The Night Is Ours by Alpha 9

My understanding of this song has not changed. In comparison to the pieces used for blog post #5 I would consider this to be extremely upbeat and happy but I thought of that even before these blog posts. The pieces I had to listen to yesterday would change between sadness and happiness, this song doesn’t which is why it’s one of my favorites. I would consider this song very radiant and beautiful (I’m biased, I know) My body feels light when I hear this song, like I’m floating on a cloud.