Here is the Day 8's Homework: Respond to the following question and make a blog post.
You guys have 2 nights to do this, so it's due Fri. 4/17 by Midnight.
Pi's adventure can be described as a hyperbolic coming-of-age tale. Can you describe an event in your life which served as a "turning point" for you. Find similarities/differences between your experience and Pi's.
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About two years ago my dad fell off a ladder an shattered his ankle; it took one large titanium rod and seven screws to put it back together. For five weeks my dad was bed ridden, and he couldn't do anything with or for my family. Lacking a parent my siblings and I had to step up and take on many more responsabilities. The accident put a lot of stress on my mom, so as the oldest I really had to take charge. At that point I felt like I had reached a turning point and finally become a young adult.
Pi and I had similar expiriences in that we both lost our father, even though I lost mine emotionlly for a short time. Both of were forced to take on more responsibilities.
I think that mine was definitely similar to Taylor's. My mom's never been completely healthy, so I'm a little used to it, but when I was in 4th grade (or 5th, now I can't remember) she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It took me a while but I learned to grow up pretty fast and deal with things on my own. It's not a big deal, she's fine and in remission, it just forced me to look at my life and realize the complete impermanance of anything, which is what Pi is forced to do now. He lost his entire family and is facing death straight in the face, which makes him a stronger person and able to assess his life well.
Every year, my mom goes to India for a month (October), and one year, she went for two. I really had to step up too and I had to do a lot of work around the house, in also do school work and extracurriculars. It's fun in a way since we get to eat out more since we normally don't, but it was definitely hard, and my dad would have to come home earlier to give me rides. I think it relates to Pi since we both have to deal with being up to the challenge and dealing with responsibilty. It makes us both have to grow up [and be a leader] in order to survive, although on different levels.
My turning point was when I was in third grade. I had been really sick for a while and dropped a substantial amount of weight in a very short time, with continuous stomach pain that inhibited my eating. After several tests and a colonoscopy (which is not fun AT ALL), I was diagnosed with moderate to severe Crohn's disease, an auto-immune disease. Though I'm almost completely healthy now and my disease is in remission, I learned a lot about how to keep myself healthy and improve my quality of life. I know I have to sacrifice some things, like eating fried foods and foods with too many chemicals, as well as dealing with blood draws every three months and medication everyday. And I do get debilitating stomach aches every now and then. But I consider myself lucky to have gotten off so lightly. It could have been so much worse for me if we didn't catch it fast enough. In the same way, Pi had to sacrifice many things important to him to stay alive. In fact, survival was his top priority. In both our cases, it really put our lives into perspective, and an experience like this made us realize what's really important.
Mine is similar, too.
Last summer I was in Greece with my dad when he had an accident and broke HIS FEMUR. Crazy, I know. So I was left in oblivion while he was rushed to the hospital, so I really had to step up because not only did I have to care for myself (and find a place to stay on the island) but I had to check up on my dad (and make sure he didn't pass out) and try to take care of the insurance stuff (we even had to take a ferry and an ambulance to another hospital for his surgery!) It was messy business, but I pulled through. At that time when I really felt the heavy weight of adult issues, and I have to say that it was quite a burden.
Both Pi's and my experience are similar because we both had to think in a way we normally don't and carry a heavy burden of being responsible for so many things besides ourselves. At times we both felt our young ages, but we had to push that aside and focus on necessity.
Wow, you guys. Reading this makes me think we're on Oprah or something. It's like a hard core feelings fest!
I was in 7th grade when I had my bat mitzvah. I learned from the rabbi, my parents, hebrew school, and family members, that I was now a "Jewish adult." I was part of the Jewish community. Although on the outside I was still the same thirteen year old girl, on the inside I suddenly felt older. I began to realize my responsibilities, like how much my sister looked up to me to be a good role model. My bat mitzvah wasn't a a sharp turning point in my life, but a gradual change that occured throughout a series of events challenging me to grow up. Unlike Pi, I didn't necessarily have to take on full responsibility for my actions. Over time, I grew older and more mature. Pi was forced to grow up and take care of himself within a week. But Pi's changes within himself and on the outside did happen gradually, just like mine.
Nothing bad has ever happened to me.
Parents have always been their loving, slightly overprotective selves. Got hit by a year or so ago (this discussion seems to be going the way of injuries), but I was well enough to pick up my bike and walk away until they made me go to the hospital. Nothing in my life that I would consider an unusual turning point has ever occurred. Learning to talk was a big milestone, along with getting toilet trained. Changed my life forever.
Wow, it's truly difficult to top Luc's experiences. I was never potty-trained. Wait, I need to get back to the sad stories, sorry about that.
My great aunt was turning 91 last April, and she started to have some serious health issues. She was always very nice and we were all very close to her when we were younger.
As her health got worse, she ended up in the emergency room and we didn't know what was going on. I really wanted to see her one weekend, but because of her current state, my mom said I shouldn't see her, and that I could see her later on. Then my aunt didn't make it to the next weekend.
I guess this really showed me that each day should matter to us, and that you never when something bad could happen. Almost everything we worry about day to day is really pretty pointless, and there are much bigger things going on out there.
As far as relating this to the Life of Pi, he didn't know that something bad would happen so unexpectedly. We see him in the beginning of the book talking about school and prayer rugs, but he ends up with much more important worries.
Boom, lectured.
Well, Luc seems to be fairly lucky. I'm still trying to pick up the "learning to talk" skill (granted, it's in french now).
Anyway, turning away from the injuries theme, a decently sized turning point was a 3 day trip to Atlanta. 8 months prior, I decided that debate would be a fun activity to join. Then, boom! There I was, walking 4 blocks in the pouring rain heading to a coke museum in the middle of a city I'd never been to before. It was even more momentous given the fact that we were virtually unsupervised (but that kind of just made it cooler). It just goes to show how important our decisions are.
In that respect, I can relate to Pi. His decisions will effect the rest of his life. Mostly, whether or not that consists of the next few minutes or several decades more. For me, the decision to join debate influenced me in a major way, just as Pi's decisions influence him in a major way. I can't relate to how quickly they influenced him, because I doubt I will ever be in his situation.
Yeah. That's all.
I'm surprised no one else has said this, but my growing-up period definitely happened around third to fifth grade when my parents separated (no, that's not a euphamism for divorce, it was just never legal). My Dad moved to a different part of Northbrook, biking distance but never close enough to forget that my parents were separated. It was necessary at the time, but never really comfortable. Suddenly, there were two houses- two sets of neighbors, two places where homework could get lost, and only one parent who knew anything about grocery shopping. Hint- it wasn't him! =) Between two houses, I really had to grow up a lot to keep organized and sane.
Like Pi, part of my family was missing at all times. And it is strange and lonely at times. But Like Pi, my story has a happy ending. He was able to marry and have children; my parents moved back in together.
I was in 4th grade, my 21 year old cousin had blood cancer and she didn't want to break it to her parents. She had continuous doctor appointments without her parent's knowledge and found out that she couldn't do anything about it because she was already close to 4th stage. It was a big turning point for me because I was very close to her and she was one of my best cousins along with my best friend. She was such a great personality, truly a lady from hevean.
Pi had similar expiriences because he had also gone through death of his family and felt the depression of losing a family member.
Alright mine is kinda different than everyone else, but here it goes. I've never really had anything horribly bad ever happen to me, and I consider myself EXTREMELY blessed because of that. In my life, I feel as though there hasn't been one huge turning point, but instead a gradual journey. I have gained more and more responsibilities as time has gone on and have learned to deal with the problems they create. In relation to Pi, this is completely different. One day, everything just hit him. I'm not sure that anything in my life can be like this, or maybe it is still to come.
I'd have to agree with Rachel--unlike many of the other responses, I haven't really had any one major turning point. That said, one turning point or milestone was after fifth grade, when I went to summer camp away from home for the first time. At that time, I had only ever been away from my family for a couple days at a time, so the week of summer camp was a new and different experience. Obviously, this was somewhat shorter and more enjoyable than Pi's "adventure," but I guess their are some similarities: I was away from my family for an extended period of time, and I was (to a certain extent) responsible for taking care of myself.
Lol, this is definetly like Oprah, or Tyra, whoever you prefer...
Ok so, this year two of my aunts died within two months or so of each other. The first one wasn't a major shock but the second one came kind of soon. Nevertheless, it was a debilitating strike for my dad's side of the family. Because my dad was the estate manager guy (I'm not too sure what its called) we had to pay for both funerals, get everything in order, and deal with all of the bills and legal stuff. Besides the overwhelmingness of the technical buisness, the emotion hit was hard. It was really the first time in my life that I had to really think about life and death and their inevitability. It's hard to ponder, and most of us don't like to think about it, but when it comes so close to home you can't help but realize what is going to happen at some time or another. Just like Pi, as he wasted away on the lifeboat with nothing but life and death to think about, I couldn't get the thought out of my mind.
alright guys, I swear I'm not copying all of you, but my story is very similar.
When I was living in Japan, my dad got into a motorcycle accident. He was riding down a really twisted side road when his bike went out of control, crashing through a road barrier and smashing him into a rock face off road. He slid down this rock into a creek/ditch, sustaining multiple injuries. In shock, he managed to ride his motorbike for an hour and a half home without foot pegs. Later we found out he had broken his collarbone and his knee(in three places). Needless to say, after getting out of the hospital he was in a wheelchair for quite some time. I was about 6, and this was the first time i had seen my dad in a position where he couldn't help out with tons of stuff around the house. So, being the oldest child, I had to accept jobs and responsibility for the first time. I helped in the kitchen, setting the table, etc. I also helped to take care of my dad and get him places(his collarbone injury prevented him from pushing the wheelchair himself). I clearly remember this experience as the first time I felt responsible for actions in family life. It was strange after all play to have to help out around the house, to lighten the load off my mother, who was adjusting to new surroundings and also having to take care of my 4 year old sister.
When I was about eleven, my dad became sick with strep pneumonia, and nearly died in the hospital, where he stayed for over a month, before returning home unable to work for seven weeks. This was a really big turning point for me because I had to take care of my brother most of those weeks because my mom was frequently at the hospital, and my dad was so sick. It was then that I realized what a huge influence I had on the life of everyone in my family.
Like Pi, I felt extremely alone for several months due to the absence of my parents and the responsibility of my brother, which is similar to Pi's responsibility of Richard Parker (keep him content/happy, establish an alpha/beta relationship). Throughout this time, both of us were forced to "go it alone" and really get to know our ever-stretching limits (mine are PB&J, popcorn and hot cocoa. As I'm sure you all know, I can't cook more than that).
My moment would have to be when my parents divorced when I was about six years old. At the moment, I didn’t understand what was going on. When my mom was trying to tell my sisters and I that they were no longer going to be married, I remember climbing over the couch, not really paying much attention to what she was saying. This experience really forced me to gain more responsibility at a younger age because my dad didn’t always act like a parent. Like Pi, I had to gain responsibility and this experience has really shaped my thinking and how I view the world just like Pi, who had to suddenly take responsibility of himself, and I think that the experience that Pi had really changed his thinking as well and the way he lived. It clearly left and imprint on him since the cat that he has at his house is orange.
It's probably been about 2 years now, but I used to have some eating problems which significantly stunted my growth. I went to nutriostinists, and doctors, and such, so I could get better. I even had an x-ray taken of my wrist, to see if my growth plates were still growing. Luckily, they were, but for a short period of time my family and I thought that I had completely stopped growing, which would be problematic in the future. It's been a struggle, but I've learned that taking care of yourself, whatever you can do just to make is the key. I think that with dedication and commitment anything is possible to overcome.
Similarly Pi, must use his survival skills and take care of himself to make it through this rough patch in his life. Dedication and commitment to staying alive are the things that drive him. He is able to do this by forgetting time, and keeping himself busy. I made it through the turning point in my life by surrounding myself with friends and family.
I guess a turning point in my life was kind of like Taylor's. My mom went walking one day, slipped on ice and shattered her wrist. Like Taylor's dad, she had pins and multiple surgeries. This is when I realized that my parents are kind of old. My dad is 63 and my Mom is 53. They aren't exactly the young parents we see now-a-days. My mom hates driving, doesn't like to hear me rant and makes me play piano. My dad doesn't get the fact that computers aren't really that complicated. He still doesn't know how to copy and paste. So with that accident, I realized that I have to not push my parents so much and make sure that I step it up a notch. I am getting older and I should start doing things for myself except for maybe driving.
When my aunt had cancer a few years ago, things definitely changed in my life. For me and my sister, we had to take more responsibility for ourselves and others when my mom was gone. Rather than how usually our mom would take care of us, we suddenly had to take care of her and ourselves. I didn't have her around all of the time because she went to visit my aunt often, so I couldn't depend on her and I became more independent and responsible for myself and others. Through this experience, I feel like I matured. Similarly, Pi became more independent when living and trying to survive on his own. He learned to think for himself when he didn't have other people there to depend on. Differently, Pi had absolutely no one to rely on, while I still had family, just my mom wasn't around as often.
Three and a half years ago, my sister, then 6, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Even though I was only 11, because of the extensive issues of diabetes(None of which I will list), I was forced to take care of myself, and my sister much more that I had previously. It really is a terrible thing that she has. I don't really know how else to say this, but it's a little unsettling to wake up every day, uncertain wether or not my sister will be ok. It has really made me a more cautious person.
Pi lost most everything, and I think that that made him more cautious as well. He acts out of self-preservation, like my sister. Both of their lives depend on their decisions.
FROM ROMAN (he forgot the url)
"A turning point experience in my life was when i got stung by a bee. I realized that animals are protective, and will defend themselves. Thus each living thing is petentially danferous. pi already knew this however, and his experience is like the next step. Learning how to deal with dangerous animals."
I don't think I can really share any experiences with him, except for the loss of some of my family. I guess I could relate the experiences to the time I got lost in the middle of a crowd of 10,000 people. Being alone and lost has the same feeling as being lost in thousands of people
Well, a couple weeks ago in Colorado, I got lost in the woods. Like Pi's story, it all turned out okay (obviously) but it was way more terrifying at the time than words can convey. Of course, Pi's situation was slightly different: he was lost in the Pacific Ocean while I was lost in unknown woods on an unknown mountain. Pi had survival materials, while all I had was a dead cell phone. But the similarities we share are the soul-emptying feeling of utter loneliness. After my experience, I no longer took for granted the safe environment I live in and how sheltered we are from the outside world.
MERRICK'S (on time, he emailed it to me Friday)
"Well Darrell, I can't say I have ever had an experience like Pi's but there has been a experience in my life and like Pi's, it was important but not enjoyable. During my whole childhood I admit I was spoiled. I was a very picky eater and often wined if things didn't always turn out the way I wanted them to. I remember I was about 8-9 years old and my mother had been gone for three days. During this time our father treated us to movies and snacks including the movie "Mr. Mcgee". My mom came home near the end of the movie on a sunday morning and told me I had hockey practice. Not wanting to go I started to wine and tell her I liked it better when she wasn't here and wanted her to "Go away". She didn't, and instead became extremely frustrated saying "Fine I want take you to hockey practice you brat" and continued to yell at me. I was sobbing and at the point I was willing to do anything for her to take me to hockey. She explained to me that she had feelings too and told me to imagine how she felt coming home to her child that hates her. At this point I realized that the world did not always revolve around me. Like Pi, I realized that I was an indivual responsible for myself and realized I must also care for others."
GRAICEY'S (on time, emailed to Chen on Friday)
"When I was in fourth grade, we went on a road trip to Florida, driving through all of these southern states and seeing things we usually wouldn't. I began to see people who didn't have all the things that we did. They had run down cars, dirty clothes, and there weren't any posh houses. I suddenly realized that not everyone lives in Northbrook. Not everyone wakes up and has at least four outfits to choose from on any given day. Not everyone can afford to shop where I get my clothes.
Similarities: Both Pi and I were out of our element and in an uncomfortable situation.
Differences: My discomfort lasted for a day. Pi's lasted 250 times that."
Usually I get a bit shaky when I have to perform something in front of large crowds. For Confirmation last year, I had to do a reading during the mass. Even during practice I got shaky while I was reading. One of my good friends, whose mom worked the religious ed program, told us not to be nervous because the Holy Spirit would guide us through this important day. So I believed that and on the day of Confirmation I wasn't nervous one bit. I mean, I was so confident that it made me wonder why I wasn't shaking. I just knew it was the spirit helping me, like my friend's mom explained. So from then on, I knew that having faith and believing in it was something that we all need and that we have to hold on to. It was definitely a turning point for me. In Pi's situation, Pi needs to hold on to his faith because in a situation like that, it becomes tested. I think the only difference is that he's loosing touch with his faith, instead of becoming closer to it.
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