Blog # 7

There's a part in the book where Craig is talking to Noelle and says something that startles me. He compares his problems to the rest of the world and to his friends, and people everywhere. This surprised me because he usually is so focused on himself I never would have thought he would compare the world to him. Then he starts talking about his problems in the past tense talking about what he USED to do and how it was the wrong decision for him. This is a big step because usually he talks like he is still depressed and has such a long way to recovery but now he talks so much different and positively that he's going to be fine and like a regular kid. Another important event was when Craig went into see Monica on his last day. He started sweating and getting nervous because he has to go back to school and makeup everything that he's missed. Then she asks if he found an Anchor. And he did. He realized that drawing maps helps him relieve a lot of that stress and enables to keep living his everyday life. He realized this when he was in art class and remembered drawing maps as a kid, and started right up again. This will probably help him once he's out of the hospital because then when he gets stressed he can resort to drawing maps to get out his anger and frustration. Even though i haven't finished the book yet i have a feeling that Craig will end up being just find and will find a balance in his everyday life.

Blog #6

In the pages that I have read this past week a lot of events have occurred. Craig is starting to realize that he needs time to cope and figure out his problems before befriending others. For once in his life Craig has to put himself first. A part I thought was ironic was when his principal called the psychiatric hospital. One of the patients answered, and told Craig who it was. Craig immediately freaked out and didn't want to answer the call. Craig later that day when to his psychologist and told her about what happened earlier. He admitted that he was afraid he would be expelled. The psychologist called the school and forced Craig to talk to his principle. I think she did this because she wanted him to face his problems instead of run away from them. What I thought was ironic was that when the principle got on the line instead of him telling Craig that he was expelled, he told Craig that the school completely understands his situation and will be there whenever Craig decides to go back. Craig was so surprised because the impression of his principle was not the nice man that was telling him that, it was a man who had high standards for students. The principle informed him that this isn't the first time something like this has happened. The school has high expectations to live up to and the staff understands what's going on. Craig immediately felt relieved. I think that most of the time the pressure of school and everything is in Craig's mind. Not that he's imagining it, just that he's thinking too much about it and exaggerating it a bit in his brain. The last chapter that I read up to was a scheduled card game in the hospital. It seemed like innocent fun at the time that Craig decided to attend. It turned out to be a bit more chaotic. First off instead of betting money, the patients bet buttons. It all started going downhill when some random comments that were said offended one of the players and then after the comment was said, the person that said it (Humble) wouldn't apologize. Even though it seems like a juvenile thing, it was a big deal to everyone present. Humble ended up getting towed off by the security guards and the game ended. I thought that that part in the book was significant because while Craig just sat back and watched he felt normal. He felt normal compared to the other patients. When usually in his everyday life he feels like the odd one out in practically everything he does. My prediction for the next part in the book is that he continues his relationship with the other girl patient and realizes he should have listened to his doctor beforehand.

Blog # 5

Craig has chanced a lot in the last few chapters I’ve read. Craig seems so normal compared to everyone else in the hospital. There’s even a guy who is afraid of gravity. Such a wide variety of cases where I feel that he shouldn’t be categorized in. Craig met a girl, Noelle and told the doctor he thinks he’s going to be involved with her in the near future. Doctor Minerva told him he shouldn’t have any one person as an Anchor, (things that are consistent) in his life. Especially because Noelle is a girl and is going through problems too. Craigh thought he could handle it. Maybe that’s where he goes wrong, thinking he can handle something and overworks it until he needs a break. By then he can’t function anymore and ends up in a hospital. One quote I thought was important to the chapters I’ve been reading is when one of the nurses says this, “Yes. Now, you might not want to become so friendly with your fellow patients on the floor.” “Why not?” “That can distract people from the healing process. This is a hospital. It’s not a place to have friends. Friends are wonderful, but this place is about you and making you feel better” (272, Vizzini). I feel that this is an important quote because Craig really isn’t focusing on himself and getting better. He’s so interested in all these people that he forgot why he’s there. Everyone in the hospital sort of relies on him to keep their lives in check. Another weird thing I thought was how Noelle and Craig got along so well. They both seem so normal I don’t understand why they are there. I’m still questioning if Craig really does have a chemical imbalance, or is just confused with himself and his life. My prediction for the next part of the book is that he realizes where it all went wrong and where all this depression stemmed from. Also that he learns to balance and manage his life better.

Blog #4

Recently I read more about Craig and his life.I'm really proud of something that he did. Instead of choosing to kill himself by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge; he called suicide hotline and they told him to go to the hospital. What really surprised me was that he was so close to killing himself but decided to stick through it and go to the hospital. I obviously didn't think that he would actually kill himself because I was in the middle of the book, but I thought that he would try and someone would catch him before he got the chance. When his mom asked what happened she was proud of him too because he made the right choice by trying to get help. Although he could have prevented this whole thing by not partying and doing drugs in the first place at Aaron's that night he got accepted into school. He did try. I get confused when people ask him if he hears voices, and he says no but really does. His reasonings is he doesn't want to be labeled crazy, but it just might be one of his symptoms. I still do feel that if Craig tried to get better he could. He's surrounded by a family that loves him and a healthy school environment, he could so easily be happy again. My prediction for the next part of the book is that he makes more progress in the hospital and discovers things about himself he never knew before.

Outside Reading #3

Recently, in the last few chapters that I have been reading Craig has sort of appealed to me. Just the fact that he has been trying so hard to "get better" and fit in with everyone else is just making me think of him as someone totally different that what I thought of before. In a way I can relate myself to Craig. When he tries at something, he has to give his 100% and work really hard, and then he gets far. But if he takes a break for example drinking and drugs for him, he gets off track. That’s not the case for me but if I am doing really well for a while I tend to slack off and it’s harder to get into that rhythm of doing well and balancing everything. Craig also reminds me of myself with some of the weird things he does. Things such as noticing small details, or having weird quirks about food. Like Craig, I have a very sensitive stomach. I don’t throw up like he does, but I experience pain from acid dyspepsia. It’s not as serious as what Craig has and it’s definitely not an eating disorder but I do have pain in my stomach often as Craig does. Surprisingly Craig isn’t the depressed kid that rebels against his parents, he embraces them and they support him an unbelievable amount. You would think that Craig is just a regular teenager that doesn’t get along with his family, but that’s so not the story. He gets along with them so well, he even sleeps in the same bed as his mom the nights that he doesn’t feel well. I didn’t fully understand what triggered his depression at first, because even he doesn’t know, but as the story went on I began to realize. I realized that once he did start studying harder for the important test he wanted to take the more and more uptight and anal he got towards people. Instead of hanging out with his friends on Fridays he would sit home and study flash cards repetitively. What I believe started his downfall is after he took the test he felt no need to study and work hard anymore. He took one break at a party and everything seemed to go down in flames after that for Craig. He suddenly wanted to party every weekend, do drugs, drink, etc. Craig wasn’t able to find a balance between work and play. Therefore he ended up at the hospital the night he was thinking about committing suicide. A prediction I have for him in the next coming chapters of the book is replacing his old friends who are bad influences, with new friends that are healthy for him. I predict that there will be tension between him and his choices. Hopefully in the end Craig realizes he needs to find a balance in his life.

Outside Reading #2

The more I read the more I pick out things about Craig that are so different from other people, and that confuse me. His personality is so different and he knows exactly what he wants and what he wants to do all the time. Craig has friends and he does these experiments to see if he's getting better or worse in the means of depression. One week he'll smoke a ton of pot, one week he won't. And the effect is the same, he's still as depressed as before. There's something he calls, "The Shift" throughout the book and to him it means his brain is being able to slide into the spot it's supposed to be in. To me it means for him to be completely okay and normal.At times I feel like Craig is choosing not to get better, he won't, but sometimes I feel like he can't. Like there is a chemical imbalance in his brain that is keeping him from acting the way he is supposed to act. That's hard to believe though because of all the opportunities he's been throwing away. Another term he uses are Tentacles-evil invasions that invade his life. Then Anchors-things that occupy his mind and make him feel good temporarily. I think the auther capitalizes these words in the book because they want the reader to see how Craig's thinking, categories for regular, everyday things. He also always wastes a ton of time each day being unproductive and doing things that don't do any good. For example, lying in his bed for hours on end instead of doing his homework (which he doesn't do by the way) It may sound like he's just being lazy, but it may be something deeper than that.

Outside Reading #1

I picked It's Kind of A funny Story by Ned Vizzini for my ouside reading book. So far the main charactor Craig is sort of getting to me. Craig is suffereing from depression and in the first couple of chapters I began to see through his eyes and start to comprehend how his brain works. What bothers me is how much money and effort his family is putting into him when they have so little to spare. Craig is so caught-up in the past and because of that can't think about the present. I understand depression is a difficult thing to overcome but Craig is just so weird. It started off when he was about four and had a breakdown because he couldn't trace the map of Manhattan and it continues now to things like, physically not being able to eat or he'll throw up. Or havin his favorite place in the world be the bathroom with all the lights off. Or even little things like knowing the answer to a question in class but when called on, he physically can't speak or get the words out without stuttering. I feel as if he could be normal if he just tried. That's what makes me so frustrated. I don't know how his family can withstand him and watch Craig throw away everything he's worked for. His sister Annie learns from it. She sees his failing as motivation for her to do better and be better in all aspects of her life. Craig has gone and tried so many things to help him, I am itching to find out if he ever gets better and looks forward instead of back in his everyday life.