Kira-Kira chapters 14-16 Response

I think that Lynn's death has changed Katie's life path a lot. After Lynn died, Katie began to do many things that Lynn had wanted to do, or wanted Katie to do. Such as doing better in school, "I worked harder at school, because that was one of Lynn's last wishes." Also, Katie was the one who suggested that the family take a vacation to California, because Lynn had always wanted to go to the sea. I think that as Katie gets older, she will continue to do things that would make Lynn happy. She'll probably go to college, maybe buy an apartment in Chicago or a house by the sea, like Lynn had always talked about doing. Katie will take care of her family, and put others before her, like Lynn did, and like Katie started doing after Lynn's death. I think that Katie will live a very good, happy life, because Lynn will always be with her in her thoughts and memories, and Katie will want to please Lynn in every way that she can.

Kira-Kira Response for Chapters 12 & 13

For a long time, Katie has been really kind to Lynn; making sure she gets her pills and medications, and caring for her sister without complaint. But, that one night, when Lynn asked Katie first for milk, then water, then milk again, and she couldn't make up her mind about what she wanted to drink, Katie just lost all her patience and completely blew up at Lynn, and Lynn at Katie. Part of the problem is Lynn's fault, because she was being pretty crabby, "I want some milk. Can I have water instead? There's soap on this water glass! I want milk." but it's hard to blame her, because she too has been sacrificing a lot. Having to stay in bed for weeks at a time, not able to see anyone but her family or do anything that she used to love to do. She might just have lost her patience with it all as well, and unfortunetly Katie just happened to be the one that Lynn took it out on. This naturaly made Katie mad, because she has been doing so much for her sister, and then it seems as though Lynn doesn't even recognize all that Katie's doing for her, and she adds to that task by being difficult with her drinking choices, and throwing the milk and water glass on the floor. Lynn got frustrated, which made Katie frustrated, which made them both mad enough to go all the way to say that they hated each other. This obviously isn't true, because they are probably closer to each other than they are to anyone else, but both girls were just so upset at the time, that there weren't really any other words to say. Eventually Katie will forgive Lynn, but it can be really hard to be kind to someone when they hardly seem to notice the kindness.

Apache Fact

One interesting fact that I learned while researching the Apache tribe, is that there is a very big coming-of-age ceremony for girls, but not one at all for boys. Especially since the Apache are hunter gathers' I would think that the boys would have some sort of ceremony to help prepare them for hunting for the tribe. There is a huge Sunrise ceremony that the girls take part in to prepare them for becoming a woman, but they don't do anything to prepare the boys. This seems a little strange because I think that given the way that the Apache live, the boys have more do to prepare for adulthood than girls.

Adolescence Interview Response

Conducting an interview and listening to others' interviews was really interesting, because I learned a lot about adolescence in this generation, and previous ones. There are ways in which adolescence is the same now as it was then, such as the fact that teens are in an awkward stage, right in the middle of children and adults, and not sure what's going on. However, there are also many differences. In a way, teens were more free then than they are now. They didn't have to worry about "bad guys" and could just walk to their friends house or to the store. But parents also seemed more strict than they are now, and they may not have given their kids much freedom. Also, the world today is has many more technical advantages that they didn't have back then. Computers, phones, and other electric devices all make our lives simpler today. However, since they didn't have these things back then, they didn't know any different, and just learned to live with what they had. I think that if I had been an adolescent when my grandmother was one, life would have harder and easier in different ways. It would be hard to live without a computer, but then again, if I didn't know any different, it may not have been so hard. One thing that would be easier is the responsibility. Teens then didn't have to worry about as many things as we do today, and it would have been nice to just be a kid living a simple, carefree life.

FRIM Trip

Something that I enjoyed about the field trip to FRIM was being able to spend time with my friends and classmates for such a long period of time. Usually we just see each other during the day, but since we spent the night, we were around everyone for the whole day, evening and morning. If we had stayed several more nights, then we might have started to get on each others nerves, but for the time we were there, it was really cool to be with everyone. Something that I didn't much care for was sleeping on the ground in tents. I love my bedroom and bed, and don't like when I have to sleep somewhere else that isn't as comfortable and homey. The bathrooms were also not top of the line in any way at all, but privacy wasn't really a problem for me, because I don't get much anyways with two younger sisters at home. So I would say that I'm glad I got to go to FRIM and have the experience, but it wasn't the best thing I've done. It was fun to have my friends around all the time, but I didn't really like being away from my family, home, bed, and bathroom. 

Kira-Kira Promt

One difficulty that Katie and Lynn might face in Georgia, is that their parents will be working almost all the time, and will not be there to take care of the girls as often as they were able to before. Katie and Lynn may not get the attention that their parents had given them in Iowa, and they may have to do many things for themselves. I think that one of the biggest difficulties Katie and Lynn will face, is the fact that they are Japanese. Their new home doesn't seem as friendly as the one they left behind, and the girls may not be welcomed in their community or school.

Quote Response

This quote by Thomas Jefferson is saying that if you believe in yourself and have confidence that you will succeed, then you will easily reach your goals. However, if you always think negatively, and don't try to find the positive side of a situation, then nothing anyone does will help you achieve your goals.