HW 21: comments

To Tamiko: I felt your paragraph on religion was very insightful. My parents are very religious themselves so i can understand your view well. i agree with you on the fact that she looked to Buddhism to help her through this tough time and being from a religious household my self i have sen and done this many times. Any time my mother would see something like war or death on television she would give thanks to god for blessing her with a good life (even though she should kind of be thanking my dad for having a good job and working hard) however i feel that both beth and my mother's religion is what keeps them standing strong during times where many people do not.  


To Jhonny: The Topic i am choosing to talk about in your writing is insight. i felt that your writing had a lot of sparked memories which were written quite nicely. The sentence "She also reminded me of all the family members i had lost and how no matter how long it has been since your family member died they will always be with you in your hearts." caused me to think about all the family members that i have lost and even though they are gone little things remind me that they may still be with me in spirit. You can always tell if someone writes with insight because i think it often makes you think or come to the realization of something insightful yourself.

To Arden: The topic i am choosing to comment on is the beauty of your writing. When reading it i feel like what your saying truly flows out of you. The emotion as Tamiko said is a very strong part of your writing and i feel that any one who reads this will know that. i specifically liked the line "Being faced so close to death Beth was hit with the reality of immortality. For many of us it feels like such an unknown, unlikely, distance thing." because i felt like i could connect to this, i too feel as if death is so far away and unknown even though unlike you i have had a close experience involving the death of someone.
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 Tamiko O. said...

i got a similar impression from Eric deaths and the way he went about it. when someone loses hope during a time like death that is so dreadful it can hinder those around you and the one directly dealing with it. Eric ended his life in a heroic way i feel, he put out thier that death itself can be positive. Ms.Bernett noticed that herself.

Johnny P said...

Ms. Bernett's story affected me in the same way it affected you. For example Ms.Bernett's story made me realize that we are not immortal and that we could die at any place at anytime. The quote were you said, "you can have a steady job and a steady relationship but in the end a million different things could happen to you," really stood out to me because this made me realize, something very scary and it also made me realize that we are not immortal. However I believe that death is only as bad as you make it. For instance if you are screaming and just laying down in bed then you are only making your "final process" more difficult for yourself. However if you except the time that you have left on this earth and make the most of it, the "final process" wont be so difficult and this could possibly even cause less drama in your families life.

Brian (attic person) said...

I think one important part of growing into adulthood is to realize that mortality is a universal part of life and that it does not, in fact, take away for any one person's sense of power. None of us will live forever. Sickness, as a precursor to death, gives an impression of that for many people. One common way for a young person to experience this is through the illness of a grandparent. When it is a parent instead, the lesson is more intrusive into your life as a young person. I think it's important to examine these feelings, understand how they act upon your own value system, and integrate them into your own life. It sounds like you have done at least some of this so far, or are on your way to it. This isn't pleasant to do, but it's necessary to become a fully-actualized adult who doesn't live in fear of death or dying. To me, your writing indicates that you have seen how the experiences that Mrs. Bernett described are similar to those in your own life. That skill is necessary to become a person who can empathize with others in order to develop compassion for your fellow person.

Arden H said...

Sharif, I really enjoyed reading your post. Your post addressed this topic from many different perspectives. You managed to take the basics of Beths story and create a deeper understanding for yourself through connected it to class and other aspects of life. You were able to find the parallels in her story to your own personal experience. I appreciate your honesty and thoughtfulness through out the post. I particularly like line when you said "I tried to keep my self away from the illness by keeping myself away from the ill." Which helps explain why the ill are so isolated. It seems as though the ill want to isolated, but others do not want to be around them either. This is what puts a stress on peoples relationships. great job! Steven (Basement Person) said...

This is an amazing story. It is written wonderfully and it uses great writing techniques to thoroughly express the deeper meaning of this text. You also restated it in you last sentence, which just adds to the clarity. Hearing a story like this has helped to change my opinion on illness and death, and im sure it can change many others point of view. I think that it is fantastic that you look for alternatives even in places where you dont think you can find any. The overall writing piece was very well written and very insightful.