A Life Less Ordinary

Monique and the Mango Rains written by Kris Holloway is a compelling story of a friendship between a young Peace Corps volunteer and a midwife. This book is about how Monique wants to better the lives of women and children who constantly poverty, unhappy marriages, and endless work. Throughout

“Suffering when you're young is good for you, she said. It immunized your body and your soul, and that was why she ignored us kids when we cried. Fussing over children who cry only encouraged them, she told us.”(28) In the memoir, The Glass Castle (2005) , Jeannette Walls writes of her journey to becoming a renowned journalist in New York City, recounting the hardships she faced, such as extreme poverty and negligent parenting. Rose Mary, Jeannette’s mother and an aspiring artist, prides herself in her parenting methods, or lack thereof. Despite other mothers, who coddle their children, and want to protect them at all costs, Rose Mary has a different approach to parenthood. From her perspective, children should have the unrestricted ability

A mother and a child. A love that transcends no bounds. To give up a child leaves a hole that nothing can fill. An empty abyss. In the heat of the moment, the mother is convinced that she is doing right by the child. Giving that child a life that they themselves will not be able to give. It hurts to leave, but they know deep down, that the sacrificing of their happiness for the child’s well-being is what is best. In the photograph Mother and child by Jerome Liebling, the mother stands, child in arms, before the steps. Before the steps of giving up the one piece of joy she has in her life. Holding a blank expression on her face, trying not to show any emotion as it would only make what she is about to do harder. She is tired, worn down by the weight of the world. Contemplating what she is about to do, although she knows it will not help.

A Small Difference Can Make a Big Impact     Humans have come to a conclusion that all lives are different, but all go through many hardships and tragedies. The impact from a slight difference can vary to be very vast to very small, such a slight difference, however, can change a person’s life as a whole. In the book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore there is a difference that can be identified between the author’s life and that of the other Wes. This difference, though can be very critical and is ultimately able to lead to a path of triumph or failure for an individual. The lack of involvement a mother has for their child can fundamentally deprive them from succeeding, and parent involvement has the opportunity to

As a result of discovery, individuals are opened to the opportunity to transform and in doing so, renew perceptions of themselves and those around them. In having renewed perceptions, individuals are automatically exposed to new experiences and perspectives, and as a result undergo personal growth. Change is an aspect of

In this novel Taylor is a dynamic character, we see her transform from a young girl who didn’t want to get married or have kids to an independent single mother. In the beginning we get to know her as a self-owned, determined and a stubborn girl who is focused, ambitious and thinks outside the box; because she knows firsthand what is like to see her mother struggle as a single parent. She learned to value every day because pregnancy was like a disease. An example of her considerate outlook is “believe me in those days the girls were dropping by the wayside like seeds off a poppy seed bun and you learned to look at every day as a prize” (3). This small but

When Aanakwad brought the new baby out of the trees that autumn, the older girl was like a second mother, even waking in the night to clean the baby and nudge it to her mother's breast. Aanakwad slept through its cries, hardly woke. It wasn't that she didn't love her baby; no, it was the opposite—she loved it too much, the way she loved its father, and not her husband. This passion ate away at her, and her feelings were unbearable. If she could have thrown off that wronghearted love, she would have, but the thought of the other man, who lived across the lake, was with her always. She became a gray sky, stared monotonously at the walls, sometimes wept into her hands for hours at a time. Soon, she couldn't rise to cook or keep the cabin neat, and it was too much for the girl, who curled up each night exhausted in her red-and-brown plaid shawl, and slept and slept, until

Vol. 1 tells in-depth stories on the thoughts and events from her childhood to adulthood and how she constantly thought about her father not being consistent and not being available throughout her life. Pondering everyday wondering on why she thinks of her father so much? Why

Women who bare a child for 9 months in her womb, will go to great lengths to protect the child from harm. Living in a world in which women are living in poverty face gross inequalities and injustice from birth to death. Throughout Night Women, Danticat illuminates how being a mother requires sacrifices in order to protect their young. In the mother’s words, “The night is the time I dread the most in my life. Yet if I am to live I must depend on it.” (71) She knows she must work in order to make a living to provide for her young son. She is displeased with selling her body to a suitor, but if that will bring a meal to the table for her son, she will sell. Despite the imprint of prostitution, the mother like all mothers who do all they can to

Tough Questions in The Storied Life of AJ Fikry In The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, the author Gabrielle Zevin uses a variety of tough questions to showcase memorable moments in AJ’s life. The author provides the reader with distinctive scenarios in order to illustrate these significant life changing events. AJ makes the decision to take care of a child for a weekend before the Department of Family and Children are scheduled to take her to an adoption center. AJ hesitates at first, but then minimizes the hardship it will cause. Before he meets Maya, his friend Lambaise asks him, “Do you know anything about child care” (Zevin 52). AJ has had no experience with taking care of a baby and is terrified at the great responsibility. The use of the author

Bastard out of Carolina: Maternal Neglect and Shame The bond between a mother and child is often spoken of as being unlike any other. Yet there are always exceptions to the rule where this connection isn 't as impenetrable as one might assume. This book is an example of this bond gradually becoming weaker over time. It shows how it affects the child, Bone, and leaves her vulnerable to the abuse of her step-father. Bone’s mother, Anney, had fallen in love with a man who abused her which at first, she’s unaware but eventually comes to realize but still chooses to stay with him. Throughout the book there are instances of Anney’s negligence in recognizing her daughter’s abuse and being of aid to her but wasn 't. In having to deal with her

Nidali and the Piano Keys: The Piano as a Parallel in Randa Jarrar’s A Map of Home Randa Jarrar’s A Map of Home is a classic coming of age story in which readers watch a young girl grow into young adulthood. The protagonist Nidali navigates all the challenges a young woman

I am going to explore the topic of having a “life less ordinary” and I’m going to tell you about a person who has had and is living a “life less ordinary”. His name is Casey Neistat. Before I get to telling you about Casey Neistat, I’m going to talk about

While providing a comfortable life it also gives a status for the individual in a society. The notable Bengali writer Mahaswetha Devi’s short story ‘Breast – Giver’ revolves round the life of Jashoda, a poor Brahmin woman. Her husband Kangalicharan has lost his leg at an accident and subsequent gross negligence on the part of a member of the rich Haldar family. Jashoda acts as a wet nurse for the new-born children of the Haldar family just to earn livelihood for her invalid husband, her own children and for herself. Her breast, which is a gift of nature and a source of nourishment, thus comes as a commodity, a saleable item. Finally, Jashoda develops a lump on her breast which is diagnosed as breast – cancer. Even the surgeon is shocked to know that in her life Jashoda has breast-fed over fifty children, she dies a painful death, thrown off both by the Haldar family and her own

Do you think it is possible to live a happy and simple life? It is more than certainly possible to live a life of bliss, even in a world with today’s chaotic means. You do not need to be rich in order to live a luxurious life, you could be the poorest person in the world but also the happiest. Social media is also a very big aspect for humanity when it comes to happiness.