Chapter 1 questions

part 1

my name is lauren connolly, I'm from Lakeville MA, and i went to high school at Apponequet. High school was fun for the first 2 years but when junior and senior year came around it got to be getting old and i just wanted to move onto college, where i could meet new people and friends because i was sick of the same people i've gone to school with for 12 years. I am a very outgoing person i and i love life. My weakness is stress.  I get stressed really easily and I'm kind of easily distracted. 

part 2

Writing Strategies:

 

1.)   The details that Bosley provides that work best for me is when she talks about how she would be relieved that she wouldn’t win, and that it was finally over. In this essay Bosley talks about how she doesn’t want to be in the pageant because, she knows she doesn’t belong and wont win. Bosley talks a lot about how her mother pressures her into doing it and wants her to win. “My mother, beside herself with embarrassment for me and disappointment for herself, and misunderstanding my tears, hissed loudly enough for the befit of everyone, STOP crying, they’ll think you’re not a nice loser.” I think this piece of the essay is interesting because her mother thinks that she is crying because she lost the pageant, but she is really crying because she is happy she didn’t win.

 

2.)   This essay would impact someone who doesn’t care about pageants because, the essay is not only talking about the pageant but the message behind it is that you don’t always have to do what people want you to do or what they expect of you and you can speak for yourself. When Bosley says; “our mothers should not have such dreams for us.” This means that you should do what you want to do and what makes you happy, don’t let anyone pressure you into something that your not comfortable doing.

 

3.)   If I had to workshop Bosley’s essay I would say;

What I liked most about your essay is that you put into detail what you were going through with money and family issues, and you also said how you felt about other people and yourself.

The main suggestion I have about your essay is that i think you should’ve put more details about how you felt towards your mom being difficult on you, and whether is really bothered you or not. You should have also told us more about how you felt towards things other then just the pageant and how this affected you in the long run and what you got out of it.

 

4.)   Bosley explains to the reader how she lost the junior pageant throughout her essay. The point of her essay is to let the reader know how she feels towards her losing the pageant, and how her mother pressures her into doing well and wanting to win but it wasn’t what she wanted to do, and her and her mother did not share the same dream. Bosley feels that she lost the pageant because when the judges asked her if she could change anything what would it be and she said her mothers loneliness. This made her look bad because she could’ve picked anything in the world to change.

 

 

 

Exploring Ideas:

 

2.) Bosley’s essay is not just about beauty pageants alone; she is also referring to competition, class, tradition, and media. Bosley talks about how she didn’t have much of anything, such as expensive clothes to wear, money to get good looking leg warmers, or getting her pictures done professionally. She is trying to make a point that if you don’t have quality things, or top of the line accessories then it puts you lower in class and not “as good” as everyone else.

 

3.) Something that people look at a lot today in society is college. People often tend to judge others on what they are doing after high school, whether is be getting a job or going to school. People have the idea that the name of a school is important, and if you pay more to go to a school then it is better and you have a better education. Which is not the case at all. You get the same education anywhere you go.

 

Ideas for Writing:

 

1.)   My freshman and sophomore year of high school I was on the swim team. I loved to swim and everyone would always call me a fish from when I was little. Swimming was my passion and I would do it ever chance I got; I started swimming on a team in 7^th grade and took it seriously since. I would go to two practices a day to get ready for high school, I would do it so much that I wouldn’t have time for homework or for friends, but my parents paid for me to be on a private team and doing all they could to help me progress. When freshman year in high school came around I was ready to go and I loved it. My parents started to make it not fun and pressured me into trying harder and getting frustrated when I didn’t do my best. Swimming then became no fun for me and i began to hate, the one thing that I really loved. I quite my junior year because I realized I wasn’t doing it for me anymore or because it was fun, I was doing it for others and trying to please, my parents, coach, and teammates.

 

2.)   My sister and I played beach volleyball tournaments over the summer and my expectation was that we weren’t going to do that well, but after our first tournament we won and got all kinds of prices. It was a lot of fun, we kept participating in the tournaments and continued to do well.