The Road to a New Beginning

Author’s Note~ This essay is analyzing a quote from the book “Rules of the Road”. I am describing the meaning of the quote and why it is so important.

Has there ever been a time in your life when nothing feels simple? Everything that you know is just frustrating and you don’t want to have to deal with having to be the bigger person. In the book "Rules of the Road" by Joan Bauer, we meet a young sixteen year old girl named Jenna. She is a shy girl who doesn't speak for herself. That is, until she gets sent on a road trip with her boss Mrs. Gladstone. Both of these ladies go around the country visiting all of the Gladstone shoe stores. At one point Jenna says, “I think Texas makes you think about things in a bigger way or I've never been anywhere that changed me so much." That’s when Jenna becomes proud of the person she is.

            These confident words were spoken from our now not-so-shy Jenna after she spent the last three months on the road experiencing a change in the way she sees things. Everything is seen in a different perspective since she has been gone. For Example she has now had to become the customer at the stores they had visited so now she knows what it’s like to see thing from the buyer’s perspective. Also she must now be her own person and grow up a little bit. She has to handle things in a more adult way, since she doesn’t have anyone else to rely on. Of course she had Mrs. Gladstone around to keep her company so she doesn't feel so lonely. Yet she has a lot of responsibility making sure Mrs. Gladstone gets to her locations safe and sound. That's a lot a young lady must deal with.

            Throughout their long journey Jenna was able to grow fond of her new companion Mrs. Gladstone. They went through a lot together. She helped Jenna see her life in a different way. With stories of when she was younger. She told Jenna "because you remind me of myself when I was a young girl." This proves their bond.

            Jenna’s words about Texas were for Mrs. Gladstone. This was Jenna thanking her for all she has done. She wasn’t thrilled at first, yet she wanted the money. Then she realized it wasn’t so bad. Who would have thought that a 16 year old girl with a messed up family would get along so well with a rich snobby person who owns a bunch of shoe store all over the country. This journey with this woman really taught her a lot about life. Also she learned it is better to speak up then not speak at all. 

In conclusion Jenna has learned to love the person she is. She might not be the pretty sister but she has a beaming personality and she is a wonderful shoe saleswoman. She is respectful, and caring. When she says at the end of this book, “I've never been anywhere that changed me so much," you can really tell how much she cares. Also you can tell how confident and proud she is.

To My Beloved Jenna

Authors Note~ Letter to Jenna from her mom.

Dear Jenna,

 I am so sorry I got so worked up about you leaving. I now understand that this is a great opportunity for you and your work. Promise me that you won’t be spending all that money on something worthless. You have worked hard for it and you should save it for collage. It is important to get an education now a day. You don't want to be selling shoes all your life. I really miss you and hope to see you soon. I really hope that this is a positive thing for you and you will find your true self through all of this. Oh, and make sure you are save out on that road. It is a dangerous place for a young girl such as you. Also Mrs. Gladstone better return home safe and sound I don't want to get sewed for you lake of responsibility. Any way's good luck sweet heart and have a nice trip.

Love, Mom

It Just Takes Time

Authors Note~ This is a character development piece on Amy Nelson form the book my independent reading book "How To Ruin My Summer Vacation" 

Who is Amy Nelson? This is the driving question that Amy is struggling to figure out. Amy is a 16 year old girl; of course she is confused about life and who she is. She needs to find herself, but where? Perhaps in the middle of a war zone. Her almost non-existing father finally came around again after a couple years. He wants Amy to travel on a 12 hour plane flight to Israel, where he grew up. He wanted Amy to be able to meet her ill Safta (Grandma in Hebrew). Amy not so fond of the idea was not to enthusiastic about spending her whole summer in such a dump. Little to her surprise her Safta had a bigger influence on her life than she had expected.

Amy a normal sixteen year old girl is stranded in a non-so normal environment. This city girl can’t get used to having sheep in her backyard. As a matter of fact she can’t  get used to having a backyard. Amy is all city she is not down to earth at all. She hates animals and anything that has to do with work, because she is afraid of breaking a nail. That goes to show she is not the kind of girl who voluntarily goes to a third world country for a whole three months.

Amy is all city but she is not  that stuck up. In a way her personality relates to mine. Amy much like me is an independent girl, we don't need someone telling us what we should and shouldn't do. The both of as are very opinionated and it is hard to change our view of things.  Also she doesn't really have filter on her mouth, she just says what she feels and  speaks without thinking how it may sound to another person. We wish things where simple, merrily perfect. And last but not least she can catch a bit of an attitude when things don't go the way she wants them too. That's definitely a mirror image of my personality. Though I am not the only person who relates to Amy, there is also Lori from "The Boys Next Door". These girls  are both strong and opinionated. Both of the girls have to go through a summer of misery to find themselves. The plots may be completely different but the characters are almost alike.

Throughout this book Amy shows us that she can get used to her new family and friends. This proves that Amy is a dynamic character. Her ill Safta has a lot to do with Amy's new view on life. Amy's Safta was her first friend in Israel. The first one who actually understood her. Amy learned a lot about her family and religion. While growing up in the states Amy didn't grow up with a religion, but now her Safta was sharing hers. Amy got a gift from her Safta it was a necklace with The Star Of David. At first she didn't realize how much she treasured that necklace and the stories she was told until the day she started taking conversion classes as soon as she arrived back in Chicago. Knowing her grandmother would be proud of her decision.

Non-so stuck up, but still pretty city Amy is bummed that she had to leave her adventure packed summer vacation in Israel. She was able to learn about the other half of who she is. Don't get me wrong she is still trying to find her place in the world. At least now her path is a bit clearer for now. Amy's Life will never be perfect, but that doesn't mean she is going to stop trying any time soon.

The Rode to a New Begining

 Author's Note~ This is a quote analysis piece from the book "Rules of the Rode". This quotes was said by Jenna to Mrs.Gladstone on their way home fro they're cross-country rode trip.

 
" I think Texas makes you think about things in a bigger way or I've never been anywhere that changed me so much."

These confident words where spoken form our now not so shy Jenna after she spent the last months on the rode experiencing a change in the way she sees things. These words are spoken strong and confident. This shows us that Jenna is proud of who she now is.

The words where pointed towards Mrs. Gladstone. Saying thank you. She was thrilled that she was able to help this woman on this journey and it really taught her a lot about life. Also she learned it is better to speak up then not speak at all. 

Conflict

 Authors Note~ This is a short paragraph describing one of the main conflicts in the book "Rules of the Rode" by Joan Bauer

In this book the big conflict is Jenna wanting to go on this rode trip with Mrs. Gladstone. The reason why it is a conflict is because her mom doesn’t want her to leave . That makes it a person vs. Person conflict. The reason Jenna is wanting to leave because  she doesn’t want to put up with her alcholic father. She despises him. Her mom says that she shouldn’t run away from her issues. But it’s more than that because it is a good job opportunity. So Jenna could fix her problems with her mom by not going on this rode trip and try to ignore her father. Though that only makes her mom happy because now she still has to deal with her father coming around. Also she could stay and try to make things right. Confront her dad about these issues and try to get him some help. Then everyone will eventually be happy. Jenna just needs to figure out who she is and her parents are kind of holding her back so maybe just maybe this whole rode trip will be worth all the difficulty going on now.