elijah ramirez > Recent Status Updates

"I didn't exactly flunk out or anything. I just quit, sort of... I didn't feel like going into the whole thing with him. He wouldn't have understood it anyway."

I hear all of the comments on how whiny holden is throughout this book, but I'm actually finding that I relate to Holden even more now than I ever did in high school. I get him Holden, I see him.
I hate how pretentious I feel reading this book in public.

Haven't read Salinger's work in years but I remember enjoying The Catcher in the Rye. I finished reading Franny's excerpt but I feel like I'm so unfamiliar with Salinger's prose, and don't think I'll get the most out of zooey unless I do some more digging. I've decided to reread The Catcher in the Rye and will finish zooey after. Salinger is a genius, and captures the essence of how challenging adolescence can be.

"You do not ... love anyone! You never have loved anyone, I am sure you never will! You love your purity, you love your mirror... You want to be clean You think you came here covered with soap and you think you will go out covered with soap... You want to leave Giovanni because he makes you stink. You want to despise Giovanni because he is not afraid of the stink of love... Is this what you should do to love?"

"And I realized that such childishness was fantastic at my age and the happiness out of which it sprang yet more so; for that moment I really loved Giovanni, who had never seemed more beautiful than he was that afternoon. And, watching his face, I realized that it meant much to me that I could make his face so bright. I saw that I might be willing to give a great deal not to lose that power."

Trying to see big picture but struggling. Undoubtedly, Williams possesses a felicity unlike any author I've ever read before, and his prose depict themes that strike deep. "... it was himself that he was slowly shaping, it was himself that he was putting into a kind of order, it was himself that he was making possible." Patiently awaiting stoner's confrontation of solitude, anticipating his existential heroism.

Stoner's infatuation with Edith is ambitious but understandable. I think Edith has lived a perfectly curated life with all the opportunity and resources anyone could ever need. However, she lacks a self awareness and consciousness within herself, that's required for her to be happy. This book has been really fucking depressing and I hope things lighten up because I don't know how many more shortcomings I can handle.

Weird ahh farm kid takes in big college to learn farm. He doesnt like farm though he falls in love with literature. This passion for literature is tested by world war 1 and the tough decision whether to enlist or to keep pursuing his doctorate and professional career.

“As we were sitting together, suddenly there came into her eyes a look that I had never seen there before. My lips moved towards hers. We kissed each other. I can't describe to you what I felt at that moment. It seemed to me that all my life had been narrowed to one perfect point of rose colored joy.” i hope to one day be as enthralled by someone romantically, as much as dorian is by sibyl vane.

about to start chapter 4. i've enjoyed reading a lot so far. Obviously one of the most common themes for this book is age; however, I feel like Wilde indirectly calls back to the theme of manipulation/influence more often than he does the theme of age or youth. I hate how polarizing the older and "wiser" characters are respected by our young protagonist. excited to keep reading.

started read this one so long ago and never really got into it. i couldn’t really understand the dynamic between to two protagonists and gave up after a while. will be giving it another shot though.

AHH. this is getting very sad. so my inference about fusagi’s mental illness was correct. fusagi would be so content knowing his wife is still standing by him, even after he’s already forgotten her. i need to find someone as loyal and caring as kohtake is fr.

like most attractive young women, fumiko managed to fall in love with an ugly insecure little boy. goro allowed his insecurities to consume him to the point he never allowed himself to receive the validation he needed. these two are right person wrong time, and i’m hoping their time is coming soon. i’m imagining fusagi is a cute old man with maybe 5 brain cells left, which makes me adore him even more.

"Your wife doesn't love you... she's never loved you, she loves me!" love will make u do some crazy shi and jay gatsby is a prime example. daisy doesn't even seem all in and he's ready to risk everything for her. WTF WAS THAT ENDING???? IT WAS SO RANDOM I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT HAD TO BE MYRTLE. jay gatsby you are one ambitious psychopath. I don't understand how he can be SO crazy about her.

"No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart." THE HEART WANTS WHAT IT WANTS and for Jay Gatsby that's Daisy Buchanan. It's sweet to see how emotional Daisy gets reminiscing on their past romance. There's definitely an empty void in her life that she yearns to fill. I say the heck with goofy ass tom! throw caution to the wind and live the life you dream of with Gatsby.

Jay takes Nick to lunch in the city and his motive becomes clear. It isn't malicious, or "sinister" matter of fact all he wants is what the rest of us do. love. He already has the riches but that doesn't matter to him, he wants the riches AND the girl. "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay." I love his passion and ambition. I want to see their romance succeed.

"somebody told me they thought he killed a man once... its more that he was a German spy during war." we're finally introduced to Gatsby and we are shocked with how down to earth he is. He is young, strong, and attractive so it kind of rubs people the wrong way the fact that he is by himself all the time. Nick himself can't fathom how similar the two of them are so he starts making negative assumptions.

"somebody told me they thought he killed a man once... its more that he was a German spy during war." we're finally introduced to Gatsby and we are shocked with how down to earth he is. He is young, strong, and attractive so it kind of rubs people the wrong way the fact that he is by himself all the time. Nick himself can't fathom how similar the two of them are so he starts making negative assumptions.

This book is so hard. Nick reluctantly meets Tom's mistress and is invited back to her condo in the city for a party. He describes her as "faintly stout" but says that the way she carries herself with such "vitality" makes her more mature which might be why tom is attracted to her. Of course everyone gets drunk and it becomes apparent that neither Tom nor Myrtle (mistress) like who they chose to marry.

after the war, nick moves closer to the city for work. nick attends a dinner with his cousin daisy where we find out daisy’s married to a cheating prick who lives in his college football glory days. nick makes gatsby seem like a god in the introduction of the book. BUT he does mention “it’s what preyed on gatsby.. foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams.” implying greed may be the demise of gatsby??

before you can learn to forgive others, you have to learn to forgive yourself. you cant become so fixated on what could’ve been, because the present is right in front of you, ready to be tackled. forgive the mistakes of your past and move on. the events that are to come are becoming more apparent. however, morrie has done such a good job at preparing not only mitch but the reader as well for his ultimate demise.

The mark you leave is determined by the love you give. Love you give others is your legacy.

Aging doesn’t signify just death. It also signifies growth, and maturity. Living your life regretting the things we didn’t do is no way to live. We HAVE to learn to accept the fact that memories are distant, and revel in the fact that beauty still surrounds our life, even as we age.

Part 3: fearing death. His younger brother on the other hand was the free spirit he asprired to be. So when his brother was diagnosed with cancer the entire family took it hard. The brother shut everyone out and cut off all contact with them until he was better. Mitch resents his entire family for this which is why he allows himself to get lost in his work. Morrie opens Mitch's eyes to how unhealthy this is.

Part 2: Next on the list is children. Morrie says raising children isn't for everyone, but it teaches important lessons that can't be learned anywhere else. You learn to nurture and give love, how to build a bond deeper than any other, and it teaches responsibility you can't learn anywhere else. Finally, they discuss Mitch's status on his own family and how it isn't very pleasant. Morrie has lived his whole life...

AH. "Love each other or perish" Morrie and Mitch discuss family. Morrie says family is crucial ESPECIALLY in times of need. Family provides "social security", unconditional support that isn't guaranteed from friends. "What you lack in family you gain in friends" -Natasha Avalos. While this is true friends don't have a blood obligation to you which is why family is so crucial.

Morrie then says that once Mitch accepts death is inevitable, Mitch wouldn't be so "ambitious". I believe this is because Once we slow down and stop yearning for the things we want, we can start appreciating the simple things in our lives that we already have. Of course this acceptance of death comes with maturity, a right of passage with age.

It is becoming extremely apparent that Morrie's circumstances have completely altered his outlook on life. The first lesson Morrie and Mitch discuss is death. Morrie says that to learn to live you have to learn to die. This comes with acceptance. Accepting that your day will come and you have to live your life without regretting the decisions you make. As a result we learn to appreciate the things we have.

By nature we're selfish. So naturally I'm not stressed about the fact that an innocent man can't control the fact that his life is withering away. Rather, its that Mitch, a perfectly healthy young man is unhappy. He states himself that coming out of college he had so much hope. Up until that point there is so much he HAS accomplished, yet he's still unhappy. What can he do to attain it? Will my future bode the same?

By nature we're selfish. So naturally I'm not stressed about the fact that an innocent man can't control the fact that his life is withering away. Rather, its that Mitch, a perfectly healthy young man is unhappy. He states himself that coming out of college he had so much hope. Up until that point there is so much he HAS accomplished, yet he's still unhappy. What can he do to attain it? Will my future bode the same?