Changing My Wardrobe by Deb Hanrahan

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” Jim Rohns quote highlights the basis of Debra Oswald’s play Gary’s house, and also Miroshav Holubs poem The Door. This essay will explore the notion that change causes people to shift their thinking and actions after significant catalysts. Gary’s House illustrates many of the issues and predicaments confronted by the characters and how their alteration in behaviour can have a beneficial outcome for them or others around them. The concept of "The Door" is based on the idea of taking risks and embracing change. The poet uses persuasive techniques to encourage and provoke the audience to take action.

Leaving the comforts of the first world, Jessica Alexander abandons her job, fiancé, family, and home to venture into the misleading volunteer work of Humanitarian aid. Chasing Chaos: My Decade In and Out of Humanitarian Aid by Jessica Alexander is a conglomeration of stories that are written from Jessica’s memory. “It is a true account based on [Jessica’s] best recollections of the events and [her] experiences.”.

Throughout the extract, “Strapped,” author Tamara Draut notes why today’s young adults have complications getting financially ahead. Along with student-loan debt, today’s college students may also leave with the burden of credit card debt. Draut argues that college campuses aren’t sufficiently regulating card companies on campus, therefore putting their students at risk for debt.

The picture book being analysed is ‘My Two Blankets’ by Irena Kobald and Freya Blackwood. This book was awarded the ‘children’s book council of Australia’ Picture Book of the year for 2015.

Two best friends, Chris and Win, decided to do something great their summer of senior year before heading of to collage. Chris and Win are going to bike along the West Coast to Seattle, where Win’s uncle lives. At first Chris’s mom is against them going, while his dad pushes him to go because he had a similar dream that he did not accomplish. Win’s parents seem to not have a care in the world that their son is going to bike across the country. Eventually both sets of parents agree and the boys start their journey. The trip is going great but somewhere along the way things started taking a turn for the worst. The book Shift by Jennifer Bradbury is a great realistic mystery that keeps the pages turning.

In the book Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, Susanna Kaysen was only 18 years old when she agreed to enter a medium security psychiatric facility in Boston, McLean hospital in April 1967, after a failed suicide attempt. She insisted that her over dose on aspirin was not a suicide attempt, but after a 20 minute interview the doctor decided she needed to be admitted to a hospital. During her prolonged two-year stay at the hospital Kaysen describes the issues that most of the patients in her ward have to deal with and how they all differently deal with the amount of time they must stay in the hospital for. While in the hospital Kaysen experienced a case of depersonalization where she tried to pull the skin of her hands to see if there were bones underneath, after a failed escape attempt. Soon, after going to therapy and analysis she was labeled as having recovered from borderline personality disorder. After her release she realizes that McLean Hospital provided patients with more freedom than the outside world, by being free responsibility of parental pressure, free from school and job responsibilities, and being free from the “social norms” that society comes up with. Ultimately, being in captivity gave the patients more freedom then in society and created a safe environment in which patients wanted to stay in.

Generally, when innocence is thought of, the first speculation recalled to one’s mind is the thought of pureness and the idea that the specific individual is free from moral wrong. On the other end of the spectrum is the term known as guilt. Guilt is the emotional notion in which one feels that they have compromised his or her own standards in a negative way. In the novel Sarah’s Key, Sarah frequently proves to struggle with both guilt and innocence. These specific themes are put on display when Sarah realizes she is not going back home, the scenario in which Sarah boards the cattle car to the camps, and the tragic event in which Sarah takes her own life.

It has not been too long ago that I still remember my adolescent years. I always remember the unintelligent things I did that I wish could change, but this Psychology class made me realize that all adolescents go through the same things I experienced. Adolescents are known to try to find their identity, go through peer pressure, make mistakes, and try new things. The move I picked that closely represented what adolescents go through was “Mean Girls”. Some of the scenes in the movie seem a little exaggerated, but it has happened in certain high schools even though I had not experienced it personally.

Teenagers are young, naïve and impressionable. They are also insecure and usually sometimes unable to express themselves so they put others down. They are pressured daily to do things they really don’t want to do. They often find themselves doing something they said they would never do. Because of the influence of those around them, they are trying to cover their insecurities by saying things to make others feel bad about themselves. The traits above describe the two main characters in the short story “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”. Both Bernice and Marjorie are young teens dealing with the pressure of being popular and fitting in. Bernice, being the quieter, shyer girl, deals with trying to fit in in a place she feels she doesn’t belong.

After getting tormented continuously, it suddenly stops but Marshall - her best friend becomes the new target. The police gets involved after Avalon confesses to her parents about her suffering. Marshall decides to end his life surprisingly, which changes the whole story.The bullies are unknown but Avalon suspects it is Alice the popular girl, but in the end the person who is the bully is unforeseen. This captivating book has an unexpected ending due to the dramatic plot twist - death and not having the stereotypical bully. “When I was on that roller coaster....” suggests that the events taken place were very eyeopening and abrupt. Every parent and teenager should be compelled to read this text because of the thought-provoking plot structure.

Mrs. Fox, by Sarah Hall was published in 2014. Mrs. Fox is a short story by Sarah Hall about a woman who turns into a fox during her pregnancy, much to the dismay of her husband. Mrs. Fox describes a woman who is not satisfied with her life with her husband, Mr. Fox. They both remain detached thorough the story. When Mrs. Fox turns into a fox, Mr. Fox does not understand why his wife was not happy or satisfied in her human life. Sarah Hall does a wonderful job of displaying out an unusually intriguing setting, a breath taking characterization of the two main characters Mr. and Mrs. Fox, and she displays a dark and modern theme, rightfully earning the BBC National short story

In where Am I Wearing, Kelsey summed up things that were happening in his life such as getting married, going on his honeymoon, going to Honduras, having a daughter and more. I definitely think that you see him grow up and transition from the beginning to end. Some things are questionable, like during the ceremony he was worried about the weather and his wife’s makeup and dress getting ruined. I thought that was cute and sweet, aside from the fact that he was thinking about his trips and other people during the ceremony. The honeymoon was definitely a surprise. I would’ve never thought that he would take his new bride to a garment factory. But I guess it’s okay being that years later they are still able to laugh and joke about it. I don’t want to go to a factory for my honeymoon, that’s for sure.

Red Jackets’ “Reply to the Missionary Jacob Cram” and the poems written by Phillis Wheatley both have something in common. Belief in a God/god(s). Red Jacket provides that in his culture there is the belief in the Great Spirit which Jacob Cram wants to change to the almighty God and Phillis Wheatley shows how what she went through as a slave brought her to an un-denying devotion to God. Religion is something that has developed continually over the years, but one thing has remained the same… every individual has their own God or god(s) that they profess their faith in. What does the belief in a Great Spirit or the belief in God reveal about Red Jacket and Phillis Wheatley? It reveals who they are as an individual, how they live their life, their character, and also shows their past and how they have gotten where they are today.

Sanity is subjective. Every individual is insane to another; however it is the people who possess the greatest self-restraint that prosper in acting “normal”. This is achieved by thrusting the title of insanity onto others who may be unlike oneself, although in reality, are simply non-conforming, as opposed to insane. In Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted, this fine line between sanity and insanity is explored to great lengths. Through the unveiling of Susanna’s past, the reasoning behind her commitment to McLean Hospital for the mentally ill, and varying definitions of the diagnosis that Susanna received, it is evident that social non-conformity is often confused with insanity.

“BEFOR I CAN TALK TO YOU, PEOPLE SHOW THEIR SEX, AGE, CALSS, POSITION, WITH WHAT THEY ARE WEARING. ALL THIS IS REGISTERED UNCONCIOSLY“ Those words said by Alison Lurie in the language of clothes (1992), reflect perfectly the main point of my research. The society we are now living is an extremely conscious society regarding body image and the way we are presented to the exterior. We found an obsessive trend on wanting to look like celebrities by having certain items or looks and in relation to that a fear of not being percepted the tight way. This is where we found relation to how clothes are part of a conversation we haven 't started and are a form of expression. As there will be explained further on, we use clothes as a sign of our identity,as a way of representing ourselves and stand out from the crowd and also influence on how we appear in front of others making them (clothes) a huge part of our non verbal communication. This essay will discuss the ideas behind self -expression and the role of clothes has changed in that mater thought time.