Routines of Life

Author's Note - This is a non-fiction response to the novel, Rules of the Road, by Joan Bauer. The main character, Jenna, has an alcoholic for a dad and doesn't see him often. He cared more about how much money he had and how clean his cars were than his daughters as a result of this scary lifestyle. In this response, I took a quote that talked about this problem and explained how it affected his life.


Many people are stuck with the same grueling schedule day after day, month after month, year after year, and begin to lose track of the vital things in life. When a person can no longer distinguish whether or not their family is the most important to them, despair will soon become evident in their lives. "He took better care of those cars than he did his family. I guess people take special care of the tings that are important to them." (108) As Jenna's dad became more and more tied up in his alcoholism, he began to lose track of the events and happenings in his family's life. Soon, the repetitiveness of his bad habits made the illusion that drinking alcohol all the time and focusing more on money and cars than his own daughters was the way to go. In the long run, his horrific and daunting ways caught up with him and he soon lost the trust of his wife and daughters. This harsh outcome could've been avoided, if only he had taken a step back from the mindless routine and evaluated how he lived his life.

Lost Hope

Author's Notes - This is a fiction response to the novel, Rules of the Road, by Joan Bauer. I took the scene where the main character, Jenna, had been fired and retold it as Mrs. Gladstone, the company owner, who hadn't known that Jenna had been fired.

There was fifteen minutes before the stockholder meeting and Jenna had just dropped Alice and myself off at the front door. She was a true gem, Jenna was, and I'm not sure what I would've done without her. There wasn't a time since Elden entered the shoe business that I had been completely at ease with myself until she started showing me the truth. For years and years, I held his problems upon my shoulders -- feeling that I was responsible for his deceiving and corrupt personality. This was until I saw something in Jenna that she didn't even see in herself: a loving, passionate young lady who cares for many more people than herself. She was able to help me along the road to this building with more courage and strength than I could ever muster up myself.

These thoughts kept swirling around my mind while I entered the meeting room with new and improved hope running through my veins. As I took my seat, I looked around for Jenna. She should've been entering any minute. When she still hadn't arrived, I started to wonder what was taking her so long. As I was contemplating the thoughts and reasons of why she should be late, Elden entered with a smug smile on his evil face.

"Who are you looking for mother, is someone missing?" he said as if he knew something I didn't.

"Why actually I am, Elden, my dearest son," I answered, trying to be as sweet as possible, "I was just wondering where Jenna was. You remember her, don't you dear?"

"Of course, how could I forget that tall, gangly, disrespectful teenager that you lug around with you everywhere?" he replied, acting more arrogant than ever. "Actually, I just saw her and let her know that we wouldn't be needing her services anymore because of your retirement. In other words, I fired her!"

I couldn't believe him, I was astonished! How could he? He knew how much strength Jenna supplied me with, how I could hardly go on without her. It must have been part of his plan to steal my company, to make me weak and angry. I should have seen it coming! Letting him get to me would have surely ruined my chances at staying with this company, staying calm was the only way to fight back. I told myself that I must be strong, not only for myself, but for Jenna and all that she had done for me and this company.

Life on the Road

The following piece of writing is a poem I wrote as a response to Rules of the Road, a novel by Joan Bauer. The main theme of the book is how life is like driving on a road, and you just have to understand your problems and move by them. I wrote this poem in order to show what the theme means.

Driving down a winding road,
Trunk packed up with many a load.
Car filled up with family and friends,
That give the path curves and bends.
Some are nice, yet some are crude,
But one must learn to ignore the mood.
Problems arise and slow the trip,
Making it difficult to get a grip.
Contemplating answers to the unknown,
Getting lost, and feeling alone.
Things happen that change your life,
And bring on unnecessary strife.
Time goes on, and so does the road,
But one must learn to deal with the load.

Spring

The death is ending, the cold coming to a stop. Winter is no longer for there is a chance at new life, here to stay. For the light has come, breaking through the mist, and nothing can stop it from reaching the earth, breathing life into all that had wilted. The world turns, in the blink of an eye, from a black and white irony, to a colorful romance. No longer are days gray and dreary, no longer are our minds weary. The sun breaks through the clouds, shining light on all the darkness, turning the gray into green, setting free all things that were captured. Winter and death will come again, but nothing can stop spring and life from regaining their power and lighting the world.

His Love

Each and every day we know
Is a symbol that goes to show
That life goes on with no despair
And hope will always fill the air
That forgiveness is forever boundless
And love is no longer groundless
That many of us will never know
Just how much He loves us so
***
Each and every chance we get
Is from Him to us: a gift
That gives us time to do His will
And more opportunities to fulfill
That leaves us utterly speechless
Because He has much to teach us
That proves to us, His love
As luminous as a white dove
***
Each and every one of us
Have fears that are conspicuous
That keep us from loving Him
Until He draws us back in
That scare us away from the truth
And back into our ignorant youth
That teach us the most about Him
And His love when the future is dim

Life of Pi Summative Essay

If you want to read my summative essay on Life of Pi click here: http://karensessays.blogspot.com