Non fiction reading

A few years ago, my dad told me about an article he read in the new yorker about a test on self control. The kids who practiced more self control succeeded later in life. I thought this was fascinating and when we had to write about a non fiction article I remembered this one.

In the article, Don’t! The Secrets of Self Control, it explains a complex experiment that shows the outcomes of kids with high or low temptation and self control. The 4 year olds were given a marshmallow. They were told they could either eat it when they please or wait 15 minutes tell the researcher came back into the room and get 2 marshmallows instead of one. Or they could ring a bell and the researcher would come running back into the room, they could eat the first marshmallow but would forfeit the second.Some kids ate the marshmallow right away, others took small pieces, some turned around so the temptation of looking at it wouldn't influence them to eat it and loose their opportunity of getting two instead of one. If the experiment succeeded, the researchers would have outlined the neural circuitry of self control.


Years later, when those kids were in high school, the researchers revisited them and asked for information on their concentration in school, SAT scores, their capacity to plan and think ahead, and their ability to cope well with their problems. The scientist in charge of the experiment analyzed his information and found that the children to ring the bell or eat the marshmallow quickly were considered “low delayers”. The low delayers did poorly in stressful situations, found it hard to maintain friendships, got lower SAT scores, and usually had trouble paying attention. The children that could wait 15 minutes had on average 200 points higher than the kids who could only wait 30 seconds. One specific example was a girl Carolyn who waited the 15 mites to get the 2 marshmallows. She was very successful in life. She went to Stanford as an undergraduate, got her ph.D. at Princeton in social phycology and now is a professor at the University of Puget Sound. Meanwhile, her brother Craig, who ate the first marshmallow and would be a “slow delayer", moved to LA and spent his career doing “all kinds of things” in the entertainment business. 

This article is so interesting to me. Not only was it a discovery in the self control as a child lasts and effects you as an adult, but the idea that who you are as a child will continue on with you as an adult. The idea is also in a way sad that if you don’t originally have self control and resist to temptation that you are almost stuck with it for your life. This makes me things of another article my parents read and t old me about that intelligence isn't something that is fixed you can acquire it and improve it. Also the same with talent. So is it possible to improve your self control? Self control seems to be something that many would want to have. Craig who participated in the experiment and was considered a low delayer said about self control, “looking back, there were definitely moments where it could have helped me make better career choice and stuff.” Self control is a very interesting topic with many levels of study and new information.


In the real world, self control is a good thing to have. It can help you stay calm, makes you more mature, helps you think things over instead of making impulsive decisions and can even help you maintain good friendships. This study showed us all that self control from when you are younger to when you are older can help you and give you a better, brighter future. This study could even lead to improvements on your self control, if you know you have bad self control as child, there could possibly be measures you could take to improve it. Overall, this was a really thought provoking article that captured my attention. I would be excited to read more articles similar to this one.

Close Reading - Royals by Lorde

I closely read the song royals by Ella Yeilch-O’Connor or, mainly known as Lorde. After closely readying it, I found that it is about diverse backgrounds and social class. It tells a story through song about the writer/singers journey and portrays through symbolism her own opinion.

When I first looked at the song I thought it was a typical teenage song about being a teen and going through regular issues such as love stories, friendship etc. I never really thought to second guess myself on what it could be telling us. Then as I looked closer, and took apart the song into its staminas and looked more at what the image gives you in your head and what it could mean or represent. I wondered what Lorde could be wanting the person listening to picture.

I interpreted the song to mean that Lorde had never come from a rich lifestyle and to say that she is ok with it. She wants to spread the message that not everyone has to be rich to have a good life or future setting, herself as an example. I also think this story has another meaning. I think the song is also also talking about how the “fantasy” she was talking about, a balance between her pop star life and being herself will likely never happen as if it was just a fantasy and the whole time she knew it could never be real. This shows an important message that not all things come true. Often songs have the opposite opinion, but I think Lorde feels it is important to show all sides, for example the rich and the poor, the good and the bad.

I think this is why a lot of people like the song, it shows a different side of pop music. Not everything is picture perfect in real life and Lorde really tries to express that idea. This is an important message to teach to kids and teenagers when often they set themselves up for disappointment. Teaching this through music is a good and new way to get through to some kids. I also think that Lorde is in a way mocking the other songs because she sings about the normal stuff that other pop songs are about and it makes them sound stuck up and immature. overall, I liked this song and looking more closely at it. It shows me not to overlook things and that when going deeper into a songbook, or any piece of writing, you can discover more than you imagined you would have.

The Stolen Party

The book The Stolen Party is about a girl of a lower social class system that struggles with where she stands to others based on her class and background.

As I looked closer at the text, I realized many things. Rosaura feels the need to resist her mother’s power while her mother just wants to do what’s best for her daughter. Her mother wants to both shelter Rosaura but also feels that the best way for her to learn is through her own experience even if it means her getting hurt.

Looking closer at the word choice shows that Rosaura feels confident in her (using words like admired herself, terribly pretty, and firm step) but other words made me contradict my original thoughts. Is Rosaura completely confident or does she have some self doubt that her mother awakened in her? Or does part or her think her mother is right she just doesn’t want to admit it? Words like slight toss provoked these thoughts. Looking closely at these words made me think more deeply about the characters and see them more complexly than I would have before.

There is also a very interesting dynamic of power vs. resistance. Rosaura has power because she is confident. This helps her hold her ground when the girl with the white bow belittles her. Also I think that her confidence and power comes from her resisting her mother’s power over her. Rosaura does not want to let her mom talk her into thinking that she is not a real guest at the party so she resists and has confidence in herself and her friendship with Luciana. Another interesting thing I found was the power and resistance between the magician and the fat boy. The magician has power over the fat boy but the fat boy does not resist. Some people let others push them around and don’t speak up for themselves. And the last big thing I noticed was the power Rosaura has in the last scene of the book. Rosaura has the power to accept the money or not. If she accepts the money it would be giving in to what her mother said all along- that she was indeed invited to serve others and not as a guest. The delicate balance, I think, is the balance of power vs. resistance between Rosaura and her mother.

The balance of power vs. resistance if very delicate but also match together. In the book, Roasuara is shielded from darkness but this just made everything come crashing down at her at once. It is important for there to be balance between good and bad, light and dark. Kind of like yin yang. We all have good and bad in our lives but it is important to have both. If we are not exposed to the bad, we end up more hurt all at once than gradually getting used to the balance. This is an important concept that may be hard to thing of as a good thing but can overall benefit us.

Favorite book of 2013!

During my time in middle school, I have observed that it can be a challenge for me to get into a book and want to read more. I looked at reading as more of a homework assignment than a pleasure. Of course there were some books that I loved and enjoyed reading like the Hunger Games or Perks of Being a Wallflower. But recently I read an amazing book called Never Fall Down that intrigued me but also opened my eyes to me as a reader. This is definitely my favorite book of 2013.

Never Fall Down is about a boy from Cambodia caught in the middle of genocide and forced to be a child soldier. The boy, Arn, decides to dedicate his life to helping other victims of war just like he was. He founded organizations to bring living arts back to Cambodia. Arn is still spreading his story and helping others.

The reason why this is one of my favorite books is that it not only captured my full attention but was really inspiring to me. It is astonishing how much someone who has been through as much as he has can do so much to give back to his community. This made me want to make a difference also and help as much as I can. I think it is important to have these kinds of books in our lives.

This book has also showed me that I can love and enjoy reading as long as I find the right book for me to read. Especially in 2014 I am going to try to read more and push myself as a reader.