Graduation

     "It went so quickly. I felt like I'd hit the fast forward button. were we supposed to march quite that fast? and then Eric was speed talking in his nervousness, the words and phrases running together so they didn't make sense anymore. Principal Greene started calling names, one after the other without a long enough pause between; the front row in the gymnasium was rushing to catch up. Poor Ms. Cope was all thumbs as she tried to give the principal the right diploma to hand to the right student.
     I heard Mr. Greene call my name and I rose from my chair, waiting for the line in front of me to move. I was conscious of cherring in the back of the gym, and I looked around to see Jacob pulling Charlie to his feet, both of them hooting in encouragement. I could just make out the top of Billy' headbeside Jacob's elbow. I managed to throw them an approximation of a smile.
     Mr. Greene finished with the list of names, and then continued to hand out diplomas with a sheepish grin as we filed past.
     "Congratulations, Miss Stanley," he mumbled as Jess took hers."
     "Congratulations, Miss Swan," he mumbled to me, pressing the diploma into my good hand.
     "Thanks," I murmured.
     And that was it.



I felt this passage was appropriate, because this is my last week of high school, and also my last dialectical journal entry. It feels really weird, because I thought I would be glad high school is almost over, but actually, I'm really going miss it. Bella describes her graduating experience as if she could care less, as if the whole ceremony is awkward and pointless. I understand her apathy, because she had fellow friends experiencing graduation with her. I will be alone. It's weird for me, but that's how it is. I wish I could've graduated with the high school, because I'd be surrounded by people, instead of surrounded by eyes. Either way, I"m excited and impatient.

Jacob and his powers

"He inhaled deeply, and then let out a gutsy sigh.
  "Fine."
He unwound the towel and, when I reached out to take the cloth, he laid his hand in mine.
  It took me a few seconds. I even flipped his hand over, though I was sure he'd cut his palm. I turned his hand back up, finally realizing that the angry pink, puckered line was all that was left of his wound."



How cool would it be to accidently get hurt, just to see that would heal faster than you got it?? I think it would be great, because it would also be a life saver. Sure, bigger wounds would take longer to heal, but they'd heal. Too bad real life different, but also thank goodness.

Enemy at the Gates

     She towered into the sky on balanced wings, 

cleaving a giant rainbow, flying beneath the clouds. 

And Turnus knew her and raised both hands to the stars,

calling the goddess, trailing her flight with cries:

"Iris, pride of the sky! Who has sped you here to me, 

swooping down from the clouds to reach the earth?

Why this sudden radiance lighting the heavens?

I can see the clouds parting, the stars riding

the arching skies. I follow a sign so clear,

whoever you are who calls me into action."

I really like this part of the passage, because it's very descriptive. It creates a very interesting and bold picture, because of the words like, "towered," "swopping," "radiance," and "action." It creates the image if n amazing, stunning person coming to help someone, and to me, this is very unique and eye catching.

Reunion

"I was tired enough to sleep, but I fought against the weariness. I wasn't going to miss a second of the time I had with him. Now and then, as he talked with Alice, he would lean down suddenly and kiss me-his glass-smooth lips brushing against my hair, my forehead, the tip of my nose. Each time it was like an electric shock to my long dormant heart. The sound of its beating seemed to fill the entire room.
It was heaven-right smack in the middle of hell."


There are times when I feel like this, but not necessary in the same context. I feel the same sometimes at an event, with a friend, etc. I think the author did a good job describing the feelings Bella goes through, and how it makes her feel, because Bella's feelings are essentially the author's.

Party

     "We were pulling up to the house now. Bright light shined from every window on the first two floors. A long line of glowing Japanese lanterns hung from the porch eaves, reflecting a soft radiance on the huge cedars that surrounded the house. Big bowls of flowers-pink roses-lined the wide stairs up to the front doors.
     They were all waiting in the huge white living room; when I walked through the door, they greeted me with a loud of chorus of 'Happy birthday Bella!" while I blushed and looked down. Alice, I assumed, had covered every flat surface with pink candles and dozens of crystal bowls filled with hundreds of roses. There was a table with a white cloth draped over it next to Edward's piano, holding a pink birthday cake, more roses, a stack of glass plates, and a small pile of silver-wrapped presents."


The first thing I have to say about this, is that that set up would have been amazing! Almost any girl's wish for any occasion, is to walk into a beautiful surrounding of flowers and and candles, well, at least it's mine. Bella is always complaining about the amazing things Alice can do, like decorating, when really, it's super cool, and sweet.

Interogation

"I tried to describe impossible things like the scent of creosote-bitter, slightly resinous, but still pleasant-the high, keening sound of the cicadas in July, the feathery barrenness of the trees, the very size of the sky, extending white-blue from horizon to horizon, barely interrupted by the low mountains covered with purple volcanic rock. The hardest thing to explain was why it was so beautiful to me-to justify a beauty that didn't depend on the sparse, spiny vegetation that often looked half dead, a beauty that had more to do with the exposed shape of the land, with the shallow bowls of valleys between the craggy hills, and the way they held on to the sun."



Description of this place, tells the reader that the describer, greatly misses somewhere, because she gives so much detail. She tells of the most memorable familiarities she can, because she's not only trying to picture them, but also because she doesn't want to lose those memories. Being in a new place, often heightens the senses to old and loved things, one is deprived of. Here, Bella, is deprived of the sun, and her childhood memories of her Phoenix home, of which she dearly loves and misses.

Anger

     "At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose-he was much taller than I'd thought-his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.
     "I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my dear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency."


I can relate to Bella when she talks about her anger triggering  her tears, because I have the same problem. When I get in a scrap with my mom or sister, I usually stalk off up to my room, and cry. It IS embarrassing, especially if one of my family members sees or knows that I'm upstairs bawling, but I don't ever directly tell them, "Hey, I was bawling." I think it is also humorous, because it makes one look like a spoiled brat, even though it really is inevitable.