Alina+Journal

2/23/2015 I learned that family makes a huge impact on your decision making skills. Miranda's parents never had been there for her to teach the ethics of not doing these transformations that will change the way people look at her. Family also makes you occupied every minute of the day. You have someone believing in you while you are at a competition, or someone who is proud of you when you go to school. Siblings are always there for you to play around with and especially bother. Family comes in all shapes and sizes, but the most important thing I have learned from Auggie's family is that they stick together. Auggie's family made Justin feel welcome and part of the family too. Justin knew that their family never cared about Auggie's problems keeping their distance away from Auggie, but family. I believe that family is what brings this novel entirely together.

2/19/2015 My final decision is that Auggie and Jack shouldn't tell Mr.Tushman about the notes. I seriously don't care about the fact he might find out about why Jack punched Julian but about his mother. His mother donates a whole lot of money to Beecher Prep. Jack and Auggie wouldn't want Mrs. Albans to press charges and stop donating to the school. She is also part of the school board and might convince the school to kick Auggie out. Jack and Auggie don't want that to happen because of a little talk with the principal, so it is best if they leave alone the situation.

2/09/2015 Honestly, I don't see myself in this war. I think it is completely unnecessary what these kids are doing. A war? Seriously? This is just a handful of people making up a bunch of crazy. Nobody would want to be stuck in this mess! Sometimes I wonder that kids don't always want to listen. Mr. Browne had a September precept that these kids wrote in their notebooks! They obviously wouldn't forget! The precept was //"When giving the option to chose right over kind, chose kind".// Julian assumed right, yet Jack was kind. So, it really won't be that hard to guess. Just take the easy lane. Choose kind! Don't listen to rumors even if they are right. Are they kind?

2/09/2015 I would forgive Jack because he is the type of kid under peer pressure. Auggie doesn't understand this because he has been homeschooled during parts of school when kids are influenced by peer pressure. Julian is a major problem with that issue, especially with Jack. Jack must of felt like Julian has been interfering with Auggie and his friendship. Kids don't technically know how to control their anger at this age. It is really hard because there are people who are mean getting in the way of your calming down skills which is the main reason people force their anger out onto others which starts a big chain of bullying. Jack took the situation seriously, even though for his uncalled behavior. I know Jack hasn't done it repeatedly and that a load of problems are also trailing behind him too.

2/09/2015 Just reading emails, texts, and Facebook messages says a big mouthful about a person's character. Melissa Albans feels that she can't accept Auggie because of his face. Like Jack said, it takes a little whole to get used to. Mrs. Albans has never spoken to Auggie, yet she feels the need to take extreme measures. Just because Beecher Prep is not an inclusive school doesn't mean by faces, but by learning. Mr. Tushman feels a little disturbed by Mrs. Alban's remarks. I thought Mr. Tushman, because Mrs. Albans is on the school board, meant that he might be scared and try to make her understand humbly. The way Mr. Tushman handled the situation surprised me because he is talking to the member of the school board, a family that donates money to the school itself. I would feel Mr. Tushman knows he has more rights than Mrs. Albans.

2/02/2015 Summer was feeling insecure at Savannah's Halloween party because the questions she was asked. I could pretty much tell when she hesitated to rush to the bathroom. I would make some sort of an excuse if this situation was happening to me. It really doesn't matter what excuse, I will try every possible escape. These types of situations can make anybody feel insecure and uncomfortable. You feel even worse when someone is trying to fix your perspective on someone. It is just horrible what these kids think they can do, yet if they make a little issue, they are expecting you to make the mountain out of the mole hill. It is just tricky, but when these small situations occur, stay out of it and leave. I would not even think twice about staying for more humiliation.

1/26/2015 Like Via said, grandmothers aren't supposed to have favorites, yet her grandmother had one. It was Via. It was that special little secret the Via held onto even after she died. The secret wrapped her around like a blanket. I feel Via thinks that blankets are a sign of comforters and that it meant she felt extremely comfortable when her grandmother told her that. It felt as if it was the closest memory of Via's grandmother than anything else she had ever said. It was one cherishing memory that will, for sure, wrap Via around like a blanket.

1/26/2015 I personally think what Via means about the planets falling out of alignment is that now Auggie is going to school which means he is facing this big crowd of students from middle school. Via feels she can't give all the protection Auggie needs because she is in high school for half the day. She also feels that the way these kids feel about Auggie in certain ways, the more it might make him feel more about himself in a positive/negative way. I feel kind of bad for Via because she is super protective about her brother and just can't imagine what those kids might feel or do to/about him.

1/16/2015 Some of the things that I learned in Part One of //Wonder// is that some people, like Auggie, are adapted to ways that you look at them. These ways can make a regular person uncomfortable, but if Auggie can adapt to our reactions how do the really feel? When we look at people like Auggie in such ways and they are adapted to it, it is just one hint that it deep down inside it makes them feel 10 times worse then an average person being stared at. I also learned that when most people suddenly get in contact with people like Auggie, they not only give a horrible reaction that makes the person unwelcome, but also hurts the family member. Can they change the way a person looks like? No. So stop and think for a second and realize that everybody was born in many ways and are different and unique in special ways. They still deserve to be treated as one. Reading Part One of the novel opened my eyes to the feelings of people we see everyday, especially people like Auggie.

1/16/2015 Auggie just realized Jack Will's mean side and is hurt within himself. He gets a headache and throws up, and the nurse thinks it is a stomach bug that he caught. It isn't. Auggie is suffering from a plain case of being bullied. What makes it even worse is that Jack Will, his "friend", showed us a side we want to regret, especially Auggie. This horrible disease has side of effects like depression, losing self-confidence, questioning who you are, and losing the desire to do things that you literally live for. This is a tough decision for me of choosing if Auggie should go to school or not. Auggie is hurt extremely, but maybe this is a strong life lesson. Some people you think might be one personality might be the opposite. People fool people and a part of life is learning how to choose which one you can trust. Auggie is learning and I personally think he should give some time at home and build his confidence. Then he should go back to school with confidence within him and see that is was just a small problem and that he should worry about the people that attempted to be friends with him.

1/16/2015 Like most kids who were angry at Jack Will and wanted to hurt him, I would say leave it alone because he isn't worth fighting. It was his decision to play nice around Auggie and behind him mean. What he doesn't know that know matter what a person looks like or acts like, they have real feelings too. If you talk about them behind your back and think they won't find out, they will later on find out about your horrible actions. No matter if your older now and you forgot, they will eventually find out. Nobody wants to be part of that sticky mess, so to prevent this from happening, just don't. Jack Will needs to figure out what is his definition of right or wrong and figure out if his definition is correct. It takes some time, but it is still pretty easy not to be mean. During this process, you will find out your definition of right or wrong and if it is correct or not.

1/12/2015 At schools, its all about first impressions. Especially with tours to student by student, it feels like your expecting their behavior to be everywhere in each student. August did a tour with three students and found out that one kid was rude and the other two were defending Auggie and very nice. When Auggie finished his tour, he told his mom all the events that happened during the tour. Auggie's mom felt uncomfortable and sorry for forcing him to go to the school and said he didn't have to go. Auggie, yet, refused to not go and he was not lying. I guess Auggie was at the age when he was ready to go out and make friends and learn together. It is kind of noticeable in these types of situations that parents tend to feel a little scared about sending their children out in the open, especially Auggie's. With Auggie and his problems, his mom will be scared to let him go. However, Auggie was ready way too early. Especially when adapting to his parent's insecurity about his face.

1/12/2015 At Beecher Prep, Auggie started to go on his tour with three kids named Jack Will, Julian, and Charlotte. I thought that this tour would be the complete way of looking at the school. The kids actions were very important, and that get me thinking. We represent our schools when a new parent walks through the door to look at us. Our actions tell what the parents are going to expect. They will also tell how their child will come back from school. Every friend you have changes the way you are, and that is what parents know most.

1/9/2015 I wonder that Mom is more scared than August when she is leaving him at Beecher Prep for the start of the tour because she doesn't know what the students might do to him. It is normal for every parent because they are afraid that their child might get hurt. Especially for August's parents because they don't know what other kids are going to feel about him. They might violently or nonviolently express their feelings to/on Auggie. No matter what those kids do, parents have every single reason, even August's, to be scared to leave their child on their first day of school.

1/7/2015 Personally, I think August is making a big deal about birthday parties, but who can blame him? He is used to the actions people do when they encounter him. August just doesn't understand the way ordinary people normally get invited, and he doesn't. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't care because it is their party and they have their dilemmas to deal with, so why should I whine and have them deal with another problem? I think I would get that concept later on when I am older, because I am only just learning. I personally have never been hurt by an invitation that was not handed to me because I simply did not care if the host wanted to invite me or not. All I care is that I, at least, get invited to __**one**__ birthday party.