Raindrop's+-=Meaning=-

toc =My Meaning Statement:= [I am a young person trying to hold on to the childhood that I grew out of way too fast.]

Directions
Once you have found your Meaning Statement you must decide how you are going to explore it using two resources: the book and your life. This template is a series of questions that you will answer using all forms of text (multi-media, writing, links, etc.). If you can't think of a way to do something, please consult the Enhancing My Meaning page or ask one of the Wiki Champions/Help-Crew.

//The Book//

 * What would the characters in the novel have to say about your Meaning Statement? (You can come at this from the perspective of any/all of the characters in the book. Would they think that it was a good idea? Would they call you an idiot for trying to achieve something like that? Would they simply agree that it is something valuable?)
 * **I think that Darry would definitely agree with me, and understand. He lost his parents at a young age and had to take care of two younger siblings. While as a preschooler, I was raised like a high-schooler, and expected to act like one, being treated like an adult. Actually, now that I think about it more, the majority of all the characters in the book would have some kind of feeling that is like mine. They live in a general society where youth and childhood is not fostered like it should be. Kids growing up in a general environment of adversity I guess can't quite hold on to what they've got. Because somebody's going to jail or getting jumped just around the corner, and you've got to grow up and defend yourself. To handle these kinds of things you are, against your will, forced to face the facts and get out there.**
 * How is the the character that you relate to most like you? (You can compare and contrast you and the character you have chosen in any way that you like, but make sure that you think about all of the ways that you are similar.)
 * **The character that I relate to the most is Darry. No, I do not like fighting or rumbles, but otherwise we are very much alike. We grew up too fast, not living our childhood's thoroughly, the way we would've liked. He seems to have a fairly short fuse, as so do I. And we both don't really know how to treat the people that we love properly, because we've become paranoid. Paranoid that something will happen to us or people around us, feeling as if everything is falling down on top of our heads. Feeling kind of claustrophobic. And we sometimes result to hurtful actions, such as verbal attack or maybe even a punch or slap. Darry bombarded Ponyboy with questions, and punched him when he didn't get the answer that he wanted. He didn't mean it, but his anger was bottled up, flowing out into his actions physically. I've been known to scream at my parents and slam doors, or cry in fits that would make them leave their computer offices to come tell me everything is okay. And then get frustrated, and end up slapping or trying to stomp on their feet. The last time I tried that was about... around last year. You'd think only a two year old would do that. Because we both never really experienced "childhood" we tend to break into immature fits that seem uncharacteristic of ourselves, because the normal development of a child's mind set is broken up into little pieces, we then experiencing them in little outbursts. When you do not experience a part of life fully, it comes back to haunt you. Somebody wanted to know exactly why I feel that I grew up too fast. I feel that way because normal behaviors for a child, but eventually grow out fairly quickly, come back to me. When I was a child, I didn't have time to be the way that I was expected to be. I had to be a well behaved, mannered kid who could sit still for hours.**

//You//

 * If you were a character in the novel, how would the book change? (You can rewrite a part of the story, write about a time before the book started, continue the book's storyline, or fill in one of the gaps in the story. Think about how your Meaning Statement would be played out in your part of the story.)
 * **Well... That's kind of a tough one for me to answer. I'd probably just be the angsty somewhat punk-ish/rocker girl across the block who doesn't fit into either group, even the Outsiders.** **The one that doesn't want to get bugged, and probably only appears like twice, when daring to leave her house.** **The only people she would probably get along with would be Two-Bit or Darry.** **Probably might somehow end up butting heads with Cherry.**
 * What is the one relationship in your life that helps to explain your Meaning Statement most clearly? How is that relationship significant in your life?
 * **My relationship with my parents and family. Because they are the ones who raised me, took care of me. My childhood was monopolized by them. When I was younger, we were doing huge things with huge leaps all at once. Moving to a new house, buying a new dog, parents spending my birthdays discussing the house improvements or a family members sickness. The way my family raised me is very significant to the way I treat people now. As probably many other people's families do. A lot of a person's personality is based off of their surroundings, places and people. Your family is with you since the day of birth, and for the first five years or so all your actions are decided by them. I was treated like an adult. My parents loved me, and still do with all their might, but they never had much patience for a younger kid. They expect children to get over things quickly, to pick themselves up off their knees, to have a thorough conversation with somebody else. It just doesn't work that way.**

//The Book//

 * What objects in the book represent are the most significant to you? What do you think that they represent? (You can use pictures of these objects in order to illustrate you point.)
 * **The book Gone With The Wind that Johnny bought from the store while they were in hiding. Books have always been big parts in my life. When I was little, I would rather be cuddling a hard book then a stuffed animal. Literally, I would crawl out of bed and grab a book from our bookshelf and bring it into bed with me. I spend a lot of my early years reading, because a book is a object that you can easily transport wherever you go. Books are what kept me busy and fairly tolerable at a young age. Even now I still get piles of books from the library, maybe ten or eleven. My parents can't stand it. I connected with the fact that one of the very few things that they bought for entertainment was a book, like me.**
 * Which places in the book had the greatest affect on your mood (your thoughts) when you were reading them? (Describe the environments/settings that you could see the best in your mind.)
 * **The environments that probably had the most, greatest effect on me were by the fountain where Ponyboy was almost drowned and Johnny killed Bob the Soc, and the place in the beginning of the book when Ponyboy was jumped and cut on the neck. Because both scenes represent to me so much of the hate that people can harbor for each other, even as young as fourteen. These environments, whenever I read about them**, **I become sad. My mood becomes fairly calm and melancholy, not very responsive.**

//You//

 * How does the place where you live affect whether or not you can achieve your Meaning Statement? (Does Highlands Ranch have an effect on your goals or the things you want out of life?)
 * **Yes. To be honest, I was raised around a group of kids and peers who were probably not the best for my personality. Highlands Ranch is a fairly nice, rich kid kind of place. I think of us kind of like the Socs if anything. I was a loner when I was younger, and still am. Because I was just so stressed with my home life I would get really frustrated in my school environment, leading to some harsh teasing and feeling even more stressed. The people that I was surrounded by kind of taught me that children can be rather unforgiving. I was constantly looking at other kids and feeling a bit too mature for the way that they acted, but I had such a soft shell that led to me being broken down.**
 * What are the __things__ in your life that give your life meaning? (What objects do you hold most dear?)
 * **I was never really a materialistic person. I treasure memories and thoughts more then objects. And I can't really think of anything sacred to me. But if I had to choose something, I would say one of my stuffed animals. It's a large Tigger, from Winnie The Pooh. I've had this stuffed animal since I was two. To me this stuffed animal reminds me of when I was younger. Back then, I took out a lot of my anger out on my stuffed animals, kicking, punching, biting, tearing them. It prevented me from hurting actual people. My Tigger was one of those toys that got lots of beatings from anger. And it reminds me of the little girl I used to be. To me, it's always important to remember that little kid that you constantly see all around your house, in photo albums and picture frames. The reason I would never take drugs or smoke couldn't all be credited to those D.A.R.E programs and such. When I thing of taking drugs, and doing something to my body and potentially harming it quite badly, I think of hurting that little girl I see in all my pictures. I wouldn't want her to have a serious lung condition, or messed up skin from the influence of crystal meth.**

//The Book//

 * How does the way people talk in the book affect the way that they deal with their problems? (What things in our Poor Man's Dictionary help you to understand the issues that face the characters in the novel?)
 * **I think that some of the slang that they use may shorten the meaning of their conversations, and doesn't give them a lot to work off of, and they won't always be able to express themselves as well with it. It's like hey're trying to avoid giving too much out while talking, hiding something.**
 * If you were going to speak to a character from the book, what would the conversation be about and what would it sound/look like? (Write out any dialogue you think would be realistic in a conversation with this character.)

//You//

 * How does the way you talk to your friends explain who you are? (What are the specific slang words and inside jokes that give your conversations meaning?)
 * **I don't usually have inside jokes or slang words that I use with friends, or just people in general. so I guess that means, well, there's not much meaning to our conversations. I think I can be either too extreme or too bland for some people, so I just don't mix. Friends don't usually even understand what I'm trying to say. Either it's just that state of age or one of us just isn't interested in figuring it out.**
 * What would an interview (with your parents, with your friends, with your teachers, etc.) about your Meaning Statement look/sound like? (Record your interview with this person using [|Gcast] and put it on your wiki page. Or, you can write out the questions and have one of your friends go onto your page and answer them.)
 * **N/A**

//The Book//

 * How were all of the characters involved in the central conflict of the book? (Hint: you need to identify the central conflict before you can answer this question. You can write out character names and then think about how they were involved.)
 * Who was hurt/changed by the resolution of this conflict, and how? (This can be a part of the answer to the first question if you think that it is easier.)