Summer Reading Project: Stuck in Neutral (Entry 2)

7/6/14

In the book Stuck in Neutral each character is unique and special in their own way. Each character has their own special want and desire. Character Evaluations (wants /desires):

·         Shawn McDaniel- Wants to be like a normal human being, such as being able to communicate, move and  get the same feelings as other humans (same desires as the usual teenage boy)

·          Sydney McDaniel- Wants to end his own son`s life out of love to put him out of his misery and pain

·         Lindy McDaniel- Wants for Shawn to be safe and healthy, but still wants Shawn to not be disabled

·         Cindy McDaniel- Wants for Shawn to be cared for at all times

·         Paul McDaniel- Wants for Shawn to be protected at all times

·         Earl and Colin Detraux- Wants for people to understand why Earl killed his own son Colin, and why it wasn’t a cruel or mean killing in any way, and that it was out of love

A theme I noticed popping up in my book is theme of invisibility and being invisible to others. This popped out to me because Shawn in one section of the book explains how since he has disabilities he then becomes invisible to others, and this makes me wonder as to why we shield out humans with disabilities as to if they aren’t a human, even when they truly are…

My book is structured full of Shawn`s thoughts and dreams because since Shawn can`t communicate with his disabilities it won’t have his dialogue in it, but it does have other people`s dialogue included in the selection.

Summer Reading Project: Stuck in Neutral (Entry 1)

7/5/14

For my summer reading project I have decided to read the story called Stuck in Neutral, written by Terry Trueman. In this story the major characters are:

·         Shawn McDaniel- the 14 year old boy with disabilities who feels his father wants to kill him

·         Sydney McDaniel- Shawn`s father, who is also a writer who won a Pulitzer Prize for his poem

·         Lindy McDaniel- Shawn`s mother, works part time but mainly works with Shawn

·         Cindy McDaniel- Shawn`s sister, a very caring person

·         Paul McDaniel- Shawn`s brother, a very protective sibling

The setting of this selection is located in the city of Seattle, Washington in an average middle class home and in one section of the story the setting takes place in Shawn`s school. The conflict presented within the selection is that Shawn is a kid with disabilities and feels his dad wants to kill him (because he wants to put Shawn out of his pain from his disabilities). With Shawn`s disabilities he isn’t able to communicate with his father (although he thinks and is as smart as an average human being, maybe even smarter), he isn’t able to tell his dad not to kill him and that he isn’t in any pain.

I predict that Shawn`s father will kill him because Shawn`s dad has become infatuated with a man named Earl Detraux who killed his own son, Colin who had disabilities and said he did it out of love and to free his son from pain. Since Sydney McDaniel loves his son to a great extent and since he can’t communicate with or protect Shawn forever then he will put Shawn to rest and out of his pa

When I first began to read I had many questions and was curious to think as: Why would a man want to kill his own son? I soon realized that he would only do it out of love and to save his son from his pain, he would never do it if Shawn was not disabled and going through so much. I couldn't make connections to this book because it is nothing like I have ever read or seen before.

The Sixth Element

Commitment is “to give in trust or charge”.

Commitment is a major element of toughness shown in Jay Bilas`s book called Toughness. This is going to be another blog post on only my point of view on the element of commitment. I believe that commitment is very important in life and is also a major part of toughness. Commitment is very important in life because it shows a sense of dedication and determination, a drive to do more and get better at what you are doing and when staying committed you are more likely to succeed in the future and live a better life. Commitment is also a very important element of toughness because when committed and determined you become stronger and more confident then allowing you to stay tough and strong towards your own point of views or actions based of what you are committed to.

In conclusion, commitment is not only a very important element of toughness, but also a major element of life. Commitment is a "must need" in one`s life it is the base factor of keeping one motivated and driven towards a goal, which can be determined based off of the example given in the earlier paragraph.

The Fifth Element

Persistent means “constantly repeated; continued”.

Persistence is a major element of toughness and is also key to success within your academic, sport, and everyday lifestyle. In the book Toughness by Jay Bilas and in his interview with Mike Kryzewski, Mike defines persistence as “… your ability to keep going without giving up or giving in.” (Bilas, 119) Although Mike`s definition does not match the dictionary definition in the first paragraph he still does give a very good definition in his own words. An example of persistence I have is my own personal experience. Persistence was introduced to me after playing 3 basketball games 3 nights in row and on the 3<sup>rd</sup> night of basketball not having gon` to bed before 1 o`clock A.M. each morning of the three games, I was absolutely worn. This is when I was introduced to persistence because I had to use whatever energy I had left in order to keep playing and to not give in and to not give up. I had to maintain a structured and solid persistence.

We are able to conclude that persistence is a very important element within "the game" and and toughness based off of the interview between Jay Bilas and Mike Kryzewski.

The Fourth Element

Communication is "the act or process of communicating; fact of being communicated."

To me, communication is key, not only when playing sports but also in life. In this blog I’m just going to focus on my own point of view on communication which is an element of toughness in Jay Bilas`s book called Toughness. Well, I believe that communication is key when playing sports because communication is what keeps the game flowing and is what keeps all players on the same page, which makes communication beneficial to all players and helps them get a full understanding of what is going on in the game. An example of this is when players are on the football field they need to communicate in order to set up in the right positions and make the proper play in order to get the greatest amount of yards or a big stop on 4^th down. As I said before communication is beneficial and helps players get a better understanding of what’s going on in the game and make better/ smarter decisions.

Communication is not only a major part on the football field, the basketball court, or the soccer field, but also a major part of the human life. In life it is important to communicate and not lose communication in order for you to stay close with loved ones and friends, which in the end is not very fun to live with no one caring for you and being close with you.

Communication is key.

Taking a Break

Let`s take a break from the life lessons and elements from the fantastic book of Toughness by Jay Bilas and talk about a history making upcoming event... Super Bowl XLVIII! Two of the greatest teams in the 2013-2014 season going head to head in a match-up for the rings and the trophy.

The Super Bowl this year is between the Seattle Seahawks who went 15-3 this year versus the Denver Broncos who had also had a 15-3 season. The Super Bowl this year will be played at the MetLife Stadium located New Jersey.

With both teams going strong, the fight to the finish on it`s way, and the winner of Super Bowl XLVIII is unheard of till the dying seconds on the clock of the forth quarter, this game will be one for the ages.

In an article by Los Angeles Times called Poll: Who will win the Super Bowl, Broncos or Seahawks?, it said that  the Denver Broncos had the best offensive team in the league but it also said that the Seahawks have the best defensive team in the league. The outcome could come out either way...

Who do you think will be crowned champions?
Seattle of Denver?

The Third Element

The word courage means, "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery."

Another element within the book called Toughness by Jay Bilas is the element of courage. Courage as I define it, is the ability to do a task or activity without any sense of fear or nervousness. Jay Bilas has other thoughts, in his writing he says "To me, courage isn`t the absence of fear or doubt. Rather, courage is overcoming it. Everyone, in any endeavor, has moments of doubt, fears of making mistakes or losing. But when you can overcome those fears and doubt, you can perform with a free mind, and get out of your own way." Although I stand strong with my opinion of courage, I also agree with Jay, his definition is what leads to mine because once you have overcome those fears and doubts then you will be able to do that one task or activity without any fear or doubt.

An example of these definitions is of an NBA player such as John Wall and a big dunk, John Wall plays as the point guard for the Washington Wizards and even though he is isn`t as big as the other players he has to get over the fact that he might miss or completely get stuffed in order for him to become free minded and achieve his goal of dunking. This shows that once the players get over their doubts and fears of mistakes then they will be able to achieve with courage and free mindedness.