Friday, June 3, 2011

Critical Thinking Piece


            After reading Masks by Lucy Grealy and High School’s Secret Life by Emily White, I saw a common idea in two essays: “The cafeteria is high school’s proving ground. The place where you find out if you have friends or if you don’t” (White, 16). Grealy explains that she was constantly teased and made fun of so she ate at the council’s office. White explains an obese girl sitting alone eating lunch. She also mentions a boy who had strange muscle condition causing him to swat the air. All of those people felt lonely because they didn’t belong to any group. Another similarity is the labeling. White and Grealy talk about the same group of people. White calls them Tribes and Grealy calls them Cliques. It means the same thing: a group of people with a common interest usually formed in high schools and colleges. Also, both of the authors felt loneliness at one point. White says “I can still feel the adolescent loneliness in my guts” (White, 15). Grealy says “I felt safe and secure in that office, but I also felt lonely…” (Grealy, 70).
         Like most high schools, mine also has cliques or we could call it tribes. Your either in a group, crowd, or alone. I can’t remember time when I felt loneliness at school. I was with friends eating lunch or I was doing my homework in the library or I was getting help from a teacher. I was never popular at school nor was I an outcast. I would probably refer myself to “natural helper”. I love to volunteer and I love helping others.

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