Gabe's Post

One time my dad and i went to Boston to go see the Celtics play and when we reached the subway station that lead to what was then known as the Fleet Center, we saw an elderly woman crying. My dad asked her what was wrong and she said she had just been mugged and all of her money was gone. The appearance of the woman suggested she wasn't doing so well physically and financially so my dad gave her $10 to go get some food.

Kyle's Post

Considering that we all go to Pine Point I don't think there is a day that goes by that any of us DON'T witness an act of kindness. There is always a younger student willing to hold the door open for others, or one of us helping with tables or chairs, and all of us try our best to present everyone we pass on the walkway with a smile. I think that Pine Point will be the reminder for me to be mindful and kind to others for the rest of my life.

Wendell's Post

One of the times that I helped someone was during a snow storm last year. Our neighbor is an older women whose driveway was filled with snow. My brother, my father, and I trekked over to her house and shoveled out her driveway and the walkway leading to her house. We then shoveled out the sidewalks in front of her house, so people would be able to get by.

Hannah's Post

A time in my life where I helped an animal was when the pound almost put my cats down. The pound usually keeps animals for a certain period of time and then if they are still unadopted the pound puts them to rest. But luckily for my cats Buddy and Sunflower, we came just in time and now they are with me in a loving home. 

I agree with Zack, Ms. Olsen's story reminds me of Soldiers Home. Here she is, a woman who because of a unchangeable thing like her sexuality, can never return home again. In the story, the main character is never truly a part of society again, he lived a life of fear and tragedy. While Ms. Olsen overcame her struggles with her sexuality in her life, all until the time she went to college, she also lived a life full with misery and pain. Krebs lost his love, lost his family, and lost his life, while Ms. Olsen, whom even though shes lost greatly in life, has shown to us that if you fight hard and laugh a little, life might turn around,

Annas post

I agree with Timmy. Ms. Olsens talk really reminded me of the Emily Dickinson poem "Exultation is the going". While this poem speaks about somthing "divine" and the bullying that Stump experienced was far from beautiful, both of these things talk about misunderstanding. Misundersatnding is something that goes "into deep eternity," simple and full of acceptance for the sailors in Emily's poem, and unortunate and painful for a victimized Stump Olsen.

Zachary's Post

Nobody as talked about this yet, but I thought that Olsen and her talk were sort of like "Soldier's Home" by Hemmingway. I don't have the book in front of me so I can't remember his name, but the soldier and Olsen both had to live lives of deception, putting on false pretenses to make other people happy. The soldier couldn't tell his family or even his comrades in arms about the stresses that had been left with him and the changes wrought since returning home. Olsen simply had to spend fifteen years unable to tell anyone that she was fundementaly different. Was the soldier's name Kats or something with a "K" atleast?

Eleanor's Post

Our talk with Ms. Olsen reminded me most of the essay "How it Feels to be Colored Me". First, both Zora Neale Hurston and Ms. Olsen have the same sort of story. In their younger years they both didn't care what they were like, and life just kept going. However when Ms. Olsen was abused, and Zora Neale Hurston was moved to a new school, they're lives took a change for the worse. Ms. Olsen was hurt with words and fights, so much so that she joined the basketball team to have a reason to say where her wounds came from. Ms. Hurston wasn't used to thenew setting she was in making it harder for her also. However, after school was done, and their real life began, they both emerged different but happy.

Parker's Post

Ms. Olsen's talk relates to "The Way to Rainy Mountain" by N. Scott Momaday because his grandmother and her were not treated that differently. Momaday's grandmother was told to stop being what she was-a native American- and Ms. Olsen was told to sop being who she was- a homosexual. Momaday's grandmother's Kiowa tribe had to leave where they were, and were not allowed to carry on traditions that have been held since their ancestors roamed the same land. Ms. Olsen was also treated horribly due to her sexuality, getting beaten up twice a week by the time she was a sophomore in high school. Overall, Native americans and homosexuals have been discriminated against just for being themselves, which I think is wrong and unjust.

Timmy's Post

I think that Ms. Olsen's talk relates to the poem "Exultation is the going" by Emily Dickinson. Ms. Olsen said that the people who had never experience being queer made fun of her because of their misunderstanding. This relates to the part of the poem talking about sailors understanding the "divine intoxication of the first league out for land." The sailors cannot understand something they have not encountered just as straight people cannot understand how queer people feel.

Kate

I think the talk with Stump Olsen relates to Shakespeare passage, "King Richard".  When King Richard realized he was going to die, and loose his kingdom, relates to Stump when she resized that she lost her family when she "came out".  They both realized that their thoughts were the only ones that truly mattered.

Julie's Post

I think Stump Olsen's talk related to "The Way to Rainy  Mountain" because in this essay, Mr. Momaday talks about what his grandmother went through when she was a little girl. Mr. Momaday described how much his grandmother suffered because she wasn't accepted the way she was. Stump Olsen also described what her life was like because she was different and was treated unfairly. Both stories and both women suffered, and they will deffinetly be remembered.

Sarahs Post =]

I think Ms. Olsen's talk related a lot to the poem "We Are Seven". Stump and the little girl in the poem both lost their biological family, although Stump didn't physically loose hers. Also, Stump and the little girl were both very open to sharing their feelings and harsh emotions with a smile on there face.

Lydia's Post

Like some of the posts below, I think Stump's experience related a lot to "Sonny's Blues." Sonny was struggling to break free of his addiction and when he finally did, his life was dramatically different. He became more dedicated to his music and began to see the world in a different way. Similarly, when Stump was in high school, she went through a lot of bullying and harassment, but when she finally came out and told people she was gay, she was finally able to be who she truly was and express herself in ways she didn't even know.

Ceilie's Post

I think Stump Olsen's lecture relates most to the story "Sonny's Blues" because they are about powering through the pain and struggling in your life. Sonny was abandoned by his brother to go through his teen years alone, an often difficult part of someone's life. Sonny got sucked into a world of drugs and had to find away out. As he fought his battle with addiction, there were people in his life that honestly believed he couldn't achieve his dreams to be a sober musician. Stump also went through a difficult time in high school, trying to find her place in the world while being constantly judged by her classmates. She was being put down every day and literally beat down at least once a week. Once she confessed to her true identity to her parents, they turned their backs on her, not agreeing with the life she wanted to live. Both Sonny and Stump went through a difficult time in their lives and lost a lot of friends and even family members, but in the end, they ended up happy with who they were. 

Hannah's Post

I think that Ms. Olsen's talk relates most to the short story "Sonny's Blues." Her story and message realtes to "Sonny's Blues" because it shows how even when you go through the toughest of times, you will survive and you will have good people surrounding you. Also, the theme/message in "Sonny's Blues" could be growing up and Ms. Olsen definitely had to grow up much quicker than she was hoping too. Even though Sonny and Ms. Olsen went through tough times they ended up also finding the things they love. For Sonny that was playing the piano and for Ms. Olsen that was educating kids about being gay and straight and how you can prevent bullying.

Scarlet's Post

I think that Ms. Olsen's story reminds me most of Winter Dreams. When Ms. Olsen knew that she was gay it was a lot like when Dexter found Judy Jones. He knew his life was going to change forever and so did Ms. Olsen. When Dexter loses Judy he is so upset and he can't express his feelings anymore. When Ms. Olsen went to high school if she told anyone she was gay the would have hurt her, so she couldn't express herself. Lastly, Ms. Olsen lost touch with her family and no longer talks to them just like Dexter does with Judy. Dexter does have his own wife and kids and Ms. Olsen has her good friends that support her but she still carries around those names and awful memories of kids beating her up just like Dexter will never forget Judy Jones.

Wendell's Post

I agree with Caroline. Her story is just like "How to be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston. Zora was black, in a time of African American abusiveness and hatred. She wanted to blend in with everybody else, to be like them, and act like them. Ms. Olsen wanted to blend in with everyone else, too. She wanted to have friends and be liked, but she was abused and ganged up on. As Caroline said, "they were not like other kids."

Caroline's Post

Although I was not there to see her talk, Ms. Olsen’s life story reminds me of Zora Neale Hursten’s story “How it Feels to be Colored Me.” Growing up, she was always just a little bit different. For Ms. Hursten, it was her skin, but both topics are about racists. When she finally moved, or in Ms. Olsen’s case, when to high school, she was treated differently. They both didn’t seem to understand why, but they knew that they were not like other kids. They were both called names and treated differently. To me, the two stories are very similar.

Tristan's Post!

I think that Ms. Olsen's talk reminded me most of Sonny's Blues, because of her own story, and how she was kind of like Sonny. Just like Sonny, she had a tough time early in her life, and just like Sonny she eventually sorts it all out. One big difference between the two, is that Ms. Olsen had no way of releasing that storm inside of her, and her family was against her rather than trying to help her. I think that both Sonny, and Ms. Olsen went through tough times, and I only wish that we could get Sonny to come in and talk to us.