State of the Union Speech

The State of the Union given by President Obama was very different then years past. One of the first things I noticed was that the audience, who traditionally sits by party and claps on certain issues their parties believe in, sat all together. The overall mood of the speech was joining and I felt as if he was trying to separate the line of democrat and republican. I thought that his actual speech was very focused on the future and what we need to accomplish in upcoming years. He didn’t really focus on how we would accomplish these goals, He should have talked more about our current problems and how we were going to fix them. For example the United States job market is horrible, I see this first hand because my brother recently graduated from college and I know a lot of him friends have been having trouble finding jobs. I can’t image that hard time people have that don’t have a college education. I think that improving the job market should have been more heavily discussed. I did agree with him when he brought up the issue of education. Our schools are falling behind and countries like China and India are leading our world in education in areas of math and science. If we educate our young, then we have a brighter future as a nation. With education comes better technology, more advancements in science, and a more motivated generation. I think president Obama was right when he stressed the importance of our countries education. 

Reflection of Tweak

This book took me into the deep emotion and fear of an addict. Nic Sheff’s story was one that can give so many people hope who are struggling as well. He explains his lowest points and his long road to recovery. The pain his family felt is something that he can never forgive himself for. At the end of the book he talks about a group session with both of his parents present. They are asked to do artwork to show how they are feeling “I sketch a heart with veins and aortas and the different ventricles and things. Then I draw faces morphing together out of the heart, stretching up-screaming faces, terrified faces, and desperate faces. And then, before I can even think about it, I write the words “I’m sorry. (318)” His struggle has been long and tiring and I’m happy to see him getting better. His story can be there for all of the other lost teenagers out there and maybe can help them realize that drugs and alcohol is not the answer, and can ruin lives. After reading this book I went online and watched an interview with Nic Sheff. I was surprised to see a young kid that looked like he could be my age. To know that he went through all of these horrible things at my age was so surprising and I feel so bad that he had to. He explained his life now and how he lives in Oregon with two dogs and his girlfriend. He said his trick to staying sober is that he is living so simply, there is nothing there to complicate his life. It is still a struggle everyday because once you are an addict it will always try and consume your life again. This novel book helped me understand a little bit about how an addict feels and goes through on a regular day basis. I thought it was a very good book and is really easy to relate to. I would recommend this to other people to read just as a free reading book. 

Tweak # 5

Nic seems to have an issue with healthy relationships. His mom abandoned his family when Nic was a little kid. Every since then, Nic has felt lonely therefore always needing a relationship. Most of his girlfriends are bad influences on his life and do drugs just like Nic has done. While he seeing a therapist, she says “Do you sacrifice your own happiness and feelings of peace in order to have this relationship, or do you start to get well and choose a real life that maybe doesn’t include Zelda? (295)” When a relationship is not healthy for one of the parties involved then those two people should not be together. I’ve noticed that there has been a large increase in divorce. Although my parents are not divorced, I see that in some cases it can be the right choice for some people. I do think that people need to really understand what marriage entails before rushing to things. Nic is at the point where has to surround himself with people who are on his side and care about him getting better.   

Tweak # 4

Nic starts to turn to God during his recovery. He learns that the stronger relationship with God, the more likely he is to live a positive life. The second step in his 12 step recovery program is to “Come to believe that a Power greater then ourselves can restore us to sanity (157)” I think that this is one of the steps because believing in something more powerful helps you feel like you have a purpose in life, and life seems not so insignificant. A lot of people would disagree with me, but I believe spirituality/religion is something that should be in everyone’s lives. Not necessarily structured religion but even just believing that there is a plan for everyone. It can be so easy to feel like life in meaningless, but if you trust that you are put on this earth for a reason then life becomes so much easier. Not only can it help with a recovery but it can help someone realize how their actions affect people around them like friends and family. When Nic starts to accept God in his life, he really starts to make improvements in his recovery, he starts to hold on to a job, and starts making good friends and getting his life together. 

Arizona Shooting

The recent Arizona shooting left fourteen people wounded with three in critical condition. On this tragic day, a 22 year old Jared Lee Loughner, allegedly went on a shooting rampage in front of a grocery store. President Obama ordered a moment of silent for the whole country to honor those involved in the shooting. I do feel horrible for these people and representative Gifford, and would love to have a moment of silence for all those involved, but I find it interesting that that same respect is not given to the hundreds of soldiers that put their life on the line everyday and die for our freedoms. I think maybe it has something to do with power, since Gifford is a public figure and involved in the government. The young men and women who have little power in the army should be given this same moment of silence throughout the country. The hundreds of poor black people killed and left homeless from Katrina were not given a moment of silence, because they "don't contribute to society" in the same way as powerful people. A life is a life and the ones that are lost in national tragedy or war should be nationally recognized no matter what economic status or race.    Most of the time their deaths go unnoticed and it makes me so angry that just because someone has power that their life seems to be more worthy then others.

Tweak # 3

I think its very interesting that a lot of times when you see someone suffering from drug or alcohol abuse that it runs in the family. I see it all the time in movies and TV shows, along with in real life. Parents being alcoholics and their kids growing up to be just like them. One of the characters, Gack who is a drug addict and is starting a drug dealing business with Nic, has a long line of drug and alcohol abuse in this family. “Gack saw his mom from time to time. She lived in Napa too. She had six years sober-going to twelve-step meetings and things. He guessed he liked her alright. He seems pretty okay with the whole situation. (p.82)” I find it really sad that the influence parents have on a child, good or bad, can determine who they turn out to be. Being a parent comes along with a lot of responsibility, lifestyles need to change when a child is born. If I was an addict I would never want my child to grow up and have to deal with the hardship and struggle that I went through. Gack who lives with his drug addicted father has been doing drugs for a while. He must have picked up the habit from his father. When a parent encourages this type of behavior is only a matter of time until he overdoses or becomes a serious drug addict. Its so shocking that there are actually parents out there that believe it is okay for their kids to take drugs. Some may say it’s the only way for a child to learn for themselves, but in my opinion, as a guardian you have to guard a child from certain things that will harm them, and drugs are one of those things. 

Tweak #2

The more I read of this book the more I become frustrated with Nic, the main character. He seems to never go through with anything. He drops out of many of his rehabs and relapses for the fifth time. He can’t hold a job, not even because of his addiction. He says “Usually I just stop showing up for work one day. That’s what happened with the six jobs before that. Actually I’ve never seen a job all the way through to the end-not even in sobriety (p.34)” It doesn’t surprise me that he has relapsed this many times. He needs to learning from his past mistakes and focus on a future he could build for himself. I have a hard time feeling sorry for him. He has a good family that cares and loves him. Nic keeps mistreating them and stealing from them. He even stole money from his little sister as well as her diary. At this point the only person that can save him is himself, which seems to be his worst critic. “There is this crazy fear I have of being rejected by anyone-even people I don’t really care about (p.34). He has to realize that not everyone will like you and by punishing yourself he is making his own problems worse, and affecting the lives of so many people around him.

This book focuses on drug abuse among teens; I begin to see the vicious cycle of addiction that develops in these young adults. Although most of this abuse is seen in the poorer neighborhoods, it still can reach a wide demographic of teens. Nic has a middle class family with a decent amount of money so it is not only limited to the families living in the projects. What it comes down to is we feel inside. Nic feels isolated and alone and therefore turns to drugs to get the “high” he longs for. 

Tweak # 1

I chose to read Tweak for my free reading book for this semester. Tweak is a true story about a young man named Nic Sheff, who is addicted to meth. He lets us into the scary life of an addict and reveals the feelings he had and also why he was on drugs in the first place. He says “I loved drugs. I loved what they did for me. They relieved me of that terrible sense of isolation I had always felt. They gave me that manual to life that Johnny had described. I could not, NOT give that up (18).” Nic felt like he was an outsider with no way to fit in with society besides turning to drugs and alcohol. Teenagers often feel like they do not belong and need a way to either fit in our get away from it all. Recently in the news we have seen a large amount of teenage suicides. These stem from all different areas, and aspects of life. Some students are gay, others are just different. With technology now, it seems like the problem has gotten worse. For example in class when we read a packet on bullying in schools where numerous cases were explained and our justice system was questioned. Its hard to hold someone accountable for online bullying. In class we learned that there are laws put into place, this is a quote from the packet we read in class called When Cyberbullying Turns Deadly “The majority of U.S states now have anti-bullying laws. Some have recently added cyberharassment statues to their books (p.2)” I think our schools and government should make it even more of a punishment. Even though most of these individuals are kids I think that our society is moving towards a society that is insensitive and cold. If better morals and values are installed into our youth, then bullying will not be as much of a problem. Nic Sheff is a perfect example of a kid that uses drugs for an outlet, and it is a sad addiction, that once started is near impossible to brake.