"INTRODUCTION"

Ihis part of the book Red: The Next Generation of American Writers-Teenage Girls-On What Fires Up Their Lives Today was written by Amy Goldwasser, the editor of the book. The individuals she discusses in this introduction are the teenage writers of my generation. It was interesting to read what she had to say because she offered a positive perspective on the use of blogging, social sites, and the Internet. Goldwasser tells us that teenage writers of our generation are deep and talented despite popular belief. Our reliance upon technology has turned into a beneficial habit which makes my generation able to more easily write and discuss/express themselves in essays and other media. This contradicts many of society's beliefs that depict the Internet as damaging to social norms and behavior. It was inspiring and made me think of all the fights I have had with my parents when I joined my friends on the Internet and made myself a MySpace .

"SLEEVES"

This story, by Amy Hunt and from the book Red: The Next Generation of American Writers-Teenage Girls-On What Fires Up Their Lives Today, tells Amy's story. She is overweight and hates it. It affects every aspect of her life. But in the end, Amy realizes that she wants to change, and learn to love herself. The issue presented in this story is how Amy sees herself and how she lives according to her weight. The norm of this story is for Amy, and other overweight people, to strive to blend in and be invisible, which both complements and differs in real-life society; some want to stand out and be their own person, whereas others who may be self-conscious may want to be invisible and not attract attention. When I read this story it did not make me feel sorry for the author like I had expected it would. However, it did make me think about similar experiences where I have been self conscious about my face and my body. It even inspired me and provided me with a relevant topic to discuss in a future essay or blog.

"THE BORDER"

This article, written by Cindyu Morand and from the book Red: The Next Generation of American Writers-Teenage Girls-On What Fires Up Their Lives Today, explains the difficulty she had with adjusting to a new culture and lifestyle. She hits rock bottom and has nothing, but we learn that this was necessary for her to accept what her life has become and begin living again. The author deals with everything from racism and money, to academics and acceptance. When I read this story I honestly felt sorry for her. She was miserable for two years straight and when she realized that she had to accept life to be happy I was happy for her.

"THE AMERICAN MAN, AGE TEEN"

This story, written by Susan Orlean, describes the life of a young boy Collin Duffy. We see how kids see the world and we realize that The may think they know everything, and even though they dont, they have consideration for recycling, the world, families, and are innocent. They are still young and play video games. They just want to have fun and are content with their world, they dont need anythng else. As a matter of fact all they want is to keep it from changing and being invaded by outsiders. I thought the story was interesting but tedious.

SOCIAL NETWORKING NARRATIVE: ASHLEY IS doing busywork

ASHLEY IS doing busywork. (10:59 AM)
When I got a MySpace I was in tenth grade and my friend made it for me. My mom wouldn’t let me have one so I figured it was the only way. Unfortunately, she found out about me making one without her knowledge and, to say the least, it didn’t go over so well with her. Even though she was mad, she eventually decided it was fine and just needed my email and password so she could see what I was up to. Since then I have gotten in trouble by some of the things she considered to be inappropriate and I have felt controlled by her stuffy expectations.
MySpace has become an indicator of the amount of freedom my mom will let me have, and as I’ve gotten older she has allowed me to have more freedom and doesn’t maintain as much control over the social networks I am a part of as she used to. In the past I had very little freedom and this was supported by my mom’s obsession of monitoring my behavior on MySpace. Whereas now she hasn’t even noticed I have changed my password (signaling that she doesn’t check my MySpace), doesn’t care I have a Facebook in addition to a MySpace (she didn’t even ask for the password to my Facebook account), and I am glad to say that I have more freedom than ever.

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