If I were to take a trip, to get away from things in my life, I probably wouldn't go too far. Toronto seems like a decent choice, because it's sort of a mini, accesible New York. It would have everything I'd need for the few days, hotel, restaurants, recreational facilities, and anything you'd want for a 5 day stint like this. The only sort of things this trip would help me escape from was minor stresses that don't really weigh down on me everyday, school, family, friends, anything thats bugging me at all would be reason enough to just get away for a few days.

Now the only problem with doing something like this, is that there's a good chance you won't want to come back for a while, and you end up staying out longer, running out of money with no way back or no where to go, or on the off-chance you have a terrible time, just makes you even grumpier. I figure if you're used to going to work or school everyday and you take a random 5 day vacation to yourself, unplanned, unscheduled, that it could mess with your routine and you'd start saying things to yourself to make you stay longer, putting you behind in school and work.

I'm sure it's a good idea every once and a while to take a break from reality, but everyone should realize, it's reality, your break isn't permanent. Unless you've won the lottery than you can do what you want.

Blog Entry #3

To Holden, being a phony seems to be, expressing to the world things about yourself, that aren't what you actually believe, or who you actually are. So say you tell everyone, and make out to be a neat freak or someone who needs to have things neat and tidy all the time, yet your bedroom is a complete mess. That would be being a phony, you're making people believe something about yourself that isn't true. In this way I think everyone can be a phony sometimes. I think this is the case because not everyone likes everything about themselves, so say they're actually a messy person, they may make themselves out to be a neat freak so people don't think they're a slob.

This is also true for Holden, almost everything he tells or says to people is the complete opposite of what he actually means, or wants to say. He tends to be very nice to people, and tell the nice things about them, and on the inside he's picking apart everything wrong with them. This makes Holden a phony when it comes to what he thinks of people, as opposed to how he express's himself around people.

Blog Entry #2

Life is a game. This statement is true in many, many ways. If you look at life as a game, it seems to put alot of things into perspective, from the time you're born, till your grow old. Let's take school as an example, if you look at the academic side of school as a game, you see many players, all competing to achieve the most points (highest marks) and if possible, finish faster (skip grades.) In "The Catcher in the Rye" Holden tends to not want to play the game so much, he slacks behind because he really doesn't have the will to do well in school, and he sees everyone else as "phonies" for playing along.

Next, we have the social aspect of school, this may be the biggest game of all. Everyone competes for attention, who's the prettiest, who's the funniest, who's the smartest. it's all about who's the best, at one or more things. Although not nearly as important as the academic aspect, this part of school seems to override everything else in someones life during the years they're in school. At least until they realize, none of it matters at all, after college, there's a VERY small chance you'll stay in touch with the people you tried so hard to impress years earlier. If you look at the part Holden plays in his social life game, it's not so big of a part, he may portray to others, that he likes people, and according to stories he's told, he has had a decent social life, but he really despises almost everyone. Life is a game, one we all play, some win, some lose, but playing it to the best of our abilities is all we can do.

Blog Entry #1

The question "what does it mean to be a good person?" is very hard to answer. Being a good person isn't a simple thing someone can do, it's something that you earn after a long time of being nice, kind, caring, or giving. Simply giving up your seat on the bus to an elderly person, or donating to a charity is something that can be associated with being a good person. The act of going out of your way, or simply making a conscious effort to help someone else, is also something that a good person may do. Being a good person is, for the most part, just those little acts of kindness that someone can do, to help out others that may need it. It's something everyone can do, and whether it's a very wealthy person donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity, or a middle-class person stopping at the side of the road to help someone with a flat tire, everyone can be a good person, it just takes a little extra effort.

In the book "The Catcher in the Rye" it seems Holden doesn't find anyone to be a good person. He thinks everyone may have okay qualities but deep down they're all "phonies." I think Holden can see things in people that others may not see, but he also seems to TRY and pick out the bad sides of people, so to maybe make them seem more human, and not like these perfect beings.