Hw 25 - comments and analysis

Michelle:
Hey,
I liked many things about this character in your story; he has a lot of confidence and only cares about himself. He doesn't pay any attention to what is going on around him. The guy doesn't let anyone tell him what to do, he does his own thing.

Larche:
I like how you have 2 “cool” characters in your story. Your first character is “cool” because she is setting off new trends, she stands out for this. Later on she is over shadowed by someone else that is “cooler” than her.

Mohammed:
Your character stands up for himself in front of an elderly figure which does not happen a lot in our society. Usually if this happened to someone they would mutter something under their breath and keep quiet, instead your character does the opposite of this which makes them stand out amongst others.

Charles:
Haha, I agree with Jakob. “Andy” feels very happy and excited about showing off his new Gucci products to the ladies. Your character has loads of cash and loves to let others know about this. It seems like without money, this character wouldn’t have been cool at all. Good comeback :P

Rachel:
I like how you tell the story from your own point of view, as if you were looking at this girl right now and thinking about the first day you saw her. Your character doesn’t seem to want all this attention or be cool; she is naturally a pro at it. You don’t use money, or “cool” clothes to show that she is cool, she is just “cool” the way she is.

Response:
Many of the stories I read showed that the character had a lot of confidence. Many of the characters were going to their first day of high school, and they did not show any signs of nervousness. They just went with the flow. The amount of confidence seems to be cool in our society because we are not used to that. Usually many people have knots in their stomach, or start to get tense on their first day of school. The characters in most of these stories were cool as cucumbers; they did not give a shit about if it was their first day of school. They just went to school as if they would any other day; it was no big deal to them at all.

One of the stories showed how their character was “cool” because they had a lot of money and they loved to show this off to others. He wants to let everybody else know that he is a very rich man and feels like money is all he needs to be cool, without it he wouldn’t stand out at all. The writer assumes that everybody thinks you are “cool” if you have a lot of money. I wouldn’t say that this is true for everyone. Yes this shows that you have loads of money, but money can’t buy you everything. Yes you will have higher status when compared to others, but what are you trying to prove here?

In a couple of stories I read, the main character was standing out by her choice of clothing. This helped her stand out amongst her peers. I agree with this situation, I think that if someone has the guts to go out and wear something retro then I would consider you “cool”. This connects to me in some ways. Sometimes I try out new things by creating ideas in my head, or having unique choices in style that stand out. For example these days I have been setting a trend by wearing a chain through my earrings. I have gotten tons of comments from others saying “Oh my god! That is so cool!” They keep saying that they are going to do the same thing. I guess I relate to these types of characters because I usually aim for things that make me stand out as an individual because I like to be known as my own person.

Some stories I read were about students standing up for others or standing up to their teachers. This also makes you look “cool” since you receive attention from others because you stand out compared to them. Not many people would stick up for someone in front of a bully; they would just keep quiet and fit in with the background. Another example in one of the stories is when the student stands up to their teacher. They let themselves get heard, at the same time they are viewed as “cool” individuals in other people’s eyes.