First of the monthly blogs...

The disguise is starting to fail, slowly at first, but as of late, it is not getting the job done. My policy for a long time now has been to be mediocre, quiet, and unnoticeable. It has been my survival technique since at least 5th grade. But, ever since freshman year, my cloak seems to have lost its sheen. Things are not as easy as they were in middle school. Teachers are expecting more from me, life is demanding prolonged conversations with people I do not know, and this is only high-school. The laid-back, care-free lifestyle developed from this defensive system is starting to crack, and almost exploding upon the beginning of the senior year. Blending in and being mediocre is not a good way to get into a good college. Just as Peekay started to realize that his disguise of blending in was not going to work for long, I am coming to grips with the way that my life is quickly changing, and if i don't change with it, I will be left behind.
Peekay's used his protection of being invisible, like I have, to protect himself from others, from bullying and teasing. He shut himself off from the school in order to make his life easier and keep himself "alive". His power of one was the power to keep himself alive and to be able to keep going strong. But, as his life changed, so did he. He realized that going unnoticed was not going to help him achieve his dreams of welterweight champion, or get him into a good school. This realization is dawning on me, or, more like smack me in the face. The importance of being who I am and trying my best and giving it my all is clear. The need for me to voice my opinion and not just idly sit by during a conversation is growing (especially in English class).
The first thing I connected with in The Power of One was this invisibility that Peekay used to survive his first few weeks of true life. But, as I finished the book, I noticed the difference in Peekay, and how the first impression of the power of one had changed drastically, and, within the first weeks of dealing with AP classes, my Graduation Project, and trying to choose and apply to colleges, I knew that I would soon have to change my outlook on how to survive. This issue presented of surviving through being unnoticed isn't exactly the most common thing in literature but it stuck out when I was reading it as a way to connect myself with the character, which helped me come to the realization that I am going to have to also change, just like Peekay did, in order to succeed in life.

Eventually, the stickbug is gonna have to move...