WHIRLIGIG ACTIVITIES BY CAITLIN S ACTIVITY 1 INQUIRY

WHIRLIGIG ACTIVITIES BY CAITLIN S

ACTIVITY 1 - INQUIRY “WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PRACTICE FORGIVENESS? ”

“THAT HE COULD HAVE DONE WHAT HE’D DONE AND STILL BE GOOD WAS AN EVEN MORE STARTLING NOTION. ” - PAGE 129 THIS QUOTE IS THE REALIZATION THAT BRENT HAS ONCE THE PAINTER HAS FORGIVEN HIM. WITH THIS NEWFOUND FORGIVENESS BRENT HAS HIS ELIXIR AND IS ABLE TO RE-ENTER HIS OWN WORLD. IN OTHER WORDS, BRENT CAN FINALLY MOVE ON AND ACCEPT HIS MISTAKES AND TRY TO BECOME SOMETHING GREATER. BRENT CAN DO MORE GOOD IN THIS WORLD NOW THAT HE IS NO LONGER BEING CEMENTED IN PLACE BY HIS PAST. THIS SITUATION REMINDS OF MRS. HUTCHINSON FROM WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT. BECAUSE OF HER DECISION TO WORK ALONGSIDE RYAN AND TO SOME EXTENT GIVE FORGIVENESS, THE DUO WERE ABLE TO HELP IMPROVE THE WORLD FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. MRS. HUTCHINSON’S FORGIVENESS IS NOT THE SAME AS THE KIND THE PAINTER GAVE BRENT. FOR MRS. HUTCHINSON IT WAS MORE ACCEPTANCE AND THE ABILITY TO MOVE ON THAT PROVIDED RYAN A WAY TO PROGRESS DOWN A BETTER PATH LIKE BRENT. MRS. HUTCHINSON GAVE RYAN ANOTHER OPTION, HE HAD COMMITTED A HORRIBLE CRIME BUT HE COULD DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT HE WOULD LET THAT DEFINE HIM FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. THIS QUOTE ALSO REMINDS ME OF DARTH VADER. HAVING JOINED THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE, DARTH VADER IS FORCED TO FIGHT AGAINST HIS OWN SON LUKE SKYWALKER. LUKE BELIEVES THERE IS STILL GOOD IN VADER, HE HAS FORGIVEN HIS FATHER FOR ALL THE EVIL HE HAS DONE THROUGHOUT THE YEARS AND HOPES TO BRING HIS FATHER BACK TO THE LIGHT SIDE. AT FIRST VADER RESISTS, SAYING THE GOOD IN HIM THAT LUKE SENSES DOES NOT EXIST ANYMORE. LATER, WHEN LUKE IS ABOUT TO BE KILLED, VADER FIGHTS BACK AGAINST HIS MASTER FROM THE DARK SIDE TO SAVE LUKE. BECAUSE LUKE CONTINUED TO BELIEVE THAT VADER STILL HAD GOOD IN HIM UNTIL THE VERY END, VADER WAS ABLE TO MOVE PAST ALL OF THE BAD HE HAS AND REJOIN THE LIGHT SIDE OF THE FORCE, ULTIMATELY HELPING THE REBELLION RESTORE PEACE TO THE GALAXY. IN ALL OF THESE SCENARIOS, FORGIVENESS IS WHAT ALLOWED POSITIVE CHANGE TO HAPPEN, THAT EVEN AFTER ALL THE NEGATIVITY, SOMETHING GOOD CAN COME OUT OF IT. FOR BRENT, HE REALIZES THAT HE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD AND IS NOW READY TO RE-ENTER HIS OLD WORLD. HIS WHIRLIGIGS, AS SHOWN THROUGH VARIOUS CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK, HAVE INFLUENCED PEOPLE’S LIVES. FOR RYAN, HE WAS ABLE TO HELP KATY HUTCHINSON TEACH A POSITIVE LESSON TO YOUNG PEOPLE. HE WAS ABLE

“THEY WANT US TO LAUGH ALL THE LAUGHS THAT WERE TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM. ” P. 114 JENNY’S GRANDMOTHER IS A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR YET SHE HAS BEEN ABLE TO PRESERVE HER FAITH IN HUMANITY EVEN AFTER ENDURING EVERYTHING THAT SHE HAS. HER FORM OF FORGIVENESS IS THAT SHE HAS ACCEPTED AND MOVED ON FROM HER PAST. THUS BEING ABLE TO ACHIEVE HAPPINESS AGAIN. FORGIVENESS IS WHAT SETS HER FREE. PEOPLE THAT NEED TO HAVE A SIMILAR MIND SET ARE SOLDIERS THAT HAVE SERVED IN TRAUMATIC ENVIRONMENTS. I REMEMBER WATCHING A VIDEO WHERE SOLDIERS FROM THE U. S. MILITARY TALKED ABOUT THE HARDSHIPS THEY’VE FACED. ONE OF THE BIG ONES BEINGS TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES. SPECIFICALLY KNOWING THAT EVERY TIME THEY PULL THE TRIGGER, IT IS A HUMAN LIFE THAT IS BEING TAKEN. THESE SOLDIERS, LIKE JENNY’S GRANDMOTHER, HAVE SUFFERED YET IN ORDER FOR THEM TO CONTINUE LIVING THEY NEED TO FORGIVE THEMSELVES AND ACCEPT WHAT HAS HAPPENED. THEY CANNOT UNDO WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE AND NOW MUST LIVE WITH IT. A STRONG MESSAGE I RECEIVED FROM THIS QUOTE IS TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST. WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THIS BEAUTIFUL GIFT OF LIFE AND IT IS UP TO US AS THE LIVING TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF IT. I THOUGHT OF BRENT AND HOW MUCH HIS PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE CHANGED FROM BEFORE THE CRASH AND AFTER. THE CRASH WAS CAUSED BY BRENT TRYING TO TAKE HIS OWN LIFE. YET LITTLE BY LITTLE AFTERWARDS, BRENT STARTED TO SEE HOW HE COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE EVEN AFTER EVERYTHING THAT HE’S DONE. WITH THE FORGIVENESS FROM THE PAINTER, BRENT CAN START TO UNCHAIN

ACTIVITY 2 - WORDS COME ALIVE

I’m drowning But this downpour of expectations I can feel the air leaving my chest Makes me wish I was in a drought As the phrase You must be the I tried to stay afloat best Even when your hopes and dreams Echoes in my waterlogged mind for me Acted like an anvil chained to my I didn’t sign up for this swim throat I didn’t ask to play violin I didn’t ask to go to science camp The lack of oxygen must have Yet I guess the colour of my skin driven me insane did Signals were sent to my brain telling me to just stop I wish that my flesh was pale white Stop trying to please, stop pushing Therefore I wouldn’t be pressured down my own dreams into doing everything right So I let myself sink And for once I finally free I know that I’ve sworn an oath that forbids me from acting out

ACTIVITY 3 – BUMPER STICKERS

I am NOT what has happened to me I am what I chose to become Self-identity is knowing who you are as a person. A struggle that may occur when going through and identity crisis is letting your past or others define you. The past cannot be altered but the decisions we choose make in the present are controllable. The parts of our lives that are uncontrollable cannot be what defines our selfidentities, it is the decisions we make that form who we are.

Forgiveness is not something we do for other people We do it for ourselves to get well and move on Forgiveness can be shown in many ways and can have varying effects on ourselves and others. Forgiveness isn’t an action solely for other people. It can be used to help heal ourselves by letting go of emotions such as rage that chain us to our past. By freeing ourselves with forgiveness we can start to make progress again.

When another person makes you suffer It is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over He does not need punishment; he NEEDS HELP Restorative justice is a system that focuses not on punishment but on the rehabilitation of a criminal. There are times, such as Brent’s case, where sending him to a juvenile detention centre would’ve caused more damaged than good. Like the quote says, “He does not need punishment; he needs help. ” In Whirligig Mrs. Zamorea’s decision to use restorative justice was able to improve the situation. She knew there was already enough suffering in the world and there was no need for more.