Metacognition: Jane Eyre Mash-Up

I like trying new things; I enjoy being adventurous; I live to challenge myself. This Jane Eyre mash-up we created in class was something new, adventurous, and challenging for me. I had never done anything like this project before, and I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of not having to write an essay after reading a book for once. At first, I wasn't all that optimistic about doing this project, but then as I began to get into it, I started to realize that it was fun.

Our group worked well together. I started off by suggesting that we do a theme from Jane Eyre that wasn't listed on the English website, because I thought it was something nobody else would choose to do a mash-up about. We chose the theme Void. It's merely a word, but in relation to Jane Eyre, it became so much more than just a simple word. I won't lie, it was definitely difficult trying to find 20 passages from Jane Eyre that truly captured the Void theme, but with patience and persistence, we managed to find the perfect excerpts. When it came to our other book sources and our magazine articles, newspaper stories, pictures, and YouTube videos, we found more than enough passages that would fit perfectly with our theme.

I think the part of this assignment that really made me think was trying to find a way to fit all 59 of our sources into a list that allowed the previous source to flow smoothly into the next source and still have the theme of the project remain somewhat apparent without losing focus. This definitely challenged me, and it took me as well as the rest of the group around five hours to figure out how to arrange the sources. I think one of the things that helped us the most was coming up with a system of organization for the sources. We ended up categorizing the sources according to sub-themes within the main theme. For example, we put all of the quotes relating to isolation (a sub-category of Void) in one pile, and quotes dealing with political, relationship, poverty, religion, love, etc. into corresponding piles. This way, we would be able to keep our evidence in order, while at the same time, also creating a flow of information that fit flawlessly with one another.

All in all, I thought this was a very unique and exciting project. I enjoyed being challenged and forcing myself to think way outside of the box. I would definitely recommend doing this project again next year.

Connection: Linkin Park and Jane Eyre

I chose this song called Somewhere I Belong, by Linkin Park, not only because they are a great band, but because they choose to put so much raw emotion into their music. I like the fact that they do this because it makes their music personal, at least for me. This is just one of their many songs, but as I listened to the lyrics, I thought it had so much direct connection with Jane Eyre. Any reader could clearly see how Jane's life would fit perfectly with this song. I think Jane's emotions are described well in the chorus of the song:

"I want to feel what I thought was never real.
I want to let go of the pain I felt so long.
I want to heal, I want to feel
Like I'm close to something real.
I want to find something I've wanted all along."

I personally interpreted these lyrics to mean (in terms of Jane Eyre) that Jane struggles to find a place where she belongs; a "home," as Bronte writes. She also yearns to be loved, and yet is terrified of love at the same time, since she never had a parental figure or a family that cared for her. Her whole life, she knew nothing of what it meant or felt like to be wanted, but after spending many months at Thornfield Hall with Mr. Rochester, she finally found "something I've wanted all along;" to be loved. But the song is not just about finding something you've always longed for, it's also about letting go of the pain and being able to heal yourself from the pain. In the following stanza, it is easy to feel the emotional baggage that the lyrics carry:

"I will never know myself until I do this on my own,
and I will never feel anything else until my wounds are healed.
I will never be anything until I break away from me.
I will break away, I will find myself today."

Jane shifts her character from a girl who is forced to take orders from everyone she encounters, to a woman who is original in her thought , authoritative in her words, and confident in herself (which, during the time period, were all characteristics seen as unusual for a woman). But in order to make that major shift, Jane had to come to terms with her past, release her pent-up emotions, and deal with the pain. It wasn't easy for her, but in the end, it made her a stronger person. She was never able to "know myself until I do this on my own," "until my wounds are healed." She slowly healed herself, first by forgiving Mrs. Reed, then by finding love with Mr. Rochester, and finally, by proving herself wrong to everyone that thought so little of her. She gained confidence and independence, purity of heart and peace of mind, love and a home.

Jane is quite a complex character. It would be an understatement to say that her character is fully described in this song; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Only a fraction of Jane is portrayed in these lyrics, but a very important part of Jane nonetheless. This song helps get at the deeper emotion we see in Jane; the part of her that we might skip over when merely reading the dense text. That's why it is important to delve deeper into Bronte's character, so we can actually get inside of Jane's head and experience the emotions right along side her.

360 Degrees: Finding Your Own Path

It is important to know and accept yourself for who you are. You can live an adventurous, fulfilling, and successful life by doing what you want, not by what other people tell you to do. I've been told more than enough times that "just be yourself" is such a cliche, but I truly believe that being your own person is the greatest way to experience life. Who wants to be told what to do all the time? Certainly not me. Aside from my parents' occasional requests to do chores and homework, I don't feel obligated to submit myself to anyone 's demands. And I prefer it that way. That's not to say I can't look up to someone and follow in their footsteps, I just follow in my own way to make it personal for me.

Some people may easily disagree, saying that the only way to be great or successful or even happy is to do exactly what another great, successful, happy individual has done. It may work sometimes, but would you really be happy if you were making a good living even though you hate your job? Probably not. Like my dad, he works hard and makes a good living for my family and he loves what he does, but just because he is highly successful doesn't mean I'm going to be a stock broker like him to make a lot of money. That job wouldn't make me happy. I can easily find a job that I love and makes me happy without living the mirror image of someone else's life. But I can use my dad as a goal for my own success. Talking to him about how he became successful can help me do the same in the future, without taking his exact course of action.

I recently went to tour colleges in Washington D.C. and Virginia over spring break. I loved everything about Georgetown, William and Mary, and University of Virginia. My aunt (who went to Georgetown) told me how hard you have to work to get in to those top-notch schools. Looking at her successful life, touring the school, and talking to current Georgetown students, I saw all the hard work it takes to be the best of the best. If I ever hope to attend one of those top schools, I will have to work even harder to make it happen. This doesn't mean I have to be the greatest student who ever walked through the doors of GBS, or have the most extracurricular clubs and sports, or even perfect test scores. That would be living up to someone else's expectations. I can work hard in school; getting good grades and test scores without being overly competitive. I can get in to a top school, but I will do it my own way. And of course my parents push me to strive for excellence, because being excellent makes them happy, but that doesn't mean I can't have my own personal freedom and time to do other things that make me happy.

All in all, it is crucial to find a place inside yourself that allows you to be spontaneous, happy, successful, or anything else that leads you along your own path. If it means telling someone "no" because you know it won't make you happy, then say "no". Don't get something you hate just because it's free, get the things you love instead, even if it means spending a little. When life throws you lemons, throw them back and ask for a fruit that you love.