Day 2: Hafizah

1. In True Notebooks, it seems as if Mark feels like an insider when he's with his friends or just by himself writing, but as a teacher in general it seems as though he sometimes feels like an outsider in his own classroom. On page 11 he describes the class where a girl was reading a piece of her writing and became emotional.  He pointed out how uncomfortable the situation was and how even he was unsure of what to say after it was over.  Mark knows how when and if he goes to teach at the juvenile center he will most definitely be an outsider.  Throughout the first few chapters he makes lists of his advantages and disadvantages of going and the disadvantage list is always longer.  As soon as he enters the hall, his tone and the way he describes his surroundings you can tell he already feels as though he's an outsider.  When it comes to the prisoners, Duane, and even the guards it's as though he's a small fish in a big pond.  Even though the young boys are imprisoned, the way they talk and are comfortable with each other is almost as though this is one of the only places where they feel like insiders.  When they write they talk about how much they were influenced and did so many things for other people instead of themselves, and now they're learning from their mistakes and realizing that life doesn't have to be that way.  In a way, both Mark and the boys are outsiders because of the experiences and situations they have faced, and they can learn from each other.

2. Often when I was younger if I was put into situations where I didn't know anybody or knew very few people, I would feel like an outsider.  I was really shy so being put into a situation where I felt like I was out of the loop was very intimidating. When I moved to Milwaukee to go to high school, I felt like an outsider because I was from a different city and mostly everyone knew each other. I feel the most like an insider at my dance studio; I'm friends with everyone and it's so easy to be comfortable and be myself without any worries.  It's like a safe haven for me and basically like my second home.