Keirsten-brittany

Week 3

= Week 3 Adult: Brittany = Student: Keirsten Book Title: Kim: Empty Inside Pages Read: 110

//Hi! Sorry that this has been so messed up. I have tried to email my responses to Mrs. Shull, but she apparently isn't gettin them. I know you were really looking forward to this project and I apologize for the poor participation. I didn't get your first response in time to follow the original time schedule, so I think I am a week behind. I won't be able to attend the final meeting because I will be at college, so I will put my final discussion on here.

In the second section, Kim steadily declining. Her eating disorder and her emotional stablity keeps getting worse. I keep getting excited when she says she will stop purging, but she always starts up again. I think it is interesting that she seems to always seem to think she is not good enough. Kim says she's not smart enough, not thin enough, too ugly for a boyfriend. She doesn't have any confidence. Her lack of confidence makes me sad because she has so much to be grateful for. I haven't ever known anyone like Kim. I like to think that if any of my friends ever had an eating disorder, I would be able to talk to them and help them stop. I do admire Kim's determination. In her school work and gymnastics, she sets goals and goes above and beyond. I would like to be more like her in that way. On one hand, I would like to have a friend like Kim because she seems like a wonderful, talented girl. However, her total lack of confidence and tendency to hide from others emotionally, makes me wonder if she would be a good friend to have.//

//I know you have already finished, but I would still like to talk to you about the book. Tomorrow I am going to Philidelphia to help a friend pack up and return home from college, so I will finish the book during the 28 hour drive (I am not looking forward to being stuck in the car!) This section made me start questioning what I would do if Kim were my friend or sister. How would I try to help her? Can she be helped? As a physical therapist, do you think you will have to deal with people like Kim who do not treat their bodies as they should? How do you think you will handle that? I was just curious. I agree with you that friends are very important and should always be there for you. I am not in a soroity. I was invited, but I declined because I just don't think a soroity is for me. I have a couple friends who are in them, but most of my friends are also not in one. I understand perfectly Kim's pressure. College can be stressful and you have to really want to succeed. Kim's trouble with her house is actually a reason I did not want to go greek. I know who my friends are and don't want to feel pressured or required to do anyting that I am uncomfortable doing. How about you? Would you like to join a soroity? Again I apologize for how this project turned out! I will write again Sunday or Monday!//

//Sincerely, Brittany//

In the second part of my book the protagonist is Kim a quiet soft-spoken freshman at UCLA. It seems like all the bad stuff happens to Kim or maybe that’s just how she makes it sound. And her eating problem is getting worse. Every time something bad happens she blames it on her weight. She thinks that she would be so much better at every thing if she were thinner so all she is eating now is lettuce and tomatoes. She is so scared and feels like she is loosing control of her life she made a commitment to herself that she would quit purging and using laxatives, but every time she starts doing good she finds a new reason why she should start doing it again. Kim’s eating disorder makes me sad for her I want to help her. It is horrible that she has to go through all of that and be under all of that pressure and still take on College. I think that might be part of the problem too Kim feels that she isn’t as pretty as the other girls in her sorority and isn’t as good as the other girls on her gymnastics team and that probably puts a tremendous amount of pressure on her. Are you enjoying this book so far? I don’t really know what to say because I haven’t gotten your response yet but I like the book so far and I think that things are going to start looking up for Kim. Well hopefully, I am glad she is finally finding new friends in college. Having a friend you can talk to can always help when you feel down. Don’t you think? I know my friends would help me if I needed it with any thing, do you have friends like that friends that would help you with your problems? I also wanted to ask you if you are in a sorority and if so do you feel some of the pressures that Kim feels.

PS: Please write back cant wait to here from you J

517 Ball Dr. Unit #798 Hanover, IN 47243 April 23, 2010 Dear Keirsten, I am excited to participate in Reading Rocks again this year. I was a volunteer last year and read __Keeping the Moon__ by Sarah Dessen. I haven’t read any books like __Kim: Empty Inside__, so I am eager to start reading. I’m sorry if this letter is a little late. I currently a freshman in college and just had finals this week, so my week has been filled with studying. My name is Brittany Nicole Sappenfield. I just turned 19 on April 3rd. I attend Hanover College in Indiana, which is about 4 hours away. I am majoring in English and my dream job is to be an editor for a publishing company. I’m really excited for school next year because I will be studying in Ireland during the month of May! I also have two siblings, but I am the baby of the family. My older brother is 33 and my sister is 29. Both my sister and my sister-in-law are currently pregnant, which means I will be an aunt in June //and// in October! I love reading but I haven’t had very much time to read this year because my classes have kept me busy. I agree with you that it is important for kids to read and that this program is an excellent way to help students enjoy reading. I’m not really a sports girl, but I did play softball, soccer, and volleyball when I was younger. Your traveling softball team sounds like a lot of fun, and it is good that you are traveling. To relax, I also like to spend time outside. My school is really small, only 1,000 students, and everyone goes outside in the spring to study. The lawn in front of my dorm is perfect for laying outside for a nap. I also listen to my music to relax. All Time Low is a favorite band of mine too! I also like Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, and The Cab. I look forward to hearing from you! Sincerely, Brittany Sappenfield

= = = Week 4 Adult: Brittany = Student: Keirsten Book Title: Kim: Empty Inside Pages Read: All of them

I was kind of mad when Kim broke up with Lawrence because I knew that she liked him but she just kept leading herself to believe that she didn’t deserve him. I was really happy when Kim ended up in the hospital that sounds kind of mean but I knew she was in an environment where she was going to get help and hopefully stay healthy. Eventually she got herself into therapy and realized how much fun life could be when she didn’t have to worry about what she was eating and how much she was eating. I think that people with eating disorders should read this book. I think that they would be able to learn a lot and it would open their eyes so they would be able to see that they aren’t the only ones in the world who feel like they do. Throughout the story Kim changes a lot and most of it is for the better she realizes that she doesn’t have to be perfect and that she is fine they way she is. I think the author was trying to say that if you have a problem like this that there is some one who can help you. You don’t have to be alone. I don’t think I would change the ending any more because we finally know that Kim is getting help and she is going to be okay surrounded by people she loves like her mom, dad, the twins, and Lawrence.

Yes I want to help disabled people and accident victims, because my uncle has duchenne muscular dystrophy and has been in a wheelchair since he was years old they didn’t expect him to live past his teens but he is now 22 and hopefully will live for many more years to come. My mom was in a car accident when she was a teenager and the doctors told her that she would never be able to use her hands again but after going through many surgeries and month after month of physical therapy she regained full mobility of her hands again. Without the help of the physical therapists my mom would have never been able to use her hands again and I wouldn’t be here today. That is why want to be a physical therapist. = = = =