MichaelChScrapbook4

The Assignment
To get a feeling for how the Samanas, Indian ascetics that are found in the novel //Siddhartha//, try to reach enlightenment, we gave up something we enjoy for a week. I chose to give up ice-cream, because it's technically not something I **need.** Technically.



Beginning of the week
'Here we go,' I thought. 'This is gonna be rough.' I was worried that I had no chance to make it through the week. Ice cream was without a doubt a staple in my diet. The first day was probably the hardest, I did everything I could to avoid it. I ate other kinds of snacks, watched seemingly endless TV and went to bed at least an hour earlier than I usually would. The next day was significantly easier. I just didn't think about it. I just went through my day like I normally would, and ice cream didn't even cross my mind.

Middle and End of the week
The week just seemed to get easier and easier as it went on. I just occupied myself with other things to do, and when I didn't do that, I kind of realized that I didn't need ice cream whatsoever. I remember thinking, 'Why did I ever feel like this was so important to me? Maybe I should've picked something more difficult...' The reason I put together the middle and end of week sections is because, there was truly no difference in how those two times went! "He fasted fourteen days. He fasted twenty-eight days." I can see how Siddhartha fasted for so long, maybe he just is better at letting things go that he doesn't need. After the week was over, I didn't feel any form of relief or anything, nothing seemed any different to me. I asked myself the same question Siddharta did, "Have we made any progress? Have we reached any goals?" "We have learned and are continuing to learn." I thought I would feel good if I made it throughout the week, but I didn't feel much different at all. Altogether, I think this week taught me that there are many, many things in this world that despite how much I think I need them, they really have no significant meaning in my life, and I only want them, I don't need them.

Siddhartha reached awakening when he met the Buddha. To him, awakening looked like "as if he was seeing the world for the first time." I drew the world because everything was exactly how it was. "Blue was blue, river was river." I also drew a star because "he stood alone like a star in the sky." (I haven't been able to find my real drawing. The one above isn't mine, I don't know why it's there. It's a pretty picture though so I decided to keep it there)

**Kamala**
If a man wants to pursue Kamala as a lover, he must be very persistent and never give up. He must be rich, and he must have a lot of class. He needs to be able to provide to her every wim. He must have expensive clothes to impress her as well. Finally, he must be polite and respectful of Kamala's authority, while still showing his own authority to her and having confidence in himself. "I do not want you to become his servant, but his equal;" Despite this quote describing how Siddhartha must be when he meets Kamaswami, it also applies very easily to how a man should be with Kamala.
 * Name:** Kamala
 * Location:** My personal grove.
 * Eyes:** Dark eyes, clever and alert.
 * Hair:** Black hair
 * About me:**I am beautiful and of high status. To go along with these qualities, I am also much smarter than you may first think of me. "You observed well, you have seen everything." (Page 53)
 * Hobbies/Profession:** Kamala's hobby is love. Living others, being loved, everything that has to do with love. She has a pet bird, for example, that she loves very much.
 * Looking For:** Kamala is looking for a man that is very wealthy, and that will be a good provider for her. "He must have clothes, fine clothes, and shoes, fine shoes, and plenty of money in his purse and presents for Kamala." (Page 54)

**Comic**
Wake up Get ready for school Go to school Suffer through school Go home Do homework Watch TV/go on the computer Bedtime media type="custom" key="21748422" This comic describes my daily routine nearly to a tee. Nearly every morning starts with the lovely sound of someone yelling at me to wake up. I'm rushed to get ready, yet I'm still ready to go before my sister, who still blames it on me if we're late. The school day moves by as slow as molasses, and when I get home, I have to do homework for a while so I get minimal time to do things I actually want to. This process repeats from Monday until Thursday, but on the weekends it's usually much different. "The years sped by; cushioned by prosperity, Siddhartha barely felt their passing." This is how much of my life can feel to me. "We find consolidations, we find ways to numb the mind, we learn technical ways for deceiving ourselves." This quote stuck to me because my mind can feel extremely numb from always doing the same things over and over again. "the world entrapped him." This can relate to my life, because with such a normally tight schedule, with a constantly repeating routine, I rarely have time to shake things up.
 * Daily Routine: (**This differs based on the season, tennis in the spring, cross country in the fall)
 * Quotes:**

media type="custom" key="21748462" Song: River of Dreams by Billy Joel Lyrics: I must be lookin' for somethin' (lookin' for somethin') Somethin' sacred I lost (sacred I lost) But the river is wide (oh it's wide) And it's too hard to cross (too hard to cross)
 * By The River**

Connection to text: In the song, Billy Joel continually returns to a river to search for something. In the book, Siddhartha continually returns to the river every time he has found something new about himself. Quote: "The river has taught me how to listen, and you will learn that from it to." While Joel believes the River is the opposition and is impossible to cross, Siddhartha sees it as a teacher. media type="custom" key="21748832" Song: Find Yourself by Brad Paisley Lyrics: Cause sometimes when you lose your way, it's really just as well because you find yourself, yeah that's when you find yourself.

Connection to text: This song is easily relatable to the book because Siddhartha seems to lose himself on more than one occasion, but when he returns to the river he has found himself once again. Quote: "When the sound of Om reached Siddhartha's ears, his slumbering soul suddenly awakened." media type="custom" key="21748928" Song: Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves Lyrics: I'm walking on sunshine, wooooah I'm walking on sunshine, wooooah I'm walking on sunshine, wooooah And don't it feel good!

Connection to text: This one is a bit of a stretch, but I still believe it's relatable to Siddhartha because this is what I think he felt like when he reached Om. Quote: "It was as if he was seeing the world for the first time." (I know it's a repeat, sorry)