"Hi Mom, I'm Home!" by Adam Davidson

In the article "Hi Mom, I'm Home!" by Adam Davidson, from Upfront magazine, the author informs readers about college graduates who have decided to move back in with their parents a.k.a the "Boomerang Generation". Many of which have huge student loans and no permanent decisions for their future. Davidson not only explains why this is increasing and becoming an option for a lot of college graduates, but he also helps to make the reader empathize and understand the need and appeal of going back home, post-college. To do so, the author provides many facts supporting the practicality of moving back home and why this is becoming more necessary. He also shows why the stereotypes of the so called Boomerang generation, for example, lazy, are mostly not the case.

To begin, one startling fact to support why many post-college adults move back in with their parents is, "Today, one in four recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, which means they're earning smaller paychecks by working part-time or in jobs that don't require a college degree. And they face the highest debt burden of any graduating class in history (see graph): Students graduating in 2014 have an average student-loan debt of $33,000, up from $9,300 in 1993." Clearly if many students are underpaid and deep in debt, a vast majority of them have no choice but to move back home to lessen the burden of rent they would have to pay every month. This debt is so because, " Fewer jobs are available for recent graduates. A college degree is an advantage, but it no longer offers any guarantee. In a way, a degree is the expensive price of admission to the workforce. Young people now need to learn skills before they get a job, which often means unpaid internships." Therefore, most unskilled college graduates don't use their degree and make minimum wage or work on their skills but remain unpaid. With a heavy debt on their shoulders, going home is clearly their best bet.

Some adults of the Boomerang Generation, however disagree. The author uses their point of view to show just how going back to your parents is not a bad thing and is actually a very practical decision. One example is Monica Navarro, who has paid off most of her debts and is living with her mother currently. She says, "It's not a failure anymore, it's a choice now," she says. "I think having that personal knowledge is enough for me. Even if people know outside that I'm living at home and I'm a college graduate, it's OK with me now."Clearly Navarro is accepting and happy with her current situation, this shows how she is not struggling and is not pressured or in a rush to leave her old home. Another example of the practicality is the story of Eric Curran, who saw moving home as an economic plan. "Eric Curran moved back in with his parents in Wahoo, Nebraska, in 2013, during his last semester in college. Curran had more than $19,000 in student loans and a degree in history and religion from Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska. But he didn't have a clear idea of what he wanted to do with his life. One thing he did know: Without a stable job, he couldn't afford to live by himself. Moving back in with his parents, while juggling odd jobs, has allowed him to pay off almost half of his loans and figure out his next career move. Curran is now applying to grad school and studying Arabic to make his resume stronger. 'Most of the time, I don't think [living at home] is a sign of failure so much as a cost-cutting decision," says Curran, 24. "[It's] a temporary arrangement to plan ahead." As stated, "boomeranging" has allowed Curran time to plan for his future, acquire new skills, and make money to pay off his debt. The idea of a temporary arrangement shows that this is a useful one and people like him are not lazy and are making the most out of their time living back at home.

Overall, Adam Davidson shows readers all over that, after college, if necessary, it is okay to move back home. He also suggests that it's not particularly your fault if this is your only option and that, the decision to do so is actually a good one for your future. So, if need be take the time to re-situate and reassess yourself, your life, and where you want to go from there.

"Tiger Lily" by Jodi Lynn

 The book "Tiger Lily" by Jodi Lynn Anderson brings the reader into a whole new even more emotional aspect to the beloved story of Peter Pan. This book joins Tiger Lily's (the main character) heritage and beliefs with every day problems that average teenagers go through. Tiger Lily was just living a normal life with her best friend, Pine Sap, until her arranged marriage was made official and she crossed paths with the infamous Peter Pan. The main struggle of the novel is young love. The struggle however is to advanced for many people to relate to; Tiger Lily, although in love with Peter Pan, whom she was warned to stay away from, must marry another. The author shows us that when Wendy Darling comes in, how Tiger Lily changes and eventually comes to realize the love she really needed was right in front of her all along. The author, who writes in the perspective of Tinkerbell, a young fairy who follows Tiger Lily Every where she goes make this fairy tale more realistic and harsh, just like real life.

First of all, The author starts off by comparing all the tribe beliefs to ones throughout history and providing an explanation to almost every unrealistic aspect of the original tale."Let me tell you something straight off. This is a love story, but not like any you've ever heard. The boy and the girl are far from innocent. Dear lives are lost. And good doesn't win.” This harsh but enthralling quote enhances the story making it unlike any other. Already telling you to not expect the happy ending that all fairy tales end with. It also promises a love of interesting characters and a story to not be forgotten. Another example of this is that the author also shows the complications of loving someone. “There was no twinkle in his eyes. "Maybe I just love some of you. Maybe not enough."Tiger Lily blinked at him, and she didn't understand how anyone could only love a part. Her greedy heart didn't work that way.” Clearly the relationship wasn't always so balanced and when they fought Peter and Tiger Lily found out the ugly truths about their relationship. Anderson obviously wanted to show this life and relationship as dysfunctional and portray how not all stories, like the original Peter Pan or any Disney tale for that matter, is always black and white.

Anderson also wrote often about how Tiger Lily herself was not perfect or ideal in any way. For example she and her adopted father, who was essentially a cross-dresser, even though they had no term for it, were the black sheep of the tribe. No one thought of Tiger Lily as beautiful, especially after she cut off all her hair after the death of her adopted father. “Everyone will think I'm ugly." Tik Tok smiled. "That's true. But we are a small village. We have narrow tastes. There's no telling who else in the world would think you're beautiful.” Even when she calls herself ugly, the people she loves don't deny it they just try to make her feel better. And Tiger Lily has made her own peace with that. Another not so flawless aspect of Tiger Lily is her personality and the way she acts. According to Tinkerbell, “Still, the longer I was around her, the more I could see the colors of her mind and the recesses of her heart. There was a beast in there. But there was also a girl who was afraid of being a beast, and who wondered if other people had beasts in their hearts too. There was strength, and there was also just the determination to look strong. She guarded herself like a secret." Clearly Tiger Lily is a strong young woman but that didn't always go her way. She could be stubborn,envious, rash, and even take things for granted so their loss wouldn't bring her down. This led to the ultimate downfall of her relationship with Peter, along with Wendy.

Even though Peter left to go with Wendy and Tiger Lily was heart broken, I'd like to think that Justice was served and that Peter/ Tiger Lily got both their good and bad Karma. Since Tiger Lily hadn't let Wendy die when she was at the brink of death, she got her not ideal, but happy ending and didn't have to marry a man whom she despised. On the other hand Peter regretted his decision and ended up having to marry Wendy, not the girl whom he'd never forget he'd lost. Overall, the author gave a satisfying and non traditional new happy ending to the story everyone knows and the one no one can forget.

"Dirty Little Secrets" by C.J. Omololu: Revised

The book "Dirty Little Secrets" by C.J. Omololu is a young adult novel in which a teen struggles to hide her private life from the world. Lucy, the protagonist of the book, is extremely embarrassed by her mother who has developed into a full-blown hoarder. This poses a threat to the households health and wellness. When Lucy comes home one day, her problems become a great deal worse when she sees her mom dead on the floor from an asthma attack caused by the growing mold in her house. But Lucy has no idea what to do with the situation since she is to ashamed to call the cops and invite them into her putrid home. With her mom out of the way, however, Lucy can finally clean up the house before anyone finds out. In this complex "dirty" story the author uses the hoard of garbage and manipulates it to act as a sort of "archaeological dig" to make the reader empathize about the characters with buried forgotten memories.
    
Firstly, when Lucy recovers some hidden items in the hoard of her house they bring back some joyful memories. For example, when Lucy finds her third grade teddy bear it brings back a certain remembrance. " It was a Girl Scout project- I even got my sewing badge for doing it. My mom used to make quilts a long time ago- she was a really good sewer, and she showed me what to do. I squeezed the bear's tummy... thinking about the nights Mom and I had sat with our heads bent over the effort of making the stitches... as tiny and uniform as possible."(Omololu, 120) As you can see even though Lucy acknowledged that her mom was not a good one, they still bonded over things in the past and spent quality time together even if it wasn't recently. It also portrays how some people just go downhill and need a lot of help to get back to the way they once were. If Lucy's mom wasn't always a negligent mother and hoarder, that means she didn't have to stay that way. If they could work together to make a bear they could have worked together to clean up their lives. Another part of the story is when her mother heartwarmingly remarks, "Congratulations. You are now an official member of the top secret quilting society."(Omololu, 121) Clearly her mom wanted to be a big, good part of Lucy's life and did once make an effort to do so. By including this phrase, the author showed us how much love and togetherness they once had and could have had still.  One last example of a joyful memory is when Lucy uncovers a pair of her mother's scrubs. She is reminded of what kind of person she was around her "people" (She was a nurse). " Mom always found the most obnoxious scrubs to wear because she said it made her people feel better to look at something cheerful. It had been weird to see Mom so efficient, so capable of taking care of other people."(Omololu, 136) Clearly her mother, in her work place seemed to be a role model to Lucy and others once. Lucy later even says that "I would remember back to the day I was proud of her (referring to watching her work)." This shows Lucy's appreciation and admiration towards her mother's "non-hoarding" personality. It also implies that Lucy doesn't want to take up this role of responsibility, she just wants the mother she knows and loves to do what she's best at with her, taking care of people. Clearly the house is not only filled with garbage but also memories to hold onto as well.
    
 Secondly, Not only does Lucy unearth belongings with great memories, she also reveals items that make her feel distraught, confused, and just downright angry. For example the most disheartening discovery in the hoard is when Lucy finds an envelope of bills. "I ripped the envelope all the way open and took out the papers that were inside. There were pages and pages of charges, and on the first page in big black letters was one of the largest numbers I'd ever seen in real life. I looked up at the date in the corner of the page. This statement was from six months ago, but even then Mom owed $48,562 to this credit card... The scholarships and grants I was chasing because there wasn't enough money to go to a good university without a lot of help. And this is where it all ended up... It had ended in late-night home-shopping bargains on stuff we'd never use"(Omololu, 206) Clearly, finding something as big as this must be truly distressing, Their lost opportunities were just because her mom was a shopaholic. All Lucy wanted was to go to college and her mom's habits had made that chance significantly smaller. The fact that the mom had these dues and was unable to pay for necessities shows that she was truly unfit as a parent , even if she did honestly love her children. Lucy must have felt that material things seemed to have mattered more than her to her mom.

 Overall, The author takes advantage of the mother's hoarding problems and uses that to put meaning into a few of the things in her hoard. This affects the reader by making them feel empathy, good and bad. It also lets reader's delve a little deeper into the perspective of Lucy regardu her mom's actions in the past. Many people can relate to the author's use of old items because most people have items to remember things by, even if they aren't a hoarder. For example, when you go on vacation you often purchase a souvenir. Basically, nostalgia is something everyone creates and hangs on to. By clinging on to items from the past you can relive those moments just by seeing them, but in this story that gets out of hand and ruins the lives of multiple people.

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