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I was struck by the quote "There is always a better thing" from Marina Keegan's The Opposite of Loneliness. Keegan was known to rewrite her work until she believed it was good enough. I believe that her determination to write the right words is remarkable and how she believed that there was always something better that could be written was something I hadn't thought about. Keegan truly knew what it meant to get the right understanding of how a sentence was meant to be in her essays.

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"The Opposite of Loneliness" has a quote that I believe is true, "We are our own hardest critics." This quote can hold true for everybody. I know that I judge myself harder than anyone else does. My friends will tell me I'm doing great in school but I will tell myself that I am not doing the best that I can and the work that I create isn't good enough. As a result, I feel I give myself high standards which can get me discouraged. Keegan knows that humans have these standards and she holds a more optimistic view of her standards. Furthermore, she is okay with never being able to achieve them and I find that admirable because I know I would not be satisfied with never achieving my standards.

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After reading Brian's journal, Claire's reality struck down, however, the sentiments that Brian wrote down about Claire were the same ones Claire felt about him. She was feeling more emotional about the situation only because he had died. I don't understand being together but not labeling their relationship. They both didn't have great romantic feelings for each other so why would they continue to see each other? I also didn't comprehend how Brian still had feelings for his ex while being with Claire. I thought breaking up meant moving on and building a new relationship.

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Keegan describes the family as a normal one that didn't have many problems but I find the family to be out of my normal. The parents have a rocky relationship which is different from my parents. My parents are affectionate towards one another, they display their affection in front of others with no shame. As a result, it fascinates me how people view "normal". It is completely different from others and some may feel that their "normal" is the right normal. I don't think "normal" is a good way of describing a situation or scenario because everyone is different.

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Ana’s thoughts of choking to death were quite disturbing because she had thought of death multiple times. I understand some people feel the need to end their lives but Ana freaks herself out. I don’t think she wants to end her life but she does miss her husband. It does make me feel pity for Ana, I wouldn’t want to imagine a death while eating a steak.

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The Ingenue reminds me of a song by Tyler the Creator, "NEW MAGIC WAND". Tyler composes a set of lyrics that create a hateful melody. The song is about Tyler having a crush on his best friend however that friend has a significant other. Tyler states that he wishes the significant other to be out of the picture and disappear like magic. Similarly, Keegan writes about hating Olivia because of her closeness with her boyfriend Danny. She writes about the violent actions she wants Olivia to experience. She knows she is jealous but can’t help it.

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William emailing Laura feels like a one-sided romance. He stated that he loved Laura but then apologized for writing it. It makes me believe that Laura doesn’t hold such strong feelings for William as he does for her. I can’t wrap my head around being in a relationship but not having strong feelings for each other. Relationships are difficult but I believed that people would hold the same feelings for each other.

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Why would your significant other's flaws annoy you? I believe that everyone has flaws, but being annoyed by others' flaws is hypocritical. I also think it’s important to want to live with those flaws. He wants to propose, but he is annoyed by her flaws. How is he going to survive and not fall out of love with them?

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The two characters being in different religions must have a hard time dating. They have different views on babies born out of wedlock. Many religions disown having abortions and believe women will be committing a great sin. On the other hand, other religions are more lenient on abortions. Those who are pregnant must have a hard time going against their religion. I also believe it must be hard going through with the pregnancy because they are giving life to someone they aren’t prepared for.

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The tattoo meaning soybeans was quite entertaining. Although, I did feel bad for Karen because she didn’t like her tattoo's meaning. Her having to lie about the meaning made her feel ashamed of her tattoo but I liked how she owned up to it. I don’t think there is anything wrong with having soybeans written on her ankle. It may be different but people get tattoos that don’t have any meaning to them so why is getting soybean any different?

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Ellen never getting to hear her significant other’s words to her was disheartening. I think becoming deaf is a cruel situation. You know what’s like to hear the voices of your family and the noises the environment makes, having that taken away from you is depressing. You start to think about all the times you had wished for silence or wanting the world to be quiet. Now that you have it, you’ll miss how loud and vibrant the world was.

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Keegan wrote that her car was an extension of herself just like how her room was. I feel the same way about my bedroom. It contains all my interests and hobbies. My bedroom is filled with vibrant colors that don’t pair up together but it represents me. I have my dreams and goals taped to my closet wall that remind me of where I want to be. It can be messy at times showing that I too can be disorganized or lazy just like any other would be.

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Keegan's writing about how humans won’t help other humans but are willing to help out animals was something I hadn’t thought about. There are people in need but we choose to ignore them and criticize them because they were responsible for their demise. To add on, humans feel like helping animals is helping the helpless but what about the homeless who struggle with getting jobs?

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Keegan writing about how her mother was worried for her because she had celiac disease was bittersweet. The essay made it seem like her mother was overbearing but I thought it was sweet. I can understand Keegan wanting space, but I can also understand where her mother is coming from. Her mother made sure she consumed no gluten and made sure everyone was aware of it. It reminded me how no one will care as much for you as your mother. My mom will listen to my problems and do everything in her power to comfort me.

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Keegan's pondering on the evolution of humankind is deep. I don’t sit in my chair thinking about how the Earth may be swallowed up by the sun one day. I also don’t think about how much we have evolved. Humans found cures for diseases, discovered the anatomy of humans, and discovered electricity. They invented so much yet we fail to notice how great we are. Humans have evolved more than any other organism and Keegan is right to think that we are “winning the race”.

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Tommy cracking jokes about himself was disheartening to read. I understand he is trying to make light of the situation but he must feel bad about himself afterwards. Tommy may be embarrassed about his profession but that doesn’t give him a reason to make a joke of himself. I wouldn’t want to be the joke, I like to make others laugh but not to the extent that they are laughing at me. Living in shame and making jokes about it is like the equivalent of hating yourself. I couldn’t imagine being in Tommy’s shoes and having to live with shame.

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There were many mixed feelings about becoming a consultant with students and teachers. What I found most interesting was that most teachers felt that becoming was a great opportunity whereas students felt they weren’t learning anything. I feel that students were not passionate about being a consultant. I can relate to the feeling that there is something better for me to do. Students have a reason to be opposed to not wanting to be a consultant. Although I don’t have a lot of knowledge of what a consultant does, I do wish students had more opportunities to learn what they are passionate about.

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People are amazed by Keegan’s fair skin in India because they have never seen anything like it before. They stop her when they see her to take pictures. This reminded me how in Japan, they will take pictures of a person of color because it is common to have fair skin. Every country has different norms which I find interesting because everyone is different. No one person is going to have the exact same features as another person. Yet people will be fascinated by different skin colors because they have never seen anything like it.

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"Song For the Special" reminds me of “Remember My Name” by Mitski. Keegan talks about how one day people will have no recollection of who she was. It is scary to think that one day no one will truly remember me. One day, I may make it to the history books but no one will know my personality. Similarly, the song talks about how Mitski wishes to have a big accomplishment, something that is bigger than the sky and attainable because she knows that one day no one will remember her name.