Looking for Alaska, John Green

In the heat of the Florida summer, Miles is beginning a new journey. In hope of changing things up, Miles is attending the boarding school in which his father attended in Alabama. Miles (soon to be known as Pudge) is going through what every sixteen year-old is going through. He's searching for his grater purpose. Life in Florida is mundane, and Miles knows it's not going to get any better. Alas, the day has finally come and Miles is moving into Culver Creek. The Alabama air is hot, and sticky. As me moves into his new dorm room, he's filled with wonder and trepidation. Expectedly, Miles has no idea what he's getting himself into. He is entering a new place, filled with new faces, and somehow he has to make it all work. Some of the points my group and I discussed were around the pressures of high school. Culver Creek is a co-ed boarding school. There is a vast separation between the day students and the boarding students. Miles, neither identifies with the day students nor the boarding students. Much like his peers, Miles is going through an identity crisis. He has to make a choice in regards to where he wants his allegiance to lie. Often times, a very difficult situation to make. In addition, the pressures of adolescence is weighing on him as well. Smoking, sex, and bullying as relevant within the first few chapters of the reading. Miles smokes because he wants to fit in, he is constantly analyzing the other sex based on physical attributes, and has already felt the wrath of the day students at Culver Creek. Now, Miles has never been a student who finds himself in trouble often. Something I had never really realized until now is that Miles is doing whatever is necessary to fit in. Whether thats buying a pack of cigs for a friend, or getting kicked out of a basketball game for heckling the other team. Miles is surviving. Trying anything he can to keep his head above water. Just from the reading I have done thus far, I want to remind everyone who we will one day be working with. The kids in this book are not that different from the kids that will one day occupy desks in our classrooms. Some will be struggling with finding their purpose, others will be going through identity crises, some may be fighting their own demons. If you read this blog post, I want you to walk away with a new found understanding of adolescents and how hard it can be to be one, especially today. Think about your experience going through adolescents and transitioning into adulthood. It was not easy, and it arguably didn't get easier. That being said, this is a time in kids lives where they're absorbing everything. They want to fit in, they want to have a purpose, they want to be included. It is our jobs to make sure that happens. Miles is searching for his identity, and he's not getting it from the administration at Culver Creek.