Journal 8 - Matthew Glenn

I believe dreamers and eccentrics have great value in our culture. They have their own unique way of life. Unfortunately, I do not think being eccentric, or a dreamer is encouraged in our culture. When someone is not following the path that society wants, it seems to be discouraged. I don't recall any personal experiences that has given me that opinion. Personally, I think life would be very boring if there weren't any eccentrics. I couldn't imagine if everyone around had no humor and took everything serious.

The reading of Holding On I've done so far is going great. In my opinion, it is the best book I have read for class. A strength of the book that stands out most to me is the many different types of people, and stories that lie behind each profile. I would say a weakness in this book for me is a profile or two, does not go in depth enough. It leaves you wondering and wanting to read more about the specific person.

The profile that stood out the most to me in Holding On, was Moreese Bickham's. A key theme that caught my attention was fear of repercussions will keep others from telling the truth. Another key theme that stood out was racism. From Moreese's profile, I learned that before assumptions are made about a person or their actions, you should try to understand why they did the actions done.

An important passage in Moreese's profile is where the author finds information about his trail, "As I began to research Bickham's story - no one had touched the trail materials in decades - I found Bickham's 1990 version of the crime to be identical to his confession of thirty-five years ago. The trail transcript is an eerie read. The prosecution's case against Bickham only seems to bolster his claims of self-defense"(pg38). To me, this passage is important because although the prosecution's case seems to point that Bickham was defending himself, his race is an issue. His freedom was stripped away for protecting himself.