Reading Response 1

The two essays, “I’m a Believer” and “The Joy of Mud” are similar and different. They have similar themes, but much different endings and resolutions to the story. I enjoyed reading both of these essays to see how different people, in different walks of life, search for and long for something in their life. In “I’m a Believer,” the main character was completely obsessed with the band, the Monkeys, and in particular, the lead singer Davy Jones. I’ve never been this obsessed or wrapped around a certain person or topic, so it surprised me to look into the life of someone who is. To get that glimpse into her life and see how driven she was to pursue any information about Davy Jones or any opportunity to see him in concert was enlightening for me. It surprised me because I’ve never really taken the time to get into the mind of some of these people that are completely wrapped around a famous person or band. They always, and still do, strike me as crazy. In my mind, it’s just a band and it’s just music.
I was also surprised by how let down she was when she finally met him. She’d wanted to meet him for so long. She could’ve eaten dinner with him at the buffet or gambled with him late into the night and gotten to know the person she’d been obsessed with for so long. But instead, she was so let down that the person who she thought he ways, the person who the media created a false image of, that she was too shocked to even take advantage of the opportunity that she had right in front of her. “I accept, finally, that this person I know so well I don’t really know at all…. I stand next to him, this man so familiar and foreign.” (B10)
That point brings up an important issue, the misrepresentation of famous people in the media and pop culture. We place these people up on pedestals and think about them like they are so far above us. They are still human beings. They need air to breathe, food to eat, and water to drink. Most of these people that we admire and look up to are not individuals that we should aspire to be like. They have very poor character and are often involved in a lot of illegal activity, which is often caught on camera. Then, because they are famous, the get a slap on the wrist for the same crime that would send a regular citizen to jail. The media puts an image around these people and steals their humanity away from them. The people that they play in movies, television shows, or in concerts are not the same people that they are in real life. They are entertainers, and they are good at their job, telling us what we want to hear and acting how they think will make them the most popular.
The second essay, “The Joy of Mud,” also involved someone searching for something, only this time, a place that they can truly belong and call home. The main character, Catherine, had been struggling all her life wanting to be other places. She had never really gotten into the Hawaiian culture, always setting her focus on living somewhere else. She has moved around to different places seeking that feeling of belonging and now she has returned to Hawaii, atleast for a while. “Maybe it’s the one that will eventually lead me home.” (B15)
The thing that surprised me most about this essay was how uncomfortable she was, even with people who she called friend. I’ve been to Hawaii a few times and the people there are some of the most inviting, caring people I’ve ever been around. But even back home in Washington or here in Texas, I feel that I belong and can call these places home. I’ve never lived in a place that I felt so uncomfortable in that my entire focus was spent on waiting to leave.
The main issue that arises in this story, in my opinion, is how our high-speed culture of today is causing us to miss out on the simple things in life. We are so busy, working all day long, trying to attain a definition of success that other people define to us, that we miss out on some of the best things in life. Take for example, this story. She had a great, fulfilling time being up to her waist in mud and pulling up roots for lunch. I’m not saying that we all quit going to school and everyone quits there job to go play in the mud, but I am saying that there has to be a happy medium between being a workaholic and being a failure.