Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

***A bildungsroman (IPA: [ˈbɪldʊŋs.roˌmaːn]; German: "novel of formation") is a novelistic genre that arose during the German Enlightenment, in which the author presents the psychological, moral and social shaping of the personality of a (usually young) protagonist.

1. Belief is a strong word for me to use.  I have entered my second year of college and I have met people who do not believe in a higher power...'god'.  As I listen their points, which are very valid, I am most utterly confused in what to believe.  Being brought up as a Christian and discussing with my fellow peers, it is hard to say what I believe in.  There is something out there, it may be a god or my not, but for now that is all I am able to comprehend.

2. Family, friends, and peers have all changed my perspective on belief.  I will always take the time to discuss their ideas and beliefs.  I feel as the older I get there will be more ideas that come to me I will have a clearer belief system.  I am still young and there are many belief systems out there.  I feel that one day I will have a better idea on my belief system.

3. Last year, when some good friends and I had a discussion about god and how there may or may not be one.  I felt a little scared because they said "the world was going to end in a few years."  That was the first time other extreme beliefs came to my attention.  

4. Jeanette's mother is a very strict believer.  "You have been talking about Hell to young minds"(42).  Jeanette has being speaking her beliefs about god to her classmates and have caused them to have nightmares.  As her teacher wrote home to her mother about the situation, Jeanette's mother praises her by taking her out to the movies. Her mother is a strong believer about god.  She has jammed the bible into Jeanette.  I feel that her mother is not taking the right responsibilities for her daughter's actions.  It is OK to believe in what she does, but intensely protesting to her classmates is a little over the top.

5. I feel that as she gets older she will change her beliefs about men, women, god, and life.  She asks questions and does not seem to get all the answers.  I feel she will face other struggles with her beliefs and am excited to see what happens.  She has already changed her beliefs about men.  She refers them as "beasts."

6. She is growing up and facing more struggles as she grows.  She is starting to argue more with her mother.  Her beliefs about men have already changed and will keep changing as she grows.  She now has a friend and is becoming more accepting of herself.  I can not wait to see what happens later in the book for her.