Winters-+Reading+Response+12

Stephanie Winters Winters- Reading Responses

Mooney talks about a lot of interesting things in the last section of his book. He is going to an event called Burning Man to try to find the change that he has wanted in his life. I find it interesting that this is the part where he really lets the reader know the whole point of his short bus journey. I feel like this is when the reader realizes that the journey talking to other people was actually serving as a journey where he could try to find himself and the "new" Jonathan Mooney. The Jonathan Mooney that has exceed the expectations that were put on him throughout his years in school. The part where he decides to burning the things that were said to him instead of the pictures of his past really stood out to me. I think that this is the point where he realizes that he was never wrong as a child. It was not him or the pictures of him that should be burned. Instead it was the views that other people had on him. They were the ones who needed to change and be burned. He understands now that being different is common. His uncle tells him "sickness is really normal". This shows that everyone is different and should embrace this. There is not a solid definition on what "normal" is and no one should be forced into someone's view of normal. Mooney understands this now and says it when he is in the pool fully clothe at the end with the kids who are naked. He accepts the fact that the short bus once defined him and understand that it no longer does. He gained knowledge on his trip that will stay with him throughout the rest of his life. I think it would be neat if he did another book that followed up on how his life was different, if it was, after his journey on the short bus. Another thing that would be neat is if he met up Miles to see how his life has been affected.