Discussion Question Blog Post 3

Analyze Emma's relationship with Cody.

Emma's relationship with Cody will not last because she is changing herself to be with him. Emma tries to impress Cody by lying about her personal interests and to make them similiar to Cody's. Emma also uses Facebook, which shows her the future, to learn more about Cody's life. For example, Emma sees on Cody's facebook page that even 15 years into the future, he is able to quote the movie Wayne's World and decides to watch it even though she is not interested in it. "Josh and I couldn't believe how stupid it was. But if Cody can quote Wayne's World fifteen years from now, and if I want to move things along with him, I need to get my hands on that movie as soon as possible" (265). Emma's relationship with Cody will never work out because she is changing herself to be with him. She is lying to herself about Cody because she is in love with the idea of being with Cody. Emma fails to realize the only things they can talk about is about what she saw on Facebook and his interests that she pretends to like.

Emma has a bad relationship with Cody.

Discussion Question Blog Post 2

Discuss if knowing the future is helping or hurting Emma in the present.

The Future of Us

Knowing the future is harmful to Emma in the present because she is put in difficult positions knowing others' future and not telling them. In The Future of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, teenagers Josh and Emma discover their future Facebook pages. At first Emma and Josh are excited to learn how their lives will turn out; however, Emma is disappointed with the life she will have. Emma also discovers the futures of her friends, especially her best friend Kellen who becomes pregnant during high school. Emma is uncertain if she should tell Kellen, and how to explain to her if she does. "But how can I sit by and watch Kellen become a teen mom? She wants to go to Penn State, and dreams of becoming a doctor or a scientist. Can she do all that with a baby screaming in the background? She might not even be able to finish high school" (174). Emma is unsure how to handle this. She will blame herself for not stopping it if she lets it happen, but she will also feel guilty if she changes Kellen's future in such as drastic way. Emma is placed with the burden of knowing the future, but being unsure of how to change it. Emma is constantly worrying how certain actions will affect the future and is unable to enjoy the present.

Tech Firday 3/7/14

Fiction Writing 3/5/14

Discuss weather or not Emma should have changed her future by calling Jordan, her future husband.

16 year old Emma is able to see her faebook page
15 years into the future.

Emma should not have changed her future on purpose because she is changing her life in major ways based on a single post she saw on her Facebook page. In The Future of Us, Emma and Josh are able to see their future Facebook pages, which show them who they will marry, their jobs, and where they will live. Emma is shocked to learn that her life is worse than she expected, and meanwhile Josh has the seemingly perfect life. In a split second decision, Emma decides to track down her future husband, Jordan, to prevent them from meeting in the future. When Emma calls Jordan, she learns they will meet at Tampa State College, Emma's top college choice. After learning she meets Jordan at Tampa State, Emma decides not to even apply there. "As I hold the phone against my ear, I actually feel sad. In the future, Jordan and I were supposed to meet at college and get married. Now we'll probably never even know each other" (129). Emma is willing to go to extreme lengths to prevent her marriage from failing. Emma's parents divorced when she was young, and she is scared she will end up like her mom, who has had multiple failed relationships. When Emma changed her future, she also changed all the good times she was able to have with Jordan and at Tampa State College. Emma should not have changed her future by calling Jordan because if she is constantly thinking of the future, she will forget how to enjoy the present.