Reading Reflection #4

Tuesdays With Morrie

Mitch Albom

Pages 1-71

I recently started the book Tuesdays With Morrie, and so far I’m pretty connected to it. I've found some comments, questions and many text connections from reading these first few pages.

I picked this book for a change because I usually judge books by their cover, not going to lie. This book has no pictures or colors to judge it by, just a simple tan hard cover engraved with the title. As I began to read I noticed that it goes back and forth from when Mitch, the writer, was taking university courses with a professor named Morrie, all the way to when Mitch is grown up and has been going to visit Morrie while he is ill. I like this style because there are very short sections which definitely hold your attention and you can read these sections whenever because you won’t be ending off in the middle of a chapter. The downside to this type of writing is that at the beginning you need to get a hold of two separate stories which can be confusing at times.

As I began to read I had many questions because of the fact that there is a past and future being told, and it takes a bit of time to wrap your head around each time period. Mitch starts to talk about his old professor teaching him so much about love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and death. I was wondering who this professor was and what kind of relationship they shared. I was also wondering what he learned about all of these deep topics.

This professor that is mentioned, Morrie, seems like an extraordinary person. He has great traits and great advice. Morrie became ill, and he could barely do anything for himself, but he still went to teach his classes. Mitch writes, “The idea of quitting did not occur to Morrie.” I admire people who don’t complain or ask for sympathy. Morrie explains how he cries in the morning out of sympathy for himself and then moves on right away. He also explains how he sees himself as lucky for many reasons even if he knows he is going to die in a short period of time. This shows how honorable and grateful this professor really is, and I think everyone should have this attitude before the point that Morrie is at. This kind of strength that Morrie demonstrates is what I look for in people and also look up to.

Along with Morrie’s awesome personality traits, he tells a lot of lessons. One of those lessons was about people having meaningless lives. Morrie explains that this is because we are so busy with the things that we think are important, which are usually the wrong things. I think this is very true because nowadays we have so much technology to focus on that nobody shares as much time with loved ones or the community. You would have way more memories and precious moments with real people rather than Siri. Another lesson that Morrie taught Mitch was, “The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don’t buy it.” I interpret this as if he’s saying ‘if culture doesn't make you happy or contribute to your life or further you in life, make your own culture and follow it’. I think this is a very good quote, and it makes you think about what culture you buy in to. Another lesson Morrie taught that connected to me the most was about silence. He asks why people are so embarrassed by silence and also what comfort people find in all the noise. I think this is a very interesting topic, and I myself would ask the same things. Morrie tells Mitch that Mitch reminds him of himself when he was younger because they both kept things to themselves. I feel exactly the same, and the writer, who is also the student in the book, seems closely linked to how I act and feel.

I found as I was reading, I felt connected to this story from the beginning. Morrie is this teacher to Mitch through school, but turns out to be so much more. I also had someone like that in my life. They were a teacher/leader for me through something organized, but they taught me so much more. After Mitch had graduated, he lost touch with his teacher, and I feel a connection to that because I lost touch with this amazing person in my life too. My future however, doesn't go as far as Mitch’s yet, so I hope I can meet this person again just like in the book. Mitch talks about being in class with Morrie and I understand that class doesn't always have to be within school. You can learn all you need in life through one person who has already gone through it. Mitch says, “I knew what he was saying. We all need teachers in our lives. And mine was sitting in front of me.” I know how it feels to be hit with this wall of realization of how important someone is and what this person has taught you and will teach you. People who are not relatives can be very valuable to you if you let them.

Seeing as how I had many questions and text connections with this book, and I just started it, I’m sure this is going to be a book that I finish quite quickly and stay interested in. Can’t wait to read on!