How do Scout's adventures relate to your neighborhood?

I would say that Scout's adventures could transfer to my neighborhood in the way that I'm quite sure there are little kids around me that do many of the same things and are just as curious to explore as Scout is. I was that way when I was little as well. Well for one it wouldn't be nearly as rural and country as it is in the book because   I live in a more suburban to urbanish type neighborhood and obviously it's a lot more modernized than the way it was when this book was written. The enthusiasm for adventure and the mischief that the kid's get into would remain the same. I probably would be friends with Scout when I was a kid because she loves to play around and have fun and explore mysterious places, but shes also got enough sense to not be too reckless and get into really serious trouble. I would probably friends with Jem and Dill as well because I like to be around people who are crazy and careless sometimes even though I probably wouldn't go along with all their crazy schemes. I'm sure we would do a lot of exploring, a lot of acting out scenes, and a lot of getting in trouble.

Instructions For Living a Life

"Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." -Mary Oliver


I think that if her intention with this quote is to give people an idea of how to live and appreciate life, these are some pretty good steps. Paying attention could mean stopping to smell the roses and taking the time to appreciate little things in life that would otherwise go unnoticed. If you pay careful attention to detail and to the things around you, you can find so many small, seemingly insignificant things to take pleasure in that it will, in turn, astonish you. Maybe you go on a hike for exercise in the woods behind your house and you pay more attention than usual and you notice a small, half covered path that you never saw there before. You take the path and discover a beautiful clearing with a nice little stream and a gorgeous, unobstructed view of the shimmering blue sky with its puffy white clouds floating along. If you hadn't paid close attention during your walk, you never would have found this astonishing place to which you can return again and again. Basically its saying that if you pay attention to all aspects of life and don't let yourself get all caught up in one or two things that stress you, you can find many things both big and small that can delight you and astonish you because they will leave you wondering how you never noticed such a wonderful thing before. This can go for people who come into your life as well. You can choose to turn a blind eye and see a persons appearance and assume things, or you can make an effort and pay attention and discover that that person is a really cool person and you could become super close friends. Pretty astonishing how paying attention can make a much more positive impact than waltzing around all willy nilly. So what are you waiting for? Go tell people about your new knowledge. Once you know such things, you need to tell about it. Tell the world! :D