Miles To Go (Pages 243-279)

Summary:

Miley talks about how, for her sweet sixteen party, she rented out Disney World and anyone who wanted to come, could come. They just had to pay. She only charged them to get in because all the money they made was donated to a good cause, which I think was the most selfless thing she could do for her birthday. Then she talked about promoting her book, and how each one of her fans could take away something special from the book. Whether it was Miley being bullied, the break-ups she went through, or losing a loved one, there's something in the book for everyone to relate to. She ended the novel by saying how grateful she was for everything that happened to her and that she's still taking things a step at a time and learning and growing each day. Also that, even though she already has, she was afraid of growing up and taking responsibilites but just like any other normal kid, growing up is inevitable. It's all part of coming of age.

Quote:
"In the original afterword, I wrote that I was scared to grow up. But I think I might have already done it- without even knowing. I mean, not totally. Like I said, I do still have miles to go. But the experiences of the past year have pushed me forward in ways I'd never have imagined. I sat on a beach and came to grips with letting go. I opened my heart and fell in love again. I lost love but gained friendship. I traveled to new countries and went back home to familiar places. And, you'd be proud to know, I learned to do my laundry!" (Cyrus, 279)

Reaction: When reading this quote, I realized how connected I felt with Miley after reading the whole book. I knew about her from watching her movies and tv shows, but I never knew the real her. I noticed that we have a lot in common and that with every page, I felt more and more connected to her. All the things she went through, it's what everyone has to go through. And to know that this girl, a superstar, its going through the same problems as me and everyone else, it's very comforting. Plus I still don't know how to do my own laundry! :)

Miles To Go (Pages 185-243)

Summary:
Miley begins with talking about her experiences going on the Best of Both Worlds tour. It was her very first tour where she would be performing as Hannah Montana (the character she plays on tv) and herself, Miley Cyrus. She was super excited or that, it would be the first time she performed songs that actually meant something to her, other than the songs that were about her character's double-life on tv. There was a part during the performance where 4 big strong guys had to lift her up, and kind-of throw her in the air. Well, one time they threw her a little too hard, so she came down really hard and she fell right through their hands. YES, she fell! Can you believe that?! Can you imagaine how embarrassing that must've been? Falling in front of between 10,000 and 20,000 people? I would've just ran off the stage, but she went on with the show.

Then she moved on to a more relatable subject: breaking up. She broke up with her "Prince Charming" and she was really depressed and hurt. He was like her first boyfriend and she was in love with him. She says that because of the break up, that seemed to be the only thing she could write about for her songs. So, a lot of the songs on her album were about that, like the song "7 things I hate about you".

Then she switched back to a serious topic that I brought up earlier, the little girl named Vanessa that was in the hospital with cancer. Miley had gone to visit her a while ago and after that, she was so busy with going on tour and promoting her album and book that she didn't get to go back and visit. Vanessa died and that really made Miley sad. That was the first time she had ever lost a friend, and I think it was very special for her to include that, because unfortunately a lot of people can relate to losing a loved one.

Then, Miley talks about her bond with her best friend Mandy and she goes into a little more detail about their friendship. Miley then talks about filming The Hannah Montana Movie, which was the first movie she starred in and the setting was back in her hometown Tennessee, which was very comforting for her.  She also talked about filming the other movie she starred in, The Last Song, which was the movie to a book written by Nicolas Sparks.

She briefly touched on: promoting her show, movie, and book, a bonding moment with Emily Osment, she and her father's relationship, and questions she gets asked a lot.

Quote:
"As I start doing more grown-up, dramatic projects, I want to stick with that I believe and what makes sense for a girl my age. I want to be a good role model. That's why I signed on to work with the writer Nicholas Sparks. His books and movies show strong morals, and loving, hard relationships. I can do meaningful work- without compromising my values"

Reaction:
I really liked what she said in that quote. It stuck out to me because she sounded very mature. Despite what people think about her, she's just a teenager and shes learning from her mistakes. But people need to take into account that she does think about her actions and how they will represent her and the fact that she IS, whether she likes it or not, a role model to kids, so she doesnt want to compromise her values when she's doing certain projects.

Miles To Go (pages 120-185)

Summary

Miley, well Hannah, went on tour with The Cheetah Girls. There had a performance in St. Louis and while Miley was on stage, she began to feel sick so she ran off stage in the middle of a song. After that, she came back 5 minutes later to continue with her performance, only to run off the stage again to throw up. Later that night, at another performance, it happened again! Something was clearly wrong, so her parents took her to the doctors, and they found a hole in her heart and she was diagnosed with Tarchycardia. It basically means that her heart rate speeds up and the rest of her body can't keep up. After that scare, she began eating healthy and making sure she was taking care of her body.

So far, I can see that Miley and her family are very close. Her parents try very hard to make it possible for her to live a normal teenage life. She talked about her relationships with her siblings: Noah, Braison (Brazz), Brandi, and Trace. Noah is her little sister, who's the baby of the family. She talked about how one time she was baby sitting her and they gave each other makeovers and fun things like that, just like normal girls do. She says that shes most like Trace and that they get along the best. At home, she's not a celebrity, she's just Miley.

She then talked about growing up in the south and going to Mule Day (big auctioning of mules/donkeys) with her Pappy. Then, she moved onto a more related topic; her first "prince charming". She didnt want to use his real name, so she called him that. It was the first time she fell in love and she says that a lot of her older songs were written about him. Then, she tells the touching story of a little girl named Vanessa, a girl who she visited in the hospital. She was dying and she said she was "the luckiest girl in the world". This made Miley forget about all the little stuff she had been complaining about and focus on more important things in life, and not to take them for granted.

Quote:
"When I visit, I don't like to leave until I've gotten them all laughing. When I can't visit in person, I make phone calls to kids in hospitals. When I can't call, I send videos. I'm not vain. I'm not, like, oh, I'm Miley Cyrus and I'm so special that I change kids' lives. But if this career gives me any power, I want to use it right. So if I can make a day a little brighter, you better bet I'm going to do it" (Cyrus, 178).

Reaction:

This quote really stuck out me because, I am realizing that she's not the bad person everyone makes her out to be. She's not vain, in fact, she's very insecure. And most of the celebrities that you see helping kids in need or giving back to a communitee, are older people. But Miley is a teenager, and the fact that visiting, or even just calling the kids in hospitals, means something to her is very touching. Regular kids her age don't even do that. She never acts like she's too good to help out other people, or even bring a smile to a dying child's face. I think that is so important because although some people may not think she's a good role model, some of the things she does is very inspiring. She's not perfect, she has her up's and down's and of course she makes mistakes, but shes learning and growing each day just like everyone else.

Miles To Go (pages 69-120)

Summary

Where I left off last time, was when Miley was talking about losing her grandfather and how she strugdled with that, but it eventually helped her to move forward. She then moved on to talking about when Hannah Montana first started. Her mother didn't want to uproot the whole family from Nashville and move to L.A. because she didn't want them to be in a place that didn't feel like home, which is completely understandable. Most importantly, she didn't want the move to feel like a sacrifice to Miley's brothers and sisters. When the first arrived in L.A., they went to the Disney offices to thank them. Before they could even finish, they were shocked by Miley's appearance. They made her dye her hair back to brown, and gave her a retainer so she wouldn't have to wear braces. Then she experienced her first "big star" moment when she was at an amusement park with a family member and girls came up to her and asked her for her autograph. It was pretty surreal to her, she didn't think people would recognize her or even care.

She then talks about her many experiences with famous singers that have been significant to her life. Whether it was a funny moment, words of inspiration, or something she just wants to remember forever, those moments made her who she is. Next, she speaks upon a very controversial topic, Hannah and Lily. Miley plays Hannah on her show Hannah Montana, and Emily Osment plays Lily, Hannah's best friend. And although they're best friends on TV, they didn't get along at all in real life. She says they argued constantly and it was hard to pretend you liked someone when you didn't, because fans would be crushed if they knew Miley and Emily weren't friends in real life.I can relate to this because teenagers, especially girls, don't always get along. And when you're kind of forced to be friends with someone, it makes it more difficult. While reading this book, I feel like I can relate to Miley more and more with every page.

Quote

"No single of those encounters made me who I am. Not one of them convinced me to be an actor or a musician. But our honors and days add up. Little moments attach themselves to other little moments and collect into big dreams. A sunset, a walk, a few small words of wisdom. We become what we experience" (Cyrus, 88-89).

Reaction

After reading that quote, I felt like Miley was being very humble. She had just finished talking about all of her encounters with famous singers and celebrities (friends of her dad's) and I felt like she wasn't bragging, she was trying to show that those moments impacted her life. That everything she has gone through, has made her who she is. I think that quote was a good way to end the chapter because it left the reader thinking, thinking about their own past and experiences in life and how they kind of made them into who they are now.

Miles to Go (pages 1-69)

Summary

The novel, Miles To Go by Miley Cyrus is a story about the pop star's life and essentially her side of the story so-to-speak. She begins with talking about how at school, she didn't fit in. You'd think that Miley Cyrus would've been the "popular girl" but in actuality, she was the outcast. She didn't have any friends and she was bullied by her "friends". On one occasion, the girls locked her in the janitor's closet and threatened her if she dared to tell anyone. She was scared to tell her parents or the principal, as many kids can relate to if they were ever bullied. She then talks about how she began cheer leading, something her mother convinced her into doing. She loved it as soon as she tried it, it was her escape from the troubles at school. Meanwhile, she was going back and forth from Nashville to L.A. to audition for "Chloe Montana". She missed a lot of cheer leading practices because of the auditions and she had to make a choice between cheering, and following her dreams. She chose her dreams and she ended up getting the part of Chloe Montana, despite the producers saying she was too young and too small to be a 12 year old, playing a 15 year old. They then had to find someone to play her TV father, and her real father Billy Ray Cyrus was chosen, although Miley didn't want people to think she only got the part because of her father, when actually he got the part because of her. At the end of the chapter "Losing Pappy", she talked about how her grandfather's death and affected her greatly and helped her to believe in herself.

Quote
"The cool people find each other. The smart people find each other. Me and all the other in-between artsy people realize we'd better join forces and make the best of it" (Cyrus, 17).

Reaction
My reaction to this quote is that, I feel more respect for Miley. Personally, before reading this book, I didn't think she had any problems. She didn't have to face the difficulties in the world because she was famous. But after reading that quote, I felt like I had something in common with her. Growing up, she didn't fit in either. She wasn't popular and she didn't have any friends, she was actually bullied a lot. That significant piece of information makes her human. Many people feel that famous people are perfect and never have to go through any struggles in life, but that's not always the case. Miley went through the same things that many teen girls go through, and it makes her easy to relate to.