Goobye Blogs

As the year has passed by I have noticed more than anything that I have become a stronger writer. When I look at my first few blogs I can tell I wasn't sure what to write or what Mrs.Gilman was looking for. I wasn't confident in what I was saying and I really didn't write that much in them. In the ones that I did, what I was saying really was a jumble of useless words. Since we have had to write a blog just about every week I have gotten comfortable with writing them and getting them done successfully. I think that since we have to do so much writing in them that it's obvious we will all grow a little in our writing. I have improved on using less words but the words that I do choose leave a lasting effect on the reader.
I have always known that in my writing i'm very opinionated. When I talk to people I don't often share my thoughts or feelings on most things. I just sit back and listen to everyone else speak and nod my head. For some reason when I write, I let it flow freely. My blogs have definitely turned into my brain full of opinions and thoughts. Its like your sorta of getting a closer look into who I am in a way. I didn't really expect my blog to turn out that way and have it be all about that. The way Mrs.Gilman sets up the posts, your blog could turn into just about anything. That's what I love about doing them. It doesn't have to be a boring hassle, it can be a creative way to express yourself. I definitely took the opportunity to make it just that. I always tackle each blog with at least one thing i'm thinking about on that topic in each post.
What I will take with me from this blog assignment is to have fun. I think that is what she intended this to be. I have learned so much from this. I tried to make writing each blog post fun. It may have not seem enjoyable for me through my writing, but every time I sat down at the computer and read that weeks job, I tried thinking of a creative way to write it. I have also learned that writing a little bit each week or each day can go a long way. It helps you think of ideas faster and get what you want to say out there in a more clear way. Each and every post, I didn't have to reread what Mrs.Gilman wrote. I could read it one, maybe two times and already have down in my head what I want to say. This definitely helped me in other areas too.
To me what I have written is a time line. A time line of me improving. It starts from me thinking I had what it takes to be and Honors English student, to in the end being an Honors English student. Then there is everything in between. You can see my growth, where I didn't do so well because I didn't put my full effort into my writing. That is what I feel I have written this whole year. A way to track my progress as a student. A quote that I thought fit well was, "More you learn, more passion/Leads you to more wisdom;"


Leads you to more wisdom

Memorable Assignment

My most memorable assignment we have done this year was when we did our first outside reading project. It was in the very beginning of the year, right after we had finished the whole unit of To Kill a Mockingbird. I liked that we had some options of what we got to read. I also liked that it wasn't like book reports that you do in middle school. One reason why it sticks in my mind so much is the fact that I hated the book I read. I read Pride and Prejudice. This is the only book I have read all year that was actually hard for me to pick up and read.
The biggest reason why this was memorable was the fact that my group made a movie of it. We worked really hard on getting good costumes and making it humours for the class. We also spent lots of time adding in effects to make the movie better. I also got to be some male characters in the movie and play dramatic women. I have never really made a movie like that before. I was extremely proud of the outcome. We had some set backs during the process. Our first filming of it got erased and we had to start all over. By having to re film, it made it that much more special to me of our outcome. It also helped me get to know some of my class mates.

Happy Times with Poetry...

I have had lots of experiences with poetry. I think the turning point where I actually enjoyed it was in 6th grade when my block teacher did this huge poetry unit. We all made huge books full of poems that we had written over the course of those few months. She didn't let us just free write how we wanted and at first it bothered me. It made me discover though that writing with so many poetic devices could be really helpful and fun. I always thought that it had to rhyme, but I was soon informed that in fact there are lots of ways to write your poetry.
My favorite part was when she would ask people if they wanted to go volunteer to go up in front of the class and read the poem that they had written for that week. I liked that every one's was always so different and how emotions of all kinds could be woven into a few simple words. One girl wrote about her sister and you could totally feel the strong connection they had by what she was saying. Right after her, some girl went and read about root beer and how much she loved it. It was funny, silly, and serious all at the same time. I think that week we had to make it rhyme. It always amazed me how we all had to write the same way, but no two poems were alike.
That poetry unit became a huge stress reliever for me. I think that's truly why I liked it a lot. It got hard at times to follow the guidelines of how it should be written, but what I could say had endless possibilities. I just loved that. Whatever I was feeling at that moment could be put down into a poem. Adults always say talk about your feelings to someone and you will feel better. Poetry for me was like talking to my pencil and paper. It understood what I was saying and when I would read it to someone else, they got it too. I always offered to read mine with the class. I didn't care if people thought it was stupid, it helped me through a lot that year.
At this point in my life, I would have to say, I LOVE POETRY. I write some usually everyday. I never care if its good or bad, I just like writing it. When I hear the word "poetry" I think of emotions. To me that's what it is. Sharing how you think or feel about something or someone through words because sometimes it hard to say exactly what you mean when your being literal.

I see Romeo and Juliet everywhere!

There are only so many story lines. It becomes harder and harder for authors to think of completely original ideas. In many stories they have similar plots to Romeo and Juliet. One that I could think of is the Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott. She creates a story about two best friends that are both wanting the same boy. You know your not suppose to love your best friends boyfriend, but you can't help who you fall for. They have a secret love affair behind the girlfriend/best friend's back and they know if they get caught, there will be bad consequences. It's just like Romeo and Juliet because they aren't suppose to be together but they go behind their parents back and if they get caught it will be off with their heads! In the end the friend finds out and hates both of them. It ruins the relationship between the girl and the boy that think they love each other. Its not tragic in the end like Rome and Juliet, but what can you say, its about modern day teenagers. There is not going to be some sappy, sad ending where they kill themselves. Books will always steal ideas from shakespear because his stories relate to any day and age.

Connecting with Romeo and Juliet

In the first few scenes of Romeo and Juliet, the first thing that stood out to me that I knew I could instantly relate to was when Benvolio was giving Romeo advice. I have played both roles as the love sick person and the giver of the knowledge on moving on. I think everyone can think of a time when they were wrapped up in someone and things just don't work out the way you would like them to. Then comes along your trusty friend that tries to cheer you up by saying forget about him/her, there will be someone better you have to be willing to go look. More often I am the one sitting down and talking to my friend. I try and help whether the person asked for it or not. That is pretty much what Benvolio does when he sees how depressed poor Romeo is over Rosaline. I always go to my friend Jordan when I am having a boy related issue and she is the one the encourages me to go out and keep my mind off that person and go catch other fish in the sea.
Reading at home for me has gone really well. The very few reading assignments that we have had, I have managed to read on time. I like rereading it in class because I feel there are more distractions at home then there is in the classroom. If I miss anything, I can count on getting it in class. I think if we didn't reread it in class, it would be way more challenging than it needs to be. As time goes on I am getting better at understanding things. I sometimes have to go back and read a line that I already have just to be safe that I got everything I could out of it. Listening to other people read it aloud helps you get the feel of the scene, which I greatly appreciate. Overall, I think I am meeting all the goals.

Wrapping Up

There are many themes within Great Expectations, one that stands out to me the most is karma. Everyone has heard of karma and basically that it's what goes around comes around. The whole book is one person makes a choice without a conscience and in the end, it works out not in their favor. Karma can either be, people do good things and those kind of things come back to them or someone does something bad to someone or something and the same treatment gets thrown right back. There really is no happy, your such a wonderful human being type. Only your selfish, self center, bad decision making, bite you in the butt kind. Everyone in our class can relate to it. We all have been faced with hard times where we're stuck in a difficult spot and we know we should do the right thing, but we don't. Then later down the line, the consequences slam down and we realize we could have done it differently. Not one person cannot say they haven't experienced it or at least watched someone have this happen to them. We make choices every single day and we think about the pros's and con's. Before the beginning of time this has happened, and until the end of time it will continue on.

Final Thoughts on Great Expectations.

When I first started reading I was dreading the next 400 and something pages. It didn't interest me and I kept thinking how so many books had convicts in their stories. I also got bored with the way Dickens's wrote the novel. The bad English from Joe grated my nerves to an extreme degree. As the pages went by and the plot was more developed, I started to really like his style of writing and the characters. It wasn't like all the teen books I spend my time reading now. None of them have crazy, heart broken woman in them. All of them have the same style of writing and the vocabulary is for people who have limited knowledge of words. The setting really had no effect on me. It couldn't of been any big city and I wouldn't of minded. I know a lot of people loved biddy or the convict, but my favorite had to of been Miss Havisham. She brought a lot of color to the book and spiced it up. I think her life story was the most interesting and had a long lasting impression on me. I always felt so sorry for her that the one person she loved only used her for her money and then just wrote her a note confessing that he didn't want to get married. That's like kids now days that break up with there significant other over text because they can't face them in person. I never felt bad for Pip. He brought a lot of the not so good stuff that happened to him upon himself. I liked figuring the mysteries out on my own. I didn't want spark notes to interfere with any good parts of the book. It ruins books when you cheat yourself by getting the answers before they happen.
I made sure to read every night like the sheet said. There was only one night where I forgot to read and it was a big mistake. I didn't like having to read extra. I finally started reading the weekend chapters on Thursday night's. Even though it added on to my already stressful homework load before Friday, I discovered that I liked being ahead of the game. There was never a certain time I would read. It just happened whenever I found the time to do it after I finished the rest of my homework. I usually do my homework at the kitchen table because I like being in the warm kitchen with my mom when she cooks. That wasn't always the most peaceful place to read. I would get distracted easily which didn't help with understanding the book. Also having my phone with me was a HUGE distraction. Whenever I got a text, I would be more focused on reading that than Great Expectations. The number one best place to read was in my room, late at night, when I had my phone not by my side. No one bothers me when i'm in my room so there was no one to come in and take my mind off the book. When it was late the house was silent and I could concentrate the best. If my phone wasn't by me, I wasn't interested if I got a text or not.