My Conclusion.

Reading back through my blogs, I notice a vast and unequivocal improvement in my writing style with each one. I definitely learned to write about things on a deeper level, and each assignment got more meaningful. Most of my blogs are about the themes and different things in the books we read in class, and even the themes, symbols, and motifs I write about improve. I think this blog helped me delve deeper into all the books we read than I would have with just the in class assignments, because I was able to really think about things in a comfortable environment, and wasn't afraid of sounding dumb because it doesn't feel like it's really me saying it. I actually think I sound smarter in my blogs!

I have learned how to look at things in a different way, and analyze them. I have written about my experiences, about important things to me, about lots of books, about what these books mean to me, and many more things. My blog is about English, yes, but it is ALL about me as a writer and as a reader and as a student. It's about my input and opinions on things. It's about how I look at things. It's about what people don't usually give the time to listen to so I don't share it. I have evolved as a writer in every way I could. Not just from my blog, but it shows on my blog.

My blog is significant because it is my words. No one else's blog is like mine. Showing yourself in your own words and "to be yourself is all that you can do" (from the song Be Yourself by Audioslave).We all have the same posts, but we're all very different. All of us look at the assignments in different ways and go about writing them in different ways. You cannot find anything like my blog anywhere else, because it is so significantly me! The meaning of my blog is just me growing as a writer. Each post is so different, that there isn't a meaning like love or dreaming or hurt. It's just about me, myself, and I (kind of). In the timeless words of Forest Gump, "If God intended us all to be the same, he'd have given all of us braces on our legs."

Reflecting on a Memorable Assignment

One of the most memorable assignments to me from this English class is my summer assignment. It was my first high school assignment ever, and i got 100% on it. It was most memeroable because I worked the longest on it, it is the longest assignment I've done, and I worked on it it many different places. Since I did it over summer break, I worked on it at home, camping, on two different plane rides, and on vacation in Florida. I remember being very stressed over finishing it and getting an A, as it is an honors class and I wasn't sure how hard the gradig would be.
It really prepared me for what to expect for the rest of the year, and prepared me for highschool. I probably put the most effort into it out of all the assignments we did. I was so proud of my grade on it, and it helped motivate me to put in my best the rest of the year. I would have rather not have done the assignment, but it was stil my most memorable because of he length, grade, and it being my first highschool assignment.

A Good Experience With Poetry

I used to stay at my granparents house a lot. They live in Tumwater, which is really close to where I live. One memory I have from staying there is my Grandma reading poems to me from Where The Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein. She would read to me or I would read to her every night. I loved the rhymes and imagination and creativity in all of the different poems.

My favorite poem was always "I Was Walking in a Circle." The words are written in an actual circle, and the end of it leads to the beginning. So in a way it's a never ending poem. I would read it as many times as I could until my Grandma said we should read another one. I even memorized it so I would always say it at school or to my parents. I liked a lot of other ones too, but that one stands out most in my memory.
This made a positive impact on my life because it got me excited about poetry. In school whenever my teachers would say we would be writing poetry, I would remember all the poems I read with my Grandma and couldn't wait to start writing. In some ways it also helped me with creativity, because it gave me ideas and helped me write my own poems. If I hadn't read those poems when I was younger, I doubt I would have wanted to write poetry as much.
At this point in my life, I don't like poetry as much as I used to but I still like it. I feel like I'm not as creative as I used to be. When I hear the word poetry, I dont get really excited like I used to, but I don't feel dread either. I still really enjoy reading poetry, but my feelings toward writing it are neutral.

Conflict in Romeo and Juliet

There are many conflicts in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. One specific conflict I've noticed is one with Juliet and her parents, the Capulets. Juliet's parents want Juliet to marry Paris, but Juliet loves Romeo (who is also her families only enemy). It's first introduced in the first act of the play before the party, when Lady Capulet comes to Juliets' room and talks to her about meeting Paris at the party and considering marrying him. Juliet says she will, but then she falls in love with Romeo and marrys him without telling her parents. Her parents then agree with Paris that he can marry Juliet, and set up the wedding against Juliets wishes. This is an example of person vs. person. This conflict is important because otherwise Juliet wouldn't have had to fake being dead to get out of her wedding to Paris. This developes the central theme of time. Capulet rushes the day of the wedding, forcing Juliet to act sooner.

This conlfict relates to any teenager and their parents. I am always having conflicts with my parents, from cleaning my room to not being able to do what I want. This is significant because it can relate to almost anyone in the world. I can bet that every teenager has had some conflict with their parents. Not as big as Juliets, but it can relate. The conlfict links to the meaning of respecting my parents choices and knowing that they want best. It also teaches parents to listen to what their kids are saying and consider it from their side. I have lots of other conflicts in my life too. Conflicts with my friends, teachers, coaches, society, etc. My friends and I argue about plans or fight over boys. I don't always agree with my teachers. Sometimes my coaches will keep me out of something I want to do for reasons I find unfair. If I do anything that society looks down on, I get labeled for the rest of my high school life. People are always going to have conflicts in their life, from Shakespeares time to now and forever. You just have to learn how to deal with it in the best way possible.

Romeo and Juliet in Modern Culture

The story of Romeo and Juliet is known everywhere. Two people who fall madly in love but are forbidden to be together because of their families and where they came from. One specific movie where I noticed a reference to Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet is The Titanic. The main story the this movie is the actual ship sinking, and the story of that. But the movie also tells a tale of two people who fall in love, Rose and Jack (first similarity, Rose-Romeo, R's, and Jack-Juliet, J's). Rose is of high class, and engaged to someone else of high class. Jack is poor and gambled his way on the ship at the last second. Jack saves Rose from jumping off the side of the ship, and instantly fall in love. They go through lots of people try to break them up, but none of it works. At the end Rose has to let Jack sink to the bottom of the ocean, and she gets saved. It is a very famous tragic love story, just like Romeo and Juliet's.

(Also, the same actor, Leonardo Dicaprio, plays both Romeo and Jack!)

Connecting with Romeo and Juliet

From what I've read, Romeo seems to fall in love easily, and isn't afraid to break the rules. Juliet is more sweet and wants to please her parents more than anything. We haven't really read much of Romeo and his parents relationship, but Juliet and hers seems to be that they want her to be happy, but they also know whats best for her. The one big decision that I thought the most about was Romeo's to go to the party even though he knew that his family specifically was not invited. This shows the more brave side of him, and how much he thought he loved Rosaline. One thing out of these concepts that I can connect with is Romeo getting advice about love and moving on from his friends. I know that the people I get the most advice from about love is my friends, along with what appears Romeo.

I do the reading every night on my own, but I dont feel it necessary. I can barely decipher anything on my own and hardly understand anything about the book until we go over it in class. It has gotten a little easier as the book goes on and I learn the story more, but not by much. Reading in class is helping me get a deeper and more complete understading of the text. I would not know half the things I do now if we didn't read aloud in class.

Wrapping Up Great Expectations

The main message Dickens was trying to get across in Great Expectations was that in the end, friends are always going to be more important to you than money. Money can buy you all the things in the world, but what are they worth if you have no one to share them with? Money can buy you a computer, on which you go on social networks to communicate with friends. Friends can give you love, care, happiness, etc. as which money itself could never do. In life, if you had the choice, friends should always come first.