The Conclusion

This year has been a major milestone in my life. I have learned many different elements of English. One of the most important lessons was writing.  The blogs helped me write in a less formal way but touched on deeper subjects. The blogs allowed us to share our personal feelings and read about other people’s thoughts and ideas. Throughout my poems I discussed life and the choices we have to make. Life as I’m beginning to discover goes by pretty fast. It almost seems like yesterday that we were turning in our “To Kill a Mockingbird” summer assignments. These blogs have helped me develop my writing skills by forcing me to sit down and write. I have always had a problem with getting my thoughts on paper but this blog really help me expand my mind and helped with creativity. By reading my past blogs I could see how different prompts led to different levels of effort and imagination. When I was presented with a prompt I wasn’t too excited about my answers would seem to lack. When I was presented with the opportunity to express my own opinion I would jump at the chance. It seemed that it was the easiest thing to talk about. In most of the blogs that discussed my opinions and thoughts I talked about life and the choices we make. In life our choices define us and who we will become. One of my best friends found a quote and it is now one of my favorites, “To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you are”-unknown. This quote encompasses many things we go through in life. Life is all about dreams but dreams are only dreams. The effort and choices you make is the only way to make any dream actually happen. These blogs have helped me develop my skills as a writer in so many ways. It was a very different method but in the end I believe it was effective and accomplished what it was set out to do.

Memorable Assignment

One of my most memorable assignments was our outside reading project first semester. We had to choose a book we had never read before. The book I chose was Wuthering Heights, this novel has a tragic love story and our job was to create a poster or another kind of visual aid to explain the book. I decided to create a poster and I wanted to try and convey the feeling of forbidden love and mystery. I drew the two lovers on a cliff overlooking the ocean and sunset.

I really wanted be artistic and I enjoyed doing a different kind of project much like this poster. I feel the creative project is more fun and enjoyable than an essay. As much as I enjoy writing papers I discovered in this project that I can draw and create something beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed this project and will always remember Wuthering Heights because of it.

Good Experience with Poetry

As a little kid I was introduced to poetry but I didn’t fully appreciate poetry until this year. When we had to recite poems for Poetry Out Loud I was scared. I thought that memorizing would extremely difficult but I was wrong. I decided to recite Invitation to Love by Paul Lawrence Dunbar.  The poems imagery is so strong, all I wanted to do was show it to other people.

 Invitation to Love is one of my favorite poems because the message is so strong and convicting. I learned that poems aren’t just thrown together on a piece of paper but they can show us some of the deepest feelings a person could possess. They give us hope and excitement, carrying the readers from one line to the next.

For right now I do enjoy poetry, I like trying to figure out different meanings to the same poem. Poems can show you different feelings some you can relate others not so much but poems are a great way to show pain, hope, love and many other feelings.  

Conflict in Romeo and Juliet

There are many different forms of conflict in the Romeo and Juliet. One of the main conflicts is the internal/personal conflict that is consistent throughout the character's lives.One example of this conflict is of Juliet's reaction to Tybalts death. She says, "but wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my husband? That villain cousin would have killed my husband." (3.2.110.) She is not sure whether to be relived to hear of her husband's escape or be distraught over her cousin's death. This circumstance allows Juliet's character to build through her thoughts and actions. The conflict also takes a toll on Romeo, now that him and Tybalt are cousins he trys to not fight and instead stops Tybalt and Mercutio. The internal conflict hatred consumes Romeo causing to fight Tybalt to the death. He is overcome with grief knowing that the chance of Juliet and him ever being together is growing slimmer.

In life everyone is confronted with internal conflict and their response can define their future. The conflicts are all different, but most involve decisions. In my life I have to made choices involving sports and school which have impacted me greatly. But all those choices have other options that must be taken into consideration. Our choices define us as people and I am proud of my choices.

Romeo and Juliet: It's Everywhere!

In Francine Rivers novel A Voice In The Wind the main character Hadassah was taken as a slave and brought to a very high aristocratic house in Ancient Rome. There she falls in love with Marcus the son of political man. Marcus then falls in love with Hadassah. But like Romeo and Juliet they cannot get married. Marcus is not allowed to marry a slave and Hadassah cannot marry him because of differences in religion. Much like the differences between the Montagues and Capulets. Francine Rivers use of mythological references is also similar to that of Shakespeare. In the end they love they have for each other allows them to be together.

Romeo and Juliet

Each character is different in his or her own way and adds to the overall depth of the play. From reading at home and in class I feel that I can somewhat relate to Benvolio and Juliet. Like Benvolio I do not get wrapped up in the dramatics of love. Yet I am the friend that will help others when they feel the world is coming to an end. But when compared to Juliet I will try and do what my parents ask and try to be a good daughter. I have found that reading Romeo and Juliet is not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I understand most of it but the reading at school is a lifesaver. Talking about the play in class offers different ideas about a passages I had previously not considered. This adds to the overall understanding of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Wrapping up Great Expectations

In Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations many different themes are introduced and interpretations can be different. A theme I noticed woven through the book is that self-improvement and ambition can be virtuous things but can be corruptive when constant shame is involved. In our lives we all have had times when we want to for example; get an A on a paper or do better in a sport. These things are great in themselves but if our goals cut out our past then how do we really know who we are? Our past shapes us into who we are now and who we will be in the future. Self-improvement should be something that we are proud of but if shame haunts our every step than how can we really improve ourselves and become better people? Dickens uses Pip to show how this is something that everyone goes through as they grow up. Growing up is hard in its self, but if shame follows our every move we will never reach the potential that we have inside ourselves.

Thoughts on Reading

 Although the reading was tedious I actually enjoyed Great Expectations. I felt Dickens did a very good job at developing Pip through the tragedies that he had to experience. This added to the overall motif of becoming a gentleman. One of the characters who I enjoyed was Wemmick. Though he did not change throughout the novel his persevering attitude towards Pip and how he acted around his castle and the Aged P. made him an enjoyable addition to the overall story. Without help from Sparknotes or any other aid I figured out that Miss Havisham was not the benefactor and that Magwitch was. I also figured that the other convict had been involved with Miss Havisham. I believe that Dickens did an overall good job at incorporating the different mysteries into his story of Great Expectations.


When I started to the read the book I was behind about 100 pages because I had been sick. Within the next week though I was all caught up. Most of my reading took place at night after all other homework had been completed. Finding time was hard but by staying up a little later I completed the book. At times reading the book at night was difficult because I would be tired and concentration on lengthy literature was hard. What would be frustrating was at times the reading would be dry and you could very easily read a couple of pages and then not remember what you had read. If I could go back and read this book again I would have much rather read earlier in the day when my mind was fresh and not exhausted. Overall I felt that I did a good job with staying on task and finishing the book on time.

Photo Post

Pip is all alone and is having to constantly face different trials. He once had Estella and this was a bright spot, something that gave him life. Now that Provis is in hiding Pip's anxiety is keeping him from sleeping and he is slowly deteriorating. This picture is of a tree standing alone covered in a dark blanket of mist much like Pip's anxiety and depression.

Making Connections- My Fair Lady

Charles Dickens uses the character Pip to portray different elements of society. For example Pip starts as a little blacksmith boy, as he ages he is given the gift of freedom, money and most of all expectations. In the musical My Fair Lady the main character Eliza is a young flower girl who has never had any kind of education. Henry Higgins is a phoeneticist who wagers that Eliza Doolittle can pass for a duchess at the Embassy Ball.

Both Pip and Eliza began their lives in places they didn't want to belong. As soon as a new beginning was offered to these character, they jumped at the chance of changing their lives forever. Now that Pip is a gentleman he no longer would fit into role of a blacksmith, and ultimately cannot go home. Eliza never really had a family and lived on her own, after months of lessons she goes back to the flower market. Her friends don't even recognize her.

Both Pip and Eliza don't know where they belong in life. Their main educators in life do help them with future plans and education. Pip's Mathew Pocket is much like Eliza's Henry Higgins. These men help shaped these characters into the people they will become. In the process of changing and becoming either a gentleman or lady. Pip and Eliza both lost some of their past but ultimately gained a new future.

Second Stage

The start of Pip's journey of becoming a gentleman begins as he arrives in London. He is disappointed at the filth, and the wickedness of the city. Pip at this time is scared and is not sure what to expect. One character who influences his education is "the pale young gentleman" or young Herbert Pocket. Herbert's character helps Pip adjust to a life of higher class. For example as they are eating their first meal together, Herbert uses his easy-going charm to politely show Pip how to eat beginning Pip's gentlemanly journey.

Another aspect of Pip becoming a gentleman is his use of money. In stage one Pip was poor and could not afford extravagant items. Now as he is gaining more freedom his spending is beginning to spin out of control. His guardian, Mr. Jagger's does nothing stop this behavior which leads the reader to believe that Jagger's is only in this situation because he is being paid quite handsomely. This gives a negative outlook on Pip's character and makes it hard to see him mature into a shallow young man.

Pip Quote

Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.

Pip is referring to the story of your life. A persons life is built day by day, action by action. Each link on the chain whether it is gold, iron, thorns or flowers it slowly shapes the kind of person you want to become. Pip has started to question the life he is living and is comparing it to that of Miss Havisham's. After Pip brings Joe to Miss Havisham's house he is embarrassed because of Joe's illiteracy. On their way home Pip thinks of home and says, "... and I would feel more ashamed of home than ever, in my own ungracious breast."(108) Pip's outlook on his future has changed greatly and has negatively impacted his personality making him a confused and ashamed boy.


Throughout my life I don't think I would be able to pick out one day and say my life's "chain" has started because of this. What I can say is that the people and choices I have made are shaping the person I am becoming. For example when I was little, my best friend and I decided to play soccer for a select club. These last 5 years have taught life lessons such as teamwork, trust, competing, hard work and most of all friendship. Some of my best friends have come from my team and without them I could never be the person I am today.

Great Expectations - Question about a Passage

At times the novel can be confusing but the disscussions held in class have helped me understand the difficult sections better. Whenever I have not understood something I found that reading the passage again and sometimes going over the previous section has helped me develop a deeper level of iunderstanding in the novel.

Essay with Olivia and Emery

I'm really sorry about not posting this earlier. After going over my rough draft I have changed some of my commentary to reflect both my own opinion and the thesis better.I have noticed in my paragraph the word mature came up a lot. I have changed that and used different synonoms. In our transissions from paragraph to paragraph we are slightly contradicting each other and using some of the words in the packet can make that much easier.

What are some things that you guys remembered needed to be changed? I might need a little bit of help on my commentary. If anything else comes up, email.

Dishonesty in The Importance of Being Earnest

       Oscar Wilde develops different themes throughout the play The Importance of Being Earnest. One main theme that is developed is dishonesty. Lying seems a pastime for the main characters in this play. Wilde shows this through epigrams which end up contraindicating the characters. Wilde also describes marriage as a business deal where the only thing that matters is money. Dishonesty is seen when the word earnest means loyal and trustworthy. Ernest the person is a lying man and his personality of earnest makes this a satirical play on words. Wilde also shows that the upper class only cares about money and themselves giving them the impression of being very shallow and having no respect for each other.

       Wilde conveys many different aspects through this one main theme. Wilde creates the overall feeling that all upper class people are shallow and that a persons beauty is based on how much money they have. He also gives the readers the feeling that the main characters are troubled and eventually apologize for lying which is something they never had to do before.

AF Project Evaluation

1. Alena and Mackenzie (Movie Trailer): Alena and Mackenzie did a very good job in showing the general idea and plot of animal farm. They also did good jab showing how Napoleon "rose" in power.
2. Kayla (Animal Pyramid): The pyramids did a great job showing the classification that the animals gave to themselves.
3. Reagan (Poem): She did a great job showing all the different elements. I also thought showing the word tyranny was a unique twist.
4. Grace, Sarah and Molly (Video): The video that they created was very realistic in the way that it was filmed on an actual farm. They did a great job overall.
5. Donna (Video): Donna's video did a good job in showing the main parts of animal farm. The stuffed and animals and figurines made it fun to watch.
6. Brooke (Song): Brooke's song was very well done. I liked how as the story moves along and changes so did the music. This was a good representation of an ever changing society.
7. Olivia (Poem): This poem was short but I believe that she understood the book and showed that though some ideas of irony.
8. Zack, Sherwin, Chase and Ketl (Video): The song that they sang was a good idea for the start of their project, they then went on to act out some the main parts. They did a great job.
9. Sara (Picture): Her picture showed the farm and how the pigs controlled everything. This was a great way to show the classification of the animals.
10. Sean (Comic Strip): His comic strip looked as if he spent a lot of time working on it and made it creative and fun to read.

I feel that my project did well compared to some of my clasmates projects. I spent a lot of time on my powerpoint. Because of this I believe that I conveyed the literary elements very well through my poject.

New Year's Resolution

Since I was little I have always played soccer. I specialize in goalkeeping and because of this during most game I'm in goal. My basic workouts are more on strength and sprints  rather than endurance running. This changed when I played for Olympia.  One of my coaches,Tessa Effland's conditioning practices were insane but I realized how much they helped when I got to play on the field. Lately my club team has started up again and I fully realized how fast my running fitness went away. I decided that for a resolution it would be a good idea to create a workout plan focusing on endurance. This will improve my athletic ability and my overall competitiveness.