1st Quarter Reflection Blog

          This eighth grade school year is going by fast. I can't believe that we are already at the end of the first quarter! This quarter has been a real eye-opener to all the things you have to do in order to be successful in anything. There are many things I have learned this quarter, academic-wise and life-wise. Many of them I learned in this class. 

          One of to things that I learned was how to thoroughly revise. Before I would just do the basics. Check for spelling errors, make sure things make sense, and capitalize anything that needs to be capitalized. Then, Mrs. Larson gave us mini-lessons on things to revise for. That completely changed everything. Now, I was revising for word choice, description, making things a smaller image, title change, dialogue changes/formatting, active and passive voice, and so on. My narrative changed drastically when I did that. 

          Making sure what homework was due on what day is another thing I learned how to do this quarter. Now having A and B days, it got confusing at times. I would be frantically trying to finish homework because I forgot I had that class the next day, or because I thought it was going to be an A day and not a B day(vice-versa). What I learned that helps is writing down somewhere, using big letters, what day is was going to be, what classes I had, and what homework was due. 

          Another thing that I learned is that I need to read more. This quarter I didn't read much because of the academic and extracurricular activities that were involved in my life. For example this quarter I was working on the Daniel Murphy Scholarship, which took a lot of thinking time. I was also trying to figure out how to make even more time for the homework for the algebra math class I am taking. I think I have figured it out by now and the Daniel Murphy Scholarship application is done, therefore I am going to try my best to read at least 4 books next quarter. 

Weekly Blog 10/14/15

Flush

By: Carl Hiaasen 

Pages: 1-73

Prompt: 

-How have your feelings changed as you've been reading?

-What has been the most important part of what you've been reading? 

-What passage describes how you want to live your life? Why? 

          My feelings about the main character's dad have changed a lot since the beginning of the book. In the beginning I thought that he was a horrible father, a horrible husband, and a person with no feelings or sympathy towards something. I thought that because the book started out my showing that his dad was in jail. As soon as I read that, I began to have a negative feeling towards him. Then, it explained that he purposely committed a crime. At this point I felt as if he was the bad guy in the story. I thought, "Why would he purposely comit a crime and put his wife and children in danger?". Then, there was slight plot twist. When he comitted the crime he waited until the cops came and then admitted that he did it. That was I started to think that it was very honest of him to do that. Then, the book explained that he comitted the crime, which was sinking a popular gambling boat, because he wanted to protect the sea from waste. Once the book explained that I thought that he wasn't such a bad person after all. Later on, the main character described the fishing trips that his father used to take him and his sister on. After he described that, I thought his father was the best there could be.

          I think that the most important part of what I've been reading was when the main character described the fishing trips. He explained how his father used to take him and his sister on fishing trips. He says that they always went hoping to see the "green flash" even though they knew they wouldn't see it. He also explained how his mom would always ask them if they had seen it, and his father always replied, "Maybe next time, but it won't happen, Donna, unless you come along." I think that this has been so far the most important part because it shows that they really are a good family. They might be going through some crazy times, but they are a united, loving family. 

          One passage that describes how I want to live my life is paragraph three on page 78. It talks

about being alone at night on the streets and not being afraid. It also talks about enjoying the night

time and how quiet it is. This reflects on how I want to live my life because I don't want to be afraid in life. I want to be outgoing in my life and try as many new things as possible. I want to not be afraid to travel the world or take risks. I also want to enjoy my life and make it as exciting as possible. 

Life Lines Poem

"Having A New Strenght"

"Sew the money into your cloth 

and NEVER

take your cloth off",

she told him. 

We left our house, 

our family, 

our friends.

We left

and started the 

long,

backbreaking

walk. 

There was this lady,

we met along.

The need for refuge,

was just too strong.

She pressed on and on, 

and soon 

her limp became a 

crawl. 

My father was never afraid 

to ask for help. 

The idea of America 

came to mind.

They let us go,

but with a fight. 

That fight

was my sister.

Returning day after day, 

my father 

wore down 

the officials until they 

finally caved in.

America was different.

We had to 

persevere.

Us kids had to 

fight back

My sister, 

She had to 

fight back, 

until they suspended her.

Me.

I had to 

persevere.

Running three miles 

because I couldn't get a ride.