The Conclusion

To be honest, when we first started doing these blogs I didn't like them at all. I forgot about them until the night they were due, and they just seemed like a hassle that wasn't worth my time. However, once we started getting prompts where we had to write more as a storyteller, like "Life Lessons" and "Earliest Memory" I began to really like blogging. I also really had fun with the blogs where we had to be a little more creative and find pictures or quotes that had to do with the books we were reading.

It is obvious how much my reading comprehension has improved this year by looking back on my past blogs. At the beginning of the year it seemed that the only literary devices I could pick out of a book were imagery and metaphors. As the year went on I began to analyze more difficult things like motifs and symbols, and really think deeper about what I was reading. My blogs reflect how much I have learned this year because they improved in quality quite a bit most weeks.

I think the main things these blogs helped with was taking me deeper into thought about essays and assignments. When we had to write about what we need to work on in our essays it really made something click in my head and I think from now on I won't make those mistakes as much. Blogs have forced me to really focus, like when we had to find a picture to go with Great Expectations I had to really understand the novel to connect it with an image.

A quote I found that relates to my blogs this year is, "I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma," -Eartha Kitt. My blogs improved time after time and even when I was satisfied with my ideas and work, the blogs made me re-think it and continue revising it. They have helped me connect books and literature with my own life and other things in the real world. The blogs have been a great help for me this year and I am really glad we did them!

Essay Writing: Challenges and Conquests

Before this year essays were always pretty simple for me, but I never really gave any thought to the deeper meaning of the book. However, now that we have to do in-depth commentary to support our ideas it has forced me to analyze books on a different level. I never before realized how important a strong thesis statement is, as that can make or break an essay. I think the Gilman method has really helped me write my essays and I will definitely use it in the future!

I think my Romeo and Juliet essay is not bad, but I think a B might be in my future. I have been doing better at thinking of original ideas, but I think they might not come across exactly how I wanted them to in my essay. It was hard to organize them so it all made sense and supported the thesis. Besides that the "B grade or lower" list has really helped me go over my essay and fix it so that I hope I can get an A!

Summer Reading List

1. Over the summer I really want to read The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. It's about a doctor who gives up one of his children at birth because he thinks he is saving his family from the pain of losing her later on. I want to read this because I've started reading it multiple times this year but I can never get through it because of the reading and homework I have for school.

2. The second book I'd like to read over the summer is Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult because my friends recommended it to me last year and I never got around to reading it. It's about a school shooting in a town and how no one truly knew the boy.

Fate

My birthday is August 3rd so my astrological sign in Leo. I think that occasionally horoscopes are correct, but I don't think it's set in stone what will happen. However, my astrological sign is pretty accurate.

Leos born on August 3 have star quality. Like most people who have an extroverted nature, they are talkative and friendly. They also are extremely ambitious. They work tirelessly toward their goals and do whatever they can to better themselves. They possess great personal charm and are deeply committed to causes that benefit others. They also make exceptional actors, teachers, media personnel, and lawyers.

I think this paragraph actually sums up a lot about my personality. I'm fairly outgoing and I like to do whatever I can to reach my goals. Also, when I was younger all I wanted was to be an actress, and I was recently thinking about maybe being a lawyer like my parents so it's interesting that was in there.

The idea of a pre-determined fate is constantly coming up in Romeo and Juliet starting in the very beginning with the prologue forshadowing their death. Romeo almost uses fate as an excuse when he says, "This day's black fate on more days doth depend. This but begins the woe others must end." (3.1.124-125) Anything could happen and Romeo could use fate as his reasoning. I think Romeo and Juliet put too much faith in fate and believe there's nothing they can do to change the path they are on, but if they only did something they might be able to avoid death.

Culture Shock

Romeo and Juliet is referenced all over the place in modern culture, and when brainstorming ideas for this blog I remember a song that had Juliet in the title. After looking at the lyrics of Check Yes Juliet by We the Kings I realized it's all about a modern Romeo and Juliet. Like the line, "They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance," obviously shows the forbidden love between Romeo and Juliet. It's all about running away with your true love.

LYRICS:

Check yes Juliet
Are you with me
Rain is falling down on the sidewalk
I won't go until you come outside
Check yes Juliet kill the limbo
I'll keep throwing rocks at your window
There's no turning back for us tonight

[Chorus:]
Lace up your shoes
Here's how we do
Run baby run
Don't ever look back
They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance
Don't sell your heart, say we're not meant to be
Run baby run, forever will be
You and me

Check yes Juliet
I'll be waiting
Wishing wanting yours for the taking
Just sneak out and don't tell a soul goodbye
Check yes Juliet
Here's the countdown:
3,2,1 you fall in my arms now
They can change the locks, don't let them change your mind

[Chorus:]
Lace up your shoes
Here's how we do
Run baby run
Don't ever look back
They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance
Don't sell your heart, say we're not meant to be
Run baby run, forever will be
You and me

We're flying through the night
We're flying through the night
Way up high
The view from here is getting better with you
By my side

Run baby run
Don't ever look back
They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance
Don't sell your heart, say we're not meant to be
Run baby run, forever will be
Run baby run, don't ever look back
They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance
Don't sell your heart, say we're not meant to be
Run baby run, forever will be
You and me
You and me

Credito Extra

Honestly, the main reason I did Honors English this year was to prove to my brother that I can take the same classes he did and get better grades. I wasn't sure what to expect because I'd heard different things from different people about the difficulty of the class. However, after seven months I've come to the conclusion that although it is challenging it's totally worth it. I really like the fact that not only do we read and write, but we do skits and poetry, it's a nice break from the normal routine. I've got to say my least favorite part so far has been writing that essay, and the five-part paragraphs. But I know I've got plenty more of that to look forward to in years to come, and this class is preparing me well. Plus, I have a great teacher and classmates who make learning fun!! Oh, my other least favorite part was missing the pie party...

Great Expectations:Skit Prep!

1. One scene from Great Expectations that I think would be really fun to perform or watch would be when the Pale Young Gentleman and Pip get into a fight outside the Satis House near the beginning of the book. The action would be exciting, and you could do it with just Herbert and Pip, or add on the part where Estella speaks to Pip afterwards.

2. Another scene that would be interesting to see is when Pip first meets Miss Havisham. This is a popular choice but the scene is filled with drama. Estella is extremely rude to Pip while Miss Havisham is being creepy and telling Estella to break his heart. All three of the actors would have fun with this scene.

3. A third scene that would be interesting to see would be when Orlick attacks Pip and threatens to kill him, but Pip is saved by Herbert. It would be fun to act out the fight, and a lot of action happens. It is also the time that Orlick admits to killing Mrs. Joe so it's an important scene.