Ashley’s English Blog

 One conversation that changed me was a late night talk with my friends. We were all sleeping at my house for the night, and we got to talking about life and feelings. During this talk, we they all shared their thoughts and vulternabilites, saying things that we needed to trust each other not to tell again. It changed me because I realized how important it is to have close friend that you can converse with, about any topic, and having ones that won't judge you for what you think or what you've done. And I think it's very important to embrace your differences and learn about each other in a safe space.  Today in class we took notes on evidence and read two articles while finding evidence to support a claim. I learned about the three ways to cite evidence: direct quote, summarizing, and paraphrasing. 

 Something I believed as a child was that the Tooth Fairy was real. My parents had told me she was real so I believed them until I was about 11 years old. I remember writing her notes when I lost a tooth and sometimes she would answer back or sometimes she wouldn't. But I found out that she wasn't real when my mom forgot to come in the middle of the night and did it in the morning when she woke up for work, but I myself was also awake so I could tell it was her. Today in class we watched commercials to learn about persuasive techniques and then started out vocabulary work.  I learned new vocabulary words and how to utilize them.

 I overcame my fear of needles. When I was younger, I would cry four hours when I found I needed to get a shot. I would run away from the nurse and fight them off. But my eleventh birthday I was put in the hospital for an infection in my gums. This was the most tpain I have ever felt, and the needles didn't even scare me anymore. I remember the nurses coming in during the night to take my blood to run tests, and I wouldn't even flinch. This experience was so horrible but I made it through and now I am no longer terrified of needles.  Today in class we read an article and identified claims throughout it. I learned how to create counter-claims.

 I think politics may be a big topic of debate when I get older. Right now I don't know much about politics,  but my dad is very opinionated and he sides with the right a lot. My mom is mostly neutral, but she also has some strong opinions as well. Although I don't know much about politics, I probably will when I get older, and I'm sure I will probably lean more left or neutral like my mom. But my dad likes to debate and discuss his opinions a lot, so I'm sure we'll have some issues later on. Today in class we learned about the types of claims and then did work about them. I learned how to create all the three types of claims.

 One truth a find hard to accept is that one day my family will pass away. I think about it a lot how I have limited time with the people that I love. I think it is so diffucult to understand because are parents and siblings were the first thing that we have ever know. And knowing that one day you might have to live in a world without them is very confusing, especially as a young child. Today in class we listened to a presentation about arguments and did an assignment on logos, ethos, and pathos.  I learned  about argument and rhetoric and how to write an argument. 

A lot of the time when I was younger I was judged unfairly by my family. As the youngest child and grandchild, my siblings and cousins seemed to constantly exclude me and judge me just because of my age. For example, I remember being left out of board games many times because I "wasn't old enough" even though I understood and could play the game just as well as they could. My cousins also expected me to act more maturely than I was, which led to ridicule when I would let my younger words and actions show. Today in class we did a Commonlit. Today I learned about how to harness negative emotions like fear and change them into something beneficial.

 I would be curious about how the Hispanic culture is different throughout the world. I know the Hispanic community is huge across countries and I would like to know how they differ or relate to each other and why depending on history. One thing is about the food. I would like to know how traditional Hispanic dishes differ from country to country and if one is considered the most traditional.  Today in class we learned how to write thesis statements. Today I learned about both umbrella and three point thesis statements. 

 One poem that caught my attention was the one comparing life to a prison. I don't remember whose poem it was, but I remember that it was very inspiring and the presentation stuck with me. I liked it a lot because I have heard people comparing the mind to a prison, but not necessarily life to a prison. It does make a lot of sense though, how we are all stuck in life and we cannot get out. The routines and challenges we face are a lot like a prison that we can't escape. Also, the poster was very visually appealing and there reading of the poem was very influential. Today in class we listened to our classmates' presentations of their poems. Today I learned about different people's views and what comparisons they make with abstract ideas. 

 I have been both an interloper and felt like someone else was an interloper in my world. I was an interloper in middle school, when I transferred in 8th grade into a new school. I felt out of place and not wanted because everyone there had been best friends and they all had their own friend groups that they only hung out with. However, for me I was trying to become friends with as many people as possible, and I felt like no one wanted me there because they already had such strong bonds with each other. I did eventually find a welcoming group and they are some of my best friends still, but feeling like an interloper affected me a lot. I was so nervous to talk to people and I always fear to overstep into people's relationships.  Today in class we did our common lit on "The Interlopers." Today I learned how to write about elements in a story and how it affects the meaning. 

I will probably use affinity, ambiguous, amorphous. I would use the word affinity when talking about something that I or a character like or have a certain connection with. I think I would use it a lot in storytelling and creative writing. I like the word ambiguous because of how it means unclear because I can utilize it to describe something I may not understand myself. Finally, I like the word amorphous for the same reason, that the word is unclear and mysterious.  Today in class we brainstormed and learned the steps to writing. Today I learned how to make a brainstorm that connects to a central idea and branches off. 

 What I love most about the Lakesdie community is the amount of students in the school. I really enjoy how there are so many people I can talk to and make new friends with. I get the opportunity each day to learn about new people and discover a whole new person's life. I like to show off my school spirit by dressing up each day in the theme, as for today I'm wearing bright neon pants and a tank top. I most enjoy the homecoming game, which is tonight. Today in class we took a quiz on a poem and I finished my poem poster. Today I learned about identifying and creating themes from a poem.

 I mostly enjoy creating a story and theme in a poem. I like to use inspiration from my personal life and other stories I have seen or read before. I mostly like how imaginative and descriptive I am able to be, and I also enjoy the freedom of creative writing. Finally, I like how I can utilize figurative language in unconventional ways and make such a unique poem.  Today in class we started brainstorming and creating our poems. I learned how to use figurative language in unique ways, and I learned how to bend the rules of typical writing.

 I most enjoy woeksheets. I like to work by myself and it makes me more efficient and faster. Working by myself on worksheets also allows me to dive deeper into topics I don't understand as much, and also allows me to take my time to thoroughly answer the questions and remember the answers. I also don't enjoy hands on activities because I seem to miss the point of the projects and how it applies to the actual things we're learning.  Today in class we finished composing our poems and started our posters.  Today I learned how to utilize figurative language in my poems. 

 My most absurd personal experience was when I went bungee jumping off a cliff in Mexico. I was 11 years old on vacation with my whole family to Mexico. They wanted to go bungee jumping but I was so scared so I didn't want to go. But eventually my cousins bullied me into going, which was an awful decision. I went up to go, and I obviously survived the jump, but when I got off we found out that one of my buckles hadn't been locked. Today in class we analyzed a new poem by Ferlinghetti. I learned about extended metaphors in poems/ 

 If I had to pick a song to describe my life right now I would choose "What a Wonderful World." I would pick this because I like to see the brighter side of things and appreciate life to the fullest. I also really like the song because of the uplifting lyrics and tune, so it makes me feel better when I listen to it. It encourages me to be happier and spread joy wherever I go. Today in class we finished analyzing our Dickinson quotes. I learned how to create a conflict based off of a theme.

 If I was to compose a poem about my life it would fall into the topic of cycles. I think of my life like a big cycle with smaller cycles within. It would talk about how I think of each day as a cycle of school and volleyball practice, and then go into how the months and years are cycles themselves. I think it would be about appreciating the little things in life.  Today in class we finished our Dickinson playlist and then started analyzing her poems. Today I learned about how to break down lines of a poem and discover their meaning.

 American Literature has been going pretty well for me. We have read a lot of poems and stories, and done creative projects such as creating our own origin myth and creating a heart diagram to represent a Dickinson poem. I have kept up with my family Blog posts and have finished them during class most of the time. It does help that this class is very long due to it being the lunch period, because I can get all of my work done in class without homework.  Today in class we read 3 Dickinson poems and started our soundtrack project. I learned about how to connect poems to real life and identify a theme.