End of Year Reflection

     I learned so many important and valuable things this year, but there are three, yet some seemingly simple, that really came to mind first.  One of the first most important things I learned from this class was how to write different pieces of writing (argumentative, thematic, etc.) using and organized format, TIQA.  While in the past we have used TIQA, it has really been engrained into our brains, and taught more extensively, this year.  Formatting a paragraph beginning with it's topic sentence, then introducing a quote from a book, article, documentary, etc. to support it, including that quote, and then analyzing it, seems pretty straight forward and simple.  Though, if I hadn't learned it so specifically in this way, and did not have to enforce the technique in my writing, my writing would be nowhere near as organized as it is today!  Just learning TIQA was so important for me for all of my writing this year, and I know will be important to organize my writing when I go off to high school.   The second most important thing I have learned from this class is how to annotate text for different purposes.  Last year, we predominantly annotated for understanding, though this year we have been taught how to annotate for the importance of the article for the World to hear, for the importance of word choice in the writing, for the meaning and purpose of figurative language in different pieces, etc.  Learning all of these different ways to annotate has really helped to make everything I read, a lot clearer, and has allowed me to understand confusing pieces of writing, and the deeper messages within a text.  I know that I will come across many confusing pieces of writing in my future, but the techniques I've learned in annotating will allow me to understand that writing  One final thing I learned from this class was how to manage my time more efficiently.  I maybe didn't specifically learn different ways to mange my time better, but through everything we've been required to do, it has all taught me how to use my time more efficiently and effectively.  I have a lot going on already without school, and with Mrs. Larson's class this year, we have had to complete a lot of assignments.  Though, it is because of all of this that I have learned how to mange my time n a better way, because otherwise I would have terrible grades and become even more stressed out.  This class has taught me how to balance my school life, with my life outside of school, and I know that I would be a much, much worse procrastinator if it were not for this class.

     Something we did this year that I don't think I'll ever forget, is when we had our To Kill a Mockingbird "Feast."  It was so much fun trying all of the different foods we had learned about while reading the book, and a unique activity to complement the novel after we had  finished.  It was so interesting, seeing all of the different options, and finding out what people thought was unexpectedly delicious, or absolutely disgusting.  Watching people try sardines was priceless.  I'm super picky and was so grossed out, I couldn't even pick one up without cringing, so I didn't try one, but I'm sure I will try one, one day! It was all like a celebration of the end of the favorite novel of mine that we had read in class this year!  To Kill a Mockingbird was definitely the book that I enjoyed the most that we read in this class!  Everything had a deeper message, and it was so interesting and exciting when you connected the dots of the entire story from the beginning to the end at the end of the novel!  I loved reading about Scout's journey from a childish little girl, to a mature young lady, and everything she learned in between.  Atticus's wisdom was incredible to read about, but I enjoyed the wise words of all of the characters.  I loved all of our discussions about the book through the questions we had to answer, and the plot line of the story is one that I don't think I could ever forget!  We dove so deep into the meaning of the story, and it was just overall a book that I could read again, and again and love and discover more each time!  To Kill a Mockingbird is jam packed with twists and turns, laughs and tears, and so many messages and small mysteries to uncover!  I was always thinking when I was reading, and I really loved it!

     My classmates are all so kind, and I know that we have all created a special bond together unlike most other classes, so it's hard to pick out an instant where someone has done the nicest thing for me!  Everyone in the class has done something nice for me at some point or another, no matter how small, and they might not have even realized it!  Some of the nicest things were what some of my classmates said about my writing and projects!  There are two comments on different blogs, one was from a regular weekly blog, and the other was from my butterfly project.  They said, 

 When people like Abdiel and Isabelle, who I would say are both very intelligent students and talented writers, comment things like this I my blogs, it makes me feel so good about myself!  I am not the most confident about my writing, and so when people write nice comments with kind, encouraging words on my work, it gives me so much more confidence, that maybe I'm doing something right!  There are so many other things, like I said, that all of my classmates have done that were beyond nice, but even the smallest comments are some of the nicest!

     Not everybody knows this, so technically I have not taught this to my classmates, but I think that when they find this out, I will have been able to teach them a pretty valuable lesson.  On the first day of 6th grade, I made it a goal to be the Valedictorian of my 8th grade class.  With this goal always in the back of my mind, I have worked my butt off all throughout middle school, and today I am proud to say that I am the Heritage Class of 2015 Valedictorian.  I think I would be teaching my classmates the valuable lesson of how important it is to set longterm goals for yourself!  I am proof, like many other people in this World that if you set goals, you can and will reach them, and that is important because I feel like a lot of people don't think about longterm goals because they think that they are unattainable!  They are too far away, they are never going to happen, they are only dreams!  Though, I am teaching all of them that when you set a goal and pouch yourself to reach it, that goal is definitely attainable.

     I started off the year still struggling with grammar in my writing, and my writing in general.  I was being too redundant because I was overthinking everything, all of my sentences seemed to be run-ons, my work needed to simplified, it all just seemed like a big hot mess of words!  While my writing is still not perfect, I do think that I have made major improvements! I'm much more aware of how I'm writing; I'm looking out for run-ons, and reading my work over and over again, seeing and thinking about the different ways I could write pieces so that everything fits together, and there's not a giant mess of words!  It is because of the improvements I've made in my writing that have led to small accomplishments that I am proud of.  I have received very high A's on both my Blackfish vs SeaWorld paper, and To Kill a Mockingbird thematic essay.  I think that both of those pieces were the best writing that I've done all year, and I couldn't pick just one because I think I did them each individually well, and am not sure which one was better.  I think in my To Kill a Mockingbird essay I interpreted the theme of Scout's coming of age very well and organize it to create a sequence of events that shows her turning from a little girl to a young lady.  My paragraphs were well formatted, and I thoroughly analyzed each quote without being redundant!  My Blackfish vs SeaWorld argumentative paper I believe was well formatted and written as well.  I was able to form a strong argument, and strong counter arguments for the side I was opposing, and include a lot of information and interpretation, again without being too redundant.  I am definitely proud of both of these pieces of writing, and they are definitely the best I've written all year.

     The most challenging part of this year for me, though I have learned (somewhat) how to handle it, was time management!  In this class we had so much to do with a blog and AoW most weeks and vocal to study along with the other homework and work he had from the class, and of course there was still homework in other classes and the things we had going on outside school!  It was definitely very difficult for me to get everything done, even now with this reflection!  Though, it's just something that I've had to learn to deal with!  This leads to the biggest advice I have for students who will be in this class next year; don't procrastinate and get your work done!  If you don't, it's going to bite you in the butt, and you're not going to be happy with what comes out of it.  Don't hold off your AoW's and Blogs until Thursday night, when you could do them Monday or Tuesday!  Don't start an assignment the night before it is due!   Think things out, and plan out when you will have time to complete different assignments at home, and do them as soon as you can!  I promise you will feel a huge weight lifted off of your shoulders if you turn in your assignments early rather than at the last minute!

Morrie's Aphorism Project

"As long as we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away.  All the love you created is still there.  All the memories are still there.  You live on - in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here."

     The aphorism that I chose is, "As long as we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away.  All the love you created is still there.  All the memories are still there.  You live on - in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here."  It is very clear what Morrie's message is when you hear this aphorism, because it is a very self explanatory, explicit, aphorism.  He is saying that when and if someone really loves, cares for other, and builds strong bonds with others, when they leave the world and those that they touched and loved in it physically, they won't be leaving the world and and those that they touched and loved in it "mentally."  Mentally, meaning, that the memories will never cease to exist, the love will still be felt, and so the person who has left the Earth won't be forgotten.  If they were able to build strong relationships and bonds while they were here, those bonds will still be there.  Just because someone has died, doesn't mean those who were close to them while they were on Earth, will not be close to them any longer or forget about them.  They will still love and cherish all of their memories that were made before that person passed, and thou who has passed, will live on through the loving thoughts and words of people that they loved and made those memories with.  They were too cared for, too loving, to caring themselves, with too many memories made to be forgotten, therefor, they aren't going away with their death.  They are always there, even if it is not physically speaking because they were simply too special to certain people, to ever actually go away.

     There is an old Miley Cyrus song about her grandfather called, "I Miss You" which is about the how much she misses her grandfather who has passed on.  There is one section of the chorus that I really think relates to this aphorism.  The chorus goes, "I miss you, I miss your smile.  Nice to shed a tear every once in a while.  And even though it's different now, you're still here somehow.  My heart won't let you go, and I need you to know, I miss you, sha la la la la, I miss you."  The section of this chorus that I think really relates to the aphorism I chose is when Miley says, "And even though it's different now, you're still here somehow.  My heart won't let you go..."  At this point in the song, she is talking about how it's different with her grandfather not in her life, but even though he's gone, he's still somehow there with her, because her relationship was so strong with her grandfather that she would never forget the memories and times with him, making it like he was still on Earth with her. Her love for him would always be there, as she says "My heart won't let you go" which is what Morrie's aphorism is saying.  That even though the person who has passed away will no longer physically be in your life, they will still somehow be there with those they really cared for and shared a special bond with, like a granddaughter and grandfather, because their love for each other was so strong and the memories so great, that in their heart, they could never be forgotten, and would always be there!

     I really, truly do agree with this aphorism for many reasons both from the book, Tuesdays with Morrie, and from my own experienced.  I agree with this aphorism because I have found a lot of truth in it.  This aphorism has even shown to be true in my own life.  While I have not experienced the death of a family member that I had a super special connection with like Mitch and Morrie, I have experienced the death of family members and loved ones in my life that were very important and still are very important to me, and those people are not completely gone from my life whatsoever.  For example, my neighbor Ruth passed from Lou Gehrig's Disease a couple years ago.  She still lives on in my heart and life in so many ways!  It's like she's still here, I just don't get to see her physically.  We still live next door to the house she lived in, where her daughter now lives by herself.  She has the same breed of dog Ruth used to have, a Scotty dog named Kipper.  I still remember long talks in her dining room on hot summer afternoons, eating Girl Scout cookies and enjoying each others company.  I remember telling her one time that if she ever moved that my family would have to move too, because I didn't want any other neighbor.  I remember her coming to see my ballet performances and we still have a picture of her up on our fridge.  She is still there in my life, and I will always love and miss her, and have those memories of her that allow her to live on in my life.  She has not ceased to exist completely.

     This aphorism has also shown to be very true when it comes to the book, Tuesdays with Morrie.  Clearly, Morrie has and will live on in all of the lives he touched, with those that he knew and had close relationships with, and those that he may not have ever known, but who read Tuesdays with Morrie.  It is clear that Mitch has a close relationship with Morrie throughout the book that he started off with, lost, and then regained, and we can see this through his flashbacks of college years, the conversations on Tuesdays, and the way Mitch cares for Morrie and Morrie teaches Mitch.  Though, we can really see the care that Mitch had for Morrie at the very end of the book. While he does not explicitly state that it is Morrie he is talking about, we know it is him that he is describing as an amazing teacher in a quote at the very end of the book because the whole book was about Morrie and his wise life lessons, and this quote hints at the bond and relationship they had, when he says, "Have you ever  really had a teacher?  One who saw you as a raw but precious thing, a jewel that, with wisdom, could be polished to a proud shine?  If you are lucky enough to find your way to such teachers, you will always find your way back.  Sometimes it is only in your head.  Sometimes it is right alongside their beds."  We can obviously tell that Morrie had touched and taught Mitch so much, and that Mitch truly was thankful and loved Morrie as a result of this.  After he died, it is very clear that he would live on in Mitch's life because of what a huge influence Morrie had on him!  Mitch wrote Tuesdays with Morrie about his experiences with Morrie; he wrote a book about their time together and his lessons, and so Morrie could live on in a book for Mitch and for many others too!  All of his lessons and words of wisdom, could live on and be there physically, even though he could not, which would cause him to live on as well. Not only does Morrie live on in Mitch's life, he lives on in the lives that he has touched from his book! This book, and everything Morrie has had to say in it has really impacted my life, and I know that Morrie lives on in the lives, like my own, those who have read and learned from his book!  That is why I really agree with this aphorism!