One thing that was very important that I learned this year was time management. I learned how to balance everything out and to make sure everything was done. I learned this because sometimes during the year we would have some things due in a certain amount of time and I would have to learn how to get everything done. Sometimes I would spend too much time on one thing and not have enough time to do a good job on the other. This took me some time to learn, but in the end I understood how to do it.
Another thing that I learned this year was how to be
focused. Before this year I would be thinking or doing something else instead
of what I would need to get done. Now I have gained how to stay focused and
concentrated. I needed to learn this because sometimes we would be doing some
things that I wasn't interested in. I would get off topic and push the activity
off to the side. By doing this I made myself get a lot more work and it was a
lot harder. After this year, even if I am not interested in the topic, I try to
stay focused and get my work done.
The third thing that I learned this year was how to gain
perseverance. I learned this by working hard and by keep pushing forward.
During this year there was a lot of work to be done and one of the only reasons
why I got it done was that I persevered and persisted into doing it. This
helped me because it made everything else after that a lot easier. I will use
this tool in my life because in high school, college, and life I will need to
persevere through most things.
Something that we did this year that I will remember for
the rest of my life is when we did our first socratic seminar for the book Bronx
Masquerade. This was very memorable because I remember how deep the
conversations were. We were all talking about things that spoke to us and made
us feel a certain way. By talking about everything, we expressed our own
opinions and thoughts. This will always be remembered because it helped me and
some other people find how we really feel. It showed me that you aren't always
going to agree with some people and that it is ok.
The nicest thing that someone did was that they helped me
learn and grow this year. This person was my teacher, Mrs. Larson. She helped
me improve the way I think and how I show it. My grades would not be the same
if I had a different teacher. By guiding me and showing me how to improve I
might have changed my life. I am very grateful that she was my teacher this
year.
One thing that I taught my classmates and teacher this year
was how to think a different way. During the year I would express my thoughts
and give my own opinions. By doing this I taught my classmates and teacher how
to see some things a certain way. An example of this is when we did our first Socratic
seminar for Of Mice and Men. During this seminar I said that I felt
sorry for Curley's wife. This comment might have showed some people the other
side of something. I taught then how to realize something that they might not
have been able to realize without me.
The area that I feel I made my biggest improvement was
writing essays. Before this year I was unsure of what to do for the essays. I
didn't know how to format them or how long they should be. Now I know when you
write paragraphs you use the TIQA format. This helped me a lot because I use it
all the time and it makes my paragraphs and essays a lot smoother. Now I can
take this skill and use it in the future. It doesn't just have to be ELA; it
could be Math, Social Studies, or Science. The progress I made from a year ago
to now is phenomenal.
Something that I accomplished this year is that I learned
how to think outside the box. During the year we did a lot of activities that
included us thinking about different ideas and topics. Everyone discussed what he
or she thought and how he or she feel towards it. When people gave their own
ideas it made me think about it and then made me go to another conclusion. I
would think of things that other people haven't thought of. It might have been
weird, but it showed that I have the ability to be creative. I am very proud of
this because I now know that I can think of things that are original.
The most challenging part of the year for me was getting
all of my work done on time. Most of the time after school I would have an
extra curricular activity and doing homework would be delayed. Some nights I
would be rushing to get it done and I would be stressed out. When I rushed to
get it done the quality wouldn't be very good, then I would have to redo it the
next day. During some part of the year I stopped this cycle and put my work
before everything else. I would stay home instead of doing other things and got
it done without rushing. I was straightening out my priorities. Before I straightened
everything out, it very challenging and hard for me to handle, but I battled
through it.
I think that my best piece of writing this year was my
"Where I'm From" poem. I believe that it is my best because I really
had to think about it and it describes who I am and what I came from. Whenever
I read it I think of when I was little and my family history. The poem itself
can't be related by anyone because it is my own feeling towards my past and it
shows me. It is one of a kind and people who don't know me don't understand the
meaning of the poem. Every line has a story behind it and a memory that means
something to me. I feel like this poem is my best because I expressed myself in
a different way instead of just talking about it.
My favorite book that I read this year was The Help by
Kathryn Stockett. This was my favorite because the book was so interesting. It
was through the perspectives of multiple people, which appeals to me. Everyone
in it has different races and backgrounds. It takes place in the 60s in the
south, which by itself is an engaging topic. Most of the perspectives are of
black maids who write a book of their own personal encounters being "the
help". Throughout the book you see racism and people dealing with it.
Sometimes it makes you laugh, cry, and feel anger. It was so intriguing that I
would read for hours and couldn't put the book down. I will always remember it
and how it gave me a different perspective on the life I have now.
For kids next year I would like to advise them on a one
particular thing. I would say that they have to be prepared to work very hard everyday.
They can't get through the year with slacking off and expecting everything to
be easy. If they don't focus and persevere then everything would be a lot
harder and more difficult. They have to put forth the effort because in the end
it will pay off.
No comments:
Post a Comment