Who would’ve ever imagined that I would end up liking my
English class. Since I’ve started school I have never actually liked my English
class. I always found it boring to learn about all these literary techniques,
poetry, punctuation, spelling, vocabulary words, etc.… the only thing I didn’t
find boring was reading of course. I love reading with and can never get tired
of it, well actually I lie. There’s times where I don’t feel like reading. All
my thoughts and opinion towards an English class changed this year! I am happy
and thankful for having Dr. Preston as a teacher because he has taught me in a
way that no other English teacher has taught me. Dr. Preston just has that
special way of teaching which makes us understand things in a less difficult/ confusing
way.
This
year’s English class has been so different from any others, as I have mentioned
previously. There’s something about our class that no other class of mine has
ever had, and that is a special bond. We are like a little family in that
classroom that has come closer and closer day by day since the beginning of the
year. We have made a lot of choices along the way, choices that were pretty
much done as a class. As the days went by, we got to know each other better by
working together or talking, by doing presentations, Socratic seminars, group
work, or even just sitting at our seats and listening to DP talk. As we have
come together and connected in a very special way, I feel like I do and so do
the others deserve that high level of trust. We have earned that high level of
trust by showing the rest what we have to offer them, which is our friendship
and trust. What was made in that class will forever be with many and I know one
of those persons will be me.
We read
a lot this year in my English class. Not many but enough for me to make some
type of connection. I can say that I feel a connection between Emerson and I because
he says how we can’t let others make our decisions for us. I agree with the
point he is trying to make in “self-reliance.” When I was reading his essay, I
felt like if I was the one who was talking and not him. I could also relate to
“The Right to Your Opinion.” Everyone in this world has the right to say what
they want. Freedom of speech is what we usually use in our everyday lives. We
say our thought out loud for everyone to hear. I can connect in some way with
this work because I do believe and agree to us having the right to speak. But,
when speaking we can’t just say what we think. We always should be prepared
with evidence or backup information to our statement. The last one is “The
Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski. I love how Bukowski says how we you can
make every day of your life better. I can somehow connect with him because that’s
what I tell myself. For example, when I’m having a bad day I tell myself “tomorrow
will a new day and better one!” I always try to keep a positive mentality just
like the author does.
I have
reconnected with a passion that drives me this year. That passion is called
reading and I have learned to love it again. Back in Junior High School I would
read about 2 books every week. I used to love reading in Junior High that I
even joined battle of the books and read almost all the books in the list. All
that love that I had for reading started fading away when I got to high school.
My freshman year I was assigned reading for homework. Even though I liked
reading, I didn’t like reading when it was assigned to me, especially when I
had to read something that I didn’t like. I started getting assigned books that
didn’t interest me and were too boring for me to read. But, junior year in Dr.
Preston’s AP Language and Composition class, it all changed. I started getting
that passion back for reading. As Dr. Preston introduced me to a lot of work
and authors/writers I became very interested and began to read on my own once
again. I will continue my learning in reading by not letting my passion fade
away like freshman year. I will try to keep reading in my life as I proceed
with my learning in the future.
I don’t
remember all the times I have laughed in this course, there was just so many
that I lost count of all. The recently laughed, I think it was last week when
we were doing presentations for our big questions. Luis’s presentation about
dreaming consisted of many funny moments. I have laughed multiple times, especially
with my group because we each have some humor in us. There was also this time
where I laughed when I were reading “The Great Gatsby.” The thing that made me
laugh about “The Great Gatsby” was how Daisy was so stupid to realize what was
going on around her. How dumb she was just made me laugh out loud to myself
because it was so absurd. This is one of the reasons why I love reading because
of how funny each character can be.
A unifying
theme runs through a minimum of five presentations would be a connection. Everyone
who has presented their big question so far, has made a connection with themselves
to their big question. Of course, our big question is something we wonder about
a lot and want to find an answer. Us wanting to find an answer drives us to
make connections with ourselves that we see if we can find some clues or at
least something. For example, Liliy connected her big question to her dad, Marino
connected his to his passion to soccer, Leydi connected hers to her shopping,
etc. we all somehow connected our big question to each other’s lives.
I can’t
say that I have fully completed the hero’s journey, I still feel like I need
some things I need to do to complete it. I might be a hero to some but not
everyone. I know some people that look up to me and thank me for being me. I know
because they have told me before and just by hearing that makes me the happiest
person alive. It also makes me realize that I am doing something good with my
life by making the right choices. I charge my battery completely to charge
others people batteries, in other words. I love things for others and helping
them out because that’s just me. I do more for people than I do for myself
because that’s what makes me happy. In the beginning of the year I was always
wondering who my mentor was going to be. I thought about it too much and didn’t
realize what was around me. My mentor or should I say mentors, are my friends. I
conquer a challenge that I thought I would never be able to do. That was
writing an essay in 25 minutes. Yes, I was able to write a whole 5 paragraph essay
in 25 minutes.
In conclusion,
this course has opened and offered me a lot of opportunities that I would have
never imagines. I am very thankful for being able to go through this year’s English
class journey. I will forever be grateful because I learned many things that I’m
pretty sure I wouldn’t have learned in another English class. The things I have
gained and learned from this English class, I will forever carry it with me. I know
it will come in handy one day, probably next year.
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