expectations of high school

There are many things I expect to get out of high school. First, I would like to learn many things to prepare myself for college. My hopes and dreams are to go to a 4-year college someday. High school is just part of the process of achieving more in life. High school will prepare me for college in many ways. For example, it will help me stay organized, work efficiently, have good study habits and take notes.

Also, I expect high school to prepare me for my coureer in life. It is just a stepping stone to get to the next path in life. I expect to do well in high school and keep my grades up. My goal is to keep a 3.7 GPA throughout the year. Also, I would like to have a range of different classes to take. This will help me know exactly what I want to do later in life.

Let It Be Forgotten by Sara Teasdale

I chose "Let It Be Forgotten" by Sara Teasdale. There are multiple reasons why I chose this poem.Anitially, I chose this poem because I was having a bad day and it seemed like the perfect poem to make me feel vetter. Then, I realized that it has a very clear message that many people should and can live by. It basically says don't sweat the small stuff. It says to just forget about it and keep living your life. This poem reminds me to just be myself and live my life.

Preparing to recite my poem in front of the class has been kind of stressful. It makes me quite nervous to get up and recite it in front of my classmates. I have been practicing at home and on the bus ride home from Kennewick. I think I will do okay but maybe not as well as I hoped. I am hoping to get in the top ten and earn some extra credit points.

The Road Not Taken

"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost was a very powerful poem for me. To me, it means that you should not always take the path that others are taking. It shows you that it is okay to go the other way every once in a while. It shows human struggle in the sense of, it is not always easy to go against the grain. It shows that he also doubted himself many times too.

I chose this poem because, it has a lot to do with my life. Through the coarse of my life, I constantly tell myself that I'm going to do what is best for me and not to do what everyone else is. I tell myself I am going to do something against the grain but I almost always end up doubting myself. As I look forward to the future, I realize that I need to do what is most beneficial for me and not for what the class of 2012 is doing. For in 5 years, I won't even know 99% of the people that I am trying so hard to impress right now.

The movie

The movie, To Kill A Mockingbird, and the book were very different but very much the same. There were parts of the movie that i believe were better. For instance, the fact that they left out Aunt Alexandra was very good in my opinion. There were way too many characters in the book which made it harder to follow. Also, leaving out parts of the book that were least important, really kept the flow of the story going and made it less hard for my mind to wander.

The scene in the movie that was my favorite was definitely when the Dill, Jem and Scout tried to peek through Boo's window. This was my favorite part in the book and was even better in the movie. Most of the parts of the scene were very similar. Some differences were, the shadow on the house of Mr. Radley. Also, this scene was different than I imagined from the book because the gun shot was much later than I expected. I love how this scene lead to the conversation between Scout and Jem about how when Jem went back, his pants were folded over the fence.

Life changing...

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, was a very eye opening book for me. It has taught me many things throughout the course of the book. For example, it helps me realize how lucky I am to live in a free country with way less racism. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb County are extremely racist with almost everything. Tom Robinson was killed and convicted of a crime he didn't do just because he was black. Today, there still is racism but it is not even close to as bad as it was in the book. The people of Maycomb County were extremely degrading but also had one character to stand up for everyone.

Atticus really taught me a lesson even though I have heard it before. Atticus said many times, “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” (279) this quote really made me realize not to judge people before I know them. People might not turn out to be the way you expect them to be. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, the children expected Boo Radley to be a scary killer when in the end he saved Jem and Scout’s life. It is a hard lesson to go by but, in the end it betters everyone’s perspective.

Life lesson

Scout and Jem have learned many life lessons through out this book. I believe the most important lesson they have learned is that they can't change people's views in a racist society. This has been shown many times through the book but was shown greatly during the trial with Tom Robinson. Many people looked down upon black people and Jem and Scout finally started to realize they couldn't do anything to change that but just take care of themselves and learn to adjust with the racism that goes on constantly. The boys are fortunate enough to live in a family with diversity and a father that realizes that color doesn't matter.

The prison guards definitely showed racism while Tom was there. They went overboard when "They fired a few shots in the air, then to kill." (235) It is unfair for people to be treated any less than a white man. Even though, segregation and slavery has been outlawed for many years now, racism still does exist. Every day I hear racist remarks and it still affects many people. It is definitely not an easy thing for me to hear and it is a problem that is in needs to be fixed.

Extra Credit!

English is as fun as going to an intense rock concert. So far, I have really enjoyed english class and can honestly and truly say it is one of my most favorite classes. I really enjoy that we get work done but it is not too overwhelming. It really helps me to talk and discuss about things instead of just having assignments on things and answering boring and pointless questions. In the past, I have dreaded english because all we used to do is DOL's (dumb outrageous loser work) which do not help me in the least.

English is now better than a popcicle on a hot summery day. It makes me happy just knowing I'm walking up the stairs to go learn and have fun at school. Who would have thought it is possible to have fun and learn at the same time?? Also, after having math class, it's amazingly awesome to have a class that I'm not constantly stressed out about and that I get to read and just cool my jets. It also helps that you are the best english teacher I have ever had. Most english teachers are old and grumpy that tell you to "sit down and do your grammar before I hit you with my yard stick." I like how you are still youthfull and can relate to us teenagers better than a retired teacher who decided to become unretired for a few more years and teach again. So thank you Mrs. Gilman for not hitting us with yard sticks and letting us have a personality in your class.

Theme

The best theme that came to my mind when I think about To Kill a Mockingbird is definitely strength. Strength is shown many times throughout the book especially when Mr. Ewell said "...That black n yonder ruttin' on my Mayella." p. 173 Tom Robinson has to have strength to be able to stand up for himself and defend that he did not rape Mayella. It definitely is not easy for someone to stand up for themselves in a situation that is not in their favor and when they know the ruling is probably going to be against them just because of thier race.

Another character that shows strength in this book is Atticus. Atticus shows strength many times but one time stuck out to me in particular. He showed strength by defending an african american in the court case. At this time period, racism was a huge factor but Atticus stood strong and represented Mr. Tom Robinson very well. Atticus got made fun of and talked about by many folks in town because he was defending an african american but he stood his ground and kept with Tom throughout the entire thing. Atticus is a very wise man and shows strength and respect for everyone that has earned it.

Atticus as a father

I believe Atticus is a very good father. He is slightly older than some of the other parents and he is much wiser and knowledgeable. He is very stern but also has a big heart and cares about everyone. His punishments are quite harsh sometimes like when Jem damaged Mrs. Dubose's flowers and Jem had to "...work on 'em every Saturday and try to make 'em grow back out." (page 105)


Atticus and my parents are similar in many ways and different in a couple of ways. For instance, they are stern when it comes to punishment but at the same time they are extremely polite and reasonable. My parents are different from Atticus because, Atticus doesn't really punish or think much of Scout and Jem cursing. My parents do not allow cursing in my house and my brothers and I will get punished if they hear it.

changing perceptions of Boo Radley

There are multiple things that were mysterious about Boo Radley in chapters 4-8. First, Boo Radley stitched up Jem's pants and put them back in the place that he ripped them. "When I went back, they were folded across the fence... like they were expectin' me." (Page 58) Also, he put things in the tree knot hole and gave the boys things like gum and soap. This shows that Boo Radley can have a nice side and that he does care about people.

Miss Maudie and Scout had a conversation about Boo Radley and I believe that Miss Maudie likes Boo Radley. I believe she thinks he stays in the house because he wants to and she states, "Arthur Radley just stays in the house, that's all," said Miss Maudie . "Wouldn't you stay in the house if you didn't want to come out?" (p 44) This tells me that Miss Maudie likes Boo and tries to look at things from his perception. I also think Atticus likes Boo Radley and stands up for him. He tells the kids not to make fun of Mr. Radley which tells me he is a respectful man.

First impressions of Boo (Arthur) Radley

My first impression of Boo Radley is that he is a very creepy and odd person. He is creepy to me because he stabbed his parents in the leg with a pair of scissors. "...Boo drove the scissors into his parent's leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities." (page 11) I don't think all the rumors about Boo Radley are true. For instance, when it says that the plants are frosted because Boo breathed on him, it completely shows exaggeration for effect in the story.

I believe I am most similar to Jem. Jem seems more mature to me and always seems to make wise decisions. Jem might not be the smartest person but he can use common sense in a great way. I relate to him the most because, for the most part, I make more mature decisions that others.

The best thing about english so far

There are many things I enjoy about Mrs. Gilman's english class. I love that I know a lot of people in that class and have many friends there. I really enjoy having friends in my class because it helps to get work done when we have group projects. My favorite project that we have done so far is when we did the group presentations on the syllabus. It was fun to make the posters and get to know my classmates better.