Reflective Essay (final)

Over the course of this year I have written about many things. A lot of which are responses to books or peoples blogs. My first few blogs were responses to the summer reader, and the questions we had in there. The rest of them have been a miscellaneous mix of responses and debates. My writing started out very formal and slowly went down hill. I came across my reflective essay post which was somewhere in the middle of formal and not formal at all. Looking back and reading my reflective essay I have realized that I have not fulfilled many of my goals I had planned for myself.

    Some of my goals have been to not procrastinate and to plan out my writing before I put it on my blog. If I procrastinate on my blogs it will never get done. This semester my procrastination goal has not been met. This upsets me because I have been procrastinating on many things throughout my school life, in almost every grade. I would like to fix this and have been trying to throughout this year. I find it easier when we have time in class to plan out our work and start a rough draft. If i plan and work everything out before I need to do it then its easier to piece together and it gets done faster. For example, in out book report or our independent book , I wrote out a draft in class and it was a lot easier to  write the final thing because I had time in class to work on it instead of procrastinating and writing it at the last minute.
    In the beginning of the year my writing was a lot more formal and organized. My writing teacher was always on me last year about how I write and how to improve it. This year I neede to learn to improve my writing habits and eliminate them. In my third post, Sex, Drugs, And The Extinction of Dinosaurs, my writing was very formal and way more organized then it is now, in my opinion. As time went on my writing got less formal and less organized . I believe it was because I began to get lazy and I didn’t put as much effort into my writing. For example, in my response to a quote on Ebone’s Blog about the N-Word and who should  it and how. I still had main points and everything but my writing was not as formal as it could have been. In my Post as a response to Ebone’s response to Rokhsors post about religion I got my point across very well and I said what was needed to say but it was not as organized or formal as it could have been. As I progressed into the year I tried to change this. I believe my writing has not improved but it has not worsened. When I looked back on my previous writing and compared it to recent posts, my writing seems a lot more organized and well written. I believe the reasons for this is my writing was not planned out when I wrote these. In my responses to the summer reader I had them already written and I could edit them as I went along, I did not do this with the other posts and I believe that’s why my writing seemed less formal and organized.
    When I organize my writing I tend to do the easy parts first. For example, if i have an essay due I write the body paragraphs first and then move to the introduction and conclusion. The introduction and conclusion are the hardest parts of an essay for me to write, because of this I write them last. My body paragraphs are my idea’s and main points and its easiest for me to get my main points out there. My introduction and conclusion are a summary of ideas and for some reason I have a lot of trouble writing these. My draft and my rough draft can be very different. Depending on what topic I have, I may have a lot to say about it. My first rough draft will be a series of ideas that are just strung together. As I move into the editing process, I start to smooth out the transition between ideas so my writing won't be a list of idea's. I also add my introductions and conclusion to my rough draft.

This semester on my blog, I believe my posts have mainly been responses. I did not necessarily do all my posts that were due this semester which is not a good thing. Because of this, I have mainly book responses this semester. I have not been able to approach different idea's. I am sure if, in the future, I tried different topics it would be a learning process for me.

       Over the course of this year I would say my blog has not improved but it has not necessarily stayed the same.  As I have said before my writing has gotten a lot less formal. I do not believe its worsened. Having a blog also was not the easiest thing for me. Because the blog is computer homework and I get easily distracted When I’m on the computer. If I had one again next year It would be easier so then I could manage my time better. If I push myself to manage my time and plan my writing out then my writing would be more organized and straight to the point. I also believe if we did not have a blog next year it would be easier too, because then we would not have to worry about the computer and getting it done on a certain date, where as in class, with written homework its due a certain day in class and not at a certain time. If its due at a certain time I may forget but if its due in class on a certain date then it would be easier for me to get my work done on time.
    

Reflective Essay Final

(Explain one or two ways my writing has improved (or not). Include a few examples from my posts over time, with analysis and links to the original posts, to illustrate how the improvement(s) happened.

In what way(s) have I surprised myself this semester on my blog? Have I tried topics I didn't think I'd write about? Approached a familiar


What is my revision process? How do I move from first rough draft to final draft?



        Over the course of this year I’ve written about many things. A lot of which are responses to books or peoples blogs. My first blogs were responses to the summer reader, and the questions we had in there. The rest of them have been a miscellaneous mix of responses and debates. One of my posts was my reflective essay.

        In the begining of the year my writing was a lot more formal and organized. My writing teacher was always on me last year about how I write and how to improve it. In my third post, Sex, Drugs, And The Extinction of Dinosaurs, my writing was very formal and way more organized then it is now, in my opinion. As time went on my writing got less formal and less organized. For example, in my response to a quote on Ebone’s Blog about the N-Word and who should  it and how. I believe my writing hasn’t improved but it hasn’t worsened. when I looked back on my previous writing and compared it to recent posts, my writing seems a lot more organized and well written.

        When I organize my writing I tend to do the easy parts first. For example, if i have an essay due I write the body paragraphs first and then move to the introduction and conclusion. The introduction and conclusion are the hardest parts of an essay for me to write, because of this I write them last. My draft and my rough draft can be very different. Depending on what topic I have, I may have alot to say about it. My first rough draft will be a series of ideas that are just strung together. As I move into the editing process, I start to smooth out the transition between ideas so my writing won't be a list of idea's. I also add my introductions and conclusion to my rough draft.

          This semester on my blog, I believe my posts have mainly been book responses. I didn't necessarily do all my posts that were due this semester which is not a good thing. Because of this, I have mainly book responses this semester. I haven't been able to approach different idea's. I'm sure if, in the future, I tried different topics it would be a learning process for me.

        Over the course of this year I'd say my blog hasn't improves but it hasnt necessarily stayed the same. Having a blog also was not the easiest thing for me. Because the blog is computer homework I get easily distracted. If i had one again next year It would be easier so then i could manage my time better. I also believe if we didn't have a blog next year it would be easier too, because then we wouldn't have to worry about the computer and getting it done on a certain date, whereas in class with written homework its due a certtain day in class and not at a certain time.

Book Review: Flipped

 Pick a character that interests you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two characters.
        The book I'm reading is called Flipped by Wendelin Van Dranen. Its about Bryce Loski and Julianna Baker, or Juli. So far, what I understand about the book is that Juli saw Bryce when he first moved in and got an immediate crush on him. Bryce saw her and wanted to run. So , Juli has been annoying him and she just won't give up on him. Time goes by and Juli's favorite tree gets cut down and she gets really depressed and stops riding the bus to school. As soon as she doesn't pay attention to him, he gets concerned. Also in another part Juli gets extremely mad at him so he gets concerned and feels horrible about what he did. This brings me to the conclusion that Bryce likes Juli back but he just doesn't want to address it, but he can;t help but show his concern when she doesn't pay attention to him.

"I could feel her anger a mile away. It was actually worse having her mad at me then having her harass me, Why? Because I screwed up, that's why." (81)

       Bryce obviously feels bad and he tries to make up for it by going to help her clean her yard. He feels as if his guilty conscience would be clear if he helps her. He tried to go over there only to find his his grandfather doing what he was going to do. Bryce goes home and he contemplates and thinks about everything, he tries not to address it but he starts getting feelings for Juli. He also claims that Juli's family is messed up and he doesn't think of his family with "issues", he soon realizes that Juli is the one with perfect family and his is the one with family "issues". Meanwhile Juli is trying to get rid of her feelings for Bryce. Bryce finally realizes that he has feelings for Juli but it may be too late. Juli runs away from him and somewhat pushes him away because she's so confused. He plants a tree in her front yard and she's sees it's a sycamore tree, the same kind as the one she loved but got cut down. The last line of the book is Juli realizing she should give Bryce a second chance.

The House on Mango Street: Red

In the book, The House on Mango Street the color Red represents something being forced upon someone. It also represents unhappiness or resentment.

"It's small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath. Bricks are crumbling in places, and the front door is so swollen you have to push hard to get in. There is no front yard, only four little elms the city planted by the curb. Out back is a small garage for the car we don't own yet and a small yard that looks smaller between the two buildings on either side." (4)

Esperanza, the main character, doesn't like the new house at all that her and her family moved into. she immediately points out all its flaws because it isn't her dream house. She has the idea of a pretty and peaceful house all to herself, but once she moves into the house on Mango street she's hesitant because its run down.

"Someday I will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand my jokes without my having to expalin them. Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor." (9)

In this quote Esperanza is longing for a friend that she can basically share her life with, kind of like a sister her age. When she says "Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor." (9) She is comparing herself to something that can go very far but she can't because she's tied to the ground and the release, or thing she needs to set herself free, is a best friend. The color red is asociated with being tied down and not being able to go far away.

The Color Purple

Celie's letters to god tell us that she is a very calm person and she handles traumatizing situstions very well. For example, on the first page of the book, it describes in detail of her father raping her. Celie does not do anything about it instead she decides to write a letter to god explaining the situation. "But I don't know how to fight.All I know how to do is stay alive."(pg. 17) In this qutoe Celie is told by her sister, I believe, that she has to fight and stand up to her abusive husband and his children. She thinks what she has to do to stay alive is obey their every command and let them get away with whatever they want and she thinks thats the only way.
Celie is a very passive agressive person. Judging by her letters she has no agression towards these people at all. "You got to fight them, Celie, she say. I can't do it for you. Yo got to fight them for yourself." (Pg. 21) Celie is also told by her sister in law that she needs to fight her, once again, abusive husband and his children. She is been told this twice now and she still has no anger what so ever, being shown in the letters, towards any of them. This makes me believe she's either bottling up her emotions or taking it out on something else by being passive agressive.
Judging on Celie's letters, she is thinking that she only has god to talk to. In the begining of the book her father says "You better not tell nobody but god. It'd kill your mammy." It seems like Celie took her fathers threat to the heart and actually told god. It is not entirely clear whether or not sje told her sister, but she definetally told god. It seems like she hasn't fully grown up and wants to believe god can help her but she's not entirely sure.

Final Book Response to Unwind

          The ending to Unwind made me want to cry. Well the only part was when they were unwinding Roland. The actual end made me happy. Suspense is a crazy abundance when reading this book.
        The Lit Circle Discussions helped get some more insight to the book and other peoples perspectives helped me see some parts of the book in a new way. One of the things we discussed in class was being able to unwind someone and then put them back together again like Humphrey Dunfee. It was kind of confusing when they had the story of Humphrey and Connor and Risa in the same chapter. I forgot who was who. It was kind of scary when his parents had everyone in the same room and their conversations started to converge into one and it was like Humphrey was back. We were thinking if they unwound someone would they live when they were put back together? I believe they might be able to do that but no one knows for sure besides Neal Shusterman. Another topic we had was Connor and Roland and how Roland calls Connor a killer when Connor killed people on accident. If someone is killed my accident is that person considered a murderer? Also We were debating on whether or not if Roland was in the crate with Connor if he would kill him or not. Most of us believed he would have. I also think its ironic that in his surgery Connor got Rolands arm, the same arm that was threatening to rape hi girlfriend and kill him.

Response to Unwind 2nd Paperclip

         In my first blog post about what I thought of Unwind I said that the events were unexpected and you never saw what was coming. I still definitely think that, there's a surprise every chapter.  I like how the author has separate chapters for characters that, at that moment, seem insignificant but they end up helping the main characters. There were a lot of new characters introduced in the 2nd paperclip such as Emby, Roland, Cyrus, and Tyler. I thought that Cy-Ty or whoever he was was interesting because Cyrus had to get an operation where part of Tyler's brain was put into the missing part of Cyrus' brain, after a while Tyler had started taking over Cyrus and it got out of control.
         In class we talked about when Connor punches Lev and we were discussing on whether Lev deserved it or not and I believe Lev did deserve it. Lev is always sabotaging and ruining things. For example, when Conner, Risa, Lev, and the baby are hiding in the high school bathrooms and Lev escaped and turned them in, he ruined their runaway but they got away. Also we discussed if you unwound someone would they be able to function and live because of part of Tyler's brain taking over Cyrus. I don't think this would work because its basically reanimating someone and we need NO zombies/reanimated people. Cyrus was talking to Lev and telling him that its in his nature to run from unwinding. It may or may not have gotten to Lev and convinced him to keep running from unwinding. No one really deserves to be unwound but when Lev thinks of it as a privilege then it just seems wrong. I think it may have gotten to Lev that he doesn't HAVE to die or be sacrificed to god. Lev's grades in school are good and he plays multiple sports so its not like he won't amount to anything in life.