The End.

          I have come such a long way this year. The introduction to my blog still remains true to me this day. I am still a smart alec and love to give my inout on things. My writing has changed drastically though. I don't think I knew half of the stuff I know now about essays or five part paragraphs. Honors was a challenge, but I couldn't be happier that I did it.
         My weaknesses have always been anything involved with technology. I wish I would have made a movie at some point this year. I never used to be good at seeing things for more than just what they appear to be. My favorite thing we did this year was the poem "The Knife". That poem was just phenomenal to me. My five part paragraph, however, was not so phenomenal. I was always used to getting all A's, so at first in honors English getting B's was shocking to me. I learned to appreciate B's after awhile though. My voabulary, thanks to Word Power, has improved greatly too. It may not show in this blog though... My overall tone has stayed the same in my blogs, but not in my writing. I definietly sound more mature and experienced. I suppose I have grown a lot as a person this year and not even realized it.
          My strong personality traits still show through even though I have changed. My comparison with Boo Radley to fireworks was very surface level. If it was today and I was reading To Kill A Mockingbird I would have probably compared him to growing up. We're all fascinated with mystery, but I am scared to be on my own someday. When I grow up I will  probably realize that it isn't all that bad, just like Jem and Scout realized that Boo was actually a good guy.
          Something I loved about this class was the choice of books. I would have probably never chosen any of the books we read for myself. I would have given up on Great Expectations if it wasn't required for me to read. I am glad I stuck to it and finished. Almost all the books we read are considered classics, yet not a lot of people read them anymore. I will look into more classics for reading material in the future.
          Fishbowl disscussions are a huge part of honors English. I have always been one to speak up, but these were a surprise to me. All of my fellow smart classmates are very intimidating. I learned how to get a word or two in with them though. There is definietly an art to it. I have also learned how to pose interesting and relavant questions to my disscussion.
          Poetry Out Loud was an interesting experience. I wish I would have picked a more difficult poem though. I could have challenged myself more. Now I know for years to come though! Watching all of the other people recite their poems makes you really appreciate poetry. Overall it was a good experience to have under belt.
          Honors English and Mrs.Gilman have taught me so much. Its amazing how words and writing can really shape you as a person. I was not eager to start this blog, but it has been a great place to refelect on my learning. This year went by so fast. I had a good freshman year and I cannot even begin to explain how much I learned about myself and my writing.

                    "Be Yourself"

I know it is over used, but really you'll get far if you stay true to who you are.

Freshman Memory of Honors English

          My favorite part of honors english was To Kill a Mockingbird. I am not most proud of that five part paragraph, but to this day it remains to be one of my favorite books. The assignment I am most proud of is definetly my Great Expectations essay. I hated that book and wanted to throw it against my wall every night while reading it, but I am so proud of myself for finishing it and writing a great essay on it. Now that I think about it, that book was actually okay. Just painfully boring in my opinion. I am so glad I took honors english and had Mrs.Gilman as a teacher. I learned so many things this year and really improved as a writer. I also learned many skills concerning finding the deeper meaning of literature. I recommend this class to incoming freshmen.

My Experiences with Poetry

          At Olympia High School's Martin Luther King Jr. assembly, a man from New York came to read poems and talk to us. He was so inspirational that I don't even remember his name... just kidding. He really touched me. His poems were all written by him and related to every single person. He told a story about him being stuck in his car one day and how frustrated he was. We all get to that point in life and he wrote a beautiful poem on a napkin he found in the trunk of his car. It just shows that a normal person can write so beautifully and relate to other people through a magnificent thing called poetry.
          I really regret not writing his name down... He was an amazing poet that put out so many great messages. He told us that everyone was equal in their own beautiful way and it may sound chessy, but when you look at the people around you it's true. He was a teacher in a ghetto area in New York just because he wanted to improve those kids lives. It takes a good person to do that.
          When I think of poetry I think of emotions just in general. It has a deep meaning for me and I enjoy reading it and would love to learn more about it.

Conflict in Romeo and Juliet

          I am going to go into in deep detail on the conflict of Romeo and Juliet wanting to be together. The Montague's and Capulet's already hate each other, so fir their only children to be in love and get married is the worse thing that could possibly happen. Juliet is suppose to marry Paris, but can't because she loves Romeo. So then she takes this potion so it makes her appear dead so that she won't have to marry Paris. If Romeo had never snuck into her party he would have never met her, been banished from Verona, or caused so mayn problems for Juliet.
          This conflict relates to my life in a petty and shallow way, but I am going to explain it anyways (with fake names). Plus, nobody even reads my blog so it won't matter. My ex-boyfriend, Mike, and I broke up quite some time ago and then we planned on getting back together. But, my best friend, Monica, started texting Mike when we planned on getting back together. She was staying with me for 2 weeks while her mom was on vacation, so she would hide her phone from me when she was in the shower or something. So I knew something was up. I questioned her many times asking if there was anything going on with her and Mike and she said no. I found out 3 months later that she had been telling Mike all of these horrible things that weren't true about me just so she could have him. So we weren't and aren't together even though we wanted to be because of Monica. Now they're together and I lost my two favorte people. I'm like Paris because I love Mike, but he and Monica are in love so I just end up being the loser. And nobody wants them together because it is right for Mike and I to be together like the Montague's and Capulet's think it wrong that Romeo and Juliet are together. What Romeo and Juliet has taught me is that love can be irrational and stupid and majorly mess up some friendships. The moral of my story is that boys are dumb.

Romeo and Juliet:I It's Everywhere!

For my modern day connection to Romeo and Juliet I chose to relate it to the song "The One I Love" by David Gray. The ltrics are as follows:
Gonna close my eyes
Girl and watch you go
Running through this life darling
Like a field of snow
As the tracer glides
In its graceful arc
Send a little prayer out to ya
'cross the falling dark

Tell the repo man
And the stars above
You're the one I love

Perfect summers night
Not a wind that breathes
Just the bullets whispering gentle
'mongst the new green leaves
There's things I might have said
Only wish I could
Now I'm leaking life faster
Then I'm leaking blood

Tell the repo man
And the stars above
You're the one I love
You're the one I love
The one I love

Don't see Elysium
Don't see no fiery hell
Just the lights up bright baby
In the bay hotel
Next wave coming in
Like an ocean roar
Won't you take my hand darling
On that old dancefloor

We can twist and shout
Do the turtle dove
And you're the one I love
You're the one I love
The one I love

This song relates to Romeo and Juliet because it has many examples of comparing love to weather just as Shakespeare does. David Gray wrote this song as if Romeo would write it for Juliet. In Act one at Juliet's party there is also a lot about dancing, which is mentioned in this song. There is also an example of the stars above being like their love. Overall, I think this was a pretty good modern comparison to Romeo and Juliet.

Connecting with Romeo and Juliet

         (Mrs. Gilman- My computer wouldn't let me view your blog untill today so I apologize for it being a day late. I should have emailed you... ooops.) 

           So far while reading Romeo and Juliet I can connect to it in a few ways. My parents definetly parent more like Romeo's parents and just want me to be true to myself despite what I want. This plays a huge part in who you are and who you grow to be. Juliet's parents are almost the opposite of mine. My parent's and I are very close, but like Romeo I don't tell them everything. Personally, I am a little of both characters. I am independent and have my own ideas about everything like Juliet, but I can be so emotional and ridiculous like Romeo. Typically I am not the dramatic type, but certain situations really alter me (like Romeo). In the scene where Romeo and his family go to Juliet's party, Tybalt gets very angry and worked up. I personally connect to this because I can get very frustrated when I think something's wrong whne it may be fine to someone else. If I was in Tybalt's position I would have done the same exact thing.

          Reading at home and then in class is so much help to me. I would have missed so many little details if we weren't going over them in class. I wish we could have done that with Great Expectations too. Having the glossary on the left hand side in the book is so helpful too. I would be clueless about Shakespear's language without it. As we go on, it is getting easier. I pick up on a lot of details on my own and I am starting to notice that I am getting even more. I have really enjoyed this book so far and I am excited to read on.

Wrapping Up Great Expectations

          A main message portrayed in Great Expectations is that you don't know what you have untill it's gone. Sadly, most people learn this the hard way. When kids are little all they want is to grow up. But reality is they have no idea how easy they have it. I mean come on, arts and crafts counts as learning and homework. When they actually come to an age where they have to be responsible for things, they probably wished that they didn't wish their childhood away. Or when you love someone so much and all you do is fight, when they leave or die (depending on the circumstances) you realize that you should have appreciated them while they were still alive. This message can also relate to silly little things like right after you finish a candy bar and wish you would have savored it. Sadly this happens to me more often than it should. In Great Expectation this message plays a huge role in Pip's life, but it can also relate to yours.