Final Reflection Blog

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          Throughout the year I have learned three main important things. The first one is that Mrs. Larson is always right. She has a reason for doing the things she does. She has a reason for having expectations and explicit directions. I had to learn this the hard way however, I did learn it. I might've learned it a little too late in the school year, but at least I learned it. The second one is that presentation is key. This can be seen in writing. You might have the best essay completed, but if the formatting is sloppy then nobody is going to want to read it. If nobody wants to read it then no one is going to know how great it was. This can be applied to other things in life besides writing. It can be important to know for future college and job applications. This I know I will remember continuing into high school. The third one is to manage your time. Without time management your life will be a mess. Especially with this class because you will get a lot of homework. No time management can lead to procrastination which will then lead to stress. I have gone through this experience, and I am telling you that it is not fun.


     This year we did Socratic Seminars. These were times when we would ask any questions we had about the book. The Socratic Seminars we had about Morrie is what I will remember for the rest of my life. Thinking about his way of thinking opened a new door to a mindset I never knew I had. We talked about the way Morrie thinks and wondered if we should be thinking the same way. We wondered if we have purpose and meaning in our lives and wondered if we are living our lives to the fullest. We questioned whether or not we give out and receive love. The thoughts, wonders, and questioned from these Socratic Seminars will continue to affect my mindset for the rest of my life.

     The nicest thing someone in our class has done for me this year was to help me embrace my ideas about my writing. I was struggling in my writing when starting on the topic of 8th grade speeches. One classmate helped me a lot by brainstorming with me. She helped me brainstorm ideas, topics, and values. My speech has, so far in my opinion, turned out to be pretty good. I appreciate the fact that my classmate took the time to help me.

     Something that I have taught my classmates is that sometimes it's necessary to step back a little in order to step toward again. I knew someone in this class that was trying too hard to do perfect in this class. While trying to do so it became hard for them to do simple assignments because they would go too overboard with it. This resulted in a non-so-perfect grade. I told them that they needed to back off a little. They listened and took a step back. After taking a step back they took that step forward again and did great in the class. I'm proud to have been able to teach that to somebody.

     I feel that I made my biggest accomplishment in vocabulary. This year I really started to use the vocabulary we were tested on each week more often. Not just in my writing, but I've noticed it has started to fall into my speech as well. This vocabulary has also been trickier than last year. This was better in a way because it challenged me more. I am proud of accomplishing my good grades on my vocabulary tests. I hope to do good on any test so getting a good grade on these felt good.

     The most challenging part of this year for me was time management. I really struggled in this. Between school sports, traveling softball, and accelerated classes I was booked. I had no time for time. I had too many things to do and way too little hours. I would have to leave right after school for softball practice far away and not come back until 9:00 in the night. Even in trying to rush through my homework I couldn't finish it all. This continued for a while. The fact the the homework is no longer as much helps with this. However, I might still slightly struggle with time management in the future.

     I think the best piece of writing I have done this year is the explanation for my butterfly project. I think this is my best because I was really specific in my explanation. I talked about what each part of my butterfly represented and in what way. I also made connections that made it easier for the audience to understand my poem and butterfly. I put a lot of work into the explanation along with the butterfly itself. I think that my hard work was also a factor that contributed to the explanation.

     Of the book I have read this year, my favorite was Tuesdays With Morrie. I really enjoyed this book because it taught me to think in different ways. It taught me to really think about my life and wonder if I am taking advantage of it. This book taught me to reflect upon everything single little thought in my head, regret from the past, and any future decision. It also taught me the true value of friendship and how we shouldn't take friends, nor family for granted. Most importantly, this book has to me to be a better person.

     To all of the future students of this class. The first piece of advice is to manage your school work with your everyday life. Don't get too caught up in one over the other. Otherwise you will either end up doing more school work than doing extracurriculars that you enjoy, or end up doing more extracurricular activities then work. You have to find the balance. The second piece of advice is to try your hardest to not fall behind. Once you fall behind in this class it is very hard to come back. It get homework almost every single day and if you continually fall behind, you will end up having to do more than necessary. The last thing that I can tell you is good luck.