Reflections on Genocide Project

1- What is the most beneficial/most important thing you have learned throughout this project? Explain.

       The most important thing that I have learned throughout this genocide project is how easily people can look away when something awful is happening. Throughout learning about these genocides I saw how they went on for months and even years while others knowing what was happening did nothing to stop it. This goes for smaller scale things also. When there is a fight going on at school people are getting hurt. Most of the people standing by and watching it do nothing. They don’t try to break them apart for fear of hurting themself. They don’t tell a teacher usually because they just don’t care. Those bystanders aren’t the ones being hurt so why would they care? If there is just one person standing up they can make a small impact. But people need to stand up together to end the bad things that are happening. During genocides people would be scared to stand up. This is why genocides continue to happen. I hope what I’ve learned during this genocide unit will help myself and others stand up and speak out.

2- What connections have you made between the different genocides you have researched and learned more about through presentations. You are to focus on two different connections, taking evidence from your notes to explain and elaborate.

       The first connection I made was between the Cambodian Genocide and The Holocaust. This is because during both of these atrocities people were being murdered because of their physical appearances. During the Cambodian genocide they killed those who were “elite” meaning those who were capable of overruling them. But the way they determined this was from their features, even though many intelligent people didn’t have the glasses and soft hands that they looked for. When they found someone like this they would send them away and kill them. During the Holocaust they killed Jews who didn’t have blond hair and blue eyes. They shipped away those who didn’t fit their “superior” aryan race to concentration or killing camps. These and many other genocides targeted certain people based on things they can’t control.

Another connection I made was between the Holodomer/Ukraine Genocide and the Armenian genocide. This connection is based on how much time it takes for genocides to be recognized as genocides. This can be said about almost any genocide but these two genocides are strong examples of it. The Holodomor genocide ended in 1933, 87 years ago. All this time after the thousands of people in Ukraine starved and died and it is still not considered a genocide. The Armenian genocide ended 103 years ago and the country of Armenia is still denying it happened. People’s denial of genocides is one of the causes of them happening over and over again.

ACC Book Club Blog - Unlikely Warrior

Focus Question: How does Georg’s experiences during the war change him as a person?

The first change I noticed throughout the book was how Rauch’s bravery changed. In the beginning of Unlikely Warrior Georg Rauch’s personality was very timid. In the beginning of the book before Georg had begun fighting on the front line he was very nervous about the whole situation he had been forced into, being a quarter Jew. He planned to meet with the Poppinger to try to convince him that he shouldn’t be drafted since he has Jewish blood. “I shined my boots to a mirror finish and polished my belt buckle. Then I rubbed gasoline on a tiny grease spot I had noticed on my uniform jacket. I was nervous. … My heart thumping faster than usual, I left the barracks at five minutes before nine and marched across enormous exercise grounds toward one of the administration buildings.” (Rauch, 3) At this point Georg is cautious about sharing how he shares with Poppinger that he is a Quarter-Jew. Georg has had a mostly good life with a caring and protective mother, a good school to go to, and general safety. Compared to the events that had happened previously in his life this is one thing that seems like it would be scary. 

In the middle of Unlikely Warrior George’s personality became brave instead of his old timid self. The pressure to survive the war brought out a new bravery in Georg. George began to use his fear to figure out what to do in stressful situations. George was with his friend Konrad after being told to “dig themselves in” by their sergeant. They were digging a hole for both of them to hide in when the text says, “ … ‘Is this the area where the large tank concentration was reported?’ He [Konrad] nodded apathetically. … I hated tanks! They made me feel so utterly powerless… I remembered something that we had been told back in officers’ training regarding tank strategy and defense. ‘Dig a hole as narrow, short, and deep as possible. Make it large enough to contain one man, so that the tanks can roll over it if necessary.’ … I picked up the spade and began.” (Rauch, 194) Georg barely hesitates when he needs to do something important like he did in the beginning of the book. In the beginning of the book Georg wasn’t the bravest of the soldiers and he thought of going to speak to the Poppinger as a hard task. But once Georg had experienced the Russian winter, the sickness, the stress of fighting and sending out secret messages he became brave and almost immune to fear. Georg was now able to cope with his stress and jump up to his duty as a soldier and face life head first.

At the end of Unlikely Warrior Georg seems to have reversed his bravery and become fearful again. Georg had finally snuck his way onto a train taking him home after the war was over. Even through all the brave moments he had he was still scared, though. As the text says, “ My heart hammered even more rapidly than usual in the recent… A whistle blew; the train gave a jerk. That was the only thing that counted, the moment the train actually began to move in the direction of home. No one could now come and say, ‘You’re on this train by mistake. Get down.’”(Rauch, 289) Rauch had been becoming more and more anxious hence his heart pounding. He was starting to make himself believe that this all couldn’t be happening and someone would come yell at him. Georg has different reasons to be nervous now after all the yelling and shooting of the war. He was used to strict commanders and enemies so he was now nervous that his previous terrors weren’t yet over.

Another change I noticed in George was his morals. In the beginning of the book his morals included no killing people. At the start of the war Rauch and the other soldiers were sent to look for partisans who were hiding in an evacuated village. Searching the houses Rauch found a young man hiding in the attic and turned him into the officers. As the text says, “I brought the man to Hauptmann Winter… then I received the order I shall never forget. ‘Go with the man over there and shoot him. He is a partisan.’ I stood paralyzed. ‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ … I marched away with him, not knowing where I was going or what I should do. I knew I couldn’t shoot him.”( Rauch, 70-71) At this point Rauch still thinks of everyone as their own person who has their own life. He can still put himself in their shoes and feel their fear. Even though he is sent there to kill people he can’t yet bring himself to take the life of one person. 

 By the middle of the book Rauch develops a sort of immunity to seeing the value of 8ndividual life, allowing him to kill people easier. This change was bound to happen to Rauch since all of the soldiers were forced to kill or be killed. Once Georg’s time in the war had been going on for many months he thinks, “If I am still in piece by then … all of us shoot fast enough and aim well enough… if there are too many throw hand grenades, and whoever yet comes closer can still be stabbed with our bayonets… we can split the Russian’s skulls with our spades. Jewish blood in my veins or not, that’s exactly what I’ll do, because I want to live.” This passage and the earlier passage would seem to be written by two different people. Yet they were written by the same person who had gone through the terrors of the war. The part where he says “We can split the Russian’s skulls with our spades” is part of a saying by an officer that he never believed and never lived by until now. The war has caused Rauch to care of only protecting himself due to the fear that is taking over him. I also notice that in this later passage Rauch calls the Russians “they” like him and the Russians have nothing in common unlike in the beginning when he couldn’t bring himself to take the life of just one person.

At the end of the book Georg has come again to having empathy on others and not wanting them to be killed or tortured. When Georg was in the hospital recovering from his diseases he began to work on his secret mission as a Russian spy. His mission was to find any Nazi patients amongst him. While evaluating the different possibilities he left out the very sick or old because he didn’t want them to suffer. Then when he realized that his friend there was likely a Nazi he decided he shouldn’t turn him in even though it could get Georg in trouble. This analysis that Georg is doing for people he hardly knows and putting himself in their shoes reminds me of Georg in the beginning of the book. He cares what happens to people and risks himself for them.

Berlin Memorial

      The Berlin Memorial Activity made me realize that Jews were discriminated against and tortured long before the mass killings began. When I think about the Holocaust I think of Jews in concentration camps suffering and dying. But what I learned during the activity is that Jews had been suffering mentally and physically for years while the rest of the world watched silently. I learned that Nuremberg laws began with simple things like removing Jews from groups and activities but over the years went to things like not allowing Jews to buy meat, milk, and eggs. These hateful acts against the Jews made life harder and harder for them until they were killed. I had heard of The Nuremberg laws and The Nuremberg trials but hadn’t fully understood what they were and how they impacted World War II. 

       The Berlin Memorial was probably built to remind people of what happened there from 1933-1945. They don’t want people to forget the awful things that happened to Jews and make the same mistake again. If people forgot The Nuremberg Laws and how bad they made life for Jews people may not learn from history. This can apply to anything that happens. If it is forgotten it might happen again. The monument represents the troubles the Jewish people faced during these times and the people that put this torture onto them. The memorial is also a way to respect the Jewish people and tell them that what had been done to them will never be forgotten.

       One thing I noticed was that based on the information we have from the activity the years 1938 and 1942 had the most laws passed. These groups of laws had things that linked them together. The year 1938 seemed to be the start of many of the main restrictions. Many of these laws prohibited Jews from entertainment, occupations, and freedom to go where they want. These laws seemed to be set to take away everything that let Jews live happy lives. By 1942 though they wanted to take away the things necessary for Jews to live. They also heightened the previous laws and took away their sense of freedom altogether. This was the point of no return for Jews where they could no longer flee.

       The restriction that I would have the most trouble dealing with would be the restrictions prohibiting Jews from owning radios in 1939 and Jews not allowed to buy newspapers or magazines in 1942. These items were previously their only source of news and ability to know what is happening in the world around them. If I was a Jew during this time I would want most of all to know what was happening in the world around me. Without a way to know what was going on in the world you would never know who was your friend and who was your enemy. You wouldn’t know how close the war was to ending or what was going to happen next. In addition to this the radio, newspaper, and magazines would also be a form of entertainment since all other forms had already been taken away. Although there are dozens of other laws that I would have trouble with overcoming this one would probably be one of the most difficult.

2nd Quarter Reflections

In English Language Arts I think I made my biggest improvement with annotating and being able to explain my thoughts out loud. For example, I improved a lot on the Socratic seminars for Of Mice and Men, which deal a lot with this skill. Last year when I did Socratic seminars I only contributed to the conversation once or possibly twice. But this quarter, I talked four or five times during the seminars. This is an improvement that I planned out as a goal for myself. I worked at getting my thoughts together in a way that would make it easy for me to push them into the conversation. I met my goal and improved with the Socratic seminar itself, as well as my grade for it. To do this I had to have more thorough annotations in my book. I improved with the quality of the annotations in my book. When I think of the annotations I made last year, they seem like they were slightly vague and didn’t have much to do with the blogs that we wrote about the book later. But this year it seems like I dug deeper into my reading and understood my book further. I could tell that I improved when I was writing my blogs. Previously I would have to reread parts to find the information that I needed, but this year I could flip to the spot and there would likely be an annotation giving me the information or an idea that I needed. This likely helped me additionally improve on my blogs, but I mainly improved on my annotations.

        The most challenging part of 2nd Quarter was probably writing essays and blogs. I would always sit or zone out because I couldn’t think of what to write. When I did this I would likely need to do these for homework and I also procrastinated with that too. But, I started making sure that I was in a quiet place when I did my work so that I could focus and be able to do my best work. This ended up working and I have been able to get all of my work done.

       There have been many different strategies that have benefited me for different things. One strategy has been annotating in all my books. Even when I am reading a personal reading book that isn’t being checked and I’m not going to have to write something about, I have found myself annotating just so I have a better understanding. With doing this, I don’t need to reread parts and I have a better overall understanding of what I’m reading. Another strategy that has helped me is asking other people for their thoughts on what I have written. This helps me see another point of view on my writing and be able to make improvements on it. My final strategy that I have been using is asking the person sitting next to me for help when I need it. Whether it’s an instruction that I’m confused about or a certain word I can’t remember, asking the person next to me helps a lot. In the past I have just sat silently being confused, but now I always know what to do.

I commented on Delilah’s blog, Ava’s blog, and Yolihuani’s blog.

Exploring Nonfiction Reader Response- The Diary of a Young Girl

In June 1942 Anne Frank began writing a diary about her life as a Jew during The Holocaust. In her diary she talks to Kitty, an imaginary friend about what is happening in her life and what she is experiencing. As the foreword of The Diary of a Young Girl says, “Initially, she wrote it strictly for herself. Then one day in 1944, Gerrit Bollestein… announced on a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under the German occupation.” Anne decided to do this which eventually made it possible for readers to follow the sufferings of The Holocaust Anne experienced. Anne watches as her life is turned upside down when she had to go into hiding to avoid being possibly sent to a death camp. But even before the call, life for Jews had been becoming increasingly worse for the past two years. Nazi’s anti- Jewish laws restricted them from being in cars, owning bicycles, being out after 8pm, or going to any form of entertainment. Now in their hiding place in The Secret Annex hidden by a door and a bookcase they must be as careful as possible to not be seen.

The whole of Anne Frank’s diary I have found interesting so far. It’s weird to think of someone actually having to go through these treacherous things as a child. One of the passages that has a large impact on me is when Anne’s friend Hello left and was going to come back later. Anne was waiting for him as the book says, “At three o’ clock ... the doorbell rang… I was out on the balcony, lazily reading in the sun. A little while later Margot appeared in the kitchen doorway looking very agitated. ‘Father has received a call up notice from the SS.” This passage of the diary shows how suddenly things could change for people during The Holocaust. One minute a thirteen year old girl could be sitting in the sun reading peacefully waiting for her friend to come over. The next minute she could be hurriedly packing up her favorite belongings to flee the fate of going to a concentration camp. This is why I find this passage interesting. I can feel myself start to step into the shoes of all of the people who suffered during The Holocaust.

I have learned many things about The Holocaust through the life of Anne Frank. Some of these things will stick with my for the time being due to them being either horrific or being something that allows me to put myself in their shoes and get a hint at what they were facing. One of the passages in Anne’s story stands out so far more than others. The text states, “It’s sweltering… I have to walk everywhere. Only now do I realize how pleasant a streetcars is, but we Jews are no longer allowed to make use of this luxury.” In my own life I think about if I wasn’t allowed to be in a car and it seems like it would be very difficult to do. It’s absurd that Jews wouldn’t be able to drive a car or even get a ride from others when the weather is bad.This is another reason why it will stick with me. Something else from Anne’s life that will stick with me is how early Anne’s parents started moving their furniture to The Secret Annex and how the parents hid their planned move for so long. I never really thought about this before reading this book and now I have been thinking about it recently. The facts and information I got from The Diary of a Young Girl will stick with me for a while.

Conflict in ‘Of Mice and Men’

One conflict that I would like to elaborate on from Of Mice and Men is about Carlson insisting on shooting Candy’s dog. There was a conflict with Candy against the rest of the men in The Bunkhouse prior to the old dog finally getting shot, but I think the afterword problem is far more important to the plot. After Candy’s old dog was brought outside to be shot by Carlson, the text says, “Candy lay rigidly on his bed staring at the ceiling” Once Candy’s dog is killed, Candy is all alone. The old dog was his only family, since most people during this time seemed to lose touch with their family as soon as they went to find a job. Candy also feels useless since he is old and is missing a hand. As he lays on his bed, feeling empty inside, he knows that he will probably be fired soon, with nobody to be with him and nowhere to go. After Candy lay on his bed some more, listening to George tell Lennie once again about their dream, Candy says, “ ‘… Tell you what——‘ He leaned forward eagerly. ‘S’pose I went in with you guys… ‘“ Due to the old dog getting shot, Candy was all alone, which caused him to want to help Lennie and George fulfill their dream, as long as he could be in on it with them. Candy then offered to help them by putting in his three hundred and fifty dollars, which would have taken Lennie and George such a long time to get on their own. Now that Candy offered to help, Lennie and George’s dream started to become more and more real. So, the conflict with Candy, Carlson and the old dog actually had a positive effect on the plot.

Another conflict that had a large impact on the plot is with Curley. Curley thinks he is superior to all of the other men on the ranch because he is the boss’ son. He wants people to know that he is stronger than them and feels threatened by people just because he thinks that they might be stronger than them. In the beginning of the book, when Curley first meets Lennie, he dislikes him a lot. We then learn from Slim that this is because Lennie is big. Curley hates big people because he is a smaller man, and feels like they think that they are better than him, even if they don’t. This part was the beginning of the conflict which would have an impact on the plot. On page 62, directly after Lennie, George, and Candy had been talking about their dream life, the author says, “Lennie was smiling with delight of the memory of the ranch. Curly stepped over to Lennie like a terrier. ‘What the hell you laughin’ at?’ Lennie looked blankly at him. ‘Huh?’ Then Curley’s rage exploded …” The building up anger towards Lennie, only because he’s larger than him is the conflict that Lennie and Curley have. This one smile of Lennie was the last straw for Curley, even though Lennie didn’t direct it towards him. This anger that is filling Curley finally blows and Curley starts fighting Lennie, which ends with Lennie crushing Curley’s hand with his massive strength. Due to Lennie crushing Curley’s hand, Curley’s wife likes Lennie even more. I predict that this will cause an effect on the plot in the future, but in regards to the effect that it has on the plot so far, there is something. Now, Curley knows that he can be beat and it brings his power down a little. This is how this conflict between Lennie and Curley affect the plot.

Of Mice and Men Chapter 2

Describe the atmosphere of the ranch and bunkhouse. Be sure to include characteristics of different characters that were formally or informally introduced to us in this chapter. Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.

The atmosphere or mood that I get from the bunkhouse and the ranch is hopelessness. I see this in the text even before George and Lennie arrive there. On page 17, as George and Lennie are still on their way to the bunkhouse, the text says, “The bunkhouse was a long, rectangular building. Inside, the walls were whitewashed, floor unpainted… small, square windows… solid door with a wooden latch.” These few descriptions show the uninviting feel the place has, with no paint, little sunlight, plain white walls. This bunkhouse is a prison, being locked into the job, never knowing if you will ever leave. George and Lennie often talk about their dream of one day owning a farm of their own, and this job may be one of their only chances.

The characters that appear in Of Mice and Men also affect the atmosphere of the ranch. For instance, when a character that is friendly to Lennie and George, like Slim is, the atmosphere seems lighter and happier. There seems to be some hope when there is someone that they George can talk to and trust. “‘Course he ain’t mean… he gets in trouble… Like what happened in Weed—-‘ He stopped, stopped in the middle of turning a card. He looked alarmed and peered over at Slim. ‘You wouldn’t tell nobody?’... ‘You wouldn’t tell?... No, ‘course you wouldn’t.’ ” At this section George puts some of his greatest trust on Slim, this character that he just met. This trust brightens the mood and makes the ranch seem like a trustable place. But, the same thing can happen the opposite way. There are some characters that are not trustable, like Curley. Curly makes it clear that he doesn’t like George and Lennie, which makes a darker and less happy atmosphere of the ranch. These characteristics and other help to strengthen the atmosphere, one way or another.



Why doesn't Curley's wife have a name? What message, if anything, is John Steinbeck trying to send by not giving her a first name? Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.


Steinbeck might’ve chosen to not give Curley's wife a name to show how she is just an object to people. When men see her, they see her how she looks, not how her personality is. When George and Lennie first sees her, she asks them if they’ve seen Curley, thrusts her body forward to them, wearing tons of makeup and a cotton dress. According to the novella, “ Lennie still stared at the doorway where she had been. “ Gosh, she was purty.” He smiles admirably.” Steinbeck knew that if there was a woman who seemed to care only about looks, most people wouldn’t care about her name. Also, since the 1930’s was a time when women’s rights were changing, Steinbeck probably knew that there were still men who considered women as their property, and not having a name is a great way to dehumanize someone, so he gave Curley’s wife no name. Another instance where Curley’s wife is thought poorly of and talked about as if her looks were everything is on page 51. The text says, “ ‘Seen the new kid yet?’ He asked. ‘What kid?’ George asked. ‘Why, Curley’s new wife.’ ‘Yeah, I seen her.’ ‘Well, ain’t she a looloo?’”. A “Looloo” is an attractive woman. In this conversation, Whit starts it out by references Curly’s wife as “the new kid.” This seems like a term that is bringing someone down, not thinking of them as an adult. Then, they think of only her attractiveness and that is all Whit has to say about her. These may not have been Steinbeck’s intentions, but these are relevant anyways.


What are your overall impressions of Of Mice and Men thus far? Support your choice with a proper explanation.

Overall I am enjoying Of Mice and Men thus far. I have anticipated reading it for a year now, and I can barely stop myself from reading ahead. Of Mice and Men tells about a fictional journey of two men during The Great Depression in Salina, California. This novella is interesting because it tells you about how life was like during that time, but at the same time it also keeps you wanting to know what will happen next. Of Mice and Men tells about two men, George and Lennie, who are migrant workers during The Great Depression. migrant workers were a big part of The Great Depression, so it was a good idea for Steinbeck to include this. Steinbeck also gives small hints about other aspects of The Great Depression, such as lack of food, etc. This small way that he does it gives me a good overall impression of the book.

Morrie Aphorism blog

An aphorism from Tuesdays With Morrie is “... Love is how you stay alive, even after your gone.” This aphorism is saying that love is how we stay alive, even if you are just a memory of love. Morrie was saying that love is what we revolve around and if people love you, you will always be in their memories and they will always love you. And, when your memory is there, you are there. So, if you were loved when you were living, you will be loved once you are dead. Because, being loved is being alive. This aphorism may not just be talking about death, though. When you are loved, you are in the thoughts of your loved ones every time you are not with them. If you are just not home, or if you are on vacation, your loved ones will be thinking of you and loving you, and in a way, you are there.

I can relate this aphorism to a personal experience of mine, as can practically everyone since it is so relevant in life all the time. My personal experience may be different from other people’s, but the idea is still the same with this aphorism. A few months ago, I had a pet die. I loved her so dearly and was devastated when she was gone. But, through my love with her, I can feel her still alive in my mind and in my heart. This shows how this aphorism is relevant and true. With love, even if someone is gone, they are still alive. This aphorism shows how if your love is true, you will keep that love with you forever.

I agree with the aphorism “... love is how you stay alive, even after you’re gone.” because I can relate it to my everyday life. I can relate it to I being the one that remembers the people who are gone, because of love. If I didn’t love someone and now they are gone, they become extinguished from my memory and they are no longer alive to me. But, if I love someone, I remember them in my mind and I know they are alive in my heart and alive in my mind, even if they are dead. I can also relate this with how I treat others. I want to make people love me, so that once I am gone, I am still there in their hearts. This aphorism shows a phenomenon of everyday life, for everyone. If someone does good things in the world, and make people love them, they will be remembered daily because love makes people alive.

“All humans have one thing in common; that they are human” is my aphorism that I have made regarding to life. This aphorism is basically saying that everyone makes mistakes and I think it really summarizes life in general. People might feel sad because they think they are different than everyone else or because someone made them feel bad, but this aphorism would show them that they aren’t that much different from everyone else. And, just like they aren’t perfect, no one else is either.

End of The Year Reflections

As I sit here and reflect on my ELA class this past year, my brain fills with information, memories, and other nostalgic thoughts that I will cherish forever. I ponder about what was the most important, though, and my mind goes blank. Every piece of information, every word that was read is important to know and I almost cannot choose. But, I can narrow it down to the important things for life, since some of it just gives me a good laugh. The number one important thing I learned to do this year that will help me in the future, is annotating. Before this year, I never annotated. I’m not sure I had even heard of the concept. But, after many long chapters annotated to the fullest, I can honestly say that I know how to annotate. I have even found myself annotating books read on my free time, not even realizing it until it’s done. I know I will find myself annotating books in the future, just to fully understand the words being read. Annotating is a skill that I will hold on to forever.

I cannot tell what the future will hold, but I can predict what might happen, and what I will remember. One thing that I think that I will remember, for possibly the rest of my life, is the To Kill A Mockingbird unit. This unit included the most annotating I have done in my life, the reading of a complex book, the making of many tedious socratic seminars, and a feast. The feast was probably the most memorable event to me, since it was the finale to the unit. And, we all brought food and ate together, which was a very rare event I will probably remember this for a long time. All of these events were interesting to me, and gave me many stories to tell and memories to think about.

This class was, in general, very nice to me and other classmates. I remember countless times where a classmate filled me in on something I missed or explained something to me that I didn’t understand. It would be unfair of me to prioritize any of these everyday kind gestures. So, I do not have a “nicest thing someone in our class did”, due to there being so many nice gestures and so many nice people.

I would like to think that I have taught someone in my classroom something this year, but I don’t know because I haven’t heard anyone mention it. I’m sure that I have taught my classmates small things, like how to do an essay if they needed clarification or what to annotate about if they didn’t know. But, I haven’t taught anyone anything major, or I would certainly know about it. Honestly, I don’t think I have ever taught anyone a life lesson or anything major like that. But, I am fine with that because I do what I can and I try to always try my best.

As I look back on this past year, I can see many aspects that I improved in. I improved in my writing, my reading, my annotating, and even my social skills somewhat. But, I think the biggest improvement I made was in my reading and annotating. Now, I can fully understand the text being read, through my annotating, which is an improvement in both of the reading and the annotating aspect. In a way, these aspects are connected because they affect each other. So, it makes sense that these would be the two areas that I improve in. I have improved in annotating from all of the practice I have gotten from To Kill A Mockingbird, Night, and Of Beetles And Angels. Now, I have noticed that I am annotating in my free choice reading books not even thinking about it. This is something that I am proud of.

This year, I experienced the perfect amount of challenges in my ELA class. I wasn’t overwhelmed by all the challenges, but I also wasn’t bored by the lack of challenges. But, even with all these challenges there was probably one challenge that stood out among the rest. This challenge is referred to as “Socratic Seminars”. Socratic seminars were really stressful to me and I always just couldn’t do them right. Since I typically tend to be a quiet person, having a conversation with the entire class is difficult to me. I always found myself unable to talk even when I had something to say. But, after many of these socratic seminars, I had my best socratic seminar of the year, which happened to be the last one with Mrs.Larson present. I talked about four times during this particular socratic seminar, which is good compared to my average of one or two times. I feel like next year, this concept of socratic seminars will be less of a challenge for me.

I did lots of writing this year, through blogs, essays, stories, etc. When I look back, it is almost unbelievable how many words I actually wrote. So, I cannot say which was my “best” piece of the year. But, in this passage I will determine which of these pieces of writing isn’t the best. By doing this, I will find out which is one of the best. As I sit here and think about my writing, I realize that the passages I wrote in the beginning of the year were not the best. I had almost no experience with writing when I began this year. I recall not knowing what I was doing, and therefore rushing through them, not doing my best. I grimace when I reread my first writings of the year, noticing so many more mistakes, and so much more I could have done. So, I have to say that my recent writing has got to be my best, since I’ve had much more experience and have learned so much more things.

Most of the books I have read this year were enjoyable to me and I cannot possibly decide which of these was my overall favorite. But, I can say that one that I would consider a favorite was To Kill a Mockingbird. I liked this book a lot because it had a perfect proportion of fiction to history. In the reading of this book, I heard an interesting story, and also learned useful facts. I also learned about the events of The Great Depression, which I found interesting. Plus, I got to read about the classic story of Scout, Jem, and Atticus, which I had been waiting to read.

Now that I have almost completed my ELA class of the 2018-2019 school year, I have so much more experience, I am so much more wise, and I am so much better at things than I used to be. So, I must give the future students of Mrs.Larson’s ELA class some advice. The first advice I would give them would be to just try your best and you will do great. I would tell them to have faith that you will do good, and you will do good. Also, check your work again and again to make sure you did you best work. And, finally, I would tell them that less is sometimes more.

Tuesdays With Morrie Blog

“The Fifth Tuesday: We Talk about Family” was the most impactful on me because I could relate to it the most. It is important to talk about family because family is always there for you and they should be the closest people in the world to you. Family is who we rely on and family is the reason we live the way we do. Our family is who impacts our lives the most and makes us become the people we become. As Morrie said, “The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand if it isn’t the family.” Family is typically who keeps you through life, and if it isn’t for your family, you will fall. Throughout this chapter of Tuesdays With Morrie, Morrie explains to Mitch that if it wasn’t for his loving, caring family, he would fall, and let his sickness take over him. “Love each other or perish”, Morrie explained. I can relate to these words, because if I feel like I am not loved, and I would surely feel like I am dying, because love is how we keep going on in life. Even through just reading these sentences, I am impacted by the words of it. I become thankful for my family and for all the love that I have. I also develop empathy for those who have no love, or have no family. This is most likely what Morrie felt as he said these words many, many years ago.

Another point Morrie brings up is how wonderful it is to make a family. He says, “There is no experience like having children.” This aspect of this chapter doesn’t relate to me very much, since at this point in my life, I am a child myself. But, the ending part of it impacted me, Morrie says, “Even though there is a price you have to pay… Because I’ll be leaving them soon.” I worry about my family leaving me in this way, or I leaving them. The fact that someone else feels this way makes me feel better in a way. I know that I have to love them and appreciate them while I can, as Morrie told Mitch in this chapter. While Mitch is talking to Morrie about family, he starts to reflect back on his own family. He thinks about his siblings, his parents, and in particular, his brother. He reflects on how his relationship with his brother isn’t what he wants it to be. While reading this, I started to reflect on my own family. I thought about my own younger brother. We fight sometimes but we know that we love each other. As Morrie said, “Without love, we are birds with broken wings.” I feel like I know what Mitch went through because my brother and I have gone through that too at times. I am just glad that I have love, or ai would not be able to live.

SOL#18

“This is what deja vu must feel like”, I thought as I sat in my block three class just as I did the day before. I felt the hard, stone table that my hand rested on. and my ipad’s light shined in my eyes. I could hear the noise of screaming, laughing students around me, throwing a ball around the classroom. I wondered why my teacher lets his students be this crazy, as I had wondered the day before, and even the day before that. I felt as if this day had happened again and again. The only thing that changed was the date on the whiteboard. I sat, typing my slice of life of the day, as I had the day before, and for the past 17 days, typically in this class, but not always. Everyday, I write as fast as I can, then stop to read what I wrote. Then, I catch myself reading the same line I had just written again and again. I catch myself reading the same line I had just written again and again. I catch myself reading the same line I had just written again and again. Eventually, in these repeating hours, my teacher tells us to pack up our stuff, which I do, day after day after day. I found myself just wanting something to be different, even if it is something small. But, at this particular moment, it doesn’t. Or, at least I don’t notice it if it does. Soon, I was walking down the crowded halls heading to lunch, just as I had the day before. I walked with nobody, not being able to find my friends and just wanting to go eat. I get down to the lunchroom, which is actually called the “M.P.R”, and sit down, just as I did the day before.

Tuesdays With Morrie: Bucket List

The first few chapters of Tuesdays With Morrie focus on Mitch Albom’s young adult life and how Morrie affected, in some aspects, how he viewed life and death. One main theme in this book that I have noticed is to not take life for granted. I have only been around for thirteen years, but I already notice this in my own life. I have learned to not take life for granted and to just live in the moment. One way to do this is to make a list of things you want to do before you die, in order to plan out your life and not take it for granted, to use every moment of it. This list is called a bucket list, presumably because it is everything you want in life in all in the same place, like things in a bucket are. While making a bucket list, you think about life and how it only happens once and you come to the thought that you don’t want to waste life, and you need to use every moment and know what you want to do with every moment before it’s too late. Another important thing about making a bucket list is to follow through. If you write down what you want to do, then never do it, it is just a waste and you will regret it. In Tuesdays With Morrie, Albom said, “Instead of chasing my own fame, I wrote about famous athletes chasing there’s” With writing a bucket list, you are in a way committing yourself to trying to “chase” your dreams, instead of giving up. I am doing just that with this bucket list you are about to see.

My Bucket List:

Be a lead role in a play
Write a book
Get into a good college
Get a job
Buy a house
Get a dog/cat
Give a speech
Get a skinny pig
Travel the world

SOL#17

As I ran down the steps to my back hall, I could feel the anxiety of possibly missing the bus rise to the back of my throat. I then pulled my backpack off the hanger at the bottom of the stairs and ran back up. It was only a few stairs but it felt like too many at this moment. I hopped from step to step, maneuvering my backpack out of the way of the walls on either side of my. Soon, I was back to my kitchen table and flung my backpack around me an on top of the table. I could feel the presence of my friend standing behind me, watching my struggle to not miss the bus and also not forget any of my school supplies. I stuffed my folder and pencil case into my backpack and quickly zipped it up, as I almost simultaneously swung it around to onto my back. Then, I remembered that I needed my windbreaker, so I pushed my backpack off me as it flung to the floor. I ran back down the stairs to get my light jacket, pulled it on, and ran back up the stairs, zipping my jacket and running as fast as I could without looking absolutely ridiculous, although I am sure that I did. I then flung my backpack on me and grabbed my ipad and ipad bag as I rushed out the door after my friend and my mom. We all walked to the driveway and my mom saw us off to the bus stop. We ran down the alley and took a turn to see that the bus had not yet come and we were free to walk the rest of the way. We walked, gasping for air and trying to cool ourselves down from the dash down the street. We finally got to the bus stop, about to wait another ten minutes until the bus came. I wished I would have just stopped the rush and breathed while at home.

SOL#16

My work for the class I was in was finished and I now had freetime. I looked around for a few minutes and thought about what I might do. I looked at the book that was in my pile of things and thought about reading for a little bit. But, I decided to first check on my ELA class page to see if we were doing anything that day that I could get a headstart on. I clicked the link to get me on google and I saw the familiar pale grey screen that had the lighter grey bar on top. I clicked that bar and brought my hand over to the small white button in front of me that had an “e” on it. I brought my finger down and pressed it. I could see the smaller “e” appear on the bar at the top. Then I quickly typed “dmodo.com” after the “e”. This brought me to my ELA class page and I scrolled down to look at the schedule of the day. It said that we were writing down our vocab words of the week. I then was about to start writing down then but I decided that I should wait until I got to class. My teacher would give us time to write them down so I might as well use that time. So, I was going to go back and read my book. But, I decided to put a hold on my book reading a little bit longer and do some other work. I knew I had already done my slice of life blog for that day, but I decided to write one for the next day, so I would be free then. That is the blog you are reading at this moment.

SOL#15

Once I finished writing the last sentence on the poster I had been working on, I raised my hand. The substitute teacher walked over to the chair I was sitting in and I asked her to check my work over. She did just that and said that it looked fine. So, I flipped the paper over and wrote my name as she walked away to check on another student’s work. I then stood up from my chair, set down my poster, and picked up the scissors, glue stick, and ruler that were in the area that I worked in. I took these and went to the bins where my teacher kept that sort of stuff. I opened the drawers and slid the item into the correctly labeled bin. Then, I walked back to where my seat was and picked up the articles that I had been using. I then walked around the room along the counters and dropped the articles in their correct bin. I watched as the article fell and became just like the other articles just like it. Soon, I was back at my seat and sat down, sliding my pencil across the table so it was next to the rest of my stuff. Immediately, the pencil rolled down the uneven table due to the uneven floor and gravity, falling next to my ipad, which I had taken out in the meantime. I slid it back to and watched as the same thing happened. Frustration started to come to me and I hastily zipped open my pencil bag and shoved the pencil in it, then rezipping the bag and dropping it back on top of my notebooks. With the roll away pencil out of the way, my attention focused back on to my ipad and I continued the work I was trying to do.

SOL#14

I sat on the run-down couch that my family had had for my whole life. It was grey with white speckles on it and it smelled a little bit like guinea pig due to all the times my guinea pigs walked on the couch. Next to me was my brother holding our family computer on his lap. It was playing his favorite show on Netflix. I liked the show somewhat, but wasn’t quite as obsessed as he was. I was partially watching it but also partially doing my homework. I knew on the inside that I probably wasn’t doing my very best work in front of Netflix, but I could barely help it. I started to pay more attention on my homework than the show because personally, I thought the show was becoming boring. I was mostly just sitting there as support for my brother. Occasionally he would look at me and laugh or give me a sort of gasp. I would then copy his face and he would be satisfied and look back at the show. Soon, I was hooked on watching the show again and put my full attention on it. We were fairly far into the show, so it was getting to the intense part and I knew that I would soon need to put my homework away for later and just watch the show with my little brother.

SOL#13

I sat on the bed with my new book, reading and solving the puzzles lined up with the book. This book was by my favorite author and I had been wanting it for a while. Now, I was covered up by the blanket reading each word, enjoying the story and internalizing the information. I was beginning to get cold in this air conditioned house that I sat in. I reached to the bottom of my bed and grabbed a red sweatshirt that actually belonged to my little brother, but I was too freezing to care. I put my arms in it and left it like that because it was too small to put it all the way on. Then, I pulled the soft, blue blanket up to my waist and layed back down. I held the book out in front of me and continued reading for a few minutes. Then, I forced myself to close the book and look at the clock. We would be going to church soon and I had to get ready. So, I rolled out of bed, still trying to keep the sweatshirt on my arms. I walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower and jumped in to take a shower. Once I was done, I took the bathrobe and walked to get my clothes and got dressed. Then I walked to the steps and took my boots and sat on the steps to put them on. I laced them up and and tied them, standing up and running upstairs to get my jacket. I didn)t need it, but I still wanted to wear it. Soon, we would leave.

SOL#12

I stood in the light of the bright sun behind the window shining on me. I was leaning on the wooden counter that swooped down into the metal sink. I saw the blinding sun shining onto the reflective metal and into my eyes. I was forced to squint front the uncomfortable blindness. I dipped my hands into the plastic container of warm, soapy water in front of me. I picked up a bowl out of the water and took the sponge and rubbed it against the hard plastic to take the rotting food of it and it fell to the bottom of the sink. I rubbed the soapy sponge against the bowl a few more times for good measure and placed the soapy, but now clean bowl into the second part of the sink next to the one that had the dirty dishes in it. I continued this process through more bowls, plates, forks, knives, spoon,and many more eating utensils. Once I was done there was a pile of soapy dishes in a pile in one section of the sink. I then turned on the hot water and it rushed out of the spout and on top of the dishes, washing the soap off. I tried picking one up to rinse the soap off the bottom, but the water touched my hand and it felt like it was being burned alive. I quickly pulled my hand away. I added some cold water and the temperature was okay at last. I rinsed off the dishes and lined them up to dry.

SOL#11

I sat in board game club, on the brown rug on the floor next to my backpack and three friends next to me, laughing and shouting, while I sit, trying to do my homework. I wished that I could do board games in board game club, but no one else wanted to, I couldn’t. Everyone was instead yelling and laughing, throwing a ball around the room. This wasn’t my thing, and that was why I was sitting to the side of the room on the floor. Backpacks and ipads were next to me and all around me it seems. Sometimes I would look over at my friends and couldn’t help but smile at how crazy they were being. I sat thinking about life. I had just finished battle of the books. My group had gotten in 4th place, which I was satisfied by. Soon, I was back in reality and noticing what was happening around me. I heard my friend screaming/laughing next to me. I couldn’t tell which one it was. I honestly didn’t care what she was laughing at. I could just hear the craziness in my ears and the chaos in my mind. I just wanted to get my homework done so I could relax at home. Eventually, I did.

SOL#10

I walked into my block three, ready to work on the project we were currently doing in this class. We were building towers out of limited materials to see if we could build the tallest tower that would survive an earthquake. My partner and I hadn’t been doing very well in this. We had built one, then destroyed it because it didn’t work, so we had nothing at this point. So, I was excited to start again. But, when we got in class, my teacher started telling us stories and jokes. I would have normally enjoyed this but today I wanted to work. Then, my teacher pulled two tables to make a sort of triangle shape. Then, he made students stand in the triangle and tell the truth. He called it the “Truth Triangle”. This was sort of funny to me but I still wanted to do my work. Minutes later, we were dismissed to lunch. I walked down to the lunch room and quickly started eating my lunch and talked to friends until we were dismissed to go back to class. I went back to class, hoping my teacher might let us do the project. But, instead he gave us free time. It turns out that there were others who wanted to do work, though. So, he gave us the choice to either work or do free time. So, I finally got 20 minutes to work out of an hour long class. So, I did.