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Approaching The End
It's hard for me to imagine that I've attended this school for three quarters because they've flown by so fast. I'm almost ready to cross the finish line into junior year. It's almost unreal to think that my classmates and I have done the work in the past year so quickly. The only problem I'm facing now is the impending stress of fourth quarter. It's always difficult to transition, but going from a sophomore in high school into arguably the hardest academic year of some people's lives is frightening. We're three down with one to go.
Challenges
Especially now that all the students have gotten the gist of things, teachers are working to really test the students and see not only if know certain material, but how they apply it. I feel that some of the assessments we do in English class help us analyze things, and they also assess certain skills we should have. What does that sentence mean? Well, for example, we read excerpts from The Tempest in class this quarter. I think it was partially difficult because I was sick the week we discussed overall ideas in the story, but there are no excuses for performing poorly on the analysis paragraph. It was tough because, for the excerpt I chose, I decided to analyze how the lines with the rhyme impacted the story. Unfortunately, I misinterpreted the meaning and performed inadequately on the assignment. Looking back on it, I think it was challenging for me because I didn't understand the story enough. I did, however, gain benefits from this assignment. I learned it is more important to truly understand the question and what it is asking than to rush and finish quickly. At least I'll know next time!
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Triumphs, Pride, and Joy
Don't get me wrong. One failure on my part doesn't mean that there aren't assignments I'm proud of. For example, I feel like I worked so hard to know and learn every literary term because they are important to know in the future. My motivation for learning those was because I knew I would need them later. I was really set for the literary terms quiz, and I felt very prepared. I was lucky to get a 98 on that test (I think I shrieked a little). I'm also very proud of my persistence with Membean. I somehow managed to always finish my days early before the due date, and I always got my new words. I think vocabulary is really interesting personally. I've always enjoyed using a larger vocabulary and saying big words. Knowing more sophisticated words also aids in my writing, not only in high school, but also for the future. I'm glad that there are assignments I have done well on to spur my passion for English.
Continue Lifting the Torch
I always thought of English as a relatively boring subject, until my eighth grade teacher sparked something inside me that I never felt before. He allowed me to look at things from a different perspective, and he really did inspire all of his students. I'm going to continue to use his philosophy and passion for English next quarter in all of the assignments I do. Whenever I think an assignment is tough, I always remember there's a reason for it. This isn't a class that we do busy work in; this is a class where students can journey to a different world and engage in it. I'm also going to continue working to get better. English isn't as straightforward as Chemistry or Math. People have to be able to think abstractly to better perform in the class. I will continue to strive into next quarter to become the best version possible of myself.