Drew's English 1 Blog

Austin- Strengths and Challenges  Logan- Strengths and Challenges

     There were many opportunities to find my strengths and challenges this year. Throughout the year we have written many papers, and reading books, and finding themes, and relating them to things in real life. I'd say one of my strengths is connecting themes within my papers. I think i did a very good job at this in my personal narrative.      One of my challenges was my grammar. I am also not that good at citations. These are both important because you need grammar to make a paper sense. Also with the right wording and grammar you can have double meanings in sentences. You need citations because you can not take things as yours, and it is difficult to find everything you need to cite a source, so I should have asked for more help in the category.

     I had a lot of hits and misses throughout Freshman year. We worked on research papers, literary analysis's, personal narrative's, and poems. I'd say a hit this year for me was the research project. I felt very strong on this paper, and I learned a lot about my topic. It was also very fun and interesting to me so I wanted to do it.      One miss for me this year was the beginning of the poetry unit. In the beginning when we learned the definitions I was not very engaged and interested. But later in the unit i had fun writing poems so it was a hit and a miss. Another miss was the literary analysis. I did not do so good on this project because I was not very interested in this. It did really make me want to write a literary analysis.

Dylan- 80. What makes you happy? Jack- What was your most precious childhood possession? 

     The Purple Hibiscus is a very good book. I think it is sad to think about how the children and wife get beaten, but do not tell anybody. I think it is interesting to see what the family will do in the future of the book. I am very engaged in the book right now because it is now getting to the more interesting things. I want the kids and wife to speak up next time it happens so that Papa can be shamed in the public for a bad person.      I did not like this book at first because I thought it was boring and slow. The same thing kept happening, and it was depressing. I really like how they incorporate there common language within the book. I think it is strange how they the family always ends up going back to the house with Papa and he does everything all over again. I am really starting to like this book now.

     Most of the time in my life I am not really stressed. The only time I get stressed is when I cant do something and it has to be done really soon. Like an assignment that i can figure out how to turn in, and it has to be turned in by a couple of hours. Right now I am a little stressed, but that is normal for somebody to be a little stressed.      There's also another reason I get stressed, and that is when I have bad grades. I do not know why but every time I get bad grades I get very worried that i will not get them up. It does not have to be at the end of the year either, it can just be whenever I do not have good grades. Right now in this category I am not that stressed, and a i feel good about it.

Dylan- Trump: Syria Cade- Political Post 

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/10/tom-bossert-to-resign-512252      This article is about Tom Bossert resigning from his position in the white house as the top homeland security advisor. He was a very big part in every time of security in the white house not just homeland. He was the responder of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and cyber incidents. He also is a supervisor of the cybersecurity at NSC.      I think this is a wise move by Bossert because he can not get involved for too long or else some people might target him. It will be difficult finding another homeland security advisor for the White House. If we would stay too long, and more attacks happen people will blame hm for not having enough security at places. This is a very good idea of Bossert for retiring in this job.

Austin- Free Post Dylan- Creative Free Post 

Spring break is really fun In that week I get a lot of sun. To the beach i go Look in the sky there is a rainbow It is very calm and relaxing Laying in my chair i feel like a king The waves hitting the sand Sitting here, it feels like wonderland I am with my friends all the time Thanking god it is not school time Catching up on sleep Laying down I count the sheep

     Purple Hibiscus is a very interesting book in my opinion. I think it is very cool how the author incorporates real life Nigerian culture within the book. Culture is fun to learn about because it is completely different everywhere you go. Not one place has the same as the other. Also I think it is very interesting how the author switches between after Palm Sunday, before Palm Sunday, and present time.     I think it is very sad to hear how the dad takes over the children's lives, and makes them do certain things they do not want to do. If you read the back of the book it says that the mom commits a desperate act. I am very curious to what that act is and the effect it has on the book. Things like that make anxious to keep reading, but I do not want to read to fast because it will be over too soon.

I am a track athlete At great speeds I run, I have to eat Healthy Although it is not very fun I am not that fast Other people blast by me I've started to like sweet tea I am slow But I never say no

     In "Big Green Tractor" by Jason Aldean there is a lot of imagery in it. This makes me feel like I am actually in the farm and riding on a tractor. It makes the reader a lot more attentive and listen to the song more closely. There is also a lot of sibilance in this song. Because of this factor the listener is will assume the song is about a girl because of the repetitive of she. This gives the main idea of the song.

Dylan- Normal Weekend Landry- Free post

     I thought launch day was very interesting. My favorite launch thesis was Graham Frazier's. I thought it was very interesting how social media could effect something that much. According to Graham when an announcement went out that a company was being bought by another company, the company being bought went up 2% in the stocks.      I never could have thought that one person/ announcement can drop or gain 10% in stocks. 10% might not sound like a lot, but that is a lot of money if it is a big business.

     My weekend was full of amazingness!! It all started on Friday night, the basketball game. The knights played Neuman, the are pretty good. The game was the most fun high school basketball game I have ever been to. We won which means we advance to the semi finals on Wednesday in Lake Charles.      On Saturday I had my first track meet ever. I am not what you call a fast person. So, i did not do so good in the running events because I am slow. I though the jumping event would be better but I was wrong. I came in last place in the long jump. But i was glad i did it. 

     The  Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a very fun book to read. I like it because it is an easy read, its funny, and it is written in a teenagers perspective. He goes through some tough times in middle school as an Indian at a white high school. He writes about them in a diary, and draws pictures to make readers better grasp the image. I find this very helpful when reading the book.      He gets in situations between the white people for being Indian, and the Indians that he lives with in an Indian reserve for being in a white school. It is all expressed in a light hearted way though so it is easier to connect with. I like this book and can not wait to read more 

     My topic to my research project is D-Day. I think it is very interesting because i have always thought that World War II is very interesting. It is a horrible war that happened in the past that included most of the powerful countries in the world. About 500,000 people died in the horrific battle of D-Day.      I think it is important for people to know about the history of the world. This is a huge part of history because D-Day was the beginning of the end of World War II. It was a terrible thing that happened, but people should know about it.

Dylan- Free post Austin- Research Update

My snow day was not as eventful as most because I was laying in bed sick with the flu. I could not go anywhere because I could risk getting other people sick. Although i could not go outside because i felt so bad my mom showed me some pictures of the pretty snow. I could not have gotten luckier because i did not miss any school with my sickness because I was well by Friday came around.

     My research topic is very interesting to me, and makes the project more fun than if i had a boring topic. I am doing just fine with all the steps except one. I am having a little trouble with the notecards. I feel like I am doing it wrong, but I do not know. I think this is a fun project and interesting.

     The past semester was very stressful. I was very nervous going into a brand new school, and on top of that it was high school. Although I knew some people i was still nervous. Besides that, the worst thing about the semester were the exams.      Some things that I have learned from last semester are be yourself no matter what, be respectful, and do not procrastinate. Be yourself all the time, and do not care what people think because they are only trying to bring you down. If you be respectful to your teachers it will get you far in life. Finally do not wait to the last minute to do all your homework/studying. It will not work.

     I trust my brother a lot in my life. i can tell him things that nobody else knows, and he will not tell anybody it. It is great having somebody to trust because you can tell them anything. My brother also trusts me, so he tells me stuff about his life too.      I know i can trust my brother because because I know he trusts me ,and he does not want to lose my trust. If he did break my trust or I broke his trust our bond would not be the same as it was earlier. That day has not come however, I hope it never comes. I trust my brother.