Abril's English Blog

 I find myself saying ngl (Not gonna lie) and "Like" too much. Its just a way for me to transition or compare ideas. Though I do it too often and I just end up sounding repetitive in my speech patterns. I cant help typing like and ngl in my chats, its just a way for me to express myself and being real. I use ngl as a way to say my honest opinion without it sounding too harsh. Like! for example, "Ngl, that's insane, like I would never."  Summary: Today we learned 10 new vocab words and finished a worksheet in which we had to apply them in sentences. We also read a difficult prompt that we had to answer to. Reflection: I need to work more on my vocabulary and not use the same words over and over again because then I sound repetitive and boring. It would be interesting if I went out of my comfort zone and start applying these in real life.

 American lit has been a fun class because we get to read and write unique prompts. The blogs for example give really interesting questions that actually stumped me a bit. Overall I need to keep up with work and do better on tests, I'm not really a good test taker so I'm really worried on my origin story quiz that we took being posted on infinite. The most challenging part is meeting up with expectations when requirements are placed on you, I struggle to know when is the limit and end up under performing if I don't have anything to base it off. Summary: We analyzed 10 lines from Emily Dickinson's poems and found the message of every single one. We finished the assignment on illuminate and analyzed 2 as a class. Reflection: This was harder than expected since I didn't have someone to guide me through it. It was also confusing sometimes since I don't have much context of what the full story is about.

"Her sweet weight on my heart a night" talks about the weight of people In our lives. A person who has really made a positive impact in my life are all my friends, they make school and life so much enjoyable and overall a great time. They always make me feel wanted and give me a sense of belonging. I am really thankful to be in their presence and for all of the memories I've made with them. They have really made a positive impact on my life.  Summary: Today we read through a poem on common lit and answered a couple of questions online. We also were given an assignment of completing the heart and the duality of heart /mind. Reflection: I didn't really like this poem, it just didn't hit me the same as the first two we read. Mostly because I couldn't connect with it.

One time I felt a conflict between my mind and my heart was when I wanted to stay back in Mexico with my grandparents but we all knew it was better for me to live in the United States. It was a fight between staying with everything I knew and with my family or to have better opportunities out in the US. We all knew, the choice was already made. Fortunately, I still keep contact with my family so it wasn't a really big deal. Summary: In the poem Heart we will forget him it talks about the duality of the mind and the heart. How the mind drives us to make more analytical conclusions while or heart yearns for what it wants. It is this constant fight that makes them so hard to get over someone either romantically or Platonic. Reflection: Today we went over healthy ways of getting over someone and I was shocked to hear that just cutting contact is an unhealthy way. It doesn't make sense for me because it is the best conclusion for both.

 My mind has worked against me several times, from thinking I'm not good enough at something or always thinking about the worst possible scenarios. One example of this was when I believed I wasn't good enough to perform and play my instrument in a stage, but we all have to overcome our fears someday. Public speaking isnt my strongest skill but doubting myself never helped in any way to overcome it. So I learned that sometimes don't listen to your mind and worrying never helps for anything. Summary: today we analyzed emily dickinson poem "I felt a funeral, in my brain" which talked about losing your sanity and the death of you mental well-being.  Reflection: I like Emily Dickinson's way of expressing certain emotions. Overall after reading this poem I'm starting to love her work.

 One thing that makes me different than other people is that I never stick to one thing. Once I become mediocre at a hobby or a skill, I completely drop it. I believe this is what makes me different because I don't like having to compete with other people when it comes to talent. Comparison is the thief of joy so I rather be good at multiple things than to master one and still be behind. It gives me peace of mind besides, it cool to show off random skills to people. Today we analyzed a poem that talked about being a nobody and how not everyone can be different. Special/ unique people often try to seek out others in a crowd full of somebodys. We went in depth asking ourselves what others expect of us and what society expects from us. This lesson opened up my eyes on how being unique and being yourself is essential into making a difference. Most celebrities and famous entrepreneurs went outside the box and that made them stand out in a crowd. Standing out guarantees a future in which...

 I would love to go to Europe, I believe it would be such a great adventure going to Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary etc. I have never been outside of north America/ central America so it could be such a great choice to go visit somewhere I've never been. The same goes with South America, I would love to visit their jungles and the rain forest... places I've only seen in photos. I would do anything to go on an adventure like that one. Today we listened to other people's presentation and origin stories, the whole class shared their summaries, characters, theme and setting of their stories. We listened to other people's ideas and were respectful in the process. I love hearing other people's stories and ideas, especially max's story with Athena. It was such a refreshing origin story that branched out from what a traditional origin story is about.

My most creative things ive ever made is a helmet I made in engineering class. I 3D modeled it from scratch and printed it out on the multiple 3d printers we have In this school. The project took almost a month but I was able to paint it and assemble it in time. Although I got a 50 in the assignment because it didn't follow the rubric, I still consider it my best work so far. Today we worked on our origin stories and tried to make a visual with them on adobe express. I am learning a lot on how to use this new website and all its different features. I feel like if I manage my time well enough I can mentally prepare myself with this presentation because I personally am really bad with public speaking. I believe my origin story summary and poster look visually appealing and I hope I get a good grade on it.

Two of my most burning questions in life is what is the meaning and if everything is already predetermined. I think the meaning of life is to enjoy it, you should aim for big goals but don't overshadow the small moments. The other question, of everything being predetermined is also one of my big questions because it puts a perspective of not being able to have control over your own life. I personally dont believe everything is predetermined because we live in the present and cannot know what happens in the future, the present is in our control.  Summary: Today we learned how to use adobe express and where tasked with making a visual for our origin story. We also learned how to find images, format our ideas etc.  Reflection: This question opened up new ideas for me, I am also inspired to make posters in adobe express. It seems to have a lot of cool features that I would love to use in my posters.

 This course started off with these blogs which are kinda hard to keep up with. One strength that I have learned this past week is the idea of organizing your thoughts and writing from them. This really helped me out with the origin story assignment. One challenge is keeping up with work and the quizzes, since I'm not a good test taker I usually get bad grades from those. I hope to get better at them one day, being able to get good grades in questions that are 50/50 like Mr Rease says.  Summary: Today we took a quiz on creation myths which are different than origin myths, and a quiz on the definition of origin myth.  Reflection I hope to get better at tests and quizzes and to learn the difference between creation and origin myths. Also, i forgot to add that I should keep better track of the blogs.

 Creating my own origin myth helped me understand the significance of stories, and culture to spread a message. I believe that making short stories that mix natural elements and fiction make it easier for anyone to understand the messages and themes of the story. Like how some characters are personified animals to better help the reader visualize the plot. It also simplifies their stories in short versions that are easy to spread from person to person. Summary: We learned about the structuring of an origin story, how it has a rising action, climax and, ending. We also learned how to put together your ideas to help develop a story and avoid writers block.  Reflection: This strategy helped me realize how easy it is to write when you have a plan ahead of time and I noticed a huge difference in knowing what I wanted in my story. 

 A meaningful object that carries a story is my instax camera. It was given to me almost 3 years ago, I carry it around everywhere. It is half digital and the other feature is that it can be printed out so for the past 3 years I have been printing out and collecting fotos of special events or people in my life. I then hang them around my room to remember the memories. It is very meaningful to me and I continue to do it as a hobby. Summary: Today we analyzed an origin myth from the Navajo people and the meanings behind the story. We noticed biblical allusions and the characters that matched with other religions.  Reflection: It is really neat to see the beliefs of the indigenous people and their views on nature and harmony. It makes me wonder what type of life we would be living if we followed their beliefs.

 I feel connected to nature every time I go to nature walks and hikes down in south Georgia. I've seen plenty of deer and had close encounters with rare birds. I have been very lucky to be able to experience true nature. When its far away from civilization, that's when it starts to show. I feel very blessed that animals like the bunnies, chickens and squirrels in my backyard trust me enough to be only a couple feet away from me. It is that type of trust that makes me feel connected to nature.  Summary: Today we talked about Myths, urban legends, and religion. Explaining the distinct concepts of all the different types of storytelling and how it may connect to each other. This is overall tied to the concept of native American storytelling and its elements with nature. Reflection: I look forward to creating my own Origin Myth and learning more about native American literature/ their beliefs.

This year I am looking forward to balancing more extracurricular activities on top of school. This means balancing good grades and sports, band, and maybe possibly a job. Another goal I look forward to this year is meeting new people. Having new classes creates opportunities to create more connections and possibly future friendships. Lastly, my main goal this year is to learn how to drive so I can be able to hang out with friends and run errands on my own.