The End

   Looking back on all of my English blogs for my freshman year has been interesting. This is my very first experience blogging. It didn't go badly it was sort of a hassle at first but I made it through. I remember our first assigned blog; Introduction To My Blog. Wow, I think my writing, skills, and hobbies have changed over this long year and I think my blog really shows that. I think over all that the whole idea to do a blog was sort of meant for us to not only enhance our writing skills and ability to analyze things but also to actually be able to trace the process of it. I have learned a lot being in Mrs. Gilman's Honors English class, she's an awesome teacher. Her assignments have really helped me a lot to get comfortable with the standards of becoming a better writer, reader, and especially being able to analyze things that I normally wouldn't have even thought of having another meaning. To say the least, her class has shaped me to be open minded when it comes to writing and reading those long books and essays because it was all worth it in the end and not just for a good grade.
   My favorite writing assignment on here was the second one about "My Boo Radley." I thought that was a really cool one by linking a misinterpreted character to something in my life. And by the way I really enjoyed To Kill A Mockingbird. It was amazing. Out of all the books we have read this year my favorite ones were: To Kill A Mockingbird, The Importance of Being Earnest, Catcher In the Rye, and Looking For Alaska. All of these books have actually had an impact on my outlook on things I hope to read more books like these in the future and if you have any references please share :)
    One of the things that I didn't get around to sharing with my teacher was my idea about analyzing music. It's kind of like analyzing poetry, don't get me wrong I love reading and writing but I love music, when I'm listening to music by myself I always find myself wondering. I think other people would also enjoy this. When I say analyze I mean interpreting what the artist is truly saying, what the song symbolizes, and what it stands for. All year I have been thinking about this and I would like to try and see where it could go.
    To end my final post, I would like to thank mainly my English teacher Mrs. Gilman for putting up with my late work and making me smarter!
If anyone asks "Oh what is D'Andra's blog about?" It tells the long story and adventure of Mrs. Gilmans Honors English class of 2010-2011 and it was FANTASTIC to put it in a simple word.

 ~Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story
   John Barth

Reflecting on a Memorable Assignment

      My favorite assignment throughout this entire year in English would have to be the first out side reading book. That was my favorite because we got to pick our own book that we wanted to read and I think I picked a good one. Catcher In The Rye was a great book, that is what made this assignment so fun and memorable because I enjoyed it.
     My project on it wasn't that great but I liked the idea of giving a book talk and kind of persuading people to read it. I am proud of this assignment because I actually read the whole book and got a lot out of the book. I am proud of that achievement.  

A Good Experience With Poetry

My "poetic" career so far, has been very hard core.  Reading nursery rhymes before bed at the age of five and writing poetry for Mother's Day has set me up as a renowned poet.  One of my best experiences however, was part of Poetry Out Loud.  Before high school, I never really analyzed poetry.  For me, it’s always something that you read in your spare time.  However; reading Up Hill by Christina Rossetti led me through a new gate.  I had to really dig into the poem to understand its meaning. 

Being able to analyze a piece of poetry and finally understanding what the author’s intentions were planted a small seed of hope that I can really love poetry.  As you can see from my prior knowledge of poetry, I haven't had too many experiences.  It’s frustrating when you really don't understand a poem, because everything has a hidden meaning instead of literal interpretations.  Poetry Out Loud opened my eyes to the beauty of poetry.  Now I have a better understanding of how poetry can create connects between the author and her/his audience.  Once you have that experience, you want to keep reading more and more!  

            When I hear poetry I think: beautiful, interesting, unique, emotions, ideas, thoughts, dreams, and difficult.  To me poetry is difficult to understand, but at this point in time if I understand what the author is saying then I love Poetry.  If I don't understand what the author is getting at, then it can be really frustrating.  Right now, if I can get a grip on the whole concept of poetry then I could unlock another door of English!     

CONFLICT IN ROMEO AND JULIET

One specific conflict is the argument that Juliet has with her parents concerning her affairs. It first becomes when Juliet tells her mother that she is not crying for Tybalt, but for Romeo's banishment in ACT 3 SCENE 5
 JULIET [Aside] Villain and he be many miles
asunder.—
God pardon him! I do, with all my heart;
And yet no man like he doth grieve my heart.
LADY CAPULET That is, because the traitor murderer
lives.
This shows the timelessness of teen rebellion against their parents. Uhmmm I think this is sort of an important conflict because it shows one of the smaller driving forces seperating her and Romeo, not just the "those two families hate eachother."

Comparing Romeo and Juliet

Pride and Prejudice, Withering Heights, twilight, and that's all that I have read with that kind of story line.

Connecting with Romeo and Juliet

So far in the reading, I can't relate with any of the characters because they all have old fashioned traditions like marrying who your parents pick and having conflict between two families. Romeo's personality is kind of romantic but he gets over a girl fast once he finds someone new. He isn't really involved in the conflict between the two families. Juliet's personality is kind of laid back and follow instructions very carefully. She isn't really involved with the conflict of the two families but still doesn't like montague's.
Reading at home and then in class helps a lot so I fully understand each reading assignment. I like reading it twice because it's hard for me to understand.

Finally Wrapping Up Great Expectations.

    I think the message/lesson that Dickens is trying to put forth is that money doesn't always bring happiness and you don't need money to be happy. To me this is true because I make the best of what I have, I'm aware that I am not "rich" and yet I am still a happy kid. I can kind of relate to Pip (not the beating part) in the beginning of the story because he doesn't have everything but yet he makes the best of it with Joe and then he comes to meet people of the upper class and he sort of wishes that he can be that someday and sometimes I have that outlook also. I used to always think to myself that I would grow up to be rich and famous and work myself to be successful but now I'm content with my life and not having super high expectations or planning it all out yet because my plans constantly change and I'm not sure what I want to do with my life but whether I'm poverty-stricken or a big shot I won't let it change who I am just because I think it will make me happy.