El Final. La Fin. Alla Fine. 最後に. Lopussa. The End.

 This year, I have come such a long way. At the beginning of the year, it seemed like I was very timid with my writing as well as my opinions, almost afraid to voice what I was thinking. That, in other words, is not me. I am a very vocal individual, who expresses her thoughts and emotions in various ways, in some that may not be most articulate or subtle. With the writing of the blogs, I believe my writing creativity as well as literary horizons have expanded than I ever believed they could. The style of my writing seems to bounce around from very strict and formal to free-flowing, full of my personal opinions as well as most-inner thoughts and memories, depending on what the blog theme was for the week. With the blogs, it has made my view on writing change. Partly because when I would first stop and think about having to write because that was what I was assigned to do, I would get the picture of me sitting at a desk for hours writing about a very pointless and boring topic that had no importance whatsoever, because the teacher hated kids and wanted us to sit and suffer, possibly getting carpal tunnel from writing for so long. But now, I enjoy the minutes where I sit and ponder, "How will I write this today? Shall I write it in free-form, essay, poetically?". The possibilities are endless. I know that I will always be able to keep my experiences from Honors English with me for the rest of my life, as well as carry it with me into my classes for the rest of high school and probably college.

 Now onto my other blogs, the different topics have also expanded my horizons as well. So many different techniques that I had to use to be able to accomplish the task at hand. As I said before, I am going to be able to take so many different skills with me next year and the years beyond because of all my writing of the blogs. I have written about To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee to Animal Farm by George Orwell to Romeo and Juliet by the ever famous William Shakespeare. While writing these many blogs (30 in all!), I can reflect that through it all, I can definitely tell that in the end I have improved with my writing. It did depend on the topic though, because after looking back, I have several blogs where my writing is very strong and unique while some other blogs I read it seemed like I struggled a little with the higher level of diction required or thoughts. Some of my best were in the middle of the year, and especially toward the end where I was really improving my most in writing (could it possibly be while learning the 5-part essay rubric?). My quote for the end of my blogging experience as a freshman is this:

"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end".
Abraham Lincoln

 I do believe Mr. Lincoln knew what he was saying, due to the fact at how true that statement really is. I intend to do that very thing- keep doing the very best at everything I can and try to do...until the very end. I hope that throughout the year you have enjoyed reading my many blogs and have gained some insight on the type of writer as well as person I am. I have enjoyed being able to write, and intend to keep on writing.

Most Memorable Assignment

My favorite assignment from this year in Honors English was probably the first essay we wrote at the very beginning of the year, on To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I absolutely loved the novel, and after being taught the structure of writing an essay, I was so excited to start writing it. After completing my essay, I was so proud. I spent a countless number of hours revising and editing, going back and changing font to font size, to even paragraph spacing. I do not believe I have honestly taken that much time on perfecting a piece of my work on anything else.

After all of my hard work, I (of course) got 100% as well as Mrs. Gilman asking to use my essay at a conference. I cannot thank you enough Mrs. Gilman for helping me on it and taking the time to show us how to write quality pieces of writing. It definitely has paid off not only in your class, but as well as in my other classes when I have had to write essays on different subjects. Thanks again!

My Experience With Poetry

My experience with poetry starts off with my first memory, as a child, listening to my mom read me poems from a Robert Frost book. When I actually began to analyze poetry was in seventh grade, when I had Mrs. Schooler as my teacher. We started off simple, just by recognizing patterns in the poems. I believe without the help of Mrs. Schooler, I don't think I would be as prepared with the work you are giving us as I would be without her help. I also remember she taught us a lot of different styles of poetry, and we actually had to keep a poetry collection, with our different poems. I remember loving writing haikus, because I tend to write about nature when writing haikus. My other favorite style is free verse, because I love being able to have the freedom of writing whatever I like, however I can.
This has made a positive impact upon my life, because I feel like I am prepared more than some of the other students, due to the fact I feel like I have more knowledge with terminology and expertise with styles as well. When we get into writing our own personal collections, I have a feeling I will not only enjoy getting back to writing but also enjoy interpreting others writing as well. With Mrs. Schooler's advice and knowledge, I also feel if I go into an English demanding career, I will be more prepared than others who may be applying for the same job.
Right now, I feel like I don't appreciate poetry as much as I could, due to the fact that I have not written, much less read any for more than a year, excluding earlier this year.