comments week 17

John H- Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

John N- The Real Worst Day of the Week 

15 going on 16

My birthday is in May and I will be 16 years old. Ever since I can remember 16 has been my favorite number. I remember being younger and thinking about the age 16. It seemed so old to me and I couldn't wait until one day I could be that cool big kid who had freedom and held a totally awesome sweet 16. Now, that one day is almost here and I'm not sure how to feel about it.

 For me, my first few teenage years have been pretty similar. I mean yeah, I now have my drivers permit, and I can travel by myself,  I make plans for myself and stay up as late as I want. I never really stop to think about how I have grown up. It is crazy to me how fast days and months and years go by.  As every second goes by we are older than the second before. I am excited for what 16 brings to me. I think the best way to start off will be having the amazing sweet 16 with my best friends which I have been looking forward to for years.

Reading Response

I'll start off by saying that The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is different from anything that I have read. But it is different in a good way. So far I have really enjoyed the book and have found the author to have a very good sense of humor and he also makes the characters and storyline seem very realistic. 

My favorite part so far is has been when Junior punches Roger in the face and Roger just walks away. I think that this was an important teaching moment not only for Junior but also for kids in the real world. Sometimes walking away is the best way to fight back. This was so different from what Junior was used to and he was confused when Rowdy did not fight him back. I think that his adventures at Rearden will hold many other important moments that will help shape Junior.

Comments week 16

Kolin- Nelson Mandela 

Kaelyn- Last Semester 

Mary Wollstonecraft

My research topic is on Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the earliest feminists. My research question is; What main influences inspired Mary Wollstonecraft, and what impacts did she leave on western society and American feminism? Mary Wollstonecraft developed a love for writing at a very young age and was influenced by her peers, her friends and the way that the world was at the time. During the eighteenth century, the French Revolution led women to speak up for rights. Wollstonecraft became one of these influential leaders and fought for eduaction, respect and equality. Wollstonecraft inspired many others and advocated for women in ways that have led to the rights that women have today.

This topic is very important because it was not very long ago that women had very few rights. Women were basically owned by their husbands and their ideas were rejected because of the fact that they were women. Now, women have to right to a great education, and for the most part can get any job that they work for. For the most part, women are individuals and are respected. Mary Wollstonecraft was one of the early feminists who clear a pathway and inspired other women to fight for what they believe in. The fight still stands, and women continue to fight against prejudice. Without these early pioneers, women may not have had the place in society that they do today and the ability to speak up maybe wouldn't be as easy.

Learning about Myself

Last semester was a crazy one, starting out with the flood ruining my house and the start of high school. On top of that, my best friend moved to California. At the beginning of the first semester, I was not as excited for a new school year as I usually am. To be honest, my life felt like a big puddle of murky water that just kept getting bigger and bigger. But then the sun began to appear and the puddle began to clear up. I realized that I had so much to look forward to this year and that there were people around me that were there for me. I developed a relationship with myself and I now know that if I believe in myself and look at the bright side of things I can get through any rough patch and I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to.

This discovery will help me this semester in my school work and my personal life. I know that there will be challenges that come my way, but I now know that I can get through anything. I will have big tests and big projects, like this research paper, but I know that if I work hard the outcome will be a good one. Being positive and realizing that I can push through anything will not only help me this semester but will help me for the rest of my life.

comments week 15

Savannah- Winter Break

Sophia- MLK Day Service 

Bengal Spice & Spotify

I stare up and look at the fan twirling on my ceiling. My ideas start spinning like the fan and I fall back onto my cool pillow. In the background, my favorite playlist on Spotify blares from my new speaker that I got for Christmas. I take a break from all of the homework and craziness of life. I take a sip of my Bengal Spice tea and I am 100 percent happy. 

Sometimes it is good to take a break. I think that sometimes we get taken in by everything and everyone and we never really stop to smell the roses. Take a moment to relax and play your favorite song. Take a walk and close your eyes. Get taken away into yourself for a minute and realize that there is more to life than our daily routines and responsibilities. Live in the moment, even if it really is just for one moment. I sit back up and take another sip of my tea. I am in love with every moment as the hot tea flows down my throat leaving me with a sweet aftertaste. 

Research Update

I never realized how much work was put into a research project and now that we are actually in the midst of the process I am beginning to understand how complex it is. My research so far has been good for the most part. It was hard to find 10 sources that didn't all have the same information, and then finding six of those sources to annotate was challenging. I think that I did well on the annotations and I am starting the notecard process now.

 Finding a research question to answer was both exciting and risky. I love being able to go in any direction that I want with my research but now that I have conducted my question I am having trouble connecting all of the information that I find worthy. I think I just need to narrow my thoughts and once I figure out the notecards this will be a lot easier. I'm looking forward to the rest of the process and the end product.