Final reflection blog post

          This summer I believe I have improved in my overall writing and much of it has to do with my blogging. Writing every day for 21 days straight has really pushed me to my full writing abilities. I never knew the talent I really had. I always thought writing was not only the worst subject but my weakest capability as well. I always dreaded when a writing assignment came up and procrastinated it to the end, every time. 

          When we were first assigned this I was not looking forward to having to type something every day and honestly I didn’t have faith in myself to do so either. I thought, "What am I going to write about? My writings going to be boring, and I’m not good enough to do this." But after we got going and I started writing about things I’m interested in and that really mattered to me. The blog began to become a place for me to just go, write, clear my mind and really express my thoughts. 

          At the beginning of this exercise it was hard for me to come up with ideas to write about and it would take me a long time to type everything I wanted to say. But as my page grew so did my brain. I began to think about things I was going to write about as I went through my day. I would get so excited just to come home and type about everything I had thought about that day, and that I wanted to tell my bloggers.

          Another thing that I really saw improve over the weeks was the time it took me to write. At the beginning I was typing anywhere from 300-400 words in ten minutes.

By the end of the three weeks I doubled that and I was writing a whole 800-900 words in ten minutes. 

         

          I believe the whole concept of a blog to write on for class is awesome. We had the chance to express our self’s in the way we wanted to. We got a chance to make it personal and we developed at our own pace, and improved our writing all our on our own, with help from all the resources Mrs. A provided us with and the help and comments of our peers. 

Journal

At the age of eight, an elementary school student is usually asked what they want to do when they grow up. At the age of eighteen, the student is still being asked the same question. As a teenager, it can be challenging to narrow down what one would like to do with the rest of their lives. It is okay if a student has not selected a major during their freshmen year of college. It has been estimated that about twenty to fifty percent of first year college students go in undecided and 75 percent of students switch their major at least once or twice before they finally graduate. Sometimes when a student graduates with a declared major, they end up not working in their field of study. Picking a major that one is interested in will benefit them so they can land a career that they are passionate about. Choosing the right career is tricky, but by analyzing the requirements of various careers, a college student is able to make the process easier.

One aspect of choosing a major is the amount of education required to prepare for that career. Many jobs require a degree above an associate’s, which is completed in two years. However, there are some well paying jobs that require a minimum of an associate’s degree. Some examples are dental assistants, physical therapy assistants, and registered nurses. The next level of education is receiving a bachelor’s degree in a specific area. It takes four to five years to complete this. Having a bachelor’s degree in business or nursing will not limit a person to an exact career choice, and they are able to branch out to other jobs. A master’s degree is one step up from a bachelor’s and takes an additional year to two years to complete depending on what the student is studying. A bachelor's degree must be completed before a person can move on to a master’s. The highest degree that one is able to accomplish is a doctorate degree. The amount of schooling is substantial, but not impossible to achieve. A student must decide how long they want to remain in school as one way to narrow down their career options. Becoming a doctor of any type of specialization would be out of the question if a student does not want to stay in school for a long period of time.

What Work Has Taught Me Jounral

I’ve changed a lot within the last few years, and I know it has been for the better. I owe alot of it to having a job and always having responsibility. I know a lot of people my age with a job where they look at it as just a place to make money. My job means much more than that to me. Having a job has taught me so much and has literally guided me in the right direction as far as maturing. I strongly believe that having a job as a teenager can provide a young person a sense of maturity and responsibility that will serve them well in the future.

All in all loved the work environment. I began to stop my bad habits and started to pick up hours. The person I used to be slowly started to fade away and I grew up. I started to act mature and be professional and decided to cut back on going out, and focus more on working.

Having a job has made me work my very best. Their standards are very high and slacking off is not an option. The way I work there has also rubbed off on the way I work in school, and I now put in a lot of effort in school to be the best I can. It’s helped me realize on what’s really important. My priorities are high, I have to admit, but I know I can do whatever I want if I just have the right mind set. Working numerous hours helps me focus, and I’m still able to concentrate on my school work as well. I don’t really have the time just to do nothing anymore. The duties and responsibilities I have are very important to me.

The knowledge that I have picked up from working is going to be helpful for me when I do transition to my next job. The customer service skills I’ve developed are great communication skills, having patience, and handling common problems. A few years back, I wouldn’t even be able to imagine that I’d be here now and I can’t wait to see where I go in the future with the motivation I have.

Working has affected me in many ways. Sometimes I choose to stay in, rather than going out. I’ve also learned what the true meaning of a dollar is. The money I have is the money I’ve earned. When I’m out buying things, I now second guess myself and ask, is this really worth it? I have been taught to listen to everyone’s opinion and to keep my thoughts to myself if they aren’t respectful. My attitude towards certain situations has changed. I’ve watched customers come in with a terrible attitude and act so negative about everything. It may sound silly, but they have showed me that I don’t want to present myself like that, and that I rather be positive.

I do believe that a teenager who has had job experience similar to mine will find it valuable in their future. I do believe keeping a job and working hard is something that’s very important.  I believe having a job as a teen can help someone make smart decisions not only now, but later on in life. These skills I’ve learned, I know they will follow me. I’ve learned how to be responsible, respectful, and reliable. Words will never be able to describe how thankful I am to be apart of such an awesome team.

Journal

Georgiana’s life is about to turn for the worse because of her handprinted birthmark. Her efforts are to always love her husband, but Georgiana is also knowledgeable. While Aylmer is away from her, she starts to read all of his recorded experiments. She finds out about his experiments that were successful or lead to failure. Georgiana understands his experiments and now loves Aylmer more than ever before. She is astonished by all of his achievements and will never second guess him. Georgiana ends up crying and whimpers, “it has made me worship you more than ever” She is now completely drawn to the fact that his procedure is going to work and is anxious to obey what he wants done to her. But in the back of Georgiana’s mind, she must somehow know that there is a chance that the procedure might not work. Georgiana is smart enough to know that and should be aware that Aylmer is about to perform a risky experiment on her. She knows that all his experiments do not work, and this should warn her about trusting her husband. However, she puts that aside and still wants to be a good wife instead of her own person. It is now time for Georgiana to drink the mysterious liquid. She does so and then falls asleep. She awakens and murmurs “my poor Aylmer” . She continues to whisper that to him. She then goes on and explains to him that he has “rejected the best the earth could offer”  Then lets him know she is dying. The whole time Georgiana knows she is going to die. She knows it because when she touches the flower it dies. She knows all along, but does nothing to stop it. She is intelligent, but is willing to risk everything to do what her husband wishes.

Yes, the birthmark is now gone, but at a tragic cost, But no, that is not the only thing that is gone. Her life. She dies because of doing what she is told by Aylmer. She lives her whole life suppressing her deepest feelings and not standing up for what she believes in. Georgiana could have stopped the experiment from happening, but she valued her husband’s happiness rather than her own. In the end, the only thing left is a failed experiment and a dead body. Aylmer must be happy that Georgiana listened to him and chose to be his ideal wife. 

Journal

Georgiana is unable to hide her emotions about her birthmark and appears to be vulnerable. She begins to fear that the birthmark stands between her and her husband’s love. One night she voluntarily brings up the subject about the birthmark. She asks Aylmer about his dream from the night before. She is now referring to her charm birthmark as an odious hand. By the way she is mentioning her birthmark, the reader can tell she is becoming hostile towards it. Georgiana now brings up the phrase that Aylmer screamed out in his dream: “it is in her heart now; we must have it out” . From this point on, Aylmer has done enough criticizing and Georgiana now despises her odious hand. She is worried that if she gets the operation done that her face could be deformed or maybe the stain on her cheek is as deep as her skin. Aylmer comforts her and claims he has spent a great amount of time researching this procedure. Georgiana can tell her husband is very eager to make the change so she agrees to it because of him. She desperately says, “let the attempt be made, at whatever risk. Danger is nothing to me; for life, while this hateful mark makes me the object of your horror and disgust…” She has completely changed her mind about her birthmark and wants to make him happy so she can be happy too. Georgiana is showing how deeply affected she is by the thought of her husband’s displeasure.

Journal

In the short story, the reader can tell that Georgiana is very insecure about her looks once Aylmer points out her flaw. Aylmer asks her whether she has thought about removing it. She responds and is trying to brush off the question. She says, “it has been so often called a charm, that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so.” At that point of the story, Georgiana does not know how upset her husband is about the flaw. As their conversation proceeds, he then starts to discuss his disgust about Georgiana's birthmark. He expresses his concern: “...you came so nearly perfect from the hand of nature, that this slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beaut, shocks me, as bring the visible mark of earthly imperfection.”Georgiana, of course, does not agree with his statement and is at first resistant to listening to him. Aylmer starts putting negativity in her head about her birthmark: “Ah, upon another face perhaps it might...but never on yours”  Georgiana finally acts out and argues back, which is stunning for a person who usually is so submissive. She is the type of wife that will treat her husband like her master. She cries, “then why did you take me from my mother’s side? You cannot love what shocks you.” Georgiana is feeling very insecure because the man she devotes herself to is suddenly making her feel not good enough. Typical Georgiana must do something in order to please her husband to make him love her again.

Journal "The Birth Mark"

Imperfections make a person unique and different from others in the world. Flaws are not necessarily always a negative feature in a human being. However, to some individuals something imperfect can drive them to a fatal obsession about the imperfection. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story "The Birth-Mark," Georgiana, a beautiful and almost perfect woman is willing to change her imperfection on her cheek to please her husband, Aylmer, to become his ideal wife. Aylmer continuously points out Georgiana’s disturbing birthmark and will do everything in his power to get rid of the flaw that lies upon her pale cheek. Georgiana tragically relents to her husband’s pressure and this destroys happiness that both of them could have shared.

            Georgiana is the type of wife that will do whatever it takes to please her husband. Aylmer believes she has an odd looking birthmark and is devoted to persuade her to remove it. It is in the center of her left cheek that is a singular mark that is deeply interwoven with texture and substance of her face. It is similar to a handprint many people would say. Georgiana also has very nice complexion; however, when she gets nervous her eye-catching birthmark disappears, then reappears once she turns pale again. Georgiana’s lovers say that a fairy laid their tiny hand on her cheek as a baby; that is why it is so special. Men are drawn to her: “...desperate swain would have risked life for the privilege of pressing his lips to the mysterious hand”. Her birthmark is something special to her and she has gone her whole life without thinking of it as something she should feel shame or regret about. But unfortunately, her husband whom she loves so much, decides to pester her about the situation. Georgiana has grown to please her husband, so she knows she must do something about her birthmark for it to be fixed.

Journal I believe reflection

            This I believe essay has so far been my favorite assignment this summer. What I liked best about it, is how it was broken up into many steps which made it less stressful, more personal and easier to complete.  This assignment was the best personal narrative I think I’ve ever written, just because I came up with it all on my own and it was a topic that really meant a lot to me. Normally a personal narrative has more guide lines on what it has to be about, and you usually just end up using the story that best fits the rubric. But with this one I felt it was really my own true words about what I believe and why I believe this way.   When we completed our, I believe list it had my mind thinking about all the things I truly believed in, and how I could expand on all the topic I was writing. Creating the list my brain really started thinking, and I was really proud of how long and detailed my list was for the amount of time we were allowed.

            I also really enjoyed being able to read what the other members of my writing group believed in. I felt like after reading everyone’s essay, I had known them their whole lives and we were then connected in a different level. The one thing I would change is maybe not having so many people in each group. I loved being able to give everyone my input and read about them, but by the last one I felt like I was saying the same thing and that the last essay I edited didn’t get as good as advise as the first 3.  Reading everyone’s comments on my essay truly made me happy. Not only from all the good reflection of my group but also because of constructive criticism they had provided me with. I didn’t even realize that I had turned my essay into our group discussion with weird paragraphing or that I needed to expand more on my own experience until I read the comment of my group. I believe the honestly and great advise of my group truly helped me improve my writing.  I really enjoyed this assignment and If I had the chance to do it again I would chose the second thing that I believed in the most on my list and enjoy writing about it just as much as I did this topic. 

Bloom journal

After looking at and reading about the Blooms Taxonomy chart, I know understand how your brain develops, and how we move up the chart as we complete a task or in this case improve our writing. At the very beginning of the summer all I had is past knowledge from years before, and was trying to remember it all as we got started. Then as we began reading the heart and the fist, I was then at the comprehensive level. Not only did I have to read the book, but I had to really understand and comprehend what I was reading so I could then discuss and write about what I had read with my class mates.

When we created our blog is when I moved up to the step of application. We were required to create something I had never done before, but I did however have a Myspace back in the day. Even though I had never created a blog I used my past knowledge to realize it was similar to how I would set up my profiles on Myspace. I loved creating the blog, and even though I didn’t know exactly what I was doing. I analyzed the website. I messed with everything and explored all my options until I had it perfect. Not only did I have to analyze the blogger website, but I also had to explore Mrs. A’s classroom and our classroom to find my way and do the best I could this summer.

I believe I moved up to the synthesis stage when I began to free write on my blog more offer.  I began to notice words I used to often and I realized I was a better writer than I thought. I always dreaded having to sit down and write a paper. But when we were able to just free write on our journals everyday it was relaxing and it made me proud of myself and what I was capable to do.

This past week we have been focusing on editing of writing groups essays and our own which has pushed me to the evaluation section. I had to examine and judge their writing and recommend my opinion on how to improve their essay, as they did the same thing for me. Now I have been editing my own paper, making revisions and trying to make it the best it can be.

This is my first time being introduced to the Blooms chart and I love it. It really is true and everything about it makes perfect sense, especially using my past experiences to really show my growth as a writer. 

Gossip Girl Journal

I love gossip girl!
 Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, originally ran on The CW for six seasons from September 19, 2007 to December 17, 2012. Narrated by the omniscient blogger "Gossip Girl", voiced by Kristen Bell, the series revolves around the lives of privileged young adults on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City.
The series begins with the return of Upper East Side It girl Serena van der Woodsen  from a mysterious stay at a boarding school in Cornwall, Connecticut. is a longtime friend and occasional rival of Serena's, and the queen bee of Constance Billard School's social scene. The story also follows Chuck Bass, the bad boy of the Upper East Side, and "golden boy" Nate Archibald, Chuck's best friend and Blair's boyfriend for many years. However, their relationship has been rocky ever since Serena left for boarding school. Other characters of the turbulent Manhattan scene: Dan Humphrey, Dan's best friend Vanessa Abrams, and Dan's sister, Jenny Humphrey .
I love this show and everything about it. If you haven't yet seen Gossip Girl, and are looking for a knew show to watch on Netflix, check it out!

Journal The beautiful country of Switerland

One country I traveled to is the beautiful country of Switzerland, officially known as the Swiss confederation, is a landlocked country in Western Europe bordered by Germany to the North, Italy to the South, France to the West, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the East.  Switzerland is about 2 times the size of New Jersey, covering 15,942 square miles.  Switzerland is sometimes referred to as the “roof of Europe” because of the soaring Alps that cover more than half of the country.  Although Switzerland is predominantly a German speaking country, its closeness with the other countries brings also a lot of French and Italian language into Switzerland.  There is a lot to learn about this country and I believe Americans should learn more about Switzerland because of their economy, education system, low crime rate, culture and amazing landmarks of the country.