MY LEARNING FALL AND RISE

If there is one word to describe myself on the first day of school, on August 12, 2019, it would be unprepared. Coming into this class as a student who doesn't really like to do school work, I chose this word because I did not expect everything that has transpired this semester from having my own blog to interviewing for my grade to writing daily journals everyday. The thing that really caught me off guard that first day was that you gave us an option if we wanted to have our class taught normally or open source style and you walked out for a few minutes. I'm honestly very happy we all agreed on the open source learning choice because it was a way out of the old, traditional, stale and bland English class and this style is a energizing type of class full of intelligent minds. Unprepared we were, but prepared we are now.

Two things I didn't expect from this style of class that was going to be taught was that we had daily journal entries and a blog that people had access to. I have really like writing in my journal because I love to express myself through writing because you don't need to speak to be understood. Writing in my journal was like gateway of creativity flowing through my mind and onto a piece of paper. I usually had so many ideas going through my mind when writing but I don't think I was getting people to understand what I was writing but I feel more understood now. As for the blog however, was something I wasn't ready for. As you said in the beginning, it would be easy to put off posting sometime but if it becomes a habit, you're going to be digging yourself a very deep hole as the semester went on. I sometimes went days without posting because i fell victim to procrastination and poor effort due to past school habits but this class has shown me that those bad habits will eat you alive. As the semester was coming to an end, I was trying to catch up on my blog posts but I was too far behind. Something that I should have known was going to happen we memorizing poems but what I didn't expect was that we would have to post a video of ourselves reciting these poems on our blogs which I felt weird about and i decided to not do that. Unprepared we were, prepared we are now.

I think the most stressful time during this semester where I thought about giving up was at the beginning, because I didn't really like this way of learning due to it being different and I dug a big hole for myself to the point where I asked myself, "should I even try anymore?" and gladly, I decided to pick myself up and push on to the end. I think the point where I picked myself up was right after progress reports went out and I thought this could be where I turn everything around, with the help of some friends, I was able to get back on track. I was able to start getting myself back to speed and I was able to keep up until the we had to create out own resume as if we were applying to a job which prepared me for the future. Something that I learned from this encounter and challenge is that it is better to take it head on instead of not doing anything. I live by a quote that had stuck for me for so lo g which is, "I would rather die as a hero than live as a coward." I honestly don't remember where I heard this but it instilled a fire and craving of wanting to get where I want to get at all costs which has shaped me. Unprepared we were, prepared we are now.

I've made a lot of routines to help me continue to do great in this class. Something I do to help me is that I ask a lot of questions to make sure I know what I am doing. Being curious is a blessing but a curse at the same time because being curious could get very annoying very quick but gets you places whether it's in the classroom or in the real world. I love asking questions because the more I know, the better chance I have in understanding. Being curious helped me make up assignments, start learning new vocabulary, understand the poems, essays, and stories we've read and made me a better writer. Asking for help is also something I've gotten better at because before, (even now) I hated asking for help and I just wanted to do everything on my own but as I've grown as a student in our classroom environment, I noticed that we are all in this and everyone needs help, even if they think they don't. Overall, there are more things that I have done to better myself as a student and a person in general. Unprepared we were, prepared we are now.

I feel that I am a different learner compared to the learner I was at the start of the year. I have completely changed my writing, got rid of all my bad habits, and now I have a fire lit under me that is giving me that craving of success in this course. I have been exposed to so many different ideas of learning from the stories, essays, and poems we've read. One of the most inspiring works we've read was of "On Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, it is very astonishing that something what was written in 1841, about 205 years ago, applies to life today in 2019. So many of his ideas gave me a reason to start putting in more effort and I feel grateful to be able to read his essay. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Ne te quaesiveris extra." Unprepared we aren't, prepared we are more than ever.
                                     Fin.

how did I do ?

on self-reliance part 3

• nothing at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind 
• this whole essay cannot work if you're given a stigma at birth 
• honesty without compassion is rude
• truth is handsomer than the affection of love 
• I do not owe anyone an apology or explanation 
• 
  

on self reliance part 2

• you don't know how much you do unless you give 100% 
• we decide where to put effort and attention 
• if you don't use your genius, it will become useless 
• sometimes we only show half or bits and pieces and we are scared to show ourselves as a whole

    Emerson addresses many things that are apparent in our lives as to what was apart of everyday lives 178 years ago. 

first impression: on self-reliance

I loved the way how Emerson started this essay, by using a Latin phrase so people can decipher by the word structure if they know other languages other than English.  I also like how he says that you should voice yourself and what genius things you have inside of your head.  one last thing I liked was that he's trying to encourage others to speak up using their mind instead of sitting back and watching, no one is going to do everything for you, you have to do it yourself.

let me walk you through the pedestrian

imagine walking down the street and a cop stops you just to harass you.  you were just minding you're own business, putting one foot in front of the other, just doing you. the police officer pulls up and says, "what are you doing sir?" what is your reaction?

story of my life

one day, I was riding my bike. I was 9 or 10 years old and I never wore helmets when I rode my bike.  well, one day I was riding my bike, running through stop signs, almost hitting cars and whatnot.  I was riding and I rode past a stop sign and I almost got hit by a police officer. I didn't stop and the followed me until I got home.  I was about to get a ticket but he just told me to be careful. the end

so this guy goes for a walk

Ray Bradbury has written a story about a guy that goes out for a walk, but in the future.  So he goes to take a walk, a police car pulls him over, he sees there is no police officer in the car and he gets in and leaves.  In his experience in real life, he was stopped by police officers for walking, same thing that happens in the story.  The story though gives a descriptive depiction of what he felt had happened.

my essay essay

This story has a lot of ups and downs regarding every character in the story, from Young Goodman Brown to Faith, which changed the narrative of the story from innocent to dark and horrid throughout the story.  The tone the author wrote this story I made it seem like the setting of the story was normal but once it started to climax, the mood changed dramatically in the sense that nothing is as it seems anymore.  From the start of the story, Young Goodman  Brown's attitude and demeanor had changed throughout the story which made him a dynamic character.  He lost his faith, and Faith, and everyone had seen him not as an enemy but not apart of that community.

young Goodman brown

1. I think Hawthorne wrote this book to show that not everyone is as good or true to themselves as they seem to be.

2. at the start of the story, we didn't really know much about her, but as the story went on, her name fit her personality and young Goodman brown had faith in her until the very end of the story .

3. I think the pink ribbons symbolize that she was someone special and that she was like a guidance type figure .

4. i think it was a dream because, in the story, it states that, " But, alas! it was a dream of evil omen for young Goodman Brown. A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man, did he become, from the night of that fearful dream." the author is saying that this was a dream and that this was the work of the characters imagination 

5. I think the old man is God or a greater power than man 

6. I think the staff represents his mind/consciousness telling him to keep on going. 

7. his life would have been very different and he would still have faith, his wife, and faith in everyone in the town 

the medium is the message

the channel I will be using most of the time is test messaging because all I ever do is message people. I rarely use my email and if I do, I'm usually emailing my teachers about missing assignments. there is a lot of ways to use channels of communication but text messages are my channels

Conscience of a hacker

this essay shows the people in the shadows.  hackers have a stigma that makes them seem as criminals.  this hacker in particular is a teenager who is feeling upset, frustrated and irritated that no one sees them as a normal human being.  these hackers are tired of being known as outcasts and underachievers.

thinking about what i want

I have a big question. is there life after death?  this question has always been in my mind for as long as i can remember.  Ever since i was little, I've always wanted to know if there's life after death after learning about reincarnation, Egyptians and the mummifications of ancient pharaohs and other things as well, have me wondering about this.  I really want to learn about this a lot and want to see how many will view this question if it is answered.

getting to know you

getting to know people is very important.  everybody have different interests/hobbbies and skills that may interest you.  when you get to know people, they start to show you their true colors and can help you out.  it good to have a lot of friends.

the earth on turtles back

it's shows a variety of story telling techniques and has a many morals including perseverance and shows a lot personification. this myth is very good for a younger audience.

the making of an essay

in the past, essays were borderline torture due to the expectations of having perfect topic sentences, very detailed body paragraphs and a defining conclusion sentence. what I learned today is that trying and trying to make sense of yourself is the main goal of a essay which is what I will strive for.

communication strategies of a hacker

the diction that the author uses is very sophisticated but at times, can be used in a way to connect to the reader.  the syntax of this essay is done deliberately to hook a reader in, in order to get his point across.  the tone of this essay is very distressed and irritated.

now i remember

Richard Cory is a marvelous piece of writing but is a reality for some people.  i was tryin to memorize this poem but couldn't figure out a way to memorize it until we thought of ways to memorize it.  one way we thought of was repetition which helps me because im an athlete and repetition is key to doing sports.  other things we thought of was writing it down, chunking, recording and listening, and mirror mirror.  not all of these things can help but at least one can.

hello people, my name is Jose and welcome to the traphouse !