Hannah's English Blog

Response: My family was going to Anchorage Alaska over the summer. It was a cold, and beautiful place. And then our bus was hours late. So we made the best of what we could do. We read as a family, and toured a few places around, threw a football, and tried to keep ourselves entertained. But us being us, we had a great time either way. Summary: Today in class we broke down a quote and talked with groups about it. Reflection: My quote was somewhat difficult, trying to figure it out.

Response: I had a conversation about why the world is the way it is. How we keep on getting these horrible news, and threats. And I talked to my friends about it that I could truly trust. They told me that it was one of the scariest things to happen to someone. And no one knows why people do it, but we do know what we can do. I'm not going in depth because it was really personal. Summary: Today in class, we read a new passage. Reflection: I found it kind of confusing

Response: I think making the connection to yourself is the most creative. I made many choices: symbolism and literal meanings in my pictures to get my point across. I think that it has helped me get deeper into the story in general because now I can actually interpret and relate to a certain character, not just read about them. Summary: Today in class, we finished our presentations. Reflection: I found it interesting how we could know more about a character just by making a presentation about them.

Response: I think doing a presentation helps with knowing the character more, because it breaks down everything about the character, instead of just finding the bare minimum. I think it's really cool how we can learn more about someone just by making a presentaion about them. Summary: Today in class, we worked on breaking down a character. Reflection: I got Mr. Shiftlet, and I'm interested about how his mind works when he manipulated Lucynell.

Response: I helped a blind man go reach the bathroom. He told me he accidently went into the wrong one once, and felt horrible. I felt so bad, realizing people have it horrible sometimes, for something they can't control. I realized how many innocent people were being called horrible things because they couldn't see or hear the right way and ended up going the wrong way. Summary: Today we finished The Life You Save May Be Your Own. Reflection: I found it kind of tragic and dark.

Response: I had a friend in middle school who was really close to me. We did everything together, and we had so much fun doing it. One time, she told me to do something that she knew would get me in trouble. I did it because I didn't know. I got in major trouble, and she would sit around, refusing to admit anything to the teachers. Summary: Today in class, we read The Life You Save May Be Your Own. And we answered questions about it. Reflection: I found it interesting how the author describes different characters.

Response: Three things that would be in my trash are drawings, broken pencils, and empty brownie boxes. I love drawing my book characters, giving them character pages, and a lot of times I nibble on my pencil so hard that they break and is unusable. I also like making quick brownies, and boxes are the easiest way to make them easy and faster than having to whip up everything. Summary: Today in class, we finished working on our characters' songs, websites, or trash. Reflection: I think I got a better understanding of John.

Response: Speech reveals how I can be very energetic and loud sometimes. Not always in the best way. My thoughts are all funny scenarios, which shows off a lot of my humor. My effect on others is both positive and negative; it just really depends on what my mood is that day and what usually happened that week. In my actions, I like to give away food a lot, so I hope it gives off a nice vibe. I like hugs sometimes when I'm happy too. I like to tuck my hair behind my ears and wear cuter clothes on days I'm happy. I wear my black shirts when I'm less happy. Summary: Today in class, we dug deeper into a character in the Rock Pile. Our character was John. Reflection: I thought it was interesting how John was trying to be the older child, even when his dad was abusive toward him.

Response: I do feel like my parents put more pressure on me, my little brother, and my older sister than on my older brothers. They are adults now, giving them more freedom, but they don't get in trouble academically much. Even with the three of us, I got in trouble once for having a B in one of my classes. And when my little brother had one, nothing happened. I feel like academically, we are spaced out a lot. Summary: Today we finished the Rockpile and answered the questions about it. Then we took turns saying them aloud. Reflection: I found it interesting how much symbolism was in the ending of the story. With Delilah and John kneeling at Gabriel's feet.

Response: Curiosity got the better of me once when I was exploring my neighborhood. I went to the woods in the back, and looked around, trying to find some sort of passageway when I was about eight. I didn't know how long it was, and when I left, it was almost dark. So I ran home and barely made it. But I didn't pay attention to rules because I was too curious about what I had found. Summary: Today in class, we read about the Rockpile, a short story. Reflection: I found it very interesting, how the Rockpile could be kind of symbolic.

Response: People have a hard time losing each other because they all make so many memories with each other. And they can't let go of someone they really love. Losing someone means they will never see that someone until they die, maybe even after death. And people always have a specific way of living, and when something changes, it doesn't seem real or familiar anymore. Summary: I was absent from class today, so I didn't know what we did. Reflection: I found the story we read on Tuesday kind of confusing, but very symbolic.

Response: The place that brings me a park in Scotland, when we went there as a family a few years ago. We went twice over the years, but always went to the same park. We went when I was eight, then when I was fourteen. My four siblings and I would always play on the swing sets and pretended we were rulers of the world. Summary: Today in class, we read a portion of A Rose For Emily . It was a passage about a woman who couldn't let go. Reflection: I found it interesting, the amount of foreshadowing and the language usage.

Response: Happy things can really make one remember that time moves quickly. Like one moment, someone is 16, then it's their 17th birthday. Sometimes weeks feel timeless, like they zipped by. But sometimes when something really exciting is happening, it takes so long to get there, but when it happens, it is done in a flash.  Summary: Today in class, we evaluated and looked at a poem by Emily Dickinson about death. Reflection: I think she made it look very interesting how she wrote it as if it were a chariot ride into eternity.

Response: I felt where I belonged when I met my pool friends, Daniel, Alessandra, and James. We hung out almost everyday during the swim season. We never had a fight, but there were some times we felt awkward. But we could always overcome it. I've felt so happy being near them. We still hang out at the pool and we share each other the dumbest things. Even so, it keeps us together. Summary: Today in class we read a passage about belonging somewhere and things that help and hurt relationships. Reflection: I felt really happy reading it, learning that people may take time to find people they're comfortable with.

Response: One fear that I have overcome was the fear of being alone. I used to be terrified that everyone I loved would leave me and that I would be all alone. I was scared every time I was home alone at night. But over time, as I grew older, I realized the perks of being home alone, and I ended up making peace with it. But I still haven't gotten over my fear of walking alone at night. That still scares me a whole bunch. Even if I'm only walking for a few minutes.