Just keep Swimming

Growing up I always wanted to go to Heritage and tryout for the basketball team. I felt like I could take my basketball “skills” to the next level. I was really nervous because I wanted to make the team, so of course I tried my best during tryouts. 

The first time I tried out for the 7th grade all star basketball team, I didn't make it. I regretted wanting to quit basketball after I didn't make the basketball team. I like to think of me not making the team as a lesson that I need to give 110% all the time. I believe in the power of perseverance. That following summer I played basketball and formed a routine of wake up, eat breakfast, go outside, get home at 6:30, eat dinner, and then play basketball until 9. As I saw how much better I was, I knew this was going to be my year.

 After the summer came 8th grade and a couple months after that, came tryouts. Not as many people went but everyone there had good talent. I didn't let it get in my head. I ended up having a really good tryout. Mr. Calkins and I talked about how great I did and how I made the team. During the season, I had no playing time and we lost every game. However, that's not the point. I still made the team and reached my childhood goal. 

Final reflection Blog

What are the three most important things you learned this year?

One of the  three most important things that I've learned this year is Empathy. I learned how to be an empathetic person and have the ability to put myself into someone else's shoes and feel what they are going through. Another thing that I've learned is how to properly write a sentence. With dependent clauses, independent clauses, and phrases. Lastly sow,thing huge that I've learned is a lot of different words I can use into sentences and I've really expanded my vocabulary.

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

Reading the book To Kill a Mocking Bird. I will never forget that whole experience I learned so much from that book and I'm proud to say that is one of my favorite books. This book is what taught me empathy and that's the best life lesson to learn in my opinion. I believe that I will use this until I die because it is just the right thing to do.

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

When I fell behind on all of my work and I was really in a hole I couldn't dig out of the whole class was there to help me. Whenever I asked them for help they used empathy and realized how much I was struggling and they would help me finish up my work. I have so much respect for my class because even if they had a lot of work to do they still helped me out.

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

What I taught a student this year is that even if you fall down there is always a way back up. A friend of mine had a lot of problems come up and was unsure how to deal with them. I told them to just keep on fighting through it and not let anything phase you. Also the book Tuesday's with Morrie helped the student out because the book showed there is always a bright side.

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

I think the area I made the biggest improvements in is my writing overall. I feel like this whole year helped me with writing. I learned how to finally make a decent argumentative paper, answer questions properly and how to take notes. This is what I am most proud of because this'll carry over to high school with me and I will hopefully become a better writer.

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

The most challenging part of the year was when I fell behind on my work. I started becoming absent more and missing the criteria I needed to know to do the work. This struggle lasted very long and it took me almost a whole quarter to get myself together. However, my classmates were there for me and helped me get out of the struggle I was facing and helped me to persevere.

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

The best piece of writing that I've done this year has to be my Argumentative Essay because I learned a lot about how cruel this world really is and how animal testing is alive and well the reason why I saty it was my best writing is because I had fun doing it. I could really speak my mind and get out what I believe using facts at not just opinions. This also taught me to find reliable websites.

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

Tuesday's with Morrie in my opinion was the best book that we've read this year because it really gave me a whole new outlook on life. I feel like this book has prepared me for my future and will help me get through high school.

9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

Always stay on top of your work and never fall behind. If you do fall behind though do your best to get back and even try to get a little ahead if you can. Everyone needs a little break for a while but don't go on a permanent vacation. This will really affect your mentality and will change a lot so just don't  do it. 

Aphorism Project

1- Explain the aphorism in detail. what was Morrie's main message?

2-     Relate the aphorism to a movie, song, historical event, current event, personal experience, etc. and explain in detail how the example you have chosen relates to the aphorism.

3-     Evaluate the aphorism by explaining why you agree/disagree with it. Give specific reasons for your position and specific evidence from the text to support your position.

4-     Take a picture of your aphorism to use as your graphic.

5- Include your own aphorism regarding life.

The aphorism that I'm doing is "you're not a wave, you are part of the ocean" this is my favorite aphorism from Morrie. What this quote really means is that even though you are dead you will still be part of this world. For instance, say someone you know dies and you knew each other very well. Then they die that person who just died will always be remembered and thought about. Even if that person died as a wave they still end up being part of the ocean. This I believe was Morrie main message, he just wants everyone to know even if they don't think they'll still play a part in this world they will always, no matter what. 

I remember a long time ago my mom and I were talking about death and stuff. The reason why we were talking about this was because my great grandma had died. I had asked my mom if she was really gone forever thinking I already knew the answer to it. She replied with a no and I asked why. She said,"just because great grandma is dead doesn't mean she is gone forever" at this point I was confused. She told me as long as we think about her all the time and pray for her she'll always be apart of our world. To this day I still do all that for her and believe everyone else is doing it too. The aphorism "you're not a wave, you are part of the ocean" has been with me longer than I thought.

I agree with this aphorism fully because it makes so much sense, considering I have experienced this aphorism before. This aphorism is in my opinion the best one out there to me because as you read it more and more it makes more sense. At first I didn't understand it but when I actually took the time to think about it, it all ended up making sense. The reason why I agree with it is because everytime I lose a loved one from now on I will now know they'll always be a part of me. Even if they physically aren't with me they will be with me in my thoughts and heart. I honestly believe that I will live by this aphorism for the rest of my life. 

"Keep you're head up...Or you'll mess up your posture" -Sebastian Burgos

Socratic Seminar Reflection

These past four seminars that I have experienced have been influential and really made me think about the book. I've never really would've understood the book as much as I do now if we didn't do Socratic seminars because a Socratic seminar make you rethink and expand your knowledge. However, the first one that we had wasn't really all that good because we were still trying to understand the concept but the last three were pretty spot on. The last seminar was the best in my opinion because I can see everyone's feeling about how the book ended and the facial expressions the class gave is priceless. 

A trend that I noticed with my personal goals was to talk more during the seminar. Although I never really said much in the beginning I began to talk to a lot more than I did before in the first two. I looked at my last reflection paper said to talk more and bring up a question. The question that I brought actually made me feel good because it made people think about how they would feel if the ending of the book wasn't the same. This was something I was relatively proud of but I'm not proud that I didn't talk more.

A trend that I noticed with the class was to draw someone in who really doesn't speak much at the Socratic seminars. I really enjoyed this trend because I was drawed in one time and If I wasn't I wouldn't have said anything at that seminar at all. I also admire how the class wants everyone to be involved and work together. The class wants everyone to be heard and get their opinions out. Overall, the seminars is the best way to talk about a book and the way you feel about it.

Tuesday's with Morrie blog

All of the Tuesdays that I've read about so far in the book have been great. Morrie has taught me so many life lessons and really showed me what life truly means. I've never really felt so close to a character in my life and I feel like Morrie is a terrific person. Furthermore, Morrie inspires me with every single word he says because that's just who he is. He's really tought me a lot from how to live your life and how to basically end it. Now I know there is a favorite for everything but I hate to single out one Tuesday because all of them are great in their own significant ways. Although, if I had to choose one Tuesday I would choose the sixth Tuesday.

The "Sixth Tuesday: We talk about emotions"with Morrie is the best in my opinion for several different reasons. The main one is that I learned a lot about Morrie and learned a lot about being selfless. I really can respect Morrie because he is a very selfless person, the reason I say this is because Morrie told his family to continue their lives and not ruin them because of him. Even if that would make Morrie very lonely and feel a but neglected, but it didn't. If that was me I honestly would want my family at home with me at every step of the way until I die. Which I know now is very selfish. Another thing I learned about is emotions and why people avoid them. People end up avoiding their emotions because they are fearful. This then puts them in a terrible position which is terrible and what happens is instead of their emotions overwhelming them fear is overwhelming them. Which in my opinion know it is not really the best thing to have.

On "The fourth Tuesday: We talk about death" this chapter in the book really talks about death which really sets the true mood of the book which I still don't really know what it is. Anyways, this chapter may be about death but it is about emotions and how people feel about Morrie going. The emotion I gained from this chapter is more of an acceptance kind of emotion because I've always have known how to die but I've never really known how to live. That's what this chapter gives off to the readers or me for that matter. This also showed me several different  perspectives and aspects on life but almost every chapter did. One thing that really spoke to me and had me in awe was "We really don't experience the world fully, because we're half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do.'". Immediately I thought of school, school is a wonderful way to gain education and stuff but we go to it as a routine but not necessarily because we want to. There is so many great things that come from school it's just that we often overlook it.

Morrie Blog

What are your initial reactions to what you have read in Tuesdays with Morrie thus far? One of the main themes developing in Tuesdays with Morrie is not to take your life for granted. Based on this premise, what is on your Bucketlist? You can write a paragraph leading up to a bulleted list of what you would like to do/accomplish in your life.

My initial reaction to what I've read so far with Tuesday's with Morrie is kind of surprised. I never knew how much of a powerful speaker Morrie is it's amazing how he uses his words to make people feel like life is too short to take it for granted. Also he speaks whatever pops up into his mind which I resoect big time because not many people have the ability to do. He even kind of woke me up and showed me how life really is this quote really spoke to me “Okay. The story is about a little wave, bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He's enjoying the wind and the fresh air-until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore. "My God, this is terrible," the wave says. "Look what's going to happen to me!" Then along comes another wave. It sees the first wave, looking grim, and it says to him, "Why do you look so sad?" The first wave says, "You don't understand! We're all going to crash! All of us waves are going to be nothing! Isn't it terrible?" The second wave says, "No, you don't understand. You're not a wave, you're part of the ocean.” This shows that when we die we will still be apart of this world. Morrie will be satisfied with his death knowing that he has completed everything on his bucket list.

I want to be just like Morrie when I know I'm going to die have no regrets and live my life to the fullest. The main thing that will be on my bucket list is to give back to everyone who really helped me out In life, especially my mom. My mom would be my main priority and I will spoil her. Even if I don't have too much money I would love to see her happy one more time before I die. Other than that being on my bucket list of course I have some fun things on her like skydiving and BASE jumping but I would like to achieve more in school before I do anything else.

Bucket List:

~Skydive

~Snorkeling

~Go to every continent 

~Spoil my mom

~Finish college 

~Give back

~Get a good paying job

~Swim with a shark

~Jump off a cliff

~Base jumping

3rd Quarter Reflection

- *In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts?
- *What is something you have accomplished this quarter that you are proud of?

- *What has been the most challenging part of 3rd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

          The area that I made the biggest improvement in was my punctuation. Before I never really knew where to add commas, semicolons, and colons. What really helped me out was the website "The Punctuation Guide" because it taught me how to properly use the punctuation and where to use it. For example, I really struggled on remembering if the comma goes before or after the conjunction. Not only that but I didn't even know you use colons and semicolons in writing until this quarter which is really bad. Even though it did take me awhile to figure out how to use them it did end up helping me a lot. This really made it worth my time.

          What I accomplished this quarter was turning all my work in and I am very proud of that. However, it did take me a while to do. It took a lot of hard work and dedication to pull off the amount of work I needed. Although, I'm not too proud of how far behind I got because I didn't do a lot of my work. That happened because my time management was terrible and that habit continued until I fell into a deep hole. I didn't want to be in that hole any more so I just took all my time from one day and just did all the work I needed to. By doing this it brought a lot of weight off my shoulder and I felt rather relieved. This is why I was proud of this I just couldn't live with it being on my conscience and my grades.

          The most challenging part during the 3rd quarter for me was turning in my work on time. This is the area I struggled the most in and took the most time in breaking out of the habit. What I did to overcome this habit was that I created a schedule for myself and planed out everything I 
was going to do and what I needed to do. This also helped me to get to sleep on time and feel a lot more energized. This is also something that im particularly proud of becauseit took hard work to do it and I did it