End of Year Reflection Blog 18.05.16

Wow. I can't believe in 10 days, we will be officially done with middle school. Our 'What Does it Mean to be an Eighth Grader,' and halloween party days feel so long ago. As I was trying to remember things that happened this year, I couldn't believe we were in eighth grade for that long. Time didn't go by so fast. It feels like it was ages ago when Sebastian ripped his pants, or we did our plays. 

The most important thing I have learned this year is perseverance. There was so many times I had wanted to quit, this class and school in general, but I kept working at it. Of course, I did it with the help of God and my family. The second most important thing I have learned this year is time management. Time management has to do with literally EVERYTHING! I never realized how much time plays in life. Literally, everything in your life is based off of time. What time you go to sleep, what time you wake up. It all goes back to time. The last thing I learned that was very important, was to enjoy life because life is never promised. I learned this while reading Tuesdays With Morrie, and To Kill A Mockingbird. In TWM, Mitch learned that life will never be promised, and It was represented by Morrie. He wasn't that old, or well old enough to die. In TKAM, the theme was put into effect by Tom Robinson because he was a young man and certainly didn't deserve to die. 

One thing we did this year that I will never forget is most likely when Sebastian ripped his pants, twice. It was really funny and just so random, that you wouldn't expect it to happen during class. I was glad that we were able to have a laugh about it, and that he didn't really get offended or embarrassed by it. 

The nicest thing someone has done for me this year was when I was in and out of a sling, and my friends helped me put my chair up or carry my books. Even though sometimes, I was being stubborn and didn't let them put my chair up. 

I can't really think of something I taught my classmates. Maybe something like helping others or being kind to each other. I know I helped a lot of people this year, and I hope I taught my classmates to help others in any way possible. I think if I did teach this to someone, that'd be really cool because I would have had somewhat of an impact on them. 

I think I made my biggest improvement in writing argumentatively and identifying where a comma goes.  I was reading my old Diary of the Wimpy Kid journal, and it was atrocious. Like the most simplest words were spelled incorrectly, and my grammar was terrible. I can see the difference in my writing skills/grammar skills from when I was younger, entering middle school, and now that I'm graduating middle school. I also feel that I made a big improvement in my argumentative writing. I learned how to cite my sources in multiple ways, and also how to write without sounding bias or informal.

An accomplishment that I was really proud of was receiving the grades I received. I worked really hard in this class, and I was glad the hard work paid off. I was also very proud about the essays I had completed for the different units. One particular essay was the argumentative essay, because I put a lot of work and effort into researching and writing. 

The most challenging part of this year for me was most likely when we would read books together. More specifically, To Kill a Mockingbird. It was really stressful to have to read, annotate, answer questions, keep up with the chart, and also finish the rest of homework from other classes. But I'm very delighted that I was able to get over the very stressful period, and be able to relax afterwards. I'm thankful though, for Mrs. Larson giving us that amount of work, because I feel it'll prepare us for high school. 

The best piece of writing that I have completed this year is my 'This I Believe' speech. I believe this is my best piece because I learned how to get the point across in a concise amount of words, and also how to show emotion through my writing. I was/am really proud of how I was able to explain what I believed in, and also provide an example of how I portrayed my value. 

My all-time favorite book has to be The Outsiders. I read it this year, and I really enjoyed how easy it was to connect to the characters and their situations. I fell in love with the author's writing style, and also the character's sense of loyalty to each other. The main character, Ponyboy, reminded me of my brother. Vince, like Pony, is really smart. But sometimes, in certain situations like Pony, they can both be out of line and do something that can get them in very big trouble. 

Another book that I really liked reading this year was That Was Then This is Now, also by S.E. Hinton. The book crosses over a little bit with characters from The Outsiders, and I was really enlightened by finding out a little of their future. I felt like I could relate more to this book than The Outsiders, because it dealt with half-siblings, and that's something I'm like an expert on. 

Students, make sure you listen to every single direction Mrs. Larson gives you because otherwise, the class will be a very big struggle to be in. Also, make sure you manage your time wisely. With the time management, it will save you a lot from stressing out. I also advise you to take this class seriously, because like I said before, the class will help you in high school. My sister came home one day and we literally had the same vocabulary words, and were learning the same basic things.