For my final blog post I was debating between writing a poem for incoming freshman or maybe a self reflection. I ended up choosing to write a short letter giving advice and/or tips for the future seniors of next year (the IB Juniors now). So here it goes:
Hello fellow IBers,
I know that you may not want to read this whole thing (is Junioritis a thing?) but I promise it may help with some of the stuff you're feeling. As upcoming Seniors, you've got to be prepared to be the ones who rule the school. You're also IB, so that helps. Specifically concerning IB Lang and Lit that you take your senior year, you MUST read the books given. I read a lot and I truly enjoyed the books, but I know a lot of people who didn't...they suffered. It's ultimately your choice. But what you never expect when you walk through the doorway on the first day of school, is that when its all done, you tend to appreciate the little things. When this whole blogging thing started happening, I had never used blogger before and it scared the crap out of me. Now I love it and couldn't imagine not having a Blogger account. (Mrs. G, I hope you still do Blogger assignments in the future.)
Also, SPEAK UP. Be opinionated. Feel free to express what you felt while reading or what you thought about a passage's structure. Participate in any way possible, and have good conversations with one another. That is how you actually enjoy the classes (also Mrs. G is pretty freaking hilarious.)
This is so cliche, but don't procrastinate. If you do, try to write just some sort of rough draft for an upcoming essay due date a week before it's actually due. Of course, there are always other assignments, but you need English to graduate! Priorities, people!
Overall just be a good student. Just Mrs. Genesky's english class alone I have taken away things that I know I will keep forever and life lessons that I needed to learn before college. Be appreciative of everything that your teachers do for you because they actually are working really hard. Nobody wants to see a student fail. I have loved my years in IB even though at the time they were a pain in the butt. They are so worth it after high school when you look back at your experiences.
I wish you all the very best in your endeavors and in life afterwards, and hopefully I'll see some of you at Elon! :)
Your fellow IBer,
Bella
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Blog Post 14: Witty Whitman
Step 1:
In looking throughout Whitman's journal, the very first thing that I noticed was that the book looks completely ancient. I think that this gives character to the ideas that are inside no matter what is inside. On the very first page, I can make out what seems to be addresses of some sort as if it is a personal journal just for Whitman's own memory, which makes sense. Looking throughout the rest of the journal, I think that Whitman is really showing how many ideas that he had and how he planned to execute them. The journal says "brochure" and talks about having two characters talking to each other. This shows more of Whitman's thought process and the reader can see how they evolve and change throughout the journal from beginning to end, like how most people tend to change over time. I also noticed a stamp that seems to be on most pages of the journal, which I don't know if that was included while Whitman was writing or after. What is interesting for me is that Whitman's writing is in cursive, which shows more of the time period. Cursive is slowly dying because technology allows us to have it with just a click of a button.
Step 2:
In seeing the analysis of the annotations, I see that I was right about the addresses and names that are included in the journal. What I didn't notice was that Whitman wrote about talking to, or at least being near, Lincoln in his journal. I didn't pick up on that part of his writing, but I was right about how "brochure" was mentioned by Whitman and how Whitman was most likely thinking about his characters. That red circular stamp actually turns out to be the stamp of the Library of Congress, so it was placed after the journal was out of Whitman's possession, I'm assuming. I think it is interesting that Whitman hated slavery just as Lincoln did, and how he referenced religion in his journal. This does seem pretty normal, since it was Whitman's personal journal full of his opinions. Of course, there are mentions of Whitman's ideas and little snippets of poems he wrote and poems to come at the time, but it is interesting to get a look directly into what would've been Whitman's whole life.
In looking throughout Whitman's journal, the very first thing that I noticed was that the book looks completely ancient. I think that this gives character to the ideas that are inside no matter what is inside. On the very first page, I can make out what seems to be addresses of some sort as if it is a personal journal just for Whitman's own memory, which makes sense. Looking throughout the rest of the journal, I think that Whitman is really showing how many ideas that he had and how he planned to execute them. The journal says "brochure" and talks about having two characters talking to each other. This shows more of Whitman's thought process and the reader can see how they evolve and change throughout the journal from beginning to end, like how most people tend to change over time. I also noticed a stamp that seems to be on most pages of the journal, which I don't know if that was included while Whitman was writing or after. What is interesting for me is that Whitman's writing is in cursive, which shows more of the time period. Cursive is slowly dying because technology allows us to have it with just a click of a button.
Step 2:
In seeing the analysis of the annotations, I see that I was right about the addresses and names that are included in the journal. What I didn't notice was that Whitman wrote about talking to, or at least being near, Lincoln in his journal. I didn't pick up on that part of his writing, but I was right about how "brochure" was mentioned by Whitman and how Whitman was most likely thinking about his characters. That red circular stamp actually turns out to be the stamp of the Library of Congress, so it was placed after the journal was out of Whitman's possession, I'm assuming. I think it is interesting that Whitman hated slavery just as Lincoln did, and how he referenced religion in his journal. This does seem pretty normal, since it was Whitman's personal journal full of his opinions. Of course, there are mentions of Whitman's ideas and little snippets of poems he wrote and poems to come at the time, but it is interesting to get a look directly into what would've been Whitman's whole life.
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