Micah's English Blog

Prompt Response: When working on my "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" PowerPoint project, I think the visual aspects required the most thought or creativity. Creating the designs for my slides has taken the longest because I want the atmosphere of the slides to portray my character's attitude. I also wanted each slide to be unique and not repetitive. These choices I've made help communicate my understanding of the story as it demonstrates the meaning of the character and their choices. It exemplifies how I know more than surface-level material in the story. Summary: Today in class, we continued to work on our "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" project and got checked on our progress. Reflection:  I enjoyed working on my project because I like assignments that involve creativity.

  Prompt Response:     I believe creating a presentation like this helps me understand a story and its characters better than a traditional worksheet because it allows me to analyze them on a deeper level. On a traditional worksheet, you're usually just answering surface-level questions that only take a few minutes. Meanwhile, creating a presentation calls for doing a deep analysis of a story, which takes hours to days. I believe both worksheets and presentations have their positive aspects. But overall, a presentation allows for someone to understand and demonstrate a story in multiple ways.  Summary: Today in class, we began working on our "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" presentations. Reflection: I enjoyed class today because I like creating presentations and independent work.

  Prompt Response: There was one week when my mom was extremely busy and stressed out. I wanted to do something to help her, so I decided to help out more with my brother and clean around the house. A few weeks later, one of my favorite artists announced that they were going on tour. I was extremely excited, but I didn't have any money to buy the tickets. Soon after, my mom realized how badly I wanted to go and bought the tickets for me. She told me she was grateful for my help and got them for me in return. This moment taught me that helping others can benefit me. Summary: Today in class, we finished reading "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" and completed the graphic organizer to go along with it. Reflection: Class was very straightfoward today, which I appreciated. 

  Prompt Response: This one time, I became friends with a girl because she seemed nice. She always helped me when I needed it and just genuinely seemed like a good person. Until I was talking with a friend who I was closer with, and she told me all these horrible things she had done. Of course, I shouldn't just believe what anybody says, but this friend was someone I deeply trusted. I couldn't believe this new friend that I made would do anything of such. After finding this information out, I couldn't see the girl the same. Based on what I've read so far, I don't believe any of Mr. Shiflett's words. My biggest reason why is because how is a person with one arm a carpenter? Summary: Today in class, we read "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" and answered questions to go along with it. Reflection: I enjoyed starting this story because I was excited to see the end.

Prompt Response:     Three items someone might find in my trash today would be, Vandoren reed boxes, Arizona Tea cans, and Goodwill clothing price tags. The reed box would represent the creative and musical part of my life. Playing instruments is one of my biggest hobbies. My first instrument I learned was the clarinet, which uses reeds. For the second item, which is Arizona Tea cans, represents my love for tea. I drink tea every night before I go to bed. When I don't have time to brew my own, I frequently have an Arizona Green Tea. I genuinely think I'm the biggest tea-lover. Lastly, the Goodwill price tags would present my love for thrifting. My mom and I go to Goodwill all the time as a way of bonding.  Summary: Today in class, we continued the characterization assignment from the previous day. Reflection: I enjoyed class today because it was chill and straight-foward.

Prompt Response:     If someone were using the STEAL method to characterize me, here is the way I think they'd describe me.   For speech, someone could guess that I was born in the South due to my accent. They could also probably guess that I spend a lot of time online because of my slang or humor. For thoughts, someone might say that I'm more sensitive than one can see. On the outside, I don't seem sensitive, but in my thoughts, you can see that I overthink and feel a lot of emotion. For effects on others, someone might say that I'm helpful or even annoying. I'm always ready to help others, but sometimes I might bother someone too much because I'm excited about talking to them. For actions, someone could say I'm creative and reserved. I participate in many hobbies and I don't really do anything that could bring attention to myself. Lastly, for looks, one could say I'm modest or quiet because I like a simple put-together look. Summary: Today in class...

Prompt Response:     Sometimes, when I'm in public, I don't believe I get the same treatment as the rest of my family. In my family, my stepdad and brother are Latino. Although my mom is black, she has a lighter complexion, which makes people assume that she is also of Latin descent. I don't feel this way at home, but when I'm in public people often assume I'm apart from some other group of people. For example, if I'm at the airport, and we're all going through security, I would get asked, "Are you with them?" Or, if I'm at a Mexican restaurant, everyone will get spoken to in Spanish, while I get asked in English. I don't believe this difference is fair, because even though I look different, it doesn't mean I'm not apart of them. At home, I don't feel this difference, so it's weird when other people act as if it's so strange. But, ultimately this difference doesn't bother me because it's not something I deal with...

  Prompt Response:     I'm not the type of person to just break rules. If I do ever break a rule, it's usually for a good reason or something I cannot avoid. One rule I do break is probably the cell phone policy. In class, I'm usually caught up with my work, so I have a lot of free time. In this free time I'm extremely bored and most, if not everything, is blocked on our Chromebooks. So, I would usually get on my phone instead. Nothing happens most of the time because the teachers see me as a trustworthy person. They know if I'm on my phone, it is because I'm done with my work. Sometimes I feel a bit anxious that I'll get in trouble and my conscience makes me put my phone away. Summary: Today in class, we read "The Rockpile" by James Baldwin and answered comprehension questions. Reflection: This story was pretty good in my opinion, because I could make some connections. Both of my grandmothers are extremely religious, but do many things that wouldn...

  Prompt Response:      When the pandemic first started, I had no clue what the world was going to look like moving forward. This helps me understand what it might've been like for Americans to experience the uncertainty and change following 9/11. I see that they could've felt scared of not knowing what the country they once knew would be like after. After they told us that we had to be quarantined for an indefinite period, I couldn't imagine what my life would be like after. Honestly, I was scared that I would have to wear a mask for the rest of my life. Experiencing this pandemic changed the United States for everyone. I could only imagine it was the same after 9/11. Summary: Today in class, we took a test on "A Rose for Emily." Reflection: The test took me longer than I expected. 

Prompt Response:     I think some people have a difficult time accepting loss or change because they want to control or shield themselves from the unpredictable future. Emily tries her best to hold onto the past in the changing present. For example, when her dad dies she acts as if nothing happened and he's still alive. I believe she did this because she doesn't want to allow herself to be hurt my the changing present. Her actions seem crazy in hindsight but I can't help but feel sympathy. I understand how it feels to want to hold on to things that have to change. In a way, I feel that she was trying to protect herself since nobody else can. Summary:  I was absent from class because I was on a field trip. Reflection: The comprehension questions I answered at home allowed me to understand the story better. 

  Prompt Response:      A place that holds special memories for me is the elementary school I attended. Today, my younger brother attends that school, so I still get to visit it. Every time I go there, it reminds me of my childhood days. When I went there, life was so much more simple. I don't like the feeling of growing up so visiting that school when I'm close to graduating from high school makes me a little sad. At that school, I shared many great memories with my teachers and friends. Today, I'm still friends with some of these people, so it also reminds me of how much people have changed since then. This school represents a happy, easy part of my life. Summary:  Today in class, we started to read, "A Rose for Emily" and answered comprehension questions. Reflection: I have never read a story like this, so I found it to be pretty interesting. I did find it a little hard to understand at some points. 

  Prompt Response: When I look back at photos I took in 8th grade, it reminds me of how fast time moves. 8th grade was my favorite year in school. Everyone got along, schoolwork was easy, and it was just an all-around good year. In my mind, 8th grade feels like it was just last year, but it was really three years ago. I was just graduating middle school, and now I’m close to graduating from high school. Looking back, I wish I appreciated that time more. I’ll never be able to go back to that time and relive those memories. This thought allows me to try to enjoy the present moments. Summary: Today in class, we read “Because I could not stop for Death,” by Emily Dickinson. We also began to work on an assignment that went with the poem. Reflection: I think this poem has been one of my favorites that we’ve read so far. It made me see death in a different light.

Prompt Response:     A time when I felt like I truly belonged was when I attended the MomoCon convention. I felt a big sense of belonging because I was surrounded by people that had the same interests as me. Sometimes I feel a bit embarrassed of what I enjoy, but at this convention I didn't. I got to interact and talk to people about things I usually don't get to talk about. Everyone made me feel extremely welcomed and apart of their community. This day I realized that there's people that share the same interests as me and I shouldn't be embarrassed about them. Summary:  Today in class, we worked on a CommonLit assignment called, "Missing Your People." Reflection: I enjoyed reading this passage because it helped me realize how important it is to have a sense of community and belonging with others.

  Prompt Response:     A fear I need to overcome is the fear of the unknown. I tend to overthink and get anxious when it comes to events where I don't know the particular outcome. I believe I need to overcome this fear because it causes stress when I think about things like the future or what I can achieve. I would like to become a person that lives in the present without focusing on the future. This fear I have also can trigger some of my other fears. For example, I am afraid of public speaking. Due to my fear of the unknown I'm also scared of talking in front of others because I am unaware of what their response or reaction will be.

  Prompt Response:        I find myself using the word "corrupt" and "corruption" the most since school has started. In my APUSH and AP Gov classes we often talk about the government and political systems. When we talk about these topics, we describe how they operate and treat people.  The word "corrupt" means, guilty of dishonest practices. In society today, many government powers ignore their citizens' desires for their selfish agenda. My frequent usage of this word could reveal that I am not content with the state of our world today. Summary:  Today in class, we worked on vocabulary and answered questions. Reflection: I found class interesting because I like to learn new definitions. I find it amazing on how many words I've never seen before.