Semester wrap-up

     Hello, so I guess this is where we're ending first semester. It honestly feels very weird 'cause on the one hand I feel like I'm still the same 11th grader who just happened to open a zoom link. But on the other hand, I've grown a bit I guess... These months really flew by and I know that people always say that but I mean how can you deny it when it's true? 

I think a major aspect of this class was finding my own voice and, from what I can tell, my formal writing has improved because of it as well. The repeated algorithmic-style of writing was extremely hard for me to escape, and these weekly blogs have been great in letting me type what I need to say in a casual, reflective way. Looking past my old essays to my more recent ones, I see a huge shift after finding my writer's voice in these blogs. 

In regards to reading, my scope has been widened to a much greater length, regarding my genre of choice and overall willingness to read. I'm definitely not a "reader" by any means. I read slower than most but it's definitely improved recently. Over winter break I finished five novels, I am quite proud of myself. They were audiobooks, but I followed along on a pdf so it still counts. 

In giving us the freedom to read whatever book we want every month or so, I found myself actually wanting to read more. It's like that idea where you are about to do something and then someone else tells you to do it and then you suddenly don't want to do it. The freedom of choice is much stronger than I'd imagined. 

I also love how I was able to read books written in different eras that I actually enjoy. Most of the books on the AP book catalog are "classics" and I always assumed they would be boring because I just automatically associate them with stuck-up/silly things, so I never gave them a chance. In finally reading some of these, I realized that some of the authors are actually human and are funny. For instance, Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut took a hilarious tone in criticizing religion. I'm glad that I am finally willing to give the classics a chance so I can explore older-era novels. 

In conclusion, I didn't hate English class this year. Not even kidding, I actually liked going to this class.