Tuesday's with Morrie - What 'Tuesday' Has Inspired You? Blog 4/28/16

Prompt: Based on the 6 Tuesdays you have read about in Tuesdays with Morrie, choose which topic (The World, Feeling Sorry For Yourself, Regrets, Death, Family, or Emotions) that has had the most impact on you or inspired you. On your blog discuss the importance of this topic with your own opinions, including textual evidence (direct quotes) from the book.

          The Tuesday that has had the most impact on me is the Fifth Tuesday, which talks about family. It has really had an impact on me because it really shows how important family is to a person. It made me think how much my life would be different if I didn't have my family. All of my support would be gone because they are the one's who support me the most. They have always been there for me when I'm down and they help me move on with life. My family has taught me so much throughout my life and honestly I don't know what I would do without them. Even when they aren't around me sometimes I know that they will always support me. My family is really a big part of my life. 

  

          Morrie made me realize how important my family really is to me because there are some people out there in the world who have lost all of their family members or their family is getting separated. It's made me realize how lucky I really am to have such a loving family because without them I would be nothing. On page 91, Morrie said,"If you don't have the support and love and caring and concern you get from a family, you don't have much at all." I agree with this quote a lot because if you have the support and love from a family then you really don't have anything at all. Money will never buy you the support and love a family will. I really find this important because some people put money before love and family, and I honestly think that's a huge mistake.

           Another thing that Morrie made me realize is how I have that "spiritual security" from my family. Even when my family isn't around me I know that I will always have their love and support no matter what. On page 92, Morrie says,"This is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there's someone who is watching out for them... what I call 'spiritual security'- knowing that your family will be there watching out for you." I can really connect with this quote because as I've said it before I feel that "spiritual security" between me and my family. I think it is really important for everyone to have that because it will help you know that there will always be someone looking out for you and willing to help you out. Everyone should have that "spiritual security" with their families so that they never feel alone when they aren't with their families. 

Tuesday's with Morrie - Bucket List Blog 4/20/16

Prompt: 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? 

           My initial reaction to what've read so far is that the book really seems interesting. In the beginning I thought it was going to be one of those typical books where it's a young kid being mean to an old man and then they begin having a friendship. Then later on the man dies and the kid regrets being mean to him. I was completely wrong. This story really seems interesting. It seems really painful to be living with ALS. You start to slowly lose your own life. Your body is dying and you feel it but your soul is still alive. I feel so bad for the people with that condition. I can't even believe that this story is actually based off a true story.

          
           Another initial thought I had was that I have never seen such a teacher and student relationship be so close. Most student and teacher and relationships are close but they aren't like Mitch and Morrie's relationship. Their relationship was so close that Morrie actually cried when Mitch left and graduated. It surprised me that after Mitch graduated he just went along with life without ever talking to Morrie again. It's sad that when such a close relationship can fade away just because of the distance. I was very glad when they finally reunited after sixteen years.

           Just by reading the beginning of the book makes me realize that no one should take their life for granted. You were given this life for a reason and you should live it up to the best of your advantage. You never know when it will be taken away or when you will become very ill. It makes me think of all the things I want to do in life. Here are some:

My Bucket List:

• Get a German Shepard or a husky
• Travel to Europe and Central America
• Graduate High school
• Graduate college 
• Get married
• Have 2 kids 
• Meet Luis Coronel
• Get my own house
• Get a job
• Get a driver's license 
• Work at Google or Apple
• Meet Neymar 
• Meet Luis Montez
• Go to prom
• Do something to my hair (such as cut it short, dye it some crazy color, etc.)
• Meet German Garmendia 
• Meet Steph Curry
• Go to Japan
• Have a six pack
• Visit at least 25 states

3rd Quarter Reflection Blog

Prompt: 
- *In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts? 

- What strategies have benefited you?
- *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 areas that I think I made my biggest improvements in is probably punctuation and in writing. Punctuation is a big improvement for me because sometimes I forget how to correctly puncuate titles and books. I keep mixing up the correct punctuation of a title with the correct punctuation of a book. The mini lesson that we had during the quarter really helped me out and throughout the  quarter I've been taught on how to correctly punctuate titles, books, movies, etc. Now I know which punctuation is for each. I've also made a big improvement in my writing. The TIQA method is still a strategy that has benefitted me. Last quarter the TIQA method helped me improve my writing a lot. This quarter I've learned to write using the TIQA method but with a smoother flow to it. Last quarter I began using the TIQA method in my writing but sometimes the sentences didn't go that well together. Now I'm able to write more smoothly than before.

          Something that I've accomplished this quarter that I'm proud of is my Holocaust butterfly and my argumentative essay. I'm really proud of how my Holocaust butterfly ended up looking like. I put a lot of effort into annotating and interpreting what my poem's meaning was. Then I spent around 10-11 hours buying the supplies I need for my butterfly and creating it. Another thing that I'm proud of making is my argumentative essay. I worked really hard on researching my topic and creating it. I think I made a huge improvement from last year's argumentative paper to this one. I've learned a lot this year which has helped me more as a person and as a writer.

          The most challenging part of the third quarter for me was that I'm not up to date on all of my reading. This quarter for some reason I haven't really been reading a lot. There's many books out there that I want to read but I haven't had the time. Now that PARCC is here, I now have the time to read after I finish my test. I have to work on organizing my time so I can at least spend 20 minutes reading a book.