Writing Reflection

When I reflect back on my writing from the very first paper to my interview, I see tremendous improvement. My goal stepping into this class was to discard my bad habits such as being too repetitive and creating better transitions within my writing. When I compare my first paper to my last paper, I see less repetition and a lot smoother and cleaner transition from one paragraph to another. My grades also reflected this as I gradually improved from one paper to another. Therefore, I believe my writing did get better from Composition class. I believe I achieved my goal from this class and I believe the elbowing helped me out a lot. Peer feedback is crucial when it comes to improving your writing. Whenever we look at our own papers, we think it’s the perfect piece and nothing more needs to be done with it because of the fact that it is our paper. However, when others look at it, they look at the paper trying to find mistakes and flaws within our writing. Through peer feedback, I was able to cut out a lot of repetition that I did not catch when I read my own paper. Therefore, the processes that we went through in Composition class also helped to improve my writing skills. The last thing that really helped me out was the blogs and notebook entries that were required. The only way to get better at writing is by writing everyday. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. I believe that through these multiple entries, my writing became smoother because of the fact that I was so accustomed to writing almost every other day. I liked the fact that we were forced to write a lot in this class and it seems to have paid off for I was able to get rid of my bad habits. Practicing writing seems to be the only way to get better at writing. Composition class has taken my writing to the next level.

BLOGS

So the year has finally come to an end and it’s my time to evaluate how well the blogs worked. For me personally, at first, I thought blogs were a hassle because of the fact that it took a lot longer to write one and that we were stepping away from the conventional idea of writing in our notebooks. However, after writing a few blogs, I found that blogs were very convenient and an easy way to transfer what I was thinking quickly down into the computer. Throughout this whole process, it was really hard to start off a blog and to get an idea in my head. However, this short yet frustrating time period made me think a lot harder and made me write a lot more efficiently. In my notebooks, I am very repetitive with the words I use, the ideas, and in general, the writing is repetitive. However, with blogs, I am forced to proofread my blog and from there, I am able to delete out certain phrases and cut down on my repetition. I must say that I miss using a notebook but I do believe using the computer to transfer our thoughts down was not a bad idea. In college, I plan to continue to blog and still write thoughts down in the notebook. I believe that we must learn to live whichever way, whether it be writing on a computer or on a notebook. We must be able to adapt to our environment. As the end of my high school career is coming to an end, I must say, having this sort of change at the end of my senior year was a very fun and exciting thing to experience. I can say to all the underclassmen that it was our class that first started off with these blogs and will be able to boast about how I was part of Mr. Watson’s Composition class.

NO FINALS

I have NO FINALS!!! Finally it seems as though this hectic senior year has come to a grand finale. I have no finals; I'm done with four of my classes, the only classes I have to go to is Euro at 7:30 in the morning and English at 10:30 in the morning. I do have senior sing everyday at 3:30, but I still only have 2 classes that I NEED to go to. Also, the three days reserved for academy kids to take finals is something that I don't need to worry about this year. I have NO FINALS! While everyone is studying for countless hours sitting in their rooms, I'm going to be out with my friends going to the beach being care-free until graduation comes. The only down side to this is that I have to go to school by 3:30 everyday because of senior sing. I wanted to go the beach to relax the whole day but senior sing prevents me from doing so. I believe that all second semester seniors should be excused from finals. No Punahou high school graduate would like to look back and remember finals as their last and final memory of high school. By excusing seniors of finals, the last thought of every single senior would be of Skip Day, which would have been spent with the entire class. The thought of being on the beach, having an entire day care-free, worry-free of grades, just enjoying one another’s company would be a memory worth remembering. This memory of a lifetime should be a memory that all seniors should be able to carry on with them as they walk down the aisles of Blaisdell getting ready to depart once and for all the long and hard journey of high school.

Facebook

The first comment I had on Facebook was, "Your too young for facebook." When I first read that, I gave out a little giggle. I was amused at the fact that there was some truth to his comment. Facebook is a way to connect all college students with one another. In college, people come from all over the world and therefore, facebook is a good way for them to know one another before they actually attend the school. However, me being in high school and having facebook made me a little young for this creation. Presently, a lot more high school kids are signing up for facebook for they see that it is a good way to connect with the friends you have in high school and also a good way to connect with your friends that you are going to make in college, or the friends you think your going to make in college. ;) When we hear facebook, myspace also comes up into play. Facebook is a lot better than myspace and is set up a lot better than myspace. In facebook, you see what your friends are up to and what they are doing. However, in myspace, you merely look at the new pictures your friend set up, read their blogs if they have any updated blogs, take a look at their comments, listen to their music, and then you are through with them. In facebook, right when you sign in, you are directly connected to a site that tells you what every one of your friends are up to. It also lets you see the comments that were sent amongst your friends at a glance. You can also send presents to your friends for whatever reason. It's a great way to communicate amongst friends and a great way to keep up with your friend's life. When we all go away for college, we will still be able to see how they are doing and will not lose contact with them. Facebook is vital for all high school and college kids and a great way to keep friendships thriving. After all, you need friends.

Imagination

Creativity is the key to imagination. Ever sit outside to lay down and stare up into the clouds? When is that last time you used your imagination? It seems as though with age, the less and less we use our imagination and the more and more we use our textbooks and logical reasoning. We never revert to the theory that things happen just because they happen. We never elude from reasoning anymore and don't believe things happen for no reason. Is this a fair trade off? It seems as though we are trading off our youth for knowledge of the present. Do we want a life full of textbook answers. What if we are looking to catch a break in this world? Wouldn't you want a time where you can look up into the clouds and be able to use your imagination and see pirates, alligators, and horses. Whenever I look up into the clouds, all I see are fluffy white clouds and nothing else. I look for shapes and figures, but I cannot decipher any of the clouds. Have I traded my soul into the world? Have I aged too fast and too abruptly? My teacher used to tell me that imagination is the key to learning. She also said that regardless of all the knowledge of the world, if you lose your imagination, the knowledge that you have is useless in this world. In this world, where we are so used to giving textbook answers, must change. We must be able to think outside of the box and our world seems to lack creativity. No one is willing to change and is willing to be different from other people. No one is willing to take a break in this fast-paced world. I dare you to go outside today and just lay down on the grass and look up into the clouds. Look up and see what the clouds look like to you? Are they merely white fluffy objects or a priates, alligator, or horse?

Thank you for Smoking

I recently saw the movie, thank you for smoking. I thought it was a very unique piece. The main character made a living by talking. He was a lobbyist for cigarettes and was the most hated man on Earth. However, he was able to talk himself out of countless situations and that was how he made a living. He didn’t ever have to study this field of talking, he did not graduate college, he was not a smart kid in high school, and etc... The only thing that he could do was talk and that was what ended up being his career. If I ever had talk for a living, I think I would be homeless within a day. The way this guy is able to stir up rebuttals and the way his mind thinks is totally different than any other mind that I’ve ever met. He is able to mold arguments within the argument. Therefore, he is not fighting the direct topic, yet, he is fighting a topic that consists of the topic at hand. So, he is able to win any debate that he wants because of the fact that he structures his argument in such a way that no one can refute what he says. Through this movie I learned that you can take any talent that your really good at and put it to use in the real world. I’m sure everyone can talk but no one can talk as well as this guy. I’m sure everyone can eat, but there are a few certain chosen ones who eat better than others, and those are the people you see shoving 50 hot dogs down their throats during the 4th of July. Everyone has a special talent that they are really good at it and as long as they stick by their talent, they will be able to be successful in life and will be happy in life because of the fact that they are doing something that the love and are good at doing. Therefore, they would never get bored of it and would never be disappointed because they are they best at what they do.

birds are EVIL!

You ever see a car swamped with bird doo-doo? You ever ask yourself, how does a car get drenched in that much doo-doo? The answer is simple; birds are evil and have targets that they all decide to annihilate before the day is over. Birds do not excrete their bodily fluids anywhere. They are smart animals and decide to have some fun while they are using the bathroom. When have you ever seen a bird merely make a doo-doo on the streets, distant from any object? There has never been an instance where birds used the bathroom in a human-free and object-free area. You may be wondering why you always see birds’ doo-doo on the sidewalks and the answer is simple. Those birds merely missed their targets but I’m sure another bird made up for the lack of discipline that these other birds had. It’s funny to think that birds play games while taking a doo-doo but is reality. If you really sit back and think about, they are probably as smart as humans. They are merely playing pranks on humans. They probably have wagers going on amongst each other. “The first person that gets it on that guy’s head wins.” There is never a time where a bird uses the bathroom is a totally isolated area full of nothing but grass. I’ve never seen a bird fly through Kapiolani Park and excrete their bodily fluids there. There always has to be some sort of target that these birds aim for. Otherwise, their lives would be meaningless and no fun to live. Birds are evil because of the fact that they know what they are doing and they know it is wrong. Yet, these birds continue to play this game amongst one another and refuse to stop.