Well I had a long and deep post I was too lazy to finish yesterday so until I do that, here are some "goals" for next year's English class (hope you find them useful... LOL).
In English class last year, I felt that my analytical reading and essays were the most lacking in skills. Based on these areas of needed improvement, I’ve created three specific goals for English 10 Honors.
- I want to be able to understand difficult works faster. I am a very slow reader, even if the text is easy sometimes -- much slower than my peers.
- I want to be more organized in writing my analytical essays. Often, my ideas are scattered in my brain and it takes a while to organize my thoughts.
- I want to be more engaged in class. A lot of times, I don’t raise my hand because I really don’t know what to say, but I do want to learn, and I can’t do that without being active in class and thinking at all times.
To achieve my goals, I feel that I need to start by reading more. My ultimate goal is to be able to form complex thoughts faster, and I need to read for that. I want to set aside a time for reading: other books of literary merit, books that the regular classes read, and even books that I simply find interesting. This not only broadens the areas I can analyze, but also expands my vocabulary. I will ask the teacher for recommendations as well. Next, I will practice brainstorming and outlining for various topics. Essays, whether take-home or on demand, require you to come up with ideas quickly (some times more quickly than others), and after an SAT class that asked us to write one SAT essay each week, I’ve discovered that practicing brainstorming is the key to thinking faster. One last thing I could do is learn the many “forms” of essays. I know that there’s no real format for essays, but that the most “basic” they teach you since elementary school is the 5-paragraph essay. I want to learn different ways of organizing information, so when I come across a certain topic I will have many ways to present an analysis of it. Right now, I really only have one way, and sometimes it doesn’t always work, so it’s always great to have options.
My greatest hope this year is to accomplish more than I ever have in English class. It’s always been a “boring” and “easy” class for me, but I’ve realized there’s more value in learning than I previously thought. I was always trying to show people that I was more than the Asian stereotype. Studying wasn’t the only thing I could do! But that resulted in me having too much fun and too many responsibilities outside of the classroom. I’ve realized that a balance and a bridge between the two sides of myself I want to keep must be built. Instead of rejecting my intellectual side, because it’s also a side of my personality, I need to let it grow. And I mustn’t neglect my creative side of leadership either -- instead, I should connect the two and use them together to become the best version of myself.
My greatest fear, on the other hand, is losing motivation. I’ve told myself all of the above every single year, but this year is when it’s felt the most strongly. However, I still feel that I will not be able to accomplish this: sharpening my faculties and using them to benefit everything I do, whether for myself or for others. I fear that I will stop and ask myself one day, “What’s the point of all this? I don’t have to make life this hard. I can just choose one side.” But just as the many faces of the American Dream, I know I need to find myself. This year is the first step in doing so. I fear that because of a slip in grades I will give up. I fear that a sudden interest in something I will probably soon forget will distract me from this goal I’ve been reflecting upon for the whole summer. I fear that I won’t be able to do anything I say I am going to do. But now, I just think of tomorrow. Not next month, and definitely not next year. Slowly, bathed in the support of all the people around me, I know I will begin to see changes.
(it was an assignment, by the way..... second day of school so of course i took it seriously)
..connie..
