Final

I have thoroughly enjoyed having a blog this past school year. When I scroll through past posts, I think to myself, "This has got to be the most I've ever written in my life!" My blog allows me to jot down memories. It is convenient since it keeps all my writing in one place. My favorite part is being able to add pictures to give myself a visual of what I wrote about. I can also look at other people's blogs when I see a topic that interests me.

Blogging has changed the way I write, think, and think about writing.I used to think that writing is only worth something only if it is written professionally. I developed that mentality because only good essays good get markings in English class. But now that I think about it, writing, even if it has bad grammar, is significant as long as it means something to the writer or reader, especially if it is about an important event in a person's life. I used to think that writing was plain and boring, but it is actually very powerful. It's amazing how writing can take all different types of forms. There are reviews, fiction, real life stories, poems and you can learn many morals/ lessons from each kind. For example, if you read dramas, you learn stage directions. Also, once you finish a book, that isn't the end. There can be analysis and discussions which can be used to expand into other subjects.

Writing used to be one of my greatest fears. I dreaded writing essays because I always ended up having writer's block. After blogging so much, I now think that producing 300 words is a cinch. However, 500 words is still kind of tedious to do. When I feel painful doing 1000 word reviews and finals, I am in awe how authors can write novels without dragging the storyline. I think I am now more conscious of how I write. I write compound sentences. I used to only scratch the surface of subjects, but now I think more in depth; For book reviews, I think of the morals that I learned: "They show their greatest potential as human beings despite the obstacles in their way; they show their true colors." (True Colors Review) Instead of treating the books as just a story for entertainment, I thought about what kind of lessons can be learned and why the book was named what it is. Doing these kinds of things allows me to write more and suffer less writer's block. With so much practice, I form paragraphs automatically. For book reviews, I try my best to incorporate quotes and make smooth transitions between paragraphs.

My favorite post this past year is my review on the book True Colors by Kristin Hannah. It was one of the best book that I have ever read in my life. It morals of forgiveness and hope make it an inspiring novel. In this post, I answered three prompts about the book. They were: What was the author's purpose(s) in writing this book, and how can you tell?, How well was this purpose achieved?, How would you describe the author's style of writing? What's your opinion of the style?, and Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. Answering these quotes allowed me to reflect on what I've read and develop an in depth interpretation of the title and realize how one of the characters relates to me.

For my favorite character, I picked Winona, one of the Grey sisters. I started out with two quotes that describe how Winona felt towards her sister, Vivi Ann. Then I wrote about her personality of being jealous and prideful and how these bad traits get her into trouble. The author's purpose of writing this book is to describe life in a small town and to encourage hope, love, and forgiveness. I described Hannah's style as being easy to read, capable to stir the emotion of the readers, and gives a laid back mood by adding dialogue. In the end, I described the pity, anger, and happiness that I felt through the course of events.

Even though I got full credit on this review, there are many ways in which I could have improved on it. The quotes that I put in did not support my claims. For example, I ended with a quote: "And my dad said. Yeah. It's about time I taught my son to play poker. His son. That was when I had my answer, when I finally knew who I was. " (p558). After rereading this post, I realize that it has nothing to do with the author's style of writing. I guess I just put it in because it was a touching quote and I thought it would be a good conclusion. Also, I did not proofread it carefully, so there were grammar mistakes and switching between the past and present tense.

I get my ideas for blog posts from the aspects of my daily life. The things that I do and watch have a big influence what I write about. Because I always watch anime, I like write about Detective Conan, Naruto, and Bleach. I really like writing about the fun that I have hanging out with Michelle on Thursdays and Fridays after school. When there is a break from school, I usually blog about what I did on each day. However, I can not always think of a topic. When that happens, I resort to using things that I learned in history; These included my posts Should Euthanasia Be Legal? &French Imperialism in Indochina. One time, I used my essay The Cold War from the Layer A of my history project.

I think that some of my inspiration for writing comes from reading amazing works of literature or any other type of writing. For example, when I read really good books like the Percy Jackson series and True Colors, it makes me wish that I had a talent for writing stories. I want to be able to write something that others enjoy reading and maybe think of a good story plot that no author has yet to think of. Though that goal inspires me, I know that I do not have the diligence to improve my writing or even think of a plot for a story. I find it too difficult and I would rather just go the easy way and not even try. Most of the time though, my intention for writing a good essay is not exactly a good one. Being in school, I only think about writing so that I can get a good marking on it.

Writing can take me on a trip down memory lane. I enjoy the nostalgia that I feel when I recall happy moments of the past; it makes me feel as if I'm reliving that moment. it serves as an alternative to remember those moments if I didn't take picture. Writing can also be relaxing and give a sense of freedom. It can serve as an outlet. I remember that one time when I was depressed about my life, I wrote down how I felt in my notebook. After that I felt a lot better. I think that's why some people have diaries. I have wrote a lot this past school year and I hope that it will prepare me English 3 next year.