Reflection

I have gained so much knowledge about writing and what it means to create good writing this year in AP Lang. Timed writings have been a major factor in teaching me about my personal writing style. Although it is still considered a draft, having to write a complete essay in a given period of time has taught me about being concientious of my writing as I do it. The main difference, although I still struggle, that I've seen in my writing is sentence format. I tend to write simple, subject-verb sentences. After reading my timed writings and journals, I've realized how dull that sounds. Pairing these assignments with class discussions and comparison to other writing has provided me with ways to make sure I add variation to keep the reader engaged and interested. I know that I've improved because I am able to recognize the good and bad points in things that I read from other authors. Having to pay such close attention to writing for the AP exam essays has made me subconciously pick it out in books that I read, which I believe allows me to enjoy them even more.

The journal assignment last semester has been helpful in proving I have a consistent voice. This was both good and bad in that I was able to recognize my pattern, yet I realized bad habits that needed to be changed (ultimately good because it makes me a better writer!). Reading and analyzing good writing, especially now at the end of the year with this accumulated knowledge, has helped me to distinguish how I can effectively use techniques in my own writing. I enjoyed being able to read things in class and have discussions without being graded. I felt that that gave me a more open-minded approach and I felt more engaged in the class' "groovy discussions."

I will definitely remember creating the children's story book; that project was challenging, yet very fun! I enjoyed having small-scale discussion circles. I am very shy and am always intimidated by class discussions, especially whole-class socratic seminars. However, being in a group of about 4 other students who actually want to talk about the book is very helpful. I feel like I can share my opinions with them without judgement, whereas I'm too scared to speak up in front of the whole class. The only drawback would be students who don't care about or are too lazy to get anything meaningful from the discussion.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and am so happy that I decided to take it! Thank you, Mrs. Smith for a wonderful year!

Job

I have recently started to apply for my first job. As a teenager, it is the time to start learning responsibility, preparing yourself for the real world. I've been putting off this daunting task for as long as I could manage, but it is difficult to enjoy a night out with friends when your mom stops giving you money. I decided to face the inevitable and start the application process. However, I quickly found that I wasn't able to finish any application without the help of my mom. I needed her assistance to fill out these forms in which I'm supposed to prove myself a worthy candidate of the job. It made me question how I could be able to acquire a job when I can't even fill out the application.

With the junior year college search comes talk about careers. I am expected to already have my life planned out at sixteen years old. There are no conceivable professions that I can think of that I think I would excel at or would really enjoy working as. The future is so undefined for me, I couldn't even tell you how I expect the next year to be, let alone the rest of my life.

Next year I will be taking an advanced placement graphics class. I've always enjoyed graphics and when my mom brought this up as a career possibility, I can't deny I didn't think about it. A graphic designer sounds like an amazing job to have, especially since I enjoy the work. However, my response, as with all other possibilities is no. I reject this choice because I look at my peers and fear that I'm not good enough. I fear that I don't have the skill or ability to become a graphic designer. So basically, I'm trying to take myself out of the game before I have the chance to lose. I don't want to completely close myself off from this pathway yet, as with most other directions. I need to keep myself open to all options so I will be ready to embrace my future when it comes.

Abducted

I just finished reading the book Abducted by T.R. Ragan per recommendation of my best friend. The novel was about a girl who had been abducted and then escaped from a serial killer when she was a teenager. The story continues as she is now an adult, private investigator working with an FBI agent who was her boyfriend at the time of her kidnapping. They are searching to find and capture the serial killer known as Spiderman who has returned, blaming his acts on the main character. I typically enjoy most all books that I read, but this book was different from the start. After a year of AP Lang and learning a great deal about writing, I couldn't help but notice this author's writing style. Every single sentence was in the subject-verb format. Not only was the writing style not up to quality standards, the main character had several annoying qualities. I found myself constantly frustrated with some of her actions, mainly revolving around her ex-boyfriend that she predictably falls straight back in love with. Not finishing a book is something I don't like to do, so I finished the story and overall enjoyed the plot. I love watching TV crime shows, and following the plot of a serial killer was no different. However, when I finished the book, there was a list of the author's other works. She primarily writes romantic comedies, romantic suspense, medieval time travel, and thriller. I accept that an author is able to write more than one genre, however this book seemed out of her typical writing style.

As this book's premise was of a serial killer, it had me think about motives, and what can cause someone to be willing to go to these lengths to brutally murder multiple people. In the novel, this Spiderman targeted young girls that he perceived as "bad" girls that detracted from society. He thought of himself as a seeker of justice, that he was helping his community by getting rid of these girls. His methods remained the same, to torture these teens based off of their fears and then to set his collection of spiders on them, forcing them to be bitten multiple times. As the investigators found, Spiderman was set off by his sister's friends who trapped him in the basement, burned him with cigarettes, and left him for days where he was bitten by a black widow. Although this was a work of fiction, it causes me to question the humanity and sanity of people. I don't understand how someone is able to torture other people, for revenge or not, and believe that what they are doing is ok. I was raised to be kind, friendly, and nice, and I know that not everyone has that opportunity, but how can they live with themselves knowing the horrible things they inflicted on another human being? This also makes me realize how sheltered of a life that I live and how lucky I am not to know first-hand the horrors that this world can possess.

As I mentioned before, taking this AP Lang class caused me to notice more about the author's writing than I would have previously. I probably would have thoroughly enjoyed the book. Even though it is nice to enjoy things, I prefer to enjoy something of great quality and realize it, and be able to acknowledge bad writing and what makes it bad. In all, I am glad to have taken this class, and realize how much I have learned and that it not only will help me in taking the end of year test, but has taught me valuable information that I will carry with me forever.