Final Reflection

One of the three most important things I have learned this year are all of the vocabulary words I have learned. These are very important for me to improve my reading comprehension. The second important thing I learned is how to write objective summaries correctly. This will help me in my future. Finally the most important thing I have learned is the TIQA writing format. I will remember this for the rest of my life and use this to write essays and papers. The nicest thing someone in our class has done for me is to give some very helpful advice on my 8th grade presentation speech. This helped to make my speech much better and more easily comprehendible.

Something that I have taught my classmates this year is to not make the same mistakes I do. I cannot think of anything else anyone would have learned from me. The area that I feel I have made the biggest improvement in is my writing. I have learned better vocabulary which has helped to increase what I can say. I have also learned how to write proper objective summaries. Finally I have learned the TIQA writing format. I am very proud of the speech that I wrote and presented because I had never done anything like that before. The most challenging part of this year for me was completing homework on time. I often would have to stay up late doing homework because I could not do it earlier because of activities. Homework has been a real challenge for me.

I think the best piece of writing I did this year was my SeaWorld/Blackfish argumentative essay. I think it is the best because I included stats and information to support my claim and built my argument well. My favorite book that I read this year was Jurassic Park. It was very interesting to see how it was different and similar to the movie. I also liked the different scenes and plot that was not in the movie. Some advice I would give to students who will be in this class next year is to stay on top of your homework. Although this is not always possible because of activities and other homework it is very important to do your best.

Aphorism Blog

1- Explain the aphorism in detail. what was Morrie's main message?

2- Relate the aphorism to a movie, song, historical event, current event, personal experience, etc. and explain in detail how the example you have chosen relates to the aphorism.

3- Evaluate the aphorism by explaining why you agree/disagree with it. Give specific reasons for your position and specific evidence from the text to support your position.

4- Take a picture of your aphorism to use as your graphic.

"Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others." This quote means that before you die you should forgive yourself and others. It also is saying that to forgive others you should forgive yourself first. Morrie's main message is that the best way to end you life is with everyone forgiven. He says you should start by making sure that you have forgiven yourself for any mistakes you have made. Then you should forgive others for anything they have done for you. This goes along with his theme of learning how to die. If you forgive yourself and others early in life, before you know death is close, you will be better able to live.

One example of this is Nelson Mandela. He was kept in captivity for many years. Although his captors were cruel to him when he was released he was not angry at them. Even when he became president of South Africa he did not try to punish the people that had held him prisoner. This helped him gain a very good reputation. This shows that forgiveness is very important.

I agree with this aphorism because I think forgiveness is very important. If you do not forgive people you would always be angry and would not be able to live a fulfilling life. I also agree that you need to forgive yourself first because often you are very hard on yourself. Even when you make a small mistake you often make yourself feel really bad about this. That is why I agree with this aphorism.