My Final Post

Well I haven't had like any time this week because of rehearsals and my crazy busy schedule to read through the websites to find a story that I could relate back to my reading, so I just decided to write my final blog about all the wonderful lessons I have learned this year in English. I started out my English year with the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn. Those books were some of the best I have ever read. The main character, Christy, went through so many of the same situations I have already experienced in high school or will experience some day and she was such a great example of how you should handle them. The books also had a big Christian influence in them and I learned so much about standing up for your faith and leading others to Christ. The books also, like any good book, had a love story in them which taught me many important lessons about taking things slow in a realtionship and working through the hard times. These books were truly amazing and every teenage girl should read them.

The next book I recall reading was To Kill a Mockingbird!! Wow, what a powerful book!! Even though it took forever to read and was difficult to understand at times, I am so glad I was given the oppurtunity to read it. There were so many valuable lessons to learn in that book as well. For example: when Atticus went ahead and defended Tom Robinson because he knew it was the right thing to do, despite all the teasing and mistreating he went through, and how Scout learned that she should have never have made assumptions and judged Boo the way she did before she met him and got to know him herself. These are both very important life lessons!! This book also made me realize how badly African American people were really treated back then. I mean how unfair is it that Tom Robinson didn't even get a fair trial just because of the color of his skin. I can't believe people could have been so mistreated in a country as powerful as America when in our own constitution our forefathers stated that all men are created equal. It just blows my mind. All young people should read this book for themselves and experince first hand what those people went through.

And last but not least Shakespeare's masterpiece, Romeo and Juliet. The most difficult, frustrating, and depressing work in literature that I have ever read. I will never forget how hard it was at first for me to understand at all what in the world Shakespeare was trying to say, but by the end of the play it seemed like just normal English to me. This is truly a remarkable play and it just amazes me that one man could think all of this stuff up. The poetry was absolutely gorgeous though. It all just had this rythm to it that made it seem so perfect. This play really demonstates how fate can never be changed no matter how hard you try to overcome it. Probably the most important lesson I learned from this incredible story, was to not take things to quickly. Most of the time in the story problems were created because different characters overreacted and moved to fast. I mean just imagine if Romeo and Juliet would have taken the time to date and actually get to know one another before running off and getting married. Maybe they would have found that the other wasn't as perfect as they thought. Or what if Romeo would have checked with the Friar before running to where Juliet was supposedly "buried" and killing himself. He could have found out that Juliet was only sleeping and then not have killed himself over nothing and saved both their lives. Being patient is so important!! Oh what a play!!

Well as you can tell I have learned very many valuable lessons from the books I have read this year!! I truly have enjoyed my semester in English and I am going to miss Ms. James very much!! Thanks for a great year everyone and keep up the blogging!!! Hope everyone has a fantastic summer!!