Grandma's House

As I lay here I think about what I have left at home, nothing but loneliness and nothingness fills that home. Although it has nothing good for me there I love it because it was my grandmother's house. She passed in 1990 when I was 13. I was old enough to remember her and cherish her, but that was different for my 3 year old brother who will not remember her and if he does it will be just a small memory that will fade to nothing over time. Her death will mean something to him, but he won't hurt as much as it hurts the rest of us.

I think to the future and how it will be when he asks who his grandmother was and what she was all about. He'll ask questions I'll feel obligated answer that I may not be ready to answer at that time. He deserves to know but, he is too young to know enough of what is going on at home right now. I hope that one day he will know who she is and remember how I do. I will honor her in everyway I can now. I don’t want to go back to loneliness and the depressing home that awaits me. It is sad there right now with everyone grieving.

Ever since I moved into my grandmother's house I have felt close to her. If I go back, will it feel better? Will I be less sad? Either way I have to go home at one point to her house. I will go back, but again it is nice here in Cancun, and I don’t want to leave. Maybe I will stay here for a while, and relax. That sounds like a good idea to me.

Language Arts Progress

Author's Note: I wrote this piece to explain what this Language Arts year, and how it meant to me and how I have improved. I went through so much this year that I couldn't fit all of it in this one piece knowing that I would bore you. 

In the beginning of the year I came into the class feeling like an outsider. I felt as though I didn't belong with all the other students. Because it was a couple of weeks into school it was very hard for me to just walk into the class, and write, and then share my writing with all these new people. However, I was welcomed in to the class as soon as I entered the room. I felt very comfortable in this class. This helped with my writing because my surroundings were comforting. I was very relaxed and my mind could travel wherever I wanted it be. As a writer I feel like I have learned so many new and different things ranging from simple grammar to how to quote sayings from books, or just sounds that I wanted to authorize. Even after improving in all of these things, there are still a few things I'd like to work on. Such as, reading more than I do now a days and also writing in different styles like poems or nonfiction. Seeing as I have never tried that kind of writing this year in class, I would like to try this at home on my own on my own time.

Independence.....something so important in school for students to learn, but we never do. We are taught that you listen to rules and follow them to a "T". Well, with the help of Mr. Johnson I was able to understand how important it is really was to be yourself and to be independent, not only in your writing and in Language Arts, but also in other classes too. This year in this class I worked on being as independent as possible, but also using my resources wisely. Mr. Johnson was there for me to answer every question I had, important and meaningful, or any silly, or nonsense questions. I happened to have those a lot. Even though most of the year was spent on time filming and editing videos for my group's satire, that was about three months late, I still had time for independent book reading and independent writing. The whole experience was extremely enjoyable, but frustrating at the same time with everyone bickering, and trying to make the movie better in their own ways. In the end I got a ton out of it. After everything was done, I realized that not only did I finish one of the best worked on project so far in my life, I had also made new friends, and got closer to ones that were always there. Most importantly I was independent with my work that I put forth and my groups work, which I was proud of. This meant a lot to me because teachers that I have had in the past years haven't let me be me in a classroom. I was doing the work I had to do, and putting as much effort into it that I had to. Now I know how good I can writer I can be, and that when I write a piece that I am not impressed with to make it the best that it can be, and Mr. Johnson helped me realize that.

I always thought that there were rules to follow on every writing piece, and that you had to write what your teacher told you to. It was very easy to write those pieces because you just put information together into paragraphs and called it writing. No matter how hard I try to write one of those pieces I have to change them now, so that I fit my teachers expectations, but I like to up and beyond them too, and add my own things to the old boring piece. While working on writing pieces that teachers assign me I have a lot of moments when I mess up the spelling of a word in the middle or miss a concept, but I am human. I also make mistakes on simple short stories, or while writing a sentence that when you go back and read it makes no sense. I worked on not missing any concepts and not making any simple spelling errors that were unnecessary in the first place. Because, I worked towards these goals I felt as if I grew and grew over the year and that I was more confident in myself that I can write anything and make it my best that it can be. I'm not another Shakespeare or anything so I don't expect to be the best all the time but as long as I put the best work that I can into it I am usually proud of myself.

I will miss all of my classmates, but there is still next year waiting for me to screw it up, but I will make every moment count with my writing and independence as an 8th grader. I will remember to work hard all of the time, and achieve my best.  All in all I think that this year for me in my LA was successful, and I have become a better writer and became much more independent. No matter how much I miss Mr. Johnson, and how much I learned from him, always coming into class learning something different, I will always remember my 7th grade Advanced Language Arts Class.