Honors independent study
To see my Documentation Binder Click HERE
Artist Statement
I began my independent study by researching Pop art in the 1960’s, hoping to learn about the deeper meanings behind specific art pieces that would give me insight into the political and social changes occurring during that time period. As my research progressed, I strayed from this topic and found myself researching countercultural movements in the 60’s instead. Through these movements I looked at The Beat Generation, various Pop artists, materialism, and protests brought about by young adults/college students. These were some of the many minority forces that helped implement change in society. The common theme I saw throughout their protests and art pieces, was a search for deeper fulfillment in life that didn’t revolve around ideologies of “The American Dream” which was directed towards middle class, white families. I learned that this period was filled with expansive and ambitious possibilities that were influenced by the unjust conditions surrounding American society. Most of the acts and movements I looked at were peaceful and were brought about in alternative ways. For example, Allen Ginsberg addressed the issues of drug use, homosexuality and other abstract concepts that were not in the norm of American culture. Without people like Allen Ginsberg and Andy Warhol, society wouldn’t understand and stress the need to break away from the oppression of minorities. As more people promoted change and broke away from traditional American ideologies, tolerance became more widespread throughout society. When pulling from different sources it became clear to me that this time period was very controversial. I saw perspectives that agreed with the extreme liberalization and experimentation of new ideas, and how they positively influenced social and political injustices. There were other sources that had underlying messages suggesting that the constant change was irresponsible and bred a generation of selfishness, and drive to challenge the government’s ways. When looking into modern times, you can see that we have evolved from peacefulness and unity, and moved towards anger and destructiveness.
After researching alternative forms of countercultural movements in the 1960’s, I fast forwarded into modern day and looked at current movements. I came across the Black Bloc Anarchists, which is a group of anarchists and anarchist affinity groups that organize together for a particular protest action. The essence of the black bloc changes from action to action, but the main goals are to provide solidarity in the face of a repressive police state and to convey an anarchist critique of whatever is being protested that day. Much of what they do is material damage to corporate businesses, and violence is not uncommon. Though it is blamed on police brutality, this violence is often perpetrated upon both parties. As I compare movements 50 years ago, and movements now, I cannot help but to see that as time has progressed they have become less organized and their causes less justified. Protests have become more violent and destructive, as opposed to the 60’s where they were attempting to promote unity and openness to change. Protests also argued against immoral values that supported war, and materialistic ideals. Have we become a place where large movements are not necessary anymore? Or have we as people lost the spark to speak out against oppression in an organized fashion? There are certain similarities between the Black Bloc Anarchists and movements in the 60’s, in the sense that they are protesting against materialistic ideals and extreme governmental control. Their approaches in addressing these issues, however, differ. The countercultural acts that were implemented in the 60’s opened many doors to creating change, however during modern times the people have lost justification, drive, organization, and peacefulness when speaking out against what is immoral.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
· Berkeley in the Sixties. Dir. Mark Kitchell. 1990. 1992. CD-ROM
· Ginsberg, Allen. Howl. 1926-1997. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.wussu.com/poems/agh.htm>.
· Jonathan E. Schroeder (1992) ,"Materialism and Modern Art", in Special Volumes - mat, eds. , Special Volumes - mat :
Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 10-13.
· What's Happening . Dir. Antonello Branca. 1967. Web. 9 Sept. 2012.
<http://dangerousminds.net/comments/whats_happening_exciting_1960s_documentary_about_the_beat_generation_>.
· Self, Robert O. All in the Family. First ed. N.p.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012. 1-528. Print.
· The Black Bloc Anarchists. N.p., 1995. Web. 12 Jan. 2013. <http://www.infoshop.org/Blackbloc-Faq>.
Project Reflection
The assignment of this project was to design an independent study based off of a certain event or era in U.S history that was of interest to us and connected to the themes we were studying in class. We then chose pieces of literature, articles, movies, art pieces and other sources of information that showed different perspectives on the topic we chose to study. After gaining information on our topic, we put responses and analysis's to each source we used, and organized it into a documentation binder. I began studying the topic of Pop Art in the 60's, but as I researched further I saw common themes and goals from artists that played into a bigger countercultural movement. My research then shifted into looking at alternative forms of protests and movements that challenged traditional American ideologies in the 60's. I chose the topic of Pop Art in the beginning because I was inspired by the artwork that came from the 60's era, and wanted to explore the deeper meanings behind each piece to get a better sense of what was happening socially and politically at the time. My initial research questions were: Who were the artists that led this rebellious art movement? What were their roles and who was affected? How was change portrayed through their work (i.e. in what way were these artists challenging social norms)? What was going on politically, economically, and culturally during the time this art movement arouse? Were they trying to implement civil disobedience through art? How might materialism be unjust or morally wrong at times? How did materialistic ideals influence artists? What where other forms of countercultural movements besides art? How were these movements influential? Even though my topic changed, I was still very intrigued by countercultural movements and how they have influenced society to this day. I was also able to use many different artists as sources to support the ideas of unique people speaking out against oppression and societal norms. I was happy with the change of topics because I was able to still incorporate art, while gaining a better understanding of the injustices occurring at the time and how people were dealing with them. Over the course of the semester, I struggled with prioritizing honors work over other school work, which led to some stress and last minute work. I did struggle with cohesiveness in the end, and I will admit that it was from a lack of planning and taking into account all the perspectives my topic had. I believe I tried to incorporate too many themes and had a hard time narrowing my ideas down. The most challenging part of this process was finding time to work on my research, as well as coming up with a specific theme and conclusion. That being said, I believe that I did a good job with executing my final project, as well as providing insightful observations and opinions about my topic. I was able to take difficult topics, and analyze them with in-depth thinking and also relate the movements in the 60's to modern movements. I learned that I have the capability to produce a good project without the guidance of a teacher, and that I don't see the freedom of designing my own project as an opportunity to do any less than excellent. I challenged myself academically, and gained a great deal of knowledge from my research. I feel more prepared going into senior year and college after doing this project because I have a better understanding of what it's like to have full independence on a project, and how to manage my time better. I am glad I chose to challenge myself throughout the semester because I gained many helpful skills and learned a great deal about the way that I work, and about my topic.
If I were able to make two revisions to my project, I would try and narrow down my thesis, and incorporate the 60's into my physical piece. To narrow down my thesis I would have to take time to look at all of the ideas that arose in my research, and pull out a very specific idea. Because I had many good ideas and thoughts, it was hard for me to get rid of any, and I wanted to incorporate all of them into my project. This did not benefit me in the long run, so if I was able to do the project again I would try and be as concise as possible when deciding upon a common theme. My physical piece just demonstrated an example of a modern movement, and took explanation for people to understand that the basis of my research was rooted in the 60's. I would have liked to show how movements in the 60's and modern movements contrast, and how they've transformed over the past 40-50 years. To do this, I could have had one side of the painting demonstrating the ideals and peacefulness of the 60's, and how it's moved into hatred, evilness, and destructiveness in modern times.
For future honor's students, my biggest recommendation would be to be very conscious of time management and spread work out over the course of the semester. You want to make the process as least stressful as possible, and saving it until the last minute will not only show the lack of effort put into your project, but it will also be extremely overwhelming trying to pull everything together. My other recommendation would be to choose a topic that you are passionate about, and that resonates with you. Otherwise, you will not have a good experience with the project. To refine this project for next year, I would recommend giving students more time in class to work on researching, and have more individual meetings. I think it would be good to meet with each student at least once every couple of months just to make sure that they are on track as far as time goes. Other than that I had a good experience with honors and have no other suggestions to help improve the project.
If I were able to make two revisions to my project, I would try and narrow down my thesis, and incorporate the 60's into my physical piece. To narrow down my thesis I would have to take time to look at all of the ideas that arose in my research, and pull out a very specific idea. Because I had many good ideas and thoughts, it was hard for me to get rid of any, and I wanted to incorporate all of them into my project. This did not benefit me in the long run, so if I was able to do the project again I would try and be as concise as possible when deciding upon a common theme. My physical piece just demonstrated an example of a modern movement, and took explanation for people to understand that the basis of my research was rooted in the 60's. I would have liked to show how movements in the 60's and modern movements contrast, and how they've transformed over the past 40-50 years. To do this, I could have had one side of the painting demonstrating the ideals and peacefulness of the 60's, and how it's moved into hatred, evilness, and destructiveness in modern times.
For future honor's students, my biggest recommendation would be to be very conscious of time management and spread work out over the course of the semester. You want to make the process as least stressful as possible, and saving it until the last minute will not only show the lack of effort put into your project, but it will also be extremely overwhelming trying to pull everything together. My other recommendation would be to choose a topic that you are passionate about, and that resonates with you. Otherwise, you will not have a good experience with the project. To refine this project for next year, I would recommend giving students more time in class to work on researching, and have more individual meetings. I think it would be good to meet with each student at least once every couple of months just to make sure that they are on track as far as time goes. Other than that I had a good experience with honors and have no other suggestions to help improve the project.
Second Semester Honors Book Club
Great Gatsby Project The Green Light
Illumination beaming rays of hope to my darkened eyes,
Allowing me to foresee rekindled passion
As our gaze will once again meet.
Reflecting off coarse waters where currents draw me backward
As I row forward toward the light that will always embrace my adoration for you.
Trembling arms stretched,
Ambling on lumbered legs,
Flustered mind blurred with nostalgia.
Chasing perfectionistic pictures that flash memories of your unaltered smile,
Compromised as the clock ticks passed
The hours, the days, the months, the years.
What will become of a shattered man?
Seeking fabricated senses of satisfaction.
Sequined dresses, lighted cigarettes,
Lips moving spitting trivial words of hollowness,
All a masquerade to seal an unforgettable past.
What will become of us?
A broken man,
Hammered by dainty hands covered in lace
That slowly chip away the substance of my skin
Admiring the manicured nails even as they claw me, even as I crumble
A broken man, realizing his oars are intangible
And he is floating alone
A forever elusive future,
That dances in the palms of unattainability,
Where notions of utopia alter reality’s warped design.
No sensation of love or sliver of destiny can change
The unstopping forthcoming
That diminishes our past desire and my inclination to be united.
Artist Statement
For this poem, I focused on the symbolism of the green light, pertaining to Gatsby’s love for Daisy. I wrote it from Gatsby’s perspective where he is coming to the realization that his desire to be with Daisy is an unreachable goal. Throughout the poem you can see the agony and disappointment of Gatsby knowing that the one thing he strived for most in life is unobtainable. To enhance the poem I used certain poetic devices, some of these being: Alliteration, imagery, metaphor, symbolism, recognition, diction, and figurative language. Many of these I used to help readers see the point at which the character understands his situation as it really is. The metaphor of a boat is used throughout the novel, and I used it in my poem (though a slightly different context) to show the desolation and struggle that Gatsby was facing. The use of symbolism was merely an expansion of the green light, which I manipulated to fit one idea (Gatsby and Daisy’s love). The poetic devices I used enhanced the poem by helping the reader to understand my perspective. I believe they made the poem less obvious of its intentions and forced the reader to think about what each piece was representing.
The three most important changes I made between the first draft and my final draft were, the addition of a stanza, replacing of words, and rearranging the stanzas. I added the stanza that starts with “A broken man”, because I wanted to further the metaphor of the boat, as well as show the degradation of Gatby’s hope, as it is in the palms of Daisy’s “dainty hands”. I think this stanza improved the poem because it used impactful imagery, and it furthered the perspective I took on Gatsby’s realization. In my first draft I had words and phrases that made the meaning of certain parts unclear, so it was necessary to change those. For example the phrase “transcending forthcoming”, did not make sense, so I changed it to “unstopping forthcoming”. Small changes like these are essential to portray my thoughts in a manner that makes sense to readers, so the emotional and intellectual messages are clear. I made these changes because I wish for readers to see what I see, and understand my thoughts, and in order to do so, everything needs to be in order and understandable. The last main change that I made was rearranging the stanzas. The stanza that is last, was originally first. I changed this because I wanted to have the last stanza be one that leaves the reader thinking, while at the same time confirming what the poem meant. I felt that this stanza was the strongest because it used powerful diction, and it summed up the end of Gatsby’s hope of regaining past love with Daisy. All of these changes were beneficial to the flow and clarity of the poem. Overall, I felt this poem had a distinct perspective and used sufficient language to portray the thoughts of Gatsby.
Half the Sky Project
http://resourcesforwomen.weebly.com
Seminar Prep for Half the Sky
Half the Sky was a novel about the oppression of women in different cultures, and how they have overcome hardships to create a better life for themselves. The author takes readers and places them into the shoes of these women who have had to overcome great obstacles in their lives. Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn are ultimately depicting our world as a place that need improvement by making readers feel anger, sadness, clarity, and hope. I was able to fully understand what it was like for women facing all different kinds of struggles. Half the Sky shared stories of girls sold into sex slavery, women facing devastating challenges during childbirth, and cultural oppression that resulted in life altering injuries. Through the stories of each struggling woman, the novel helps us to see that the key to economic progress lies in the hands of women, and this progress can only happen if they are allowed to unleash their full potential. I was able to understand many different methods of how people are working to help underprivileged and abused women, and the book makes it clear how we can be a part of this movement.
After reading Half the Sky, I am met with overwhelming thoughts of gratitude, motivation, and distrust in the way human interactions/culture can be so destructive to women’s lives. I say gratitude first because you don’t realize all the privileges you have growing up in a middle class, white, American family. Never once has it crossed my mind that I could wake up every morning not having the resources to maintain my health, or support systems to nurture me if something bad were to happen. It is a privilege to have access to all these amenities, and this book opened my eyes to the hardships women face around the world on a daily basis. I am so fortunate to be able to strive for success, to have a place in society where my voice can be heard, to have access to an amazing education, and to go into each day not worrying about being oppressed just because of my gender. When I finished the book I felt motivated and compelled to do something to help women in developing countries. I liked Half the Sky because it didn’t focus solely on the hardships all these women face, but rather how they were able to overcome these hardships and make something of their lives. The novel showed how a little help can completely turn a woman’s life around. I have always been very inspired and driven to become more involved in women’s activism and I have been made aware of the gender gap that exists all over the world today. This book brought more clarity to me that I want to pursue fighting for women’s rights and helping to bring joy and peace to women who face extreme struggles. Whether that be in the form of visiting a developing country and working in a women’s refuge area, or working on a more local scale to help girls and women access support, I would like to do something to contribute. It amazes me how our world has acted upon the ideals that women are inferior to men. In almost every single culture we see that males are the dominant gender, and females are seen as sexual objects, less capable, and “beasts of burden” as the novel stated. I firmly believe we need to shift our focus to supporting and promoting the success of women, because as the novel explained, women are driving forces of the economy. It’s time to bring attention to the issue of the oppression of women, and work on supporting women in developing countries to the best of our abilities.
Questions:
· How is the oppression of women different in the US than it is in developing countries?
· How does the way media portrays women affect the way they are seen in society?
· Is it okay to try to stop a tradition/culture in countries where they are physically or emotionally harming women and girls?
Half the Sky Project Proposal
For my honors project, I plan on teaming up with Martina to create a website as a resource for girls and women to access support, as well as get involved with the programs mentioned in Half the Sky. It would be a website with different tabs, one being to contact support with sexual assault and other forms of abuse, another being a place where there are descriptions and links to websites and programs that help women across the globe fight oppression. I also think it would be great to have a place on the website where women can openly share their stories and experiences through a blog of some sort. I believe that this is a good way to get involved supporting women locally, nationally, and globally. Half the Sky inspired me to get involved with women’s activism; however it is a lot of work to create and maintain a website, so I think it is fair to split the efforts with Martina. Because there is not a rubric for this type of assignment, I believe that our grade should be based on the quality and efficiency of the website. This means that it runs correctly, is easy to access and navigate, is refined, and captures the essence of what Half the Sky was about. I also think an aspect you could grade us on is spreading the word that this website exists, and promoting it in the school and in the community.
Illumination beaming rays of hope to my darkened eyes,
Allowing me to foresee rekindled passion
As our gaze will once again meet.
Reflecting off coarse waters where currents draw me backward
As I row forward toward the light that will always embrace my adoration for you.
Trembling arms stretched,
Ambling on lumbered legs,
Flustered mind blurred with nostalgia.
Chasing perfectionistic pictures that flash memories of your unaltered smile,
Compromised as the clock ticks passed
The hours, the days, the months, the years.
What will become of a shattered man?
Seeking fabricated senses of satisfaction.
Sequined dresses, lighted cigarettes,
Lips moving spitting trivial words of hollowness,
All a masquerade to seal an unforgettable past.
What will become of us?
A broken man,
Hammered by dainty hands covered in lace
That slowly chip away the substance of my skin
Admiring the manicured nails even as they claw me, even as I crumble
A broken man, realizing his oars are intangible
And he is floating alone
A forever elusive future,
That dances in the palms of unattainability,
Where notions of utopia alter reality’s warped design.
No sensation of love or sliver of destiny can change
The unstopping forthcoming
That diminishes our past desire and my inclination to be united.
Artist Statement
For this poem, I focused on the symbolism of the green light, pertaining to Gatsby’s love for Daisy. I wrote it from Gatsby’s perspective where he is coming to the realization that his desire to be with Daisy is an unreachable goal. Throughout the poem you can see the agony and disappointment of Gatsby knowing that the one thing he strived for most in life is unobtainable. To enhance the poem I used certain poetic devices, some of these being: Alliteration, imagery, metaphor, symbolism, recognition, diction, and figurative language. Many of these I used to help readers see the point at which the character understands his situation as it really is. The metaphor of a boat is used throughout the novel, and I used it in my poem (though a slightly different context) to show the desolation and struggle that Gatsby was facing. The use of symbolism was merely an expansion of the green light, which I manipulated to fit one idea (Gatsby and Daisy’s love). The poetic devices I used enhanced the poem by helping the reader to understand my perspective. I believe they made the poem less obvious of its intentions and forced the reader to think about what each piece was representing.
The three most important changes I made between the first draft and my final draft were, the addition of a stanza, replacing of words, and rearranging the stanzas. I added the stanza that starts with “A broken man”, because I wanted to further the metaphor of the boat, as well as show the degradation of Gatby’s hope, as it is in the palms of Daisy’s “dainty hands”. I think this stanza improved the poem because it used impactful imagery, and it furthered the perspective I took on Gatsby’s realization. In my first draft I had words and phrases that made the meaning of certain parts unclear, so it was necessary to change those. For example the phrase “transcending forthcoming”, did not make sense, so I changed it to “unstopping forthcoming”. Small changes like these are essential to portray my thoughts in a manner that makes sense to readers, so the emotional and intellectual messages are clear. I made these changes because I wish for readers to see what I see, and understand my thoughts, and in order to do so, everything needs to be in order and understandable. The last main change that I made was rearranging the stanzas. The stanza that is last, was originally first. I changed this because I wanted to have the last stanza be one that leaves the reader thinking, while at the same time confirming what the poem meant. I felt that this stanza was the strongest because it used powerful diction, and it summed up the end of Gatsby’s hope of regaining past love with Daisy. All of these changes were beneficial to the flow and clarity of the poem. Overall, I felt this poem had a distinct perspective and used sufficient language to portray the thoughts of Gatsby.
Half the Sky Project
http://resourcesforwomen.weebly.com
Seminar Prep for Half the Sky
Half the Sky was a novel about the oppression of women in different cultures, and how they have overcome hardships to create a better life for themselves. The author takes readers and places them into the shoes of these women who have had to overcome great obstacles in their lives. Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn are ultimately depicting our world as a place that need improvement by making readers feel anger, sadness, clarity, and hope. I was able to fully understand what it was like for women facing all different kinds of struggles. Half the Sky shared stories of girls sold into sex slavery, women facing devastating challenges during childbirth, and cultural oppression that resulted in life altering injuries. Through the stories of each struggling woman, the novel helps us to see that the key to economic progress lies in the hands of women, and this progress can only happen if they are allowed to unleash their full potential. I was able to understand many different methods of how people are working to help underprivileged and abused women, and the book makes it clear how we can be a part of this movement.
After reading Half the Sky, I am met with overwhelming thoughts of gratitude, motivation, and distrust in the way human interactions/culture can be so destructive to women’s lives. I say gratitude first because you don’t realize all the privileges you have growing up in a middle class, white, American family. Never once has it crossed my mind that I could wake up every morning not having the resources to maintain my health, or support systems to nurture me if something bad were to happen. It is a privilege to have access to all these amenities, and this book opened my eyes to the hardships women face around the world on a daily basis. I am so fortunate to be able to strive for success, to have a place in society where my voice can be heard, to have access to an amazing education, and to go into each day not worrying about being oppressed just because of my gender. When I finished the book I felt motivated and compelled to do something to help women in developing countries. I liked Half the Sky because it didn’t focus solely on the hardships all these women face, but rather how they were able to overcome these hardships and make something of their lives. The novel showed how a little help can completely turn a woman’s life around. I have always been very inspired and driven to become more involved in women’s activism and I have been made aware of the gender gap that exists all over the world today. This book brought more clarity to me that I want to pursue fighting for women’s rights and helping to bring joy and peace to women who face extreme struggles. Whether that be in the form of visiting a developing country and working in a women’s refuge area, or working on a more local scale to help girls and women access support, I would like to do something to contribute. It amazes me how our world has acted upon the ideals that women are inferior to men. In almost every single culture we see that males are the dominant gender, and females are seen as sexual objects, less capable, and “beasts of burden” as the novel stated. I firmly believe we need to shift our focus to supporting and promoting the success of women, because as the novel explained, women are driving forces of the economy. It’s time to bring attention to the issue of the oppression of women, and work on supporting women in developing countries to the best of our abilities.
Questions:
· How is the oppression of women different in the US than it is in developing countries?
· How does the way media portrays women affect the way they are seen in society?
· Is it okay to try to stop a tradition/culture in countries where they are physically or emotionally harming women and girls?
Half the Sky Project Proposal
For my honors project, I plan on teaming up with Martina to create a website as a resource for girls and women to access support, as well as get involved with the programs mentioned in Half the Sky. It would be a website with different tabs, one being to contact support with sexual assault and other forms of abuse, another being a place where there are descriptions and links to websites and programs that help women across the globe fight oppression. I also think it would be great to have a place on the website where women can openly share their stories and experiences through a blog of some sort. I believe that this is a good way to get involved supporting women locally, nationally, and globally. Half the Sky inspired me to get involved with women’s activism; however it is a lot of work to create and maintain a website, so I think it is fair to split the efforts with Martina. Because there is not a rubric for this type of assignment, I believe that our grade should be based on the quality and efficiency of the website. This means that it runs correctly, is easy to access and navigate, is refined, and captures the essence of what Half the Sky was about. I also think an aspect you could grade us on is spreading the word that this website exists, and promoting it in the school and in the community.
Semester Reflection
For the second semester of honors we moved away from the independent study format, and began a "book club." Honors students chose three books for us to read over the course of the semester. The books we chose to read were The Great Gatsby, Half the Sky, and Fahrenheit 451. Out of the three books, we created projects on two of the novels, and participated in seminars discussing all three pieces of literature. The two books I decided to do a project on were The Great Gatsby and Half the Sky. I chose to delve further into Gatsby because I was inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald's style of writing, and how he could manipulate words to craft electrifying sentences. In order to have a chance to play with elegant words like Fitzgerald, I created a poem revolving around the green light, which was a symbol in the novel. This project gave me the opportunity to be creative, and allow myself to expand my expressive vocabulary. I chose to do Half the Sky because I am passionate about women's activism, and the book inspired me to put forth the effort of attempting to help women who are being oppressed worldwide. The novel constantly made the point that people need to get involved in order to start a movement. To get involved, I created a website where viewers can find access to get help, give help, become educated, or participate in a blog where women can share insights, advice, experiences, and thoughts. I felt that this was a meaningful contribution for women locally in the four corners region, and for women across the nation.
The book that had the most profound impact on my learning was The Great Gatsby because it gave me a deep appreciation for beautiful pieces of literature. It astounds me that a combination of 26 letters can reveal such great insights and can develop such interesting characters that draw readers in. I found that Fitzgerald incorporated appropriate societal criticisms while maintaining a complex plot that appealed to a wide variety of audiences. I appreciate this because I think there is an elegant way of challenging societal flaws, and Fitzgerald maintained a poised perspective when criticizing certain ideas. I gained a lot from this novel because it opened up my mind to a new style of writing and inspired me to start playing around with my own writing and word choice. After reading this book, I have begun to write down any interesting ideas or thoughts I have. This has helped me to understand myself better and it has helped me to realize that writing is an excellent way to work through struggles or stress. The other novels we read were inspiring in different ways, but I felt that I gained the most from Gatsby.
Taking honors this year was difficult, but very rewarding. I was challenged with having to balance regular humanities work and honors activities, but in the end I am glad that I was introduced to the books that we read. It was rewarding to have met challenges and to have created beautiful work, even in the midst of stress with other classes. I am proud of my ability to push myself even farther, just for the sake of expanding my knowledge. I had a hard time in the end of the year trying to complete an honors assignment, and in the end I had to take a 0. This surprisingly lifted a huge burden off my shoulders, and taught me that it is okay to not have it all together. It showed me that I can accept the fact that I cannot always strive for perfection, and it's alright to fail sometimes. This one experience was crucial for me to have because I now know that in the future I can handle taking a 0 on something if it compromises my well being. In the beginning I was only taking honors so it would reflect well on my transcript, but I began moving away from that notion and appreciating the class for teaching me lessons on time management, and revealing amazing pieces of writing that I may not have otherwise chosen to read. I enjoyed taking honors this year as it was difficult, gratifying, and interesting.
The book that had the most profound impact on my learning was The Great Gatsby because it gave me a deep appreciation for beautiful pieces of literature. It astounds me that a combination of 26 letters can reveal such great insights and can develop such interesting characters that draw readers in. I found that Fitzgerald incorporated appropriate societal criticisms while maintaining a complex plot that appealed to a wide variety of audiences. I appreciate this because I think there is an elegant way of challenging societal flaws, and Fitzgerald maintained a poised perspective when criticizing certain ideas. I gained a lot from this novel because it opened up my mind to a new style of writing and inspired me to start playing around with my own writing and word choice. After reading this book, I have begun to write down any interesting ideas or thoughts I have. This has helped me to understand myself better and it has helped me to realize that writing is an excellent way to work through struggles or stress. The other novels we read were inspiring in different ways, but I felt that I gained the most from Gatsby.
Taking honors this year was difficult, but very rewarding. I was challenged with having to balance regular humanities work and honors activities, but in the end I am glad that I was introduced to the books that we read. It was rewarding to have met challenges and to have created beautiful work, even in the midst of stress with other classes. I am proud of my ability to push myself even farther, just for the sake of expanding my knowledge. I had a hard time in the end of the year trying to complete an honors assignment, and in the end I had to take a 0. This surprisingly lifted a huge burden off my shoulders, and taught me that it is okay to not have it all together. It showed me that I can accept the fact that I cannot always strive for perfection, and it's alright to fail sometimes. This one experience was crucial for me to have because I now know that in the future I can handle taking a 0 on something if it compromises my well being. In the beginning I was only taking honors so it would reflect well on my transcript, but I began moving away from that notion and appreciating the class for teaching me lessons on time management, and revealing amazing pieces of writing that I may not have otherwise chosen to read. I enjoyed taking honors this year as it was difficult, gratifying, and interesting.