My Favorite Reading Class

After a grueling first quarter, I was completely miserable, with terrible grades, low self-esteem, and no end in sight. I was hanging on to the hope that there would be some epiphany moment, a moment where suddenly my writing soared, along with my grades. That change did happen, but not all at once‒ it began during the third quarter, when my teacher, Ms. Boynton, asked me to stay after class, along with five other students. She asked if we would each be interested in participating in The Atlantic and College Board Essay Contest, in which we would each submit an analysis of a famous American speech. I was truly stunned that she had chosen me over so many other students in the class, since I had felt so lost for so many weeks, but it was exactly what I needed as motivation to keep on improving my writing. As I worked closely with her on my contest submission and other class work, I came to realize how much she cared about me and wanted to help me succeed. With that being said, she never made it easy; she continually pushed me, knowing that I could always do better if I set my mind to it. Last September, I began her demanding course with the intention of purely surviving, not necessarily thriving, but that

It was my first writing class as a college freshmen and I did not know what to expect, like whether or not the class would be harder compared to what I took in high school or even if I would enjoy taking class. But as soon as day one turned in into week one, than soon week fifteen I felt more comfortable in the class than what I have probably felt in the beginning. I felt like I could write anything my professor threw at me, because through writing I could express my individuality. It gives me the freedom to express myself through words, and write about things I felt passionate about writing about. I felt as though I writing because I wanted to, and less because I was assigned to do so.

During these past three weeks I have realized that college is going to be very challenging, it is not what I expected it to be like. This class has helped with my reading and writing experience and has contributed to my understanding of expectations for college and goals for my future. It has helped me with preparing and planning my work ahead of time. Dr. Sariscany has helped me with becoming a better writer and helped me prepare for college level work. She has showed me that college is not going to be easy and we should get used to it and put in all our effort and time into everything we turn in.

Overall this process has been quite therapeutic and I luckily I was given the chance to just write. In the future, I’m not sure where my writing will take me, I might consider starting a blog and taking pictures. I think I would enjoy putting my opinions and voice out in public. This class has been amazing and it’s only the beginning. At the start of this class I was unsure if I would enjoy creative writing, but it has given me a positive outlook and I’m excited to see where life takes

I have never been an excellent student and perennially struggled with English, Math, and Science growing up. These subjects would cast a pall over my day and school work. Anxiety would well up inside of me which often resulted with me passed out across my desk sleeping through parts of class. When I would return home at day’s end, I rarely completed my homework. When I did try to complete homework, it often ended in tears of frustration or the hurling of a book across the room. Taking this class has helped to quell a portion of that anxiety and frustration. It was a grueling class, seemingly impossible at times, but taking this class has given me the confidence to know that not only can I finish the class if I work hard but can also excel! Writing is something that I will exercise throughout my college curriculum and my life. It will help to convey my ideas to the instructor, peers, bosses, and co-workers. In my college curriculum, it will also show my instructors that I’m learning the information provided and how to apply that knowledge appropriately. It will allow me to complete assignments, discussions, and reports, and I will also apply writing in basic communication when necessary.

Mrs. Sohnly taught me that books have a deeper meaning than just what was written on the pages; it was almost like a life-lesson. Life comes at you directly, but you have to look at life with its hidden message. Many students dreaded to read a new book for class, but I loved it. Mrs. Sohnly’s love for reading books influenced the way I felt about them. I loved the way Mrs. Sohnly would engage with her students while reading The Great Gatsby or How to Kill a Mockingbird. Evergreen High School was quite fortunate to have Mrs. Sohnly as an educator because she made a success out of all her students.

I started this semester with a entirely different mindset than the one I am ending it with. After all the lessons learned, papers written, and opinions changed, I have found myself not completely dreading getting a writing assignment, and even feeling confident with the piece I hand in. Literature will, from now on, be something I look at in a different light that is less stress and more beauty.

It was my first day in Mr. Howard’s AP Literature Class. There were approximately thirty of us sitting in rows of six in a dim classroom. Low background music was playing and light projectors beamed colorful bright lights that traveled dizzying paths across the room. I sat beside and chatted with my close friend Andrea about our concerns regarding our new English teacher. Based on our English department’s poor reputation, we were afraid that Mr. Howard would contribute to that conception by being another poor instructor. However, many of our friends, who had him as a teacher during middle school, stated that he was an exceptional teacher. The bell then rang, indicating that passing period had come to an end and Mr. Howard flicked on the lights, muted the music, and began to introduce his course to us. He stated that we would write one or two essays a

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.” On the first day of school when I walked into this classroom, little did I how great of an impact this class would have on my life. Not only did I greatly improve my writing, reading, thinking, and speaking skills, but as a human being overall. Despite all the long, sleepless nights, I am grateful for what this class has provided me. This class has shown me that individuals always have room for improvement, and this improvement can be reached through hard work and dedication. With all the knowledge I received from this class, from individualism to the horrors of indifference, I hope to not let this information stray within my mind, but to share it amongst

If I’m to be honest, this school year has been very enjoyable, much more than any of my previous classes. We’ve gone through so much as a class, had many assignments along the way–some that I enjoyed, while others not so much. We rewrote the Declaration of Independence, Walt Whitman 's I Hear America poem, and argumentative essays, like out The Raven analysis. We also gave speeches– that was the hardest for me, in my previous English classes, none of them made me go in front of the class and present–, made infograph, and even a multigenre project. We also can’t forget the books we’ve read in class, like poems from Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe, and novels from F. Scott Fitzgerald, and we can’t forget novella like Of Mice and Men or short stories that we read in our English textbook. All of these things have tested my ability to better improve myself or inform me on where I struggle with so I can improve in many categories such as being a speaker, reader, writer, and listener.

At the beginning of this semester, in Academic Foundations, I expected to learn about transitioning to college and strategies that would help me succeed throughout college. Transitioning into college required less than what I thought. Getting used to the new environment was not as difficult as I had imagined. I was able to meet new people who are transitioning into college just like me, people of all different backgrounds. I also met many other students who made me realize how fun college could be. In this class, many new techniques that I obtained on how to succeed, include managing my time, new study strategies and many more. This class was not difficult at all, it was easier than I expected, and it definitely taught me a lot about being

From elementary school to high school the interest of reading didn’t change much. In elementary school the only books I liked to read were the ones with a lot of pictures in it. Trying to read when I was younger was like pulling teeth. I never wanted to do it. When I got to middle school and high school, I had to force myself to read. A couple of books I did enjoy reading were “Night” by Elie Wiesel and “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The reason why I enjoyed reading these books was because both authors put a lot of details in their stories. These stories helped my mind to capture the image of the characters’ lives and what they have experienced.

The first couple days of class were not as bad as I thought they would be. I was pretty lonely at first because I had no friends, but a couple of days later I started becoming more social and made a couple friends. My classes are exactly what I expected, I knew they would be harder than high school but still do-able. One thing that was new to me was that my teachers didn’t know me because they are all big lecture classes. The reason why I like my writing class because it’s a small class and my professor is nice, outgoing and makes the class fun. The work isn’t too overwhelming yet, but blackboard is very confusing sometimes and I missed some assignments.

This semester has been quite different, mainly because I took a few different English classes that I normal wouldn’t have taken. I took a ‘reading’ class; I miss reading classes in school. Don’t get me wrong, writing classes are important too, and I’m not just saying that because I’m writing this essay for a writing class. They’re important due to the fact that they teach valuable lessons like correct punctuation, grammar, spelling, dictation and most importantly, how to bull crap your way through any paper.

Thank you to all the students, professors, and my coach for your support, encouragement, and feedback. As I previously stated in my introductory post, I love read but hate to write, which was probably not the best words to say entering an English class, but with your support, not only have I made it through this course, but I have also enjoyed the journey.