1st Quarter Reflection

Nicolas Fuentes

10/28/15

Prompts: 1.) Where are you with your forty book challenge?

2.) How have your blogs been progressing since August? 

3.) How did writing a memoir help you realize what work there needs to write a memoir?

4.) How has your organization improved since August?

5.) Has reading other genres, than what you normally would read, helped you in any way.?

          So far, I have read, and finished, three books. I am also hoping to finish a book I am reading right now called Roll of Thinder, Hear My Cry. I have finished Paper Towns, The Maze Runner Series: The Death Cure, and Beyonders: Chasing The Prophecy. I really enjoyed these books because they really go into depth and are interesting. 

          I personally think I have really made some progress with my blogs since August. I have improved my vocabulary drastically. This helps me add more detail to my blogs, therefore a better judgment. I always try to add more detail to my blogs. 

          Writing a memoir narritave helps me improve on my vocabulary, organization, and punctuation. I think writing a memoir pushed me in order to become a better writer. I had to learn that revising is key in every paper you write. I had to learn to use active verbs instead of past tense verbs. I had to learn to show and not tell people how I feel. Writing a narritave really helped me into becoming a better writer.

          My organization has stayed the same throughout the course of this first quarter. I haven't become worse, I haven't become better. My goal is to, obviously, to become better in organization. One thing I have also learned throughout the first quarter is that organization is everything. If you are organized then your one step closer to being a better person. 

          I think reading other genres has helped me in many ways and branch out into books I wouldn't normally read. One, for instance, is Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This books is less appealing to most but has caught my interest here and there. I was forced to read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, that doesn't make it any less interesting. This helped me unfold and try to appreciate new books.

          

             

The Maze Runner Series: The Death Cure

Book: The Maze Runner Series: The Death Cure

Author: James Dashner 

Prompts: 1.) What is your favorite character? Why?

2.) What do you think will happen next?

3.) What is the mood of what you're reading(happy, sad, funny, serious, etc.)? Defend your idea.

         My favorite character, during the whole series, is Thomas. He is favorite character because he preserves and finds answers. He never settles for maybe, he always gets answers that he knows are 100% correct. I know this because the text states that, "Thomas shook his head. He was tired of puzzling everything out." This shows that Thomas doesn't like to piece thing together, he likes a direct answer. This is why he is my favorite character. 

          What I think will happen next, based on the actions of the characters, is the main characters are going to get captured after escaping their jail cell. I think this because every turn they take, there are no guards or anything to protect their weapons or defenses. I feel suspicious because of this. I know this because the text states, "I have to be honest - something definitely feels off. I bet this is another one of their bloody tests!" This shows that the main characters have their suspicions. This is what I think will happen next.

          The mood displayed throughout this book has been serious and melancholy. If you read the book you can see that the main characters are dead serious and are willing to take extreme measures for their freedom. But, in this book, freedom costs lives. I know this because the text presents, "Thomas didn't hesitate. He swung his elbow backward into the face of the guard behind him just as he kicked the knee of the one in front. Both fell to the floor, stunned, but recovered quickly. Out of the corner of his eye Thomas saw Newt tackle a guard to the ground; Minho was punching another. But the fifth - a woman - hadn't been touched, and she was raising her launcher." This shows that the characters in this book will do anything for freedom. This is why this is the mood displayed during the book.

Life Lines Poem: Mawi

"A New, Struggling Life."  

Next stop

Athens. 

Then

America

And there

A new life.

Heading to America

Are you?

They say 

America 

Seems sweet on top

Like fresh honey 

Straight from the comb.

Money flows through streets

Of glimmering gold.

Everyone lives

Long

Easy lives.

But

What's sweet on the surface

Is often rotten underneath.

So 

Beware.

I 

Remember asking myself

How 

Can something this 

Beautiful 

Be stolen by someone else's 

Recklessness?

If that's what life was like 

Then 

What are we striving for,

Anyway

But 

Along the way

I 

Have found 

Greater values 

In other

Dreams

Of the gifts 

We

Can give

The greatest 

Is to see 

The beauty in each other

In essence 

To give 

Beauty 

To 

Each other