Sarai’s English Log

 The most unforgettable meal I've ever had was when I went to New York with my aunt two years ago. We went to an italian restaurant in Little Italy, and they had the best Chicken Alfredo I'd ever had, even better than my moms. When I got home I searched for so long to find it on Google Maps so that if I ever went back to New York I could go there again. Today in class we took the group quiz for "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." Doing this quiz has helped me to better understand the theme of the story, and understand the characters better as well.

 One time I realized I needed to look out for myself was when I last minute remembered to turn in my essay for NHS. I didn't really need to worry that much because the essay wasn't required, but I though it would help with my application. I think that doing this made my life a little easier though because during the interviews for NHS, people who didn't write the essays had to answer special questions, so I was glad I didn't have to do that. Today in class we finished reading the short story "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." Reading this story in class has helped me to better understand it, with us stopping at points to discuss and analyze certain parts of the story.

 I've had multiple encounters with homeless people, as my Bible study group goes out to feed the homeless at least once every other month. When I see them, I don't really feel scared or anything, but it makes me feel sad because there were points in my life where I could've ended up like them, but I was lucky to have family that could take me in and take care of me when my mother couldn't. It's sad to see that some people don't seem to have such support behind them. Today in class we started reading the short story, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," and and answering questions about it. So far, I've found reading this story to be interesting, as I don't typically read stories like this, so reading different types of writing can help me to better understand them.

 One thing that I am thankful for is my family. Now that my mom isn't really in my life anymore, they're basically taking care of me now. I live with my aunt, and a lot of my other family members help out in other ways, likely financially. I didn't really realize how much my family members actually cared about me before this situation, and I just felt really alone. Today in class we worked on vocabulary lesson 3. Doing these assignments are kind of fun to me, and especially with this one, I like when we get to make our own original sentences as a way to see how we could implement these words on our own. 

 One moment in my life where new information change my perception of a person was when I found out about my moms mental health issues. Apparently she had issues her whole life, but I'd never noticed it, and I didn't know until last year when it got really bad and she had a whole breakdown. It changed my relationship with her as, although we were never super close in the first place, she was someone I couldn't really go to at all anymore. Every time I saw her I didn't know how she would act that day.  Today in class we took a group quiz on A Rose For Emily. Working on this quiz as a group has helped me learn how to better collaborate with my classmates, and also be able to take into account the opinions of others.

 One place that holds deep memories for me is my aunt's house in Florida. It holds mostly positive memories for me, as I basically was raised there, and it reflects part if who I am as it's sort of a monument to my upbringing. It was there where I lived over half my life, where I made a lot of friends, when I started to find all the things I love that I still do today. In class today we started reading a short story, A Rose For Emily. Reading this story has opened me up to learning about a new author, and as well to a different style of writing

One of the vocabulary words from Lesson Two that I hear a lot in my own life is the word is discernment. I usually hear it used in church or around my family, and the way it was used helped me to understand it better because in the context it is used to say that someone has the ability to tell the difference between something or someone that is good or bad, which helped me figure out that discernment is basically the ability to tell the difference between two things. Today in class we worked on Vocabulary Lesson 2. Through this lesson I was able to learn about words that I'd never really seen before, such as interlocutor and stentorian. Now if I ever read those words in a book or text I'll actually know what they mean instead of having to just infer.

 The parent/guardian in my life that had been the strictest when it came to discipline was my mom. Her discipline influenced my behavior in that, when I was younger I used to be really outgoing and extroverted, but as I grew up, I became more introverted and shy and I got really anxious. Today in class we worked on our lit circle presentations. Doing this assignment has helped me better understand short stories and learn more about the author James Baldwin.

 Something that my parents forbade me from doing growing up was using the stove when I was home alone. Even when I was in middle school, and I knew how to cook a few things, they still didn't want me to unless they were there, and I didn't start getting more permission to cook while I was by myself until late 8th grade/early 9th grade. At the time it seemed a bit over the top to me, but it makes sense. They were worried that I might not have been experience enough at the time to guarantee that I wouldn't accidentally hurt myself (which I did a lot at first, I had bad luck with knives), or accidentally start a fire (which I did once, but luckily it was small and I knew how to put it out. Today in class we read a short story called The Rockpile by James Baldwin, and were assigned different roles in our groups to help analyze different parts of the story. Reading and analyzing this short story has helped me to better understand it and also relate it to my own life. 

 A lot of the time, because I read a lot, I tend to understand the feeling of a word, but not exactly what it means. It's hard to describe, but it's like when I'm reading the word in a text I can understand it, but if someone were to ask me what it means, I have a hard time doing that. Gaining a better understanding of a word can help me not only actually know what the word means, but also possibly gain more context of what it means in relation to the entire text. Today in class we worked on new vocabulary words. Learning these new words can help me to improve my writing, as I now I won't have to worry so much about repeating the same words over and over, because now I know different ones I can use in place of them.

 I remember a time when I climbed Stone Mountain and paused at the top to take in the view. The sun was setting, casting warm orange and pink colors across the sky, and the wind felt calm against my face. I could see trees stretching for miles, and everything below looked peaceful and still. In that moment, I felt a deep sense of calm and appreciation for how beautiful and quiet nature can be. It reminded me to slow down and enjoy the simple moments, even when life feels busy or stressful. Today we started working on our Robert Frost poem one pager. This assignment is the first time we are fully analyzing a poem on our own, so it is a chance to see how much our understanding has grown, and it also is a chance to be more creative in the design aspect.

There was a time when I had to set a boundary and stop being friends with a girl because of the way she treated me and my other friends. She often talked behind people’s backs, caused drama, and made others feel bad about themselves. I realized that staying friends with her was affecting my own happiness and peace, so I decided to distance myself and end the friendship. At first, it was hard because we had known each other for a while, but setting that boundary helped me feel more confident and surrounded by people who actually cared about me. Today in class we had to work on a Common Lit, and we read another Robert Frost poem. Working on this Common Lit along with reading the poem helped me to better understand it, as the questions made me better gather my thoughts and pay attention to what I read.