Sarai’s English Log

If I had to write a poem about my life right now, it would be about being in the middle of becoming someone new. It would focus on balancing pressure and possibility, trying to meet expectations while still figuring out what I actually want for myself. The poem would include moments of stress and uncertainty, but also small wins and hope for what’s ahead. It would be about learning to pause, reflect, and keep going even when the future isn’t totally clear. Overall, the poem would capture a feeling of growth, change, and determination. Im not sure what we did in class because I wasn't at school this day (I was sick).

 When I'm in a bad mood, I like to do things that I like such as listening to music, reading, or crocheting, because doing these activities usually helps distract me from how I feel and overall make me feel a bit better. Today in class we worked on two Common Lits.  Doing this assignment has helped me better be able to analyze texts and then answer questions.

 Most of the time, for me to be creative I have to find inspiration in order to start actually being productive, whether it's seeing something I want to recreate, listening to a song, or something else. Usually when I'm working on a project I start with getting the information that I need, then I start desiging the physical product. One project that I created that made me most proud was near the beginning of this year for my AP Gov class, when we had to make a poster that showed what America represented to us. Today in class we did Vocabulary Lesson 8 on writable. Doing this, along with combining it with our rhetorical devices studies, has helped me better understand these words, and reading the story also made me understand how to actively use them in writing.

The rhetorical device that I find most effective/compelling is problably an analogy. I picked this because I feel like it is good at making the reader understand what the author is trying to convey, as well as connecting two ideas together, and I feel like it can be versatile enough to be used in any type of writing. Today in class we took a test on the different rhetorical devices we have learned about. Doing this has helped me to understand where I am in this unit, as well as what I need to work on.

 One vocabulary word that resonates with me personally is surfeit because I would personally say that when I was younger I ate a surfeit amount of food all the time. I was kind of chubby as a kid, but it evened out as I got older. Today in class we worked on Vocabulary Lesson 7. Doing this vocabulary lesson has helped me to learn many more words, as well as review ones that I know but don't use very often.

 One time that I didn't feel like myself was earlier this year during from July to September. I just had a lot going on at the time and it felt like I was in a constant slump and barely had enough energy to get any work done. Today in class we rhetorically analyzed the "I Have a Dream" speech made by Martin Luther King. Doing this has helped me become better prepared to analyze text on my own in the future. 

 One place that I feel most at peace is at my aunts house in Florida, because I basically grew up there, and being there makes me feel nostalgic about my childhood, as my room still looks just the same, and a lot of the old toys and books I had are still there. Today in class we finished our notes on similes, and them we learned about metaphors and analogies. Doing these lessons has helped me learn much more about rhetorical devices, and especially how many they are. For example, before this lesson I didn't even know that analogies were considered rhetorical devices.

One time that I had to rely on someone else was when I was sick a couple weeks ago and had to rely on my aunt. It kind of felt bad because I couldn't do anything on my own, which was annoying to me. Today in class we learned about 3 more rhetorical devices, procatalepsis, distincio, and simile. Doing this has helped me learn more about different types of rhetorical devices, some that I've never heard of before, like the procatalepsis and distincio.

Some life skills that I have learned that I think will help me after high school is being able to better manage my time between my life outside of school such as extracurriculars, and my school work. I think this is an essential skill for my life after highschool, because in college I'll need to be able to manage my time even more, with the workload and then finally living on my own. Today in class we learned about types of rhetoric and then analyzed a speech made buy Trump. Doing this has helped me be able to better recongnize when rhetoric is being used in a speech, and it can help prevent me from being swayed by something that may not necessarily be true.

 One time that I took a hiatus from something was when I had to stop taking dance for a few years. The reason I had to stop was because of Covid, and for a while after I just stopped dancing, and it made me sad for a little while, but in the end I did pick it up again. Today in class we learned about three more types of rhetorical devices Hypophora, Antithesis, and Rhetorical Question. Doing this lesson has helped me become better equipped to use more rhetorical devices in my own writing,

 Hyperbole: I learned so much in today's lesson that I thought my head would explode. Understatement: Today's lesson only lasted an hour. Litote: Rhetoric isn't that hard to understand. In in class we learned about 3 different types of rhetorical devices: hyperboles, understatements, and litotes. Learning about these and the guidelines for them has helped me to better understand how to write them and utilize them in my own writing.

Over the break, I mostly just stayed inside the whole time, although I did go to my aunt's house. For New Years we had fireworks and had dinner together. The one time I went out was when I went to the movies.  One goal that I want to achieve this year is getting at least a 3 or more on my Physics and Pre-Calculus AP exams. This goal is important to me because it would be a big step for me towards being prepared for college, and if my future college accepts credit for it, that will make my college life even easier. To accomplish this goal, I will dedicate at least 2 hours each a week to study both subjects, and even more so closer to the date. I will also complete all my work in these classes, and I plan to achieve this goal in May. Another goal I want to achieve this year is getting my drivers license.   This goal is important to me because it will give me the freedom to go wherever I want without having to rely on someone else for transportation .  To accomplish t...