"Hold On" (This I Believe Speech)

5/23/16

"Hold On"

Mentor Sentence: "I believe in the power of holding on."

Belief: Formed

I believe in the power of holding on to family. Throughout all the hardships, all the losses, and all the small accidents your family and you make, you have to stick together. It may be very hard, but it should be known that at the end they may be all you have left. A lot of things will try to come between you and the people that you love. It is important to keep them close psychically and mentally. 

The one thing that tested us was having a dysfunctional family around our immediate family. How it was triggered was because five months ago, give or take, one of our family members had a issue with their immediate family and that made many people mad at that person in many different ways. This has been going on for a while and that puts a lot of pressure on us because we are one of the few parts of our family that is still stable. That means when need to stay close together and hold on to each no matter what happens to us or the family around us. 

The realization I came to is that family is determined to stay together. That has changed the way I am going to be with my family, which means less arguing, more love and positivity towards them, and mature faster so I can be a more understanding person. This will affect the future because I will affect my family greatly and want it to be in a positive way so my family to have a positive future.

I believe in the power of holding on to family. You have to hold on to them. Even if you think they are not important, they are in the long run when you really need them. After all you really never know what they would go through for you.

End Of The Year Reflection

5/17/16

End of The Year Reflection Blog

1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?

The first most important thing I learned was the TIQA format. This extremely helped me with my writing because before I knew what this format was my paragraphs would usually just be all over the place. The second most important thing I learned this year was the holocaust research. This is because it was really interesting to learn about what they went and how they survived, my favorite part of it was learning about the Jewish partisans and how they resisted. The third most important thing that I learned this year was about Malala and how she was able to stand up for many girls and fight for young girls' education.

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

I think reading Tuesdays With Morrie would be something I would remember for the rest of my life. The aphorisms for the most part is the reason why I will remember this for the rest of my life, This is because they teach very good life lessons to help guide people in the future. This will hopefully persuade people to live in better ways and maybe improve the world around them.

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

I think the nicest thing someone in our class did for me was fix something on my iPad. What the problem was basically is that every few seconds or so "sign in to iCloud" would pop up. This extremely annoying because before it was fixed I had to with it for an entire day, which also meant that it would heavily interfere with doing my work. In first block of the next day my partner noticed the problem and fixed it very quickly.

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

In all honesty I really don't feel like I taught anybody much. If anything, I was the one taught by others. It is because English is not my best subject and throughout classes my writing has improved. I also learned how to interpret different messages and was able to put it into words and even into a picture. I was also able to explore and learn about different things happening in the world and being taught that was mostly a really good experience.

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

Formatting is the area I have made my biggest improvements on. This is because before I taught how to do certain paragraphs my writing used to be all over the place. I am really proud of completing the butterfly project. This is because I got a really challenging poem to do a butterfly on so I was really proud when I was able to interpret it and put it on the butterfly.

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

The most challenging part of this year has to be the speeches we are doing. This is because each of us [students] only has one minute to explain our belief. This means that we have to be brief which seems almost impossible for me at least because I have multiple events which I can go in depth with and really explain why I believe in what I do, but I can't because of the time restraint. It is also hard because you have to get personal. Getting personal means sharing your most personal problems that would not want to share out loud. Many students including me will have a difficult time trying to that, so believe me it is hard but I am going to try my best to do so.

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

 I think my best piece of writing I have done this is the "Which Tuesday Has Inspired You" blog. This is because it was something I was able to go in depth to and really explore. The life lessons and other things Morrie said related to me and many other people, so I was able to talk about it very easily. The overall message of that tuesday which would be that money doesn't replace love and tenderness. Which is very true and knowing the fact that people don't believe in that really gave me the drive to write about it.

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

Out of all the books I have read this year it has to be After Ever After. This is because the story was very interesting. The main characters Jeffrey and Tad were dealing with regular problems when dealing with their cancer. The thing is that they stayed very positive for most of the story and was really entertaining to read. Even after Tad's death Jeffrey still had conversations with him. That was something that really touched me because it shows that people can still be together even after death.

9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

The first advice I would give is that to do not procrastinate. This is because the work will a lot of time and attention and if you wait to the last second to do something the work will probably be of lesser quality to what you could've done if you had more time. The second piece of advice I would give is pay attention because if you don't you are going to miss some very important information about your classwork or homework and that can leave you very confused when trying to do it and make it very hard for you to finish.

Aphorism Project

O5/11/16

Aphorism: "When you're in bed, you're dead." 

The aphorism means when you are in bed you are as productive as a dead person, or when you are stuck in bed you feel dead. You feel as if you are disconnected from what you used to be able to do when you were out of bed and had the proper energy to do things. It is likely that you are not going to do anything meaningful when you are stuck to your bed. You are also not able to explore the world around you, it is as if the bed you are stuck to is blocking out the world from you.

Personal Experience:

I have personally went through something similar to the aphorism and it was far from pleasant. It was about two years ago, I was extremely sick and stuck in my bed. I was in bed, all of my energy was drained from my body, I didn't even have the energy to get up and eat the one meal I got the entire day. I was able to do absolutely nothing the entire day. I was stuck in bed, just plain hopeless. The worst thing about it was that I had no choice but to stay in the bed. The only thing I relied on is the help of my family and don't get me wrong, they did help. There was just zero chance of me recuperating from the sickness.

Evaluate the aphorism by explaining why you agree/disagree with it:

When it comes to this aphorism I semi agree with it. This is because when you may be sick and stuck in bed you can still do things productive. An example of this would be getting a work done in bed such as an essay or a sheet of math problems. A great example of being in bed and being productive is Morrie. This is because as he was stuck in his bed he still was able to educate Mitch about different life lessons which helped Mitch with his life long after Morrie passed. Although, if you are deathly sick you obviously wouldn't be able to do anything. You may need assisting from a few or many people and feel like you can't do a single thing.

My Own Aphorism:

"Die without as many regrets as possible."

Socratic Seminar Reflection

5/04/16

Prompts:

• Explain how the past four Socratic Seminars have influenced your thinking about Tuesdays with Morrie and life in general.

• What trends did you notice with yourself and your personal goals for each seminar? How did your personal goal(s) change and what did you actively do to change throughout our last four discussions?

• What trends did you notice with the class for each seminar? What did you notice that helped or hindered a specific seminar?

The seminars made me really think about the world around us. This is because as we were talking about things like admiring/examining the world around you, forgiving others then yourself, and learning how to die, it really change my perspective on how I live. Before the book I never really thought the world around me was as important as I think it is now. The book has taught me many things, and through the seminars I also learned a lot of things, for example, why don't we act when people are yelling their guts out for help and why second place is really not that bad. Both I have thought of before the seminar, but the seminar extended my thinking about those topics and left me more educated about them than before the seminar.

The obvious trend that I had with my personal goals was actually getting involved in the seminar. I didn't really achieve my goal during the socratic seminar. This is because I was very anxious and nervous to talk or discuss what I had jotted down on my notes. It was also because I was very hesitant to discuss my notes, and most of the time I never really found the opportunity to discuss the notes. In all honesty, I am really not satisfied with myself and wish I did a better job.

A trend I noticed is that when the class starting discussing a certain topic it lead into another and so on. I think this most likely caused by Morrie's aphorisms. I think this because his aphorisms are really thought provoking and can have the ability to branch out into many different topics. I think the topics that the aphorisms can bring up is what helped the seminar flow better. It compelled more people to get involved into the conversation/discussion.

Which Tuesday Has Inspired You? (Tuesday with Morrie Blog #2)

5/28/16

Which Tuesday Has Inspired You?

The first reason the eighth tuesday inspired me was when Morrie said that money was not a replacement for tenderness and/or love. This is because it is a really unfortunate really life situation and a lot of people need to learn about. Some people really want to deny and think it is not true but it really won't buy them happiness. All it will do is buy them things unnecessary things that won't really mean anything when they eventually pass. Most people don't really see the sentimental value in life and really don't value things like family or friends, all of them need to wake up and come to the realization that they are not living life like they are supposed to.

The second reason is that the eighth tuesday Morrie said to give what we have to offer. This inspires me because it tells us what most people (including me) don't do, give to your full potential. This has inspired to work harder than hardly work because I have been lazy with my work lately and I want to get better. The aphorism does tell a really good lesson and truth that such be spread to all people and teach us to give in any way we can.

The third and final reason the eighth tuesday inspires me is that Morrie says to do kind things from the heart. This is inspires me because it teaches us to do things with the most sincerness and kindest and give people hope and may be even change someone's life. To a family member, a friend, or even a stranger, do something with them or for them that will improve them and more importantly yourself, that's what we can do. It would be a better, kinder, and happier world if connected with the aphorism and went out and tried to do it.

Tuesdays With Morrie Blog #1

4/20/16
Tuesdays with Morrie Blog #1

From what I have read so far the book has really made me think. The first example of this is the idea of a living funeral. It really never hit me that the person never really gets to hear the loving and thoughtful words that are said at their funeral, so those words semi go to waste. The second thing to make me think would be how Morrie didn't want sympathy, but wanted to be treated how he has always been treated. He wanted to live the rest of his life like he regularly would and have his friends and family do the same.



I haven't really came up with a bucket list but here are a few things I have came up with. One of the things I want to do is to meet my mom's side of the family in the Philippines. This is because I don't face to face and some of them I don't know at all or exist. The second thing I want to do before I die I want to go Italy, just to see it is the entire reason I want to go there. There is small chance I have family there and if do that adds more reason to go. Third thing I would want to do is graduate college with a bachelor's degree, even if I have to push myself.

Bucket List:
- See my family in the Philippines
- Go to Italy
- Graduate College with a Bachelor's Degree
- Meet my favorite music artist(s)

3rd Quarter Reflection

4/8/16

3rd Quarter Reflection

Prompts: 

- *In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts?

- *What is something you have accomplished this quarter that you are proud of?

- *What has been the most challenging part of 3rd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

The area I think I have made the biggest improvement in is how to format sentences. I would usually just format them by what I think would be expected, but then learned there really was more to it. For example, when it came to introductions I just did what needed to get attention from that paragraph, then I learned that there is a really precise way of doing it. I just thought, if it sounded good I would be expecting a good grade from that introduction. How to properly do the conclusion was easy to understand when it came to the essay, and that significant helped with my writing.

I think writing the argumentative essay is what I am most proud of out of the third quarter. At first, I thought it was going to be frustratingly painful to finish, but looking back it seemed to be easy once you understood it. I was really happy with the topic I chose because I really care about the wellbeing of animals and keeping them away from all the test and experiments seemed something I was willing to fight for. It was actually really hard to find legitimately good sources and it took a long time to find information from the decent sources. Some provided more help than others and some of the things pulled out of those sources was not the best information, so I left a lot of that out. The hard work was worth it though, through the revisions the essay got better and better, which is because for some reason I just felt really focused with that project. The biggest reason I think I am proud of this is because I didn't really ignore this assignment like some others.

I think the most challenging part for the third quarter has been catching up on my reading. The battle of the books was fun for me last year because I made a good amount of progress from the start, but now it seems like I am dramatically falling behind. I think I really should just keep as much focus on this competition and really try and not neglect the little time I have left. I hope somehow I can actually break through this problem because my group and I have been through some difficulties with one of the shortest books and that set me behind. I really need to push myself more when it comes to this, I need to be more committed.