Elizabeth leko

This year has been roller coaster of emotions. I learned more than I could have ever imagined. I loved learning how to properly write and express myself. I enjoyed exposing myself to new subjects such as psychology and journalism. This year has taught me patience, how to take care of myself, and it kind of hit me like a train, its time to grow up. I’m thankful for what I learned and what I’ll take with me when opening this new chapter of my life. Like how to survive college, how to survive financially, how to fight for causes and be passionate.

I know that the above paragraph was kind of cliche and don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies (writing essays and doing AR) but it was all worth it. Nothing really made me want to die (not actually). My advice to those entering Senior year is to take it all in and embrace it all. Never take things for granted. Listen and be respectful to your teachers and get your work done! Everything those teachers do are for a reason, and one day you’re going to look back and wish you could do it all over again.

If were being honest, this book was kind of hard to read. Not because of the words or the way Huxley wrote, but because it was vulnerable and portrayed society as a numb, sad place, A place where everyone was a follower. and frankly, that isn’t a world I would want to live in. In the book it showed how people could be trained and formed to the liking of whoever is in charge. It took the emotion out of life and society itself. In a way it makes me more thankful for the rough times I face. It reminded me of the power of choice.

This book also opened my eyes to what I personally will do. How I will question and stand up for what I believe in. I think the best way to stay open minded is to educate myself. Keep my head and mind open to new subjects and cultures. Ask questions, do my research, explore. Never form to your surroundings, never get comfortable. Walk through life with a teachable yet strong mind. Its all about your mindset and how you choose to look at the world. I struggle with that sometimes but I do know how important it is to master. Never be a follower.

Some major influences that will and have helped me include my mom, friends, and (this sounds crazy) but school. They all teach me the importance of individuality and expressing myself in a unique way. The importance of adventure and trying new things. They show me how to educate myself and ask questions. Do what you have to do to be happy.

I learned during this unit about the different types of satire, how they are used, and examples of the different kinds to expand my knowledge on the subject of “satire.” They’re are six major forms of satire, reversal, horation, parody, Incongruity, Exaggeration, and Juvenalian. An example I was able to watch was a video about an Alexa made for old people.  They exaggerated the hearing and memory of the elderly. They did this by having actors of old people pretending to forget everything, talk on and on about random things, and forgetting every detail of their everyday lives, and then showing the Alexa helping them. This was an example of exaggeration (a form of satire).

For my activity I chose to have a lip sync battle with my younger sister, which is who I was quarantined with. This activity was actually horatian, exaggeration, parody, incongruity, and reversal all in one video. It was a lot of fun, We were forced to be creative and loosen up.

While watching The Lion King I noticed some key similarities and differences to Hamlet. Some important similarities i noticed include, Yorik’s speech is similar to the “circle of life” song, It symbolizes that we are equal in death. A more literal comparison is how Scar kills Mufasa just like Claudius killed Hamlets father. Also, both Hamlet and Simba are in line to rule but have evil uncles who want to stop them. also, in the movie hamlet polonius has a speech about how we could eat a king, just like Mufasa’s speech about eating antelope and the circle of life. Although I noticed many other similarities these were the major ones that stuck out to me which watching the film.

Some differences include, We don’t get to see Hamlet as a child like we saw Simba in The Lion King. Hamlet and Ophelia were also very problematic unlike Simba and Nala. Another major plot difference is that Simba’s entire life is played out, Hamlets is less than a year. Other small details I noticed include, Scar formed an army unlike Claudius. Nala Finds Simba when he disappears, unlike Ophelia. Simba disappears for many years, Hamlet does not. Simba witnessed his dad die, Hamlet didn’t.

I was surprised about how similar they both are, and found it easy to pin point the details that lined up. I found this section fun to do and enjoyed every second.

I did not write my APA paper on teaching because the career I really want is in Psychology but I was unable to shadow a Psychologist because everything they do is confidential and it would be hard for me to truly see what their job consists of because of that. As a second option I chose teaching because I wanted to expose myself to other careers that might spark my interest.

Being at the Middle School I learned about the patience of teachers and the different types of teaching in the Middle school. I was excited to watch from a different perspective other than a student and it opened my eyes to the reality of what teachers really have to go through in a day. I enjoyed my experience and would say it was a success in educating me. But it did confirm that I don’t want to be a teacher in the future but the respect I have gained from them is immense.

Hamlet was one of my favorite things we did so far this year. I learned a lot and was always interested. One major lesson I took away was that we are all equal in death. Its deeper than just saying we all day. To me Hamlet was saying that money and stereotypes are overrated and mean nothing in the long run. We are all bound to die and at the end your money and fame will mean nothing. It was just one of many major lessons in the play that stood out to me.

My favorite quote in Hamlet is ” To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether tis nobler to suffer the torments that fortune slings your way, or to take arms against those afflictions, and by opposing them, end them forever” -Hamlet. This quote relates to today because it explains the everyday struggles that people face who are in the same situation. We all have a choice to continue fighting and living or letting go and dying. Hamlet clearly portrays those feelings and that battle.

The song I chose is Summer depression by Girl in Red. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=summer+depression+girl+in+red This song Is all about being sad anf fighting the rough times which is exactly what Hamlet is doing the entire play.

I learned a lot from writing this APA paper. It showed me how to properly form and create the paper. It helped me go more into details revolving my subject and exposed me to different forms of writing. Although it was a good learning experience I did witness a few frustrating and difficult obstacles along the way. An example being the intro and the abstract. I struggles forming my thoughts into words that made sense to a reader. I also struggles with finding where to begin, I almost hit a road black and I hadn’t even started yet.

Some new things I was exposed to was the in text citations and the overall formatting. It was a new form of writing that I hadn’t really done before. I appreciate everything I learned. I believe writing this paper will help in the future. An example being college. I know for a fact I will have to write multiple papers in college and Its nice that I got the introduction to it so i’m not caught off guard in the future.

Myers- Briggs personality quiz suggested that my personality is Advocate. It claims that advocates have an inborn sense of idealism and morality. It claims I tend to overthink and put other people’s needs above mine which I believe is quite accurate. It said that my personality type tends to put others before themselves. This can be a strength and a weakness for me, I almost hold to much empathy for others and disregard my personal mental health if it means someone else can be happier.

I agree with most of the points it shared. I agree that I show a lot of empathy and sometimes that can be my downfall. One thing I found I disagreed with was when it mentioned that we expect the favors we do for people back. I almost never expect anything in return, It’s not something I seek when helping someone. Overall it was pretty spot on other than some minor details I believe to be untrue for me.

Kevin Costner’s character is similar to beowulf because they brave don’t give up and are brave during rough times and circumstances. They are both leaders and do things to prove a point to not only others but to themselves also.

They both are greedy though. They both did things that revolved around themselves. Setting aside the responsibilities they had. This hamartia led to the downfall of them, beowulf’s being his death and in field of dreams it was his financial struggles and the loss of people who looked at him crazy.

I think society is in a way is corrupt. We let social media and technology consume our minds and every move. It’s an outlet for people to judge and push toxic mindsets onto other people. We are so concerned with the amount of likes we get and who follows who and its become so obsessive that we let it follow us around even when we sleep.

I’m not necessarily saying all forms of social media is toxic, I know that it can be a way to form relationships and connections with people. It can help form awareness and safety for some people. But I feel it should still be restricted and controlled so we dont let it take over every aspect of life.