I think that my blogs this year have been very important to my growth as a writer and English student. They have been a reflection of most of what I have learned this year. Whenever we read a book in class, we are usually required to put our thoughts in our blogs or go in depth writing about themes or motifs. One of the most influential things I have learned in this class and that the blogs have assisted me with is literary analysis. These types of blogs have made me used to writing my thoughts about deeper meanings in novels and plays. The blogs are also a way for everyone to express him or herself and show their beliefs on ideas that are conveyed in the books we read. We have all gained much experience in analyzing literature where many of us had almost no previous experience. I have also learned from the how to properly examine a novel. Great Expectations was the longest novel we read, and in my opinion, the hardest. I learned how to pick out the important text from such extensive books as these. The way I look at it, the blogs this year have given me weakly practice to work on my essay writing skills. Well, almost weekly. But, to tell the truth I much enjoyed the weeks we didn't have blogs. No surprises there. I enjoyed having word power over blogs more, as strange as that might sound to some people. However, of the two, I believe that the blogs have been far more beneficial in developing me to be the honors English student I am today.
I don’t think that the blogs as a whole have been a very hard thing to do. Most of them have been easily doable while allowing us to learn at the same time. They have helped me to understand much of what we do in class. However, one thing has continued to give me trouble. I could hardly remember to do the blogs. If I could change one thing, it would be to make the comments no longer required. I usually do them the Saturday after they are due. I believe that a quote that goes along with this extreme forgetfulness "I've a grand memory for forgetting." by Robert Louis Stevenson. It also reflects on something that has been impeding my writing all year. It takes me forever to think of a good idea for an essay or blog. Unfortunately, after I think of one, as soon as I begin to write it down I forget what it was. Then I'm left to settle for something that won't be as good. While some of my blogs have been very well written and insightful and others may have been lacking in quality and a bit of a "rush job" I am grateful for them. I think it was one of the best and most efficient ways for me to learn a ton about English while not taking up a lot of time out of my weekend.
By the way, I think it would be very cool if we got extra credit for every comment we did this year, even if it's as little as half a point each it would be helpful.
