Journal 38

Journal 38 write about your job shadowing experience. My job shadowing experience went well. I went to Horace Mann Insurance Company Downtown and shadowed a assistant vice president in public relations and communications. He was named Paul Wappel. Paul was a very kind man. He knew everyone in the huge building of 1200 employees. He introduced me to many people and made me feel welcome. I arrived at  Horace Mann at 8. I had to park on the street. The building was huge and intimidating. They had a heavy security system in place and a guard. I had to ask for Paul and had to wait for 10 minutes for him to come down. It was awkward at first. He said I could do whatever I wanted and see whatever I wanted but I did not know what there was! We went to his office, which was a small cubicle, and talked for a bit. We discussed his work and previous jobs. We talked about my life and my interests. It was really ironic because his daughter goes to the same act prep class that I do. The he introduced me to some of his co workers. The first woman I met goes "I know you! You are my favorite cheerleader!" I was very confused. She explained how she knew me and I laughed. It made me feel welcome. I got to go into the CEO office because he was on a business trip to Hawaii. It was so big and had a beautiful view. Horace Mann had 6 floors. On the sixth floor there is a cafeteria for all the employees. There is even a doctors office in the building! I got introduced to people who gave me tips for the future. It was a learning filled day. I think public relations is what I want to do. I loved my day at Horace Mann. I learned that I want to work with lots of co workers and do something meaningful. I had a great day with Paul and was glad the school gave us the opportunity.

Journal 37

Journal 37 is the first journal in fourth quarter. Time really flies. The prompt for this journal is what you think of when you listen to the following jazz song. The song is the Thelonious Monk Quartet-"Blue Monk" from "Miles & Monk Live at Newport". It is a long song- almost 11 minutes. It gives you a lot of time to think and relax your mind. I was absent the day the class listened to it but I bet it was a very relaxing and calming song for the stress of the day. When I listen to this jazz song I picture lots of swing dancers and an African American club. I picture the movie The Princess and the Frog. It is a Disney movie that deals with jazz music and African Americans. I think it was probably during the twentieth century when the rights of African Americans were being questioned and fought for. The theme of the movie is jazzy and about following your dreams, kind of what I explained above. This is a song that would probably be played at the end of a nice evening. It would be one of the last songs played and would top off the night. I think that it would represent feelings of the musicians. In the song we can hear piano, bass, and saxophone. I could see people snapping to this song and clapping along. The women would probably be in colorful clothes. Most would choose red. Men would be in weird little suits. The men would probably be in black. I think this would be fun a night and it think it represent the time period well. This song makes me think of different time period when blacks and whites were not necessarily equal. I think that this song can be a reminder and a relaxation to many people. It is overall good music too.  I liked this journal because it was different and was fun.

Journal #35

Journal #35 compare your writing from the Declaration of Independence Reflection blog from 9/24 to your writing from the Whitman Search for Self Discussion post.

My writing has changed so much since writing the Declaration of Independence Reflection blog from 9/24 to now when when I am writing Whitman Search for the self discussion post. I used to use words like "I, you, me, etc. I have learned to back up my writings and learned to use more than one literary criticism in a post. I learned if you want to get full credit you need to support support support. If you have an idea you need to elaborate on it and make sure you give the reader every detail possible. Another difference is the confidence. When writing in September it was hard to trust my abilities and writings styles. I did not know you could not you personal pronouns and needed certain citations. I feel as if I have grown as writer and have succeeded my expectations. I think that looking back is a good thing. Seeing improvements in oneself gives needed confidence and satisfactory in moving forward with harder and more detailed writings. I personally think that that Walt Whitman for Self Discussion post is one of my best writings  I have used big and complicated words that are not present in my Declaration of Independence Reflection blog from September. It is actually quite amazing to see how far I have come as a writer. My knowledge of literary criticisms has advanced so much. I think I have learned you have to explain explain explain. I have succeed in doing that for the most part. Of course no one is perfect but I have come along way. It was a nice change of pace to look and see how far I have come in this English class. I think it would be funny to go read my first post of the summer blogs. I am sure I would be very embarrassed. Writing can always be improved on. The older the get and the more experience/practice you get the better off you will be in the end. Hopefully by the end of this school year it will be close to perfection! I am sure it will if I continue to try. This is the end of Journal number 35. 

Journal #36

Number thirty-six, write about the importance of being yourself. Like most people are probably saying in there blogs, being true to yourself is one of the most important things in life. Life is pretty much a waste if you are not true to yourself and the things you believe it. Setting goals for yourself is important. Experiences in your life also make you who you are. For example if you were in a traumatizing school shooting, like Sandy Hook, you probably are going to grow up afraid to go to school. Culture, characteristics, and ethnicity also can after how you are as a person. This goes for me. I embrace my race because it is part of who I am. I used to not do this though. I used to sit quiet and let people define me by my color but I do not do that now. Once you accept yourself others will learn to except you. You have to get motivation from something.  I personally have motivation in everything. When I want something I do everything I can to get it.  I do not let people stand in my way when it comes to school work, with more personal things I do not. I mean people sometimes get in the way. By knowing what I want in life it is easier to get the things I want like good grades and acceptance. Being self-sufficient is key into being yourself, at least in my opinion. I  can do things on my own, I do not rely on others to get my work done. It makes life so much easier. This comes from leadership behavior. I would rather be a leader than a follower. I like being in charge. Loving yourself makes life so much easier. Ignoring the negative and embracing the positive is the key to success. Overall it is important to be yourself. Once you define yourself everything is much easier. This is the end of journal 36.