Course Reflection

      This AP course has been filled with surprising topics.  Along with those surprises were refreshing moments when I was taught again thing I already knew or was common sense . What I liked about this English AP course was that I learned about different type of essays.  I learned that there are more type of essays then  just argumentative essays.  In addition to that, I learned how to do each one them and how to do them correctly.  On the other hand, there are some things I did not like about the course. The least liked thing was that when it came to reading novel, they where all older novels.  I did not mind that they were not modern novels, but I would have liked to read at least one novel that was closer to today's time, more interesting to the teenage mind, or more in the suspense genre.
      This course prepared me for the AP exam. The only thing I was not equally taught as the rest was how to write a figurative strategy essay.  In my opinion, it was taught less than the others were and was taught at the last minute.  If I had the chance to retake this course, I would not.  I would not retake it, but would seek addition help or tutoring with things from time to time.

Act

    On the 19th of April, all juniors took the ACT. That was my second time taking the ACT. When I took it the first time, the only thing I passed was the English. I believe the only reason why I passed that part of the exam is because I am currently taking English. When I took it again, I knew what to expect: English first, Math, Reading, Science, and then Writing. Just like the first time, I was not prepared. The only thing that was different was that I took it at school and I was mentally prepared.
    I was not prepared at all for the ACT. The only thing that was done for preparation for the ACT for me was that in one of my classes, my English class, we went over a few things the day before. In intervention we had an ACT book to work in but it's different from studying by yourself and studying as a whole. I only have two course class and we have been preparing for the AP exam we take in May, not the ACT test. Last semester I took a science class, human anatomy, but we didn't work on charts and graphs so I did not really know how to do the science part of the ACT. Reading was all about time. I had no problem with the questions, but there was no time to read every story and answer every question.
     Dealing with the ACT, it was all about time and what you knew. I was not prepared for the test. In my opinion, my class as a whole was not prepared properly.

The American Dream

The American Dream is that every American is equal. It is that every individual have an equal opportunity to fulfill their dream through hard work. The American Dream is important to many people and can mean different things to different individuals. To some the American Dream may just be the traditional lifestyle: modern house, husband/wife, two kids, and living comfortably. To others it may be to pursue their dream career. In my case, my dream is to graduate from an university with a doctorates degree in physical therapy and to travel.

    

Good Friday

         For Good Friday, I went over my grandmother's house.  I did not do an act of kindness because is was Good Friday.  I believe you should always be kind to others, special occasion or not.  I chose to go over my grandmother's house because usually my brother and I would go over there every weekend, but I have not because of extracurricular activity I am in.  Thus weekend, track meet or not, I made sure that I went over my grandmother's house.  Over the weekend, I did little simple things that she asked me to do:  greased her hair because my granddad would always do that for her before he died and I helped her cook a dish for my family's traditional Easter dinner, since she can not stand for long.  In my eyes, its the small things that count, not big things that you do once a year because of a special occasion.

Letter to Governor

Dear Governor Rease,

 My name is Erin Green. I am an educator at Bayom Elementary and the sister of Reverent Ambrose. I volunteer at the prison and at the hospital, occasionally. I have been an educator for the last 10 years and love working with children; watching them grow up and starting families of their own. I am well known around the community and will be helping Reverent Ambrose with the service for this upcoming Easter. Also, putting together a service down at the prison. Everyone should at least participate this Easter, even for the ones locked away.
  Although, I do know one of the prisoners, Jefferson. Five years ago, I taught Jefferson at the school. I have seen many students come and go, but with Jefferson, there was something special about him. His determination to learn and to help others was what made him stick out from the other students. He tried to help others and never gave up. He would try his best and put 100% in everything he did, even the small things. He would come to church with his aunt every Sunday, never missed one. Jefferson is a sweet and kind person. Even after he left the school he always would come back to help.
  Jefferson is known by everyone in the community. Jefferson should not be executed. The children of the school would be devastated. He has became so close to them. When someone needed a friend, he was there at their side. By executing Jefferson, it will send a negative message to the young people of this community. Even if he is just in jail for the rest of his life, it's better than executing him. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Sincerely,

Erin Green

A Lesson Before Dying: Chapter 16 and 17

CHAPTER 16 PAGE 120 – PARAGRAPH 4

“You didn’t tell me the truth the other day, did you?” Miss Emma said.

1)       Does the quotation indicate a conflict?  If so, what conflict?

                This quotation indicates a minor conflict between Grant and Miss Emma.  After they had visited Jefferson in jail that was probably when Miss Emma realized that Grant had lied about his visit.  Grant had said Jefferson was fine and ate her food, but what really happened was that he kept referring himself as a hog; acted like a hog and ate like a hog.  By Jefferson referring himself to a hog and not accepting Miss Emma’s food, during their visit, was what gave Grant away.

                This quote doesn’t answer another question, but it is a lesson for everyday life. “Everything comes to the light.” “Lying gets you nowhere.”

CHAPTER 17 PAGE 130 – PARAGRAPH 3

     “Her old pussy ain’t no good,” he said.

1)      Does the quotation characterize Grant, Jefferson, or another character?  If so, in what way does it characterize?

                This quotation helps show a characteristic of Jefferson.  That characteristic is that when Jefferson is hurt or angry he will say hurtful things to other people to put them down or anger them too.  He knew that saying that about Vivian would anger Grant.  Good thing Grant knew he was just “in his feelings.”

2)      Does the quotation indicate a conflict?  If so, what conflict?

               This quote shows that Jefferson knows about the relationship between Grant and Vivian.  Which could possibly mean that if Jefferson knows, then everybody else do.  It may not be a conflict right now, but that there could be one later on in the novel; maybe dealing with Vivian’s divorce and who gets what or what the community thinks about her.

A Lesson Before Dying: Chapter 14

"We finished our cake and coffee, and I put the cups and saucers in the pan of soap water on the window shelf.

'We ought to wash them,' Vivian said."  - page 106

          This quote shows a characteristic of Vivian.  Instead of leaving the dishes there for Miss Emma or Grant’s aunt to wash, she insisted that they wash them.  This shows that Vivian is kind and thinks of others, not just herself.  This quote also describes the time period.  Instead of having a sink of dish water, they had a pan of soap water.  That shows how poor they were and their living situation.  

A Place I Would Like to Visit

There are many beautiful places on earth: countries, continents, states, and cities.  I have been to many places in the last three years and I can say it was a sight to see.  A site of oil wells in Houston, Texas is beautiful at night; they are lite up in golden yellow lights.  Driving through the city of Atlanta, Georgia at night is, also, a sight to see.  I have been up and down the eastern coast starting my dream of traveling, but there is nothing like traveling out of the country.  If I could travel anywhere, I would go to Turkey.  The reason why I would go there is because I would like to meet my aunt and two cousins.  I have only seen pictures of them and is talking to one of my cousins through social media, but that is not enough for me.  I would like to physical hug them and be able to talk to them face to face.  Also while I am there, I would like to eat their type of food, since I am such a fatty.  I would want to learn about their culture and their religion.  I have seen a picture of their pet hamster and it is so adorable, but it looked different from the ten hamsters I have had and I would want to see why.  Going to Turkey is one of my top 10 goals I would like to meet after I graduate from college, but before I reach the age of 30.  Everyone should travel somewhere out of the country, if possible.  There are many places in the world to be seen.            

Temporary Escape

 

Everyone needs some type of temporary escape.  There are many reasons why one may need a temporary escape: stress, to gather ones thoughts, or even if it’s from life.  Life can be very stressful at times even if it’s from work, school, or family problems.  That escape can be anything from a where to a what.  Some like to go out into nature because it is a calmer environment or even read a book.  I have a few temporary escapes of my own. Certain fiction novels, my stories, music, and the beach are my temporary escapes.                           

Certain novels like The Infernal Devices series takes me to another place.  While reading novels, I am not thinking about how bad my day was, but about what happens on the next page.  When I am writing my books, my mind is somewhere else.  I zone out of everything, focusing on nothing but my book; the details I'm going to put into, visualizing my story as it if I was the main character.  Music is my number one escape because its right next to me at all times.  The lyrics of the song just brings be back to where I need to be or takes me away.  I have learned that I should not hold back my emotions and music brings it out of me, even if it is crying or anger.  It helps me think about my problems and to decide if I should fix them or just let them simmer down themselves.  When I go to the beach, it’s like reading, writing, and listening to music all at once.  The last time I was at the beach was last summer.  I was at the Boardwalk in New Jersey with my mother and my other siblings; I only get to see once every few months.  After a long day of play I sat down, on the then cooled sand, and just stared at the sunset, listened as the waves crash against each other, the seagulls fighting over some seafood one family had ate, and my mom telling my baby sister to stop throwing sand on people.  I just closed my eyes and thought about all the stress and events that had happened in the past year and I felt as it all just washed away.  It was like a thousand pounds was lifted off of me, I felt so free and light.  Temporary escapes are needed even if its just one.

My Introduction

My name is Dominque Kirksey and am a student at Ben C. Rain High School.  I am currently taking AP classes, AP English and AP History.  I love to write and currently working on a few books, hoping to publish at least one before I graduate or  before I start college in the fall of 2017.  I plan to take a career path in Physical Therapy, but am not quite sure if I want to travel or stay in one place.  I plan to take pre-physical therapy and after that, enroll in the doctorates program.  I am a person who works to get where I need to go and make the obstacles that get in my way motivate me to try harder and will accept nothing but excellence.