Finishing Up

My first year of high school has definitely been one to remember. I have made so many new friends and experienced new things. The best memory I have of this year is varsity sports altogether. Soccer and basketball made this year so enjoyable. Starting off the year playing soccer helped me form relationships with older girls and helped me get out of just the small group of people I have been hanging out with since K-5. The best basketball memory I had was the game against MJCA at home where we came back from being down around 15 points. Another great memory I can't leave out is going to Washington, D.C. I learned so much about our nations capital and even about my friends. I bonded with different people I never thought I would have something in common with.
Throughout my freshmen year I have learned things academically (because it's school) and socially. This year taking Chinese turned out to be super fun and I really enjoyed it. Also reading novels in English so getting to do that is also fun. Socially I have definitely learned a lot this yea
r. Between all the drama and events that have happened I have come to know who I can really trust and who I can just have casual conversations with. Mainly it has been where and who I can put my trust in.
After going through this year with its ups and downs, I have a few pieces of advice I could give to the upcoming freshmen. The first thing would be to always study and do your homework. Things are different then they were in middle school and doing your homework helps a lot. The second thing would be to branch out and try new things. High school offers so many different clubs, athletics, and arts that doing at least some of them help you out a lot. The third thing would be to be social. Don't be shy (which is easier said then done). People in high school are (in a way) separated into groups. Go out and make friends.

Equality

While reading The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, many new ideas, facts, and lessons were displayed. One new fact I learned was that the period after the war was hard for the newly freed people. In the novel, Miss Jane and others still experience many hardships after the war. The freed people were still beat and treated harshly. Also, long after the war ended the the people were still not treated equally. For example, the black people couldn't drink out of the white people's water fountains. A lesson from this book that I learned tied in with the new fact is that if you don't think of yourself equally and treat yourself equally as others you will never be equal. Ned talked about this at his sermon at the river, and it ended up being my favorite part of the novel. I think you could still apply this in today's world. These two examples were just some of the new ideas I gained from reading a novel set in the past.

Stereotyping

Throughout The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Ernest Gaines establishes several different stereotypes. One stereotype I noticed in particular is that all white people dislike the black Americans. This is not true to some extent. Several people in the book reach out and help Jane and Ned along the way. For example, Job took them to Mr. Bones and fed them, and Mr. Bones let Jane work on his plantation. Although some people help, many others don't feel the need to.

Why should you read "The Hunger Games"?

A great book that appeals to many different age groups because of its action packed story-line and love triangle is The Hunger Games. This book was written by Suzanne Collins. A movie was recently released that depicts the movie very well in my opinion. Katniss Everdeen is chosen to go the 74th Hunger Games. In the process, she finds love and tries to escape with her life. One reason why you should read this book is because it is action packed. The Hunger Games captures your attention with scenes you wouldn't expect to happen. If you aren't into action, there is a love triangle between Katniss, another tribute, and her best friend back home. The last reason you should read this book is because there are many good values shown in the book, like hope. If you decide to read this book, there are two more that follow: Catching Fire and Mockingjay.