Ariela Ojalvo American Literature Blog

  Write about something that you believed as a child. One thing I believed as a child is that labor was just throwing up a baby out of your stomach. I did not know what labor was so I thought all it consisted of was just vomiting out a baby. I thought that babies were connived when you kissed at your wedding and that you would grow a baby in your stomach to puke it out nine months later. As a child I was very scared of this and I never wanted to see it so I would look away from pregnant women on the street just in case they went into my form of labor. Looking back at this it is a very silly belief but at the time it wasn't even much of a question for me it was just like if you asked me if the sky was blue.  Summary: Today in class we learned about ethos, pathos, and logos and bettered our skills of identification using those three. We identified if commercials were using ethos, pathos, or logos Reflection: Today in class I bettered my identification skills for these three and ...

Write about a fear you have overcome.  One fear I have overcome is the fear of the world ending. When I was younger at my elementary school we learned loads about the causes and effects of global warming. This had a lasting effect on my amygdala bringing out much fear and anxiety in me. I would go to bed in shambles about the worlds ending knowing there was nothing I could do about it leaving me sort of helpless. This went on for years until I came to the realization that whatever happens happens and there is little to nothing one person can do about it. I think I have overcome this fear although I have not faced it because the world is still intact and fine I feel I have become bigger then my fears and I am no longer scared very much.  Summary: Today in class we did an assignment on the types of claims. We identified the different types of claims throughout an article.  Reflection:  Today in class I continued learning how to write an argumentative text and the skill...

  As you grow older and face new experiences, what issue or topic do you think you'll have to stand up and debate most often, whether with friends, family, or society? As I grow older and face new experiences the issue I think I will have to stand up and debate most often through out my community is the issues surrounding global warming along with the need to help this cause. Many people cannot wrap their heads around the reality of global warming and its harm to the present and future. This makes me realize that I will probably have to stand out against those who wish to ignore it and debate. I feel that this is a necessary cause to be brought to light and overall I am passionate and educated enough to speak on it not only to debate but also to spread awareness.  Summary: Today in class we took notes on the various types of claims. We went over how to tell them apart and how to identify what type of claim any claim is.  Reflection: Today in class I feel as though I have ...

  Write about a truth you were afraid to accept. One truth I was afraid to accept was when my dog died. I was around six years old and I was in Miami, Florida for Thanksgiving. We were all taking showers and getting ready for bed and I hear my mother screaming. It was because of my dog running outside onto the road. Then I hear everyone rushing out of the house and the car leave. They were going to the vet because my dog had gotten hit by a car. I went back in the shower because my brain did not want to accept what had just happen so I began to sing. I sang till my parents came back as they broke the news to me and my sisters. My dog had passed and I did not want to even hear it. I couldn't wrap my head around it for a while but when I did it hurt.  Summary: Today in class we talked about and took notes on the art behind arguments. We learned about the rhetoric triangle and ethos, pathos, and logos.  Reflection: Today in class I learned and began to better understand the ...

Write about a time when you were judged unfairly. One time I believe I was unfairly judged was on the night of homecoming. I was trying to leave the dance to go to my dad who was picking me up and one of the teachers stopped me. I asked why and I she said it was because I did not seem fine. I believe she thought this because 99% of the time I am heavily medicated for ADHD, but for homecoming I forgot to take it that day and it threw me off. I tried to reassure her I was fine but I have a loud manner that comes very subconscious to me and she took that as disrespectful. For this event I got two full days of ISS. This throws me off heavily for I am in 5 AP classes and I hate missing school. I also wish to be in NHS and I am scared this will also throw me off of that path. Overall, this past week I have felt heavily miss judged and I am extremely upset about it.    Summary:  Today in class Mr. Reese wasn't here so we did a common lit on a tedtalk Reflection: Today in class I...

  Imagine you are learning about Hispanic/Latino heritage for the very first time. What would you be curious to know about the traditions, foods, music, or celebrations? If I were learning about Hispanic/Latino heritage for the very first time I would be curious to know about the history of their traditions, foods, music, and celebration. Hispanic and Latino culture has loads of color music and eye catching factors that always have caught my attention. I am interested in their origin stories to better understand the meanings and reasoning behind their culture. That is something that has always interested me and I will always be curious to learn more especially considering it is Hispanic heritage month.  Summary:  Today in class we took notes on how to create different kinds of thesis statements.  Reflection: Today in class I learned the importance of creating a thesis statement and how to create one. 

  After viewing your classmates’ poem posters, select one presentation that caught your attention. Describe what you enjoyed about it or something new you learned from their work. After viewing my classmateś poem posters, one presentation that caught my attention was Clovers. I enjoyed her metaphor about how the earths motion around the sun correlates with the cycle of life. This was extremely beautiful to me because it compares some of the most beautiful parts of the world the sun rising/setting and life itself. I also really loved the way Clover exicuted this and showed her creativity through this poem. I thought the entire idea of this was so powerful and moving and really had me thinking about the beauty of life. Overall Cloverś poem was touching to me and I really enjoyed it through and through.  Summary: Today in class we went over the poem posters everyone made giving a summary of each of them.  Reflection: Today in class I learned how creative all of my peers are ...

In “The Interlopers” by Saki, Ulrich and Georg view each other as interlopers, outsiders intruding on their land and their lives. Think about a time when you felt like an interloper or when someone else felt out of place in your world. How did that situation affect relationships, emotions, or outcomes?   In ¨The Interlopers¨ by Saki, Ulrich and Georg view each other as interlopers, outsiders intruding on their land and their lives. One time when I felt like an interloper is everyday in the cafeteria. I have suffered from extreme misophonia meaning I hate the sound of chewing/eating/crunching. Due to this I feel very uncomfortable and out of place in the lunch room. I feel like I dont belong their and never have and I also often feel a bit of imposterism as if I am an importer in the cafeteria. This affects my relationships with my friends because that is where we are supposed to socialize but I am unable to and feel a little stuck in my mind. The emotions I have during this are oft...

  Of today’s 15 vocabulary words, which three do you think you will use the most in your speaking and writing this semester? Explain why each word feels useful or powerful to you. Of today's 15 vocabulary words the three I think I will use the most in my speaking and writing this semester would be aesthetic, ambiguous, and affinity. Aesthetic is a word that feels useful to me because I am interested in design therefore making a esthetic appear as most useful to me in the sense that  Aesthetic is a great part of design.   A mbiguous is a word that feels powerful to me because I strive to be more  ambiguous and open about opinions, for this reason it would probably become more frequent in my vocabulary because it is something I am passionate about. Lastly,  affinity is a word that is seemingly useful to me because I often feel  affinity when looking at things and with certain subjects, books, and etc. Overall those are the three words that I can picture ...

  It’s Homecoming Week! 🎉 What do you love most about being part of the Lakeside community? How do you show off your school spirit? What is your favorite Homecoming tradition or event? What I love most about being part of the Lakeside community would be my friends here. I have met so many people who are now some of my closest friends and that make school worth going to making that the best part in my opinion of the Lakeside community. I show off my school spirit by dancing in the hall ways with my friends and dressing up to the themes of the games. My favorite homecoming theme is the dance, the game, and the themes. This part of homecoming makes it easily one of the best weeks of the year along with the pep rally really summing it all up. Overall I am so excited about this weekend and have the BEST WEEK EVERRR, and I am so sad it is my second to last one but I am forever grateful for these experiences.  Summary: Today in class Mr. Rease was being the BEST and literally made m...

  Which learning method do you enjoy the most? Class discussions, worksheet work, or hands-on actvities. Select one and tell why.  The learning method that is most enjoyable for me is class discussions, and hands-on activities. A class discussion gives me the authority to share and argue my opinion along with shift my opinions to someone elses argument. They give me more room for imagination/creativity rather then a worksheet that has a right and wrong answer. Hands-on activities have similar effects I am able to express my creativity during these along with talk to people and everyone ends up with a different outcome. Overall this is why the learning methods that I find most enjoyable is class discussions, and hands-on activities.  Summary: Today in class we created a poem and a poster for this poem.  Reflection: Overall today I learned how to express myself through a poemw then show my creativity on my poster. 

  Which aspect of creating a poem do you enjoy the most? Tell what it is and explain why.  The aspect of creating a poem I enjoy the most is coming up with a theme. I enjoy this the most because it requires depth and skills regarding correlating a story to a lesson learned. I also enjoy it because I believe the most important part of every story is what you learn because of it. The theme consists of a short and brief explanation of what you were meant to gather from the poem. Overall the theme is the most enjoyable part of creating a poem because it explains a deeper perspective what your poem will teach/tell people.  Summary: Today in class we started creating a poem. I came up with my theme and central idea.  Reflection: Today in class I learned the importance of creating a theme and gathering literary devices for a poem. 

  After reading Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem "Constantly Risking Absurdity," which explores the poet's daring craft, write about your most absurd personal experience. Describe a single, specific incident that felt ridiculously bold or foolish. Ensure your response is vivid, concise, and captures the essence of absurdity. I would say my most absurd personal experience would be when I got stitches in my forehead. I was 5 years old, my sister was 7 years old, we were in our backyard of the previous house we lived in. The was flat then had a small hill then flat at the top of the hill. My sister and I were using the wagon as a roller coaster pushing each other down the hill. My mom had just yelled at us to stop doing this because one of us would get hurt, right after that we did it again. The wagon julted to the left heading straight on to the corner of the staircase where my head had struck. Tears flying out of my eyes I began to weep, loud, and terrified. My mother then...

  You are currently working on a soundtrack for selected Emily Dickinson poems. With that in mind, if asked to choose a song to describe your life right now, which song would you select and why? One song I would use to describe my life would be Bathroom Lighting by Mt. Joy. I would choose this song because it's theme is about embracing love, and living life to its fullest with all the adventures that come along with life. I would say that when I love I love big and I truely embrace it to all which is one reason I chose this song. Another reason is because I try to do the most with each day and live my life to the fullest considering I only have one. Overall this song really represents my life as a young girl and for that reason I would choose it for my life's description.  Summary: Today in class we took a test about poetry analysis, it was very hard.  Reflection: Today in class I learned that I am overconfident in my skills of poetry analysis. 

  If you were to compose a poem about one aspect of your life, which topic would it fall into and what would your overall life's message be? If I were to compose a poem about one aspect of my life the topic it would fall into would probably be love throughout friends and family. I have two older sisters, a mom, a dad, and many close friends all of which I love dearly, this being why a poem regarding one aspect of my life because love is the most prominent aspect of my life. I have had my experience with my family and friends which has allowed me to have my overall life's message be that love is not always being nice to someone and it is not just about the highest points in your life. Love is about sticking around and being by someones side when they are down, love is about apologizing and feeling guilty about hurting someone you love. Although the highest points in love out weight the lowest to truly love someone there must be experience for both. Seeing who is there for you wh...

  You’ve been in American Literature for 4.5 weeks now. How has the class been going for you so far? So far this class has been very satisfying for me. I enjoy the repetition of we have an intro to the unit we do an assignment a day about the unit, we have a quiz about the unit, and we write a blog post. This schedule works well with my mindset and I like being able to plan in advance for the work for this class. I also think that the structure of this class is nice in the fact that it is very interactive and we can say our opinions following the texts we read and the assignments we are given. At points this class can be a big overwelming/much but overall I feel that I have been learning and progressing well following this class. I also think that we could read the texts slightly faster but this slower pace does help me learn and understand better.  Summary: Today we read and analyzed another Emily Dickinson poem and got introduced to our new assignment of creating a sound tra...