Quarter 2 Reflections

    Quarter 2 has made me make very great progress in all of my schoolwork. Especially in ELA.
Ever since quarter 2 had started, I began to read way more for the 20 book challenge, I've read about 22 books. I've made the greatest improvements in this class ever. I am on top of everything now. I rarely have homework to do because I actually focus in this class. I accomplished being able to finish a book within a week or so since the new year. I also accomplished getting my IXLs done in 25 minutes or less. The most challenging thing in 2nd quarter for me in ELA would be learning new words for our vocabulary tests. I've learned how to overcome it by reading the dictionary, almost everyday, writing down every word and definition from A to Z (my mom recommended me to).

My research skill somewhat increased. I look up the topic I need information on, and I click on the sites that seem legit. Usually, the ones that are legit are half of the sites, therefore I would have 6 or more tabs open. The blogs have progressed so much from August it's wild. I wasn't a good writer, I was decent. I would only write enough to get the point across, I would get a 2 or 3. Now, if I'm lucky I'd only get 3's, since I put so much information to go above and beyond. I will strive for 4's only next quarter for sure.

I read a lot of books this quarter. I guess my recent favorites would be, A Child Called It and Darkness Before Dawn. A Child Called It, the reason I love it is because it's so emotional and the author's actual life. This actually happened, meaning it can happen to anyone. Anyone can be saved if they were to speak up, that is the message. The victim will never be at fault for being abused in a family or relationship. Darkness Before Dawn, Dena recommended it to me, I finished it in a week. It has a strong message, that just because someone's appearance is clean and neat, doesn't mean that their personality/mentality is also. I would literally recommend that book to everyone in the world. This world needs to read it. Police need to read. Judges need to read it. I only say that because apparently just because someone is white and has a great education means that they made a mistake(murder, rape, etc.) because they're human and that it won't happen again, even though they had done it way before. Anyways, I really enjoyed that book very much. I learned a lot from it. This was the best quarter, hopefully 3rd and 4th will be too.  

  

Book Talk

The nonfiction book I'm currently reading is called, "A Child Called It" by Dave Pelzer.

The book is about a little boy who grows up in a home where he was loved, cared for, and happy with his family. In a matter of seconds, that all went down the drain when his mother had a change of heart. She abused him. She would starve him. She did all these things to a little boy, who was her own. This all took place in their home, in which it became, HER home.
David is the main character, the author is the main character.
A struggle he had to overcome was everything. He had to overcome anything his mother did, he had to show nothing about what he felt because she wouldn't care. He had to overcome his fear, his starvation, his suffering. This book is saddening - it hurts my heart, I dislike it. I would say the theme of the book is patience that just because you're suffering now doesn't mean you're going to suffer forever - there will be a time where an "angel" will be sent to you and save you. David, he was thrown all these obstacles and he found out things about himself that he never knew he was capable of doing.

Even though this book hurts a my heart, I love this book. It is now in my top 5 favorite books. I like this book due to it being real and having a before/after thing coming up. I would literally recommend this book to anyone who has been abused or anyone that is abusing others. The reason for showing someone who abuses others is for them to look on how it destroys someone emotionally, physically, and mentally. If they still had humanity in them, they would rethink their choices of hurting others. The reason of showing those who have been abused is for them having some hope.