Final

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Alec Wilson

Dr. Preston

AP English Literature and Composition

8 June 2015

My Journey

            Before entering this course, I was a bit intimidated. When I looked at the teacher’s name to this course, I saw the prefix “Dr.” and was intimidated. I thought “wow I am in for a very busy and difficult ride with this course” but I went for it. Thinking that this course would be a real pain, it was actually really interesting and open. The whole open source learning caught my attention right off the bat. I should not have been intimidated at all because this course ended up being one of the most interesting courses I have ever taken. A lot of the course was based on our own interests such as our masterpieces (our passions) which was my favorite part. Also everyone was involved and interested in others’ ideas and passions with no negative judgement which made me feel comfortable in the course. With all of these aspects included in the course, my colleagues and I represented a high level of trust which we deserved and honored. With all that this course has offered me, I have espoused learning through the individual experiences throughout the classroom.

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            Some of the literary pieces we read related to my journey throughout the entire year; in and out of this course. One literary piece that we read that related to my journey was Hamlet. Hamlet was constantly thinking about if he was doing the right thing or not, just as I do. One struggle that I’ve been having this year is that I’ve been afraid of being wrong and always worried if I’ve been doing the right thing. I’ve been very indecisive and timid when I do make a decision. Towards the end of Hamlets life, he overcomes the problems that he has which is one goal I’ve been working on. Therefore I can relate to Hamlet in this sense. Other literary pieces that we studied in this course related to my journey as well such as Beowolf. The literary pieces we studied held important themes that got me to realize a lot of things and question a lot. This helped me grow throughout my journey. One theme that I took out of the literary pieces as a whole was that personal problems can easily be overcome. Yeah, its cliché but I’ve taken a lot from them such as to not take things so seriously and there is always a solution. I believe this has helped me a lot this year and will continue to help me in the future.

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            My favorite part of this course that I was the most involved in was my masterpiece. I reconnected with my passion, baseball, and shared my experiences with the class. I didn’t just talk about the sport, I talked about how I gave back to the youth baseball players through umpiring. I was able to go back in time to when I was in that league and see what I could do to help the kids that no one ever helped me with. Not only did I help them with mechanics, even though I am not allowed to do that as an umpire, I helped pick them up when they were down and said things that will help benefit them. Basically, I’ve been in disguise to help these kids because I want to be a role model for the next generation. Helping these kids while they’re at such a young age is very important. “It is where it all starts” is what I say all of the time, and it is true. They need the correct lessons at this age so that they can grow with the right tools in hand. This was my motive with umpiring and I hope to find other ways to connect with the youth because it is very important. Another example of connecting with the youth and giving back was Sierra’s, Hannah’s, and Judith’s presentation which was very cool. Melissa and Victoria were able to share insight on what homelessness is really like. They learned a lot from the homeless people the interviewed and gave back to them as well. Noah is working on giving us teenagers a voice along with reducing world suck. Siera also gave insight on homelessness and put the cherry on top to Melissa and Victoria’s presentation. All of these individuals gave back to the community, including myself, which is very special. All of the presentations that I saw were honestly so interesting. Being able to see what other people were interested in and sharing it with the class was awesome! These presentations helped me realize that we are all powerful and can make a difference. A lot of other presentations were hilarious, such as Miles’ and Elmo’s videos. It was really cool to see how excited Miles was to show the videos and to hear nothing but great things afterwards. Susel’s cultural video was also very cool and interesting. The music was positive and there was nothing but smiles and goofiness in all of her pictures which was really humbling. If one presentation was a little more serious, it was just fine because the next one was always happy and laid back. This was by far the best way to end the course.

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            I would say that I am the hero in my bildungsroman. Before going into this course, I was intimidated by all of the smartness in one room. I had no confidence in myself and I was afraid to share my ideas or thoughts because I didn’t want to be wrong. Truth is, this course changed that. After seeing everyone share their ideas and thoughts and others not judging, I slowly became better with it. I overcame this problem and it showed when I shared my masterpiece. I had no visuals or videos for my presentation and I was nervous because I usually use that as a crutch. But, after being able to trust everyone in the class, I went with the spoken word and shared my masterpiece and so far everyone was interested and enjoyed it. This course was not only able to help my with the English portion, but it was also able to help me overcome some struggles that I had. I am forever thankful for this course. Thank you Dr. Preston.