Overview Of The Class

     Overall, this English class was a lot different than I expectd it to be. In the beginning, I didn't expect there to be as many projects. I knew that we would have to write several papers and what not, but I didn't expect a lot of them. We started off reading different articles and stories, and analyzing those, which was easy and expected, but then we got into the paper writing and projects. I felt like as soon as we were done with one project, we were moving on to the next one, and it was due soon after. These projects weren't anything I couldn't handle, they were just overwhelming at some points, especially the papers that I didn't really care for.
     I guess I wish we would've done more short story and article readings, like we did towards the beginning of the class, rather than all the papers. I also wish we could've finished reading Henrietta Lacks and talked about that more. Reading that was expeceted in the beginning of the class, but as the weeks went on, we stopped talking about that book, and we weren't required to read it anymore. I personally didn't think the book was that bad at all, and that finishing it and reading it would've been a nice change up, rather than writing a paper. Even though things didn't go as well as I wished, I still enjoyed the class and the teacher, and I ended up doing well in the class, so things worked out!

Exams

     I cannot wait for exams to be over!!! I'm not a fan of studying and preparing for the exams, so I can't wait for them to be done with. Making all those flashcards, sitting around for hours studying, getting nervous for one test...definitely not a fan of finals week! I do only have two exams, but it still stresses me out. On top of everything I have to do, studying is not what I want to spend my time doing!
     Another reason why I can't wait for exams to be over with is because that means we get a couple weeks off of school! Getting that break will be so nice. I won't have to worry about getting homework done, reading all my books, or writing papers! Plus, when we come back from break, we have different classes. I'm definitely ready for a change in my schedule! After next week, it will be smooth sailing for a while and I can't wait! 

Project 4

     For Project 4 my group decided to do the Holocaust. My group consists of Alex, Alex, and DeShaun, and we chose the Holocaust because everyone knows about it. We figured since it's such a popular topic, when talking about history, it would be easy. All of us have different perspectives that we are going to write about. The four different perspectives are: writing as a Jewish individual in hiding, writing as a Jewish individual who experienced a concentration camp, a Jewish individual who survived and escaped this disaster, and as a Nazi. Looking up and finding information for these four topics should be the easiest. 
     My individual part of the project is looking up and finding information about the concentration camps. I have to find out what they were like, how many there were, how many Jews were sent there, how often they killed people here, and etc. Then, for the final part of the project, I have to write my paper as if I were one of the Jewish individuals who experienced these concentration camps. Knowing a little about what it was like and researching more information about the camps, I feel like this paper will be hard to write. Hard as in I would never want to know what it's like to have to go through something like this. 

Christmas Break

     Christmas is now less than a month away and I'm beyond excited! This is probably my favorite holiday out of them all and I can't believe it's here again! Spending time with family, drinking hot chocolate, watching movies, seeing all the Christmas lights, and of course the gifts. I can't wait. Normally, after my family opens the gifts at our house, we drive up to my grandparents house in Clarkston and have another Christmas there with the rest of the family, but this year it's going to be a little different. Since we are required to be back at Western around 3 P.M. on Christmas day, my family will have to rearrange the plans. Our basketball team does get 5 days off for Christmas, but we have to be back at school on Christmas day, which I'm not a fan of. In my opinion, Christmas day should be the one day that we get off, especially because some people live far away and they will have to leave super early on that day in order to be back on time. You shouldn't have to leave your family on Christmas day! So, instead of doing Christmas at my grandmas on Chirstmas day, we will have to either do it on Christmas Eve or some other time. I wish we could just have Christmas day off so that we wouldn't have to make any changes. Regardless of what we have to do though, I am super excited to be with my family again and have a couple of days to relax and enjoy the holiday!

Seeing Family

     This weekend I got to see my family, and it was so great! They came to watch our game on Sunday, and afterwards they took me out to eat and spent some time with me in my dorm. My sister even brought one of her friends with her, so it was really nice seeing everyone! I love when my family comes to up to Western. I like showing them what my life is like now, and what Kalamazoo has to offer. It's also cool that I know my way around here and they don't, I feel like I'm in control and showing off what I know! Showing them my dorm was fun too, my sister and her friend haven't seen it before, so it was interesting to get their persceptive and share with them what my living situation is like now. Definitely a lot different than back home! My mom also brought back some little gifts for me, which were so cute! She brought me more candy, a cable splitter so I can have cable in my room now, another little pillow, and some more money! It was very nice.
     Before coming to college, I didn't know how much I was going to miss my family back home. It's awesome having my own space and my own life here at Western, but I really do miss them back home! I love when they come up here to visit me or when I get the chance to go home. My family is who I'm most comfortable with, which is why I appreciate seeing them every once in a while. I honeslty don't know what I would do if I went to a school that was farther away. It would not only be harder for me to see them, but it would also be hard on me personally. Now that I think about it, I could have never gone to a school that was more than 3 hours away from home, it would've been way too hard. I'm so happy that I made the decision to come to Western. It's far enough for me to have my own space, but not far enough to keep me from my home and my family.

Project 3

     For project 3, I am officially doing it on Romantic Stories. I have to find 5-6 examples of romantic stories, and analyze them in order to understand what characteristics make up these kind of stories. Along with finding these examples, I also have to make a romantic story up myself, that has to be at least 3 pages long. This might not sound difficult, but I don't know how creative I can be, especially with a romantic love story! I guess we'll just have to see how it goes! Hopefully all of my research will help me along the way so I can make a great story. 

     In class on Thursday we got the news that this project isn't due until we come back from Thanksgiving break, and I couldn't be happier! I have a busy schedule, so more time is exactly what I need. This time extension will hopefully give me the opportunity to make my project better that what it was going to be. 

Thanksgiving

    Thanksgiving is coming up and I can't believe I'm going to miss out on the family dinner. Every year, my family goes up to my grandparents house to have the traditional Thanksgiving dinner together. My grandma cooks all the amazing food, all the family is there to enjoy it, we watch football after, and eventually fall asleep on the couches. Not this year though! This year, I will be in Arizona playing basketball. I can't complain too much because I will be in nice weather, with my team, but it's going to be different not having that family dinner. I hope that when we are in Arizona, our Coach plans a dinner for us on Thanksgiving so we aren't missing out on the food! I'm really excited to travel, especially with my team, I think it will be fun and a great bonding experience. We will be in Arizona for a total of 5 days, so I'm hoping to get a little tan while I'm there as well. I love being in the sun, and the nice weather, so hopefully we're not indoors the whole trip! Maybe we'll get the chance to site see as well! That would be great. I know our team is going to have a great time, it's just not going to be the same as being with my family and having that delicious home cooked meal! Everyone knows that grandma's cooking is the best! I'll have to ask for someone to save me a piece of her homemade apple pie!