English Final

1. Explain one or two ways your writing has improved over the semester. Include a few examples from your posts over time, with analysis, to illustrate how the improvement(s) happened.
Over the semester, my writing has improved a lot. I have improved in the length, breaking down, grammar, and my ability to write with confidence. If you look at my first blog of the year, you can see that it was not as long as the ones I have today. The length has not always been consistent but there were reasons for that, that I can't explain. But overall, my writing has increased in length since my first couple of blogs because I started to like writing blogs every week. It helped me improve my writing and let me share my thoughts and feelings about certain things. My blog was my weekly activity that I would go to, to share what had happened to me that week. In the beginning my blogs were basically about sports but as the year went on, I started writing about more personal experiences and how they have influenced my life. For example my blogs from the end of September to the middle of October. All those blogs were about personal experiences that have had a big part in my life. After a couple of personal blog posts, I started to get more comments that were very supportive of my writing. I decided that I was going to write about my personal life every week. But then I ran out of ideas to write about and needed something new. So I combined my life experiences and my sports experiences and wrote one blogs that related to both. That's what I am writing about today and it is still working well for me. These blogs are probably my best so far in the year and are the most improved. I now am not making the same mistake I did at the beginning of the year in grammar, and always remember to spell check. I am also cutting down on my redundant sentences and I am a lot more confident in my writing ability because of all the helpful comments I received throughout the year.
This semester has been big for me. I now have confidence in my writing and can write without feeling self conscious about what other people may think. Blogs have let me share my thoughts about my life and my athletic career. I also can write knowing that I will not make many mistakes in grammar and spelling. Finally, blogs have made my writing a lot more smooth, as in talking about one subject and not constantly going back a forth.

2. Choose one of your posts. (Your favorite? Your least favorite? The one that surprises you the most when you reread it? Any one you want to pick.) Analyze it in detail, with quotes etc.
The blog that surprised me the most was the blog on September 23, 2009. At first, I just thought it was just a regular blog post not much better than my others. I started writing that blog with the intent of getting it over with and finishing it so I can have the rest of the week off. As I got deeper into my blog , I started to get more into it and was very concentrated, thinking about what to write next. In the end, I did not think that it was my best blog, but I knew it was good. So I went over it, to correct any mistakes I could have made and published my blog. I went over it once more to see if it reached the expectation in length and was done. The next day, I went to school, had a long day and came home to check on my blog as usual. Every time I post a blog, I like to check it the next day to see if I have any comments. I saw that there was one comment on that blog and it was from my teacher. I went to see what it was about and it said " Jonathan, without perhaps realizing it, you've actually done a pretty good job of drafting a college entrance essay here. What it does is show your dedication, determination, and hard work over a long period of time...these are exactly the types of qualities you'll want to show when you apply for college. It's clearly organized and has lots of good details, too, so you simultaneously demonstrate that you are a good writer. So, well done." This comment made me feel very good inside and surprised me a lot. I am very glad I had this experience.
The blog I am talking about in the previous paragraph is about, how sports have influenced my life in a huge way. I started off listing, what attributes playing sports have given me and how it has made me a better student and made my life more enjoyable. For example, I said it has given me confidence, determination, focus, and attentiveness. Traits that will lead me to success. I believe if I continue to have these traits, I will be extremely successful in life. After, I started to write about how I was introduced to sports and how much fun I had when I started to play. I also start to talk about possible not playing because I was scared to socialize with other kids my age. But, I decided to give it a try and it worked out in the end. Finally, I concluded my blog entry by telling everyone why I decided to write about my blog because I felt like everyone needed to know how my sports career started and how it has help my life in man ways. I also tried to influence people to keep doing what they love by saying "If you have something that you enjoy doing, stick to it no matter how hard it may be, in the end it will all pay off if you really enjoy doing it." I think this quote really explains my journey through life the most. Even though playing sports was rough at the beginning, I never gave up and kept on striving to be the best possible. I also think this quote influenced me to be the person I am today. I rarely start on something, then give up, I have to keep doing it until I can't anymore.

7. What have you learned from your struggles with writer's block? Why do you tend to get stuck? How do you tend to get unstuck? Notice any patterns?
From my struggles with writers block, I have learned that it is not very hard for someone to get out of it. Someone can get out of it just as easy as they can get into it. As long as that person has a good way to get past it. I learned a unique way that my teacher has thought me to get out of writers block. If I get stuck writing about something, I can just start on a different blog, and if the new blog works out to be better, I will keep it. But if it doesn't, I might find out what to write next in my old post. This device has helped me through many of my blogs and is a great way to get out of writers block. I also learned that if I am very concentrated in my writing and have a good format on how to write my blog, I never get caught up in writers block. When I am concentrated, no one can bother me, I can't watch t.v. and I can't eat until I'm done. In my opinion this is the best way to write your blog fast and not get into writers block. I also figured out that the reason I get stuck in writers block is because I day dream and my mind wanders off about something that had happened that day or other stuff. It is extremely easy for me to have my mind wander off and not think about what I am writing about but I am trying to keep that from not happening. I haven't noticed any patterns in my blogs that have gotten me into writers block. I usually get this annoying struggle when I run out of ideas to write about and can't continue. I know it gets very frustrating and you want to stop when you don't know what to write about next but its not that hard to get rid of.I use my method that my English teacher thought me to help me get through that difficult time. Writers block is an devastating process that everyone has to get through but with the correct steps, it will become much easier to get past.