One day at a time...

In the short-term, my goals are pretty simple to explain, but perhaps a bit harder to peruse. Nonetheless, I plan on reaching them. At this point in my life, I am beginning to think seriously about my future and where I would like to be in a few years time. My answer right now: I don’t know. I am envious of the people who have a passion and know exactly what they want to get out of life. I enjoy doing so many different things; it is hard for me to figure out what I eventually would like to concentrate on. So, right now, I am taking part in everything I love with hopes that the list will narrow down over time. Therefore, right now, in order to make sure that I have a choice to do whatever my passion turns out to be, my short-term goal is to do well in school and become the person I want to be.

I believe that after experiencing certain IB classes, this decision will be easier. I will ask myself, “Which homework do I want to do first?” and “What class am I dreading today?” and based off of my feelings after two years of intense study, I should have a better idea of what I like to do. So, when choosing my IB classes, I am picking a variety of class types – all ones that I currently enjoy. I am planning on taking HL English (because I have always loved English – so that one is a given for me), Art (I like being creative, and no matter what I do, I believe art will play a role in it). I am not sure about my last HL, but I think I am going to take Biology. As far as my SL classes are concerned, I am looking forward to taking ab initio (beginning) Japanese (finally being able to communicate will be wonderful!). I am also going to take SL math because, well, yes…SL. And I think I would find Geography very interesting. This is my plan. My long-term goals consist of what I wrote before – finding what I am good at and what I enjoy. I am planning on going to college in the United States. I love the highly college concentrated area of the east coast – and can imagine myself there. I am already excited! I hope that someday, it all works out. Right now, I am doing all that I can to make it possible, but like Abraham Lincoln said, “the best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time”.

Day and Night

This is a film based on the contrast between day and night. It was inspired by the book After Dark by Haruki Murakami.

This film was made by Jasmine Naseri and Anna Johnson in December 2009

What kind of a learner am I?

What kind of a learner am I? This is a question my father answers every time I ask him to listen to me go through the components of nuclear physics or explain how hygiene evolved through the middle ages. He always comes into my room and says, “You’re a social learner!” I guess he is right; I am a social learner.

However, there is a lot more to my learning than just talking it through with someone else. I ask my mom, dad or sister to let me talk about what I am learning as a last step to my studying. I like to tell someone, who has no previous knowledge of the subject, about what I am learning ,because then, when I am done, if I have explained it well and they understand it, I can be sure that I have a good idea of what I am talking about.

Before I am at the point where I can share what I have learned, I need to make sure I know it myself. I do this by making tons of lists. Lists help me to work ahead and this year is the first year where I am consciously aspiring to get work done ahead of time. If I do it before the due date, I feel like I actually understand it and everything is fresh in my mind from when we talked about it in class. I have started thinking of days that assignments are assigned as due dates and this has worked very well for me.

Everyday when I get home, the first thing I do before I start my homework is make a list. I list out all the subjects I have the next day and sometimes the next two days. Then, I find out what work I have to do, and decide when I am going to do it. By making a list, I can be sure I am not forgetting anything and I can plan how much time I will spend on my homework that night. I think, overall, making lists is a good thing, and has no negative consequences. The only bad thing is if I forget to write something down – but I use my agenda as a bible, so that rarely happens.

The next step to my learning is making a study guide for a test or an outline of an essay. I find that by making a study guide, I am re-writing the information I have to learn and this repetition helps my comprehension. When I do a study guide, I do not just copy down my notes because I think that would be a waste of time. Instead, I try to really understand the information and I ask questions so I can try to go deeper and really understand it. In the study guide, I try to express it in the simplest way possible – whether that is in a chart, flashcards, bullet points or even pictures. Then I study the study guide and finally, I talk through it with someone.

If I have done an outline, I will go to one of my parents and tell them about my plan. Even though I am often not looking for their comments or advice, I just like telling someone what I am thinking - saying my thoughts out loud. I don’t know why, but I do. This is good because I know what I need to do to make myself feel like I have a good understanding of something, but it is also bad sometimes.

Every so often, there is no one there to talk to or to listen to what I am learning. At those times, I have to focus on knowing the information the best I can and I will sometimes talk to myself in order to understand! Before, I would have a very hard time if I could not orally go through what I was learning. As I have gotten older, I have become better at studying on my own in my room. I used to do all of my homework at the kitchen table, but I don’t anymore.

Of course I still like to talk about what I am learning, but now I tend to do it in a different way. I will talk about it at the dinner table or connect it to something that we are talking about as a family. In the end, I think I will always be a social learner, no matter what, but I am getting better at studying alone too – as long as I am organized, it is not really a problem. J

Murakami's use of language in the passage below

In this passage from After Dark, Murakami achieves an awkward and uncomfortable feeling for the reader to match the mood in the novel through his use of language. There are several techniques that Murakami includes in this passage which allow the reader to engage with the mood of the extract. His sentence structure is often unusual and therefore is uncomfortable to read. Dependent clauses are left to stand alone, and begin with conjunctions, for example “And an ashtray.” This communicates the awkwardness of Murakami’s language. Along with the fragments, the syntax in the passage has an effect on the reader as well. With the use of colons, “…she has a cup of coffee in front of her: that is her role as a customer.”, the audience is left uneasy about what is happening in the passage. This incomplete, minimalist way of writing allows the reader to experience the discomfort matching the mood in the passage. Finally, the point of view that Murakami uses in this excerpt is third person limited. This matched with the simple syntax and fragments ends with the reader feeling as though they are there, watching the girl “reach out at regular intervals and bring the coffee cup to her mouth”. Murakami makes the reader feel directly exposed to the uncomfortable mood of the passage through his combination of literary techniques.

Murakami Pastiche

Original: "On her table is a coffee cup. And an ashtray. Next to the ashtray, a navy blue baseball cap with a Boston Red Sox 'B'. It might be a little too large for her head. A brown leather shoulder bag rests on the seat next to her. It bulges as if its contents has been thrown in on the spur of the moment. She reaches out at regular intervals and brings the coffee cup to her mouth, but she doesn't appear to be enjoying the flavor. She drinks because she has a coffee cup in front of her: that is her role as a customer"

How am I writing?

As of this entry, I have written two formal essays in English class. One in-class, and the other at home; each one had a different prompt. The first focused on the role of “fate” in short stories we had explored in class, and the second was an analysis of a theme in Antigone and its presence in our world today. Despite the very different subjects, and circumstances in which these two essays were written, there are common strengths and weaknesses in my writing, which are evident in both.

I will start by acknowledging my primary weaknesses. Between the feedback from Mr. Bellew and my own reflection of my essays, I can see that I have four main improvements to make. Although my work is generally coherent, “moments of awkwardness” are a part of each of my essays. I think this is mostly due to not re-reading my work enough before deciding it is finished. If I read through each paragraph more, I could see how the sentences flow and add better transitions needed to minimize the awkwardness. Occasionally, my word choice is weak. There are times when I choose the correct word, however, often it takes me a while to think of the exact word to describe what I want to say. So, I try to put the closest word I can think of as a placeholder. Sometimes, I don’t go back and change it. This hinders the fluency and could be a cause of the “moments of awkwardness”. In at least one instance in each essay, I have used casual language or an abbreviation. Instead, to ameliorate the essay, I need to spell out words like “first” as opposed to “1^st” when speaking of the voice "first person", or “versus” and not “vs.” when speaking of the preposition. Finally, an old problem: spelling. I have never been a good speller – but with spell check on the computer – I realize I have no excuse. I think that spelling is important for the comprehension of the essay and I just need to be more cautious.

As far as my strengths are concerned, I believe they have been pretty consistent between the two essays. I have a “logical approach” to my writing and how I convey my ideas. I am “perceptive” and generally, write fluently. I think this is because I have enjoyed writing about the subjects in the past two essays and I was interested. The more engaged I am in the topic, the more insightful I am able to be. In the past, I often struggled with the development of my ideas and including explicit details in my writing. Because of this, when I write, I am consciously asking myself if I can go one level deeper in what I am trying to say. I try to focus on giving one pearl of an idea instead of abundant pebbles! I have also spent a lot of time, especially last year, becoming familiar with literary terms, and so I really feel like that is one of my strengths. My understanding is especially useful in an essay when I am to discuss the techniques used by an author.

Overall, I will continue to develop my strengths to be stronger, and I will work on the weaknesses I discussed above. Hopefully, my next essays will have evidence of improvement – I will be thinking of what to focus on when I write them!

Modern Antigone Theme - Short Story (in -class) -

Antigone in action!

Reflection

Scene – Prologue [Antigone, Ismene]

For our version of “Antigone” the movie, we chose to make the prologue a visual reality! In ancient Greek theatre, the prologue is a scene that introduces the conflict of the play. In Sophocles’ work, it often consists of one or two characters delivering necessary background knowledge to the audience. It is also interesting because it is a part of the play where there is no choral influence whatsoever. In “Antigone”, the prologue gives the audience an introduction to the two sister’s characters as they speak of their recent loss and struggle with the family curse of fate. It is the time when the sister’s polar personalities truly shine through and much emotion is exhibited.

In the scene, Antigone tells Ismene of her predisposition to bury her dead brother – to do what she believes is right. It is an emotional time in the play and Antigone is conveyed as the stronger of the two sisters. She refuses to understand the limits placed on her and is willing to go as far as death in her loyalty to the dead. The content of the prologue had a major effect on our cinematic decisions. For much of the animation, the camera switches between different close up angles on each sister as they speak in this time of hardship. If it had been an scene more focused on action, we would have used a wider angle to display the movement, however, the prologue emphasizes the characters and their feelings and that is why we used the close ups. These show their sentiments displayed on their faces, and actions as they speak to one another. It is an intimate scene and therefore requires intimate shots!

For example, Antigone tells Ismene that it is time for her to prove whether she is a true sister, or…a traitor to the family (1:03). This is a dramatic part, and so we had a close up on Antigone’s face to show the seriousness in her eyes. Also, we gave some thought to the appearance of each sister in our visual reality. Antigone is striking, and rebellious. Her blue hair and red lips emphasize that she is strong and is not bothered by what others think. Her style is contrasted with Ismene’s light pink outfit and carefully coifed hair depicting a more conservative character.

Overall, the prologue in “Antigone” is packed with importance and significance in the play. We did our best to capture as much of this as possible in our reenactment, through the dialogue and cinematic decisions, and personally, I think it looks pretty good.