Since my last reflection, I have finished We Regret to Inform You and have started Rabbits for Food. I would recommend both books, especially Rabbits for Food due to the heavy topics it breaks down. I had also started My Life in the Fishtank though I stopped reading it due to its lower reading level. Rabbits for Food is an in-depth character study of a girl named Bunny, someone who goes through extreme episodes of depression and presently resides in a psychiatric ward. The text is incredibly engaging, as it uses humor to outline these sensitive topics. Of all of the texts I’ve read so far, I think I’ll write my independent essay on Rabbits for Food. This is because the book is much more detailed and realistic compared to the other books I’ve read. All of the other books I’ve read so far uses much more casual language due to them taking place in a high school. Rabbits for Food, however, is much more unique. If I were to use this book for my essay, the main topic would most likely relate to the problems with psychiatric wards and therapy or familial conflicts related to mental health.

During the Socratic seminar, I spoke a reasonable amount, periodically inviting others to speak. I got masterings On criteria A, C, and D, which shows that I did well in understanding the text, speaking, listening, and using language.

I still need to work on citing specific parts of the text and only speaking when I’m sure of what I’m about to say, as well as analyzing the text’s language choices. I did not cite all of my points using quotes from the text. In addition, I analyzed the text on the spot without previous preparation a few times, causing me to stumble on some of my words. Mr. Dalton commented on my lack of language analyses, so I should comment on different literary devices the text uses.

Next time, I hope to be less hesitant when speaking. On my rubric, I got a meeting on criteria B, so I need to analyze the stylistic features in the text.

In order to achieve these goals, I need to prepare more analyses that I can reference during the seminar. This way, I won’t be speaking on the spot.

I have read Whatever and We Regret to Inform You, and I am currently reading The Dangerous Art of Blending In during our independent reading sessions. I genuinely enjoyed reading Whatever and We Regret to Inform You because they take place in a high-school setting, something I can relate to. Both books included a very obvious exposition to climax to resolution plot structure. I think Whatever teaches the reader that communication is vital in both a platonic and romantic relationship. We Regret to Inform You assures the reader that they should not jump to conclusions and to be honest with your loved ones. I believe both of these messages are important, and I’ll make sure to keep them in my mind in the future. I am currently on page 46 of The Dangerous Art of Blending In, which is presently introducing the setting. So far, I can conclude that the book is centered around the main character, Evan Pano, who lives with an abusive mother and a trying father. I’m very intrigued by the story and am planning to finish it soon.

I have read The Magic Fish, Wings of Fire, and Harry Potter during our independent reading sessions. Personally, I enjoyed reading The Magic Fish the most. The graphic novel is about a Vietnamese American teenager, Tien Phong, who communicates with his mother through fairy tales. The story switches between fantasy and real-life, as it depicts Tien struggling to come out as gay to his mother. I loved this novel because of the abstract way it tells its story, shifting between real-life and fantasy. The fairy tales shown in this book reflect what is going on in Tien’s own life. I connect with Tien because I have also struggled with my own identity. Like the Vietnamese fairy tales painted in the story, the story doesn’t necessarily end with a “happily ever after,” but it has a fulfilling conclusion. I believe that if the story were to have an epilogue, Tien would still struggle through his life due to his identity, but he would be happy.

SWOT

Strengths:

• Reading fast/speed-reading
• Reading & writing about stuff I’m interested in
• Coming up with ideas to write & making plot outlines & general dialogue
• Coming up with characters & ideas for character-developing events
• Theorizing about/writing notes on what I read

Weaknesses:

• Reading/writing about things I dislike or don’t care about
• Progressing storylines to reach an ending
• Writing essays about things I’m not interested in
• Reading classic old-timey books, especially Shakespeare (I don’t understand 90% of what they’re saying)

Opportunities:

• Writing stuff, especially during creative writing sessions. Coming up with random short stories is more fun & easier than writing about nonfiction. Having creative freedom makes everything a lot more fun and creating your own characters & worlds is even better.

Threats:

• Shakespeare language and when authors write in characters speaking in weird limericks or poems. I have a hard time reading it since I don’t understand what they mean a lot of the time.. A lot of the time I have to go to an outside source to read a summary.

Target: By writing a short story of at least 250 words every day, I would like to improve my ability to write enticing stories. I will know I have achieved this when I can look back on my old work and be able to see an improvement between it and my more recent writing.