Reflective Essay

   Every freshman and sophomore at ASTI had to make a blog and then subscribe to everyone's blogs at google reader. These blogs can be used to change an individual’s view of the world and give them ideas. We would make several posts weekly and respond to each other’s posts at least once a week. I’ve posted about procrastination, freedom, school, homework, books, and fossil fuels. Overall, I think I’ve done some excellent work this quarter. I was surprised when I discovered my struggles with writer’s block on my blog had become more uncommon and how much my writing has improved.
    One of my favorite posts is my post on Homework. It’s about whether homework is  good thing or a bad thing. The overall question was: Is homework a good thing or a bad thing? This question came to me one night when I was finishing my homework. As I thought about it, I came to realize that both parents and teachers want us to do our homework. So I turned on my computer and typed my thoughts onto blogger. Translating thoughts onto a blog is the easiest way to finish all of the weekly blog posts. Usually, I would have just kept my thoughts to myself and not post it at all, I’ve been doing homework for the past 8 years, and for the next 3 and a half years. I wanted to know exactly why I need to do homework. The way I wrote this blog post is the same way I write all essays and papers: translate thoughts directly onto paper without planning ahead. This way of writing ah changed for me a bit, and by doing this, writer’s block became a bit uncommon, too. Also, this topic is usually an awkward one for me, because I usually come to the conclusion that homework is for my benefit and nothing else. I was amazed I was able to convey my thoughts of homework into words, and I think I accurately conveyed my thoughts, too. Instead of only thinking about what homework does, I also included why teachers and parents tell us to do our homework. I went into greater depths in this blog post, although I think this was the one Mr. Sutherland said there wasn’t enough words on. This blog post still surprised me in many ways when I looked back at my blog. It may not be clearly seen, but I put a lot of thought on that post; I had to think of why parents and teachers give us homework.
   Whenever I write, I have to stop and think for at least 1 minute. This is called writer’s block, where a writer’s thoughts don’t come to him automatically. I’ve learned that when writer’s block comes, it’s very hard for me to get out of it., because my mind would wandr and think of games, sleeping, my parents, etc. I tend to get stuck because I type everything I think on my blogs when I’m trying to finish a blog post. In fact, I’m stuck right now because I don’t know what else I should say. There was a time when I got stuck and got unstuck. This was because my mind wandered back to the topic and I managed to remember everything I wanted to say. I kept on writing. I’ve noticed that I get stuck every time I write, so that means there is a factor in every piece of my writing that gets me stuck. I think this factor is the fact that I never plan my writing and just write. Mrs. Corbally said that it’s always a good idea to write out all your thoughts so that you don’t forget them. I don’t do that because it’s not part of the way I write (it’s why I never plan on the timed in class essays she gives). Also, when I looked back at the journal entries that Mr. Sutherland made us write, I noticed that there were some where I didn’t get stuck. Tho were the ones where we were supposed to answer a set of questions. This makes me think that I only get stuck on free writes. I don’t get stuck on entries with questions to answer because all I have to do is answer the question. Writer’s block is a disastrous thing for me, and I plan on making sure I don't get stuck anymore.
   This is the first time I made a blog, and it’s the first time my writing assignment were actually up to me; I could write about anything  I want, when I want, however  I want. This makes me feel as if there is a bit more freedom in Mr. Sutherland’s class. Overall, I absolutely love blogs and I hope I can make one next year, too.
    My blog has a fair amount of posts on it, but they’re all written in the same style, like I said before (see paragraph 3), so the blog hasn’t changed my style of writing. On the other hand, the blogs has greatly change the way I think (notice the s on “blogs”). Mr.Sutherland helped us create this network of blogs where I can see everyone else’s posts, too. There are pots on freedom and Starbucks ad much more. These posts reflect each person as an individual, showing there inner character. I’ve definitely changed the way I think about Susan due to her blog. These posts also contain depth that tells the reader many things you don’t know. This changes the way you think about a certain subject. This is exactly what happened to me when I read people’s blogs. Also, we were required to write one response post every week. These response posts make a person’s argument stronger if  they agree, and makes it weaker if it says they don’t agree. For example, I used to think America was a free country. Then, I read someone’s blog and saw a post on freedom and how freedom is the ability to do anything you want. If you can do anything you want in America, why are there laws? This actually made me think about what freedom is.
   The first quarter of the school yer has passed, o now it’s time to set goals for the second quarter. This is essential because you need something you want to work towards before you can work towards it. Of all the goals, I can consider, I think the most important one is to stop procrastinating.If I procrastinate, I won’t get my homework done on time. Also, I usually do my blog posts last, so I won’t get to them. This will drastically affect my grades, if not in Mr.Sutherland’s class, then in another class. My second goal will be to just type all of my thoughts onto my blog. This will help finish my weekly blog posts and it gives more topics for others to respond to. If I have topics for others to see, I can write it on the blog I keep for personal thoughts. My final goal is to do my homework without distractions. My homework usually takes less than 1 hour to finish, but it takes about 5 hours with distractions, and this also degrades the quality of my work. I hope I can actually achieve these goals in the second quarter, but I don’t think I’ll be able to accomplish my first goal (see Procrastination). All in all, these blogs have affected me and many othersin morethan one way during the first quarter.