Final Reflection

This year I learned a lot from this class. But one important thing I learned and liked about the most is when my ELA class were learning about the Holocaust. I learned so much about the Holocaust that I really liked when we had the homework for the subject. Our class also went the the Holocaust Museum where we got to meet a real Holocaust survivor. Another subject is when my ELA class learned about how to right perfectly. This helped me a lot through this year. I also say that I improved a lot over this year. And I can say that, now, it would be a little more easier for next year when I start writing essays. I could also use the TIQA format. Another important thing I learn this year is, in Social Studies my class learned about credit cards, debit cards, and how we can do better if we ever own a home, car, insurance, etc.

  One thing that I would remember this year, for the rest of my life, Is when we were learning about the Holocaust. The Holocaust was the most tragic part that happened to people. And no one knew about it. I would remember this my whole life because it's important to know and remember horrible things that, when you were little you never knew about until now. I would also remember when we went to the Holocaust Museum and met a real life survivor. It was amazing how I actually got to meet a real life survivor.

The nicest thing the someone did for me in this class was Lael. She is one of the nicest people you would ever meet, but once you get her upset or mad she is not in her best mood. What she did for me was that she was there through the tough thing that happened to me this year. What it was, was that my grandma was in the hospital and she was getting dementia, and it was coming fast. But their was Lael trying to keep me happy. And she did. She is one of the most important people to have in one's life, because just that one friend can make you happy for the day and the rest of your life.

I taught my teacher and classmates that I can have my moody days and great days. But when i'm in a moody day I have this really bad attitude and just irritates other people around me. So I just rather not talk and just try to stay calm and relaxed. I usually regret that I talked back to a teacher once. But after the so called moody day I went to the teacher and told them that I was sorry for giving them a really bad attitude. And knowing them, they would forgive me and give me another chance.

The most improvements I have made was in math. I used to not get math at all. But now I feel more confident on when i'm taking a test. I feel like I can do better in math but I just don't try to do my best like I am supposed too. The thing that I am most proud of accomplishing this year is doing better in every subject I had than the last year. And acceding some of my expectation that I had for school this year.

The most challenging part for me this year was when in ELA we had to write blogs. I mean some blogs were easy and I can do. But some I just didn't know how to do them or what to write about. I also had a struggle with asking for help when I needed it the most. It was really challenging to ask for help because i'm always used to doing things by myself. But next year I am going to ask for help when I need it and not be shy to ask.

The best piece of writing I did this year was when in ELA we were doing a This I Believe speech.  My speech was about how family is the most important thing in your life than anybody else in the whole entire world. They are always their when you are in the not so good days. This is the best writing piece I did this year because not only me but everybody else in my classroom gets to know how I feel about family and loss. And how they are always with you. That's important to me because I can share these things with the whole class and also my teacher.

One of the books I read this year was Night. This was my favorite book I read this year because I learned about a real life holocaust survivor and I got to learn more about the Holocaust and how people were treated and seen by other people. Even though I did not do some of the work I still get that pain that Elie felt and the others, during this horrible event that happened years ago. But I was also surprised because I never heard of the Holocaust before until now in 8th grade.

I would give the students that to be ready for all of the hard work that they would do. And how much fun they would have, but also sad. To me, in the beginning, this class was difficult for me. But I over grew that over the past quarters. I got so used to writing blogs that they were now easy for me. I would also give an advise to all the student that they need to have all their work done on time because before you know it the quarter is already ending and you still haven't done the blog that was due in the beginning of the quarter.

This I believe speech

“Losing Someone Important”

By: Selena Guerrero

          My family is the most important thing to me. They support me, they make my not so good days to really great days. I love my family, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, I love them all equally. But the most tragic part of having and knowing someone you're whole life, is losing them, forever. Or even if you haven't met them. I believe that once you lose someone very important to you, you will always have those that are closest to you, to keep your head up high.

          I believe that you have to have  people on your side and to help you through the tough things in life. One night, I was with my mom and brother, my brother and I were at Karate class, and after the class finished my mom got a phone call. It was my dad and he seemed so upset when I heard his voice. And I just knew of what my dad about to tell us. His exact words were, “Pa juan (which was my grandpa) passed away.” His voice was like he was about to cry. My mom, her reaction was, to me, like someone just punched me in the stomach. I fell and started crying with my mother and brother. And the most heartbreaking thing was that we weren't even there for when it happened. We also couldn't go to his funeral. It was late and my mom was heartbroken about the news, so she couldn't drive. So my Other brother, Julian came and picked us up with my dad.

          After that we were having a family gathering and everybody was hugging each other and talking with each other. But knowing me, I couldn't let go of what had happen.  I was shutting myself in from anyone that tried helping me. I would keep telling myself to “keep it together.”gf But Knowing me,  I would hide from people so they won't see me cry. Everyday I had to struggle with this pain I had. But luckily I broke from that shell, when one of my cousins actually made me laugh. It was actually her laugh that made me laugh. Then everybody just started to laugh with us. I still can remember that joy I felt that I didn't have for the past weeks. It was hard for me. But I had my family to keep me in track and make me happy again.

This is why I believe that family is the most important thing.

Counting by 7s

Willow Chance is the main character of this novel. She is a 12-year-old who has been categorized as highly-gifted by educational counselors in her grade school. Dell Duke, her counselor at Sequoia, believes she is a genius. Willow realizes she is strange and accepts herself as she is. She searches for people who will accept her as she is. Willow loves the number 7. She studies medical conditions and likes to diagnose problems and suggest treatments. Willow draws comfort both from her garden and from books. Willow’s parents are killed in a car wreck early in the novel. Willow’s problem lies in the fact that her family had no close relatives and few friends. There is no one to take guardianship of Willow and this exceptional girl is in danger of being put into foster care. Because Willow has taken enough interest in Mai to learn Vietnamese so they can talk in Mai’s native language Mai becomes Willow’s champion, convincing her mother to take charge of the girl. Mai Nguyen becomes Willow’s champion after she realizes the girl has put so much effort into learning Vietnamese. Even though their families never knew each other, Mai lies to the police and tells them the two families were close. She manipulates her mother and convinces her to keep Willow for the night. Mai is self confident and not afraid to stand up for what she believes is right.

Willow continues her journey through the grieving process in this section of the novel, which covers about a month of time. It seems that this period of time is Willow’s rock bottom low time. She feels in the way with the Nguyen family. She even believes that Quang-ha hates her because she has made his life more unbearable. Willow continues to have a selective memory when it comes the things that involve her parents or their deaths. She can’t remember any of what is said at the memorial service, for example. Additionally, she’s lost interest in the things that used to preoccupy her mind. She doesn’t want to go to school, doesn’t want to think about gardening or medical conditions. She is tired and sleeps a good deal of the time. The thing she seems to concentrate on most is not being a burden to the Nguyen family. Willow seems to perk up a bit when she and Pattie first look at Dell’s apartment. She recognizes his apartment full of stuff is a sign of psychological disorder. She indicates that the “old her” would have really enjoyed observing Dell and being able to see first-hand someone suffering from this disorder. With her grief heavy on her mind, however, Willow feels only a prick of interest that seems to die away when Dell is not terribly upset because Pattie throws his things away. Remember also, that while the reader knew from prior descriptions of Dell’s apartment and lifestyle what Pattie would be facing when she decided to use Dell’s apartment as her own, Pattie and Willow were unaware how inattentive Dell was to his housekeeping. Although the task of cleaning Dell’s apartment is daunting, Pattie takes it on. Notice that in this section of the novel, Pattie and Dell really do go beyond the call of duty to give Willow a good place to live, even though they do go about it in an unconventional way. Until the first home visit is scheduled, Willow lives with Pattie in the garage. As soon as the first home visit is scheduled, Pattie goes into action making Dell’s apartment livable. Any other man might have refused to let a woman take charge of his home. Any other woman might have thought the work necessary to make Dell’s apartment livable was too much. Dell and Pattie dive in full force, however, even though Dell is mostly strong armed by Pattie into his part of the process. Notice also that because Willow has spent much of her life communicating with plants and learning about life from them, she still sees her life in comparison with the plant world. In this theme of thinking, Willow recalls that she’s heard about trees that have been burnt in fires but have survived. Although they appear dead at first, these trees eventually begin to grow new leaves and recover from their trauma. Willow hopes that she can be as resilient as these trees, but is afraid she may never recover.



One character in the book is named Dell Duke. Willow describes Dell Duke as not being a bad person, but being bad at being a person. Her description seems adequate for this overweight, underachieving school counselor. Before he meets Willow, Dell seems to avoid really getting involved in any other person’s life at all costs. With Willow, Dell gets dragged into the situation before he can really do anything to get away. Once he gets involved in Willow’s situation, Dell finds that he is capable of making changes, a metamorphosis that seems to surprise him. He begins losing weight and taking responsibility for his actions. He helps Willow with her projects and even briefly considers trying to get guardianship of her by himself. Another important character is Quang-ha Nguyen. Quang-ha Nguyen is Mai’s older brother. He is the reason why Willow and Mai meet. He is a deviant who Dell at first classifies as a lone wolf but later goes back and re classifies him as an oddball when he realizes the teen has artistic talent. Quang-ha is angry when Willow first comes to live with them. He has lost what little privacy he once had. Quang-ha has an artistic ability that intrigues Willow. She also helps him with his homework and his grades begin to improve though he seems to be irritated by his new status as a smart students. He also shows an interest in Willow’s gardening talent. Later, after the garden at the apartment complex is complete, Quang-ha tells Willow he doesn’t want to know how Willow did it, he wants to believe that she is magic. Another Important character is Mai Nguyen. Although Quang-ha is Mai’s older brother, Mai has been in charge of keeping Quang-ha out of trouble for years. She is the opposite of her angry, deviant brother. Mai is intelligent and keeps out of trouble. Mai’s life is enriched by Willow because her family is finally able to move out of the garage in which they’d lived for so many years. She has her own bed and a room she shares only with Willow.