Blog Reflections

This year, I have made considerable progress in my writing and reading. My blog focuses on who I’ve been as a reader and writer in the past, who I currently am as a reader and writer, and who I hope to become as a reader and writer. This development can be clearly seen through reading over my past blogs. When I reviewed all my previous blogs, I realized that my writing style and way of communicating through my writing, as well as my comprehensive reading, has developed throughout the 2009-2010 school year.

Some specific ways my writing has improved throughout the year include my use of more specific detail and more thoughtful word choice. For example, my most recent blog entry was a self evaluation of my abilities to write essays. In this blog entry, I used details about my strengths and weaknesses and places to improve as a writer. In my earlier entries, I spoke more generally about the topics in my blog.

Another area I feel I’ve improved in my writing is my knowledge of different devices to utilize in my posts. Experimenting with writing in different forms helped me practice variety, which is an important step to becoming a better writer. For example, on December 16, 2009, I posted a narrative poem inspired by Animal Farm. In doing this, I learned how to apply different poetic devices such as rhyme scheme and figurative language. In addition, I wrote a few reflections on past experiences in first person (October 14 about childhood memories and October 30 about life lessons). Doing so prepared me to use my own background experiences when reading the words of others.

This year I have grown in the use of applying my own experiences – from past relationships and lessons – to connect with texts I read. For example, on February 26, when I wrote about Great Expectations and Pip’s first visit to Miss Havisham’s house, I was able to relate to what Pip must have been experiencing by recalling my own experience at a summer camp (see photo above). Both Pip and I had an experience that changed the rest of our lives. Through this year, I have learned that when I apply my background knowledge when reading, I will better connect with what I am reading. There is a quote by Catherine Drinker Bowen that reminds me of how everything I write or read is connected to those things I have experienced. Bowen says, “Writing, I think, is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. The writer experiences everything twice. Once in reality and once in that mirror which waits always before or behind.” I found these words to be true this year each time that I felt like I could identify with a character because I had experienced something similar in my own life.

Another area I grew in my language arts skills this year was further development of reading comprehension. We learned about literary elements such as motif, themes, and many more. My blog shows evidence of my developing understanding of these literary devices when I wrote about Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Bean Trees on October 1 and 14. When I first started reading The Bean Trees, I could apply only prior knowledge of literary devices. However, as my abilities as a reader advanced, my perspective of the novel changed. And I began to develop a deeper understanding of the characters and theme. I was able to identify the writer’s use of motif in illustrating her theme. My post on November 18 about To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates how my understanding of motif grew as I continued to write about it and identify it in what I am reading.

I have grown as a reader and a writer this year, and my blog illustrates this growth. I am excited to refine the skills I have learned this year and add even more to my toolbox. Through this process I’ve learned that writing about what I read as well as expanding my literary background help my thoughts and perceptions of what I am reading to become deeper and more complex. Perhaps I will continue to keep a blog in my future!