Missing English Class Already

The end of the school year is approaching rapidly. In another week I will no longer be able to call myself a junior. Overall, junior year was great. It has been more productive than any other year in school so far. In the beginning of the year we have to take tests to see how much we know already in a certain subject. I looked at those tests like they were foreign texts from outer space. Now I understand it all. My comprehension level in all my classes improved greatly. I even understand some things now that others don’t in math (probably my weakest subject).

Junior year has also been more fun than any other year. Becoming a junior felt very freeing to me. It is very uncomfortable to not exactly know who you are while being around people who are being completely influenced by society. But by junior year most of that stereotypical mentality is gone and people start appreciating others for their differences. I feel like this year solidified my friendships. I finally feel like I am apart of a great group of friends without feeling like I’m obligated to have the same personality as them (somewhere along the way this was a big intellectual leap for me). Also my parents realized that I’m an intelligent person that can make my own decisions. Junior year has exceeded my expectations in many ways.

This blog was apart of a project for my fabulous English class. It really made me think deeper than I would have into different topics. I especially liked the weeks where we could pick our own topic. I hope our teacher next year decides to implement the blogs into our class because it is such a fun learning tool. This summer I will probably blog occasionally for fun twice a month or so. From here on out the subject matters will include cooking, stories about how I’m so board, and band camp.

English was especially interesting in multiple ways. Hybrid Arts Academy English 11 is the official name of the class. One of my friends who doesn’t go to my school said that it sounded very “new age”. It is in some ways. The class is specially tailored to fit the needs of artistic people in 11th grade. The literature caught my interest more than in other English classes. I read great books that I would have never considered reading before, like Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. Everyone in that class had a different personality that would shine right through on a daily basis. But somehow they seem to complement one another to make for a very entertaining class. Most of the same people will come together once again in Hybrid Arts Academy English 12 next year. I will miss my English teacher Mrs. Woods more than anything because she won’t be teaching us when we come back as seniors. There will no longer be her witty personality in the front of the classroom talking about in-text citations and her adorable little kids. Without her I wouldn’t have gotten as good of an ACT score. I will not miss ACT Mondays; however they taught me things I had never known before about writing. I woke up every morning happy to go to school because of English class. I will remember stories from that class years down the road.

Life, Frittered Away By Details

Mistaken Identity by Ken Wong

When I first saw this picture it immediately caught my attention. I was using Youtube to provide background music to my life when all of a sudden this image popped up in a video. For some unknown reason the picture is heavily associated with the song “Take Me Somewhere Nice” by Mogwai. It took lots of research to find out that it is a painting by Ken Wong named Mistaken Identity.

This picture is one of my favorite pieces of art because it makes me think about life. Originally I only thought about its meaning in “Take Me Somewhere Nice”. In the song, the singer sings about the UFO sightings in Glasgow, Scotland and how it would be nice if the UFOs would take him away. The picture represents the same amount of confusion that goes along with knowing you’ve seen something and everybody thinks you’re crazy. But to me the picture has a different meaning. Personally, it reminds me about the confusion of life. Everyone has a million little tasks they know they have to get around to floating around in their head. Sometimes people will have so much to do they forget to look at the bigger picture. Happiness is what really matters in the long run. But with so many things that people think they “have to get done,” it’s hard to be happy. Clearly the girl in the picture needs a life adjustment to turn her frown upside down.

My interpretation is that the girl in the picture has so much going on in her life that she is unhappy. She, like many others, is drowning in the trivial details of her life. She is stuck in her situation, represented by the fish bowl over her head. The picture reminds me that I can’t and shouldn’t focus too hard on things that will be meaningless in the long run. It is more possible to succeed when you let go of insignificant activities. Perfection is unachievable and happiness is more important.

See Mistaken Identity and other art by Ken Wong here.