My Final Freshman Post

   There are three things I want to include in my final blog post as a freshman: My best memory, the most important thing that I have learned this year, and some advice to future freshmen. My best memory as a freshman in high school was getting to watch movies my friends after school in art club. I especially loved it because I got to do it with my friends and hang out with them. I think the most important thing that I have learned this year is to avoid procrastinating your homework--it will hurt you and your grades in the long run. And finally, three pieces of advice to future freshmen: 1.) Respect others so that they will respect you, 2.) Have an open mind, and 3.) Remember that you're never truly alone.

My Experience from The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

   In my English class, we recently finished reading The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. I believe that my experience from reading this novel has impacted and changed me in several different ways. First, it has relinquished my, perhaps subconscious, stereotype that all white people around the time of the Civil War were racist. Gaines did a good job of bringing a subjective point of view to the novel and provided characters that contrast the racial stereotypes. For example, Job, a character in the novel, was a poor white man who helped Jane and Ned, two black children, and sheltered them. Another way that the novel has affected me is that it has opened my eyes to the idea that freedom isn't just about being free from the restraints held by other men, but also being free from restrictions of rights and free from judgments.

Yeah.. I'm White. So what?

    In my English class, we are reading The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines. We were told to write about an example of a stereotype portrayed in the novel and show how that stereotype can be proven as false. I have chosen to write about the stereotype that claims that all white southerners are racist and despise black people. Although it is true that there were a lot of white southerners who hated black people in that time period, this is not true for every white person. For example, there is a white man named Job who helps the main characters, Jane and Ned, and brings them to his home. He even feeds them and lets them stay there for the night despite the fact that he is a white southerner, that Jane and Ned are black children, and that he and his wife are barely able to support themselves. There is yet another case of this hospitality toward the two children when a plantation owner named Mr. Bone lets them stay there and even gives them a job despite their young age and lack of education and experience.

Eragon: Paolini's Best

 About three years ago, my friend suggested that I read a book called Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Eragon is a book about a poor farm boy whose life dramatically changes once he finds a dragon egg. The novel's setting starts in a tiny village named Carvahall. When I began reading it, I admit I was a little overwhelmed by some of the new concepts, such as new species of magical creatures. However, once I became familiar with the foreign features of this world, I was absorbed in the story. Unlike most science fiction books, Paolini did a great job in making the world of magic seem realistic and less silly and scornful. His writing is so vivid and colorful that you can picture each setting and action that is taking place. He is also skilled in filling his stories with adventure and suspense. Overall, I love this book and have read it a countless number of times--never growing tired of it. I would recommend it to any reader who likes a sense of adventure in books (or likes The Percy Jackson Series, Lord of the Rings, etc.)