1st Blog of the Year

1) I am a learner, an avid one at that, and one of the things that excites me most about this upcoming year is to take in all that I can from U.S. history plus the novels and plays we are reading. Learning is a passion for me; knowledge excites me. Also, as you will soon learn, I love class discussions pertaining to history as well as literature. Voicing my opinion, asking questions, and arguing are a part of my personality. I am excited to learn how to be a more clear, persuasive, and eloquent in my writing. Not only in essays, but in creative writing as well. More than anything, I am excited to experience and exceed my fullest potential.

2) As I looked at the summer reading sheet that was presented to us at the end of tenth grade, I thought it's about time I did this. A weird thought to most my age, but as a person I always feel the need to be productive. Especially when college is right around the corner and I will be doing much more work there, so I might as well be prepared. The two books I read were completely opposite from each other. The first book was, The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle.
A book that really opened my eyes to subconscious racism along with the perspective of sadness. With a major in literature, my mom recommended this book to me because she thought I would relate to the southern California political issues of Illegal immigrants, and thought I would appreciate his writing style and the way he tells a story. Which I did. She also picked the book because of the use of language that T.C. Boyle uses is very vivid. He also has a very inventive way of using language. "Truthfully", my mother explained to me "I chose it because I met T.C. Boyle on several occasions to record his short stories, and really liked him. Really respected him as an author". The second book I read was by the famous gardener, Michael Pollan. It was called, The Botany of Desire. A fantastic book about the history of four plants and how they have evolved. The apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. All equally fascinating. I learned more in 238 pages of that book than I did in a semester of math. Who would have known that the apple originates from Kazakhstan, or ancient European cultures used to worship black tulips? My dad recommended this book for me for a couple of reasons. One, he thought I would enjoy Michael Pollan's writing style, and I really did. If I could be half of the writer he is throughout my lifetime, I would be satisfied. "It was an intellectually stimulating book", my dad said as I looked at the front cover with curiosity with the summer ahead.