Eliana's English Blog

  Prompt: Chris and his sister  Carine McCandless  had a very close relationship, even when he struggled to connect with others. Write about a relationship in your life where you feel truly understood. Explain what makes that relationship strong and how it compares to the connection between Chris and Carine in  Into the Wild .   One of my friends that I know through dance really understands me. Whenever I am trying to do something or say something, she always listens and knows what to say. I really feel connected to her because she always knows when something is wrong  and she always know what to do when something is wrong. I always feel really understood by her every time something is wrong and she reaches out.  We have such a special connection that I feel like only we have and it feels so ncie to be silently understood without even having to say anything.  Summary-  We read and answered questions.  Reflection- Knowing how to look for ...

 In my opinion, I would say communication in a relationship is the way that trust is built. This does not just apply to your partner, but also in friendships and in family too. I think communication is the most important thing because if you don't communicate how are you supposed to know if something is wrong with the relationship, then the tension builds up and then there are more problems because the first problem is not solved.  Keeping secrets and lying is what builds trust. Especially if communication is the most important thing in the relationship. It creates mistrust and suspicion. Summary- Having a group discussion and reading chapter 12.   Reflection- Knowing how to answer the deep connection questions and new vocab words.  

  Prompt: Based on the first 40 minutes of the film and Chapters 1–11 of the book, does the visual version of Chris’s journey make his choices seem more justified or more reckless than the text does? Explain how the medium (film vs writing) shapes your perspective. In the movie, you see more of Chris's emotions on his face and more of what HE is feeling. You see how he doesn't like being attached to people and you see how he gets frustrated with his parents. The movie visualizes how much happier he is in the wilderness and how he loves the freedom. This turns into understanding to why he might have done what he did to the watcher. His choices seem more reasonable in the movie for me. In the book, all you get is other peoples perspectives and thoughts about him and not his own experiences which leads the reader to think that he is stupid for his decision. In the movie its more him and his emotions and you sort of build a connection and understanding for him which makes it seem l...

  Prompt: Think about a moment when your understanding of your family changed as you got older. How did that shift impact your perspective, and how does that connect to Chris’s realization about his parents in Chapter 11 When I was younger, when my parents would correct me or punish me I thought it was because it was because they didn't like me or because they thought they were trying to make me mad or something. As I got older of course I realized that they corrected me and punished me for things that I needed to fix because they love me and care for me. Almost everything they did way to help me and protect me and I feel like that could be applied to Chris and his relationship with his parents. In this chapter its talked about how his father was and his relationships with various family members and it seems like their relationship wasn't perfect but it didn't seem abusive or anything. Sometimes you need to realize that parents but these pressures on because they think its ...

  Prompt: Chris McCandless rejects a traditional path of success and instead defines success on his own terms through freedom, experience, and personal meaning. Reflect on what success means to you at your current stage in life. In the response, explain how success is currently defined (grades, college acceptance, achievements, happiness, etc.) and where those ideas come from. Then, consider whether that definition truly reflects personal values or if it is shaped by expectations from family, school, or society.  Success for me right now is my grades and how well I am preforming in my sport at the moment. I really want to do well in my future and the only way for that to happen would be through education. My parents worked really hard to get me so they I could have a good education too. I try to do well with my assignments and grades to be able to keep a good GPA so that I can get into a good collage. My success also is defined by how well I am doing in my sport. I really want...

  Chris chooses independence over relationships. When have you chosen to be on your own instead of relying on others? What happened, and would you make the same choice again? One time in middle school, we had the choice to either work alone or in groups. This was my 7th grade ELA class and I had my 2 really good friends with me in that class. But I knew if I worked with them then we would not get anything done. We always never do anything when we are together. Even though they worked in a group together and asked me to join them, I declined and worked by myself. Even though I did want to work with them I knew that working alone would be better. And I finished the project early and got a very good grade on it while they turned it in last minute and didn't do as good as me. I think that even though it was scary for me, I would do it again and it taught me that you don't always need to rely on other people to do good.  Summary- We read chapter 8 and talked about all the other cha...

   Choose a vocabulary word from Lesson 10 that resonates with you personally. Write a blog post explaining why this word is significant to you, including any personal memories or experiences that link you to the word. The only word that I can remember is veneer. This word is having a thin attractive layer of good quality wood or stone to cover up a  cheaper surface. It can also be used in a figurative sense for a person with veneer  charm. This word stood out to me because it was the last word and so I remember it the best. I have never heard anyone use the word veneer but I think its a interesting word. I really like how this word can be appiled to a person to. People can pretend like they are a good person or be deceiving on the outside, but really they are not a good person.  Summary- We did vocab.  Reflection- Learning new words and their meanings. 

  Prompt:  For most of you, yesterday you took the SAT. If you did not, you  will  take it before you leave high school. What is your  desired SAT score ? Identify your  top three colleges  and explain  why each school appeals to you .  My desired SAT score would be like a 1450-1470 or higher. My top 3 collages right now would be UF,  Auburn, or UCF. I would really love to go to a collage in Florida because of the access to the coast and just I love the schools there. My top choice right now would be University of Florida because it has the major I want which is animal sciences or zoology and it has the minor I want which would be dance. It is also a diverse school which is nice. The only thing I don't really like is how big of a school it is and it is very hard to get into. Auburn also has a good Pre-vet program which I was looking into. And UCF has the major too but it is a very big school. Summary- Reading chapter 7 and reflecting on ...

  Prompt: Twice a year we adjust our clocks for daylight saving time, but the change can affect our sleep, energy, and daily routines. Now that we have  sprung forward ; reflect on how this time change impacts you personally. Do you find it easy or difficult to adjust your schedule? Explain how the time change affects your mood, productivity, or daily habits. I personally like when we spring forward because it means we get more daylight and it stays "day" for longer. I hate it when it gets dark so quickly because its so depressing . Also when we spring forward it means summer is almost here and I love summertime so much its my favorite season.  When the days are longer it makes me feel like I have more time and it keep me productive. I hate working when its dark and so I love to look outside and see the daylight. And when I am at dance, I like being able to see that its still day time and not completely dark when I am dancing.  Summary- Reading chapter 6 and having a...

  Prompt:  In Chapter 5 of  Into the Wild , McCandless is strongly influenced by writers like Jack London, whose stories shape the way he thinks about adventure and wilderness.  Has a book, song, musician, or artist ever influenced the way you think about life, goals, or the world around you?  Identify the specific book, song, musician, or artist and explain how their ideas or message affected your thinking. For me, I would say someone who really influenced me would be Olivia Rodrigo. I started to listen to her music in middle school and those songs sort of put into words what I was kinda feeling at the time. In freshmen year of high school she released another album called Guts. In her album she expresses how it feels to be a teenager and the experiences she’s had. I really related to a lot of her songs on that album like "pretty isnt pretty" "lacy" "teenage dream" "the grudge" . These songs highlight ideas of not feeling pretty enough or not fe...

  Prompt: In  Into the Wild , Christopher McCandless gives up many of his possessions in pursuit of freedom and meaningful experiences. If you had to simplify your life and keep only a few important possessions, what would you keep and why? What would be hardest to leave behind? The important possessions that I would keep would be like my blanket, my car, my dogs, my apple products like my airpods, phone, macbook, and apple watch, and money and my bed. And the hardest thing to give up would probably have to be like all my excessive clothes and like all the things I have in my room. But if I had to choose something from the list I would say my bed. I love my bed very much and I would not want to give that up.  Summary- Today we read the first chapter of the book and then answered 10 questions about the chapter.  Reflection- learning never to go on a hike and be irresponsible like the man in the book was. 

Prompt: People sometimes feel the need to step away from their normal routines or environments in order to better understand themselves. Describe a time when you needed distance from a situation, place, or group of people in order to think more clearly or gain perspective. What did that experience teach you about yourself? In middle school there would be so much drama between friend groups. It was always something new everyday and it just got tiring being apart of. Like mostly in 7th grade is when it would happen. So eventually I took a break from that friend group and their drama. It taught me that I didn't really like them as people even though I liked them as friends. They were very unfriendly and only cared about themselves. It taught me that I wanted to be friends with kind people who wanted to help others and really cared about their friendship with me. It also gave me perspectives that I had not seen when I was friends with them like the whole world should not revolve around...

  Prompt:  Today you worked on creating your  Vocabulary Digital Cards  in Adobe Express. In one well-developed paragraph, reflect on the assignment by explaining which vocabulary word was easiest for you to understand, which word was most challenging, and how creating your own sentence and selecting an image helped strengthen your understanding of the vocabulary. Use specific examples from your work.   The vocab word that was the easiest to understand was benign because i've seen that word before and I know how its used. The most challenging word for me is probably pervasive because I had trouble understanding how to use it and what it meant. Creating a sentence helped me to really understand how to use the word in the real world. And it helped give context to when I should use the word. The sentences that I thought of were helping me think of different scenarios that the word should be thought of in. The photo helps with visually understanding what it is....