Anum Sheikh
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I have honestly never made an English portfolio so I'm hoping this goes well! I have never really been the type of person to enjoy reading although that changed towards the ending of Sophomore year when we read The Glass Castle and Looking for Alaska. Honestly, reading has been such a different experience for me now that I actually read books I like. Enjoy my blog filled with many different varities of English text! It will show you what kind of person I am as a reader and writer as well as what kind of books interest me in particular. If you have any questions/concerns, feel free to contact me!
Who Am I As A Reader?
As a little kid, I used to love reading. I remember going to the library daily with my mom. My first ever library card was like winning a million dollars - it meant everything to have a card as valuable as that. Now, my love for reading isn't quite that strong but whenever I pick up a great book, I can't stop reading. Reading isn't exactly an everyday activity for me, but I occasionally do it. If the book contains modern teen fiction, any mystery/suspense or even romance, I'm down to read it. When I'm captivated by a book, I get really into it! I won't stop; I'd close the door, turn on my music, go on my bed and just continously read without talking to anyone. When I'm in my reading zone, nothing can get to me. I am the happiest person ever.
Who Am I As A Writer?
I personally enjoy writing and always did from kindergarten to now. I remember my kindergarten teacher telling my mom I learned to write fast which she was quite impressed with. My mom has been telling me ever since that there was always a pen in my hand -writing God knows what. Now that I've entered high school, writing has changed and it is harder to write a good piece due to high expectations. Essays don't really impress me but when it comes to writing short stories, count me in. When I write, I always write with my personal experience which means my writing always says who I am as a person.
Beginning of the Year Reflection
In English class this year, I believe that the year will pass by really fast but we will miss it. So far, I'm having a lot of fun because it's not like the English classes I've had before. Now that we are maturing as young adults, we get treated better and have more freedom. I like being a junior especially in English class because I know that my writing and reading skills will improve from now to the end of the year. When we did the 6 Word Memoir, I already knew that this year will be a blast because we get to learn new types of writings by having fun at the same timeI am looking forward to learning new information with Christy, our amazing English teacher! Hope this year turns out the way I am expecting it to.
Scroll towards the bottom for the recent posts. The very beginning starts at the top of this blog! Thank you.
"Libraries were full of ideas – perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons."
- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you."
- Mortimer J. Adler.
"From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends."
My writing process always involves a lot of drafting. Just like every other writer, it takes time for me to get to my final master piece. In order to write my first writing piece for English 2014-'15, I made a story board which demonstrated my own thinking process as well flowed.
Writing Process:
"Reading is dreaming with open eyes."
This I Believe Reflection
As I started writing my This I Believe essay, I had many ideas which springed to mind. My brainstom was completely full of diverse topics and I wanted to explore every one of them! However, since we only had to make it 500 words, I decided to focus on a topic that would not require a lot of explaining but will show a lot to the reader about me. This is why I decided to write about New York City - I wanted it to relate to my 6 Word Memoir I created. Ever since I was a child, the city has always inspired me about my future. Many business workers and models roam their streets which always led me to think how successful I want to be in my life as well. I decided to choose this topic when I was shopping with a few friends in Manhattan. All the lights and rush made me realize writing how this topic will be very easy for me. When I began writing about New York, I opened up Google Docs and spilled all my thoughts online. I wrote about my childhood memories, my favorite moments in the city, favorite shopping centers but most importantly, how it shaped me as a person.
Lord of the Flies & The Bluest Eye Reflection
I have read the Lord of the Flies as well as The Bluest Eye which are both classic books. These two books are similar because they both told their stories from different perspectives. From this, the readers got to have a sense of what most characters in the text are thinking and feeling. Another similarity I personally think is that both had a plot which made it easier for the reader to remember the book. I tend to forget most books I read but these classic books have plots which makes it hard to forget - they are those types of books that readers will most likely remember. It was a wonderful experience reading these books because I felt like I was in the shoes of the characters that showed up in the book. I am used to reading teen fiction about ordinary teenagers living their life. However, when I came across these classics, I realized that I would have never known about them until Christy had made us read it. Before I read these texts, I felt that high school students should read whatever they want and should not be required to read classics. However, my opinion had changed now and I think that all high schoolers should! Before we graduate from high school, I think students should be required to read at least two classics. These 'great works of literature' are most likely to stick to the readers mind which will help them in so many ways - for their English Regents as well as their SAT critical essay. Therefore, I am glad we were assigned to read these two books because they seem to stick to my head due to the amount of interest I had towards them.
English Regents Reflection:
Honestly, the 'Regents Boot Camp' was very helpful. It helped me fully understand what I needed to know for what was on the regents. The different stations we had were very useful because Christy knew that we all are on different stages and that we have to work on our own pace. Because of these stations, I got to work on what I needed to improve on the most: the multiple choice questions. Also, the Regents packet Christy made us put together was very handy because that's what I studied with the whole weekend. Christy's preparation was perfect! Breaking down the English Regents helped me fully understand each section. I have a few goals about the second half of the year, and that is to read more books! I heard that reading more books can lead to a higher SAT score and that is exactly what I'm aiming for. I want to read a lot of books before I take the actual regents in May to get the score of my dreams!
This is my group's character analysis for Acts 1 & 2 of Macbeth by Shakespeare
Macbeth Reflection
Reading Macbeth was an exciting challenge for me because I have never read any of Shakespeares' works before! Trying to read Macbeth was like a puzzle, because I tried breaking down everything sentence by sentence. Once I understood what was happening in the passage, I was able to determine the subtext behind each character's lines. Like I have stated before; reading Shakespeare is like a puzzle. When I was trying to figure out the tone and meaning behind what the characters were saying, I had to use context clues. For example when Lady Macbeth stated in (2.2.24), "A foolish thought to say a sorry sight", we were able to draw the conclusion that she said it in a rude tone and that she would emphasize the word 'foolish'. First, we had to determine the type of character she is. Since she tried to talk Macbeth into the murder and seemed fine with the fact of killing someone, I classified her as a heartless woman. From there, it was easier for me to determine the subtext of her lines.
I have learned a lot about Shakespeare even though I have only read one of his works. Macbeth helped me view Shakespeare in a different way than how I viewed of him before I read his literature. At first, I thought Shakespeare was just like most writers 'back in the days' - used old english and talked about characters falling in love. Instead, he surprised me with his numerous sexual comments reworded to not make it seem that way. Shakespeare was indeed a mysterious man and I am glad I finally got to realize the real him! I have always heard that Shakespeare's works were boring but in my opinion I enjoyed reading because I liked breaking down everything to understand what he was trying to say. Reading Shakespeare was indeed a challenge, but it was all worth it!
Subtext Art
