What I've Learned This Semester

At the beginning of the year I wasn’t sure what to expect from this whole new school and new teachers. I was told that Stevenson would be a lot easier than St. Mikes, which brings me to the first thing I learned, which is that English class at Stevenson is as hard if not harder than the one I had at my old school. I learned that English class can be the worst and best class of the day.

When I wrote my first day of school paper, I had no idea what the grading scale was in this school, or what to do to get a good grade. When I got my paper back I was not very happy with myself because of the grade I got, so when we were going to start the rewrite, I decided to work harder, this is the second thing I learned, which is that you have to try your very best to succeed in writing and from trying your best you are rewarded with knowledge.

The third thing I learned was not a life lesson, but it had as big of an impact on me as the lessons I learned did. I learned of something called the Rwandan genocide. Up until this year I don’t think I even knew that there was a country called Rwanda on this planet. I knew about the genocide of the Jewish people in the Holocaust, but never knew that there was another time in history where that happened. I learned about all the different groups of people who were involved or not involved enough in the genocide, like France, Uganda, and even my own country. One thing that I found most disturbing during the genocide was that the Hutu people (MRND) had a radio station set up to instruct the Hutus on how and when to kill their neighbors, the Tutsis. I found it strange that the Hutus were not smart enough to think for themselves.

The next thing I learned I had only used twice before, but it wasn’t used the same way. I learned how to write a thesis statement. In the 7th grade I did a science fair project and for that I had to write a thesis. That thesis had to be an “if”, “then” statement and use both those words in it. It took me a long time to understand the purpose of a thesis. In 8th grade I had to do the same thing, but for a half year long research project. The concept of how to write a thesis was clear to me now, it had to have an opposing side, the words if and then, and have support throughout your paper. When I got to 9th grade, my image of a thesis was twisted, when I wrote a thesis it was always fairly long, but I learned that a thesis doesn’t have to be a paragraph, or have the exact word if or then, as long as you get your point across and express your idea clearly.

I also learned how to margin note. Margin noting on papers or articles can help me to understand the article and help me not to have to re-read the article; I can just summarize what at certain paragraph or line said in the margins. I can also highlight the really important parts so I know what they are or what the main idea of the article is.

The last thing I’ve learned is that harsh, correcting criticism is a thousand times better than no criticism at all. I have learned that being told that you are wrong when you are wrong is better than being told you are right when you are wrong. In other words, I appreciate harsh critics because they make me a better writer. I have improved in my writing skills so much this half a year that I ever have, so I would like to thank Mr. Fielder for all the critics he has given me this semester, I truly appreciate each and every one of them, so once again thank you!

To Be a Native American

If I had to be a native person in the time of colonization or hardship in North America, South Africa, Rwanda, or Australia, I would be a Native American.


I would not only want to be just a Native American, but a Native American in the Powhatan tribe. I have my reasons for being so specific with my choice. You see, over the summer, I got bored one day and sat on the couch. I turned on the TV and there it was, a movie that I had fallen in love with years ago, but hadn’t seen it since then, until now. It was the Disney movie, Mulan. Seeing this movie triggered a new obsession that I still hold today, which is Disney. So, I would spend the rest of my summer watching all the old Disney VHS movies (around 35) and researching for the original or historical reference in each and every one of them. I read Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, old folk tales of the legend of Hua Mulan, and I discovered the historical background of the movie Pocahontas. It was magic! The two things I love in this world the most history and Disney combined! This discovery led to numerous library visits, which led to me knowing more and more about “little mischief” (it’s what Pocahontas means, it was a nickname) than I ever knew before, like that she was from the Powhatan tribe.

It would be a dream come true to experience Jamestown first hand! I would pay big money and leave everything I have behind to be able to live through this time, even though I would be most likely killed, it would be completely worth it. Sure, it would be tough having to deal with those pesky Brits and their misunderstandings and the tribe’s misunderstandings, but there are so many different points of view on this story that I’m not sure which one to believe. Knowing the truth would make it all the better. So, maybe I don’t want to live in a colonized area because it was safer, easier to live in, or anything else like that. The sole reason I chose to be a Powhatan is because of an obsession.