Logan’s English Blog

Prompt Response: I have an irrational fear of roaches, which I've had since I was a young child. I simply don't like the way they move so quickly in proportion to their body, and are can move in every dimension on walls, through the air, and on the ground. Not only that, but they move so randomly, even if it doesn't benefit them, they will fly right into your face for no reason. Over time, I've had to overcome it so I can remove them from my house, and it has become much more manageable over time. Summary: Today, we did a reading about colleges and claims of fact, policy, and value. Reflection:  Thinking about college is always kind of stressful for me.

 Prompt: I think that the thing that I most passionately stand up for is the concept of compromise, and when it is necessary. While it can feel impossible at times to compromise with someone, especially when people can be so different, it is important to learn how to when possible. In no way am I saying that topics like human rights require compromise; certain things require a clear decision. But with the amount of division we have, I think it is pertinent to be able to have a form of more mild discussion, trying to find common ground.

Prompt: A truth that was hard for me to accept was that when I was younger, I put on too much weight. The difficult thing about putting on weight is how it changes your perception of yourself, and it's much easier to deny than accept. Eventually, somewhere towards the beginning of freshman year, I realised how bad it got. I've lost the weight, and the impact of that newfound more negative perception of myself still affects to this day.

  Prompt Response:  About 4 months ago, my mom had a trip to Dubai for work. When she came back, she brought back many goods, things like gold, chocolate, and tea ingredients. My brother and I both got a type of chocolate with pistachio filling. I ate mine quickly and was satisfied with that amount. Weeks later, my brother asked me, "Logan, why'd you eat my chocolate?". I didn't buy him, and my mom still thinks I did till this day. Summary: Today, we did a common lit while Mr. Reese was absent. Reflection:   I didn't like this common lit assignment's story as much as the last.

 Prompt: If I were to compose a poem about one aspect of my life, I would do it about my love for ocean life. About how waves sway and moved life flowing through every inch. How fish are carefully engineered machines of flesh highly specialized and unique in every way. I think that the message it would give is that we are impermanant and perfectectly imperfect.  ABSENT

 Prompt: It has been going incredibly poorly, but it has been manageable for the most part. Given my two concussions and my leaving dual enrollment. This is not my fault, and I am consistently trying to work through my makeup and am making a lot of headway. I'm not really letting it get me down and am trying my best to bring back my grade.  ABSENT

 Prompt: I would choose Terror by Mac DeMarco to describe my life. This is a very personal piece by him from his new album "Guitar," which I enjoy very much and have been playing on repeat. This song is about self-loathing and anxiety, which is something I can find myself relating to when I'm down. But whenever I listen to the song, it kinda puts this spin on my feelings about myself, and I just feel a lot better after because he puts self-loathing and feeling like a burden in such an absurd way, being "just a terror wandering". ABSENT

 Prompt: I think something that makes me different from others is having obsessive-compulsive disorder. This can be both good and bad. For instance, I always make sure my doors are locked at night, which means I check them constantly throughout the night because I'm not sure I've truly locked them. This causes me to sleep poorly, but it ensures I'm always safe at home. Or for instance, I'm taking showers 2-4 times a day and use hand sanitizer consistently, but this can cause dry skin and bad cuticles, while some would consider this behavior strange, this is how I've lived for a while. ABSENT

 If I were to ask about their culture, I would try to learn about their rich culinary heritage. There are so many layers and different tools compared to what the rest of the world tends to use. I would want to learn about the various crops that were cultivated in that area for them to have such a unique flavor profile. Summary: We took notes about different kinds of thesis sentences and worked on clusters. Reflection: I really needed to use the bathroom for half the class, so it was hard to focus, but I liked saying things that were overrated.

Prompt: I found Floyd's presentation interesting and had a lot of visual appeal. The concept of birds and the human mind felt very original.  I learned a lot of new terms, like pennaceous feathers, which are the outer shell of feathers that form the outline. I  liked the theme of controlling your thoughts. Summary: We reviewed and rated each other's presentations for a reward at the end of class. Reflection: The presentations dragged on, and it was kind of embarrassing to present them to the whole class.

 Prompt: A time when I felt like there was an interloper in my life was whenever my grandparents visit. I don't hate my grandparents, but they make everything come to a standstill whenever they visit. Weird creams and grapefruits fill the house, and somehow they are always where I'm trying to go and want to be. Endless scratching on the floor from a mangey dog going up and done the halls. Summary: Today, we read "interlopers" and answered questions on common lit. Reflection: It got pretty loud because of the sub, but I ended up getting my work done still.

 Prompt: I would use aesthetic, affection, and amorphous the most compared to the other fifteen. Aesthetic is a very useful word when describing fashion, which is something I have a deep interest in. Affection is an amazing middle ground to use between love and like, or just a more neutral term. Amorphous is a powerful word to me because it reminds me of old horror movies like The Blob 1988. Summary: We worked on our posters and our common lit assignment. Reflection: I enjoyed the more free-form structure of the class; it was a lot calmer.

  Prompt: I would compare my mind to a blank slate. I took this inspiration from Aristotle's "In De Anima". I am always molding and writing on this tablet as I go throughout my life. Seeing the beliefs and the knowledge I've taken since I was in elementary school. I also appreciate the context of Aristotle's assertion that everyone can acquire knowledge. ABSENT

 Prompt: An adventure that I'd like to go on is to Norway's Arctic waters. I want to be a marine biologist who studies cetaceans (Orcas, Whales, etc.) Norway's known for having a significant amount of orcas, and studying them is something I find incredibly fascinating. Specifically studying differences between orcas, such as diet, language patterns, and appearance. I might end up taking the trip this summer, but it seems unlikely.  ABSENT  

 Prompt: Something that I will never fully understand is the so-called "people" who wear sandals and open-toe shoes without socks when they go to school. Not only is it unsanitary, but it's unsightly as well, and I am frankly tired of seeing people's toes. I respect lakeside janitors, but our school is way too dirty to do that.  Summary: absent Reflection: absent

  Prompt Response:  The thing I enjoy most about being part of the Lakeside community is being part of such a huge support system. The sense of community is unparalleled and really makes the school feel more full and happy. Sadly, I didn't participate in spirit week, unfortunately, but I do like dressing for Halloween. Summary: Today, we took an assessment and continued to work on our poem. Reflection:  I enjoyed the new poem more than those of Emily Dickinson.

 Prompt Response: The learning method that I find that I personally perform best under is hands-on activities. This is due to it being easier for me to process and digest. For example, most people would find it easier to draw a shape if a model of said shape is presented to them. This can operate similarly to concepts and tends to capture my personal interest more. Summary: We continued to work on the poems and started the poem poster. Reflection: To be perfectly honest, I find the fact that you encourage generative AI for the generation of images for a project and animating characters to contradict most artists including poets beliefs.

 Prompt Response: One of, if not my most absurd personal experiences, is when a man was screaming in the woods outside of my work. I am a lifegaurd and my shift went from 4pm to 9pm which is the closing shift so it tends to last almost till 10pm if it was a busy day. At around 8 pm when the pool was almost empty I heard a loud crash in the woods on the other side of the fence that sorounded the pool. Then I heard a shout and then another and as the people left it was just me at the pool it was almost a sick wailing noise. Probably the most absurd thing was that as soon as the man came he was gone no loud crash or confruntation he just was no longer thier. Summary: Today, we annotated Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem. Reflection: The tight rope video was kind of morbid and didn't really have a point in my opinion.