Julius's English Blog

      In my life I have many friends I would consider close. Out of all those relationships the one I feel most understood in is Everrt. I have known him ever since I moved back to ATL so he knows me well. There were some times where he knew something about me that I didn't even know. Compared to Chris and Carine relationship it's not really the same. They come together through struggle, and we just came together through common interests. We read more of the book. I learned more about McCandless's father.

      A relationship that is important to me is my friend Evert. What makes this relationship meaningful to me is that we have had it for so long. Even after years of not talking we are still able to come back to each other and continue like we were talking just yesterday. I feel that the most meaningful relationships are the ones built on trust, and the ability to make both parties feel seen. We read chapter 12. I learned that Walt cheated on his wife.

   After watching the movie the visual version of Chris's journey makes his choices seem much more justified. You can see him laughing to himself, and in all just having a great time. The movie shows his sister monologue about how this was going to happen, and that he has always wanted this. Yet in the book it starts off with the cover saying that he's going to die. The movie kind of shows this at the beginning with his mom, but not really. The book also talks about how unprepared Chris was, and that people who talked to him like the driver at the beginning saw him as having too much ambition, and confidence. With the film trying to show what it was like for him to live, and the joy he got from it, makes his action seem really justified. We watch the movie. I learned more about McCandless's sister.

      As I got older I stopped seeing my parents as people higher than me a latter more of equals. I don't fully see us as equals yet, but I have started talking to them more as friends. Instead of them doing everything more for me, I have started working with them more, I've started cooking dinners, cleaning the house, and doing laundry. I have become more independent from them, and I'm trying to get more used to it since I'm soon going off to college. McCandless also wanted independence from his home life. He was much more prepared than I was, and he fully went off the grid, but still we both are trying to move towards independents. I read chapter 11. Learned more about McCandless.

    The most impactful chapter for me was chapter seven. In this chapter McCandless really changed, he started working on the farm more like he was living there. He started talking to a girl, and making new close relationships. What really made me see change in him was when he said he meant to come back soon. That really made me sad since I already knew he wouldn't make it. I felt like he was really starting to settle down, and I wonder what his life would have been if you survived. He at one point talked about wanting kids, I doubt he would have fully settled down. We took the test. Learned what the test looked liked.

      At this moment in life my success is measured by many different things: grades, music, and experiences. I have just finished taking my SAT and i'm waiting for my grade, this determines a lot for my future. It is what decides what scholarships I can get, and what colleges I can go to. My GPA is also part of this, so I see them as a big part of whether I'm succeeding or not. Music is also a big part of my life's success, I want to do it for a living so making a good portfolio is big for me. How complex of a song I can play, and how well I write a song all decide how good I'm doing in life. Finally experience, this is the most important part of how well I see my success. Through experience like finding a job, learning how to cook, playing concerts, etc, I believe that I can take what I've learned and transfer it to other places in my life to become more successful. We read chapter nine and ten. I learned about Everett Ruess's life.

    There have been many times where I tried to go independent. Many of  these times I learned that it was what I shouldn't have done. Back in middle school I decided to join band class. I chose to learn clarinet, but in this class no one really taught people, and I didn't know how to play. I never decided to ask people for help, and didn't even know my fingerings. I tried learning by looking at peoples hands, and matching pitch. I have since learned that this is not a good way to learn and that I should rely on others for help. We wrote questions for chapter 8 of "Into the Wild." I learned how to right deep thought provoking questions.

      A word that resonates with me is luminous. I enjoy things that are bright and colorful. Things like stained glass, and bright bold colors really excite me. So this word resonated with me. I, myself, have made art full of color and light. I have worked with paints, such as oil, and pastel. We worked on vocabulary. I learned new words, and how to use them.

      For me my desired SAT score is a 1320. I really want to be out of state, but the public schools I'm looking at for this have a large out of state tuition. So if I can get a 1320 then I can get some pretty good scholarships for these schools. Right now my top picks are mostly in Tennessee with University of Memphis, Middle Tennessee, and the non Tennessee school, Western Carolina. I choose these places for the music program, and their location. Memphis is one of my favorite cities, I have been there before and I'm going again to tour the school. Memphis has a great music environment with a lot of blues. Middle Tennessee for similar reasons. Tennessee is just known for really talented musicians, like Chat Atkins. I chose Western Carolina for the place. It is up in the mountains, with Native American reserves, and ski resorts near by. They also have a good studio on campus. We read chapter 6 of Into the Wild. I learned the McCandless had a sister, and could play piano....

      For me the time change does not really affect my mood much. I enjoy the sun setting at night, more than the day, yet besides that I'm mostly impartial. My body does get thrown off though. Animals, especially humans, run on a habit. If you wake up at the time everyday, your body will wake up by itself at that time, (this is the same for other stuff like hunger, and tiredness). So when the time dose change I get hungry at the wrong times, and often sleep pass my alarm. We read chapter six. I learned of the deep connecting that Alex gained when he was on his travels.

      One piece of writing that has changed my view on this world is Martin Luther King's Letter From B irmingham Jail. The way that King speaks in response to criticism not in a mean way but a way of understanding, and finding natural ground to agree on is amazing. The stuff he said about justice and injustice laws was also changing to me. From him to point out that not all laws should be followed if injustice, change my perspective and law and order. We read chapter 5 and answered questions. I learned about the troubles that McCandless went through on his journey. 

      I learned a lot about "Into the Wild." I have never really read like this before so I am very excited too. Thinking about the supplies you would need to pull off an expedition like this is masses, and for him to not have any of this and survive for four years is insane. I am excited to read the book, and unravel the mystery of his life. We did background information of reading "Into the Wild." We learned about how fast a bear can run, and other hiking tips.

      When creating the vocabulary cards in Adobe Express I was challenged by the word " Corroborate" since I have never heard it. The example and definition really did not help much either. The easiest word was "Benign" since I have heard it many times and already had a good understanding of it. I did have a hard time finding an image for "Blithe." This word was hard to put into the image because of it being an adjective that I couldn't find a good image for. We worked on vocabulary. I learned the word "Corroborate," and how to use it.