Recap on First Semester

Being in 4th period English Literature really changed my perspective on English as a whole. I really have to thank Mrs. Elliott for being such a wonderful teacher and utterly changing all of the previous stereotypes I held about English teachers. Before, I thought that all English teachers were odd, a little crazy, kind of stuck-up, bad-tempered, strict, and waaay obsessed with literature. Although Mrs. Elliott definitely is addicted to English, the way she teaches her classes is completely different from what I have had to go through these past three years of high school. Freshman and sophomore year, I disliked my English teachers, and consequently disliked my English classes. Both my teachers would snap easily and yell at us, the students, from time to time because of our rowdiness. Junior year was not that much of a problem because my English teacher left on some sort of extended vacation or something along those lines from late November to the end of the school year. However, Mrs. Elliott has been, compared to all the other English teachers I have had, something like an idol among teachers. Our class does some crazy stuff in her class, but I don't think I have ever seen her get the least bit perturbed, which is surprising, to say the least. So I just wanted to say thank you to Mrs. Elliott for making me see that English is actually pretty interesting as a subject, and that literature can be really intriguing and not as boring as most people make them out to be.
Of course, it is not just Mrs. Elliott that makes up the 4th period English Literature experience. The other students in the class are interesting as well. There is never a dull moment, whether in our tables or in our teams. My table is filled with laughter and jokes, but we still get our work done. At least, I do. Our team is also surprisingly hard-working and diligent, since it seems that we spend almost all of our class time cracking jokes and laughing. I really am proud of my team for working so hard. Although we may not have the most paw prints on the board, I think we have learned a lot about each other and ourselves, and that our newfound knowledge has made us better people.
In short, this year's English class has been, by far, the most interesting, the most fun, and the most educational English class I have been in throughout all of my high school years. I have learned a lot about English literature that has changed my erroneous perspective on it. The students and Mrs. Elliott have both been amazing in making this class memorable. I will truly be looking forward to coming back to this welcoming class next semester.

The Journey of Life

The human mind creates superficial barriers within itself that limit what people consider can be done or answered.  Society tells us that certain objectives cannot be achieved.  These thoughts of impossibility are engrained into our subconscious from an early age.  We become so used to the idea that these thoughts are impossible to fully comprehend that, we, in a sense forget that they exist and carry on.  The constant weight of the rock weighing down our hands becomes commonplace and slips from attention until the given question becomes intuitively unanswerable.  Just as the rock becomes smooth over time, our thoughts are constantly being eroded by the sands of our mind, losing all edge and interest.  Over time, the quandary becomes nearly unapproachable to our mind as each crevice we initially saw as a point of entry that would allow us to break up the question, has been leveled out by erosion, eliminating any way to maneuver about the solution. 

The summer after my sophomore year, I decided to hike to the top of Mount Baldy with a friend, Alireza, and his cousin, Matin (an experienced hiker).  When we reached the halfway point, Alireza and I were exhausted and sure that we could not make it any further.  We sat down and contemplated whether we were capable of investing another three hours of effort to reach the top.  We promptly told his cousin that we could not go any further.  I saw a river of sorts in my mind, one that appeared too deep and wide to cross without a bridge.  Matin told us but one thing; “the human mind will always create false barriers that tell you that you cannot accomplish certain goals.  But if you stop listening and push through these barriers, you’ll see that such barriers do not actually exist”.  Alireza and I took this advice and decided that although we were sore and our minds were telling us to call it quits, we would accomplish our goal of reaching the top of Mount Baldy and continue on.  On our way up the mountain several times we stopped and thought, ”This seems like the top of the mountain. We can stop here.”  Instead we pushed forward.  Still exhausted, we chose to continue until finally reaching the summit.  When I stood on the top I realized that the river in my mind that looked too perilous to cross, was in fact an inch deep and could be crossed.  The first and most difficult step in accomplishing a goal that appears impossible is having the faith to continue when it seems pointless to try. 

Though I may never attempt to climb Mount Everest, I learned something that day.  It is said that “objects in mirrors are closer than they appear.” Although this statement is true for automobiles, life is exactly the opposite.  If you push yourself to your limits and reassess the situation, you’ll realize that your personal limits are in fact still several miles away. 
-Phillip Jones 4 L1f3