Everest English Blog

 Prompt Response: I would want the poem to be about wrestling. I know I'm writing this blog post a day late but with this post being tardy I get some clarity and information regarding wrestling. Yesterday I got 3rd place at the regional tournament, now I get to go to sectionals. My first year wrestling I didn't win a single match, the year before this one I only won 5 matches, none of those being in the regional tournament. I had to watch my friends leave me behind and go to sectionals without me. I ended the wrestling season last year promising myself I would make it to sectionals this year. And I did it. It's like a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I feel proud of how far I've come.  Summary: In class we presented our group projects on chapter 6 of Wild.  Reflection: At the region tournament I lost my first match. I felt so defeated, despite it being double elimination. I had lost to this opponent now twice. I felt like all my years I'd spent stuck in the sa...

 Prompt Response: I typically go listen to music. When I listen to music it helps ease my mind and set me back to baseline. Or other times specific people who care about me are all I really need. The ones who make me laugh when I'm sad are the ones I keep in mind.  Summary: In class we read chapter 8, and recorded any quotes which stuck out to us and explained them.  Reflection: There are lots of different strategies to change your mood but I find the most basic ones work best. Like talking to someone you care about and can joke with the lighten you mind after the day or listen to a good song to forget all about reality for a bit. 

 Prompt Response: I miss playing video games with my older brother. Neither of us play much anymore, life seems to have gotten in the way a bit. Yes, we still play a little but not like we used to. We used to play every time we got back from school. It will never be the way it once was, but I'm happy it happened regardless.  Summary: In class we completed our writable assignment on the first pages of chapter 7 of our book.  Reflection: Some of the best memories are bitter sweet because you know you'll never get to relive that moment again. Still its hard to let them go and not wish for more. Whenever I play a video game now I think of my brother and what he might be doing at a given moment. In a way it keeps us connected. It makes me grateful I had such a good brother. 

 Prompt Response: I wish I didn't remember my parents arguing when I was a child. I have several memories of sitting on the stairs listening to my mom and dad arguing. It was a few months later they'd be divorced. I don't need those memories but I have them regardless.  Summary: In class we worked on our group projects once again.  Reflection: I may wish I could unhear those words exchanged but at the same time I don't. They made me who I am today. For better or worse all events help shape who you are as a person. This is no different. Yes, it was painful, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

 Prompt Response: I remember when I was asked about my music taste in middle school. I was into metal and still am. They didn't like that answer and moved on. People connected over popular artists in the rap genre while I sat on the outskirts of social circles playing Rob Zombie, Pantera, and others. I may not have made friends with my music taste immediately but I soon found friends in high school who shared those tastes. It made those friendships even more special.  Summary: In class we worked on our group project.  Reflection: When you choice to be yourself you can often lose in the short term sure. Though when you find people who share those interests as you it makes it even more special. 

  Prompt Response: I remember when I had my first asthma attack during a match. I fully stopped all the effort I had put forward for months learning and training for wrestling. Every practice and every match I have to deal with it. I hate it so much, I could do other things and most likely do better at those things but instead I do wrestling. I don’t have a concrete reason anymore besides I must see it through. Despite everything and my own body telling me to stop for years now I keep going.  Summary: In class we read chapter 6, and answered 6 questions about chapter 6.  Reflection: I’m quite familiar with having your own body giving up on you. Diabetes and asthma make sure of that with my sport. I have a talent for weightlifting, I do not have a talent for wrestling. Although wrestling is where I put the majority of my time and effort. Sometimes when you do something hard your reason changes and sometimes you lose sight of that reason. For me it has become just my li...

  Prompt Response: I remember when my parents were going through their divorce when I was a child. It felt so far away yet so close. My thoughts at the time were consumed by the crashing of my reality of a “perfect family”. I was a young boy but I didn’t play the same way I did after that. There was a sense of dread for a while.  Summary: In class we read the first 6 pages of chapter 5. Along with coming up with guiding questions/answers depending on the prompt for your group.  Reflection: When I look back on my life during their divorce that’s probably the first time I felt like I had peered into a pure logic standpoint. It was sterile and clean. It gave me assurance that things would be alright but my emotions were repressed in the process making me this sort of zombie. I’ve been able to move past this for the most part in my life, and these days I like to think I have a healthy balance of both. 

 Prompt Response: I feel at a specific kind of peace at a park alone at the late hours of the night. I feel content and peaceful throughout the day but its different in that park. In that park I feel like I can look at the whole universe at those stars. I feel so small, and that makes me angry at first but then it turns into acceptance. It gives me hope and drive to make my tiny piece of this world mine. I feel at peace because I know what I have to do when I'm in that situation.  Summary: I was absent in class 1/13 but at home I read chapter 3 of Hike, then answered the questions on the sheet for the day which I printed.  Reflection: I think there is different kinds of peace you can feel and they can be unlocked by the situation/place. For me one of the most memorable is when I'm alone looking forward in those parks at night. It gives me drive. Although another kind of peace I feel is when I'm embraced by someone I love. They are different yet similar. 

 Prompt Response: I remember when I first called my older brother for help. We were states apart at the time but I was desperate. More than I had ever been in my life for help up until that moment. I felt so vulnerable, if he refused I would have broke. But I didn't because my brother came through. When it mattered he was there.  Summary: In class we finished reading the rest of chapter 1 and discussed possible themes.  Reflection: When you reach out for help that's often when you are most vulnerable. Moments like that can make or break your reality, I'm just lucky enough to have an older brother who can pull through when it matters no matter what he's going through. 

 Prompt Response: I remember when I decided one day "Yeah, I'm going to get my license the first day I can". This was before I knew about Joshua's law, along with how long it would take to learn clutch. I remember that program would check every 3 minutes to see if you were there and would log you out if you weren't. The only problem with that is there is 5 slides of 3 sentences each, with a timer of 30 minutes so you get through it quick. Then have to wait on the alarm just to answer the questions. Then add on the time and effort it took learning clutch. I remember sitting in the driveway in the dead of night mastering how to manipulate that car. It took hours but I learned and I became pretty darn good at it too. I got my license the morning of my 16th birthday.  Summary: In class we read part of chapter 1 and collected quotes for themes of the first chapter.  Reflection: I love cars and driving so my desire to get my license as soon as possible was natural. It w...

 Prompt Response: When I went back to church after nearly 8 years of being absent and still an atheist. I didn’t go for some grand reason like wanting to rediscover my belief or anything. I went because my girlfriend asked nicely for me to go. Her religion means a lot to her and she wanted to share that part of herself with me. How could I refuse? I’ll admit it was strange but it had a sort of peace to it. I understood why people go but when I went again I really got it. It's the community and their combined belief.  Summary: In class we read the author’s note and prologue of the book “Wild” we are beginning to read. We then answered questions about what the author meant.  Reflection: Although my faith and belief in god did not change, it was humbling to be in a place of worship again. As much as I appreciate the experience I can recognize the place is not for me. I have other communities which I fit in much better with although I can appreciate one connected by God. Plus...

 Prompt Response: My friends and I went camping over winter break. It was their first time and my second time. Upon getting there our car’s trunk immediately broke. Our journey was filled with little trifles but we were resourceful as a group and managed to have fun while mildly suffering. To find a camp spot we crossed a knee foot deep creek in cold weather. It turned out to be completely worth it for the view and camping spot, but going back over it with all our gear wasn’t fun. I learned trusting your friends to do their part is important along with staying calm. The reason we went out there was for fun, so remembering that helped make the annoying parts bearable. Summary: I was absent in class but I completed the 5 questions about the thru-hikers article. Reflection: I think camping and hiking is fun because it allows you to get away from technology and people. Life becomes a lot more simple when all you have to do is walk and manage your supplies. In my opinion doing that with...

 Prompt Response:  I plan to make a 4 or 5 on my AP exams I'm taking this May. This goal is important to me because it will allow me to exempt classes in college, costing me less time to get into classes that interest me. To accomplish this, I will be present in class, missing 5 days of school. I will study and work toward maintaining a 90% or higher in the class to ensure I understand the material. I plan to make it to sectionals in individual wrestling for my weight class. This goal is important to me because I have never made it to sectionals in my previous years of wrestling, and if I were to make it. It would show my growth as a person and a wrestler. To accomplish this, I will be present at practice every day. I will work hard to make sure I leave the practice sweaty and tired to ensure I will be on weight/ in shape. I will adopt a routine during wrestling season to make sure I get enough sleep so it does not affect my performance.  I plan to finish 5 books befor...