What I've learned so far

The English language is so unique; a simple period, comma, or exclamation point can make a huge difference in a sentence. Personally, my biggest struggles are run-on sentences and consistent word repetition. I also make the mistake of getting so into my story ideas and sharing them, that I completely forget to focus on proper sentence structure; so I wind up with grammatical errors all over the place. Something that may surprise my instructor is that when I first started this class, I typed using slang words like “u” or “lol” because it had been a while since I had last typed a paper; I had gotten accustomed to writing the way I texted. When I read my blog and saw an “F” instead of an “A,” it sunk in; my grammar was completely off. I post this now because I used to be ashamed about not having typed a better paper; but I know if I continue to give it my all, I should see weekly progress. From what I have learned, there will always be room for improvement and I should not be hesitant to listen to any advice I receive. The simplest tip about punctuation placement can have a huge impact on not only me, but anyone else looking to improve his or her grammar.

Reading for fun

Reading is a double-edged sword for me. It’s great when it’s a topic I have interest in; otherwise it just feels forced and like a total buzzkill. I enjoy an odd variety of books; romance, comics, manga, and dramas like “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” When I read that book, I could not put it down; in fact, it only took me three days to finish. I felt happy, yet sad it was over so soon. Comic books and manga are fairly different; comics have many well-known superheroes like Superman, Batman, and The Flash. Manga are Japanese comics like Naruto, Shaman King, Dragon Ball Z. As I read these comic books with an enthusiastic grin on my face, wondering what will happen next as I flip from one action-filled page to another, I get more and more eager to read the next. If I have no interest in what I’m reading, I will either fall asleep or return it to the library, wondering what I was thinking when I decided to check it out in the first place. The book truly has to grasp my attention in order for me to continue reading it.

Punctuation

Interestingly enough, my knowledge on punctuation is pretty vague. I never obtained much knowledge on proper punctuation usage until now. I wonder if anyone else can relate to this issue? If so, what surprised them most about punctuation marks? My biggest shock was using brackets for clarification purposes. I always wondered why the first letter was sometimes in brackets when there was something being quoted; now that I know it means the capitalization was altered to fit the text, it makes a lot more sense. I’m really eager to learn more about proper sentence structure in order to help make my future essays flow smoother and sound more effective.

Homophones and life

I’m in my twenties and enjoy living with my parents; but I want freedom. I want to live and go on adventures; feel independent. I already pay for my own bills and even help my parents with theirs, so I feel I’m ready now. Anxiety runs down my spine and my heart trembles as I prepare for this new chapter in my life. I know I’ve been able to push myself through so many things in life and have overcome so many challenges, but this one feels different; exhilarating. Is this normal? Is this what some people my age went through?

 I took a small break from school to find myself, figure out where I wanted to go with my education, and focus more on helping my family financially. As I got closer to the end of what would have been a semester, I realized I missed school. I missed being in class listening to lectures. I missed gaining knowledge and giving my all in class assignments. This being my second week back in school, I am honestly enjoying obtaining further intelligence, sitting down while reading a chapter in a book about homophones, and trying to grasp it all in order to improve myself and further pursue my dream of becoming a teacher.          

 I never knew what people called a word with a different meaning; to me, it just meant “a word that had two different meanings.”  I’m happy to be further expanding my intelligence through this book and improving my vocabulary. To my knowledge, there are many different ways to say a word; and with those different ways come different meanings for those words. For example, advise is the act of giving an opinion or suggestion, and advice is the actual opinion or suggestion given. They sound very alike, but the meanings are very different because one is a verb and the other is a noun. As I continue to read this book, I’ll further expand my knowledge as I continue to learn more words and what their different meanings. Overall, I’ll look and sound more intelligent; which I am not complaining about.