Wesley’s English blog

 One thing that I believed (and still believe to this day) is that Santa is real. There has never been any evidence against his existence. I know he was a real person a long time ago, but Santa is real. All my classmates always tried to convince me against the existence of Santa, but it won't work. I am completely dead set that Santa is completely real. I have never heard a real argument against the feat he performs every year. He always brings me what I ask for when I visit him at the Bass Pro Shop. I've really never understood the anti- Santa sentiment. It just doesn't make sense to me. He makes Christmas magical and fun for everybody. In class, we read more of Fences. I learned about the struggles of African Americans in the workplace.

 The conversation made me glad that the workplace is a lot more fair that it was back in the day. I'd like to say that if I were Troy, I'd stick it to the man and demand that I get treated fairly in the workplace, but in reality, I'd probably be too scared to do so because of the repercussions that could happen because of it. I suspect that Troy is going to advocate for himself to be treated fairly. Today in class, we read scene 1 of Fences. It was quite interesting. I learned about racial discrimination from the 1950's and how it affected workers.

 One truth that I still haven't accepted because I'm afraid to accept it is that I'm really no athlete. Take football for example; I am absolutely the least athletic person out there. I'm slower, less agile, less strong, and less fast than a lot of the people out there. I've worked really hard to be able to kick, so I've become good at that. If i wasn't able to kick, I wouldn't be able to be on the field whatsoever.  Today in class we read a little bit of the play Fences. The reading pushed me out of my comfort zone and was very interesting.

 One time that I was judged unfairly was when people assumed I was a racist just because I'm white. This has happened a few times in my life where people think I'm a supremacist just because I have white skin. It doesn't really bother me because I know it's not true, but it's unfair nonetheless.  Today in class we completed an assignment on common lit It helped me to learn the reason as to why good people do bad things.

 One story that stood out to me was Everest's story about moving out of his house super young. It was super powerful to hear how he stood up against his parents even though it was definitely scary. I learned about how his family is dedicated to making something out of nothing (his dad was born in a trailer park). His story stood out above the rest and was very well put together. I also got to go down memory lane when he told his story about diabetes. This is because I was at his school and I remember how he changed from the end of 3rd grade to 4th grade in response to his diagnosis.  Today in class, we listened to each other's storymaps.  I learned a lot of fascinating stories about the people that are in my class and it helped me to become more culturally aware.

 One time, I remember going to a kicking camp and seeing a young girl there. I was confused because I had no idea what she was doing there. Turns out, she was not as bad at kicking as I thought she might be. My "single story" was wrong because it shaped how I viewed girl kickers in a negative way when they're actually perfectly capable.  Today in class we read a story that talked about why only seeing one side of the story is harmful. I learned not to only look at the single story, but everyone's story.

 One time I was offended was 2 years ago at lunch time there was some older kid that was mean. He always called me "*F slur* JV kicker. It was annoying to me because I'm straight, and I can definetely kick farther than him. I don't remember what I even said back, or anything else that happened in that situation, but it stuck with me. If I had to guess, I just ignored him.  Today in class we read a poem where the person got called the N word. It was a very powerful poem. I learned that people remember how you make them feel.

 Class discussions are my favorite way of learning. This is because there is no pressure to get anything turned in on time. I really like being in school and discussing things without having the pressure to hurry up and turn it in for a grade. It's also interesting to hear what other people have to say. Sometimes I agree and sometimes I don't, but that's because we're human. Today in class we did a big ol' class discussion about the questions on the story we read. It was very fun because we didn't have to turn anything in. This discussion taught me how to respect other people's opinions even if I don't agree. 

 The gender expectation that is the most difficult to navigate has probably been that men are supposed to be physically strong. I am not at all a physically strong or fast dude so it's a struggle trying to meet the expectation. I'm by far the weakest person on the football team, and it's rough as I'm also one of the oldest.  Today in class I wrote about why I want a husband (I don't) This was a fun activity because it made me go outside of my comfort zone and have a good laugh.

 Right at the end of 9th grade, I decided I really wanted to be a kicker. With no soccer experience, I was trash. My parents wanted me to be in the band because I'm really good at playing instruments. It was scary because I was trying to improve and my parents resented me not being in the marching band. The outcome was that I'm one of the best kickers in our region and I still play French horn in the concert band.  Today in class we read an excerpt from Amy Tan's novel. The story taught a lesson to be yourself not what others want you to be. 

 This class so far has not been too difficult on me, however, I can tell if I don't stay dilligent in keeping up with my work, the class could quickly get away from me. I need to stay on my work and not get behind for any reason.  In class, we defined and found pictures of vocabulary words. Vocabulary will help me make the way I talk more intelligent.