Contemplative Culmination

Several months ago, we were tasked with writing our first blog post. I was not looking forward to the many blog posts that were to come but was hoping that by the end of the year, I would learn to enjoy blogging. I had read and heard many pieces of advice about the benefits of blogging, or its other various forms like bullet journaling. Despite hearing all this advice, I had never pushed myself to experiment with any of it, so I hoped blogging would be a good entry point for me to begin.

Unfortunately, throughout both semesters of this school year, I haven't grown to liking blogging any more than in the beginning. Each post still looms in my mind as a burden I had to deal with. However, I certainly have noticed that my blogging skills have improved, which may apply for other work that I do in the future even if it's not blogging related. In particular, the aesthetics and presentation aspect of my blog have grown more appealing, especially because of my relevant multimedia elements.

Taking a look at my first blog, there’s an awful amount of text congregated together. Without any other elements or even spacing between the paragraphs, this part of the blog post is a pain to read. Regardless of how good the content is, presentability is essential.

In my posts where I did include other

elements, they were either just restating something in the paragraph or mentioning something loosely related to it. Although they added for a bit of variety, they weren’t sufficiently contributing meaning to the blog.

My later blog posts, however, have had a much better breakup of text as well as media that relates to and actually complements my topic well. Along with better aesthetics, I've noticed that the flow and wording in my blog posts have become smoother and easier to read. The two paragraphs in the picture below are great examples of all of this, which also showcases my improvement in balancing a narrative with a perceptive idea.

If not required, I don't think I'll find myself ever blogging again. Along the way, however, my skills as a writer and my ability to make engaging posts have noticeably grown. I'm proud of the effort I put in these past months in exploring blogging and putting a genuine attempt to try something new. I hope I continue with this attitude of trying new (safe) things out, regardless of my preconception of it. I might find something new to love!

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Coming into my first real year of high school, I was definitely nervous about every aspect of high school. I was also well aware that English is one of my weaker subjects, so I was particularly anxious about this class. However, everyone was nonjudgmental and I'm very glad I was able to go through this year with such a welcoming class. We've shared a whole range of emotions throughout the year as we've grown as readers and writers. We've all had our fair share of struggles and victories throughout this year, but we're all ending this year as much stronger and smarter students. As Juniors, we'll probably have even more challenges to face, but I'm sure this year has well equipped us to overtake them. In the meantime, though, I hope you all have a great summer! Since we may not have another class again, good luck in advance for everything life throws your way!