In Response to Sky Karasik's Letter:

Sky's letter to our class this week was about school. More specifically the lessons that we learn from school especially the lessons that are not mandatory or expected but rather the ways to shape me as a student and person. That is why our assignment is to write about 3 things we have learned this year that were not directly related to academics.

The first lesson that I have learned is organization. While this may seem to be a given when thinking about school, I believe that it was a concept that I truly did not stress in order to reach success in my school work. However, at the end of the first semester this school, my history teacher had reminded our class of the same thing he had stated since day one: organization of our notebooks. I had attempted to follow this organization but not as clearly as I hoped I did because I was then left with a lot more work to do than I would have had if I had just stayed organized. This lesson taught me to take this concept outside of school work as well. Evidently I learned that no matter what I was doing, organization kept the process smoother and easier even if what I had to deal with was chaotic.

The second lesson that I have received this year has been preparation. Many people follow different philosophies when approaching a big exam, event, project …etc. While some believe in waiting to the last minute and others believe in "winging it" I have discovered that the best (and seemingly only) way for me to do well, is with preparation. The teacher that specifically taught this concept to me this year was my english teacher. But more importantly I learned that not only is preparation key to succeed in class and outside class, but it is clearly displayed and pays off by the end product. Hard-work plays a large role in preparation as well as the idea of understanding the information that I am dealing with. My teacher has taught me that the best way to ensure success in the class is through this hard-work and preparation and for that I am very thankful.

The last lesson that I will mention in this letter is the idea that opportunity knocks but once. My MUN teacher made our class memorize a poem called Opportunity at the beginning of the school year filled with many messages about taking every chance you get. Over the course of this year I have learned to recognize the strength and importance that this concept holds in not only school, but in life. Many times we are faced with a choice between doing something because it is a good opportunity or not doing it because either you might fail, it takes too much effort or some other excuse. Unfortunately, the latter wins a lot. However, I have attempted to defy that statistic and work towards taking every opportunity that floats my way no matter how many obstacles I may have to climb over.

Thank you for reading this week's Blogging By Talia. I am very glad to reflect on some highlights of knowledge that I have learned this year as the school days are coming to a close. I hope to apply these three concepts (as well as many others not mentioned) to my school work but more importantly, my life. Because I am certain that the things that I have learned that may not pertain directly to school, still give me knowledge.

In Response to Emily Wedegaertner's Letter

Emily's letter is one of the most unique letters that we have had this year. She focussed on war and its effects, specifically the disorder known as PTSD. Within the letter she discussed a story of a woman by the name of Margret who suffered tremendously from this illness and was someone that a member in her family knew. After learning about Margret's story, we must ask ourselves some questions.

What would I do if I were...
If I were Margaret's parents at the period of time that this occurred I would have first been confused. Considering there wasn't much knowledge on the issue, it would have been hard for my to make a decision to help my child. However, in the end I believe I would choose to provide the best source of support for her, and unfortunately at their weak age, a home/institution for Margret would have been the best option.
If I were her doctor I believe that I would attempt to discover more about her. Considering that people were aware that she had changed entirely, I would have to wonder what happened and thus further investigate the issue at hand.
If I were Margret's sibling, I know I would not understand. However I believe that I would attempt to apply as much help for her to ensure her happiness and if not recovery, at least a situation to ensure that her life remained as humane as possible.
If I were Margret and I learned my parents decided to send me to an institution I believe there would be many different situations for my response. If I were truly suffering from an illness that could not be helped at home and or my state would be much better in an institution, I would be sad but thankful. Although I have not gone to war, nor have I encountered PTSD, I do believe that any human would chose to remain as human as possible.
And that brings me to the last question: would you rather live in an institution and have to be taken care of, or live at home and have to take care of yourself?
While originally I decided that I would of course choose to remain home and live my own life, I realized that for the many people suffer from such an intense form of PTSD that it takes away your ability to do what you would normally do at your home to support yourself. In that case I believe happiness takes precedent as well as care for myself. Although the term institution might seeming demeaning at first, I believe that my life would be better for it.

This letter has got me thinking about our world and the large consequences held on people that the world seems to sometimes overstep. Or even more, the decisions that simple humans such as Margret may be faced with that go unrecognized. I only hope that someday I can help those people in this world.

Sincerely,
Blogging By Talia

In Response to Charlie Johnson's Weekly Letter:

Hello,
Our prompt/assignment this week was asked us what we would do without the pressures from school or parental expectations. What would we do differently with our lives? And what would change in our goals for the future?

This is a challenging question because originally when I sat down to think about the answer I first thought well, I might relax more. I might take a breather sometime. But then I realized the more I thought about this, most of the pressure I put on myself does not necessarily stem from anything or anyone besides me.
I believe that the way I am, the person who I have become, naturally worries and puts pressure on my self to succeed.
Thus, I believe the only way to reduce this pressure would be to entirely change who I am. Because this pressure, while it has proven to be an obstacle, it has also proven to drive me to do what I love in this world. And for that, I don't believe I would be the same person if I detached something so important about myself.

But if I am to properly answer the question I believe the answer would be that my life would remain fairly similar. And even more, I believe my goals for the future would remain what they are because even without school and my parents, my passions would still drive me to what I love.

I recommend taking this prompt into consideration. It truly made me think about myself and the people around me. Whether you are someone who experiences drive from others, themselves or not at all, I believe it is well worth it!!
- Blogging by Talia