Letters about Literature

Today I had the honor of taking my 12 year old daughter to Indianapolis where she was recognized for being a  state semifinalist in the Letter About Literature contest.  Her class had to read a book and then write a letter to the author on how the book related to them.  There were 69,000 letters submitted from around the nation.  My daughter along with two of her classmates letters made it to the state semifinals.  We were invited to the Indiana State Library for awards etc.  Another part of this exciting day was that there was an author there who gave the students one of her books and signed autographs.  The author's name is Helen Frost and she currently lives in Ft. Wayne.  While she was signing my daughters book she asked my daughter why she thought she won.  My daughter replied, I wrote exactly how I felt.  Ms. Frost replied  "you may very well be our next legendary author"!  They had a small conversation about writing etc.  Now, my daughter has a big head and wants to know if I will buy her a new journal.  LOL!  Well, of course I will..............you never know what she may become!

The last pod

And so it's over, other a few more blogs this class is over for me.  I will miss it.  It has been so much fun!  The onversations that I have had with some of you, although we have never met, have been the best.  I feel as if I know some of you!  I was dreading this class and then when I saw the pod arrangement, I freaked out!  I really didnt understand any of it.  After the first couple of weeks I was loving this class and had the pods down.  I considered my self as an avid reader but I had never read literature, poetry or a novel.  This class has opened my eyes to a lot more than the best seller list.  My two favorite reads were The Great Gatsby and An Occurrence at Owl Creek.  I also enjoyed  A Streetcar Named Desire, Daisy Miller, The Storm, The Snows of Kilimanjaro.......ok, I loved them all.  Even the few that I didnt care for, I tried to find the reason for the writing of them, the leason I was supposed to receive.  I have enjoyed this class......now about the Econ class...........not so much!!!!

Pod #8

I have read a few of the stories for Pod 8 and have discovered that as the dates got closer to our present time, the lanuguage and material turned more "free".  It has reminded me of how people have changed over time along with the way we interact with one another.  I believe there are still pleasant and respectable people in the world but we are definitely a society that does what we please.  Sometimes the decisions we make are hurtful to others and we seem not to care so much because we have made everything about ourselves.  I just thought it was strange that reading through the different time periods would make me think of how the world and society have changed.

Three day weekend...yeah, right

I was so looking forward to my three day weekend.  I had so much I was going to get done.  I was going to work on all my classes and get ahead so I could schedule time to study for finals without having to worry about homework.  Well, as usual things just didnt work out that way.  It is late Saturday night and I have not read, highlighted, or even opened a book in three days.  Tomorrow is Easter so I wont be able to accomplish much.  My daughter is coming home and dinner is at my house.  I am thankful that she is able to get off work to come home.  Starting next week, I will read the stories and blog and do my other homework, while wishing for a three day weekend to get stuff done!  :)

A Streetcar Named Desire

WOW!  That story was not at all what I had expected!  I plan to watch the movie after finals.  Blanche was crazy but I thought Stanley was too.  He was more mean than nuts.  I learn somuch more after I complete the questions etc.  The assignments make me think and see things in a different way.  They also give me answers to questions I have.  I have throughly enjoyed this class, I admit I was dreading it.  It just goes to show that you should not form an opinion until you have tried it.  The hardest part for me was blogging.  I have a hard time writing.  I have put this off for way too long, but I just dont know what to write about.  I have a hard time putting words down.  Now, (and Karen if you read this dont laugh) if anyone wants to talk I can talk until the sky falls.  Why, I wonder, if I love to read and love to talk, why cant I write?

Poetry

I have never like poetry and I was not thrilled to start this pod.  I procrastinated and dreaded every step towards greating my 3 submissions done.  And I will be honest I will react the same next week when I have 3 more submissions to finish.  Although, it was not as bad as I had thought I still want this to go away.  I preach to my children everyday to get the homework and projects that you really dont want to do finished first.  Why then can I not practice what I preach?  My excuse; I work better under pressure.  Waiting until the last minute puts pressure on me and I know that I have to get it done or else.  But I dont want that pressure for my kids.  What I really think is I dont want the pressure and stress from my kids to trickle down to me.  I want them to not have to wait until the last minute and stress out.  I want my kids to be more prepared and on it than I am with things I dont want to do.  I know I am rambling but this is what I learned this week from my kids.  Thursday night I was stressed, uptight, and impatient with everyone.  One of my kids said that I would not be this way if I would have done my homework sooner like I tell them.  I gave him a hug, told him I loved him and that I would try to do better. Later, I caught him cleaning up the kitchen.  I asked him why he was doing that and he said "because I dont have homework and you do!"        Maybe I should have homework every night!  HAHAHA!

WOW!!

I just had a Pronto session with my Literature class.  They attempted to teach me how to use the blog. Well, let's just say that I am not technologically educated!  I did figure out that I needed to verify my email address, this of course help you log in.  After logging in I discovered how to add my classmates but I cant find all of them.  One of the jokes during our Pronto session was that I cant find myself.  Well now, I cant find them!  This learning experience has been so much fun!  Thank you to the "women" for all your help tonight!