McNeil

= = =__Reflection__= ====Hi my name is Dayona McNeil. As a 9 th grade student in English this year my portfolio is just average to me. Most people fix up their essays and work before they put it up here but me, I'm going to show you what I actually have and keep it real. I feel as though I didn’t do as well as I could this year. I was influenced by a lot of things this year, which pulled me down, like my friends and just the freedom they gave me. I am not used to the freedom they give us. What I mean by that is if you don’t want to do the work than nobody is forcing you like I am used to teachers being tight on me making sure I do this and that but when I came to this school and realized like I really have to get my act together for 10 th, 11 th , and 12 th. I’m going to show everyone that doubted me this year that I can do anything I put my mind to. I should of bussed my butt this year but I guess it was my fault and what I chose to do not nobody else fault. When you see my work I hope that you understand that I could of did way better than that but it is what it is so I cant really change anything this year but for 10 th, 11 th , and 12 th my goal is too buss my butt and just do my best because I clearly didn’t do my best as a 9 th grade English student. My strengths in English are essays. I can do a big essay in like 20 minutes that can be good but if I really take my time on a essay it would be a really good essay and would only take me about a hour of my time. My weaknesses in English this year were reading a boring book and understanding it. It was hard for me to stay focus in a boring book that just drags out the story. I would like to work on writing a really good essay with the thesis and all of that stuff and I am going to read more books. I encountered some problems throughout this project. I couldn't find some of my work and things like that. But then I found them so it wasn't much of a problem. I am most proud of my reflection. I am proud of my reflection because I tell it like it is and keep it real. Now you can finish looking at my work.====

=__Quarter 1 (The Odyssey Essay) __=
 * This was my first benchmark of the year which was kind of hard for me. This book was hard also to understand but I think I did okay.**

The transition from boyhood to manhood could be a difficult one. Many people debate whether Telemachus is becoming a man because he was scared at first to tell the suitors to get out. His mom had to give him a talk in order for him to have more confidence. In the story __The Odyssey__ Telemachus has a hard time becoming a man. In the text it said “ You must not cling to your boyhood any longer—it’s time you were a man”. From becoming a boy to a man Telemachus has some highs and lows but still needed guidance. Telemachus is partially successful in his journey after he’s influenced. He’s not as confident with himself, and the suitors are getting the best of him. Telemachus went to grope for information on his father, and if he didn’t find out any info he had to go back to Athena in Ithaca.

Ithaca is Telemachus’s home. Emotionally he was frustrated because the suitors were taking advantage of the fact that the king was not in his palace. The suitors were actually taking over the palace because Odysseus was not there. So Athena had to talk some sense into Telemachus for him to man up and get some confidence to kick the suitors out of the palace. Winning words with a lucky ring. Odysseus’ son rejoiced: the boy could sit no longer—fired up to speak, he took his stand amoung the gathered men. In this part of the story in Book Two, Telemachus was winning for the suitors to get out of the palace.

Telemachus also gains confidence when he travels to Spartan Empire by horse to find more information about his father. Athena talked a lot of confidence into Telemachus to become a man and find info on his father, but Athena had to go with him to keep his confidence up. So she disguised herself as a man. Telemachus feels that he have more confidence when Athena’s around. Telemachus felt happy because he actually when up to King Nestor and asked him about his father. Telemachus gathered some information.

In __The Odyssey__ Athena say’s fit out a ship with twenty oars, the best in sight, sail in quest of news of your long-lost father. Someone may tell you something or you may catch a rumor that carries news to men like noting else. First go down to Pylos, question old King Nestor, then cross over to Sparta, to red-haired Menelaus, of all bronze-armored Achaeans and the last man back. In this part of the story in Book One Athena is telling Telemachus to get his lazy self up, stop acting like a boy and man up so you can go find more information.

Telemachus actually found some information about his father. He got his information from King Nestor. Telemachus has actually manned up this time but Athena had to guide him. Now that Telemachus know that his father is not dead he feels happy, reassured, and have way more confidence then ever. Telemachus is a kind and nice person but is still kind of struggling becoming a man. Now that he manned up and found information about his father he is going to return home to Ithaca with Athena.

=__Macbeth Creative Project__=
 * This is my Macbeth project that I did. It has some quotes and pictures that goes with it. It is basically average, so I hope you enjoy it.**

=__Quarter 3__ __(Kindred Essay)__ = = =
 * This project I enjoyed also. This is a project that we did because we read a book called Kindred.**

We all know that Dana faced many problems with Rufus and slavery. She went back in time into slavery in 1815. She first met Rufus when he was about 5 years old drowning in a river. I also felt kind of bad for Dana. Dana will be in and out but mostly in Rufus life. When Dana is first saved Rufus’ life, she never knew that she was going to face the obstacles of slavery.

One of the obstacles that Dana faced with slavery when Tom Weylin whipped Dana because she was teaching Nigel how to read when Mr Weylin didn’t know and he told her not to read and he didn’t want her to read because he didn’t want a nigger smarter than him. The book Dana read all the time Tom Weylin took from her. Because Dana was teaching Nigel how to read, she took the book back and Mr Weylin caught her and Nigel with it in the cookhouse. When he seen them he grabbed her and took her out to the yard. Then he threw her on the ground, “ I never saw where the whip came from, never even saw the first blow coming. But it came like a hot iron across my back.” Then she screamed for Kevin. “ Suddenly, I realized what was happening and I screamed-I think I screamed. He had to reach me. He had to! I passed out.”

A second obstacle Dana faced was getting sent into the cornfields to work like all the other black slaves. Dana was sent into the cornfields because Rufus wanted to punish somebody for his father’s death. Tom Weylin was having a heart attack and Dana tried her best to save him. But since Dana is no doctor she couldn’t do but so much. Dana tried and tried but she finally gave up and he died. “ I did what I could, Rufe. I’m sorry. Damn you to hell, you let him die!” She was sent out to the cornfields not even a whole day. She was whipped a lot because the man that watched over them while they did they work pushed Dana to make her work faster. Finally after she got whipped for about the 10th time she fainted. “Rufus’s voice. I was still in hell. I closed my eye’s not caring what would happen next. Dana, get up. You’ll be hurt more than if I carry you than if you walk.”

The third and final obstacle she faced was losing her arm. Dana finally killed Rufus. Honestly this part of the story made me sad because all of these things that she went through just for him and saved his life plenty of times just basically went to waste because she killed him. Dana was saying that it is so hard to kill him because she saved his life so many times. “But it would be so hard to raise the knife, drive it into the flesh I had saved so many times. So hard to kill…” But she did it anyway. When she started to stab him, “ I was aware of him trying not to hurt me even as I raised the knife, even as I sank it into his side.” As he was dying he still had Dana’s arm holding on to it not letting go of it. “ Something harder and stronger than Rufus’s hand clamped down on my arm, squeezing it, stiffening it, pressing into it-painlessly, at first melting into it, meshing with it as though somehow my arm were being absorbed into something. Something cold and nonliving. Something…paint, plaster, wood—a wall.”

As you can see Dana has faced plenty obstacles but she overcame all of them and she stayed strong without giving up. But she lost someone very important to her that was like the other half of Dana’s life and her name was Alice. KINDRED is a very good inspirational story. Dana is a very beautiful woman in the inside and she just stayed strong throughout all of it. Dana and her husband Kevin said if they were to tell anybody about this they would think they were crazy. “ We are, he said, And now that the boy is dead, we have some chance of staying that way.”

=__ME MAGAZINE__= == FIRST PAGE SECOND PAGE THIRD PAGE
 * This was one of my favorite projects where I made a magazine about me. As you can see it's called Me, Myself, and I. I love this project. Enjoy!**

FOURTH PAGE

FIFTH PAGE SIXTH PAGE SEVENTH PAGE EIGTH PAGE FINAL PAGE

__**Journals**__
 * These are four top journals that I picked throughout the year. I picked these journals because they were four of my favorite.**

~December 1, 2009~

I believe that writing helps out your stress well at least mines, but I think writing can be just for expressing your feelings, writing down your thoughts, and some people write just to write. I write to express my feelings and to write down my thoughts sometimes. I also write because I have to for school to do assignments and what not. Sometimes I write because I’m just bored or because I feel like it. I enjoy writing sometimes but sometimes I don’t because I get tired of it and it starts to create boredom. Writing is also for getting help. What I mean by that is when people is stuck on a island or stuck somewhere they write people letters and hope that somebody will get it, but I think that’s true because I heard about it plenty of times. When I miss somebody or anybody miss anyone that moved or lives further than you I write that person a letter. Writing is a special tool that I think you and I need.

~December 8, 2009~
Why would I want to do that? I would not want to change my gender, culture, or race. I wouldn't want to change my gender because I love being me. It's not that I'm conceited or anything but I am happy with the way God made me. It's kind of hard being a female, it's not easy. We walk around for 9 or more months with a big stomach, and we have cramps and things like that. Sometimes I wish males can see what we go through. I wouldn't want to change my race because like I said I'm happy with the way God made me. Even though my race were slaves way back then I still wouldn't want to change my race. There are still people that are racist but it doesn't matter to me because black is beautiful.

~May 20, 2010~
Standing up for what I believe in. Standing up for what I believe in is very important to me because it's what's right. I was in the 8th grade and one day I was sitting in class and I had to go to the bathroom. When I went to the bathroom I seen 2 of my "friends" messing with this little 6th grader. When they seen me and I seen them they told me to come join them and I looked at them like they lost there mind and said no. So they start calling me a punk or whatever so I said a couple words to them and they left the bathroom. They were mad at me but I didn't care because it was a little girl. The next day they came to me and said that I was right all along and that they shouldn't of did that. Then they apologized to the girl and that was that. You learn things everyday. Sometimes standing up for what you believe in can cost you but at the end of the day you feel good about your self.

~ May 18, 2010~

Free write? What should I write about. I will write about how kids treat themselves and others "these days". First of all kids treat other people like crap. They go around robbing stores, fighting, and killing each other. All I have to say is why? Why do we do this to each other and ourselves. We as the people of philadelphia, its not just the kids anymore. We have parents abusing their kids and sometimes killing them. We have some husbands beating their wives to death and all I have to say is why? How can this happen? We have kids today that fight and hurt teachers not caring at all about their education but trying to be cool. Young men around the age of 13-17 with guns on their waist thinking thats cool. Young woman and men doing drugs is just ridiculous and a shame. African american kids killing each other everyday. Young teenagers becoming mothers and fathers and don't know one thing about how hard it is to be a parent. As much as we as in "african americans" went through so we can get a education and we don't even care. Back then through slavery African Americans wanted a education and now in the present we just throw it all away like its nothing. I want to change the world but if people don't want to do anything about then it is what it is, I just pray that people start looking at themselves because one day God and his son Jesus will come back and judge everyone because there is a Heaven and a Hell.

Okay I hoped you enjoyed my portfolio of my english work!!!!
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