Charlie English Blog

 A time I needed to look out for myself in a silly or harmless situation was when I forgot about my AP psych vocab. It was the night before it was due, and I and my friends were playing video games when my friend Luke started talking about how long it took him to finish the vocab assignment. I instantly remembered I had to do it and rushed to start. It was 79 words, but I powered through it and got it done, saving myself with a 0 in the grade book.

 Ive seen many homeless people any every time I'm worried and feel bad for them. A lot of times they are asking me for money but I don't have much and rarely have cash so I just feel so guilty for not sharing my money and being greedy. I hope that every homeless person can find help and get their life back togeather.

 Something I'm thankful for is my parents allowing me to play lacrosse. Lacrosse is not a cheap sport and the dues for highschool lacrosse is 500 alone. I wanted to play travel lacrosse this year to get some college offers and made a really good team. The only thing was is cost 3k. My family doesn't have a insane amount of money and that just seemed very unreal stick, but my mom and dad still spent the money regardless of the cost and allowed me to play. I had to chip in a decent amount of money but I'm still so thankful for their help and allowing me to have an opportunity to play.

A moment when new information changed how I saw someone was when I learned more about a kid in my grade who always acted quiet and kept to himself. At first, I thought he was just unfriendly, but later I found out he was dealing with a lot at home, including taking care of a sick family member. That completely changed how I saw him. Instead of thinking he didn’t want to talk to people, I realized he was carrying way more stress than most of us knew. Just like the ending of “A Rose for Emily” makes readers rethink Emily’s whole life, this new information made me rethink his behavior and understand him in a more caring and patient way.

 The most shocking real-life event I ever learned about was the Holocaust. It was hard to believe that millions of innocent people were taken from their homes and killed just because of who they were. What stood out to me most was how cruel and planned it all was, and how families were separated without any care. When people learn about the Holocaust today, they react with sadness and disbelief because it doesn’t seem possible that humans could do something so terrible. It shows that people can do awful things if hatred grows, which is why we have to stand up for others.

A place that holds deep memories for me is my grandparents’ house in Texas. When I was younger, their house felt huge, warm, and full of life, sitting right on a lake where my family gathered for Thanksgiving and Easter. I spent those holidays with my brother, my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my cousin, and the time we spent together made the house feel like the center of our family. Looking after my cousin, who was a year younger than me, gave me my first real sense of responsibility and made me feel like I was growing up. Even though I don’t live in Texas anymore, that house still reflects who I am because it reminds me of when I first learned how to care for others and when family played the biggest role in shaping the person I was becoming.

I heard the word melancholy, in a song I was listening to. The lyrics talked about feeling lonely and sad even when everything seemed fine. I realized the word fit perfectly with that mood, meaning a deep sadness. Hearing it in that song helped me understand the word better because I could feel the emotion the artist was describing. (I don't rember the words from the assignment so I chose this word)

The strictest parent in my life has always been my mom. She always wants to know where I am and what I’m doing at all times. When I was younger, I used to think she was just being overprotective, but now I realize she just cares about my safety. Her rules have made me more responsible and aware of my surroundings. I’ve learned to communicate better and to think before I go somewhere or make decisions. Even though it can be annoying sometimes, her discipline has helped me stay out of trouble and make smarter choices.

Something my parents always forbade me from doing when I was growing up was smoking or drinking. They were very clear about it and told me those things could mess up my health and my future. They also said that once you start, it can be really hard to stop. I think they made that rule because they wanted me to stay focused on school and sports and not get caught up in bad habits that could lead to bigger problems later on. Even though I didn’t always understand it at the time, now I see they were just trying to protect me and help me make better choices

 A time when learning a new word helped me was when I discovered the term symbolism in English class. Before that I used to read stories and just focus on what literally happened. But once I learned what symbolism meant I started noticing how objects or actions could represent bigger ideas like how the green light in The Great Gatsby stands for Gatsby’s dreams. Understanding that one term completely changed how I read and wrote about literature. It made my essays deeper because I could explain not just what happened but why it mattered.