End of year reflection

Prompt # 3: To what extent has studying English this year increased your skill and appreciation
of language and communication - its power and value to influence, connect, and to hear and be
heard?

Answering prompt: Studying english this year has improved my communication skills and
expanded my knowledge in vocabulary. Vocabulary are words and phrases that a person knows
but having a different variety of vocabulary can allow me to express myself while completely
understanding the meaning of the word instead of getting lost and brushing it off like you
understand it. Similar to communication, having experiences in communicating with others can
get you through situations where you might have to talk to someone 1 on 1. Book club has been
an english experience where i was able to use my communication skills to practices talking to
my peers directly.

Things fall apart: “Things fall apart” is a novel that explores the culture and society of the Igbo
people in Nigeria before and during the arrival of European colonialism. The story focuses on
the life of the protagonist Okonkwo, a respected and successful leader in his community, who
was dramatically impacted by the arrival of the Europeans. "Things Fall Apart" drawed out a
variety of emotions. These emotions include sadness, anger, and frustration. The novel shows
the downfall of life by oneself or by an intervention due to someone doing for example,
European colonialism taking over the cultural identity of the Igbo people which was an
emotional experience for me when I read this. "Things Fall Apart" taught me about the nature of
African culture and history, providing details about traditional beliefs, customs, and values of the
Igbo people. It also highlights the impact of colonialism on African societies and the struggles
faced by individuals and communities in the face of cultural change. Reading this novel helped
me better understand the cultural, social, and historical context of Nigeria and Africa.

Macbeth: "Macbeth" is a story that explores the tragedy and consequences of ambition and the
influence of power by the witches prophecy and Lady’s Macbeth persuasion. Macbeth was a
nobleman who was driven by the influence to murder the king (Duncan) in order to fulfill a
prophecy and obtain power leading him to become king. Even though I only read half of the
novel of Macbeth, I can confirm as the reader; I felt a lot of emotion going through those pages.
Reading Macbeth made me feel shocked and the buildup of Macbeth's development as he
descended in madness and chaos added suspense to the story. The story teached me about
the dangerous factor about having impulsive ambition and the corrupting influence of power. It
also explores the consequences of guilt and the psychological impact of certain actions.

The Road Not Taken: "The Road Not Taken" is about making individual life choices. The
importance of taking personal responsibility for decisions. Not knowing whether those choices
could lead to a favorable outcome. The poem talks about a traveler who comes to an end in the
road and makes a choice to which he must choose a path to take. The person ultimately
chooses the less traveled path, which makes all the difference in his life. This leads to him
reflecting on the path he chose and wondering what would have happened if he had taken the
other path. P.S. ig he was praying for RNG luck hoping if life would be better if he chose a path
that less traveled because he wanted to explore and try out new things out of curiosity of his
success??? Anyways, the poem's message was to encourage readers to take paths that felt
right to them, even if it's less popular. The poem also talks about taking chances and not
missing out on opportunities even if it's a risk. For example, a highschooler dropout like Elon
Musk, who took risks that other people might not choose to pursue in his own ambition, making
him a successful entrepreneur. After reading "The Road Not Taken," I am more curious about
the life and work of Robert Frost. Why has he decided to create this poem about life choices
and how his life might be considering that this poem might be related to him.