jonathan's english blog

 I took a major hiatus from chess during sophomore and junior year of high school. My father taught me how to play chess casually at a young age but I begun learning actual chess theory during the 2020 covid year. Online chess was one of my favorite hobbies during quarantine and I played in a few online tournaments. I enjoyed playing chess online until sophomore year where I ended up becoming bored with chess and moving on to something else. A few months ago, I logged onto my online chess account and queued into a few chess games. I immediately realized how much I had forgotten about chess, primarily the memorization of the chess openings I would used to play. From that moment on, I learned the importance of consistency.

      I wish I could unhear the moments people would leave their microphones on during virtual year of school. I'm not sure why, but whenever I heard someone else's microphone, I would get second-hand embarrassment. Most of the people that left their microphones on during class did so unintentionally which made it worse since they had no idea background noises in their house could be heard or that the noise from their phone could also be heard. I’m glad that I don’t have to experience this again.

     One moment when I felt I had the power to make a difference in someone else’s life was when I tutored a kid at the local church. He struggled with his math homework involving fractions, but I patiently explained each problem step by step. It took a few problems for him to understand, but once he understood, his confidence grew, and he completed the assignment with a sense of enthusiasm. I could tell he was enthusiastic considering he told me he didn't need my help anymore. Seeing his completed work, he got every answer right, which made me feel a sense of accomplishment. That day, I understood that even small acts of support can have a lasting impact on someone's confidence and learning journey.

    I value privacy since it makes me feel at peace and allows me to get my work done. This is why I feel the most at peace in my bedroom, since I have the privacy I need to complete my work and relax after a long day of school or work. My bedroom has sufficient privacy because the door of my bedroom has a lock that I can use whenever I have a big assignment due, a lot of work due, or need to study before a test the following day. My bedroom has sufficient relaxation because it is the place where I sleep, play video games, and can practice my instrument. I have never felt stressed in my bedroom.

 My parents' words had the greatest lasting impact on me . My parents always emphasised the importance of education, considering they never achieved a higher education in the old country. In their words, they claimed that without a proper education, life would be difficult. This is one of the reasons why I plan to attend university once I graduate from high school.   

 Activities where uniformity is the main factor of success, it can lead to people not feeling like themselves. I felt like this whenever it came to marching band parades and shows. The main goal of marching band is to appear the same, step on the same tempo, and play on the same rhythm. Fundamentally, if you try to be yourself during a performance, you will stand out in the performance in a negative way. Outside of performances, you can be yourself, but never when performing in front of an audience.

Arriving at Mexico City International Airport, I immediately realized that I would have to rely on my family to get around Mexico and navigate the cultural differences compared to the United States. Thankfully my family lives in the outskirts of the capital city so I wouldn’t have to worry about the urban Mexican environment. At the family home, I had trouble conforming to the surroundings and lack of certain amenities, such as running hot water. The feeling of relying on my family is unorthodox for me because usually, my parents rely on me when it comes to matters relating to documents, but in Mexico, I’m the one who needs to rely on my family to know how to conform.

 The CRT TV in my closet holds great sentimental value for me since it is the earliest memory I have of playing video games with childhood friends and watching movies/cable. The TV has a built in VHS player and served as the medium to watch the movies I grew up with. My friends would always come to my house and we would play video games together for long periods of time. The design of the TV represents a time period that my parents lived in before I was born, which is fascinating to think about. This makes the TV sentimental to me.

The first time I had to give a presentation in front of an entire classroom, I was completely out of my comfort zone. I hated public speaking and usually avoided it, however, as I advanced through the educational system, presentations started to become unavoidable. Initially, I despised giving presentations in front of a classroom, but overtime, I’ve learned to not be as uncomfortable when presenting infront of the classroom. 

If I were President, I would provide universal healthcare because everyone should have the right to healthcare without compensations. As president, I would cut back on military funding considering we have allies that have militaries that can help us. The allocated funds would go to other sectors that are underserved in the United States, such as transcontinental transportation. I would increase national security around the northern and southern border of the United States. Finally, I would pledge to serve the people of the United States.

       The most challenging part of writing an essay for me is brainstorming because I often struggle to come up with strong ideas to start with. Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities and unsure of which direction to take. To overcome this, I plan to use visual strategies like mind maps and graphic organizers to sort my thoughts and see connections more clearly. By visually organizing my ideas, I can create a clearer path for my essay and make the writing process smoother. The lesson we did over how to acquire a job and the preparation we did as a class helped improve the brainstorming process for me. Today in Multicultural Literature, we analyzed the composition of the body paragraph in a literary analysis essay. We used "The Color Purple" as a guide to help us compose a body paragraph concerning Albert's deception of Celie. Afterwards, we continued to read the book until completion. I am doing good.