Friendship is an essential aspect of life. A person going without human contact is damaging to their mental health. It is a bond that if strong enough, becomes unbreakable. It provides people with support, guidance, and a new perspective on life, shown in the book “The Noticer” by Andy Andrews, one of the books read in Ms. Weeden’s English class. Other books we read this year were “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorriane Hansbury, “Passing” by Nella Larsen, and “The Odyssey” by Homer.

“The Noticer” by Andy Andrews shows the values of friendship and wisdom through a character named Jones. He gives advice to help people in the community. He even helps heal a marriage through teaching them about love language. The support, guidance, and perspective that Jones gives people helps the whole community. The friends I have can be like Jones, supporting me and guiding me with their wisdom. My mom is like Jones to me. She gives me advice and always is there for me when I need her. I hope that I can learn to be a Jones and inspire others to be one too.

In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansbury, the theme of bonding is shown constantly. The Younger family stayed connected through every hardship they went through. Even when Walter lost all the money Mama gave him, the family members do not break apart because they are stronger together. This year at Old Colony I have made friends that I have bonded with like family. Even if I let them down, they still continue to support me and that makes our bond stronger. The theme of living the American Dream also came up in this story. Walter Lee believed the American Dream was to have a successful business and become rich. I feel that my American Dream has already come true, to feel free to be myself. My friends don’t make me feel ashamed or embarrassed to be who I am. For Walter, his group ended up being his downfall, pushing him further away from his American Dream by stealing his money. Additionally, wrong prejudices that people hold against Walter can hold him back from his  feeling of the American Dream, which I find unfair. I strive to make everyone I meet feel free to express themselves, no matter who they are, they deserve to have their American Dream.

The book “Passing” by Nella Larsen also explores the themes of bonds and friendships. This book shows the effects of toxic relationships, like Walter’s friend group on Walter and his family. Irene, the protagonist, struggles with her toxic friendship with Clare. Clare often manipulated Irene into attending events Irene wasn’t comfortable going to. These events were filled with racist white people who constantly put down and insulted people of color like Irene. Clare even tried to convince Irene to pass as white, pushing her own insecurities onto Irene. This causes a lot of internal conflict inside of Irene. Back at middle school, I was in toxic friendships. They caused me to feel like I was worthless and it caused a lot of anxiety. As soon as I left those friendships, my mental health improved. Clare being pushed out of the window may be a metaphor for pushing out toxic relationships. The confusion the author causes in the reader after that moment relates to the confusion after you leave the relationship. I asked myself many times if I should apologize after I left or wonder what I am going to do next. Irene tried to fit in with Clare and her friends, but she couldn’t handle their appalling attitude towards black people. Their toxic words were unhealthy to be around so she pushed away that environment, just like when she pushed Clare out a window.

“The Odyssey” by Homer is an epic poem that shows the theme of teamwork and support through a journey. Odysseus relies on his crewmates to help get him back home. They all work together and support each other. My friends and I support each other by being there for each other when we need it. We work together to help the person who is struggling. We try to help them out of their cave of sadness. The word “cave” references where in book 9 of “The Odyssey” Odysseus gets trapped inside a cave with a cyclops. Odysseus and his men are not able to leave without the cyclops brutally murdering and eating them. To escape Odysseus and his crewmates had to cling to the cyclops’ sheep. The sheep represent friends and family rescuing the person from their problems. The support that friends and family have on a person can save them from the Cyclops, representing their negative thoughts and the cave. We support each other and help each other out of our caves and go back to our journey. Like Odysseus we are all on our journey, and friends can help guide the way back home.

Along with these themes relating to my experience my freshman year, Ms. Weeden has also taught me more about the value of hard work. This includes looking for the deeper meaning behind text, adding annotations, writing an error-free thesis statement, and most importantly, time management. This year I started off as a bit of a procrastinator. Soon after I entered Ms. Weeden’s class, I learned that to be successful, I had to learn to manage my time wisely. This meant I could not push off my assignments not only in English class, but in all my other classes as well. Many people did not like how Ms. Weeden pushed time management, those people also having a procrastination issue. I appreciate Ms. Weeden for teaching me this skill, it has prepared me for the rest of my life. 

Next year I hope to take these skills that Ms. Weeden taught me and expand on them. For my time management goal, I plan to make daily to-do lists and make organizers. My reading goal is to continue to annotate my text, even if it is not required, so I can understand what I am reading and increase my reading comprehension. For my writing, I want to improve my vocabulary so I can make my writing more engaging and impress the reader. Over the summer, to help with all of my goals, I am going to study and research my classes to understand future topics that will be covered in class next year. This is what I will be doing to improve my independent learning.

This year has taught me many lessons. Through my experiences, good or bad, in school or out of school, has helped me be who I am now. Through escaping toxic situations and finding healthy, life-long bonds with my friends today has helped me and my mental health so much. Coming to OC has been life changing and I can’t imagine myself anywhere else. I am excited to see what my sophomore year will bring for me and what changes it will make in my life.