Everything I Needed to Know I Learned from IB Language and Literature Year 2

The people and memories that make up my stories 

       

     (Prepare for some very cliche very gushy blogging...and for the rest of the year) "It was the best of times it was the worst of times" (Dickens). Though this is as unoriginal as it gets, this is very accurate as to my feelings about this class and this year. Though there were many challenges, such as remembering to do my blog every other Sunday, it gave way to something really rewarding. As they say "nothing good comes easy" (another cliche). When I think back on the positives of this year, I think of them like gifts. This class gave me the gift of really learning what it meant to love to read. Though I did not love every book, each one gave me a gift of its own, even if it was just learning a new literary term to carry with me to English 101. 

     I was also unsure of what was next in my life. I was applying to colleges like a madwoman and complaining and freaking out in every outlet imaginable. Oddly enough, the moment in this class I think will last me the longest had nothing to do with literature, but an off-handed, unplanned comment on a day with about 10 students in the room. I had gotten rejected from my reach school the day before and new decisions were coming out that day. I was angry and upset, I had told myself I deserved the day to feel however I wanted. That day Mrs. Genesky reminded all of us that at the end of the day all of these things that feel so big right now will not decide if we are happy next year or at any point in the future. A little reminder that everything is what you make of it and that when you mull over something for too long, it's bound to take on a life of its own. Since this class started I could easily say that of all the teachers I had this year, I had the most respect for Mrs. G, but for her to tell us her experiences about college, which was all I could think about, openly really made the difference for me that day. Reminders that everything is going to be ok made it the best of times. 

     I was also a realistic, some might even say a pessimist. Which is why my two favorite books in this class, and probably of all time, are really interesting. Never Let Me Go was a game changer in my relationship with books. It was about me and completely not about me at the same time. Some may say it was depressing, and even I was a little depressed by the end, the book wasn't about the end. From my humble perspective (a word that I hope to use a little less after IB ends), it was about everything in between and growing up. At times, growing up had felt like the worst of times. My other favorite from this year was The Great Gatsby, which is probably the most contrasting to NLMG of the books from this year. I can truly and honestly say this book made me excited to geek out about literature everyday in class, to the point where I was even geeking out about it with Mr. Oliver in TOK. Sure, Gatsby got played, but I like to think he never regretted his choices to dream big. A good reminder that at 18 you're allowed to dream big. Which for me, just so happens to be studying English Literature in college. Gatsby, along with friends who are bound for greatness, reminded me to reach for even better times.
     This class pushed me and challenged me and made me laugh and exhausted me, but it made me a little better than when I started. I am so appreciative to my friends, classmates, and Mrs. Genesky for every memory, even if I don't remember it a year from now, those moments got me through the day. To leave in true IB English fashion, I will exit my blog with a quote. Fitzgerald says, "And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” 

 And my other favorite quote from this year :)

Witty Whitman

     Though I have come to really enjoy reading Whitman's poetry, I think I may have enjoyed the notebook more because it humanizes him and shows you were it all started. When just glossing over the pages I was instantly drawn to the drawings. He often alternated between headshots and full body drawing, but many of his drawings were of people. I think this is very representative of his interests in his work, which was the human experience and identity. I also found it interesting how the images often looked very similar to one another with some variation and it reminded me of the cataloging he does in his poetry. I also found it interesting how he developed themes as he went. For example, he started in one page with a broad thought about liberty and "seeing it crash," in a few more pages he writes another thought about a storm crashing, and then in the next thought he connects the two by talking about Lincoln as a ship captain. This is very revealing to how Whitman worked, as it shows he wrote freely and that the connections were not planned and came about organically.

     One thing I found cool was in the first few pages he had some title ideas for his brochure, which was never published, about his conversations with Lincoln. I think it is interesting that he was so willing to share this intimate detail of his life, which could cause those who read it to think he is crazy, and shows how open and honest he was with his writing. It is also interesting because as I reader I never really considered this great writer facing uncertainty about what to title his book, which seems too mundane for the larger-than-life presence he makes himself to be at times in his poetry. Another note I found interesting was about his friend dying in battle and Whitman going off and volunteering as a nurse. I think this reveals a lot about Whitman's feelings about the war and that killing was not the answer, but he still needed to participate and help those who were fighting. The last note I found intriguing was one about his tone shift in regards to liberty and suggesting that it outlasts every regime no matter what. This thought really exemplifies the complexities of his feelings on this issues and of people in general, which he shows when he states, "I contain multitudes" (Whitman). This also relates to his feelings about the universe and brotherhood, revealing that Whitman believed that these themes were bigger than people and would always survive in the end.