Introduction
Endless Journey
A change? I think I can call this more than “a change”. The progress I have made since the beginning of this year is really significant for me, and it also shows me how hard work pays off. In the beginning of this year, I was able to write short essays (essays that are approximately 200-300 words). However, writing 1500 words every week was something that I have never expected that I would be able to accomplish. Since the beginning of this year, I have accomplished most of my goals about writing better sentences, using more correct grammar, writing more descriptive introduction and conclusion; however, while accomplishing those goals, I sometimes had difficult times, but I kept on believing that I could do better every time I thought I would fail.
Writing in the beginning of this year felt challenging, and it had difficulties. My biggest fear in the beginning of the year was to write long essays. Yes, I knew I had to face this fear someday, but I didn’t know that that day could be this close. The first weeks of the class, we didn’t write long essays. However, in the middle of the year we started writing essays that were 500 words. This wasn’t a problem, since these essays would be written once in a week. Starting from April, the 30-Day Challenge had taken its place on my blog. This challenge had become also a writing challenge which made it more difficult than it was. I started writing 500 words blog posts three times a week. There would be days when I would run out of ideas, and stop writing the blog post, or start all over again when I was about to get to the end. Despite having difficulties finishing the blog posts, I have done my best writings of this year during the 30-Day Challenge. This challenge made me face my fear of writing long essays, and helped me to force myself to think wider, and more creative. I remember the time I wrote "The Imam Has Fainted" (it is one of my previous blog posts). The task for that writing was to write about a traditional food, and it had to be 800 words. At that time, 800 words seemed very long, and something impossible to accomplish. However, now I can write long essays by using my own ideas, and supporting them easier than I used to in the beginning of this year.
The difficulties had slowly became invisible towards the end of the year. When I looked at my previous writings, like the ones that I wrote in the beginning of this year, I realized that I developed myself in terms of using correct grammar, and creating sentences with good, and correct structures. For example in my writing called “The Persistence Of Memory By Salvador Dali” I saw several grammar mistakes that I would not do if I were to write a new essay. “There are so many important objects that carries different messages.”, in this sentence the error can be found in the verb. It should be “carry” instead of “carries”, since it describes more than one object’s action. Except these grammar errors, I realized that I also developed the originality of the sentences I write. I started using more creative words, and creating more complex sentences with the help of semi-colons, or dashes. Using more complex sentence structures also helped me to write more words than I used to write. This way, writing long essays became easier.
However, difficulties never went away even though I have accomplished to beat most of them. There are still some skills that I couldn’t develop as much as my other writing skills like grammar. I am still having some difficulties while writing introduction, thesis, and conclusion. In the beginning of this year I didn’t know what thesis was, and why was it important. However, now I understand why it is important––it reflects the main idea of the writing. Before I learned to write an introduction, I didn’t know how to write a thesis; for that reason it took me a long time to get used to adding a thesis statement to my introduction. While writing my conclusions, in the beginning of the year, I would repeat what I have written in the body paragraphs. However, I learned that conclusions are not always for repeating, and supporting previous points that are made in the body paragraphs. Conclusion is the part where the readers should be left with a clue of how the writing can affect their lives, or how it is related with real life. Learning these informations helped me to write more effective essays, and creative writings.
Writing, for me, has been, and always will be a fun activity. Even if it gets challenging in the future, I will try to use the skills I learned in this class, and find a way to make it easier. The progress I have made is significant, but it is not over, and it will never be. For every writing I complete, I develop a new skill because I see new mistakes that I make, and I see new ways to fix those mistakes, and sentences. Writing, for me, is a journey that will never end.
1st Blog Post
Days 1 and 2
"Have you heard of the new phone that can count the steps you take every day?", "Have you seen how the elections went last week?" We all hear these kinds of sentences from the people around us. These phrases can be great ways to start communicating with people, but if you are not informed about the world's situation, you might not be able to communicate with people about these topics. That is the reason why I have always wanted to be up to date about important things that happen around the world. I believe that the best way to to that is to read the news. Some people might find being informed easier by just watching the news on the tv, or just listening to the news on the radio. It might be, but I believe that reading the news from the newspaper, or internet is the best way to get informed. Because internet is such a big platform, and it contains information from all over the world, finding all kinds of news is possible. That’s why for my 30 Day Challenge I will read one news that I find interesting every day. That news can be about politics, art, sports, or even music. I have 30 days to learn new stories, and to get to know the world better by reading about the world every day.
For my first day, Friday April 10th, I started my challenge by reading a short news about a university in South Africa, and a decision that the university made about removing a statue. The University of Cape Town decided to remove the statue of the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes. Cecil Rhodes was born in 1853, and made his fortune with his De Beers mining company and used his wealth to help expand Britain’s empire in Africa, especially in present-day Zimbabwe, originally named Rhodesia in his honor. I learnt who Cecil Rhodes was while I was reading this news. I also learnt about the University Of Cape Town, and it led me to make a research about both of them. I learned that there is a university named after Rhodes, called Rhodes University in South Africa. I also researched about the University of Cape Town, and I read that it is the second oldest university in Africa. It used to be a school for boys when it first opened, but then it became co-ed.
For my second day, Saturday April 10th, I read a news about Africa again, but this time it was about Kenya, and the shootings that happened at a Kenyan University. The story was more about what Nyokabi Githakwa, a student at that university went through. It talked about how Kenya was when she was just a baby, and said that she witnessed a lot of important politic events that happened in Kenya. The article also talked about the parents of other children that died in the shootings. This news touched me because I knew about these kinds of disasters in Africa, but I have never read, or actually learned about them before. While I was reading about some parents’ comments about the shootings, I felt angry, and sad at the same time. I was angry at the people who started the shootings, and I felt sad for those parents.
Reading these two news helped me to understand what was going on Africa nowadays. I had the chance to read about the people there, and to learn about their lives. They were not different than any of us, but because of the events that happened in their countries, they were having difficult times. This news encouraged me to read more about the world. I will keep reading different kids of news every day. Last 28 days to go!
2nd Blog Post
The Drought And The Presidencies
A lot has happened in these last three days. I have received an e-mail saying that there will be a college fair, and I have been also getting ready for my community service activities, since we haven't been meeting for a long time.
I have been a little nervous because of the upcoming college fair that is planned to take place this Thursday at my school. College fair is an opportunity that I have to consider because I'm a sophomore, and I will have to decide which colleges to apply when I'm a junior, so that I can apply them right away when I'm a senior. I have taken a look at the college list before, but a couple of days ago, I have looked at the list again, and I've realized that one of my favorite colleges will be joining the fair, UCLA (University Of California Los Angeles). That college has always been one my favorites because of its location.
Location is an important factor while choosing a college, so since it was in California, I made a little research about that state, and I have found some sad news about California. One of the news I have read was saying that California Delta was missing water, so the drought had become an important issue. I didn't realize that California was in danger even though I've been there two years ago. When I decided to read the rest of the news, I saw that this issue wasn't because of the nature, but people. Unnecessary usage of water was the main reason for the drought, and of course people were causing that. In the news I even read that The State of California can also limit the amount of water that a household can use per day to prevent a possible permanent drought. It was really sad to hear that. It shows how people can be punished by their own acts, and I think that if people in California keep using the water unconsciously, they will have to have a limit of water usage. I don’t think that the limit would make people happy. While I was reading this news I haven't realized that I had ended the third day of my 30 Day Challenge.
The next day I had already planned what kind of news to read—sports news. I had been hearing people talking about the baseball season, so I had decided that I wanted to be informed about that, but the news article I read ended up being a political news. That Monday, as the group of community service, we went to Elim Park just like we do every day. While I was visiting elderly people, I found myself sitting in an old woman's room. She was very kind, and talkative. The first thing I noticed was her tv. She was watching this tv show about politics in America. I heard a couple of stories about Hillary Clinton from the people on the tv show. She talked to me about Hillary Clinton and the presidencies, but I couldn't respond to her, since I didn't follow the news about politics. That day I decided that I would read a news about politics. I saw a news article that a journalist had written by using her own opinions about Clinton. I didn't understand what was going on in the news, but I had gained some ideas about the presidency in the States. In the news, the journalist gave her own opinions, and for me it was pretty difficult to decide which side to pick. However, the news article was very informative.
These three days have been overwhelmingly tiring, but at the same time I've experienced new things, and learned new informations. These days also made me think more about some topics that were included in the news that I've read.
Getting the chance to read about the politics in America made me recognize the country more. I knew that the presidencies in America had a major effect on everyone, and now when someone talks to me about politics, or when I see a news about it, I can at least understand the main idea behind it. Also, the news about California helped me to understand the natural issues that take place in California. Next time I go there, I will observe its nature more carefully to understand how big the problem is. I know that it will be hard to stop the drought in California, but at least by warning people, we can prevent a major drought that can take place in the future. I will keep learning about the world each day!
4th Blog Post
Coffee In Space?
On a Saturday morning I woke up, and took a walk outside to feel the warm air that reminded me it was time for summer. It was a beautiful day, and I never wanted to spend time inside. The sky was almost clear. There were no clouds that made the sky look like it could rain, and I wondered that at night I would be able to see all of the stars which made me excited after so many rainy days. That was when I remembered that I had a lot of school work to do, so I walked up to my room, and started doing homework. I had totally forgotten about reading a news that day, so I went online, and found an interesting news. "Coffee in space?"
The news was really funny. It was about an astronaut that’s been working on a space ship in space, and one of the things that she had missed the most was coffee. She had been trying to make coffee in space, but since the coffee was prepared in an instant coffee machine, it didn’t have the real taste of coffee. She has been waiting on the shipment of an espresso machine for more than three months. I could feel her excitement about the coffee machine while I was reading through the news article, since I also think that coffee is an important drink. I would have felt the same the same way. I think that coffee is a vital drink that makes people happy. I wouldn’t be able to spend even a minute in space without coffee. I am not one of those people that depend on coffee, but I am sure that I really like coffee. However, I don’t drink coffee because it wakes me up, but because I like how it tastes. Also, coffee never works at waking me up in the mornings, especially if it’s a Monday morning.
Back to the news… Another point in the news had also captured my attention. The coffee machine was made in Italy just for her. I believe that it’s a good idea to design and create the machine in Italy, since it shows that the espresso machine has high quality because Italy is also famous with its coffee. The only thing that was shipped wasn’t just an espresso machine. Other food, and drinks were shipped, too, but in the news the most significant, and different one for the astronaut was obviously the espresso machine. The astronaut seemed pretty exciting about the coffee machine. One of the sentences she said was “Lots of science and even coffee's in there, so that's pretty exciting.” I think that it’s a great act what NASA has done. It shows that NASA doesn’t only care about how astronauts complete their missions, but if they are comfortable doing that, or not. I can’t imagine how hard it can be being away from earth for a long time. I bet people in space miss a lot of things from earth; just like a simple thing as coffee. With this news I’ve learned an important truth. We are all humans, and no matter what, we can always miss little things that we might not find important, and that make our lives better, just like coffee for an astronaut who has been in space for more than five months.Now that I learned that there is coffee in space, I don't find any problems in going to space!
5th Blog Post
Enjoying The 30 Day Challenge
Tests, homework… While managing to finish all of my school work, sometimes it can be hard to pick a news to read for my 30-Day Challenge. When I usually have so much work to do, I choose short news, or news that I can understand easily. However, it is not an easy thing to choose a news to read.
I usually choose the news I want to read through The New York Times’ website. I believe that they have the best, and most detailed news. Whenever I go on their websites, I can find any kind of news article I want to read. The political news articles are the ones that usually appear on the front page. Unfortunately politics is the subject that I hate the most, and I cannot understand it, so I usually click on technology, or science. I enjoy reading science news. Choosing an interesting news to read helps me to read the news easier, and also to enjoy it. I want my challenge to be an activity that I can have fun while doing it. That’s why choosing a news article that interests me is the most important part of the challenge. For example one of the favorite news articles I have chosen was the news about Apple Watch which made me not to buy the Apple Watch. These news effect me a lot, and they also made me change my mind about daily events, or products—like Apple Watch.
On Monday night, I had to study for two tests, and I also had to do tons of school work. Reading the news was in my mind, but I had to study for my tests first. When I was ready to visit The New York Times’ website, I was feeling very tired, but I forced myself to read a news article. As soon as the website appeared in front of my eyes, I saw a news about a building in New York City. It sounded interesting, but there was one problem, the news article was very long. I remembered that in the first days of this challenge I have read so many news articles that were longer than this one. I was determined to read that news, and plus the topic was pretty interesting. I started reading it, and finished it by the time I thought it wasn’t even finished yet. I realized that I have gotten used to reading long news articles, and I have gained patience. These news were helping me to gain knowledge, and new skills about reading. I know that these skills will help me in the future while I'm writing papers, or essays.
I am happy that I had to do a challenge like this. This challenge forces me to learn new things about the world every day, and I can also develop my reading skills. I have learned some vocabulary words while reading various kinds of news. I hope that the words I read, and learn will be helpful in the future while I’m taking TOEFL or other important tests that I have to use a good vocabulary.
The news that I have been reading in these last couple of days have been usually science based, since they are the ones that I prefer reading the most. However, I will try reading some news articles different than science, since the main reason why I chose to read the news was to read about different worlds.
12th Blog Post
My Experience
I can't believe it! It's been 30 days! It's been long, and difficult 30 days, but it was worth it! I remember choosing the topic of my 30-Day Challenge, and how I had a hard time deciding it, and now it's all over. I have had three topics before I chose to read news every day. Keeping a journal, and writing down everything that happened each day, stop using social media every day, and stop drinking juice every day. I have found the last two topics a little bit difficult, since I knew I needed to use the social media in order to contact my friends back home. If I stopped drinking juice it would help me have healthier 30 days, but I didn't want to stop doing that. Keeping a journal, at first seemed pretty exciting, and fun, since I have been doing it once in every two days, since 2011. However, the journal I have been keeping is in Turkish, so writing in English in my journal would change the way I keep it. If I were to start writing in English in my current journal, I would have had two different languages, and since I was feeling more comfortable in reflecting my thoughts, and my emotions in Turkish, the structure of my current journal would have had changed. Despite this, I was almost determined to keep a journal until I read a news article one day online. Before I started doing the challenge I would go online, and read news sometimes. While reading the news that day, I realized that reading a news every day can be a good way to complete my 30-Day challenge. I could learn things, and I could also have fun.
One of the first difficulties I have had was finding a news article to read. However, the first week wasn't difficult. Finding news articles to read was easy, since I knew which topics to choose. However, after first week, I have realized that choosing a news article to read was getting difficult. In my blog post, I would always talk about technology, or science. In second week, I decided that I would read more political news, and news that concerns everyone. The political news could sometimes get difficult to read in terms of their language. Since I didn't have any interest in politics, I often didn't understand those kinds of news. So I stuck with reading news that would interest me—like technology, and science.
Another difficult part of this challenge was writing blogs once in three days. This challenge was also a writing challenge. The length of the blog posts intimidated me when I started the 30-Day Challenge. I never believed that I would be able to write 500 words once in every three days, usually about the same topic. Even though sometimes I was out of ideas, I think that I did a good job in terms of reflecting on my experience through this challenge in my blog posts. Thanks to writing long blog posts, writing 500 words became an easy task for me. I can finish writing 500 words easier, and quicker. Whenever I felt like I didn't have any ideas to write on my blog posts, I would ask my friends for their experiences, or their ideas about my blog post, and the 30-day challenge. For example on my previous blog post I used an example that is related to one of my friends' life. My previous blog post was about a volcano explosion that happened in Hawaii. I have written how after learning this news, I went to my roommate, and asked her if her mother was affected from the explosion or not, since I knew that her mother was in Hawaii because of a business trip.
Even though this challenge had difficult parts, it also helped me in developing some skills like patience. Some news articles that I read were very long. Some of them would be three to four pages. Reading news articles that long every day made me patient about reading, and I even started reading a book other than the ones I read for my English class. During the last few weeks, I was able to read longer news articles than the ones I read during the first few weeks. During this challenge I have learned a lot from the news I have read. One of the most interesting things I have learned was the news about the dinosaurs. I have mentioned this on one of my blog posts. The news was about how workers that work in a road construction site had found dinosaur eggs under the road. That news also made me happy, since those eggs were found before they were destroyed or harmed.
While writing my last blog post, I am still thinking about how I typed my first words to my first blog post. I was worried that I would run out of ideas before getting to 300 words. However, I was wrong. When I was writing my 400th word, I still had ideas that I wanted to write on my blog post. I can say that I have more knowledge than I had in the beginning of this challenge. I am glad that I chose to read news every day for my 30-day challenge. This challenge helped me a lot to learn new things, and to develop my writing. There are so many different challenges that I can try in the future. I just have to be patient in order to achieve the goal I want to achieve through these challenges.
