reflection # 3

There are many things in my life that have helped shape me into who I am today. My childhood especially has affected me and molded me into who I am. My parents separated when I was in first grade. I am the youngest of three girls by 3 years so my sisters never wanted to hang out with me because of my age. With my mom working three jobs I learned to be very independent and do things on my own a lot. At the time I didn't like it much, but I believe I had to mature a bit more than others my age, and now I am so grateful for having to learn that at a young age because now I am very independent and I now actually hate to depend on others. I'm very happy I didn’t grow up as a child being spoiled and babied all the time.My grandfather has my favorite memories in my childhood. I have birthday pictures of every year and my Grandpa was always there next to me and the cake. Even when I was too young to remember he would be there holding me up as a baby. He would always pull my hair, pinch the tip of my fingers, or have candy in his shirt pocket to share with me. He would always be telling jokes or doing a "project" on his house. He taught me how to be neat and use notebooks. He loved watching Laker games and made me watch them too when I wasn't interested in basketball in my younger days. Now I watch them all the time and think of all the memories I had with him yelling at the T.V. "No! Kobe didn’t foal anybody!". He was an amazing pianist, always playing for the family and teaching me about Beethoven and Bach. Now I am learning to play the piano. A year ago he had trouble with his heart so he had an emergency operation to have a pace maker put in him. I was so worried for him and visited a few days later. He showed me the scar they left and joked if I wanted to touch it. He taught me that even through sad and difficult things you can still find the humor in things to make others laugh. Even when he was diagnosed with stomach cancer he managed to keep living life as if nothing was wrong. He was the biggest impact in my life and I will never forget him. He is the reason why I am the way I am. I try my hardest to be positive, see the humor in everything possible, and always keep learning for more.

staunch

Staunch Adjective

The Source Sentence and Page Number: “In 1980, however, despite my father’s staunch devotion to freedom and fairness, he was still a foreigner with an accent, an accent that after the Iranian Revolution was associated with all things bad.” Pg 119; Funny in Farsi

Context Clues: S: devotion - commitments/loyalty

Definition: firm or steadfast in principle, adherence, loyalty, etc.

Original sentence: I wish my friends would act like my dog and be staunch.

deranged

deranged: Adjective

sourse sentence: " I felt like King Tut, except that I was alive and trapped in the mausoleum with a deranged koala." Funny in Farsi, pg 123

context clues: trapped

definition: disordered; disarranged; insane

original sentence: I found a cat on the street and when I tried to pet her she acted like a deranged montser.

tutelage

tutelage: N.

context clues: teacher

definition: the act of guarding, protecting, or guiding; office or function of a guardian; guardianship.

sourse sentence: "I had been taking French since seventh grade, and under the tutelage of my high school teacher, Mr. Polkingharn, affertionately known as Le Polk, I had become quite fluent." Funny In Farsi. pg 130

original sentence: I had a wonderful tutelage when I played soccer, that coach showed me how to kick the ball hard.

reflection #2

I’ve learned in my life that reading is different for everyone. Some people enjoy reading and can not get enough, others hate reading and do the minimum just to get by. But reading has become a necessity in today’s society. I did not learn how to read until I was in third grade, and I thank my third grade teacher for putting up with my slow and under level reading habits. My mother focused more on teaching me math and how to print so teachers would be able to read my writing. Although I did not enjoy reading until I was a sophomore in high school, I managed to reach the correct reading level by sixth grade and did not struggle much in jr. high. I later learned that I wasn’t a bad reader at all, that many my age struggled as much as I did if not more. My spelling, however, was and still is in need of major improvement, I believe it was because of my lack of reading skills as a younger child.
My grandpa loved to read. He was the only person I knew to read the newspaper front to back, and several different ones of the same day. Reading was not encouraged much in my family since my mom didn’t read much herself. I only read in school until my friends introduced me to Japanese comic books. I was hooked on them ever since then.
I believe the reason why I never got into reading much was because I lost interest. Everything I was reading was boring in school. The comic books were entertaining and fast, so I kept interest. I then found Fahrenheit 451,the Giver, Catcher in the Rye, Go ask Alice, and 1984 and fell in love with those books. I enjoyed reading for once in my life. I noticed I like books I can relate to. Books that are “easy read” are ones I enjoy and keep interest.

vacillate

Vacillate Verb

The Source Sentence and Page Number : “We vacillate and fluctuate.” Connect pg 153

Context Clues : S: fluctuate, to change

Definition : to sway unsteadily; waver; totter; stagger

Original Sentence : Before I make a decision, I usually vacillate for a while so I won’t make a decision that I would regret in the future.

dote

Dote Verb

The source sentence and Page Number : "Now, whenever we visit my relatives, all of whom dote on my husband, I realize that he didn’t marry me despite my tribe; he married me because of them." Funny in Farsi, Page 103

Context Clues : Y: "All of whom dote on my husband."(if you marry someone it should be love)

Definition : To show excessive fondness of loveOriginal Sentence : My family dote towards each other.