Tom Sawyer Reflection

How one story challenged me to the edge.

“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”

-Ben



       Sometimes a little bit of confusion and challenge can help. This  is true for me when reading classic literature. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I was slightly confused, and pretty challenged. When we were assigned this, I—honestly—was nervous. I always knew that reading comprehension was never my strong suit. Classic literature like Tom Sawyer is a bit weird. It has many confusing words, and a lot thatI just don’t know what they mean. So, since Fitz assigned the chapter to us, I had to read it, and so I did. I sat down in a chair across from Fitz. I procrastinated a little bit, but then started reading. While I was reading, my premonition was coming true. I was slightly confused for about the entire story. This obviously isn’t good, but the only really good thing about it is that it makes me go back into the story and re-read it. This makes me read more carefully, and look up words that maybe I skipped over. This experience taught me that to learn, you need a challenge. I feel that this experience was worth it. It taught be a valuable lesson of how learning is going to be challenging.

The Power of Awareness

How keeping your distance can help someone in need

“Respect yourself and others will respect you”

-Confucius

       Respect can go a long way. This is apparent in my life. One example of this was when I was in 4th grade, and now at Fenn. I came to Fenn in 4th grade as a big kid. Compared to most 8th graders, I was tiny. This difference in size and grade made walking by an 8th grader a little weird. You noticed them, and so did they, but you both kept walking. This sounds normal, but in 4th grade, it made me a bit nervous. You needed to respect their space. This feeling of “What are they thinking about me?” was an everyday reality. As time passed, this feeling faded. This year, as I was walking to Ward Hall, a small 4th grader walked passed me with the same expression I had all the way back when I was in the same grade. I recognized that familiar face, and realized that he was probably thinking the same thing: “What is he thinking about me?” At first I felt like there was nothing I could do about it. I can’t control someone’s feelings. Then, after a bit of thinking, I thought that maybe if I tried respecting their space or maybe even being friendly, that I could make them feel that much more comfortable. I feel that this is very important because if I can make a 4th grader, who is already nervous for many other reason, feel more comfortable, then I will. This idea of respecting their space (not that I was violating it before) really can go a long way. I know that if the 8th graders maybe tried what I am doing today, respecting the space, it would make me feel a lot more comfortable. Respecting someone can be the thing that they remember.