2nd Quarter Reflection

            We're already half way through 8th grade, second quarter is over!  It's hard to believe that the year is going by so fast.  I definitely believe that it's been a productive and successful quarter.  I've come pretty far from where I was at the beginning of the quarter.  However, I also believe that there's a long way to go and a lot of work to be done in a lot of categories.

            I made progress in a lot of areas within ELA, but I think I've improved my vocabulary the most over the other categories.  I was able to grow and do this through in school activities such as Vocab quizzes, or exercises outside of school in order to prepare for high school entrance exams.  I now know words that I'd never heard of at the beginning of the year, and if I come across a word I don't know, I can often dissect it and recognize roots or prefixes that we've studied.  I've begun to realize that the key to not only seeming intelligent, but actually acquiring intelligence and learning new things, is a strong vocabulary.

            I recently took the high school entrance exam at Nazareth Academy, and I'm proud of myself because I think I did well after all the work it took to prepare.  The very first time that I glanced at all the pre-tests and practice questions, I was so overwhelmed and nervously.  However, after several weeks of work and studying, I introduced myself to all kinds of new skills, concepts, and methods.  There were many different topics or areas that I obviously needed improvement on in order to prepare for the exam, whether it be the actual work, focusing for the length of the test, or managing time and using strategies that ensured my completion of the test.

            A significantly big obstacle that I've been faced with and am currently facing, is making sure I put forth 100% effort and making sure that my work is at its best quality and that I'm working at my full potential, as well as pushing forward to extend my limits and capabilities.  I've had a tendency to do the bear minimum, and completing only what was asked of me, in order to just get past with the least amount of work as possible.  Going into the third quarter, and then past that, I plan on overcoming this barrier, and getting to the point where my work is reflecting and showing everything that I can do.  I believe that the first step in solving this problem is managing my time better and becoming more organized.  If I have everything I need set out in front of me, and I have enough time to think about what I need to do, and what I can do to go further, I will be able to exceed standards and shine.