Sunday, September 22, 2013

Young-lee Seo Week 3/Tuesday 5-6



My Hogwarts
One place that is special to me is my high school back in America where I used to live. Poudre High School was situated in a place a bit far from where I was residing, so it took about an hour by the school bus to reach home. It had a small grassy patch in the front where the school buses would line up once we arrived, and three poles, with the American flag, Colorado State flag, and the school flag, respectively, sailing over our heads proudly. It had a big, welcoming design with 3 sets of double doors for students to go in and out. Inside, the school colors were blue and silver which matched the theme of the school buildings, most likely on purpose. The infrastructure was made so that it was similar to a doughnut, where just by walking along, you would eventually reach the same place again. There were also doors to the outdoor lawns in the back that students loved to use for lounging places during their free period or lunch. Stairs leading to the basement where most language classes were held were placed strategically here and there for the students who needed a quick road to their next class. My favorite place by far, however, was the library. This was my safe haven where I could lounge all I wanted to and read everything I could get my hands on, or simply relax and find a corner to enjoy the silence.
          The classes held in each room were very interesting, another reason the school was an important place. Because Poudre High school offered IB classes to students, those who took the challenge, including myself, were often pushed to our limits to match the incessant demands our teachers made. Still, all the classes were enjoyable, and it helped that the facts remained in our brains for once, unlike the Korean method shown, especially in high school, of “learn and forget”. The class I remember most was Chemistry, mostly because I loved the subject, but also because most of my friends were taking the same class. The teacher was a decent person, with whitened hair which made him resemble a mixture of Einstein and a not-so-small elf. He provided a steady stream of hands-on experience with chemicals and tools, and every Friday, he would read a chapter out of Fahrenheit 451. No, he was not the typical high school chemistry teacher, but he was certainly the best.
          Lastly, the school was an important place to me because it provided a legit reason to be with my friends and enjoy myself. I think all my friends were on the same wavelength because they certainly tried to get the most out of the fun in school life too. My friends were the type to excel, even when they never let go of their game consoles and talked about Pokemon or Naruto all day long. It was a fresh change from what I had become accustomed to during my younger years, and I thoroughly enjoyed being with them and simply listen to their chattering. I think they understood that, and readily accepted me for who I was, which I am still thankful for even to this day.
          When I look back now during the night, just before I fall asleep, I see dozens of smiling faces, all inviting me back to a walk down the memory lane with those memories that make me smile. Life wasn’t perfect, but Poudre High School was a special place to me, filled with great memories to treasure.

5 comments:

  1. i like your piece of writing because I can easily imagine a view of your school, also I can understand what you think about your friends and teacher from your specific and sincere description. Your main point seems to be the happiness and great memory from the highschool when you were in America. "No, he was not the typical school chemisstry teacher, but he was certainly the best" these lines struck me as powerful because you penetrate reader's mind and it seems to be spoken through your mouth directly in this writing. I enjoyed your writing.

    Jungha Lee Student

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  2. what I like about this piece of writing is that its very descriptive, so i can imagine well how your high school looks like. Your main point seems to be you enjoy being at your school becuase you liked school buildings, classes especially chemistry one taught by a decent teacher who resembles Einstein, and you had good friends there too. I like words like grassy patch or doughnut because these words made your description more vivid.
    But, some things arent' clear to me like "unlike the Korean method shown, especially in high school, of "learn and forget". I think this sentence needs supporthing points like real example. Lastly, I think it will be better if you write down in the third paragraph about what you and your friends talked about or did just as an example. I want to know more about how your high school life was as I read your writing.:)

    - yeonsoo seo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, Young-lee!
    a. The first paragraph was really descriptive with detailed explanation about your school so it gave me imagination that you are going around in that school.^^
    b. I personally could not understand well the meaning of 'because they certainly tried to get the most out of the fun in school life '. Please explain me later:)
    c. I think your first sentence is showing too much what you will write about. It would more attractive if you make it more curious.
    d. The basic verb you used is past.
    e. I want to know more about the unique way of lessons you took at that school except Chemistry.
    By Ju Ye-lam

    ReplyDelete
  4. My Hogwarts
    Do you have a special school that you were attuned to? My school may not have had moving stairs and classes in Transfiguration or Magical Creatures, but it was very special to me. Poudre High School was situated in a place a bit far from where I was residing, so it took about an hour by the school bus to reach home. It had a small grassy patch in the front where the school buses would line up once we arrived, and three poles, with the American flag, Colorado State flag, and the school flag, respectively, sailing over our heads proudly. It had a big, welcoming design with 3 sets of double doors for students to go in and out. Inside, the school colors were blue and silver which matched the theme of the school buildings, most likely on purpose. The infrastructure was made so that it was similar to a doughnut, where just by walking along, you would eventually reach the same place again. There were also doors to the outdoor lawns in the back that students loved to use for lounging places during their free period or lunch. Stairs leading to the basement where most language classes were held were placed strategically here and there for the students who needed a quick road to their next class. My favorite place by far, however, was the library. This was my safe haven where I could lounge all I wanted to and read everything I could get my hands on, or simply relax and find a corner to enjoy the silence.
    The classes held in each room were very interesting, another reason the school was an important place. Because Poudre High school offered IB classes to students, those who took the challenge, including myself, were often pushed to our limits to match the incessant demands our teachers made. Still, all the classes were enjoyable, and it helped that the facts remained in our brains for once, unlike in Korea where I tended to cram everything into my brain and then forget it all once exam weeks were over. The class I remember most was Chemistry, mostly because I loved the subject, but also because most of my friends were taking the same class. The teacher was a decent person, with whitened hair which made him resemble a mixture of Einstein and a not-so-small elf. He provided a steady stream of hands-on experience with chemicals and tools, and every Friday, he would read a chapter out of Fahrenheit 451. No, he was not the typical high school chemistry teacher, but he was certainly the best. Another amazing teacher was my American Literature teacher. This peculiar teacher would sometimes bring a puppet to class and act out certain scenes from Shakespeare, or make us decorate masks to put up on the bulletin board.

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  5. Lastly, the school was an important place to me because it provided a legit reason to be with my friends and enjoy myself. I think all my friends were on the same wavelength because they certainly tried to get the most out of the fun in school life too. From accidentally burning a hole in the science lab to filming our own movie, I never had a chance to be bored. One time during summer vacation, we even got together at one of my friend’s houses and made a tree house in the forest of her back yard. It was a big project, and took us weeks to put it together. But with the help of some adults and teamwork, we managed to make a large hideout, big enough for 7 people to sit down on the floor, with room left over. Also, my friends were the type to excel in class, even when they never let go of their game consoles and talked about Pokemon or Naruto all day long. It was a fresh change from what I had become accustomed to during my younger years, and I thoroughly enjoyed being with them and simply listen to their chattering. I think they understood that, and readily accepted me for who I was, which I am still thankful for even to this day.
    When I look back now during the night, just before I fall asleep, I see dozens of smiling faces, all inviting me back to a walk down the memory lane with those memories that make me smile. Life wasn’t perfect, but Poudre High School was a special place to me, filled with great memories to treasure.

    ReplyDelete