While it was difficult to choose, the blog that I most enjoyed writing this semester was my post on How to Survive Family Board Game Night. 
This was one of the first blogs that I wrote, and I found that it was really fun to explore how I could channel my creativity into this assignment, which is something that we don’t often get to do in high school courses. I enjoyed adding a hint of drama to this analysis, and found it eye-opening to reflect on my experiences. The topic that I chose provided me with an opportunity to examine my family dynamics, and how something as simple as board games can influence how we interact with one another. This blog holds a special place in my heart because board games are a routine part of my family life – it’s something that I’m definitely going to miss when I’m not at home next year. My runner-up favorite would be my Top 5 Most Used Amazon Products post, purely because it was fun to rank my favorite items and provide recommendations for others to enjoy.
Over the course of 
this semester, I began to enjoy writing as I once did during my childhood. The blog posts provided me with a creative outlet to write about whatever I wanted, which made the assignment significantly more enjoyable. I haven’t been able to write simply for the fun of it for years, although I did frequently when I was younger. It was interesting and somewhat bittersweet to experience that once again on my journey as a writer. Rediscovering this passion from my childhood led me to become a more conscious, analytical reader.
Additionally, this course has allowed me to further develop how I incorporate critical thinking skills into my writing. Analyzing themes from The Namesake, As I Lay Dying, and 
Beloved with projects like timed writings, the hexagonal sort, and word connections have allowed me to grow by exercising my ability to take themes outside of a novel and analyze them on a broader, world-level scale. This skill has strengthened me as a writer and will continue to stick with me throughout the rest of my education.
After reading many of my peer’s blogs this semester, I’ve been exposed to a variety of writing styles. I’ve seen blog posts that have covered everything from rankings, sentimental reflections, strong opinion pieces, and recommendations for classes, food, and music. I really enjoyed reading about topics that I also found interesting like Starbucks beverages, Taylor Swift albums, travel plans, and holiday traditions. One big take away from these blogs is that I’ve realized that writing is so unique to each individual – every writer has a different story, perspective, and lesson to share. I’ve learned a lot about different types of writing, but I’ve also learned so much about my peers; these blogs have provided us with a window into each other’s lives.
All in all, I’ve discovered several lessons about writing that I will carry with me through second semester. Our work with novels like The Namesake, As I Lay Dying, and Beloved have revealed to me parts of the world and pieces of history that I had never known before. Analyzing these novels have taught me the importance of point of view, rhetorical choices, and themes when looking at the author’s intended purpose, audience, or ideas. Additionally, the blog project has opened my eyes to the fact that writing can truly be anything one wants it to be – even the most mundane or nuanced topics can be transformed into a truly captivating piece. Not only that, but the blog project by far had the biggest impact on my writing this year; it once again sparked a genuine interest in writing and took me back to the days when I found joy in being an author.
Abbie – I read many blogs this semester, and I have to say that your game night blog is definitely still one of my favorite blogs I read. I also think one of the products you recommended in your Amazon product blog is still sitting in my Amazon cart. I’ve really enjoyed reading your blogs over this semester and seeing you regain your love for writing. I have to agree that writing these blogs has also re-sparked my love for creative writing, as I haven’t gotten to write something just for myself since I was in 4th grade. It’s also been fun reading other people’s blogs and seeing their different perspectives on various topics from Starbucks, Taylor Swift, art, music, you name it, someone probably wrote about it. I think it’s really interesting how you brought the works of literature we read into your reflection as well. I didn’t think about them when I was writing my own blog but because you brought them up I definitely have to agree that they opened my eyes to pieces of history I hadn’t known before.
I found it very intriguing how you were able to connect your skills gained blogging into our analysis assignments and even while reading our class books. This idea of “taking it outside the novel”, in my mind, is the very essence of blogs. It opens doors for us to use our own voice on topics that we choose. While reading blogs, I also discovered that everyone is unique and that these differences in fact can bring us closer. Even while reading these reflections, everyone’s takeaways are slightly different. I completely agree that writing can be anything you want it to be. Everyone is passionate about different things, and even if I don’t find something intriguing doesn’t mean that it is not a good blog. This is the beauty of blogs and thoughts, they are there for you to explore something new, even if you end up not liking it.
Abbie, your blog was so much fun to read! I remember reading your post about family game night, and I would say it was probably also my favorite. It was very creative and I found that I could relate to it a lot with my own family game nights. I agree with your point that getting a chance to write about something that we could choose for ourselves was a nice break from all the assigned essays that we have had to write in the past. I really love the part where you talk about how unique everyone’s writing style is and how interesting it was to see all the different topics people came up with. I am also excited to get a chance to write more blogs next semester because it was such a fun experience this semester.
Hi Abbie,
I really enjoyed your blogs this semester. They always came off as relatable and all of your posts felt so creative. Your amazon product post was probably my favorite; after reading it I actually added those ceramic bowls to my amazon cart. I think one of my favorite aspects of the blogs this year was how much I was able to learn about people in the process. It was always fun hearing other people’s opinions, and I love your analogy about the blogs sort of turning into windows into different perspectives and ideas. For me, I think the biggest lesson I took from this class was about perspective. Whether it was from the point of view in the books we read, which was sometimes confusing, offered a fun challenge or from the blogs themselves. Ultimately, I think the activities, books, and papers we did in class this year taught me a lot more than traditional analysis and rhetoic. Hopefully the blogs next semester will be just as good.