The Year (In a Short and Sweet Review)

Well, as the year comes to a close, only now do I realize how great of a year it has been. All of my classes, despite the workload and the commitment, have made up for it in talented and witty teachers and the endless antics of my classmates and I. Many of the articles and stories we read addressed issues or topics that really made me stop and think, amidst the chaos and confusion of my junior year. The Michael Jackson article that talked about legacy probably made me the most intrigued and made me actually think for a really long time. The news about him and his inappropriate behavior had not reached me until after we had read that article, and I feel as though it helped to formulate my opinion. On the topic of whether we should celebrate either the artist, and remember what they did, or the work, and separate the artist entirely, I felt as though the work is itself an independent creation, almost with its own will. This opinion might be facilitated by the fact that it is convenient to say that Michael Jackson and his songs are separate and therefore his songs should not be boycotted so we can listen to them. However, art is a special thing. It isn't really an expression of a person's soul, but more of a person's feelings. A bad person can make good music, and it is as simple as that. The final consensus that I came to was that we should not revere the imperfect person but the imperfect expression of art.
I expected to learn a great deal about rhetoric, and I am happy to say that I can feel confident about my new knowledge with how to form an argument or persuade and/or convince. It might sound cliche, but ever since we first learned about ethos, pathos, and logos, I have now seen the world in a different light. Instead of seeing ads as a normal person would, I would sometimes find myself musing as to how they were trying to persuade people to buy their product. These ideas also helped me formulate arguments of my own. I am a better writer because of this class. This class also helped me considerably in writing essays for my other classes, and vice versa. All in all, I learned the secrets to capturing a person's interest and how to write three different kinds of essays. I still don't like synthesis, after all these months. I don't know what it is, but I don't like it. Very tedious. But I digress.
Wooh boy. Picking a favorite non-academic moment from the time spent with my fellow brother-men is very difficult, as our class had plenty of these (sorry Mr. Barron). An honorable mention would be the time I threw a pretzel straight into Nick's mouth. It was a DIME of a throw. In all ridiculousness, my favorite moment from the nonacademic experiences of our year was, believe it or not, when Mr. Barron yelled at me for "taking the wheel" every class. I didn't feel personally attacked or even mad; honestly, I was laughing my ass off because he was one hundred percent correct. I had a tendency to get us off track, and I know that sometimes my comments didn't contribute in an academic sense. So in a way, Mr. Barron's comment summed up a lot of the year. AP Lang was one of my favorite classes because of the closeness of our group. We would be having an extremely engaging conversation, then one moment we are asking why Payton is always absent from class, to asking Darius whether he thought something was "colloquial" just for him to say, "Oh my god, I don't even know why you guys say that to me,". All in all, it was a year of trials, tribulations, and shenanigans. A special thank you goes out to Mr. Barron, for always giving us interesting topics, keeping us on track (as best as can be done), and always remembering to yank the wheel away from us.
Bryce did it first, then Darius stole the idea, but GUESS WHAT, GET READY FOR ROUND THREE!
Brendan - I am really glad that I got to know you better through your blogs and your insights on class. I hope you continue to be successful in school and on the field.
Dean - A lot of times you were right for the multiple choice, and I should of listened to you. Thanks for being a voice of reason.
Nick - Literally, I have no idea how the deal started, or when I even began giving you food, but it became a ritual for me that connected me with you and the class. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You're a champion pretzel catcher.
Bryce - Still waiting on that comedy routine. I could always count on you to laugh at my jokes that I seemed to spew whenever Mr. Barron left two seconds of silence.
Lowell - You also had really insightful things to say about the books and articles we read. I enjoyed your perspective and your honest-to-god, flat out truth that you always delivered about the class and our assignments.
Will - You are smart, and you should give yourself more credit. You are a real funny guy, dude, and you always made me laugh.
Eddie - I was amazed by the level of writing you brought to every blog and story and essay. To be honest, I kind of wished I could write blogs and tell stories the way you can.
Harrison - You reminded me why I am an optimist, but I did appreciate your harsh words every now and then. A swift "F*** you, Jake, JK" always put a smile on my face.
Jack - I sat on your side towards the end of the year, and I feel as though we worked off of each other for the antics we caused. I am happy you were in my class Finnerdy, and I hope we can hang out in the future.
Darius - Even before this class, you have been a great friend. I feel as though you get too much shit, but I hope you realize its because we all deep down appreciate you being there. You always have good points, and you are funny. Sometimes. Occasionally. Stay colloquial!
Mr. Barron - You said it yourself; you always had to wrench the wheel away from me. I didn't even realize what I was doing until you said it, and I never forgot it. Heres to never losing your way, even after all the detours we took.
That's it. I'm done. This blog, for now, is concluded.
I'm just an Average Jake in a Big Snake's world, and it will always be that way.