English

Why I [Write]

For English class, we were tasked to create an essay inspired by the short essays "Positive Obsession" by Octavia Butler and "Why I Write" by George Orwell. However, unlike these essays, we were allowed to pick any creative topic to write about, from Design, Films, and in my case, creating games. We would also use this essay as an outlet to demonstrate our core values and tastes, showing our past experiences that show the atmosphere we are living in today.

So, Why do I [Create Games]?

Creating games has always been a passion of mine, all the way since first grade. Through this assignment, I was able to look into myself to see how my core values, ranging from creativity to enjoyment, have influenced this passion and helped it grow.

Below is an audio recording my essay:

Note Taking

This year, there was a heavy emphasis on note taking, especially through written notes. Personally, I am a big fan of this change, because writing information down often leads to a greater connection to those words.

There were two main note taking methods that we focused on: Cornell notes and Sketchnoting; more interestingly, though, we also learned how to combine the two together!

Even though it wasn't required, I still use Sketchnoting to this day, often combined with Cornell notes if I feel the assignment warrants that method.

Here's an example of Sketchnoting, analyzing "Why I Write" by Orwell Butler (click on each page to expand it):

Finding Your Clay

There were a few handwritten assignments that stood out to me this unit, which at the time, I decided to expand and write an abundance about. These were namely the "A Story of Your Name" and the multiple "Finding Your Clay" assignments. These assignments were especially indicative of the "Reflections" part about this unit, as they made me think hard about different aspects of my life.

Below are images of pages from my notebook. Click on each page to expand it and view the transcript. (Transcripts are as authentic as possible to my original thought process for each answer, and therefore may contain a few grammatical or spelling errors.)