Independent Reading Journal #3

Benjamin described his adolescence. Because of poverty, he had to work as a deliver boy, and at the same time, he worked hard by himself. In this part all I can say is that I am amazed that a mere teenage boy can manage to work for his living and studying. Compared to him, I am a blessed teen, who's provided everything. If Benjamin could overcome his hardships and were in a worse situation than me, why can't I get over with my problems?

Independent Reading Journal#2

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

The autobiography starts with Benjamin's salutation to his son. Benjamin Franklin is now taking some time off to record his ancestory, and his life. In the first page, he mentioned that although he had gone through great hardships, he likes his life and wants to repeat it. He said, however, if he has such chance, he would correct some errors and mistakes. I totally agree with his thought. Although I haven't lived as long as Benjamin did, I already have things that I regret. If I ever have a chance to turn back my time, then the first thing I would do is to go back to my childhood and learn how to play a instrument and focus on a sport. Since I grew up in a Korean culture, where nothing but academics are encouraged, I thought those (sports, music, and other activities) were meaningless, or even useless. However, these days, I found out that work or studying can't be everything in my life. I asked some of my friends about it, and most of them, surprisingly, agreed with me.

Independent Reading Journal #1

Today, I had a chance to read some poems and short stories written by people around my age. Reading the Inkblots was quite surprising, because unexpectedly, there were so many good pieces of writings that I first thought they were written by at least amatuar writers. The theme was also very abstract: pride and self-control. However, the writers expressed their thoughts towards the topic in a very creative way. For instance, one of my favorite poems of the Inkblotz, Pride, written by Jason Rhim, described 'pride' through our five senses. The more I read, the more I wanted to know about the subject that the author was talking about; the poem successfully grabs the readers' attention. I also liked the way that Tanner described the pride; it was depicted as if it were a beast looking for its prey.