::Poetry --- YeaYea::

The poem I chose was: "I Taught Myself to Live Simply" by Anna Akhmatova

I taught myself to live simply and wisely,

to look at the sky and pray to God,

and to wander long before evening

to tire my superfluous worries.

When the burdocks rustle in the ravine

and the yellow-red rowanberry cluster droops

I compose happy verses

about life's decay, decay and beauty.

I come back. The fluffy cat

licks my palm, purrs so sweetly

and the fire flares bright

on the saw-mill turret by the lake.

Only the cry of a stork landing on the roof

occasionally breaks the silence.

If you knock on my door

I may not even hear.

Anna Akhmatova, I believe, composed a great poem portraying life with simplicity and reflection. I believe that Anna found a way to illustrate to the readers of her poem how much joy can come from the simple things in life. She also illustrates so wonderfully that reflection about life and the journey you have taken can lead to contentment with what you have.

I find this poem compelling because I really think that it can apply to anyone. I believe that in life, one has to find within themselves to just life live with what you've got and not try to over complicate things. It's easier said then done though. Life has so many stresses, so much that we put pressure on ourselves and we move further and further away from actually living life and not just going though the motions of life. I believe that one must learn to find happiness in the small things and reflect on what you have and what you can actually gain out of living in the simplest ways.

::Quater One Reflection::

During the first quarter I think that I did fairly well in the class. I actually did better then I thought I was going to do. I learned a lot more about how to write a good, solid, theme thesis statement. One of my academic skills that improved a little was not procrastinating. This is a very good thing. :D

I think that I am still struggling with sentence fluency and using good word choice. This can defiantly improve and I know that it will the more we work on our writing skills in the class. I think that the class environment is very good and open. I like that the classroom is welcoming and creates an environment where you know you can go for help. Also, the I think that our class does a really good job of being open when it comes to presenting new ideas because I know that my ideas won't be judged upon negatively.

I think I can further the learning environment by seeking out good proof reading and ideas from other classmates. During the second quarter, I think one of my goals is to be more open to criticism and allow for others to help give me good advice. If you guys could help me out with this, that would be great. Also, another goal of mine is to keep working at my bad procrastination skills. The first quarter really showed me that a long writing process is a wonderful way to help improve your paper and I hope I can put it more to use.