Brooke Kent Jenkins 1B

 
Dear Reader,  
This year in EBA English 10 has taught me so much. Not only have I learned a lot about literature, 
grammar, reading, and writing, but I have also gained many insights into what the real world is like as well as who 
I am and what kind of person I want to be. This year I have grown as a reader and a thinker, as a writer, an editor, 
and I’ve gained sight of the bright future I have ahead of me.  
 
This year as a reader and thinker I have been able to grow in more ways than I can list. The many works 
we’ve read this year have challenged me not only as a reader but also as a thinker. Examining these different texts 
this year has been such a treat because each one has made me think on a deeper level than I have had to in a while. I 
especially enjoyed how with each work we explored the ideas of ethics, human nature, and just morality and 
human interaction in general. My favorite thing that we read this year would have to be our dystopian novels of 
choice. One of my classmates and I chose to read C ​ inder ​by Marissa Meyer and I am so glad that we picked that 
novel. ​Cinder w
​ as not only engaging because of the sci-fi and fairytale elements but also because it challenged us as 
thinkers to be able to see the themes and hidden messages. This really changed my mindset about discrimination 
as well as the advancements of modern technology and social media. The most challenging piece to read was 
probably ​Julius Caesar​ or ​Oedipus Rex . I​ think this is mostly because of the use of old English, which I personally find 
very difficult to read. As an EBA student, I think that my EBA nonfiction independent reading book, ​#askgaryvee​ by 
Gary Vaynerchuk, was the most beneficial book we read. This book provided a lot of advice and many insights into 
the business world within it and I found it very helpful when running my own business, Sought ‘N Found.  
 
Within this school year I have grown just as much as a writer as I have as a reader and a thinker. I have 
written many essays in many different formats this year. For much of the year our class focused on writing PPE 
(Point, Prove, Explain) style paragraphs and really learning how to bring strength to our paragraphs. I’ve written 
mostly analyses, analysing literary elements such as characters, plot, themes, and motifs. The most challenging 
piece for me to write this year was my essay on leadership. I think that this was challenging for me because I had to 
incorporate many different elements into one essay. I had to combine research, analysis, and personal elements all 
into one essay and I really struggled with trying to make this flow without going off-thesis. One thing that I think I 
have really been able to change in my writing this year has been grammar and sentence structures. This year we’ve 
really cracked down on grammar, I’ve done more grammar in school this year than I have ever in my lifetime. This 
has changed my writing for the better and made it much more interesting to read due to the varying sentence 
structures. I find myself using many more appositives and parenthetical elements in my writing than I normally 
would’ve if we hadn’t done so many lessons on those types of sentences. My leadership essay this year was also the 
first essay I had written and intentionally planned out the types of sentences.  
 
I added five pieces that I wrote to my English portfolio for this year. I mostly made edits to my leadership 
paper. The majority of my edits were made to my internal citations and works cited page, but I also changed some 
things for clarity. I didn’t want to make any significant changes to any of my work in order to preserve the work 
that I have done and shoe how I have grown as a writer. I want to be able to look back on my writings from this year 
and see growth but also be able to later reflect on things I could’ve changed and done differently. I knew that some 
of these things had to be changed because different people, including Mrs. Jenkins, pointed out these errors to me. 
After fixing these errors it made my writing sound more professional.  
 
Looking ahead to my future, reading and writing will be a big part of my life, for the rest of my life. 
Reading has been a big role in my life thus far and will continue to be. I will read on a daily basis, reading things 
that are necessary to read for daily life, but I will also read for pleasure reading things like the news and books that 
I find interesting. Writing also plays a large role in my life. I will continue writing throughout my life, not only just 
in school but eventually for whatever my long term career may be. Writing is an important skill to have because I 
Brooke Kent Jenkins 1B

will have to write professional emails, letters, maybe even business plans. I see myself doing mostly analysis 
writing next year, perhaps because that’s what I am used to from this year. I see myself becoming a much better 
writer. I see writing having a large role in my life. I don’t think I will keep a journal necessarily but I do see myself 
writing on a daily basis. I plan to do this because it will keep my writing at the same level as it is now and keep my 
grammar and vocabulary expanding.  
 
In summary, for the rest of my life I will continue to grow as a reader, writer, and thinker. Even after I 
move on from Kempsville I will continue to grow. I will continue reading and writing for the rest of my life to keep 
my mind sharp and to learn and grow even after I’m done with school. I believe that one can never stop learning 
and I will apply that to my lifestyle.