You've Got This. You're Fine.

I realized at some point this year that these are the two phrases I say most often. I'm not sure what it says about this generation, but I think it says that you are somewhat unsure at times and in need of encouragement and prodding... or maybe it's not your generation, but just your age. Either way, we have come to the end of a year of writing, reading (OH.SO.MUCH.READING), discussion (even more of that than reading, in fact), eating (Therapeutic Thursdays for the win!), questioning, and growing. It's the growing that keeps me coming back for more. You have grown as writers, conversationalists, readers, annotators, and yes, even teachers. I have loved watching some of you man a Therapeutic Thursday like you had an education degree in your back pocket. Best of all, though, you've grown as people. You came in very differently than you are leaving... some of you were excited, some dreading it, some really nervous about a first honors English class... but you are all leaving as accomplished scholars. So, exactly a week after your final projects were submitted and grades were completed, almost a week after that AP test we are all hoping for good results from, and almost a week after you walked across the stage in that cap and gown, I say to you:

You've got this. You're fine.

Life holds a lot in store for you all and college is going to be a whole lot more of the same push and pull and stress and joy that high school was. But you are going to succeed no matter where you end up or what you do. From UT to TN Tech to a military base to Cleveland State to Lee to Vanderbilt or GA Tech to full-time work to all of the places in between... You've got this. You're fine. And I am so glad I got to be along for part of the ride.

Even at the End, They Shine...

Final projects in AP were to come up with a thesis statement that can be threaded through at least three of the works from this semester, then write a two page paper and do a visual project on that thesis. They. Were. Awesome. 

As long as there has been life, there has been pursuit. Plants strive to survive, animals fight for dominance, but sentient life is more complicated.

~Erin

Frankenstein, Heart of Darkness, Macbeth

If it can change you, it will change you.

~David C

Heart of Darkness, Macbeth, Frankenstein

Society, or the lack thereof, has an impact on the individual whether it shapes, influences, or changes him.

~Carolyn

Heart of Darkness, Frankenstein, Grendel

The process of self-discovery is a long and complicated journey that everyone must go through.

~Kaedee

Hamlet, Grendel, The Alchemist

Fate, the preordained set of events occurring throughout human life and history, is an important idea.

~Kelsey

The Alchemist, Frankenstein, Macbeth

Relationships with others are the driving force behind one's actions whatever the intent of those actions may be; some positive, some negative, some pure ignorance and curiosity, but all actions determined by the presence of others impacting them.

~Melissa

The Alchemist, Macbeth, Grendel

A journey is not only a distance or a destination; the point is what you want to experience and how you choose to travel.

~Molly

The Alchemist, Frankenstein, Grendel

There is always a choice between good and evil.

~Alicia

Frankenstein, Grendel, Macbeth

In every lifetime, there comes a time when he or she feels utterly alone.

~Anna

The Alchemist, Frankenstein, Grendel

Trying to be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing everything it can to make you somebody you aren't is to fight the hardest battle you will ever fight.

~Jessica

Frankenstein, Heart of Darkness, Macbeth, and Grendel

We all have a desire to be accepted, and this is portrayed in the hearts of these monstrosities.

~Karrah

Frankenstein, Heart of Darkness, Grendel

To find out what you have, you must discover what you don't need.

~Olivia

The Alchemist, Frankenstein

We change through our literature.

~Victoria

The Alchemist, Memoirs of a Geisha, Macbeth

Books are a lot more like blankets than anyone seems to notice. They have a funny way of comforting you when you are looking for comfort, or simply when you are cold and in desperate need of warmth. ... The books I've read this year have warmed me when the heat wasn't working-- and they've pulled the covers from me when I needed a sobering night of winter air or rainy draught. 

There is not central thread. Every blanket is made of many threads. All threads are alike because they are all threads-- they make up all blankets and all books. But the threads do not step at the edge of the page or the corner of the bed; they go deep inside of me, and I may wind them and sew them as I please. What I pull from each, what I discover about myself in each, is the theme. What is life? Life is a bunch of threads.

~Derek

Heart of Darkness, Anthem, and Frankenstein

 Society is so powerful that it's able to shape, change, and mold a person.

~Alexis

The Alchemist, Frankenstein

The literary view of evil has reacted to empirical discoveries and changes in popular perception by shifting the origin of a character's evil from his own nature to his social context. 

~Grant

Beowulf, Macbeth, Frankenstein, Heart of Darkness, and Grendel

Forced isolation creates a greater appreciation for community and companionship.

~Jesse

Grendel, Frankenstein, Reading Lolita in Tehran

Death can provide a background for other themes and ideas within a literary work.

~Jesus

Frankenstein, Hamlet, Grendel

Humans should not quickly judge or conform to the general consensus, but instead be open to ideas and opinions, flaws and disappointments.

~Katlin

The Alchemist, Hamlet, Macbeth

People are ultimately, irreparably, bound to be shaped, for better or worse, by the expectations and actions bestowed upon them by their peers.

~Eduardo

Heart of Darkness, Frankenstein, Atonement

It is beyond their common state where ultimate truths are revealed and their responses ultimately determine their lives with the choices they make.

~Leslie

The Alchemist, Heart of Darkness, Grendel, and Frankenstein

We are shaped by our creators, our monsters, and the society into which we are born.

~Tiffany

Frankenstein, Grendel, and The Kite Runner

Who we are reflects back at ourselves through our literature.

~Walker

The Alchemist, Grendel, and Frankenstein

Motivation comes from various sources such as the pressures of society, the effects of isolation, the gain of fame and power, and the desire to help people in need.

~Justin

A Passage to India, Frankenstein, Macbeth