Sydney Series

   I never understood the point of acknowledgements that are drawn out for pages and pages . If some individuals are important to the writer, why doesn't the writer just express their gratitude directly to them? As I am writing my own acknowledgements that I was forced to write against my will for a grade (if Mrs.Valentino is reading this I am joking), I have come to the conclusion that there is an alternative reason writers take the time to write acknowledgements: reflection. Writing books is a long process, and so is writing all the time in English AP. We have improved so much over the course of just two semesters that it is important to reflect on the journey we’ve had. Like many authors have done, I am writing my acknowledgements to reflect upon all the reading and writing I have done as well as the people who have helped me along the way.       Mrs.Valentino is like a drill sergeant that orders us to read and reflect on countless pieces like we...

  “Look up there, look up there!” the child’s mom coaxes her. Unbeknownst to the woman, there was not a single coherent thought in the little girl's mind; her young brain was still inchoate and jumbled. The young girl was having quite the excursion that day. Early in the A.M she was dragged away whilst playing with her favorite toys. After taking a nap in something called “the car'', she awoke in a place referred to as “the zoo” (zee-oh-oh is how it was spelled out to her).  The zoo was a menagerie of peculiar creatures that the girl had never laid eyes on before; her juvenile mind was unable to comprehend the whimsical beasts. In addition to their strange appearances, the names given to the creatures were equally bizarre. Who would name an animal aardvark, hippopotamus, iguana, zebra, or chimpanzee ? She felt like she was in a fairytale or a Disney movie since zany critters like the ones at “the zoo” only existed on her television screen or on the pages of a storybook. Af...