REFLECTION

As I child I struggled tremendously with reading, for some reason I just couldn’t make myself sit down and read a book. Which is also my current problem only now its gotten worse. I had no motivation to read as a child, not even teachers. The way it worked in my school was is if you succeed you got the attention if not they you were on your our for figure it out. And for that I was pushed farther and farther away from my goals. I wanted to be ahead and praised for my accomplishments but with no one there for show me I was struck behind with a few others. My mother read to my brother and I before bed as kids, I remember her reading my brother’s favorites about dinosaurs and how they use to walk the earth like we do now. Since he was the youngest he got to choose most of the books she read. I can’t blame others for my lack of reading ability, I do blame myself for not having the courage of opening a book and doing it myself. I wish now that I put more effort it something that is vital now in my higher education and everyday life. 

REFLECTION

At the age of 16 I was diagnosed with Lupus, the process of finding out what it was that was making me sick shook me to my very core. Not knowing what Lupus was and what it meant for my future scared both my mother and I. Lupus is an auto immune disease that makes me prone to infection and other things, For a year I was afraid to touch anything for the fear of getting deathly ill. For the past years I’ve been in and out of hospital and emergency rooms. And for this I am stronger, when put in these kinds of situations one can know how strong you can really be. Strength that I never knew I had came out when my family and I were faced with this overwhelming news. Now when I wake up everyday I thank God for one more day his has given me. I live everyday to its fullest, I try new things and always keep positive energy around at all times. I appreciate those around me a lot more for sticking with me through all of life’s journeys. In enduring all of this I now have a new admiration for my mother. She’s my rock, she was there with me through it all. I owe a lot of my success and strength to her. 

DOTE

Word: Dote

Part of Speech:verb

Defintion: to bestow or express excessive love or fondness

Source Sentence: Now, whenever we visit my relatives, all whom dote on my husband, I realize that he did'nt marry me despite of my tribe, he married me because of them. 

Context Clues: Using example and similar words in the paragraph i could conclude that her family dotes her husband meaning they show him love and are fond of him

Original Sentence: My mothers dotes my brother for being the man of the house after my father left us

TUTELAGE

Word: Tutelage

Part of Speech: noun

Defintion: the act of gurading, protecting or guiding

Source Sentence: I had been taking French since seventh grade, and under the tuteage of my high school teacher , Mr.Polkingharn, affectionately known as Le Polk, I had become quite fluent. 

Context Clue: using my logic i can conclude that Tutelage mean someone who guides by the was she was defining Le Polk

Orginal Sentence: I have to give much thanks for my stepfather for helping me without his tutelage i would not have been were I am today. 

OLFACTORY

Word: Olfactory

Part of Speech:adj

Defintion: Of or pertaining to the sense of smell

Source Sentence: Aunt Sedigeh also had a beautiful garden full of nasturtiums, roses, snapdragons, and sweet peas, a veritable Disneyland for olfactory sense. 

Context Clues: I can conclude from examples in the paragraph that olfactory deals with the senses. 

Orginal Sentences: The strong olfactory of fresh baked cookies filled the house.

MONOSYBALIC

Word: Monosybalic

Part of Speech: adj

Defintion: very brief or blunt

Source Sentence: How could our parent ever imagine that someday we would end up in a country where monosybalic names reign supreme, a land where "William" is shortened to "Bill" where "Susan" becomes "Sue." and "Richard" somehow evolves into "Dick"?

Context Clues: I figured it out by my logic that monosybalic was to be blunt

Original Sentence: Furny looked at Tochie with a monosybalic stare and he then knew he had made the wrong choice in words.

MANTRA

Word: Mantra

Part of Speech: Noun

Definition: a word or formula, as from the Veda, chanted or sung as an incantation or prayer.

Source Sentence: "I should've solf everything and brought the America a long time ago," became his mantra

Context Clue: Using example for the paragraph I can conclude that mantra mean something that is repeated because in the begin of this paragraph Firoozeh telling about her  father repeating how bad he felt.

Orginal Sentence: To stay focus throughtout the school year my mantra was "Keep your head in the books"

Staunch

Staunch

Part of Speech: adj

The Source Sentence: "In 1980, however, despite my father's staunch devotion to freedom and fairness, he was still a foreigner with an accent, an accent that after the Iranian Revolution was associated with all things bad." [119]

Context Clues: Using example in the text i can conclude the meaning of strauch because of the devotion Kazem has for fairness and freedom.

Definition: characterized by firmness, steadfastness, or loyalty

Original Sentence: Amber's staunch for friendship had it very easy for her friends to trust and count on her for anything.

ANGST

Angst

Part of Speech:noun

The Source Sentence: "Against this backdrop of teenage angst, there would have to be a symbol, a representation of the confidence that comes with eventual intellectual and spritual growth." [140]

The Context Clue: Using my logic i can conclude the meaning of the word angst because in the beginning of the paragraph she is talking about how her trip to Paris was less that great.

Definition: a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.

Original Sentence: Furny's day before his driving test was full of angst, worried about passing he spent hours studying his handbook.

Reflection

Having to learn new words in class has helped me progress in my reading skills. I now approach new vocabulary in a different way. Now when coming to an unfamiliar word in the text I’m reading I highlight the word look it up in a dictionary and have a second look at the text until it makes sense. By doing this I have a better understanding of what I’m reading. And by understanding what I’m reading I am able to perform better on tests and quizzes. With knowing new vocabulary I now have a more wide-ranging choice of word to choose from thus improving not only my reading but my writing skills too. The more I practice these new words the longer I can remember these new terms. In the past I couldn’t get a good grasp on learning new words but now with these new methods of learning I am able to learn new words not only in the classroom but also in everyday situations. Now knowing these words I am confident enough to say if I were to hear them outside of class I would be able to identify with them. I end up doing more poorly on test for unknown reasons I know the words I’ve done the homework and I’ve put aside my study time and still do not perform as well as I should when coming to test . This is an area I need help in, preparing for tests. But with these methods I’ve since an improvement from in past reading classes where I’ve done unsuccessfully on tests.

Baklava

The Word: Baklava

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: A Near Eastern pastry made of many layers of paper-thin dough with a filling of ground nuts, baked and then drenched in a syrup of honey and sometimes rosewater.
The Source Sentence: In Berkeley, and only in Berkeley, my name drew people like flies to baklava.(64)

Context Clue: I used logical because I already no that flies are attached to sweet things therefore, the people are attached her as if she were something sweet.

Original Sentence: The smell of sweet syrup filled the house as mama made fresh baklava.

monstrosity

Monstrosity


Part of speech: Noun


The source sentence: (45) Despite my father’s reassurance, there existed no bag in our house big enough to hold this monstrosity.


Context clues: We could not make it any less bulky. It defied flattening.


Definition: huge shocking and big.

Original sentence: I just bought this small car for my big family to travel cross country and it will not fit the monstrosity family.

Atrocious

The Word: Atrocious

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: Very cruel, evil

Context Clue: Using my logic and surrounding examples in the sentences, the fact that people stare at his pink and maroon Nikes and the author compares them to a portable siren implies that the shoes are not so easy on the eyes.

Original Sentence: Her whole outfit was utterly atrocious, orange 3-inch platforms and green cargo pants will never be in style.

The items he has picked up on clearance tables range fron merely useless like his portable siren, to truly atrocious, like birds made of felt. (44)

Encapsulate

Encapsulate

Part of Speech: Verb


Source sentence: (34) If someone had been able to encapsulate the kindness of these second graders in pill form, the pills would undoubtedly put war correspondents out of business.


Context clues: Pill form- It explains how it can be enclosed in a capsule.


Definition: To enclose in a capsule.


Original sentence: To catch a spider in my room, I had to use a cup to encapsulate it.

Dubious

The Word: Dubious

Part of Speech: adjective

The Source Sentence and [page number]: (10) “My brother Farshid, with his schedule full of soccer, wrestling, and karate, was too busy to be recruited for this dubious honor.

Context Clues: The reason why we choose busy as a context clue was because it described Fashid’s crowded schedule.

Definition: Giving rise to uncertainty, of doubtful promise or outcome.

Your Original Sentence: Even with the students dubious schedule he was still able to complete all his homework assignments.