Semester 1 Reflection

I can't believe the semester is already over and the holidays are around the corner! As I look back and reflect on this past semester, I feel proud of what I accomplished in my independent reading. When I first started my blog in August, I had set a goal for myself to read 15 books by the end of 2014. That's a huge goal set for myself considering that I'm not the strongest reader. However, I'm proud to say, I've read 10 out of 15 books. I'm hoping to reach my goal of 15 books during winter break when I have more time on my hands. I think my favorite book I read throughout the whole semester would have to be either Water for Elephants by: Sara Gruen or If I Stay by: Gayle Forman. Overall, I'm satisfied with the books I chose to read and the accomplishments I made.
I had never written a blog before I came into this class in August. I was aware of what a blog was but I could never find the time to start one or have the knowledge to write a well-written one. This semester, I learned so many things about blogging and I think you can see my progression through my blogs. I started off the semester writing essay-like blogs. My blogs were too serious and even though they were informative, included visual aids and were well-structured, they didn't have any style. As the semester continued, I think I improved immensely in adding my own voice and style to my blog. I found myself to be more comfortable as I wrote more and more blogs and I think this contributed to my engaging style. As I look back at my blogs as a whole, I think they were good quality and I can only learn from my mistakes and improve.
I've set many goals for myself for the second semester. I now know what I need to work on and include to be as successful as I can in blogging as well as my independent reading. One goal I set for blogging is I want to make sure I'm including all aspects of a "knock-your-socks-off" blog. I realized that I lacked in textual evidence and I want to make sure I include that. Also, I need to remember to update my progress in Goodreads because that is important to my blog. I have two goals for my independent reading. First, I want to expand my choice of genres next semester. I felt that this semester I limited myself to romantic novels, I want to make sure I go out of my comfort zone and explore different genres. My second goal is to push myself to read longer books. I tend to pick shorter books because like I said before, I'm not the strongest reader but I think becoming more strong is giving yourself challenges instead of taking the easy road. I think with these goals I can become more successful in the second semester and I can't wait to continue with my blog.