Entry 7: Best experience of my life

Enormous icicles where I used to do my laundry.

The best experience of my life was the time I spent living on my own in Rochester, New York. I was there for about a year while working as a programmer for a small game studio. This was the first time I lived away from home without roommates and was financially responsible for all of my expenses. It wasn’t the most fun time in my life, but I consider it very important because of the personal growth I experienced. It was an experience that I needed rather than one I completely enjoyed.

Both of my sisters went to school nearby, so I wasn’t completely isolated from people I knew, but I still had a lot of time to myself. I used this time to study a foreign language and engage in inner reflection. I think being able to dedicate so much time to reflection is what encouraged me to follow my dreams and pursue a different career path. If I didn’t have this time to myself, I think I might not have decided to take the leap toward becoming a teacher. Living on my own also taught me a lot of responsibility since it was now solely my job to clean and maintain my apartment as well as be on top of my finances.

    One of the most memorable but irritating things about my time there was the temperature of my apartment. I lived next to the building’s boiler, which meant it was always 80-90 degrees in my apartment, from the start of December to the end of April. Looking back there might have been something I could have used to switch to an unoccupied apartment but I at the time I beared with it. During the winter, I got to experience the “best of both worlds,” since I would bike to and from work in most snow and sub-zero temperature. However, since I prefer cold weather to hot weather, I think I actually enjoyed being outside more than inside my apartment during that winter. I think those experiences enhanced my ability to ignore discomfort or imperfections if it was for a more important goal. Despite these struggles, which are probably quite small in the grand scheme of things, I still consider the experience of living on my own in Rochester to be incredibly valuable.

Vocabulary
financially (adverb): relating to money
expenses (noun, plural): money that needs to be paid (such as groceries or rent)
isolated (verb, past-tense): alone
inner reflection (noun): time where you think deeply
maintain (verb): to keep the same or in good condition
irritating (adjective): annoying
beared (verb, past-tense): stuck with, endured
enhanced (verb, past-tense): improved

Vocabulary Exercise
1. Regular exercise is a good way to _________ your body.
2. I pay all of my _________ before the end of the month.
3. The hermit lived _________ in the woods.
4. When the stock market crashed, many people were ruined _________.
5. Buddhist monks engage in a lot of _________.
6. I hate mosquitoes. They are so _________!
7. In order to _________ a pool, you need to check the balance of chemicals inside it.
8. It was a long journey but she _________ with it and eventually got home.

Grammar Point & Activity
"Not" contractions are shortened versions of parts of speech where a verb is followed by "not," such as "have not" and "haven't," and "does not" and "don't." Find all "not" contractions in the passage above, then write the non-contracted version. After that, rewrite the following sentences with the contraction.
1) Timmy would not eat his broccoli.
2) Jane could not jump as high as Tabitha could.

Entry 6: A family vacation

When I was 11 my family and I went to California for one week, during the summer. My godmother also accompanied us. We visited San Diego and Anaheim. The plane ride was very long, but I endured it. It was the furthest I have ever traveled. In San Diego, we went to the zoo. I remember seeing pandas and red pandas as well as numerous other animals. We also rode in their aerial tram. We went to Lego Land was well. It had many rides, including a canoe ride where you need to paddle yourself. My godmother and I were in a boat together and got stuck in a small whirlpool on the course. The employees had to pull our boat out. When we went to Anaheim we spent a few days in Disney Land. The Matterhorn, a roller-coaster with a Himalayas theme, was my favorite ride. We also rode a roller-coaster that had three loops. It was a very fun trip. The only thing I regret is not seeing the Pacific Ocean. I would like the opportunity to go again, in the future.

Vocabulary
accompanied (verb, past-tense): came with
endured (verb, past-tense): to deal with
furthest (adjective): most far away
numerous (adjective): many
aerial tram (noun): a machine that moves you across the sky
regret (verb, present-tense): be sad about
opportunity (noun, singular): chance

Vocabulary Exercise
1. If you ride an _________, you can get a bird's eye view of the ground below.
2. A museum will have _________ works of art.
3. My best friend _________ me to the library.
4. You might _________ last meeting someone on a bad note.
5. The exam was 4 hours but I _________ it.
6. Some people look through the newspaper to find the right job _________.
7. The _________ I have ran at once was 500 meters.

Grammar Point & Activity
An irregular past-tense verb is one that does not end in "-ed". See how many you can find in the above passage. Then, write 1 sentence with a regular past-tense verb, and one sentence with an irregular past-tense verb. Remember that regular past-tense means it ends in "-ed."

Entry 5: Fantastic Mr. Fox

One of my favorite movies is Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is directed by Wes Anderson. It is a stop-motion comedy. Stop-motion is a movie-making technique where you continuously take pictures of an object, such as a posable doll, while moving it to make it look like it is moving on its own. It requires a lot of time and dedication. I admire the hard work that goes into creating this type of film. The movie is an adaptation of a book by Roald Dahl.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is about a family of foxes who live in the woods. The father is an old thief who has retired. An awful situation arises and they need to leave their home. It is an entertaining film. If you are interested in watching the film, you may be able to borrow it at your local library. If they do not have the film, you can borrow the book.

Vocabulary
comedy (noun, singular): a type of movie or show that is funny
technique (noun, singular): a way to do something
requires (verb, present): needs
admire (verb, present): to respect
adaptation (noun, singular): a change from one form to another
awful (adjective): very bad
situation (noun, singular): place or position where something is
entertaining (adjective): makes you smile

Vocabulary Exercise
1. Boiling, baking, and barbecuing are all cooking ____________s.
2. A role model is someone you ___________.
3. Getting good grades ____________ hard work.
4. Over the weekend, I saw a lovely and ____________concert.
5. The werewolf is an ____________ monster!
6. Whenever I watch a ____________ I can't help but laugh out loud.
7. The saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade," is about making the best of a bad ___________.
8. Many Marvel and DC superhero films are ___________s of stories from comics.

Grammar Point & Activity
A and an are indefinite articles. Find these articles in the above passage and look at the word that follows each one. Do you notice a pattern? Then, write 3 sentences that use either a or an.

(Hint: It has to do with vowels)