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Carlos Cardenas

10 Honors L/C
8 January 2016
Hooper
Final Reading and Writing Reflection
This semester, I really didnt read too much besides the reading time given to us at the
beginning of class. The goal I set at the beginning of the semester was to have read six books by
the end of the semester. Two weeks away from the end of the semester, and I still have a mere 3
books under my belt, so it seems like I set the bar far too high as far as reading goes. Truth be
told, I really didnt make many attempts to read books outside of school (unless they were
assigned, such as LoTF and TEWWG), seeing as I found things like Netflix, video games,
listening to music, writing, being active in pro-Bernie Sanders subreddits, and even watching
CNN as more entertaining forms of, well, entertainment. As someone who wants to make the
best use of what little free time remains in the wake of piles and piles of homework to do, tests to
study for, and clubs to participate in, there really just wasnt any surplus of time I could devote to
reading. I had always wanted to immerse myself in a sci-fi or fantasy world with good pacing,
character development, and plot, but alas, I found most of my choices this semester to end up
being rather subpar.
I mainly dwell in the land of fiction whenever it comes to reading. As I mentioned earlier,
sci-fi, fantasy, as well as metaphysical/surreal fiction have always been my go-to genre for
whenever I do find myself reading. However, I did make a rather unorthodox choice for reading
this semester that I found ultimately to be the most compelling and memorable choice I made
this semester. It is not a book per-se, but a 141 page manifesto; My Twisted World by Elliot

Rodger. Rodger was a college student who committed the heinous mass shooting in Isla Vista,
California that took the lives of six people back in May of 2014. It is a work of nonfiction; an
autobiography of sorts, that made me feel emotions and feelings all across the spectrum, from
downright disturbed to sympathetic to angry to, as strange as cold as it may sound, relatable.
There was something I found incredibly fascinating about not just Elliots life story, but about
Elliot himself; the author, narrator, and lead character of his own life. Heavily derived from the
manifesto is the overall motive for his assault; revenge for sexual and social rejection. Rodger
paints himself as both a human with all the flaws and imperfections that everyone has, but he
also paints himself as a hollow, purposeless vessel, as well as an almighty God who is destined to
unleash wrath against those who defiled him. Rodger is clearly, whether he depicted himself this
way intentionally or not, a mentally disturbed sociopath, having been reduced to emotionless
frost from the torment he has endured throughout his life. His crimes are undoubtedly heinous
and inexcusable, but yet Rodgers manifesto leaves you asking can you really blame him? and
how could he have been helped before he committed his despicable crime? It's a true
accomplishment when a sociopath can genuinely persuade a bystander into having sympathy.
Writing, on the other hand, is an activity I thoroughly enjoy; an outlet for my creative,
analytic, and even downright random ideas, and being able to potentially channel these ideas or
ah ha! revelations into a piece of writing, whether it be prose or otherwise. As far as my
greatest writing accomplishment so far in this class, I am torn between my Think Tracker
Response #2 for Lord of the Flies, and my Debate #3 during the rhetoric unit. I think the greatest
strength within my Think Tracker was that I was able to successfully focus on a very specific
moment and concept within the book, dissect it, and learn and convey the meaning and purpose
behind the authors choice. In essence, the Think Tracker exemplifies my strengths in the area of

an aspect and expanding my thinking on the aspect in an organized way. Debate #3 is by far the
best debate write-up that I produced, although it still wasnt perfect. I feel that Debate #3 was
important in showing my skills in being able to take a stand to defend a claim, gather evidence,
and properly articulate an argument in support of the claim I am making. Granted, public
speaking isnt the easiest thing in the world for me to do, but the thoughts on paper, I believe, are
what shines above all else in terms of my ability to successfully use rhetorical devices, appeals,
and a factual basis to convey a point.
I read quite a bit from elementary school all the way up to 7th grade (I remember
particularly clearly reading 18 books throughout the 6th grade, compared to 3 in 7th grade).
What happened in 7th grade, I truly do not remember or understand, but quite simply, I find
reading a generally mundane task, and besides a few diamonds in the rough in the past few years,
nothing has really changed my status as a reader. I feel that I am a very proficient and capable
writer, perhaps more so in creative writing, but capable in every sense of the term. Last year in 9
Honors I consistently received high marks and praise for my argumentative essays, and my
magnum opus of poetry from last year received universal acclaim from both my teacher and my
peers. I feel like I would definitely be writing more if a) I had more time to delegate to it, and b)
If writing was higher in my list of priorities. I have occasionally dabbled in songwriting,
although, unlike slam poetry, it requires a bit more finesse in terms of form, syntax, structure,
and flow, perhaps something that currently escapes my ability. I do feel like I could use my
writing skills one day to be an editor or critic of some sort, but Im far too uncertain of what path
career path I would like to embark on. Political science seems interesting, as well as something
that seems to require the ability to have articulate writing abilities, but again Im not too certain.

Regardless, even if reading is off to the side, writing will always hold a spot in some fashion in
whatever I do.

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