Being in AP Lit has been one of the best experiences of my high school career.

For the
first time, I was able to go to Medieval Times and read good literature for a grade. Im almost
sad that the year is ending, because this class was something I looked forward to everyday. I
really wish I didnt have to say goodbye, but as someone once told me, Its not goodbye, just
goodbye for now.
AP Lit has taught me many things, but the most important thing it has taught me is to
explore real literature. There is a difference between mediocre literature, such as Nicholas
Sparks, and true literature, such as Mary Shelly or Mark Zusak. I have realized that stories in
books hold hidden messages that the author makes to convey a deeper meaning to his or her
readers. For example, my favorite book I read in class was The Book Thief, which held many
themes. Personally, I believe Mark Zusaks the author main reason for writing this book was
to inform his readers that tragedy in life can traumatize ones faith in others, but that fear of loss
should not linger on in our lives or it will ruin our future. All books have hidden themes, but it is
the ones that explore the deep issues that plague humans that are credited to being true literature.
I have also learned that while authors have hidden themes to their books, they also use hidden
elements in their writing to help convey the themes, so everything no matter how small must
be analyzed thoroughly for a deeper meaning. I also learned this best from The Book Thief. The
main colors Death talked about were red, white, and black, which represented the Nazi flag, but
knowing the story as I do, the colors represent Liesels whole life throughout the book. Red
symbolizes all the blood, destruction, and fire she had to face in her youth. The white symbolizes
all the good and happiness she had achieved after she had begun to move on with her life, but
then black symbolizes that everything in Liesels life was centered around the death of her loved
ones and all that she lost. These were merely two things I learned from Mark Zusak; I learned far
more inside our classroom. When our class did music journals on Google Docs, I realized that
people can interpret the same song in an entirely different way. It was something I admired about
our class; we were able to share our different views and accepted and learned other peoples
perspectives. I also learned that, despite the torture of endless essays before our exam, writing
practice essays really helped my score. Regardless of the never ending papers, I saw that my
scores went from average to high. I gained confidence in my writing ability, but I also realized
how much deeper I could analyze a piece of literature and how to explain my thoughts of
analysis. I was so overjoyed that my last essay before the AP exam was a nine; it was the greatest
accomplishment I have ever done in an AP English class. The last thing I learned though, was
that one must be open minded to books. I never would have read The Catcher in the Rye or Snow
Falling on Cedars if I was on my own, but I realized that they both held compelling stories with
enlightening messages of moving on with life and accepting things that cannot be changed.
Being open minded to new books and ideas can actually be adventurous and has allowed me to
open my horizon to new means of thinking. AP Lit has taught me to look for the deep meaner in
books, analyze every detail in a book carefully, people can view the same thing differently,
practice creates improvement and brings confidence, and one must be open minded to learn new
things in life.
Some of the skills that helped me become a better student are also skills that I learned
from my classmates. One skill was that people have different views on the same things, so in

order to move forward, there must be open mindedness among people. This skill has enlightened
me in many ways, from music journals to group reads. One of the biggest examples of this
though was when the class was able to see through Willies brother in Death of a Salesman. I
was under the impression that Willies brother was a figure that Willie was never able to reach in
status, but everyone in class could clearly see he was a conman who Willie idealized to the point
of obsession. Most of the skills that helped be become a better student though, was through my
essays. I learned that there was a deeper way to analyze elements of literature than just stating
what they did. My favorite example of this was the compare and contrast of the Five Essays. I
went deeper than just saying both authors used the number five as a symbol; I explained how
five was a middle number, and then compared it to a time of day where things began and ended.
Another analysis skill that helped my writing and becoming a better student was recognizing the
difference in tone through wording. My best example of this was the compare and contrast essay
on Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath. Both women repeatedly spoke of death, but through special
attention to their diction, it was clear that Plath dreamed of death as a form of rebirth while
Sexton sought it for relief from lifes trials. I believe these three skills helped me become a better
writer and student in AP Lit.
This class as a whole was incredible, which is why I would like to praise the entire class
to begin with. We have all stuck together since day one, and have done nothing but encourage
each other. We shared all the groans and laughter that have come, and have taken it in stride. As
for individual recognition, I believe Mills was amazing when it came to in-class reading. He was
a perfect narrator that never hesitated. Mills also recognized the change of tone quickly in our
readings, and was spot on when it came to getting into character. Collin was also great at getting
into character, especially in his female impersonations. As for Nate, he inspired me to read The
Book Thief, my favorite piece of literature this year. Overall though, nothing can replace any of
my classmates and the experiences we have shared this year.
I really had no idea what song would fit our class best. We have been through a lot, and
many songs could fit us. It seemed like We Are the Champions could work, as well as Its the
Final Count Down and I Will Survive, but then I realized those songs only captured brief
moments of the class, not the class itself or as a whole. Then I thought of a Rascal Flatts song.
Stand has been my favorite Rascal Flatts song since I first heard it, and I feel it summarizes the
ups and downs of our class, as well as our survival and triumph in the end. The song constantly
uses similes and metaphors with the same overall meaning that there is overbearing hopelessness
and uncertainty in life, such as You feel like a candle in a hurricane and Lifes like a novel
with the end ripped out. This best describes periods of vigorous work periods and some of our
first essays. Everyone low-balled the papers, and we all felt an overwhelming dread the morning
of the AP exam. However, the chorus of the song describes taking the challenges as they come
and finding out how much you can take When push comes to shove, you taste what youre
made of. You might bend till you break, cause its all you can take. On your knees you look up,
decide youve had enough. You get mad, you get strong, whip your hand, shake it off, then you
stand. I feel the chorus describes how our class pushed through the course especially the week
before the exam saw the fun times through the difficult ones, and face the exam together. And
as for my final words for the class though, We Stand.