Last Blog Post (WhO KNowS?)

This is a blog post to culminate my blogging experience.  From my very first (and might I add very disappointing) post about summer reading, to my latest post on my philosophical views, blogging has been something I will never forget. While it has had its ups and quite definitely its downs, blogging has been an important part of eighth grade. It has really helped me develop my writing skills and has shown me the importance of noting my ideas about the books I read.

First off, I learned that I do not enjoy writing post-its (which maybe I already kind of knew). However, while annoying, I found it helpful and very necessary to develop my thoughts about books. Being given a week to write a synthesis page before our final post definitely made my writing better.  I would also like to acknowledge that having all my reading responses in one spot rather than written on loose-leaf scattered among the contents of a folder is very convenient.

In addition, I think writing online is better than writing in a note book because even if you are absent you can still hand in your work on time. Although this means some of your privacy is sacrificed, it is a small price to pay. As well, there is more opportunity for personalization online. At the beginning of the year we chose colors, names, fonts, etc. to set a mood for our blog and we were able to change them at our discretion. That gave more personality and life to our blogs that a notebook doesn’t always allow. Nonetheless, there are definitely things that I wouldn’t write on the internet because it is a public record and not somewhere to put private things. Despite that, I find that for some reason many people are more likely to be themselves in a blog post than in a notebook entry (maybe it feels less formal?).

Personally, I feel that the blog format is not as formal as a notebook or typed paper. I like that about blogging. But as I said, there are things that don’t belong on the internet and I believe a massive number of kids my age don’t take that seriously enough. They post explicit pictures of various subjects and type things that they wouldn’t dare say to someone’s face. While the internet can be freeing, I think it is easier to hide behind a keyboard and be mean to someone than it is to be mean in person. To some extent I believe that people feel that what happens on the internet isn’t real, and that’s just not the case. At least with my generation there are too many things that are on the internet that shouldn’t be.

To end on a happier note, I don’t mind blogging. To be truthful it was a bit tedious at times but the overall verdict of blogging was a good one. I can see myself having a blog in the future (seeing as I already keep one about Doctor Who) and I look forward to that. In conclusion: blogging was good, the internet can be bad sometimes, and maybe I’ll have another blog one day. However, for now, this will be my last blog post.