Personal Reading Goals

Reading Goals:

• I want to read one classical book and learn all of the words in it.

• I want to finish 20 pages of a book everyday.

• I want to find 3 more books that I don't have to persevere through, I want to enjoy it through and through.

Goal 1: I want to read one classical book and learn all of the words in it.

Throughout this segment of the art course I have most definitely achieved and extended beyond this goal. I have read the Great Gatsby and have not only learned 750+ new words but I have also used this vocabulary within my artworks throughout this course. Refer to the image posted to see the evidence of this in one of my works. Apart from this I have identified that I do not resonate well with this genre of reading, nonetheless I have learned many valuable lessons from this book such as that American dream is an illusion and that true happiness comes from finding fulfillment within ones self. Overall I am happy with the progress and results that have occurred from this goal.

Summary:

Why I chose this Goal / Progress

I chose this goal after reading the first few pages of The Great Gatsby, I was astonished by the number of words I didn't know. Thus, a goal was born, I thought If I could learn all the words in this book, my vocabulary would be significantly enhanced. From when I started this book, to the 20th page mark, it took me over 1 hour, I was recording more words than I was reading. After I finishished this book, not only was I moved my the meaning of the book but also of the amount words I had learned. I had recorded over 789 new words. From the time I finished the book I started using enhanced vocabulary in my everyday life to better convey what I'm trying to communicate. This was exemplified in a conversation I had with my older brother, he asked me how important my assignment was, I said that it was the paramount assignment of the course. Instead of using a phrase like most important, paramount conveys the meaning of the final assignment in a much more concise and meaningful way.

Connections

Throughout the time I have spent achieving and reflecting on this goal I have come to make many connections. One of the text - media connections that I made was with the movie, Catch Me If You Can, in the movie we saw that the protagonist is constantly chasing money and the "American Dream", because he was only a teenager without any higher education he was forced to fake his jobs and cash in fake cheques. Consequently he is being chased by law enforcement and resorts to moving locations every couple months. Eventually he gets sick of not having a stable home or a family to turn to. Through the illusion of a better life financially he ruins his life mentally and physically. This is similar to The Great Gatsby where the American dream is being chased and eventually is found to be an illusion or happiness.

Goal 2: I want to finish 20 pages of a book everyday.

Why I Chose This Goal

My Progress Summary (SUCCESS ):

From when we started the group novels in class, my love for reading had taken off. In the first week of group novels, I had read more books then I had in the 14 years before (I had only read 13 chapter books). I finished the first book in a singular day and I finished 3 books every day after, around 9 hours of reading everyday after. I was reading during my homework breaks, before dinner, and even before sleeping. After that first book, We Were Dreamers, I had gotten completely immersed in the reading community; I joined countless online communities, set up a good reads account and wrote book reviews. I even argued with someone on Facebook about how The Hate You Give, was not classified completely as fiction but more of a realistic fiction book. Moreover, I also created an account on fable (reading tracker app) and added all the books I had ever read, which was pretty fast, apart from this I also created my to read list which grew exponentially fast. Consequently, I also spent around $200 on an e-reader which allowed me to read books anywhere without having to wait for a physical copy. I think I really got into reading through We Were Dreamers, I discovered that I could really enjoy books, it was an immersive experience, I felt what the character was feeling and it felt just like a movie but I could control the characters looks and personality, my imagination was merely being guided by the text, not the other way around. Reading has not only affected where I spent my free time, but I also have seen an affect in my intelligence and writing as-well. Overall, since this day I have grown a lot as a person and a reader, I have spent more time reading and this has allowed me to broaden my perspective on everyday events.

Goal 3: I want to find 3 more books that I don't have to persevere through.

Over the course of this art course I was given 15 mins at the start of every art class to analyze pieces of art. I was forcing my self to find pieces that I could analyze that would look good on my report card or I chose books that were boring simply because I was following directions. Then, one day my art mentor gave me a short story to read about a superhero named X and the stereotypes he was facing. Although it was only a couple pages, I felt deeply resonated with this story. At school this is this group of people that pretend to be my friends, they mainly used me to help them in classes, I tutored them on math, helped them sand things in Gr.9 tech and gave them money whenever they need it. Whenever I refused to help them they would call me racial slurs about my ethnicity, I tried to distance myself from them but they wouldn't let me. They were nice to me when I could help them but when I couldn't I was seem as worthless to them. When reading this story I felt connected to X, whenever he was saving the world in a suit he was a superhero, but when he was living in his real skin he was seen as a threat to society. Flipping the pages I never wanted to stop reading, it felt authentic a feeling I had never encountered from a book, this is what gave me a glimpse of what reading could provide. This is why I chose this goal, it held me accountable to finding reading enjoyable, something I really wanted to do.

Why I Chose This Goal / Early Progress

Throughout this art course I have been told that reading is good for not only vocabulary development but also for personal development. My mentor was always right about things so I wanted to start reading more consistently in hopes of developing a habit for reading. Overtime I began reading 20 mins in the morning consistently, but with no interest in the books I was reading I eventually stopped about 2 weeks after creating this goal. The real reason I was reading wasn't to improve myself but instead was reading to put it on my portfolio. Thus I began the search for a good book, something to captivate my interest. I came across books I thought I'd like. These ranged from mystery books to non-fiction cactus books, but in the end I didn't resonate with any of these. This was until my teacher introduced the group novels, these changed my perspective on reading forever...

CONTINUED PROGRESS / IMPACT

After reading the first pages of We Were Dreamers, I was hooked. I knew I could easily read 20 pages of this book everyday. That was until I read this book in a single day, at the time I thought that was fast, in comparison this would have been impossible a couple years prior. After turning the last page f this book I knew I had to find another. I ended up reading the entire selection of group novels, most of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was even told to put my book away in another class(I started reading when I was finished my work, but the teacher was starting a new lesson). After this I had developed a taste for reading. I am easily able to find books I love and even have a very large to read list.

Similar to my early progress with the previous goal I felt that all of the books I was reading was forced and not for my own interest. I gave up for a period of time until the group novels started and I finally found my 1/3, it was We Were Dreamers, this book rekindled a flame that had first been lit after reading the short story of X. After this 2/3 and 3/3 were completed with the other group novel books. I felt that this goal in addition to goal # 2 pushed me to not persevere endlessly through books I did not like and instead guided me to search for my own taste and reading and make reading something I do beyond the classroom.

My Progress