It was.. I was..

It was scary at first, 

being completely submersed,

into a place with unknown faces, 

and there were so many changes. 

But I was ready,

And within the first 7 hours I already,

made a new friend,

whose life I attend.

It was Marian Isdahl,

who, like me, was small, 

and who felt to me like a sister.

In college I sure am going to miss her. 

I was making good grades,

especially with her aid, 

and together we learned during high school.

I think she's pretty cool.

It was fun to meet new people,

and not many were evil,

Together we had fun,

and making life long friends had begun.

I was growing up, 

And before I knew it freshman year was over, yep!

It went that quickly,

almost too swiftly.

It was harder the second year,

school work seemed to kick into high gear.

I took my first AP class,

but I didn't let it kick my... butt. 

I was learning time management,

and was quite passionate,

for keeping my grades up,

and not with red solo cups. 

It was when I made the decision,

to see to what extent I could obtain wisdom,

by joining IB.

Some said it would be the death of me.

I was excited to join the program,

but not excited for its' final exams.

Which are coming up soon, 

but junior and senior year has prepared me, has it prepared you?

It was an amazing four years,

and at graduation there will surely be tears.

There are so many times to remember, especially with the IB fam,

it's like having a little clan. 

I was brought closer to so many people,

especially one who's currently a cripple (Trey Sterling).

And I hope you enjoy the pictures below,

they're from my high school years in case you didn't know. 

  

 
 

 


 (p.s. sorry to anyone I didn't upload a picture with)

Whitman's Notebook

While scrolling through Whitman's notebook I noticed a common occurrence- illegible handwriting. But the page that I was able to make out most clearly was page 10. This page is referencing a ship at the beginning of each fragment, specifically stating, "Ship of the world- ship of humanity- ship of the ages- ship that circles the world- ship of the hope of the world- ship of promise." This ship may be literal, but I interpreted it as metaphorical. I think that the ship he is referring to is possibly a new idea, or perspective on a previously known idea, that has the potential to change the world.

After reading the transcription to Whitman's writing found on page 10 in his notebook, I was pleased to see that the words I made out from the page were correct. Reading why Whitman actually wrote this also went along with my original interpretation that the 'ship' was not literal and was referring to a greater event involving many people. Whitman's reasoning for writing this was that he had, "reached a conclusion at which the president-elect had not yet arrived: that the future of world history was bound up in the success or failure of the America's democratic experiment." The 'ship' could now be seen as either the future of world history as a whole, or the success/failure of the America's democratic experiment. Knowing the reasoning behind Whitman's writing also aided in revealing more about himself. I think it shows how he thinks ahead, and contemplates positive and negative consequences to anything in his present in order to make conclusions.