The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

(www.poets.org)

I really enjoyed reading this poem for many different reasons. Like in all of Robert Frost's poems, the rhyming scene make this poem more interesting and enjoyable to read. Another reason why I liked this poem was because of the messages and themes that I discovered while reading.  I felt that taking the road less travelled by can show a lot about a person. By taking the road not taken, you are being a leader and going down your own path. You are not just following the paths of others. I think this shows a lot about different people's character. I think this was one of the important messages Robert Frost was trying to get across. The themes I discovered as well as the rhyming were the two biggest factors of why I enjoyed reading this poem.

" It is difficult to get the news from poetry, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there." - William Carlos Williams

This quote means that when people do not read poetry, they are starving themselves from the creative messages that are imbedded in poetry. They are metaphorically  dying by not understanding the messages in poetry or reading poetry at all.  Poets provide insight on different topics in our society. The author of this quotation feels we cannot live without these insightful messages.

40 Years from Now

Immense time has passed since my days in high school. I am now 60 years old and have lived a full and happy life.  I loved my career as a lawyer. I worked for 35 long years for the same firm and enjoyed every day of it.  A few years after college I got married. Soon after, my wife and I raised a family. My two children grew up to be intelligent and respectful. I am proud of what they have become and what I have done to shape their lives. Like my days in high school, I like to keep myself busy, even in my retirement. I still exercise daily, and try to eat healthily to stay in shape. My wife and I have bought a retirement home in California. We love sitting on our porch overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Every summer, our children come to visit with their families. In my eyes, my life has been very successful. I feel that happiness is the best measure for success. 

Show Don't Tell

I felt its round, circular edges. In my hand, the grooves gripped to my fingertips as if they were attached. As I bounced it up and down off of the hard surface of the court, I could controlled everywhere it went as if it was attacked to a string. As I released it from my hand, my fingertips quickly directed it into the air. It soared through the air, rotating quickly as it reached its destination. 

"Bad" Secret

Although I do not remember the last "bad" secret I've held, over the years I know what these secrets can do to your conscience. They have made me feel guilty depending on the severity of the secret. Sometimes, they can cause people to lose sleep! The guilt would make me avoid speaking to the people that I had kept the secret from. All in all, a guilty conscience is sometimes worse than the punishment of coming forward with the secret.

New Year's Resolution

Every year in school I always tend to procrastinate and wait till the last minute to do many of my assignments. As we're beginning a new year I think it is a good idea to try my best to be more on top of my assignments. This will eliminate the stress of having to quickly finish big assignments a few days before they are do. I think the best way to complete this resolution is taking better advantage of my free time and starting projects when they are assigned instead of putting them off when they are due in the future. Although in the short term I will be doing more work, in the long run, this will make my studies easier.

Good Authors

"What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers" - Logan Pearsall Smith

I think this means that good authors can use themes, symbolism, and other literary devices to get their messages across without having to just tell the reader. This can be seen in all of recent books we've read, including The Great Gatsby and Bread Givers. Books are made more interesting when author lets the reader interpret for themselves the deeper meaning while they are reading.