In Gogol's "Overcoat", the primary element of satire is the idea that people perform ridiculous and foolish things in order to improve their appearance and others perception of them. Gogol criticizes the superficial idea of materialism, implying that one's wealth and possessions should not be the ingredients that form one's identity. Sadly, the society that Akaky lives in does not offer such idea. The society that Akaky lives in is almost entirely organized by what each person possesses and the initial impression they leave. Akaky becomes completely manipulated by how shallowly he is perceived by others. He realizes his social status is fully dependent on how he dresses and appears to others, and with that in mind, Akaky goes to extreme measures and misuses his money earned dedicated for much needed food, spending it instead on a classy overcoat. He instantly became much more accepted by society while wearing the overcoat, yet literally nothing about himself as a person had changed. The fact that a single, petty article of clothing drastically altered the way others viewed him proves that the system that the society is based on is clearly damaged.

Akaky's ghost haunts the people of St. Petersburg for very selfish reasons. He seeks revenge in a way that he wanders around stealing people's overcoats, causing them to feel the pain he once felt of being disregarded or belittled by higher-ups in society.

ZeFrank's video "The Teen Brain" captures the harsh reality of the mental phase of an adolescent's brain. The reason us adolescents do not understand or cannot accept certain things put in our way is simply because our brain has not sufficiently developed the required tools to deal with them. This is why teenagers are often impulsive with their thoughts and actions, why they tend to fail coping with their extreme emotions, and why they tend to base their decisions off instant gratification instead of off a long term perspective.
Travis Bradberry's "Emotional Intelligence 2.0" covers what 'EQ' is truly formulated off of. EQ is an emotional capacity level based off of how self-aware and socially aware one is and how well one can manage themselves and relationships with others. One's level of EQ is in other words how well that person is able to deal with ANYTHING (event, crisis, argument, person, personal issue) that takes a direct presence in their life.

Connecting both works, what ZeFrank is really saying in "The Teen Brain" is that teenagers, quite frankly, tend to not possess a very high level of EQ my any means. The average EQ of adolescents (in my opinion) seems to be remarkably low. Fortunately, it is only normal that teenagers have a naturally low EQ. I believe that one is only an adult once they have attained a developed EQ, therefore it is crucial that adolescents begin to become gradually more emotionally invested in themselves so by the time of adulthood, they are ready to tackle anything with a calm and capable mind.

The literature as well as the videos we have read and watched in English 11 this year have gave us a striking yet realistic insight to the struggles and setbacks we will inevitably face in the years to come. These life struggles, whether they may be on a quotidian basis or not, WILL make frequent appearances in our lives. Works such as 'No Exit', 'Of Mice & Men', and 'The Metamorphosis' all present struggles to each protagonist while simultaneously shows how they overcome each obstacle. If these works at times do not show how to break out of such struggles, they at least demonstrate how to cope with them.
"The Teen Brain" and "The Time You Have In Jellybeans" depict many of the minor (but still very annoying) daily issues we face, but more importantly, these videos hint how to overcome them. They both imply for us to do what makes the most sense not in the moment, but in a more broad perspective of one's life. In other words, the videos message for us to choose the path that makes more sense and the one that is more beneficial for the long run.
To avoid these traps strategically scattered upon our delicate road to success, we must pick and choose certain lessons learned from these works. Instead of choosing the option leading to instant gratification, we must choose the the option for even greater satisfaction and stability in the future. For example, George in "Of Mice & Men" plans out his life slowly and methodically with a mindset of 'struggle now and see its glorious results in due time'.

My favorite work that we read this year is "Of Mice & Men". The plot was intriguing and vividly captured many hardships of working on a farm and enduring life changes.

The most meaningful assignment to me this year was definitely the "I Am From" poem. It made me truly think about my life and my situation as well as who I am as a person on an intensely deeper note.

I was not here in the year for Poetry Out Loud, but the "I Am From" poem taught me a lot about myself that I would not have discovered without writing it. I learned that I struggled finding a middle ground between my own desires and the higher standards that my family holds.

The 5 Paragraph Essay has taught me how to compare multiple works on a deeper level while adding more structure to how my arguments are presented. It also taught me to vary the length of my sentences and not simply stick with one constant long, descriptive sentence after another.

Speaking out loud several of my works during class definitely gave me extra confidence in terms of public speaking, and writing the five paragraph essay further increased my writing skills.

I still need to work on embedding quotes and following them up with slightly deeper analysis. I also shall continue to use a more multidimensional style when writing in regards to my sentence lengths.