Ben Klosowski
9/4/14

            This year in english I hope to learn as much as possible and broaden my horizons in a few different

directions. I have chosen outdoor exploration as my first topic to study. I plan to read Peak as my first book

on the topic but at this point that may change. I want to be finished with my first book before the end of two

weeks. As I read I will record my notes, new vocabulary, and how much I have read in my reading log. If I

work through a book every two weeks then I will be able to read aproximately 15 to 20 books this year or

four to five books per topic. This will provide ample content to learn about each topic and possibly spark

new interests to begin the cycle again. I look foward to this class and its open structure, which will allow me

to teach myself about the topics I am interested in.

            This summer I read the novel Siddhartha written by Hermann Hesse. This book was about a man named Siddhartha. He embarks on a spiritual journey that drastically changes his life. At the end of Siddhartha's spiritual quest he came across a river that was very special to him because it is there that he heard a unique sound that truly signals the very beginning of his life. This book has opened up my eyes and has shown me a new perspective on life that many people are never exposed to. This book is a new type of book for me I have never in my life read another book like this because I am usually reading books that are in very different genres and have very different topics. I did enjoy this book even though it was definitely not within my usual range of reading material that I choose. At times I would get distracted from my reading because the book was very thought provoking. Once I get thinking and my mind is even slightly of course I get lost in my thoughts  and veer off topic. It takes forever for me to even realize I have gotten off topic because I am so lost in my thoughts. As a result of my wondering this book took me a longer time to read than it should have. Although I did enjoy it, I do not know if I want to continue on the same path when the school year begins because there are other topics that I know that I would rather look into than continue on with this one, but perhaps I will continue with this topic later in the year. I definitely want to further explore other horizons before digging deeper into this. In the future this is definitely on my list of topics to further study and explore. In no way do I have a negative outlook on this topic I just have other things that are a little bit higher up on my priority list. Buddhism interests me, I think that this is because it is so foreign and different to me. Unlike other religions I have never experienced any part of it in my life, and the only times I have seen it are in movies and even those are few and far between. This book has been the window through which I have gotten my first good look at Buddhism. Many people in America live their entire life without ever knowing any substantial amount about Buddhism which is one of the oldest and largest religions in the world. I am very glad that Siddhartha allowed me to learn something about Buddhism and broaden my horizons just a little bit more than they were beforehand. I have barely even scratched the surface of what there is to know about Buddhism. There are so many topics to learn about that I am very interested in and want to Explore. Buddhism is very mysterious to me an so I seek to learn more about it eventually.

- Ben Klosowski