When I was creating my avatar, I was thinking deeper than just what accessories I wanted to wear, but thought about how I wanted to present myself to the whole world of bloggers. I couldn’t forget to include my long, brown hair and big, dark eyes, and my white “Vans” sneakers that I wear to school a lot. As I was making my finishing touches to my cartoon, I knew that including a soccer ball in my hands was crucial, because this sport is a huge part of my life that shaped me into the athletic and passionate person that I am today. Then, I realized it would be cool to implement some little things from real life into the avatar, so for example, I put a hat on my head, because honestly, most of time, I am wearing a hat to cover my disastrous hair on my own crazy hair days. Although my avatar is for the most part, pretty simple, I feel like it covers only the basics, so people can get to know me better through my writing instead of the little representation of my appearance.

I am Ella,

One lucky girl coming from a busy household

With one goal, to discover new things in the world

Since age 6, with a soccer ball at my feet

Always looking at my life quite complete.

Commenting is one of the very special ways students ,just like us, can get involved by communicating with others, share our opinions and ideas to new voices out there, and improve our writings skills all at the same time. When you comment, you basically receive the most ideal opportunity to relate to different thoughts and interests from kids across the country or maybe even world. Even if you disagree with someone when you are constructing your comment, you can still put your own voice out there to the world for others to listen and respond back. Just like you can easily interact with kids in real life, you can also have a great time understanding new perspectives from many different people online. It is okay to change things up sometimes and have a argument with another peer, but in the most respectful and friendly way possible. For example, instead of bringing someone’s self esteem down with mean comments about their post, you can kindly disagree and explain your part. It is easy and especially fun to hear some new thoughts once in a while and have the chance to put your ideas out in the world.

Even though I’m the same person, on and offline, there are still some differences from when I express myself online than in real life. Online, I might present myself more formally and in a more detailed way, because when I’m online I want to communicate in a sense that people can still get to know me well from the other side of the screen. However, when I’m offline and introducing myself to new people in real life, I’m probably more down to earth and get to know through a one on one friendly conversation. I try to really make sure people can understand the real me online by really explaining opinions and thoughts, whereas offline new students and peers can easily get to know a little bit more about me through my appearance.