Thank You Class of Engish 103!

This semester has been a very crazy one that is for sure. When I first looked at our first week of assignments, I thought it was going to be overwhelming. We had so many things to do, and this is only one class. I remember thinking; this lady must be out of her mind to assign us all of this work. It did seem like a lot didn’t it? Well, I am glad she assigned us every assignment because it has helped me to be a better writer and communicator. This class has been a real journey, even with all of these assignments. I am glad she pushed us to our limits. The blogs were my favorite because I got to vent my ideas, and my peers would agree with me, for the most part. It was nice to be able to respond to a topic without feeling judged. The blogs have also showed me that five hundred words is a lot, and if we can complete these every week than we can write essays easier, and that is exactly how I felt.

Essay came easier because of these blogs and it was also enjoyable. I also liked reading my classmates’ blogs to see how they feel and how they think. Majority of the time we were all on the same page. We were feeling the same way, or we had similar ideas. When it came to venting about our research papers that was my favorite. It made me feel so much better that I wasn’t the only one that was feeling that way. I loved this class because we all had the same goal. I felt like we were all friends just trying to get through school. We al supported one another; this is what made the class so enjoyable. We gave each other advice when needed, or just a simply phase as “you are doing great” makes me feel accomplished. I loved everything about this class, the peers, the professor, and even some of the work.

For the most part I did enjoy everything we had to do except for the reading discussions. I did not like posting on there, not too sure why but I just felt like it was a waste. I didn’t get too much out of it, and most of the time I ending up forgetting. It obviously was not on my top priority even though it should be. I was more focused on the critical thinking and the essays at the time. Other than that, I felt like all the work we did was worth it and I took something out of it. I really enjoyed getting to know every one of you and it was just a real pleasure. If I would want to take an English class I would want it to be just like this! Thank you for everything! You guys have made this semester pleasant with all of your nice words, thank you! Have a great summer everyone! (:

Better Writing!

Writing essays or anything involving writing words was a dreadful task. When I heard I had to do a two page report, I found myself struggling to make the page requirement. Essays came hard and I just overall did not enjoy them at all! Even if was just a few paragraphs, I wasn't too sure on how to approach this task. Now that I'm taking English 103 and almost done with this class, I find writing so much easier. In the beginning of the semester I remember reading the tasks we have to do, and it all involved so much writing. The first couple of weeks it took me awhile just to complete one assignment. Now, it all comes so easy thanks to a variety of things. Our blogs helped me the most. When I thought of 500 words, it seemed like nothing, but in the beginning it was really hard. During my essays I would keep checking my word count, and 500 words was a good two to three paragraphs. So these blogs helped me the most. It really got me to think fast, and even use critical thinking skills to answer some of the blog topics. Another thing that really helped me was the critical thinking questions. I hated doing those so much, but in the end it was so worth it! I was able to read a story and answer questions so fast, in the beginning it took me a good one to two hours. Towards the end I got it to the most one hour. Having our essays is always good practice, but I liked how we had two chances to improve our papers. I know teachers who would only collect a final draft. Having the drafts help because it doesn't seem so bad. The peer draft reviews were different, and sometimes it was stressful. I personally don't like critiquing someones essay. I just get frustrated, but I have to remember it is only a draft. It did help me though because it did give me ideas of how my paper should be. It was nice to get opinions from my classmates.
Overall this class has helped my writing so much! I now can write a four page paper in just one day. Before I would struggle and didn't even know where to begin. Writing feels more natural and I find it just flows out. I can just keep writing and writing. I never thought I would be able to write essays as easy as I can now. This class has helped me in so many ways and really and provided me with greater knowledge of writing essays. I don't dread writing essays anymore, of course it is still stressful, but once I take the time to sit down and write it all comes together. These blogs has helped me so much, I thought it was going to be a waste of time and boy was I wrong. I also love reading my classmates blog, because we end up relating to one another. It makes me not feel alone. These blogs were probably the best thing we ever did in this class and I just enjoyed it. Sometimes the topics were tricky and wasn't too sure how to approach it. Those blogs made me a stronger writer, because we aren't always going to get topics we love. So this is why these blogs are so special, the difficult could vary from each week which was interesting. Last week was probably the best blog because I was just able to vent to you guys. It's nice to get opinions and advice it just helps hearing my classmates. You guys reply and make me feel so much better. Thank you class you really are the best!

So a Research Paper eh?

So I hear we need to do a research paper right? The sad part is, that I haven’t even started on it yet and it’s already Tuesday. I have five classes and it’s hard for me to balance all of them. I do get the job done, but it’s normally last minute. My mom always tells me, “Why do you wait till the last minute?” I honestly don’t even know because I always wish I wasn’t overwhelmed. I think if I organized my time better this paper would seem easier and less stressful. She gave us plenty of time to start this essay, and I still wait till the same week it’s due to start. So I do plan on starting my paper tomorrow. There are so many good reasons of why I should start tomorrow.

I haven’t read any of those books she listed, so I plan on doing my paper on one of the extra research topics. I don’t think there will be any problems other than trying to full fill the requirement of five pages. My plan is if I get a lot of research then it will be easier to write because I will have examples and hard-core evidence. I find research papers easier to write only because it’s based off of evidence rather than an opinion. When it’s an opinionated essay I find it hard to write three pages about what I think. Research papers comes a little easier also because there is quite a few quotations, which means less writing for me. I also have to make sure that I don’t use “you” in my papers. I learned from my last paper this can cause my paper to be a “D” which is no good for anybody. When I write I like to write to you guys, but I can’t, which makes it hard for me. I will keep reminding myself of the purpose for this paper.

Even though I haven’t started on this paper yet, I plan to accomplish it by taking baby steps. I figured if I start by writing two pages a day, then the paper will be done by Friday. This way I’m not overwhelmed and I still meet the deadline. If I stick to my plan then I will even have the weekend off if I finish by then. I haven’t had a free weekend from homework since this semester started, so this will be my motivation. I have to keep pushing myself that school is starting to finish up and I need to push for the home stretch. One more paper and I will be done with English for the rest of my life! Doesn’t that sound nice? So Jen, but it does sound nice. I need to remind myself of this and try to make this paper the best paper I have ever written. I don’t want to slack off on this paper, and I want to earn a good grade for my last official English paper, from the best English teacher Ms. Gross.

Gotta Love Facebook

            When it comes to communicating on facebook or myspace, we normally say things that we do not even question. We just post a status and never think twice about it. We crack jokes and never even to think how it appears to others. Everyone’s lives are different, and there are things that amuse people. If we are young teens like me, we post up stupid videos, pictures, or even a status that does not make any sense. Do we ever question what we put up? Are we thinking about the video that we posted? Or do we take pride in our stupid videos? I know being on a softball team, we have free time in between practices and classes, and this is when most of the crazy stuff goes on. There are so many videos of us girls just being dumb. I personally don’t take any action in these, but they all know they are the softball girls, so sometimes you do get an image. We aren’t doing anything stupid involving anything illegal, just normally funny videos of cracking jokes with each nothing too serious right? In the next few years will we regret those silly videos or pictures? I personally think not.

            Those silly dumb videos and pictures represent our youth. We should never be ashamed of what we did or what we went through. I know I will never forget this crazy softball team from AVC. I think if people were to regret it, you couldn’t take in pride or learning from it. If you regret something you did, it was a learning experience and not something you should be ashamed of. I have seen pictures of young teens partying it up. They couldn’t be happier to be a freshman in college. We see these pictures on facebook and we just think, I can’t believe they just posted that up. We have to take in consideration that everybody is their own person, and should get to make life decisions for however they want. Yes, sometimes it can be a little disappointing, especially if it’s your young cousin that is living the life. But it is their life!

            These pictures and videos represent our lives, and there is not one thing I will regret from posting. I have some stupid videos and it just makes me laugh. Yes they can be embarrassing, but that just makes life more fun. I want to keep those memories with me forever, and for whomever else that wants them. We all have been young and dumb, and I can only imagine going back in five years and looking at those silly pictures. If anything it will be a reminder of what a great time I had. We should never be ashamed of our past, it is our past anyways right? Show those silly pictures or videos with pride! What is so funny is that I’m sitting here writing this blog in my hotel room with my team mate because we are in the playoffs, and she just slipped and fell while getting in the shower! LOL! She wasn’t hurt, but that is definitely going on facebook. ;)

Is It Right to Make Fun Of One Another?

Political cartoons are normally funny and capture their audience. The humor behind he cartoons is hilarious, and most of the time it is actually true. This is why people love them so much because they make fun of politics. It is a good way to laugh about the situations we are in, some of them not being so good. We could be in the middle of a war (like right now) and they come up with a cartoon relating to the war. Of course they never make fun of the military, but maybe the other sides. Normally people get a kick out of these cartoons because it is like an escape from reality. It is a way to laugh off our reality. We don’t like the way our government is being ran so they come up with these cartoons. These cartoons in a way are making fun of our political system. We are supposed to be Americans and look out for one another, but instead we are making fun of each other. They put down a lot of things and a lot of people, which is why I do not like them.

Cartoons are supposed to be easy to comprehend, but sometimes the message is lost. The artist may have a meaning behind it, and someone else finds a different meaning. These cartoons can be a real disaster and can be taking wrong very easily. I remember there being a huge conflict behind someone putting Obama’s face on a gorilla. Some people took this really personally and thought of it being racist. That was not the meaning of the cartoon at all. These cartoons can so easily be misunderstood they aren’t even worth it. They are supposed to be funny and a way to easily comprehend what is going on with out politics. Those cartoons make even bigger issues out of our political system. They do not solve anything with these cartoons. It is never right to make fun of someone, so why are these different? I just simply do not like them because they make fun of our government, and it makes me feel like we aren’t any better.

These cartoons are not funny and I don’t like them at all. They are hard to comprehend, and what I get out of them is not what the artist intended. The cartoons lead to false impressions and make our country look bad. If we make fun of each other, what kind of country are we? It makes us seem immature if we just keep making up these cartoons about one another, we don’t seem like a country that can come together in a time of need. Yes it is always a good laugh, but it’s still not right. Our government is not on a mission to screw us over, that’s what I believe anyways. We all have our own opinions and that is perfectly fine. I just think it’s never okay to make fun of one another, because we all are Americans and we all are equal, no one is better than another. We are Americans!

Cutting Classes!

There is one political issue that sticks to my mind and it even relates to this valley and it’s the cutting back of classes, so the budget would be the issue. I think it is unfair that we students have to suffer because of the government’s inability to handle money. We are in this deep hole, so what has to get punished for it, we do. It will now take us longer to graduate because there will be less classes, which means they will be even harder to get in. The government covers the problem up by using certain language and their political wordplay.

There is a secret language for everyone, and when it involves politics it is a different one. To make it seem like there is nothing wrong, they know what to say to make it seem “okay”. There are even a lot of commercials on different schools for your education. The common line is “I can do it, anybody can do it”. This line really bribes in people to want to go to school. What they do not tell you is how pricey the school can be. When you finished you can be $35,000 in debt. They advertise those schools to be so good and can change your life, but never mention how intense the course can be. There are always positive commercials about the education but they once mention how many classes there are or what the price is. Not only are they cutting classes, but they are also raising the prices of classes.

There is also political wordplay in which they are pretending to communicate to us, but they really aren’t. They are telling us things to makes us think they are telling us something important when in reality it’s probably false information. They can be misleading us with information. They could also be using jargon so we really do not know what they are talking about. Only they really know what is going on, but they are going to use words they know so we do not have a full understanding of what is going on. They could also be using words to make it seem like it’s not a big deal. They will find other words to make it seem like this budget cut isn’t so bad and only so many classes will be cut. They will try to make the situation not seem like a major panic. They want us to think nothing is wrong and keep moving forward with our daily lives. They could also overwhelm us with words to the point we are just lost. After hearing a huge explanation of why they are doing something, we will more than likely just go with it. If they can give us this big reason then it must be good right? They are cutting classes at AVC, not only is this going to affect us as students, but teachers will be laid off. Fewer classes to teach, means less money for them. This is a big mess, no matter what they try to tell us.

Extra Extra Read All About It

According to Danny Schechter, “Young people get the news from late night TV, the Comedy Channel, or The Onion.” He found this can be a problem because it’s not the real news. This can be a problem because without the teenagers knowing the real problems in society, when it comes time to vote they might not have a full understanding of what is going on in society. The late night shows focus more on “attitude” and comedy rather than listing the facts. Teenagers could find the news a little boring. Those teenagers are more focused on movies, video games, and comic books. This could be a problem in society because teens are getting less educated about the world, so how are they supposed to make future decisions for the country? When it comes time to vote, are they going to know what to vote for? I say yes they will know. Just because we like to watch comedy channels it doesn’t mean we don’t know what is going on around us.

This makes teenagers look like they don’t care what is going on in society. I am also a teenager, so this kind of hurts. He makes us seem that we are more focused on ourselves, that we are selfish. Speaking for myself, I am not interested in politics, so it is really hard for me to watch news on politics. I watch the daily news to see what is going on in our country, and the news also mentions what is happening in other countries. It’s not like I have no idea what is going on in this world, which I’m too busy downloading music, because this is not true. I even get a joy of reading the news paper because I feel I learn what is going on in our community. Once again though, not all teenagers are the same.

Some teens rather not know what is going on around us and focus on the new release of a video game. There are those children out there, but it is not all of them. For the teenagers that are interested in what is happening to our country, and you know someone who isn’t too upbeat with it. Start a conversation with your friend of what you learned on the news on the news paper. Sometimes it just takes a little push to get people interested in the news. It is fun bringing up a topic from the news, because normally there are so many different versions. So we all discuss what we learned and normally we come out as experts with the topic. It is fun having an educated conversation with your friends, and no it’s not “nerdy”. Don’t be afraid to start an educated conversation, you never know that someone might feel the same way. I think this is the main problem with teenagers. We are too focused on being “cool” that we are afraid to ruin our image. I say who cares about the image! We are educated adults, now lets express ourselves!

No Past of Hate Speech

 Hate speech is something nobody would want to wish on anybody. Some people experience hate speech more than others. Some of us, may not even experience hate speech. I think even though some people have not experienced hate speech themselves does not mean that they do not "get it". We have all heard of the idea of hate speech. If you have not heard of hate speech let me inform you. Hate speech is something that was said that can hurt someone, either physically or emotionally. When someone yells "bomb" on an airplane, people could get hurt for trying to get off the plane. There are things people should not say under certain circumstances. You never know if you mention gays, there could be someone around who may be hurt by this. Just like what Kobe Bryant recently said about gay to the referee. There are just comments that cannot be tolerated. We all know not to yell fire in a movie theater. People could be seriously injured from this made up comment. Even though some have not experienced hate speech first hand, does not mean we don't get it.

Everyone has either heard about the idea of hate speech, or have actually been through it. Either way we know how serious hate speech can be. We know exactly know what to say and what not to say. There may be some people out there who find the idea of hate speech funny, which is those people that make those comments. Those are the people "who don't get it" not the people that have not experienced it. People who don't experience hate speech stay away from those comments because they don't want that to happen to them, and they don't make the comments. Some people that haven't experienced it know people that have. So maybe they do not know it feels personally, but the still know what goes on. So people still knows what goes on. We don’t have the right to judge people because of their past. If they were one of the lucky ones that didn’t experience hate speech, be happy for those people.

            Hate speech is not something we wish on anybody. So why would we think that people who don't experience it don't get it? We should be happy that those people haven't experienced it. People that have experienced it should be telling those people how to handle a situation when hate speech occurs so they don't get hurt. There are things that we all need to learn. People should know what to expect. Hate speech is wrong and we all know that. So lets take this problem seriously and not be so judgmental. If we judge people because they don’t have a past with hate speech, was does that say about us? It makes us no better than those people who say hate speech. Both ways it’s not right and we all need to be here for each other, for the better. We are all civil human beings and should be able to help a neighbor in a time of need.

RLiT is a Great Read!

           RliT was a really good book and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good read. This book is just amazing what these girls had to go through. They took the chance of getting killed just to learn. It’s amazing what they do in order to gain knowledge. Some people in college take advantage of their school and get lazy, and to be honest at times I feel like that. There is a point when my brain feels fried. I just keep waiting for our breaks, just like our spring break. This book makes you realize how lucky I really have it. It made me thankful I have a safe place to stay and safe place to get my education. I don’t have to worry about sneaking my school work I just get it done. Could you imagine if your life was threatening especially for just learning? Who every thought we would be killed if we were to get caught reading a book? There are so many things we are about to do without any circumstances. I think people and myself take our education for granted.

We have so many opportunities then these girls have and we don’t even realize it. I think this book would really open the eyes for a lot people especially college students. We are able to go to school, and for some of us live at home safely without paying any rent. For a lot of people this is the dream, to go to school without having to worry about our safety or money. We all have the equal opportunity to be successful unlike these girls. Yes, there may be some discrimination but not like what these girls went through. They are the girls with no past. They have no good memories to have a past. When we lose are pet or family member, we have the memories of them giving us a past. These girls dreamed of having something they never had.

This book makes me so thankful for my family and my education. I’m so glad I have the opportunity to go to school without having to worry about anything. My mom always told me, “Go to school and don’t worry.” For a lot of people it would be so nice not have to worry. Education is a huge thing in order to be a successful person. If you want that dream house, you have to work hard for it. I am thankful for giving this opportunity and this book made me realize it even more. So if you are a college student, read this book! It will touch your hearts and give you the extra push to keep going through our day. When life feels a little down this book makes you thankful for everything you have. It makes you realize how much freedom we really have. When you think you have had a rough day at work, just reading what these girls go through and by choice is incredible. They go through the days of maybe getting killed for learning and they just keep going to prove a point. It’s a really great book and you won’t be sorry!

The Secret Language of Human Beings!

            Have you ever heard that saying Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus? In since, I would like to think this is true. Men and women have different ways of communicating. Not only do men use different words than women, but also it is more than that. Pitch, tone, volume, facial expressions, and touch are all ways we can communicate than just the words we say. We have to analyze how they say it, and what they are doing when they say it. There are more factors that come into play when we actually are speaking.

            When men are speaking their pitch is more closely the same. They probably don’t drag words out they just simply say it. When men are talking their tone in their voice can be more intimating depending on what they are saying. If they are angry, we can easily tell just by the tone in their voice. The volume of a man’s voice is at a normal tone, unless they are trying to be loud, they can actually be loud. You can tell a lot by their facial expressions when they are speaking, sometimes we can even catch them lying. When they say something and a little grin is showing up, more than likely they are “pulling your leg.” I don’t think men touch when they are talking unless they are asking for something they might try to hug you, but other than that they keep their distance, but women are a different story.

            When women are speaking their pitch can vary. On certain words they drag out something almost like “valley girl.” For example when girls say, “oh my god” they normally drag this out too far at times. The tone of their voice is more caring, supportive, and the easy to talk to voice. We want to hear how you feel and what you think. The volume of some women can be so loud! My friend talks to loud, almost screaming and she says that’s her inside voice. Wow! Women’s facial expressions tell a lot about they say. You can tell if they are being sarcastic if they start laughing after what they say, we try to sneaky, but it never works out. When women talk they like to touch because we feel more connected with who we are talking too, but of course we only do this to people we trust and care about.

            So are Men from Mars and Women from Venus? I think not, we just like to express our feelings differently. We might say it differently, but in the end we all mean the same thing. So yes of course we are speaking the same language! Men and women like to over exaggerate certain ideas, but we all are caring human beings that aren’t from different planets. So men, don’t think women are weird if they start giggling after what they say, they think they are just funny. Women, when the men start to hug you, they want something, so don’t give in so easily. You guys now know the secret language of human beings!

Because I'm an Athlete, am I Stuck Up?

Everyone gives off nonverbal vibes to other people, for some it can be worst. Before we talk to someone we try to sense how they are by the way they look. We judge them based on the way they talk to people. If they have a high vocabulary we normally think they are an educated person, who more than likely is successful. We also judge people based on how they dress. You can tell a lot about a person by what they wear. Normally you can see what kind of culture they are based on how they dress, but sometimes this is not accurate. If we see someone with baggy clothing we think they are a gangster, but sometimes this is not always true. They could just like the style of clothing. If we see a plaid tee shirt and ripped holey jeans they are a redneck, once again it could be false. There are a lot of ways to judge a person before you actually talk to them, even though some of these can have false predictions.

People always get different vibes from me. I am a very quiet and shy person, but most people don’t get that first impression when looking at me. They look at the way I dress, which some may say “rich white girl” by the way which is not true. They realize I don’t talk too much, so they think I am a stuck up white girl. Whenever I ask people, what they thought of me, that’s always what they say. They think because I am quiet that I think I’m better than everyone else. Then when they realize I’m an athlete, they even think that even more. Most people think athletes are people who are stuck up and almost judgmental. I met my friend who told me she thought I wouldn’t like her because she didn’t play sports and wasn’t in shape, but this is not the case. They sometimes even think by the way my facial expressions are that I’m a “bitch”. I ask them why they think that, and they just say I seem like I am better than everyone else. I think it’s incredible that these people have these first impressions and they are all wrong.

I go back and ask them, so am I really what you thought I was? They answer quickly telling me “no way, you are so nice!” It’s amazing what kind of vibe we can give off to people by our clothing and facial expressions. It tells you most of the time we are wrong about each other. They thought because I was an athlete and quiet that I’m stuck up, when simply I am just shy. I am the type of person who is nervous to start a conversation, but I am slowly trying to break out of my shell. Just remember when you are getting vibes from other people, give them the benefit of the doubt and have a conversation. You never know who your next friend can be.

Global Language

Could you imagine living in a country in which you aren’t fluent in their language? Some people living here in America are not English speaking. They go through different challenges everyday. Some of us don’t know what it’s like for these people who live somewhere without knowing their language. Could you imagine going to a grocery store and trying to ask where something is? Right here this basic grocery shopping could be a challenge. Going to a restaurant and trying to communicate to the serve would be hard. You can’t even go out and have a good time without communicating to another person. Every time they step out of the door is a challenge. Not being able to speak the global language English can be tough especially if your primary language is Spanish or Chinese. If you have a question and you need to call somewhere, more than likely the person who picks up the phone will speak English and maybe only English. Yes, there is a chance there will be a bilingual speaker, but it’s never a guarantee. You could be driving and you get lost and want to ask someone for directions. Not being able to speak English could leave you with some trouble especially if that person only speaks English. When you go to the doctor, the doctor may only speak English. What if something is seriously bothering you and you can’t communicate to the doctor. How is the doctor supposed to know what is wrong? Even though there are native speakers they are trying to learn English.

The primary language in the United States is English. So the other native speakers will have to adjust to this language. They know if they want to live in the United States they will have to learn this language. Sometimes they don’t even live in the United States but their job requires them to talk to someone and more than likely they will speak English as well. In order to make English more global spoken, China are having English being taught in the third grade rather than high school. So these children are learning English much earlier and may come easier to understand and comprehend in a younger age. Maybe people are traveling around the world to get to know languages better and to practice them. They like to experience the different cultures of how they act and how the speak. Spending some time in a different country you can pick up some of things that go on. You might be able to understand what some phrases mean, and will be able to understand it in the future.

English is starting to become the global language, so it is important to get to know this language either by taking some courses or trying to figure it out on your own. English is not only used here in the United States but in other countries as well. It is important to know this language for future jobs because there may be a time when there is a huge meeting or an email from a company. You will have to be able to understand this language of English.

Future Writers

You just graduated from Elementary School and now you are a cool Junior High student. You think school is so much better and it’s going to be great, until your English teacher assigns an essay. You think to yourself, where do I even start? When I start writing how do I stay on tract, do I just keep repeating the same things? Writing an effective essay is a hard task. I am in my second year of college and they still come hard to me. So don’t feel like you are dumb for not knowing what to say. We all have to overcome these obstacles of our education. The more time you put into your writing the better outcome you will have. Not only will writing an essay not feel like a drag, but also you might even be excited that you get to express your own thoughts and opinions. There are some guidelines you can follow so that you can have your own personal writing style.

            When you are creating your writings, you want to make sure you say your points and you try not to repeat them over. By doing this your essay will seem dragged out and they won’t have too much interest in your essay. It sucks getting a paper back that says you are being “repetitive” meaning the same thing over and over. Another thing to look out for is that your paper isn’t all about you. Make your essay somewhat relative to the audience. Let them be able to compare their life situation to yours. When you simply just say a story with something you learned, it almost seems like a waste of time to read. I always hated getting a paper back and the teacher says, “and?” He was pretty much telling me why was my essay so important? You need to make sure you explain things thoroughly so that the reader doesn’t get confused. The reader shouldn’t be asking questions, or if they do make sure you have their answers later in your paper. Another idea that can benefit your essay would be to have descriptive words. Be able to have your reader have a picture of what your saying. If you can give the read imagery, you can almost win their heart over. I loved it when my teacher would tell me, “I actually felt what you were experiencing.” When they said that it made me realize my writing was personal. I could get my readers to feel what I feel, and that is a huge part of writing.

            So next time you are assigned an essay just remember these few things and it can really help your essay out. Try to avoid saying the same thing over and over, it seems like you don’t know what to say. Just say it and then it detail explain it. You essay can be more personal and your readers will be able to visualize what you’re saying. Remember to always paint a picture for them. Next essay here we come!

"I Have a Dream"

Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream” is a speech we all can never forget. Even though maybe we weren’t even born when this occurred, this speech has still put an impact on us. When he gave this speech this was a time when blacks and whites were not equal. He was willing to step up there and fight for what he believed in. He talked about how we should all be equal and blacks should be set free. Our country represents freedom; at this time it was really only the whites that were truly experiencing what it meant to be free. This was a time when blacks had to sit in the back of the bus and whites sat in the front. There was a strong racial tension and it took a lot of courage for him to go up there and use words that had meaning to what he was saying. The way he spoke made his speech so much powerful. You could tell by the way he was speaking that there was a meaning behind it. He gave the speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, which I think it was a good place because it’s in Washington representing the president to make a change. His speech was such a great example that even my communication referenced him in my class. My teacher told us look at the energy and emotion he has. If he had been motionless, the speech probably wouldn’t have been as affective.

This speech was trying to persuade people that we are all equal and we should all be treated as equal. This speech did later on make this happen, but it wasn’t for a while till things started actually turning around. Probably back then, the white people were stubborn and weren’t going to change their minds for anything. So his speech probably wasn’t affective towards that audience. He did give the African Americans the strength and courage they needed to keep pushing onward. You could tell by the audience applause that they were all for him and they all wanted to be free. At this point they didn’t really care what it took in order to be set free so they started to be a little rebellious. His speech did have an impact on them and it had an impact on me. Even though I wasn’t born when this occurred I could still feel the emotion from his speech. I never thought that we shouldn’t be equal, but if I did his speech would have definitely persuaded me. His language and the confidence in his voice showed you that he was confident. He wanted for him and his people to have freedom in the United States. I respect him for all his hard work and determination for what he did. He was willing to risk all he had, which he did, in order to have this country equal freedom and rights. I don’t have to worry about racial tension in restaurants or anywhere else, which is a great feeling.

Living Being Illiterate

      

Illiteracy, meaning that you cannot read or write. Imagine yourself being a single parent and you do not know how to read or write. How would you be able to function as a parent without having these two main functions? How would you be able to take care of your child without being able to read or write? In the future, will the child follow in your footsteps? A lot of people over think literacy. Some people probably don’t even know what it means to be illiterate. These people have to overcome so much and we probably don’t even know who these people are. Someone might be able to graduate college with having this problem, but it is a difficult task to over come.


Imagine being a single parent and raising a young child with this disability. They won’t be able to read books to understand what to expect from a young child. The Parent magazines will be useless to them because they don’t know how to read. How is a parent supposed to raise a child properly without having extra knowledge to lean on? I am not saying they can’t be a good parent, but they have to over come so many more obstacles. They might have to go to a parenting class and listen to an instructor very closely. They can’t write anything down, so what they hear is all they will get. When they are teaching their child, how are they supposed to teach them to read and write if they can’t even do it themselves? Does the child simply not catch on and they follow their parent’s footsteps? Once again there are still ways for the child to be successful in school, but it could be a little more costly. The parent may have to hire a tutor to teach their child and help with their homework. There are plenty of ways for the parent to be a successful parent, but it may be a little more difficult compared to some people who have these skills already.


Now, imagine being a college student, like us right now. You wouldn’t be able to read my blog right now or even write your own. These students wouldn’t be able to read their textbook or even write their own homework. These students have to go the extra mile and have someone read their textbook to them and have someone write their homework while they tell them what to say. We like to complain and dread doing our homework and reading the book imagine how frustrated they must feel that they can’t even read it. We should be thankful that we have the ability to read and write and take advantage of these abilities. So when we hear time to read, don’t dread it and feel thankful and excited to use our abilities.

People don’t take illiteracy so seriously, like it’s not a big issue. It is a difficult thing to over come, but it is possible with hard work and time. These people have learned to function without being able to read or write, who knows maybe your classmate has this disability and we don’t even know it. When you hear that someone can’t read or write don’t always assume they are stupid, you never know they might be the next Bill Gates.

Critical Thinking

My personal meaning of critical thinking is a deeper thought of thinking. So instead of just spending no time on thinking, you look deeply into what your thoughts are. You look into the meaning of what you are trying to understand. You simply don't just accept the information you want a more detailed answer.When I'm reading something, I sometimes think deeper into what they are saying, it can actually cause me to read longer or slower. I read sentences over and over until I feel like I have a full understanding of what they are trying to say. Sometimes I can't even figure out what the point of the sentence was, but when you look deeper into it you realize there is a meaning.

When it comes to personal habits I would say I use critical thinking a lot when it comes to a conversation. I pretty much have the conversation planned out. I already have answers ready for what questions they ask. If I think a conversation will turn bad I prepare myself for a good response or I simply avoid that conversation. When I play softball I think critical, each and every play I think about what I have to do if the ball was hit to me. If I'm batting I think okay outside pitch I do this and inside I do this. In politics, I don't use it only because I'm not strong in politics and don't really care about what he or she said. I don't like to dig deeper in what the politicians are telling me I simply just accept the information. When the media comes into play I try to understand of what they are trying to say. In some cases there is a hidden message of what they are trying to get us to believe. My educational work there is also critical thinking involved because I always want to make sure I complete my work to the fullest and I don't try to take short cuts, I find these get you no where. I had to use critical thinking skills when it came to my communication class. I had to well prepare my speech based on the audience relevance. If your speech wasn't relevant to the class, the class most likely didn't care and your speech wasn't successful. I had to make sure my speech wouldn't offend anybody because you never know if someone's values will be put down. On a professional level I wouldn't really know only because I haven't had a job before but I would imagine you would always have to think about your actions before you act, so that does require critical thinking.

By the end of this course I hope to be able to analysis writing a little better and make me a better reader. I sometimes become confused when reading something. So I hope to be able to understand things easier and overall just understand people and why they are the way they are. I hope to be able to take these skills from this course into the work field. When it comes to job applications and interviews I will be well prepared and be able to take on the difficult tasks that might come my way.