Farewell!

Well, I guess it's really happening...the semester has finally come to an end. I can't believe it, but I actually made it through my first semester in college and my Composition 1 hybrid course. It was definitely a gratifying experience to be in that course, and I can proudly say that I am walking away with so much more than what I went in with. I never really had any difficulty with my english courses in high school, and never had to work very hard for my good grades in english, but after taking this course, I have realized that I wasn't really being challenged before. I actually had to work really hard on all of my assignments and that work really paid off. I gained a lot more understanding on how to actually construct a well-developed paper. I learned a lot of techniques that will definitely help me in my future courses. Although I found these blogging assignments to be a great outlet, a huge help in the brainstorming process, and overall a more "fun" assignment than usual, I don't think I will continue on with posting. It has been a great few months and a huge learning experience, but I am glad to have the semester behind me.

Sustainability Challenge Update!

I am now in the final days of my sustainability challenge and while it has not been particularly easy, I think I was very successful in doing what I planned to do. I have been working very hard these past few days to conserve as much energy in my dorm room as possible. When not in use, I unplug all of my electronic devices such as my tv, cell phone charger, stereo, and computer. I have also been trying to save gas and walk to all of my classes or take the shuttle. When I absolutely have to drive somewhere, I try to carpool with a few friends. I have been realizing that these changes in my lifestyle may not be that difficult, but I am really starting to wonder what, if any, effect they are having on our environment. I am not so sure that my small contribution really makes a difference. I have been doing a lot of research on the subject and have found a lot of articles that have opened up my eyes to many views of scientists who claim that either the green movement is not the best idea, or that if we were to keep going with the ideas that many people have, every single person in the world would have to cut their energy usage in half, which is pretty much impossible I would say. This has been quite the experience and a real eye-opener.

Sustainability Challenge: My Plan

In my sustainability challenge, I am going to work with my classmate, Alyssa, to conserve energy and gas. We plan to use our cars only when absolutely necessary. Instead of driving our cars, we will take the bus and walk to the places we need to go. As far as conserving energy goes, we also are going to turn on as little lights as possible and unplug our appliances when we are not using them. We are hoping to make an informative video documentary that will show our audience what we did on our journey. In the end, I am thinking that we will focus on how our parts alone do not make a significant difference in the big picture. Although I am not "anti-green", I am very much against people taking a stand for something without doing the necessary research, and hopefully this sustainability challenge will show a different point of view than what the country is being force-fed by celebrities, politicians, and other people in a position of power. In the midst of my research, I came across a lengthy, but very informative video called "The Great Global Warming Swindle" that really takes a stance on the opposite side of the overwhelmingly popular "green" movement. The movie talks about the fact that there is no hard scientific evidence that proves that humans are the cause of "global warming". Our Earth has a long history of a changing climate, but only now do we have the technology to do the research to see the change. Since people don't take the time to look at the history, they are scared into believing that these theories are true when there is just as much, if not more, evidence that disproves them. The movie has opened my eyes to many more theories about the state that our earth is in now and where it is headed. Hopefully our sustainability challenge will also open many other people's eyes to other possibilities.

Nostalgia in Writing

Like in E.B. White's writing, childhood memories and nostalgia play a large role in writing style. When you write something, your feelings come through in the words, sometimes subconsciously. If you have very strong memories from your childhood and being in nature, that will most likely come through in your writing. Some of my most vivid memories from my childhood take place in nature. I grew up in Maryland and was always outside. I played in the snow a lot in the winter, and in the summer I went to my family's beach house in Ocean City. These memories are very important to me and are very nostalgic. When I write, my feelings about the memories that I have are very apparent and shape the way I tell the story. If I was truly happy and content at the time of the memory, I will write about how peaceful it was and be very reminiscent. However, if I had a bad experience in one of my memories, my writing may come across as angry, sad, upset, etc. Nostalgia is very intimately tied with the writing process and it is very important to consider this while you are writing.

Sustainability Challenge: Where Am I Now?

As of right now, there are not a lot of "green" things that I am doing in my life. I don't really believe in all the hype about going green. I don't think that one person making these changes that people in a position of power talk about can really change the whole environment. I agree that there are a lot of harmful effects from things that we do in our everyday lives such as driving non-hybrid cars, not recycling, and using things such as hairspray, but I also believe that "going green" is nothing but a political ploy to make money. People are trying to make a bigger issue out of all of this than it really is. People are too gullable and will believe anything that a celebrity says without doing the research on their own. I am sure that there is a lot that I could do to be more environmentally friendly, but I don't think that I alone can make any substantial change like a lot of people are talking about. For my sustainability challenge, I am going to try to recycle for ten days and see how much of a change I can actually make.

My Writing Goals

This semester, I hope I am able to grow a lot in my writing. In the past, I have had issues with being too general and giving adequate support for my arguments. I need to be more detailed in order to show how strong my opinions are. As far as the individualized writing plans go, I think that it's safe to say I am going to learn a lot this semester. I am sure that these plans are going to give me more insight so that I am able to incorporate new techniques into my writing. I am really going to focus on improving my writing and the individualized writing plans are going to play a major role in that.

Essay 1: Reflection

Now that I have received my grade for my first essay in my Composition class, I am a lot more aware of my mistakes and my strengths in my writing. I can see that I have some problems with detailing my work. I have to expand more on my topics in order to make them more clear to the readers. I also have a tendency to make a comment, and then leave it at that. I don't go in depth and explain why I believe what I have said. Although there were some errors, overall I am very proud of my work. I was able to keep my focus and ultimately get my main point across. As far as my writing process goes, I was able to make a clear outline that was perhaps the most helpful tool in writing my paper. I also incorporated my peer's critiques into my writing which made my paper that much better. In my future papers, I am going to work hard to put more detail into my words. I want to make my points more clear to the readers and make sure that they are able to walk away knowing exactly what I meant in my writing. I am very excited about writing my second essay and will work hard to learn from my mistakes in my first essay.

Essay 2: Brainstorming

My second essay is going to be about a picture that helps define the person that I am. The picture that does this the best is of me and my 5 year old brother on Christmas morning, 2008. I am very close with my whole family, however I have a special connection with my youngest brother, Teddy. My family went through a rough patch just before he was born, because my 10 month old brother passed away, and Teddy was the one thing in my life that held me together. Teddy was born on December 2nd, 2003, 7 weeks premature and had to stay in the hospital for almost 2 months. I was in a constant state of worry the whole time that he was in the hospital because we weren't sure when, or if he was going to be able to come home. My family spent that Christmas in the hospital with him and I truly believe that that was the day that I fell in love with him. From that day on, I have done everything that I can to be the best sister I can possibly be to him.

The picture taken on Christmas morning, 5 years later, shows me sitting on the floor in our living room in front of our Christmas tree. There are so many presents that they don't even come close to all fitting under the tree. Teddy is sitting in my lap and smiling at all of the presents and I am leaning my head down & kissing him on the cheek. We are both in our pajamas. Mine are green pajama pants and a white t-shirt that says "ho ho ho" on it, and Teddy is wearing the same shirt in red with green shorts. You can see the sliding glass door on the right and it is still dark outside. My step-dad took the picture when we weren't paying attention.

The reason that this picture means so much to me is that when you look at it you can really see what a close relationship my brother and I have. Christmas is my favorite day of the year because the whole family is truly happy no matter what else is going on in our lives. It is the one day of the year that nothing else matters except for family and that comes through in this photo.

"Call a Fool a Fool" When Writing Your Essay.

When I write my first essay for my composition 1 class, I am going to keep in mind what I have learned from Roberts' "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words". One particular point that I am going to think about in my essay is when Roberts says to "call a fool a fool". This basically means that you shouldn't beat around the bush, don't be afraid to make your point. Sometimes, I will get worried about what my readers will think about my opinion, so I will try to sugar-coat the point I am trying to make. That is not going to happen in my Three Cups of Tea essay. I am going to write exactly what I feel and not feel like I have to hide it. If I don't write exactly how I feel, then I am not being 100% truthful, am I?

Essay 1: Brainstorming

In my first essay, I want to focus on what the novel Three Cups of Tea has taught me about the importance of education, especially for young girls. I really believe that people, especially in the United States, take good education for granted and don't realize what a privilege it is for us to have clean and safe schools with excellent educators who are passionate about what they do. Hopefully, I can make people more aware of what I believe Mortenson's true message is behind his powerful story.

In the novel, Mortenson takes us on a journey as he works to bring better education & learning environments to Pakistan. I believe that his reason for doing this, has to do not only with his good heart & caring nature, but also with his past hardships with his sister Christa. He was very determined to help her and make sure that she had the same opportunities as everyone else, and I think that helping her made him realize how important it is for everyone to have equal opportunities.

I think that Mortenson believes that by helping people, especially young girls, get a better education, he is giving them the chance to have a better life and change their communities. When a young girl is educated, she is given the tools necessary to teach her family, and make their lives better. This, in time, will make communities in Pakistan and throughout the world grow and soon be better and more advanced than ever before.

Hopefully, as communities become more educated they will be able to heal broken relationships with other communities. This will help the world become safer and more peaceful and to evolve into a world that we have never dreamed of before. This seems like a far-reaching dream, but as Mortenson is proving, it is possible.

A quote that I am planning to use in my essay is "You can hand out condoms, drop bombs, build roads, or put in electricity, but until the girls are educated, a society won't change". This quote really illustrates the important role that a girl's education plays in a community. This is a very important topic that everyone should be more aware of, and that is what I hope to accomplish in my essay.

What I Have Learned About Blogging

In reading several well-written blogs, I have learned what it takes to write a good blog that stays focused on the purpose. Blogs are not simply forums where people write down how they are feeling one day and let out all of their thoughts and emotions, rather they are open pieces of writing that allow people to get certain information out to the public. Good blogs should be informational and well-detailed. They should be very clear on what their purpose is and not skip around from one topic to another. Well-written blogs should also be reader-friendly, meaning that they should entice the reader and make them want to keep reading until the end, and also be understandable. I hope that my blogs will cover all of these important aspects of what a good blog should include.

Initial Introductory Comment

The purpose of this blog is for me to write about what I learn and my feelings on certain topics throughout the fall semester in my Composition 1 course.