Last BLOG POST!!!

Well lets see . . . English was a Little more intersting then I thought it would be.  I guess I thought I was already good enough at writing because that´s one of the only subjects that comes more naturally to me.  Surprise surprise though, I learned a ton, and it was all stuff that I had no idea even really exhisted  within a piece of writing.  Incredible.  It´s true we never stop learning.  I´m kinda sorta gunna miss sitting against that wall in class with the window sill butting into my neck.  It really wasn´t a waste of time because I was able to improve my writing a little more, and there were definitely some funny moments in class too ha.  I think it will be fun to look back when I´m eighty years old and read the papers I wrote during my sophomore year of college…if I still have them ofcourse. I mean who knows what will happen in sixty years…

Diane Rehm show

So I listened to the reader’s review “Home” by Marilynne Robinson.  It was just a discussion of this book and how it involved predestination.  The character was struggling inward with some mistakes he made in his life and how maybe his whole life was predestined.  Some of the other characters apparently didn’t believe change was possible…not really sure how anyone can believe that.  Anyway what was more interesting to me was when they were discussing more than just the book.  They talked about how our country is considered a Christian country.  Something interesting they mentioned was what it would be like if an atheist ran for president and how that is politically unacceptable.  I really liked how they talked about how there is strong discrimination against people who don’t believe in a God, but how that really is not okay to judge a person on their beliefs.  For example one man said he would rather work with an atheist that he knows who is a honest caring person trying to do good in the world than with his fellow Christians who “had” a religion but weren’t actively trying to bring anything good to the world.  It really made me think about how I judge others.  It’s just important to remember that everyone is human and everyone has the agency to believe what they want and just because someone believes something different from our self doesn’t make them a bad person.  Who knows maybe their heart has better intent then ours…

Anne of Green Gables!

So one of my favorite movies of all times is Anne of Green Gables.  If you are a girl and you haven’t seen this movie, see it.  Whenever I’m sick, or on vacation, I ALWAYS watch this movie.  I think one of the reasons why I like it so much is because it’s different.  I’m not gunna lie, I do like some of the chick flicks they make these days like 27 dresses or P.S. I love you or you’ve got mail, but they’re all the same!!!  They’re not GOOD love stories.  All the movies now a days about how the characters meet and then a week later they are living together and they have all these problems with other people involved in the relationship and it’s just not quality ya know?  So anyways Anne of Green Gables is an older film about a girl and boy that meet at a young age and their lives up through college and everything they go through and how they have this deep deep love for each other and how it grows over time.  It’s amazing and I love it because that is how true love really happens, not just after a week of dating someone.  Plus I love the setting of the movie on some random island that would be the most beautiful place to live.  Also, I like it because even though it’s like an 8 hour series of movies that make up Anne’s story, by the end of it you know her character really well, more like a book.  You find out that Anne has a really endearing personality and does some hilarious things and gets hurt and accomplishes things too, and it’s just a perfect story!! Watch it! (mostly just if you’re a girl)   

Research Paper Blog

So my paper is NOT going very well.  Basically I changed my topic four times and now that I finally have my topic, choosing a side and writing the thesis is way hard!  I have my personal opinion on something, but the other side of the argument seems more logical to argue sooo I am just sort of stuck.  Anyways I guess it will be an adventure…

Why Write reading review

So the reading was super long and I did it early in the morning before class and I was really tired ha.  I honestly don’t remember a lot of it because it was thirty pages and reading that much at once just makes me forget what I read ha.  Anyways though there were some cool pointers I guess.  I really didn’t like that last section thingy where it had an example of a research paper.  I honestly don’t like reading research papers, I mean on occasion if it’s something that really interests me I might enjoy it just a little bit, but I honestly am not a facts and info kind of person.  But it was also cool how it talked about the importance of logic, which I think is so true in this kind of paper we are going to be writing, because all the topics provoke this personal opinion inside of us, but we can just use our feelings to persuade others.  The evidence and facts are probably more important.   I thought the peanut butter and jelly analogy was pretty cool.  The bread that represents the foundation of a sandwich, or the thesis statement is the most important thing in the whole paper or sandwich.  I liked how they said if we use fallacies our paper will be like a piece of bread with holes in it, or in other words untrustworthy.  Then on top of that we need to have the logic and the ethos which is the peanut butter and jelly.   Helpful reading but just way way long.

Research Topic!

So the topic I chose to do for my research paper is gay marriage and whether or not it should be legalized.  So the position I will be taking is that gay marriage should not be legalized.  I have a feeling this is going to be a harder topic than I thought at first because my beliefs on this matter stem from my religious beliefs which can be hard to use as a strong persuasive point sometimes.  Hopefully I’ll be able to learn more about the whole matter though while I am researching and there will be other things I can discuss.  After doing some of the research on procon.org I am already more interested in the topic.  There is so much interesting criteria involved in this hot topic.  I honestly had no idea that anything more than religion and personal beliefs really went into it.  Surprisingly enough there are tons of different arguable points other than just that of religion.  There are comments on government documents and personal rights, as well as comments on how much money it will cost and make for our country.  It’s interesting because when I think of this topic, I immediately just think of my own opinion and the reasoning behind it is simply that marriage between a man and woman is a commandment.  That is the main reason why I believe the things I do, and now I will have to argue my point in many different ways not just that one.   This is definitely going to be harder than I thought. 

BLOG #10

So finishing the analysis paper feels AMAZING!! It wasn't the hardest most boring paper I've ever done, but it definitely is not my favorite kind of paper to write either.  I really enjoy papers that are more about free writing like the personal narrative.  Those are definitely more my type.  I am just happy to have the analysis paper done.

Home...

So the longer I am here at BYU the more I feel like it’s my home.  I mean of course driving back to good old Cheyenne, Wyoming will always be where I grew up and it will always have a place in my heart, but I honestly feel like BYU is more of my home now.  Part of it is definitely because I only live at home for maybe two months out of the year and plus all my siblings are gone so how lame is that? Everyone lives in different places and it’s so lame cause we don’t get to see each other nearly enough…anyway all I know is that I am super lucky to be here and have the opportunity for an education at a university like this.  I seriously love my life! 

When Nice Ain’t So Nice…

Genre – persuasive

Purpose – to convince others of the wrongness of niceness

Central message – being nice is a danger to our virtue and person

World view and assumptions – all Mormons try hard to be and teach niceness

Use of Tools and evidence – The writer uses many real life examples of how niceness is wrong (using logos), she also is very effective with her ethos approach because she speak a lot about what is ethical and what is not ethical in a very bold way.  There is little use of pathos in this story however, I didn’t really feel anything.

Letter to Birmingham -

So I absolutely LOVE the Letter from Birmingham.  I read all those political and national thingys last year in American Heritage, and that was the first time I really understood them and took a good look and this reading truly is amazing.  It was great to read it while looking for the different things that appeal to the reader.  Martin Luther King really did well with all three of the appeals.  He appealed to the senses when he talked about seeing old Negro women getting beating, or a daughter asking why she wasn't allowed at the park, or feeling the strong hate of your fellowmen in public.  Those phrases, no matter who you are, would make you really feel something inside and re-think the way you treat others.  He was also very convincing with his logic, he talks about the white moderate and how as a stander-by you are doing more against the good than you are doing for the good.  It’s like being any other situation, if you allow something unjust or immoral to continue right under your nose without trying to help in some way, you have chosen to help the other side.  Lastly, Martin Luther King uses ethical arguments EXTREMELY well in his letter.   He links freedom and justice to national documents, he uses examples of religious leaders (including Christ), and he talks about religious laws.  His use of religious stand point is very effective because he forces people to acknowledge the truth of what is right.  It works well because every human being deep inside knows what is right and what is wrong.  If I had lived back then, this letter would have fired up some serious feelings inside.  I love how passionate Martin Luther King is in this letter.  

What Christians Believe...

 So I thought this reading was very interesting.  I had NO idea that C.S. Lewis was atheist at one point in his life. I love how he goes about persuading us of this new belief he has on God and life.  His point of view is interesting and seems very real since he chose Christianity completely on his own.  No one else chose for him.  C.S. Lewis has also experienced two different sides as he talks about in this book.  Having been atheist before, he can now argue effectively against it because he himself stood there at one time.  The main point C.S. Lewis is trying to make in his writing is that Jesus Christ, who came to earth as this mortal being, is God.  We cannot simply say he is a great moral teacher.  No human being can possible do the things he did, and so we must choose to believe he is God or the Devil.  This is his main point, that Jesus is the Christ, and therefore, Christianity is the only true belief and way of life.  He explains everything in a matter of fact way, making it obvious to us.  His view of the world is that everyone either believes one way or another.  He believes that anyone who really thinks it through and studies the existence of God will come to the same conclusion he did.  It all makes sense.  He backed up his evidence extremely well by posing the arguments against Christianity as well and then explaining why they would not work.  Definitely a well written and very persuasive paper, in my eyes at least!

"Veil of Fears" Analytic Snapshot

Genre: “Veil of Fears” is a persuasive or argumentative story

Purpose: The purpose is to persuade us to believe that the best way to go about changing a belief or way of life in a culture is through gradual change, from within the framework of a custom.

Central Message: The central message of this story is that there are other cultures in the world and they do have different belief and ways of life.   Sometimes we get caught up in thinking everyone should live the way we do, or that our way of life is the right way.  In reality, people like being different and given a choice would choose to be unique.  Who are we to tell someone else how to live?

World View and Assumptions:  I think in this piece of writing one of the world views the author used was that women as individuals have certain wants and desires to be equal to men.  She also used the thought that there are cultures all across the world and each one is unique to the others.  Many people believe the way they live is the right way.

Use of Tools and Evidence:  The author used previous examples of war and how that has worked before in the past to change something in a culture.  He also explained the culture of the Muslim people and their strong belief in the importance and strength of family tribes, and how as a cultural tradition or long standing belief, that would be very hard to change.  Another tool used the author used his research as an evidence, explaining the history of modern Islamic fundamentalism and where it derived from.  His research is strong.

nExt bLog…

Writing a personal narrative actually turned out to be a pretty helpful assignment for improving my writing.  My story was about an experience I had while I was living with a host family in Mexico.  As I was writing my story, a lot more changed then I expected between my first and final drafts.  I honestly thought I was a really good writer until I read my personal narrative out loud…ha! Forget being good at that!  There were so many places that were awk.  And run ons, and wordy sentences, and ideas that didn’t fit together and just on and on.  It amazes me how much different the story seems when you read it out loud.  Something about hearing yourself speaking helps you realize what does and doesn’t work.  I definitely had a little trouble with the grammar part of things, so I guess I should learn a little more about that.  But I feel like at least one of my classes every year re-teaches grammar so my brain customized and every time I learn it I just forget it again ha.  Pretty pathetic but it’s the truth.  Something that really helped me a lot was after writing my first complete rough draft I didn’t read my paper again for a couple days and then when I came back to it, it was like I was reading a different story ha I seriously noticed so many things I needed to change.  Over all, I feel like I learned quite a bit about the process of writing, writing itself and also about me personally as a writer.    

Blog Post #3

So…my paper is coming along great.  Although I haven’t written much, at all ha I have some great ideas in mind.  Sometimes I am more successful with my papers if I just think about my story for a few days.  It’s sort of like when you think through what you’re going to say to a cute guy…don’t deny you haven’t done it too.  Guys included.  I like to think over my topic and what I want to say about it, ya know sort of let the ideas and thoughts mull around in my head.  It’s sort of ends up being like a movie that I play over and over in my head.  Of course, each time I watch it, something changes in the story,but that’s part of the process of editing and rewriting the story for me.  Then, usually by the time I sit down and start writing I have a good idea of what I want to write and it just comes.  That’s the best feeling ever when the words just keep coming and it’s a constant flow.  I love that, when you don’t have to stop and all you hear is the sound of the keys on your keyboard clicking at a rapid pace.  So, that’s about where I’m at in the whole process of things.  I know what story line I want to follow and I’m just waiting until my heart tells me it’s time to start typing.  I’m sure it will let me know sometime before eleven o’clock on Friday haha. 

Personal Narrative Response...

So I read the “Caregiver” and the narrative is about a young girl that has to complete certain tasks for her Grandmother that she can’t do herself.  This story forced me to think about what it will be like when I’m old and can’t physically take care of my body any more.  I’m sure it will be a trial for me.  The hardest thing would be to feel helpless, and not be able to help myself.  Knowing mentally what to do, but not being physically capable would steal all dignity from any human being.  In the story the granddaughter notices how her grandmother finds the greatest pride in being able to do even the smallest of tasks for herself.  She can brush her own teeth, wash her own face, and even comb a good portion of her hair.  However, when it comes time for the granddaughter to help with the harder things, such as changing her grandmother’s underwear, the author places both characters in an uncomfortable setting.  In this moment we realize the Grandmother feels as though she has been stripped of all dignity.  The narrative being very effective pulled me in, allowing me to actually feel the tension and awkwardness of the situation.  It was also successful at drawing in its audience because the events in the story are real-life events.  These things that the writer describes are real-life situations, and knowing that makes it easy to form a mental image.   I feel like this narrative was easy to relate to because someday, many of us will experience the same feelings.

reSpoNse papeR #1

            I can definitely relate to Jessie Hawkes personal narrative, My Father’s Sketchbook, where she says, "The possibility that my father was not invincible shocked and softened me."  I experienced the exact same thing, discovering that my own father feels the same things I feel; excitement, fear, sadness, stress, joy, and pain.  My father has gone through many trials and as a member of his family, they have affected me more times than not.  I guess my first instinct is to think about the short end of a stick that I receive and not even give two seconds thought to the nub that my father comes out with.  I definitely agree with the author in the way that many of us don’t see our parents in a realistic way.  If your mom cooks, and cleans and helps you with your homework over the phone all at once, you should know what I mean.  Or if your dad knows the answer to anything and everything and is the constant hero in your life in every aspect, you should know even better what I mean.  My parents are heroes in my eyes and so every now and then I guess I forget they are human too.  Maybe part of it is because my father is a man that is content with whatever cards he is dealt in life.  But is he really?  Maybe that’s just the lighting I see him in.  Maybe I just expect my Dad to be able to take on whatever load he’s given in life and do it with a smile on his face, because that is what he does so much of the time…     

ME In 100 Words!

I LOVE laughing more than anything.  The temple. Traveling. Black people and Mexican people.  My last name. The smell of anything that’s used to get high (gas, white board markers, paint, nail polish…) The sound of smacking.  Sunsets.  I appreciate people that listen with their full attention.  My inheritance, my parents support.  I am HORRIBLE at being on time, remembering anything, singing alto and letting my nails grow long. I hate clutter and messiness, serious and uptight people.  In the summer I crave a lake and boat. . .the rest of the year, smiles from strangers.