Freedom Post- PR

I would like to take advantage of this blog post in which we can discuss whatever we choose, to talk about how much I love my major. Because honestly, my entire life revolves around my major of Public Relations.

I never knew what PR was until I chose it before my freshman, after being told my multiple people that they thought I would do well in it. My concept of PR was mostly formed by Sex and the City. But what I have discovered in my two year of being immersed in the PR field is that the stereotypes embodied by Sex and the City were very wrong, PR is much more important than how it is portrayed. Ask any company what the most vital component of their business is and the answer will be the customers. It's simple, without customers there is no one to buy a product, and with no buyers there is no business. PR can be many things but it all falls into one generality- PR improves the customer business relationship. This relationship is the key to a company's survival, thus making PR one of the most critical parts of a business' success.

An aspect of PR that I absolutely love is social media. I have a very active Facebook and Twitter account, and I use them multiple times every day. I would like to state an example of how awesome Twitter is. Three weeks ago, I ordered several things from Charlotte Russe online and was waiting for it to come in. Three days ago, I received an email stating my order was canceled because they were out of stock, and basically just didn't update their website. That night, I complained on Twitter and two hours later, I received an email from them apologizing and included a thirty dollar gift certificate including free shopping. The power of social media1! Also, it was good PR by Charlotte Russe by keeping up with Twitter and erasing a complaint.

More Plagiarism

The blog post for this week is over two papers about plagiarism- "The Scarlet P: Plagiarism, Panopticism, and the Rhetoric of Academic IntegrIntegrity by Sean Zwagerman and "Beyond “Gotcha!”: Situating Plagiarism in Policy and Pedagogy" by Margaret Price.

The paper by Margaret Price starts off by discussing how is necessary to define plagiarism; yet, it is nearly impossible to define. Students are the academic group that are most likely to commit Plagiarism and students learn best by given a "defined space," a region that should be avoided to avoid plagiarism. However, Price writes that it is nearly impossible to put and squeeze the term plagiarism into a small space. "Plagiarism is not stable. What we think of as plagiarism shifts across historical time periods, across cultures, across workplaces, even across academic disciplines." I found this quote to be interesting because it is very true-plagiarism much like many other things, change over time. These changes can be a result of shifts in technology, norms, etc. Professionals have to realize that plagiarism is not cut or dry- its more of on a case by case and sources are available to students more than ever, making plagiarism subjective.

The paper by Sean Zwagerman makes a point that a made earlier, it is extremely easy to plagiarize with the vast amount of available information on the internet that is both easy-access and not necessarily looked down upon. Many teachers say it's okay to look on the internet just to get a preliminary idea of a topic. Students end up not citing these beginning sources in the end, and it might damage them or result in getting the dread "plagiarism = F." place. A quote that I found interesting was when Zwagerman stated, "Just as some students will choose to cheat, teachers choose how to respond." If there isn't a rigid structure of punishment for plagiarism, then there isn't rigid avoidance by students.

Plagiarism

For this week, we were required to read "Plagiarisms, Authorships, and the Academic Death Penalty" by Rebecca Moore Howard. Rebecca Moore Howard, an assistant professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Writing at Colgate University, teaches composition, rhetoric, and linguistics. In the introduction, Howard mentions a term I have never head before but still am aware of; patchwriting. Patchwriting is defined as "copying from a source text and then deleting some words, altering grammatical structures, or plugging in one-for-one synonym-substitutes" (Howard 233).

SIDE NOTE: this is the first time I have seen someone other than myself named Tanya in a text.

Anyways, I can admit to patchwrting once or twice in my lifetime. Teachers used to stress the importance of not copying a quote or source WORD BY WORD, so changing up some of the word choice negates plagiarism right? Howard says no, which admittedly bursts my bubble a little bit. I thought it was interesting that Howard suggested that plagiarism avoidance could be better instituted if it wasn't constantly put in such a negative light and could be seen with a positive spin. As a PR major, I can definitely understand this. Off that tangent, a quote that Howard used to argue her stance was: "A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than a giant himself." I found this quote to be interesting because she was referring Authority as the giant and us consumers as the dwarfs. This suggests that it should be allowed for students or literature consumers to take the information they find and put it to use. By putting found sources and information, some students can take the subject further than the original source could.

Howard also mentions that Giles Constable, a historian, said that: "The term plagiarism should indeed probably be dropped in reference to the Middle Ages"

The Paper is Coming and I Have To Write This Blog Post

The first part of this weeks assignment was to find a source titled "Writing, Technologies, and the Fifth Canon." I found this article easily just by typing the title into the Google search bar, and the author, date and everything else all matched up. I think this assignment was to show us how easily it is to find a source online if cited correctly, but I'm not sure.

The second part of the post assignment was pick activities in the back of chapter 11.

1st activity:"Draft and Effective Intro"
-My topic is important because it shows the foundation of women's right and how this foundation/past has affected the female presence today in 2010's society. The audience, mostly females, should be proud to see how far they have come from their ancestors and be motivated to push towards gender equality even more. My authority on this topic is that I am a young adult female who was taught to be independent and thrive in the workplace, equal among men in all aspects. The audience will identify with me, and should take the information I provide and put it to practice. The audience should have vague ideas about the history of my topic, but my paper will expound on those facts and dissect them, showing how past events are connected. They will need to understand how all events have shaped the current female norms and role in society.

2nd activity: "Develop Closure"
-The issues raised in my argument that should be repeated are that women are now strong in the workforce, choosing to marry and start families late, and norms surrounding females are radically different than that of 1950's norms. If the current situation continues as it is, women will continue to have momentum in society and will continue to become equal to men, if not surpassing them. Again, the provided information should inspire women to continue their advancement.

3rd activity: "Develop and Outline"

Claim: In 2010's middle-class America, young, adult females are gaining momentum in the workforce, marrying and producing families later than ever, and are becoming prominent members of society. Gender roles are being reconstructed and the traditional gender norms are becoming being radically different than that of the 1950's.

1st point: Nineteenth century norms for women to become more socially prominent. Includes 19th amendment.

2nd point: World War 2 jobs and traditional gender roles of the 1950's.

3rd point: Gender roles of 1950's are represented by the 2003 film, Mona Lisa Smile.
4th point: Females are gaining momentum in society and are excelling over men, Petula Dvorak's article: "More Women in the Workforce Make Bigger Bucks than Husbands." and Cauchon, Dennis. "Women Gain as Men Lose Jobs."

5th point: Gender roles changing--> delaying marriage and families

6th point: if the current situation continues, we can expect women to level out with men

THESE ACTIVITIES WERE HELPFUL :)

Generic Post-November 7th

This post was not one of my favorites. All of the sample essays Steph gave us were terribly boring and honestly did not catch my attention one bit. I found all the topics awful and skimmed through two of the essays just to see their structure, style, etc.

One of the less boring papers, but still very lifeless in its own respect, was the paper of Cicero's Orater. This paper discusses the necessary traits of a good orator. For all these papers, I wanted to focus on looking at each paper's thesis. This essay's thesis is: "This paper aims to reconcile these two definitions, offering a new way to understand decorum and the work it does in the world, first by offering a reading of the definition of decorum, then following that reading from classical conceptualizations of decorum through to modern and post modern iterations." The introduction appealed to a very specific audience and that audience was not me. The reader was obviously a teacher of some sort and talked about his/her colleagues, limiting my interest because I am a student, not a teacher. This example paper didn't really help me at all.

The second example paper was titled, "Marveling at The Man Called Nova: Comics as Sponsors of Multimodal Literacy." This paper was slightly interesting because it was about comic books and not about random parts of speech or Green terminology. This paper was another example of a research paper that I did not connect with any way. The author, Dale Jacobs, tells an story about spending his weekly allowance on comic books. He then backs up his story by saying that many men would understand his story if they too saved up for comics and enjoyed that pastime. I am not a male i the 1970's so I did not connect with his essay. The author could have done a better job to connect with all types of audiences and should not have limited his readers so much.

Chapter Ten

Chapter 10 of this wonderful English textbook is about evaluating resources as possible evidence and integrating resources into an argument. This was an extremely short chapter, which I felt was refreshing and appropriate. This chapter was the epitome of boring; however, I could see how some information could be relatively important to my assigned research paper.

One of the things I found to be of some importance was the point the authors make on page 200: "your audience will want to know that you have critically evaluated your evidence in an appropriate manner." I will put this in student-terms. It is important to not appear like a bullshitter to your audience. It is very important to construct an argument with the least amount of holes possible. Having a solid argument is vital to a paper; therefore, having solid sources is necessary.

This chapter talks about how people typically trust the editorial and peer reviewed process to "weed out" bad or incorrect information. However, education and other important institutions have been proven wrong before, so it may be a good idea to double check the information of articles and the credibility or sources.

Just when I thought this chapter actually might be of use and that the textbook wasn't totally worthless, I came across another suggestion box talking about the importance of cluster maps. I absolutely hate cluster maps and find them to have no place in the world. I can't stand this book just because it puts such a large emphasis on cluster maps.

Inspiration from Thursday's Class

Thursday's class wasn't as bad as usual because were read an interesting story that was reflective and based on the narrator's past experiences. I connected with this piece because most of my favorite moments came from my childhood and my childhood experiences heavily influence my writing today. After free writing a response to the story read in class, I found myself writing about my own childhood and started putting my thoughts into a poem, which is my favorite form of writing. I haven't written a poem in a while because I had been so busy with classes and my social life and it was nice to just write. My poem, which is still a draft and a work-in-progress, is as follows:

The Grassland

In years past

I spent my youth behind my house

In the flawlessly mowed lawn

With the short grass that pierced my fleshy feet.

A fence separated my backyard from the land behind it.

Grassland that stretched on for days, where

Large weeds twisted into wildflowers

And horses wandered.

I was instructed to stay far from that fence,

Its jagged wooden posts and broken wire

Worried my mother more than it troubled me.

On any given day,

You could find me in my backyard,

Teetering on that fence between two worlds.

It would only take a small shift of my weight

To tumble into the forbidden meadow, dotted with

Dandelions and flattened by the wind.

My little body ached to swim in the tall grass.

No matter how much every inch of me yearned

To plunge into the yellowed plain,

I could never take the leap.


Comments are welcomed and embraced.

The Reading Continues with Chapter 9

Chapter nine is all about constructing an argument, which will be useful for the huge research paper due in December. The topics in this chapter include considering counterarguments, responding to the research question, developing a thesis, and constructing an argument through ethos, pathos, and logos. When first looking at the topics of this chapter, I think the part about developing a thesis is the most important. If a paper doesn't have a thesis, then the paper doesn't have anything, including an argument. The most important part of forming an effective thesis is to develop a thesis statement, which is a specific statement of my position on an issue.

On page 162, the chapter discusses how to support an argument. The best way to create an effective argument is to appeal to the reader by using ethos, pathos, and logos. A way to develop ethos (credibility) is to tell the readers about your own personal experience with the topic. To develop an emotional argument, explain why you are personally invested in this topic and what motivates you to keep researching this topic.

Lastly, the most important part of this chapter is recognizing how to develop a counterargument. You do this by identifying possible arguments from opposing opinions. Look for flaws in your research or claims and perceive how others may view your topic or argument. Then, fill those gaps in research and claims with the proper information and form any possible rebuttals in the paper. A tip the chapter gives on page 190 is to have others look over your claims and rebuttals, and see if they can find anything else that you may have missed.

More Textbook Reading

For this week, we were assigned to do read chapters six and seven in our textbook. Chapter six is titled, "reading resources rhetorically," and explores the context of a resource, summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting from resources, and annotating while you read. The part I was most interested in and focused on the most was the part of the reading that had to do with annotating resources. This is because I have never done an annotated bibliography before and I have heard it is an enormous pain in the ass. A major tip the author gave was on page 117 and stated that when annotating for a large research paper, you should spend time looking at the source's claim, reasons, and evidence. The claim is defined as: the overall point that the resource is making/its thesis. Evidence is also very important because it provides a backbone for the resource's claims. If there is no evidence, then there isn't a legitimate claim. Another thing in chapter six i thought was good information was the reminder that when writing a summary, you aren't including all the details, just enough information for easy comparison with other resources.

Chapter seven was about tracking and evaluating data, which includes filling any gaps in research to build a strong argument and keeping track of the resources you've found. The most critical information in this chapter is about filling in the gaps in research and can be found starting on page 135. The biggest tip is to not wait until the end to verify, copy, and respond to your sources. Copying everything as you go ensures that you won't lose the information or its importance to your research paper/project. After getting many sources, pick the two strongest and check the book, website, etc to see if they provide a bibliography or other sources.

Mysterious Blog Post

I honestly have no idea what this week's blog post is supposed to be about. I have fleeting memories of Stephanie saying something about our blog post, but it was while we were all shuffling our stuff. Thus, I didn't hear what she said and it appears that no one else did either. However, it appears that most people are writing about research again, so I will continue with that topic.

Thankfully this blog allows me to speak freely so I am going to be honest about our research paper assignment: I think it is really ridiculous that are topic has to relate to something with writing. Don't get me wrong, I love writing. I like to write; however, using writing as a topic for a several-page paper sounds simply awful. In the real world, not everything relates back to writing. Isn't it enough that we are incorporating writing into our research papers by WRITING it? I had a unique and interesting topic that could relate to most of the class but because it has little to do with writing, I can't use it.

Our class even read in our textbook that students do better on research papers when they are writing about a topic we enjoy. Writing about writing creates so many topic constriction, that I feel as if my topic has already been chosen for me. I just don't know what direction to take the guideline of writing about writing, and it makes me frustrated and not a happy camper. Can't I write about something that interests me? We will be dealing with these papers for over two months, and I don't know how I will keep my sanity while creating a paper that bores me and most likely won't interest my audience.

Peer Review, Yo

This week, our blog post is about peer review and its place in our English class.

Peer review is very important!! This last Thursday in English, we partnered up with a classmate to participate in peer review. I believer peer review is very important because reading other students' papers allows you to see errors in your own writing and gives you ideas about what you could do better. I did my peer review with Nathan and his paper helped me a little bit with my own paper.

One thing that always drives me nuts; however, about peer review are the students that give nothing but positive comments about my paper. Honestly, if I wanted to be praised about my writing, I would just have my mother read my work. I value critique over praise because it helps me improve my paper. I know that I'm a good writer, what I don't know is how to improve my writing. No matter how awesome a piece of writing it, it can be improved upon! Unfortunately, the only real feedback I got from my peer reviewer was positive, so it was a bit frustrating. However, reading my piece aloud to him helped my see I needed to improve fluency, paragraph format, etc.

Not only is peer review important because evaluating student work helps you improve your own, it is also good to see where other people are at in their writing because we are all writing for the same audience, our professor who hands out our grades. I like to see how other people play up that audience because it helps me determine what I am doing right and what I need to improve in order to properly entertain my professor.

Wadsworth Guide to Research

For this blog post, the class and I were told to read over the first three chapters of our course textbook, The Wadsworth Guide to Research. When given this assignment, I was skeptical on how much the reading would help me and if I would even manage to stay awake during the readings.

While the first three chapters helped me a little bit, I was right about the boring aspect of this reading. On page one of chapter one, the authors state that "we"ll" explore reasons for conducting research, the rhetorical situation's effects on writing and research and similarities and differences between academic research and research for other purposes. Yuck, right? In the first chapter, I didn't really learn anything I didn't already know. The authors state write that "you might be surprised to realize that you've been conducting research for a long time." They go on to say that it is considered research whenever we ask ourselves a question and then continue in a "research" process to come to a conclusion. This information did not surprise me at all, I thought everyone knew this basic information.

One thing I did like, but already knew, was the statement that one must complete every step in the writing process during research in chapter two. I liked this statement because I often do not follow the "linear" writing process. I usually skip around and almost never create the kind of pre-writing they suggest, such as making those awful bubble outlines that confuse you more than help.

On page 35 of chapter three, the authors mention something called kairos. Kairos is defined as "a moment that inspires you or compels you to write." I experience karios all the time, I just never knew there was a fancy term for it, I just referred to it as inspiration. That was the most interesting thing in chapter three, in my opinion, because it taught me something new.

The Sims and NBA Reveal Truths of Life

I greatly enjoyed Chuck Klosterman's excerpt from "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs." The paper was an example of a technology narrative and centered around Chuck's experience with the popular PC game, The Sims.

I especially liked this piece because I could completely relate to it and found myself laughing along with his examples that only people who have played Sims would understand. In high school, I loved playing The Sims 2 and have have had the same thoughts about life as Chuck had while playing this highly addictive game. Its true that you get sucked into the game and have to think within the confines of the game.

My favorite section is on page 18 when Chuck writes, "And why isn't my SimChuck happy? Because he's a self-absorbed, materialistic prick." As an ex-player of The Sims, I understand the frustration of having to "please" the sim.

I thought this was a very effective technology narrative because it focuses on how a specific technology affected Chuck's life and made him think about his philosophical ideals. I could relate to it and will mostly likely model my own technology narrative after his.

I found Chuck Klosterman's other excerpt about the similarities of the NBA and life to be not as entertaining as his paper on The Sims, but his writing style kept me interested.

This essay was not about technology but was an explanation of how the NBA is an example of reality and life. He claims that NBA is the only game that matters because it's exactly like life. I like his comparison of the NBA not having known outcomes but still being controlled by dark, powerful sources. I also found it interesting that Chuck stated the Lakers-Celtic rivalry represents race, religion, politics, and mathematics.

First 104 Post

After reading the three required readings, I found them to be very diverse. I am pretty familiar with literacy narratives because they were discussed in my high school Creative Writing classes. However, I used the Blackboard links to refresh my memories and look for information I may have lost in the year and a half since high school.

I watched the video and read the links on Blackboard, and there was one in particular I found interesting; Facebook vs. Twitter. The article talked about the intellectual differences in using the two very different social networking sites. The article stated that Facebook is much more intellectually stimulating than Twitter because Facebook is more complex information and Twitter is straightforward. I do not agree with this article but it was interesting to see another point of view.

Out of all three of the readings, I enjoyed the "Twitterature" piece the most. I thought using tweets rather than a standard format of writing a paper was a clever adaptation to today's social media outlets. I believe that Twitter is an important social networking site that is not utilized as much as it should be. Twitter was described to me as being involved with the people "you wish you knew and were friends with," versus Facebook being the people you are actually around every day. It might sound odd wanting to be connected to people you WISH you knew, but in the professional world, Twitter is widely used and is considered an important element to reach customers and/or the public. (Excuse me if my love for Public Relations comes through my blog posts and if I continue to rant about the importance of Twitter.)

http://twitter.com/tanyagabrish

"Lil' 5"

Everyone and their mother is heading down to Bloomington and Indiana University to experience the famous Lil' 5 bike race this weekend. If it seems odd that everyone is heading down to experience a bicycle race do not be confused-all the college kids are heading down to revel in the infamous part of Lil'5: parties.

Lil' 5 is a grand excuse to get belligerently drunk and party during the week-long bike race. It is a way to blow off steam before Hell Week and final exams for college students all over Indiana.

If I sound cynical, forgive me, for I am not able to attend this year. I have too much to do and need to concentrate on my coursework (especially J261). So if you sense a bitter undertone in this post, you will know why.

Winding Down Semester

The semester is winding down and I am beginning to dread the end of summer. While I am happy to be almost done with the stress of papers, exams, and homework, i am very sad to part with my friends for the summer.

Ball State has given me better friends then I could have ever imagined. I have made connections with so many people, and they all live far away from each other.

Luckily, the three months for summer will go by fast and I will get to be reunited with my friends once again next semester!

Indiana Weather

Weather is on my mind today. I loved this week's weather, it was very warm and sunny. Despite the pollen that turns my eyes fire-engine red, I was extremely content with my April Indiana weather. However, as the saying goes,if you don't like the weather in Indiana today, wait until tomorrow. I liked the weather today; however, and am not happy about the changes that are taking place.

When I woke up early this morning, the weather was amazing and I could wear a dress and be comfortable. Three hours later, and the temperature has dropped and dark rain clouds are littering the sky. I find this extremely annoying because I was planning on attending the Ball State baseball game this afternoon at three. Indiana weather, knock it off and stay consistently warm.

Tragic Ham and Purpose

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Tragic Ham and Purpose

Sometimes it is hard just to breathe,

Life comes at you so fast and the memories

Of happy times rob you of emotion in reflections.

Sometimes I believe I’ve used up all my happy moments,

Facing a lifetime of every other emotion,

Can one be empathetic to my predicament?

Or is loneliness another emotion I am forced to act out,

Day by day.

Day by day, morning fizzling into a gloomy lunch of week-old ham,

How lucky is that ham,

That it may have a purpose, even if the purpose is tragic.

And is it ironic that I munch this ham in a gleeful kitchen,

Streaks of sunlight tracing my own purposeless body?

Hunched over a table, striped with age and walnut finish.

This beautiful sunlight that gives so much joy.

Is joy the same as happiness?

If not, than I may have a positive emotion yet,

For joy strikes us with momentary contentment,

A rare occurrence that would make even the worst emotion

More bearable.

Bearable is all we need to be,

Taking each life event, and soaking it in.

It’s possible to deal with unforeseen events,

To bear every plague, misfortune, and turn of luck.

My ham sandwich knows nothing of those things.

It merely knows how to exist, and how to be used,

But then again, maybe I'm a ham sandwich too.

Somebody Has A Case of the Mondays

Tomorrow starts another week and I am not happy about it. Most Mondays, I am excited to be getting closer to summer. Usually, each Monday starts another busy but fun whirlwind of classes, friends, and homework.

However, I can tell tomorrow isn't going to be the usual happy Monday. We are getting closer to the end of the semester and all of my classes are picking up in workload and difficulty.

It's 11:14 p.m. on Sunday and I can already tell...I have a case of the Mondays.

Birthday :)

It is my birthday and I just got back home! I had a great weekend with my family and hometown friends. Even though I love Ball State, I did not want to come back to school today. Being home in warm weather reminded me of summer, and I wanted to hold on to the feeling for as long as possible. I filled out many applications in hopes of finding a second summer job ( I have worked at Chickfila for the past three years) and I'm hoping to hear back from a place soon! I need to make a lot of money this summer to help pay for books in the fall. Fingers crossed!

Chicago on Friday

I am so happy that it is Thursday..almost the weekend! But most importantly, it means that tomorrow is Friday-the day i am going to Chicago. I am a member of Cardinal Communications, the student-run PR firm here on campus, and a small group of us are leaving for Chicago at six fifteen tomorrow morning. We are going to be visiting PR firms and we are having dinner with Ball State Alumni. It should be interesting to walk the streets of Chicago in a suit and heels all day, visiting places and companies I could be working for sometime in the future.

Hectic Week

This week is going by slow and it is truly driving me nuts. I am already having a mini breakdown because of all my homework and responsibilities, and I want this week to end! Next week is also my birthday, so it makes this week go by even slower. I am excited to go home next weekend to get my presents, cake, and celebrate my birthday with my friends. It's only Tuesday? Oh lord.

March Madness Is Truly Mad

This time of March Madness seems truly mad to me. I cannot wrap my mind around why so many guys and girls get so into teams that they aren't really associated with any other time of the year. The idea of brackets are fine and dandy, but I cannot understand why so many people hold them in such high regard and importance. Imagine what the world could be if as many people channeled the March Madness energy into making the world a better place. Messed up priorities, anyone?

Warm Weather

I am getting extremely excited that the weather is finally starting to improve here in Indiana! It has been in the mid and upper sixties, allowing shorts to be worn and coats to be eliminated. I love spring and summer weather and I am ecstatic as the prospect of warm weather being permanent very soon! Unfortunately, the weathermen predict that the cold isn't done yet, and the temperature is expected to drop in the next week. Touche, Indiana.

Seven Weeks Left

There are seven weeks of school left and everything is so overwhelming. I need to start working on revising the essays for English because I have been neglecting them for weeks now. Between my internships and homework, I am not going to have a lot of time for other things! Good luck to everyone revising their essays :) We start a new one tomorrow, yikes!

Back Home

Panama City Beach was awesome; however, I am back home in northern Indiana. It is currently under 50 degrees and raining with no intention of stopping. I already miss the beach, the sand, the flip flops, and my bathing suit. Luckily, the semester will be done soon and I will be enjoying warm weather in a few months!

PCB

I am in Panama City Beach, and it took twenty minutes to find a place with free wi fi to update this blog. I love PCB, it has a fun, careless energy that I find very appealing. It is a great vacation away from the stress of everything! I will be back in Indiana on Thursday, so I am enjoying every minute of my short time here! It's 72 degrees here and I am about to enjoy the beach.

Spring Break Part 2

Spring Break is coming up fast and everything is really picking up! My friends and I had to get my car today from home (3 hours away) and get our spring clothes in preparation of this weekend. I am extremely excited for Florida, and I hope this week zips by.

Spring Break

I am so ready for Spring Break. It is snowing again. It is cold. It is windy. I have nine days left until spring break in Florida, and it couldn't come at a better time. Many of my classes are picking up steam, and I feel overbearing stress with homework, projects, and volunteer activities. I simply can not wait until I am twelve hours away in the Florida sun. Its only supposed to be in the 60's the week we are there. Yet, I would take 60's over snow and slush any day.

Writer's Boulder

I usually try and work on a poem weekly; however, I have not written anything new for a few weeks now. Inspiration is lacking, and I am puzzled as to why. I write when I am stressed, so I should have written at least five poems this week alone. Even the mounting stress and assignments have not given me a reason to write. I write to release, to make the world slow down for a few moments. I really need to find some inspiration to relieve this stress, before I suffer a panic attack.

Week of Conferences

I am very much enjoying this week of conferences because we do not have class! The time off is helpful to both sleep deprivation and homework load. It is nice knowing that all I have to worry about this week for English is editing my paper and attended a short conference. My week has been very busy this week so far, and I am expected it to get even busier in the next couple days. Thanks Mr. McArdle!

Home For Valentine's Day

I am home for Valentine's day and couldn't be more overwhelmed. I am leaving for Ball State at six, which means I will arrive there around nine. Not only do I have homework for Journalism and a History test to study for, I also have a Spanish quiz tomorrow. Nevertheless, my entire ride back to BSU will consist of hardcore studying and perhaps a panic attack or two.

Valentine's Day

Another year is in full swing as the most controversial holiday approaches Sunday-Valentine's Day. Love is bittersweet and this holiday reflects it flawlessly. People in relationships feel sweet, singles feel bitter.
This year is my first year being single in three or four years and it feels great. I don't feel sweet or bitter, I feel like it's just another day of my life where I can be surrounded by the people that I love and who love me. My friends and family are there to support me and show me that I am loved, so why stress about what is quote, unquote missing?
I plan on going home this weekend to be with my friends and family. My little sisters are excited to make cards for me and give me candy. Honestly, can it get better than that? Boyfriends come and go but my family and friends are forever.

“Some people are settling down, some people are settling and some people refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies.” - Sex in the City

Rhetorical Analysis Thoughts

After getting the rhetorical analysis assignment, I am struggling with what I want to analyze. Mainly because there are so many options. The option of deconstructing a common television commercial sounds interesting but I am also considering analyzing a poem. Because reading and writing poetry is one of my passions, I think I will go that route. After all, why not incorporate something I love with a potentially boring English assignment? Now to find a poem..how will I ever choose just one?

It's Friday, and I'm In a Pickle

It's Friday and I should be happy because I am done with classes for the day and the weekend has finally arrived. However, my English class has cast a shadow over my sunny plans for the weekend. I was terribly sick earlier in the week, so I missed class on Wednesday. Thus, making me unaware that our "This I Believe" rough draft essays were due today. To add to my disappointment and surprise, I find out that we are to also upload these essays to Blackboard, revise three other papers, and fill out a form for peer review. And my essay still remains unwritten. In fact, I have not decided on a specific topic yet. Help.

"Trash TV" Serves a Purpose

After watching countless episodes of "Teen Mom" and "Jersey Shore" (both on MTV) I have come to the realization that these seemingly shallow and ridiculous shows hold some actual value. They teach some, especially me, what I do not want in life and what I do not want to become. "Teen Mom" has taught me what I want and what I need in a husband and partner. So many of the fathers on this show, which features girls who got pregnant and became mothers around 16, do not take responsibility for their children. They do not want to take an active role in their child's life and do not pursue a loving, mature relationship with the mothers. "Jersey Shore" on MTV is much like a train wreck, its horrible but you just can't look away. The young people on the show can be so incredibly narcissistic, spoiled, and dramatic. The show holds no value other than entertainment. I watch it regularly, but usually to critique the young people who are so selfish and so self-involved that they cannot look beyond their own lives to more important matters than gtl. I never want to be seen as a sex symbol, nor valued for my looks over my intelligence. And while I enjoy being tan once in a while, I do not want to become a guidette and develop melanoma at age 27.

Spent on Spanish

I'm sitting in my dorm room, trying to avoid studying for a Spanish quiz. After taking Spanish every year in High School and first semester, I am beyond the point of being burnt out. From conjugating verbs and flipping through my book of translations (in an attempt to figure out what in this great Earth my teacher was saying), I have grown weary. It has gotten so bad that I have begun thinking certain phrases in Spanish. To me, that girl isn't a girl: she's a chica. My friends roll their eyes when I use Spanglish, and it's only growing worse as the days roll by.

Now, many people would say this is a good thing because I am getting some Spanish education and I am being exposed to a different culture. Some would argue that I am breaking out of the ignorant American role. However, I am not good at speaking Spanish. In fact, chica is one of the few words I can use properly. Nine semesters of Spanish later, and I am learning little but getting A's in my Spanish classes. I am stuck somewhere in limbo between being interested in Spanish and not wanting to learn anything more. Where should the blame be placed for this predicament? Teachers and professors who do not teach more practical Spanish and require we speak it? Yes and no. Yes, because many teachers spoon feed their students with the answers and do not challenge them with oral questions. No, because many Spanish students don't care. I too, am extremely guilty of memorizing verbs, taking the test, and forgetting them instantly. My goal this semester is to actually try and learn Spanish as a language, and not just as individual words and phrases.

Let the Creativity Flow

In class today, someone mentioned how they would rather use their imagination in writing than write a structured essay. I completely agree with that, and it made me think of how awesome it would be if Ball State offered a creative writing class that consisted of only creative writing. No talk of sonnet structure or the right ways to write haiku. Just a 50 minute class where one can write freely and be able to use imagination without limit. I love to write poetry, I have done so since the beginning of high school. My creative writing class senior year shaped my life more than any other class. Who would turn down the chance for a teacher to turn on soothing music and allow students to have their creativity flow openly? The prospect of getting credits to do what I love would be the epitome of an amazing and fulfilling class.


"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

-Mark Twain