Have you ever went to the gym feeling like you just had the best workout ever only to wake up in the morning only to find that you had muscles that you never knew existed in acute pain? The assignments in this class exercised every writing muscle in so many different ways.
Blogging was something I always associated with those really creative, perfect mom types of people. Probably because it is the overachievers that always have them, so you can imagine my dismay upon discovering I was not only going to have to write a blog, but also reply! I found it completely enjoyable. Blogging was one of the many highlights in the class. Not only did I enjoy writing in a relaxing setting, it gave me a chance to feel more comfortable about just throwing something out there and seeing what happens. I had a blast reading others blogs. Having to write responses allowed each of us to interact, I enjoyed getting the feedback as well as writing them. This was not a completely weak area for me, but I definitely needed the practice and appreciated relinquishing the misconception that only certain people could have a blog.
The group work that was assigned was incredibly challenging. I learned so much from my peers in this class. I was challenged by the diligence and expectation of those in my group. The PDR’s are a two edged sword. Not only did I have to read what others thought of my writing, but I was forced to use the tools that I had been learning in order to evaluate other essays. This put everything into practice; you know that muscle that was aching after the workout? Well, it did not have time to get flabby again because of this particular aspect of the class.
The discussion boards were very thought provoking. Some of the questions asked were difficult to answer. Sometimes trying to come up with a question to ask was harder than answering! This helped to view reading in a different light. I am not a critical thinker or reader in any way shape or form! I could no longer just read and take the information at face value, but to think deeper within and ask yourself, how this affects me, what would I do, or have done. How do I relate? These are incredible valuable lessons for me because in my previous reading I was reading at a very shallow level. Analytical thinking is not a skill I was in the practice of using…at all.
The essays were intense! I have never spent so much time delving into anything as deeply as I did when writing an essay for this class. I learned to analyze each and every word, and then every phrase, every sentence and paragraph. Analyze the author, their abilities and their qualifications. Just because they got published does not mean that they are qualified to sway anyone in one way or another.
Let’s face it, for some of us writing is painful. It takes forever to write anything good, and it is humbling. Just when you think you have figured the writing thing out, you find out that you still suck. I know that I have grown in my writing abilities in the last 16 weeks in each and every way mentioned above, but I know that I have more to learn than I thought. The most valuable lesson that I will take away from all of these exercises is that I will have to practice; I will have to take my time when writing. I will not wait and attempt to “pump” out a good essay in a couple of hours. Writing a good paper feels good; I feel that I am equipped with all the tools in order to accomplish that. I am now challenged to always do my best when writing, never take anything for granted and always ask “why”.
Thank your Jennifer for designing such an amazing learning experience or “workout” for us all. I will miss being pressed to excel and write. Have a fantastic summer everyone!

Not A Seven Page Paper!!!!

A seven page paper analyzing dialogue between Reading Lolita in Tehran and Pride and Prejudice is due tonight. Hmmm…this will be fun. Can't I just put a toothpick in my eye? No? Alright then...to begin my long and painful endeavor I must first find the book that will be my main text. What did I do with that book! Ok. The only logical thing I can do is pray. Dear God….Oh please let me find my book…quickly. Please let it be somewhere on my desk. (This will be a task only the brave will be able to endure…so many things on my desk). These kinds of assignments are so very time consuming. Really, that is the only thing that I find to be my problem. Just like most of us, I want to get an assignment, whether it be work or school, sit down for an hour or so and Viola! A completed project! Not very likely in this case.
So there I sit, looking at the instructions. This seems so deep! So many places to find information. Crap! I am really going to have to read this stuff! So I figured maybe if I start out with an outline and then just fill in information under each heading it will make life easier, maybe. See I have this problem grasping concepts. I can read the same instructions as everyone else and get something completely different! The sad thing about that is that I am 37 years old and I figured that out just last month. Bad. It explains so much!
Back to the paper. Since there is such a small section in Reading Lolita in Tehran devoted to Pride and Prejudice I think that I will start there. This will give me an idea of what my focus will be on. If there were not such a creation as Double Stuff Oreo’s I really do not know how would ever defeat this monstrous paper. I have already consumed half of a package and I have 4 points for my 7 page paper. I’m going to need to go to Wal-Mart. Yes…I need to do that now. I will come back to my paper later.
As I resume this hideous task ahead of me (cookies at hand) I decided to go back over the instructions, due to my very great ability to miss important information, and mentally get things in shuffle. Ooh. I missed the part about 5 sources. Five sources! On what?! What will I use these sources for? Where are those cookies?! I must convince myself that this is really no big deal. Really…I mean its only two books, five sources, and 7 pages; ok…I needed a really good quote! Ah Ha! How do you eat an elephant? One bit at a time.
One bite at a time, the first thing I need to do is to complete my outline. At least I will be much more familiar with the issues that I have to analyze. Once I have them in different categories, with examples from each book and a source to back up the meaning, the similarity type or difference, then I can begin the excruciating process of turning this jumbled mess into a paper. Yikes…panic….no, your fine….really….Oh gosh…I’m going to fail!

Style and Email

Style
This word has a different connotation for all of us. But for right now we are going to consider style and the way we communicate online. Just as we communicate using different styles verbally in different situations, depending on who we are communicating with, it would make sense that this would carry over into our email, blogs, etc.
I am a relatively “cut to the chase” type of person. I don’t really like to wade through a lot of irrelevant information in order to locate the important nugget that I was looking for. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good story…but in certain situations I just want facts. So you can see already that my communication style is complicated.
When I am communicating via email, I tend to be very conscience of who I am emailing. I think that emails carry a tone. Unfortunately it all depends on your own experiences on how you “read” these emails. In my head something sounds fine, but when read out loud by someone else it sounds short and irritated. This is usually not what I’m going for, but because I am so direct, I can come across rude or snobby. I use a lot of words like, I was thinking, I was wondering, sorry to bother you, I have a quick question for you, just let me know when you get a chance. I have found that this smooth’s out any rough edges that may come across in an email.
When I am on the phone the other caller usually asks “are you still there?” several times. I am not very good at saying things if I really don’t have anything important to say. This trait actually works well with email because there is never an awkward silence. These are usually more friendly emails and I generally don’t have to worry so much about tone. If you know me, I am rarely upset, or mad in any way, when my emails are read by friends they can pretty much guess that, even though, it may sound abrupt, there is nothing wrong.
I have had to really come face to face with the implications that my communication style says about me as a person. As I have gotten older, I have come to terms with the fact that I am not your typical “girl”. I am not insecure nor do I feel the need for everyone to like me. This can come across as rude. The first time that I noticed this came out in simple communication was during an email. It made it clear to me that I have to be super careful about offending others that have the sensitivity trait.
You can see how personal style has so much to do with the way we communicate. In my case, I don’t do a lot of what most would call girl talk. I do not get involved in gossip, I don’t read novels, and I am not creative in any way shape or form. This comes across quite bluntly and can offend readily. My facial expressions are what have saved me from seeming rude. There is no body language in email, except for the smiley faces, so you can see that I have to use discretion when communicating via email.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of comics or cartoons, my first thought is not directed towards adult entertainment. I think of Garfield, Batman, Archie, etc. Since I don’t spend a lot of time reading the newspaper, I rarely bump into them in the newspaper, which, is exactly the place that I think of to look for them. I find that a large amount of cartoons are geared more towards adults, not always found in the newspaper ,but on TV.
This becomes obvious when you take into account The Simpsons, South Park, and the like. Not only would I never allow my children to watch them, I would not watch them myself. I find them intensely crude and lacking any type of entertainment value. I do not find them a bit amusing. I do realize that it is a personal opinion, and that I am not right and everyone else not wrong.
I would not consider these to be offensive to me, although I find them disgusting, I don’t particularly understand the mentality of those that enjoy them, and think very little of those adults that allow their children to watch this form of entertainment. I am disgusted but not offended.
While pondering this topic, I decided to look up some political cartoons to see what is really circulating out there. I found cartoons that poked fun at presidents, different wars, and other political issues. There were a couple of cartoons that poked fun of victims of Katrina in Louisiana.
I am unwilling to discuss the actual content of the cartoons, but I was completely mortified that anyone would consider it, not only funny, but also believed that others would find this humor funny.
These people have had their entire lives destroyed and altered by one very catastrophic event. They lost their homes, land and worst of all their family members. The pain and feeling of loss is hard for me to imagine. Some ridiculous person thought that they could gain something, probably in the form of money and fame, by targeting these victims as the center of a sick joke.
I cannot imagine the type of person that would possibly find this form of entertainment funny. To be able to take a disaster, whether it is a personal disaster or a community disaster, and laugh at it, I find it to be cold and inhumane.