English 102 Online

So I had taken an English class online last semester, and I absolutely hated it. I thought that it was going to be very easy in the fact that I would never have to go to the school, and I could get all my work done at home. Immediately I found this to be false. Online classes are hard. Due to the fact that the professor isn't right in front of you, telling you how to do everything and what exactly he or she wants, makes everything very hard. Then, because of the fact that you don't make an effort to go see them, or contact them, you get the assignment all wrong. It also seems as though there are always problems with the online site you are using. Then, everything back lashes on you, and you have to deal with extra problems that you didn't need in the first place. During this class, and my other, it seems that we are graded very hard and I don't think it's because of the teachers styles. I think it is because it is very hard to relay what you want your students to do via online communicating. So, when your students don't do what you wanted, and you already are frustrated with working online, you just grade strictly. This isn't a known fact, or anything like that, it's just something that I've come up with during my experience in online classes. So, I have to say that I do not like online classes. It seems like not all things are fair, and we the students might not get all that we need in order to do the right thing. I'm not bashing professor Gross, she is actually a great teacher, and communicated perfectly with me. This class was okay. There was a lot of work. Way more than any of my other classes. Also, I don't know if I agree with the fact that our essays are all worth 65% of our grade. I know this is a debatable subject though. I just feel that I worked very hard on not one, but four essays this semester, and my grade shouldn't rely so much on them. I believe that this doesn't show that I am english graduate material. This also is because of how much other work we had to do every week, and how ofter we had an essay due, or PDR, or essay #2 or #3. It seemed very cluttered. Again, I am not bashing the teacher at all. I'm just telling of how I feel. Also, I did say this is debatable conveying that there is a possibility that I am completely wrong.
I am not an english person, or at least someone who likes to write on subjects that don't interest me, so I am so glad that I don't have to take another English class ever again! We all have our likes and dislikes. Man, I pray that none of you take this like I'm condemning anyone. I am very proud that I am here, and so should all of you who didn't drop and are reading this right now. Professor, great job, you did well on what I think is a very hard system to work with. Farewell to everyone, I hope you guys all have a very successful college experience.
-Pedro Zaragoza III

Aimee, the Opposite of a Man

After listening to some of Aimee Mann's songs, and NOT looking at her lyrics, I got a very depressing feeling. It didn't seem as though she wants to write in an uplifting tone. I might be wrong for I only listened to two songs, and I read the lyrics of one. I listened to, "save me," and "wise up." I then read the lyrics of the song called, "angels never call." The initial tones are very pessimistic. She says a lot of, "it's not gonna stop," in her, "wise up," song. Just the title of her song, "angels never call," gives me an off kind of feeling. She says in the song that angels never help, because they always fall. I don't understand where this is coming from. It seems she has a common theme of talking about certain people's depressing situations. Now, I know that I am being very quick to generalizing how she writes, but this is the immediate feeling I get from listening and reading her lyrics. I also read, "backfire." This particular song actually begins with a pretty happy tone to it. Although, it ends up talking about how she became unhinged and her situation became weird.
I also took a glance at the titles of a lot of her other songs, and what I found didn't surprise me. I found such songs as, Deathly, David Denies, Calling it Quits, and Don't Watch Me Bleed. Just off an educated guess, I do believe that these songs aren't about happy people doing happy things. She has a certain sad tone to the way she writes, and to what she talks about.
I entitled this blog, Aimmee, the Opposite of a Mann, because her lyrics seem to be very emotional. I believe that what society says about women, which is that they tend to be more on the emotional side, then tough, is my basis to this title. She writes with very sad emotions, which wouldn't be found most of the time in male lyric writing.
I believe Aimee Mann to be a sort of modern day blues writer/singer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. This is just her style. I particularly didn't like her music or lyrics. I am more of an optimistic kind of person. I like to listen to songs that bring me up and keep my mind off of the bad in life. I don't want my focus to be on those certain things that will bring me down, or keep me from doing what I want to do in life. I also believe that life is a horrible, excuse me, bitch, that we all need to tame, and fight with equal or greater values. This kind of music would put my focus on the wrong things, and I currently don't need this. I don't believe that most people need this, but that is just me.

The Truth Behind the Similarities

I would first like to start off by saying that I love this subject. I love looking at all the different points of views that people have on my strongest belief. I feel that it teaches us that we cannot rely completely on what we are readily taught by our parents, teachers, and any kind of other educators we might have throughout life. I believe that it is very true that not a lot of people take a glance at the bigger picture and think about how this planet was created, along with those whom dwell in it. It doesn't do much towards my beliefs, but that is another subject. The question is what does studying and comparing teach us about ourselves. So, I will give you my answer. I think that because of the many different stories obviously very similar, we obviously like to make our own points of views on things. Also, because of the similarities, we find a truth somewhere inside of what we are telling. An example might be in our current populated belief of Adam and Eve, and the beliefs Egyptians had of the great thing creating two people who were the sky and the land. It is something that comes out of deep thought and curiosity, but as you have seen, comes out very similar in the end. I personally believe that we all, over time have come up with similar views, because a lot of it is true...somewhere. Obviously all of the stories aren't correct. If they were then we'd have to believe in 20 different things. The fact of the matter that I'm trying to convey to you is that we have a lot of stories that sound almost exactly the same, and with this, we can make the assumption that somewhere out there there is a place where all of this popular belief has come from. It didn't just pop out of no where, and people haven't just agreed with it for over 2000 years for no reason. You have to THINK. If you just become ignorant and say, "well they are all similar, but very different...and obviously people just want to make up there own stories, so none of it's true," then you will be out of a truth. If you critically think about how all of this came about, I'm sure you won't come up with an answer, but there will be the questions as to why this is in such popular demand. It is more than a bunch of stories relating to each other. We as people need to learn more than what we are learning today. By comparing different myths and what not, I can see that we all as a whole need to do some more reading up to do. I can also see that we all agree on something...and that something isn't put into words, and peoples hearts yet. I can't really explain exactly what I mean...but all I know is, that I believe in something far greater than myself, and I think that not a lot of people have come to this conclusion yet. I think that by comparing these myths and what not, I see that people obviously haven't found that, "faith," yet. I do understand though. It takes a lot to believe in something that isn't rationally explained, or physically seen. If more people had faith in something greater than themselves and figured out what I tried explaining early, then this whole, "Great Myth," thing would never had been thought of. Which also means that by comparing these myths, I see that there is a wide range of people who haven't found faith in something huge yet. Interesting.

Dr. Terrence Roberts

Today I went to a speaking thinking that I was going to be lost in the ceiling designs or the many different faces that were going to arrive with me. It turns out that my focus was placed solely on one, very respectable, and great man.
Dr. Terrence Roberts was one of the, “Little Rock 9,” and came to speak at AVC. He had a very subtle look to him, but when he spoke, oh man were you listening. I rarely see a man who is so highly educated and experience as this man was. Every sentence that came out of this man’s mouth blew me away in the fact that his words were so well planned and articulate. He talked of his experience in Little Rock with relaying that at first he thought that, “white people are stone crazy.” He also talks of how life itself is, “weird,” pointing out that we are all the same in the sense that we are from a woman. He tells that when he was born he was placed in a world that the color that was right, was white. When he gets to talking of when he went to school with the other eight students, he says that he did what he did because it was the right thing to do. It is obvious that in 99.9% of all cases this is what you should do. This man is very admirable in my eyes because this man put his life on the line, for what was right. If more Americans actually did this, instead of just talking about change, then we probably wouldn’t have some of the problems that we have today. Regardless, this man had been through a life risking situation. His fear was irrelevant in the situation when he went to the school with the other students. He said that at first there were a lot of volunteers to do what they did, and they almost were going to be able to call them, “the little rock one hundred and fifty.” He told us that most people tell him that it was amazing that people were threatening him. Dr. Roberts said that he is confused why the people would say this, because it was common for him to get threatened and hurt from white, “folk.”
Dr. Roberts placed emphasis on the fact that we should educate ourselves. He said that from here on out we should read a book a week. As I heard this I glanced down the aisle at Professor Gross and saw her laugh and hold up a book she had with her-which added to this man’s obvious humorous tone. The Doctor also talked of how a student at UCLA came to him and told him that he had a racist professor. Through this, he teaches us that this is a reality, and it isn’t going to be avoided. He said our problems are not this, but that our problems are that we don’t usually know our reality. Roberts then began to talk of how he was mad at the people who are responsible for the student not knowing harsh realities.
I believe that he reinforced a lot of how I feel, but I did learn more from him that knowledge is power. The way that this man spoke blew my mind away. At one point he corrected a man who was asking him a question on his over-use of the word, “like.” The man who he corrected was a man who could obviously over power Dr. Roberts physically, but because of the education and knowledge conveyed in the Dr.’s words-his stature was irrelevant. I could tell that Roberts could tame a nation with his words, which is scary, but very impressive. If I take away anything from his speech, it will be that knowledge has unknown power to it, and to do what is right. He did what was right when he confronted that man, and he did it through his large knowledge base. Thesis and proof with evidence.
Thank you Dr. Terrence Roberts for coming to educate Antelope Valley College. If any of you want to know more about him, check out AVC’s newspaper or just Google him. I highly advise you listen to what this man has to say, and go to any speaking events that he is at.

Lily and Racism

I believe that Lily isn't to sure why many people are racist in her society. I think that her entire family issues (her mother being dead and her not being able to connect with her father) keep her from why most people believe in racism. Now, she is practically raised by a black maid called Rosaleen, who basically is like the mother she never had. I think that because she was so shielded against why people thought that way, along with the fact that her foster mother was black, created an overall sense that racism is wrong. She clearly was not placed around people who were ignorant and were teaching kids to hate based on skin color. She was also not raised to think this because she was basically raised by a black woman. Why would a black woman teach her that hating black people is bad, when she is black herself? The two work perfectly in Lily's case. It is a God send that she has an opportunity to be shielded from racism, and shown that people of color aren't bad people at all.
If she had a white caretaker then obviously things might be different. She might never know that black people can be nice, so she would never have a chance to dub black people humans of the same kind. She is confused by why most people believe so strongly in hatred towards African Americans because she lives with one and she treats her like she's her daughter. If no one was there to teach you how to play basketball, then you obviously wouldn't know how. If you didn't learn how to play basketball, and 95% of the population was saying that basketball for the devil, then you would probably think that it was for the devil and you wouldn't play it. However, if you were given the opportunity to learn how to play basketball while 95% of the population said it was for the devil-because you learned that it wasn't, then you wouldn't think that it is for the devil. This is how you must look at Lily's situation, and why she grows to be against or not fully understand why people believe in racism.
Lily is placed with a very loving and great, black nanny who wants the best for her. She doesn't see the world in the eyes of others because she is not in the same situation as the world. Due to this, she is shut away from the hatred, and instead shown the love away from racism. It makes complete sense to me that Lily grows from being confused about racism to understanding why it is wrong.

An Angry Cheetah, Yea

It was the second lap of a three and three-quarter race, and this kid, this annoying, tall idiotic kid jumps in front of me.
It was the beginning of the third lap of the same race, and the same idiot grabs my arm when we are our of sight, and pulls me behind him.
It was the last 200 meters of the race, and I was enraged and chased after this moron. All of my thoughts and desires were set on beating him. I was fine at first, it was only a race. It became more than that, and I became something more with it. Everything that was going on seemed to just vanish. My instincts all focused on the moron. I felt as though this man had murdered my entire family. I felt very deeply during this fight of a race, and this is one of the only things I could think of that relates me to an animal.
In this case, I believe I might have been a cheetah, or lion of some sort. It's almost as if someone had messed with my cubs, or a wild antelope had galloped passed me and my animal instincts flooded me. I became something incredibly different. My emotions were that of an angry tiger. Just as the man in the short story, "Sloth," related the slowness of the sloth to his sadness-I was enraged as a mother would be to an intruder on her young.
I might be able to relate to another animal in such ways as a puppy who is significantly reliant and perked by an owner, and me attracted to a woman. They relate because just as when the puppy see's its owner, that's all the puppy is focused on and goes after. When I am around a beautiful woman, I am entranced with her beauty and she is my focus. It's because of my male hormones, and it is because of the dogs love for it's owner.
I found it very interesting that the writer chose to have the person relate to a sloth. I mean, how original is that? I could understand why this story is published in a book. I never think of relating my feelings to an animal. I guess it is just because that isn't my human instinct to do that kind of thing. That is why it is so interesting for this author to do such a thing. I might try to relate myself with animals a little more, but for fun. I think that a lot of my friends, and even yours might think it is funny. I could relate having to use the restroom very bad and doing the poddy dance to a dog who shakes when it has to use the restroom! Very funny and interesting. I still leave this note with the very honest truth that during that race I became like a lion of some sort. It may seem funny, but I think we can all relate to becoming something other than ourselves once in a while whether it be a nervous spell, or an act we put on.

Killing + Yourself = Stupid

There is absolutely positively no reason why you should ever end your life. Suicide is definitely not justifiable...unless your a samurai, and even then, how many samurai are alive today?
There are many reasons why killing yourself is never right, and I'm going to start of by telling you that it is just down right selfish! How could you be so depressed or lost that you just end your life with no thought of others? I mean, even if you were killing yourself because you had no family, no intimate partner, or any friends, there are still people in this world that need someone. To just end your life without ever having others in mind is very selfish. If a person who wants to kill them self because they don't like their lives, then why not try to make someone elses life better? Why not go do something like go into Africa and help AIDS victims risking your life? Why not become a daring cop who saves people from maniacs trying to harm them? Is life so hard when you do nothing but help people? NO, it's not, and that is why it is selfish to end your life. If these suicide victims don't think this way, then they probably shouldn't be on this planet anyways. They only think about themselves, so they definitely don't have your back in anything.
Some say that attempting to kill yourself is a cry for help. Well, I'm gonna relate this with actually doing it. So, if you are so messed up and you were never taught to kick life's butt and not let it kick yours, then obviously you need help. Here's the relation between the two. These people need to get some help. Why do they keep quiet until they can't take life anymore? Well, probably because they are too scared of whatever situation they are in. This my friends, is utterly ridiculous to me. If you are thinking about killing yourself, which, has got to be pretty darn scary, then you should have some courage deep down inside to get some help. I know everyone get's sad from time to time, but there must be a line that people set for themselves, something parents should teach their kids. Suicide is such a chicken way out. Now, before I continue, I want to apologize for my severity and harshness on this subject. You see, I was a victim of being a friend to someone who almost killed them self. To this day, I hate him for it because it made me incredibly sad when he ran off to try it. After that night, I found utter hatred toward this subject, and complete stupidity in the minds of those who do it/try it. Do they really think that no one cares about them?! Or their situation is that bad to just leave EVERYTHING?! I believe everyone has some sort of destiny to fulfill, and NO a destiny is not death. Some people's journeys are obviously going to be harder than others, but that's what makes us all unique. We need each other. Without you and I, or any of our friends/people we come in contact with, there would be no need for a lot of things. Language, Love, Respect, Loyalty, Comfort, NOTHING. You would just be you. Knowing this, if someone is going to commit suicide they MUST understand that SOMEONE is out there waiting for them. Someone needs you, ALWAYS.

Eww! You Like Donuts!

I do in fact believe that people have, "types." Why do I think that? Well, I believe that due to how your parents raised you, what they taught you to stay away from and go to, and what you personally like to do all make up your , "type." I have even read that some people find other people attractive who remind them of their own parents. Of course they don't readily think this consciously, it is thought subconsciously. Besides this bizarre knowledge I just threw at you, people are also attracted to what they like. An example might be a baseball player who finds a softball player more attractive than a track runner simply because she plays his sport. A persons type could simply be what they find brings the most out of them. A dull and boring person might find a very outgoing party girl to be simply incredible just because she brings out the fun side in him. I'm not too sure as to why people like certain physical aspects of other people though. This could be in relation with what they were brought up to believe was good. If a male had friends growing up who thought the world of women's breasts, then he might adapt to this kind of behavior and like breasts over other parts of a female. This could go completely opposite also. A man who doesn't want to be like his friends or hears too much from his friends about one part could be sick of it and find another part of a women to be more attractive. This could be caused because the man sees the part as an unknown, and because there is a part that is overly know, the unknown excites him. In the question, I am asked what makes a women like men with scruffy beards. I thought about this a lot, and I found the answer to be very difficult to find. I only thought of how her father might have had a scruffy beard, and that's why she likes them. Other than that, I have no clue as to why a woman might like a scruffy beard. I mean, the beard must look ugly, feel nasty, and make the male look like a hobo of some sort-why would any girl like that? Then again, there are some weird people in this world who get turned on by some pretty creepy things. I'm not going to go into those kinds of, "types," as some sick people might call it. I do believe that most of what we find attractive in the opposite sex, or now-a-days- in our partners, is that way because of what we were taught to like and dislike. Maybe not just through what our parents have taught us, but by our experiences also. If you despise donuts because you threw them up a lot as a child, then your probably not going to like someone who is in love with donuts simply because you'd have a high chance of vomiting on him/her every time they ate a donut. That is a very rediculous example, but hey, it's possible.

Officiating My Sport

I love to run. I believe that God gave me a special kind of gift, that enables me to achieve and even inspire through my running. Running is pure enjoyment to me. Besides basketball, there isn't much I'd rather be doing on this planet. Now, this may be very true on a number of different levels...but...I have got to tell you one thing-I do not like to officiate a track and field event at all!
It all started when we, the AVC track and field team, were told that we were going to be putting on a track meet for the local high schools. We were each individually given a job for the meet. Some were given the job of writing down jump marks for the jump events, others jobs at the ticket booth. I was given the job, along with two of my fellow distance running teammates, of officiating the check-in table. For track and field, before you run your race, you must first go to a check-in table to let the officials know that you are there. This way they know whether to combine a race, or just drop a race completely. I was in charge of this along with my two buddies.
At first I thought that it was going to be very easy. I mean, come on, all I was required to do was to check off peoples names...wrong! I was put in hell for an entire seven hours! Yes, this is when I did something that I wouldn't readily agree on, but I had to. The kids from these high schools were utterly and entirely stupid! Instead of just having to check them in, I had to make sure they knew were they went, made sure they didn't go on the track when they weren't supposed to, and even told some of them what races they were in! Can you believe that?! As if there coach didn't tell them what event they were doing. As if they practiced everyday for something that they didn't even know they were doing!
Now, I would imagine that you are probably wondering what I did in order to go against what I believe in. Obviously I was in a situation with a bunch of teens who don't know how to do things for themselves. They are still living very strictly under their parents, and don't have the slightest bit of independence. So, I had to deal with this. I had to become what is known as a grade A, well...ASSHOLE! I don't readily try to be a donkey (in place as a more acceptable word) and I don't really believe that anyone tries to be a donkey. However, in this case I was forced to be one. I yelled at these kids, I got angry with these kids, I did everything that I possibly could to not allow these kids to have a say in anything that they did! I was rude, crude, and mean! It was the only way to do things. These kids would not know how to do anything! Well, I'm exaggerating a little, but still, it was the majority of the kids there so I have all the right in the world to say so. I wish I could have done things differently, but I had one of the most important jobs on the field. Without me and my teammates doing a good job, the races wouldn't have even started correctly. So, this is what I did, and that is why I did it. I wasn't necessarily dictated to do so, although I had my jerk coach on my butt the entire time. I had to become a person I didn't want to be, to get the job done.

For the Good of Readers

"You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,/But I shall be good health to you nevertheless"
-Walt Whitman, From Song of Myself

What comes to your mind when you think this? Are you like the high percentile that doesn't believe in what someone says unless you know why he is saying it...rather it be good information or bad? Or do you think, "hey he's right, whatever." To me, we all have over-sized heads. To me, most of us will not be in the truth because there will always be a lie that could be made up of the truth. Try to understand what I am trying to convey here. We are all surrounded by evil, and evil that doesn't and will not ever leave. You know and I know that there are horrible things in this world that twist and turn the truth and leave people starving for sick and demented treasures. When this man says, "You will hardly know who I am or what I mean," I think he is trying to tell us that we may not know what he is telling us because of our non relating situations-him being in the truth and us being in a lie, or an altered state. I think he means this because he chose to say we wouldn't understand him, rather then we wouldn't believe him. Obviously if he said we wouldn't understand him then we are in a situation in which we cannot relate to him. Or, we do not have the tools to understand him at the moment. I just happened to think it is because of us being caught in something that isn't real, or fake. I believe that I think this due to my religious belief. I think that this relates to the word and stories that God has chosen us to read from. I think this because mostly all of us cannot fully comprehend what God wanted us to learn from the stories and words in the Bible. Some stories seem utterly out of this world, but we are told that it is for our own good. Believing and striving through works that don't necessarily seem real is having faith to me. Not a lot of people have this because they cannot readily believe that something is scientifically or logically proven to be true. I think that when Whitman writes this in his poem he understands this. He tells us that we won't know who he is or what he means, but he also gives us reassurance by telling us that it will be for the good of us. I think he is trying to reach faithless people. Not necessarily faithless people in God, just faithless people in general. He might be trying to tell an insecure person who doesn't believe someone easily to trust him, and learn that he has good for them. This poem is intended to be good for people in the sense that he is reassuring people that he has good health for us. He doesn't tell us that we won't get good health, or we have to work for it-just that we won't know who he is or what he means. Then he gives us hope regardless. He states that we will be given good health from him nevertheless.

They Choose to Destroy Their Freedom

I believe that if any of the Middle Eastern countries legitimately elected authoritarianism through the democratic process then they have all right in doing so, and the US should leave themselves out of it. I believe that if that the authority in this dictatorship government is just and keeps people's human rights protected, and if the people want it, then it should be allowed. If the authority is displaying unjust ways of doing things, then of course the US should step in and fight against it. I don't particularly know how the US might do so in the situation of the people electing a dictator who is evil in his ways. Should the US step in to a country that wants to be beaten? This kind of thing probably won't ever happen on our planet, considering I don't think anyone likes losing their human rights...but what if? How would you stop a large group of people who WANT to be run by an evil dictator? Should the US step in? Well, I believe that the US should definitely step in if that newly elected dictator was trying to cause harm to those who don't deserve it. An opportunity the US might have today is in Iran. Specifically with dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. If the US did not stand and fight for democracy, then their might not be another country who would. If we let such a thing happen around the world, it might grow and eventually effect America. If the dictator wasn't causing anyone harm to who didn't elect him then would that really be wrong? Is that really a dictatorship? This actually seems very unlikely, but if the case ever presented itself, I might just say let it be. This way the people and/or neighboring countries learn a lesson on basic human principles and rights. This is a case of the greater good. Also, dictatorships never work out, so this government will not last anyways. We could just monitor them until it collapses, and then once it has go in and explain why it collapsed. This might be the only part that the US has to play in this story. It all depends on how that dictator runs his government. Obviously if democracy is the reason for something to happen then it was done with a just cause in that the people chose it. However, if democracy chooses to destroy itself...then so be it.

Guilty For Not Seeing The Unknown

This topic hits right to the heart, or at least it should for most of of us. How is it that you could be guilty for not seeing someone or something that is unknown to you. Well, I'll tell you. Are you ever watching T.V. and you see one of those world visions people pop up on a commercial and ask you to donate some of your money to a homeless person in Africa? Well my friends this is exactly I am talking about. You see, those kids are unknowns to you until you saw that commercial. They are unknown because you simply didn't know them, try to get to know them, or was exposed to them by some outside source other than yourself (before the commercial of course). This could happen with other things too, not just the starving kids in Africa. I would have to say that 80-90% of us live in places that have some sort of hurting going on in the streets around us, rather it be drugs or neglect-and we are oblivious to it. This is very true for most of us, especially those who are reading this simply because we have or are working on a computer meaning that we have some resources that those people don't. Could you imagine feeling guilty for this? SHOULD we feel guilty- is the real question. My thoughts are simply this, I do not believe we should be feeling guilty until our duties are fulfilled and everything we NEED to do is done. Then, and this is only a maybe, should we feel guilty. I can tell you my opinion on the matter, but that might not meet with your opinion. Obviously it'd be a nice thing, and I might be hitting a sore subject so bare with me and please don't judge me, but what about people in your family you might not know about? Is it fair to the people in your family to not receive some extra money when they are in times of need over DYING kids in Africa? Think about it. You have to decide whether or not making a savings account for your child to go to college one day over saving someone's life across sea's that you don't even know. I understand that this is a very hard decision. Of course, this can even get down to...do you really need that extra ice cream after your meal, or do you send that money that would be used for ice cream to save someone's life? Something I cannot decipher. Something, to be honest, I would only pray about. Yes, I would feel guilty if I had a million dollars and I bought lavish cars and a mansion for my family of four. I just don't know how to react to such a thing, especially when I'm fighting for a better life and taking advantage of my God given opportunities. This might be up to your faith, as it probably would be for me. I just don't think some people would take this very lightly. I'm guessing that some of you are reading this and I'm making you feel guilty. You might be thinking, "oh my goodness, I am so horrible, I shouldn't have bought that 60$ purse, I could have saved someone from dying!" Others of you might think differently. Maybe some do take this lightly because they realize that this has been happening for such a long time, heck their whole life! Why should they care now? I am guilty of not seeing them for the most part, but I don't know how I feel about feeling guilty when I find them. There are always times when you walk into a McDonald's or grocery store and you are placed in front of a little container with a slit in the top of it to put in coins and dollar bills. They accept anything from a penny to a hundred dollar bill. Should you donate to those canisters that support a just cause of cancer or AIDS worldwide? Well, if you are given change of a quarter, five pennies and a nickle-what do you do? I'll tell you what I suggest you do. You take the nickle and pennies which you are probably going to throw in your car change holder and it won't be seen until a little brother or niece asks for it, and place it in the container. Your niece or nephew, brother or sister can wait for their nickle and penny on the ground, the starving kids aren't fortunate enough for a piece of bread, let alone a penny on the ground. Then you take the quarter, and get yourself some candy from the candy dispenser found on your way out, and you eat the candy and feel good that you might have just saved someone's life.

Comparing Views on Death (Nothing Interesting)

When comparing, "From the Diary of.." and, "Hanging Fire," I can see that the points of views on dying are very similar, but have different meanings to them. When reading Hanging Fire, I see a fourteen year old girl who is talking about how much she wants to do with her life. She is afraid of dying not just because she's in a situation of life and death, but because she might not get to do the things that most girls at her age get to do. She says, "suppose I die before graduation... and "will I live long enough..." symbolizing that she is afraid that she might not get a chance to do something. She doesn't say will I live long enough for no reason. She wants to live long enough for something, otherwise she wouldn't be asking the question, will I live long enough.
As for the other young person in the poem From the Diary of an Almost-Four-Year-Old, the speaker is talking more in a appreciative tone. Instead of asking questions that lead us, the reader to see that this person is afraid of dying, you can see from what this person is saying that they are happy to be alive. In the poem the person talks of loosing her eye. Instead of complaining or saying what if I had a good eye, they kind of joke of what it would be like having a glass eye. The person says, "I'll have a brand new glass eye, maube things will look round and fat in the middle..." To me this person would not use the word, "fat," unless they were trying to be optimistic about their situation. Along with optimism comes happiness, and I can clearly tell from her lack of pessimism that she is happy. Instead of being depressed about her situation she looks towards having the glass eye, and ponders on what it will be like. The only kind of sadness that comes from this is when she says that she doesn't want her younger sibling to go through what she has gone through.
When comparing the two poems you can see that they are similar in the fact that they are talking about death, or loosing something, but don't have the same points of views about it. One poem's whole persona is to fret on the idea of possibly not making it in time for the party, or not being able to do the things they wanna do before they die. The other is happy to be alive and sees more of what they have rather then what they might not have.

The Result of Public Speaking

To some, public speaking is the most horrible thing a person could go through. It takes more out of a person to give a speech to a group of people than it does to run a marathon. Most people's hands start shaking, and their vocals begin getting destroyed by the fear in their fast paced heart beat. They cannot either remember what they had to say, or they can hardly read what is required of them to read. As for me, well, I have a sort of bi-polar reaction when it comes to public speaking. Half of the time I am perfectly fine talking to a group of people. When this happens, I can talk precisely, make eye contact properly and even add to whatever it is that I am trying to spit out. I cannot remember a specific moment where I have been in the boat of trembling public speaking, however, when I do become frail and incompatible to public speaking things go completely change for the worse. I can possibly have a change in my voice, my words become slurred and I can most definitely not fully convey what it is I am trying to say or read. Of course, when this happens, I become extremely nervous, and it becomes hard to think clearly due to all of the adrenaline I get from my nerves. If I am given someone to respond to, I have a high chance of not being able to reason correctly with that person. I definitely can be talking to someone and they can ask me a question I know the answer to, and I would not know it at that time just because of how nervous I am. There could be something I feel strongly about, and I have all the things in the world to say about it, and just as I am put in the situation where I break confidence, I don't have a thing to say about the subject. I can put all the money in the world on someone who is strong enough in persuasion to change my ideas on something I feel deeply about. Of course not on religion, or something of that matter, but of most things. It seems that when I am elapsed into the trance found in public speaking I loose some of my memory. All of the most important things just seem to vanish straight out of my memory bank. It's kind of funny because as soon as I'm done speaking or am comfortable I remember what it is that I wanted to say or should have said. What's even more funny is that I some how never have the chance to say what it is that I wanted to say. Something always happens, whether it be we change the subject, or other people just completely never give me another chance to speak (say in a classroom, and the teach is done listening to our papers/speeches). It is a funny thing in itself because we don't have much to fear, it is not like coming face to face with a lion, just people like you and me. I guess the fear of being judged is bigger than we know.

Respoding to Literature

As human being we are equipped with a set amount of emotion responses, that basically enable how we act, and react. I believe that how you think influences how you feel, and how you feel influences how you act. Obviously if your tired in the morning and you think that you cannot get up and get your day started, then your probably not going to get up and start your day. However, if you get up and regardless of how tired you are at that moment you say to yourself, "hey! I'm going to get up and enjoy my day right now!" Then your gonna want to get up, and your probably going to start your day. With this knowledge, and the combined responses we get from literature, we can virtually change how we live. Say you read a touching book that is about a mentally challenged person who didn't life bring him down, and didn't let anything stop him. If your emotional responses are right and hopefully not twisted, then you will think differently once your done with the book. This will then most likely change your actions. You might have a really long day after work or school, and you have a lot of things to do at home, and you really just don't want to do any of it. Because you read that book about the challenged person not letting life get him down, you might think, "well heck, if he can do it, then why am I complaining?!" If you never had a chance to get a hold of that literature and experience what it has to offer you, then nothing in your life would change. You see, this is what literature can do to you. It can influence you, change the way you think, change the way you feel...it can basically manipulate you into whatever form it wants you in. I mean, it obviously can't do it if it's not a good piece of literature or one that has a lot of grammatical and spelling errors. If you read a piece with errors in it, you might just laugh at it, or just stop reading it because, well, it's unreadable! If you have an open heart for the matter, and the literature is well written/made then chances are you will have your thoughts, actions, or ways of living life changed.
When we analyze literature, we are exploring a completely different world. I believe that literature can sometimes speak louder than a voice can. If enough heart is put into something, then other hearts will grab hold of it, and conform to it. Sometimes, the tone of a voice might be to harsh for us to grab a hold of. When we dissect literature then ideas are opened up and released into our current steam of thought. We can understand why someone wrote a piece, and if they meant to write it for a reason. We can learn from others mistakes, heart breaks, and wrong doings. If a book is not broken down, one might not get all that is intended to be received. This too, is another reason for dissecting literature. If I had anything to relate it too, I would relate it to why we teach history...and that is so we don't repeat it. This isn't meant literally to dissecting literature, but the idea is just when comparing why we analyze literature and study history.

The Voice of Literature

When I think of literature, I think of communication. I believe when you read something, or even look at something, you are communicating with the writer or creator. Why else would any kind of literature be constructed? Sure, one could say they are just simply trying to, "express," themselves, but even then, they are expressing themselves to others. We write to bleed out our ideas, and we read to absorb the blood of others. We don't pick up a book and tell ourselves, "gee I am going to read this just because!" No, we read for reasons, while the writer wrote for his or her reasons. We are put into a whole other dimension when we read or write. It is almost as if when we read or write, we create another form of communication. When i read, I feel I go to another place in my head, and escape the world for the time being. Then, as soon as I am done reading the literature at hand, I wonder why the author wrote about the subject, and what things influenced him to write it. When I write, I don't just write to write, even if it is an assignment. When I write, I always have the future reader in my head. They are huge influences on my papers. It is a mixture of what I want in the paper and what the reader is to expect. This also applies to when I read. When I read, I mix my experiences and emotions in with the book, piece, and/or author and find all the connections between them. When I do this, I am giving the literature a chance to have a louder voice. It allows me to be more open minded, have fun with the work, or just simply understand it better. When asked the questions, how does literature speak to you or how does it change you, and how might it inform you. I say, literature speaks to me, and informs me of something new, and has the power to change me.
I believe this class will alter my perceptions in many ways. One, because no ones perception stays the same. Two, because this class seems to contain many peer reviews and peer commentaries. This is going to enable me to read many different kinds literature and writings from many different people. Instead of just reading two books for the entire semester and pointlessly rambling on about what he meant in every darn sentence, I will be given a chance to explore many kinds of work, and many kinds of sentences. This will allow me to see the world differently because I won't be so close minded. This whole new blogging thing is going to open my eyes to what other people have to say. This will lead to other subject matter that might actually be interesting to me, and will actually be new outside of my current literature attractions. This class will give me opportunities to broaden my point of views and enhance them.