Last Blog :(

I'm actually kind of upset this is our last blog. In the beginning when we were first assigned blogging I thought it was going to be terrible, but it turns out I like to blog. I thought blogging was useful, also I think blogging being the new journaling shows how technology oriented our society is now. I think it was easy points to get, not in a bad way or anything, but getting points for writing a paragraph or so on your own opinion I think is an easy assignment.

Effectiveness of Workshops

I think that the workshops we do in class are pretty effective, well most of the time. Sometimes there isn't any feedback given, or it's all positive so I don't know what to do from there. the ones we did in class on Tuesday were good. I didn't particularly like the telling everyone the changes we had to make, because I guess I just didn't understand why they all needed to know, especially because we all pretty much had the same things to change. I liked when we read our papers to our small group of 3 and then they said what they liked and asked questions they had. I think that was much more beneficial to the writing process.

Babysitting

So I'm not sure if this is substantial, but I'm hoping that someone gets a kick out of the this wretched night. So on Saturday my high school football team won the state championship 42-0, naturally the coaches wanted to go celebrate their win along with their wives, and that's how I ended up with 3 little terrors. Ridge 4, Cooper 3, and Avery 3 months are the kids and it started off with Avery turning into a bear cat because she was so tired, but would not go to bed. Finally she fell asleep and then it was time to deal with the boys. One of my friends came to help because I know that alone I couldn't have handled it. Early in the night around 8:00 Cooper had pulled my back pocket open and was "looking" in it. I asked him what he was doing and he walked away, it was then that I realized it was all wet. He had just spit all of his milk he just drank into my back pocket. Who even thinks of that? Dani and I spent the whole night separating the boys who constantly had each other in leg locks and all other kinds of shenanigans. They wouldn't listen to us at all! My boyfriend stopped to give me some new jeans and the boys instantly loved, and listened to him. He was a big help! The boys had slept 4 hours in the car so there was no way they were going to bed early! They'd pick out a movie, watch five minutes and then start attacking each other again. Cooper was in time out 4 times, Ridge was only in once, but they both could've been in there the whole night. Finally around 11:30 they fell asleep on the couch curled up next to each other. Laying there peacefully it was hard to imagine that they were the same kids. Around 1 am the wives came home and we were free!

Outline

The outline worksheet was kind of helpful, I was confused in the beginning so I didn't do it right for the first 2 pages wrongish I think. I like to do my own thing though, it's nothing against the outline worksheet, but I guess I'm just used to doing it this way, I tried to fill most of it out, but I also did my own little sketch like I would normally do. The worksheet was very organized so that is a benefit of using that over other methods. I hard a hard time focusing on it, that could be do to my excessive levels of stress right now, but neither here nor there. It was a handy thing.

Thesis

If placed by a set of moral values Ursula Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas," displays a skewed view on the correct behavior in the midst of another's suffering, by not helping the one suffering, and just walking away from the situation.

Thesis

If placed by a set of moral values Ursula Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas," displays a skewed view on the correct behavior in the midst of another's suffering, by not helping the one suffering, and just walking away from the situation.

Reading Critically

So when I read the stories the first time they both seemed pretty drab if I may say, but when we went over them in class and the real meaning of the White Heron was brought out it turns out these stories were actually quite intense. I guess thats what happens when you analyze every word and sentence of the reading. I'm going to work on reading things more slowly and trying to figure out what the author is really trying to convey to me, even if I might have to dig deeper to find it. I'm afraid that I'll take something in a completely different way and I'll interpret the whole thing wrong, but I guess then that will just be what the story means to me because I suppose we all have different interpretations of things.

Symbolism

"A White Heron" A few things I thought were symbols in this story were the color white, and the hunter, and the tree. I think the white symbolizes the very plain and simple life they live in the country. It's nothing crazy, it's just a basic calm and quiet life. The hunter symbolizes/creates turmoil and is different, they were fine until he showed up. He is the only guy in the story the cow, grandmother and Sylvy are are girls, and so when something different and foreign shows up Sylvia is uncomfortable and a lot of people are uncomfortable with new and different situations so actually that is kind of a worldly theme. I think that the tree kind of symbolizes the difficult decision she has to make about whether or not to tell the hunter about the heron. The climb isn't an easy one and she struggles with it, she also has a hard time with her decision because she doesn't want to tell him really, but the money would be helpful to her and her grandmother so she struggles with it, at the same time it kind of shows that she isn't willing to give up her morals for money and I think a lot of people wouldn't be able to make that decision in the right way like she did.

"The Yellow Wall-Paper" I had a hard time finding symbols in this one but one that I did find is the way that she just listened to her husband and her brother, because they were men. The male dominance was a theme I think, she knows something is wrong with her, but since they men say there isn't, there isn't. Also when she doesn't want to be in the room with the horrible yellow paper she has to stay because John says that the air is better up there. I know the yellow paper is a symbol, but I'm not really sure of what. I googled what the color yellow symbolized and it said that it stood for happiness, but also is the color of cowards and deceit. I don't know if either of those really work, she wasn't happy, I guess maybe she was cowardly because she just submitted to whatever John said, but she was a bit on the loony side so I don't know if that counts.

Women in the Early 1900s

Women were focused on themselves, and the well-being of the community. Even though everyone thought that the women's place should be in the home, many stepped outside of their homes to volunteer to help in election settings, club work, and reform movements. They worked hard to get rid of problems with poverty and disease, but it wasn't something that could be solved at the local level, so they started to work on the legislation to make laws that dealt with the sanitary issues of the cities. This helped women gain political skills and feelings of self worth. A lot of the upper class urban women expanded from their home to the city and the state. Women were really concerned with the well-being of everyone at this point, and did their best to change regulations on food, and sanitation. In 1920 women earned the right to vote this didn't change anyone's life substantially, but it did give some women the initiative to search for some independence from their family by searching for a job outside of the home.

Works Cited

Sivulka, Juliann. "From Domestic to Municipal Housekeeper: The Influence of the Sanitary Reform Movement on Changing Women's Roles in America, 1860-1920." Journal of American Culture (01911813) 22.4 (1999): 1-7. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.

Short Stories

We read 2 stories for today, one was The Most Dangerous Game, and the other was An Occurance At Owl Creek Bridge. I didn't really like either of them, we read the Most Dangerous Game in high school so I already knew what that one was all about, that one really creeps me out, because what if there are sick people who actually want/try to do things like hunt people? The second one was hard for me to follow along with I couldn't actually. It made me sad that he ended up dying because he has a wife and some kids that are alone now. I think he died because he was trying to break or damage the bridge? I don't know really.

Omelas

Oh my goodness. What was that? I don't even understand what that was. A happy little town where everything is perfect except they don't need the priests, and that way they can walk around naked like they want to. Oh and that little thing that is locked in the basement! Is that a child?!  How terrible! Where is social services? And they tell all the kids about it so everyone goes to see it, and it usually upsets them so they cry for a couple of days or some of them run away. Which maybe I understand because are they leaving because they don't agree with how that is being handled? I would be one of the ones to leave then. I don't know, this was one super weird story and I'm not sure what the exact point of the is.

The Writing Process

The process is going terrible. I can't pick a topic, well actually I have a topic but not really an argument so I've just been doing research all day and my head and eyes are hating me from all the reading I've done. I'm writing about Adoption, and why it's important that every adult gives it a thought. I think it needs to be more narrowed down than that though. I'm stressing big time. I have some points though like that it's better than the alternatives (abortion, or single parenthood) and it's better for the child long term, and it's better for the biological parent(s) too because with open adoptions they can still keep in touch with the child and be a part of their life. So I'll probably keep trying to figure it out all day tomorrow and Monday and hopefully something will be put together by Tuesday. Ugh.

Class This Semester

Some of the things I like about class are the class discussions when we sit in a circle, I feel like I can see everyone, and this may be creepy, but watch how their faces react to different things. I'm sure I make all kinds of facial expressions without even knowing it so I'm sure people like to see how I react too. I also like some of the random things we talk about before class, and sometimes in the middle.  I hate being put on the spot, but I love when other people are uncomfortable, it's cruel I know, but usually I'm just glad it's someone else and not me. Another thing I like is hearing my classmate's opinions on different things, and think that a lot of learning is done through each other.

Debates

In class on Thursday we had a couple small debates about a few different topics, the one that stands out most to me is the religious one. I was surprised to see that there are a few people who have a really hard time believing that there is a God. I come from a small town and I think in my high school there was 1 boy who didn't believe in God, and when he graduated 3 years ago I'm pretty sure there weren't any. So it was a shock to me to see that there were 2 or 3 people in just 1 class that didn't. It's hard to get people to believe and to know God, because it's a complete personal decision. If someone doesn't want to know, and wants to pretend that everything is completely up to us and all the miracles and such are just coincidences then that's that, and they won't be swayed to believing anything else. At mass Sunday we talked about how after 9/11 all the churches were full, because people needed God and needed someone to be there and rely on, but since then the attendance has gone back to normal because they don't "need" him anymore. It's so weird to me to imagine not believing in God. I'm going to do a promotion for CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) quickly. If anyone is reading this and wants to hang out with a bunch of cool people and grow in their faith, or just learn more about it, then you should come! It's Thursdays at 8 pm 2nd floor of the MUC it's amazing, and Dusty Hoffman will change your life! Hope to see you there :)

Research Topic

For my research paper in 11th grade I wrote about polygamy and the reason it has such a negative effect on society. I loved researching this, and reading all the articles about it. It's so interesting some of the things that the FLDS (fundamentalist church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints) believes. They say they're Mormons, but modern day Mormons don't claim them as their own, and no longer practice multiple marriages. I would love to write another paper on polygamy in the United States, they're are quite a few books out about people escaping from the church and them going back to try to rescue their siblings. Once they leave the church everyone in the church believes they're going to hell. So once the person gets out into the real world they usually have no one to help them, which leads some of them to go back. I'm excited to maybe write about this topic again.

Presentations

In class Thursday we gave presentations on effective ways of revising our papers. The strategy I covered was "Cutting Clutter." I know that I could definitely use this one! I think a lot of the time we all try to sound smart so we'll use bigger words or smarter phrases that really don't even fit in with the rest of the writing. Also, I think another reason people add more than they need to is because they are trying to meet the number of word requirement, which is important to do, but could easily be achieved by finding another fact or two to fit in there instead.

9/28/10

In class yesterday we had a peer review on our proposal essays. I looked over Andrew's paper. It was about the issue of building the mosque by where the world trade centers were. I haven't given the issue much thought until now, and for the most part I'm against it mostly because I think they just need to be more sensitive about it. I know if I was part of that group and we wanted to put a mosque there I would probably tell them that maybe it's not the best idea. I totally understand that not everyone from the Muslim religion was involved or for the 9/11 attacks, so they shouldn't be punished or hindered because of it. But, they still need to have a little more compassion and sensitivity towards those effected on that day.

Proposal Essay

Using a cell phone while driving should be illegal in all 50 states because it's dangerous and irresponsible, it distracts drivers from the road, and it puts not only the driver, but everyone around them in danger.

From personal experience I can say that no text is important or urgent enough to be worth causing an accident. It's dangerous to not have your full attention on driving and the road ahead, because if you're not paying attention you could cause an accident and could harm someone.  

100 People Screwing up America

I enjoyed reading this. I didn't know what to expect, I thought there were a lot of good points in it. Some of the stuff the celebrities say is unreal! Seriously! I was actually surprised by some of it, I think that a lot of what they said was rude and inappropriate. Yes, we do have freedom of speech, but people need to still be respectful/have some sort of manners.The story about the mother who wouldn't let her daughter fly a flag unless she bought it and it stayed in her room was ridiculous. If people think it's such a terrible place then they should go live somewhere else. Every country has made bad choices at some point in history, so they'll have a hard time finding a place that they can't criticize. Another thing I liked was the story about Barbara Walters. I agree with that 100%. That the news shouldn't be all about celebrities, they're people so what? There are wars going on, starving people, and homeless children, and she's talking about Mel Gibson's 35th DUI (that's an exaggeration). I don't need to know about that, and I don't care. It's sick the emphasis put on knowing what's going on in celebrities lives, when we should be talking and hearing about current events that actually matter.

Peer Editing

In class on Thursday we had a peer review. Personally I don't like peer reviews, I understand that they're helpful, but I don't like my writing, and so I'm embarrassed   to show others. I like to read other people's writing though, so that part is ok, except I'm one of the people who thinks that everything is good and the paper is perfect, so I'm no help at all really. I don't like critiquing something that I don't know very much about and am not very good at myself.

What I want to accomplish in life

This is take 2. I wrote one, read it, and realized that what I wrote was exactly what we're supposed to write. "I want to find a job I love and be successful blah blah blah." Well the truth is I have no idea what I want to accomplish. I don't know what I want to be, I don't know where I want to be, and I don't know what I want to accomplish. So what do I know? I know that when I've been on mission trips I've been the happiest I've ever been, and that playing and loving the little kids was one of the best things I've ever done. I also know that later in life I would like to adopt and/or foster children. I think it's terrible that a child should go through their life without a stable family, and maybe thinking that they weren't loved. Opening a children's home for lots of kids would be amazing, although I have no idea how to go about that at all. But, I know it's something I care a lot about. So maybe I do know what I want to accomplish? I don't know. I think that at this point in my life I'm just trying to figure out who I am, and what I'm about. 

Boys vs Girls

In class we had a discussion about sexism, and had to go through and list the qualities of boys and the qualities of girls. The guys went with the usual, "needy, whiny, dramatic, annoying, emotional, jealous, etc, etc." We, the girls, described the guys with things like, "inconsiderate, arrogant, cocky, smelly, overprotective, gross, etc." When I look at the lists that we made and thought about it for a while, I realized that while I do know some guys that are just those things, I know others that are sweet, sensitive, and caring. Also there are women who don't think hygiene is the most important thing, and are sloppy.  So as a class I think we all just listed the "bad" girl and boy qualities, and left out the good ones, which are the ones we actually should talk about. Some guys ARE good listeners, and the funniest person I know is a boy. Some important qualities the guys left out about girls is that we're independent, smart, and mostly laid back. So, I guess what I'm saying is it's important that we don't stereotype or assume things about anyone. It's best to get to know someone instead of just thinking that they're a certain way.

The Notebook

When I saw this on the list of stories we were going to read I got super excited. I love love love The Notebook. My favorite quote out of the section we read is this, "I am a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough." I just can't help but smile when I read that. I'm pretty sure the world would be a better place if this is how everyone thought. That just loving someone with all their heart and soul is enough, and that it doesn't matter that he's not rich or famous, because he has someone to love and that is all he needs. I have read the book twice, and have seen the movie too many times to count, and I still cry like a baby. Every time I find something new to love. Nicholas Sparks makes people fall in love with his characters. Well I know I do anyway. This may be off subject, but I've always wondered if Nicholas is as romantic in real life as he makes everyone else be in his books. I don't know how I'll ever get the answer to that, but it's just a thought. Well that's all for now. Bye!

 

Medical Literacy

When I was 6 or so I asked my brother, even though he's a year older and a lot bigger than I, if he wanted to wrestle. He said yes, pushed me down, and I broke my collar bone (we didn't know that yet though). So I was sitting on the ground crying, as my dad was telling me I was fine and it didn't hurt. Like he knew?! When the crying didn't stop mom decided they should take me to the doctor. Once we got there they took me to get an x-ray. The whole time the nurses and doctor were using words and phrases I has never heard before, and it was pretty scary, but ever since then I've been interested in going into the medical field and learning what all of the words, phrases, and other things mean, and helping other people and patients understand what they mean too.

Hi! My name is Stephanie Simons. I'm from Larchwood, Iowa, which is about 20 minutes from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I have four sisters and one brother. My family is very important to me so I'm going to tell you a little about them. My mom and dad have been married for 27 years. My dad manages a lumberyard, and my mom runs a daycare at our house. My oldest sister is Alicia. She went to Saint Benedict in St. Paul, Mn and is now married and has two beautiful little girls Catherine and Lucia. Next is Tina, who just graduated from Briar Cliff and is teaching k-3rd music. Haley owns her own salon and stays busy doing hair and nails. Then comes the only boy Andy. He went to Morningside last year on Football and Track scholarships, but decided it's not for him, so he's attending a tech school close to home. I'm next in line and I just started my first year at USD. One day of classes and I'm already stressed. That's never a good sign. Rachel is the baby of the family. She went to state track last year as a freshmen, so she's alright I guess. That's my family in a nutshell. Here's a little more about me. I love to play volleyball and golf. I also love my dog, Oscar, he's a bichon cockerspaniel mix and he's the best. I'm very shy, pretty much scared of everything, and I love to sleep. Well that's all for now. Bye!