Me,Myself,and My Life

Through out the semester I have learned a few a lot more than just creative writing. I really enjoyed reading the articles such as “The Unicycling Clown” which, in a way motivated me to do my project 3. It gave me ideas for my project and for a few scenes in my short video. I also enjoyed reading other people’s blogs. Reading blogs was like reading the new; some blogs keep me updated on current situations such as the Baltimore riots, Eric Garner case, the weather, and pretty much anything and everything. I also enjoyed reading blogs because I was able to see other people’s point of views on any situation. For example, before reading a blog I felt like rioting in Baltimore was the right thing, then I read a blog and I noticed that sometimes violence can not be the answer. I really enjoyed the blog where we had to read our peer’s blog and comment on their blog. I feel like this gave me the opportunity to read some of the people’s blog that I do not really read very often. And their blogs were actually very interesting.  I really enjoy how Mary Beth brings up topics in class and keeps us all interested; this was the main reason why I chose to take CWP-102 with the same professor. I feel like that as students we learn more when we take breaks in between class work while at the same time talking about real world issues. This is where we learn how to talk to one another and express our feelings without having to offend anyone. I feel like expressing my thoughts out loud would eventually transfer over to my writing, making it easier for me to write more and express myself more thoroughly.

 I have written so many papers this semester and this course has definitely helped me write them more easily. I try my best to express myself every time I write. I feel like this course helped me express myself. An example would be how Mary Beth tells us to review the work and not the grammatical errors; even though we just listen and do what we are told we fail to realize that this is actually helping us because we become more focused on the actual work.  

All this stress built from the semester has really given me a hard time. I might as well talk about something other than college. BALTIMORE!! What are they doing? I do understand that police officers all of a sudden have become so aggressive when I started high school. Now I am in college and they are killing people. Since I brought up “high school” I would like to just throw something out there. I always wanted to be in law enforcement; something along the lines of FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshal. But how can I take that image upon myself? As I grew mentally I started noticing the flaws in the American System. The System is so corrupted that I rather be on the other side.  How can the actions of a person who is supposed to protect their community make me change my entire future?  I cannot be a Criminal Justice major, when the major issue here is justice.  I would probably lose my friends if I became a police officer.

In New York City is where I have seen officers break so many laws. I have seen them run a red light and turn into Dunkin Donuts, like why is this an emergency? Is the coffee getting cold? Did the donuts grow legs and are running away? I have also seen them go down one-way streets without their strobe lights; just a quick shortcut for them because their job does not get easier than to drive all day.

Do you ever look at your little brother, sister, cousin, nephew, niece or any younger family member using smart phones or tablets, and wonder if they are learning?  Are they gaining anything from these App games? Does it even benefit them in any type of way?

 My project is intended to answer these questions. For my project, I will do a short video explaining the effects of technology on children today. I will compare today’s children (children under 12 years old living in 2015) to children who were raised in the 80s and 90s where technology was not too advanced.  To compare, I will research how children learned math in the 80s and 90s. I will also research statistics on how children learn math today.

 I will also conduct an interview with any parents who had children after 2010. The first person I chose to interview is my brother if he is available and wiling to speak about his children. If he does agree I will ask my brother a few questions about how he was raised without technology. I will also ask how he learned math without using a calculator or any sort of technology to help with math. I would also like to know his opinion on technology and how it affects children today. Would it have been easier growing up for him if he had the technology we have today. I will also ask him about his children and why he lets them use their tablets for a long time.  Does he think that letting them use the tablet for 1-2 hours a day will benefit his children or hinder their ability to learn? Do they actually learn from the apps? Does having more apps on the iPad distract them?  

Every time I go to the Burchfield Penny Art Center I notice unusual art that makes me question “why am I not rich and famous yet?”  Besides the fact, I saw a few pieces of art at the art center that caught my attention.  One in particular was the canoe with holes, and with pieces of tape covering every inch of it.

LOGOS:

After walking around the art center for almost twenty minutes I walked into a room where everything was covered in pieces of tape I did not really understand the point of it; or the reason someone could become famous just by covering random items in tape. Then I came across the canoe and I started thinking about how a canoe can relate to ones life.  A canoe is meant to stay afloat; it is a mode of transportation. Its purpose is to get someone or something from point A to point B. We all know that for an object to stay afloat it needs to displace water. If the structure is punctured then water will get in and it will start to sink. The amount of time that it will take for the canoe to sink depends on how many holes are punctured or the size of the holes that were puncture.

 PATHOS:

           If you start to relate the canoe to ones life you will start to find similarities. Canoes displace water, just how humans take up space on land. The holes in the canoe represent the imperfection of a human being. The closer one is to being perfect (successful/making money) the easier it is for him/her to survive (stay afloat).  The holes in the canoes are flaws; the more flaws that a person obtains the faster that person will fail. The biggest challenge, is working with time. This is the only solution to success; the faster you can fix your flaws (cover the holes) the easier it will be to be successful (stay afloat).

 ETHOS:

Do you ever find yourself so into your phone that you completely ignore a person, important class information, or even your mom? Why does technology swallow our brains? Nowadays everywhere you go you will see the majority of the people around you using a phone, computer/laptop, or tablet. We waste so much time on technology that we do not even talk to our parents or even grandparent as much as we used to anymore. They are the only link we have to our past; they are the only people that can tell you who you really are and where you come from.

Everyone always talked about going to college, or how much fun you can have in college. My whole life I have been hearing the same thing over and over again, and now that I am in college it seems like the big picture everyone has been painting for me is missing. Instead of being a pessimist and complain about how boring it is AT TIMES (because it does get fun sometimes) I will tell you about my learning experience in college. This is not the time to skip over this blog and read someone else’s blog because I am not talking about what I have learned academically, in fact, I will talk about what I learned on my own in college.

After reading “Shitty First Drafts” I realized that my way of writing is completely different. I never write a first draft. My high school teachers would assign first drafts for essays; I would write my draft and while everyone was busy fixing their mistakes I would be playing Fun Run on my phone. There were not many mistakes on my paper when other students would revise it.  

           Now that I am in college I am more careful when writing my essays. I still do not write drafts. A student in my class said that there is no time in college to be writing drafts. I agree because there is a lot of work to be done in such short notice that writing drafts would drive me insane. Lamott talks about a writer that says to himself “It's not like you don't have a choice, because you do -- you can either type, or kill yourself.” With all the work in college it is hard not to feel like that sometimes. I do agree with Lamott when she says, “you just let it pour out” because sometimes I get wrapped in my thoughts, come up with a good idea, and then I forget the idea that I just had. Every time I brainstorm for an essay I usually make a list of 3 important ideas and those ideas will be my three body paragraphs. But, usually I have my essay planned out in my mind.

Sometimes I would forget to do my blogs on Sundays, because I usually take Sundays as my relaxation day or my day off.  I actually forgot to do my blog today until my friend reminded me. I do not really find a motive to do these blogs unless it is about an important topic such as: Ebola, World Crisis, War, Peace, or any other issue that is occurring in the world. When we blog about these things I enjoy reading other’s point of view.  For example, many wrote about Ebola that was really interesting because I had the opportunity to read about what others think.

  Overall blogging did not really help my writing since I do not take a lot of time to the blog. I usually rush to finish. But, sometimes when I rushed to finish on time I would come up with some good vocabulary, and sometimes I would come up with vocabulary that I would have to look up because that word has just been covered with dust in the back of my brain. I enjoyed blogging sometimes, because I felt like it was a way to get things off of your chest.  Blogging made me realize why people use tumblr so much. It made me realize that blogging is a form of escape. This is when you can be yourself and not have to worry about what others think (since they do not know who you are). Writing on tumblr got things off of my mind.

  The most successful blogs were the ones that had that had something to do with the real world, as I explained.  But I did find the “choose your own topic” blogs successful sometimes. I say sometimes because it would really be helpful to relieve some stress and write about whatever comes to my head.

  Another thing that I enjoyed about blogging was looking at all the different pictures, memes, and gifs. Some tell the truth about government of people, some tell the truth about life, and some just makes you laugh until your stomach hurts.  There were some blogs that Professor Sullivan posted that made me think a lot, and I had to reblog them

I have a few ideas for the sound project but all of them bring different obstacles.  The first idea I have for the project is to make an interview. I am planning to interview my mother, my cousin, my stepfather, and my grandmother. I plan on adding tense music when they start talking about what happened and what they were thinking about as the car lost control.  The first obstacle that I have to deal with will be calling my stepfather, and grandmother and record the conversations.  Another obstacle that I would have to deal with is the translation from Spanish to English. My grandmother, mother, and stepfather speak Spanish; this means that I would have to record myself speaking English and add it onto the audio file.  I do not want to skip my grandmother’s, mother’s, and my stepfather’s interview because I believe that their point of view was one of the most important in the accident.

  The other idea I have for the audio project is to make an instrumental song with the sound effects used in the film (project 2). I would have to sample and edit some songs to make the audio have a “mood” or a “feel” I want the audience to feel as if they are in the accident, and I also want the song to have a part where the audience becomes motivated or inspired to do something. The obstacles that this idea brings are the sampling and editing. To sample I would have to cut a certain area of the song, change the tempo and add it into my own song.  I tried doing this with Audacity and Garage band and they are both giving me trouble. I have to familiarize myself with either one of these programs in order to sample the song correctly.

  The other idea that I have for the audio project is to make a song with lyrics. I do not like the way I sound on a microphone so I got someone to sing/rap the lyrics.  I do not know if I am using this idea for the project but I still managed to find a person just incase.  Obstacles that this idea brings would be getting a microphone that would eliminate the background noise (professional Microphone) or using the iPhone headphone’s that brings a microphone attached to the cord. I would also have to find a quiet place for the singer to sing. I was thinking about using the library since it is a quiet environment, but that is the problem, it is a quiet environment. I could use my car in the middle of the parking lot during the night when no one is around. 

I chose to be a business major because I assumed that business required a lot of traveling. I enjoy traveling, I enjoy seeing new faces and new scenery, and I also enjoy tasting new foods and getting lost. Getting lost is one thing that I enjoy tremendously because you really have to use your memory and try to recall what you have seen and backtrack your way back to wherever you came from. Getting lost also allows you to see new things. I do not think that what I enjoy ties with business because I would probably end up getting lost and start wandering around and be late for any business meeting or job that I would be doing.

            Buffalo State is hosting a trip to The University of Malta. I would like to attend since it is abroad. The cost is pretty high; I called my mother to talk to her about the price and she said that it is fine with her. I do not want her to pay for all of it, this is why I want to get a job but I do not have any time in my schedule for a job. Going back to the trip, when I go I plan on getting lost, I do not mind if it is with my friends or not as long as I meet new people and see new things. I have researched lightly and saw a few photos and that country looks beautiful. I feel like I cannot wait to attend the trip.