Currently, I’m not doing so great in Biology. I am passing, however, I have a test tomorrow and a final next week that can ruin everything for me. I’m trying to stay positive, although studying is driving me insane. I have 4 more PowerPoints to complete, which is impossible to do at this point considering the fact that its 11:08pm and I have to be up at 9am. On the test in the morning, I’ll just have to try and answer every question to the best of my abilities, even though I’m sure my professor will make doing that a lot harder.  

For all of my test this week, I’ll be studying the day before (wouldn’t suggest anyone to do this, ever!). With all the work I have, it leaves me no option. At this point, all there is left for me to do is pray. Although I know the chances of me doing well on these test is slim, I’ll continue to remain calm and think positive. I’m a “go with the flow” type of girl and surprisingly, some of the time I do better than I expect. Although things aren’t looking so great right now, I still feel content with all of the work I’ve done over the semester. As this term come to an end, I can look back and be proud of my work ethic and determination throughout the semester. For the next two weeks, I’ll continue to think positive and hope that things will turn out okay.

           I wouldn’t consider myself a creative person what-so-ever, so my proposed topic for project 3 is fairly simple. I will be researching the relationship between communicating over the internet and communicating face to face. My proposal research question is “Is the Internet Sabotaging Real Communication?” Some would say that communicating over text is way different than having a conversation in person, which can be very true. For instance, we are missing some important factors when having an on screen conversation, such as facial expressions, tone, and body language. Without these factors, it raises the potential for misinterpretation. There are often times when people get into disputes with others because saying things over text or social media can come across differently than intended. Our expressions and voices alter the meanings of words when they are put together, and communicating over the internet allows us to notice this. We tend to try and fix this problem by using emojis, but not even a smiley can guarantee that a person knows your exact intentions when nonverbally. According to Susan Tardanico, a Leadership & Communications Executive, “Social media may have revolutionized communication, but it threatens our ability to communicate. Without the benefit of body language, we are operating with a major deficit.”

           Aside from the arguments about how the quality of communication has changed, there are disagreements about the quantity of communication after social media. Some would say that communicating over the internet has allows us to communicate much more, but in person it allows us to communicate less. Instead of gaining knowledge from one another, we quickly turn to those online instead. This lack of communication physically can affect our relationships and self-perceptions. We are now able to portray and project ourselves as we want to be seen when it comes to communicating online or in text. I can’t agree more with author Denis Sickert when he says “…people should rather concentrate on real-life communication than on a virtual one. Society should try to not fully depend on social media but instead use it as convenient advantage of contemporary technology.”

Surprisingly, there is only one writing/composing project that I have to complete in a class besides CWP. I am required to create a portfolio for my Mastering the Academic environment class which is designed to advance a student’s academic achievement, retention, and empowered capacity to maximize personal success opportunities. There’s a list of written assignments that have to be completed which addresses a series of topics that would eventually help us gain knowledge on possible ways and strategies to becoming successful. It is important that as college students we should know at this point of our lives where we want to be in the future career wise. This portfolio helps us stay motivated and organized when it comes to some of the career choices we make. I think that a student should be very selfish in order to be successful in this class. I say this because it requires you to think about yourself and where you’re headed. Also, critical thinking skills are crucial when it comes to this class because it enforces our abilities to make well thought-out, clear, and reasonable judgments. Another skill needed to be successful in this class would be Goal-setting Skills. This includes the abilities to identify clear and realistic goals and being able to identify effective responses to positive and negative outcomes. This gives us tips on how to respond to successes and failures. Also, this portfolio helps determine which habitual patterns keep you on course and which ones don’t. I find that the writing assignments in this class aren’t as difficult because they are pertaining to myself, my thoughts and experiences. There is no right or wrong answers, and I won’t be graded on what I choose to say in this particular assignment, only on how efficient my responses are.

In any of my other classes I’m not really able to talk about myself, which is understandable because I am in school to gain knowledge on educational things. Completing this assignment gives me time to think about myself and where I’ll be headed in the future. As well, this portfolio would help me monitor my career progress over time.

My first Burchfield Penny Art Center experience was interesting. Out of all the creative pieces ofart, I found a few very captivating. One being, a painting of a scenery thatBurchfield might have imagined.While looking at the painting, there wasn't much that I could say about it at first. After listening and analyzing, I now have a clearer and complex understanding of what the author might have been thinking while creating this piece. It was a simple painting of the view of a person inside a cabin, facing a clear window that showed outside of the cabin. I immediately looked around the cabin to see if there were any people or objects inside of it. I saw nothing but just the wood and some dear heads hanging up in the room. This gave the room a dull and deadly feeling. Because the room was almost empty it made me feel incomplete. However, when I took a look outside of the window there was more to see than what was inside the cabin. There was nature scenery that had a lighter, yet chill feeling. I think the cabin room represented death and darkness while the outside represented life and purity. I say this because outside of the window there was a calming atmosphere. There were lakes with swans swimming in them that symbolized grace and purity. Because they were alive, unlike the deer, it also represented life. Although outside seemed to be pretty dull, it still somehow showed some form of life when compared to inside the cabin. Like most cabins, this cabin was made from wood, which showed that there was a connection between the wood shown on the inside and outside of the cabin. I also believe that this emphasized the whole concept of the living and dead. The name of the painting and the bare trees hinted that it was winter during this time. Even though the setting of the picture was dreary, bare, and cold Burchfield somehow made a way to make others look deeper into the details and concept of this particular painting.

Two weeks ago, I traveled to Panama, the home country of my family. I hadn't been there in years and the last time I visited was about 10 years old (which would be roughly around 9 years ago).I didn’t remember much of my family down there and that made me a little uncomfortable. I traveled with my sister to attend my father’s wedding, but I wasn’t really excited about going because my close relatives wouldn't be there. Also I didn’t think it was an appropriate time to travel considering the endless amount of work I had. However, I decided to go to be there for my dad on his big day. Today, I am more than grateful for taking that trip. When I arrived in Panama, it was scorching hot. This was exciting because I needed to escape from the cold in Buffalo.

Besides the beautiful weather there were many things about this trip to Panama that I can appreciate. Mainly, Spending time with my family that lives there. Everyone was so welcoming and made me feel at home. They made me feel like my relatives back home were with me. For some reason, I felt so connected to my family who I don’t even see often.

rəˈvenj/

noun

1.

the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands.

Recently ive been hooked watching the show Revenge. To briefly explain, Its about a young women who is seeking revenge for father’s imprisonment. He was set up by his colleagues and sent to jail for a crime that he didn’t commit and had no involvement in. After watching the last season, my views have changed about the word revenge. Revenge usually coincides with the concept of Justice, but after seeking revenge are we truly satisfied?