DONE

I just turned in my last project that we had to do for my writing class.  We needed to make an ePortfolio and it made me see all the progress that I have made over the semester.  I think my writing improved and I faced some challenges like most people have.  Challenges are never a bad thing, they only help you to advance in what you are doing.  Possibly even taking a step back and see what needs to be changed and where you want to take it.  Take things one step at a time and keep an open mind.  Things will only get better no matter how many steps you might take in the wrong direction.  You will get there eventually and be proud of what you have accomplished.

Finishing up the semster

As I get ready to finish my semester, as I am writing my paper for my ethics class, I find myself trying to use strategies that I learned in my writing class to make my ethics paper better.  I am trying my best to keep my own opinion out of it and just use what I learned to make the argument.   As I struggle to stat the paper, I keep an open mind and just start by putting ideas out there instead of trying to just make it all happen right away.

I am also trying to finish up my ePortfolio for my writing class.  I honestly have not put much time into it out of class but my draft that I have typed up so far is turning out well.  I just need to put my thoughts into sentence form since now I just have it down there so I knew what I wanted to say.  Then I just have to add in the links for my work that I want to stare that I enjoyed the most and that I learned from the most.

Done with my paper...

I have just completed my paper for my writing class and I am feeling pretty good about it.  I enjoyed my topic and that we got to choose our own.  By being able to pick my own topic, I got more into it because I was interested in what I was researching and writing about.  After putting in all my sources and fixing how it transitions from one paragraph to another (mainly this) it really helped my paper.  The little things make the big differences when reading and rereading to make sure that I am proud of what I am turning in.

Two down, one to go

It is that time of year and everyone is trying to finish up all the projects that are coming to and end.  I cannot believe that this semester is almost over.  It went by so fast and we have gotten so much done.  I feel good about this semester.  Some classes I wish I did better in but with finals around the comer I am going to study and finish the semester off strong.  I always stress so much around this time of year like most people are, especially nursing majors such as myself making sure that our grade is where it needs to be to continue on our path.  This semester in my microbiology class, I had to find a different way to study instead of just reading it off my computer.  I started writing it in a spiral and then writing it on notecards and going over that and it really helped me and I feel better about how I have been doing.  It is never too late to find a new way of studying that is better and helps you learn more.

Thanksgiving Break

Today was the last day of our Thanksgiving break and it was a much needed break.  There has been so much going on lately that it was nice to just clear my head and take a step back for a couple days.  However, unfortunately a couple hours ago I got some upsetting news.  Everything seems to be okay for now but we don't know much about what is going on which I do not like.  I do not like the waiting and wondering impatiently on whats going on.  I was still able to get my work done this week and I am feeling pretty good about my paper that we are writing.  I like that we were able to decide what we wanted it to be on since that way I am more interested in writing and finding new information about it.  I have sources and I summarized it I just feel like it need to add some of what they are saying into it to further explain and support what I am saying.  In the end however is all going to turn out and I will be proud of what I am turning in.

It's that time of the semester...

It is that time where all the classes are beginning to wrap up and get all the final things done before the semester is over and the stress begins to pile up.  There is not enough time in a day lately.  I had everything planned out on when I was going to get stuff done by and continue to work on other stuff.  Lately I have not had much time to do my paper for my writing class and have not gotten that much done like I wanted to by now.  I have been so stressed with other classes that I have not had time to get that class done.  This upsets me because I have always been  on time with all my things that I have to get done and I was doing okay and then all of a sudden it was like everything was going on at once and the semester just flew by.  This weekend I plan on getting a lot of work done since the final tests and projects are due and then finals week is almost here.  

"Do Sweat the Small Stuff"

I just finished making my last edits to my summary and analysis about "Do Sweat the Small Stuff" from The New York Times Op-Ed written by Mark Bittman.  Looking back, it was not as bad as I thought.  However it was challenging for me to do at first.  Doing the summary part was not that bad since we already did a couple papers similar to that.  The analysis part however was a little difficult for me at first.  I feel doing the RAD (Rhetorical analysis document) was helpful.  It really helped to separate the different parts of the paragraph before putting it all together.

Overall, I liked the article that was chosen.  In order for there to be change, we have to begin by taking little steps.  If we want there to be change, we have to push for it and make sure that something is being done about it.  It is up to us as individuals how we are going to eat and what we are going to do.  We need to think not only about now but the future.  If it continues like this, how will it be when we are older and have kids who are our age.  We need to teach and set an example now that way it can start to get better.  It might seem more convenient to just stop somewhere on the way home from work but it is not hard to buy something easy to make to just put in the oven when you get home.  My family puts food in a crock-pot (slow cooker) in the morning on low and it just cooks during the day and is ready to eat around dinner time.  It is something that is quick and easy to do.  It does not have to be a big fancy meal, it can be something quick and simple.  

"Do Sweat the Small Stuff"

After reading Do Sweat the Small Stuff by Mark Bittman, I have a little bit of a new perspective.  I have never been to a book signing but I can only imagine how traveling all over the world would be difficult to do.  On top of eating healthy and making sure that you get enough sleep so you can be well rested.  I do not travel often but I agree with how he feels sometimes.  It might not feel like a certain day of a week and I have my days messed up or I don’t want to be with anyone and just want to be alone and watch T.V. or read a book. 

I agree that difficult or general questions in front of a larger crowd can be harder and shorter to answer because you don’t want to take up too much time on one question and you might not want to offend anyone or take the question in a different direction than they were looking for.  If it is a smaller group or individually, the answers can be a little longer and more personal.  It shows they really do want to know more and be able to make improvements where they can. 

When he talks about concentrating on the smaller problems I agree because in order to get to the bigger problems we need to take one step at a time and even a small step is better than none at all.  Changing how people eat will not be an easy thing.  Especially when there are so many fast food places that people go to if they do not have time to cook when they get home.  We as individuals need to change how we are eating and to inform the people around us to cook at home more and buy food that is better for you.  I had a recent family health issue and when I went to the store to get food for my dad I had to pay more attention to what was in the food and not just get it because it says it’s better for you.  Even though it may seem healthy, there was a lot of food I didn't realize had so much sodium in it and I couldn't get it.  Changing how we eat definitely is a hard thing to do and will take time but if we continue to try our best and make small improvements along the way, we are heading in a better direction than when we started and if we did nothing at all. 

The Final Project

After presenting to the class my multimedia project, I feel very good about the work that I was able to complete in the short amount of time that was given.  Now having it completed, I actually liked doing it and would definitely do it again with another topic for this class, a different class, or in the future with my job.  It can really help people to get a visual sense of what you are talking about and I did it on the fashion over the years and looked up pictures and took some of my family pictures as well and put myself in the project as well.  This project was new to me as I have never made a video until now.  At first I was very unsure about how it would turn out and if I would be happy with my  result.  I used the YouTube Editor and found it very easy to use which was nice since I was not sure where to start, it was easy to put everything together in an organized manner.   I went back just now and added my works cited to the project since I forgot to do that before I presented it to the class and put it up for people to see.

If I had more time to work on the project, I would have liked to put in more about how it is changing now especially with females.  It used to be long pants/skirts and covering up your skin, where now girls are wearing short shorts/skirts and even some who are showing part of their stomachs.  Fashion has come a long way with how it is now and how it was many years ago which was my main point to get across and I think I was able to deliver it pretty well.  I would probably go a little bit farther back to really show the differences that have occurred and not have it as recent to get a better picture of how much it really has changed.  I did not think of my project as a problematic topic however, thinking about it now and after discussing it with the class, it can be if I added more to it, I could have gone in that direction.  I was thinking about it but something made me just stick to a general idea of the topic and I am happy with how it turned out with the amount of time that I had to work on it.

Multimodal Refection

1. I am going to be using images of my mom,myself, and my family showing how it has changed over the years.  Also pictures showing different styles that were and are still in style.  I would like to use single words to fade in and out of the background as the pictures are showing.  I have not yet decided what kind of audio I want to be in the background while it is playing
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2. I am going to try and use the editor on YouTube.  I have not made a video before and am not sure how to do it so YouTube seemed like it would be easy to use and can do what I am looking to do with this project.

3. For my multimodal project I actually changed my mind tonight as I was thinking about how to continue on with my project and on what I wanted it to be about.  I was originally going to do it on drinking and driving but I was having a hard time on how I was going to do it and was trying to come up with different ways to make it better.  I actually decided to change it and however and chose the other choice that I was thinking about in the beginning and to go that route. After talking with my mom the past couple of days on how fashion is changing over the years I have a better feeling with this topic and feel that it would be a better choice.  I just mapped out how I want to do this so now I have to get the pictures together and put it together.  I believe this topic is going to go better than the other one would have and I am happy so far that I changed it.

4. I need to make sure that I am not making an argument about the changing fashion just that it is a statement and to compare the changes.  I also need to make sure that I look at my work from a different point of view to make sure that I am getting my point across in a way that others can understand and follow along.

Summary papers

Even though writing a summary was very difficult for me because I kept wanting to add my own opinion in there and not just what I saw, I enjoyed it and it was a different way of looking at a paper.  We had to write two summaries and I think doing the first one on Christo's Valley Curtain, was very helpful.  It was easy to follow and to be able to write about.  When we did the second one and got to pick, I picked After Innocence and it was a little bit harder to figure out what the main parts of the documentary were and what I should include in my paper.  Doing the first one on an easier film was helpful because it prepared me for the second one that was a little harder and I had a little more experience writing it.  I also liked peer editing the first paper, I think that was very helpful for someone else to read my work.  For the second paper, I did not peer edit it, I had several copies but I never had someone else read it and give me their opinion on it.  Overall, writing the two summaries challenged me to do something that I was not used to doing and get a new view on how writing can be.  It does not have to be just based off of a reading but can be based off of a film as well and I enjoyed the challenge that was given to me.

Documentary Summary

I had to pick a documentary out of a list given to me and write a summary on it.  I chose to watch After Innocence by Jessica Sanders.  This documentary is about the lives of several men who have been in prison for several years for a crime they did not commit.  They were proven innocent by DNA testing which was not something that was normally done.  Every mans situation was different but they all had somethings in common.  They all were wrongly convicted and when they were being interviewed, they seemed distant and did not show much emotions.  Out of all the men, two stuck out to me the most, Vincent and Wilton.  Vincent's story touched me because he talked about his daughter and how he could not be in her life while she was young because of something he did not do.  I had a family experience where I did not see my dad for a year and it was very difficult so I could not even imagine not growing up without him and how hard that must have been for both of them.  Another part was that he does not have enough money to get his record expunged for the crime so that is stuck on his record.  He will have a hard time getting a job from this and how is he supposed to get money to get it off if he cannot get a job in the first place.  Wilton's story also touched me because he was found not guilty but had to stay in prison for 3 years after this discovery.  It's crazy to think of all the people who are in prison because of something they did not do and are not able to get released.  When they are released then, they do not get any help they are just given money for the bus and are on their own.  Some of the men have been in there for a long time and they have been in prison for the prime years of their lives and have to learn many new skills.  After watching this, I got a new perspective and appreciate everything that I have because other people are not as lucky and cannot do some of the things that I can.

Refection on Christo's Valley Curtain

After turning in my final copy of a summary on Christo's Valley Curtain, I realized a couple things about my writing.  It was difficult at first to not put in my opinion and to not do outside research.  I kept wanting to add my thoughts in it and I had to keep going back and changing it trying to catch it as I went along.  I also noticed that I switch back and forth between past and present tense when I am trying to get an idea across.  For this paper I wrote it in present tense but saw myself switching to past and every time I read it I would notice another one that was in the wrong tense.  I am glad that I was able to catch it and watch out for it with my future papers that I will be writing.  Not using any information other that the film was a little difficult at first because I kept wanting to go and find other information instead of only using the information given to me.  However, I liked that we got to watch the film and write on that instead of reading something and having to summarize that.  Since I feel that I am more of a visual learner.  Peer review helped me to not only get feedback on my own paper but to also get different ideas from other papers that I read to help make my paper stronger.  On my own time, I watched the film again and saw different details that I did not notice the first time that I was watching it.  Being able to watch it as many times as I needed I thought was very helpful and made sure that I had all the information correct and I was not just going off my memory and saying I think this happened next or I think they said this.  

Rhetorical knowledge

Writing the summary in chronological order was helpful to do.  Even though it switches from Christo in his studio to the construction site, it is easy to follow along.  Especially when telling what is going on without using outside information and opinions. The paragraphs are separated by a new scene that is occurring in the film.  

Critical and creative thinking 

I realized in this paper more than others that I have written that it was a little more difficult to not add my own opinions in it.  I always want to add either my opinion or how I think a character is feeling at that moment.  Throughout this summary, I kept noticing that I wanted to tell how the characters were, however, I did not know those details unless they were told.  I did not know for sure if that is truly how they felt or not.  

Genre knowledge 

For this summary, we were not able to use information that was not given in the film.  I had to use only what I could see was happening and do my best to describe it.  This was difficult at times and really pushed me to pay closer attention to what the film was showing me.  Also to listen and watch the little details because some of them can make a big difference in the summary. 

Mechanical knowledge

The summary had to be double spaced and my Microsoft Word had different settings than it was supposed to be.  I never noticed it before it was pointed out in class that we had to make sure the settings were all correct and to not just go off of the default settings.  It might not seem like a big deal if the spacing is off, however, if it has to be in MLA the spacing is not considered correct.  My spacing was incorrect and was adding an extra space in between my lines and paragraphs that I was able to fix by it being brought up in class.  

What Makes a Good Question?

Everyday we encounter many questions some have one answer and on the other hand can have multiple answers.  These questions are for the most part are just overlooked and have become part of a daily routine that we do not even think about.  I personalty think a good question is something that makes you really think and concentrate on what you are being asked.  Everyone is going to have a different way of responding to a question and that does not mean that one person is correct and one is incorrect.  Nobody will respond in the exact same way as someone else, they may be similar but that does not mean they will always think the same way.  There are many situations that can be taken in different ways, if someone is asked a question in class there can be different responses and some of those can help others to see the question in a different view and can help them better understand what is going on.  An example of a question that can have multiple ways of looking at it is when you are given a question that is a short answer.  There can be more than one correct way of responding to it and making sure that you are understanding and comprehending what you are learning and not just memorizing it for a question that is either right or wrong.  Overall, I believe good questions are questions that can have more than one correct answer to them.

"this is water"

I agree that many young people do not yet completely understand adulthood and what it means to go to work and do the same routine everyday and make sure that you go to the stores when needed.  We make every decision based on us and how we feel.  If something is wrong we can chose to change it and try to think about what other people are going through as well.  Many people just think about themselves and not about others but we do not know what they are going through and it could be a bad day for them.  Something could be going on that they are trying to hide and act like everything is okay.  You never know what someone is going through and just because they may seem happy and like nothing is wrong something can be going on.  There are many things that are bigger than us and that we have no control over but we do have control over how we decide to react and then act in certain situations and how we treat the people around us.