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.