For Every End There is a New Beginning.

As far as I know, only 3 people ever even glance at this little neglected blog of mine, but I thought I'd just post in honor of the end of the semester, and the end of required blogs :P

Thanksgiving holiday is over, but I think it's my turn to give thanks for the fabulous things in my life.

First off, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be in college. The thought that so many of my ancestors never got the chance to experience college makes me feel so blessed to even be in Ephraim attending Snow College.

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Next I'm grateful for my professors. I was completely astounded by the fact that, after one week of college, I could honestly say that I loved all of my classes. I loved the deep thinking that wasn't present as often in high school. It was such a breath of fresh air. I continued to like every one of my classes, at least. In addition to that I had top notch professors. (Some were a little eccentric, but that just spices life up :D ).

One thing that is especially grateful for is wonderful roommates. I have the hugest blessing of living with and next to some of my absolute favorite people in this world. They have all gone home for the holidays and I have a few hours all to myself. I'm quite used to walking across the hall when I feel lonely or put out. They lift my heart. When I'm around we have all sorts of crazy adventures. It is completely incredible.

The final item on my list today is my family. Holy Frijoles, they are so wonderful. Somehow, I happened to get a good one, and it's been such a great foundation for my life. I'm grateful that I have a family that makes me long for home. The relationships that I have developed with both of my parents and with my siblings are remarkable. I honestly would not trade them for anything.

(This isn't even close to all of us, but it's the most recent one we have.)

Now that the craziness of my finals are over I can't wait for my holiday season to truly start. It's going to be a glorious December and a beautiful new year. Next semester won't be any easier, but I have faith that it'll be a good one.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Oh, and Professor Burningham, Thank you especially for the help on my papers and all the deep thoughts in class and in conversation. That's been a real strength for me this semester.

#6. Compare Contrast

In paragraph 6, Siegel notes a “common wisdom” that is not very true today: that men are socially and biologically “programmed” to choose beautiful, youthful women because such women are likely to have good reproductive health. Cite another common piece of wisdom that is not borne out by experience and observation, and to inform readers, contrast it with the reality. For example, you can contrast the common belief that women are not good at math with the evidence that many women excel at math; or you might contrast the common notion that student athletes are “dumb jocks” with the fact that many student athletes are very smart. Use examples to support your contrasts.

The perception that women aren’t good at math is a flat out lie. There have been many cases in my life that have disproven that. According to the National Center for Education Statistics “In general, female students are just as likely as male students to take advanced mathematics and science courses in high school…” So, even though they have proven that there is a gap between interest in math during the late elementary school and middle school ages, it evens out in high school. I am a math major and am considered to be quite good at math. Though I will not claim to represent the general populous of women, I know from experience that there are many women who are good mathematicians. My best math teachers through junior high and high school were women. I work as a tutor in the Math lab and though there are about half as many female tutors as male tutors but those women are just as smart as the men in there. The days of mindless women are passing as more and more women find their love of the math and science fields.

#5 Process Analysis

Ch. 7, "In Your Journal" Assignment:

What did you think of the funeral industry before reading the selection? Have your views of death and the funeral industry changed after reading it? Were your views influenced at all by the graphic description in the essay?

            My views on the funeral industry were that they worked to respect the dead. They were there to help those who had suffered the loss of a loved one. I have had two of my grandparents pass away and then had funerals. I remember my grandpa looking very fake in his casket, but he looked restful enough. The funeral homes reminded me of churches with their lobbies with couches and chairs, and quiet, reverent atmosphere. I also had the daughter of a funeral home director in my psychology class in high school. Her house was attached to the funeral home and my teacher took full advantage of the slightly morbid and rather hilarious jokes.

What I didn’t think about was that it really is a business industry, and a large one at that. Oh, boy, this article gave me a reality check. I had never thought about what they must have had to do to a corpse keep it from looking so… dead. Some of the things they talked about doing to the dead body were a little disgusting to think about. It wasn’t the language they used (they were actually very tactful in their word choice) but the process itself. It was a very intriguing and enlightening article, and I know the knowledge and insight you must have to be a mortician is impressive, but sometimes I’d rather just think that my grandparents were buried without alterations… *Sigh* Yeah, I think I’ll try to keep it that way.

#4. Outcasts

Ch. 6 questions:
READING CLOSELY AND THINKING CRITICALLY:

1. According to Kozol, what are the prevailing attitudes toward the homeless?
They are seen to be dirty, disease carrying, unwanted people.  Even the people that help them, or that want to help them, won't touch them. They are the unwanted. They might as well be rodents. This is such an unfortunate perception of human beings.
2. To what extent are government officials and the general public part of the problem of homelessness?
Whenever they make measures to "solve" the problem of the homeless, they don't actually solve anything. They mostly just relocate the people that they think of as the problem.
3. In paragraph 38, Kozol says that we are afraid of homeless children. What are we afraid of?
These children were born in such lowly circumstances to begin with that we assume that they share the diseases of the homeless that we are so opposed to. Next, they don't have the benefit of a wholesome childhood so we don't know what kind of adults they're going turn out to be. There are those who grow up in homes that have a stable income and place of residence that can turn out to be felons. On another note, we don't enjoy feeling sorry for others when we feel we can't do anything about their situation. Homeless children fit right in that category. We would feel especially bad when children are doing the suffering.
4. Are any examples particularly moving? Which ones? Why do they affect you the way they do?
The stories about people dying (or being killed) without anyone taking any action to prevent tragedy or to help the person out. First off, who in their right mind would just set another human being on fire, or stab them, just because that person was sitting there? Then, why wouldn't those who witnessed it have acted on what they saw? If that were to happen to anyone I know I would hope and pray that anyone observing would at least call the police so the appropriate action could be taken. The thought of people treating the those without a home as sub-human goes against all the hope in humanity that I have.
5. Has your perception of the homeless changed as a result of reading “Untouchables”? Explain.
In a way my perception has changed. I had never really pondered my opinion on the homeless. I am from a smaller city so if there are homeless people there, I'm not really aware of them. My main encounters with them have been when I have visited Salt Lake. After reading the article, I am mostly just more aware of what has happens, and what still happens, and I hope that people would change their thinking so that we could avoid these tragedies.

PS. STOP THAT, MOUSE!!! (That's for you, Ed)

#3 Descriptive essay? Narration? When I'm writing, apparently they're the same.

I should probably definitely pay attention in class. Either that or I should replace the batteries in my hearing aides :P                                        

           In our class on Tuesday, we apparently started talking about our new writing assignment: A NARRATIVE! (Woot!) But, the in-class assignment was a paragraph or two of descriptive writing. First of all, you have to know that I take my time when writing something. As I was jotting down my descriptive paper, Professor B. started explaining the narrative (I'm writing), how it was how he was going to gauge our writing from that (still describing), and it should be our best writing (and I still wasn't finished).
            By the end of class I was stressed out and discouraged because the paragraph I had scribbled out was supposed to be my best writing and it would place my writing skills, and that paper was not even CLOSE to my best writing.                                                  

           Well, I finished the best that I could and turned in my draft, thinking that I needed to bring a finished, polished draft to class.        

           Today, before I had class I rushed to the writing lab to finish up. Turns out I didn't even need it, so, to get a little mileage out of it I decided to post it. Here is the picture of the one I turned in and then the final draft is included after :)                                                                                                              

                My nephew is a perfect example of a busybody two-year old. I can’t explain it, but I’m sure something inside that little body of his will not let him stand still. Without words he uses his big blue eyes to challenge me to a race. He reacts to the sound of his invisible start gun and starts off running even before I have my imaginary sprinting shoes on. Regardless of how much of a head start he has, he is no match for my gazelle legs. As I close the gap he gets the sense that this is no longer a race, but a pursuit. At his first chance he finds his hiding spot and dives under the table. I pretend not to notice and I run by. Not one minute after the strenuous race I hear the sound of rippling paper approaching from behind. “Draw, bee-bee din-saur?” I smirk at the request, but I oblige. Two baby dinosaurs and one baby turtle later he jumps to the floor and is off to conquer the untamed land of the back yard.

           The REAL purpose for this post was supposed to be what topic I chose for my narrative. I got a little sparkle of inspiration during class today, and had the perfect opportunity to verbally flesh it out this afternoon.  

                                                                                                

The subject of my narrative will be the acquisition of my tremendous (almost) Harry Potter-like scar.

                                           

           Seeing as I told the extremely long version of my story to my good friend Annie to keep her mind off of the blood she was about to donate, I know I could type for at least 2 hours about it. It definitely has many fond memories connected with it.                                                            

I guess that's my cue to go out and get writing!

#2 Writing, Re-Writing, Editing, Description

Sometimes I just wish that I could just sit down, write everything that's on my mind, click save, print, and have a perfect composition right there in my hand. Unfortunately there's a little more to writing than that. It not only has to be readable, but I rather like not sounding stupid in my writing. Luckily we have the re-writing and editing processes. In chapter 3 they give very good tips and instructions on how to make the most out of your first drafts and how editing can help you.
In chapter 4 it discussed descriptions. Oh, how I love descriptions!! I can be sucked in so easily to any work when it has imagery that makes my mind reel. In my own writing I don't fancy sounding boring. I'm not always successful, but, hey, nobody's perfect, right?
One thing they pointed out in the chapter was that you should avoid cliches... like the plague. As you can see, I am definitely a culprit with that. With the millions of words I COULD use, I usually just stick the well-known, overused phrase.

#1 My Sentiments of Reading and Writing

I have loved to read since before I started 1st grade. I was taught to read by my grandma and after that I have been ahead of the game. I remember that I tested at a 3rd grade reading level (at least) when I entered the 1st grade. I love to read fantasy and historical fiction. I can't help but almost purr at the idea of curling up with the latest Harry Potter in front of fire with my cat and being stolen away for a few hours by the story.
My feeling about writing is similar, but not quite the same. I seem to have a knack for writing. My dad has been a writer and editor of several papers and one magazine. I don't think I ever read his material, but through conversation he has definitely passed on that fire for writing. My favorite things to write are poems. I'm crunched for time or I would include one here.