Working on my Goal: No Procrastination.

I cannot believe this is my last blog I will ever have to write for this class. I do not think I have ever been so excited. I am not excited that the class will be over, wait who am I kidding I am SO ready for my Christmas vacation. I did enjoy this class, I am not happy it is over because I hated, but because I just do not want to ever right another paper in my life, well at least a month. Haha.
I am really looking to the fact that the next time I read a book I can read it to enjoy it and not worry about catching small quotes that have a larger than life meanings. I can take it in for what it means to me and not have anyone tell me I am right or wrong or tell me I did not support my statements with facts.
I enjoyed having you all in the class with me and we should all be proud of ourselves for completing this class. Think how many people were in our class when it first started out and how many people are in the class now. We did amazing and should be proud of ourselves for maning up and doing our job as students.
I wish you all the best of luck in all your future classes and jobs. I thank the people in my group for always being prompt and on time with assignments. I must say I was usually the last one to turn in my papers, but it was on time though, haha. Damn procrastination… You made my life less stressful when we had a group assignment I did not have that fear that someone would not do their part. We communicated and did not care if someone added to what someone else said because we were a team and did the work as a team, we could not have succeeded if we had tried to do it all on our own. Out of all my experiences with groups this was my favorite group because I knew that the other members were responsible and did not rely on the others do the work then ride in on the other’s hard work coat tails.
In high school I had this teacher who dared us to think and challenged us to become better than we ever thought we possibly could be. I want to share with you a speech he shared with us,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5NAPZp2w-o
I feel this is one of the most inspiring things a teacher had said to me when I was growing up. Growing in the small town and going to a small high school gave me an experience that many high school students do not have, a teacher who actually cares. At Antelope Valley College we have teachers that actually care if their students pass because they want their students to succeed not just so they look good, but to give that person a fighting chance in the world we are all trying to survive.

Me? Learn?

I know I am starting off topic, but does anyone else’s Microsoft word automatically start off with the font “Calibri”. Mine does and I have no idea why, one would think since it is in MLA format it would automatically do “Times New Roman”, but no not mine. Now time to start the real point of all this.
I have learned a great deal from the RPs that we have throughout this semester. At first when I would read them I would be bored and would put them off until the day it was due or the day before it was due. I started enjoying some of the articles that we read and I would end up doing the assignments the way that was suggested to us so we did not feel overwhelmed.
Through the readings and having to answer the questions, I know my writing has gotten stronger and that I am better at supporting my answer with facts from the article.
I have not learned anything that I did not know already about myself. I know that I procrastinate too long. I even do this with going to bed, which is why I am still up, with writing papers, I even procrastinate with waking up. I will set my alarm for a normal time then I will hit snooze about six times, and on my clock that is 54 minutes that I could have just set my alarm to in the first place. But then I would have probably hit snooze again anyways out of habit.
I learned that I am definitely a creature of habit, I did all my assignments in the same order. The one I was most comfortable with first and then they rest I put off until I could not put it off any longer.
This class has taught me to set myself goals because when I make goals for myself to have work done at a certain time I usually have it done by then. The goal that I am giving myself is tomorrow when my alarm goes off I will only hit my snooze three maybe four times. It is a slow process, I just cannot all the sudden be a morning person especially at six in the morning. It really is wrong, by the way, for Antelope Valley College to start a class before eight in the morning, what were they thinking?! More like what was I thinking for taking a class that early?
I know that I ramble a lot, but I noticed because of this class the more I ramble the more likely I am to stumble upon something good in my writing, but then again sometimes when I read over it, I find myself asking “what the hell were you thinking, Cherstin?”
This class taught me that I should stick to my science classes because I know the information like the back of my hand, but it also taught me that I know how to rise to the challenge and for me at some points this class was a challenge.

Papers come and go.

how is it coming along? What do you need to do to complete it? How do you plan to accomplish this? What areas of difficulty are you encountering? How might you overcome these obstacles?

Right now, I have my outline fully completed. I have my introduction completed finished. Tonight and tomorrow, I will be mapping out where I want to take my essay. By Thursday I plan on having more than half of it done and Saturday I will finish it up. Then Sunday I will look over it again then post it for everyone’s viewing pleasure.
I am happy with my progress because of how much I usually procrastinate. I am shocked that I have been able to focus on it all with what is going on in my life, but it in a way has let me bury myself in it and let me escape from my problems for a little while until I hit a writer’s block.
I already said what I plan on doing to get my paper done, but what I have total to do is: finish my body paragraphs and then my conclusion paragraph.
I found the most difficult areas to be finding quotes from my sources that all support each other and help me develop a stronger paper. It was also a pain to find sources to include because I honestly do not like hunting for sources, but once I find a source and see something I can use I get so excited. I know I will overcome any problems that I will face because I have to and because I know that I have the intelligence to do it, I just need to find the patience for it. When I get impatient, I give up and come back later unless I have no time to come back later.
I would rather not have to write the paper, but I know I have to. It is just human nature to not want to do something they are not too excited about. I am just happy that this paper is due this week and not last week because I know I more than likely would not have been able to finish it. I am definitely going to take full advantage of my Thursday being completely empty and use it to my full advantage. I plan on using Thursday to finish my paper and doing my laundry. Just a side note, it is amazing how much clothing you were in one week and how much laundry you have to do. Also a lesson I have learned is always put your clothes away after drying them because if you leave them in a hamper, you will soon forget if the clothes are dirty or not and probably end up washing your clean clothes again.
I am very happy that our paper is not too long. I might have cried if it was supposed to be ten pages, maybe an exaggeration but I would have felt like crying.

Communication

My style of online communication style varies on what I am trying to do. If I am trying to persuade someone to believe something I am very detailed with what I have to say. I give examples and definitions. When I am answering a question I am short and to the point. I am this way because that is how I am in person.

I do not feel the need to talk to people when there is real no point. If they are my friends I talk to them a lot and joke around with them, but I notice my responses in our conversation are usually one to two sentences long, while their responses can be a paragraph or two long.

I notice that I may be this way because of my dad. He is always straight to the point and I spent most of my childhood with my dad because he worked out of the house. If he asked me something I was expected to give him an answer and not beat around the bush and I have always been that way because of him.

I am like that on the phone as well. I do not call someone just to talk, unless I miss them and I do not text someone just to talk, unless for the same reason I miss them.

I feel the way I communicate to people shows them that I am straight forward. I tell the truth. I also have noticed many people who are short and direct are more likely to use sarcasm and there for can be funny which at times I am, but I also think people may think I just do not know what to say when in reality I know what I want to say, but what is not acceptable to say in certain situations. Like I always want to say "That's what she said!" when someone says something that can be taken with a different meaning, but I know I cannot all the time because it would be inappropriate.
I have noticed that my online communication is very different than my communication with someone when I am face to face. In person I am very open person to be people that are my friends, but on the computer I am not because I do not know if I can trust a person because I cannot guarantee the person on the other end is the person I think it is.

The fact that I can communicate freely with many of my friends makes my life freer and easier to live because I do not have to bottle my emotions even if I do not say a lot I am able to say what I need to say and I do not feel like I am being suffocated by my emotions because I am able to express myself even if it is not in many words.

The Sinking of Feminism.

I have seen a couple cartoons that I thought were offensive, but at the same time I see the humor in them. The most recent one that I saw when I was cruising around the internet was a woman who is clearly on a sinking ship and is complaining about the sexism about women and children being told to board the safety boats first. The reason this is funny is because she wants to lecture the man about being sexist instead of getting off the boat and saving her own life. The reason to me that it is offensive because it makes the woman look too stupid and too proud to save her own life. I know that I hate sexism, but if it is going to save my life I am going to live with it and take it like an adult.

I do not like the way it makes a woman who is a feminist look too proud to save her own life. It makes it seem that she does not care that it is her life on the line. She basically sounds unintelligent because she goes on a tangent when all was said to her was probably get on the boat.

In the cartoon, you see a shocked old man that looks so confused about how she reacts to everything that was said.

The nature of the cartoon is to make fun of feminist women. They are making fun of the fact that they are trying so hard not to conform really to the way people expect a woman to be, the house wife, the stay at home and other stereotypes like that. They make fun of it even more by putting the woman in old fashioned clothing and you see that the boat is the Titanic. The boat being Titanic shows you that this is a very old fashioned period during time. There were few feminist, but they would have gotten in the safety boat with the Titanic sinking because it is human nature to want to save your own life.

I read a quote about feminism and this is what it said, “Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed.  If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it takes."  They will say, "Women don't have what it takes."  ~Clare Boothe Luce


I thought this quote was perfect for the situation in the cartoon, I could twist to the fact that may be she was not stupid, but trying to show that she could survive with out the safety boat because she wanted to prove to the world that not just she, but all women were stronger enough to survive something that many people did not survive.

There is also another quote that said, “I'm tough, I'm ambitious, and I know exactly what I want.  If that makes me a bitch, okay.” ~Madonna Ciccone. This woman was exactly that, she seems like a bitch, but she perfectly okay with seeming like a complete bitch. You see that she does not care what someone thinks about her because she has a smug smile on her face.

Improvised Writing, I Mean Improved Writing.

I joined this class really having no idea what the class was all about. My counselor told me that I should take it, so I took it. I did not have any idea that there would be so much writing involved! I am not particularly fond of writing and when I discovered how much writing there was involved in this class I was a little put back, but I do not let a lot stop me from taking a class. I know that when I am finished with this class I will be definitely excited about not needing to write a paper for a while I hope at least.

I feel my writing has improved in some ways. I feel more confident when I am writing an essay that is in my comfort zone, but not so much when I am out of my comfort zone. I have gained a better way at looking and gathering my information that I want to include in my paper, but I know I need to work on how I put it into words in my paper for other people to understand.

I really am going to work on improving my writing by making sure I do not stray too far from the topic. I need to focus on writing more about the facts than throwing some of my opinions in. I have included both, but I need to stop straying over to the opinion side of a paper, but it is just so easy because I can talk forever about my own opinion about a topic.

I also need to make sure that I do not make too many grammatical mistakes, I would definitely be a believer about not worrying so much about it, like that one article we read towards the beginning of this class that said many colleges do not care about it so much, but I know to be a better writer I need to worry about it. I have just, to be honest, never cared too much to really work on it.

I know my writing needs to improve in the fact that I bounce around when I talk. My writing seems to have ADHD in a way. Like I'll begin on one train of thought then all the sudden in the same paragraph I begin on something new. You can take notice of it in my second paragraph, whoops.

I also need to focus on my introductions and conclusions. I need to be more straight with my conclusion. I need to focus on restating my thesis in my conclusion and in my introduction I need to make a stronger thesis statement. I know that my writing has improved because before this I would not know where to begin to admit that I need improvement in my writing. I know where my weaknesses are and know how to begin to at least try and fix my mistakes. A writer only gets better by having someone tear their writing to pieces and breaking bad habits and that is what this class is trying to do for me. My papers,though, are not so much torn apart, but more constructively criticized.  

Are your Soap Operas real enough?

Our language values have changed so much in the past fifty years. I think that we should be able to use because in reality the words do come up. When the characters in television shows do not speak the way we know they would it makes it seem less likely to happen. For instance, it would be really awkward to watch a The Sopranos and not see someone get killed or hear someone utter a single profanity.

Shows like The Sopranos and Sex and the City are not based on true events, but the way the characters are described and the situations you find the characters in it would be less likely to believe that a mobster does not use profanity or someone who can have multiple one stands cannot say “Fuck.” It is not believable and it takes away from the story line because now you know its not real and instead of pulling you in you get pushed away. Its like the show The L Word. It was in your face, nothing held back. You saw and heard everything as if you were right there, nothing was sugar coated. It made the series better and if it had not been in my face with everything I do not think I would have watched the show.

I think it is not the government's job to monitor what our children watch. It is a parent's job and if they want to censor them that is their right, but to do it for everyone is just ridiculous because in reality we are going to hear and see horrible things. I think it is better to know that horrible things are out in the world instead of living in a world that does not even realize that people use profanities and others kill would make me feel like an idiot and I would be in for a major awakening which is something that could have been avoided. My mom let me watch whatever I wanted as a child because she wanted me to develop my own opinion on things. I grew to be a strong independent woman. My mom let me watch Sex and the City and from watching that I grew up knowing that women can be successful and do not need a man to be happy, I did not think I had to go out and have multiple one night stands because my mom had taught me to have a strong mind, which some parents are not doing for their children these days. For people who easily offended, I just like for them to just stop nagging all the time. If they do not want to see it, why do they even have it on to begin with when they know it will only offend them.

I think that people are also too worried about being politically correct so they do not offend any one, but even when they are politically correct there is so much that can still offend someone. Sometimes I want to point that they say “African-American” in some things, but for a Caucasian they will say white person.  

Can you escape racism?

Every day, we face racist words. It is up to us to stop the use of these words. People use them in books, movies, and so many other things.

Movies are the biggest form of media that contributes to the growth of prejudicial words. In movies, actors use many racial terms are part of the story, but do not mean the words they say, but the words still have the same meaning. For instance, the word “nigger” is used a lot in movies. This teaches young people who do not fully understand the history of the word to use it and can cause more problems than they thought would happen. I think another problem is that many African-Americans have been using the term “nigger” and “nigga” in a way that to them it has a good connotation. This teaches people to think it would be okay to call them that, but when they do call them by those names it causes a big problem and makes the person call them those names with the bad connotation that I feel goes with both words no matter what. I feel a great example of racism is American History X. It shows all the ways racism can affect your life. It had it in books, music, movies, news, friends, and so on. It showed what racism does to people, it showed it between people of the same race and people of different races.

Music has a lot of racist remarks in it. Rap music especially, it seems to divide their own “kind” into two different groups, causing wars between gangs basically and they sing about it and get paid to promote hatred amongst each other. I know I try to stay away from music that basically preaches to you to do horrible things or say horrible things. I know I feel horrible when I do something that I am not proud of. I feel horrible when I even think something horrible. I have thought racist things about all racist. I have thought someone to be “trailer trash” or someone to be a “nigger”, but I do know this there is a “nigger” in every race because it means someone who is ignorant and honestly it seems most people today are ignorant and do not even care to further their education and open their minds, it seems they are more happy to stay in their simple minded world.

Books are another form that people can find prejudicial words in. People today, still, write books about hating other people calling them horrible names. The authors are teaching the people reading the book to hate others and call each other names and sometimes even telling them to attack others.

The media has always been a way to show racism. The most popular race that has been attacked is African-Americans. It has sadly been this way because they are different skin tone than the people of European decent. These slurs have been going since the time of slavery when blacks were not considered to be equal human beings. After, African-Americans were set free many movies portrayed the black men as basically animals that were only out to rape young white women, which was not true. This taught the people to fear and basically hate black people, which then taught those people to teach their family members to feel the same way and passed it on to the next generation. This growth of racism originated from the media and grew so much that it transferred from family member to family member.

Selling My Woman.

Reading Lolita in Tehran is an intense emotional roller coaster that leaves you wanting to know more. I would definitely recommend this book to others. I was at first put off by the length of the book, but I reluctantly opened the book and began reading then I found myself reluctantly putting the book down which usually I was already asleep because I would keep reading until my eyes no longer would allow me to keep open.

I have been telling people to read this book because the book has pulled me in and I cannot seem to escape its grasp. I keep talking to people about how the people there live their lives there completely censored. They cannot watch something unless it is approved by their government. It completely amazes me because here we see the craziest things. There are websites that display things that other countries would never let even come close to their people.

When I read about how controlled their lives are it makes me more grateful for all the freedom that I do have that others are denied so easily. Like I can show my wrist or my face without fear of anything happening to me while other women in their country lost their jobs for a wrist slightly when giving a lecture.

I feel this book is for anyone who wants to experience the world through someone else's eyes this is the book to read. You learn how they think especially when they discuss the books they have read and you see their opinions that they can so freely state there, but if they were to do that anywhere else they could be facing so much punishment. This book opens your eyes and makes you question how you see the world and gives you more appreciation for the things you take for granted.

I feel this book would be best for people who take everything they have for granted. I know people who take having money to do whatever their little heart desires, but they still do not feel happy or seem happy. They are always complaining about something. They never think about the fact that others do not have the opportunities that are being thrown in their faces by everyone around them. I know people who have parents that can send them to the great private college that is $50,000 a year to get a great education, but they do not care because their life is just so hard. I feel that if they read this book they will more likely appreciate the education that they are given and be more likely to take advantage of it.

As an advertisement, I end my thought with letting you know where the book can be found, even though I bet you know where to get it. It can be found in our Antelope Valley Bookstore or in a local bookstore. I suggest our book store because you can get it used for pretty cheap and it is worth it and I would suggest holding on to the book because it would be a good book for future kids because it will help them understand the world around them.

Actions Speaking Louder Than Words.

Everyday I rely on my nonverbal cues to communicate with others. I know that I speak a lot with my eyes. I speak a lot with my posture then I also speak a lot with my hands.

I talk a lot with my eyes because they can show many emotions like sympathy, happiness, sadness, anger, annoyance, and so on. I feel that speaking with my eyes sometimes helps me relieve some stress because I can say anything with them and people may not even notice it. I can look at someone like they are a complete idiot and they more than likely would not even notice that I am. It gives me the freedom to express myself without having to say anything, which I usually do with my boyfriend. It is nice when I can just look at him like “Really? You just said that?” and he will know exactly what I am thinking and will just be like, “Yeah, I just did.”

I know my posture says a lot to people. I have always been uncomfortable when I slouch and I know part of the uncomfortableness is the fact that my grandma always told me to sit up straight to walk with a strong stride. I know when people see me walk they may think I am a bitch or that I am overly confident, but it is what I have been taught and what has been drilled into my head. I know older people find it more acceptable and are more pleased because it shows that I still have some old fashioned values.

I speak a lot with my hands because it makes things seem more intense and help tell stories. It helps us describe what we are trying to talk about and it is more likely to help the person I am conversing with better understand me. I know that I am more likely to be more dramatic than a man because I am female and we tend to make things more dramatic than they really are.

I feel I use more tone though when I am talking because it shows more than some actions. Some times people will do another thing and then they will say something completely different. I definitely think it is because of my gender. Dane Cook does this joke about how ALL woman do the same thing during a fight and when I was watching I was like no I do not do that at all. Then the next time I was fighting with my boyfriend, I did everything he said women do and I could not help but laugh during the fight because I caught myself doing everything and he helped me realize that many of my actions are because of my gender up bringing. Like his joke said I would do certain things with my body and I did everything, I crossed my arms, put my leg in a way he described, and moved my arms the ways he described woman would.

I also recommend everyone to watch Dane Cook's Vicious Circle it is hilarious. :)

Do not Forget the Body Language

I never really thought of myself as someone who does a lot of talking with my body. Now, as I look at what I do all the time I cannot seem to keep my hands at my sides when I talk. I know when I try I look like a person who does not know what to do with my hands. Its like I have an invisible straight jacket on because I naturally go to move them, but I stop myself.

My mom always told me not to cross my arms when I am in public. She always told me I was being rude, that my body language said leave me the hell alone, when in reality I was more like “no, I am just trying to hide the fact that I have a belly and I am not rail thin like others”. She said that I should work on breaking that habit because one day I will try to find a job and would not be considered because my body language is not welcoming.

Needless to say I worked on it. I now cannot get my hands to stop moving when I am talking about something, especially if its something dramatic. When I am at work many customers comment that my eyes make them feel better and that I actually do care when I tell them I hope they feel better or to have a safe surgery or something. I do not know what it is, but I am guessing I have something in my eyes that makes them feel like they can trust me and I want them to feel that they can trust me because I basically know everything about them when you fill someone's medicine you know something about them that some of them do not let anyone know that they take.

Since school and softball have started, I have not gotten dressed in anything besides softball clothes when I go to school because what is the point in dirtying two outfits for one day? I do not see it. I know when people look at me and everyday I have work out clothes on and my hair in a ponytail that I am plain or lazy. Some might even assume that I am a lesbian, joke. I do not think any one thinks I am a lesbian and if they did I would not care, since my boyfriend acts like the girl sometimes. I say this like crying over something stupid that I said even though it was a joke. Goodness, that definitely reverses the roles a little.

I always carry myself proudly. I do not slouch. I walk with my eyes looking out and not at my feet even though sometimes I should really look down every once in awhile to make sure nothing got in my path and do not fall. I know when people seeing me walking they can tell that I am confident in who I am and I do not doubt myself.  

Globalization of Nursing.

My major is nursing. If I were to plan a lesson plan for my class it would go as follows:

Week 1: Introduction to the nursing basics. Global ties for fun- Pick a common misdiagnosed illness amongst the world and explain why it is one of the most misdiagnosed illnesses.

Week 2: Begin the axial skeleton. Global tie- Research why people from different parts of the world have different heights.

Week 3: Begin appendicular skeleton. Global tie- Explain why some people stretch their neck out.

Week 4: Discuss different types of cells and what they are made up of and what they make up.

Week 5: Test 1 and begin the skin and muscles of the body. Global tie- Fact or myth, African-Americans have an extra muscle in their legs? If a myth, explain how and why the myth was started.

Week 6: Finish the musculature system and begin the nervous system.

Week 7: Review for Midterm. For extra credit you can choose any country, but America and describe what distinguishes them physically from other countries.

Week 8: Take the midterm. Now we are going to start with the basics of being an RN. We get to learn about how to take and read blood pressure results. Global ties- Compare at least 7 countries average blood pressure and explain why their blood pressure would be that way.

Week 9: We are going to focus on taking a pulse and reading the heart rate. We will decide if a person has a normal heart or if something is wrong and if something is wrong what could it be?

Week 10: I want you to pick a global health issue sweeping the world and explain what is and does, if it can be prevented and what we can do to lower our chances of getting it. Then I want you to write a 2-3 page paper on the topic. Due Week 13.

Week 11: Test 2. We are going to look at common diseases that affect thousands a people a year. I want you to pick one of these then look up where it started, why it started there, when it started, why is it so common, and how do we treat it.

Week 12: Today I want you all to split up into groups and make a little presentation on from anything we have learned up to this point, but do remember to challenge yourself. Pick a topic you do not already know everything about when you have to read to inform us you learn, keep that in mind.

Week 13: Turn in your paper. Also for extra credit, if you can name the entire skeletal system and muscle system I will give 200 extra credit points and if you know what are common variations of the skeleton that are perfectly naturally I will give you two points for each one you name.

Week 14: Review for Final.

Week 15: Review for Final.

Week 16: Final day. I hope you studied :)

I know this is probably not how an actual class works, but I am making it a very basic class and since I am the “teacher” of this “class” I am going to do what I want. I do know that as a student I would like to know more about who is more likely to be affected by a disease. For instance I think its good to know that African-Americans are more likely to have a heart attack, but my teachers never told me why they are more likely. My best guess is that they eat soul food, which is not that good for you, tastes good though. Haha. I know crappy guess, I bet there is something about their hormones that causes it or something. I am definitely going to google it now. :)

Stronger and Wiser

The writer that made the biggest lasting impression was John Leo and his essay “On Good Writing”. When you read something and it leaves a lasting impression, you know it has affected you. When you can think back and you understand a piece of writing then you find yourself using the tips in yourself becoming more like the writer that was described.

Leo says, “All of us weary writers who dance around their subject, protecting friends, bending facts to push a cause.” (p. 117) When I read this I knew that I was one of the writers who is guilty of dancing around the subject at hand. I am now going to make a conscious effort to get straight to the point in my writing, but it is a work in progress and besides when we beat around the bush we make something appear longer... Of course I am kidding about beating around the bush to make something longer on purpose. It happens on accident, but I am going to try and correct myself.

Leo comments, “Many of us come under the spell of a great writer and imagine our job is to sound like him or her. Or we try on different prose styles like articles of clothing.” (p. 119) I know I am guilty of this all time, like right now I am trying to be more straight forward because I agree that when you are more straight forward your writing is stronger. When I think of writing I think how much I dread it because I do not know how I want to write it. It is definitely like trying on articles of clothing. I bet I try on shirts 4 times before I even decide that is the shirt that I want to wear. I will wear it for a little while but then I get a change of heart and change real quick. For me I have noticed that my paragraphs can be like articles of clothing, some times each paragraph's style is different than the other.

Leo's last paragraph I feel is the most direct, he tells you exactly what writing is. Leo says, “But writing isn't a personal or private enterprise. It's an attempt to change consciousness and change the world.” (p. 120) When I write my goal is always to convince someone to see the world as I see it, we are always trying to persuade someone to have an understanding from our eyes. Leo's finals words are “Writing is power. A force in the world. If you write well, you can have an impact.” (p.120) This hit me the hardest it made me realize that no matter how unimportant something is in my views, it has the potential to have an impact on the world.

I think this one impacted me the most because I found myself guilty of everything he said. I also thought his method of being a better writer was the most fitting for my views on how writing should be. When he said to write how we speak, it made so much sense to me. We have to write the way we speak otherwise our writing really is not our writing. We focus too hard on sounding like great writers instead of learning what our own writing style is. We all begin to adopt someone else's writing instead of blending all the styles into our own.

Times are Changing, better or for worse?

This picture is of students who are illegal immigrates students in America. I feel that this picture says everything that the speeches said. These students broke their silence and after they felt unlawful immigration laws had been passed. They instead of remaining silent, they spoke out against the government even though they could be removed from the country.

I feel that this compares most with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. I feel this way because Martin Luther King, Jr. and other blacks were considered as immigrants in a country that they were born, but still were not accepted as American citizens even though they had been born in America. They were always judged and stereotyped based on their skin color not by the character that each of them possessed.

Today anyone who is stopped for a legitimate reason can be asked to show proof that they legally can be in America. I feel that this is not something that is fair, but I also do not like the fact that people are here that are not supposed to be here, but also America makes it extremely difficult to become a citizen here and I understand why many people are here illegally.

I think that these students standing up to the government and breaking their silence is what is going to change the world. If Martin Luther King, Jr. had remained silent who knows what would have happened, maybe we would been segregated even longer than it was. If people do not speak up no one will know what is bothering some one. When you say nothing, nothing can be done. Yes, you can speak with your actions, but that can only go so far. These students are risking their life here in America because they have been taught what is just and what is unjust and are willing to fight in what they believe, which has been the American way since the beginning.

I think in a few years that the actions that these students have done will pay off. I feel that the world is going to accept Mexicans more and not always stereotype them as illegal immigrants. We all know we are guilty of stereotyping. When they cannot speak English we all assume they are illegal immigrants or were once illegal immigrants. I just think it is funny how people here have such a huge problem with immigrants when all of us in some point of our ancestry were immigrants legal or illegal. Many people have a problem with illegal immigrants because they say they take jobs away from people here that are supposed to be here, but lets be honest the illegal immigrants are willing to work harder and for less than most Americans will. I could never imagine in working in the conditions that many of the workers work in. I never thought the law would allow for people to just ask for their green card, but I think with the students speaking up and fighting against this law would allow for the times to change as they did once before for African Americans, but now it will change for Mexican Americans.

The Power of Language

I first realized how strong any language can be at a young age. As I have gotten older, I have noticed how amazing language can truly be, a person can change a way a person looks at something with a few words sewn perfectly together.
The day I truly understood the power of language was my sophomore year when I had to write a paper on Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech “I Have a Dream.” I remember reading it and thinking to myself “wow”. He had such a way with words that his dream had become my dream and that I too had wanted to make America a better place. He wanted everyone to be equals and not be judged by the color of their skin but be judged by the character of a man.
A major question popped into my head after I finished the speech, what if Martin Luther King Jr. had not written “I Have a Dream”? Would I be sitting next to an African American right now in class? Would I be able to say that I am proud to be someone who is not racist and accepts people of all races? His words were so strong that it changed a nation, his words were loud and full of passion, when you actually listen to recordings of his speech you hear the conviction that he posses and you cannot help, but be drawn in. You feel every emotion that he had felt in his life, when he wrote the speech, and the emotion he had when he gave it.
I realized when you master language, you can do anything. When you put powerful words together you make sentences that move people. Then you make powerful paragraphs then it turns into an essay or something else, but it becomes a thing bigger than itself. It is like a quilt you take bits and pieces from everywhere and put them together and it forms a beautiful work of art like language has for me.
I do not possess the power to move people with my words, but I can appreciate the people who can because they have a true talent. Martin Luther King Jr. was able to use four simple words and used them over and over and it changed the way people think.
One day I wish to possess the power to change the world, well at someone's mind, by saying something that is powerful. For instance when I am feeling sort of down, I always read some of my favorite quotes to pick me back. The words are so strong that the pull back up from ever how low I go that they pull me from my lowest depths and give me hope.
My favorite quote from his speech is “Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: / we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”- Martin Luther King Jr.” Say it out loud to yourself, to me it is powerful because he could have just said that African Americans should be considered equal, but he does not and now we have this beautiful, eye opening speech.

The Beginning of English 103

“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness." is the definition that the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking.
Critical thinking to me is having the capability to think beyond the surface of something you are looking at. In my life, I always have to use this skill because life is full of choices that can make or destroy your life. For example, I had three best friends as I was growing up, two of them I lost contact with as we got older but one is still me best friend today, but out of all four of us I am the only one who is attending college and did not get pregnant before graduating high school. I still am the only one who does not have a child, which I am glad that I have made the choice to go against what everyone else seems to be doing intentionally or unintentionally. I have always taken more challenging classes that have given me the power to think and make knowledgeable decisions on my own that affect all parts of my life.
Right now I work as a pharmacy technician and every day I have to make choices that can not only damage my life, but the lives of others. If I by chance put the wrong strength of medicine in a bottle for the pharmacist and they do not catch it, it could seriously hurt the patient and I would regret for ever. When I become a nurse my critical thinking will be fully put to the test because I have to make fast and thoroughly thought out choices in the matters of seconds sometimes. Having classes, like this, that train you to think critically and do it at a quick pace is going to make me a stronger nurse and more reliable and I will be the nurse I want to be.
In a matter of sixteen weeks, my for ever changing and learning mind is going to learn a more efficient way of thinking. I am going to be able to think deeper into topics and learn to take in different points of view that can make my mind stronger and help me further to make my final decision. I think after this course I will be more of an understanding person, but still have a backbone and stand up for what I believe in. I know that I will see the world in a new light because I will be more open minded because when you read a book you have to be open minded to fully grasp the true concept of a book. Who knows maybe I can overcome my fear of heights and go sky diving with my personal trainer.


Signing off,
                  The Girl Who is Always Under Construction.

"Believe those who are seeking the truth.  Doubt those who find it.  ~Andre Gide