Project

So, I’ve been working on this project for about 2 weeks now. I came up with the idea for a day of silence from a girl I know who had done one before. I never could have guessed that this would turn out to be a great as it has been. I’ve had such an enormous response from people everywhere. I’m so glad that everyone, including people I’ve never met have jumped on the bandwagon and done their fair share. Because of all these people, I’m able to get this done and promote it in ways that I could never have done alone. I had a member of my group contact me and make me aware that their entire school had been plastered with my flyers and that all of their friends were going to participate. The response to my project has been wonderful and I couldn’t have asked for more.

Thesis Topic and my Research Question

So, I’ve had quite a lot of trouble with finding a topic that I felt I could write about. My first idea didn’t really have an opposite side. In general, people would agree with my topic so therefore, I didn’t really have an issue. My other ideas were boring and I wouldn’t have had enough information to properly asses my argument. Finally, I decided to write about something that I’ve been involved with for years now. I wanted to write about suicide prevention. SO, my research question is going to be, “Is suicide an issue that we can do something about or is it something that is totally up to the individual to resolve?” I looked through the assignment sheet and couldn’t find any problems with my question. I could effectively answer all of the questions on my handout using my research question. I have plenty of background in this field to know where I stand and then to effectively persuade my audience to agree.

Inquiry #2 Essay….YAY!!!!

So, for a little over a week now I’ve been working on the essay for inquiry #2. This time we were supposed to choose our topic and use ethos, logos, and pathos to examine the work. I choose to use Lyndon B. Johnson’s “We Shall Overcome, ” speech. I found the speech interesting and very well written. He uses a lot of those rhetorics in his ideas and he uses them to persuade his audience to agree with him. I found it kinda difficult to write about this even though I had plenty of ideas to work off of. I think I’m having the most trouble with keeping the concept pulled out from details. I feel like my paper has a million details but the main point I’m trying to make is getting lost. I wish that I wasn’t so exact in my writing sometimes. I need to be very blunt and not try to give too many reasons for why something is the way that it is. Maybe if I take and cut a quote or too and try talking about the main concept a little more than I would do better. I got a good grade on my last paper and I’d like to keep that trend going if I can. I think that i will do ok as long as I keep my grammar correct and I make sure to seem to know what I’m talking about.

The 1940′s and women!

So, I just finished reading “Thoughts on Peace in an air raid,” by Virginia Woolf.  I thought it was a very interesting essay. I enjoyed how she made a simile between the air raiders and English women. Her thoughts about what the men are fighting for and how it is a battle not well fought without women were amusing. I did like her ideas that the best way for a woman to help is by using her mind. Her ideas and words are much louder than the violent actions of men. She thinks that if more women were in positions of power, such as government, than the thoughts of women would make the country a better place. Woolf says that if more women were given the chance to speak than the minds of men would be surprised at the vast knowledge that has been neglected. As the raids over her house begin to end, she raps up and says that the battle for the women never ends.

This is a post about something sad.

For Monday we had to read a story about a black man who has had his problems growing up in the sixties. He starts off by describing how he was walking down a street one night and he witnessed a woman running away from him after noticing who he was. It wasn’t because he was a criminal, it was simply because he was black. In his story he talks about the persona of who and what a man should be. He got to witness several of his friends give in to the violent nature of what a boy/man was “supposed” to be. It is obvious that the writer does not agree with the views that he feels are pushed on the young boys. I found this easy to relate to my own life. I have never had quite the same interest in things that most boys are brought up to enjoy. I’m not a fan of sports, guns, violence of any type, or “anything that you would say describes men.” I’m not trying to sound like I’m better than anyone. What I’m simply trying to say is that I find it sad what the world says that we as men should be.  I can remember being pushed to be tough as a child and I never ended up listening. That fact does not make me any less of a man and I have watched many of my friends go down a path that will eventually hurt them. I find it sad that the world back then really isnt a whole lot diffenert than our world today in some aspects.

Freedom summer!

So, I don’t know too mch about the legacy of what freedom summer played here at Miami but I have been interested. I have walked around and seen the monuments everywhere. I have heard rumors but I have never known the facts. I’m excited to go on the tour Monday and to hear the story from someone who knows. As I was watching the videos for class I ran across the “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. I watched the video and it reminded me of elementary school when we first learned about those people. Rosa Parks, Martin King, and Malcom X were all figures who we learned about. It makes me wonder how I would have reacted back int hat time. It makes me wonder if I would have been the people hurt the negros… At the same time, it makes me glad that i wasn’t around back then. That way I don’t have tpo worry about that question anymore.

This is by far the worst site I’ve ever used.

I just spend quite a bit of time writing my blog for this week. When I went to publish it, I got my title but no entry. Now Im pissed. I really don’t feel like trying to write out all over again everything I had written so I won’t. This is the blog you get nad I’m sorry that what I had written failed. I’m gonna go ahead and rate this site now as a failure website. I would not ever recommend this to anyone, nor should it be used again. I lile the concept of blogs for class but this is not the site to do it on. Not only that but its hard to navigate. I guess I was better off not writting these thigns like before cause all this did was make me mad. Thanks wordpress, way to ruin my life.

P.S. I’m not quite as amd as that whole rant made it seem.

Black Gold! Who Knew?

So, we started watching a movie this week in class called Black Gold. The whole thing is about the injustice the Ethiopian people are suffering due to coffee pricing. The people there depend on the production of coffee to survive. While the world pays upwards of $3 per cup the people who harvest the beans are recieving about .3 cents. They are fighting for more rights and more money to improve their lifestyles. They claim that even getting another .7 cents would mean better housing, more food, and better eductaions for the children.

After watching the movie I find it hard to believe that the government or someone can’t do something about this. It’s a lousy .7 cents. I have a hard time grasping why they are recieving so little. I don’t drink coffee but if I did then I wouldn’t mind paying another .7 cents to feed them. I guess the greedy people need their solid gold porsche’s and there diamond lined pools. Maybe the world will never change.

Writing as a chore.

I find myself procrastinating as a writer. I have a hard time finding anything that interest me to write about. It always tends to be homework…go figure. Writing is not a passion of mine so I never want to do it. I would rather do something that I actually enjoy with my time.

Also, I have never considered myself a good writer. I look at papers I’ve written and I think, geez that sucks. My skills as a writer are slim to none. I have good ideas about what to write but I can never seem to make them come out right on paper. I learned long ago that I’m not meant to be a writer.

The one thing that I hate the most about writing is the long process of it. You make a first draft and then you edit that. Then that becomes your first rough draft. Then you re-write that draft to make a second rough draft that needs edited. Then you take the good and bad from those, combine them, edit them, and then write your final, which will be edited and then revised. It seems like a lot of worthless time. I like just doing stuff right the first time and never looking back but I can’t do that with writing. I think that is what I hate the most about writing.

Activism is an Active Sport

I’ve spent some time in my own life trying to figure out how to change the world. I think that deep inside everyone wants to do this world some good. I think of the song by Nickelback called “If everyone cared.” In the song they bring the message of the world working together to better the our planet for everyone. I really like their message because I think that all people everywhere play a part in changing the planet. In a way, we are already activist. Each person has a belief system that they show an opinion for. If everyone would step up and fight for what they believe than they are being an activist. I perosnally support an organization called To Write Love On Her Arms. They are non-profit and their whole mission is to bring help to those who are struggling with addiction, self-mutalation, and deppresion. I really support them and I do what I can to help them out. This includes money or just support out on the streets. Being an activist means taking something you stand for and actually standing. Don’t sit and say you support the movement, be the movement.