Reflecting On The Semester...

In comp. 2 this semester we have focused a lot on the components of rhetoric, which are ethos, pathos, and logos, more than in any other English class I've been in. Perhaps the most important of these in our assignments was ethos. In writing, ethos "names the persuasive appeals of one's character" , In other words, when using ethos, the author should put his/herself into the argument in a way that the reader sees him/her as trustworthy. This has been somewhat difficult for me to do this semester because I wasn't entirely sure how to, even after our first discussions about it in class. Like I said, I had learned about ethos, pathos, and logos previously, but had never particularly focused on ethos before, so it was fairly new to me. In past classes I remember focusing mostly on pathos. That resulted in a big fat surprise D for me on our first big paper of the semester about technology. It was an argumentative paper about cyberbullying, a negative effect of technology. I had incorporated all three rhetoric components poorly and had lost nearly half of the points for each. That was a little bit of a wakeup call.

Luckily I did a lot better on our second paper, the Rogerian assignment. We were instructed to write a Rogerian argument, and once again I was worried because I had never heard of it before and was sure I would do something wrong again. The first thing I focused on when I began to write my paper was ethos, and how I was going to put myself into my paper with a trustworthy tone. I succeeded in doing it correctly by showing the reader that I used to have a similar mindset before I had done more research about the topic. My topic was recycling, and how it may not be as beneficial as we think. In my intro I said, "our society as a whole, including I, basically accepted this recycling move as heroic, and even though recycling is admirable and no doubt healthy for the earth, we did not really look into its effects much and just took it for what it was said to be." I made sure to give the audience credit for their good intentions. This, along with a few other things, scored me an A on the assignment. I was very relieved after getting that grade.

I'm not sure how I feel about my performance in the class overall. That one bad grade really got to me. It made it hard for me to get a decent grade in the class and I'm still not sure what I am going to end up with. I can honestly say I learned a lot though. I enjoyed several of the things we did in class, like the videos we watched and topics we discussed. They definitely changed my perspectives on a couple things, but also strengthened others. We explored new ways of composition like using blogs and websites for assignments and that was interesting and also challenging to me at the same time. I have never been tech-savvy at all, and was a little proud that I accomplished a semester in a class that revolved around technology.

How Technology Has Affected My First Year of College

Throughout the semester our class has been focusing a lot on the advancement of technology. Several times we have discussed the positive and negative effects of technology when working on different assignments. I feel as if I have been paying more attention to the negativity associated with technology than the good things that come with it. Now that I have completed my first year at a University where the knowledge of how to use technology is a must, I can look back and see how I would not have made it through without that knowledge and without owning the pieces of technology that I use every day.

Not everyone in college has a laptop, but most do because it makes school so much easier. Almost all of the homework for classes (as far as I know) is done either online or typed and neither of those types of assignments could be done without a computer, unless a typewriter is used, but that is a form of technology as well. Math, psychology, chemistry, and zoology were some of my classes that required almost all of the homework to be done online, plus any research done for English papers. There are computer labs that are available to students, but there are a limited number of computers and not all of them can be used for internet. If I did not own a laptop I would have spent 2/3 of my life in a computer lab. That is not my idea of a good college experience. Computers have made school so much more convenient and made our lives more comfortable while getting even more done than before computers were used for classes.

For some unknown reason my laptop has been having a ridiculous amount of problems since the beginning of second semester. Ever since coming back from Christmas break, I’ve felt like the technology gods were trying to ruin my GPA. It’s had several viruses, it kicks me off of the internet several times a day (without saving any homework that’s been completed), and freezes up just as much or more often than it kicks me off. These are just problems that specifically my computer has and maybe that’s why I’ve been bitter toward technology, but these problems bring me to my main point of what a savior my iPhone has been lately. I may not be able to do homework on it, but I can do other things with my iPhone that save me when my computer is not working. Since it has internet, I can do research wherever I am just as well (and sometimes faster) as I could with my computer. Another thing about college that relies on technology is email. Before this year, I never used email, but now I check it several times a day because it is how teachers get in touch with students. I am always getting important emails from teachers about due dates, assignment clarifications, exams, and so on. With my iPhone, I can read those messages as soon as they are sent and waste no time on receiving the information. Not only can I read emails, but I can send them at any point in the day no matter where I am with my iPhone. I can even email myself drafts of writing assignments from my iPhone to my computer for when it is working again.

There are countless reasons for a college student to love technology, and even though it has its bad side, I have come to realize that so does every other good thing mankind has created. I’m excited to see how technology continues to get better within the next several years. Hopefully it won’t result in laziness but in productivity and will continue to be a huge convenience for students in the future. I’m curious though, if the advancements of technology have made as positive an impact for other students that it has for me. Has technology made school easier and better for you or would you rather not have so many online assignments? Has it been more of a hassle for anyone than a help?

Thoughts on Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution

In class we watched the beginning stages of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution). Jamie has gone to the unhealthiest town in America, Huntington, West Virginia, to start a food revolution and change the way the town eats and what they know about the food they eat. Being someone who is very interested in nutrition and human behavior, this really interested me. America has lately been desperate for nutritional help and education, especially for the health and safety of the kids, and it really got to me how stubborn some of Huntington’s citizens were toward Jamie’s Goals. Two of Jamie’s biggest enemies were Alice and Rod. Alice is a lunch lady - excuse me, cook - at the elementary school Jamie has kicked his revolution off at, and in my opinion, was the worst person he could have gotten stuck to work with. It almost seemed like she didn’t even care about the kids’ health, she just wanted to be the head honcho and was against any sort of change. Rod, a local radio personality, was not only negative but flat out discouraging. Rod just missed Jamie’s point completely. He wanted him to leave and had no problem expressing it. I can understand why someone might think his aspirations are unrealistic, but I also think Alice and Rod’s attitudes were entirely too negative and uncalled for.
I did not follow the series for much longer after what we had seen in class, but I did continue to watch a couple episodes on my own. I admire Jamie’s faith in himself and Huntington. I wish we could all be as passionate about the well-being of others as Jamie. His hard work and enthusiasm has begun to pay off (from what I’ve seen so far). Jamie must be a miracle worker because he successfully got both Alice and Rod to hop on his bandwagon. Alice is continuing to help Jamie but is now actually supporting him, and Rod has even joined in the effort by helping spread the word through his radio show. I can’t wait to see how things continue to move forward as I catch up on the episodes.
I am curious though, if Jamie really does have unrealistic goals – they seem pretty far-fetched to me. What are the odds of one man completely changing the unhealthiest town in America? What are your opinions? Thoughts? If you would like to be a part of Jamie’s Food Revolution, Sign Jamie's petition to save cooking skills and improve school food here http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition …I did.

A Day Without Technology Assignment

I don’t like referring to myself as a Facebook addict, but the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? Well, I have a problem. Facebook is my primary means of procrastination. Anytime I’m on the computer I find myself on Facebook. It is habitually the first page I visit when getting online. It’s pathetic, I know, but everyone has a weakness.
At some point a couple weeks ago, reality slapped me in the face. Finals were approaching quickly and my workload was growing rapidly. I knew I was going to have to give Facebook a break if I wanted to get it all done. Right then and there I banned myself from Facebook until the coming up Friday (about 5 days away). This impulsive goal allowed me to kill two birds with one stone. My English class had previously been assigned the task of going a full day without using a piece of digital technology that was significant in our lives.
Anyone who knows me would be surprised to hear that I was excited to hear about our English assignment. I was interested in seeing how going a full day without it would not only make me feel, but how it would affect my productivity throughout the day. I had forgotten all about it until a few days into my week without Facebook. When I remembered the assignment, I realized how perfectly my goal fit with it and began to make note of the rest of the week.
Those first few days were hard, about as hard as I expected them to be. Having an iPhone makes it even worse because of the constant temptation to just pick it up and tap the internet icon. I did delete the Facebook app though, I was proud of myself for that. I think the hardest time for me to resist Facebook was when I got to class early and had to sit there and stare at the wall until class started, and I’m usually early to my classes. That may not really sound like a problem, but I’m one of those people who always has to be doing something with their hands or I feel awkward, so it was a problem. The first few days consisted of constantly picking up my phone out of habit and putting it right back down after realizing what I had picked it up for.
By the time I had begun paying more attention to how my Facebook-less week was tying into my assignment, I could see how drastically my productivity had increased. I noticed that I was getting things done more quickly than usual and concentrating better. Any other week I would have been worried about whether or not I could get everything done in time but that week I didn’t seem to worry so much. I knew I didn’t even have the option of distracting myself. I was surprised to find myself getting ready for class more quickly than normal – In the mornings I log into Facebook and have it up on my computer so I can chat with any friends that happen to be on. Without that morning ritual, I wasn’t even rushing to my classes. One other time of the day I had problems was at night when I was going to bed. I have had sleeping problems since I was born and the majority of the time it takes me ages to fall asleep, so I Facebook to pass the time. Fortunately, iPhones are loaded with other things to do. iPhone was bitter-sweet that week.
I began feeling less and less anxious throughout the week. I only ran into one big problem the whole time. When I’m tagged in a picture on Facebook I get an email informing me of it. I set it up that way so I could automatically check the pictures out to see if I need to un-tag myself in them due to my un-photogenic nature. I got 4 of these emails on Wednesday and it killed me to know the world could see 4 pictures of me that could potentially be embarrassing and I had no idea if they were. Even though I felt disconnected from the world and powerless from preventing my own potential humiliation, it felt good to focus on things that were actually important. I had been on track all week with my assignments and they were done more effectively than previous ones. I have to admit, I did re-download the Facebook app at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, but I had not failed my goal and I was proud of myself for sticking to it.
We were also told to read “Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer” by Wendell Berry, a writer and former English professor at the University of Kentucky, to give us some points to think about during our assignment. He feels that computers and technology in general are completely unnecessary for success, and that they have replaced valuable things that should be cherished. One great point I think he makes is his ninth standard for technological innovation. He states that “it should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.” His opinion really made me think about how much Facebook, although helping me keep in touch with some people, at the same time is replacing others. Facebook has become somewhat of a friend to me because it entertains me, holds my attention, I go to it for gossip, and when I’m bored. I was really repelled by that thought because it showed me that it’s causing me to become somewhat anti-social. The last thing I need is to get rid of my friends and replace them with pixels.

tear-jerker, even for the unspiritual

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One of my good friends just recently introduced me to this song called “Temporary Home,” and now it is one of my favorite songs. It was released in Carrie Underwood’s latest album, Play On, on November 3, 2009. Carrie, the deserving winner of the fourth season of American Idol, was a co-writer of the song, along with Luke Robert Laird and Zac Maloy). This song has a very strong emotional appeal to it, especially for me because I identify with the concept of it very well. It “hits close to home” so to speak, even though I don’t necessarily identify with the specific characters in the song or their personal stories. Making a music video for this song was perhaps to help viewers visualize the stories and feel more connected to the characters portrayed in the video in order to evoke more emotion than just the song itself.
The Temporary Home music video goes along with the song very well, as opposed to a lot of music videos which seem to stray away from the lyrics. This touching video is about three people: a six-year-old foster child, a single mom, and a dying old man. They are each in different tough situations in life and seem like they would be ideal candidates for depression, hopelessness, discouragement, etc. Of course Carrie had to be in the video of her own song too, so the director shot her singing in between scenes, making sure that her body language went with the ideal emotion of the song. Carrie also plays a role in the stories of each character. First she is basically just an observer of the single mother and the foster child having sympathy for them both, then there is a small twist and you realize the old man is her dying grandfather. This is where the audience’s simple sad feeling becomes tears on the brink. When the chorus rolls around after each verse, it reveals what these characters have most in common; they all find encouragement and comfort in their beliefs that a foster home/ a halfway house/ Earth is just a “temporary home” compared to their future and permanent home (heaven).
This is the concept or idea I think the writers were trying to convey to the audience. Even though the video contains such touching stories, especially with a child incorporated into it, these individual stories or characters aren’t the real focus of the song. The characters do, however, effect who the target audience is, which is important. As a whole, this song may be directed towards Christians who identify with the characters’ beliefs and how they find security in knowing they will soon be relieved of life, or it could be directed towards just discouraged people who need a sense of security and relief. Furthermore, young children who move from home to home frequently, single parents who are trying to make ends meet, and elderly people who are expecting a visit from death soon, may specifically be affected by the content of this song more than others. I would expect them to want a more broad audience with a message like this one though.
Tons and tons of people are going to be listening to this song, and the producers know very well that a lot of them aren’t going to have a Christian standpoint going into it; they may be of another religion or no religion at all. I’m sure this posed some tough constraints for them. It seems like they did the best they could by choosing characters of different ages, going through different things that many people can relate to, even if they aren’t religious. Everyone who doesn’t have hope wishes there was something they could put their hope in, which is what stirs up emotion for people who don’t believe in a heaven… I can only assume. Then there are those who believe in a different deity. This gives the producers a small break, because at least this portion of their audience most likely believes in some sort of afterlife. Their own idea of what happens after life on earth, if a positive one, brings them comfort therefore allowing them to relate to this song.
I’m particularly affected by this song because when I was younger, and occasionally to this day, my mom would use her mother’s intuition to sense when I was going through a hard time and would always make it a point to remind me that my home on Earth was not my real home, and to not lose hope and strength because I won’t be stuck here in this horrible place battling life forever. Now, whenever I feel down or hopeless, I go through the same reassuring thought process as the characters in the song. It has always worked effectively in improving how I look at situations.
Overall I really think this is an inspiring video whether you share the belief of the message or not. Carrie’s talent and soul in this video alone is enough inspiration for anyone to find hope. I think any person who watches this video or just listens to the song would like it and find some way to relate to it -how could you not?