One Last Thought...

The second half of this semester was completely different compared to the first half. Honestly, I enjoyed the second half much more than the first. Considering this is an English composition class, I took it hoping to write, a lot. After Professor Marsh gave us the Vision Quest “Survival Kit”, I was actually quite happy that we would finally get to write a couple essays. Of course, I was trying to keep up with my Blog, but for some reason I really wanted to write more. I know that I’m not an amazing writer and I’m sure that I could use some work, but I think that my writing has improved, if even a little bit. The second half of this semester got my brain going, in a sense. I was able to write a couple papers of my own choosing, which gave me the opportunity to write what and how I wanted, which is absolutely love.
The part that really helped me this semester was the group projects that we did. I learned how to write a complete and correct sentence and I think (and hope) that my writing reflects on what I learned. I think that it was the most productive part of the second semester because we got to use what we learned into our writing for our final essays. I know that I personally went back to a couple of the handouts that were given out in class and reread a couple points to help improve my final essay.
I did enjoy this class a lot but I would leave Professor Marsh with one piece of advice. The first half of the semester, there was little to no writing involved, which made us student very lazy. We all thought that this class was going to be a breeze because we wouldn’t need to do any actual writing, other than the Blogs. So, I would just suggest a couple essays, or paragraphs or some writing other than the Blogs. We get very lazy and then when we get, in a sense, ‘dumped’ with the whole ‘Survival Kit’ and we get overwhelmed. Other than that tiny difference, I think that this class was really very enjoyable, and I think that I learned many things and improved my writing.

DONE!!!!

THE SEMESTER IS ALMOST OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am soo happy right now!! ..even though I am sitting in night class counting down the minutes until 9:40 when i get out. I can't believe how quickly this semester has gone by! I feel like it was just yesterday when I was at orientation (group 11.. what what!). I just hope my next three years doen't go by as quickly because after college is the real world, and I'm not too sure I want to the bere.. not yet anyway. Even though I worl full time right now, I still want to enjoy my teenage years before I have to work for the rest of my life. I hope everyone had an amazing year and has an even greater summer!!!

OPRAH WINFREY

Oprah Gail Winfrey was born January 29, 1954 on her family’s farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Her father, Vermon Winfrey, a stationed solider at a local base, and her mother, Vernita Lee, were both very young when Oprah was born. Her parents never married, and so after her mother found a job as a maid, she was left to the care of her grandmother Hattie Mae Lee. As a young child, Oprah would recite in church each Sunday, which is what she believes kick started her performing career. Hattie Mae taught Oprah how to read at the young age of three, and as soon as she started kindergarten she was promoted to the first grade and then right away to the third. At the age of nine when Oprah was sent to live with her mother, she was sexually abused by four different men until she was fourteen. This is when her behavior changed and her mother sent her to live with her father in Nashville.

While living with her father and stepmother, she was given strict orders to study every night, and if she hadn’t completed her studies, she wouldn’t be fed at night. Luckily, Oprah has great study habits and was always ready and willing to learn. In high school, Oprah took many public speaking and performing arts classes because she knew that more than anything; she was destined to be a performer. Her last year of high school had a great effect on her because this is when she was introduced to, then president, Richard Nixon, and also the radio station WVOL. The radio station gave her a job as the news girl, and so she would read the news each day on the air. She entered a public speaking contest in which she won and was awarded a scholarship to Tennessee State University where she studied Speech Communications and the Performing Arts. In 1972, along with her scholastic studies and her job, she also entered a beauty pageant, in which she won and was named Miss Black Tennessee.

At the age of nineteen, Oprah was offered a job as a reporter, but was fired after just three years because she wasn’t able to give her own opinion on the air. Afterwards though, her boss told her about a talk show called “People Are Talking”. After her first episode, she was hooked! She stayed with the show for seven years and then moved on to “A.M. Chicago”. The name didn’t last long, and shortly after working there Oprah changed the name to “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. In 1988 she was the youngest recipient of the broadcaster of the year, and eventually her new show would win her 7 daytime Emmys for an Outstanding Talk Show and 7 more for being an Outstanding Talk Show Host (people.smu.edu).

In 1998 Oprah created the public charity Oprah’s Angel Network, which she created to encourage viewers to make a difference in other people’s lives. Since the beginning of her charity she was raised over $50 million, with “100% of audience donations going to non-profit organizations across the globe” (oprah.com). Oprah’s Angel Network has given out scholarships and helped to support women’s shelters and youth centers, in hopes to change the future for people all over the world.

Oprah’s commitment to helping children and because of her own terrible childhood between the ages of nine and fourteen, she created the National Child Protection Act in 1991. Oprah testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to try and establish a national record of convicted child abusers, so that people all over the country would know if the person next door to them has been convicted previously and would take a little more caution letting their children out to play in the evenings. On December 20, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the national “Oprah Bill” into the United States law.

With all this fame came great fortune for Ms. Winfrey as well. Shortly after her show became a huge success and she became the third woman in history to own her own major studio (HARPO), she was named the first black billionaire in the United States. When asked about her wealth and if it has changed her as a person, Oprah jokingly replied, "Though I am grateful for the blessings of wealth, it hasn't changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I'm just wearing better shoes" (quotes.com). Oprah was also opened her own private charity, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, which she has already awarded hundreds of grants to organizations that support education for women and children all around the world.

One of the most well known acts of charity that Oprah has done is creating the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation. She has contributed over $40 million towards the creation of her new school, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, in South Africa, which recently opened in January of 2007. This campus has 28 buildings, each of which will help poor girls in South Africa receive an education which was otherwise impossible. Currently, the school is housing 152 girls in the 7th and 8th grade. Oprah says that by the year 2011 there will be a total of 450 girls in grades 7 to 12. Her main vision for the school is to try and increase leadership in women living in South America.

Although this school has brightened the lives of many young girls in South Africa, many people in the United States are quite upset with Oprah. One Newsweek blogger goes far enough to say that Oprah is just “turning them [the girls] into perfect little consumers” because by giving them each walk-in closets they are learning to be spoiled, not educated. Another blogger states that such “ludicrous opulence” will never help these girls get ahead in life; just spoil them for a few years (diversityinc.com). Like the well educated and learned person that Oprah is, she knew that some people would disagree with her building the school in South Africa when so many people here in the U.S. can’t afford a decent education. In an interview with USA Today, when asked about all the negative criticism, Oprah simply replied, “You want to give the gift to the person who's going to love it the most." (diversityinc.com). she went on to say that no young girl in the U.S. will be denied an education because we have a great public school system, but there, no one will be there to help these young girls succeed academically in life.

Even though the opening of her school may have turned a few heads away from her, in a recent poll, people were asked “When entrepreneur do you admire most”, and the winner by a long shot was Oprah Winfrey. Her votes nearly doubled the votes of Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world. Even though she has made a great deal of money and has become one of the most powerful people in the world, she still has a sense of “humility and compassion we all should strive to achieve” (entrepreneurs.about.com). Vanity Fair magazine agrees that Oprah is the most influential person of our time, stating that “[Oprah] has more influence on the culture than any university president, politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope” (wikipedia.org). Columnist Maureen Dowd agrees that Oprah is the “top alpha female” right now is our country. She even goes on to say that Oprah may even have “more credibility than the president” (wikipedia.org).

I am not connected to Oprah, physically or in any other way, but I am connected to her story; her story inspires me to want to help others. Oprah Winfrey’s life story and all the acts of kindness that she has performed should be an inspiration to everyone because she has worked very hard for her success but she has never forgotten where she came from. That should be a lesson to everyone, and I know personally, that whenever I can, even though I don’t make much money, I still try and give to the less fortunate. Whether it is giving money, or canned foods or even old clothes, I always try to help. Oprah has inspired me to help and I hope that my project can inspire my classmate, if only even a few of them, so try and help as well.

Weekend Blues..?

It seems as though there is no way i can fully enjoy a weekend. Last weekend with all the rain, i was stuck home, bored out of my mind. This weekend was absulutely gorgeous but i find out that one of my best friend's girlfriend passed away. So this entire weekend i was with him, at her funeral and the wake. It was the worst pain i had ever felt. This kid is like a brother to me and so i felt like it was my duty to stay with him all weekend and just be there for him. It has just been such a terrible weekend filled with so much emotion (mostly sad), and now what?? i come home to do homework.. who is in the mood for that?? definately not me, but i must. hopefully i get at least one assignment done...

Rain ...Rain..

You remember that little song you used to sing when you were younger?

"Rain Rain, GO AWAY,

Come Again, ANOTHER DAY"

I wish that Mother Nature would take that hint already!! I'm so sick of this rain! Every time it rains, my house floods which means that I have to stay up intill these insane hours of the night mopping my basement and making sure it's sry by morning. The rain on sunday was so bad that one of my co-workers is now left basically homeless. The water rose almost upto the second floor of her house!! Now for the past few days, and probably the next couple weeks, she has to live with a friend and only has the few clothes she could grab beore she left the house. This is insane! I mean, i know April showers bring May flowers, but honestly, I could do without flowers this one year. I'm soo sooo sick of this rain!! Ahh!

Oprah's Response to all those "haters"

Winfrey herself speculated she would be the subject of criticism shortly before the school opened. In an interview with USA Today Weekend, Winfrey said, "I perhaps will get criticism about, 'Why didn't you do this for children in America?'"
Her reply: "Because we have a school system in America ... There's no 12-year-old girl in America that you're going to find crying because this is the last year for her education because nobody can afford to send her to school. You want to give the gift to the person who's going to love it the most."


http://www.diversityinc.com/public/1176.cfm

Oprah not fo Fair ..?

"Shame on you Oprah. $40 million dollars for a school in South Africa for 152 children when the rest of the poor black children in that country have a substandard education if any. And on top of that teaching them they need oversize closets and plush rooms you are just turning them into perfect little consumers," writes one blogger.

Another Newsweek blogger chimes in, "What Oprah will be creating will be young girls with visions of materialism, not leaders. Leadership rises from strength of character and that does NOT come from such ludicrous opulence and certainly not from a couple years spent there."


http://www.diversityinc.com/public/1176.cfm

Good News (for me) =]

So! My aunt called me tonight, in the middle of night class, and she sounded like she was in a great rush. So I run out of class thinking it was something important so I could talk to her. Apparently, she booked the vacation!! So, we are officialy going to Punta Cana, DominicanRepublic for a week in May. Amazing news because I didn't think this trip was actually going to happen. We are staying at a 5 star all inclusive resort which I am soo excited about. So after I get off the phone with her, I call my mother to let her know that i'm going on vacation and she tells me that my father booked me a ticket for Greece for the month of July!! I haven't been on vacation in over four years, and since I haven't been going anywhere, I've been working as much as possible to try and save up money so I could go away. So now, i'm all set!! I cannot wait! I've never been to D.R. before and it has been about 5 years since the last time I went to Greece, so I am going to enjoy this summer like never before!! All i want to do now is go home and stat packing... even though I'm leaving in 3 weeks! hehe

Oraph's Magazine-

Oprah even has her own magazine entitiled "O"!

"Live Your Best Life: A Treasury of Wisdom, Wit, Advice, Interviews, and Inspiration from O, The Oprah Magazine"

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.insidesuccessradio.com/resize_image.php%3Fimage%3Dhttp://www.insidesuccessradio.com/images/products/Oprah_Live-you-best-life.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.insidesuccessradio.com/GuestPage1.php/Oprah-Winfrey&h=400&w=336&sz=25&hl=en&start=43&um=1&tbnid=xcswtNDZNCYSgM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Doprah%2Bwinfrey%26start%3D40%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

All Girls' School-

Oprah built them a school called Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls—South Africa... a dream come true.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://hosted.ap.org/photos/J/JOH10801021433-big.jpg&imgrefurl=http://sueannsnwprblog.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html&h=284&w=429&sz=26&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=X3W4_8Q4ATghiM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Doprah%2Bwinfrey%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

Recognition-

2006
Time Magazine—100 Most Influential People in the World
The New York Public Library—Library Lion 2006
2005
National Civil Rights Museum – 2005 National Freedom Award
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People — Hall of Fame
Time Magazine — 100 Most Influential People in the World
International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences — 2005 International Emmy Founders Award
2004
United Nations Association of the United States of America – Global Humanitarian Action Award
National Association of Broadcasters – Distinguished Service Award
Time Magazine – 100 Most Influential People in the World
2003
Association of American Publishers – AAP Honors Award
2002
54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards® – Bob Hope Humanitarian Award
Broadcasting & Cable – Hall of Fame
1999
National Book Foundation – 50th Anniversary Gold Medal
1998
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences® – Lifetime Achievement Award
The following year, after accepting this pinnacle honor, Oprah removed herself from future Emmy® consideration and the show followed suit in 2000. Oprah and The Oprah Winfrey Show received more than 40 Daytime Emmy Awards®: seven for Outstanding Host; nine for Outstanding Talk Show; more than 20 in the Creative Arts categories; and one for Oprah's work as supervising producer of the ABC After School Special Shades of Single Protein.
Time Magazine – 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century
1997
Newsweek – Most Important Person in Books and Media
TV Guide – Television Performer of the Year
1996
International Radio & Television Society Foundation – Gold Medal Award
George Foster Peabody Awards – 1995 Individual Achievement Award


http://www.oprah.com/about/press/about_press_bio.jhtml

again...??

What is it with these terrible Mondays???? This morning my entire family was sleeping, which is something we rarely do because we all work on Monday morning. Why were we sleeping?? Because all the power in the house went off! Apparently we didn't have power from 830AM until about 1130AM, which means, yes, we were all late for work. I was the first one up when the power came back on and my alarm clock was going crazy. I ran through the house waking up my parents and my brother, who, obviously, had no idea about the power outage. So of course, we are all rushing to get ready for work, calling our bosses and what not. Luckily, my boss is a real great guy and so he just laughed at me and told me to get a cup of coffee because I looked like I was about to fall asleep as I was talking to him. Why was I so tired?? Because, yet again, my house flooded yesterday and I was up all night, along with my mother, mopping and sweeping the basement to try and get rid of the water. Luckily at around 4AM, the got all the water out of the basement and went to sleep, which is why neither of us woke up while the power was out. I'll spare all the details, but today was an almost impossible day to get through, and I am so happy that it's finally over!

PHILANTHROPIST-

Oprah has long believed that education is the door to freedom, offering a chance at a brighter future. Through her private charity, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, she has awarded hundreds of grants to organizations that support the education and empowerment of women, children and families in the United States and around the world. Amongst her various philanthropic contributions, she has donated millions of dollars toward providing a better education for students who have merit but no means. She also has developed schools to educate thousands of underserved children internationally and created "The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program," which gives scholarships to students determined to use their education to give back to their communities in the United States and abroad.

In December 2002, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation expanded its global humanitarian efforts with her ChristmasKindness South Africa 2002 initiative that included visits to orphanages and rural schools in South Africa where 50,000 children received gifts of food, clothing, athletic shoes, school supplies, books and toys. Sixty-three rural schools received libraries and teacher education.

During a December 2000 visit with Nelson Mandela, Oprah pledged $10 million to build a school in South Africa. As that commitment broadened, she established The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation, to which she has contributed more than $40 million toward the creation of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls—South Africa, which opens in January 2007. Located in a 28-building campus in Henley-on-Klip, the Leadership Academy is a state-of-the-art independent school that will engender high standards of academic achievement and service leadership for girls. Its first 152 accepted 7th and 8th grade students, who show outstanding promise despite their impoverished backgrounds and social circumstances, represent all nine South African provinces. By 2011, the Leadership Academy will accommodate approximately 75 learners per grade, for a total of approximately 450 learners, grades 7 through 12. Her vision is that the Leadership Academy will help develop the future women leaders of South Africa.

In a 1997 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah encouraged viewers to use their lives to make a difference in the lives of others, which led to the creation of the public charity Oprah's Angel Network in 1998. To date, Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $50 million, with 100% of audience donations going to non-profit organizations across the globe. Oprah's Angel Network has helped establish scholarships and schools, support women's shelters and build youth centers and homes—changing the future for people all over the world.

Oprah's commitment to children also led her to initiate the National Child Protection Act in 1991, when she testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to establish a national database of convicted child abusers. On December 20, 1993, President Clinton signed the national "Oprah Bill" into law.

Most Admired Entrepreneur

In a recent poll, we asked readers, "Which entrepreneur do you admire most?" The winner, hands down, was Oprah Winfrey, with nearly double the votes of Bill Gates and four times Richard Branson. In a career filled with firsts and superlatives, Oprah has managed to amass a sizable fortune, become one of the most powerful people in the entertainment industry, and yet maintain a sense of humility and compassion we all should strive to achieve.


http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/famousentrepreneurs/p/oprahwinfrey.htm

RAIN!

Today was suppose to be the Greek Independence Day parade, which the entire Greek community looks forward to every year. Ever year we march along 5th avenue in Manhattan and show our pride for our country. This year, the parade was scheduled for this morning but with this terrible downpour and flood warnings the parade is postponed until next Sunday. We are all ecstatic about the news because we don't have to march in the freezing cold and rain this year, like we have in the past. Ever since I was in the first grade, I have marched in the parade each and every year- rain or shine. This year though, it's postponed! This is the first ever parade in the history of parades in Manhattan that hasn't happened on the day it was scheduled. In a way, I kind of feel honored that the first and only parade to be cancelled for the day was the Greek one. I take great pride in my nationality and so even the smalled of accomplishments or 'first times' done by the Greeks, makes me proud- even though this is quite an odd reason to be proud. Regardless though, this terrible rain has ruined what was suppose to be a great day filled with music and laughing and a long walk along fifth avenue. Oh well! Now we must wait until next week. I just hope it's nice and warm out!!

Time Line

http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/cabinjohnms/comp/st-prj/web/christinal/accomp.htm

Accomplishments & Fun Facts

Some of Oprah's Accomplishments and Fun Facts
1971 Oprah won Miss Fire prevention, in Nashville TN
1971 Won the Miss Black Tennessee pageant
1988 Won broadcaster of the year (Oprah was the youngest recipient)
Won 7 daytime Emmys for an Outstanding Talk Show
Won 7 daytime Emmys for being an Outstanding Talk Show Host
3 rd Woman in history to own a major studio
First black billionaire in America
Started a book club on air, to encourage reading
Founded Families for Better Lives Foundation to help abused children
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the movie The Color Purple
Oprah is a misspelling for the biblical name Orpah
Harpo, Oprah's studio is Oprah spelled backwards


http://people.smu.edu/lelder/accomp.html

Bill O'Reilly on Oprah-

Bill O'Reilly said:

"I mean this is a woman that came from nothing to rise up to be the most powerful woman, I think, in the world. I think Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in the world, not just in America. That's — anybody who goes on her program immediately benefits through the roof. I mean, she has a loyal following; she has credibility; she has talent; and she's done it on her own to become fabulously wealthy and fabulously powerful."[61]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey

Vanity Fair on Oprah-

Vanity Fair wrote:

"Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president, politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope."[60]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey

Maureen Dowd on Oprah-

Columnist Maureen Dowd says:

"She is the top alpha female in this country. She has more credibility than the president. Other successful women, such as Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart had to be publicly slapped down before they could move forward. Even Condi has had to play the protegé with Bush. None of this happened to Oprah — she is a straight ahead success story."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey

Oprah

"Though I am greateful for the blessings of wealth, it hasn't changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I'm just wearing better shoes"

- Opreah Winfrey, O Magazine

vacation anyone..?

Planning a vacation with my family is the worst possible thing ever! My family waits until the last minute to do anything. We have been thinking of planning at a trip for the past two months to go somewhere in May, but of course, since we do anything last minute there is a great possibilty that we will not be going anywhere. First we were suppose to go to Jamaica, then it changed to the Virgin Islands and now it's off to Mexico. The way I see, we're not going anywhere, but I haven't been on vacation in over four years and I have been working full time as a student and at my job all year plus working full time over the summer and part time all throughout high school, I think I deserve this. I know full well that we are not going to plan this vacation until late April so we can leave in early May, so right now all my complaning is basically useless, but I need to vent somewhere and I find this the least annoying way to do so. I will keep you update on this ongoing annoyance, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Titus

" I don't fail.

I succeed in finding what doesn't work"

-Titus

oh, monday

No one likes mondays. I don't, you probably don't, and I don't think i've ever met anyone that does. Mondays are especially terrible after a long weekend and a holiday on sunday, which clearly just passed. Work today was absulutely unbearable. I had people over my house until the wee hours of the morning and waking up this morning was almost impossible. Working full time in an office doing paperwork and entering information into the computer for 8 or 9 hours a day on just a few hours of sleep is not very ideal. And of course there is always the deadline that you myst meet and one of your coworkers takes the day off so you have to pick up the slack for her too. And then I have to come home and finish up some late minute homework, make dinner and finish whatever else I have to do before tomorrow. I know that on any given day these series of events can and probably will happen but it just burns so much more after you've been home for three days and all I can think of is how I didn't have to stand on my feet doing work for all those hours. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and I can get back into schedule with school and work.

it has been a while..

This past week has been one of the hardest and most eventful in a long time. Between class and work and church (it's Holy Week for my religion and so we go to church about ten times this week) and running in and out of the hospital, I haven't had any time to breathe. It feels as if the world is on my shoulders and I have to hold it up. The semester is coming to an end, and so all my professors are loading lots of homework and tests on us. I have been going to church once and sometimes twice a day every day this week (including one last time tonight). I work full time at an office near my house so I have been leaving work to attend church and then rushing out of church to rush back to work to make everyone happy. And the worst part of the week was that I was in and out of the hospital for most of Tuesday and some of Wednesday. I wasn't having surgery but someone very close to me was and so I had to be by his side at all times because there was a great chance he wouldn't make it. So with all these emotions running through me, feeling guilty for not going to work or class on Tuesday so I could be in the hospital all day and going to church between all of them, this week hasn't been a very desirable one. I am just so relieved that this week is coming to an end and I can hopefully enjoy my Easter Sunday tomorrow with my family, relieved that this terrible week is done.

What not to aim for-

"I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top"

-An English Professor, Ohio University

Is it true??

My Sociology teacher pointed something very interested out to our class the other day, which is quite fitting, especially with Easter being just around the corner. One of the students asked her if she had been watching the news recently, specifically about all the people that claim to have discovered new writings about Jesus and found his bones and whatever else after all these years of being buried away. My teacher replied that during the Easter season, everyone claims for have found out more information or seen something we didn't already know about Jesus, just as after the movie Titanic was shown in movies and made millions of dollars, people went crazy with all the documentaries claiming that they knew more about the accident and that they had found more items that were lost at the bottom of the sea. All this is nonsense and these people claim to know more only when it is 'in season' so to speak. So personally, I don't really know if all these people have found ancient writings about Jesus, or have found his buried body somewhere in the desert because all these claims by many people are coming out at the same time, and I personally believe that it is all for the publicity and to win over more people with this findings ..or not findings. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but that is just my view on the current situation.

Dedication

Tonight i had soccer practice with my team. I coach 13 years old girls, and most of the time they're quite good and listen to me, but tonight is a whole other story. I went to practice and to my disbelief, none of the girls showed up!! This is a team of 15 girls and somehow none of them showed up to practice. I am so amazed at how little they care and how little dedication they have to this team. I personally feel that if you decide to be a part of the team that you must show up to every single practice and not just to the games and expect to play and even start each game. It is the biggest insult to the coach for an entire team to just now show up like that. Not one girl called me and told me that she wasn't comming for whatever reason. All i could think of is how rude it would be that when they grow up and go to work that they'd just miss work on day and not even have the decency to call the boss and let him know. Things like this bother me because I always make sure that I'm on top of things and that I am where I should be at all times. I am never late to anywhere I have to go and i feel that everyone should be that way also. I don't know if it's just me, but I think that missing a practice and not having the decncy to call your coach and tell her that you won't be there is quite possibly the rudest thing you could do.

Summarizing

Summarizing
-involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.


Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) or one or several writers into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summarized ideas are not necessarily presented in the same order as in the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.
Summarize when:
You want to establish background or offer an overview of a topic
You want to describe common knowledge (from several sources) about a topic
You want to determine the main ideas of a single source
What Is Summarizing?Summarizing is how we take larger selections of text and reduce them to their bare essentials: the gist, the key ideas, the main points that are worth noting and remembering. Webster's calls a summary the "general idea in brief form"; it's the distillation, condensation, or reduction of a larger work into its primary notions.
What Are We Doing When We Summarize?We strip away the extra verbiage and extraneous examples. We focus on the heart of the matter. We try to find the key words and phrases that, when uttered later, still manage to capture the gist of what we've read. We are trying to capture the main ideas and the crucial details necessary for supporting them.
When You Ask Your Students to Summarize, What Usually Happens?
they write down everything
they write down next to nothing
they give me complete sentences
they write way too much
they don't write enough
they copy word for word
What Did You Want Them To Do?
pull out main ideas
focus on key details
use key words and phrases
break down the larger ideas
write only enough to convey the gist
take succinct but complete notes
How Can I Teach My Students to Summarize?Please be warned: teaching summarizing is no small undertaking. It's one of the hardest strategies for students to grasp, and one of the hardest strategies for you to teach. You have to repeatedly model it and give your students ample time and opportunities to practice it. But it is such a valuable strategy and competency. Can you imagine your students succeeding in school without being able to break down content into manageable small succinct pieces? We ask students to summarize all the time, but we're terrible about teaching them good ways to do this!
Here are a few ideas; try one...try them all. But keep plugging away at summarizing. This strategy is truly about equipping your students to be lifelong learners.
After students have used selective underlining on a selection, have them turn the sheet over or close the handout packet and attempt to create a summary paragraph of what they can remember of the key ideas in the piece. They should only look back at their underlining when they reach a point of being stumped. They can go back and forth between writing the summary and checking their underlining several times until they have captured the important ideas in the article in the single paragraph.
Have students write successively shorter summaries, constantly refining and reducing their written piece until only the most essential and relevant information remains. They can start off with half a page; then try to get it down to two paragraphs; then one paragraph; then two or three sentences; and ultimately a single sentence.
Teach students to go with the newspaper mantra: have them use the key words or phrases to identify only Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
Take articles from the newspaper, and cut off their headlines. Have students practice writing headlines for (or matching the severed headlines to) the "headless" stories.
Sum It Up: Pat Widdowson of Surry County Schools in North Carolina shared this very cool strategy with me. How's it work? You have students imagine they are placing a classified ad or sending a telegram, where every word used costs them money. Tell them each word costs 10 cents, and then tell them they can spend "so much." For instance, if you say they have $2.00 to spend, then that means they have to write a summary that has no more than 20 words. You can adjust the amount they have to spend, and therefore the length of the summary, according to the text they are summarizing. Consider setting this up as a learning station, with articles in a folder that they can practice on whenever they finish their work early or have time when other students are still working.


http://mciunix.mciu.k12.pa.us/~spjvweb/sumparquo.html
http://www.readingquest.org/strat/home.html

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing-
- involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.
A paraphrase is...
your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.
one legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.
a more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.
Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because...
it is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.
it helps you control the temptation to quote too much.
the mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.
6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing
1. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
2. Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.
3. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
4. Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.
5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
6. Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.


http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_quotprsum.html

raising children ?!

The sad truth about raising children these days is that many parents are so busy with their work lives that most children become 'latch-key kids'. These children are exposed to all the dangers of the streets and the only thing that keeps them company at home is the television. If anyone has turned on a television recently, you have seen that many of the shows, even chilrend's show, have violence. How do we expect to raise children to be kind and loving and compassionate if they were explosed to so much evil and corruption? And then we wonder why the U.S. is 18th in the world in students attending colleges and making careers for themselves. It's terrible that parents are so busy that they cannot even take the time out to entertain or even talk to their children and keep these bad things away from them. If for example, a child grows up watching horror movies with killing and gore and violence, that is the child that would quite possibly hurt another child because he saw it on televsion and so he velieves it is the correct way. In a newpaper article I read a few years ago, a little boy was at the beach with his family and he wanted to be with SpongeBob Square Pants and he decided to run into the water and look for him. Tragically, that little boy drowned and lost his life. I am just trying to show how even the shows that we feel are innocent and perfect for children to watch can quite possibly be one of the worst things you can expose them to. If you want to occupy your children with television go out and buy a Disney movie, not the horror moves and television shows that could corrupt their young minds.

Francis Coppola

"Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos."
-Francis Ford Coppola

A note for Professor Marsh..

"Keep writing. Try to do a little bit every day, even if the result looks like crap. Getting from page four to page five is more important than spending three weeks getting page four perfect."
-Alan Dean Foster

A.D. Foster

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting"
Alan Dean Foster

Freedom

As young adults we are given much more freedom than we had when we were younger, this of course is expected, but what if we were given too much freedom? When children are younger all they want is to be able to do as they please and not have to listen to their parents, the authorities or anyone else in charge and that is okay, but it becomes a problem when these children, that eventually grow up to be adults, have too much freedom. Freedom, if used the wrong way, can and probably will lead to corruption, chaos and undoubtedly great havoc. What I want to prove in this paper is just how negative and unnecessary freedom, at great lengths, can be. I hope to prove that when people are given too much freedom, that no good ever comes out of it, and that there should always be limits and boundaries that ever single person should abide by.
By writing this paper I hope to show my ‘buddy list group” that although we all love freedom and would rather nothing but it, that freedom comes with a price that no one can pay. It is a great responsibility and once you are given freedom, it is like a drug, and you constantly want more and more. Once exposed to too much freedom, people become addicted and will go to any lengths to get it, and sadly, many people do terrible things just to have a taste of freedom. The perfect way to prove my point, I feel, is to compile a bunch of footage of people acting up because of too much freedom. There is also the possibility of researching some pictures and do a ‘before and after’ take on approximately 3-5 different situations that went wrong when people were given too much freedom. The first pictures could be how everything was calm and had order and then afterwards I could prove how terrible the idea of too much freedom is by showing the after effects. Of course, not all outcomes would be so extreme, but I would definitely choose some extreme ones to help make my point stronger and get my message across. Both ideas could be great to prove my point but I think that if it’s possible to find footage online and do some editing that it would help greatly. If all goes well with finding the footage and or pictures so I could show the class, I could help to show them how too much is sometimes isn’t good.
Documenting on a project like this could turn out to be very difficult. I know that there is not one way I can start looking into this topic because there are many aspects and points that I have to cover. To begin, I will definitely have to do some online research and read about some people that were given freedom and abused it, hopefully abused it enough to get me point across to the class. Afterwards, if I find information on specific people, I can use video search engines such as You Tube and Google Videos to hopefully find a match between the person I have researched and a short video clip, or even photos of these people and they outcome of their abused freedom. I will, in the next few days, have to familiarize myself with all these video search engines to help make my research more accurate. After every article of information I find, or ever video (or picture), I will save it in my Favorites folder, on AOL, but also e-mail the sites to myself, just incase there is a problem with my laptop and I cannot get access to it. It would also help if I went around and asked people if they knew of anyone that would fit the category of my subject. This would make my research a lot faster and easier to do.

wii

Tonight my brother and I had a few friends over and we decided to play wii. I personally have never been a fan of video games, mostly because I am terrible at them, but poartly because I'm not a fan of television. I would much rather spend my time outdoors, or saldly, on the computer "IMimg" my friends. I must admit though, as much as I disliked video games in the past, I love this one! Tonight was the first time I ever picked up a wii remote, and I must admit that all the craze about it isn't wrong. It's so different from all the other systems because you actually have to move around and in a sense become one of the characters in the game, and you can even create an avatar of yourself, otherwise known as a mii, which makes it even more realistic. It is such a versatile system because the remotes can be used as countless things, such as: a bat, a golf club, boxing gloves, or a tennis racket, but it can also be used as an actual remote with buttons and a joystick. I had more laughs in one night playing the wii with my friends than I have in a very long time, so for me, wii is an A+ in my book!!

Patience.. 2

The other day at work my boss gave me an almost impossible assignment to do and told me that I had until 3:00 p.m. to hand it in to him. He gave me this assigment the day it was due at around 12:00 p.m. To most people this 3 hour window would look quite fair, but not in my case. This project he had me doing was going to take me at least 5 hours to do because I had to do research and compare note and go through boxes of old paperwork to try and make sense of this mess. I didn't take a lunchbreak that day and worked in this project for three hours straight just to get this done, and, I have no idea how, but I did! The only problem was that I got it to him at around 3:30, half an hour after the deadline. I quickly printed out my report and gave it to him. After he read through it and told me I had done a great job, he printed out something and gave it to me, and told me to read it when I got back to my office, and so I did. The quote (which is below) actualy made me 'laugh out loud'. I thought it was so funny! It was as if he was holding that quote for me for the one time that I handed in a project late. Afterwards I went back into his office and he had the biggest smile on his face; said "You've been working here for over six months and never have you handed anything to me after deadline. I give this to all the new employees when they are late with a project but you are the only one that I had to wait so long to give it to." I can't even begin to write how much that relieved me. So, it turns out that I'm actually pretty good at what i do, and honestly, it was a great way to end a terribly hectic and stressful day at the office.

Patience

"Patience isn't a virtue,

It's just what you tell the bosses when your projects are off schedule"

- Anonymous

Bratz v Barbie*

This morning in class professor Marsh showed us an article he found which spoke about the differences between the Barbie doll and the new Bratz dolls. Personally, I have at least 20 Barbie dolls still in their original packaging because they are 'collectors edition' and are suppose to cost a lot of money a few years down the road, and now, with the new Bratz dolls I'm starting to believe that. There were many complaints about the Barbie dolls a few years ago because their bodies were an impossibility for real women and women all over the world were striving to look like these 'perfect' dolls. Soon after though, the makers of the doll changed the way she looked and made her proportions more realistic, BUT* Barbie was never sleazy. She was always the classy doll that all little girls looked up to and wanted to grow up to be. On the other hand, these new dolls, the Bratz dolls, are indeed quite sleazy. They are anorexic looking, with huge heads and way too much make up on. What kind of an impression does this leave on young girls?? -that it's okay to look cheap and sleazy?? That's ridiculious!! These are not the things that we should be exposing our young girls to. What happened to being classy and sophisticated? These new Bratz dolls are nothing but cheap and and sleazy, basically the complete opposite of the Barbie doll. Which brings me to my next point- which makes me quite happy- knowing now that these new Bratz dolls are taking over and they are the new 'craze' with young girls, Barbie will become a thing of the past, and so, my over 20 sealed boxes of Collector's Edition Barbie dolls will be worth quite a nice amount of money by the time I have chilren and pass them on to my daughter. BUT* I am in no way encouraging these new Bratz dolls. I think they are ruining the image of respectable women to young girls, but sadly, I know that their growth and sales will only rise in time.

Being Nice =]

"It's nice to be important
but it's important to be nice"
- Everybody Loves Raymond

Cars

This morning I had the very terrible luck of breaking my car. I won't get into all the details of what happened but I will say that there are a few parts broken under the hood and my car will be with the mechanic for a few days. What a terrible thing!! There is no possible way that I am going to get a rental car because I know that when I get the mechanic's bill I will probabably go crazy. So, now what? Public transportation? What a crazy idea. I'm not saying that I've been spoiled all my life with cars and people driving me everywhere because that is definately not the way it is. Throughout high school I used public transportation every single day, and even for the first semester of college I took three busses to get home each day. This past winter, I bought myself a car which i have been driving every since day since it was delivered to my house. So what's my problem?? For some reason I cannot get the thought through my head that for the new few days, I will be taking public transportation to school and the work. Our society has become so depenfant on cars that people that once had cars and are told to take a bus somewhere will probably become quite upset. I for one am definately not looking forward to tomorrow when I have the joy of taking two busses to school and three to come back home. I am definately not looking forward to tomorrow.
Have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow, all!

Live & Die..

" You can't choose the way you die,

but you can most certainly choose the way you live"

How is this even possible??

We all know that our country is at war, and I know I speak for many people when I say that this war is completely useless. What really blows me away is the fact that we are paying millions of dollars an hour it seems to fight a war that we shouldn't even be in, and yet some of the most meaningful jobs are paying barely any money. Our teachers aren't getting paid nearly as much money as they should be. I believe that being a teacher is one of the most important jobs anyone can have, but they aren't getting paid accordingly because this nation's priorities are not in check. Did you know that the average professional sports player makes a few million dollars a season? Or that most well known actors are paid about ten million dollars a movie? What skill do these people have that they deserve so much money? Our teachers must go through years of schooling and earn all sorts of degrees in order to be able to teach. What do actors do? Memorize a few lines and recite them? I just think that it is completely unfair that people who work had and are very educated and spend many many years in school, but also help people every single day aren't getting half of what they deserve.

*LOVE*

One of the most well known statistics these days is about married couples and divorce, what happens, does the love run out? It is said that approximately one in every two marriages ends up in divorce within the first few years of marriage. Even though the percentages are against love, there are still many couples that have been and still are together for many years. Knowing that the statistics are very high, I have decided to ask people what they think about love. Do you think love is real? Do you truly believe in love and that there is one perfect person for everyone? Love is one of, if not the hardest word to define because its true definition lies within the person defining it.
Wikipedia describes love “as any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness.” The Singapore Medical Journal says that “Love is defined as the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.“ There is not one word that can describe love because whether you believe in it or not, everyone has their own opinion. I went around and did some research and my findings were quite typical, I believe. I interviewed six people, three males and three females, all in different age groups, and asked them all the same questions: do you believe in love, have you ever been in love, and why do you feel this way.
Three of the people that I interviewed told me that they absolutely think love is real and that they believe in it 100%. The people on this side of the spectrum were two men and one woman. They basically all told me that even though love isn’t exactly the easiest thing to find, they know that the ‘right person’ is out there somewhere. Of course, all three people have also been in love, which causes them to believe in it so strongly. One person told me that he knows love is real every time he looks into his significant other’s eyes and sees that she hides nothing from him. Another person told me that she believes in love because, “Without love, my world would fall apart. He [my husband] is the one thing I think of all day and all night, and that feeling I get whenever I’m with him; that’s love”.
On the other side of course, are the other three people I interviewed, and as I predicted, they all hated the word ‘love’ and everything it stands for. This time, two women and one man agreed that they didn’t believe in it one bit. They all three agreed that once in their lives they had been in love, or what they thought love was. When it came to why they disbelieve now, the stories took an unexpected turn, but all had quite a similar end. One person was cheated on, the other’s significant other passed away, and the third claimed his significant other ‘fell out of love’ with him. In all cases, these three people were hurt and as the saying goes ‘had their hearts ripped out of their chests’. Although none of the three had gone through what the others did, they all were in terrible disbelief and were full of hurt when their relationships ended. They all told me that they devoted so much time and effort into their relationships and they received nothing in return, which is the reason why they were all so sour on the topic.
After interviewing these six people and reading over the notes I took and the responses they wrote to me, I realized that, I agree and disagree with both groups, the people that do believe, and the people the despise love with a passion. Contrary to my belief though, I did realize that each side isn’t specifically only for one gender, because the answers came out even on both ends. I realized something that was under my nose the entire time; everyone that had been hurt in the past stop believing, and everyone that is still in a happy and committed relationship believes in love to the fullest. Of course, it was just my luck that I found six people that each had strong views on the issue, I fall in the middle. I believed in love when I was in a happy relationship and thought that everything was going well, and as soon as the relationship ended, I became very sour and almost hated the word love and what it meant. Now though, after some time has passed, I feel as if love is real and that it may take a very long time, but there is someone for everyone and that people shouldn’t be bitter about endings, but happy because they happened in the first place.
I know that no two people are a like and that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that is why I chose this topic. I know that many people feel strongly about love, either positively or negatively, and that is why it caught my attention. The people I interviewed happened to have been from two opposite sides of the spectrum, which I have come to realize is very normal, but when I asked myself the same questions, I found that I didn’t believe or disbelieve, I was somewhat in the middle. Does that make me abnormal? No, I think it makes me hopeful that even though life has handed me lemons, I’ve made lemonade and I’m ready to sit back and enjoy it.

Is Love Real? -final draft..

One of the most well known statistics these days is about married couples and their divorces. It is said that approximately one in every two marriages ends up in divorce within the first few years of marriage. Knowing that the statistics are very high, I have decided to ask people what they think about love. Do you think love is real? Do you truly believe in love and that there is one perfect person for everyone? Love is one of, if not the hardest word to define because it’s true definition lies within the person defining it. Wikipedia describes love “as any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness.” The Singapore Medical Journal says that “Love is defined as the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.“ There is not one word that can describe love because whether you believe in it or not, everyone has their own opinion. I went around and did some research and my findings were quite typical, I believe. I interviewed six people, three males and three females, all in different age groups, and asked them all the same questions: do you believe in love, have you ever been in love, and why do you feel this way
Three of the people that I interviewed told me that they absolutely think love is real and that they believe in it 100%. The people on this side of the spectrum were two men and one woman. They basically all told me that even though love isn’t exactly the easiest thing to find, they know that the ‘right person’ is out there somewhere. Of course, all three people have also been in love, which causes them to believe in it so strongly. One person told me that he knows love is real every time he looks into his significant other’s eyes and sees that she hides nothing from him. Another person told me that she believes in love because, “Without love, my world would fall apart. He [my husband] is the one thing I think of all day and all night, and that feeling I get whenever I’m with him; that’s love”.
On the other side of course, are the other three people I interviewed, and as I predicted, they all hated the word ‘love’ and everything it stands for. This time, two women and one man agreed that they didn’t believe in it one bit. They all three agreed that once in their lives they had been in love, or what they thought love was. When it came to why they disbelieve now, the stories took an unexpected turn, but all had quite a similar end. One person was cheated one, the other’s significant other passed away, and the third claimed his significant other ‘fell out of love’ with him. In all cases, these three people were hurt and as the saying goes ‘had their hearts ripped out of their chests’. Although none of the three had gone through what the others did, they all were in terrible disbelief and were full of hurt when their relationships ended. They all told me that they devoted so much time and effort into their relationships and they received nothing in return, which is the reason why they were all so sour on the topic.
After interviewing these six people and reading over the notes I took and the responses they wrote to me, I realized that, I agree and disagree with both groups, the people that do believe, and the people the despise love with a passion. Contrary to my belief though, I did realize that each side isn’t specifically only for one gender, because the answers came out even on both ends. I realized something that was under my nose the entire time; everyone that had been hurt in the past stop believing, and everyone that is still in a happy and committed relationship believes in love to the fullest. Of course, it was just my luck that I found six people that each had strong views on the issue, I fall in the middle. I believed in love when I was in a happy relationship and thought that everything was going well, and as soon as the relationship ended, I became very sour and almost hated the word love and what it meant. Now though, after some time has passed, I feel as if love is real and that it may take a very long time, but there is someone for everyone and that people shouldn’t be bitter about endings, but happy because they happened in the first place.
I know that no two people are a like and that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that is why I chose this topic. I know that many people feel strongly about love, either positively or negatively, and that is why it caught my attention. The people I interviewed happened to have been from two opposite sides of the spectrum, which I have come to realize is very normal, but when I asked myself the same questions, I found that I didn’t believe or disbelieve, I was somewhat in the middle. Does that make me abnormal? No, I think it makes me hopeful that even though life has handed me lemons, I’ve made lemonade and I’m ready to sit back and enjoy it.


..p.s. - thank you Apollonia for all your comments!! You're awsome!! =)

Television..

If you ask any busy parent what the best way to keep their chilren occupied for a few minutes at home is to sit them by the television. I know that personally, when I babysit my Godson, his mother always tells me to turn the television on and let him watch for a few HOURS if I need a couple minutes to go into the other room and do something else. I find this to be a terrible habbit because chilren nowadays are so fixated with the television and all the shows that are on that they don't read or even go play outside and be the even the least bit active. Naturally though, I on occasion, put him in front of the televsion (few 30 minutes at most) because it truly is useful. For example, when I'm making dinner, I can't be holding him and catering to all his needs while I'm sitting over the stove trying to cook him dinner. I personally was brought up to play outside whenever and as much as I can, after I had finished all my homework of course! I think that children are becoming less active and dropping out of school more often because of television. These days, there are over 200 channels on any given cable, satellite dish, direct tv, etc, so it gives the children more of a chance to watch more television. At any time of the day there is at least one program on t.v. that is appealing to someone and that is the trigger.
I know that I may sound like a hypocrit because I do enjoy watching telesivion, and like most other people I have those weekly shows that I feel I must watch, but other than that, I don't watch television much. I think that because I wasn't brought up to watch television every free moment of my life i don't feel the need to watch it all day long, which is probably why I am so against raising children to watch television just because it keeps them occupied while their parents are busy. Attention parents! A book keeps your chilren occupied as much if not more than the television does! Keep that in mind =)

Is Love Real? -second draft

I was having a very hard time editing my essay and trying to find scholarly opinion on the subject of 'love', so instead I attempted to ass a couple definitions i found on the internet. One of the most well known statistics these days is about married couples and their divorces. It is said that approximately one in every two marriages ends up in divorce within the first few years of marriage. Knowing that the statistics are very high, I have decided to ask people what they think about love. Do you think love is real? Do you truly believe in love and that there is one perfect person for everyone? Love is one of, if not the hardest word to define because it’s true definition lies within the person defining it. Wikipedia describes love “as any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness.” The Singapore Medical Journal says that “Love is defined as the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.“ There is not one word that can describe love because whether you believe in it or not, everyone has their own opinion of it. I went around and did some research and my findings were quite typical, I believe. I interviewed six people, three males and three females, all in different age groups, and asked them all the same questions: do you believe in love, have you ever been in love, and why do you feel this way
Three of the people that I interviewed told me that they absolutely think love is real and that they believe in it 100%. The people on this side of the spectrum were two men and one woman. They basically all told me that even though love isn’t exactly the easiest thing to find, they know that the ‘right person’ is out there somewhere. Of course, all three people have also been in love, which causes them to believe in it so strongly. One person told me that he knows love is real every time he looks into his significant other’s eyes and sees that she hides nothing from him. Another person told me that she believes in love because, “Without love, my world would fall apart. He [my husband] is the one thing I think of all day and all night, and that feeling I get whenever I’m with him; that’s love”.
On the other side of course, are the other three people I interviewed, and as predicted, they all hated the word ‘love’ and everything it stands for. This time, two women and one man agreed that they didn’t believe in it one bit. They all three agreed that once in their lives they had been in love, or what they thought love is anyway, but when it came to why they disbelieve now, the stories took an unexpected turn, but all had quite a similar end. One person was cheated one, the other’s significant other passed away, and the third claimed his significant other ‘fell out of love’ with him. In all cases, these three people were hurt and as the saying goes ‘had their hearts ripped out of their chests’. Although none of the three had gone through what the others did, they all were in terrible disbelief and were full of hurt when their relationships ended. They all told me that because they devoted so much time and effort into their relationships and received nothing in return that that is the reason why they were all so sour on the topic.
After interviewing these six people and reading over the notes I took and the responses they wrote to me, I realized that, I agree and disagree with both groups, the people that do believe, and the people the despise love with a passion. Contrary to my belief though, I did realize that each side isn’t specifically only for one gender, because the answers came out pretty even on both ends. I realized something that was under my nose the entire time; everyone that had been hurt in the past stop believing, and everyone that is still in a happy and committed relationship believes in love to the fullest. Of course, it was just my luck that I found six people that each had strong views on the issue, I fall in the middle. I believed in love when I was in a happy relationship and thought that everything was going well, and as soon as the relationship ended, I became very sour and almost hated the word love and what it meant. Now though, after some time has passed, I feel like love is real and that it may take a very long time, but there is someone for everyone and that people shouldn’t be bitter about endings, but happy because they happened in the first place.
I know that no two people are a like and that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that is why I chose this topic. I know that many people feel strongly about love, either positively or negatively, and that is why it caught my attention. The people I interviewed happened to have been from two opposite sides of the spectrum, which I have come to realize is very normal, but when I asked myself the same questions, I found that I didn’t believe or disbelieve, I was somewhat in the middle, so does that make me abnormal? No, I think it makes me hopeful that even though life has handed me lemons, I’ve made lemonade and I’m ready to sit back and enjoy it.

Doctors con't...

Whenever you are feeling under the weather or you have a pain that aspirin just won't fix, the first person you think of is your doctor. Naturally we all go to the doctor in hopes of figuring out what exactly is wrong with ourselves and what is the best and quickest way to fix it. What if though, the doctor doesn't really know what the right medicine to prescribe for you is and he just gives you the one that will get him the most money. Let me explain, let's say for example that you had a terrible cold with signs of a flu, you would go to the doctor expecting him to give you some pills and syrups and you'll be better in a few days, but what if the doctor hasn't seen these symptoms before? Naturally, he will not tell you that he has no idea what is wrong with you, he'll just say that you should take this, that and the other, and if you're not feeling better to come back in a couple weeks.
I have been told by someone (who will remain nameless) that he used to work for a medicine distributing company, which means that he went around to various doctors trying to sell the product that he was given by the company. The cheaper the product was that he sold to the doctor, the greater the income would be for the doctor. So with this said, wouldn't it be the smartest thing for the doctor the prescribe this product to as many patients as possible so that he gets the maximum amount of money possible? Knowing this information now, how confidant are you to go to your doctor and take the medicine he prescribes? If you take the medicine with no side effects and you feel better in a couple days, congrats! But what if you don't? That's when you'll think of me, because when you go back to the doctor for another appointment, you'll have to pay the co-pay, which of course, is just more money for the doctor! We all have the doctors that we've been going to for years and have learned to trust, and I am in no way knocking doctors because they do work miracles, I'm just asking you to think about this next time you pay him a visit (no pun intended).

Doctors..

"Doctors are only as good as the medicine they prescribe"
- Anonymous

Facebook vs. Myspace

OK i know that in our day and age, everyone either has a Facebook or Myspace. both of these site have many similarities but also many differences so them. for example- you can put music on a myspace but cannot with a facebook. or another- you can tag people in pictures on a facebook but cannot on a myspace. but they are basically both the same thing- another way to write to your friends/peers/co-workers/etc., so then why the big fuss about which one is 'better'. i personally do not have a myspace, but i do have a facebook. i think this is pretty funny because i fall into the stereotype 100%. people that originally had a myspace and then made a facebook think that facebook is terrible and lame and hate it completely, but equally, people who had facebook first (myself for example) think that myspace is just silly and refuse to make a myspace page. but if these site are so similar then why the battles between them? i honestly don't know, but i do know that every time someone asks me if i have a myspace i reply- ew, no! i have a facebook! -with such confidence, as if i was the creator of facebook and everyone should join my little club. of course, there are people who have both facebook and myspace and like both sites, but I'm talking about the people that are so hardcore about one that they almost in a way, look down on the people who have the one they don't. some of you reading this may be thinking 'okay this girl has lost all her marbles', but in fact i haven't (not yet anyway)!! but i know for a fact that most of you right now are thinking 'wow, she's right, what's the big deal about these two sites?' ..i honestly don't know why people (including myself) have such strong opinions about these two sites- i mean in the end- aren't they just another type of Blogger??

Is Love Real? -first draft..

One of the most well known statistics these days is about married couples and their divorces. It is said that approximately one in every two marriages ends up in divorce within the first few years of marriage. Knowing that the statistics are very high, I have decided to ask people what they think about love. Do you think love is real? Do you truly believe in love and that there is one perfect person for everyone? Love is one of, if not the hardest word to define because it’s true definition lies within the person defining it. There is not one word that can describe love because whether you believe in it or not, everyone has their own opinion of it.
I went around and did some research and my findings were quite typical, I believe. I interviewed six people, three males and three females, all in different age groups, and asked them all the same questions: do you believe in love, have you ever been in love, and why do you feel this way. I wrote down everyone’s response to these questions and when I reviewed them later, I realized that, I agree and disagree with both groups, the people that do believe, and the people the despise love with a passion. Contrary to my belief though, I did realize that there each side isn’t specifically only for one gender, because the answers came out pretty even on both ends.
Three of the people that I interviewed told me that they absolutely think love is real and that they believe in it 100%. The people on this side of the spectrum were two men and one woman. They basically all told me that even though love isn’t exactly the easiest thing to find, they know that the ‘right person’ is out there somewhere. Of course, all three people have also been in love, which causes them to believe in it so strongly. One person told me that he knows love is real every time he looks into his significant other’s eyes and sees that she hides nothing from him. Another person told me that she believes in love because, “Without love, my world would fall apart. He [my husband] is the one thing I think of all day and all night, and that feeling I get whenever I’m with him; that’s love”.
On the other side of course, are the other three people I interviewed, and as predicted, they all hated the word ‘love’ and everything it stands for. This time, two women and one man agreed that they didn’t believe in it one bit. They all three agreed that once in their lives they had been in love, or what they thought love is anyway, but when it came to why they disbelieve now, the stories took an unexpected turn, but all had quite a similar end. One person was cheated one, the other’s significant other passed away, and the third claimed his significant other ‘fell out of love’ with him. In all cases, these three people were hurt and as the saying goes ‘had their hearts ripped out of their chests’. Although none of the three had gone through what the others did, they all were in terrible disbelief and were full of hurt when their relationships ended. They all told me that because they devoted so much time and effort into their relationships and received nothing in return that that is the reason why they were all so sour on the topic.
After interviewing these six people and reading over the notes I took and the responses they wrote to me, I realized something that was under my nose the entire time; everyone that had been hurt in the past stop believing, and everyone that is still in a happy and committed relationship believes in love to the fullest. Of course, it was just my luck that I found six people that each had strong views on the issue, I fall in the middle. I believed in love when I was in a happy relationship and thought that everything was going well, and as soon as the relationship ended, I became very sour and almost hated the word love and what it meant. Now though, after some time has passed, I feel like love is real and that it may take a very long time, but there is someone for everyone and that people shouldn’t be bitter about endings, but happy because they happened in the first place.
I know that no two people are a like and that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that is why I chose this topic. I know that many people feel strongly about love, either positively or negatively, and that is why it caught my attention. The people I interviewed happened to have been from two opposite sides of the spectrum, which I have come to realize is very normal, but when I asked myself the same questions, I found that I didn’t believe or disbelieve, I was somewhat in the middle, so does that make me abnormal? No, I think it makes me hopeful that even though life has handed me lemons, I’ve made lemonade and I’m ready to sit back and enjoy it.

song..

"You know I gave you the world
You had me in the palm of your hand
So why your love went away
I just can't seem to understand
thought it was me and you until the end
but I guess I was wrong.."

-Justin Timberlake, "What Goes Around, Comes Around"

pain...

nothing hurts worse than the pain of a broken heart.
it's not like a cut or bruise where you can take a Tylenol and wrap it with a band-aid.
the pain in so much more, so much deeper, so much more meaningful.
together forever- that was suppose to be the plan,
yet somehow, one person changes their mind- even after so many years.
everyone says the pain stops.. give it time..
but i don't want to give it time, i want it to end now!
you can't eat.. can't sleep.. can't do anything but think about the pain..
so now.. where do you go from here??
change everything and everyone you've known for years because he's not in love anymore?
is that foolish of me to be upset? to want to strangle him for all the pain he caused me?
they say- well, he's in pain too.. neither of you wanted this to happen..
bottom line is though.. it did.. and let me tell you..
NOTHING hurts more than a broken heart..

lies-

How is it that people, even the ones closest to you, can lie directly to your face and pretend that they are being honest with you? i am a strong believer in 'honest is the best policy' and i really think it's true. if there is something that you want to tell me, or something that you have done, tell me!! don't sit there and lie to my face. i don't know about you guys but i hate being lied to. i am a very open and honest person and i would appreciate it if people were the same way with me. i mean, of course everyone has their little white lies that don't hurt anyone, but i mean, if it's something big, deliberately lying and then 'swearing' that you're being honest..?? come on.. cut the bullogna! I'm not as dumb as you may perceive me to be. bottom line.. it hurts when you're lied to.. but it kills when you're lied to by one of the closest people in your life. it is as if saying that you don't matter so why not make up stories just to protect myself from something stupid that I've done.. seriously.. i hate liars and if you're a liar.. distance yourself from me because we probably won't mesh well =/

Good News =)

i think this may actually be my first good entry since beginning my online journal on blogger. i feel sooo great! i went to the doctor the other day and he gave me sooo much medicine that right now i feel like a whole new person, which is something i really need because today is one of the longest days of the week for me. I have three classes (from 7:35-12:10) and then i have to pick up my Godson from his day nursery school, and babysit him until 2:30. Then I have to come back to Jamaica to pick up his sister by 3:00 and drop her off at her afternoon school program, which is back in our neighborhood. By this time it is about 4:00, so i take the baby home and make dinner for the two of us, and I wait there until his mother comes home, but my day isn't over yet! I have night class tonight as well, from 6:50-9:40. Many people have mixed reactions about night classes, i personally love them. The fact that i only have to go to class once a week is the greatest thing in the world for me, because i have two jobs, one of which is full time, and i am a full time student as well as part time babysitter, so the less time i spend in class, the more time i can work and start paying off all the college loans that i took out.
So now it's about that time to leave you all because my third class (out of four) is starting in a couple minutes (even though the professor isn't here yet). I wish everyone a great Tuesday and I'll see you all on Thursday in the W.C. =)

Funny Funny..

soo... the post below is the actual e-mail i received.. i think it's hysterical lol
i think the main reason why it's funny is because i was expecting this nice and cutesy response but, i get the truth lol.. which is probably funnier than if it was a cute response.
OK so I'm not going to talk about this any longer because the more you explain a joke the less funny it is and so, before i kill the joke, I'll end it now.

Funny Funny =)

I got this little funny in an e-mail the other day..


WHERE WOULD YOU BE IF:
YOU HAVE ALL THE MONEY YOUR HEART DESIRES...
YOU HAVE NO WORRIES ...
YOU COME HOME AND THE FINEST MEAL IS AWAITING YOU...
YOUR BATHWATER HAS BEEN RUN...
YOU HAVE THE PERFECT KIDS...
YOUR PARTNER IS AWAITING YOU WITH OPEN ARMS AND KISSES...
SO WHERE WOULD YOU BE......
.
.
.
.
IN THE WRONG HOUSE =)

HOOORAYYY!!!

I'm getting better!!!! YAY!!! I went to the doctor yesterday and he gave me like a million things to take but it's the middle of day two and I'm feeling awsome!! Which means... I'm SOOO ready for the Super Bowl!!! Yes!! haha

lol

I got kicked out of work today.. well, not exactly kicked out, but they told me to leave early.. why you may ask?? because 1) i sound terrible and I was like a walking punchline all day so we clearly didn't get any work done and 2) because they're afraid they'll catch whatever it is I have so they told me to leave during lunch and come back on Monday haha yeah, they love me lol
So after work I came home and slept until about.. umm now haha yes, very evenful day..
have a great weekend all!!!

Quote =)

my friend had this quote as an away message and I'm not too sure why but it caught my attention.. ponder this if you wish:

"If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.
-Yogi Berra

..kind of obvious, but it makes you think, I think =)

hello hello =)

hello everyone!! hope you all had a good Wednesday.. i didn't lol I'm still sick.. for almost a week now, which stinks, clearly. I had work today, all day, worked overtime because I was too sick to go to on Monday. I was actually suppose to give blood today because my company was doing a blood drive but I wasn't allowed to, which stinks also lol. On another note, I'm about 90% sure that I got the other two people in my office sick, which is kind of funny, i think. Other than that, nothing really happened, just a terribly long day at the office. Now, off to do some homework.. Have a good night =)

V.Q. Questions

*Page 18 Questions - The Writing Center *

1. Did any of your former schools have a writing center?

Yes actually, both my high school, St. Francis Prep, and my elementary school, St. Nicholas, both had writing centers.

2. Have you ever gone to a writing center? If so, what is it like?

I went to the writing center my Senior year of high school. It was actually very fun. I had gone to the writing center around the time where I was sending in my applications for colleges. I knew that I was a good writer but I figured that if I wanted to get into a good college, and I had the resources right in front of me, why not use them.

I sat with a teacher in one of the rooms on the west wing of the school and we would read my essay and make corrections. The teacher would give me pointers on how to make my essay sound more interesting as well as grammatically correct. I went back a couple more times until I thought that my essay was perfect.

3. How can the writing center here at St. John's help you with this course?

The writing center can help with every aspect of this course, especially since it is an English Composition course. It is designed to help with writing and research. Since we write in our journals or our books or even in essays, the writing center is a great place to go if we get stuck at any point. We can also get help on how to correct and revise our writings.

4. What facets of your writing do you want to work on?

Overall, I think that I am a good writer, and i know how to organized my thoughts and put them onto paper well, but I always seem to get stuck on the opening paragraph. After I get through that the rest is easy, but the opening paragraph is key if you want your readers to be interested in your writing from the beginning.

5. If a WC consultant asked you to describe your writing process, what would you say?

My writing process is simple. If it is a research paper, I fist look up as many sources as i can and read through them to get an overall idea of what I have to write about. Then I take key phrases from those sources and write them down, because they help me to remember what I am talking about and to stay on track. After that, i type my essay, and leave it alone for a couple days. Later, i come back to it and proofread it, fixing things that I did not realized the first time around. After I think my paper is complete I print it out and hand it in.

6. Have you hugged your writing center today?

I don't exactly know what this question is implying, but i think that my writing center is my mind, and if so, then I haven't hugged it, but the day is still young, so there is always time for that later =)

* Page 20 Questions - Our Classroom *

1. How do you like our classroom?

I personally like the classroom. I like working in classrooms that are smaller so that I can interact with my classmates.

2. How does it compare to classrooms you've been in before?

It doesn't compare to any other classrooms I've had before because I've never been in a classroom with such few students.

3. How's the light? The air? The view from the window?

The light is fine but the air is much too cold. I know that it is like 25 degrees outside, but i sit on the opposite side of the room from the windows because I want to be away from the cold air, and yet it still seems to be there. The view exactly a view; we face another building and I think a couple of trees. Nothing too exciting there.

4. How are the chairs arranged? How could they be arranged to facilitate our writing 'community'?

The chairs are arranged like a normal classroom, in rows and columns, which is really not much fun at all. If we want to interact more with our classmates then we could split the desks down the middle and have them face each other, so at least we are looking at each other's faces instead of the back of someones head.

5. How do you think we should use our classroom space?

Our classroom doesn't have too much space and the space that it does have it being occupied by empty desks, so we can take out the empty desks and have some more room (even though this is very unlikely).

6. What might be some good general rules for classroom conduct?

The only rule I can think of for a class like ours is to not interrupt people when they are talking. Since it is such a small classroom and there are only a handful of us in this class, we should especially be more respectful towards the others we share the room with and listen to what they have to say.

*Page 24 Questions - The Discussion Board*

1. Have you ever participated in online discussions? When? Under what circumstances?

I recently participated in an online discussion for work. We were suppose to do a conference call but instead had a discussion board online. We had to talk about many things about the company and there were about 15 of us in the discussion. It was nice because online, you can see who is saying what, as opposed to on the phone where you have to guess who is speaking, especially when there are so many people on the phone at once.

2. How is online 'discussion' different from f-2-f conversation?

In an online discussion, is it easier for many people to talk together and in a more comfortable setting. F-2-f conversation is when two people are speaking to each other in person, which can sometimes make some people nervous.

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of online discussion?

An advantage is that many people can be involved in a discussion all at once and there is no chaos as to who is speaking and saying what. A disadvantage is that if for example there is a professor in the conversation, many people who cannot type well, or correctly, would become nervous and probably not speak because they don't want to show their professor their bad habits.

4. Do you prefer one to the other?

I don't mind either way. I think that both ways are effective and therefore I have no preference.

*Page 26 Questions - Assignments *

1. Do you like your assignments spelled out for you explicitly?

When I do not understand or don't like the topic I prefer it to be spelled out explicitly, but if I am writing about something that I love to do, or something I know well, all I need is the guidelines.

2. Would you rather come up with your own assignments, on your own terms?

I wouldn't because I know that I would make the assignments either very easy or very difficult.

3. What assignments have you enjoyed in the past?

I enjoy writing about things I know or that interest me. If I have a topic to write about that I enjoy, chances are I will write a great paper because I want to write it more than I actually have to.

4. What assignments have you not liked so much?

I dislike the boring old assignments that are given on a topic that not even the professor cares about, and somehow I am suppose to make it sound interesting and fun, and get a decent grade on it.

5. If you were given the assignment to come up with a dozen or so writing assignments, how would you respond? Would you like that assignment?

Honestly, I would think that I'm in great trouble. I would probably hate the assignment and after class I would go around to friends and ask them if they could help me out because I know I'd be terrible at it.

6. Is there another word, other than 'assignment', that might serve to better indicate the kind of work you've done or will do in this course?

Tasks? ..Projects? ..I don't really know.

* Page 28 Questions - Grading Zones*

1. Do you like this poem?

Sure

2. What does it mean for you?

To me, it means that there isn't always a concrete way or system of grading. Sometimes the difference between an A- and a B+ is slim, sometimes is can be broad.

3. What parts of the poem are clearest to you?

The part about Heads and Tails, because they are both so true and I can relate to both sides.

4. What parts are fuzzy?

The second to last stanza, "Once in the grading zone, there's no turning back?"

5. If you were to write your own poem about grading, what would the first line be?

Grading is not as simple as A or B...

6. How do you feel about grades?

I feel that the student receives the grades according to how he or she performed in that class. The student receives a grade, which is contrary to what many students believe when they say "Professor Whatever gave me a C!!". The student should get the grade that he or she deserves, and if he or she doesn't like it, then try harder next time I guess.