This is it!

I can’t believe this is our final blog for the semester! We have finally reached the end and I am relieved to have finished all my finals in my other classes. I will be officially done with the semester after I complete the timed essay. I enjoyed this class a lot minus the time consuming work. I underestimated this class coming in and thought it was going to be easy but overall I learned important tools to help better my writing. I remember trying to find my way through Blackboard and I kept getting lost. Now, I know how to use it for future online classes. I normally would prefer to be in a class setting learning face to face but only for certain subjects like math. I wouldn’t mind taking another online class because I see it as a way for me to fully understand my work. I don’t have to rely on the teacher as much to explain to me how to do a certain task and I enjoy working on my own time. Professor Gross did a great job explaining the assignments that I didn’t have trouble completing them and if I did have questions she was quick to answer them. When I met her in person I wish I took a regular class with her because of how clear she was to understand. You could tell how much teaching means to her with how helpful she was.

The blogs were the best part of the class. I like being able to free write and voice my opinion in a format that is my own. The EL book had entertaining essays which were different from the usual English textbooks teachers use and I loved Reading Lolita in Tehran, I’m glad I got the opportunity to read it I enjoyed the topics we wrote for our essays especially the research paper. I’m so uninspired with the topics English teachers assign nowadays and its always a drag to type 5 pages on something you don’t find interesting. Overall, I feel I improved as a writer and I’m happy we were able to share our papers with our classmates. It helped me overcome that fear thinking my writing wasn’t up to par as the rest but now I know in myself that I can become a better writer.

My Path to Improvement.

            I found English an okay subject to take at school. It was better than science or math that’s for sure. I enjoyed the subject a lot after taking this class and found myself improving in writing. I have always been embarrassed with my writing because my poor vocabulary skills. English 103 was an eye opener for me because it made me realize how much thought you had to put in one paper. I had never found myself doing so much critical thinking in my life! This class made me analyze different topics before discussing them in any paper I was assigned. I like the idea of having a full understanding of the subject I am assigned to write about because it gives me a better understanding of life itself. Critical thinking is used on an everyday basis and it is necessary to have complete understanding for any job that I am to take. I have always been more interested in history but my recent experience in this Class has changed my mind about this subject. The idea of having to understand a topic to the fullest has not only made me more aware of the world, but made my vocabulary and conversation become more interesting. I was always used to using ordinary ways of communication and I was always a straight to the point type of person, but recently I have found myself doing so much thinking that I am actually able to keep a better conversation about topic with my friends as well as older people. I feel like I am more open to new ideas and I am able to express myself in ways I wasn’t able to before. My journey to better my writing abilities has not been the easiest that is why I am thankful that we had our blogs, group discussions, and the assignments we were assigned. All of this have helped me throughout the way.

One After Another.

Have you ever had a time where you were typing something up for an assignment and you were doing really well on it and all of it was gone? That just happened to me right now. It all happened so fast. First, I was sitting here relieved that the topic of this week’s blog was to vent out about our research paper when I realized that I had to pull up another assignment on Word and instead of exiting out of that one I exited on this. Not what I wanted to happen as I am not only trying to beat the clock to finish this blog but also to revise my synthesis essay as well. I know I am not the only procrastinator here and I feel like every time I do procrastinate I tell myself I won’t the next time and then the next and so on. It cracks me up when I think back to the countless of times I have done that. I guess I work better under pressure even though it would minimize the amount of stress I have with other things going on with my other classes and etc. When I first found out about the research paper I was not excited what so ever. I was dreading it and held it off every day and those days turned into weeks and now I’m calmly panicking as the due date is two days away. Papers’ in general are such a pain for me. I know I shouldn’t sit here and complain but I know others’ can agree with this as well. It takes me a good 45 minutes to an hour just to do a page, now I have to type up a minimum 5 page research paper? Every time I think about it I get tense and get painful migraines in the back of my head. Literally, they are a pain ha-ha.

            I recently decided to switch the book I wanted to read from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to The Great Gatsby. So I’m crunching time and I’m going to see if I can really pull this off since I’m working on my paper still. Well to be honest I haven’t even started. Yikes! As I’m finishing up reading and looking up some sources I could use I found an interest in the topic. I feel that being a woman here in America we are truly blessed compared to women in other countries such as Iran. The book itself is such an inspiring memoir and it makes me look like a fool complaining when these women are out there trying to make a life for themselves. I know if I have something to say I can voice my opinion about it and with these women it was a constant battle because of their culture’s idea of a “woman”. I found this research paper enjoyable and I regret not doing this paper earlier so I could spend more time working on it. It’s crunch time now and I’m hoping I can stick this paper out and make it work.

Social Networking.

“The rise of social networking online means that people no longer have an expectation of privacy.” – Facebook founder Mark Zukerberg

            Throughout the years social networking websites have increased and popular sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and etc. have gained a lot of active users. We create profiles, add friends and family, exchange messages, and share photos. Facebook has grown to be the largest social web service in the world, with nearly 500 million monthly active users by our most recent estimate. The fun new feature I have started getting into on Facebook is called “checking-in”, which you can let people know where you’re at any time and any place and tag whoever else is with you.

            The great features I enjoyed between sites like MySpace was the countless privacy options. You had the ability to choose what you wanted people to see and share unlike Facebook where you have the same related features but you either show everything to people or you hide them. In my case I love Facebook but since I’m friends with my family and other acquaintances I don’t want them to know certain things I share only with my friends. Back when I used to be a Facebooking freak I would express how I was feeling whether it would be happy, sad, excited, bored, tired, mad, etc and if it was a negative post I would have my family constantly question me what was wrong and it would be something personal that I didn’t want to share with them. I am guilty of frequently looking at my news feed, reading status updates, and seeing what’s going on in my friends’ lives. I noticed that people have really gotten comfortable with sharing and becoming more open with others online and this information can be taken down and used as evidence against you and can affect you in school, personal relationships, and work.

            Employers and authorities are now monitoring what people think were private websites and using the contents they find against them. Now, there is a software that will monitor social networking sites of future employees for content that may interest employers and officials. Privacy is a fundamental human right and while that may seem less true when we're operating on corporate turf like Facebook. Social networking sites continue to have a range of issues such as online privacy and child safety. I believe that it isn’t the sites fault for violating people’s privacy because it is our choice from the moment we signed up to the words we write in our About Me section. The only people to blame are us because by posting on these sites we make ourselves vulnerable and so transparent and our personal matters well-known even by those who are insignificant in our lives.

Pictures Last Longer.

Editorial cartoons are found on the editorial page of newspapers. They are a powerful, expressed in few words, and use pen-and-ink drawings. Cartoons can be very diverse and have a certain style depending on what the artists is trying to portray. Most visual metaphors and caricatures are used to address complicated political situations and summarize a current issue using humor or emotions in a picture. A cartoon can discuss an issue in time but also talks about what happens before and possibly next. They often include stereotypical, biased, and or demonizing portrayals of people and events. Political cartoons are an effective way for artists to express their thoughts about the events in a certain period in a comical manner. For the cartoon to be effective, it has to be clear visually and show where it stands on the argument. Cartoonist use images that are easily recognizable and is easy for the reader to understand. They use certain pictures and gestures to convey a certain feeling or places such as: the desert is described as a cactus and a cattle skull or fury is steam blowing out of a figure’s ears.

            Cartoons often use visual jokes but also visual humor that comments on social/political issues while drawing on viewers’ experience and knowledge. Humor touches our lives daily and can be very personal. It can be the most powerful forms of language that we have. The editorial cartoon, as a communication medium, gives brief visual messages in images that can be processed quickly by the readers. It can be a venue for change, giving comedians a chance to discuss social, political, religious, and sexual views. The tools of the cartoonist must lend themselves to simple but powerful visualizations and include stereotype, metaphor, exaggeration, and myth. By using humor this can help cartoonist express these serious topics in an entertaining way. This can help us get though unspeakable difficulties by taking the ease off by discussing them. Most cartoons are being removed from newspapers and editorial columns because they do not want to upset readers. Cartoons represent the editorial page and continue to shape and reflect the soul of the community. Because they push the boundaries of free speech explains why they are the first to go. Newspapers are playing to win and aren’t looking for the public’s trust anymore but the increase of wealth of shareholders.

Risky Business.

I read an article about an Ohio man pleading guilty to trying to force his girlfriend at gun point to get abortion. The article says a man named, Dominic Holt-Reid, forced his 3 month pregnant girlfriend, Yolanda Burgess, to get an abortion using a gun. When they reached the clinic Yolanda didn’t go with the procedure and secretly slipped a note to a clinic employee and called the police. Dominic was charged under a 1996 fetal homicide law and faces 20 years in prison and a $40,000 fine.

Every year pro-life and pro-choice advocates vie for the upper hand in this contentious issue.  In recent years, states have expanded this debate to include the issue of fetuses killed by violent acts against pregnant women. In some states, legislation has increased the criminal penalties for crimes involving pregnant women.  These laws have focused on the harm done to a pregnant woman and the subsequent loss of her pregnancy, but not on the rights of the fetus. Ohio’s fetal homicide law is under aggravated murder which states:

No person shall purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another’s pregnancy.

What I don’t understand is why they have such a law for terminating a pregnancy yet they have abortion clinics available. Abortion has always been an issue with many people. Some believe that life begins at conception and that abortion is in direct defiance of the commonly accepted idea of the sanctity of human life. Others believe that abortion it is a women’s right to decide whether or not she wants to have the procedure done or not.

Pro-choice abortion is the belief that women have the right to choose to abort a baby from their body. They view that a baby does not have human rights inside the mother’s womb and the fetus is not a human life; it’s merely a fertilized egg between a man and a woman. Planned Parenthood supports pro-choice and is being sued for not mentioning the risks with having an abortion to patients. Pro-life believes that not only does life begin at conception but that abortion is taking the life of another human. They see women who demand control of their body should include preventing the risk of unwanted pregnancy responsibly such as, contraception and or abstinence. I personally believe in pro-life but I will not judge another person on their opinions and beliefs.

Taboo Language.

           All languages have words that are considered taboo, words that are not supposed to be said or used. Taboo words can be used in many different ways and they can have different meanings depending on what context they appear in. Another aspect of taboo words is the euphemisms that are used in order to avoid obscene speech. Taboo words are often avoided and are used to offend races, genders, and etc. I think people should be informed on the origin of taboo words because knowing the reasons certain words became taboo in the first place can make a difference in our language. The level of offensiveness of a word depends on our culture or it varies on our environment, but learning about their origin can make a difference on how we understand and use these words. Taboo words are those that are to be avoided entirely, or at least avoided in “mixed company” or “polite company”. The most common swear words used by people are Damn! or Shit!The kind of language we use with others dictates the kind of relationship we want to have with them. Also the level in emotion we put on these word can affect how they are perceived by others.

            John McWhorter wrote in “Letting Words Fly” that we criticize Taboo language in media and in the public so often that we aren’t focusing on what is more important. He explains that actions speak louder then words. We shouldn’t sit around and obsess over words but get up and take action in the world. The media has taken such an effect in our society that even if we didn’t watch the news or listen to the radio, people all around us are talking about it. You can hear more than half of these words uncensored and are considered perfectly acceptable. I was surprised to hear that Bitch wasn’t bleeped out anymore and I’m perfectly fine with it. We have all these TV and movie ratings now that we shouldn’t be surprised if a curse word comes flying out of someone’s mouth. There has been an increase in the use of slang and profanity among teenagers. Some use curse words to get attention, to fit in at school, and others use it as a result of hearing it from their parents or on their favorite show. Back in the day, you would be punished if you were ever caught swearing but now it is becoming a normal thing.

We are all human. We hear, feel, and say things and we all like to speak our minds. We all know right from wrong and being the older sister in my family I wouldn’t want to expose such language to my younger siblings. Taboo words are learned from spoken language, it is neither taught. It is up to ourselves whether or not we want to use this language or not.

No need to take it serious.

The media has many effects towards people’s thoughts and behaviors and they have such an impact in today’s society. With the advancement of the media; movies, television, books, and music is a source of entertainment for people. We branch out using our imagination to see things that we have never seen before and this is where we begin to think certain thoughts and ways of people and of ourselves. I see my little sister so cautious with what she eats because she doesn’t want to get fat and she constantly complains about how she has little fat hanging out. She feels as if she would be made fun of for being fat and not “cool” looking as the other girls in her class. I believe the media has a way of pulling us in and persuading us to be someone who we are not such as looks. They have a great influence to people especially to younger crowds. We are constantly seeing these weight commercials and skinny celebrities and how amazing they look that we feel pressured to look and feel a certain way.

Prejudicial language is defined as loaded or emotive terms used to attach value or moral goodness to believing the proposition. It is the use of language to create a preconception in the audience. Watching movies that have certain racial comments that are meant to be funny shouldn’t upset people. We are all there to have fun and be entertained and should not be sensitive to them.  I haven’t been affected by such comments and we all shouldn’t be. This reminds me of certain ethnic stereotypes such as: Asians are smart in math or they are bad drivers, White girls are snobby cheerleaders, Blacks are poor and ghetto and Hispanics are illegal immigrants. By doing this we automatically infer that a person has a whole range of characteristics and abilities that we assume all members of that group have. These give off a negative impression towards people and by this, the media is doing so.

Self-Respect is Happiness.

Self-Respect is a key to individuals happiness. We all seek happiness in life and sometimes that can be a constant struggle. As, humans we all long for recognition and happiness but the question is how do we gain that in today's society? We have to learn how to search the definition of happiness within ourselfs.

Happiness has it's own law and demands to earn self-respect within oneself first. It is a human right for happiness and should not wait for social approval. We are all born different with different characteristics and we use those characteristics to fulfill certain objectives. When we know ourselves, we learn to like ourselves, we obtain good qualities, and we soon realize the supreme manifestation of our soul. We are able to start respecting ourselves we don't need to wait for the respect from anyone else. This helps us grow and gain happiness on our own and without the approval from others.

Self-respect helps bring self awareness. As human beings we develop depending on our own intellectual and moral capabilities and create our own path for success. Self-respect opens our eyes to see out qualities, goals, and our priorities in life. This develops confidence which brings power to motivate us to be successful. The key to individual happiness is to learn to accept ourselves for who we are. We can never cope with being someone who were not. The guilt will haunt you than fulfillment and joy. Self-respect is a very valuable thing to own. This sets an example for others to follow. It is the best advice to treat yourself as your own best friend. You have to believe in yourself that you deserve happiness and fulfillment in order to promote these conditions. You must avoid having a negative mindset and believing that everyones happiness is more important than yours.

A strong, healthy self respect is the foundation of happiness and emotional well being. It will help you through tough times, and inspire you to follow your heart and dreams. Self-respect does not lead you to happiness; it helps create happiness within your own self.

Acts of Behavior.

Nonverbal behavior is influenced by gender, culture, and media cues, which can cause confusion with each other. We rely on nonverbal cues when communicating with others because it helps decrease confusion and increase understanding within another. This helps us become successful in our relationships at home, work, school, and socially. What people say could often be very different from what they’re thinking or feeling. Words can be misleading and it’s very easy for a person to say something untrue or insincere, so we cant rely on words alone.

             I like to see things that aren’t being shown. The tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures, and mannerisms say a lot of things. I think nonverbal behavior is influenced by gender. Men are less comfortable with making eye contact than women. It has something to do with power and status because direct eye contact shows a sign of emotion and men don’t like to show emotion like women do.

Women tend to use facial expressions more then men do.  Men seem more relaxed in posture while women appear tenser. I am very big with facial expressions. I love to smile even when they are to random people walking by. I love it even more when they smile back. Facial expressions and gestures can make a bigger statement than actual words. It reminds me of silent black and white movies. There was no color and no sound. These movies were able to captures peoples’ hearts with only their gestures and facial expressions alone. If only we could appreciate these simple things again.

Men also tend to be more uncomfortable with close proximity.  Women are more comfortable with sharing their personal space especially between another female. Both men and women are able to show their interest and affection towards a person they are willing to open and share their personal spaces. The ability to interpret nonverbal communication between people who are attracted to each other often disappears if one or both are trying to hide it. A common situation is when a man and a woman are attracted to each other but aren’t comfortable to tell the other of the feelings they have.  By not being able to tell each other of such feeling, you tend to be blinded by the other person’s cues and signals as clear.

In general, our own body language signals can influence what others may think or feel about you.  

Silent Gestures.

Communication uses both verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Nonverbal behaviors contribute to communication far greater then verbal behaviors. Using nonverbal communication is a powerful tool that can help us connect deeper with others, express what we really feel, work out problems, and build stronger relationships. Gender, culture, and media are great influences for nonverbal behavior which can cause misunderstanding towards each other.

Gender is the biggest influence on nonverbal behavior. As we have noticed in our daily lives we see how different everyone’s perspective of things are. Men and women express themselves in very different ways. I read an article about the differences on how men and women communicate. When a women is asked a simple question such as: “ How was your day?” We like to be very descriptive in telling people how our day was it ends up sounding like a short story. Women like to gather information and dispense it without discrimination. We lack the ability to prioritize information and don’t think life is as simple as men do because we are fascinated by the multiplicity of choices that they see. Men on the other hand are simple and straight to the point. I feel that they like not having to over think about things. The author also questioned why women responded to him joking about girls and math and men didn’t when he commented about boys and English. I found it that women tend to defend themselves on account of who they are as a person. We never like hearing someone say we cant do this or that because we would prove them wrong otherwise. Unlike men, where they don’t care about what others think.

One of the perks of living in the United States is the diverse culture we live in. We encounter people from different cultures and societies that sometimes it is hard to understand them. Some differences are in language, values, gestures, emotional expression, and norms. Culture can make it difficult for us to understand each other and can come off as a culture shock. Nonverbal behavior with touching, emotions, and relationships could be expressed differently. In other countries, certain gestures can be offending and give off different meaning unlike here in the U.S. One example, in the U.S. an OK sign is a rude gesture in Europe because it gives off sexual suggestion.

Nonverbal behavior is an important part of communication. It is a way for a person to connect personally with another. We are able to use our body to communicate and give signals out to others. How we listen, look, move, and react tell the other person whether or not you are interested in what they are trying to communicate to us. A very familiar phrase “actions speak louder then words” is very true. It takes more than words to create fulfilling, strong relationships. Our nonverbal cues show others that we understand, notice, and care.

Successful English.

Over the past few years, I have noticed that whenever I need help from customer service over the phone, it is usually a person with an accent of Indian descent. Also, the older I become, the more I come to notice every time I visit the doctors that there are more and more doctors of Indian descent working in hospitals. What this tells us: the jobs that were once held by Americans are being sent over seas to the people of India therefore making their economy grow. This is a great opportunity for them but it is a constant struggle for us Americans to find jobs. It causes our country as a whole not to expand economically, increase in unemployment rate, taxes, gas prices, foreclosures, and causes stress and turmoil for millions struggling to survive in the U.S.

            The history of the English language in the Philippines has expanded throughout the years. Around 1565, Spanish was introduced after Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi founded and settled the first Spanish settlement on Cebu. The language began to decrease after Spain left to the United States. This is where the language Tagalog derives from considering that both languages are alike. Tagalog was chosen as the national language in 1937 out of a total of 171 native languages spoken in the country. Tagalog is the official language of education and its major uses are the broadcast of media, cinema, and its use in the military. This native language is often used in the home and communicating with friends and family.

English has strong roots with Philippines and it has been exposed since 1762. Today, it is the dominant language in business, government, the legal system, medicine, the sciences and education. Majority of textbooks are printed in English instead of Tagalog. Filipino’s find English to be more formal and should be used in school, government, and various ceremonies. In America, schools require to take a foreign language mainly the most common one is Spanish and in the Philippines, theirs is the similar but only in English. Sometimes they even speak both at the same time whether its formal or not. It is very common here especially in the United States. Whenever I am around my family they start off in Tagalog and switch to English and then back to Tagalog. This situation has been called Taglish. Representatives view English as the wave of the future, with science, world trade, and the Internet. I agree to this and see how the language impacts the world.

English plays a big role in the world basing it as many see it as a global language and it is needed to succeed. It is the language of business, higher education, diplomacy, aviation, the Internet, science, popular music, entertainment, and international travel. These things could help Philippines in order to gain economically since it has been struggling as a country.

Smaller is Better.

Anyone can be a writer. We all have a different approach to how we want our writing to come off as. The bigger picture is if our readers will be able to understand it. Our job as a writer is to be able to share your knowledge with the reader and persuade them. The reader’s job is to have the ability to open up, listen, and understand what the writer is trying to say even if we don’t agree.

I found my writing to be simple and straight to the point. I’m not fond of those ridiculously complex writings where you have to go more in depth and see the real meaning behind the story. I like putting my life stories into my papers because I find it a way for the reader to connect with not just my writing but also with myself. I am very open to sharing my experiences with people and having them feel as if they are my friend.

Patricia T. O’Conner gave me some great writing tips on her essay “Saying is Believing”. She brought me into her thoughts of what a good writer is. Patricia warns “To not confuse simplicity with simplemindedness” A good writer can express a complicated idea clearly with such ease. She says that if your sentence sounds nice and is easy to understand then there’s nothing wrong with it. Patricia lays out thirteen general principles which were very useful.

The five I found helpful were:

1.      Say what you have to say

Patricia advises that there is no need to prolong what we want to say. If we believe in what we write and lay it all down for the readers’ they will be able to believe it to.

2.      Stop when you’ve said it

When writing I find it hard for me to figure out when I want to stop. I seem to keep going on and on with my sentences fighting the need to put a period. Patricia made a great point and said that we should have one nice inhalation and exhalation per sentence. I think this is very common with some if not most writers because we want to keep going. When its time to start another sentence, do that.

3.      Don’t tie yourself in knots to avoid repeating a word

I see myself getting caught in trying to substitute certain words that I’ve been using in order to change it up. But Patricia says that it’s better to repeat a word that fits then substitute one that doesn’t.

4.    Put descriptions close to what they describe

Writing itself is a battle with me but the biggest problem with writing is being descriptive. I tend to confuse myself and the readers when I describe certain things. Patricia gave great examples to show how a proper descriptive sentence should be.

5.      Put the doer closer to what’s being done

Sentences can be complex and interesting as long as we know how to make it easy to follow for readers. We shouldn’t make it where they have to constantly reread the sentence to finally understand it. This is my second biggest problem because I have a hard time putting the doer closer to what’s being done.

In order to be a good writer you need to be able to express your thoughts and ideas clearly. It is difficult to achieve because to be clear in your writing you have to be clear in your thinking. Patricia opened my eyes to see that writing helps captivate readers and good writing astonishes its writer first and that’s what I want to do. The simplest writing can make such a powerful impact to a reader and it shows that bigger isn’t always better.

Dreams to Reality.

Everyone has dreams. We all have goals and aspirations. We go off to our own world daydreaming about random things such as becoming a doctor, asking that one person out on a date, turning pro in a sport, having a family, buying a nice ride, and so on. We all fantasize what it would be life if we did this or I should have done that. The question is...do we set out to achieve them?

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream and it was a big one. But because of his dream he achieved many other’s as well. His dream was a call for equality and the end to racial discrimination. He launched a non-violent protest to put an end to segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. King believed that there was no need for violence but the use of nonviolent “tension” was necessary for growth. This would help people rise from prejudice and racism, to gain a better understanding, and come together.

King was arrested the day of the march of Birmingham on April 12, 1963. In his time in jail he responded to a letter by 8 clergymen that was published in the local newspaper who said that the march was inappropriate. The famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” clearly states Martin Luther King Jr’s drive to end segregation. He took the letter as an opportunity to have his voice be heard to the public. King speaks out to everyone in his letter that injustice has taken a hold of the Civil Rights Movement and all we could do is fight for our rights with force without the use of violence. He spoke in behalf of those who didn’t have a voice and spoke for those whose voice wanted to be heard.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for one purpose and that was to have everyone unite as one. What amazes me is that it only took one voice and one man to create such a big impact to our society and to our culture. His drive and determination inspired other such as myself to get up and follow my dreams. This man’s story inspired me to believe in myself that I can accomplish something, whatever that may be. He gives me the courage to stand up and be willing to take risks. His words speak the truth that there is no time to waste and its time to turn our dreams into reality.

I feel the speech was an eye opener to many Americans’. Martin Luther King Jr. was a wise man who spoke with his heart. His dream was something his heart desired. By knowing what you want you inherit such great motivation within yourself to make a change and he is a good example to that. If it weren’t for him our country would still be waiting for a change to happen. Our time is to act now before that dream dies away.