Eco-friendly lifestyle

Do the benefits of an Eco-friendly life style out way the costs?

http://clarifygreen.com/eco-friendly-products-cost-more/
It is a post/blog written by Kathy and it discusses why Eco-friendly products cost more then regular items. The main reason why they are so expensive is because of increased manufacturing costs, Eco-friendly products use sustainable material that cost more to grow and manufacture the regular products. However, if there was an increase in demand for these products it would cause the cost to go down. When a product has a low demand, it costs the company more to produce it, which is  why the company raises the price. As citizens we can change this by buying more Eco friendly products to create a higher demand. So basically Eco-friendly products may be considered expensive now, but if more people switch life styles, products will become less expensive.

https://biohomecares.com/discover-biohomekeeping/does-it-cost-more-to-be-more-eco-friendly/
This article believes that even though Eco-friendly can be expensive, the long term benefits outweigh the short term costs involved. For example, foods that are considered Eco-friendly and organic cost more, but they can help you improve your health causing you to spend less money on doctors and medication. The article also discusses Eco-friendly energy, and how we could decrease fossil fuels and how this could benefit out planet in the future. In conclusion, the article agrees that this type of life style is expensive, but you have to treat it as an investment for the future.

https://www.youngadultmoney.com/pros-and-cons-of-eco-friendly-products/
This article written by Kristi discusses the pros and cons of Eco-friendly products. One pro is the going Eco-friendly could help you save money in the the long term. For example, Eco-friendly appliances typically lower your energy and utility bills by using less water and power. Another pro is the health benefits. Organic products are less processed and contain less chemicals, resulting in better health. Some con are  that they can be difficult to purchase because depending on where you live your local stores may not sell them. Also, these products can be inconvenient, especially when it comes to single use items such as coffee pods. This article understands that it is difficult for a person to be completely Eco-friendly, but it is important as citizen to try our best.

MLA Citation Practice

MLA Citation Practice

ISSUES that matter to us (Middle Ground)

The first video I decided to watch was "Straight A vs. Flunking: Do Good Grades Matter." I choose this video in particular, because I consider myself a straight A student and school has always been apart of my everyday life. However, I never took the time to think about how students with low grades may see things differently. The first problem they discussed was "do grades define intelligence," and most of the participants said no. When  it comes to courses that you take in school such as math or science, then yes grades do show that you are intelligent, but only in that category. There are a lot skills that schools do not teach, which is why a grade shouldn't define how smart you are because there is not a grade for every thing in life. Another argument they discussed was "I can get good grades if I work hard enough," and the answers varied. Some participants did believe that if you put in the effort then you will earn the grades that you want. In reality though there are other obstacles students have to face that others do not. For example, a young African American female struggled in her English class in middle school, no matter how much work she did she always ended up receiving a c grade or lower. It was not until later on she found out that her teacher was actually racists and was not grading her papers fairly. Another claim was that teachers have favorite students who they reward even though they may not deserve it, and some students have "road blocks" that other students do not struggle with. The last important topic they discussed was  "I am smart" and everyone agreed to this statement. They all came to the agreement that there are different forms of smart such as book and street smart. Everyone has something that they can offer to the table that another person does not know about, meaning everyone is smart in their own way

The second video I watched was "Climate Change Activists vs Skeptics: Can they see eye to eye." This first topic they discussed was "I believe global warming should be our number one concern" and only the activists agreed. They decided that if earth does not survive then neither will we because we will not have a a home. While the Skeptics argued that no matter what regulations and rules the US puts in place to help climate change, it will not have an impact because other countries are not following the same regulations. If we did create these regulation it would put us at an economic disadvantage with other countries. The second topic they discussed was "I know people who have been affected by environmental regulation" and everyone sat down, but had different view points. The skeptics said that they have seen people lose their jobs such as truckers due to regulations and how severe they can be. While the activists agreed that these regulations can be difficult, but only at first because you have to look at regulations long term and what benefits they will have in the future. The final topic they discussed was "An Eco-friendly lifestyle is expensive," and only the skeptics agreed. They all came to the conclusion that green energy such as wind and power is twice the price as regular energy. However, the activists made some very good points that the skeptics were not taking into consideration. Such as there are incentives for choosing a Eco-friendly life style, it will help prevent larger costs in the future, and it will benefit your health. The activists also discussed that you can use all the water you want for green yard or whatever else you need large amounts of water for, but you are going to have to pay for it.

Brainstorming for Research Paper: (bold: favorite ones)

1. Climate Change
• Should citizens be held responsible for climate change and if so what precautions do we need to take to help fight climate change?
• Should the US number one concern be climate change? If yes then why and how will this effect the citizens
• Why do some people believe that they should not be held responsible for climate change? How do we persuade them to change their minds?
• Is a Eco-friendly life style to expensive for the average citizen? What can our government due to make going Eco friendly easier for the people?
• Do environmental regulations infringe on citizen's rights and are doing more harm then good?
2. Endangered Wildlife
• How should environmental groups address endangered wildlife? What are some of the things they can do to push the government and corporations to protect the environment?
• As citizen, how can we help protect endangered life and make sure our government is also protecting the animals?
• Why are we so concerned with endangered wildlife? How will losing certain wildlife negatively impact our planet?
• Extinction is a natural process but it has rapidly increased compared to the past, why is the bad? Do humans have an influence on greater extinction rates?
3. Environmental Pollution
• Should the government be held responsible for environmental pollution or the citizen? What regulations or change in life styles should we put in place to decrease environmental pollution?
4. Stress
• Is school more stressful now then what it was in the past? Should schools be held responsible for these high levels of stress? What actions can schools put in place to help decrease student's stress levels
• Do practices such as meditation, soft music, and dietary changes help reduce stress
5. Work Life Balance

• Are low wages causing people to work more hours and ultimately spend less time with their families? Would higher wages (including a higher minimum wage) solve the problem?
• Is technology causing workers to be over scheduled? Is it causing a negative effect on workers home life? What should companies do to help?

Paragraph topic: Is a Eco-friendly life style to expensive for the average citizen? What can our government due to make going Eco friendly easier for the people?

Some citizen are making the decision to switch from their regular life style to one that does not harm the environment. Choosing a life style that is not harmful to the environment is called Eco-friendly. However, there is a lot of  debate if an Eco friendly life style is possible for all citizens, because most people believe that this type of life style is too expensive. What people do not realize is that choosing to be Eco friendly does not have to be expensive, it is just changing little things like eliminating food waste and reducing how much power you use in order to the better the planet. If everyone was Eco friendly, it could have a huge impact on our planets over all health. Sadly, people refuse to switch to this lifestyle because they feel they can not afford it , which raises the question what can our government due to make going Eco friendly easier.

Reflection #2

As the year progresses, I'm slowly starting to see my writing improve when I use the writing process. Brainstorming has helped me think more outside of the box allowing me to create more creative papers and ideas. For example, when choosing a topic for my pop culture paper I easily could have chosen a movie or game that portrays women in very little clothing and explain why it is bad. I realized though while brainstorming that I did not want to choose a topic that would be obvious to the reader. This is why I choose Super Mario Bros, which is one of my favorite childhood games, the impact this game can have on its younger viewers is not obvious, at first glance, it looks like an appropriate game for all ages, but in reality, the game has a very negative stereotype towards women.

The second step in the writing process is creating a draft, which can be a difficult process. In the past, I use to just start writing and figure out topics and arguments along the way. However, for my pop culture paper, I tried a new technique, I started by creating a list of possible ideas for paragraphs, as well as doing some research first to help find quotes that may help with my topic. This technique not only made writing my paper easier but also more enjoyable because I figured out which topics would benefit the paper the most.

The third step in the writing process is peer editing, I have never had problems with peer editing, but I think it is a very important step because as the writer of the paper you can easily make mistakes. It can be intimidating to ask a professor for help but have the ability to reach out to other students is easier. Like most students, none of us are perfect writers so it is important to receive feedback and corrections.

Another step in the writing process is having your paper revised by a tutor. Writing can be challenging for everyone and which is why having the opportunity to have your paper looked over by a tutor is beneficial. Not only will they catch mistakes you missed, but they can help with other things such as grammar, citations, drafting, and more. When I went to a tutor for my personal culture paper, the tutor helped me with imagery and issues with grammar.

The last step of the writing process which is revisions is the most challenging for me because I never know what to change. For example, when you spend a lot of time on an essay, it is difficult to revise the paper yourself, because you have worked on it for so long that you do not see the errors that others may see. Which is why, having access to a tutor and peers who can edit your paper, makes revisions easier because they suggest changes that you did not see before. For example, when going back and looking at my pop culture paper, one of the students pointed out I had an incorrect citation that I had not noticed. If it was not for that student, I might have lost some points for not doing a citation correctly.

While working through the writing process I was able to analyze my writing. I realized that I always went with the first idea that popped up in my head because that seemed the easiest at the time. However, this resulted in papers that were not my best work or did not go outside of the box. Taking the time to think about multiple different ideas and use the process of elimination to figure out the best ones, was beneficial. Not because it helped me earn a better grade, but it allowed me to choose a topic that I was passionate about and enjoyed. I also found out through the writing process its sometimes best to just allow yourself to write instead of worrying about little things. For example on past papers such as our first one, I focused too much on the grammar and unique imagery words, causing my paper to have way too much imagery. Having too much imagery can be overwhelming to the reader and make the story confusing. Therefore, when I wrote my pop culture paper I allowed myself to just write everything I wanted to say, and then went back and edited mistakes and changed the wording, so it would sound more professional.

Despite all that has happened in March, I feel like overall my grade should be a low A. It has been challenging trying to study and also be motivated at home, but I still do all my work and make sure it is done on time. The pop culture paper has been difficult to write because I have a lack of motivation, as well as slow internet. I do not believe I deserve a perfect A because I know my writing can always improve and I have never been good at citations. So there is a high probability that I made some citation errors on my pop culture paper. Even though being at home and trying to still do college work is challenging, I'm still pushing forward and trying to put out good quality work.

Using Quotes

According to Jean Kilbourne's TED Talk, called "The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women," she argues that “...The body language of girls is usually passive, vulnerable, and very different from the body language of boys and men.  Women are often shown in very silly poses, whereas men are generally afforded dignity and strength, even as children” (Kilbourne). Kilbourne's message is crucial due to the fact that showing women as vulnerable and passive can have negative impacts on women in the real world.

(Parenthetical Citation)

• Authors last name
• Page number
• Will not get in trouble if you double site something
• Can use "... " to show that there is more to the quote
• If quote inside of quote use ' ' 
• Period does not go inside " " goes after citation
• quote can't be larger then 3 line, must block (tab 2 times)
• block quote still needs citations, but no " "

(Kilbourne)

(Jean Kilbourne: The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women)

Quote #2
In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk, “The Danger of a Single Story” say says “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story” (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story). Stereotyping women can have negative impacts on their self esteem, but if we start to normalize stereotypes it could actually put women in danger.

Critique #4: Video Games

“...turning  a human being into a thing is almost always the first step toward justifying violence against that person.”

“...The body language of girls is usually passive, vulnerable, and very different from the body language of boys and men.  Women are often shown in very silly poses, whereas men are generally afforded dignity and strength, even as children.”

The power of technology is constantly increasing and so is animation and graphics of video games. Video game characters are starting to become more realistic and more detailed, given gamers a higher quality experience when playing them. However, this is not exactly a good thing, because video games have a history of sexualizing and objectifying women. A popular game that came out recently is Red Dead Redemption II, which is a western action adventure video game. It allows the player to explore the western United States, rides horses, shoot guns, and interact with the environment. This game is considered one of the most expensive video games ever made and took five years to fully create it. So you can imagine how detailed and realistic the game is and how the characters are portrayed. However, despite this the company still puts certain emphasis and details on women such a low cut dresses, and emphasis on the breast area. Also women in the game are seen more as background characters or a damsel in distress. On top of that women, who may want to play the game, don’t even have the option to play as a female character. It’s disappointing to see how much time and money was put into a game, only to find out that a female character has no real effect on the main plot.

In my opinion, Sarkeesian's critique is accurate when discussing the gaming  industry and how it has negative impact on the reputations of women. An example she uses is how women in some games are seen as rewards or objects. Making women appear helpless or seen as an object. She also talks about at the end of her video how there have been issues at gaming conventions, where women were being touched inappropriately without their consent. Some positives are the fact that gaming companies are are give female characters more important roles that are not as sexualized. Also, some gaming companies are changing how female characters dress and making them more modest.

Critique #3: bell hooks

We use media almost every single day, for example apps like twitter, Instagram, you tube, and more. Media has the ability to influence its viewers, sometimes its simple things like trying to get their viewers to buy their product or vote for a certain person in the next election. However, despite how harmless it might seem, media can truly have a negative impact on it viewers, as well as be harmful. The quote from bell hooks video would also agree with this idea and how media can have negative impacts. For example, how media can use negative stereotypes,especially when it comes to gender or the race of a character in a movie. The second quote from the Disney video, also talks about representation, but a different way. It says that the media creates these environments and images that slowly over time shape what we know and understand about the world. An example of this could be a little girl who watches older princess movies, this could shape her into thinking that as a girl she is helpless and the only way things will become better is if a man saves or helps her. It's not only young girls who are damaged, but also boys because they will believe that men have to be brave, strong, and they can not show any emotions.

In my opinion, motivated representation is how films are stereotyping roles such as gender, ethnicity, religion, wealth, and age. In her videos she uses lots of evidence to help support her argument, bell hooks especially uses evidence from older movies, for example movies making fun of feminist and showing white supremacy. She showed one clip of a woman just openly selling herself to a man, which makes women look bad and that they are just an object. This can not only harm women's own beliefs about themselves, but as well as what men think about women. It also, damages the work women have done during that time period, trying to break these awful stereotypes. Another movie clip that grabbed my attention was in part 1 of her speech, which was called Thieves and featured a two main characters, one that was white and another that was African American. However, in the film the black actor played as the thief and when bell hooks tried to ask the director why he choose to make the character black, when in the original script it showed no evidence that the thief had to be a certain ethnicity. The director could not give her answer, not because he had no answer, but because he didn't want to say the true reason behind the character choice.

As our society continues to grow and make changes, I feel like production companies are also trying to make changes as well. As an older sister, I have spent many summers and snow days baby sitting and the best distraction was a movie, so as you could imagine I have watched plenty of kids movies. One that stood out to me the most when choosing a movie to critique was the movie Wonder which was originally based on a book. It is about a boy name Auggie who has Treacher Collins syndrome which is a condition that causes facial deformities. This causes Auggie to not want to go to public school for fear that kids will make fun of him and he won't have any friends. Now in the movie there is of course the typical mean bully, who picks on Auggie and make him feel bad about his condition and not want to go back to school. As well as popular girls and other stereotypes. However, this movie in my opinion teaches children a very good lesson about how they should view children who may look different then them. Not only that, it also helps kids who have deformities and make them feel like they are not alone.

• Advertisement of the movie
• https://youtu.be/C0KLb_v50-k
• https://youtu.be/vYH5urNq1Ao

Adiche's story is very similar to what bell hooks discuses in her video, they both deal with stereotypes and how after seeing the same image or environment multiple times, you start to believe it. Which is why bell hook stress how these "motivated representations" are harmful to its viewers. We need to break away from constantly showing people the same stereotypes in movies or shows, because its starting to shape people and children into thinking that this is normal and that it is okay. Production companies instead should be challenging gender, race, religion, and wealth stereotypes in order to stop their audience from believing that it is true.

In class writing 2/25

There is a lack of diversity in TV showed and movies, which can have a negative impact on younger audience. If you look at shows like Doc McStuffins, there are lots of positives such a black female lead, a stay at home dad, and what it’s teaching kids, but there isn’t enough of this in social media. We also discussed how media can shape people, such as using influencers or celebrities to get people to buy products. As well as the negative effects social media has on younger females. However, things are starting to change, but only slightly. I think for there to be a serious change all production companies must be working to make that change, not just a couple changes in one or two movies or shows.

Seven Minute Writing:
Social Media has a huge influence on our day to day lives without us even realizing it. We want people to like and follow us, but sometimes that means not being yourself completely. People want to see the good things, like going on vacation, eating delicious food, or a cute puppy. However, these things all cost money and it’s difficult for the average person to post these type of photos. Lots of people argued during class that your real account and second account is still you, but I completely disagree. For example, my good friend from high school has two accounts, one that is public and on that is private and they are completely different. On her public account she posts photos about her vacations or how she went to this cute little cafe. Her pictures are alway perfectly positioned, with good lighting, makeup done, and her hair is all fancy. She poses seriously, no smile, trying to show off he figure and facial features, almost trying to grab people’s attention. However, her private account is completely different, she posts simple photos from her house, she is wearing an oversized sweatshirt, messy bun, no makeup, glasses, and no makeup. These photos look way more realistic and more genuine, she actually looks happy and she usually has some cheesy quote at the bottom. I know that this isn’t true for everyone when they own two accounts, but that’s how most people accounts are set up. It’s kinda sad in my opinion, that people on social media feel like they can’t be themselves.

Critique #2: Kid Stuff

It is hard to deny the amount of emphasis Disney films puts on masculinity such as characters like Gaston, Hercules, and many more. Some could make the argument that Disney films have characters of all body types. However, these characters don't usually play the lead role and are just background characters. In the video it says "Men with any other body type than masculinity are seen as outcasts or weak." They use the film Beauty and the Beast to help prove this point. In the film Bell's farther is seen as an outcast and his body type is short and fat, while LeFou has a similar body type, but is seen as weak. I agree with the video completely, that masculinity was a big focus in older Disney films, but as time goes on, Disney has started to move away from these themes such as the movie Frozen and a newer Disney show called Doc McStuffins. Unlike the video, the article "She's a Boss" looks at the positive aspects of what Disney is doing for their younger audience instead of the negatives. For example in the new kids show called Doc McStuffins, it features a black lead female character which is very uncommon when it comes to Disney productions. Not only that, but it teach kids important life skills like brushing your teeth everyday, wearing a bicycle helmet, and teaching kids how to communicate. I agree with the article as well, that what Disney is doing with this show is great for the younger audience, but it's disappointing to see that it is only in couple of productions. Despite how important it is for children to have good role models.

A major negative that the video discusses is how "Masculinity in violence and dominance is very clear in Disney films, were an unwillingness to fight a prove dominance is show as pitiful." This is bad because it might make the children watching the movies violent or harm other kids. Disney tries to add suspense to their movies by adding fight scenes, such as the end scene in The Lion King, but this could leave negative impacts on the younger viewers. However, he gives Disney a positive critique at the end of the video by saying that it is possible for Disney to step away from these stereotypes in order to avoid boys from becoming violent or detached from their emotions. The is means that Disney still has a chance to change their ways.  A major positive from the article, is that it doesn't use stereotypes like other Disney productions do, such as stay a home dad, a mom who is an actual doctor, and a same sex couple. However, a negative could be that even though Disney shows are starting to be less stereotypical, there are still issues with Disney films.

There is a huge difference between the characters Gaston and Doc McStuffins. In my opinion, Gaston is more directed towards boys and he is designed as this tall, muscular man who believes he can have any girl he desires. This is a bad characteristic because it teaches boys that "Men should view women as objects of pleasure or servants to please them." However, Doc McStuffins is completely the opposite, she is meant for all gender and is a black lead female character. She encourages kids to be safe and tries to get kids to be more comfortable to speak up for themselves and not to be afraid to get help when they need it.

One of my favorite cartoons as a kid was The Fairly Oddparents, which was about a boy named Timmy Turner who had two fairy god parents named Cosmo(green) and Wanda(pink).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wS5QXPGOTQ&feature=youtu.be
I think this show taught kids how to use their imagination and think creatively. Which as a child it is important to express yourself and think outside of the box. However, it does have a couple stereotypes such as the nerdy boy with bad teeth like the perfect popular girl, but she doesn’t like him back back because he isn’t popular. Another negative is how the main character talks to his friends and family which could have a negative impact on its younger viewers.

Counterculture critique

This is a image on adbusters that really grabbed my attention. It ties into a quote that Kilbourne said which is “we are all effected by advertisements.” Most of us are able to recognize the brands that are shown on the left of the photo, but unless we took the time to study plants in high school, we can’t name most of these leaves. The reason why is advertisements are constantly shoved into our face and we may not realize it, but it consumes most of our daily lives. Their on websites, television, the games we play, music, and YouTube videos. What’s sad is it’s not just adults, Kilbourne said that “Babies of the age of six months can recognize corporate logos and companies are starting to to target this age group.” There is no reason why a 6 month year old baby needs to know what the Nike logo looks like. It’s hard to ignore advertisements when they are everywhere.

Pop Culture Critique #1: Kilbourne

1. "The image isn't real its artificial, constructed, its impossible but real women and girls measure themselves with it every single day."
2. The United States is the only developed nation in the world that doesn't teach sex education in its schools, but kids are getting sex education from advertisements."
3. "Girls exposed to more sexualized images at a young age are prone to eating disorders, depression,and low self esteem."
4. "Advertisements normalize dangerous attitudes."

The goal of Kilbourne's TED talk is to teach her audience just how dangerous advertisements can be if things do not start to change. Not only do advertisements sexualize women, but it also harms their self-esteem, and it normalizes dangerous attitudes. If advertisements do not change how much they Photoshop models and the vulgar poses they use, it will not only effect adult women, but as well as young girls. They create impossible images of women by using computer technology to give them flawless skin, tiny waists, and thigh gaps, which pressure women into trying to reach these unrealistic standards. This can lead to future eating disorders, depression, and low self-esteem.

In Kilbourne's speech she critiques the culture of advertising by using real slogans that companies use to show how they degrade women, as well as how they pose women in photos to look passive, vulnerable, and submissive. For example, at the start of the video she shows the audience quotes such as "Feminine odor is everyone's problem,""If your hair isn't beautiful the rest hardly matters," and "I'd probably never be married if I hadn't lost 49 pounds." These quotes make it seem like a woman's body and looks is the only thing that is important. Women in advertisements are photo shopped so much that they look like a completely different person and almost cartoon like. Kilbourne uses the argument that men are photo shopped as well to advantage. For example, she agrees that men are photo shopped, but it mainly focuses on their muscles and body, while women it is their facial features. Also, companies don't use harsh slogans about men like they do women, in her speech she uses an example of an advertisement the degrades a woman's breast but at least she can have good looking hair. 

The rate of young females who are depressed and/or having eating disorders is only increasing as the years go by. This is why I agree with Kilbourne, young women are held at such high standards when it comes to their looks. They are expected to have this perfect body with skin that has no blemishes or flaws. However, this is not physically possible because everyone has their own set of flaws that they can't change. It is wrong to force women to think that if they don't look like the models in the advertisements then they are not beautiful. Most advertisement to this day still degrade women despite all the attempts to make women and men equal.

If advertisements keep on degrading women, not only will it affect young girls, but as well as women in the workforce. If women are just something that can be sexualized, they won't be shown the same respect as men, despite the fact they do the same amount of work. Advertisements for some companies are beaning to make changes in how they edit and pose their models, but unless all companies around the world do it as well, this change will not have any effect. However, some organizations are starting to step up and fight against advertisement companies such as Brave Girl Alliance and Media Literacy Project. If these organizations fight back and people, especially women, start to fight back as well, we can make this needed change in advertisements.

This photo demonstrates how women are still sexualized in advertisements today. This is an advertisement from American apparels for a unisex flannel shirt that they recently released. This is the exact same shirt on both of the models just posed extremely different. As well as the difference of editing between the two.

 

Reflection #1

My goals for this semester are to be more open minded to new ideas and theories, think more outside of the box when writing, and work on my grammar skills. To help me obtain these goals during this semester I'm going to try to use new techniques when reading and doing assignments. For example, when reading an article for a class discussion, I'm going to take notes and mark important things, in order to better understand the concept or topic of the article. In order to think more outside the box I'm going to start to brainstorm multiple ideas instead of just picking the easiest one or the first idea that comes to mind. The best way to do this is to create a list of possible ideas and from there do a brief summary of each one and choose the one I like the most. My finale goal for this semester is to improve my grammar skills, grammar has never been my specialty and it is an important part of writing. When writing a paper I'm going to focus on getting all my ideas on the page and then go back and fix any grammar errors, as well as utilizing tutoring and peer editing to help catch any errors I might have missed.

When writing discussion posts I try to think critically about the topic, but I feel like there is always room for improvement. I try to think outside the box to the best of my ability, but sometimes its difficult to come up with new ideas on the spot. The blog post that I believe I did the best on, was the one about using imagery words. I feel like during that post I choose word or descriptions that are not common instead of the words that immediately popped into my head, which allowed better imagery for the reader. Reading actively can help you better understand the material and create more developed blog post. I try to mark key points or pieces that I found interesting when I read with a highlighter or pencil, so when I have to create a post about the assignment I already have a few ideas on what I could write about. From there I use the ideas that best fit the assignment for example, Journal #3, which is when we had to take imagery quotes and explained how they could benefit us in our own writing.

I think my overall class grade so far should be around a B. I always come to class prepared and have my assignments or homework completed before class begins. Despite the fact that it can be intimidating, I try to participate in class discussion when I understand the material or believe I have the correct answer. However, I think I should participate more than what I do now, but it will get easier when I become more familiar with the class and other students. I also think that when it comes to my writing there is always room for improvement which is why I decided to choose a B instead of an A.

Grammar

I have never been good at Grammar, I either put way too many commas or never enough.  I have a bad habit of writing run on sentences and completely forgetting that a semicolon is a form of punctuation. I don't consider myself a bad writer when it comes to creating new ideas and organizing the paper, but usually if I do get a bad grade it is because of grammar. Sometimes the computer application called Grammarly can't even help me.

Grammar Notes From Class

• Period creates a full stop effect
• Semicolon is an artsy yield, not a full stop
• Comma means breathe
• Conjunctions (FANBOYS)
• For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
• Conjunctions are "glue" and when you use it you also use a comma
• Allowed to write with "I"

Grammar is play. Grammar is intention

A woman without her man is nothing

• A woman without her man, is nothing
• A woman, without her man, is nothing 

Sentence Improvement Strategies

• Add an -ing or -ed word or phrases to the front of the sentences
• Add strong, visual, action verbs
• Place adjectives or descriptions out of order

1. Tying up her shoes, Sienna sang loudly and prepared for her morning run in the park.
2. Stretching out her limbs, Sienna was tired from a long night of studying and anticipated a well deserve jog.
3. Sienna, head pounding and exhausted, tried to quickly run through the park.
4. The small boy with curly hair, quickly devoured the messy cheeseburger, like he hadn't eaten in days. 
5. Dancing was the woman's passion and despite the gloomy rain, the woman still had a smile on her face.

Journal #3

Three halt haggard houses formed a kneeling rank on the far creekside and each had two or more skinned torsos dangling by rope from sagged limbs, venison left to the weather for two nights and three days so the early blossoming of decay might round the flavor, sweeten the meat to the bone

• How you word your sentences can really help the reader visualize what is happing in the text, especially if you use more unique and uncommon words. For example the words haggard, skinned, blooming, and decay are not common every day words. These words help the reader to better visualize a deer hanging from its limbs from a tree as it slowly decays.

Ree, brunette and sixteen, with milk skin, and abrupt green eyes, stood bare-armed in a fluttering yellowed dress, face to the wind, her cheeks reddening as if smacked and smacked again.

• Providing more than one detail when explaining a character or landscape can also help the reader visualize the scene. If the writer would have only written the Ree was a girl with Burnett  hair an sixteen, it would be difficult to imagine what she would look like. However, the writer provides a list of details about Ree such as her milk skin, abrupt green eyes, and the most detailed one is about her reddening checks as if they were being smacked multiple times.

The house was cool in the brighter spots and chill in the shadows.

• Sometimes changing common phrases makes the reader understand just how bad or good a situation is. For example, in brighter spots you would expect it to be warm and cool in the shadows. However, the writer uses “cool in the brighter spots and chill in the shadows” which allows the reader to visualize just how cold it is the house, as well as how they have the money to afford heating the house.

I’m from poem

I am from a tiny bedroom
With not enough room,
I am from lilac painted walls,
Decorated with over filled shelves.
I am from the tiny stars that I taped to my ceiling
without my parents knowing.

I am from beach trips in July

Filled with images of purple and blue skies.
I’m from the warm ocean breeze
tangling your hair and putting you at ease.
I am from sand castle competitions
built with plastic molds and shovels,
Trying to build our vision
I’m from too many pictures,
Making my cousins whine,
And forcing the parents to say
“Just one more time.”

I am from holiday diners,
Turkey, mashed potatoes, and too many casseroles.
I am from the table,
Littered with holiday decorations,
Fancy napkins, shiny plates,
and fresh baked rolls.
I am from dinner conversations
Where you couldn’t talk about politics
Because you know there would be an argument,
So instead the parents talked the  about the past
And the kids all laughed.

I am from a family,

Who has faced their own troubles,
Filled with sleepless nights, lost hope,
And men who refused to cry.
I am from family,
Who pushes through,
And knows that there light at the end of the tunnel.
I am from a family,
That makes me miss home,
My moms cooking,
And my small tiny home.

Journal #2

• It’s not a car it’s a sky blue Subaru Legacy, with stained tan seats.
• It’s not food it’s a turkey and cheese sandwich with toasted bread, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles.
• It’s not simply, music it’s alternative songs with deep lyrics that you can play on a late night drive with good friends. 

Seven Minute Writing:
I live in the middle of nowhere surrounded  by trees and wildlife. The nearest town is 30 minutes away and the biggest store is a Walmart. You learn quickly that when you drive your eyes always search for beady eyes looking back at you, so you don’t hit a deer on the small windy roads. As well as when you go to high school that there are two types of people, the ones who care about their academics and the ones who just plan to graduate and work for their family’s business. However, if you do consider yourself an academic student the competition is high because everyone is competing to be noticed. This small town allowed me to appreciate traveling and visiting big cities where the skyscrapers seemed to touch the sky. Where having multiple big name stores and a mall was a common thing for most people and how their are multiple styles of food other than your mom’s home cooking.

Sensory writing: “I’m from” poem. Pre-Writing:

• Summer trips to Myrtle Beach
• Blue, sand, shore, sea shells, sand buckets, shovels, little kids, popsicles, grill, pool, water, deep, car rides, taffy, cooler, ice, bathing suit, swim trunks, hats, sunscreen, sunglasses, flip flops, sunburn, waves, curly hair, family, friends, kites
• Salty, sweet, burgers and hot dogs, movie night popcorn, coconut sunscreen, home cooking, Gatorade, lemonade, sweet tea, sea food, ice cream, popsicles 
• crashing waves, shouting, splashing, bubbles, seagulls, wind, thunder, rain, clapping, singing, laughter, crackling of fire, ocean breeze 
• Swimming, drawing, sand buckets and shovels, uno, board games, old movies, live music, karaoke, jumping over waves, hide and seek, ping pong, tie dye, cooking

Journal #1

Hello, my name is Arianna Harr and I am studying accounting for my future career. I grew up in a small town at the the edge of Pennsylvania named Bedford where the most popular restaurant we had was a Denny’s.  I lived in a house where every season had their own set of decorations because my my mom loved to craft, where you can always here the constant little taps of paws against wooden floors, and a messy workshop where there was always a new project. To my family our two dogs are just as important as everyone else and their names are Guinness and Penelope.

                 

Sometimes living with my family can be crazy, having two pets, my mom who always tries to multitask and ends up burning dinner, and my dad and little sister who are always in a competition things can be a mess. However, I was still able to find my happy place in music and art, I find that when I become overwhelmed with school work or just need some time alone, I go to drawing. Usually it’s just little doodles or coloring nothing incredible, but it helps me relax and that’s all that matters. I also enjoy traveling to new places because of the food and beautiful photos you can capture with a camera.

Seven minute writings:

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Gb6-TuXrGwTFjTeUXi9a64pIlILbPooms5mNxii1GI