Dear Stefani,
How have you been? I have so much news to tell you about my ENGL 1102 class I'm taking this semester and all that I've learned since it began. You'll be surprised to know, that I, a very steadfast journal writer, have managed to write different kinds of writing and learned to take criticism as well. As you know, I take my writing very seriously and although I don't plan to be famous for it at all any time soon, it is nice to know that I can relax around people for the first time who read through my work. I've learned to value activities like group work and revision for their positive outcomes, and above all, how helpful writing books can be when you actually take the time to read them! Even more so, as we work further into our current assignment, a research paper, I've learned to appreciate the knowledge that comes with such assignments when done properly.In my past, I used to label such projects as "useless" and "dumb," yet, I realize now that I failed to understand the importance of forcing yourself to do such work in order to improve your understanding of both a topic, and yourself as the writer. So many of these things are important because they teach you that their is always room for improvement when it comes to any assignment. I know that with such assignments in class, such skills become useful in the future when trying to argue something that you believe in. Of course, that could be in your writing or in a conversation with someone face to face. Everyone needs to realize that its okay to make mistakes and put yourself out there, because that is when you learn the most, if you only allow yourself to do so! Before I came to college, I never thought of anything in an english class as being actually useful. It was always the "do it and get it done" attitude. Yet, now, having a teacher who makes herself available as a resource to you, and in an environment that is actually teaching me something, I can finally relax in knowing that such things really do help!
Love,
Savanah
In the annotated bibliography we recently turned in, I chose to do research on the environmental asthma, and what factors cause it. After debating it for some time, I finally settled on this topic because being a genetic asthmatic myself, I have always wondered why some people get asthma from family genes, and some don't! More specifically, I had always wondered how such people could struggle with it as badly as I do if they don't have a family background in it. Sitting in the library for around five hours, I got my ideas about this topic from "googling" questions on the computer and then looking up books that related in one way or another. I think the audience of such an assignment (the future research paper) would consist of parents with or without asthma, people currently working in bad environments, and our society as a whole. As we know, there are so many different problems with our environment today, and its time to finally realize that we, as individuals, need to do our part to protect ourselves as best as we can. My audience was a real drive for me in this topic for such reasons. Such "skills" in this assignment consisted of accurate information/research, and being a caring person. I think caring alone is drive enough to be successful in such an assignment.This piece was not as easy as it looked because while I continued to search for more answers, the "dynamics" of my actual research question kept my research at a minimum. I think with such topics that involve environmental factors only have but so many answers/outcomes, and it showed after about the third source. Although I did not take too many risks in the bibliography itself, I did try different things with my research in order to come up with the best information I could. And when it came to revisions, I had a ton dealing with the citations. Plus, I really wanted to ensure that my descriptions of each source were valid and descriptive so I went back over them a few times. I think all the things I read through influenced my writing because they equaled out each other when the bibliography was done. Apart from the research itself, I learned that like it or not, writing needs to be structured. As probably one of the most structured/organized writing assignments of all, the annotated bibliography taught me that when information is organized in such a way that one can easily read through it, writing the paper becomes twice as easy as before! With my topic I learned that despite what I thought, indoor pollution affects/causes asthma more so than outdoor pollution. I also learned that like it or not, when put in a situation that needs to be done for a class, I get it done! I hope that a reader of my annotated bibliography and blogger will be able to say that I knew what I was talking about and learn to take better care of themselves, especially if already diagnosed with asthma. I think after looking through my blogs, I may revise the summaries a bit.
Peace,Butter and Jelly was a very relaxed, sweet read. I recently had lunch with David after he recognized me in Fretwell, and he is really a very caring, genuine person. Yet, as a person who never fully understood the whole concept of poems/poetry, I think some of the poems in the book threw me off a bit. Yet I like the receipes and I enjoyed reading about the history of his family.
Blogs and journaling
the assignments are so broad
lets try something new!
