Well here it is, my final blog. That is, at least, for this semester. I have been amazed at how much I actually have come to like it. I kind of wish I had started earlier in the semester, but as usual, I waited until the last minute to finish it up.
In this blog my audience has been people who don't necessarily or didn't understand the importance of writing and how it can be used as a tool. To begin with, that was me. I knew we had to write a lot in school and life, but I didn't really have an appreciation for it until this blog.
With the title Finding My Written Voice I have tried to capture this idea of me beginning to understand and refine my writing. Several of my blog posts have been pointed in this direction such as "Too Much Writing," "Writing...Such an Amazing Tool" and "Taking Time to Write." This class and this blog have helped me do just that, refine my writing.
The idea behind my background and layout of the blog is that everyone has a busy life. We all have so much to do but taking time to read and write are important in helping us continually learn and improve. The most surpirsing thing to me about this blog is that I just might continue using it. Dare I say it, I may have become a blogger.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Entitlement -- Ruining Our Nation and Others?
Something I have been thinking a lot about lately is the growing sense of entitlement in our country and the world. I feel like there are many people who think that they are entitled to just about everything. What should we be entitled to? Or are we entitled to anything just by entering this world?
What's crazy to me is the fact that there are riots going on in many nations and what is the main thing they are protesting? They are protesting cuts to their entitlement programs. These things have proved to pretty much be the downfall of nations. They are just not sustainable. The only thing that we are entitled to is what we get out there and work for. Quit protesting and find other ways to make money rather than just whine about not getting enough. It's a hard thing for sure. I mean there are many people and families who are used to what they have been receiving for years so obviously they wouldn't want that to change. But many nations are reaching the point where this sense of entitlement is catching.
Another thing I find interesting is people complaining about the "me generation." The real problem is that it is across generations. It isn't just the stupid young people who think they should get everything. Others believe they are entitled to more than usual as well.
Anyway check this guy out below. He happens to be from Provo and has earned himself the title, "the number one idiot of OWS."
What's crazy to me is the fact that there are riots going on in many nations and what is the main thing they are protesting? They are protesting cuts to their entitlement programs. These things have proved to pretty much be the downfall of nations. They are just not sustainable. The only thing that we are entitled to is what we get out there and work for. Quit protesting and find other ways to make money rather than just whine about not getting enough. It's a hard thing for sure. I mean there are many people and families who are used to what they have been receiving for years so obviously they wouldn't want that to change. But many nations are reaching the point where this sense of entitlement is catching.
Another thing I find interesting is people complaining about the "me generation." The real problem is that it is across generations. It isn't just the stupid young people who think they should get everything. Others believe they are entitled to more than usual as well.
Anyway check this guy out below. He happens to be from Provo and has earned himself the title, "the number one idiot of OWS."
Taking Time to Write
If there is one thing that seems to be true about life, it's that it is always busy. We always tend to say that things will be better once I finish this or that but the true is that there's always something more. Sometimes we tend to lose track of what life is really about and enjoy the small things.
One thing that has helped me balance my life is writing. I know. I hate to say because I usually say that writing is not really my thing, but I guess it has become my thing, or at least one of them. Writing helps me be able to clearly conceptualize my thoughts and feelings. When you put it on paper (or computer) it helps this. We often think we know a lot about this or that but we find out how much we really know when we write about it.
We should employ the tool of writing more often and learn how to clearly present our thoughts. This blog has helped me be able to that.
Already That Time Again
I can't believe that it's already that time of the semester again. Finals are just around the corner. It seems to amaze me every single semester but Fall semesters go even faster because the holidays seem to push everything along even faster.
This semester my classes have been pretty time intensive but my finals schedule is actually pretty light, comparatively speaking. In the music program last year I had so many classes and each one had a final. The hardest of all was getting ready for juries which are basically a playing test/final for your lessons. It took so much time to prepare for them, hours and hours of practicing.
This semester my classes have been pretty time intensive but my finals schedule is actually pretty light, comparatively speaking. In the music program last year I had so many classes and each one had a final. The hardest of all was getting ready for juries which are basically a playing test/final for your lessons. It took so much time to prepare for them, hours and hours of practicing.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Writing... Such an Amazing Tool!
Thinking back about this semester I remember one of the very first things we read in our Writing and Rhetoric was the author's story of his experience in college. He was given an assignment where they were given a dime. They had to write about that dime and explain everything about it so well that the reader could pick it out of group of dimes. What he learned is what I have learned this semester, "we write to communicate with others" (McInelly 2).
This is so important to remember even though it seems like such a simple concept. I think we often forget that we are trying to help our reader learn from what we are writing. We aren't just writing to get our ideas down on paper and hope someone else can understand them in the event that they read it. Everything we write, well at least most things we write should be written to help others learn and understand our ideas. Our job is to help them understand not just hope they can decipher what we were thinking.
I am actually learning to love writing, believe it or not.
This is so important to remember even though it seems like such a simple concept. I think we often forget that we are trying to help our reader learn from what we are writing. We aren't just writing to get our ideas down on paper and hope someone else can understand them in the event that they read it. Everything we write, well at least most things we write should be written to help others learn and understand our ideas. Our job is to help them understand not just hope they can decipher what we were thinking.
I am actually learning to love writing, believe it or not.
Grandpa's Stories
So this past summer I had the opportunity of helping my grandpa record some of his most memorable stories. He served on the Sunday School General Board so he has some really amazing stories of times spent with general authorities and Apostles. Part of what makes them so great is the fact that my grandpa is a great story teller. So I just had him record the stories and then I would transcribe them and make edits and stuff. They turned out pretty good because when he speaks he has a pretty good use of rhetoric. The only problem was that I didn't really know how to edit them and present them in the best way possible. That is where the personal narrative came in.
Writing the personal narrative and learning about them in class helped me a lot. It makes me want to go back and edit them and add detail, description, and dialogue. I can't wait to see the finished product. Before I know others have been pretty excited to be able to read them but I think if we are able to go back and edit them then even more will want to read them.
Hmm... Maybe this could be incorporated into my final project?
Writing the personal narrative and learning about them in class helped me a lot. It makes me want to go back and edit them and add detail, description, and dialogue. I can't wait to see the finished product. Before I know others have been pretty excited to be able to read them but I think if we are able to go back and edit them then even more will want to read them.
Hmm... Maybe this could be incorporated into my final project?
Where is the Snow?
I feel like it has been quite a few years since we have had to wait this long for a good snow. I guess it's good for the fact that we haven't had a whole lot of wrecks (mainly from california drivers...). Hopefully that's not too offensive but come on. Hasn't anyone else seen that?
Anyway I love nothing more than getting all suited up in my snowboarding gear and messing around in the snow. I think I like it so much because it seems like I should be really cold but I'm not at all as long as I'm prepared. You are invincible and the snow just doesn't stand a chance. When you forget your gloves or something like them then it can definitely make you miserable. So I guess the moral of the story is, if you are prepared ye shall not fear.
Anyway I love nothing more than getting all suited up in my snowboarding gear and messing around in the snow. I think I like it so much because it seems like I should be really cold but I'm not at all as long as I'm prepared. You are invincible and the snow just doesn't stand a chance. When you forget your gloves or something like them then it can definitely make you miserable. So I guess the moral of the story is, if you are prepared ye shall not fear.
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