Blog #3: 9/28/12

            The reading that was assigned to us this week was about success and how people define it to be.  In one of the stories that we read, a little girl gets to go to a toy store to learn about the importance about money.  The little girl is poor, so she doesn’t know the place that she was being taken to.  She thinks that people are crazy to spend a lot of money on toys instead of rent or food for the family.  The teacher who took her to the toy store expected her to learn a lesson about working and earning money so she can afford to buy expensive toys like the people in Manhattan.  In the other story, a man saved a rich man’s son from drowning and was given an enormously grand opportunity to work for him and make a ton of money.   The man was worried that he would not be able to work for the amount of money that would be given to him.  I like his attitude towards the situation.  He didn’t expect to get that money as a right or a reward, he expected to work for it first. I like the idea of a reward not given to those who do not work for it.  People should be encouraged to work hard and feel the sense of satisfaction of a job well done when they receive their first paycheck or any kind of reward for their effort. Even if the job they have is not really the ideal job at the moment, it will propel them to a hopefully better job in the future. 

Blog#2: 9/14/12

Blog#2: 9/14/12

   The reading this week in Rereading America, was about the opinions of those who support same-sex marriage. This included authors who are gay and have been married to their partners, those who fear what will become of their property or children if they should die before getting married to the significant other and someone who isn’t against homosexuality but does not want the government to interfere with the situation.  In my opinion, marriages should only be between a man and a woman, no matter how much love is between two men or two women.  The Bible is even against homosexuality.  “If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed a detestable thing. They must be put to death: their blood is on their own hands” (Leviticus 20:13 HCSB). God made us to love people of the opposite sex so we can grow in numbers and populate the world.  Marriage is a very sacred thing.  It is an everlasting promise to your groom or bride to love and cherish them until death separates you from them.  Thinking about finding that special someone really makes me believe in love.  True, marriage is about love but it should also be for the right love.  The love that God made you to have.

   The reading in They Say I say and The Little Seagull’s Handbook was very informative, too, though I do not have that much to argue about this reading.  The little Seagull’s Handbook explained the writing process, how to create good thesis statements, how to build your essay and how to support your thesis statement along with elements on how to design your writing.  The book, They Say I Say, explains how to tie all of the elements of your paper together like repeating yourself but with a slight difference.  It also teaches you how to write your paper and be specific on what you are trying to say so people will not understand you by interpreting your opinion wrongly.  I hope to learn about how to become a better writer so all of my papers this year will be done in the best of my abilities.  

blog #1: 9/3/12

    The reading today, in They Say I Say, had good information about how to agree, disagree or do both in a paper.  I liked how it showed many templates and had some examples.  They included step-by-step instructions and made writing papers like that seem less scary.  I feel more confident in my writing abilities, now.  The reading in the book, Rereading America, was inspirational too.  it was an introduction to the book that included a description about some people's perspectives on how they read and the influence of what they read and what they see on television.  the illustration about the little boy trying to make his family like the ones he saw on T.V. and still feeling happy even though his  family would never be exactly like he wants was a nice analogy to the point of media influence. I agree with the book when they state that the media has a strong influence.  It does provide some inspiration to excel and achieve our dreams and aspirations but it also pulls away from reality.  To think that your family could be exactly like one on television or like one that you read in a book is delusional. you can strive and be inspired by what you see on television, but accept the family that you have regardless of their flaws.  My family is not perfect, but I love them anyway.  Though I must add that I definitely believe that a family must consist of a mom and a dad, so the children can have both model influences.  I look forward to reading more about how to become a better writer and how to read better and to learn more from what I read.