Final Reflection

My writing habits have changed a lot over the course of this semester. Looking back at my oldest blog entries, I wrote very formal. Towards the end of the semester, I started writing my blogs very informally, and when I did that they were definitely more interesting to read. My papers also became more laid back...if that makes any sense. I guess I became like this because Franny made it seem like it was okay. This class was very laid back and it seemed to me that she was very open to different forms of writing, so I started to take some risks.

At first, I didn't really like blogging. Mostly because I just hate writing about anything in general. But over the course of the semester I started to loosen up a little and be more laid back about writing. I learned to just write in my blog whatever came to mind, no matter how silly it seemed.

This semester started out really easy, but then it got a lot harder. With finals coming up, I don't see how there will be enough hours in the day to get all of my studying done! Overall, I did enjoy this semester a lot. The only class that I hated was math, and that was mostly because it was 5 days a week and I couldnt understand a word my professor said. My TA for that class was really cool though and definitely knew what he was talking about. As for this class - I enjoyed it a lot. I like how small the class was and I made a lot of good friends. Franny was really laid back and down to earth, which was a nice change of pace.

Reflection of Research Paper

As I know many people can relate to, I HATE writing research papers. This one wasn't too bad though. I chose a topic that was really interesting to me: how television affects children. I was really interested in the health issues behind it all. I had fun finding the information and reading about the topic. But when it comes to putting it on paper, I don't care how interesting it is, I hate writing about anything. I even hate typing blog entries!

So the research itself went very well. I pretty much found everything that I was looking for. I hate trouble organizing my paper though. I just had so much information that I couldn't figure out where to put it all. Looking at my paper in the end, I think a managed to do a fair job of puting it all together. However, I wish that my paper was a little bit more exciting or unique. I'm not the most creative person.

I learned from writng this paper that it is always good to get a head start. I got my sources a couple weeks before the paper was due, and that really helped me to relax and not get TOO stresed out about it. I also learned that it always helps to write about something that actually interests you.

Why do we let television control our lives?

I first started thinking about this topic when one day I was wondering "Why is Miley Cyrus so famous"? Because in my opinion, she is talentless. I started thinking about why certain people get hooked on certain television shows? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I thought that there had to be a reason behind all of this. Then I wondered what effect television advertising has on us as viewers. I basically came to the broad topic of "How does television affect children?" and stuck with that. I am very interested with how Disney Channel became so successful with their t.v. shows for children. I thought about what influence television has on children, and how is it bad/good for them? After thinking about this for a while, I made an appointment with a library specialist, and she helped me find MANY articles, books, and websites related to my question. I checked out a few books and she also e-mailed me some of the academic journals and articles that we found online. I also found an article about why certain genders watch certain shows, while others don't. I wondered, is it boys or girls that are more easily influenced by what they see on t.v.? Why do boys like certain shows, and girls perfer other ones? I didn't realize that our rough draft was due next week until I came to class today, so I am going to start deeply looking through all of my sources tomorrow to being writing the first few pages of my paper. I'm excited to find out the meaning behind what broadcasters chose to put on television. How do they target a certain age group so well? What are the tricks and gimmics that they use to do this? Why are we so easily persuaded by what is shown to us on t.v.? I feel like I am going to learn a lot from writing this paper, which is something that has never happened before. Usually the papers that I had to write in high school were about topics that I didn't care to learn about. I am seriously interested in the psychology behind what television does to us. I know for a fact that humans are very easily persuaded by the mass media in America. But why? Why can we be so naive sometimes?



I haven't really done that much research on my topic yet...But I have skimmed through my sources and remembered a few things I read. I remember reading that children always seem to watch television at certain times during the day. This might influence what broadcasters chose to show on t.v. at that time. Most kids like to watch t.v. as soon as they home from school. So they can't help but to become naturally absorbed in the shows and commercials that are on at that time. This reminds me of when I was a kid, maybe around the age of 6 or 7. I used to wake up extra early for school becuase I know that Scooby Doo was always on at that time. I never missed an episode, I was hooked. The same thing happened after dinner time. I knew that Dexter's Laboratory and Ed, Edd, and Eddy were always on. So of course at these times, I would always watch the same commercials too. I was influenced by the certain toys, games, and food that was advertised during that time period. That led to me begging my parents to buy me what I saw on t.v. Television had a huge influence on my personality and likes/dislikes without me even realizing it. This is true for most children, I believe. One more thing I realized is that my brother and I didn't like the same shows. He was into Power Rangers and Speed Racer, and I was into Scooby Doo and the Power Puff Girls. These are all very gender-stereotyped shows.




"Children of both genders and all ages, races, religions, classes, and geographical regions of the world watch television on a regular basis, enjoy it tremendously, and learn more about the world from it than from any other socializing agent"(1).

This quote makes me think that okay, maybe television isn't ALL bad. It is true that we do learn a lot from the news that they chose to show on tv. However, I believe that a lot of the facts that they tell on on t.v. can be misleading.

"Television thus becomes a "peek hole" to roles beyond their everyday reach...)(55).

This statement is suggesting that children watch t.v. because they are curious about things that they don't normally encounter. I remember doing this when I was a kid too.


"Television characters are the focus of indentification, imitation, and idolization"(57).

I remember when I was little, I use to idolize Shaggy on Scooby Doo. I though he was awesome because he got to solve mysteries, fight crime, and he had a sweet dog. A child's life can revolve around their favorite character, and it can become an everyday obsession. That probably isn't a good thing.

"A series of studies found that children raised in communities without television rated higher on tests of creativity in comparison with children of similar backround and life circumstances that were raised with it"(62).

I believe that in some way, television can destroy your creativity. This is because we seem to act/dress/talk like the way we see it done on television.

Sticker Day

I picked the sticker "Live Long and Prosper". I am not an insane Trek fan, but I did really like the movie. I do have A LOT of friends that are obsesed with Star Trek. My friend Donny has framed posters and everything. He knows everything that there is to know about Star Trek. I thought it was a good movie, but I'm not too obsessed with it. The action was great and I thought their costumes and the plot were things I could definitely chuckle about. I've never watched the epidsodes, but I'm sure that they are pretty good.

I chose this sticker because it is not only associated with my friends, but because I think it represents something that I always say. I always seem to remember that our time on earth is very short. There is no reason to waste it. To live long and prosper means to get the most out of life, be as successful as you can. You only get to live your life once, so have fun and don't take it too seriously. Make memories that will last and forget about the people in your life who upset you. Strive to be the best that you can be, and never give up on living. Have a fulfilling life, take chances and learn from your mistakes. Never be too hard on yourself or the decisions that you make.

How's Life?

Life is...interesting right now. It dramatically changes everyday for me. For the most part though, I am very overwhelmed. I can't seem to keep up on my homework or any other responsibilities that I have this semester. There's just so much to do in so little time! I wish that there were more hours in the day.

Other than that, I really love MSU. I went home last weekend. It was nice to be home for a day or so, but then I started feeling really anxious because I wanted to come back here! Even though I am crazy busy non stop, I love it. I feel like I'm being way more productive than what I've ever been.

Official Water Polo practice starts next week already. I really love the girls on the team, so I can't wait to see them more often. Swimming defintely relieves a lot of my stress, so that's one of the main reasons I'm always excited about practice.

This weekend I'm going to Ohio to see my Dad and my brother! I haven't seen my dad since move-in day at MSU. He is taking me out to a nice Japanese Steak House on Friday night when I get in, so that will be a nice change from the cafeteria food for once. Now that I think about it, life is actually going pretty well. I think I just need to manage my time a little better. I wish that there were more hours in the day! I'm not going to say that I'm not looking forward to Christmas break though...no homework, no work, no responsibilities what so ever! YES

I typed my name into Google...

Today I searched myself on Google. I found MANY sites about me. I found my facebook, blog entries, and a million things from swimming and high school. Google traced me back to when I was 8 years old and set a record for swimming at my local YMCA. There were a bunch of sites and articles about how I did as a swimmer in high school. These included my qualifying times, records, and who I swam against and where at! Creepy! Other things that were listed were times when I was on the honor roll at school. They even traced me back to when I made the honor roll in 5th grade! I found my myspace that I haven't loggen into in years. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about all this.

Michael Jackson Parody

I, amoung many others, am a huge fan of Michael Jackson. But I'm sure we all can agree that he was a little bit strange at times...This video makes fun of his weird dancing and weird appearance. Although a lot of us can agree that he was extrememly talented, the things that he did throughout his life are very surprising and easily to make fun of. Such as, his skin color, dance moves, and his plastic surgery. This video is funny because it transforms his song "Black or White" to "Am I Black or White?" because his skin color changed throught his life, and no one was really exactly sure why. The guy in this video also made his dance moves funnier and more ridiculous.

Information Seeking

I knew that I wanted to be apart of some team or club here at MSU. I almost thought about walking-on the Varsity Swim Team here, but they practice 5 hours a day, and that would be a major time-drainer. So I thought about joining a club team instead. I searched the MSU websites to see what kinds of clubs they had, and I stumbled across a club Water Polo team. I have never played water polo before, but I was a great swimmer in high school, so I thought I would do some research about it. I went to Google (of course) and found a lot of websites describing how to play the sport. I found sites that discribed the different positions of the players and the rules of the game. The site told me what the certain penalties were and what kinds of behaviors would result in one. I learned a lot about the structure of a water polo team, and different techniques that I would have to learn to know how to play. I basically found everything that I was looking for.

There were many times when I had to do research for a school project. I remember in 11th grade, my whole class had to write an essay about Lord of the Flies. I really hated that book, so the paper was extremely hard for me to write. I remember having to analyze a lot of the characters in the book. My main tool for my research was my Lord of the Flies book. I used the internet a little bit, but I couldn't really find what I was looking for. In the book, I searched for clues that would help me figure out each character's personality, ability, backround, and intentions.

Research, in my opinon, is any way of looking for information that you need. I think the past 2 experiences that I described both classify as research. I liked researching water polo, because it was actually something that interested me. But I hated reading and researching Lord of the Flies. I just feel like the story went nowhere and it wasn't as exciting as I hoped it would be.

Clive

This was a very interesting class. Clive sounds like a pretty weird guy. I can't believe that we got to talk to him on AIM. He seems pretty deep, and he definitely has a lot to say about EVERYTHING. He is very passionate about what he does. I thought that Franny and him both made very good points about the article. Clive is now telling us on AIM that it is really easy to make up or design a game. I don't think that I could ever have a real conversation with this guy because the stuff he talks about goes wayyyy over my head.

10-13-09

I guess there were a few times throughout my life when I used a technology for something other than its intended purpose. Gillette Razors, from what I can see from their commericals, are supposed to be for a man's use. I use them all the time to shave my legs. They get a really close shave, and they are more sturdy than "girl razors". I understand that they were probably directed towards men who need to shave their faces, but I don't see why it would be so bad for girls to use them on their legs. Just because the razor isn't pink and scented does not mean that girls cannot get use of out them.

I'm sure that you all know that cell phones have an alarm system on them. I don't think that phone companies really expected someone to constantly use it in place of an alarm clock though. I constantly use my phone for an alarm and a clock, sometimes even more than I use it for calling and texting! Alarm clocks take up way to much space on a nightstand, and I feel like setting an alarm on a phone is a lot simpler than trying to figure out some high-tech alarm clocks.

When I was little, I used to use my brother's Play Station as a cd player for my music. I understand that PS was meant for video games, but it can also be used for playing other types of discs as well.

Another thing that I can remember about myself is that I use a coffee maker to brew my tea in the morning. You can just put the tea bags in where the coffee is supposed to go, and the water runs through them and brews tea for you, just as it does for coffee. It's a lot easier than dipping a tea bag in a cup of hot water constantly until all of the tea is displaced in your cup. The coffee maker just eliminates a few steps for you so that you don't have to do as much work.

Project #2

I'm not really sure what I want to do for Project #2. Nothing in my paper seems interesting enough to make a whole presentation about! It would be hard for me to do a video, since I don't have a video camera...and I'm not all that creative. I did however take a lot of art classes in high school. Maybe I could draw a comic? I still dont know what I would talk about or who my audience would be. Instead of a comic strip, maybe I could make a few drawings on big poster boards so that it would be easier for the class to see when I have to present it. I am better at just plain pencil drawings than colored pencil or paint. Drawing really detailed pictures might take a long time...so maybe I will just be really basic.
Maybe having parents as an audience would be a good idea. Parents never seem to understand why we like certain types of technologies so much anyways. Maybe I could try and convince parents that a certain technology can be really useful in a way? On my pictures, I can put a few simple words on the bottom of the poster and then talk the majority of the time. I guess that college students would also be an easy audience...since I happen to be one. I guess I have a lot of thinking to do.

9-29-09

I guess I've made a lot of cool things throughout my life. One thing that I really enjoy doing is painting and drawing. One thing that I did that was especially cool was to help paint a huge mural of different scenes in Michigan. I did this last year in my Drawing/Painting class, and it took a really long time. I and two other students painted the Makinac Bridge, which turned out really beautiful. We also painted a map of MI and painted little icons of famous things that each city was famous for. For example, we painted cherries where Traverse City was. We also painted the Detroit Tigers baseball team where Detroit was. We put a lot of hard work and time into this giant mural. After we were done, the mural was hung in the middle school where all of the kids could see it and look at how beautiful MI really is. That was really only time that I actually enjoyed doing a group project in my life! We all just seemed to have similar ideas of what we wanted to paint, so it worked out very well.
I guess that this project could very well be related to writing. From what I have read in the past and in this class, art can tell a story. If you were to study our mural, you would see that we were trying to express how awesome the state of Michigan can be. Even with our horrible economy, you can still look at our painting and realize that we are trying to tell you to slow down, stop and really look at where you live. Look past the hardships and see that MI has many things to offer you. I think that behind every piece of art, you can find an explaination for it. Even abstract art. I think that anyone can look at this painting and form and opinion about it. Art is form of expressions, just as writing is.
Before I took this class, I used to think writing was just words on a paper. Now, after being in this class for a while, I realize that I have formed a very broad opionion about what writing can be classified as. Writing doesn't have to be words, it can be art or music or many other things. I think that writing is anything that tells a story or anything that tries to get you to realize something or think about something. A lot of writing can be in the form of entertainment. I think writing can be anything that has a meaning to it, that sends you a message of some sort. An artist will draw a picture of what he/she wants you to see and think about. A musician will play a song that will make you feel a certain way because that is what he/she wants to express to you.

Paper Reflection

Unfortunately, I was very anxious when I wrote this paper. But then again I am always nervous when I have to write an essay. I'm not very confident about my writing skills. I just felt like I couldn't think of anything to say! And then when I finally finished it, and read over it, it seemed like a 4th grader could have written my paper better.
I really liked that we got to all meet with Franny and talk about our weaknesses of our essays. I feel like she really helped me to understand what I needed to do to improve my writing. She made me feel less nervous about the assignment gave me a lot of good suggestions. I'm still a little bit worried that the main topic of my paper isn't as clear as it could be. I'm also afraid that my paper is very ordinary and doesn't really stand out from the rest of them. I just haven't had any extremely unique experiences with the technologies in my life!
What I do like about my paper is that I am very detailed. Franny mentioned that it was good that I explained what each type of technology was, instead of just assuming that everyone already knew. I also used a thesaurus throughout the paper, so I hope that will improve my variety of vocabulary! It's also nice to know that I can always rewrite this paper for a higher grade if I am dissatisfied with the grade I get on it. If I get below a 3.5, that's exactly what I am going to do.

Technology Affected by Gender

There are many times in my life when my gender affected something that I wanted to do. When I was little, maybe around 10 or so, I always got really bored during the summer. I lived in a very rural part of NY at the time, so there weren't particularly many things to do over summer vacation. My parents both worked, and they trusted my older brother and I to behave at home without the supervision of a babysitter. My brother seemed to always have a lot of friends within our small neighborhood; I however, did not. Once in a while, I would get sick of watching t.v. hour upon hour or playing computer games, so I would go to my brother for entertainment. I was 10 years old, and of course was not able to drive myself anywhere, so I had to constantly be entertained by things in my home. My brother, the spoiled one, had his own Play Station set-up in his room.
My brother could always be found in the same place - playing video games in front of the t.v. in his room. He would have his friends over a lot of the time, and I always wanted to play games with them. When I asked if I could join in on a video game, they all argued that video games were for boys and I wasn't supposed to play them. I begged and begged my brother and his friends to let me play with them, but they never gave in. So I was forced to sit there and watch them play instead. When my parents would come home at night, I would complain to them about my brother Ryan being mean to me and not letting me play video games with him. As always, they would yet at him and tell him to share his things with his little sister. But as soon as they would leave for work again, my brother would go right back to dismissing me from hanging out with him and his friends.
This didn't only just happen with video games. It happened with ANYTHING him and his friends would do. Even playing with matchbox cars and lego were things that a "stupid girl" should not play. This would anger me so much that I would throw many fits and cry about being ignored. As my brother and I got older, we began being nicer to each other. Eventually we got to the age that its okay for boys and girls to play together. I was friends with his friends, and he was okay being friends with mine. It wasn't so weird for a brother and sister to get along anymore. Maybe it was just because we were little and that's how brothers and sisters treat each other, but it really hurt me when I wasn't included in boy activities. I'm so glad that we outgrew that stage!

I am a horrible writer!

I am a horrible writer. Writing a short 200 word blog is a challenge for me. Writing in a journal every day would even be challenging for me! I am definitely not a very creative writer, my essays are extremely boring and unoriginal. I've never had much practice writing essays, so maybe that is why I am horrible at it? The longest paper that I've ever had to write was 3 or 4 pages, double-spaced. Even if the essay is extremely informal, for some reason it is still hard for me to come up with something to write. I put off my essays until the last minute, and then I just throw all of my random ideas together and hope that I get a mediocre grade. I don't enjoy writing one bit, and English was definitely my worst class in high school. It's difficult for me to work hard at something that I can't stand to do.
This doesn't necessarily mean that I don't enjoy reading! But writing is defnitely a talent that I will never have, so it amazes me how good some writers are. In the summer, I usually read a book every week, sometimes more. Going to the library is a treat for me some days. I like all kinds of modern novels, and I sometimes even enjoy reading medical textbooks for fun. I am not a very fast reader, but I do enjoy it.
I'm planning on getting all of my future papers for college peer-edited by the english tutors they have here at MSU. I hope that will help to improve my essays, and maybe I can enjoy writing them a little bit more. I think I just need to find a strategy and start managing my time when I am forced to write. Maybe if I quit holding off on a paper untl the last minute, then I would get too stressed out about it. I possibly just need to relax and take it slow. Who knows!

Medical Technology Interests Me...

I don't know much about technology, but I do understand how important it is. Our world could not funtion without technology. For example, if we did not have various types of medical technology, then people on earth would have very short lifespands. I, being a nursing major, can understand how amazing our medical technology here in America is. Simple things like heart monitors and electron mircroscopes used in labs help a great deal in health field. Other countries are not fortunate enough to have the technology that we do. Chemotherapy, x-rays, CAT scans, monitors, and other types of health technology are extrememly important when it comes to saving someone's life. Our world would be helpless without these types of machines. There would be no treatment for cancer, no way to determine what bone you broke or the method to fix it, or no way to see inside the body to see what is upseting it and causing it problems. I think that people take for granted a simple visit to the doctor's office for a check-up. It would even be hard to diagnose a simple cold without the use of microscopes or computers! Everyone should learn to appreciate what our scientists and physicians have created in order to help us survive. I can't wait to learn how all of these different machines and computers work, and I can't wait to use them to help my patients in the future.

30 Things

10 Things About Me...

1. My hometown is Pinckney MI.
2. I've lived in 4 different states.
3. I was a swimmer in high school.
4. My favorite color is blue.
5. I have seven piercings.
6. I am a Pre-Nursing major.
7. I love the show Friends.
8. My dad lives in Ohio.
9. My parents are divorced.
10. I am obsessed with chocolate!

10 Things About Me and Writing...

1. I am a horrible writer!
2. I have a hard time even writing short 300 word essays.
3. I always need to use a Thesaurus when I write.
4. I am not a very good speller!
5. I don't mind writing about things that interest me.
6. I try to avoid all English classes.
7. I have a hard time citing my essays.
8. I wrote a biography about me in 7th grade.
9. I am a fast typer.
10. I hope to improve my writing with this class!

10 Things About Me and Technology...

1. Medical technology interests me.
2. I don't know much about cars.
3. Green technology is a great idea to me.
4. My brother is good with technology.
5. I would love to experiment with medical technology.
6. I believe technology has taken over our society.
7. I believe technology is increasing at an unbelieveable pace.
8. I'm excited to see what new types of technology arrive in the future!
9. I can't wait to learn more about technology.
10. I would like to compare technology between different countries.