Ad Ideas

I was so stoked when we were assigned this project!  I have a couple ideas and am currently in the process of doing them, they include: an ad poster for operation smile, an ad poster for make a child smile or an ad campaign for feed the children.  Favorite assignment so far this semester, thanks for assigning it Mr. Bob!

Christmas is here, bring on the commercials!

As everyone probably already knows, the Christmas season has officially begun!  Movies are coming out, shows are airing, the stores have brought out decorations, streets are decked with holly and of course Christmas commercials have officially begun.  My favorite time of the year for commercials is the holidays -- the commercials created make the viewer happy and look forward to spending time with family over the holidays.  Two of my favorite Christmas ads that always play this time of year are the puffs commercials and the Campbell's soup commercial.  These two ads make me feel so happy and after watching them I want to wrap up in a warm blanket with a hot cup of chicken noodle soup and have some puffs plus with lotion to soothe my runny nose.  As the season progresses and the time of Christmas inches closer, I can not wait to see what commercials will be released this year!

Research

Research -- ughh! That is pretty much all I have to say.  I LOVE writing papers, but writing papers about pointless topics and having to do hours of pointless research for it is what I consider to be one of the biggest wastes of time.  Doing a research paper requires no more effort or energy than a normal paper.  I believe that students should be able to choose what they write about, write from experience or knowledge that they know or learned in class.  Research topics rarely come in handy in the future and most of the time the writers forget what they even write about a week after turning in the paper.  I find it a lot more beneficial for students to write about what they are interested in or to write about topics being discussed in their classes -- because in the long run that is what will be useful.

Proper English -- What Does That Really Mean?

The debate that never ends, what is proper english?  Does it really exist?  I say yes and no, I believe that the "correct" form of english depends on where you grew up, I also believe that proper english is very complex and at times hard to understand, and finally even though "correct" english depends on the culture you grew up in -- the fact that there are so many dialects and different forms of phrasing makes it very confusing.

Mr. Baron's view that language is a reflection on a persons own culture and diversity is very accurate.  Dialects are the result of people growing up in an area that is reserved from the majority.  This isolated group form their own ways to speak what they consider to be "proper english."  Even though these dialects and culture creates the mixing pot we all love to live in -- at times this blend of culture and language causes the pot to boil over.  Having so many forms of "correct" english often causes readers and listeners to become confused and agitated.  If a writer uses their dialect in their work, some people may grasp the overall meaning and point of the story but more commonly many readers become confused and can not asp the concept of the piece.

Mr. Baron was wrong on one thing though, that english s based on a undefined and unclear set of rules.  We study grammar and ways to speak and write "proper english" since the time we enter elementary school.  English has specific rules, and guidelines that are commonly told to us and reiterated into our minds everyday.  While these rules are a hassle and annoying to learn, it allows us to learn how to speak properly and to be understood.

Multiculturalism at Western

What does multiculturalism mean to Western?  This question can be answered just by walking around campus everyday.  As a student, diversity can be seen through the many RSO's available to us, the many activities for us to participate us and mostly through the students themselves.  Here at Western, people from many different origins, races, disabilities and backgrounds are represented.  I constantly hear people talking in different language and wearing clothes from around the world.   Even my suite mates came here from China to further their studies and get a higher education.  Many different countries are represented by our school.  Diversity is very prevalent in our school, and it makes me very proud to be a bronco.

The wonderful peer review process?!

Oh joy, peer review! This is what I thought as entering the huge, hallow hall on Thursday evening. In the past, I have despised the arduous peer review process.  Not because I found it a waste of time, but because my fellow students expected me to edit their mediocre papers until they were perfect, while they spent all of five minutes on mine and saying it was perfect and adorning it with a big...red A+. While it was supposed to be a time to find flaws in your writing, and read the ideas of other people...most people spent it catching up on each others social lives, and twiddling their thumbs. So, when the time came along to start editing Bryan's paper I was not expecting anything different.  However, I was completely wrong!  Bryan actually took this seriously!  I could not believe it, I finally got paired with a student who actually took the time to edit my papers and make helpful suggestions.  After spending time reading our papers aloud and exchanging a few memories about the times we wrote about....we started re-reading and editing.  All was going well, until Mr. Bob told us it was time to wrap it up.  Bryan and I looked at each other in disbelief...how could anyone in room 2208 possibly be done correcting each others papers if Bryan and I were only on page two?  So we continued on.  A few more flips of Bryan's paper and I was on the last page!  But, my time was cut short....Mr. Bob announced that class was almost over and we needed to go back to our seats. Really?! My first positive experience in peer review was now being ended when we have 35 minutes left in class. Am I supposed to accept mediocrity and make do with a job definitely not well done?! I like the feeling that comes with knowing you helped someone out and that another person will benefit from what you did for them.  But in the case of Bryan, I am not so sure.

(I actually really enjoyed Thursdays class, and had a lot of fun.  And Mr. Bob I really didn't mind that we were told that we had to finish, I thought it was very funny....and I knew we took forever.  Everyone knows that dramatizing events makes them much more entertaining though! See you on Tuesday!)

Me Talk Pretty One Day

Fear can be described as a feeling of concern or anxiety towards someone or something.  Fears help shape who we are as people and help us become stronger and better for it.  In the story "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris, an American male travels into the unknown territory of Paris to learn the complex and sophisticated French language.  Already being fearful about journeying uncharted lands alone, being the oldest student makes him uninteresting to fellow classmates and causes even more concern.  The only thing left to look forward to was the sense of accomplishment felt when he learned how to speak French.  Fear struck again, however, when sitting in his first class and realizing that his teacher was like the "bad guy" in a horror movie...caused fear, panic and a sense of unrest to all the viewers.  Sedaris' character grew from these experiences of fear, and during one of his final classes realized that he understood everything the professor was saying.  Even though he had to face a lot of strife and grief, his goal was accomplished and he grew as a person for facing his fears and discovering new ones.  Like the man from this story, I too have become fearful as a result of something I learned or rather something I learned about myself.  Being a Freshman can be a very scary time.  New people, new teachers, and a new start create many unfamiliar concerns, fears and frustrations.  My freshman year however, I learned something that would be the biggest fear of all and that would forever be the haunting that followed me around.  The end of the first semester, I had my first seizure and throughout the next two years I proceeded to have thousands more.  Learning that I had epilepsy caused many fears, the fear of not being accepted, the fear of not going to college, the fear of failure and much more.  By experiencing what I have, I learned who my true friends are, that changing yourself for someone is one of the biggest mistakes, and most of all I learned how to be ME!  It's those fears that made me the person I am today and the person I look forward to being in the future.  Just like in "Me Talk Pretty One Day", I realized that fears are what make us stronger, without them it is impossible to learn new things or to pave the road to what will soon be our future.