Fall 2011 ENC1101 Blog
Welcome to our class blog for ENC1101 Section 50, Fall 2011.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
First College Semester
My classes have been a lot different than I expected. I came into this year planning on easing into things. I knew my fraternity rush would take up a lot of my time so I planned on taking as easy of classes as possible. Class hasn’t been as easy for me as I expected. I thought it would be a breeze to keep a 4.0 the first semester. But now I am praying I can maintain a 3.5.
Turns out most of my learning has come outside of the classroom. I have learned things in this first semester that I will take with me my entire life. I have become independent. I do my own laundry, make my own food, buy my own groceries, pay bills, etc. I have really taken on the role of what it means to be a true adult. Most importantly I have learned what not to do. And how to stay out of trouble. I have learned to never show a cop your fake ID. Never take six beers out of a two story beer bong. Never go into a exam you feel unprepared for. Most importantly never to give anything but your best no matter what it is. Whether it be showing up and cleaning up the fraternity house at 4:30 in the morning or writing a seven page paper. You never know what you what will come out of it.
I guess what I’m trying to ask is. How do you guys feel about your college transition so far. Do you guys have any interesting stories you’d like to tell? Or anything you have had trouble with?
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Awkward Blog Is Awkward
Since we started class out on Tuesday with an awkward freewrite, I decided I would torture you guys even more with an awkward blog.
The Destination
"Deep inside ourselves, lie our thoughts, hopes and dreams. We see ourselves on a long trip across country, with several pit stops along the way. We're traveling by car. Taking the backroads across America. We travel through scenic highways, traveling along from coast to coast. Along the way, glancing at cattle grazing in distant pastures, taking in the smoke spilling from power plants, getting a taste of the rows of cotton and corn and wheat, exploring through flatlands and hidden valleys, being mesmerized by city skylines and discovering the beauty of the small towns.
But uppermost our main focus is our final destination. Soon our car will pull in to wherever we are headed. And once that day comes, so many wonderful dreams of ours will come true. So restlessly, we speed through the journey. Looking at the GPS, counting the miles and trying to get there as fast as we can.
Thinking "Yes, when we reach the destination, that will be it!" we promise ourselves. "When I’m eighteen I’ll go to college. . . I’m going to win that promotion. . . I’m going to start a family . . . I’m going to buy my dream car. . . . I’m going to retire in the Caribbean"
From that day on we will all live happily ever after.
Sooner or later, however, we must realize there is no destination in this life, no one
place to arrive at once and for all. The journey is the joy. The final destination is an illusion.
"Relish the moment." Instead of counting the miles and rushing through the journey. Take a step back. Be yourself, spend time with the people you love, make new friends. Do crazy things. You only live once, so live everyday like it’s your last. Life should be taken one day at a time. The destination will come soon enough."
What do you guys think? How do you feel like should be viewed? Do you feel like your living up to your potential and living everyday as if it's your last? If not talk about what you can do to improve your life overall.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Holiday Traditions
Most, if not all families, have traditions that they practice every holiday season. I know a few friends that go out of the state, sometimes out of the country during Thanksgiving. And of course who could forget about that famous time of the year, Black Friday. My family’s traditions have changed over the years. We have moved quite a lot and we are the only part of our entire family that doesn’t live in Ohio so it gets kind of lonely. The only thing that has stuck with our tradition is spending time together. No matter where we are or what we are going through we are always together for Thanksgiving.
Over the past five or six years my dad has taken control of our activities during Thanksgiving. Before we used to just watch the parade in the morning and cook all day long. Now we watch the parade and do work afterwards to get ready for Christmas. The first thing we do is set up our outside Christmas tree. The tree outside isn’t a real tree, it is made out of 13 strings of green lights that travel from my driveway up to the top of my flag pole with a huge star on top. It sounds like an easy task, but believe me, it takes ALL DAY.
Our next tradition is to get our actual Christmas tree. We used to go out on my mom’s birthday (December 20th) and pick out a tree, but of course that has changed. Now we have to order our tree and get it the day after Thanksgiving just to make sure we have the right size. My house has 30 ft ceilings so a little 6ft tree looks a little weird. That is why we order a 14-16ft tree every year now.
And Black Friday? I have never ever gone to a mall or store on black Friday. I don’t like dealing with that many crazy people. Haha.
Everyone has their own holiday traditions. Some seem normal and some seem ridiculous. What are some of your favorite traditions during the holiday season?
Decking the halls too early?
Since we haven't had class for a week and thanksgiving is right around the corner, I figured I would write about something a little more festive.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Disappointment
It’s the night before your big paper is due. You’ve been working on the paper all week. Now you are finally putting the final touches on your masterpiece. Paper is perfect. Miss Ahmed is going to love this paper. She has to give it an A. The next day in class you turn in your paper. As you place your paper in the stack of papers satisfaction fills your body. You smile as you leave class because of the amount of hard work you put into this paper. This is a good start to college. I’m definitely getting into whatever great law school my parents talked about. Now they’ll shut up about me being a lazy good for nothing.
Fast forward to a week and a half later when Miss Ahmed hands out the graded papers. Right before she hands out the papers Miss Ahmed mentions how she went easy on the class. Whatever I don’t need her to go easy for me to get an A. You receive your paper. It’s a D minus. You’re in complete shock. You feel like Mike Tyson just punched you in the stomach. Everything you thought was great was mediocre or horrible. Forget law school. Can you even stay in college? You forgot everything she told you not to do. You screwed up the oxford comma, quoting, and how to use I feel. You walk back to your dorm in utter disappoint.
Everybody has felt disappointment in school. Although this story exaggerates our feelings I know everyone can relate to this story. I know I have been disappointed with the grade I have received after putting hard work into it. Which is why I always get nervous before conferences. I think I do a great job but then Miss Ahmed finds so many mistakes in it. Then I return to my dorm thinking of ways to reach her expectations. When was the last time you were really disappointed with a grade on an assignment? Describe the experience and how you respond to it. Or do you get nervous before a conference or maybe frustrated afterwords? Let everyone know! Share your experiences below.