Final Thoughts

Well, the semester is coming to an end and this is my last blog post of the semester. I'm pretty excited and have really enjoyed this class. I've revised my creative non fiction essay and feel pretty good about it. I'm a little nervous about the ending, but all i can do is hope for the best. My topic throughout the semester has been distractions and although I usually do feel distracted, this is the time when it really kicks in. The weather is beautiful, its the last week of school, the weekend is almost here and the last thing I want to be doing is writing papers. Although there are many more distractions, I need to push through them and continue to finish up the semester because it is quickly coming to an end. I've toiled a lot with the idea of texting and driving being a major distraction this semester and am really pleased with the way my projects have turned out. I can only hope with the end of the semester's distractions that my final creative non fiction essay is a hit because that is exactly what the topic is. After reading my essay about a thousand times, I decided to title it 'Full Circle' because at this time of the year, much like any time of the year when stress and anxiety play a major role in your life, they never fully go away. The distractions will always be there and be 'circling' around us, but it is our job to not let them get the best of us. I kind of came up with this idea when I was having a conference with Dr. Morris and it has stuck ever since. I can't let anything else come into my mind no matter how hard I try to come up with a better title. I'm very excited to see what happens with this essay. I've really enjoyed this style of writing because I'm used to the typical research papers and response essays, but I've never really been challenged to write creative non fiction. It has definitely been a learning experience I will take with me and I hope to maybe try to continue with this style of writing. I'd never even heard of montage writing until we read about it in the book. I'd also heard of the lyric essay, but never tried it and still haven't. I think i might want to try that out this summer and see what happens with it. I think this class has opened my eyes to very interesting and challenging ways of writing, but I've enjoyed the challenge. My favorite challenge throughout this whole experience was the exercise we did where we wrote a 6 word story, a tweet and a facebook status from a different point of view. It was fun to see how other people thought of the celebrities, but it also really helped to figure out the point of view section. I'm also very excited to hear about every one's work and experience in this class tomorrow.

New Motivation

After doing the love letter exercise today in class, i felt much more motivated to start my second CNF. So I did. I'm pretty excited about it. I'm trying the new montage style and hoping it works out for me. I really liked the exercise we did in class today. Although I chose to write to my boyfriend, I feel like it sparked something in my mind to help me start my essay. I came right home from class and started typing and the words just spilled out onto the page. I have a good 500 word start and I'm very excited to continue working on it. I chose to write about my own personal distractions and although that might be cliche, I'm hoping someone will publish it. Class today was interesting as always, having to write our own love letters from a different point of view. It took me a while to really think about how to do this, but I definately tried. It was hard to write about personal experiences, but in the end I think i grasped the idea of writing from a different point of view. Here is my love letter :

You are stubborn and have a way of getting under my skin. You know how to push my buttons, every last one of them. You torture me by tickling me until I scream from laughing so hard. When we met, you had a persuasive side that was hard to turn down an opportunity to hang out, and that still gets to me even with the amount of school work I have. You can smile and say all the right things. Thats what always gets to me. Those blue eyes staring into mine while you smile and say "I'm sorry" or "I love you." You send flowers and cards to show you're thinking about me. You've shown me how to be myself and how to keep a positive outlook on life. You've taught me the value of love and although difficult at times, you've shown me how to love from a distance for the past four years.

It could definately use some work, but I think its interesting to write from a different point of view. I'm excited to see how things turn out with my CNF, but I'm definately inspired to try some new things in my writings. I'm so glad that class helped me figure some things out today. I also feel like the Brian Doyle story was interesting and helpful because it showed me that CNF doesn't always have to be in the essay form and I thought it was pretty cool to know about 215 Brian Doyles. I decided to look up Joanna Heston on switchboard.com, but it returned no results. I thought this was a little rude considering I'm still living!

Creative Non-fiction

After trying to start my second creative non fiction essay, I feel completely lost. I feel like I've exhausted the idea of texting and driving and might consider writing about facebook and social media as a distraction, but with the weather getting nicer and summer almost here, I find myself being more and more distracted from school work. I thought about writing about facebook being a distraction in my life, however i don't want people to be bored while reading about my own life. As a writer, I know you have to put your work out there with the thoughts that people may not always like what you have to say, but I guess i feel like my life is not interesting and people definitely don't want to read something boring. I also run the risk of telling someone elses story and making a mistake. I've been feeling very distracted lately which I feel is very fitting for my topic, but I don't know how to take that energy and put it into a well crafted and interesting paper for this assignment. I feel like I might want to give the montage writing a try, but I'm also very nervous that might not work out well and I want to do well on this assignment, because in the end, I'd like to be published for this essay since my first attempt failed. I want to craft a paper that means something to someone and that shows the world how much social media has taken over our lives. I thought about taking the idea of facebook and two people talking on the chat function while trying to get their assignments done before finals, but I'm not sure how that would work or how interesting that would be. It doesn't really have a message either which is kind of pointless to try and write about. I think i might set up a draft and see where it goes from there. I just feel completely lost right now and I'm not exactly sure. I do know that with 5 paper assignment due in the same week I need to start getting something done and stop being so distracted because I will go into stress mode. I hope I can start something for this assignment so that I have something to bring to class and get feedback from other people and maybe help them. My other idea was to take my distractions in sharing a room and write from how it can be very difficult to get things done when you are constantly distracted, but then go to the library and there are still distractions there. I thought if i did montage writing I could put my feelings and my roommates feelings as the snapshots. I hope I come up with something soon so I can get the assignment completed and hopefully get published.

Contacting the Senator

After sending a heartfelt message to the senator regarding the budget cuts, this was the response I just got back...

Sent on behalf of Senator Pat Browne:

April 2, 2011

Dear Ms. Heston,

Thanks for taking the time to write and express your point-of-view regarding funding for higher education.  I appreciate your input and will most certainly keep it in mind as budget negotiations progress.  Along with my colleagues in the Senate, I am working to produce a budget that is reality-based, keeps state spending within our current revenue capacity while maintaining, to the best of our ability, essential and effective state services and programs.   It is my belief that our budget must reflect the current economic climate in Pennsylvania.  I know that too many of our citizens are unemployed or underemployed.  Families, communities and employers are struggling to make ends meet during these difficult times.

As the budget process continues, given our significant budget deficits and a commitment not to raise taxes, we must now, more than ever, provide answers to five basic, yet very important questions:

1.   What are the core functions of state government and how can we best provide for      them?

2.   How much money does Pennsylvania have available to spend within its current revenue capacity to provide for these core functions?

3.   What is the most appropriate allocation of our available resources to adequately provide for our core state government functions?

3.   What is the most efficient and effective way to deliver essential services within available funds?

4.    How will Pennsylvania measure its progress and success?

The answers to these questions will determine the path that Pennsylvania must follow to a more prosperous future.  The state will not move toward that prosperous future through government growth beyond current and sustainable revenue levels.  In addition, I am committed to protecting Pennsylvania workers and saving private sector jobs. Pennsylvania must work toward rebuilding the state’s economy by fostering private sector investment and promoting job creation efforts.  Therefore, it is essential to pass a budget that maintains, to the greatest extent possible, key support services for all of our citizens without increasing taxes.

I was very encouraged by Governor Corbett’s inaugural address.  He stated: “As we turn this new page in history, Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley and I seek to chart a new course for Pennsylvania.  Together, we are dedicated to leadership that is responsive to fiscal realities; leadership that takes on financial burdens, rather than passing those burdens on to the next generation; and leadership that can see beyond today’s turbulence and into tomorrow’s tranquility.”

Ultimately, I believe that working cooperatively, working together, will enable Pennsylvania to weather the current economic crisis, meet the current needs of families and seniors and set a stage for Pennsylvania to attract growth and opportunities in the future. 

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me.  I will definitely consider your support for funding higher education as the budget deliberations continue.

If I can be of further service to you on other state-related matters, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

 

Patrick M. Browne

Senator 16^th District

Ellen Millard-Kern

Chief of Staff for Senator Pat Browne

Please Note New Address Effective 3/1/11

702 Hamilton St., Suite 101

Allentown, PA 18101-2471

Office Phone: 610-821-8468

Fax: 610-821-6798

Cell: 610-739-1519

www.senatorbrowne.com

The message was from his secretary and it didnt really say much to help. I was happy to know their working on their own budget to show the governor, but who knows if that will help education. I guess we'll see what happens, but it feels like a losing battle.

Governor Corbett

After our class discussion today, I have learned new things about what is happening with the PA government. I'm originally from New Jersey where Chris Christie is no better than Tom Corbett. That's the thing with politicians; they promise you things to get your vote and then when they get elected and take office, those things promised are either changed or don't really happen. It's a dirty game the government plays and it sucks to be on the losing end of a battle. I can't believe that when I left New Jersey and that governor, I came to Pennsylvannia to this proposed education cut. My mom and dad are both teachers in New Jersey and my mom recently retired because of all the budget cuts and having to pay into her pension. What the government is doing certainly isn't right and someone needs to stand up and put a stop to it. I just finished emailing the legistalor and the senate for the Kutztown areas because a budget cut for public schools and higher education is definately not the way to handle this issue. But then the oil and natural gas companies get tax breaks? How is that possible? We're students and were trying to get an education to be able to have the knowledge for a career down the road and Governor Corbett is trying to deny us of affordable education. This certainly is the wrong way to go and it makes me sad to know that he doesn't value education as much as some people do. I have had a full-time summer job since I was 15 years old to save money to be able to go to school and I also have held a part-time job while going to school and I STILL need student loans. Paying out-of-state tuition is hard and if he increases it to 32% it is definately going to be even harder to afford school. I hope that with everyone emailing somebody that our voices will be heard because this is a terrible thing to happen. I can't believe that people don't value education anymore. If you take away learning and the opportunity to learn then what do you have? I'd say nothing. Our country had come so far with the opportunity of women to be able to go to school and then making schools affordable to be able to go with the help of financial aid and scholorships, but now I feel like none of that matters in the world anymore. Education should not be the thing to go and they should not make more room for prisons and such things. I'm very concerned to learn what is going to happen in the future, but I guess for now all we can do it let our voices be heard.

Class Discussion 3/3/11

After class yesterday, I had thought about my blog and how many more post I needed to get done before the end of the semester. I really enjoyed our class discussion yesterday because I thought the girls did a very good job in presenting the readings in a creative way. I really liked the articles they chose because they were interesting and helped the class to pay attention and really think about whats considered op-ed. I could definitely tell the Charlie sheen article was a blog entry. It had a lot of opinion and wasn't formatted in the same way an op-ed in a newspaper would normally be. The article was good, but definitely lacked  a few things that a op-ed from a newspaper would normally have. The USA today article was clearly an op-ed from a newspaper because it showed strong opinion and gave more information about the topic that the blog did not do. It had a lot of sarcasm to it and was something you would definitely see in the USA today news. The Stephen Colbert script was my favorite. It was hilarious and i thought that the girls picked a good article to show the class with a lot of humor and then after watching the actual clip from the dinner made the article even funnier. You could definitely see how that piece was not an op-ed because of the little information, the fictionalized writing, and the tone of Stephen Colbert's voice. I really liked how they kept all the sources from us until the very end also because if they had showed us each after we read the article it would not have made the point as clear. And they picked 3 intersting articles that grabbed my attention. The View video clip was also funny; I can't believe they both just walked off the set after talking to Bill O'Reilly. It was classic. Class was very interesting yesterday and I really liked the way they presented the information to the class. I'm not sure how my group will choose to the present our information, but I hope it is just as creative and informative as they made theirs. I thought it was a fun discussion to have right before spring break because our brains were already on overload from all the work that was due in all our classes this week and that didn't take too much thought or work. It was a fun and lighthearted discussion. I thought that the video we watched on language was also interesting because people know the rules of language and grammar, but rarely use them correctly. He was kind of a strange man, but his job is to decipher language all day and talk about it. I think i might be a little bit bored if i was him. regardless of what i think about the articles or the language man, class was fun yesterday and I hope that my group can produce a fun discussion like the girls did.

Texting and Walking

After finishing my creative non-fiction essay in my pjs on the couch tonight, I was watching ABC news and one of their stories was called Texting and Walking. After showing footage of the woman splashing into the water fountain at the Berkshire Mall, they went into their story and showed a study they conducted. I thought it was soo interesting that something that happened so close to school was on the news. They had a lady on the side walk holding a sign that said "Wave if you're texting." They recorded that more than half the people didn't notice the sign and that they were too consumed in their text messages. What is wrong with the world! I absolutely hate when im walking in between classes and someone is texting and not paying attention. Even worse when someone bumps into you because they are texting. I think it is sad that we can't pick up the phone anymore to have a conversation. One time when I was leaving lytle to walk to defran, someone wasn't paying attention and completely bumped into me and stepped on my foot. I was so angry but I'm a shy person and just said its okay and continued walking. Another place people text is at the bar. I went to dollar drinks last night and noticed how many people were on their cells phones. If you are out with your friends and their are other people around, why do you think that it is necessary to sit at the bar and text the whole time? If you ever sit in the AF during a big lunch time, you will see two people sitting at the same table both on their phones not saying a word to one another but texting someone instead of talking to the person right in front of them. I feel that it is sad what the world has come to.The woman who was caught on tape texting and walking that fell into the water fountain is just one example of why this activity is dangerous. She could have been walking on the sidewalk and walked into traffic. I'm not putting texting down because I text all the time, but i do think that there is a time and a place for it and texting while walking is definately not one of them. I loved that ABC news covered a story about it because it makes me feel better to know that I am not the only person who hates getting bumped into from someone who is texting. They did a study and only 12% of people said they engaged in this activity, but i really feel like more people do it. I think if they surveyed a college campus the number would definately be higher. In any case, texting while walking is inconsiderate to the people around you and I think that it can wait.