Technical Writing

When we were first introduced to technical writing it did not seem like a hard concept.  However, once we actually did it ourselves it turned out to me a lot more work and detail than I thought.  It was hard to determine which parts to leave out or what details to make sure we included in our instructions.  Even though we thought some things were clear, the group that had to interpret our directions thought they were confusing.  It was hard to explain some of our objects as well.  They were not actually circles, squares or other normal geometric shapes.  We also left out important components such as how much time it would take or adding graphics.  They would have been very helpful.  Overall, technical writing can be challenging, but it would get easier with practice.

Native Tongue

Tan’s teachers encouraged her to follow a career path in the math or science field because they said she had awful writing.  One of her bosses even told her that her writing was her worst skill.  Since she was an Asian-American student, she tended to speak “broken” English.  Her math scores were overshadowing her reading and writing scores.  It would make more sense for the teachers to drive these students towards careers that require them to have certain skills sets that most Asian Americans have.             

            In this article, Tan is trying to make the point across that you should not allow teachers and your backgrounds decide what you are going to become.  If someone believes they can be a great writer and put enough effort into it, then her or she can be a successful author.  She went against what her “Native Tongue” told her to do and she did not let her teachers persuade her into doing premed.  She wants people to be tenacious and do what makes them happy.   

My Digital Storytelling

For my digital storytelling I'm going to talk about growing up on a farm.  It is a different way of living and has allowed me to experience things that many people haven't.  The farm has provided me with many helpful things including my current summer job.

CWS Lab Meeting

During our lab meeting we discussed the progress we've made throughout the year.  Mike informed us about what to expect next year with our classes.  He says we will have more 'freedom' but we will also need to focus more.  Our sophomore year is the transition between becoming Juniors and Seniors which are big years for us. We went around the table and discussed our majors and ideas for studying abroad.  He answered questions we had about job opportunities and conflicts we have with our schedules.  It was a very beneficial lab session.

Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling will revolutionize the way we see narratives.  It takes on a whole new level of interpreting a story and thinking about what you are listening to.  The narratives come alive and are more personable than usual.  You can actually see what the story is about and really feel the overall mood.  Readers feel more connected to the story and can fully understand what the author's point is.  It is easier to hear the emotion rather than reading it and attempting to figure it out on your own.  Digital storytelling is a modern technique that revolutionized the way narratives are perceived.

Student Metaphors

The article written by James C. McDonald called, "Student Metaphors of Themselves as Writers," is about an assignment an English Professor has his students complete.  They must provide a metaphor that reflects how they view themselves as writers.  Students took different approaches to it from the processes they wrote it to the overall products of their papers.

The article is broke into 5 different section: the introduction, four categories of metaphors, and the conclusion.  The main idea of the first section is to introduce the assignment and give a quick overview of the varieties of metaphors. The following section topics include; metaphors of process and speed, metaphors of fear and courage, metaphors of control, and metaphors of silence.  Each section reflects back to the assignment.  He explains the creative metaphors that students come up with.  Some view writing as "dangerous and fearful," while others describe it as them being "a business executive running a large corporation."  This gave he professor an excellent idea as to how each student perceived their writing abilities and writing in general.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia poses many problems when it comes to using it for a credible site.  Middlebury College established a policy saying that Wikipedia could no longer be used as a proper source of information.  Some students' work was incorrect because they got their facts from this website.  I agree withe the colleges decision.  Even though Wikipedia is convenient, you can never be sure what is right or wrong.  I only use it to get a basic understanding of something then I move onto a better website.  Some of the policies were lenient in this manner.  They aloud students to look at it but encouraged them to not cite it as their main resource.  One of the teachers also saw it as a great teaching opportunity when students made the mistakes of using it.

I think there is only so much you can do to prevent students from accessing Wikipedia.  Within the schools network, they could block it so that you can not even access it at school.  This would help filter out most of the problems in high school students.  If teachers warn children about it early enough, then they will not use it.  I was told all through high school to never use information from it and to not cite it.  After being told so many times I never think twice about Wikipedia.  Faculty should remind students that it is not a credible source for information and it should be avoided.

Book to Film

The film does Justice to Chris.  It depicts him as being free-spirited and going after his main goal in life.  You can still see some of the family issues in the movie that were seen in the book.  Just as the book, you can see the flashbacks. You know Chris is in Alaska but it also shows most of his background and where he comes from.  Although you can see most of the similiarities, the movie shows him as a much more normal person.  In the book I feel as though he is not always connected with reality and would stand out to most people.  The movie shows him as a normal college student who is full of energy.  He lets his sister drive his car and is somewhat of a rebel.  Also, he yells and celebrates in Alaska which is not illustrated as much in the book.

The cinemas are always more dramatic and paint a better picture of what is really going on.  The book is more factual so you do not see the little bits that the filmmakers had to improvise.  You can actually see what they think Chris might have been doing or what he might have said while he was on his own.  The scenes and music really add to the whole effect.  I enjoy the movie because it brings him to life!  

Perceptions of Chris McCandless

My initial perceptions of Chris were that he was a young, adventurous boy with a good head on his shoulders.  He knew what he wanted to do and did it.  Most people have crazy dreams of doing crazy things but never actually follow through with them.  It was inspiring to see someone go through all of this schooling and still do something that could seem so foolish.

Towards the middle of the book I start to feel that Chris McCandless is just like all the other explorers.  The reactions to the first article written about him were disturbing.  I started to see him as an unknowlegable person that had no chance of surviving.  He seemed to be just like all the others that people wrote about.  It was common for some people to come across travelers that want to "live in the wild" like Chris.

My perception of Chris was quickly switched back when Krakauer explained how he was different from the rest.  He had impacted many lives and was much more levelheaded than all the others.  He did not have a death wish nor was he a recovery addict that needed to get away.  I returned to my originial thoughts of Christ being an incredible person that actually followed through with wanted he wanted to do ever since he was a little boy.

Once his family visits the bus you can sense the calmness.  They came to terms with where he spent the last few months of his life.  They understood what he was doing and were taking back by the landscape.  It had reminded them of some previous trips they took.  It made me like his parents more than before because they finally respected his decision in a way.  His mom and dad were calm and did what they had to do to put themselves at ease when visiting the site.

Outcasts & Names

At first, Krakauer criticizes his own work.  He talks about the different responses he got back from his original article about McCandless.  Many responses came in and said that Chris was just like every other person that tried to live in the woods.  People said that he was not anything special and there were many nut cases just like him.  However, Krakauer does not come back and directly "bash" these people that put down his writing.  He goes on to say how crazy these other explorers were.  Many of them were crazy and did not stand out.  They went into the expedition with even less tools and less knowledge.  These people did not make an impact on as many lives as Chris McCandless did.  You can see Krakauer talk about the emotions that Chris brought out in people.  He had an eighty-year old man nearly in tears when he heard about the tragic death.  The author discretely says, "You're wrong about Alex Supertramp," by giving examples of all "other" explorers that were not near as important.  Alex was different and an important notable figure.

As you can see, Chris McCandless had changed his name to Alex Supertramp.  There are many different theories on why he did this.  I think the most obvious was to hide is identity.  Another idea is that he wanted to become something else.  This was his temporary self before he could return home and to his true identity.  Many people have gone through phases and changed their name.  My one friend in high school always went by "Mikey."  As we got older, he put an end to it.  He wanted to be referred to as Mike.  He felt that it was more mature and it was time for change (although he never did mature or change).  Some people may change their name in hopes of changing their personalities or way of life.  I feel as though "Alex" had returned to his true identity "Chris McCandless" and found himself through this journey because that is the name he signed on his last note.

Chapter 3 Epigraphs

The first epigraphs is very exciting.  It makes you want to get up and do something to with your life.  It has a lot of energy to it and pretty much tells you that you are living a boring life.  I agree slightly but I feel as though I already have a lot of excitement in my life.  I think this influenced Chris in that it compels you to get up and move around.  It talks about sacrificing yourself for love which is something he lacked. Chris also used his "superabundance of energy" to escape the "quiet life" he was leading.

The second epigraph is similar in that it tells you to step out of your comfort zone and escape this world full of rules and obligations.  To me, it says that living on the edge and doing the unknown is the right thing to do.  This correlates with the attitude of Chris McCandless.  Wallace Stegner points out irksome obligations and escaping to the west.  Chris felt obligated at times to live up to his families expectations which could tend to be "irksome."  He left this all behind and just traveled west to be "footloose."

Reinvention

I think everyone has desires to reinvent themselves.  Whether they would actually do it or not is questionable, but the thought has surely crossed their mind.  Chris McCandless does this to the extreme.  He drops everyone and everything he has in order to find himself and discover the world.  I personally would reinvent myself or just get out of this state for a while.  I want to go to Alaska and work for a summer.  I've always worked for my parents at home on the farm.  I feel like I would find out a lot about myself and learn to be responsible for doing things on my own.  It would be refreshing and a good way to meet new people.  I am familiar with a family that lives there because my family vacationed to their home ten years ago.  I would love to revisit and take in the Alaska air for awhile.

Christopher McCandless

Christopher McCandless was lost in himself.  In order to find himself he had to ignore all others and enjoy what the world had to offer him.  He searched for a higher power that came from nature.  This is relative to existentialism.  This man knew that there was something controlling him and he had to find out for himself.  I feel as though he was somewhat foolish.  He lacked some supplies that were important to survival.  If he really wanted to take the time to explore the aspects of nature, he should have prepared more.  Although he was very smart, the task he set out to do was not ideal.

Nature

Nature greatly affects me.  Without it, it would be hard to get by on a day to day basis.  I can always count on nature as a place to get away, get fresh air, and explore.  I live on a fruit farm so it is always nice to just go on a walk through the orchards or through the woods.  In the summer, I work with nature.  I help take care of the fruit along with my family.  It brings us together every year.  Animals are also a big part of nature and my family.  We go hunting and trapping throughout the year together.  The animals provide food for our table.  Nature is a huge part of my life and I take great comfort in it.

I think there is always a "need" to return to nature.  Today, everyone gets caught up with technology and it is important to get away and reconnect with nature.  Every year, about 40 of my family members campout for a night.  All day we cook food over the fire and go on long walks in the creek.  My younger cousins splash around and swim all day.  Each year we rebuild the dam that we started from the very first campout.  It is always a wonderful time for us to just sit around the campfire and reconnect in an environment that is so relaxing.  It is very necessary for us to "return to nature" once a year.  I think everyone should have this type of experience either once a year or at least once in a lifetime.

There is a definitely a relationship between nature and our spiritual side.  When you think of religion it is always connected to nature.  It has a lot to do with the heavens and how the world was created.  The creation of the world its self was something magical, natural, and spiritual.  When people pass away they are laid in the earth.  It is up to nature to take them onto the next step.  This is also a very spiritual process.

Nature is important in my life and should be important to many others' lives.  It connects us all spiritually and is a way to find relaxation.  We are surrounded by it day in and day out.

Response to Leo Tolstoy's short story

I feel as though our materialistic culture is not on the right path.  Much like Leo Tolstoy's short story, "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" our society is always looking for more.  Everyone is satisfied with a new technology but get bored with it.  They are always waiting for the next generation or new invention that will make us lazier (I'll admit to being a hypocrite).  If everyone simplified, then there wouldn't be a huge craze to want more.  With every new technology there are complaints.  This stirs up our culture even more.  The simpler the better.  It would be beneficial to focus on the people around us before our society becomes "socially retarded."

First Year of College

My first semester at Juniata College went better than expected.  Playing field hockey helped me manage my time and kept me busy.  The team was so helpful on and off the field.  I've made so many friends through being a part of such a unique team.  Once it ended, I almost had too much time.  It was hard to find the drive to get my work done, but I knew it was important to still keep up with it.  I figured out most of my professors and their expectations by the end of the semester.  I ended up with a pleasing GPA.  This semester I hope to stay on top of my work and not wait to do it last minute.  Although it was a  successful first semester, I would like to do even better this semester.  Over break I worked a lot.  I was ready to come back to school and get back into the routine of going to classes.  My classes are slightly more difficult so it will take more focus and time management.  I have not changed my major and I am anxious to learn more about becoming an elementary educator as well as learning more basics about entrepreneurship.