Problems with Tech

In class today, we went over the problems that we've noticed in Virginia Tech.
One of the problems I have the biggest problem with is that it is way too cold here! I'm from northern Virginia, so I'm used to cold weather, but this is even worse when I have no choice in what I put on to keep me warm!
Another problem is that all the food is the same to me. I am personally sick of eating the same thing every day. I need some variety, some of mom's good cooking. So I do miss that.
Virginia Tech is also very large. It takes a long time to go walk anywhere, and if you decide to take the bus, it is sometimes better to walk because it takes just as long. The gym hours are also restrained, so that makes it difficult to work my schedule to fit.
Honestly, as much as there are problems at Virginia Tech, they don't bother me as much as the problems with the Corps. I could write a book on the problems with the Corps. So overall, Tech is pretty perfect!

Peer Letters

I always love getting feedback from classmates. Most of the time, I feel like I have no idea what to write about or what kind of organization it should have. Having peer editing helps because I know what I'm doing wrong, and I learn what I can do to improve. It's also helpful to get feedback from an outsider's point of view. When you write a paper, you know what you're talking about and may not necessarily be able to catch yourself when you're rambling or going on about a subject that is not generally known. Peer editors catch your little mistakes that you normally would miss. I also like to hear what my peers are interested in. This way I know what to focus on in order to make my essay more intriguing to the reader.

Essay

So I missed class on Friday because I wasn't feeling well. Thankfully, Chris missed it too, so we just had to email each other our papers. This is why I love this class. I'm not afraid about missing something, because it's so easy to get in touch with people and work things out. Other classes, if I emailed a teacher, they wouldn't even know who I am. I like how personal it is, and how we get to interact with each other. It really makes me happier to come to class and it motivates me to work harder, because I know that, in this class, I'm not just a name on a chart, but a person that the teacher knows. It's a familiar thing when comparing high school and college. I'm glad that at least in one of my classes, I feel like the teacher cares and this isn't just a money maker for her.

What is an essay?

After reading the articles on essays, I am more reassured with my beliefs on what makes a good essay. A lot of the authors felt that an essay must be personal. You have to sound like you really care about what you're writing about so that people will care about what you have to say. Another thing that was mentioned was how fictitious stories can sometimes be used to enhance a nonfiction story. Of course, only to a certain amount. The point is that you must write your essay knowing your audience and working to get a reaction out of them. Even if your essay is strictly factual information, you should write it with the intent to stir something up in the audience. Another thing that was common was that a good essay does not generally have a set structure when it is being written. The first goal is to write what matters. Once everything is put down, you can then work on the flow and introduction and conclusion. However, you should not go into your essay with the exact format of 1st paragraph will say this, or 3rd paragraph will say this, etc. This will only limit the potential of the essay. Overall, a good essay should have a voice that is you, and should be about something you care about.

Goals

So looking back at my original goals for this semester, I am doing a shitty job! I am keeping up mostly with English and my Air Force Classes, but I am sucking in my major! I understand that the engineering system is designed to weed people out of the program, but I did not think that it would be me! I think that I am going to have to drastically change my study methods, because they obviously are not working. I also think that because now I have more time in my schedule, I'll do better on my next tests. The first bit of the school year was stuffed with Corps activities and getting use to the college lifestyle. I know I should be studying more, but then when do I sleep, and run, and eat?!
I wouldn't say I'm at the point of being overwhelmed yet, but I am definitely getting there! Hopefully my concern will go away with this next round of tests, and if not, well there will be even more complaining on my blog!

Paper Feedback

The feedback that Ms. Scott gave was really helpful. She pointed out things that I hadn't even noticed when reading over my paper. When I turned my paper in last week, I was still unclear as to what the focus of my paper should be. I also was still unclear as to how I was supposed to approached the reader, and in my case, the Governor of Virginia. In a lot of papers, you're not supposed to use personal references such as, "I think" or "you have to", etc. Going through the comments Ms. Scott left, I had sort of a "duh" moment with the fact that I am writing a personal research proposal, so it would be wise to get personal!Probably the biggest thing for me to fix is writing my paper to the proper audience. I went back and forth a lot of who I was writing to and about what. With my final, I need to go through and decide on what exactly I want to focus on and how I should go about addressing it to the Governor.

This Past Week...

So I'm really not happy to be back. Well I shouldn't say not happy, I guess I just miss being able to sleep in and do whatever I want like I did back home. Fall break wasn't long enough for me to get comfortable; it was more like a tease, so that right when I'm almost enjoying myself, I have to leave. But it was nice that our Report was due Wednesday, that way I had the rest of the week to relax. The break also was sort of re-energizing, so now I'm ready to get back into things.
So I guess I'm ready to go!

Essay Responses

The three essays, "Silent Dancing", "The Stunt Pilot", and "Ali in Havana" all had their own unique tones and purposes, but still maintained what it is that makes a good essay. Each of the essays were very descriptive. They included conversations and events that were unique to their experiences. Another thing I realized is that each story was telling an event or a group of events that lead up to something that changed how the author view something or acted from that point on. The essays had meaning and purpose to them; they weren't just pointless stories for entertainment. The essays were still very different, however. "Silent Dancing" was a much more personal story, letting the reader know the kind of life the author lived. Ortiz uses her native language in many of the descriptions and explanations, which really gives the reader a better feel for how things are where Ortiz lived. There is a lot of culture in this essay, and she does a good job of showing it. "The Stunt Pilot" had a lot more informative observations, but it was still told in a story format. I liked how this was done, because it gave a lot of good information, while keeping the reader interested. "Ali in Havana" was sort of an in between story for me. This story was still based on being informative, but it had more of a personal feel to it than did "The Stunt Pilot". However, it was not as abstract as was "Silent Dancing."
Overall, every essay had the same basic principles to them; keep the reader interested, be organized, and have a purpose to the story.

Yea i forgot...

Ok so I completely forgot that we were supposed to be doing weekly blogs on top of our assigned blogs. So here is my blog for last week:

The peer editing and reading was really helpful for me. When I was writing my paper, I wasn't exactly sure on what I was supposed to be focusing on and talking about. Being able to hear about everyone else's ideas and layouts made it much more clear as to what I should be writing about. It was also cool to hear the different voices in everyone's paper. Bradley had more of a story telling kind of paper that fit perfectly with his research on SEEDS, while Rachel's was more formal, and she was researching genetics. So it was pretty cool to see the different takes on the research proposal.