Week 15

I feel that my biggest improvement would be my writing skills all together. I was never really good at writing, but this course has taught me how to write in a whole new way, a whole new perspective. Another big improvement would have to be my attitude towards writing. I never liked to write because I have always had trouble with it. This class has truly taught me a lot about the writing process. Although my writing has gotten much better I still struggle with one thing; and that would be my choice of words. I have so much to say at times that I can't write it all at once and my words get all jumbled in my mind and that is how they come out on the paper. It's not as bad as it used to be, but I still struggle with it.

I think the class was conducted very well; however, I think I would have benefited from more conferences, or at least a conference for the mini-ethnography. I think the comments in the margins are very helpful, but I feel like I get more information about how my progress is on my paper when there is a conference. I know a lot of people were complaining about the amount of reading, but I actually thought that it helped. The only thing about the reading is that there was a large amount to read, at times, and I also had 5 other classes to do homework for that made it a bit of a hassle to get through. So what I am suggesting is that there be less out of class reading and maybe (if you can fit it in) to have a class time to read a story or a lesson. Like I said before I thought the class was administered very efficiently and it helped me and my writing process so maybe it doesn't need to change.

Penscape

Last night I went to watch graduate student's read poetry, fiction, and creative non fiction aloud. I was extremely excited to go because I write a little bit of poetry myself and I love to read it or hear it. However, I don't think I could ever gather up the courage like those graduate student's did to read their somewhat personal memories with so many people. It was very inspiring and at times reminded me of a few of the things that I have written.

There were few items of writing that stuck with me the most. Cole Ferrell's creative nonfiction piece called "Homecoming" stuck with me the most because I have a friend who is struggling with what he struggled with. I loved his story and it really touched me. Sarah Sandman also had great pieces of poetry. Her poems stuck with me because when she was reading her poems she brought them to life. The last reader Rachel Hartley-Smith read three pieces of creative nonfiction, "The Terminal", "Figuring Diameter", and "Boy and Sun" (I think). Her readings also hit home. Again I have had friends go through what she did in High School and hearing her personal experience made me realize that they were probably feeling the very same way. The last reader that stuck out to me was my very own teacher David DiSarro. Not just because he was my teacher, but because his poems seemed very heartfelt. He talked about how some of his poems were depressing and I think most poets have depressing poems because it's their way of letting things out; I believe it's how they express themselves. I thought his greatest piece was what he called his "hallmark" piece called (correct me if I'm wrong) "For HCD". I felt like there was a lot of emotion put into that piece and it was very inspiring.

I want to thank all of the graduate student's who read their great pieces of writing because I'm sure it takes a lot to get up in front of people (most of whom you don't know) and share personal experiences through writing. It was a great experience and I got a lot out of going.

Week 14

The strategy was to comb through every little piece of information I had and put the most important information in order for my reader to understand what my subculture is all about. My favorite piece of data was actually the story of the "unknown little boy" that I met at my field site when I was trying to be an outsider. Just read below and you will know why.

It was a beautiful early Sunday morning when I had arrived at MCON. I walked in the front doors which is unusual for me because I am so used to parking in the back where the children have their service. As I walked in I was greeted by a very kind old man. He slowly opened the large doors for me and with a big smile on his face he said “Good morning miss Ashlynn.” I couldn't help but to smile back. I felt very welcomed and when I walked in the large foyer I saw 70 to 100 people standing in the lobby talking with one another. I assumed that an outsider would be very intimidated by the amount of people so I stood in the corner hoping none of my friends would find me for it would ruin my plan of being an outsider. As I stood there a young boy with bright blonde hair came up to me with a very concerned face and asked me why I was all by myself. Not recognizing who they boy was I told him that I was trying to watch everyone else to see what they were doing. He simply replied “It’s a church everyone is learning about God.” This very moment made me realize why I go to church every Sunday.

I feel that the best piece of writing I have done is the actual mini-ethnography itself. I think that it is my best piece because I put the most time into it and I think my readers will get the most out of that assignment compared to all the other ones.

Week 13

The most significant experience I had while exploring my fieldsite was when I was trying to look at my church through an outsiders perspective. A new family had come to our church. The young couple had two children probably around the ages of 5 and 6 and they all looked confused and lost, like they had never stepped foot in a church before. So I decided to approach them, mostly because I work in the children's ministry so I thought I could leur the kids with me and let the parents mingle with the rest of the congregation. Well I finally persuaded the boys to come with me, but only because we were having an easter egg hunt (Easter Sunday). Leaving the parents behind I took the young boys to where the children have their service. I sat them together with a few boys I thought they would get along with. When I left them alone to see how they would react alone nothing big really happened so I waited and watched them during the service. It was time for the songs so I got on stage to sing and I saw the boys cheering me on when I walked up. This was the only time they had said anything.
The rest of the service went on and afterwards I took the boys back to their parents. On the way to the foyer the boys were talking to eachother and asked me "Can we have your autograph?" Now I know I'm not the best singer and actually I was having a pretty rough Easter morning. And when they asked me that I told them that I would, but it won't do them any good in the future (jokingly) and one boy said to me "I think you have the most beautiful voice I have ever heard." This made me tear up a little, but I sucked it up and went to find their parents.
After leaving the kids with their mom and dad, I heard them say "Mom... Dad... can we come back next week?" The mom asked why and the boy said "because I met this teacher and she is something special." And for those words to come out of a boy who is probably only 6 years old made my Easter morning extra special. I cried for a while after I heard this, but these weren't tears of sorrow, they were tears of joy! I can't wait to go back next Sunday to see the little boys again.

Week 12

My understanding of the word rhetoric is that it was used in the 19th century and it's one of the three ancient arts of communication. When I hear the word rhetoric I think persuasion. I believe that our values and deep seeded thoughts are what constitutes rhetoric. I think that the way we dress and act also constitute rhetoric, but we mostly use our values to persuade others to believe the same things we do. I honestly don't hear the word very much outside of the classroom. I have heard it a few times on the news stations, but only two or three times. I think rhetoric is meant to be positive, but depending on how they view the subject it could very well be negative.
Rhetoric is a big part of any religion, including Christianity. The most common role of rhetoric in Christianity is to influence the thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs of those who are listening to who is speaking. Since rhetoric is a big part of religion I am sure I will use it frequently in my mini-ethnography.

Phrase

"Why wait... Procrastinate!"
This is a phrase that my Dad used to use when we were doing our homework. He would always try to put it off till the last minute and every time we did he would say the satirical phrase "Why wait... Procrastinate". I was never quite sure what he meant by that until college came around. I was never the procrastinating type in middle school and high school, although my siblings were and I never understood why they would wait till the last minute. Now, that I am in college I don't think I do a project without procrastinating on it.

Week 11

From reading my "Week 1" blog I can definitely see some changes in my writing. It might not be a good thing, but it seems I have done a lot more procrastinating than I use to do. I have a large load this semester so I guess it's not that I am putting off my work I just have a lot more to do, therefore, things get pushed to the deadline and I have to rush to get it done. Another change that I noticed is I don't have my sister to help me revise my paper; mostly because she has been taking courses at Ivy Tech and she has a child so she is very busy and I don't want to bombard her with things to do.
I didn't really have that much trouble writing the papers. It just seemed like they took a lot of time to write each one and being a nursing major I feel like I don't have much time outside those classes. I thought the literature review would be my hardest paper to write, but surprisingly it turned out to be the easiest one.
Writing plays a large role in my life. I have written many poems and I also keep a journal or diary. I write to calm myself and to relieve the stresses in my life. I believe writing is a great way to express yourself. I think that writing will definitely help me in the future, but I'm not too sure how, I just know it will. Maybe my journal will be kept as an artifact for our family in the future, or maybe it will help me with medical school when I attend. Hopefully all my writings will come in handy one way or another.