Sunday, March 21, 2010
12 Common Errors
Honestly, I found the “12 Common Errors” resource to be very interesting. Those errors tend to take away from a persons writing, regardless of how excellent the content is. What I believe is my main error when writing is having sentence sprawl. While I do not exactly write sentences that may span a paragraph, I tend to add on unnecessary words that negatively impact the sentence. My style of writing is very “flowery”, which in moderation is a good thing, it is negative in excess. I believe I write this way because of the books that I’ve read. I’m very interested in classics such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Sense and Sensibility, and the like. Reading novels such as those, I have found that writing is something that should be beautiful. Words cannot just be tacked together and be called a sentence. A word in a sentence is it’s own entity, it itself has a deeper meaning that should thread into the sentence itself. Words need to flow, to tie together, and make up what should be meaningful reading. Anyone can create something, but that something is not always meaningful to anyone. But that is not to say that my writing does not need to be trimmed down. I need to also consider that sentences can be beautiful without the ornaments. It is possible that a tree can be beautiful without the Christmas decorations.
Random
Also, besides being upset that break is over, on the bright side, I'm glad I finished unpacking. I don't even know why I bother to bring so much stuff back home.
Journal 3
Journal 3
The most recent argument that I have made was one with my mother. In which, I must admit, those arguments are often times the best kind of arguments. The argument was whether it is the right choice to be in a relationship during college. My opinion is that it is fine as long as it does not interrupt with school, while my mother absolutely opposed the idea claiming that the only focus a student should have is on academia.
My reasons for saying why I feel that is fine as long as it does not interrupt with school are the following: school will always come first, although school is very important, a student should a life outside of it, and lastly, you can’t live in a box all your life.
On my first line of support, my assumption is that school will always come first only in the event that the relationship does not become too complicated. I assume that it is all “smooth sailing”. Which, rightfully, I was wrong to assume because relationships never work that way. For my second point, I am assuming that being a relationship is the only kind of life I can have outside of school. That is clearly wrong because friends work just fine. As for my last point, the assumption I am making is that not being in a relationship means one lives in a box. That is faulty (and I do admit my weakest point of the argument). The only evidence I have had is that I know many students who can keep up with their grades and be in a relationship at the same time. Although I cannot show clear data, it is my integrity that basically carries the support of my claims.
In opposition to my argument, my mother’s reasons to say that a student’s only focus must be on school are the following: relationships make like more complicated, thus school will become either less important or I will be too stressed out (which was a point that countered my first), there is time for life outside of school when I’m done with school, when one is in school he/she should focus on school and nothing else.
With her first point, the assumption she made was that the relationship may become complicated (something that obviously cannot be proven or disproven). Her second point bears the assumption that the time I have after school will have enough time for a relationship. The final point about one should focus on nothing except school while a student is that she assumes that the mind can tolerate nothing else but school.
Her only evidence was that she is an adult and she knows what she is talking about. (Also, I have admitted to her once that I find it extremely odd that no matter what, in the end she is right.) The her being right point was one that really solidified her argument.
The areas where both our arguments went wrong were we did not want to understand the other person’s views. I did not want to see, nor understand her claims because frankly, I was so caught up in my own views that I blocked hers out. I’m pretty adamant in the belief that she felt the same way. Knowing my mother, what she thinks is always right and nothing will change that. In essence, it is the relationship that flaws our argument. As the adult, she will always believe she knows what is best for me and nothing can change that. As the child, I will tend to believe that she lives in the past and doesn’t know what she is talking about. But the worst part of it is, I will think about the argument later and try to understand her point.
The most recent argument that I have made was one with my mother. In which, I must admit, those arguments are often times the best kind of arguments. The argument was whether it is the right choice to be in a relationship during college. My opinion is that it is fine as long as it does not interrupt with school, while my mother absolutely opposed the idea claiming that the only focus a student should have is on academia.
My reasons for saying why I feel that is fine as long as it does not interrupt with school are the following: school will always come first, although school is very important, a student should a life outside of it, and lastly, you can’t live in a box all your life.
On my first line of support, my assumption is that school will always come first only in the event that the relationship does not become too complicated. I assume that it is all “smooth sailing”. Which, rightfully, I was wrong to assume because relationships never work that way. For my second point, I am assuming that being a relationship is the only kind of life I can have outside of school. That is clearly wrong because friends work just fine. As for my last point, the assumption I am making is that not being in a relationship means one lives in a box. That is faulty (and I do admit my weakest point of the argument). The only evidence I have had is that I know many students who can keep up with their grades and be in a relationship at the same time. Although I cannot show clear data, it is my integrity that basically carries the support of my claims.
In opposition to my argument, my mother’s reasons to say that a student’s only focus must be on school are the following: relationships make like more complicated, thus school will become either less important or I will be too stressed out (which was a point that countered my first), there is time for life outside of school when I’m done with school, when one is in school he/she should focus on school and nothing else.
With her first point, the assumption she made was that the relationship may become complicated (something that obviously cannot be proven or disproven). Her second point bears the assumption that the time I have after school will have enough time for a relationship. The final point about one should focus on nothing except school while a student is that she assumes that the mind can tolerate nothing else but school.
Her only evidence was that she is an adult and she knows what she is talking about. (Also, I have admitted to her once that I find it extremely odd that no matter what, in the end she is right.) The her being right point was one that really solidified her argument.
The areas where both our arguments went wrong were we did not want to understand the other person’s views. I did not want to see, nor understand her claims because frankly, I was so caught up in my own views that I blocked hers out. I’m pretty adamant in the belief that she felt the same way. Knowing my mother, what she thinks is always right and nothing will change that. In essence, it is the relationship that flaws our argument. As the adult, she will always believe she knows what is best for me and nothing can change that. As the child, I will tend to believe that she lives in the past and doesn’t know what she is talking about. But the worst part of it is, I will think about the argument later and try to understand her point.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Earth's Axsis and Time
I skimmed an article on MSN.com (I lack the time to read an entire article- how sad is that?)about the earthquake in Chile and how it caused earth to shift from it's axis casuing our days to be shorter. If I recall correctly, days are about 1.26 milliseconds shorter. So, all in all, I'm losing 1.26 milliseconds to my day. Vital, irreplacable, and extremely necessary time. For, as of this semester, I constantly am under the feeling that I have no time. Either it is slipping away agonizingly through the many (I put great emphasis on many) hours I spend trying to understand math (much to my despair, I still don't understand math), or it is dissapearing through visits to office hours, meetings, and other necessary academic activities. Although, what is most perplexing about it all is that I simplly cannot fathom why this semester is worse than last semester. The saying, "It is what you make out of it" just came to my mind, yet to counter that, I am attemping to, quite adamently to make it into a positive semester, yet the odds are not working in my favor. The neat, structured system I have built last semester for my academic and other school (all productive) events does not seem to support this semester's obligations. The closet continues to fill up, the shelves have no space, and the door looks like it will burst open any moment, letting loose a torrent of everything that needs to be done, taken care of, worked on, completed, and studied for. Then, where does that leave me? It leaves me amid a sea I can barley swim out of. All I can do now is tell myself, I will not escape, I will overcome, and I will do so with the attitude opposit of that exhibited in this little writing blog. Although the door looks as if it will burst open, I refuse to let that happen. I will walk into that closet, and continue, with a fighters attitute, to battle everything that needs to be done. (One I complete what I have to do at the moment, that is). I will surive this semester, and as long as I know I did my best, in every area, I will take what it gives me, and I will move on. Including my horrid, unbearable, extremely poorly taught, and agonizing Math 115 A class. I will survive.
Yes math, including you.
Yes math, including you.
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