Reflective Essay

I'm going to have to state the obvious and say that I feel that the amount of work that was required was strenuous and possibly a little to much. I've never had to do as many essay's in one semester as I've done in this class, mind you I've never done a semester and University. I think that the standard of my writing has definitely increased which means that some of the work that I did payed off. Not only has the standard of my writing increased, my understanding of content when I read has also greatly improved to the point where I feel confident in correcting other essays. My writing skills will always be used in my future life, even if I decide to become a tennis coach or if I decide I want to follow a career in journalism. I would say that this course has changed my view on writing as I used to think it's a waste of time but now I realize that in fact it's extremely important as it's importnat to come across interlectual whether you're in an interview or just chilling with friends. The friends I meet this year will all be going on missions so I'll be writing letters all the time, so I'll be able to use my writing skills when staying in contact with friends from BYU,

My Favourite Movie

One of my favourite movies of all time is called Dodgeball staring Vince Vaughen as the main actor. It's about an average guy who is about to lose his gym which payes his way in life. In order to save his gym he needs to make $50,000 in a couple of months otherwise the place gets flattened. To save the gym, him and a couple of his gym members play a Dodgeball tournament in Vegas which sounds absurd, however the prize money is $50,000. They progress to the final and play Ben Stiller's team that are the rival gym to Vince Vaughen's team. It's a true under dog story which I love as I feel like we are all under dogs in life and we have to rise above the rest of society to make a name for yourself. It's also a comedy which is my favourite genre of movie, anything that makes you laugh always makes you feel good inside.

How my Issues paper is going!

I feel like I've definitely got enough research done to give me enough substance to sustain my paper to 10 pages. Although I haven't written much so fair I'm confident that once I start the words will just flow from my brain to the paper. Hopefully anyway! I have my main points on the topic and also the main points of the opposing opinions. I have very strong opinions about drugs in sport, especially as it's begun to creep into tennis which is extremely frustrating. As I have passion for the topic, it becomes easy to right as I'm eager to get my views across to the reader.

Pros and cons about my research topic.

I've decided to do my research paper on drug use in sport. There are many differing opinions on whether drugs should be used in sport however all people agree that what happens in sport effects the whole of society. Just look at every newspaper that you pick up, there's a whole section on the news of what happened in the sporting world that day. Everyone agrees that what happens in the sporting arena will have a profound effect on American citizens. As you can probably already tell, I'm going to be arguing for the continuation of drugs being banned in sports and drug doping to continue. Some people argue that by taking drugs athletes will set new records which is very entertaining for the crowd. However it's not as simple as "if you take drugs you'll get a better time". There are always side effects that come with putting foreign substances into your body.

How I feel about my Personal Narrative!

It was a great relief just to hand my narrative in despite the fact I know I could make a couple of changes to make it slightly better. As I’m extremely unorganized, I completed my final draft Sunday evening and asked my roommate to go over it, just in case there were a few errors (of course there were). I then went to the writing center Monday morning, and they also gave me a few minor things to change however they thought it was well written. I didn’t get a chance to change these small details but I take some comfort in the fact that they thought it was quite good. However as I’m a foreign alien, I’m not quite sure what Mrs. Elliot is looking for so I would say that I’m slightly apprehensive about the grade that she’ll give me.

At first, I was getting really frustrated with the paper as the words didn’t just flow from my head and everything just seemed difficult. After the peer reviewing, I felt like I had clear things that I could change to make the assignment better so I was less in the clouds. If I hadn’t had peer reviewing, I know for sure that my personal narrative wouldn’t be as well written. I’m sure people are in the same position as me, i.e. they’re slightly nervous about their grade so I don’t feel completely in the wilderness. Good luck to everyone, hope you get what you’re looking for!

How my Personel Narrative is coming along!

I'll be honest, not well. I don't really need to type anything else as that first sentence pretty much sums up my situation. I do have a topic which is a starting point but not much else currently. I'm going to seek help from the writing specialists in the Wilkinson center after today's class so I have some idea how to structure the essay. As I'm from England I just want to find out exactly how the American's write so my essay doesn't look like some foreigner has just scribbled some words on the page. I know what messages I want to pervade to the reader so I just need to work out how I'm going to tell the audience in a roundabout way without having to "spell" it out for them. I'm confident that after today I'll be able to sit down over the weekend and write a narrative that people will enjoy reading. I'm hoping others are in a similar situation just so I'm not the only person wondering,

"How on earth am I going to write 6 pages?"

So that's my current situation at the moment, but hopefully by Monday I'll be a bit more positive about my personal narrative!

My Response to “Excerpt from Night”

In “Excerpt from Night” Elie Wiesel describes the first day he arrives on a concentration camp during World War II. When you read anything about concentration camps, you can’t help feeling shocked to the bone, when you experience such traumatic events it’s life changing. The happenings that Elie was forced to be subjected to when he arrived are so horrific that I kind of get a numb feeling inside, a feeling of not really being sure how to feel or react, a void. Any experience that I’ve had pales in comparison to the bloodshed he endured. Another element that touches me to the story is the fact that his father is by his side throughout the narrative. This adds another dimension and you get a feel for how important they are to each other. The father is so distraught that he starts to pray for his son, praying that his son gets blessed. I’ve watched documentaries on the concentrations camps but this narrative is a personal account of what it was like which makes it more heart felt. In the documentaries, you don’t get a true feeling of the scale of brutality and sheer evil. I still have the same feelings I had prior to reading the narrative, I still have a feeling of great sorrow for anyone who had to go to a concentration camp, and great anger for what the Nazis did to the Jewish community.

My response to "My Father's Sketchbook"

This narrative for me was extremely moving as I could sympathize with the little girl who by reading a couple of sentences realized that her dad wasn’t the invincible character she thought he was. I had this epiphany when I first witnessed my father crying. My grandmother had terminal cancer so it was imminent that she was going to die so it was a very emotional time. I will never forget when my dad got the dreaded news. I could tell in his eyes that he wanted to cry, but he was fighting them back as the rest of the family was in the room. That was the first time I had ever seen vulnerability in him, and after that, like the girl, I always made more of an effort to help my dad out, be it helping out around the house or just asking him how his day was. Having read the passage, it made me realize that you can become extremely self-involved with what’s going on in your life. For example, when you get home from school and your mum asks, “How was your day?” and you reply with “fine”, that must be quite soul destroying for her. I remember I used to do this all the time as when you get home your exhausted and all you want to do is go upstairs and chill out. However this narrative has made me realize that it’s important to make your parents feel like you care, and it was funny because after reading My Father’s Sketchbook, I picked up my phone and rang home.

Me in 100 Words

There’s three things that I hate the most in the world; people not texting back; people being late and Josh Griffin (we won’t go into that haha). I think the best feeling apart from when your with girls, is getting things done, the satisfaction of finishing a job feels soooooo good. I’m horrific at any sports that involves talent with the feet, however when it comes to using my hands my skills increase slightly. The things that are the most important to me are people, especially my parents and friends back at home as they have influenced my life significantly, sculpturing me into the person I am today!

My icon: Prawn Cocktail Crisps