Blogging & Free-Writes

It's nearly the end of our English class, which means that by now we should all be finishing up our blogs and free-writes. When we first started this class and Caitlin told us that we had to free-write once every two days for 10 minutes, I thought it was going to be dreadful. I've never been a huge fan of writing, especially not for 10 minutes straight. I thought to myself, "This is going to be difficult.. I don't have the patience to sit down and write for 10 minutes." It wasn't until I finished the first one at home and I realized that it wasn't going to be as bad as I thought. It felt a bit good, actually. I was able to just write about anything for 10 minutes straight and not have to worry about my grammar or if it even made any sense. I just had to get my ideas down without stopping. Caitlin reassured us that we would never have to look at our free-writes again and honestly, I didn't believe it. I've always had to look back at previous work in my previous English classes but Caitlin was right. I never looked at my free-writes a second time after I finished writing them. Even though I avoided my free-writes after I had wrote them, they were still able to help my essays. Every set of free-writes we did was actually a great deal of help when I had to decide my topic. That wasn't all free-writes were useful for, though. Let's not forget about blogging. Well, actually I'm not sure how we could forget about blogging since you're reading my blog right now. But, anyways, all of my blog posts have been based on the set of free-writes we did during the 3 week period. At first, I didn't understand the whole point of free-writes. I thought it was useless and didn't serve much of a purpose, but boy, was I wrong. Free-writes were incredibly useful. If it weren't for free-writes, I would've had so much trouble deciding what to blog about and write about for my papers. Caitlin definitely knew what she was doing when she assigned us free-writes and that's the first and last time I ever question her teaching methods. Well, enough about free-writes. Blogging was pretty fun as well. I've never owned a blog because honestly, I don't think people really care about what I have to say. But, after reading and writing blogs during this first semester, I found it to be quite interesting. Maybe after this semester, I'll even make a personal blog. Just maybe.

The People I Expected to See: What I Saw of Myself

Before I attended the first day of classes at San Francisco State University - before I even attended freshmen orientation - I had an image in my head of the people whom I expected to meet. This image was built up over time as I overheard my sister's complaints of various types of people which she had met at SFSU. I had expected to meet poseurs, fanatics - all sorts of eccentrics and intolerable people.

Here, I blame my sister for my pessimism, but in actuality, I had thought this way even before I heard her rants. I had always expected to see terrible people whenever I went somewhere new. I hadn't always been this way though; I believe high school ignited this pessimism. Though, I expect terrible people not simply for the sake of pessimism. I expected to meet terrible people so that if I were ever to wonder about making friends, I could tell myself that I made little to no new friends because the people I met were the absolute worst kinds of people.

To my expectancy I did meet some of those kinds of people, but surprisingly to me, they were few and far between.

This pessimism, I believe, traces back to my fears, which I will not explicitly name here, for you or anyone. That is all I have to say on the matter.

What I take from this pessimism is that I delude myself in an effort to save me from myself. I seek a hermit's shelter.

I expect no sympathies from whomever may read this. I also want no sympathies. Do not make this a pity party. Just critique the words and how they fit together.

Free-writes and Blogging = Relaxing

This is crazy! Our first semester of freshmen year is almost done. How did time fly by so fast? For me, one of the reasons why this semester went by super fast was because of this class. Everyone is amazing and really supportive. I feel like there isn’t much judgment in this class.

As I’ve said in my first blog, I’ve always struggled with reading and writing. However, because of this class I feel more confident about pieces of writing I’ve done. I realized that writing isn’t limited to certain things like the use of “I” in essays. “I” is a powerful word that expresses a person’s voice on writing. And, throughout this class, I’ve learned to use “I” because of the purpose it brings to writing. The readers are able to hear about my beliefs and my voice. Pieces of writing that I’ve used the word “I” many times were my blogs, free-writes, SF review, and narrative essay.

When I wrote the free-writes, I felt relaxed, but also scattered. In the past, I’ve never written free-writes before writing an actual essay because I thought it was unnecessary. I felt relaxed because some of the free-writes felt like journal writing. In particular, the prompt from weeks 1-3, weeks 7-9, and weeks 13-15—these prompts were more opinionated and geared towards our telling our story. The fact that these prompts allowed us to freely express ourselves was a reason why I felt relaxed as I wrote these free-writes. I felt scattered because I rarely write without going back to edit. However, now, subconsciously free-write before I write essays and my writer's block goes away.

Because of the free-writes, the blogs were fun to do. Originally I thought the blogs would be a hassle, but the blogs are actually really fun. We’re able to write about anything in this class and post different stuff. This blog is a great way to learn about other people in this class. This blog allowed us to learn from each other through our different perspectives on writing and, reflections of the world and ourselves. I realized that blogging isn’t just an opinion piece, but a type of writing that allows the writer to express his/her feelings about a situation or time in their lives. Blogging is fun and interactive, I want to create a personal blog now.

Overall I love this class (as I’ve said throughout this whole blog)! I’m really going to miss you guys and this blog forum. I hope everyone does well on your finals!

Finals, Finals, Finals!

As we find ourselves finishing up our last assignments for the Fall 2013 semester, we all have one common thing on our brain: FINALS. This is why I've decided to use my last blog post to offer some advice on how to be successful in these next couple of weeks.


Tip #1: Stay away from social media.

Our generation carries the privilege - yet also the burden - of having the whole entire internet at our fingertips. Although we're grateful to have access to virtually any bit of information we might desire, many of us have also developed an attention span the length of a paperclip. We sit down, we start to type, develop a nice title for our essay, and then we start to wonder what's happening on Facebook. Before we know it, 3 hours have gone by and we're looking at funny cat videos on YouTube! This is why during finals week, we might want to limit ourselves to only using the internet for research/educational purposes.

Tip #2: Don't deprive yourself of sleep.

I know we all have the habit of waiting until the night before the exam to study. Hey, the information is fresh in my brain, right? Although we might wish this were the case, it's always better to study in advance - a little at a time. Try to space out your studying in the days before the test and the information will stick a lot better; this way you also have time to ask questions about anything you might not understand. Plus, nobody wants to take a final exam on 4 hours of sleep because they stayed up too late studying.

Tip #3: Cut back on the social life.

We all know that you're a social butterfly and love surrounding yourself with good friends. During finals, however - you might want to spend some times as a one man wolf pack. Unless you're the type who likes to study in groups! In that case, go for it! Just make sure that you actually spend your group time studying and not just socializing. It's important that you focus your mind on the things that you learned throughout the semester. (This is not to say that you shouldn't give yourself a few short breaks between study sessions - those are always much needed).

Tip #4: Go for the brain foods.

Healthy eating is an important part of a well-functioning brain. Maintaining a well balanced diet is always a good thing but it's especially crucial during finals week. Try to cut the junk food for a while and stick to foods that are high in protein and low in sugar. Also, make sure to eat a nice and light breakfast on the morning of your tests. Studies show that those who eat a good breakfast prior to testing typically score higher than those who don't.

Tip #5: Wear glasses and look sexy.

Just kidding. Tip #5 is actually: have confidence. If you go into a situation believing you're going to fail, chances are: you're right. It's important to be calm, cool, and collected during a test. Stressing is only going to make it harder on you and cause distractions. Besides, if you've practiced the last 4 tips, there's nothing to worry about! Hopefully your professors have prepared you enough for their exams and given you all the information you need to know. Once you've looked over this information enough times to comprehend and remember, you're ready for finals!

Those were my top 5 favorite tips, but if you want some more, click here!

Also, I hope everyone does well on their finals and has a great winter vacation!

It was great sharing a class with all of you this semester, and I hope to see you all again in the years to come. Thanks guys and thank you Caitlin!

Its Time to Say Good Bye! :(

     English class this semester was really fun and exciting. I learned a lot about my writing through Caitlin's wise words. Caitlin made us read lots and lots of examples of good writing to help us with our own writing. We read pieces about Vonnegut, Elbow, King, etc. Remember those exciting readings... ;)

     As I look back on all the writing I did this semester, my essays, free-writes, and blogs; I noticed that I am becoming a better writer. My language definitely improved. I do not sound like I have verbal diarrhea anymore. My sentences are well structured, I do not have as many grammar mistakes, I am spelling my words right and my sentences are more cohesive. I actually sound like a college student.

     Caitlin made us practice writing a lot. Everyday we would have to do a free-write on anything we want. At first, I had writers block and had issues picking a topic to write about. I would also have issues starting to write my thoughts, but after many months of practice I think I finally nailed it down.

      Now when I start writing my essays or any other kind of writing, my ideas flow quicker to me. I learned to write down my ideas and then revise them later. I worried to as I write, not to worry about my spelling or grammar because you can always come back and fix it later on.

      From now on as I do my future writing, before I do an essay, I'm going to write a free write about my topic to wake up the brain and get it going.

      As the semester ends, I am really going to miss Caitlin's class. I learned so much in one semester of her class then I ever did in high school. I am also going to miss my classmates. My classmates really helped me out in my English class. All of their commentary on my blogs or commentary on my essays really helped me become a better writer. It is always good to hear feedback from others and their opinions.

  
       English class this semester was my favorite class. It was both insightful and fun. there was never a day where I would be bored out of my mind. Caitlin and my peers made class a joy and delight for me. I am really sad to be leaving. I wish Caitlin could teach Eng 214. That would be awesome!
                           We should all sign a petition to get her to be our teacher again!

Final Paper Thoughts

We learned in ENG 114 the importance for drafts and revision. Noting that, I am thinking that although it is entirely up to us to how many drafts we turn in and direction of the paper, I think it's a test and that I would be better off doing the same process as any other essays. A test to see if I produce the drafts the efficient way, and if I have gained any direction in a paper.

The whole idea of freedom and ambiguous instruction leaves me uneasy because it's testing if I can swim in the big ocean that is college.

The final paper is testing: 
-if I can be productive without a deadline for each draft and rhetorical guidelines (since we make the rhetorical guidelines ourselves)
-if I can get a good grade without after-submission revision
-if I have learned how to compose

I apologize if I have scared you, but it's my premonition powers. The pressure is on.

You and me both are looking like:

All the thoughts I am currently thinking: 
"It's a trap!"
"YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO CAITLIN!"
"Do 3 drafts! Have direction! "
"Apply some rhetorical terms!! Make it academic somehow!" 

The final test of if we have learned anything this semester isn't as "chill" as I thought it would be. No, it's an exit pass to test composition knowledge. Be wary of this deceptive freedom (okay maybe it's not that ominous), freedom comes with a price. May the odds be in your favor. *Hunger Games Whistles*

Kind of overreacted... Caitlin told us today (after I made this post)that she assigned us the essay for us. To express our own writing.  It makes me excited to write with no conventions... and worried...

Time is Ticking Away

Can you guys believe this is our last blog post!? So crazy, it feels like just yesterday we were graduating high school, going to orientation, and moving into our dorms. At least we can say we made it through our first semester of college! It's just crazy how fast that was. Four months and then bam, a new semester starts. And those next four months will probably be just as fast and then we're second years! I never really realized how fast time is. I mean, I have noticed, I just never thought anything of it. But now as I step back and take it all in, I realize how everything is changing. Our parents are getting older, friends are getting married and having children, little ones we use to know are growing older, and more loved ones are passing away. We need to take time out to stop and appreciate everything happening and take time into our hands and live our lives to the fullest.

The movie "In Time" was super inspirational to me. It has more meaning to the story than just a bunch of action moves and what not. In this movie, the time a person has to live is treated like money. The more time you have, the longer you have to live. I think the meaning of this movie is just to open everyones eyes and have time realize that time is so much more precious than we really think. One day, our time will run out and it'll be something we regret. If you have yet to see this movie, I highly recommend it. Not only is it an amazing movie, but Justin Timberlake is in it! That's a major plus (: