Times Flies...

Man, I just cannot get over how the semester is flying by. I bet you have said at least ten times this semester. Yeah, it’s crazy, how as we get older we take more notice towards time. As a kid, the only times you really cared about was the number of minutes your mom gave you when you’re playing outside, your bed time, or dinner time? In high school, I realized the importance of a minute. Being in rehearsals, my director was not about wasting time whatsoever. The last class of the day, you’re eyeing that minute hand ticking away towards the last minute. Most of have probably come to the realization that time is precious and it’s so important that we always put it to good use. How many times a day do you hear this, “Boy, look at the time!” or “Wow, the time has flown by!” and so on and so on. We say all these things and then look at us…we’re so “responsible” with our time and making sure we “dedicate” to the appropriate things, but at the same time how much of our lives do we spend sitting at a computer. You know, facebook, email, and general web surfing, we all do it and I am guilty as well. We watch pointless reality TV shows and read magazines about other people’s life because we don’t have one of our own… I am not saying that I don’t fall under any of these activities, I just decided to explore this subject and I realize that for me, I should spend my free time doing better things. Now, I know that our culture today is practically based around the computer and internet. Lord knows, we all couldn’t get through the day without it. Other than our cell phone, it’s our main way to communicate. Plus, we definitely would not succeed in our classes. I mean, how would I be able to blog every week? J Wait; maybe we should get rid of computers… I’m just kidding Wendy! (The blogging is not that bad!) You know it’s funny, I feel like every time I blog, I always end up challenging myself to do something different from my norm. So this time, I’m hoping to practice managing my free time wisely. Now, I would consider myself a busy person. I’m a full time student, who is involved in various organizations and sorority, and I work. However, I’m not always up to my elbows in the U of M. I have my own personal life and needs. I just think that I should devote my time to more uplifting and productive things.

Hamlet

Reading Hamlet so far is not too bad. I’ll admit I have to research it sometimes because I am not a Shakespeare pro, but to those who are, more power to you. I’ll be honest, at first I did think I had read it; little did I know I was getting it confused with Macbeth…oops! Ha! Anyways, I really like the suspenseful and mysterious plot of the play. I have never read it before or see any theatre productions of it, so it’s a fresh read for me. It’s pretty dark, which is nice to read occasionally. For awhile, I always fell in the traps of reading the same types of books. Personally, I find reading Shakespeare tough and confusing. Therefore, it just becomes boring because I don’t know what’s going on. So, as long as I put forth a bit more effort towards understanding what is happening, and then usually I am pretty entertained. Back to Hamlet, I can’t imagine putting myself in the place of the actual character Hamlet. To have your father die and then see your mother marry your uncle not even two months after your father’s death is very sad and troubling. Plus the fact, that a ghost comes to tell you that your uncle was, in fact, the murder of your father and is now the seducer of your mother. I can imagine myself losing sight of what is good in life and where to go from here. Would I lose trust in all of my companions as well? I mean if you can trust your family, then who is there to trust? However, some people do not have trust in their family. But in this case, I believe Hamlet held close relations with them. I am looking forward to finishing this play and seeing how the plot and conclusion unfolds.

To benefit others or ourself?

Last year in my English 1020 class, we really researched different philosophies and beliefs of people. One that I really was drawn to was the study of altruism and the motivation behind it. As human beings, why do we perform acts of goodness? What is the motivation behind it? For example, we see a homeless person on the street. Some might instantly have sympathy for him; some might instantly think, “Get a freaking job”. Let’s look more at the sympathetic character. So, this person decides to buy him some food, a simple value meal from McDonalds. He or she gives the homeless man his food and then feels better about the situation. First of all, why did they purchase the food for someone else? You might say, because he or she was just doing something nice for someone else. Okay, but where deep down inside did this moral behavior come from? After he gave the homeless person their food, they felt better. So, did they do this act of kindness so that they could feel better about his or herself? Are we blind to our own personal motivations to why we perform selfless acts? If this is the case, are the characters in our society that do not perform good acts better off than the ones that do? I mean, it seems that most perform them only to better their own self-interest. I mean, this is just a theory. I’m sure that the there are genuine people in this world. It’s just that some believe that people perform acts of goodness for their own self-interest. Next time, when you do something kind for another person, think about why you are doing it.
WORD COUNT: 282

Thanksgiving-It’s Right around the Corner

Thanksgiving-It’s Right around the Corner

As a child I have the most vivid memories of Thanksgiving. It’s really kind of weird because I feel like I my Thanksgiving memories are more vivid than other popular holidays. As a kid, I would wake up to the smell of a turkey cooking in the oven, cinnamon apple cider boiling on the stove, and sounds from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on the television. I can picture myself running into the kitchen to greet my mom and take a peek at the “Tom the turkey”. I don’t know why, but my mom always called the turkey that. Ha. I would fix myself a glass of boiled custard or mom’s homemade apple cider, grab a handful of spicy and warm sausage balls, and camp out on the couch and watch the parade. It’s a solid childhood memory of mine. Add in…fighting with my brother over whether to watch the parade or the football game, sneaking with him and taking more sausage balls, getting in trouble for sneaking the sausage balls because those were for guest and not “us”, getting overwhelmed with excitement because all of our friends family were coming over. I always liked having Thanksgiving at our house. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always loved to cook. Thankfully, my parents are great cooks, so I’ve learned everything from them. They make the best signature dishes. My dad claims his asparagus pea casserole, green bean casserole, and the famous sausage balls. Mom takes over the turkey, the dressing, rolls, and sweet potato casserole, which is by far my favorite! Nothing beats its sweet rich flavor topped with the crunchy sugar coated pecans! Agh! Lately, I have been in charge of the spicy macaroni and cheese (mom has passed it down to me J), the chocolate pecan pie, and me and mom work together on the pumpkin pie together. Anyways, I’ve always enjoyed the holiday of thanks, from the cooking to the fellowship of family and friends. Most importantly, the reminder of thanks towards everything we have!
WORD COUNT: 339

Frosh Camp makes it a great day to be alive!

For those of you who read the title of this post, probably thought…what a loser! Haha! Well, let me just share with you my passion and admiration for this wonderful and welcoming program at the great U of M! First of all, I was not excited to attend the U of M, but I attended something called Frosh Camp. Frosh camp, you say? Well, what’s that? What’s a frosh and why the heck do you have to go with all of these overly excited counselors with too much school spirit? Because all of these counselors love their university!!! Why? Because most of the counselors attended frosh camp as well. Now, let me just share with you what I took from frosh camp. It was an inspiring four days that really got me excited about being a Memphis Tiger. Okay, so how many universities in this country care so much about their freshman and future leadership of their campus that they create a camp for them!?! Not many. In fact, I am almost positive that the University of Memphis is the only university that welcomes their freshmen with so much respect and enthusiasm. As a camper, watching and listening to these counselors inspired me! Their school spirit was contagious. I mean, why not make the best of your college experience? I was determined to after I left frosh camp. The counselors encouraged me to get involved and give back to the u of m! Now I know that sounds weird to give back to you university, but it really means a lot. We have all of these wonderful organizations on campus and the only way they are active is because of us, the students! I was honored when I was selected as a counselor and able to go back to dear Camp NaCome! It meant so much to me to share my experiences as a frosh camper and freshmen at the U of M. College is intimidating; at least it was to me. However, having upper classmen welcome me in and letting me know that the next few years were going to be the best by far; really made me realize that I was meant to be a Memphis tiger. I felt like I definitely have a family at the U of M. Frosh camp is about sharing your love for the U of M, so that the future of our campus will take over with pride like we have. So, that’s just a little taste about why Frosh Camp, for me, makes it “A Great Day to Be Alive!”

Word count: 429

“Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin

“Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin
1. From whose point of view is “Sonny’s Blues” told? How do the narrator’s values and experiences affect his view of the story?
-The story is written in the Sonny’s brother’s point of view. His brother bases his personal view from the all of his experience with Sonny. He expresses his values with how he attempts to guide Sonny with what he should do with his life.
2. What is the older brother’s profession? Does it suggest anything about his personality?
-The older brother is a teacher. I think it does suggest ideas about his personality. Depending on the age of the student, teachers may seem annoying because they are the ones educating you and requiring you do assignments. Younger students usually don’t comprehend that it’s for their own good to pursue a proper education. Also, teachers are people who guide you and people you look up to. This can easily be seen in the personality of Sonny’s older brother. He only wants what is best for his younger brother and attempts to guide him through life.
3. How would this story change if it were told by Sonny?
-The story would be completely different. Sonny and his brother are complete opposites. With Sonny telling the story, a completely new perspective would be understood. We might even begin to see the older brother as an antagonist rather than a character trying to help his little brother. There would be a deeper look into the life of Sonny and we would understand his drug issue even more than we do with his brother’s version of the story.
4. What event prompts the narrator to write his brother?
-The brother running into an old friend of Sonny at the subway. They both discuss about Sonny being arrested for a drug deal. The older brother comes to a realization that he can do nothing more for his brother. The old friend tells him to not worry about Sonny and suggest writing him a letter.
5. What does the narrator’s mother ask him to do for Sonny? Does the older brother keep his promise?
-She basically told him to keep an eye on his brother. She wanted to make sure he looked after him and no matter what keep patient and never give up. I feel like the brother did all he could do. He did as much as he could. At the end of the day, Sonny made his own decisions, no matter what his older brother told him to do.
6. The major characters in this story are called Mama, Daddy, and Sonny (the older brother is never named or even nicknamed). How do these names affect our sense of the story?
-Giving only one character a specific name really pull’s the reader’s focus him. It just shows how important his character is to the story.
7. Reread the last four paragraphs and explain the significance of the statement “Now these are Sonny’s blues.” How has Sonny made this music his own?
-He is referring to the piece of music represents his own life. Sonny makes the music his own because he is expressed through it.

“A Worn Path”
1. What point of view is used in the story? Explain your answer.

-The point of view is limited omniscient because the narrator allows the audience to understand all of Phoenix’s emotions and thoughts.
2. What is the significance of the old woman being named Phoenix?
-When I researched the meaning of Phoenix, I learned that it was related to a mythological bird. Phoenix, like a bird, is colorful and migrates from one place to another. This bird is known to rise above from ashes. Phoenix throughout the story rises above her own trials that she faces in life.
3. Welty presents Phoenix’s dreams and hallucinations as if they were as real as everything else she encounters. What does this technique contribute to the story’s effect?
-To me, it reminds me of hold Phoenix is becoming. How much she has gone through and experienced. It makes the reader think that they are the reality when they are simply hallucinations. The author wants to make you believe that they are realistic, because they seem that way to Phoenix.
4. How would you characterize the way Phoenix is viewed and treated by the white people she meets? Does their behavior toward her give you any indication of where the story is set and when it takes place?
-She is treated without respect. Many of the white people belittle her with certain names that they call her. They treat her as if she is dumb and stupid. It reminds me of a old fashioned southern setting.
5. In paragraph 52, Phoenix laughs at the black dog “as if in admiration.” What does she mire about him, and what does this attitude tell us about her?
- I think the “big black dog” represents the black man of this time period. She admires it because the dog has no fear and does what it pleases. This is not a familiar situation to Phoenix because of the time period and how society treats African Americans.
6. “With her hands on her knees, the old woman waited, silent, erect and motionless, just as if she were in armor” (paragraph 85). Is the comparison at the end of this sentence just a striking visual image, or does it have a larger relevance?
- Yes, it describes how she is physically unable to move, but I believe there is a deeper meaning to it. This is the point where the realization sets in for Phoenix. She understands and identifies with her past. How worn it is to be treated as underestimated woman for so long.