Reflections

As a whole, this semester has worn me down; physically, mentally, and emotionally. I started off strong and ready to conquer the challenges in my path only to see that flame dwindle out after less than two months. It always seems to be an uphill battle when it comes to school and making the right choices. You always have the option to do the work, or flip over to another tab and search Facebook for awhile. It’s almost common knowledge that the more you care about something, the more time you will put into it; and I’ve been shown this even more clearly as I’ve written papers throughout the semester.

According to Aristotle, “ethos refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker. Ethos is often conveyed through tone and style of the message and through the way the writer or speaker refers to differing views” (Rampage). To truly capture someone’s ethos in writing, one has to put in the time it takes to fully understand their topic and every side of the argument. If one can’t show the other side and how it is either flawed or not the most efficient way, then it will be tough to persuade a reader to agree with you who is on the opposite side. As the semester has progressed I have seen that the more attached I am to a topic, the better I portray it in my writing. For example, my second paper was about how technology is effecting verbal communication negatively. Because I feel so strongly about this topic, I put a lot of effort into research. Although many disagree with this view about the topic, because I put the work into doing the research, I was able to fully show the opposing side and allow any doubters a chance to see my side because they didn’t feel like they were under attack.

As the semester has progressed I have become more and more proud of my writing. In older English classes I had merely done the minimum requirements and slid by with B’s on the papers. I don’t know if it was the topics or how the information was taught, but I got into my writing and stove to make the best grades I could. In this I found many things about myself as well. While sitting back and pondering the questions that were put up for this post. Things like “How do you feel compared to how you’ve felt physically during the semester?” and “Next, think back over the semester – how do you feel about your writing?” While sitting back and thinking about what how these questions can be answered it came to me that, although it doesn’t seem like it, as we grow in our writing skills we also grow as people. Our writing truly is a reflection of ourselves by how we use vivid language and how we try to persuade people. The reader should be able to see the author in their writing, and the author should want to be portrayed as they really are. I feel that as a person writes, they come closer and closer to seeing who they are inside.

In all, I had a great freshmen year and grew in my writing as well as all aspects of life and I hope many others can find themselves in writing as well.

Great Day

Today may have been one of the happiest day's I have had in awhile. To start off, it wasn't looking like it would turn out that way. With two tests before twelve o'clock and running on two hours of sleep, I had to take an adderol just to insure I would stay awake. But, at the start of the first test it all changed. I knew every answer and went out feeling like I aced it. The good fortune carried on, I went to my second test and felt even more confident than after the first one.

I was feeling great about the day already when I decided to check my grades and see what I got. I received A's on both exams and found out that I got an A on another final that got me a much needed B in the class! This made me extremely happy and possibly made my entire semester. What a way to end the year!

One Day without Technology

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live in a world where technology was non existent? I decided to go one day without the use of any form of technology besides what was necessary ( I had to drive to a doctor's appointment). I mainly focused on going without television, phone, and computer. Going in I was nervous because I am a very social person and like being able to contact people in minutes, but also ready to see how it would turn out.
Starting off was fine because I had class and didn't think about my technology much. But, after classed ended was when it got tough. I went to call my friend and remembered I didn't have my phone. I wanted to look up my score for fantasy baseball, but remembered I couldn't use the internet. I wanted to see what the score was to the playoff basketball game, but I couldn't watch television. I started to panic of boredom but managed to pull through and go play basketball. That took up most of the rest of the day. The next day I had 13 missed calls and 15 messages, these could have been important and without technology I wasn't able to know what was happening.
In all, the day without technology was successful in showing me how technology truly is in everything around us. As we have adapted to the advances we have become relied on technology and feel lost without it.

In thinking about an assignment I have in English and wondering what I was going to write about regarding to technology's advances. I started to ponder why we rely so much on technology in situation where with a closer look simply seem illogical. Just the other day I decided to drive to the parking garage ( five minute walk from where I live) instead of walk to class. In doing this, I knowingly risked getting a ticket as well as not finding a spot and waisting gas. In thinking about the situation, it just seems to be frankly a dumb decision. I am not out of shape, It doesn't save any time, and the weather is nice. And I know many others who do the same thing in similar situations.

Are we really becoming this lazy and impatient? I decided to randomly ask ten people if they would choose to drive to a friends house that was two blocks away or walk, 8 of the 10 said they would drive. The reasoning? It is faster and takes less energy. I urge everyone to try to walk somewhere that they would normally drive to and just see if it makes a huge difference in the long run, because in my experience it hasn't.

Facebook: Connect

In just over six years, Facebook has become the most popular social networking websites in the world and one of the most widely used modes of communication. Created on February 4, 2004 at Harvard University, Mark Zuckerberg and a few of his friends founded what was intended to be a network for Harvard students. In just a month, the site had opened up to Ivy League schools and Stanford University, and eventually, any person thirteen and older who wanted to sign up.

Zuckerberg got the idea for this site from his prep school, Phillips Exeter Academy, where they printed and handed out a list of all students and faculty that was unofficially called the “face book”. The original site was called TheFacebook and was created as a lack of faith in Harvard University. "Everyone’s been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard; I think it’s kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week"(Zuckerberg). Within the first month, more than half the undergraduates had signed up. Although Facebook was set up with a primary focus, Zuckerberg had no idea the impact it would have on the United States, and even the world. Today, Facebook boasts over 350 million users and a revenue stream of 300 million dollars a year.

Rising to this popularity in such little time has not been easy though. The creators have had to make numerous adjustments to keep the users happy. In order to reach such a large group of people they had to make the site easy to manage by even the most technologically inadequate people. Also, the creators have to adjust the site often to meet the requests and preferences of the users.

Zuckerberg initially intended for Facebook to unite the students of Harvard University, but the rapid growth caused him to think about expanding the site. At the beginning, the target audience was college and high school students. They could post pictures, look at other peoples interests, and meet new people. As it became more popular, people of all ages began getting Facebook profiles, but the target audience remains students due to their generation growing up around technology and being more technology savvy. This is also seen in the use of ads on the site. There are always ads to “meet hot singles in your area” and other advertisements that have college students in their pictures. A student is far more likely to click on one of these links than a person who is married with kids and only gets on to connect with family.

Facebook, and my profile on Facebook, relate to me in an in depth way. I am a social person who loves meeting new people and Facebook gives me an easy way to do so. Also, my profile represents me to others and shows who I am and what I enjoy doing. One can see my favorite music, movies, activities, and quotes; it also shows where I live and what school I attend. This portrays me to others and gives them the opportunity to connect with me. And vice versa, it allows me to see other people’s interests and decide whether I would like to talk to them. One can learn a lot about someone through their Facebook profile; but one has to be careful when doing this because people can easily post false information or create a false account.

I feel that Facebook represents me more than anything else in many ways. It shows how social I am; I get on about once a day to see if people have sent me any messages or if anyone has asked to be my friend. It shows what I am interested in by the information on my profile and also by what I am a fan of. No other piece of technology can do all of these things in one without an explanation.

As a consumer, Facebook persuades me in a different way than buying. Although I didn’t have to pay for access or click on the advertisement, I consume Facebook more than any other good. Anytime I get on the computer one of my first three stops is Facebook. I choose this site over the million of others on the internet. Of all the companies competing for service, I choose to get on and “consume” Facebook; as well as many others that get on more than I do and may click on the advertisements.

Facebook is a representation of who I am and it is the same for many others all over the world. Allowing people to communicate with friends, family, and new people, Facebook truly connects the world.