Daily Blog Entry

Today’s daily blog entry, like yesterdays, is an exercise to help complete my credo. After reading the several “This I Believe” statements on the class webpage, I decided that I most closely relate to “Be Cool to the Pizza Dude”, by Sarah Adams. It is well written and well thought out but also simple at the same time with a basic message: be nice and compassionate to others. This point was especially made relevant to individuals such as pizza delivery guys who will drive thorough almost anything to deliver you dinner. As a server at a fast food restaurant, I know exactly the importance of being nice to employees. I may disagree slightly with “Always go to the Funeral”, by Deirdre Sullivan. While I do agree that it is important for most people to go to the funeral, I believe that people who are close to the deceased should make the situation based on how they are feeling. Even though they may regret not going later, for some people skipping the funeral is a better way of grieving. It is definitely okay to disagree, for it forms our identity and makes us more of an individual. I also believe that creeds can be negative. This is because defining a creed as negative or positive is relative to whom it concerns. For example, the Emancipation Proclamation is generally thought of as a positive creed, because it ended slavery in the United States. However, the creed was seen as very negative by about half of the country. In essence, it helped polarize the nation on the issue of slavery. While creeds can be seen as positive or negative, I believe that they are necessary for human societies. They are used to preserve continuity in organizations, and summarize what the goals and values are of these institutions. For my credo, I will include my goals and values.
Monday, June 30

Daily Blog Entry

Before I begin to write my “This I Believe” essay, I decided to complete exercise one. Many famous social leaders have been able to shape movements with their motivational creeds. First, what is a creed? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a creed as “An idea or set of beliefs that guides the actions of a person or group.” From this definition, I can decide if certain documents are in fact creeds. For example, I consider the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States a creed. Its main purpose is to serve as an introduction to the Constitution and outlines the intents of the Founding Fathers. However, I see it also being a motivating writing, calling the fellow colonists to action. In this regard, the Preamble is definitely a creed. In fact, the first line of William Tyler Page’s The American’s Creed borrows from the closing words of the Preamble. Another possible creed is the Communist  Manifesto. Like the Preamble, it outlines the specific goals of a political machine. It too served a second purpose by motivating and influencing people’s political views.  Certain groups such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International also use creeds to identify themselves. They have mission statements that inform the public what their intentions and goals are that help us understand what they are. For example, Greenpeace’s is, “Greenpeace is the leading independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.” This clearly states what type of organization they are and what their main objectives are. One of my favorite creeds is by Martin Luther King Jr. In his famous I have a Dream speech, he speaks out against the gross inequality suffered by African Americans. He strives to galvanize all Americans for fair treatment of all peoples and to judge others based solely on character. For my credo, I will consider incorporating a statement for equality like the Reverend King.

Sunday, June 29

Daily Blog Entry

Well, today finally came. My sister got married. We encountered one thousand and one problems before the event. The marriage certificate was forgotten; rain caused pictures to be an extremely time-consuming process; the entire wedding had to be relocated to the reception tent; drama and squabbles broke out within the families. However, everything was miraculously pulled together. My cousin and I were the first ones in the bridal party to walk down the aisle. I saw hundreds of smiling faces and cameras flashing. Soon we all stood to welcome the very beautiful bride, my sister, walk down the aisle, escorted by my dad. The brief ceremony involved the usual procedures, but at the end, Kayla and her husband, Bobby, tied three ropes together. The significance of these ropes was explained by the pastor; the pink rope represented Kayla; the blue rope represented Bobby, and the golden and most important rope that bound the other two together represented God. I was extremely pleased with how sentimental and wonderful the ceremony turned out to be. Shortly after, we celebrated with scrumptious Italian food (including chicken parmesan, my favorite!) and dancing. It is never a real party until you see my crazy family attempt to dance! They were generally holding up pretty well for this emotional night, until the first dance between the bride and groom. The song was ironically “I Don’t Dance”, by Lee Brice. Once dancing was over, Kayla and Bobby cut their cake and were unable to resist splattering it all over each other. Then the best man and maid of honor gave their speeches. There were dozens of guests left in tears by the time they were done. They spoke about how much their friendship with the newly weds meant to them and how they were so happy to be there. This evening I got a brother-in-law and said good-bye to Kayla Davidson and hello to Kayla Loyd!

Saturday, June 28

Know Your Audience Analysis

I was able to make several observations about my audience as a whole from our discussion board questions and answers. For example, we constitute the entire rainbow; we may be made up of many different colors and have several different personalities, but we are all passionate and determined to succeed. One of my favorite questions was, “Where did you go on your absolute favorite vacation?” I found out that we, as a class, have been all over the United States, as well as to several foreign nations, each of us bringing back warm, treasured memories. I expected for many classmates to have their ideal perfect day involve spending time with family members and other loved ones. For the question about who we would want to spend the day with, dead or alive, I saw exactly what I expected; several people would want to spend more time with their deceased relatives. Then there were a couple of questions that had responses I was surprised to read. For example, I expected us to want to be the same few kinds of animals. However, it turns out that we would make up quite a diverse selection from the animal kingdom! We would not just be dogs, cats and birds but sloths and starfish as well! I was also very surprised at the majority of responses to my question, “If you had to do your life over again, what would you change?” Although expecting to see some grandiose ideas for changing their lives, several classmates would request to do their lives exactly the same. I can conclude that my audience is generally goal-oriented, passionate, and family-oriented. This assumption can be made on the basis of the answers to specific questions such as what colors we are and whom we would spend the day with. This knowledge of my audience will impact my writing because now I know more about what my audience cares about and what they value. This way, I will be able to keep my audience in mind when writing, directing the purpose of the writing more towards these values. 

Daily Blog Entry

For today’s daily blog post, I decided to use the daily prompt generator found on Ms. A.’s classroom webpage. The prompt said, "What made them so interesting?  Remember a unique classmate from your past.  Write about him/her." I immediately thought of one of my very close friends since the fifth grade. Her name is Katelyn, and I have always held her in high regard for her high character, zany sense of humor, and ability to make the best out of any situation and to instantly brighten anyone’s day. She and I were in several extracurricular activities together in school, including student council and Future Business Leaders of America. Over the past several years, I have had the privilege to get to know her exceptionally well and now look back as knowing an interesting and unique friend. Katelyn has always been a positive role model for others. She always made it a point to be a friend to everyone, especially those who were bullied or seen as an outcast. In fact, Katelyn is currently planning on working in a field where she can be a counselor to mentally challenged children; she’ll do anything to be a friend for those in need! She is also one of the funniest friends I have ever had. Katelyn is the type of person who can make nearly any situation funny. I have laughed more just from her comments at a comedy than the actual movie! I always want to hang out with her for a good laugh! Finally, she is incredibly goofy, especially in public! Many teenage girls I have been around are very concerned with their appearance and actions, but Katelyn has always been more concerned about living in the moment and not caring about what other people think about her, as long as she gets to have a great time. I think Katelyn is unique for having a clear head; she knows exactly what is important to her in life and will always be an amazing friend.

Friday, June 28

Daily Blog Entry

All right, it is time to begin my first daily blog entry. I was not quite sure what to write about. Since it is the first entry, I thought long and hard about what important topic to write about. Should it match the theme of my blog and be about Italy? Perhaps I should write about starting my first summer college courses? In the end, I decided on keeping it simple and describing my day to my fellow classmates. Today was quite eventful, busy, and tiring. Work, as usual, left me exhausted. I hate standing on my feet for hours at a time, and impolite customers do not make it go by any faster. Working at Culver’s is fine for now, but I cannot wait to use the experience to obtain a more desirable job next summer. Hopefully I can use a close reference to get on at a professional pet sitter agency in Springfield. I would definitely prefer to work with animals over people any day! Once my shift was over, I returned home to get ready for something I have been looking forward to all week, my sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner. Kayla is getting married on Saturday, and tonight our and her fiancé’s families met at the wedding location, Tuscan Hill, in Strafford. I was so excited to see the beautiful house and lawn where my sister will be married. I cannot believe the day is almost here for my sister to get married and move out to live with her husband, Bobby. We met all of the members of the groom’s side, and I finally got to meet the fellow groomsmen, including Bobby’s best friend from New York City. I do not how I will feel saying goodbye to the friend I have lived with for twenty years. It was a surreal experience to watch her and Bobby walk down the aisle during rehearsal. Needless to say, that’s all that’s going to be on my mind tomorrow!  

 Thursday, June 26 

I believe that God has a plan. I believe that we all have a special, unique purpose in life that is meant only for us. I believe that we all have special, unique talents or abilities that God put on our lives to be used at a specific time and place to benefit others. One of my favorite quotes is by albert Einstein. He once said, “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” I think this quote can be intertwined with I believing that god has a plan. Often we judge people and rank others high or superior because of obvious talents and abilities. However, lots of people have subtle, unique properties that are not so obvious to the human eye. I think this is the beauty of God’s master plan; He has a large, plan laid out that has over seven billion pieces, with an end game that is close to solving world problems such as hunger, war, and illiteracy. I think this is a calling for people to believe in themselves, put all of their effort into everything they try, and strive to improve the world. Finally, I think this advice is extremely applicable, regardless of faith. Who cares if someone disagrees with your faith, it is still extremely beneficial to yourself and others to strive towards improving humanity. I am an optimistic, and I truly believe we all can do our part, and find our own talents and unlock our own potential in bettering the environment and ourselves. I first started to realize this personal philosophy when my sister got a tattoo on her left foot that said God has a plan. It took me a while to fully appreciate the beauty hidden in those four small words. I believe the phrase gives hope, and instills faith in humanity that all is possible under Him. I still have two minutes left on the clock. Hmmmm. Think think think. For me, I want to think that my plan is to go into medicine and help others. This may be as a doctor or as a researcher, working towards developing new medicines and treatments for people around the globe. My church has annual missions trips to Calcutta, India, where they spread the message of the gospel and build wells. I think they are doing a great job fulfilling their life purposes and some day I would love to join them. This concludes my free write!

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