This will be my final blog post for this course, and I will be ending it off with a vlog reflection. Much like in an older blog post of mine, where I recorded my first vlog and discussed my thoughts and feelings on the course here, only this time I will be going into more depth of what this course has taught me as a whole. I will also be reflecting on myself as a writer and how I have grown overall from the last time I posted a reflection. (This blog post will server as my fourth formal assignment in my final portfolio for this course.)
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Welcome back. In this blog post, I am using an "X-ray" process so that I can see the "bones" of my research project argument. At this point, my research project is still a work-in-progress, so this post serves as a part of my revision process. This process is a great way for me to see what essential components of my research project needs more work or not, and to see if its ready to be posted.
Hello again! this weeks post will continue on updating you with my progress for writing my research project as well as research I have looked into and included in my project.
After settling on a genre and audience to write about, I was able to complete the essential pieces to the preface for my project (which you can view here) and begin writing out my paper, starting with what may be one of the most important components of the essay, the introduction. The reason that the intro is so important is because this is how you get your audience or reader hooked in on the topic you will be discussing as well as getting them interested to keep reading onward. Starting from the first sentence, your introduction should be interesting enough to have your reader continue reading. There are many different strategies to creating a compelling hook, including asking the reader a question or even opening with a quote. I decided to start my paper with an opening anecdote of what a common pot user would look like. By creating this visual in the readers heads, I'm able to grab ahold of the readers attention by following up with a rebuttal by describing alternative uses of marijuana, contrary to what would come to most peoples minds; a red-eyed giggly person who's extremely hungry. From there I was able to continue on with the rest of my introduction by narrowing my topics down from more broader and general knowledge of the subject at hand into more detailed specifics. For instance, by starting off with discussing basic statistics and graphics such as which states deem the usage of marijuana legal or not, I am able to funnel my conversation down to the fact that over 50% of the country has mixed laws regarding legal marijuana and that we are left to wonder why this is and that why cant we deem it legal across all states. At this point I was able to test my thesis using the whiteboard test, and use it at the end of my introduction once I found that it has passed. You can also view my thesis statement in the link posted above, but what I decided to make it was; "The rapidly growing demand for the legalization of marijuana across the country represents an american zeitgeist because of its newly found outlook and understanding in terms of health benefits as well as helping to treat illnesses and conditions among several types of people." I decided that this would be a good thesis statement to use because I believe that it covers most of the content I will be discussing in the project all in one small summary. I may have to tweak this statement sometime in the future of writing this paper, but as of right now this works well for what I have been discussing in the body portion of my draft. There are a lot of sub-topics that I would love to discuss, such as the decriminalization issues regarding people being in prison serving sentences for possession of what is now currently seen as legal or recreational. However, Im afraid that adding too much information in too many subject areas would be a lot for the reader to digest all at once. In the meantime, writing more on the health and medical side of marijuana rather than including too many political issues and standpoints will be fine for now. However in future drafts I may try to include more of this kind of information to my project if needed. Welcome back. For this weeks blog post I will be giving an update as to how my progression with my research project has been going so far, as well as some links to articles with information that I have found useful and will be using in further work.
This week, I stopped to think about what type of genre I should use for this research project, as well as figuring out what my target audience should be for this assignment in order to get a better understanding of what I should be writing about and certain topics I should or shouldn't focus on. I have come to the conclusion that I will set my genre as an op-ed, because in order to write about a topic such as marijuana, I believe that the writer should voice their own opinion on the subject at hand in a rounded out fashion. As someone who has seen and experienced marijuana use in both unhealthy and healthy ways, I feel as if my personal take and outlook on marijuana could be of good use by bringing an unbiased view on the subject when it comes to writing this project. I have also decided that my audience should be based on people who may not fully understand how and why marijuana is seen in this new positive light compared to past generations. I feel as if there is still a large amount of people who may not believe that marijuana should be legalized, mostly coming from a place where it was treated as a more harmful substance rather than a medicine, or they may jut not be too sure as to if it really is doing more good than harm these days. By choosing this as my audience, I can explain the zeitgiest of the community while showing the audience how marijuana is seen by many in a positive manner now rather than negative. I have been told that instead of choosing one side of a debate and writing about certain argument points, (In my case, wether marijuana should be legalized or not) I should step back and look at the bigger picture of the subject at hand. Instead of writing an argumentative piece on why marijuana should be legalized across America, I will be writing more about the community around this subject as a whole, and analyze why the zeitgeist for legal marijuana even exists in the first place. I plan to do this by reading in on data that talks about the health benefits for several types of people in more detail. I have also been sent this article which discusses why more Americans today are for legalizing marijuana than ever before, as well as getting into details by looking at data that shows a massive percentage increase in people that are pro-marijuana. about 66% of Americans compared to the around 24% back in 1988 have shown approval of legalization, and I believe that writing as to why this big change in peoples view on marijuana is happening will be essential for writing a good research project on this topic. Welcome back! For this weeks blog, I will be going over the topic of my research project, which is about the legalization of marijuana. I will also be discussing the zeitgeist, or the “spirit of our time” of the community which is involved with the support of legalizing marijuana and how it affects a wide variety of people across America.
The zeitgeist topic that I will be researching is the legalization of marijuana. The way I see it, the usage of this substance is more than just a party drug where you get high and eat an entire pizza by yourself, I believe that marijuana can be safely used and can help treat several types of issues that people may have. The medicinal values in marijuana can be used to help with conditions both mentally damaging such as epilepsy and PTSD, as well as physically damaging such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis. As primary sources, I will be using articles from organizations which discuss current topics surrounding marijuana, whether it be about medicinal use or legality issues discussed in politics, such as how people are serving criminal charges for use/possession when it is now legal in the state they are in. This zeitgeist topic will mostly impact people who believe that marijuana should be legal across the United States as well as people who use marijuana regularly for medical conditions and people who believe that marijuana should be decriminalized. This zeitgeist can be first dated back in the 1960’s, where marijuana was especially popular among teens and young adults who were against the war. Soon after in 1971, the “war on drugs” campaign began and marijuana was put in the same category as hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. But after years of research we’ve come to a point where it is clear that marijuana is nowhere close to comparison of other drugs, and the zeitgeist has re-emerged from people who believe its time for a change in the current state of marijuana laws. The reason this zeitgeist exists is because people want to change the overall image of marijuana to the public. People want to be able to show off all of the great benefits to the consumption of this substance, both medically and recreationally. Certain chemicals in marijuana can be used without traditionally smoking or eating it, and rather put in oils and creams, for instance, which can be applied to the skin to help with muscle pain or droplets placed under the tongue to help relieve anxiety or sleeping disorders. There have been so many advancements in the capabilities which marijuana can be used for that its left many people wondering why about half of the U.S still considers it completely illegal. This zeitgeist makes me feel hopeful for the world of medicine and science and how we are continuously making progress towards using marijuana to its fullest extent. I believe that the more we normalize the usage of marijuana, we are getting one step closer to creating a safer environment around use, both in a political standpoint and a medical standpoint.This zeitgeist makes me think about how marijuana has been becoming more and more of a social norm in certain parts of the country for different aspects, such as how more medical marijuana stores are being built across different states, and is now even being integrated into restaurants such as the Lowell Cannabis Cafe, a restaurant in California where using marijuana in the building is accepted and even has a “cannabis menu” where you can purchase different strains of marijuana while you order your food. This zeitgeist makes me want to change how I perceive marijuana as well as other people’s perceptions. I believe that no one should be afraid of the use of marijuana, but I also believe that too much of it can be a problem. Like many other things, substance abuse should still be something to be mindful of, and that taking control over how much or how frequently you use marijuana is all apart of the process of using it in a healthy matter. Hey there! For this blog post, We were given four different texts to read and interpret ourselves in order to get a better sense of our discourse community. A discourse community is a group of people that have a similar set of goals and use communication within the community to achieve them. Writers such as Pablo Neruda, James Paul Gee, and Becky Thompson all discuss different aspects and values of a discord community in the texts read (links provided above) as well as Mr. Mangini who has his own set of Discourse community values which you can read about here. For my interpretation, I decided to create a found poem using the four texts which summarizes the spirit and identity of our own discourse community in class.
Tap into the mind Take the form of difficult emotions Make room for complicated thoughts Thoughts buried deep within See the language evoke memories through others Feel good about the process Allow others to be drawn in and think collectively Connect oneself to identity of others Of the many, we are one A single mind A single mouth People unknown to me Instead we fly as one and truly explore. Welcome back! For todays blog post, I will be reviewing my overall digital portfolio and assessing whether certain aspects are either suffering, sustaining, or flourishing. This includes all of my web pages, blog posts, and narrative drafts. I will also be discussing when and how I will be able to critique certain portions which aren’t up to standards in order to make my overall portfolio the best it can be.
Home page well-being: Flourishing Why: Home page is consistent and meets all criteria including header image, Quote, and accurately introduce myself as a writer. How: Finished. About page well-being: Flourishing Why: Meets criteria and gives description of myself outside of being just a writer, as well as providing external links to give further details about myself. How: Finished. Narrative project page well-being: Sustaining Why: Meets basic criteria by explaining the meaning of the project and gives links to previous and relevant blog posts. However, only one draft is posted at the moment and a minimum of 2 drafts are required. How: Finish/Post second draft and provide more links to other blog posts by October 31st. Research project page well-being: suffering Why: Research project has not been started yet, therefore no criteria or work is posted to this page yet. How: Begin writing preface for this page as soon as possible. Blog page well-being: Flourishing Why: All blog posts have been posted on time including prefaces and comments to other writers blog posts How: Finished Contact page well-being: Flourishing Why: All criteria for the contact page is met. How: Finished Welcome back! Here is my first vlog blog post, which involves me talking about what I have learned so far in this class. This was interesting to do as someone who has never vlogged before, but I was able to talk about important topics such as the writing process and my author Identity. While you're at it, check out this video which goes more in depth on reflective writing in order to see how I went about making and wording this video. Hello! Welcome back to my fifth blog post, which I dive into the deeper meaning of my narrative memoir project. In this blog post, I write about my first draft in regards to using the abilities of my mind, emotions, and nerve, much like in the movie The Wizard of Oz. In the movie, each character is out searching for what they’ve always wanted (brain, heart, courage) when it was really inside of them all along. This relates to my memoir and my writing in general when it comes to expression and creating a powerful piece. Here are links to scenes in the movie below which helped me write about my reflection.
For my memoir, I have chosen to write more on the topic of a blog post I have written about previously, called “Composing an Emotional Scene”. This blog consists of my initial thoughts and feelings when listening to a certain album for the first time, and for my narrative I wanted to write more about how music in general has affected me through the years and how it still does today. While writing my narrative, I was taken back to different periods of my life and what types of music and melodies would be constantly playing back in my head during these times. Whether these points were more happy, sad, meaningful, or just completely unexplainable, (like the brief dubstep phase I went through in the 6th grade which I have no comments on) I took note on (almost) all of these periods and thought about how certain songs/albums were meaningful to me and what I thought I could relate to at the time being. My narrative really made me think about how music makes me feel inside. As a whole, I can’t really conclude how music makes me feel into one singular emotion. Music in general can provide me with many different feelings at once, and over the years these feelings have shifted and taken new forms into my everyday life. But one common connection I have discovered in myself is how i felt safe. Whether in school, on a car ride, or in bed, music has always been a distraction for me, but in a good way. The feeling that nothing could bother me as I let the rhythm of whatever it is I’m listening to just bounce through my head, It’s almost tranquil to me, and that warm safe feeling has always stuck with me, even as a young child. My narrative met the element of nerve by describing the music of what almost seems to be the soundtrack of my life. Although I wouldn’t consider myself a person who has dealt with much major and impactful conflict in their life, most of my conflict came from within and battling with myself and my own daily thoughts. I consider music to be the closest thing to conveying my self-conflict to the physical world. I’ve always found it difficult to put into words what my thought process for daily life is like and what is really going on inside myself, but music is a way for me to try to get a better understanding of myself. It helped me put certain feelings into a more relatable sense for myself to try to digest when I felt like I was lost in my thoughts and I had no idea what to make of certain situations. Music helps me use the power to be the author in my own life story because of how much it impacts me and my life. Music is a driving fuel for me and has always been there when I needed it to help me make sense of the world around me. I firmly believe that the stories we tell ourselves about life events are what shape our identities. Life events themselves can change you, but the way you react and reflect after and onward is what really matters. A lot of personal life events of mine could be seen in a completely different light or portray an entirely different emotion if I interpreted them differently afterwards, whether it was in a more positive or even negative connotation. Music for me has been what always helped my shape my identity in a more positive matter by taking these life events and having the story I tell after being more sensible and understanding. In a way, the music is the story I tell, and the music is a way for more people to relate and understand the deeper meaning as well as the feelings driven behind it. Welcome back to my fourth blog assignment. Today, I wrote about another moment in my life involved with emotion. Only this time, I used dialogue between characters and elements of symbolism in order to give the reader a deeper meaning of this scene. Much like Ernest Hemingway’s story Hills Like White Elephants, my story involves arguments between me and my friends on pulling of a risky decision. I suggest you click on the link to read Ernest’s story as well.
“Mason we need your help this is urgent.” I read the text out loud as I open the doors to Kung Fu Tea. “Its from Brandon. This is either something really serious, or really stupid.” I say to my Friend Matt. “Well you better Facetime him to see what he wants.” Matt suggests as we get in line to order food. After ordering a Taro milk tea, I sit beside Matt at one of the sofas and hit the call button on my phone. He answers immediately. I am greeted by his face on the screen surrounded by the dark night sky. Maybe this is actually serious. I think to myself for a second. “Whats up Brandon?” I ask. “Mason, ya gotta help us steal this statue we found.” He begins with. Never mind its something stupid. “You’re joking, right?” Brandon then flips the camera without saying a word and presents to me a large golden samurai statue standing in the distance across a dark empty street, behind some sort of a building. “Jesus Brandon, where the hell did you even find this thing?” I ask in disbelief. “Ever since I drove by it last week I was determined to take it home with me.” He says. “Bring your truck over here and help bring it to my house.” Being only half-on-board with the plan, I was still concerned with exactly how legal this process would be. Matt then took the words right out of my mouth by saying to brandon; “You know you’re most likely just stealing some stores prop, right?” “I don't know whose it is but look at him!” Brandon says in excitement as he flips the camera once again point at the statue. “Look at him…” He says. “He’s beautiful and waiting to be taken home.” further enticing me into helping him. “I’d love to help.” I begin to say. “But we’re in Media right now, we’re not gonna be close to home for like another 20 minutes” I say trying to get out of doing this stunt. “We can wait, I’ll give you the address.” He replies as he pans the camera towards two of my other friends he’s with. Damn he really wants this statue. I think to myself. “If anything happens to me I'm kicking your ass.” I say half-jokingly. “Number 44!” I hear the man at the counter yell my order. “I gotta go.” I say. “I’ll let you know when I'm close by.” “Alright, get ready for the heist of the century!” He exclaims humorously as I hang up the call to get my drink. Me and Matt begin to walk back to my truck with our drinks as I begin to think about all that could possibly go wrong with this operation. “Aren’t you worried at all about y’know, getting pulled over with a giant samurai sticking out the trunk?” I ask Matt as we hop back in the truck. “Possibly. I know what statue he’s talking about, I’ve seen it before.” He begins with. “I’m not exactly sure who owns it, or if it really even belongs to anyone. Maybe no one will notice?” “I sure hope not. Lets just pray that this thing will even fit.” As we drive towards brandon, over worrying fills my head as I begin to think about the most outlandish outcomes that could ever occur. “Matt if the cops see us it’s all gonna be on me because i'm the getaway driver. I can't be a getaway driver, I barely know how to drive when I'm not doing something illegal!” “Calm down, were not going to be in a high-speed pursuit over a stupid statue.” Matt says to me. “We’re almost there, turn right at the next light.” I turn off of McDade and onto some backroads. As I continue to drive down the dark alleyway, I see Brandon along with two more people in the distance. I cut the headlights and park the truck on the side of the road. I hop out the truck as we all walk to the statue to get a better look. “Let's make this quick, dude.” I say to Brandon. I look up to see the large golden figure towering over me made of wire and fabric. The samurai glowed in the light with a sword resting on its shoulder while standing on top of a wooden box frame. It cast an ominous shadow in the moonlight stretching down the length of the building wall is stood by. The five of us tip the statue on its side and carried it to the back of my truck. When suddenly bright glaring lights beamed down at us from all angles. “Go! Go! Go!” Brandon yells in a burst of Fright. As we attempt to jam the statue in the trunk in a panicked matter, We quickly realized the statue was to big to have us completely close the bed of the truck. “Great, now what do we do?” I yell to Brandon. “I got it!” He says as he hops in the back of the truck and sits down with the head of the statue poking out. “Are you crazy?” I exclaim. “I can’t drive down McDade with you in the back like that!” “You won't have to. Just cross then take the backroads to my house.” He replies. “Remember… The heist of the century!” He says jokingly to try to calm my nerves. “Fuck…” I say to myself as I start the truck up again and begin to drive. As I make my way down the street and see a bright green light to cross over the busy major road, I take a deep breath and quickly drive out of the alleyway and past McDade, Hoping I don't look suspicious in the slightest way. My heart skips a beat and time seems to slow down for a second as I see a police car sitting in the intersection as I drive by. Everyone in the truck goes silent. I even see Brandon's deadpan expression through the rearview mirror as we pass by. When we are finally out of the police cars view, I start to speed up as I look up through the rearview mirror every five seconds to see if the cop is following us. The statue rattled and thudded the entire ride back until we finally arrived and with no police in sight. I turn off the truck with one final sigh of relief, and help brandon carry our new prize to his backyard. “We did it guys. We finally got Jack.” Brandon says to us as he sets the statue down next to his hot tub. “You named it?” Matt asks him. “Yeah. Samurai Jack, Duh.” We start to light a bonfire as we all sit down and set a spot for Jack in Brandon's backyard. We tell stories and jokes and talk about how funny it was to take the statue and how his parents are going to see a seven foot samurai out of their window when they wake up the next morning. Jack now lives in Brandon's backyard to this very day. |
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