Break..... Yay!

For the past couple of days I have been stressed. This past weekend one of my favorite teachers from middle school passed away and I went home for the funeral. It was sad and I do not do well with things like that. I stayed the night on Sunday and I ended up waking up bright and early at 5:30 Monday morning to drive back to Wilmington. It was sort of depressing to think that I was driving back for two days, but oh well. I was not looking forward to Monday and Tuesday because I knew they were going to be days from hell.

Monday night I had my Microbiology lab final which I think I did well on. After my lab practical I went home to spend another night studying and drinking coffee to stay awake. On Tuesday I had a busy day planned. It had the possibility to be a horrible day. I woke up and packed up my car so that I could leave from school and go home without having to drive back to my apartment. After packing up my car, I went to school and I had gym. I can’t stand having swimming at 9:00 in the morning. I got so hot that I thought I was going to pass out. After swimming, I had to go to work. I did not want to go to work, because I wanted to study for my lab practical and my test. I ended up getting off work at one because we were slow. I studied and ate lunch and then I went and took my Anatomy lab final at three which was pitiful. We were timed at forty four stations and only had a minute for each question. After my lab final, I went and studied for my test at five. After my test I left and made my way home to Sampson County.

I decided to reward myself after a stressful week and I went and saw the movie New Moon. I have read the first two books and I wanted to see the movie before I started on the third. The movie ended up being amazing. Jacob and Edward were both hot in the movie and I could not keep my eyes off of the screen. It was an amazing movie and it actually made me tear up a little bit. The ending made me excited for Eclipse and I am ecstatic for it to come out.

Today I watched TV, played with Jojo, and slept. I have worked on some homework and that was it. I enjoy being away from school and not worrying about anything. I cannot wait until the semester is over.

I cannot wait until tomorrow. I love Thanksgiving. I love getting the chance to see my extended family and eating home cooked food. My mom makes amazing gravy, stuffing, and turkey. Each of my family members is famous for one dish that they make. I am enjoying this much needed break, but I have a feeling that it is going to be too short.

Final Topic for Presentation

My group came up with some interesting problems and concerns for our final paper. Some of the topics include: obesity, nursing/teacher shortages, violence in children, and teen pregnancy rates. We discussed possible solutions and reasons why these topics were major problems. All of these problems are major problems in America at this point.

Obesity was a problem that we thought would have several solutions, but some of the solutions might not be feasible. The solutions consist of limiting TV time, having surgery, dieting, eating a balanced diet, and nutrition classes. Some of these solutions are reasonable and some have to deal with parents having some control in their children’s lives.

The second topic that we had was the nursing/teacher shortage. This is a problem that needs to be solved. Some of the solutions that we came up with include more grants and scholarships to encourage people to choose these professions. There also needs to be more hands on experience before people get their degrees. More resources would be nice as well. Nurses and teachers should also get more pay for their line of work.

The third topic that we discussed was violence in kids. This is a major problem however, it is up to the parents to monitor their children and the type of activities that they are involved in.

The final topic that we discussed was teen pregnancy. This is a topic that is a major problem and needs to be solved. We decided that this problem would be easier to research and that we could all come up with several different solutions. Some of the more obvious solutions are: make it easier to get contraceptives and parents becoming more involved with their children. Another solution would be to start Sex Ed earlier. An additional solution would be to make it more difficult to get on welfare.

I hope that this paper and presentation goes well. I also hope that we all work together as a group.

Visual Ad

The ad that I chose was a Maybelline New York ad which features eyeshadow. The ad caught my eye because it has a girl's eye blown up to accent the eyeshadow. It displays the four colors of the eyeshadow on the girl, and it looks amazing. The girls makeup looks flawless and it makes me want to do my makeup like hers. The one thing that really jumped out at me was the statement 4 SIMPLE STEPS. This made me realize that I can have eyes that look like the girl in the picture. It also shows a diagram of an eye near the bottom of the page. It has the colors of the eyeshadow marked with the specific places of where it should be put on the eye area. The diagram has the corresponding colors and areas numbered from one to four. By having this diagram, it makes it seem simple to do makeup. It makes it appear that anyone can use this eyeshadow. After looking at this ad, it made me want to go buy this eyeshadow, so I could experiment and try to make my eyes look pretty. The ad is for a well name company, so I know that the product is high quality. The ad allows gives a website, which allows people to look online to view more products if they are interested.

My Birthday

Last Monday was my birthday. I turned twenty and it feels great to say that I am no longer in my teens. There is really nothing big that happens when you turn twenty. I am just ready for next year when I can turn twenty one. That will be a birthday that I am sure will be fantastic. I did not have any special plans for my birthday, and I had planned on treating it like a normal day.

I woke up and was so excited to check my phone and see that I had received text messages and missed calls from people telling me Happy Birthday. I was also ecstatic to see how many people commented on my Facebook wall. It makes you feel special when you have tons of people showing you attention. It sucks that your birthday only comes one time a year. However, when I get older I am going to be wishing that I will still a teenager.

I ended up going to class as normal and it was amazing not having an 8 am class! This was a major present to me. My friends kept asking me over and over what I wanted to do that night and I had no special ideas. I knew that I wanted to go out to eat, but I did not know where. We ended up deciding on Chilis because it had a diverse menu and a wide range of desserts. I waited for one of my friends to get off work and we ended up getting there around 8:30. As soon as we got there we told our waitress that it was my birthday. Last year, I got a free dessert and a mariachi band sang to me at El Cerro, and I was curious to see what they would do at Chilis. I kept waiting and waiting and I didn’t get anything! I was pissed off. The main reason for going out on your birthday is to get something free and have people sing to you. I was not happy and I know not to ever go to Chilis on my birthday. My friend got me a gift card to Wal-mart, my mom sent me a card, and my boyfriend took me shopping. It ended up being a great birthday but, next year I hope that my birthday is bigger and better!

Halloween Weekend

My boyfriend and I went to the Battleship on Friday night for the ghost ship, but it was disappointing. As soon as we arrived, there was a long line out to the road. I know there was over hundreds of people there. On the tour, we walked all over the battleship, went through many tight spaces, and climbed several sets of stairs. It was extremely hot, foggy, and dark inside. There were a lot of decorations set up inside different rooms on the ship. The actors would hide in dark areas and jump out and scare you. There would be people who would come up behind you and not even say anything. I had to constantly keep looking over my shoulder and behind me. It was fun to tour the ship; however this was not what I came to do. The purpose for going was to get scared, but it did not scare me.
On Saturday, I woke up and went to the park in Castle Hayne with my boyfriend. He played disc golf, while I walked my dog, Jo-Jo. It ended up being a hot and beautiful day. After we left the park, we came home and got dressed up. We went to the mall and I bought a couple of shirts. We decided to go out to eat at Two Guys Grille and it was delicious. After eating, we went to Wal-Mart and got a couple of items for the night.
A couple of my friends were coming over and we were all going to hang out and watch scary movies. There ended up being nine of us. We made sugar cookies and homemade dip. It was a fun night and I was glad that I got to share it with my friends.
Today, I woke up and cleaned up my apartment. My boyfriend and I ate at Panera Bread and then we went and watched a movie.
This Halloween was great, but next year I want to do something more exciting. I still want to hang out with a bunch of friends, but I want to dress up and go downtown. This year I wanted to buy a costume, but I did not know where I was going to wear it. Next year, I want to get my costume early and not wait until the last minute to plan something!

My Vocabulary

Over the past few days I have been paying attention to the words and phrases that I use the most. These are a few of the words and phrases: Like, So, And, Yea, Aint, Yall, Oh, Lol, Ha-ha, What, Idk, and Ok.Most of the time when I use these words, I am having a conversation with my friends. When I am speaking with my friends, my language is not proper and consists of slang words. Most of the words that I use the most, I say through text messaging. Some of the words are easier to text and they are quick to type over and over. I think that a bunch of words that I use repetitively are picked up from texting. I think that “yall” and “aint” are some of my favorite words to use because they are part of my southern twang. I generally use the word “Oh” when I do not have a response to something. Also, most of the time when I say "Lol" or "haha"it does not mean literally laughing out loud, sometimes it just makes the point that you think something is funny. I also have a problem with run on sentences and I think it is because I use the word “and” a lot in my everyday language. I say the word “like” over and over but, mostly because I am thinking. I think that I say “yea” a lot because I tend to agree with people. I am a very indecisive person, hence the reason I say “I don't know" lot when I am speaking with people or texting someone.

These are the words that I use the most and they are part of my everyday vocabulary. I think it would be nearly impossible to stop using these words because I do use them unconsciously.

Those were the days.....

There are days when I feel so stressed with all of my schoolwork, that I just wish that I could go back to high school. I wish there were days when I could relax and not have to worry about a test, quiz, or major essay. I just feel like I can never get caught up.

Sometimes I wish that I could go back to high school when everything was easy. I could wake up and go to school from 8 to 3, and then come home and do whatever, or go to work. My schedule was fixed and I did not have to worry about going to class at night, and having hours in between to manage my time.

I could come home and spend time with my family, or go to my boyfriend’s house. Life was good, while I was in high school. I do not get to see my family and my boyfriend as much as I used too and this makes me sad. I miss having a carefree life.

The one thing that I miss the most about high school is that I got to see my friends every day. Almost every weekend we would all hang out and spend time together. We would go out to dinner or just go to each other’s house. I hate how I am apart from some of my best friends.

Another thing that I miss about high school is that I performed extracurricular activities such as: cheerleading and clubs. I miss the way I was so involved in my school and I knew just about everyone. My high school was small, so I was on a first name basis with the teachers. There were a couple of teachers who were my best friends. If I was having a bad day, there were a couple of teachers who knew what to say to make me feel better. In college, you are not on a first name basis with the professors.

Sometimes I wish that I could have time to take up a hobby, or just have time to work out a lot more than I do now. I also would love to have time to go to the park and just have time to do leisure activities. The only thing that I do now is work, school, sleep, and eat.

I would definitely have to say that I miss the free time and the carefree spirit that I had. However, I am ready to move on with life and graduate from college.

Haunted Trail

The weekend of the 17th my family and I went to Clayton Fear Farm to celebrate my dad’s birthday. My dad, brother, boyfriend, and I were all psyched and ready to go to this place because we had heard it advertised on the radio and the internet. The internet made it seem like it was the best haunted place to go in North Carolina.

The farm had seven attractions that people could do and we decided to do all seven. The attractions consisted of a hay ride, a trail in the dark, a 3d house, a corn maze, a haunted house, and some other attractions. After looking on the internet and reading the descriptions, I had set my expectations high. When we arrived at the farm, there were a lot of people there. We were waiting on my aunt to arrive with my cousins and we were all going to go on the hay ride together. My mom does not like scary stuff, so it took a lot of persuading to get her to go with us. The hayride ended up being cool, but not scary. There were several effects that were cool, but nothing really jumped out at me and made me scream. I was sort of disappointed. :(

We ended up going through the other attractions and it seemed as if the chainsaw theme was overrated. In every attraction there was someone chasing you with one and after a while, it got old. We ended the night going through the corn maze, which was not fun either because people had made their own paths, so you couldn’t tell if you were going the right way or a made up way.
I feel as if this farm had great ideas, but they really need to lower their prices, and make it scarier. They also need a lot of work. The volunteers were mostly kids, so it makes it harder to scare adults if you are half their size.

Next year I want to try somewhere different, but I want to make sure that it is going to be worth my time and money.

Topic for Third Essay

The topic that I chose for my third essay is “Who is an American?”This is a topic that many people have different opinions on. I want to focus on the freedoms in the Constitution and the basic rights that citizens have in America.

I understand that not all people think the same way, so I would like to get different definitions from native born citizens and non native born citizens. There might be a few people who have grown up in America, who may take some freedoms for granted, compared to a non native born citizen.

In this paper, I might include some definitions of citizenship, nationalism, and patriotism. In my own opinion, I think an American is a person who has the ability to do almost anything that they want, unless it concerns breaking a law of the government. Some of the things that are different in America are: people have a right to practice their own religion, choose their own spouses, own their own property, run for political offices, and attend a public school. These are just a few things that come to mind when I think of how Americans differ from others.

I think it would be interesting to go to a completely different country and see how different their rules and laws are. I think America is a great country and Americans are lucky.

I feel as though this paper might be a challenge because I expect to find a lot of information. I think that I need to focus on making sure that my sources are accurate. I also think it will be difficult to completely focus on the facts, rather than putting my own personal opinion in the paper. For my sources, I want to use at least three different types. I would like to find a good book that discusses American values, liberties, and freedoms. I want to find a compare and contrast article with two different people’s viewpoints. I hope to find a credible website that provides me a lot of information as well.

The one thing that upsets me about this paper is that it is due on my birthday.

My religion......

As a young child, I attended church every Sunday and some Wednesday nights. I grew up in church and I was raised to believe that there was a God. I believe that there was a creator, who made everything. I know that there is a Bible, and I also know that there are other religious books. I believe in right from wrong, and I feel like the commandments are a set of laws that are set forth for people to abide. I believe that if I live a good life and ask for forgiveness of my sins, then I will go to Heaven. I also believe that when you pray, you are sending a direct message to God.
There are a couple of things that I do not understand about religion. One of the questions that I have is: Why there are so many different beliefs about religion and who is correct? If everyone worships something different, then how does one person know that their belief is true? How are people supposed to know which religion to practice?
I feel as though religion was based on different people disagreeing with one another. There are several denominations within each type of religion and most religions are practiced in certain regions around the world. Evidently, this was the case because even in Christianity, there are different types, Baptist and Pentecostal, for example.
Another thing that I believe about religion is that it depends on where you grow up and what your parents believe. Obviously, your parents are going to teach you their beliefs and it is normal to obey your parents.
One area that is confusing when it comes to religion is what comes after death. Some religions believe in reincarnation, heaven and hell, and some do not believe in anything.
I am skeptical about religion because there are many hypocrites in the world who proclaim to be religious and do bad things. This is contradictory and I would rather someone not profess to be something that they are not.
My general beliefs in life are to obey my parents, do not harm others, make good decisions, forgive others, and basically live a good life. I believe if I do all of these things then I will have a happy life and eternity.

Football Madness....

One of the best memories that I have from High School is Football. I was a cheerleader and Football season was my favorite. I loved Football for many reasons.

The beginning of the year is exciting because you have a fresh new team and everybody cannot wait to see if the team is going to be great or not. I love Football because it is a contact sport and you can get into it. I was one of the only cheerleaders who knew how the game was played and I would constantly have to remind everyone what was going on. I used to get so excited when our team was running for a touchdown or kicking the ball for a point. I loved when the announcer came on the intercom and got the crowd into the game.

As a cheerleader, one of my favorite parts of the game was when the boys ran through the banner at the beginning of the game because you could tell how pumped the boys were. They would come blasting through there screaming and yelling because they were ready to play. The other part that I loved about Football season was Homecoming because we have spirit week. This is a week full of school spirit and getting the players ready and excited for the upcoming game. I used to love advancing in the season to get to go on to the championships. I remember my junior year going on a road trip all the way to the mountains to play a game. This was exciting because we got out of school early and everyone came outside to wish the boys luck and waved to them as they drove away.

I love Football weather because in the beginning it is sort of hot and comfortable and near the end of the season we are all bundled up in earmuffs, gloves, and drinking hot chocolate!

The one thing that I do hate about UNCW is the fact that we do not have a Football team. This is a bummer to me because I was so involved in Football throughout High School. I loved the school spirit at my old High School and I just know that we could have a great team at UNCW. I feel as though there would be several fans and several people to support this idea. I would love to see UNCW get a Football team before I graduate.

Congestion on Campus

The assignment on page 351 says that we have to come up with a complaint and propose a solution for it. Well there are a few things that bother me about the UNCW campus, but there is one that just gets on my nerves! I have a major problem with the traffic on Chancellors Walk.

Our campus is really pretty and I do think it is organized in an easy way to get around. However, during the day it is so busy on Chancellors Walk. People are constantly walking up and down at different paces and many are not paying attention to anyone. The problem with this is the fact that there are not only people walking, there are people rollerblading, riding a bike, riding a scooter, and also people skateboarding. This definitely causes some congestion on the sidewalk. There needs to be separate sidewalks for people to get around. This is a problem because people get held up when there is no way to get around and people get ran into. If there were separate sidewalks or paths for bikers, skateboarders, walkers, and roller skaters then there would not be as many accidents or “traffic jams.”

At my old high school we had to walk down the hallways in a one way direction. I think this would be a great idea on the sidewalk as well. I think if you kept people walking either to the left or to the right, then you wouldn’t have people running into each other.

I also feel as if it is hard for people to realize when someone on wheels is coming up from behind, and what if you have to turn to the left or to the right and someone crashes into you and you get hurt? I honestly do not want this to happen to me, but I am sure it has already happened to several people.

If we had separate lanes, then people would not have to worry about moving to the side to let someone by, or having to walk in the grass because someone does not want to move out of the way. The other day I was walking straight ahead paying attention and someone on a bike is coming straight at me. I think that they are going to move over, since they are on the bike, NO! I jump to the left to keep them from hitting me and then they reply sorry. This makes me angry!

If you are riding on wheels, I feel as if you should be more respectful to the people on the sidewalk, because we are the ones who have to step in the wet or muddy grass and get our shoes dirty, while the people on wheels do not.

If there were designated lanes, these problems would probably not occur.

Farrah Fawcett Obituary

The Newsobserver.com claims that Farrah Fawcett was a beautiful and talented woman, who became well known in the 1970s hit show "Charlie’s Angels." She became the woman who helped define sex appeal. She died on June 25, 2009 after battling cancer.
Farrah was born Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas. She had a son named Redmond and her companion was Ryan O'Neal.

Fawcett went to the University of Texas at Austin and her fellow classmates picked her as one of the 10 most beautiful people on the campus. It was obvious that a film career would be perfect for her. Farrah Fawcett appeared in several movies and television shows. Some of the following include: “Logan’s Run,” “Sunburn,” “Saturn 3,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “Murder in Texas,” “Criminal Behavior,” “Poor Little Rich Girl,” and “Burning Bed.” She actually earned an Emmy nomination for “Burning Bed,” which signified her ability to act.

Farrah had long blond hair, a pretty smile, and a trim little body which gained her popularity with the males. She also had a bathing suit poster which sold in the millions.
Fawcett’s attractiveness also helped sell T-shirts, lunch boxes, shampoo, wigs and even a novelty plumbing device called Farrah's faucet. At the age of 50 she posed in Playboy, which is a significant achievement for a woman of that age.

In September 2006, Fawcett endured two weeks of testing to find out that she had cancer. After finding out the news, Farrah decided to air her story and took part in a documentary by NBC. She wanted “Farrah’s Story” to be an inspiration to others. In her documentary, she was seen getting treatments and even though she experienced obstacles, she continued to be positive.

The Newsobserver.com makes several claims about Fawcett being beautiful, talented, and an amazing woman. This obituary uses qualitative evaluations about Fawcett’s life and it also uses her professional acting career to support the claims and provide evidence.

Free Write ... Topic

Well after writing my Free Write in class, I decided to come home and think about what ideas would actually work as a topic for my second paper. The two types of media that I was planning on using were a movie and a song. The hardest part was trying to figure out two that fit well with each other, and if they were similar enough to write about.

Some of the ideas that first popped into my head were my two favorite movies of all time. A Walk to Remember and The Notebook are two great movies that are extremely sad, but they are movies that make you cry and think about your life. The next part was trying to find a song that corresponded with the theme of the movie. The obvious thing for me to do was to look at the soundtracks. There is a song called “Only Hope” which I absolutely adore by Mandy Moore. After examining the lyrics, I think this is the best option for me to do.

A Walk to Remember is about two people who are thrown together and eventually fall in love with one another. The guy (Landon) is in the popular clique and the girl (Jamie) is shy and keeps to herself. These two typically never cross paths. The boy gets in trouble for pulling a prank and has to do community service and participate in the school play. The girl is also in the play and this is how they meet and eventually start developing their strong bond for each other.

We find out that Jamie is dying and she has a wish list to do before she dies. Landon helps her to check off items on this list and they end up getting married before she dies. We find out that meeting her was the best thing that ever happened to Landon and he changes his life because of her. This movie is based on love, devotion, and fate.

The song “Only Hope” is a song that Jamie sings in the play. This is the play where Landon realizes how beautiful and amazing Jamie is and he kisses her, unscripted. This is the start of his love and attraction for her. After analyzing the words of the song, it is about a woman’s undying love and passion for her significant other. She is praying to be theirs and theirs only. The woman says that she is giving her all to them and that they are her only hope. This is exactly what these two were with each other from the time that they first started dating. They stuck by each other through the bad and the good.This song really shows the power of true love. This is a perfect song to play at a wedding because it is full of love and devotion, just like the movie.

Amusement Parks...

Last weekend I went home to attend the Cumberland County Fair. I had been looking forward to Friday all week because I knew that I was finally going to be able to relax and have a little bit of fun. I enjoyed the fair and I did not want to leave.

I am someone who is daring and I absolutely love to ride roller coasters and anything exciting. I have been to Walt Disney World and the surrounding parks, over ten times because we vacation in Daytona Beach every year. I love theme parks! I would love to have a season pass to one that was actually nearby.

There are a couple of daring things that I would love to cross off my list. I would love to go sky diving, bungee jumping, and parasailing. I also think that it would be fun to go rafting on the river.

Another place that I love to go to is the Wet N Wild Water Parks. I wish that it could stay warm year round sometimes just so I could go to these parks. I have not been to Busch Gardens in a while, and I would love to go back to Dollywood and the water parks in Tennessee. Hopefully, this year when we go to Daytona we will either go down to Tampa to Busch Gardens or we will go to SeaWorld because they have added a lot of rides and attractions since the last time I went.

I would love to get a chance to go back to Carowinds and Kings Dominion. I love fairs because they are half the price, have some good rides, and they have great food. The only bad thing about fairs is that they tease you and the rides are not as great as the theme parks. I cannot wait until the State Fair this year!

When I am at a theme park, I spend too much money. I love the food! I usually have to get either a funnel cake or some fried Oreos as a dessert. I also love the homemade lemonade that they serve. The one thing that I hate about fairs is that they have all of those people set up at the stations where you play to win prizes. It gets irritating when they ask you over and over to play a game. It is sometimes hard to win the games and they can pressure you into playing over and over to get your money.

When I am at a theme park or on a roller coaster, I feel happy and like a child. I feel as though I have no worries or cares in the world, and I am living in the moment. I also love the adrenaline rush that you experience when you ride roller coasters.

English, English, English

Well this is sort of a tricky assignment because it is hard for me to name all of the different languages that I use. I am a country girl and it is hard for me to get away from my "southern talk." I guess this could be considered as one of my languages. I used to get picked out at my old job because everyone knew that I was southern. They would simply ask me to say words for them so they could listen to me pronounce them. My southern vocabulary usually consists of using words like: yall, aint, yonder, and etc. These are words that I would generally use on a normal day to day basis talking to my friends and family.
The other type of English that I would have to consider is my professional English that I use around my professors and important people. I really wish sometimes that everybody did not have to talk so proper. Sometimes I feel as if it is a waste to learn the proper English when everyone can pretty much communicate now. I feel like speaking differently in English allows people to sense a different style and learn new ways of speaking. I have learned that some words here in the south are different from those in the north.
The next type of language that I would have to include is my baby talk and the way I talk to my puppy. I try to talk to them in a slow and sweet way.
There are some words that I would say to my boyfriend and close friends that I would never say anywhere in public and this is sort of a private language.
Anther language that can be considered is texting. This is a language because most people abbbreviate and leave words out. Texting is also an informal way of talking and communicating.
These are all of my different languages that I use day to day.

I got a Dog!

Ever since I was little, I have always wanted a Yorkie Terrier because they are the cutest dogs to me. I have always heard that they are great lap and house dogs. About two weeks ago, I was checking on craigslist and I saw an ad for a Yorkie for sell in my hometown. I saw a picture of him and I immediately fell in love. I found out that the owner was a girl that I went to school with. I emailed her and asked how much she was going to sell him for. Yorkie Terriers usually run anywhere from 500 dollars to 1,000 dollars depending on the breed, owner, and etc. She responded and told me that she was asking for 300 dollars.

She said that he was a good dog that needed love and attention, and that he was great around kids and other animals. I called my parents and asked them if this would be a good deal or not. At first, my parents told me that getting a dog would be a lot of responsibility and that it may place a lot of stress on me. They then said it was my decision and that it would ultimately be up to me. I had been searching for a Yorkie forever and knew that this was an opportunity too good to pass up. I called the girl and I let her know that I would be by the weekend to see him. I went by Friday night to see him and he was so excited to see me. I found out that his name was Jo Jo. He knew his name well and every time you would say it he would run to you.

After I bought him, I took him to my parent’s house and they fell in love with him as well. They said that they would love to keep him when I needed them to. I went to the store and bought him some food, bones, and a bed and I brought him back to Wilmington with me. He loves my apartment especially because my friend has a little daschund named Roxy. They are best friends now and they play all the time.

I have realized that he does need a lot of attention, but he is sweet. Dogs are great company when you are alone. Sometimes there are days when you do not want to be bothered and a dog can be your best friend. I plan on finding him a vet down here in Wilmington and I plan on taking him to Pet Smart to get him groomed.

First Essay

The essay that I have decided to anaylze is "One Picture Is Worth a Thousand Diets." I have decided to do my first essay on this text because it makes numerous strong points that are interesting to consider. The author is W Charisse Goodman. Goodman talks about how the media portrays and treats bigger women. I thought this essay would be perfect because in class we have had several discussions on how the media has affected the US and other countries. This text also contrasts the differences in how large men versus large women are perceived.

The article has evidence from magazines, movies, newspapers, television, personal ads, and books to support claims.

I am interested in writing this essay because it discusses things that are in our culture today. Goodman does seem to express personal opinions and it is easy for me to disagree or agree with her. This article expresses some points that many would rather keep to themselves and not discuss. It also shows how stereotypical the media has become today. This article is sad because it is hard to believe how true everything is.

I believe that this essay will be a lot easier to write because it is something that I am interested in and chose to write about. I feel as if the author does great at expressing her main points.

In response to this article, I do feel as if the media is judgmental when it comes to women versus men. Women are looked at as fat and ugly while men are looked at as big or muscular. Women are judged more on their body type rather than their personality. I think that Hollywood does put forth certain restrictions on roles when they are casting and I feel as if it is harder for bigger women to fit those roles. However, there are several new shows on television that are treating bigger women as special and unique.

I think that it is horrible that the US has such a high rate for obesity. I wish that there was more that could be done to broadcast and publicize the negative effects of being overweight and big. I do not agree with everyone being super skinny, but I also do not agree with anyone being seriously overweight. I just wish everyone could be at peace with who they were on the inside and the outside.

First Week of Classes

Well last week was the first full week of classes and they went well. It was sort of challenging getting used to having a set routine again. I liked having something to do each day because it made the week go by much faster, but it seemed as though the weekend went by twice as fast.

I feel as though this semester is going to be tough for me. I feel like I am going to have to spend a lot more time inside studying, rather than going out and having a good time. I am taking Anatomy and Microbiology at the same time, which means I have labs three times a week. I am not excited about this, but maybe I will learn a lot. The class that I am really not looking forward to is PED 101. I know it sounds stupid, but I do not like having this as a class. I feel like I can exercise on my own time and not have to waste time taking this class as a credit. I am not happy about having to go outside in ninety degree weather jumping around and getting hot and sweaty. I prefer exercising in an air-conditioned building with fancy equipment much better. As for this English class, I am excited to learn how to do more stuff on the computer. I have never really blogged in the past, so maybe this will teach me a couple of things.

The only thing that I am looking forward to each week is having my weekends to do whatever I feel like. The weekends are going to be my time to let loose and forget about all my stress. This coming up weekend I plan on going to the movies and watching Halloween or either the Final Destination. I also plan on trying out a new restaurant downtown this weekend.

I just hope that the following weeks go by as quick as this past one.

Evaluating Blogs

Our first assignment for English class was to find at least two blogs and read them. After searching through several, I finally decided on reading two from the TLC website.

One of the blogs that I read was from an episode on the show What Not To Wear. I absolutely love this show because I can pick up on several facts about fashion by watching it. This show is based on giving people makeovers, but it is helpful to the general public. The first blog that I read was from the episode, "From Romper Room to Va-Va-Voom."

The author is identified on the website and it looks more professional, based on the logos. The website is classy and organized, rather than busy and excessive. The blog was a basic synopsis of the show in the author's point of view. It is obvious that it was designed to inform viewers about the show. The blog also brings in more publicity to TLC. It allows viewers to post comments or give any feedback. On the side of the website are related links and recent posts which make it easier to view other episodes without having to search for them.

The second blog that I read was also from the TLC website, but it was a different episode. It was entitled, "From Wilted Flower to Blossoming Bouquet." This blog was a bit more interesting because it actually concerned a former child star from the hit show "Blossom." It was interesting to see how this child actor had abandoned her style. Once again this blog had a place for readers to make comments.

It is obvious that blogs can be personal, professional, informative, persuasive, or anything. There is not a set definition for a blog. These blogs were designed to be professional, which makes them less appealing to the eye. However, they do serve a purpose to inform and promote the show. Blogging also allows the author a chance to share their thoughts and feelings with others.