E-Portfolio

I sat here for a while deliberating on whether I wanted to write myself a cover letter or a reflective post, and I decided that I was going to do a combination of both. I am guessing that if I really had the choice on who to write to, it would be past me. I'm not saying past me as in years ago, but to past me at the beginning of the semester. I think that version of me really needs to hear what this me has learned over the past 16 or so weeks. Throughout this course, I have been exposed to a whole new way of writing and expressing myself. One of the learning outcomes that most deeply impacted me was the "Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing" component because before I started this class, critical thinking and then putting a lot of my thoughts into words really scared me. I wasn't super confident in the writing I would put out, and a lot of the time I tended to just stick to what my professors wanted to see and hear. This class has taught me that my voice and my language is what I make of it, and if I take the time to analyze and think about passages or videos I am reading, I can successfully formulate a response to them in my own words. I was able to learn that rhetoric is absolutely everywhere, and within rhetoric I can find credibility of authors and works within it. My struggles with interpreting a text became easier and easier as the weeks went on and when I look at my writing now, I can see a clear difference. I really wish the past me knew that confidence goes a long way in writing, especially when it comes to gaining my own form of rhetorical knowledge. Without rhetorical knowledge, writing in the correct tone and language for an assignment would be lost. I can't stress enough to past me that this class was not to hurt me, but to challenge me healthily and better my writing. Learning about Rhetoric is not a punishment. It is not a "Gen-Ed". Rhetoric is everywhere in life; and without understanding it, I would have missed out on a valuable piece to my education.

 These pictures are of me before the semester (pictured on left) and after (pictured on right). Don't think that I look somber in the second photo, I am only someone who appreciates rhetoric for what it is.

To view my documentary project, click the link below:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xUqJ1oX4SO3eFjSibXVxqu8X_snlEKi6luZBL-sYKHY/edit?usp=sharing

To view my rational argument project, click the link below: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T1YNuusPdY_zu8teHPNZqsg4fIh9bB0YIQ5kGhleDn8/edit?usp=sharing

To view my multimodal project, click the links below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02dO-AjOnUI&t=1s

To view my art summary project, click the link below: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c08OwSPMr5DkCK9Xr7xEpaj5YOnOiVhkdbKDWV5dOto/edit?usp=sharing

To end the semester off on a good note, I leave you with one of my favorite songs: Linger, by the Cranberries
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G6Kspj3OO0s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> 

HEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLP

I am so beyond freaked out that the end of semester is TWO WEEKS AWAY BEFORE BEING COMPLETELY DONE. I don't know how to organize myself or prepare for the impending doom that is coming for me. This semester has been extremely challenging for me and this whole week I was really sick. We are talking the sick you can't get out of bed sick. I didn't go to any classes Wednesday, and only got out of bed Thursday for Theta's service bake sale. I planned on going to classes on Friday but I woke up with a fever. Literally how am I going to survive this semester if I cannot make it to my final classes before we have the actual final? This is going to be on heck of a super study if you ask me. I am almost at the end of my rope!

Brookfield Zoo and Guardian Angel

My sorority, Theta Kappa Pi, did so much over the last few weeks in Service. Being the Vice-President and Service chair for our organization means that I couldn't help but be so proud of my sisters when we all took the time to decorate a tree at Brookfield Zoo on November 19th. It has become a tradition over the last few years that the service chair uses  some of Theta's money as a donation for the zoo's annual Trim-a-Tree event. Basically the zoo plants a Christmas tree for you to decorate as recognition for the donation. Even though we would have donated the money even if the tree wasn't provided, my sisters and I enjoy making it pretty. This year was a combination of paper ornaments that we made and plastic globe ornaments that each sister customized. I wish we had put more on, but it was still a load of fun! We got to spend the rest of the day in the zoo and hang out. On a side note, Theta also spent the month of November running a donation drive for our main philanthropy services, Guardian Angel. Guardian Angel is a service shelter for women who are in or coming out of abusive relationships and need help. For the donation drive, Theta collected tons of hygiene products and cleaning supplies for the ladies to use. We boxed everything up and dropped it off! It was so successful and I am beyond happy that my sisters have such caring souls. 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year, and this one actually disappointed me. Even though I got to spend the holiday with my boyfriend and his family, I was still a little down. I think it is because my stress level has been on a clear 100 and I just can't help but think about everything I have to get done. While eating the really yummy food, I somehow kept finding my mind focusing on the end of the semester and everything I need to accomplish before finals week. While watching football, I kept thinking about how my next semester is going to be extremely busy. While shopping later that night, I kept thinking about how much I am going to need to work just to make ends meet. I don't know, maybe I just have horrible anxiety. OR maybe I just need to realize that this is a part of the college experience. Even though it sucks, I is what it is and I just need to toughen up. I guess I can look on the bright side and realize that soon Christmas will be here and I will be ready for the joy and cheer then. 

After the election....

So as everyone found out in class on Wednesday, I was really side-swiped by President-Elect Donald Trump's win. Before anyone has anything to say (which I am more than open for critique), I want to share why I am so against the idea of him being the next president of this nation. Firstly, I want to point out that I cannot look past the racist and discriminatory remarks this man has said and used to get elected. Without a doubt he used and promoted misogyny, sexism, and hate in order to win the votes of those who pride on the same values. I am not saying that ALL Trump supporters are bad people, or are misogynistic, racist, or sexist. I am saying that the reason why Trump won was because he appealed to a specific ideology of people that believes minorities, the disabled, and women are lesser in a world that is intended to be equal. As a woman, I honestly don't know if am safe in Trump's America. If anything, his slogan, "Make America Great Again", should have "Make America 1950 Again". A lot of the people who voted for Trump do not realize that he is going to be a prime example to moving backward in time: when women "were seen and not heard" and objectified, the  races remained "within their own kind", we bombed and warred in every nation for absolutely no reason, where the rights of LGBTQ+ were not even considered because it was wrong to not be "normal". Please, do not tell me that his economic stance is a great idea. Cutting taxes to the wealthy in hopes of it being given back to the poor is really not going to work. Trickle down economics has never worked, and will never work. When you look back at "Reaganomics", President Reagan had done the exact same thing and promptly plummeted the classes into a more serious divide. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. Maybe it'll be okay, only time will tell.

On the class as a whole..

After enrolling and having taken almost a whole semester of this class, it is pretty easy to say that I know look at english and writing in a way that is different than how I used to. This class as has exposed me to a new way of thinking and has expanded me as a writer and creator. While looking over hollistic rubric in this course last week, I realized that the major components haven't only been reflected in my multimodal and microtheme project. Something that I think was most prominent from the rubric was the emphasis of creative thinking. I have always liked to think that I was a creative person, but after having the documentary project, along with the other blog posts, tweets, and multimodal/microtheme; I discovered that I am more than capable of being a creative person than just how I used to see myself. I can use pretty much anything with my language and turn it into a work of art. I've gained rhetorical knowledge as well, and I am confident that I can see it everywhere now that I know and understand what it is. It's actually quite cool! I would have to give myself an A for enthusiasm in this class! I am enjoying it much more than I thought I would.

Text-To-Text Article

After reading the text-to-text article, Colin Kaepernick’s National Anthem Protest and Frederick Douglass’s ‘What to the Slave is the 4th of July?’, by Katie Harris and Tracey Barrett; I come to the really strained conclusion that Colin Kaepernick's way of protesting is not the best way at going about it. Within the article, we are given a basic summary of the life of Frederick Douglas' life and what his writing embodied regarding patriotism in a torn society. We are also provided with a comparison of our society today and if patriotism is being used the in the same sense then as it is now. In Douglas' writing he claims that the Fourth of July is just a reminder of the "gross injustice" of the country that they live in. In the more recent David Brooks article, Brooks claims that "pulling a Kaepernick" is just "extremely counterproductive". In my opinion, I agree with Brooks more than Douglas. This is NOT because I think that there isn't a problem within the United States regarding the topic of equality, but because the article does make some really good points. The first has to do with national symbols and abolitionism. For instance, the national anthem describes the flag and the article takes the time out to highlight the fact that only abolitionist states prided on that flag throughout the civil war. Anti-abolitionists even took the time to create their own in order to defy freedom of all. Brooks spoke to me on a deeper level because he claims that the national anthem has nothing to do with whats going on within in the country but is solidifying our "foundational creed". It is really hard for me to not feel hurt when I see my fellow and equal Americans kneeling before our flag and national anthem because I have lost family members because they were serving our country. I currently have a brother that is leaving for the Marines in June as well. I understand the anger that comes from not having your voice heard within our country, but if I lose my brother because he was fighting to keep us safe; it would break my heart to know people don't look at the flag and our anthem as a symbol for that.