Friday, June 3, 2016

Childhood Dreams

My childhood dreams consisted of a number of ambitious careers. My sister and brother are about ten years older than me so while I was a young child they were deciding what they wanted to study in college. This influenced my dreams to be more realistic and career-based rather than something more fictional such as “I want to be a princess”.
The earliest dream I remember is, wanting to be a veterinarian. This was because my aunt found a litter of abandoned newborn kittens in her backyard. My family brought them inside and bottle-fed them until we were able to contact a shelter. This gave me the goal of caring for animals when I grow up.
Later on my dream shifted to children rather than animals, I wanted to be a pediatrician. My brother had just decided to study to become pharmacist, which influenced me to want to be a doctor of some sort. My cousins and I made a plan my older cousin and I would become pediatricians and open up our own clinic. My brother would be our pharmacist, my sister would be the manager, and my younger cousin would be a delivery nurse who would refer patients to us.  This dream was quite far fetched and died out quickly.
Next I wanted to be a medical examiner. At this point I was maybe about eleven and I realized that being an actual doctor was a lot more work than I was willing to put in. I was really interested in mysteries and thought that forensics would be a good area. A medical examiner would combine the doctor and the forensics interests.

Recently I wanted to be a filmmaker. I love filming and editing videos with my cousins and I would have loved to make it into a career. Now my experience with the tech crew made my interest in the technical area even stronger. I am looking to study communications in college focusing on the production of film and radio. I am also considering minoring in computer forensics or cyber security. While I may not go on to reach all of my dreams I hope I can achieve them by gaining the qualities of those professions.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

College Essay

Growing up in a first generation American family is an important aspect of my life. Both of my parents immigrated to America from a small island in the Azores of Portugal.  My dad having five siblings and my mom having fourteen siblings gave me a huge family to celebrate my Portuguese culture. We listen to Portuguese music, eat Portuguese food, and even speak the Portuguese language. This Portuguese influence affects me on a daily basis.
When I was younger my grandmother lived with my family. My grandmother had only spoke Portuguese so growing up conversations in my house often consisted of a mixture of English and Portuguese. I had not realized how much Portuguese heritage had influenced me until I started going to school. I remember talking about my grandmother at school and using the word "avó" which translates to grandma. A few Portuguese people I went to school with understood me but many did not. I was very confused because I did not realize that "avó" was not an English word, I thought I was a synonym for Nana or Grammy. Throughout my life there are many times like this were I have mixed up my Portuguese and English words.
Another time I remember being asked about my favorite food and my answer was papas, a Portuguese porridge. Every few months my mom would make it in a huge pot and it took hours to cook. For us this meal was a family affair and we would give a portion of it to each of my aunts and uncles. However trying to explain this to people was difficult because they did not understand. This was a meal that my family ate when they were children in Portugal so when someone spends the long amount of time it takes to cook it we share it with the whole family.
My Portuguese is a constant part of my life. Everyday I hear at least one Portuguese word. Dinner is usually a Portuguese meal or at least seasoned with Portuguese spices. However my heritage affects me academically as well. Learning a language is proven to improve learning in other subjects as well. While I understand Portuguese I was not very good at speaking it so in elementary school I took lessons with a local Portuguese culture group. This allowed me to improve my speaking, reading, and writing of the language. Later in middle and high school I studied Spanish, however my background in Portuguese allowed me to grasp Spanish much easier.
In college my heritage will continue to help me grow in knowledge and as a person. My experience with the Portuguese culture allows me to have exposure to both American and Portuguese traditions. I believe that my heritage allows me to have an open mind about the differences between peoples around the world. My culture has helped shape me into the person that I am today and who I will become. 

Monday, May 2, 2016

Synthesis Prompt


Using the sources that follow write an essay that discusses the equality and equity of the genders within todays current education system. Discuss how, if at all, these inequalities translate into the workplace and other areas of women’s lives.
   
http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination 
https://www.summer.harvard.edu/inside-summer/gender-inequality-women-workplace
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/articles/global-issues-gender-equality-and-womens-empowerme/
https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/gender-stratification-and-inequality-11/women-in-the-workplace-89/education-and-unequal-treatment-in-the-classroom-512-3318/

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Is Anyone Truly Original?

In Lawrence Lessig's TED Talk on laws that choke creativity he discusses the copyright laws that prevent modern artists to use online content to create new works. However works that use part of the content of copyrighted works are illegal and can be removed from websites. This is questionable because someone who remixes a song is not trying to pass the original song off as their own but use the inspiration and content of the original work and alter it to make it their own. This has been happening since the beginning of time. Artists always received inspiration for their works based on other content they have experience. Some works may be based off an original but it is impossible to that the original was not based off of something else. It is unfair for artists to create works with someone else's content and not credit the artist that they were inspired by. For example Vanilla Ice sampled part of Queen and David Bowie's Under Pressure for his song Ice Ice Baby and did not give credit to the original artists. That was unfair to Queen and Bowie as they worked hard to come up with that catchy guitar tune just to have it stolen. However they probably used some other artists work to inspire theres. No work is truly an original. Today copyright laws and websites prevent works from being published if they use a piece of another artists work. It seems like this is a new occurrence but has been happening forever only now it is able to be regulated. Artists should give credit where credit is due but still be able to create new content based on other's work.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

We Want Your Vote, We Need Your Money

          Politicians are constantly calling supporters to try to get donations from them. While it sometimes seems as if they are doing this for their own personal profit or benefit they are actually required to raise funds for their political parties. John Oliver on his show Last Week Tonight discusses the topic of Congressional Fundraising. Oliver tells that the fundraisers themselves have become part of the economy of Washington DC. The restaurants that host the functions rely on the fundraisers as a main part of their income. While it is excellent for the politicians to be supporting the local businesses and helping the economy. Politicians are suggested to spend 4 hours a day making phone calls asking for donations. They do this in call centers that are set up with small cubicles and bad conditions. Oliver spoke with Senator Steve Israel who described the process as "a form of torture." These awful working conditions are similar to that of the early 1900s when workers we required to work long hours for low pay while being closely supervised by their employers. The politicians are so hard on the workers in the call centers because their political parties require them to pay fees that can total up 800,000. This money is often used to help the campaigns of less popular candidates in their party. While it is fair for the successful politicians to help the smaller ones they are required to raise ridiculous amounts of money. If a politician cannot win an office on their own they probably are not good enough to hold the office in the first place. The political party has created an almost socialist environment to support their democratic and republican ideals. The process seems to contradict itself and is ultimately unfair and ineffective. 

Friday, March 11, 2016

Understanding Comics

          In Scott McCloud's comic Understanding Comics he explains the word and picture combination that create stories. He begins this story with a young child showing a toy at show and tell. He connects this idea of show and tell to comic books since they use both words and pictures. This establishes his ethos because it connects him, a comic book writer, to his entire audience since we were all once children.
          Next he goes on to explain comic book writers. The character that is narrating this story is in fact the writer himself. This is extremely effective in establishing ethos because we are hearing these facts directly from a comic book writer. He includes the counter argument that the combination of words and pictures was not the actual definition of comics. Here he even includes an actual definition of comics. This counterargument gives him human qualities in correcting possible misunderstandings of his argument and connecting him to his audience as a person rather than making himself seem like an all knowing entity. 
 
          He is very good at explaining himself throughout his work. He explains different combinations of words and pictures, different balances of each, and different dependencies they have on each other. He establishes his ethos through this by providing an example showing how he himself uses these techniques. Finally at the end of his work he connects comics to alchemy. This solidifies his argument as being more fact than opinion.
          McCloud titled his piece Understanding Comics which adds pressure to explain himself well. He lived up to the title and did an excellent job explaining word and picture significance and their use in comics. He made it easy for anyone, even someone who has never read a comic, to understand the techniques and uses of words and pictures in comics. He gives us a different light on comics and makes them seem less childish than the stigma that surrounds them. 

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Celebrity Bodies

Celebrities are at the top of the social food chain. They are what we "normal" members of society aim to be. Everyone wants to be known. Everyone wants to famous. But the luxurious life of a celebrity is not as perfect as we expect it to be. Celebrities are held to perfect standards and if they are not wearing the latest styles or do not have to perfect body they are immediately judge by society. Celebrities suffer under the constant pressure to be perfect. They have extremely unhealthy eat habits to stay fit. They cannot leave their homes without getting all dress up. At any moment they can be seen without make up the paparazzi will snap a picture to criticize them. Celebrities are believed to be "better than us" and held to almost God-like standards. We want something to look up to we want to believe there is a perfection we can thrive for. Society has to realize that perfection does not exist it can only be photoshopped. The reality is that celebrities are only human. They are flawed just as we are. They may have more money and they may be well known but they are people. It is not fair for them to have to be perfect because we are flawed. They should be able to leave their house in sweatpants, they should be able to eat regularly, they should be allowed to live their lives as we do. Our society has created a paradox where people create celebrities to give themselves hope that perfection is possible but the pressure of perfection causes celebrities' demise.  

Friday, March 4, 2016

Zombies

          A zombie is something in your life that you know exactly how to defeat but no matter how many times you beat it, it keeps coming back. My zombie is laziness. Beating laziness is simple, just do the thing you need to do. But I'm too tired, I want a snack, there's a million other things I'd rather do right now. I can beat laziness if I try but I'm too lazy to beat it. There are so many possible distraction that make laziness an easier option. Especially today with the internet at you finger tips you can basically do anything you want at any moment.
          Due to the fastness of processes done over computer our attention spans have been drastically lowered.  Reading, writing, and doing other forms of homework become more difficult since we are unable to focus. I constantly fall into the trap of distractions. I am focused on what I want to do next rather than what I am doing now therefore I can never finish want I am doing so I can get on to the next thing. Laziness is a zombie no matter how many times you shoot it down there is another zombie right behind to ready to distract you a prevent you from getting things done. I want to defeat my zombie but I'd rather do so many other things instead. 

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Hip Hop Planent

In McBride's essay Hip Hop Planet he uses a quote from Abiodun Oyewole saying  “a lot of today’s rappers have talent. But a lot of them are driving the car in the wrong direction.” This statement is true since it began as a way for young people to  express themselves. As time went on this expression sometimes sent more negative messages. McBride states that "Today, alternative hip hop artists continue to produce socially conscious songs, but most commercial rappers spout violent lyrics that debase women and gays..the genre has become dominated by rappers who brag about their lives of crime" Oyewole was saying that these artists while expressing themselves they are sending messages that were not the original intent of rap music. They originally meant to express their own personal feelings as well as talking about social issues. Some people have turned it into violent music that degrades certain people. However rap music over all makes people feel uplifted MeBride quotes a teenage boy saying "It’s just a fantasy. Everyone has the urge deep down to be a bad guy or a bad girl. Everyone likes to talk the talk, but not everyone will walk the walk.” Rap music gives people confidence and allows them to express their own personal fantasies. 

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Drumpf vs. The Bern

          Donald Trump and Bernie Sander are two greatly contrasting candidates for president. This can be seen clearly in the strategies used in their speeches.
          Trump's speech is very self-centered, over confidente, and focused on current policies he does not like. He says that it is important to mention that he is self-funding his campaign he says "I don't need these people". While John Oliver reveals this is not completely true information he says this to prove his independence. He wants to show he will not be bribed or make decision based on financial deals. However his independence can be dangerous because he can do what ever he chooses without any influence from others. Trump says that politicians are the most dishonest people he's ever dealt with. This comment is interesting because its makes him seem like a victim but it also implies that he himself is dishonest. Throughout Trumps speech he repeats himself, he says a word or phrase twice rather then just once. Repetition is mostly used for emphasis on what he is saying. It makes what ever he is saying seem important despite its actual viability or relevance.  
          Sanders' speech is centered on the problems of minority parties. He uses the line "we are listening" to point out that he sees the problems that ordinary people are facing and he plans to fix them. Sanders quotes Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address which is a strong strategy. He quotes a famous and well liked president and an extremely well known speech hoping to have the same effect of that speech. Politics appeals mostly toward straight, white, christian, able bodied, male, property owners. Sanders says "enough is enough" and makes his proposals appeal to people that do not at all fit those qualities.
          Interestingly Trump and Sanders both have one strategy in common. This strategy is the use of the word "we". Both candidates use this term constant throughout their speeches. The word we connects themselves with their supporters. It makes it seems as thought the candidates ideas and plans are that of the people. It unites them together to fight for their cause. This strategy is arguably the strongest for both candidates since it is such a simple and effective way to engage and connect with the audience
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Thursday, February 4, 2016

Virginia Woolf


In Virginia Woolf's speech Profession's For Women she uses literary devices as if it is a novel. She develops the character and metaphor of the Angel in the house. She describes the angel as sympathetic, charming, unselfish, sacrificial, and pure. The angel had all the qualities of a perfect women. She also uses symbolism in the Angel to show the part of herself that she has to battle. Being a women writer with her own thoughts and ideas takes a lot of courage. Every women, even the bravest, have the internal battle with their own angel of the house. They have to defy the roles of women to put themselves completely into their writing. She metaphorically kills her angel which allows her to be free in her writing. Her speech encourages other women writers to fight their angels and become stronger in their own writing. 
She also tells that a story can get you anywhere. You can make money off the stories and be able to get what every you would like. She talks about getting a Persian cat and motor car with her stories. She says that telling stories about your own feelings and self is an extremely difficult task. She believes that no women has ever mastered it.
She states that these difficulties of women writers connect to all professions. All women have to fight their phantom angels and overcome the prejudices caused by their womanhood.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The Solution is Simple... Just Eat the Babies

Johnathon Swift wrote the satirical piece A Modest Proposal during the Irish famine. During this time people were having many children but were unable to feed themselves or all of their children. Essentially Swift's opinion on the subject was that if you could not support a child why do you continue to have so many. However in this piece he uses satire to suggest that eating the babies or selling them to be eaten is an excellent solution to the issue.
Though the piece is entirely sarcastic Swift is still about to establish such strong ethos, pathos, and logos that some people agreed with his idea. He writes extremely eloquently which suggests he his educated and has studied the subject at hand. This gives him credibility among the Irish. He also says "as to our city of Dublin" which indicates that he himself is Irish and is personally experiencing these issues. Establishing his credibility in this way makes people want to believe whatever he says will be true.
Swift uses an incredible amount of logos in this piece. Before introducing his solution he discusses the number of children born annually and how much it costs to care for them at different ages. After he suggests eating the babies he also mentions that 20,000 of them should be left uneaten so that they may breed and maintain the population. He also suggests that flesh could be used in clothing which makes no part go to waste so the process is more efficient. He speaks of Americans who have benefited from eating their babies and children. He used many of facts which makes the Irish believe him since he backs up his point.
Swift uses pathos in his introduction. He talks about the women being beggars and their children who will become beggars, thieves, soldiers, or slaves. His idea of feeding off the babies makes is so that families will have more money and the babies that are saved will have a chance at a better life. They entirety of society will benefit from having an excess supply of food. Many people are in these poor beggar families and can relate to the struggle that he describes.
Swift's piece is an excellent example of how supporting your argument with facts is so important. People cannot deny the truth so when you give them a fact to support your argument it gives them a reason to agree with you. Evidence is essential to an argument and Swift gives such strong evidence that even his ridiculous idea seems feasible.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Eloquence of Empty Promises

“We love eloquence for its own sake, and not for any truth which it may utter, or any heroism it may inspire”
            Thoreau states that we love the elegance of writing because it is persuasive, not because it is truthful or inspiring. This is true in today’s society. We believe the things that sound good to us whether or not they are genuine.
         Many politicians will campaign to make certain changes in their areas however they most likely will not follow through with them. For example President Obama promised to end the war in Afghanistan in 2014 but continues to prolong the withdrawal. Another example is Donald Trump campaigning to lower taxes and increases the importance of this by saying that America is the most highly taxes nation in the world. However America is more towards the middle in rank for the highest taxes.
            These false claims sound like great ideas. We want them to be fixed to so agree with their claims and promises. We believe what we want to hear and since their big political figures we let believe them.  Pretentious, elegant, good sounding statements make us agree and believe them no matter how much ridiculous they are.
           Often political speeches are long and drawn out. This makes people stop paying attention and analyzing their truthfulness and just mindlessly agreeing with the good things they say. We do not always consider that they would make false promises since they are so powerful and influential. Their words can inspire and change people opinions and points of view even though their promises are empty. The smarter and more profound you sound the more people will believe your words.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

The Declaration of Indepe... Sentiments

               Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Declaration of Sentiments was extremely effect in sending its message by mimicking the structure of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. Jefferson began by introducing the beliefs, values, and rights of the American people. Then he clearly listed how those rights were being challenged by the British crown. He concluded his piece by stating what the American people are liberated from British control. Following this structure Stanton first states the rights of women, then she lists how those rights have been violated by men, and finally insists that their rights be returned. Stanton directly links her declaration to Jeffersons' by uses direct quotes from his work such as "when in the course of human events" and "we hold these truths to be self-evident". Stanton also mentions the inalienable rights of the people and that if the government interferes with their "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" then the people must insist on a new government. Stanton is exercising this right through her declaration.
               While Stanton uses many go Jefferson's ideas Jefferson's piece has a much more official tone. The Declaration of Independence was an important government document therefore its tone is very formal. In contrast Stanton uses the elements of the Declaration of Independence in an more mocking tone. She uses it connect the liberation of the colonies from the British to the liberation of women from men. Using the declaration as her model draws the attention of men in particular and makes it harder for them to criticize her argument.
               Both declarations state their grievances against groups they feel oppressed by. However the grievances made by Thomas Jefferson were resolved once the colonies broke ties with the British. The American's suppression came to an end when they became an independent country. Some of Stanton's grievances were resolved by women's suffrage. However many of her grievances are still accurate in today's society. 

"He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration.

               Still today women are still not paid the same wages as men. Women of color are paid even less. Equal wages is an issue that is being fought for especially through today's media. One of the main fights in feminist movement is for equal wages for everyone.

"He has created a false public sentiment, by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies, which exclude women from society, are not only tolerated but deemed of little account in man."

"He has endeavored, in every way that he could to destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a dependent and abject life."

             When women in today's society act as men do they are seen as inferior. Many men objectify women and make them feel as if they life for men. When women are independent and or as sexually active as men are they are seen as unclean and undesirable. Women are not allowed to stand up for themselves without being seen badly. 
             The Declaration of Independence solved the issues of the colonists but the Declaration of Sentiments has still not been completely resolved. 

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

John Adam's Letter to His Wife

Whenever Vanity, and Gaiety, a Love of Pomp and Dress, Furniture, Equipage, Buildings, great Company, expensive Diversions, and elegant Entertainments get the better of the Principles and Judgements of Men or Women there is no knowing where they will stop, nor into what Evils, natural, moral, or political, they will lead us.
          John Adams is telling his wife that when higher members of society set principles that benefit their material riches it will cause negative effects on their society. This is clearly present when the founding fathers, including John Adams, created the laws that built America. For example the right to vote was reserved for white, property owning men. These men where the lawmakers and almost all the laws benefit them but not their lower society members. Southern lawmakers often owned slaves to work their land. They made their money and their living off of the labor of these slaves. For this reason slavery was not outlawed in the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution which only caused conflict later in the development of America. Women were not giving any rights at all which led to suffrage movements in the early 1900s. The lawmakers created laws that best benefited them and lowered the power of anyone else. The elite lawmakers continued to get rich while everyone else was not even giving an opportunity to succeed. The focus of gaining riches on the lawmaking of early America caused inequality and immorality among Americans.
          Adams capitalizes certain nouns in his statement. In the first part of the sentence the capitalized words are materialistic qualities: Vanity, Gaiety, Love, Pomp, Dress, Furniture, Equipage, Buildings, Company, Diversions, Entertainments. Then the capitalized words continue to show the effects of those qualities: Principles, Judgements, Men, Women, Evils. All of the words are nouns that create the meaning of the sentence. Adams capitalized these to emphasize them and indicate their importance to his statement.
          Adams' wife had asked him not to forget to give women rights and importance in the American laws. Adams tells her that the selfishness of the men will interfere with the fairness and justness of the laws.