Verbal Regurgitation

I really haven't been writing as much as I should. Last week I had the majority of an entry completed but then my browser shut down with no warning, so I lost the entry.  I never got around to writing it again so here's pretty much what I was trying to say...

Valentine's Day was rather uneventful.  My parents came for a visit because home is only about an hour away.  We went to lunch in Shockoe Bottom.  It was nice seeing them because I haden't seen my mom since winter break and had only seen my dad once since then (we went to the Richmond boat show together).  The Monday after Valentine's Day I went shopping with some of my friends/future roommates. We spent way over an hour in Barnes and Noble looking at books and eventually purchasing a few.  I bought "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath, "Everything  Is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer, and "The Kindness of Strangers" by Katrina Kittle.  So far I'm about thirty pages into "The Bell Jar" and like it a lot.  Hopefully within the next few weeks I will find the time to read and finish the three books.  Once I finish the books I'm going to make my second attempt at "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest."  I started it over winter break because my dad got it for me for Christmas but it is a harder and slower read than I had expected, so I need to take a break with lighter books.  I really missed reading.  the beginning of last semester all I did was read, but over time I got busier and busier and with the free time that I had I would rather nap or watch T.V.; anything that didn't require skill.  When I was younger I would read every night before I went to bed but as I got older reading became less of a priority.  I would like to reprioritize so I can read more.

The essay exam went really well.  I wrote a ton for the first question I answered about Ka and her father's relationship but wasn't able to answer the question, why does Danticat end "The Dew Breaker" so openly, as well as I would have liked.  I had decided to answer the hardest question, in my opinion, with only twenty minutes left.  Not the best idea.  I feel like I answered the entire question but could have done a better job with it.

One reason why I think I haven't been writing as much as I should is because I like to be inspired when I write and lately my school work is stealing all of my inspiration.  I am so drained when I finish all of my reading and assignments, that the last thing I want to do is write, just like the reading.  I know that this blog is required for FI, and that I have certain prompts that I have to respond to but it doesn't feel like a real assignment because I don't get immediate feedback or any feedback at all.  Without the feedback it feels too much like I am the only one for this blog and that I only have to write in it when I feel like.  Another reason why I don't write in it as often as I should is because I am always reflecting and by the time I get to a computer the moment has passed.  By the time I get to the computer I have already written it in my head once, reflected and come to conclusions, or at least partially resolved whatever I was struggling with.  Sometimes by the time I get to the computer I don't even feel the same anymore about the subject and feel that it is no longer important enough or worth it to write down and share.  I know I could reflect about my past thoughts and their progressions but that doesn't feel completely right with me.  I like to write about my current thoughts and not going back to thoughts that are even an hour old (unless my current thoughts are reflecting on how I was feeling earlier).  However I'm feeling at a certain moment, I am aiming to set aside at least thirty minutes a day to write or even try for an hour.  I have discovered that once I start writing, especially when its about my thoughts and emotions I write for a while.  I've been at it for almost an hour and feel like I could go on further but I won't (about blogging).  I need to stop making excuses for my lack of blogs and just write.

Dew Breaker Essay Exam Study Questions

So I have a major test tomorrow (been studying all day) so I'm going to try to get everything needed in but keep it short

1.  Part 1: Danticat uses a number of different narrators to tell the story because it gives the reader several points of view.  These points of view help the reader understand the extent of the impact of the Dew Breaker; it shows how many people her hurt.

     Part 2:  The shifting points of view chop up the story but by the last section everything is pulled together even though it is not in chronological order.

     Part 3:  Readers learn who the Dew Breaker is piece by piece, first through his confession, then through the people he hurt, and finally through his last crime.  The way it is told helps show the change that the Dew Breaker went through and what he saw to come to the decision to stop.

2.  Part 1:  Danticat begins with the confession so the reader knows the basis of the story but not all of the detail.  As you continue to read, you learn more of the details, and who the Dew Breaker really is.  The story ends with the last crime to look at how the Dew Breaker had changed over time and through the multiple crimes he committed.  It shows that he is human and how he got to where he is "today."

3. Part 1:  The stories from the multiple characters shows the extent of the oppression that the people of Haiti had to go through.  

     Part 2:  While not every character knew or saw the dew breaker, they felt the wake of his actions.  Some of the characters 'saw' the dew breaker kill family members and the rest had some sort of close relationship with someone who witnessed some of the crimes.

     Part 3:  the dew breaker cause suffering in multiple people's lives while he also gave them new opportunities; he gave them motive to move to New York to get away from the suffering.

4.  Part 1:  Anne marries the dew breaker because he is the first one that comforted her once she discovered that her brother, the preacher, had been killed.

     Part 2:  Anne stays with the dew breaker because he is all she knows, she has no where else to go really and does not want to change the status quo.

      Part 3:  The relationship between Ka's parents shows that forgiveness is possible, that people change and they heal.

     Part 4:  The last section of "The Dew Breaker" brings us full circle by showing where Anne and the Dew Breaker met and started a new life.  It also lets us into the dew breaker's mind to understand a little bit of what he was thinking

Response to Essay Exam Handouts

The three handouts on how to prepare and take an essay exam were very helpful.  I have taken several essay exams in the past so I know how they work but it was nice to have a checklist of what to do while writing the essay.  I feel like one of the most important things mention in all of the handouts is to read, underline, and analyze the question so you know exactly what you have to have in the essay.  Another important thing, through experience, I have realized that it is important to look back at the questions while writing the essay to make sure that you still understand what it is asking.  Looking back at the question will help keep you on track it will also help guarantee that that you are answering all aspects of the question.  I also feel that 'don't panic' is great advise.  Once you start to panic about the question and the essay it is hard to think straight and while you are trying to calm down precious time is wasted.

On another note, here's something to do with the 25 facts.  I will respond to the article tomorrow (hopefully) and try to write 5 more facts

Lost Generation

I hope we can reverse it.

25

So for the past week I have been seeing these 'notes' on facebook that people have been posting with 25 facts, statements, beliefs, wishes, habits or any sort of thing about the person posting it.  As soon as I saw these lists I started to think about what I would say about myself, that most people might not know, so I started to compile the list in my head.  I think I have enough in mind that it won't be too hard to write a whole list.  I have decided to write my 25 things here instead of crowding up facebook with anymore notes and as an attempt to write a longer entry to make up for missed ones in the past.

so here it goes...

1.  Next year I plan on getting an apartment, in Richmond, with two of my friends here.  We all love animals and each plan on getting at least one.  One friend is hoping to get a dog, while the other is bringing her hedgehog from home and also wants to get a cat.  After much thinking, I have decided to get a mini lop rabbit (if all goes well).  At first I wanted two rats (rats have to live in groups) but I didn't want to deal with two pets, so after doing some research online, a male mini lop sounds perfect.  I plan on naming him Oliver or Wesley, or even Oliver Wesley. I hope to get one like the one above or a blue (all gray) one. 

2.  I love tea!  Especially hot tea.  I drink at least two cups a day.  Most of the time I drink herbal teas because caffeine makes me too jittery.  Right now I've been drinking herbal fruit teas with sugar which is great, I've never really had fruit tea before.  Other times I just drink camomile with a spoon full of honey.  When I do drink caffeinated tea its usually green tea with jasmine with a spoonful of honey.

3.  When I was little I didn't have a teddy-bear or blanket that I was attached to, I had a cloth diaper.  My fondness of cloth diapers started when I wanted to have something soft against my cheek while I slept.  My mom decided to use the old cloth diapers she used as burping cloths when I was little and as I used the same one over and over it got even softer.  As I continued to used the same cloth diaper, I created a relationship with my cloth diaper.  I would tell her everything, from my daily activities to how I was feeling about life at that moment.  I became so attached to her that I created a whole illusion in my head that there were these two characters, who looks similar to the heffalumps and woozles from Winnie the Pooh.  I believed that they were commanded by their master to capture my cloth diaper for her magical powers and put her in some sort of a stew.  I was convinced that the two creatures gained access to my room through a wormhole under my bed and waited there until I would get out of bed in the middle of the night to grab her while I left the room.  Because I strongly believed that they would steal her, I would take my cloth diaper whenever I left the room in the middle of the night and I would also leap from my bed, landing as far away as possible so they couldn't grab my ankles and take her from my hands.

4.  I believe that most animals, mainly mammals, are capable of many emotions.  Some of these emotions include empathy.  One day that really made me believe this was a day a few years ago when I was in the middle of a fight with my parents, I was so mad I went running up the stairs slamming the door.  By the time I had walked around my bed and sat down in my chair, the family dog, Ginnie, a wonderful Chesapeake Bay Retrieve (my profile pic), was scratching at my door to come in. I got up to let her in then walked back to my chair.  She sat down right at my feet resting one of her paws on my foot.  She sat there, calmly, staring at me, as if she was trying to tell me that she understood.  She sat next to me and let me pet her until she sensed that I was feeling better, almost an hour later (I actually was too).  This incident along with many others has led me to believe that dogs, cats, horses, mammals and many other animals do feel some sort of emotion.

5.  I am addicted to chap stick.  It all started when, in 11th grade, I was put on some medication to help my skin. One of the side effects was extremely chapped lips, so I started to use chap stick all of the time.  Even though I haven't been on that medicine for a long time, I still use chap stick just as much.  I'm trying to break the habit but its hard.  I can't go anywhere without it because I'll never know when I'm going to need it.  I try to use it less and less and I think I'm getting better but who knows.

So that's enough of writing for now.  I wrote a bit more than I had expected and I need a break.  Maybe from know on I'll write five things about me until I reach 25 on the days that I don't have a prompt.  When I was thinking of my 25 things I thought of a few more so maybe I'll just keep writing things until I run out of Ideas or get bored with it.

"We Are Ugly, But We Are Here"

I really enjoyed the essay "We Are Ugly, But We Are Here" by Edwidge Danticat.  The essay explored the role of women in Haiti while Danticat was still living there, along with the time after.  The women were battered and abused like everyone in Haiti at the time. One woman was even shot for wearing a t-shirt that was decorated with an "antimilitary image."  The women of Haiti used the saying "I am ugly, but I am here" often to describe how they were on any given day.  I love the saying because to me it means that the women can see through their abuse and scars; they are grateful that they are still alive.  They understand that they could easily dead so they embrace their imperfections because they have a second chance to live.