Course Evaluation

• Which in class writing was your favorite? Why?
• The very first one, I think it was the credo. It took me back to my childhood and really reminded me about my grandpa and just all the reasons that family is so important. Chocolate Milk and Homemade Bread was the first writing and I still like reading through it. It just puts a big smile on my face each time I go through it. I think it really fits my personality.
• Which in class writing was your least favorite? Why?
• The dictionary assignment was definitely my least favorite. I know how to use my own words and definitions but when trying to write with words that are unfamiliar I got stumped. It was difficult writing with other people's words and definitions. The Dictionary Assignment was a tough assignment that really made my brain hurt. Trying to fit such random words and definitions in one cohesive story was very hard.
• Review all your writing chronologically (earliest to latest). List three interesting observations or changes in your writing. Which are the most profound (obvious and important)? Why?
• My writing got a lot more personal and as it got more personal, in my opinion, it got a little better. The words started to flow a little more when I was talking about something close to me rather than just a random free write topic. The free writing was kind of difficult for me unless I could really relate it to something close to me. I think the most profound thing with my writing would be that it changed for the better after writing almost every day for the entire semester.
• If you could change anything about your writing this semester what would it be? Why?
• I think I would have liked more writing. I would've liked to write more actual essays and a lot more cohesive writings rather than a lot of small free writings. 
• What did you like best about this course?
• The course offered a lot of freedom and I liked that. I enjoyed a lot of the free writing assignments and I really enjoyed the point of view assignments like the Pigeon: Impossible assignment. 
• What did you like least about this course?
• I was not a big fan of free writing, I learned to like it and apply those skills to my actual writing but I found it very difficult at times to just jump on a topic and write about it on the fly. I do think that it did help with just basic writing and typing though!
• What would you have done differently this semester if you could have a do-over?
• That's a tough one. I think I would probably do my blog throughout the semester rather than doing a big chunk of blog posts at the end.
• What did you learn about yourself as a student, a thinker, a writer this semester?
• I learned to apply myself a lot better and to study more efficiently. As a writer, I learned that free writing is a great way to clear your head to start doing more cohesive writing.
• What could I, Ms. A., have done differently to improve the course?
• More writing, less free writing. I would've preferred more actual essays as opposed to a lot of small free write assignments. Other than that, I really liked this class and you as a professor. I liked that even the random assignments found a way to have some kind of lesson in them. I expected the Gilbert's Gobstoppers to be really silly but it was a fun way to learn about the order of an essay and how it can be interpreted so differently based on the context.
• You begin this course with an engagement and participation score of an A.  Attendance, participation in activities and group work help you to maintain this grade.  Evaluate yourself and assign yourself a grade for the in class portion of this course.  Don’t forget the reasoning behind your self assigned grade.
• I think I would give myself an A. I did all of the assignments and had them ready to go when it came time to use them. I put effort into most of my writing even when it would've been easy to just throw some words onto the computer and call it good. I worked my way through the assignments and made sure they were completed to where I thought they should be.

Passions

FRIENDS

I am passionate about my friends. I find myself most comfortable just relaxing with a group of friends. One of my closest friends, Chance, is moving to Illinois in about a week, so I’ve been spending a lot of time at his house just hanging out. Lately we’ve been playing a lot of Mario Party 10 with our normal group: me, Chance, my husband Michael, and our friend Chris. Almost every evening we’ve all been gathering at Chance’s house for random shenanigans. Most recently we’ve been playing Mario Party Badminton, which gets very competitive and very heated. We also play a TON of board games, lots of really obscure, super fun games. I feel like I truly become myself around this group of people, there’s no effort to be anyone, they don’t care if I laugh really loudly or take my pants off as soon as I walk in the door. They make it really easy to relax and have fun. It becomes a lot more fun when Chance’s partner Jon is home, but recently Jon has been in Illinois for his new job. There really isn’t much more to say about friends because everyone has felt this sort of camaraderie at some point in their lives, if not right now. Friends are very important in life because they help you to unwind and de-stress from the day. Even if it’s something as simple as a text message saying Hey how’s it going? Friends are very helpful when there’s any sort of issue, they are one of the first people you turn to when in need. I know that I can always call up on Chris or Chance when I need anything because they’ve both done the same with me. Chance always calls me up when he needs something.

a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations

a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker

Old English frēond, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vriend and German Freund, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to love,’

KNITTING

Knitting is a good relaxing activity. It helps your brain to process information because of how repetitive it is. Knitting is very easy to learn and very easy to become good at. I haven’t gotten very good at it, I just have basic stitches down, but I jumped in the deep end and learned how to use intarsia in my work. I’m currently working on a dice bag for my husband with symbols from Magic the Gathering on the front. I’ve gotten one halfway done. I wanted to learn how to knit so I could make all kinds of baby stuff because my husband and I are trying to have a baby. My project with baby stuff is to make stuff and at the end of the year, if we are not pregnant, donate it to babies in need. So far I’ve made 3 hats, 2 booties, and a sleeping sack. I think everyone should know how to knit because it’s very important to be able to create something in my opinion. Finishing a project makes you feel very good inside, like you have accomplished something huge. I felt so good after I tackled my first intarsia project from start to finish. I even made my own pattern. I really like intarsia knitting because you can do all sorts of patterns and making your own pattern makes you feel even more accomplished at the end because you can truly say you did it yourself. My next project will be a baby sweater with a whale on it because whales are cute, or maybe a lobster because I think those are funny looking. Knitting is just a great way to unwind and keep your mind busy, I usually do it when I’m stressed about something or I’m stumped over a problem. I’ll knit for a little while and give my brain time to work out the problem.

Historians posit that knitting is a relatively recent invention because there are no ancient legends of knitting like there are legends of spinning and weaving, such as Arachne, Ixazaluoh, Nephthys, Amaterasu. There are no ancient gods or goddesses who knit

Senior Sex-Ed

In Central Florida, reported cases of syphilis and chlamydia increased 71 percent among those 55 years and older. South Florida saw a 60 percent rise in those two sexually transmitted infections among the same age group. In 2010, the CDC reported that rates of STDs in seniors had doubled form 2000 to 2010. The most commonly found STD was HIV, followed by chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea. While the reasons for this development aren't well understood, more divorces and better health might be the reason for the boost in sexual activity. In addition to being more interested in sex, today's seniors are extremely under educated about STDs on every level. Senior citizens are spreading STDs like wildfire. They are in competition with young people between the ages of 20 and 24 in terms of the biggest increase in STDs. The rate of STDs in older men taking erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra is twice as high as the non-medicated peers in the same age group. The problem however is that older adults appear to flaunt safe sex practices. For instance, seniors over 50 are six times less likely to use a condom than men in their 20s. The solution is simply to have safer sex. Getting regularly tested can solve a lot of problems, people over 50 are 80 percent less likely to be tested than 20-30 year olds. Choosing sex partners who you can have honest conversations with is very important. If you don't feel comfortable, stick to less risky, non-penetrative orgasm. And always, always wear a condom if you aren't comfortable with your partner.

The Heart and the Fist-Preliminary Discussion

The thing that stood out the most to me in the first half of the book was the scene where he is training with Earl and Derrick. I thought it was a really well thought out portion of text where he has to persevere through not really knowing much about boxing. It pushes him to work harder and he feels really accomplished when he is able to get on the Oxford boxing team. I though the way his coach related everything back to a life lesson was really interesting and really smart. If you are already going to be learning how to go through these boxing motions you should at least learn something important right along with it. I think the purpose of the book is to help people decide who they want to be. There are a lot of life lessons wrapped up in the humanitarian and military work. I think that Greitens has led a very amazing life and sharing all the lessons he's learned in a book that details all of his humanitarian work is great. It seems like every chapter and every adventure moves him forward more and more and it seems to have a pretty good lesson attached to it. I think it's also trying to teach a major lesson about compassion. I think it is very important to show compassion to everyone because you can never know what that person is going through or what they've had to deal with. I think that if everyone just assumed that the other person needed an uplifting word or a nice laugh, people would just overall be better. I think the audience is high school or college students. It holds a lot of life lessons and would be a great book for the high school senior unsure of what they want to do. It also makes a good book for me as a college student because the lesson is to be strong and caring. Sometimes college students work so hard at staying strong through tough assignments that they forget how important it is to be caring towards their fellow person.

What if computers were more user friendly?

If computers were more user friendly, they might be able to process our thoughts directly from our brains or maybe just hear a command and act on it. We have the technology, people do it with our smart phones every day, why not install something like that on every computer and make it very simple to use. Being able to process our thoughts directly from our brains is a little more advanced, but can you imagine that? People unable to speak or type would be able to use a computer. It might make them feel a little more normal. We could make a lot of advancements in the way of child care as well. Being able to “read the minds” of babies and toddlers. Never having to make the guess of what’s actually wrong. We might even be able to gain insight into the minds of coma patients. Are they actually “brain dead” or are they still able to process thoughts just not being able to articulate those thoughts. We might even be able to take the idea of a robotic surgery even further. Some doctors already use robotic hands for the more technically advanced surgeries, if all they had to do was think what they wanted, it would make those surgeries a lot less complicated. If the technology was in place for computers to read our thoughts, it might only be one small jump to making the computer artificially intelligent, giving it a brain of its own. Allow it to process its own thoughts. Robotic life might not be very far off. Certainly having a robot to do things for you would be a positive thing, but people might take advantage of it.

What if books were illegal?

If books were illegal, the world would be very dumbed down. And I’m not talking about just fiction books, I’m talking about medical journals, research documents, etc. I think that we would lose a lot of the advancements we have made. Society had come so far and I believe that that is mostly credited to books. Without books, we would have no knowledge of what people in the past had done. Word of mouth is a great tool but it isn’t very accurate. We lose something along the way when Bill told Sara that Mary told him that Jack was working on a new way to do surgery. I think that everyone has played the game telephone, the phrase gets so distorted after so many people hear it and relay the message. Without books, it’s very difficult to verify your information, especially if the supposed source is dead. A lot of the information we still use today is due to someone, long dead, that has given us those words. If they were never able to write them down, it would strongly change the way that society has advanced. We might not have ever even made the computer, the MRI, the lightbulb.

What if you could only use your smart phone for an hour a day?

I think that if smart phones had limitations the world would be a much friendlier place. If everyone put down their phone and only picked it up for an hour a day, can you imagine how much more work would get done? No more endlessly scrolling through Facebook, playing the latest game craze, and no more constant text messaging. You would have to meet with your friends to talk to them rather than typing. It would also allow our time on the phones to be a little better spent. Maybe filled with reading the news, answering work emails, catching up with long distance family. Maybe if we powered down those devices a little more regularly we would gain skills and traits we didn’t know we were capable. We could potentially become famous writers, actors, CEOs. I think there is a lot of potential involved with being less addicted to technology as a whole. When we think about communication, most people immediately jump to texting, skyping, or Facebook messaging. What if we took it back a few years, to letter writing, face to face communication, or even phone calls? I think people as a whole would learn a lot about themselves, meet new friends, and possibly even become something they’d never even dream of. Technology might be setting us back more than it is launching us forward. Technology is a very powerful thing, capable of vast processing capabilities and numerous scientific capabilities. But when boiled down to its most average usage, it’s merely a tool for Facebook stalking and looking at pictures of silly animals. Having a device capable of so many things stuffed in your pocket is something that most people take for granted. But not so long ago, cell phones were attached to your car or needed their own backpack to carry them. No one really stops to think about what they are really capable of. Technology is a wonderful advancement. But with that advancement comes a price, we are losing the capability of face to face conversation. We lose the ability to talk to strangers and become friends with them, too busy with our faces stuffed in our phones.