entry 11: Final Blog Reflection

Over the last few weeks I have been posting on this blog for a number of topics that were assigned by my instructor, as well as things I could talk about that relate to me personally. I believe this is one of the coolest assignments a student could ask for because you get to be personal yet professional which makes the writing environment more comfortable than any other I have experienced. I enjoyed this assignment very much because I felt like I was reaching out to the world with my posts which made me really think about what I wanted to write. I found it troubling to come up with an idea for a self-generated topics but once I knew what I wanted to talk about it was all forward progression from there. All in all, Blogging proved to be exiting yet soothing. It was exiting to get my ideas out into the internet as well as expanding my audience to anyone with internet potentially. I found it soothing because I felt no tension when writing. Usually I feel as though my instructor is going to not like something I say or like something I say that I would not have written if I was writing for myself. This project, as well as the class, really gave me that opportunity to write for the purpose of writing and not to get a good grade.

I personally took every post very seriously only because I did not want a future employer to bring up a post that I wasn't trying to be professional with. I also felt like anyone reading my blog would only continue reading if it was serious and interesting which is something I wanted even though I know bot to many people would be checking out this page. I knew not too many people would be looking at my blog, but I still wanted it to sound like a real author wrote it and not a college student.

There was not too much I learned about blogging other than to be professional and real because nobody is going to keep reading if the topics are not interesting and the rhetoric isn't there. I focused a lot of my attention on rhetoric and keeping my topics very in tune with the reader. I learned that signing off and having visual appeal is all another part of keeping the reader engaged in the blog. I also learned the being personal can make the writing easily connectable to others. In the beginning I thought the opposite in that the more personal with the writing you are the less the reader will understand. Really there are people out there who can relate to me personally on any topic I chose to write about.

For the class, I think that it was a very good for getting real world writing experience as well as getting up close and personal with the words being put out. I believe blogging should be an assignment for all students starting from high school just as an easy way to express yourself without having to think about the grading block. There has never been a more comfortable writing environment than the one provided by the blogging experience. If I could change anything about it would have to be the amount of blog posts due at each grading period. I really had to manage time well in order to complete the blogs on time and when it did come down to the wire I noticed my blogs weren't as insightful or meaningful to me or the person reading it. The idea of having a self-generated blog after every topic based blog was nice, yet there could have been a little bit less of the self-generated blogs to maybe cut back on some of the frantic last minute posts.

I think everyone should have some form of personal writing time to get out thoughts and think critically about thoughts running through one’s head. It is healthy to write and the best way to write is when you are comfortable. Try it yourself and see how it makes you feel when you connect with someone in another city or country and can relate to a person you have never met on so many levels. I plan to keep writing in my blog even though the course is over I think it is a healthy way to get out ideas and thoughts that drive the regular person insane. I would say students in particular but I believe everyone should try to have this connection. Try it and let me know what it does for you and if it proves to be as easy for you as it was for me.

Entry 10: Super Smash Bros. Melee

Today I am going to shed light on one of my other passions in life and that is the video game, Super Smash Bros. Melee. This game has become a big part of my life in the past two years for many reasons. I enjoy it for its depth and unlimited potential as a fighting game, and because it also includes all of my favorite Nintendo characters from my youth.

One of my friends, Tyler and I one day stumbled across my old GameCube and decided to pop in my copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee that I had thrown in a box. We instantly fell in love with the feel of the game, and we played for hours and hours that first day. That is what caught our attention, but what snagged it was when another friend of mine, Shawn came over to play with us and he demolished us, smashed us. He was using techniques and moves we had never even thought of. He would hit us once and we would die, it was that simple. But what is more sophisticated is what he was actually doing, he was slurring together button presses and we couldn't keep up. This is when Tyler and I figured out just how deep and intricate this game really was. From that day on Tyler and I have worked to get to the next level, and we did this by countless hours of practice and watching videos of pro players to try and figure out what exactly they do.

One of the players that truly inspired us was, Mango. Considered to be by many the best Super Smash Bros. Melee player of all time, he was fast, he was in your face, and he was cocky about it. His amazingly technical and fast gameplay really opened our eyes and helped us see the potential that this game really has. In particular, Mango was in the last match of a championship game against the most worthy competitor and he styled on him and made him look like Tyler and I against Shawn.

As time passed we became better and better as we pushed each other to that next level, and it wasn’t until our first competitive tournament that we realized that we were better than the average player. We were improving, fast. Then one day Shawn came over to play with us, and we didn’t win but we didn’t get smashed. We put fear into him, and made him realize that if he wanted to still beat us, he is going to need to practice, just like us.  

Entry 9: Pink Slime

Americans should really consider if the convenience and low price is worth the dangerous side effects that the meat could have on your children. One controversial topic, is schools including a mix that contains … Schools meat contains "30 percent all beef and 70 percent" of the controversial mixture. This is alarming to me because it is unsure what is even in the beef mixture at this point. So why would we even consider feeding it to the youth.

It has been found that fast food restaurant, McDonalds has been using a "pink slime" substitute in there meat.This substitute contains Ammonia Hydroxide and as described in the video as the leftover cuts from the animal. As alarming as it sounds, thanks to the efforts of celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver who managed to rally enough attention on the subject of Ammonia Hydroxide. This caused McDonalds to remove the chemical from their meat. People are considering putting this pink goop into the meat of our children's lunch.

  I believe we should be taking as much care of the children and the average American. I think Fast-food chains should have a Sin Tax on beef that has any chemicals or percentages of beef to make it more expensive than other healthier options like a homemade sandwich. In order for change to occur, we the people have to make a difference in the choices we make when considering what to eat

Entry 8: Organic Foods

Have you ever wondered where the meat in your local grocery stores comes from? Ever thought about how they make your burgers at fast food joint? How about when it comes out so fast and you know it's not fresh. Do we even care that our burgers are sitting under heat lamps until we pull up, or that we have tomatoes in season all year? Parents should be looking out for what their children are eating and if we don't know where it's coming from how will we ever know if it is safe to eat.

Today if you go to the supermarket you will see signs for organic sprinkled throughout the store on various products. Most of the time it will cost more and probably not be the same color you are used to, but what is important is where it came from. That is why I will always reach for the organic option on the shelves. Whether it be applesauce or beef I believe the organic choice is the better one when you consider all the chemicals and additives that are finding themselves very comfortable in industrialized food

I understand the people who are living on low wages and have a whole family to support. I have been there myself where my mom didn't have enough to pay bills let alone buy food for us to eat. When we discovered better ways of eating though we always made the effort to do so even if it meant we were only getting veggies. If that meant sacrificing chips and soda then so be it. We were looking to have a better, healthier life and the best way to do that is to watch what you eat. So it is possible to eat like this it just might not be as salty or as full of sugar but it is what your body needs in order to function properly.

The change has to start at home. If everyone had a garden like in WWII, fresh untouched, and chemical free veggies would be just outside the back door. What really needs to change in our supermarkets is the need for local food that supports the small businesses around us. Because the more you support that farmer, the easier it will be for him to drop prices. As well as, expand to make the product more accessible. Shelves in the supermarket should be cluttered with organic and natural whole foods. The days of cheap processing and preservatives are over. We need to shift the light in a positive direction and I think that direction is organic.