The Scarlet Letter - Hester Prynne

    Puritan society had heavy restrictions on how people should lead their lives and those who didn't follow these restriction were usually punished accordingly. I wouldn't feel sorry for Hester Prynne because I believe that she knew the consequences of her actions and the situation she would fall into. Even though I don't feel sorry for her, I believe that a liberalization of lifestyle from religion would greatly improve the lives that people led.
    I also admire the courage that Hester Prynne has. She was able to perform acts that were forbidden in the restricted Puritan society and she was able to face up with her actions. I believe that the public shaming done to her was unfair because it would negatively affect the child that she is taking around with her.
    Societies change through time and I would say that Hester Prynne was born in a period in which her actions were not allowed.

Feeling Guilty

People feel guilt at certain periods throughout their lives and people try to compensate for people or things that they owe their guilt to. I almost always feel guilty about not working on my academics hard enough. My parents have paid a big sum of money for me to learn at PAS, but I don’t seem to be meeting the requirements that they set for me and I often disappoint them with unwanted behaviors such as playing games and surfing the Internet.

    Whenever I think about the efforts that my parents put on me, I feel ashamed and I work harder to get better scores. Feeling guilty about wasting the efforts of my parent made me work harder and it continuously reminds me of my goals as well as the expectations placed upon me.

Packing for the United States - 42 Kilograms

    Packing for the United States isn't a very easy thing, especially with a weight limit. Out of the 42 kilograms, around 8 kilograms would be set aside for the weight of the luggage and the rest is what we can use. The most important items I would bring to the States are my shoes, my clothes, and that's about it.
     I have two pairs of basketball shoes that I would bring, one pair of leather shoes, two pairs of slippers, and that would be about it. The basketball shoes would weigh about 0.8 kilograms each, my leather shoes would weigh about 1 kilograms, and my slippers would weigh about 0.2 kilograms each. That would be a total of three kilograms for shoes.
    Taking out the three kilograms for the shoes and the eight kilograms for the luggage, I still have 31 kilograms that I have left to use. Out of the 31 remaining kilograms, I still have to leave five for an electric rice cooker that I have to bring to the States as well. I have to cook my own food in the United States, so I would have to bring my own cooking utensils.
    I would allocate the remaining 26 kilograms to my clothes. I would bring a whole suit set to college in case of formal occasions and I would have to bring large coats that I brought for the United States as well. The suit weighs about two kilograms and the coats probably weighs about eight, leaving only 16 kilograms for all my other clothes.
    I don't believe I would be able to pack all the clothes I would like and need to bring to college in luggage, so I would mail them over before flying to the States.

The Scarlet Letter Summary - The Custom House

    The customhouse gives us a background on the nameless narrator of the story and it provides us with some information about the how the author feels about the custom house building itself. The author feels that the customs building is a run-down place that is situated on a rotten wharf in a half-finished building.
    The narrator tries to find amusement at the customhouse at Salem that barely any ship goes to. The narrator finds some documents in the unoccupied part of the second story of the building and he finds a scarlet, gold-embroidered piece of cloth in the shape of the letter “A.”
    The narrator finds interest in the story behind the letter and also about events behind the letter. He finds a previous customhouse worker that recorded the history in a book. The book then becomes the main body of "The Scarlet Letter."

The Morals of The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli

    Shock and amazement are the only things that I can think of after viewing Machiavelli's characterization of morality. This shock comes primarily from the fact that morality that I have experienced comes from companionship and cooperation, not from fear. Fear can bring morality, but it also brings isolation and loneliness along with it. With morality that is characterised by fear, unity can form with strong pressure, but this morality would not last as long as morality formed through accomplishing goals and sharing interests.
    I believe that morals should not change according to the circumstances one finds oneself in because that would mean not having morals at all. Even though this is what I believe about morals that someone should have, it would be really if someone was facing a life and death situation. Morals change as time moves on, but people should try not to forget what those morals were. If you have morals, stick to them when you live your life. Having a moral would help you set goals and help lead your life so set morals that would help you lead a good life.

Shaming - Effectiveness and Justifications Towards Companies and Individuals

    After reading the article and thinking about the punishment that would be placed on the offenders of law, it would be clear that shaming as a form of punishment is unfit for individuals while being extremely well suited for cooperation. Shaming is suited for corporations because there is nobody specific that is being attacked personally. The other benefit for shaming corporations is that members of the corporation can push the responsibility around and the person that actually violated the law is not certain.
    Individuals shouldn't be shamed because that could result in personal attacks that might be over the boundary. Personal attacks over the boundary would lead to insanity or revenge of the individuals that are being shamed.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124357844

Ralph Waldo Emerson - The American Scholar

    In the excerpt from "The American Scholar"  Emerson presents yet another view that is proven now by modern society. Emerson states that the United States should no longer be a state that is know for and based on its manufacturing and its productions, but that the country should also be known for its academic achievements. Emerson also presents that the idea that the development of a great nation always involves the ideas of great minds. He is holding the hope that there would be great minds that will strengthen the intellectual development of the nation.
    The United States is one of the best countries for academic studies and the vision of Emerson is fulfilled. Talented youth are trying to gain higher academic studies in the United States and the US is a country that high school graduates want to study in.
    Many great philosophers, thinkers, and influential people have also developed through the history of the United States. The Scholar was the term Emerson used to describe the intellectual development of a nation and today that term would certain qualify what it was meant to mean.

Ralph Waldo Emerson - Nature

    In the excerpt from Nature, Emerson gives a description of nature that I agree with high. Nature is peaceful and tranquil in the views of Emerson. I believe that nature can possess the qualities of tranquility and peacefulness, but I would also consider nature as deadly and cold-blooded. Nature seems peaceful and tranquil, but that is what makes it deadly. People do feel peace and tranquility when the move into the wild and I really like the peacefulness as well. You feel as if you are younger and more energetic than ever before.
    Nature can make people young and energetic, but it can also take the lives of people away. Nature changes at a very quick pace. It changes so quickly that humans cannot respond to it in time and that results in death and injuries.
    Emerson has a really good view of nature and I believe that he would be a successful man if he was to spend his whole life in the wild. I also learned something from his writing and that is: endorse the nature for peace but never go against it.

The 100 Thing Challenge

    My first thought toward this article was, "How is this possible?" Living with 100 items is basically living only with the necessities of life. There would only be a few items for intertainment and barely any items of liesure. It would be possible for somebody it live only with 100 items, but they would be living like people in the Middle ages. It would be an extreme simple life. So simple that people of modern society would not be able to live like that. It would be as if the only pupose you had for living was survival itself.
    I would not be able to live with only 100 items. It would be an extremely plain life and there wouldn't be much to do. People in modern society have too much liesure time and modern technologies have allowed people to experience more intertainment then ever before. It would be hard to live without these forms of intertainment.
    To be honest, it would be imposible for me to live without basketball and the internet. Those two things have become so crucial to my life. It would really be hard for me to just live with100 items.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1812048,00.html 

The Natural World

Peace and tranquility are feelings that I associate with the word nature, but images that I associate with the word are those that consist of preying and survival. On a trip in Malaysia, I experienced both the tranquility of the natural world and the deadliness of it as well. I was with my family on beach and we were enjoying the various activities that were provided to tourists. We were all amazed by the beauty of the sea and the tranquility of the waters. It was a nice day for water activities and most people enjoyed the nice weather.

We heard a sudden scream that came from the sea. It was from a woman that was placing her feet in the water. People were shocked by the screaming and it was not long after we knew what happened. She had been stung by a jellyfish that was washed close to shore and her feet were severely damage. Both of her feet were swollen and they were purple. It was a scene that I could never forget.

The natural world is silent, calm, and peaceful at times, but it can become extremely deadly when organisms start their quests for survival. We can enjoy the beauties of the natural world, but we must always be aware of it dangers.

Henry David Thoreau: Why I Went to the Woods

With extensive use of metaphors, Thoreau both clarifies his ideas and makes his ideas more complicated. Thoreau uses metaphors to create circumstances that clarify the meaning he wants to convey, but these metaphors would be complicated for someone who doesn’t have basic knowledge regarding the metaphor itself. When Thoreau uses the Spartans in a metaphor to state how people should live, it makes his ideas easier for me to understand because I know the Spartans led a plain and militaristic life. What would happen if someone had no knowledge of Spartan society? The metaphor would confuse those that have limited knowledge on the Spartans.

With some basic knowledge, Thoreau’s article is easy to understand due to the fact that most metaphors are easy to understand. The metaphors chosen by Thoreau have an important role in clarifying his article and the metaphors serve their purpose really well.

What are the characteristics or elements of American Romanticism? What the heck is transcendentalism?

    American Romanticism can be defined as an association to nature, a place in which people are free from judgment and restrictions. In other words, it can be said that people are moving towards a more liberal way of life. Without judgments from other individuals, people can live unrestricted lives and enjoy their close association with the natural world.

     Transcendentalism is the belief that an ideal spiritual state that results from physical and personal experiences. The ideal spiritual state can only be realized through an individual’s intuition rather than from theories or religion.

     Transcendentalism and American Romanticism fit really closely together because both believe in a more liberal way of life and both emphasize the importance of personal experience. Personal experience and freedom allow for more development and a better way of life.

Personal Response: The Last of the Mohicans Chapter 1-3

    James Fenimore Cooper, the author of “The Last of the Mohicans”, uses vary descriptive language and he writes accordingly with the theme of American Romanticism. The immense details that he uses to describe the landscape and the people are really overwhelming to me and it somehow confuses the readers. The attachment of the characters to the natural world is also in coordination with American Romanticism. I really like how the storyline goes, but the descriptive language is making the text really hard to read. The scene in which the Indians are hunting the deer is very intense and is full of action. The descriptive language for the intense action makes that scene very interesting. I like how the essay goes up until now.

Diaries and Journals

People write journals and diaries because they use them to keep memories that they want to remember. Diaries and journals are also used to express an emotion, an event, or a feeling that is very personal. I write diaries only when I feel stressful and angry towards something or somebody. I occasionally write when I want to express my feelings towards basketball and I almost never write about other subjects.

Diaries may sometimes reveal truths that people might not have known. The “Diary of Ann Frank” is an example. Diaries may be intended for certain people and these diaries also reveal the author’s attitude towards the intended audience.

Diaries are interesting to read because they show the emotional state of the writer, they show the events the writer has been through, and they show the personality of the writer in a general manner. The context of the diary may not be as interesting to the readers because the readers are not the people who have been through what the writer has been through, but the meanings the writer wants to convey is what interests the readers.

Self Evaluation for the First Quarter

What would you change about what you do to be more successful this time around? What course material did you like or not like? What was your favorite activity? What did you like the least? What’s one thing that you would like to see in your English classes? What did you expect from this class?

There have been lots of events going on and time is passing away really quickly. What I would like to change the most is the time that I spent on vocabulary and rhetoric. I’m not good at memorizing things and I have never done well on vocabulary tests, so I would have done much better if I spent more time trying to remember the material.

The thing that I like and dislike is the same thing. It’s the rhetoric. I really like the logics behind debate and I really like formal debate, but I don’t like the complicated ideas and concepts behind it.

I really like group work and there is a lot of group work that we have to do in class. Discussions and talks help me understand the material that I do not understand and learning from my classmates is really interesting.

Fallacies: Begging the Question and Ad Populum

Examples of Ad Populum:

1. Nine out of ten of my constituents oppose the bill, therefore it is a bad idea.
2. Nine out of ten of my fellow congressmen favor the bill, therefore it is a good idea.

Examples of Begging the Question:

1. "The belief in God is universal. After all, everyone believes in God." 
2. "If such actions were not illegal, then they would not be prohibited by the law." 
   

Fallacies: Red Herring and Ad Hominem

Examples of Ad Hominem:

1. "You can't believe him when he says the proposed policy would help the economy. He doesn't even have a job."
2.  "How can you argue for vegetarianism when you wear leather shoes ?"

Examples of Red Herring:   

1. "You know, I've begun to think that there is some merit in the Republican's tax cut plan. I suggest that you come up with something like it, because If we Democrats are going to survive as a party, we have got to show that we are as tough-minded as the Republicans, since that is what the public wants." 
2. "I think there is great merit in making the requirements stricter for the graduate students. I recommend that you support it, too. After all, we are in a budget crisis and we do not want our salaries affected."
   

Sojourner Truth - Ain't I a Woman

    Sojourner Truth presents a very strong stance and questions the way rights are given to different groups of people. She states that all women should be treated with respect according to what the white men say, but only the women of higher social status were respected correctly. She states that there are virtually no rights for black women and she is mocking the official when presenting herself as a woman. The article is short, but it has a very powerful voice and a very clear purpose.

The Creativity Crisis - Personal Response

    The article talks about creativity tests and how these creativity tests rank the creativity of different people onto a scale. I do not agree with people raking the creativity of an individual because people can be creative in different ways and people may have other natural talents that do not include creativity. The article talks about a worldwide increased awareness in the importance of creativity and how nations are changing their educational programs to emphasize creativity among youth. At the concluding paragraph of the article, the author states that a decrease in creativeness can be dealt with by science and I do not agree with that. Creativity is not something that should be increased by improved technologies in science, it should be an increase in self-expression. Creativity should not be put on scales and the way to increase creativeness is by encouraging self expression.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html

Sir Ken Robinson - Schools Kill Creativity

    In the presentation made by Ken Robinson, many very interesting points are raised about the relationship between education and creativity. The most important point that he brings up is the fact that children are only studying to enter college. He argues that students just do the homework to get good grade and enter college. When students are faced with large amounts of test, homework, and routinely done work, they no longer demonstrate any creativity. Sir Robinson is arguing that creativity should be nurtured and emphasized on in all stages of life. I agree with Sir Robinson on the importance of creativity because I believe creativity is the way to demonstrate personal identity. Be creative in life and enjoy a creative life.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Sir Ken Robinson - Bring on the learning revolution!

    My first impression was, this guy is awesome. Sir Ken Robinson explains and urges that a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning should be imposed for children to let their natural talents flourish. It may be unfair for me to say this, but I really think that the courses in our school should help us develop more personal talents. The classes we have at PAS are already based heavily on natural talents and personal academic interests, but radical change would lead to even better forms of education. It would really be a revolution if all institutes for education were based on the development of natural talents!

http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

Definition and Example: Periodic Sentence and Independent Clauses

Definition of a periodic sentence: a sentence that is not grammatically complete until the final clause or phrase.

Example of a periodic sentence:

“Out of the bosom of the Air,
Out of the cloud-folds of her garment shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent and soft, and slow,
Descends the snow."



Definition of an Independent Clause: a clause that can stand by itself, also known as a simple sentence (contains a subject and a predicate).

Example of an Independent Clause:

"I like to play basketball."

Examples of Syllogisms

A basketball player is a sports player.
I am a basketball player.
Therefore, I am a sports player.

The SAT is an exam that is composed of ten sections.
I am taking the SAT exam.
Therefore, I am taking an exam with ten sections.

Micheal Hogan - The Colonel

    I have to say that I love the story "The Colonel" by Micheal Hogan; I feel as if a was in the story myself. I like the story because I was once in a situation just like Hogan (but I was playing basketball, not tennis). Basketball became a sport that changed my life and just by playing on the basketball court taught me many lessons of life. To me, basketball has transformed from a leisure activity to an event that is worth sacrificing for. Just like how tennis became a common-day sport. Playing basketball with older kids and playing basketball on a team taught me the correct attitudes of life and sportsmanship. I was able to grow as I played basketball and I feel a closeness to the little kid that started learning to play tennis with the colonel. I really like this essay.

Amy Tan - Mother Tongue

    This article gave me different view regarding the unity of the family and how people define the nature of the English language differently. Amy Tan states in her essay that she converts words to images inside her head and she has to make up situations between different words in order to better understand the connection between the words. Amy also demonstrates the unity among a family and how family values can deeply affect the individual in the family. I really like this essay because the essay gives me a feeling of belonging and it lifts the spirit. The stereotype of Asian being better at mathematics and sciences I find really amusing.

Judy Brady - I Want a Wife

    "I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady is a very realistic depiction of the duties a wife hold. The article demonstrates the large amount of work Brady might have had to do as a wife and as a mother. People might consider this article a complaint to the amount of work a wife needed to accomplish, but society in the past isn't like how it is now. Brady is not just speaking for herself, she is probably speaking for all the wives that face large amounts of housework. About the essay itself, I think the essay is very well structured and the points the essay wants to make is very clear. The essay conveys its ideas very clearly and the author most likely fulfilled her purpose in writing the essay. This essay is a very good model and I would like to use this model in future essays i write.

Quickwrite - Who are you and what do you want to be?

    I am a high school student who is working on getting himself into college; an individual just like anyone else on the planet. I am someone that is bound by expectations, duties, and moral reasoning. I am a common individual just like everyone else, but who I would like to be is someone without restrictions and someone without responsibilities that they have to care about. Simply put, I want to be somebody that has complete freedom. I want to be someone who doesn’t have to care about how others look at them and someone who doesn’t have to conform to the general public. I really admire people who can decide what they want to do in their own lives and I also admire people who have the courage to be different from others. I desire to become someone with freedom and self-identity.

"Kill 'Em! Crush 'Em! Eat 'Em Raw!" - Soapstone Analysis

 
The speaker of this personal account is clearly the author himself. John McMurtry is describing his own life and events that he has experienced during his early life. McMurtry is describing his football career and he is also comparing his football career with war in a very personal way.

The occasion of this piece of work is during a personal memory. McMurtry is describing his occupation as a football player throughout high school, college, and the professional league.

The audience is not clearly stated and it can actually be anybody in public. It can be inferred that there is an intended audience, that is football players and political figures that compare war with football games.

There are two main purposes for this article. The first is to describe the types of physical injuries playing football can bring and the second purpose is to question the attitude of political figure that are pro-war as well as coaches teaching football.

There are three main subjects in this personal account. The first subject is injuries that are related to playing football. The second is how the coaches just force you to keep playing for the pride of the team/yourself. The third subject is the comparison of football to war.

The tone of this account is very sarcastic and it is making fun of political leaders, coaches, and people who do not understand how sports is. It seems as if McMurtry is laughing at the people just mentioned.

Quickwrite - Racism

    Racism happens to everybody everywhere around the world. I was in a summer camp at the United States with some of my friends. We were there for a four week camp and it was a academic camp. I didn’t live at the campsite like my friends did; I live in a house that my mother rented. During the second week of camp, my friends told me that their roommates were unfriendly and that they were even bullying them. I felt unjust and went to talk to the roommates of my friends. They said that we were just foreigners and we were Asians, so we were inferior to them. I immediately felt an urge to punch him in the face but kept it down because my mom spent lots of money for me to go to camp. I really don’t understand how people can treat others like that.

Nancy Mairs - On being a Cripple

A positive attitude towards life is what I feel from “On being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs. Even though the condition of her body may not seem optimistic, she thinks in a positive way. Doubts occur in Nancy’s life, but she is able to get pass by thinking about the things she still has, not the things that she lost. I’m really surprised that someone can actually face misfortune with such an optimistic attitude while sharing with other people what she has experienced. She has enough courage to share the misfortune she has been through and I regard her with respect. The one thing I respect of her the most is that she doesn’t blame anyone else for having MS. Instead, she says that she would rather get MS herself than let someone else suffer it. I feel a great deal of respect towards Nancy Mairs and I will look up to her.

James Baldwin - Notes of a Native Son

“Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin is a very interesting yet depressing article to read. James Baldwin writes about the accounts of his father’s death and how this is linked with the discrimination towards African Americans in the United States. Throughout the account, clear descriptions of discrimination are demonstrated and the author himself experiences a threat of life. The relationship between the author and his father is what James Baldwin wants to tell the audience. James doesn’t have a good relationship with his father and he doesn’t believe what his father says about dealing with white people. After his father’s death, James then recalls from his memories the bad experiences he went through and connected them with his father’s words. What I believe is most important comes in the last paragraph. I sincerely agree with the author that people only cherish things when they lose them. I have lost many things and many chances, so I will never give up a chance when it comes up.

Nike Advertisement- Soapstone Analysis

The speaker of this advertisement is the Nike Company and particularly the skate board division of the company. The speaker is quite identifiable because the website for Nike's skate board department shows up at the end of the video.

The occasion of this advertisement would be before skate boarding events or any other time when skate boards would be in demand. The information given would be an argument. The company is trying to argue that nothing is impossible when using Nike skateboards.

The audience of the commercial would be skate board lovers and people that are interested in Nike company products. The audience can be both general and specific. The general audience can refer to anybody and the specific audience would refer to skateboarders.

The purpose of this ad is too sell more skate boards and make people aware that the company has a skate board department. The directer of the clip is trying to inform the public that there are new products form Nike and he is also trying to persuade the audience to buy the product.

The subject being talked about in this ad is skate boarding and how nothing is impossible.

The tone of this ad is surpassing the impossible and it is very creative. The advertisement is supporting the product. The ad leaves a lasting impression in the minds of those who saw it.


Nike Ad
Uploaded by Wolverine. - Click for more funny videos.

Dumpster Diving, Lars Eighner - Soapstone Analysis

The speaker of "Dumpster Diving" would be the author, Lars Eighner. The whole article is composed in first person and the author presents most of his ideas with a very personal voice.  Lars Eighner is a male in his middle ages and it can be inferred that he is in stable emotional state. Lars calls himself a scavenger and it is believed that he does not consider himself to be of a low social class. Lars believes that he understands how to live off and gain more from other people.

I am unsure about the occasion of the article, but I believe that it would be when people are going scavenging or when people are distinguishing what foods they can eat. The article would be considered a memory of life as an scavenger and performing dumpster diving.

The audience of this article would be the general public, especially those people that do not clearly understand the way of life as an scavenger. The audience of the article is not specified by the author and the article could have a very general audience.

The purpose of this article is to explain the way of life as an scavenger and how to demonstrate how people are able to live by the minimal resources they can gain. The article is also used to critique on how young people do not understand the world around them and how these young people waste resources that may be valuable to others.

The subject of this article is to describe life as a scavenger, to demonstrate how people can live off minimal resources, and to show an attitude of survival. The most important part of the subject would be the waste of resources versus minimal resources needed for survival.

The tone of the article changes at different points. The tone at the beginning is explanatory and informative, but it changes into a more critical and analytical tone in the end. Lars is very dedicated when he talks about life as a scavenger and "Dumpster Diving" has taught many lessons that may be useful in life.

"Dumpster Diving" by Lars Eighner

Rhetoric Vocabulary Examples

Examples of Aphorism:

1. We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. (Albert Einstein)

2. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. (Albert Einstein)

3.The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits. (Albert Einstein)

4. The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time. (William Butler Yeats)

5. Never explain--your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you anyhow. (Elbert Hubbard)

Examples of Epigraph:

1. Time is the longest distance between two places. (Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie)

2. Everything happens to everybody sooner or later if there is time enough. (George Bernard Shaw, Back to Methuselah)

3. History begins only at the point where things go wrong; history is born only with trouble, with perplexity, with regret. (Evening Is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan, 2009)

4. I would be a Papist if I could. I have fear enough, but an obstinate rationality prevents me. (The British Museum Is Falling Down by David Lodge, 1965)

5. Do not play this piece fast. It is never right to play Ragtime fast. (E. L. Doctorow, "Ragtime")

Examples of Invective:
1. Good day to all, and may the not specifically named morons save their souls.
2. Ugly people are not allowed here.
3. There are stupid people around the world; here is one example.
4. Put a mask on before you scare another person.
5. The are males and females on this planet, but I can't tell which group you are from.

Examples of Allegory:

 Examples of Antanaclasis:
1. Your argument is sound...all sound. (Benjamin Franklin)
2. While we live, let us live.

3. If we do not hang together, we will hang separately.

4. Will you have your will, Will? Then perhaps you will write your will.

5. The odds are good, but the goods are odd.

Examples of Anthimeria:
1. Be silence. Be peaced. Find the nature of the innocent fleeced.
2. Feel bad? Strike up some music and have a good sing.
3. Why don’t you gift him a wig.
4. Table that article right now!
5. Yes, she’s OK now. She just needed a good cry.

Personal Thoughts on Joan Didion's "On Self-Respect"

    The text "On self-respect in amazing to me because it is an answer that I am seeking at this stage of my life. The question I am now facing is the relationship between character, self-respect, and personal responsibility. Joan Didion says, "character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self-respect springs."
    I am in my senior year and I now understand the importance of responsibility. With a good character and with a strong sense of personal responsibility, I have learn to respect what I am doing to apply for college and I have also learned to respect those who are trying their best to help me in the process of college application.
    This essay portrays the knowledge I have recently gained perfectly. Responsibility comes from a good personal character and a good personal character leads to success in respecting the work oneself is doing.
    Joan Didion's "On Self-Respect" is the best essay I have read regarding the concept of self-respect and it is the best essay in which to learn a life lesson.

Response to the "Copying Animation"

    The producer of the animation is trying to convince us that copying is not wrong but is a new way of replicating. They want us to think about the issue from a different perspective; to think about the issue from a different perspective.
    When the video days copying is not wrong, they are comparing it to theft. The video is arguing that knowledge should be spread around instead of being kept to single individuals. They are basing their argument on the fact that more is better for the society as a whole, but they are ignoring several concepts.
    They say that not being able to copy would not improve or benefit each other, but they are ignoring the effects copying would bring. People get the same knowledge from copying each other, but they will soon lack motivation to create new things. Diversity disappears and creativity is lost as well.

Nap Quickwrite - Endangered Pleasures

    Online computer games are not accepted by parents worldwide, but online games may be a great entertainment and an enjoyable pleasure for many children. Parents sometimes over estimate the effects of computer games towards their children. Computer games may be a waste of time, but it is still a form of entertainment that children would like to participate in during their free times.

    Online computer games may allow you to interact with different people and learn lessons of life. Online games can help people learn to deal with others, interact in positive manners, and learn concepts of financing. The computer gaming world is like a miniature version of the real world and people can learn in both.