Final Portfolio

Matoaka Berry
ENG 241
May 10, 2010
English Portfolio

This class was one of the last English classes I needed in order to graduate this spring. I went in thinking that this will be another boring English class with all this reading and writing, little did I know what I had walked into. It started off different than any other online class I have taken before. It made me look beyond what was in the reading. This class helped me to develop my critical thinking skills and writing skills. It has also helped me to look at myself in a different way. With everything that has been going on with me during this semester this class has allowed me to see that things are not as bad as it seems. I have gained the respect for history and have learned how rich in history Richmond Virginia has. I have also gained a since of respect for the struggles the country has went through in the past because it has helped me to understand some of the struggles we are going through now.
My portfolio is designed to showcase the growth that I have gone through this semester. I will show all my hard work to complete and keep up with the weekly assignments and blogs. I worked rather hard in this class because the level of thinking and the level of knowledge that was in this class to gain. This portfolio will show why I believe that I have worked for and deserve an “A” in this class.
The first assignment was to write a letter to someone who plans to immigrate to America and let them know what it means to be an American. They only know about the country by what they seen on television and heard. Well when I first read this assignment I thought to easy, I have lived in America my whole life so this is going to be a piece of cake. Well I was so wrong about that. The reading came from the Heath Anthology book by J Hector St. John de Crevecoeur. The question “What is an American” came from his reading. I must say when it came down to me writing out what I thought an American was I was lost for words. It was kind of hard to explain to a person who has never been here what an American is especially when you don’t know if what they heard was good or bad. So I begin to think if I was going to move to another country that I knew nothing about; what would be most important to me to learn before I get there. This is when I came up with the subject of knowing the history of the country; this way you can understand how the country works and what to expect from the people. Next I came up with the fact that America is a place where dreams come to. I hear from people all the time that they came here to become a model, a singer, an actor/actress, or to be able to provide for their family. Then I concluded that when you come here just enjoy every experience. It may be a lot to take in and a lot of adapting but it is a great place to live.
This assignment was a great way to start this semester off. It allowed me to look into myself and see what America meant to me. It showed me how life would look to others from another country. I enjoyed this writing so much because it made me look at life in a whole different meaning. It made me think about taking this place for granted and just being so stagnate. So now I have vowed to go learn more about this country and at least the state in which I live in.
The next assignment that has helped me through this emotional semester was the sublime experience assignment. It made me go to this place that I have kept shut out for a while. I must say that I am not a very open person but this semester has allowed me to open up and speak out. I guess I am open when it comes to writing and this class has really shown me that.
The sublime experience was very emotional for me. I decided to write about my aunt and her cancer diagnoses. This is an area that is very soft to me because it is still new and it is something that I am still going through and it is a up and down battle. Even though this is not me who is sick I am still feeling the effects of it because of the warning that it causes on the family to. I chose this topic because even though it was not a great experience mentally it was a great experience to learn from. As for now in my life there is nothing that has happen to me that will take the place of this. What she has gone through has shown me that I have to be strong for her, for me and for my family. She has been through so much and I have been right there beside her. So this assignment has been very helpful to me to see what I have gone through and that I have been strong through it all.
The next assignment was living a full life. This was a fun writing for me because it really let me express myself. I have set the standard for myself that when it is all said and done for me I want my full life to consist of me leaving a positive name for myself. I want to help with the girls growing up that come from single family homes. I want to show them something different that they are not use to. Being able to provide for me and my family is also going to contribute to me living a full life. Right now I am working on finishing my degree program so that I can be able to provide. To me living a full life is more than just the material things and being able to live to see 80. I would love to see that age and beyond but also I want to be known as the person who helped out in my community, who made a way for the youth to grow and who just did all I could do to better myself.
We then moved into the next month where the learning continued. This assignment made me look more into myself. I have always thought about myself and making sure that I am the best at the things I do, but when it came to this assignment I was lost on how to write about myself. I just feel that the best me is strong and independent. I have been this way for so long that it is just time for me to keep it up. I have to be strong for me and my family, they depend on me. My independence was learned at an early age. In this assignment I used quotes from the story so that I can relate it to my life now. I felt that the story we had to read had things in it that reflected in my life. With everything that has happened to me this semester I have to be strong. It felt like every time I took a step forward I get pushed ten steps back, but this is okay because I have made sure that I am on track with school so that I can graduate this May. So even now when I look back at this assignment I still believe that the best me is strong and independent.
My next assignment I felt may have been a little controversial. The assignment was entitled “Is it Fixable.” I chose to write about gay marriages. I personally don’t have a problem with them getting married but I also see the religious part that people are complaining about. One thing I say is that it is not something we will have to deal with in the end so let them have the same rights as everyone else who gets married. This is the only thing that I think they want more than anything. I was very uncomfortable when posting this because I didn’t want to offend anyone with my words. I didn’t want to make people feel that I was coming off to strong because I have been known to be a little too strong on my opinion. I did like this assignment because it allowed me to put out my views on one of the topics of today. No it may not be right but I am not here to make all the fuss over it, I have too much going on in my life to worry about that. I know that people feel strong about certain things especially when it comes to religion.
The last assignment that I am going to share is the assignment of the virtues. This was very interesting because there can be a lot of things that you can use but when you put a number on the important ones it gets hard. I feel that the list I came up with is very good. The one that I picked that I need to work on was the one with self-respect. This one is very important in my community because the youth is losing this. They have no respect for themselves but then wonder why no one else is respecting them. This is also why I want to get a group and help the youth get this back. This is very important because you have to respect yourself.
This semester has been full of new and exciting experiences. I have grown in the field of critical thinking. This semester has made me think so much harder about things and how I feel about certain issues. I have also learned more about myself and the fact that I am more expressive on paper. I have also learned about my history and how to put it into play when it comes to what is going on now. This semester has also made me more away on people thoughts. I have also enjoyed the discussions in our groups. It was very interesting to see what people had to say about certain things and to see that there are people out there who think like you. This was my favorite because I thought that when I wrote something no one would agree with me. This was a great class and I believe that my hard work will pay off when I see the grade that I get out this class. I believe that I have shown how I learned and grew this semester and why an “A” is what my work shows and what my participation shows.

A Semester Overview

This semester has been a world wind of new experiences starting with the first assignment: “What is an American?” I really enjoyed this writing because all these years I thought I could answer this piece with no problems until it was right in front of my face. This assignment was fun because it made me think on a whole new level. Yes, I was born and raised an American so this should have came naturally to me, but it didn’t. I had to think about all the things that I felt was important to me to be an American. One example that I used in this blog post was that America was a place that dreams come to. I feel that this is so important because in many countries I hear that the reason they came to America was for opportunities. After really sitting and thinking about this topic it made me change the way I viewed the world and the people coming here. I am now more interested in learning about different countries and cultures and understanding them. This topic has shown me that even though I have always been an American it is a little harder than I thought to write about it and explain it to people who have never been here.
Another reading and topic that I enjoyed writing about was: “My sublime experience.” This time in the class made me tap into my more emotional state of being. I wrote about my aunt and her having cancer. This is such a soft topic to talk about and write about because it is something new to me and it is still happening to me. This was and still is an experience that nothing else in my life can take the place of. It may not seem to be a moment or time of greatness but to me I have come to realize that this turmoil that I am going through is making me realize how important family is and making me put things into perspective.
Another way that this class has helped me put things into perspective is with the assignments: “Virtues for living the good life,” and “The current social practices.” These two assignments were great writings for me because they help me think differently. The one with the virtues for living the good life was amazing. I can also tie into this the week that we had to write about living a full life.
These two topics to me now can go hand and hand.

I have had a busy semester and a lot of negative things have occurred in my life this semester and it has made me want to quit but after I started writing the thirteen virtues that I felt were important I realize that I have come too far from where I started from to give up now. Some of the virtues that I had in my blog that I hold onto now are: determination, commitment, strength, confidence and self-respect. These are important to me because I have to stay committed and determine to reach my goals, even when the road is rough.

The more that I look back now I realize how this class has helped me keep it together. It has shown me things that I might not would have seen if I didn’t take the time in this class to do so. It has also shown me how as a person I am growing and that I have a long road ahead that I have to keep moving towards. I am not sure if this class was meant to do this but it has been a great source of strength and confidence to me. God shows us things in strange ways and I have learned to keep my eyes open for me because they will come at any time.

This has been a melting pot of experience that I have learned from. I have also learned that history does just repeat itself. One example is the week we did the reading and writing about history. I chose to name my blog “History………..then and now because of the fact that the same things we are going through now, we have already been through before in history. We are just a new generation that is receiving it. It is funny how when things happen in the world we think that it is so new to us but really it isn’t. When I wrote my blog I chose to write about healthcare now and how people are getting made because of the new bill that will give everyone the chance to get health insurance. I feel that this is such a good thing because I work at a hospital and I see how things are when they come into the emergency room with no healthcare. People take for granted their health and feel that if they are healthy now then they won’t need the insurance. What they fail to realize is that tomorrow may bring something new and you may need to have health insurance just to be seen. So my argument is that even though I changed the way I looked at it that politics are not going anywhere. It is something that fuels this world.

So no matter what I thought about this class when I was signing up for the class went out the window when I did the first assignment. I knew that this class was going to be more intense and make we work harder to write. I felt that before this class I was an ok writing and interpreter. Now after taking this class and going through everything that this class has to offer I realize that I have a lot to learn and that I am not as deep of a thinker that I thought I was. So I enjoyed everything that I went through with this class and hope that I can have other professors who makes me think outside of the box and then be able to put it to words and then to paper.

Learning Reflection

This semester was full of growth and understanding. I feel that through it all I kept up with the assignments rather well. It was a lot of reading in this class to keep up with and some of the reading was a mouth full but I felt like I made it through. I read the stories and even use the internet to help me understand parts when I was still confused. Then I went through and broke it down into parts that I felt I understood the most and went from there. The assignments were long depending on the week; or maybe they just felt that way because of all the other things that were going on with me this semester. If I had some better time management skills then I would have done a lot better when it came down to how I was doing the assignments for the class. I do feel that with everything that I went through this semester and the course work that was giving I was able to keep up with the reading and give it the best shot that I had at that present week.

My participation in the discussion was great. If I remember correctly, I was able to do all but one of the discussion questions. This part of the class allowed me to see how others viewed certain things and how they choose to write about them. Even though I felt like my opinion was different and not as deep as others I still gave my opinion and then commented back on others. This way I allowed my group members to see how I felt about things and how I felt about what they had to say. It was a great way to keep the class in some kind of connection even though this was an online class. So I feel that was participation was a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the better grade.

Posting to the blogs was different for me. As I have stated before this has been my first class where I had to write a blog. I found this quite interesting and once weeks went past I was able to see all the assignments that I did and see how well I was doing in the class. I do feel like this was a way to see if I was keeping up with the assignments and I was. If I missed a week I was able to see that when I went to my blog and see that a week was missing. I also enjoyed being able to see other people blogs and see how they chose to design them. Then I was able to read some of their work and see how it relates to mine or if it didn’t relate I got to see their views. This made things very interesting. I felt that was able to keep up with the blog and that I enjoyed writing them even though sometimes it was hard putting my thoughts on paper.

Beliefs

I feel that my beliefs are a little different from what I read. These days religion is important to people but it is not shown too often in public. People don’t have religious talk at work because some places don’t allow it due to the fact that there are so many beliefs. This is another difference in today and back then. Now you have so many different religions and it is not looked down upon because it is different from yours. I find it very interesting to hear about different religions. I think it is good to learn and be exposed to different things so that you can broaden your horizons.

Now as far as some of the similarities, I can say the biggest is the belief in Christianity. This is still around today. Teaching the children about religion is something that I think is similar to todays life. People bring their kids to church and/or children church so that they can learn about their religion. This is a big plus to me and I wish that I would have had the opportunity to do the same when I was growing up.

I am not really sure how this story compares to my belief because I am still finding my way. Because I had to be the one to take myself to church and want to learn about God, I can’t say much about the comparison and the contrast. I can say that now I feel the world is a little more excepting to religion and the different beliefs.

The Big Picture

This semester has been a learning lesson for me in this English class. It was my first online English class and the first class I have ever had to do a blog for. I must say it was fun writing the blogs, even though sometimes I was unsure if I was doing the assignment right. I have had some hard times trying to understand some of the reading for the blogs and keeping up the comments on our discussion pages. I must say that to me the big picture of this class and doing the assignments was to take us out of our box of reading and understanding. I cannot speak about everyone else in the class but I can say it has opened my eyes up to a lot of things. I am not a big reader so this was wonderful for me. It has taught me to look outside the box. See beyond the big picture that is always in our face. One of my favorite works that I think made me think about things was the blog that we had to write about what it meant to be an American. I have never thought about this topic until this class. I felt that I lived as an American everyday because it was all I knew but I didn’t quite know how to explain it to someone else especially someone who has never been to America. This was a fun post and I really enjoyed writing about it and I believe that I did a fantastic job on it. It has also made me think about taking things for granted and that no everyone knows about the American culture. This has also helped me at work as we are taking classes and going through all these diversity courses.

My profession of change

While I sit back and think about things that occur, I have to say that change has to come for my youth. I sit and talk with people all the time about how as a young lady I see things that need to change with the way we think and the way we handle things. I see that there is no more foundation in the homes and that the youth are acting out for attention of any kind. I say that this maybe because are babies are having babies and not giving themselves time enough to be a child before they have to play the role of an adult.
I have taken a pledge within myself to help the youth move forward. I see the struggle within them. I see that they want to learn different ways and want someone to help provide a backbone for them. So I plan to one day turn this into reality and help the youth move in a new direction. So I am here today to write my profession of change.
I believe that we can change and move forward; and no one can take that belief away from me.
I believe that if we take our time with the youth and provide for them things that they are not use to then this can encourage change. This kind of change will not happen overnight so the people who are working with the youth have to be patient and understanding. They have to allow some setbacks and teach them that with setbacks you have to push forward so that you can catch up to where you where meant to be.
I also believe that this place that will provide this change should grow and expand so that more youth can be affected. This way the program can provide more positive ways for the youth to grow and tell others about it and want to get into the place of change.
I believe that once this program is up and running and the youth are proving they can change then this will take place all across the city.
I believe that if we have people in our community that is committed to the youth then they will see that there are people who care about them and wants to see them head in the right direction. They will then learn that they can have trust in someone who will not let them down but will not always be around so they have to learn to believe in them.
I say if we all come together as a community and put foundation back into the youth then they have no choice but to move forward.
Now with all my beliefs come my disbeliefs. I have to share them because I believe a person has to no both sides of the story before they can fully understand you.
I do not believe that the way the youth is today is the way they will stay. People like to say that certain things can’t change and that what is going to happen is going to happen. Well I believe differently and I say that things can change if you want it to. Change has to happen within the person first before they can learn to change their thoughts and actions.
I do not believe that this program will fail if all the people in the program want to make it a success. So you have to make sure that the people want to make a change and be successful. They have to be positive people who can change themselves. You will be surprise how helping someone else might cause a spark in yourself and help you make a change.
It is impossible to say how this will all take effect. You have to have realized that some negative things will take place in all this change. There will be people who will not be so excepting to change and think that this will be a waste of time. You have to push those people and thoughts out your mind and continue to move on. Then you have to know the type of youth you are working with so that you know how to treat them. All youth are not the same and they will require different things but in the end you are still looking for the same results and that is change. Change is something that in time will happen and this will happen giving it some time for change.

"Virtues for Living the Good Life, pt. 2"

I plan to cultivate this virtue by opening a center for young girls and help them restore their self respect. I feel that the young girls these days need to see that first there are people out there that care about them and their well being. Then I will provide workshops to help them grow. They will learn more that self – respect, but this will be their first step to becoming a young adult of value. This is just my small way of cultivating this virtue.

"Virtues for Living the Good Life"

1. Loyalty- Being devoted to something or someone, meaning being honest and faithful.
2. Knowledge- Just having the awareness of things. Knowledge is more than what they teach in school, it is what you learn in everyday life.
3. Forgiveness- This is important when you are working on yourself because it is something that you have to truly learn to do.
4. Strength- Being able to pull through anything and being able to be there for others in their weak moment.
5. Independence- Knowing that you can stand on your own
6. Determination- Sticking to something and not letting anyone get in the way of what it is that you are trying to accomplish.
7. Creativity- Being unique in everything that you do. Not following what others are doing but have your own touch to things.
8. Humor- Even when times are difficult or hard keeping that sense of humor.
9. Courage- Being able to step out on faith even when you are not able to see the outcome but you have the courage to do it.
10. Confidence- Something that I feel is missing from the youth today. Being able to stand behind what you do and believe no matter what.
11. Commitment- Stay focus and true to what it is that you are doing or trying to get done.
12. Self-respect- Another virtue that I feel is missing in today youth. You have to have respect for yourself before you can expect for anyone else to respect you.
13. Spirituality- A calm place that everyone needs. Knowing that there is a greater one who knows what’s best for you and has your back.

Now that I have my virtues I feel that the one that I need to focus on the most is self-respect. I chose this virtue because to me it is something that is missing in today’s society, young or old. I have a strong passion for this especially in woman and girls because I feel that it is important to first have self-respect. My grandmother always told me that no one will respect me if I don’t first respect myself. Now that I am grown I have found this to be true. People will run over and use the person who respect level is either gone or low. I am so dedicated to this that one contribution I want to accomplish is having a helping place to restore the self-respect in some of the youth. With my determination this will happen for me.

History...... Then & Now

I must say that times have not changed much in the aspect of politics. He was arguing that the most serious source of faction was the diversity of opinion in political life which leads to dispute over fundamental issues such as what regime or religion should be preferred. One serious source of faction today is healthcare and if we should make everyone have it. My personal take in this issue is that healthcare is something that everyone should have because you never know when you are going to need it. You may be healthy today but that does not mean you won’t get sick enough to where you might have to be hospitalized for something a little more serious than your common cold. I say if they make us buckle our seatbelts to prevent us from harming ourselves then they should make us get health insurance so that we can keep us from the dangers that are preventable. So I feel that even though these are two different aspect of the political world it still brings about the same amount of diversity. His political argument might have been over regime/religion and ours now is over healthcare. I feel that no matter what politics will always be divided. Now I don’t feel that by destroying the Liberty will make anything any better. He does make a valid point about how the liberties being essential to political life and Americans have been fighting for it since the American Revolution. The more I read his argument the more I had to agree with him on how you can’t create a society that is homogeneous in opinions and interests. This is still true today because everyone has different opinions and then you have the followers that just join the bandwagon because it sounds good. His next statement about majority faction being a problem because of popular sovereignty is preventing the minority faction from gaining power. This is so true no matter where you go in life. If the majority likes it then the majority wins. The minority is left to deal with the discussion that was made. Now sometimes you might have a time when the majority takes into consideration what the minority wants, but this is not something that happens all the time. Even though reading the No. 10 was hard for me to read I did understand it better when I seen how Wikipedia broke it down. It is funny how history repeats itself. What was happening back then when he wrote this is still prevalent in today’s society, just maybe in a different form. So I have to say that his argument still holds today. Even though I might change the way he says resolve some of the matters it is still true in what he said. I don’t think that politics is going anywhere any time soon so it is one of those things that we have to learn to live with. Destroying it will never happen so we must learn to make it work for the better of the people. This was a great eye opener on how history is still the same as it was back then.

Reflections

This is the last semester for me at J Sargeant Reynolds Community College and the most challenging. I must say that taking to online English courses and a biology course has put its amount of stress on my life. I have been in other online courses before through my journey in college but this semester has proven to be the most testing. I am working rather hard because I want to make this the end for me so that I can move on and attend Columbus State University in Columbus, GA. I visited this college this past weekend and fell in love with it. It is a small college with fewer than 10,000 students and a classroom size of about 25:1. This was one of the main factors that I liked about the college because I didn’t want to be just a number I wanted to be recognized by my professors. This has made me want to work hard so that I can achieve my goals and make it down there for the fall semester.
Now this English class has been like no other for me. This was my first semester taking an English course online and I have heard that it was a lot but now I can see with my own eyes. This class is a lot different because we are not using blackboard like I am use to. Then this is also my first time writing on a blog. The only other time that I have even heard about a blog is when celebrities talk about writing on their blog. So when I came to orientation and heard that we will be keeping our own blog I was surprised. Now that I have had a chance to use it a couple of times I can say that I like it and that it is fun to see my writings when I log in. I do have to say that I find myself going to blackboard and logging in to see my next week’s assignments before I realize that we have to use the professors’ site called weebly.
Week one took a lot of getting use to. I had to adjust to this whole new way of doing things and then I had to keep up in my other classes. The first assignment was kind of difficult for me because we had to write about “What is an American.” Even though I am an American and all I know is America it is still kind of hard to explain that. So I had to draw up my maps for this assignment. I wanted to really think about if I was coming to another country how I could learn from what someone would have told me in a letter. Once I was done with the maps and reflections I had to then put all that information into a paper. I must say that when I was done and had it posted on my blog I was happy with what I had produced. I can say that looking back on this assignment I was able to say that I feel that I gave it my all and that it was a good product of my writing ability. That week assignment gave me the confidence that I needed to continue on so that I can make it through the semester.
Then I was ready to move on to week two. Once it came and I read the assignment then I must say I was a little withdrawn. Once I got into the assignment though I have to say I feel like it came out great. This was a very emotional assignment once I got into it. It took me back to a place that I would not have wanted to go. I feel that this class makes me go to places and write about things that I would never have thought about, so I guess that is the great thing about this class.
The next week was one of those posts that I feel we all think about but really don’t write about. When we had to write about what living a full life meant to us I went into this mind set of how I always think about this question so now it’s time for me to write about it. When I was writing this post it brought me back to what I wanted to accomplish in life. I do admit that over the last couple of years I have strayed away from what I thought were the right plans for me. It made me think about how I needed to get back to business and be about me and my future. This to me makes living a full life meaningful. During these weeks I had to also keep up with the other assignments like posting to my committee and commenting on my other classmates work. Now this is not something that I like to do. When I read other people works I am not a person who critiques. I may have my opinion about things but I don’t like to tell people about their work. I understand that it is part of the class and that I have to do it, but it is not something that I like. I do try very hard to keep up with this part of the class. I want in the end to have an A for my final grade. I must say though that this is kind of hard being that I don’t know where I stand in this class as far as if I’m doing well or not.
Week four was one of my favorite weeks to write about. I loved how I wrote about the best me and how that is independent and strong. This was another one of those weeks that I had to get in touch with myself in order to post my blog. I feel that I am working towards my best me now and that I will stay focus. This post brought me back to myself and made me understand that I am not only being strong for me but for my family. I realize that I am a very strong person because through everything that life has brought me through I still maintained to keep my head up high and walk with pride. Now that I am revisiting these posts to do my reflection I have realized that I wrote about some great stuff. I guess it is best to always go back and reread some of the things that you have written before. You then come to realize how well or bad you did on the assignment.
Week five was something very controversial. I wrote about gay marriages. I don’t feel that this assignment was done right but I had to stick with what I had done. I do feel that this assignment did come out good once it was all done. So it was on to week six and seven that was put together. In this week I had to go back to the post that I put wrote in week five and post to my blog if it was fixable. Even though I feel that this topic is something like slavery and that over time it will come past I am not sure if it will be fixable any time soon.
Now we are on to week eight. This is where we are now and how this assignment came about. I feel that this class is very interesting and causes you to real certain places in your life that maybe you would never had gone. I feel that I am doing very well and this class and I am trying very hard to get the goal that I sat out to get in the being. That is the A. I feel that I keep up with every assignment, I give feedback to other people work and I bring myself to this place that allows me to put out great work. I am working very hard in this class to maintain my A and I know that when this class is over I will have reached my goal and be very happy. Then I can move on and graduate and attend Columbus State University where I want to get my masters in business. This is one of the best classes I have had and I am very happy I chose to take it and with Professor Brandon.

My Reflection

This semester has been challenging for me this far. I am in two English classes trying to graduate this spring. So I have been very busy writing along with my other classes. I have to say that this class has been very different for me. I have taken online classes in the past but this one is very different. I have never before now did a blog in school. So this is one of my things to add to the things that I have learned this semester. I do like the feedback that I get to read from the other people in my group.

One thing that I have to say is challenging is not being able to see how well I am doing in this class. I am very concerned with my grades because I want to graduate. I try my hardest to do my best in all the classes I take and I do usually check my grades often to see how well I am doing, so not being able to see them is a lot different for me.

Other than that I think that this is a great class and that I am enjoying the readings and the writing that is going on. I like being able to give feedback even if I am not the best at it. I also enjoy looking at my blog to see how well I am doing with keeping up and staying focus.

Great class! Learning a lot. Can't wait to see the final outcome of this class.

Is this fixable?

Gay relationships has been around for decades. It is just now that they are starting to show more publicly. Now with the public appearances and getting more acceptance in the community, they are wanting some of the same rights as everyone else. One of the big issue that have surfaced in the past couple of years is the issue of gay marriage. Gay marriages has been looked at as wrong for a long time. I feel that now we should change this thought and allow them to get what they are fighting for. This is a time in this country that all kind of changes are coming about. We have more people involved with politics, so I say to the homosexual people that want this law pass to get out there and make their voices heard.

I feel that this issue is as sensitive as slavery. Like in the story "An address to the slaves of the United States of America, Buffalo, N.Y. 1843," mankind are becoming wiser, and better - the oppressor's power is fading, and you, everyday, are becoming better informed, and more numerous. This statement is why I believe we can start being more acceptable to gay marriage. No it is not something that we are going to come accustom to over night but if we start hearing them out and trying to see where they are coming from we might change our thoughts. I say open you ears and hear them because they are making good points as to why they are fighting for the right to get married.


I first think people mind frame needs to change. Yes, you might not like it or you might not except it but it's not something that you have to deal with. Many years ago people were not trying to except the fact that African-Americans are just as equal as everyone else. They were not trying to hear that we could fight in the same wars that the Caucasians where allowed to fight in. They were not trying to even believe that African-Americans could be able to use the same bathroom and water fountain as the Caucasians. Now everyone can ride the same bus, use the same bathroom and even vote at the same elections. This is how gay marriages should be. Allow them to be able to have a wedding that is excepted in the United States. They want the same rights that heterosexual marriages. They want to know that if one of the spouses die then they can collect their social security.

Next as we allow ourselves to listen to what they are fighting for then maybe we will change how we feel. It's okay to feel uncertain, this means you are allowing yourself to be open to the new idea. Then you have to realize that if you are against this because of the biblical reasons, you are not God and you cannot judge your fellow brothers or sisters in Christ. They will have their judgement day and you will not be their so let them do what they feel is right. I am not the one to say what is right and what is wrong. I have not lived a perfect life and no one else has either so we should not turn our nosed up at anyone who decides to live differently then us.

I feel that the people who are fighting for gay marriages should keep the fight going. Don't give up your fight. People fought for years until someone heard them. Use none violence marches so that people can know that you are serious. Go to meeting and let your voice be heard there. You the use of the Internet and research to learn all you can and do all you can so that you get what you want. No it's not going to be a easy fight, but remember that anything worth fighting for is worth having.

I feel that gay marriage should be allowed in all states. I understand that they are fighting for rights, and to be excepted. I am not saying that I feel like same sex relationships are what was intended for this world, but who am I to stop them from being happy. I do feel that everyone should be happy with their life. I do wish that they can get the laws passed for more states to get on board with the change. Maybe the country could take the step and say yes you can get married but not in a church unless it is agreed to with the pastor of the church; This way it allows them the right to get married but not in the church.They will become one step closer to having completely what they want.

The Current Social Practice

Gay marriage is a new change that is slowing taking over the country. Even though it is something that is looked at as wrong in the eyes of many, it is still the right that they believe they should have. I to can relate to what is going on in the letter. Even though it is not slavery this is still very important to our people and our country . It involves peoples lives that can changed by one law. Now I understand that some people feel that it is wrong due to the fact that it goes against what is in the bible and what is intended for the man and woman in marriage.

The people in this country feel that the marriage of the same sex is wrong. They feel that they should not have the same rights as everyone else who wants to get married. They want more then to be recognized by every more; they want the privileges that comes with being married. This current social practice is one that is taking some time for states to adapt to. Even though there are a few states that allow this to happen many others weren't so quick to join the ban wagon. I'm not sure if this is because of what other states will say or if they truly feel that it is wrong and against what America stands for.

I do understand that this is something that is looked at very strongly because of how it is against the bible. That would mean that we are judging them because of who they are wanting to be with. It has to be hard for them and I believe that they know how this looks to the religious eye. This is something that they have to deal with in the end. I understand how religion plays a major part in this but if I am correct we separate church and state so this should not stop them from getting what they want and what will make them happy. This is like biracial marriages. They were not liked by many and still to this day many people are still not in agreement with it but it is not against the law. I understand that everyone will not be happy with the choice but they are not the one who has to live with it. There is a lot of things that get passed as laws that people are not happy with so this should not be an excuse either.

This ties to slavery in a way because many people believed that it was better to have African-Americans in slavery. They were a lot of people who fraught for slavery for a very long time. They wanted to keep them there. It took along time but the laws were passed so that they can be free. Even though African-Americans went through a lot to get this law passed they still fought long an hard to get what they believed. This is the same as gay marriage because they are still fighting to what they believe. They are going against the odds of what people think to get what they want. This is like the people who were fighting to be free. They got killed, beaten and etc. just to get away. They wanted to get to that promise land. They wanted to get what they thought they were going to get.


My point is that even though there are many people who are against gay marriages it shouldn't stop them from getting married. They have enough to go through so this shouldn't be one of them. I know that it may be wrong but who are we to judge. They want the same rights as everyone else and I feel that they should. If it is something that they have to deal with in the end then let it be. I also say that like slavery they should keep fighting towards it and one day they will get their message through and get what they want.

My Reflection

This has been one big learning experience from day one. I am very good with online classes as they give me a little for freedom to work at my own pace, but this semester has been the most challenging thus far. I don't know who told me to take two English classes at the same time and to take both of them online along with my second part of biology class. I feel like I write at least two pages each day. I do have to say that this class has been a fun learning experience because I have to write blogs. I have never, not even for my own fun pleasures written a blog until this class. The only kind of blog that I could think about was the ones that celebrities write so that people like me can follow then for entertainment. I never write anything back to them I just read them on my spare time which I have none this semester. So this has been fun and stressful at the same time.

Week one for me took a lot of me getting use to. I had to learn how to write on the blog and then go to the weebly.com website to find my assignments. I did use the contact email he provides us with on each page of his website. Then writing in your coffee house was rather interesting to me also. The what is an American assignment was fun for me to write. I had to take the stance that I was writing to someone who was coming to America for the first time. I enjoyed this writing the best so far. I believe that I did ok with week one assignments. I was able to keep up and the stress hadn't settled in yet. My other classes were going well, so I was happy and pleased with myself. I must say that going to the orientation has helped me out a lot. If I had to sit at home on try to figure this all out on my own, I might have been stressed out on day one. Now week two was a little challenging to me. I have never had to write a sublime experience so this was also new. I feel like when I got into it that I did a good job. No matter how I am feeling about the assignment I try to make it work for me so that I can give the professor what he wants and do a great job at it. I made this experience very personal to me and it took me back to my past.

Week three was starting to make me feel a little unsure about taking this online class. The readings for me are a little hard to understand so it makes my writing a little shaky. This week I had to define what I thought living a full life meant. I had never thought about this question so much until I had to write about it. This is another thing that I enjoy about this class. This class makes me think outside my box and be able to write about it. I do not consider myself the best writer or the worse but I do believe that this class will not only make me a better writer but also a better thinker. Now on to week four, where I am now in the class. This weeks assignment was about being the best you and about being self-reliant. A topic that is very important in America. I am not sure it is because we want to be more self-reliant as a nation or we think we are already a self-reliant nation. Either way it made me think about my life and how independent I am.

I enjoy this class very much and use it as a learning tool. I may feel a little overwhelmed at times but I understand that this will help me as I grow. It also gives me something to talk about at work with the order people. It is nice to see how they think and my thoughts. I'm not sure if it is the age difference or just the way I think, but it makes a very interesting morning. It also gives me a chance to see for myself that I am learning something in this class and I am understand my assignments. I am excited about going forward with this class and hope that I come out with not only a good grade but also a sharper mind.

The Best ME!

The best me is independent and strong. A person who goes after what I believe in. I feel that in order to be the best me I have to fully understand myself. I have to know what makes me happy and whats make me sad. If I completely understand myself then I have no choice but to believe that other people understands me also. Right now I am working on this part of my life. I am not sure that I truly understand me. Sometimes, when I do things in life I confuse myself and then I wonder why no one else understands me. This goes right along with what was said in the story self-reliant. "To believe your own thoughts, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men-that is genius." I truly believe this one hundred percent. I believe in me all the time, even if others feel that I am wrong. In order to be the best me I have to be able to walk out on faith and believe in what I am doing.

To be independent I have to be able to stand on my own to feet. I have to be strong in order to go through the things in life that I have in front of me. I know that my road ahead is not paved in gold and that everything will not be peaches and cream. What I do know is that as long as I stay strong and keep my head above water then I will be ok. This is like in the story when he says "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string." Then he goes on to say that "Accept the place the divine Providence has found for you; the society of your contemporaries, the connexion of events." So in order to be the best me I have to accept things that have happen in my life. I know that some are good but there are others that are bad. The bad is my past and it has helped to make me the best person I am today. People may make judgement on my life and say that I can do this and do that, but in the end it is up to me to do what I believe is the best thing for me even if I have to make a u-turn and try again.

When I am looking back on my life forty or fifty years from now, I want to be able to say that I lived up to what I wanted to be. I want to say that I am happy with myself and that I gave it the best shot I could. This will be the best me. I will have been like Emerson said and "know my worth." This is an important concept to me because what is a life lived if you do not know what the worth of it is. I want to know that I was able to obtain everything that I sat out to do and that I gave my one hundred and fifty percent at it all, no matter what. Then my best will be ME! I'm not sure if this constitutes the best in everyone because people are all different but at least we will all have one thing in common and that is being happy with being the best we could.

To many living a full life means living to see 80 years old. To others it mean having all the material things the best house, the name brand cloths and shoes, the most diamonds and driving the best cars. To me living a full life means making a positive name for myself. Living out my life to the best of my potential. I may not be the next Michelle Obama or Oprah, but I will make a change in my community and in my family. That name for me is going to be the best parent, the best spouse, the best co-worker and even the best member of my church and community. These are some of the things that i plan to accomplish in order to live my life to the fullest. The other name that I want to one day have for myself is being a successful business women. The owner of a full service salon and spa and the women who opened an outreach center for young girls who needs a second chance because they believe that the world has given up on them and they might not even be eighteen yet. This is how I want to be remember when my life is over. I want people to know that I made a difference in the world and in my community.


Like in the Walden story, I think people read to much into to many things. We are so consumed in how many of things we have that we don't realize that all we need is one. If we can afford it we have to have two or more cars, a summer house, a winter house and our house, when in the end all we need is that one car to get us around and that one house to lay our heads down. So I do take into account what was said in the story that instead of having millions have only a half of dozen and keep them on a thumb nails. By being so concerned with the little things we might cut our lives down and not be able to live them to the fullest. To me living means to just live and not let the little things hinder you.

To make these things possible in my life I have to finish the college journey and not let things get in my way. Once this is over then I have to start paving my way into this future that I have dreamed about. I have to surround myself with positive people and people that believe in me and wants to see my visions come true. I then need to take the proper steps to getting my business up and running. Since I want an outreach center for girls I have to find out the how I can get this started so that it can be a success and have girls that I can help to make a change in their life. Now right now I am truly focused on getting my master's degree in business. While I am in school I will start putting together my portfolio for opening up my salon and spa. I want to start writing for grants and getting help from other small business owners so that my business will make it and beat that five year failure ratio.

Over the last couple of years I have lost my way and focus on what I want. I have let people in my life change my focus. I have been letting small things deter me from what I wanted out of life. I have made it my business this year to not let nothing get in my way of success and this will ultimately help me out with living my life to the fullest. With all the many changes I go through, I can say that I have learned from them and I keep pushing forward. I just have to use my strength and determination to move forward. I know that whatever happens is to help me grow and make me into the person that I want to be.

Like in the Walden story our life in us is like the water in the river. To me this means that we have the potential to live full lives. The water in the river may flood over time, and this is the life in us. We may get over flooded sometimes but this just mean that we are living a life that is full. End the end live the life that makes you happy and makes you feel like you have lives a full life with meaning.

My Sublime Experience

(a.) It has been over three years since my aunt has been diagnose with lung cancer. She has never smoked a day in her life but still she managed to get lung cancer. She vowed against smoking when she was a little girl saying "it was nasty." Since her mother was a chain smoker she would often try to get her to quit saying that one day it could lead to lung cancer or death. So when she got ill and had to be rushed to the emergency room lung cancer was out the question for me. Now what may been out the question for me was the diagnosis for her. After numerous hours of testing and constant questions of her health history and our family health history, the doctor said that they had found large mass in her lungs and that it had proved to be lung cancer. My body began to break down but I had to hold it together for her and my family. I asked what they can do for her and there response was to get her over to MCV/VCU so that they can start chemo as soon as possible. They then said that it was not looking good for her and that she was in the 5th and final stage of cancer. This is when my body went numb and my mind went blank. I was beginning to feel hurt and pain like no other. There was no words that could express the pain I was going through. One trip to the emergency room might have been the last visual I would remember of my aunt and this was not what I was trying to have as a last thought of her. She was a mother to me, someone who I went to for advice, for them long late night talks when I felt like I had no where else to turn. I could not express to anyone what I was going through after the doctor had given us this plate full of bad news and no hope.

As we waited for the ambulance to arrive and take her from Memorial Regional Medical Center to MCV, I cried until I had no more tears left to cry. I paced the floor with anger in my heart. All I could think about was why was God going to take her from me. I just wanted to know why and I felt like I deserved an answer. What felt like a decade was about 2 hours and now we were in MCV waiting to see what news they were going to bring us. Once they ran all there test and made decisions on what they thought was best they came and got the family and told us that what seemed like the worse situation has some light on it. They felt that they could treat her with strong doses of chemo. They were even going to schedule her for surgery that night so that they could put a port in her chest. I began to feel a bit of relief and then I started to thank God for giving her a chance. Even though that night they had her so doped up, I still went to her and prayed and gave her a kiss goodnight.

That next couple of weeks were the worse. When we thought the battle was getting better it only got worse. Finally the doctors called me at work and told me to get to the hospital as soon as possible. They said that the chemo was no longer working and that the cancerous area had gotten bigger and beginning to take over her other lung. I dropped to phone and went into shock. My co-workers said that I went into a deep sweat and just started to shack. I do not remember this moment or how I was able to drive to the hospital, but by God's will I made it there. Once I arrived in her room there were about 6 or 7 doctors nurses etc., around her bed. She was just laying there not even knowing where she was anymore. They told me that the cancer had gotten worse and that the test had shown it was growing into her other lung. They said that it was nothing else that they could do for her and that they were sending her home on hospice that day. I felt like my world was coming to an end. My breathing got worse and I fainted. After coming around I could not speak, I couldn't move, all I could do was cry. The feeling that my body was going through was to much for my body and it didn't know how to react. They said that she may not make it through the night, but I am here to tell you that the devil was a liar and she made it not only through the night but to get treatment at the Virginia Cancer Institute. She is still here today and going through recovery. My experience through this is more than words can explain. I have cried tears of sorrow and tears of happiness once I knew that it was not over. I still can't determine which tears where which and what all the emotions I was going through but this experience I will never forget. Today the emotions that I have are because I know she has a fighting chance as long as she keep on fighting. This has been such and overwhelming experience and a blessing all wrapped into one.

(b.) There are some situations that give you experiences like no other. I am not one that seeks out experiences that have a life or death outcome, but I will prefer to go to a live concert or play versus watching it on television. The feeling that you get when you are in a crowd of a live concert is not replaceable. You get to feel all the energy in the crowd. Especially when the performers can give a good show. You get to experience all the love the crowd has for the performer. It is just so overwhelming that words won't do it justice. I do feel a rush that comes over my body when the crowd goes crazy and the performer feeds off that energy. Now when you are home in your living room you don't get that same feeling. You can cheer and act a fool but you don't get to feel that energy that comes from the crowd. Now with the plays its just makes you feel like you are apart of the show. An example is when I went to a Madea play. The actors interact with the crowd and make you feel like you are in the play. Then when the play is over it is like a old school throw back with all the songs they play and dancing they do on stage. If I was at home looking at the play on dvd, the play would of just went off and I would not have gotten all the extra stuff. To me its more exciting to be in the mist of the crowd, the experience is more overwhelming. I feel that people seek out different experiences for the joy it bring. They might just want to get a different experience that they can't get if they didn't do certain things. So in a nut shell experiences are experiences and they differ depending on the person and the situation.

What is an American?

To the next American,

To be an American you have to first know the history. You have to know the past of the country to be able to understand the future. Being an American is making your dreams a reality; changing the norm in society's eyes while turning the world upside down. Its about moving through the hurt and frustration to the bliss of happiness. Being an American is about taking ta stand, believing in the unknown and not settling for anything. You have to stick together and not give up when you don't achieve what you set out to do on the first attempt.

From Martin Luther King Jr. to Barack Obama, America is a place where dreams come true; where the poor can dine with the rich and where the uneducated can be educated. What you may think today is just someones dream can one day turn into a reality. Its a place of freedom and opportunity. Opportunity that allows you to get a college education or play sports that allows you to be a provider for your family. You can go from the outhouse to the white house. It does not say that you have to go in the same direction all the time because you can pave your own road so the next person can follow. This is what keeps America pushing through.

Now I know you maybe seeing and hearing a lot of America, but I am going to help clear the air and help you see that America is a place of change. Being an American is about change. Even though America is a melting pot of experiences it is also a place where all people are welcomed. You can go experience different religions without being criticize about turning your back on your own religion. You can even experience the difference cultures foods with the many restaurants and markets. Being an American does not mean that you have to stick to the way things use to be. You have a chance to do things your own way. You can dress just about any way you want. You can mark your body or your temple with tattoos and piercing. You can drive a BMW or a Ford. Now if driving isn't your thing then you can also use public transportation like the bus or the train. Walking and catching a cab is always an option. You can also fix your hair anyway you would like. You can color, highlight it, chop it up or make your own style, the choice is yours. Its all about being you and no one else.

America is becoming a place where same sex marriages are looked at as being acceptable to do. The couples can even adopt and have children if they prefer. It is a place where your past doesn't have to hold you back from gaining your future. You can turn your mistakes into positive pictures. Now that does not mean that it is going to be easy just because you want it to be easy; you have to get it done no matter what. Americans are not as judgmental as you may thing or as they are being portrayed. You can even find biracial marriages taken place. Just because you grew up one way doesn't mean you have to find that soul mate of the same color. It is again about choice and it is yours.

With all the modern changes that are going on Americans are becoming more relaxed. Women are being able to do the same things as men. You can find a women in construction, laying bricks and building houses. You can even find women playing competitive sports and becoming pastors of churches. Now men on the other hand are slowly changing to. You can find some men staying home and being the mother while the mother is working. You can even find mind doing duties around the house like cleaning and cooking. These changes that are being seen by Americans are making the world a better place.

Now with the good also comes the bad. You are not always going to find people who are 100% acceptable 100% of the time. You will find the ones who don't want to change, who think that what is going on is going to fail. Some may say these people are scared to step out their box, but you don't have to let them rain on your parade. You have to look pass them people and push forward, for even Jesus had the disbelievers around him. This is what being an American is all about; taking the good with the bad.

America is what you make of it and how you choose to perceive it. My only advice would be to enjoy every experience and make the best out of it. If what you want is not out there or you can't find it then make it there. You have the keys to success within you and can't anyone take it away. Stay positive and true to yourself and allow room for mistakes; for that is how we learn and grow. I wish you safe travels to the country and I know you will be a great American because I gave you the tools to succeed.

Your Truly,
An American

Hello World

My first blog post