Vanessa Espin
Although many argue that texting shorthand is an insult to the English language, a closer examination shows that the texting language is actually a positive addition to our society because it is convenient, and also fascinating new way to communicate.
Vanessa Espin
In “Shitty First Drafts” the author Anne Lamott argues about the importance of letting go when writing your first draft. The first draft helps the writer have an idea of what the finishing piece can come together like, and it can lead to better second and brilliant third draft’s. She explains the process that she, as a writer, and some well known writer’s, go through before they finish a book, or any written piece. Everyone needs to express themselves freely and let every thought in ones mind get written on a piece of paper because the best ideas can be hiding in the most simplest thoughts. Anne calls this process a “Child’s draft.” Where everything is poured out and romped all over the place. Which at first might feel absurd and the writing might be incoherent, but everyone needs to start somewhere, and her advice is that this is the best way.
I found it interesting when she said “ but this is just the fantasy of the uninitiated.” Those who have no knowledge of the process assume that since writers compose brilliant books, the ideas come instantly and the writing might flow perfectly. When in reality they all write “shitty first drafts”
I also found interesting when she said “but because by then I had been writing for so long, I would eventually let myself trust the process – sort of, more or less.” Even though she’s been writing for a long time and knows that the process of the “child’s draft” is needed to get started, she still gets nervous about a new piece. Sometimes even feels like giving up. Every new piece she starts makes her feel like if it was a first one.
Who is Muriel Sparks? She refers to her as “we do not think she has a rich inner life or that God likes her or can even stand her” I would have liked to hear more about who this person is and why she’s mentioned here.
The purpose of the author is to inform the reader that even their writing takes time and work. Nothing brilliant is instantly written. She supports her ideas by giving examples of other writers like herself who have written many times, but still start with what she calls a “shitty first draft” that leads to a better second draft and an excellent third one.
Vanessa Espin
In the Article “Peak Performance” Daniel Goldman writes about the importance of practice, what it takes to be the best at what one does, and how nowadays one has to live their sport to surpass what once has been thought as impossible. The author gives very valuable facts to support his thoughts on self-improvement. This article was written for a very wide audience. Almost everyone can benefit from his research and personal opinion. We all have dreams and goals we want to achieve and practice is fundamental. Goldman writes that the more one practices the bigger chance one has at being the best. He gives facts about the most talented people in the world and how the one thing they all have in common is the amount of time and dedication they have put into their carriers or goals. But to be a Star, more than practice is needed. Passion and talent need to be involved too. When this three come together, one will be able to overcome any mental or physical obstacle.
I founded interested when he said “ Perhaps the most surprising data show that extensive practice can break through barriers in mental capacities, particularly short term memory.” The more a person practices the better it gets, its fascinating to see how people over the years keep getting better and better and to imagine what a future holds for future generations. What now is considered excellence one day will be perhaps, simply “good”.
I also found interesting when he mentioned that “ One student, a business major not especially talented in mathematics, was able to remember 102 digits. The feat took him more than 400 hours of practice.” Meaning that a person who simply gives more dedication, and practice to something that they might not be talented at, can perform much better than someone who is talented, but lacks on practice and dedication.
The purpose of the article is to inform the reader that there is no such thing as talent vs. hard work. It takes both and more to achieve excellence. Anyone with passion and hard work can become talented and break barriers. It proves its point by informing the reader how times have changed, how practice has made the impossible possible. Humans seem to be achieving incredible mental and physical capacity through hard work and dedication.
Vanessa Espin
In the “The movie that changed my life,” by Terrie McMillan, The author analyzes her positive and negative reaction to watching the Wizard of Oz. This movie made a significant impact in her life. She has a clear memory, with specific details about this significant time in her life. The author witness how her family had no power over their own lives, The were in what she called a “drugary.” She lived in a chaotic house full of noise, and fighting, and found an scape in the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy’s life and her’s, were very similar. For example, Terry’s mom was bossy and domineer just like Dorothy’s aunt. They were both looking for an scape. This caught Terry’s attention. How was Dorothy going to run away, and where? She realized that the way was through dreams, to dream for something better, and aim for it. Terry learned that she was complete and nothing could stop her. She had a brain, a heart, and she was going to use it.
I found it interesting when she said “ And even though I lived in a house full of people, I knew how lonely Dorothy felt, or at least how isolated she must have felt.” They both felt misunderstood and wouldn’t fit in. They wanted something better, and yet there was no one to whom they can share there thoughts and ideas.
I also found interesting when she said, “Of course, once I realized she was in fact dreaming, it occurred to me that this very well might be the only way to scape. To dream up another world. Create your own.” This movie had taught her a great lesson. She had realized that dreaming of a better life and having a clear picture of what she wanted was going to help her achieve great things.
“And to believe that if I did the right things, I would never stray too far from my yellow Brick Road.” Did this mean that she had to do something’s wrong to be where she is today, or that if she would have done what her mother and family thought it was right, or real, she would have never reached her goals?
The purpose of the story was that no matter what your situation might be, you can always find a way out whether is through people or even movies that inspired you. The idea of dreaming of something better and going for it, will never have a negative result if its done with honesty. We should never settle for less, and if you feel that something is not right, then do something. Change it.
Vanessa Espin
Although good grammar is an important skill, it is not on everyone’s list of expertise. This should not dictate a person’s intellectual capacity nor should it be a reason to discard an applicant whose career doesn’t require much writing.
Although good grammar is an important skill, it should not dictate a person’s intellectual capacity nor should it be a reason to discard an applicant whose career doesn’t require much writing.
Vanessa Espin
Times squares is like no other, tall lightning buildings with large TV screens that advertise movies, Broadway shows, food, etc. The people are from all over the world, tourist who stop for pictures, or to just stare at there surroundings, and locals who are usually in a rush, zigzagging there way to work, or home. Children always stop to take pictures with Elmo, Mickey Mouse, Spiderman, and many more cartoon characters that entertain the streets of Times Square for a living. However, this in not the only kind of entertainment you will find here. There are artist who perform for a tip, and those who go to the extreme like the naked cowboy, or the dancing Brazilian carnival women. There are a variety of Broadway shows playing, theaters, concerts, places to eat, almost an endless entertainment experience that will cost you a lot of money. The small food trucks are at every block, making the streets smell like hot dogs, and peanuts. It gets very loud with sellers shouting their promotion of the day, people talking loud, the beeping of the cars. Traffic is terrible here. The streets are filled with yellow cabs, and tourist buses. The subway is the best option. It has many Train options, that head to all boroughs.
Glendale, Queens is the neighborhood I live in, is pretty much quite all the time. The only thing I hear is the sound of the cars passing by, and cats. Everyone has a cat in this neighborhood. There is almost everything down Myrtle Avenue, supermarkets, laundry, salon, spas, bakery’s, etc. The options to dine are delis, pizzerias, Chinese food, German restaurants, and one dinner. The cost of entertainment and food is reasonable, you can eat with five dollars and head to the movies or the park. There is a small outdoor mall called “Atlas Park” where there is a movie theater, a few retail stores, and dinning places. The large forest park is very close too, love going there in the summer. There are no close by train stations, you would have to walk to the M (15 min), or there are buses like the Q55, B13 that take you to the L train. Some buses take you directly to the city, like the QM24, and the QM25.
Vanessa Espin
Summary
In the story, “remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa” David Sedaris compares two lives, his and Hugh’s life. Hugh was an eleven year old who lived an exotic life in Africa, full of spontaneous, and outrageous moments. David on the other side described his civilized American life, as being dull and extra ordinary. He starts by telling the story of Hugh’s field trip to the Ethiopian slaughterhouse. According to David, “when in told such stories, it’s all I can do to hold back jealously. An Ethiopian slaughterhouse. Some people have all the luck”(Sedaris19). The entire story gives special importance to Hugh’s “lucky life,” from a slaughterhouse, to a dictator’s bloody bedroom, and the death of the man in the telephone pole outside the movie theater. David compares every moment to his, and craves to replace his life with the one Hugh had. He finishes the story with an understanding of his fortune and how many people would want what he had. He had finally appreciated his life.
Vanessa Espin
Response:
The story “Remembering My Childhood on the continent of Africa,” by David Sedaris is an example of comparing and contrasting. He compares his “boring” childhood life with the “exotic” life of a boy named Hugh. David describes Hugh’s life, very vividly, and detailed. He starts by describing a field trip Hugh’s had to the Ethiopian slaughterhouse, which was an inappropriate place to take an eleven-year-old kid, but yet so exiting to David. It was better than his field trips, at his school in America. David was blinded by what he wanted that he wasn’t appreciating what he had, or valuing what Hugh’s life was like. At the end he realized how foolish he was, by not realizing that he is fortunate enough, just by simply living in the United States of America.
I found it interesting when he said, “When told such stories, it’s all I can do to hold back my feelings of jealousy. An Ethiopian slaughterhouse.” This emphasizes how he significantly compares his life to Hugh’s. He sees this field trip as one of Hugh’s significant memories, when in reality it really isn’t.
I also found interesting when he said, “Like me, Hugh’s saw the movie by himself on a weekend afternoon. Unlike me, he left the theater two hours later, to find a dead man hanging from a telephone pole at the far end of the unpaved parking lot.” This was a common scene in Africa, an horror, traumatic scene for any eleven year old kid, yet he was still wanting Hugh’s life. It shows the ridicules envy of wanting what someone else has.
I wonder if he fully learned to appreciate his life because at the end he says that he is a thief for stealing Hugh’s memories, and that when his own experiences fall short, he goes out and spends some of his.
Sedaris purpose is to show how foolish it is not to appreciate what you have. His essay encourages the reader to be satisfied with what they have and not focus on what they don’t have. His arguments are childish but they teach a very valuable lesson, that It is okay to dream of what you don’t have, but not okay to take for granted what you already have.
Vanessa Espin
Response:
While reading, “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, I notice how he uses his job, imperialism and the elephant to show his personal conflict. All the pressure he puts on himself and the situations he saw, lived and experienced. As an officer, he realized how dirty and evil imperialism was and all he wanted was to get it over with, and leave. He describes the hard situation they were going through, not only the Burmese, but his own people too. The tragic death of the elephant was a very important part of this story. It showed his inner conflicts, whether killing the elephant was the right thing to do, given his position as an officer, or the right thing to do as a human being.
I found in interesting when he said “no one had the guts to raise a riot, but if a European woman went through the bazaars alone someone would probably spit betel juice over her dress.” He describes the anti-European feeling to be bitter and upsetting, and that the fact that he was an officer made him an obvious target.
Another part I found interesting was when he said “ the wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been bogged with bamboos- all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt.” The fact that he had to be someone he was not, and someone that the natives did not tolerate, was even more of a challenge for Orwell. Even though he was an officer, and someone who should have been an authoritative role, it was almost as if he himself was a prisoner to the natives.
Did the slow death of the elephant also symbolized the slow fall of imperialism?
I think the purpose of the author is to reveal the bigger picture. In his testimony, he was fulfilling his rolled as a police officer instead of doing what he new was right. The people surrounding him, who were also being influenced by the imperialism, pressured him. He himself was a prisoner of the system.
Vanessa Espin
While reading ” Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, I got caught up in her story right away. She described her mothers way of talking English very well. I was able to picture her and her mother throughout the hole story and it was very comic. The author started the story explaining her passion for writing, continued with the different kind of English she spoke at home with her mother and ended it with a gratitude feeling towards her mom who as been her inspiration throughout her carrier as a writer.
I found it compelling when she said ” Well according to my mother, there were very few limitations as to what Tom could have been and what Mary might have thought of him.” It wasn’t that her mom had “limited English” it was that she saw it as very open answer. There was more then one possibility and words you can play with.
I also found interesting when she said ” Some say they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. Some say they understood none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. But to me, my mothers English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural”. While a third person might see it as broken or not even English at all, for Amy Tan it was completely understandable and normal. This was the language that she was taught as growing up and it was part of her identity.
Did Amy Tan study English to be rebellious and prove a point or because it was her passion?
The Purpose of her story is to connect with everyone but mainly those who have immigrated to the U.S. Bringing with them not only culture and variety but also creating their own version of English which has been passed on to their children. Also to let people know that we can learn more then one version of English, the one you speak at home and the proper one. To not limit yourself specially with language.
The OpenLab is an open-source, digital platform designed to support teaching and learning at City Tech (New York City College of Technology), and to promote student and faculty engagement in the intellectual and social life of the college community.
