Power is an object, person, or thought having a mental or physical advantage or influence, creating a controlling aspect, over a grouping of people; intellectual or physical strength or force used to condemn certain desired behavior.

Chapel Talk

I spent hours sitting in my bed, kicking off sheets and blankets in frustration, to leave me staring at a blank word document on my computer screen. I struggled to write this essay more than others; it was like I couldn’t think for my self anymore. I was stressing about topics to make my teacher happy, ideas that would give me a good grade, and perspectives that weren’t my own. It hadn’t fazed me until then that I was writing for acceptance. My complete paragraphs weren’t something I have felt extremely passionate about; they echoed what I had been taught in the past to care about. But it’s a funny thing to write what you want, I can feel somewhere that I know what I want to write about, but it is never surfaced for the fear someone will hear my own opinions and disagree with them.

            I’m not angry with the fact I couldn’t come up with words for myself, I angry with myself suppressing all of the thoughts I hear rambling in my head all day long, the ones that I never allow to slip past the barrier and out of my mouth. So many times I keep what I’m thinking to myself, and I don’t think its because I’m embarrassed about what I have to say, but I think that if someone tells me I’m wrong, I’ll never share what I have to say again. So in efforts to preserve my ability to speak, I have become selective about the things I allow myself to say. But in years of closing myself off from the disproval from others, I have silenced my self even further than I imagined disapproval would. It’s a rare sight now to see my hand waving in the air to answer a question in class, for me to walk up and introduce myself to someone first, or for me to engage someone in conversation.

            For my eighth grade graduation, I had the help of a teacher I had only met twice to write my speech. I wrote three and a half pages about how wonderful our class was, how well we behaved and how I had faith that even after years apart, we would still all remain just as close; I didn’t believe a word about anything I said. I reiterated what I was told was expected of the presidential speech, as I’m sure was told to the previous speech givers before me. I still regret not saying what I wanted to say in front of my class and all of our parents; so I’m going to say it now. Thank you for ten great years together as a class. Some of us are going to hold onto these years for as long as we can, but I don’t recommend that. Don’t take these years for granted, because they don’t come back, but don’t be ashamed to move on with the rest of your life. I’m going to a different school than most of you, and there’s a chance I’m not going to see some you again, but you have all altered my life in some way or another, and I probably haven’t told you, but thank you.

            I regret not saying what I believed in that gymnasium every time I bump into a former classmate. I had the un-wavering attention of a few hundred people all at one instant, listening to what I had to say, and I used my minutes echoing what my teachers expected me to say in fear of disappointing people.  Although I still struggle expressing what I’m feeling and thinking, I realize now I shouldn’t hold back what I think, and slowly I’m getting to a point where I no longer worry about these thoughts anymore.

Admiration

Throughout the ages people have always felt a strong connection with animals. Humans have encountered wild animals since they first walked the earth, and before the B. C. era ended, humans had already domesticated their first animals. Not only are animals mans best friend and companion, we admire them for qualities they have.

            Humans can admire animals when admiration to justify the jealousy they feel towards animals. Animals are often described as free, giving them the power people feel they lack themselves: choosing their own paths or not having anyone to tell them what to do.  In contrast to admiring animals in a form of jealousy, some people admire people for their pure beauty. The same society people live in has not distorted animals; they are pure compared to people.

            Hoagland and Woolf both choose to talk about one animal in each of their essays. Hoagland admires turtles for being the complete package of all animals. He thinks they have al of the best qualities of other animals combined into one. Woolf admires the simplicity of a moth’s life. After struggling, a moth ultimately accepts its fate, its death. Nothing is over complicated in the moth’s life.

            An animal that I admire is a bird. The reason I admire the bird is because the bird has the potential to fly wherever it chooses, but it may also choose to stay in the same place. I admire the bird because out of all of the animals, I feel the bird has the most opinion, choice, and chance.

Thursday 10-9-14 11:10

Total Solar Eclipse

        

           When reading the story Total Eclipse, the passage that caught my attention was this one:

“If you were to glance out one day and see a row of mushroom clouds rising on the horizon, you would know at once what you were seeing, remarkable as it was, was intrinsically not worth remarking. No use running to tell anyone. Significant as it was, it did not matter a whit. For what is significance? It is significance for people. No people, no significance.” – Total Eclipse by Anne Dillard

This passage contained a concept I had never thought about before: significance. What Anne Dillard said, that significance is only relevant to people, is a scary thought. This idea is something people fear, and choose not to address or talk about. People crave significance; have the desire to be important and revelevant in a larger picture. I liked how bluntly Dillard made her point. She did not beat around the bush and to reason why this was such a feeling humans crave. She simply stated that significance is something only humans feel. A tree does not see or feel significance in another tree, or a bird. They don’t run away to tell their friends about something significant that happened to them.

Although I like this passage because it evokes a lot of thought, I don’t like the feeling that everything is insignificant to everything other than humans. I think Dillard’s goal in writing this passage was to help add to her story of the total eclipse she experienced. It emphasized the idea that without people witnessing the total eclipse, just as the cars that continued going to work, nothing would change. There would be a solar eclipse, but it would not be significant until it was witnessed and acknowledged by a human, just as she and many others did on the hilltop.

The passage by itself can create a gloomy thought, but when placed in the story, it becomes inspiring. Without people, no event is significant. Her point is to stop and witness the significant.

"Once More to the Lake Response" by E.B White

  The essay "One more to the lake" took the reader on a trip back to the authors's, White's, finest childhood memory. White structured his piece in paragraphs of his memories and how they compared to what he was currently seeing as he revisited the lake with his son many years later. A descriptive piece is painted through multiple memories as walt relives them with his son now just as he had done with his father then. Each memory contained the illusion that no time had passed, when in reality multiple years separated the trips to the lake. Some of the things White saw when returning to the lake sparked old memories to come flooding back to him. Everywhere White went around the lake on his trip reminded him of his past experiences, and he began to see so many similarities between his former self and his son he could no longer tell his he was experiencing things in the moment or through a memory.
  As the essay begins to reach its concluding paragraphs white has begun to have been taken over by fear as he watches his son. His sudden stroke of fear is not over a bad memory or fright for his son, his fear is the result of his sudden realization his is getting older. As he watches his son fill his own role during the trip to the lake he slowly begins to recognize he is just as slowly, taking his fathers. At the end of the essay White is struggling with accepting he is growing older.

"The Story of a Hour" Kate Chopin (1894)

Mrs. Mallard’s heart problem is symbolic for her broken relationship with her husband. After she is informed her husband is dead, she endures the first stage of grief but then is over come with a feeling of freeness. As she sat motionless thinking what the loss of her husband would play in her life, she was overcome with the thought she was free, even as she fought the thoughts she repeats the words, “free, free, free.” The Mallards are not engaged in each others relationship. Mr. Mallard has been away from home for a long period of time working on a railroad, most likely earning a wage for him and his wife. Ms. Mallard is filled with the feeling of freedom when her husband is reported dead, but when he arrives home unannounced; she dies of joy when realizing he is not dead. The relationship the Mallards have is complicated; they are dependent on each other for support but are not tied to each other. Although the setting is limited, it is important to themes in the story. With her husband alive, Mrs. Mallard is confined to her large room. As she descends the stair case it is symbolic her releasing herself from her relationship and being “free.”

What Makes a Good Writer and a Good Reader

To be a good writer it benefits from being a good reader, and vise versa. To be a good writer you create material that is both interesting and intriguing or an informative piece to present to readers. Additionally, as a good writer your work reflects your own thoughts and opinions through a personalized style of writing that is engaging to others. Good writing consists of correct grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary. Writers must be astute and careful with their writing, just as good readers must be as well. Good readers are constantly looking for deliberately placed details while being perceptive of the building plot.  At the same time, good readers can be actively reading, such as underlining and marking up writing. They are attentive to details, benefit from taking a general interest in the writing material, and learn or gain something with every piece completed. The more reading someone completes expands his or her writing techniques, while the more writing done amplifies understanding and competence in reading.