Fear of Making Decisions

Decidophobia.

This constant fear of making decisions hasn’t always been my biggest fear. First it was clowns, then snakes, then spiders. Now, well, it’s just a huge accumulation of all of these things.

 The fear of making decisions is the one thing that has scared me the most since I started high school. I don’t really know why. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m scared that if I make a decision that people won’t agree with it. Or maybe it’s because I can never stick to one and always end up changing it repeatedly.

Recently, this fear has come into full effect. With having to decide between colleges, I don’t know what I am going to do. I am literally scared to death of having to make this decision. I know that I can always go back and change things, but if I can’t ever make a decision for me…how am I going to be able to make tougher decisions in the future?

The Computer: a look at semiotic analysis

The computer.

Everyone knows about it, and mostly everyone has one whether it be for work, school, or simple entertainment. Since the creation of the computer, it has created a major change in our culture that no one would have ever expected. From the big monitors to the tiny screens we can now hold in our hands, the computer has changed many things. Not only do people sit on the computer for hours on end, but they now rely on it for many things. Yes, it can be very useful to us when we need it to be, but is it becoming too much that people now have no desire to do anything else?

A computer falls into the system of being able to get things done easily at the touch of some buttons. The way that is structured could be altered in so many different ways. There are giant computers like there were when the first came out, to now there are tiny net books that are the size of a a book. It doesn't matter to people how they are structured as long they get the job done.

The computer reveals to us that our culture is becoming very advanced in the field of technology. That since there are many ways now that you can connect to the interent there is no need for anything else like human interaction. Many people today leave everything up to their technology and take no initiative to do anything by themselves.

I admit that yes the computer is a great part of our society, but there is a certain point that it comes down to it, that computers are kind of taking over our world.

How do you write?

I write all the time. Plain and simple. Writing is the one thing that I absolutely love to do.

When I write, I write for me, and nobody else. It helps me get rid of anger and stress because I am able to write down the things that so badly need to be said, but I just can't say them. Wherever I am, I always make sure that I have some sort of paper and writing utensil. I usually prefer my notebook and a decent pen that won't run out on me.

I guess you could say that I kind of have my own personal and unique writing process. When I'm at home, I usually lock myself in my room and put my headphones in and just write. I block out the rest of the world, and in that moment, it is just me and a blank page of paper, waiting to be filled with meaningful words.

It may sound crazy, but if I don't write at least once a day, I feel all weird inside, like there are so many things that need to be said on that blank page of paper, almost like it's calling my name to write on it.

For me, writing is everything. It allows me to express who I am and be myself; where nobody can judge me because it is my own writing and nobody elses. For me, writing is my escape.

Political Dimensions of Language

In President Obama's inagural speech, the one main word that he used about 15 times was "nation". I think that this is a very relative word that doesn't surprised me was used that much. After this comes "America" with nine times, and "people" with eight times. I feel like with President Obama using these words very often shows that his main concern is that of the nation and the people in it.

The President that I choose to look at was Dwight D. Eisenhower, only because my dad's name is Dwight. Okay, besides that fact, President Eisenhower used the word "free" 21 times in his inagural speech, with "people" after that with 18 times.  I believe that he used this words very often because that is what he was feeling was the most important in our country at the time.

Some similarities between the two are that they both used people in their speeches very often because people are the ones who keep our country together and have it function as one. One word that President Eisenhower used alot was "faith". In President Obama's inagural speech, he rarely used the word "faith". I feel like this shows the difference between them and how religious they wanted to be at the time that they were giving their speeches.

Overall, President Obama and President Eisenhower have similar words that they used in their speeches, but I think that over time the words have changed due to the fact that America is in need of other things that are more important than they were in earlier years.

The Prevailing Opinion of a Sexual Character

I know this is extremely, extremely late, but better late than never I guess.

This was probably the hardest essay of all of them for me to read.  I had to go over different paragraphs multiple times to actually understand what was trying to be said. I understand Women’s Rights and everything very clearly, but the way that Wollstonecraft wrote it and used a variety of word choice, it was just very hard to follow.

Wollstonecraft writes about how women are treated unfairly during this time and age and that it is not right by any means. She goes on to say that women are perceived as inferior to men and that they are only here to satisfy their husbands and nothing more.

She states that women are entitled to the same rights as men are and that women should be strong and independent and not only rely on men for things. I agree with what she says because I believe that both women and men should be equal no matter what. It shouldn’t be something that is worked at; it should just be something natural.

This essay was a difficult one to read, and I know it took me a really long time to do it, but I think that the message that Wollstonecraft got across was very strong. I really believe that I learned a lot from this article and it really challenged me, which I enjoyed for the most part.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

This seven page article, which I was dreading to read, made a ton of sense. Nicholas Carr goes on to explain that people are not thinking the same way that they did before the invention of the internet. He writes " I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I'm always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle." I honestly believe that this is true. Since the creation of search engines such as google, it has become easier for us to find information, but in fact, it has also affected how our brains function and how we comprehend things.

Throughout the entire article, Carr uses things from the past to show how different people are now because of new technologies. He talks about the printing press and all the problems that people thought were going to come along with it. This is exactly what it is like with the internet.
People rely so much on these things, that they forget about the importance of reading and writing.

Not only does the internet affect people and the way that they do things, but it also affects other traditional media. Like Carr said in the article, "Old media have little choice but to play by the new-media rules." This is so true. Whenever the internet makes revisions, old media has to step up and do something so it will still exist.

Overall, I agree with what Carr said. The internet does have an affect on our brains, and really is changing how we do things. I know that I am one of those people that will go online and skim things and not read the entire thing, but after reading this article, I think that will change. I wouldn't go as far as to say that Google is making us stupid, but the it has, in fact, played a huge role in how things in society have changed over the years.

Skunk Dreams?

I can honestly say that I judged this reading before I even began it. I was almost positive that I would not like this; but in fact, it was actually very intriguing. I may not have entirely understood the basis of the story, but I got the main point.

It started with Edrich talking about an experience where a skunk decided to fall asleep on her. I had no idea where this was headed. Once she began talking about how we don't know about the dreams of other species, let alone our own, I started to see the real meaning behind this story. Dreams. She writes that "If dreams are an acutal dimension, as some assert, then the usual rules of life by which we abide to not apply." I thought that this made a lot of sense and it started to explain the story.

I think the main purpose of this story was to show that not only in real life, but also in our dreams, that we have obstacles. She has the same obstacle throughout the story; the fence. She could see everything past the fence; the trees, the animals, and the landscape. She realizes that this place isn't a sanctuary for the animals, but it's rather a hunting ground.

In the end of the story, she finds a way to overcome this obstacle and finally go past the fence that she had been longing to do. She desired doing this and therefore was willing to do whatever it took to do so. She writes "the obstacles that we overcome define us. We are composed of hurdles we set up to pace our headlong needs, to control our desires, or against which to measure our growth. This right here, to me, sums up the entire story. She wanted to go beyond the fence and see what else there was from the beginning, and the more she wanted to do so, she had to be willing to overcome her obstacle; the fence.

Talk of the Town

September 11, 2001. This is a day that most people probably remember exactly what they were doing at the time that the World Trade Center was attacked. John Updike takes an emotional approach at explaining what he saw that day and how it affected not only him and his family, but also the entire nation. Susan Sontag takes a different approach. She doesn't focus on how she felt during this, but rather at the laziness of the government and how they were not taking the right actions to deal with the attack.

John Updike uses his experience from the attack to show us what that day might have been like for someone living in New York. The way that he described the event was a way that you could close your eyes and picture everything that he was describing. Updike also shows that the United States can be strong and move on from this unfortunate event. He says "we have only the mundane duties of survivors--to pick up the pieces, to bury the dead, to take more precautions, to go on living." I really do think that this is what needed to be done. The United States is a strong country and can pull through terrible times, so that we may have better ones.

Susan Sontag is in a completely different ballpark with her writing. She doesn't use an experience like Updike did, but rather uses criticism on the government. From the start she talks about how our government is trying to tell everyone that everything is going to be okay. She says "We have a robotic President who assures us that America still stands tall." I don't think that she should be criticising the government because they believe that we can stand tall after such an unfortunate event. She has so much negativity in this piece of writing to express her viewpoint. I can't say that I agree with what she said, but I also understand that everyone has their different views on different events that occur in our country.

About Me :)

There are so many things that I could tell you about myself, but I wouldn't want to feel so self absorbed. The one thing that I absolutely love in life is writing; and I'm not just saying that because this is an AP Composition blog. If I could, I would write all day long while I listen to my music. That's another thing that I love, music. I can't stand the thought of being in a room and it be completely silent. I need music. It doesn't matter what it is, I will listen to just about anything.

Besides those two things, sports take up alot of my time. I am a football manager in the fall, most likely going to be a basketball manager in the winter, and then I do track and field in the spring. Sports have always been a huge part of my life, and I plan to keep it that way. I know I'm not going to go on and play college sports, but I still want to participate in Intramural type sports.

College. The one subject that I dread talking about. I have changed my mind so many times about what I want to do and where I want to go. As of right now I plan on going to MATC for 2 years and then most likely transferring to either LaCrosse or maybe even Madison. I want to go into sociology because I find it really interesting. I never really thought about studying writing, but that's always a possibility. I'll probably change my mind a few more times before I actually stick with one of the choices.

A few other random things about me:
1. I absolutely love pizza. ( I couldn't live without it)
2. I love colored duct tape.
3. I talk way too much sometimes.
4. I love watching 80's movies, they are the best!