Every clothing store always display trendy clothing, fit for certain genders or ages. The various styles are usually popular for a brief period of time; therefore companies constantly think of new trends. Cohen explains the increasing competitiveness in the retail world today, the need for effective advertising and representation by hiring an attractive “walking billboard”. Although I do agree with his idea, I would definitely disagree when it comes to morality. Not only does hiring good-looking people creates a slight distinction between them and the customers, but also faces gender, age, disability, and racial discrimination.
Our nation has always had certain racial issues; thus racial discrimination would most likely to appear when attempting to work at a company. Harassment such as degrading comments or gives raises to everyone except for a certain group and would most likely to make up such excuses. Even as job applicants who are “too ethnic” were diverted to a stockroom by the manager rather than the sales floor while anyone else who fits the standards are immediately hired, whether or not he or she had any experience. Whether direct or not, if there are signs of harassment such as when an employer calls an Asian worker out in front of the other employees, scolding him or her for a job the employer considers to be left undone, then it’s definitely the time to start a campaign against the company. If companies were to be critical towards all ethnic employees, this situation would end one big company full of one race and only for that race. There are other cases other than clothing stores have been exposed to racial discrimination. Hotel entrepreneur Ian Scharger settled a $1.08 million settlement when Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accused hotel Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood after firing 9 employees, 8 were “too ethnic”. Whether they had the experience or rather skilled in a certain expertise is what really counts. Having some random attractive person as a clerk with absolutely no skills and would have a higher chance of delay or other troubles is what managers should have in concern. Having a diversity of different ethnic people not only encourages more customers but also the communication barrier would lessen around the employee and customer.
Age Discrimination is also referred to in job interviews or even continuing employees. In most jobs, companies would most likely lay off anyone who is considered too old and raw the highest salaries. Even when both job applicants have the same criteria, the younger applicant has the highest potential to keep the company image youthful and fresh. Although there are some complications when hiring old people, if they are still in good condition and have much more experience, they have the potential to help out any new employee and have a much more welcome greeting to the eyes of any essential old customer. Younger inexperience employees would take the time to adjust their job and are more prone to cause some issues when someone older can demonstrate their work correctly. It is most certain that an employer cannot use an employee’s age to make decisions about hiring, salary, promotion, or termination unless the employee is not fit to work. That would definitely involve the law in order to maintain public safety. If figured so, the most chance of age discrimination would most likely be in restaurants or cafes. There was a case which the Equal Employment Commission reached a $5000 settlement with 36th Street Food and Drink, a restaurant in St. Joseph, Mo. after accusing it of age discrimination against a 47 year old waitress name Michele Cornell. To have such a sudden image change after renovation does not give reason for firing her. If not fit as waitress, she could still work but in a different position. Marketing such age groups would only just encourage a certain “look” for companies to aim for.
Not everyone is suited for the “look”. Abercombie and Fitch’s “classic American” look is simply marketing “a white-bread, Northern European, thin, wealthy, fashion model look” according to Donna Harper. What if you fit in the criteria except for the wealthy? Would that mean you won’t be chosen? Might as well request models and charge extra money for just standing at some display case. This would just create that barrier between the stores and customers. Just because they fit the “look” doesn’t mean you will fit in the trendy look everyone else is aiming for. To force yourself to adjust in yourself by dying your hair blonde, buy expensive accessories and clothing, and even bleaching your own skin doesn’t mean you will actually fit in with that “blond, blue-eyed and preppy” look. Being yourself is what really matters and you can attract more people with your own look rather than the look that will be popular for a brief amount of time. This certain image would just damage the diversity we all naturally have. If we all have blond hair and blue eyes, will we fit in that “classic American” look? In fact, you can’t even define “classic American” as blonde hair and blue eyes. If I name the look, it’ll be “Hitler’s dream look” as his goal was to create a place whether anyone with that look will be superior to everyone else despite his contrast in looks. A true American isn’t even blonde hair and blue eyes; nor is it black hair and brown eyes or brown hair and green eyes. You can’t just define that “classic American” look and state that when it’s what your look matters the most.
Overall, companies with Cohen’s idea are inevitable, but the morality is controversial. The decision in aiming certain age groups by using “walking billboards” isn’t illegal nor is it unsuccessful. However the specific images companies aim for would just isolate the rest of society and no matter how much people fall for the advertisements, they will never achieve that true look. No matter what situation we are in, from jobs to the educational systems, the morality in any view is never proper.
Showing posts with label english. Show all posts
Showing posts with label english. Show all posts
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Adolescent Development Essay
Since most other people posted their Current Life Essay, I guess, join in! It's pretty short for an essay and I'm not proud of it, but I did get a good grade...So here:
In your lifetime, someone is bound to ask "how do I become an adult?" Most people would answer 'when you're older', hinting that adolescence is the key to entering adulthood. However, between those words, it means it will take lots of time in order to become a successful and independent adult. Between the ages 13 and 19, adolescents go through three 'steps' to become an independent adult. These includes individuation, to be viewed, as only themselves, separation, to be free of their family and their views, and autonomy, or 'I have the right to self-govern'.
Adolescents from early ages 13 to 15 years are in what is called psychosocial development. At this age, adolescents are under psychosocial stress from puberty,discoveries of sex, or even from developing zits, hormones, etc. They feel uncomfortable, scared, frustrated, or even confused to the point where it seems impossible to tell the adults. Of course, it is normal for them to be self-conscious, always thinking of themselves. Adolescents have ego ideals such as breaking free from parent control, wanting to be independent early, or searching for a role look up to and can have an identity of their own.
When adolescents are approximately 13 to 15 years old, their thoughts take in two forms under cognitive development. One way is how teenagers think in an abstract way or abstract thinking, where they could process things without something you can uses your senses. Another form is concrete thinking, where they need something that requires their use in their senses to think about. Adolescents are also in a middle of a time measurement. In this period, it is how they have a difficult time to plan for the future and have patience for things or privileges such as receiving a permit.
The psychosocial development for 16 to 19 year old shows psychosocial adjustment, where they are more comfortable with their bodies and less drama going around in their life. They now have more intimate relationships with either friends of their girl/boyfriend. They also have a clear sense in their sexuality and can communicate in a deeper level. Relationships are less superficial at this stage as it matters on similar interests in another and can be a painful breakup if their adults take them lightly. They can develop a clear sense self-concept, where they have more confidence in their decision making and can define their values.
The cognitive development for ages 16 to 19 came from a theory developed by a psychologist named Jean Piaget. His theory was also known as formal operational thought or in simple terms: adult-like thinking. Adolescents could handle complex ideas, concepts, and high-level Math. They also become less self-centered and are able to plan their future. They could grasp the concept of the past, present, and future.
Adolescence may be a painful and long process, bit if successful, will leave you as an independent adult. As early ages of 13 to 15, adolescents show a mixture of negative feelings and have little patience over minor issues. As they grow older, they start to have intimate relationships and could bond with one another. They also can become more comfortable with themselves, confident about their future, and can handle on their own time.
Looking over this, I saw A LOT of minor errors, which was really embarrassing. I'm not proud of the work, but I'll continue to write better essays than this one.
In your lifetime, someone is bound to ask "how do I become an adult?" Most people would answer 'when you're older', hinting that adolescence is the key to entering adulthood. However, between those words, it means it will take lots of time in order to become a successful and independent adult. Between the ages 13 and 19, adolescents go through three 'steps' to become an independent adult. These includes individuation, to be viewed, as only themselves, separation, to be free of their family and their views, and autonomy, or 'I have the right to self-govern'.
Adolescents from early ages 13 to 15 years are in what is called psychosocial development. At this age, adolescents are under psychosocial stress from puberty,discoveries of sex, or even from developing zits, hormones, etc. They feel uncomfortable, scared, frustrated, or even confused to the point where it seems impossible to tell the adults. Of course, it is normal for them to be self-conscious, always thinking of themselves. Adolescents have ego ideals such as breaking free from parent control, wanting to be independent early, or searching for a role look up to and can have an identity of their own.
When adolescents are approximately 13 to 15 years old, their thoughts take in two forms under cognitive development. One way is how teenagers think in an abstract way or abstract thinking, where they could process things without something you can uses your senses. Another form is concrete thinking, where they need something that requires their use in their senses to think about. Adolescents are also in a middle of a time measurement. In this period, it is how they have a difficult time to plan for the future and have patience for things or privileges such as receiving a permit.
The psychosocial development for 16 to 19 year old shows psychosocial adjustment, where they are more comfortable with their bodies and less drama going around in their life. They now have more intimate relationships with either friends of their girl/boyfriend. They also have a clear sense in their sexuality and can communicate in a deeper level. Relationships are less superficial at this stage as it matters on similar interests in another and can be a painful breakup if their adults take them lightly. They can develop a clear sense self-concept, where they have more confidence in their decision making and can define their values.
The cognitive development for ages 16 to 19 came from a theory developed by a psychologist named Jean Piaget. His theory was also known as formal operational thought or in simple terms: adult-like thinking. Adolescents could handle complex ideas, concepts, and high-level Math. They also become less self-centered and are able to plan their future. They could grasp the concept of the past, present, and future.
Adolescence may be a painful and long process, bit if successful, will leave you as an independent adult. As early ages of 13 to 15, adolescents show a mixture of negative feelings and have little patience over minor issues. As they grow older, they start to have intimate relationships and could bond with one another. They also can become more comfortable with themselves, confident about their future, and can handle on their own time.
Looking over this, I saw A LOT of minor errors, which was really embarrassing. I'm not proud of the work, but I'll continue to write better essays than this one.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Imagining the Unimaginable... Final Draft
3. Human nature: Who participates in genocide, and why? What does the commonality of genocide lead you to believe about humanity?
The "official" definition of genocide is "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group”. People who participate in genocide generally believe that those they are exterminating are the cause of major problems and/or evil. They generally believe in a certain racial group because of their "difference" between them and the rest.
There were variety of genocides; a well known genocide would be the Holocaust, or "Shoah" ,or "Final Solution" to the Jewish. The Holocaust was one where approximately 6 million Jews were innocently involved during the World War II. However, apart from the Jewish, there were also other groups, including ethnic Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opponents. Including the groups, the total number of Holocaust victims would be between 11 million to 17 million people.
There were variety of genocides; a well known genocide would be the Holocaust, or "Shoah" ,or "Final Solution" to the Jewish. The Holocaust was one where approximately 6 million Jews were innocently involved during the World War II. However, apart from the Jewish, there were also other groups, including ethnic Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opponents. Including the groups, the total number of Holocaust victims would be between 11 million to 17 million people.
During Hitler's control, the Jewish were sent to concentration camps, stripped of what they owned. The system grew to include about 100 camps divided into two types: concentration camps for slave labor in nearby factories and death camps for the extermination of the 'different' groups (Jews, the mentally retarded, homosexuals, etc.).Many people were torn from families, tortured, and lived in fear. Children who were born in camps or were too young were sent to the burning pits upon arrival. This also included any elderly or people with health issues. Other than the SS men who control the camps, people die because of being experimented using drugs, had unnecessary operations on spines, organs, etc. Josef Mengele was known for his 'work' on children, especially twins. He supervised an operation by which two Gypsy children were sewn together to create Siamese twins. Some children’s hands were infected where veins were resected. He often injected chemicals in their eyes in an attempt to change their eye color. Mengele performed experimental surgeries without using anesthesia--- transfusions of blood from one twin to another, injected lethal germs, sex change operations, removal of organs and limbs, incestuous impregnations, etc. Due to his cruel actions, he was nicknamed "Angel of Death". However, the rest of the people died from gas chambers. The gassing process was 'simple' -some hot air was pumped in from the ceiling, then crystals of Cyclon were showered down on the people, and in the hot wet air they rapidly evaporated. In anything from two to ten minutes 200-250 people were dead.
In "Night, the author, Elie Wiesel describes his vivid memory of when he and his family were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, which then became a center of the largest amount of Jewish deaths. In the first three chapters, he described his daily life in his childhood before when before a sudden change happens to him. So far, there were some descriptions of upon his arrival to the camp, there was a "fire"--- a black thick fire that held the smell of burnt flesh. Before long, separated from his mother and sisters, Wiesel describes of his daily routine within camp, his worries for his survival for the day. From what it was heard, if people thought that the beginning was sad, it will continue on a spiral of death...
The commonality of genocide in history is appalling and this leads into the fact that humanity is corrupt. They are corrupt by their own insecurity and fear of being worst than the first class. If genocide was ever needed for humanity, then what has become of it just for the survival for the rest of us? Simply by killing off the evil for the sake of humanity does not mean this is for the good. No matter what, even though there is peace, there will always be violence. Genocides are just showing us that humans are cruel to kill for the sake of the so called "good" when it was really not necessary.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
"She touched the box in her pocket and smiled..." pt.2
Continuing from the previous post......
"What are you doing?!"
Jumped in fright, she looked up to see the librarian's face inches away from hers. "Nothing" as she hid the diary,"I was just..uhh.. re-shelving the books."
"Make sure they are still in good condition or you'll pay for it!"
"Yes ma'am." With that, the librarian left with a humph.
Sighing with relief, she turn her back and picked up the book and a tiny piece of paper came out of the diary. Curious, she read its contents.'Find its key and will have 3 wishes are granted. Beware, in return, the price will be great. Look for its twin.' She blinked."It's twin?" She then realized there was another diary somewhere around her. She searched around for two hours and was ready to give up, but then, she saw noticed the same diary, only in crimson with no keyhole, and a key embedded on its cover. The problem was, it was in the librarian's office, which no one except the librarian could come in. not even the principal. Glancing for anyone noticing her, she snuck in the office and snatched the book,pulled the key out of its cover, and ran out. As she was only 2 feet away from the office, she turned around to face the librarian, looking irritated.
"Just what are you doing?"
"Nothing ma'am"
"Are you finished with the books?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Are they still in good condition?"
"Yes ma'am"
"It better be or I'll make sure you will regret lying to me! Understood?!"
"Yes ma'am"for
"Well what are you still doing here? Out! You!" She pointed at the study group. "Leave as well! You have caused nothing but ruckus. OUT! OUUUUUT!!!!"
With that, she and the study group rushed to the door. When she arrived home, she immediately checked for the key and the diary. Carefully, she puts the key in the keyhole and turn it, hearing a small click, signaling it was open.
She opened the diary only to see something old, hairy..a paw! She looked at it in horror and saw another paper, only what was written was in what look like blood. 'You who have opened this earn 3 wishes, but beware.....'
Reading this, her eyes sparkled in delight."Grant people's wishes?! This looks like that monkey's paw I heard that grants wishes. This must be it." She closed and locked the diary, left it on her desk, puts the key in a box and left it in her jacket pocket.She touched the box in her pocket and smiled...
Pretty bad, right? Oh well. I edited it so it wasn't exactly everything I had wrote in the beginning. This kind of story reminds you of something, right? This actually came from the brilliant mind of the writer of "The Monkey's Paw", W.W. Jacobs.
"What are you doing?!"
Jumped in fright, she looked up to see the librarian's face inches away from hers. "Nothing" as she hid the diary,"I was just..uhh.. re-shelving the books."
"Make sure they are still in good condition or you'll pay for it!"
"Yes ma'am." With that, the librarian left with a humph.
Sighing with relief, she turn her back and picked up the book and a tiny piece of paper came out of the diary. Curious, she read its contents.'Find its key and will have 3 wishes are granted. Beware, in return, the price will be great. Look for its twin.' She blinked."It's twin?" She then realized there was another diary somewhere around her. She searched around for two hours and was ready to give up, but then, she saw noticed the same diary, only in crimson with no keyhole, and a key embedded on its cover. The problem was, it was in the librarian's office, which no one except the librarian could come in. not even the principal. Glancing for anyone noticing her, she snuck in the office and snatched the book,pulled the key out of its cover, and ran out. As she was only 2 feet away from the office, she turned around to face the librarian, looking irritated.
"Just what are you doing?"
"Nothing ma'am"
"Are you finished with the books?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Are they still in good condition?"
"Yes ma'am"
"It better be or I'll make sure you will regret lying to me! Understood?!"
"Yes ma'am"for
"Well what are you still doing here? Out! You!" She pointed at the study group. "Leave as well! You have caused nothing but ruckus. OUT! OUUUUUT!!!!"
With that, she and the study group rushed to the door. When she arrived home, she immediately checked for the key and the diary. Carefully, she puts the key in the keyhole and turn it, hearing a small click, signaling it was open.
She opened the diary only to see something old, hairy..a paw! She looked at it in horror and saw another paper, only what was written was in what look like blood. 'You who have opened this earn 3 wishes, but beware.....'
Reading this, her eyes sparkled in delight."Grant people's wishes?! This looks like that monkey's paw I heard that grants wishes. This must be it." She closed and locked the diary, left it on her desk, puts the key in a box and left it in her jacket pocket.She touched the box in her pocket and smiled...
Pretty bad, right? Oh well. I edited it so it wasn't exactly everything I had wrote in the beginning. This kind of story reminds you of something, right? This actually came from the brilliant mind of the writer of "The Monkey's Paw", W.W. Jacobs.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
"She touched the box in her pocket and smiled..." pt. 1
Ok, this is an old Quickwrite, but I intend to post this as my blog.
She was a library aid in the school library. She glared at the students who claimed to be "studying", chatting away happily. She was one of those students who barely talk with anyone,an outcast. Not that she doesn't want talk to no one, its because she has no one to talk to. Today was the 5th anniversary of her parent's death. Ever since the car accident that drove her family apart from her, she blames herself, glares at anyone within a 1 meter radius, and keeps to herself by studying constantly.
Silently, she shelved the books to their respectful places. As she walked by the "study" group, they instantly became quiet. When she was 5 feet away, they began whispering about her, about her looks, her "fashion", and the rumors they were going to spread about her.
After glancing back, she looked around the school library. "This place is way too big. No one comes here anymore. Maybe it's because of the librarian," she thought. At that, she glanced at the school librarian. The school librarian was known for her strict rules about borrowing and checking out books. She would even start screaming and demand to pay for the book if it was damaged in anyway. "Or maybe it's because no one really studies in a school library. You can't find any book here and the librarian would scream at us using a card catalog," she thought as she eyed the book she was holding. Sighing, she went further within the countless aisles of books until she went to the far corner and shelved the book. Then, she noticed that many of the books were pretty old and even have some in a different language. As she return to her cart of books, she noticed a book with gold embroidering and what looks like some crimson stain. She picked it up and saw that it might've been a diary since there was a lock.
"What are you doing?!"
To Be Continued....
She was a library aid in the school library. She glared at the students who claimed to be "studying", chatting away happily. She was one of those students who barely talk with anyone,an outcast. Not that she doesn't want talk to no one, its because she has no one to talk to. Today was the 5th anniversary of her parent's death. Ever since the car accident that drove her family apart from her, she blames herself, glares at anyone within a 1 meter radius, and keeps to herself by studying constantly.
Silently, she shelved the books to their respectful places. As she walked by the "study" group, they instantly became quiet. When she was 5 feet away, they began whispering about her, about her looks, her "fashion", and the rumors they were going to spread about her.
After glancing back, she looked around the school library. "This place is way too big. No one comes here anymore. Maybe it's because of the librarian," she thought. At that, she glanced at the school librarian. The school librarian was known for her strict rules about borrowing and checking out books. She would even start screaming and demand to pay for the book if it was damaged in anyway. "Or maybe it's because no one really studies in a school library. You can't find any book here and the librarian would scream at us using a card catalog," she thought as she eyed the book she was holding. Sighing, she went further within the countless aisles of books until she went to the far corner and shelved the book. Then, she noticed that many of the books were pretty old and even have some in a different language. As she return to her cart of books, she noticed a book with gold embroidering and what looks like some crimson stain. She picked it up and saw that it might've been a diary since there was a lock.
"What are you doing?!"
To Be Continued....
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Final
How do the things you read influence what you write about or how you write?
The things people read can influence them of what they write about or how they write it. Sometimes, that applies to me as well. Whenever I read a novel or short story, it influences my writing, even if it’s just the slightest. It is usually more vocabulary on my list and a bit improvement in my grammar. However, I still have a lot to work on so I read a lot to help myself. However, it doesn’t last for a long period of time, so I read long novels as a hobby during the summer, school break, or even when I have enough time. In either case, I still have lots to work on to improve one and hopefully continue on working on this. Sometimes, as I read, I have something in mind, or can think how the author/writer is thinking about, getting their point of view in some points that affects in my writing skills. Reading people’s different opinions that contrasts with yours can also affect your writing. If they have the same opinions as you on a topic but have more reasonable ideas, I would most likely have more reasonable ideas the next time I write about something. With different views and opinions, that can change people’s ways of thinking. For my blog posts, if you read a pretty laid back blog, then you might have the same affect and write like the same for some period of time. If you read a pretty serious essay/report, then you be really serious yourself and go a bit too far with you writing. In either case, it can either take an affect on me or not. But if the novel/report I was reading really inspires me, I might even have the same case as the writer. There are some works where people can be very persuasive in their writing that influences on a lot of people’s writing (that can be me as well).
What have you learned from your struggles with writer's block? Why do you tend to get stuck? Notice any patterns?
During my struggles with writer’s block, I learned that if I take my time working on my blog posts, I can get more ideas during the process, I sometimes rush on my blogs because I have a limited amount of time on the computer. Also, I learned that if I calm down and concentrate on the topic, I can get more ideas to write about the topic. I tend to get stuck because of not having so much information on the topic or running out of ideas to write about the topic. I noticed that if I turn away from the blog post and work on something else like other homework for other classes, I can go back to work on it after thirty minutes or so. However, I still get stuck when it comes to blog posts. I guess working on something else helps change my chain of thoughts on the blog post. Either way, I tend to get after a short while. This is when I realize that this is just a pattern, where I go charging by writing nonstop, doing something else to retrain my thoughts, and then come back charging forward once again. This is a problem since this is very time consuming for a weekly three hundred word blog post. Even now, I still have trouble on this assignment, even though it isn’t a three hundred blog post. It seems to me that I don’t get writer’s block if I am extremely into the topic, I can go beyond five hundred words or so. But that sounds like I am exaggerating or something. Even so, I think if I have enough information on the topic, I wouldn’t be so stuck with any topic (unless it was some thought question that I can’t relate to). I also tend to get stuck when the questions require thinking about something that I wouldn’t think about on a daily basis. Or you can call “deep thinking” kind of questions where some people (like me) take long periods of time thinking about them before writing about it.
Where do you get your ideas for blog post topics? What inspires you to write?
I get my ideas for blog post topics from a variety of sources. Most of my topics I write about mainly from something I have been working/reading/watching from. Sometimes, it would come from something I just thought of from out of nowhere. I usually do blog posts that require a lot of research. Researching my blog topics helps me gather new information I never knew before. Of my blog posts, there are ones that are about books I’ve recently read like Beryllium Murder and Queen’s Own Fool, where I summarize them for those who love to read. Sometimes, I use historical figures for my topics such as King Henry VIII and Baron de Montesquieu. This is an advantage for me because I can research, study for History class, learn something new, and work on my English homework all at the same time. I do movies from classes that I give my opinions on for those who are interested like Maria Full of Grace and Stand and Deliver. Even though I was raised in an environment where there are a lot of Vietnamese cultures around me, I like to research and write about them as a part of another person’s point of view. So what really would interest people would be through people’s stomach! So I try and write about are well known dishes such as spring rolls and phở. I would probably expand this more in the future. Recently, I have been taking up with music, so I decided to write about my favorite music artists. Overall, what inspires me to write is the topic that sparks my interest. If those topics are pretty dull and boring, the result will be a pretty short-willed blog post. I realized that what topic inspires me the most would be the result of my ‘endless’ researching. If I am satisfied with what I have, I am certain that I would have a better blog post than something I just gather up as some last minute thing I just randomly came up with.
The things people read can influence them of what they write about or how they write it. Sometimes, that applies to me as well. Whenever I read a novel or short story, it influences my writing, even if it’s just the slightest. It is usually more vocabulary on my list and a bit improvement in my grammar. However, I still have a lot to work on so I read a lot to help myself. However, it doesn’t last for a long period of time, so I read long novels as a hobby during the summer, school break, or even when I have enough time. In either case, I still have lots to work on to improve one and hopefully continue on working on this. Sometimes, as I read, I have something in mind, or can think how the author/writer is thinking about, getting their point of view in some points that affects in my writing skills. Reading people’s different opinions that contrasts with yours can also affect your writing. If they have the same opinions as you on a topic but have more reasonable ideas, I would most likely have more reasonable ideas the next time I write about something. With different views and opinions, that can change people’s ways of thinking. For my blog posts, if you read a pretty laid back blog, then you might have the same affect and write like the same for some period of time. If you read a pretty serious essay/report, then you be really serious yourself and go a bit too far with you writing. In either case, it can either take an affect on me or not. But if the novel/report I was reading really inspires me, I might even have the same case as the writer. There are some works where people can be very persuasive in their writing that influences on a lot of people’s writing (that can be me as well).
What have you learned from your struggles with writer's block? Why do you tend to get stuck? Notice any patterns?
During my struggles with writer’s block, I learned that if I take my time working on my blog posts, I can get more ideas during the process, I sometimes rush on my blogs because I have a limited amount of time on the computer. Also, I learned that if I calm down and concentrate on the topic, I can get more ideas to write about the topic. I tend to get stuck because of not having so much information on the topic or running out of ideas to write about the topic. I noticed that if I turn away from the blog post and work on something else like other homework for other classes, I can go back to work on it after thirty minutes or so. However, I still get stuck when it comes to blog posts. I guess working on something else helps change my chain of thoughts on the blog post. Either way, I tend to get after a short while. This is when I realize that this is just a pattern, where I go charging by writing nonstop, doing something else to retrain my thoughts, and then come back charging forward once again. This is a problem since this is very time consuming for a weekly three hundred word blog post. Even now, I still have trouble on this assignment, even though it isn’t a three hundred blog post. It seems to me that I don’t get writer’s block if I am extremely into the topic, I can go beyond five hundred words or so. But that sounds like I am exaggerating or something. Even so, I think if I have enough information on the topic, I wouldn’t be so stuck with any topic (unless it was some thought question that I can’t relate to). I also tend to get stuck when the questions require thinking about something that I wouldn’t think about on a daily basis. Or you can call “deep thinking” kind of questions where some people (like me) take long periods of time thinking about them before writing about it.
Where do you get your ideas for blog post topics? What inspires you to write?
I get my ideas for blog post topics from a variety of sources. Most of my topics I write about mainly from something I have been working/reading/watching from. Sometimes, it would come from something I just thought of from out of nowhere. I usually do blog posts that require a lot of research. Researching my blog topics helps me gather new information I never knew before. Of my blog posts, there are ones that are about books I’ve recently read like Beryllium Murder and Queen’s Own Fool, where I summarize them for those who love to read. Sometimes, I use historical figures for my topics such as King Henry VIII and Baron de Montesquieu. This is an advantage for me because I can research, study for History class, learn something new, and work on my English homework all at the same time. I do movies from classes that I give my opinions on for those who are interested like Maria Full of Grace and Stand and Deliver. Even though I was raised in an environment where there are a lot of Vietnamese cultures around me, I like to research and write about them as a part of another person’s point of view. So what really would interest people would be through people’s stomach! So I try and write about are well known dishes such as spring rolls and phở. I would probably expand this more in the future. Recently, I have been taking up with music, so I decided to write about my favorite music artists. Overall, what inspires me to write is the topic that sparks my interest. If those topics are pretty dull and boring, the result will be a pretty short-willed blog post. I realized that what topic inspires me the most would be the result of my ‘endless’ researching. If I am satisfied with what I have, I am certain that I would have a better blog post than something I just gather up as some last minute thing I just randomly came up with.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Writing Group
When working with a group, I would like to help prevent writer’s block. With more people, I could get more topic ideas and use them for future blogs. I can also get more improvement in my writing like grammar. If these goals are met, I would like to the same to those in my group. Putting up some comments and editing on my work (or other people’s) will help improve both me and the people. I may also say that those who wrote some of the same topic can help give more ideas onto the topic. As for rules, I guess it’s to be respectful with other people’s work and to put up comments that are both positive and negative. That way, there are some encouragements, while there are some discouragements. However, this helps with the improvement in writing and can help develop new writing skills that will eventually be in use in the future. Another rule should be to protect people’s privacy by not talking about their work in progress, being offensive their work for lack of grammar, bad vocabulary, etc. If not, you will just end up losing that person’s respect for you and perhaps other classmates. This is kind of relating to respecting other’s work as well though. ^^’’
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