Final Blog! - Self Evaluation

This class was definitely beneficial to me this semester. Not only did I continue to hone my writing skills, but I was also introduced to the arts at Penn State, and even learned a lot about the arts in general. Even though it was an 8am (ugh), I really enjoyed this class and am taking a lot away from it.

One of the topics that I feel like I got a lot better at this semester was actively thinking about the audience that I am writing to. I never directly thought about this aspect while writing before. I liked how my professor always added a part of the prompt that said, “Who are you writing to?” and “Who cares about this topic?” Asking myself those questions before and while writing my papers definitely made my writing better because I thought about the details that were most important to my audience, and what I wanted to prove to them or what I wanted them to understand about my topic after reading my paper.

This class was also a fresh take on ethos, logos, and pathos for me. I learned about these rhetorical terms my junior year in an AP English class, but to be honest I did not really connect to the ideas and forgot most of what I’d learned anyway. After this class, I feel like I completely understand these terms and can use them correctly in my writing. I can use ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal to my audience and persuade them to agree with or at least respect my opinions. I’ve definitely learned that picturing your audience and actively appealing to them throughout is of the utmost importance in writing.

I learned a lot about my new home at Penn State, too. First of all, I learned that it’s important to explore a new place and try new things. If it wasn’t for this class, I may have never perused the Palmer Museum, saw a student production, or went to readings on campus by professional writers. These were great experiences and I’m really happy that I got to enjoy them in my first semester here. These are activities that I plan on keeping up with during my time at Penn State, and after Penn State, too. I hope to keep up this new relationship that I have with the arts. I learned that you could find art in almost anything – that it can be any form of beauty, creativity, and self-expression.

I also grew in another way that was completely unexpected. I wrote my memoir piece about my grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s disease. It’s very difficult on my family and I, and it’s near impossible for me to talk about. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to write about it, but I tried, and it ended up being very healing for me. It brought out a lot of emotion and feelings that I have been avoiding for a long time. I didn’t want to get all mushy on here, but in all honesty, writing this paper really helped me deal with what I’m going through.

I couldn’t be happier with everything that I’m taking away from my English 15 class. Thank you to my classmates and Sheila for making it such an enjoyable experience, and I’ll miss you guys!

SRTE's

Hey Ms. S,

Just filled out the SRTE form!

Love,

Blair Larson

My Professor's Reading

Ever since my English professor, Sheila Squillante, read to my class her "Memoir" piece that was published in "Glamour" magazine, I was hopeful that she would eventually share more with us. I absolutely loved her memoir - it was beautifully written and made me think. Last class, she read us a selection of her shorter works.

I particularly loved her "Found" poem. It was simply a quote from her grandmother that she reworked into poetry format. It was short and quite hilarious. It also reminded me that in order to write poetry, you don't need long, philosophical thoughts and abstract words. Poetry can come from everyday life, too!

Another piece that stood out to me was her poem "Green." This one was longer, and one of the coolest poems I've ever heard. It was very alternative - it was full of sensory images. She said that it was a meditation, which made sense because it was full of thoughts and feelings instead of telling a story. "Green" was so interesting and sounded so smooth. I want to read more poetry like this, I loved it!

Out of all of the pieces that I heard, Sheila's dream poems were my absolute favorite. I find dreaming so interesting in the first place. (How is dreaming possible? Why do we dream the things we do? And what does it all mean?) So, it was intriguing to listen to what a college professor dreams about, and I was happy to hear that her dreams were just as odd as mine! I have never heard of people making their dreams into poems, so this was another new idea that Sheila introduced me to that I would definitely like to try sometime. I thought it was a really awesome idea and these poems were so entertaining to listen to.

I am thrilled that my professor shared more of her work with my class and me. I liked most of the pieces that she read and was very impressed. Plus, I was introduced to new writing styles and ideas to create poetry out of everyday life and little moments that I would like to try someday!

We Are (Still) Penn State, Forever!

I was confused, angry, betrayed, sickened, and heartbroken. These feelings coursed through my veins in early November when the details about Jerry Sandusky’s alleged criminal acts caught fire and spread over the entire globe in a matter of hours. It was all so sudden. Everyone was just plain shocked.

I wanted answers. I found myself reading explicit, but honest, court documents to separate fact from fiction. The information that I ingested made me tear up. How is this possible? I thought. Especially in my perfect little bubble that is State College?

Everyone had an opinion – from the media, to family and friends, to people on the Internet and television making jokes and mean comments. This was the farthest thing from a joke. The world had so much to say without knowing all the facts. My friend’s dad said he had business contacts from other countries asking what he thought about Joe Paterno “raping all those kids.” Really? Really???? I hated everyone.

I reluctantly but tirelessly fielded phone calls, e-mails, and texts from various acquaintances. I wanted to keep people filled in on the reality of what was going on, answer questions, and encourage them to read the court documents for themselves.

Then, the riots happened. I should have never been there. Seeing multiple lampposts get knocked down and a news van get flipped scared the life out of me. There was so much disrespect running rampant in the form of hordes of angry and confused students taking out their frustrations on the place they loved most – Penn State. I have never been more ashamed, and all I could think about was how our once spotless and proud reputation was just continuing to tarnish right in front of my eyes.

I didn’t come to this school because of football. I didn’t come to see Joe Paterno on the sidelines and the Nittany Lion cartwheeling about the stadium. I came for one reason: To get an education at a university with national recognition for academics and time-honored traditions.

Even though I’m a huge PSU football fan, “We Are” so much more than that. We have the best school spirit in the country. We have nationally ranked academic programs. We raise millions for pediatric cancer ever year. We have hundreds of clubs that cater to students’ interests and give back to the community.

All of these positive aspects of Penn State have apparently slipped people’s minds due to the Sandusky scandal. It sickens me to think that students, faculty, and Penn State’s name have been dragged through the mud due to one man’s horrendous actions. It also saddens me to think that this is the way Joe Paterno’s legacy ended, that this is what he will be remembered for. Funding a library and other various programs to benefit the school are just not enough for people. I hate seeing Penn State’s biggest icon fall from grace, but it remains to be seen at the trials if he deserved this fate. Either way, it’s heartbreaking.

Things have calmed down now. Penn State is not on the headline of every media source in existence anymore, thank goodness. The Valley isn’t “Happy” yet though, not even close. It will take some time, but the amazing community that is Penn State will get through this by sticking together and staying strong. We Are (Still) Penn State, forever!

Kiss Me, Kate!

Having a sister that is thinking about majoring in performing arts in college, saying that I’ve been to a live performance is an understatement. I go to 3-5 live performances per year. I have never been to a professionally done performance, but my high school and the other groups that my sister is involved in, like the Community Arts Center near my hometown, takes this stuff very seriously. So, you could definitely say that I am an experienced musical and play-goer.

The plays and musicals I have seen have ranged from drooling-in-my-seat boring to absolutely spectacular, so I didn’t know what to expect when I was going to see Kiss Me Kate. (By myself, I might add – I missed the date my English class went but was lucky enough to be able to catch another showing of the play.) This musical wasn’t my favorite because I thought it was kind of confusing, but I thought it was very well done. The acting, singing, and dancing were all great, and it was very enjoyable to watch.

I have learned to like the musical-theater genre. Growing up, I knew it was important to go to my sister’s events and support her, but I eventually started to enjoy going to her plays and musicals. I realized how talented you have to be to pull off these performances, and also how brave the actors are to sing and dance in front of so many people. So, I started respecting the musical-theater genre. My favorite musical would have to be Les Miserables. My sister tried out for it and got a part, and it was the best musical I have ever seen. All of the actors were from high schools all around my hometown and the Community Arts Center really outdid themselves. I didn’t like Kiss Me Kate as much as I liked Les Mis, but I still thought it was great. I also love classics like Grease, which of course are incomparable to high school and collegiate productions.

I like Shakespeare’s works, but I have never had the chance to read or see Taming of the Shrew. Those parts in the play were very confusing to me and I did not understand it at all. It wasn’t until afterwards where I found someone to explain those parts to me and summarize Taming of the Shrew that I understood. I wish I knew an overview of what Taming of the Shrew was about so that these parts made sense to me while watching the musical.

My favorite thing about the experience was that even though I was sitting there by myself like a loser, parts of the play had me laughing hysterically. Comic relief is a must for me sometimes while attending musicals, plays, and events like these, and I was relieved to find that Kiss Me Kate was very funny. I also was very impressed with the actors’ talent – the singing and dancing were fantastic. I’m really happy that I was able to see this production put on by Penn State’s own students, and would recommend it to anyone.

Dave Housely

I had never heard of Dave Housely before, but seeing that I still needed to go to both of my required literary readings, I decided to check out his reading. To be honest, I was expecting to be bored to death by some arrogant big-shot author in stylish glasses. But, I was pleasantly surprised.


I can't say that I understood every aspect of the three short stories that he chose to share with us, but I enjoyed listening to them regardless. I loved his dry humor, and his straight-forward and honest tone. His stories were very original and entertaining, and the atmosphere in the room was great. It was all very casual, friendly, and fun. He also engaged his audience, and even asked us our opinion on who was the "douchiest male star" of today so that he could insert it into one of his stories. I thought that was rather hilarious.

When he was done reading, he answered a few questions and offered everyone free copies of the literary magazine he edits called "Barrelhouse." I was really happy that I decided to go to Housely's reading, and I could see myself going to these types of events even after this class. I have loved to read ever since I can remember, so seeing an author read his own work and the ways that he expresses himself while reading was a new and very interesting experience for me. I really enjoyed Dave Housely's reading and am excited to attend another reading soon.

We Are....

Boys running down the street with a stop sign, girls peeing in a stranger’s front lawn, and a 21 year old getting wasted on her birthday – all collegiate “crimes” cited by the “This American Life” podcast. This podcast was published online in 2009 when Penn State was ranked the #1 party school by the Princeton Review (which is based solely on online surveys submitted by college students-loss of credibility anyone?), and now that Penn State does not hold this title, these events are still happening, and just as frequently. Plus, these are all common occurrences that could be seen on any campus, not just at Penn State. Don’t get me wrong; I am not supportive of these behaviors. I just felt like the interviewers were being extremely unfair seeing that college age students all over the country participate in the same social activities as Penn State students.

First of all, the interviewers lost credibility when they made hypocritical statements. In the very beginning, two interviewers observe intoxicated students stumbling along to their various destinations at one a.m. on a weekend. After making fun of them, and even scolding some, the interviewers nostalgically admit that they, too, “acted like this” when they were in college. Even Nancy Updike admits that she “would have used a drunk button in college.” On the other side, it helped the interviewers’ credibility to interview Graham Spanier, Penn State alumni, and to use concrete statistics about student alcohol use. Also, the interviewers included positive aspects about life at Penn State, like how everyone absolutely loves it. The podcast ends with the “We are….Penn State” chant, touching on the unparalleled school spirit and pride that all Penn Staters feel.

The logos in this podcast was very effective. One statement was particularly hard-hitting – the fact that on Friday and Saturday night, 75% of Penn State students drink. This value is equal to 30,000 people. Considering the amount of underage students included in that number, this is obviously a concern. Also, statistics were given on the consequences of such high levels of binge drinking. It was mentioned that ¼ of students have been behind on schoolwork or missed class, 15% have been involved in a physical altercation or assault, and 7% have been in an unwanted sexual experience due to a night of heavy drinking. These statistics and facts are a wake-up call – these numbers remind people that these issues are all too real.

             

Personally, I felt defensive while listening to this podcast. The interviewers were sometimes very condescending and unmindful with their word choice. An example of a statement that made me angry was when a male interviewer stated, “there are crimes that you never hear of unless you live in a place like State College.” Keep in mind that later in the podcast it is said that State College is the safest metropolitan area, and this same interviewer said that he “acted like this” when he was in college. This statement would cause a negative shift in the pathos of Penn Staters listening to the podcast because it makes our beloved college town seem dangerous and overrun with criminals, which is not the case.

             

Many issues of definition are at stake here, from a small to large scale. The podcast touches on college vernacular terms, like “frackets” (old jackets to wear to frat parties) and “Natty” (aka Natural Light beer, popular at Penn State because of its extremely low cost). On the larger scale side, and also a much more serious topic, is how the podcast attempts to define Penn State as a whole. The major theme that I got from the podcast was that PSU was a prideful, treasured university with a time-hardened, traditional drinking and partying issue. Sure, that is debatable seeing that a lot of students take pride in Penn State’s party school reputation and that die-hard football fans have been tailgating before games for decades. But, it should also be taken into account that Penn State has a prestigious academic reputation as well and the largest alumni network in the country. The bottom line is that college students are young adults with brand-new freedoms, trying to find a balance in living on their own for the first time. They’re going to make a few mistakes during the learning process. How my generation of college students is different from any other generation, and how Penn State students are different from the students at any other university or college, I’m not sure.

             

Overall, I do not think that this podcast depicted an accurate portrayal of Penn State University as a whole. There is a significant portion of the population of students that do not participate in “binge” drinking or drinking of any kind that were not interviewed or mentioned at all. And I, as a student with a fun social life, did not agree with all of the stereotypes that the podcast relentlessly hit on – I cannot say that I “got slutty” when I came here like one female student admitted, and no one that I know would ever physically injure a pizza delivery guy, or anyone for that matter. I could not be happier with my decision to come to Penn State, despite the negative connotations that are sometimes tied to the school. In 70 years, you’ll be sure to find me decaying in a nursing home somewhere, hollering, “We are…Penn State” until the day I die.

P.S. If you're dumb enough to live next door to a frat house, I don't want to hear your complaints!!!