Missing Sweeney

My English career in Richard Bland has been an exciting path thanks to Professor Sweeney. He has helped me greatly throughout each semester I’ve taken him. I’ve actually really improved on my writing skills. I think with the brainstorming we’ve always done before each essay has helped me break down my ideas for each essay. I also really like how he’s open minded about the essays so when it comes to writing we are not bored of our topic and just putting words down on the paper. Also I’ve learned the importance of citation and how there are many ways of citing a paper. MLA format has usually been drilled in our brains, but with Professor Sweeney we have choices. As long as we cite it correctly and credit the authors a certain way. I strongly recommend this professor, because he’ll definitely make sure to make you laugh with his enthusiastic and bubbly personality. I have honestly enjoyed Mr. Sweeney’s class and I will miss going to his class next semester. 

Mr. Sweeney writing down our Brainstorm Ideas :) 

Se7en

Watching this movie really made me think of how many of us are sinners. Some more than others of course, but we all tend to have our sins. I will summarize the seven deadly sins. After reading them you will have to choose which one you are guilty of.

Pride- an excessive belief of oneself; conceitedness

Envy- desire for other abilities or situation; jealousy

Gluttony- the desire to consume more than needed

Lust- craving the pleasures of the body

Wrath- anger

Greed- the desire for material wealth

Sloth- avoiding physical work, laziness

After naming all these sins. Which one are you guilty of? Take in mind the times when you went to the buffet and ate as much as possible. Or the time when you hated a certain individual for being so spoiled. Even when you got mad over something so small. Also when you decided to take a nap instead of writing the English essay due. Like said before many of us are sinners, some of us are sinners of multiple of these sins. But that's what makes us human beings.
Pride        Gluttony     Greed         Sloth          Envy     Wrath       Lust

National Aquarium, Baltimore MD

A few days ago some RBC students took a trip all the way to the Baltimore Aquarium in Maryland. The trip was a little long since it took about three hours to finally arrive. But when we arrived I was super excited and could not wait to enter the building. When coming into the main entrance the first thing I see was a gorgeous waterfall and at the bottom of it where big fish that we could clearly see through the glass tank. We kept walking and went up the stairs to see all kinds of creatures like clown fish, star fish, sunflower starfish, lion fish, squids, dolphins, sharks and very impressive beautiful glowing jellyfish. I was absolutely mesmerized on how much color I could see among the tanks. Some of these huge tanks went from the first floor to the third floor which very impressive architecture because it really let us see the huge admirable sea creatures like the sand tiger shark, roughtail stingray and plenty more. I would have to say I really loved seeing the colorful view these sea creatures brought to me. But not only was there sea creature there was also Amazon terrestrial creatures that were on the top floor of the building. This was very interesting because when reaching the last floor you could feel the very humid heat and the amazon that surrounded us. This mini amazon was an imitation of the Brazilian amazon which carried birds and other species that are found in the rainforest. I very much enjoyed this trip to the aquarium because not only did I enjoy the beautiful experience of these animals but I definitely learn many new facts.

RBC Scholarship Reception

On Tuesday October 29^th, I was invited to a scholarship Reception in the Community Room in the Library. I was actually really excited to meet who was this amazing person that had given me this scholarship. When entering the community room I am given my name tag that contained my name and the name of the Scholarship I had received which was “Dr. Bruce Weekly Scholarship”. I came in and served myself some food that was given and I was looking for a name tag that read Dr. Bruce Weekly but didn't seem to have much luck to find him. After a few minutes I got some help to find my donor. To my surprise it was a very nice lady instead of the man I was searching for. She then later informed me that Dr. Bruce Weekly was her brother that had passed away a few years. She also mentioned how his first school was Richard Bland and then he transferred to VCU to become a Vet and also got his Ph.D in Pharmacology and that he always wanted to give back to the school where he came from. I felt really honored that I got to be one of the people that he donated a scholarship to. I was so glad that I went to this reception, because it really made me feel thankful for what I had received and also have in mind that maybe this can be a goal for me. When I become a doctor do the same and donate a scholarship to the school where I started from. 

Questions asked by Sweeney....

·       What you’ve learned or wish you’ve learned about writing/lit?

-          I have learned to become a better writer, because I feel like the more essays (the more writing in general) the better writer I become. I really enjoy writing a topic of our own. Like the last essay assigned by far. How we’re going to get to write the topic of our choice but we actually get to refer one of the stories we’ve read. I know I’ll like writing this essay because it’ll be a piece of writing that I’ve enjoyed.

·       What you’ve learned about your peers and their writing?

-          I’ve learned that some people really don’t like writing, due to the fact that they simply show it when I’m reading their essays. Some people do really struggle with writing and they don’t stick to one topic they actually talk about anything that will fill the word requirement for assignment.

·       Reflections on Essay 1, Essay 2, anticipation about Essay 3?

-          So far I’ve enjoyed writing essay 1 much more than essay two due to the fact that for essay two we are limited to just ONE story. Also not finding the story all that amusing did not help me when it came to writing this second essay. But I’m actually a little excited about writing essay 3 since first of all we get to choose our own topic even if it means that we have to refer to one of the stories. I much rather refer to one of the stories than just be limited to one story like The Glass Menagerie.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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The Yellow Wallpaper

As the story began, my first thought was that the house the narrator and her husband were looking through was haunted and the reason was for it being such a nice house and I found it very strange that no one had lived in it in so long. We immediately see that this couple didn’t have a great relationship since the woman becomes very depressed and relies on this one room with the yellow paper. She becomes very fixated and obsessed with this object. She even sees a lady trapped inside it. Do you think that the lady trapped, was actually her? She was basically getting more and more psychotic as the days passed by. Hallucinations was the biggest problem for her, since her imagination drove her more insane and all she wanted to do was stare at the yellow wallpaper. The author was very clever to make us believe that maybe there was something in the wallpaper, an also at the end of the story we find out that John supposedly faints at the end of this story. But many inferences such as her killing her own husband are made. Honestly I feel like she did, the author left it open for our imagination to wonder throughout the story.

The Cask of Amontillado

This reading was very dark and very interesting to read, many questions came to me as I kept going along. First of all how can someone be so vindictive enough to kill someone just because they offended you numerous times? I would understand if he had committed an awful act towards you but not just by saying a few words. Well in this story Edgar Allan Poe mysteriously hides the words that Fortunato had said to Montresor that had offended him a whole lot that it got to the point of assassinating Fortunato.  We could only make assumptions of the insults that Fortunato had said to Montresor; one of them was the way that Fortunato told Montresor that his family used to be very noble, basically stating that they are not noble at all anymore. Another insult I found was that when they were walking towards Fortunato’s death Montresor tells him that he used to be a Mason which is a Fraternity. But of course Fortunato does not believe him since he made a Mason hand gesture and Montresor was not able to recognize it. Why do you think that the author hides the insults that caused Montresor to kill Fortunato?  Why do you think Montresor commits this terrible act towards Fortunato? Do you think it goes far along more than just insults? 

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

I could really connect to the main character in this story, because as young adults we have the mistake of being in relationships that never really work out. When these relationships end, we feel very depressed and upset at all times. We sometimes feel like we cannot continue our lives without them. For the character of this story he had certain anger issues that made him break plenty of lamps when he got upset with his girlfriend. By these actions we could see that this relationship wasn't all that healthy. Maybe ending the relationship was for the better of each individual. Towards the end of this story we get caught on a very important question. Did they end up together? Because his girlfriend did call him to see how he was doing. Does it mean that she still loved him and wanted to be with him? I guess the author wanted us to be caught in the mystery of never knowing what happened. But we did know that he still wanted to be with her, and still had very strong feelings towards her. I liked this story because the main character was a college student that all of us could really connect with. 

How to Become a Writer

For this first reading at the very beginning I thought it was very confusing to understand who the narrator was talking about. I really disliked the fast that the whole story was in Second Person. The whole time it was “you did this” or “you did that” type of writing. It felt like it was talking about what I did, but I didn't relate to this story because who the narrator is talking about is very different of who I am. Like my major is Dentistry instead of child psychology or writing or even law. As I kept reading more and more of the story I just got really annoyed by the big use of second person. It’s overly used to the point where it gets very confusing on what the author is really talking about. Towards the end the story the author basically explains that the student he’s talking about is a confused college student that doesn't know what to do. If to either be a child psychologist or a writer or even a lawyer; this student is beyond confused. Overall I really didn't like this story it was very confusing reading it, and the writing level doesn't seem very intellectual. Hopefully the rest of our stories will be better than this one. 

Freshman Year is now Over…

                  The thought of my first year of college almost ending is crazy! Time just flies by too fast. Looking back when I came to Richard Bland for the first time feels like it was so long ago, and it was when I took my Placement exam. I felt like such an adult because I knew that my mom and dad were not going to be by my side anymore. I had to step up and take responsibility for myself. I decided that it would be a great idea to apply to the RBC Library knowing that I didn’t have a vehicle to drive around in. I also wanted to make some money so my parents don’t have to worry about giving me some sort of allowance because they already have my three younger siblings to take care of. After getting the job I felt like I had to do basically everything for myself in order for me to get outstanding grades. Not only did I learn all the different subjects that I had to take I also learned many life lessons such as people basically not caring for you at all. Certain acquaintances decide that passing the class is good enough, but when it comes to my grades a “C” does not cut it because I know I can do much better if I try. I can wait to start my sophomore year of school so I could finally transfer to Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Tattoos

Today when coming into class I hear a controversy among my classmates. I quickly realize that people were talking about tattoos and explaining the reason for engraving their bodies for the rest of their lives.  Many individuals were responding negatively about the bad choice they made many years ago when they decided to place this mark on their bodies. They were saying that the only reason they had gotten it was because everybody else was getting them and they wanted to fit in. The people that had ink engraved, almost meant that they had more than just one tattoo. They decided that once you get one it’s unstoppable and almost addicting so most of them just kept getting more. The biggest controversy was getting a certain special person’s name inked on your body. I completely agreed with the people that said that it is stupid idea because what if your boyfriend or girlfriend decides to break up with you or cheat on you? Than…what do you do? Go get laser surgery right away? Well most likely NOT. Due to the fact that it’ll cost you anywhere between two hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. But that still doesn't stop anyone from making stupid mistakes. I feel like even though people are married for thirty years they can still get divorced and have this horrible symbol that reminds them of their Ex. So people should really think through this tough decision of whether getting a tattoo of their lover is all that great on an idea. 

Summer 2013

                Summer of 2013 has been anxiously anticipated since my freshman year of college will be done. But I recently found out that I will be taking ten credits over at Northern Virginia Community College. I knew I had to take summer classes but I didn’t fully realize I had to take three! Two of them are Chemistry classes which means I have to take each section in only six weeks. Knowing that each class will be going at a rapid pace makes me nervous, especially knowing that I will take these two difficult chemistry classes. A subject that I haven’t touched in about three years. My third class is Physical Education. The easiest class to take with these two chemistry classes, the great advice my adviser has given me for my whole summer. Seeing my whole summer being consumed by my education makes me realize that I won’t have so much free time to enjoy myself and slack of. I can see how my career is taking over my life, and the pathway of being a dentist seems to be very complicated. But at least I know I am 1 year closer to my eight year career goal.