~I feel that as a writer I have a much more grounded approach. If I take the time to sit down and organize my thoughts, it is easy to start my paper. Just recently my paragraph structure has started to make sense, and hey! I think I finally know how to form a thesis! :)

~My strengths are informal writing. I love to just sit down and start writing a story.

~My weakness is going back and organizing it in a fashion that it does not ping pong or completely switch topics. I tend to go off on tangents.

** I think HUST and Art tandem has helped me grow in many ways. I learned to push through frustrating times of confusion--many times! ;) --in Art, and it has always benefited me in the end! I have listened to brilliant classmates find underlying meanings of sentences that I would have never even reread, and I have had the chance to get to know 8 great girls and 2 awesome teachers! I am so glad this class worked out in my schedule. I was very hesitant to enroll because I didn't have an interest in HUST or ART! But now I have a great appreciation for both. Thanks everyone! :)

Lost in translation

When I think about the phrase, "Lost in translation", A childhood game come to mind--chinese telephone. The word that the first girl would whisper into the ear of the second girl was rarely even close to the word that the last girl would giggle and announce out loud! When things are translated or passed on, the truth tends to go away. When the soldiers started to change the original names into english, the true meaning behind the names were lost very quickly.

Language is definitely a vessel for culture. A lot of my ancestors are from England, Ireland, and Poland. I love when my parents/grandparents use words and phrases that have been pasted down from generation to generation. These simple words such as "oh musha" have certain meanings that just cannot be translated into english.

POWER

What is power? and who decides who has it? The technical definition for 'power' is, the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. I find it ironic that the title of the book is Power, and there are many "power struggles" throughout. Omishto never has power over herself. The power over her goes back and forth between her mother and Ama. Sometimes Omishto wants to go against her mother and do what Ama wants her to do, while other times Omishto isn't sure if she is making the right decisions. Ama is also struggling with power. Ama is sometimes controlled by nature and the Taiga tribe. She wants to be a leader yet she does exactly what she thinks she needs to do in order to be accepted by the tribe.

I was thinking about the idea of "power" tonight while I was at dance practice. We don't have a coach because it is a student run organization. Our captain usually takes charge, choreographs the dances, and makes our schedule. Today a different member of the team was teaching a dance and there was a lot of confusion as to who we should ask questions. Naturally, we would ask the captain, but she didn't know the exact answers. The girl teaching the routine did not want to overstep her boundary's to the captain, so she was being quiet. It was really interesting to watch the two girls compete for power over the team.

...in my own little climate

One of the first things I learned about my roommates as a freshman was where they were from. To my surprise they were both from warm southern states, Texas and Florida. At first I was very jealous that they could tan out by their pool on Christmas Eve, but as the year went on, I realized that I was happier with Indiana climate. Most people will think I'm crazy for saying that, but I have lived in Valparaiso my entire life and could not imagine not having the four seasons. I feel like each season is even more beautiful than the next! What would Christmas be like without waking up to a fresh dusting of snow covering the lights on the trees outside? What would fall be like without the changing of the leaves, or spring without the fresh new flowers in bloom? I love the four seasons of Indiana.

Lauren and Professor Ambrose mentioned that the sky was so much smaller in Indiana, which is something that really got me thinking about landscapes and prospective. The first time I went skiing in Utah, I was astonished by the height and beauty for the mountains. I had never seen real mountains. Our ski hill in Indiana is just that, a hill.I knew mountains were large, but I could have never fathomed they were that big! When you are away from home and then return to your natural climate, your prospective might change a little bit. For example, when my roommate returned home to Texas for fall break last year, she complained about how incredibly hot and humid it was, when in reality the weather was no different than it always was. She had just adapted to the weather in South Bend and was used to the chilly fall breeze and rainy days.

After spending an entire year with two Southern girls, I came to the conclusion that most people like the climate that they grew up in. I personally could never travel to Florida during hurricane season, and they can't understand why -10 degrees doesn't really bother me! Most people get used to the climate they grow up in and feel the most comfortable there.

what is a name??

I want to talk about "what is a name?" I am the type of girl who had my children's names picked out before I started preschool. My friend and I would alway play house and my twins names were Skyler (girl) and Tyler (boy) and their older brothers name was Tommy. It wasn't until high school that I realized that Tyler would always remind me of a boy from my elementary school who bragged because he was a great swimmer and Tommy would always be my first crush of middle school. I never had those feelings toward those names until I met people who gave each name an identity. I feel like your opinion of a name can change depending on how many people you know with that specific name, but after you get to know someone pretty well with a certain name, most people have a different opinion about that specific name.

If you don't like a person with a certain name, chances are you will have ill feelings toward that name. If you date someone, chances are you won't date someone else with that same name because it will bring back thoughts of your ex. I also think that you can personally lose some of the identity you have in your name. Personally, I am now referred to as "HANNAH MONTANA" when I introduce myself for the first time to someone. It doesn't usually matter their age or gender, because when most people think of the name Hannah, Montana just naturally comes next. It has made me really wish she would have stuck with the name Miley! (Or Destiny Hope Cyrus because that is her birth name!)

Lucy

I am very surprised by the some of the context in the book. When she talks about "eating Tanners tongue" and giving a boy a "mess in his pants", I couldn't help but think back to when I was fourteen. I was still very naive at that point in my life. I then began to think about foreign countries and their view on intercourse. I know in a lot of cultures, it is acceptable and the social norm for young ladies to have children. It is interesting to think about the history of women.

I found Lucy contradicting herself about her mother. At first she was trying to get as far away as possible and wanted no memory. She promised herself that she would rather die than be a mother like she had. But then when Mariah tries to love her, she shuns it and says that she already has a mother that loves her. 

oOoOoOo

I love O. I was not expecting it to be in 21st century context and it really brought a lot of things together for me. Obviously, jealousy and lies are still the main focus of this movie. I wonder what I would have thought of this movie if I had not read "Othello" first. When the coach announced the MVP and said that he loved Oden as his own son, you could see the jealousy building in Hugo's eyes. 

Hugo starts all of the drama amongst the students. In the beginning of the movie he says that he knows your not supposed to be jealous of anything, but "he has always wanted to live like a hawk, soaring above everything." There are many times that the camera view makes him looking over everyone else. For example, when Mike is talking to a girl in the court yard, they show Hugo on the second story balcony looking down on this scene. Also, he steals the mascot, that ironically is a hawk, and puts the hawk up in the top stairwell of a building. 

A little side note... i think it's ironic that they cast Julia Stiles as Desi. She starred in "Save the Last Dance" which was released the same year as 'O'. In both films she plays a white girl who is dating a black man in a very controversial area. The ironic part is that in Save the Last Dance, Julia Stiles is the minority in a rough neighborhood. 

This video is an advertisement for a ballet company coming to Chicago in a few days for a tour. It is ironic that this too shows jealous eyes, scandalous behavior, and handkerchief is a main symbol in the video. 

And all Other Ecstasies

Tony Fitzpatrick seems to be a man of many wonders. Since he was born in Chicago IL in 1958, he has been a prizefighter, poet, actor and artist. As a native of Chicago, his work is easily found in the Art Institute of Chicago & the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. He also has work that can be found in New York and Washington, DC. Fitzpatrick is a self-taught artist who has been in the business since around 1985. At a glance you would not suspect he is a brilliant artist. His large stature and tattoos would inhibit you to prejudge his character.

            I chose the piece titled, “And all Other Ecstasies”. Not only did the title itself catch m eye, but when I looked closer I saw many things that I would consider “ecstasy” in my own life. First, They center of the entire piece is a man and woman in a red heart. They seem to be holding each other. The fact that the love is symbolized in the center makes me think it tangles everything else on the vine like object together. I use the word ‘tangles’ because nothing in life is perfect, especially when you are dealing with relationships. But if you can relax and look around, you are surrounded by ecstasy. I also noticed the fall colored leaves, banners, birds and flowers. Within the frame of the picture contains many musical scores. There are many other objects that symbolize happiness to me. Another thing that would make me think of ecstasy is the hat placed right under the A of the word AND. It looks like the type of hat a man would wear while walking down the beach.

            I feel that I can relate to many of Tony Fitzpatrick’s art works not only because they are relative and show many symbols, but because I too am a native of the Chicago land region. I enjoy visiting the art institute of Chicago and will be sure to locate his work next time I am there.

The inferno

The last paragraph of Calvino's "Invisible Cities" was very interesting to me. It is true in the context of the book that you have two choices. You can sit there and think what you want about the world around you, or you can go out and find out the truth for yourself. Khan sat on his thrown and didn't want to know the truth. Part of him thought his empire was perfect, while the other part thought it was crumbling into nothing.

 This makes me think about my own life. I tend to stay on Saint Mary's campus and pretend that there is not war, political problems, and natural disasters happening all around us. I would much rather sit on my thrown and convince myself that everything it perfect. On the contrary, I know that things are happening, so in my mind I sometimes exaggerate things and since I don't fully understand what is going on in the world around me, I am ignorant to the truth. For example, whenever I watch the news I tend to worry about the world because I don't understand foreign policies and world affairs. 

Utter Confusion/Octavia

First of all, I am still very confused about our discussion today in 2D. Actually confusion is not the correct word choice. I am very intrigued by the discussion we have. I have no doubt that it was planned and had purpose when the book was originally written, but it makes me wonder how people realize things like that if they aren't reading it for a class and analyzing each section. I question books that I have read for pleasure in the past about what literary techniques and tricks I have missed!

Octavia... Reading this passage gave me a feeling of chaos. It gave me anxiety to try to picture a city of this type in my head. A landscape of a possessed circus was all I could stir up! Maybe it was the netting and tight rope comments, or the reference to gondolas. I felt nervous and scared as i reread the passage trying to find a deeper meaning. As  I reach the end and see the last sentence that reads, "They know the net will last only so long." I get the feeling that the people of this city live with these same feelings of anxiety and fear.

Girl Interrupted

Watching this movie gave me many different feelings. I didn't find the fact that she was an aspiring writer a crucial point to the plot, but it did help relate the movie to course material. I had a lot of anxiety sitting through that movie because my best friend's Dad hung himself over the summer. It was hard to see Lucy hanging in the bedroom and not break into tears for what my friend had to find in her very own home. With that being said, it made the movie more real for me. Many times I will see a movie like that and almost convince myself that there aren't actually people in the world that are clinically crazy.

I feel like the fact that she is a girl, interrupted is important. She is not possessed or a murderer. She is simply a 19 year old girl who has had a lot of struggles in her life and can't quite deal with them. Obviously we saw in the movie that she figures things out, is able to admit that she attempted to kill herself, and move on with her life as a girl. 

The girl who says 'good thing this place works on a sliding scale so that the lock picking trash is also admitted', I believe is saying that since the girl  knows how to pick locks, she is poor. One would assume she has committed crime such as breaking and entering or stealing. Other class tensions arose with Lucy and her "Daddy". He bought her an apartment of her own and some of the other girls were jealous. Also, the family of Susanna were embarrassed that their daughter wouldn't be home in time for their cocktail party they were hosting over Christmas.

When you look up the word ambivalent in the thesaurus, many words stick out to me that can be tagged to Susanna's behavior. For example: unsure, doubtful, torn, and of two minds. Through out the movie we watched her struggle with the idea of her being crazy or not. Sometimes she fought the system and didn't think she should be in there, while other times she thought she was jut as crazy as everyone else. 

A room of one's own

I think it is interesting that while she is in the library, she asks herself multiple times about the female's she is researching, "Do they have a room of their own?" She seems to be very fixated on the idea. Hence the title I would assume! This history of woman writers is that many of them use male names. Also, they are mostly still be forced and controlled by men.

As a college student I can understand the concept of having "a room of one's own." As a freshman I was in a triple and although it was alot of fun, I rarely got my homework done or found time to study. I could not concentrate with two other people always doing other things in the room. Now I live in a single, and I actually find it enjoyable to sit alone and read or study. It is very calming and I have absolutely no distractions.

explanation of "Star wars according to a 3 year old"...

o.k. I promise I can justify putting up this extremely adorable video. The first day of class we discussed how age can have an effect on how we perceive things. I feel like this is a great example of how our age and surroundings shape the way we view different topics. Obviously she was explaining what she saw in the movie, but if you asked an 18 year old, or 75 year old, they would have a MUCH different take on the film. 

We also talked about how economic status plays a role in things you are exposed to. One of the first things that comes to my mind is the fact that she refers to garage sales, "kinda like a garage sale". It does not specify what type of family she is from, but there is a good chance that a 3 year old in an upper class family may have never been exposed to a garage sale. 

Lastly, when the video was taken, she seemed to be in a very relaxed environment. If she was with strangers or on a stage, she may have acted very different. These are just a few ways that I thought the video "Star Wars according to a 3 year old" related to HUST!! :)

Writing is like...

To me, writing is like.. free falling into nothing. I don't have a very good writing background, therefore it is hard for me to jump onto the page and start writing. When I actually start to write, things tend to flow with out me really thinking about it, but I never know exactly where I'm going with the story or where I end up!

1. My strengths as a writer are that idea's tend to flow easily through my head as soon as I start to write. 

2. Something I need in order to improve is someone to help me for a thesis and put my paper in the right order.

3. I would like to work on my organization skills in my papers. They need to flow more fluidly. Also, I need to stay focused on the main idea, not branch off into other concepts that aren't relevant to the key point.