It's the end

The end of the semester is finally coming to an end. Do I feel like I am ready to move forth to a higher English class? My first semester of my first year in college is almost over. All the emotions are streaming through my body.
I do feel like I have learned enough to move on to the next English. I think I was taught just the right materials to be successful in English 110. Although it may seem like it will be more difficult I think I am ready. I really will not know until I actually am taking the class. If I was to ask myself this very question at the beginning of this year I would have answered totally opposite. Now that I have done enough writing in English 104; I feel confident. It is crazy to think that half a year has gone by this fast. I almost don't know if that is a good thing or not. Winter is right here and coming and soon it will be all white outside. It's a scary thought of course, but I just keep thinking about summer and flip flops. So exciting! As a freshmen coming into this big huge world of college was a scary thought. With the teachers here at ICC that did such an amazing job really made my first semester a comfortable time. I had no problems adjusting from a small tiny town to Washington. Also from such a small tiny school of four hundred to a college of thousands. Looking back I didn't think I was going to be able to handle of this, but it has been an fun time so far. Looking toward next semester as it starts to get a little more difficult I can only hope that it will go as good as my first semester here at ICC.

The way I think

Starting from being in a basic English class to English 104 has really broadened my mind tremendously.
In English three we have covered different topics that I never even knew existed. Not only am I learning how to write but I am learning about topics that interest me immensely. Taking this into perspective I have learned to broaden my topics and the way I think.
Before, when I use to write I use to think of the simple basic topics such as abortion, smoking and tanning beds. By being in English 104 I have learned about different types of thinking to hands on stuff to learn better. I have learned about different generations and how many little different topics go along with that. To take a long story and write about just a snap shot of that it just unreal. There are so many little steps that I missed out on in high school that I really missed out on.
Learning new techniques and more about different things going on in our world has given me a better stand point on life. I don't just look at the small things I research and find something that know one knows about. I hope that someday if someone reads my papers that they will be as interested as I am in the topics that we have covered. It's exciting and makes English fun instead of boring.

Gereration Y

Writing about Generation Y has really put me in a spin. I never really thought about all the things that have happened within our generation. We have gone through so much from, Y2K to the World Trade Centers.
English has really opened my eyes to see and reflect back on all the stuff our generation has witnessed. What really caught my attention was how family values have changed from back then until current time. There are so many different ways people go about doing things now days, rather than from back in my grandparent’s generation.
I have noticed when speaking with my grandparent’s I feel like more of an adult rather than a child. I can actually have a nice conversation with them, instead of talking about sex or partying. It is nice to talk about the past and the memories they want to share with you because if gives you a sense of how it used to be in there time.
Also I have seen a lot of disrespect toward parents in our generation than what it used to be. My mother would have never talked back to her father or mother, but now it seems like everyone I know yell and scream at their parents.
In this Y generation there are many things to consider that have changed. It is not how it used to be and some are afraid of what is to come still. All this talk about 2012, what really is going to happen? Writing this essay on Y generation will give me the opportunity to compare and contrast the family values.

How can a definition essay inspire me so much? Writing my definition essay I have learned so much about how you can approach a word. My word was rhythm. I learned there is not just one meaning to it, but there are multiple defintions. Rhythm can mean beats, but also there is rhythm in walking, talking, eating, and a lot others. I have learned that you must use good transitions in order to make you reader truley understand what you are trying to pursuade to them in text. You must keep your points organized and easy to read. I use a lot of planning when writing this definition essay. It helped me to express my word to a different level, other than just a simple definiton. Knowing how to do this will help me with my future assignments because I will look beyond just the simple version of a essay, but rather expand it. I like the fact that I can give my reader more than one way to read what I have to say. I also think that it makes it a lot more fun for my readers as well. Taking English has taught me to organize and express what I know in a better sence. Knowing how to do this will give me the extra push in English to move ahead and succeed.

College?

College? It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Although in college you have your own life and own freedom, people make it sound lot better than what it is. College is not all about partying and having fun you have to buckle down and get your stuff done.
When I was in high school everyone would come back and tell me how much fun they were having. Now that I am actually experiencing college I find it not all that fun. In high school you could get away without doing homework sometimes and pass. In college if you miss an exam or assignment you get really far behind. Making this big idea of what college was supposed to be made me very excited to start and make my own life. College in actuality is really hard, you have to be determined and focused. Not only do you have homework but you have to do homework for each class for about two hours for each. I am not saying college is not fun, because it is. After moving out of the house I realized that there is no more mommy and daddy there to support you’re every need. It’s time to be an adult, you have to pay for your car and other necessities that you require. Coming to college there are a lot of things that you may need. Laptops, getting an apartment, school supplies, and car payments all adds up when you are working paycheck to paycheck. Having all these responsibilities at such a young age can really get to you. Stress has been a huge factor on me since I have moved out. Having all this stress has not allowed me to do a lot of the stuff I want. Instead of going out I am at work or doing homework. I feel like I am not getting the same experience as everyone else is.
I just wish I could enjoy my college time instead of always having to do something every second of the day. I want to go out and not have to think about waking up in the morning and going to work or going to work on homework all day. College is a great experience to get out of the house and become and independent adult, but know that there is a lot more responsibility that comes along with it.

Wiki Wiki Wow.

I love doing the wiki. It gives me a chance to express myself in many different ways. I chose the word rhythm because it kind of brings out my artistic side of myself. Doing this wiki I have learned to do so much. I like all the different ways you can look up things and find definitions. I will not lie, before this class I never heard of urban dictionary. Now that I know how to use it and work it, I love it! I like how we ge to do our own anatations about what we look up as well. By doing our own work and making our own opinions on our work it makes it a lot more interesting. I love to write and have fun and thats what we have been doing. Instead of just the whole boring writing we get to experiment around and have fun. We can use pictures and all sorts of fun tools to make our wiki. I for example used glitter text to promote my page a little bit. I like to be crazy and fun and I want people to want to read mine. I want mine to be exciting this way all sorts of different people like it. Rhythm is very large, it is for people who like music and art and to be entertaining. Try out the wiki and make your own, you will love it.

I love you

Do you think that "I love you" is what young teenagers should be saying? Every time I walk through a hallway or a public place all I hear coming out of teenagers mouths to one another is, I love you. To me" I love you" are the most three empowering strong words that can ever be said. Do you even no if you are in love with the person you say it to. Nine times out of ten your not. How many times have you told your boyfriend or girlfriend you love them? Chances are you tell them that everyday and every time you leave or see each other, right? Then, not more than a few months pass by and you break up. You realized after those few months that you developed feelings for each other. Is this right still to say "I love you?" I understand that you develop these feelings and yeah, you really might love them. The thing I do not understand is how young girls and boys are already dating and sleeping with each other at such a young age. Do children have parents? These kids are saying things unimaginable at ages that are not even old enough to drive yet. You no when you are with the right person and you have fell in love. Just think about the word love. Love just strikes you as you even say the word let alone give it away to so many different people. Teens are dating left and right break up go out break up go out. This to me is not a healthy way of living. Teens are already going through depression at such young ages that could possibly effect them in the long term. I think that teens should just wait until they are old enough to be in a serious relationship, to many are starting at such a young age. Also the matturatiy level is a very big influence on your emotions as well being so young and so vulnerable. Wait until you know that it's the right time. You will know when it happens, so just have fun and live your life.

Quotes!

Writing is one of the few ways one can truly express themselves. Whether it's on paper or just reading it, writing will let the mind flow free and become wild with imagination.

Sara Paddison, The Hidden Power of the Heart
When the heart is enlivened again, it feels like the sun coming out after a week of rainy days. There is hope in the heart that chases the clouds away. Hope is a higher heart frequency and as you begin to reconnect with your heart, hope is waiting to show you new possibilities and arrest the downward spiral of grief and loneliness. It becomes a matter of how soon you want the sun to shine. Listening to the still, small voice in your heart will make hope into a reality.

This quote about hope is something I would send my friends if they needed some help through a bad time. Quotes can make you laugh and some can make you cry, they are a source of comfort and security. Whenever I am on facebook I always check peoples status because sometimes it says there having a down day or an awesome day. Then I go and research quotes and find the perfect one that fits them and send it to them. I get a lot of feedback from many other surfers about the quotes I send. I love reading quotes because they are so true, you can practically find any quote and it will match you and what your feeling perfectly. Some days when I'm in a really good mood, I will go and look up Bob Marley quotes or friendship quotes and just read them to make me smile.

If you ever just get bored you should really think about reading some quotes. They make sense and you will love them. Whatever mood your in just go to google and type in what ever kind of quote you want. This will help you because writing and reading is a connection between the mind and the heart. When something makes sense you realize that someone else out there feels the same way you do.

Why you should use art with writing

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture, and paintings.
Not only does art express yourself, but it gives you the chance to be free from everything.
Have you ever had a bad day? Now let's be honest. I think everyone has experienced one bad day at least in there life. Correct? Now let's say that you want to just scream or cry or just break down. If you take some glue, scissors, and a pencil you can easily walk away from all of the above factors.
When I'm in art class, it's like I am free to express myself in anyway that I possibly want to. I take magazines, and books, and anything laying around and I use these tools to express how I feel that day. You can hide words to show sadness, or you could use bright colors because you have had a wonderful day.
When I am having a bad day, I just take my altered book and just go to town. I write everything down, from what I hear to what I did third hour at school. If something sad happened I usually like to use paint to express the feelings. I sometimes will paint a tree with no leafs on it to express that it's a cold time for me and that I feel lonely. Sometimes I even will write a little quote with some sketches around it just to vent how I feel.
I think if everyone just tried doing this that maybe you would feel better at the end of the day. Even if its just to much stress from school. Just take out a piece of paper or an old book and just let everything go for a few minutes to refresh your brain. This is a good time for relaxation, and therapy almost.
Some people do not think that they are good at art. Well you don't have to be. Art comes in all types of forms. Dance, movement, color, shapes, structures, ect. You don't have to draw to make art or paint to make art. You could cut coupons and make art if you wanted too. Anything that you do or create is your art, no one has to see it or believe it.
Make writing fun, don't sit there and just write boring stuff. Be creative, let your inner self out and show the world who you really are!

Why tan?

Why do people tan? Why can't people just be comfortable with being who they are. God created people to be natural, so why are we abusing what God created.
Tanning in tanning beds only leads to one thing, cancer. Instead of killing our bodies why not make them better. Tanning beds can cause multiple kinds of cancer. This can all be prevented by just not going to them. Everyone wants to be the new Paris Hilton, tall, skinny, tan and beautiful. Teens want to look just like celebrities, look what we have to look up to as children. This is what magazines and TV want us to believe. Every typical girl and women have to weigh one hundred pounds and be bronze. This is why teens get addicted to tanning, they want to look like these celebrities. I think if your happy with yourself then there is no reason to tan. Yes, I do admit that it makes you look a little better and yes it makes it you feel better about yourself. Everyone is beautiful no matter size, color, height or skin. Everyone and everybody is unique in there own little way, lets take advantage of this an love the life we live. Instead of wasting thirty five dollars to tan and kill your body, spend five and go by some lotion for your skin. Women and teens everywhere be comfortable in your own skin. You may think that you look differently in the mirror, but I have something to say. "Your are beautiful in every single way, words cant bring you down. " These words were sung by Christina Aguilera, lets listen to these words and believe.

“Don’t worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be alright”
Bob Marley-

Detail makes the difference between boring and terrific writing. It’s the difference between a pencil sketch and a lush oil painting. As a writer, words are your paint. Use all the colors.
Rhys Alexander

week three: A developed writer

Writing was really never my cup of joe, I have always had a rough time putting things into order on paper. This was always kind of a problem until I realized that I could write and express myself all at the same time. It was not until I took art 110 that I realized that I really like to write my feelings down and make art. My art teacher inspired me so much to just let everything out through art, and I did and the pieces of art that came out were just incredible. Writing I think is just like art, you have to express yourself in someway and sometimes it is hard to do so through words. Just like me I do it through journal and art. I figured if I am going to write than I better make it fun and colorful. Now, I love to write and express myself because it makes me feel better at the end of the to just get everything out.

I also think writing is all about you and your inner feelings, if you are liking what you are writing about then you will enjoy to write. I hate writing about political things or something that happened yesterday in a country I have never even heard about. I want to write about what I think and what happened to me third hour at school today. I feel like it lets you express yourself and get some of your internal distractions out of your mind.

When I am writing I like to have a cup of hot green tea by my laptop and in a quite area with soft music in the background. This helps me to relax and not be so stressed about the huge paper I am about to write. This also helps me to dig a little deeper into my mind to get some good ideas out and thoughts. When my friend passed away the only thing I could think of doing is just crying and think why? My mom told me I should write to get my feelings out, from just scribbles and doodles it turned out into a poem. I think that my poem I wrote has been the best piece of writing I have ever done. It starts by an idea.

"Detail makes the difference between boring and terrific writing. It’s the difference between a pencil sketch and a lush oil painting. As a writer, words are your paint. Use all the colors."
Rhys Alexander

ICC smoking ban. Why??

The ICC Smoking Ban, is this really right? I personally do not think that this is right, who gives them the right to make up our minds.?Smoking is not for everyone, and for some people it is there whole lives. This is from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep, smoke, smoke, smoke. This is our choice, this is not for anyone else to decide weather we can have one or not. There are many reasons people smoke, some good and some not so good. People smoke for relaxation, stress, want, comfort, distress, anger and many others. What ever happend to a free country? Our soldiers are dying each day for our freedom, and now I don't even know if we have freedom anymore. You can't smoke in pizza place, restaurants, college, or anywhere else for that matter. So where do smokers go to smoke? That's the problem, maybe if they put this ICC smoking ban into order they should give us the right to have a place where we can go and smoke. Being at college there are many stressful things going on. We have to move in, say goodbye to our families, homework, test, work, pay rent. At the end of the day all we really want is to sit down and have a cigarette and talk about our day. I understand that there are athletes that walk through our ICC hallways, and I understand that people have asthma, but why don't they provide us with a spot that we can go to where this cannot affect other non-smokers. Who to say that maybe it could even help to do better in school. Some students that smoke could probably do better if they could smoke before class. There are many that say they can concentrate better and focus more if they smoke before class starts. There are many ups and downs to smoking, but why ban it if it is not causing trouble. This is our time to be whoever we want, weather it is being a smoker or non-smoker. Why cant we have our say, why don't they let us decide weather ICC should be a smoke free campus? "We the people" of ICC should have had to take a vote and see if smoking really is consider such a bad thing to our ICC community. These are my words. My truth. Please feel free to voice your opinion and comment.

Letter of Introduction

Dear Stephanie,


It’s a great pleasure to be in your English 105 class. I can already tell that this year is not only going to be fun, but also very difficult as the year progresses. College is very different than high school, from the professors to the student’s here at ICC. I am very excited and fervent to see what is ahead in this school year.

My name is Rozana Li Catarinicchia and I am from Minonk, I am going to ICC to study Occupational Therapy. I am currently working at Heritage Manor in Minonk as a nurse’s assistant part-time. My job means the world to me because I feel like I accomplished something at the end of the day. My dream is to eventually work at St. Jude’s Hospital and help cancer patients. Although I am very ambitious I love to have fun as well, I like to dance, play soccer, shop, and travel. I have been to Sicily, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, and Rome already, and hope to travel abroad more in the future. I come from a family of six, I have three brothers and a mother and father. My father is actually from Sicily, we travel to Sicily every other summer to visit my grandparents and other family that live there. I can also speak Italian fluently, but if you ask me to speak I will probably get a little embarrassed. Traveling outside the United States gives you a better perspective of diversity and cultures that one cannot imagine. It gives me a better understanding of different ways and lives that people live each day, and how something so small can mean so much to so many different people. Within the last two years I have lost two of my closest friends that meant the world to me, everyday I wake up and think to myself why them? I feel life is to short to worry about the little things, I try to look at the big picture and that’s what keeps me motivated.

Coming in as a new freshman this year there are a lot of changes for me, time management, different professors, people, and homework. I have set two goals for myself that I would like to accomplish by the end of this semester. My first goal is to get involved with ICC. In order to pursue this goal I need to go and figure out what clubs or extra curricular activities they offer. I will have find out who is in charge of this and see if I am interested in anything that’s offered. By doing this it could help stay motivated and give me something to look forward to. My second goal for this semester is to take good notes and be attentive. In doing this I feel like it would help me to study for future quizzes and test. If I set this goal for myself it will influence me to keep doing well.

I hope this letter helped you get to know me better and give you a better understanding of what I do and who I am. I am looking forward to the rest of year with you as my professor, if you have any questions for me feel free to ask at anytime.

Sincerely,
Rozana Catarinicchia