Class Reflections

     I have noticed a pretty significant change in my writing over the term. At beginning of the semester, I looked at the syllabus and had no clue how I would write about any of the prompts, or meet any of the page requirements. I was never taught to write anything more than a 5 paragraph essay in high school, so the length was a major concern for me. It was difficult at times, but in the end I figured it out.
     I have noticed that I am much better at description now. In my first paper I struggled with it, and as each paper as passed I feel a little more confident about it. I have become better at showing, and not telling as well. I do admit this is something I need more work on. I now have a better understanding of what showing means, and what it looks like, I just have to apply is better. I now also understand how to synthesis things much better. I had little to no knowledge of how to do that before, and now I get it much better. I think that will be an important tool in business school. Being able to take multiple sources, analyze them, and interpret them, is a great skill to have. I am looking forward to applying the skills I learned in English 125, and applying them to my schooling and career in the future.
     As far as future things to work on, I know I need to improve on the "so what" of my papers, and my showing. Both of these are important pieces of a paper. I have read some pretty good examples of both of these during the term, so I know what it should look like. Now the key is applying it to my own writing. I think I have learned some great skills in this class, and I am looking forward to applying these skills in my future.

Paper Re-Write

For my paper re-write I am planning on redoing my second essay about the term “bro.” I enjoyed writing this essay because it was a fun topic to research. Many of the websites I used, as sources were quite entertaining. I think in this paper I did a pretty good job of description, but I think I may have over done it in some cases. On the first paper I struggled with description, and I believe this caused me to over do it on the second paper. I had many different examples of the “bro” in all different regions.  The problem I had with this paper was the synthesis.(which is not good because that was the goal of the paper) I was unsure how to take multiple sources and combine them together. I have a clearer understand of how this will work now however. My thesis is that is paper is that bros are typically seen as obnoxious party animals, which they are, but they also have a lighter side. They are all very conscious of their friends or other “bros.” This is what I wanted to show in my paper. When I go back and edit it I plan to show how each region has certain activities that only he and his bros take part in. Since each region has slightly different activities for “bros,” this should work. In the end it will be clear that bros all share the same traits and lifestyle, but are also very familial. 

As far as over all structure I plan to keep it mostly the same, but I plan to take out the part about the “bro-ho.”  Looking back, that is sort of irrelevant. I also plan to take away some of the description, and add in more examples and dialogue. I think this should give a better picture of the bros.  As far as the “so what,” I am still a little unclear of how I am going to work that. Ill ask around and hopefully get some help. I think the peer revision will help me with that aspect.

Thanksgiving

I apologize for my Thanksgiving blog being late. I had a great Thanksgiving this year, like always. Each yeah my family and I make the trip to Flint to stay with my Aunt Margaret. My other aunts and uncles from  various parts of the country join us as well. The Appel family has roots in Oregon, Washington, and California along with a few from Michigan. On the trip there we hit some hectic traffic, and getting off the highway at the craziest exit I have ever seen didn't help. This off ramp turned into a giant traffic circle with 5 entrances. We went to grab a bite to eat, and when we tried to get back on we ended up cruising down the highway in the opposite direction we were trying to go. When we finally arrived we were greeted with the sweet smell of apple and cherry pie. We spent Wednesday night celebrating all the major birthdays form the previous year. These consist of milestone birthdays and anniversaries. This year was my Aunts' 65th birthday, and my grandparents 65th wedding anniversary. The festivities began with a loud screech filled rendition of happy birthday by my Aunt Margaret. After all the birthdays were done we ate some pizza and watched Michigan play (and defeat) UCLA in the Maui Invitational. The next day when I woke up I was hit with the smell of a 20 pound turkey roasting in the oven. We watched the lions lose in a pathetic fashion but didn't let that get our spirits down. Dinner was next. Mounds of mashed potatoes, hunks of turkey, a steaming mound of corn, and a roll garnished my plate. After dinner we sat around and watched the Cowboys game. At around 7 o'clock when all of my cousins and their wives arrived we went to the basement. Since my family lives across the country we have Christmas on Thanksgiving as well. Our Christmas is unlike most other families Christmas' however. We partake in wadding up balls of wrapping paper, and chucking it at each other. This can occur when opening a present, or simply not being on your toes. Being blasted in the face with a wad of paper is our way of saying "I love you." Crazy? Yes very. But it is what we do. After all the gifts are unwrapped, and the wrapping is picked up, we all head up stairs to eat some pie. This is a much less violent activity, and it is a great way to end the night. The night ends with everyone saying goodbye, and I'll see you in a year. Thanksgiving is a great time, and I really enjoy seeing my family. The great food and enormous amounts of laughter make it one of my favorite times of the year.

Illegal Immigration Paper Structure

            I am writing my paper to show that is should be easier for immigrants who want to work in America to become citizens, or legal residents. In the beginning of my paper I plan to discuss the class of people that are the closest related to the illegal immigrants, skill wise. This is the lower class and high school dropouts. They have relatively the same education level and therefore they work in the same jobs. Most of these jobs are service positions such as hotels, or simple maintenance.

            The process for becoming a legal resident is quite complicated and very time consuming.  To receive a green card someone must either have proof that they have a full time job in America, or have family members who are in America. In order for either of these to happen it takes multiple years for the process to be complete. If an immigrant becomes legal, and then wishes to bring his newly wed wife to America with him, it takes six years for this to be complete. It is this type of law that makes people come here illegally instead of following the proper procedures.

            The illegal immigrants that are here eventually earn enough money to enjoy some of the novelties of life. They buy clothes, cell phones, gas, and many other day-to-day items. By forcing them all to leave it would take away from all of the businesses that supply these items to the immigrants. The best thing for our economy is to make it easier and faster for immigrants to receive their green card so they can legally work in America, and help to support our economy.

            I plan to use these three main points for my paper to show that it would be better for our economy to have immigrants come her and work. They do not have much competition for the jobs the do, they are willing to become legal it just takes to long, and they support our economy. By making them legal this also forces them to pay taxes. Taxes form 12 million people would give more money to the government and would be a good thing for the economy.

Illegal Immigration

I think that there should be stricter laws on illegal immigration into the United States of America. Each years thousands and thousands of illegal immigrants are smuggled into the country, or sneak in on their own. The problem with this is that these illegal immigrants to not pay taxes, and they use many of the services provided by the federal government that is funded by taxes. The most common service they use is the school system. Approximately fifty million dollars will be spent on educating illegal immigrants this next year. These illegal immigrant children should not be allowed to go to school here if their families do not pay taxes.

            There was a law passed in Arizona in 2010 that was aimed at catching illegal immigrants. This law allowed police officers to ask for proof of residency from anyone who they are reasonable doubt to suspect they were here illegally. This law was later declared unconstitutional by the United States government. This law did seem to be rather invasive, but in order for this epidemic of illegal intruders America is going to have to do something drastic.          

            A new tool to catch illegal immigrants is called “e-verify.” This is a government run system that allows potential employers to check if someone has the right to work in America. This tool is very useful because it prevents companies from hiring illegal immigrants, and it also allows the government to find illegal immigrants. The number of illegal immigrants infiltrating America is getting out of control, and our government needs to take action to get this under control.

Close Reading

Dr. Sheldon Cooper displays many socially awkward characteristics, with the most prevalent being his eagerness to remind others he is smarter then them. He often refers to himself as a "highly regarded physicist." In the episode titled "Rhinitis Revelation" Sheldon cannot understand why his mom does not want to go to the convention with him. He plans to ask a series of questions that will stump the Nobel Prize winning speaker. This episode gives the viewer a small peak into where this unusual behavior stems from. Sheldon is constantly trying to please and impress his mother. He is very concerned that she is paying to much attention to his friends, and not enough attention to him. Sheldon wants her to go to the convention with him because he has the opportunity to show off his intelligence by insulting the Nobel Prize winning speaker.

         This goal of always proving his intelligence to the people around makes his character very comical. In our society today it is not polite to be as blunt and brash as Sheldon is about his gift. His random outbursts and claims of being smarter, and more important, than the rest of his friends provide for an awkward situation that is in turn funny. The key to this is however that he does not see the awkwardness, or impoliteness. He simply thinks that this is acceptable and it is this combination of social taboos, and his inability to notice them that creates a character that is unlike any other on television. 

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are off to their best start since 1956. This uncanny style has both wowed and thrilled Lions fans. These feisty felines of 2011 were the exact opposite in 2008. In a season most would love to forget, the Lions successfully completed the only 0-16 season in the history of the NFL. This was a time of sadness and sorrow. This atrocious season was the byproduct of many terrible decisions made my the upper level management over the previous decade. One can trace this downfall back to the draft of Joey Harrington out of the University of Oregon. Joey had potential, but ultimately was not cut out to be an NFL quarterback. This blockbuster pick conveniently led to a string of terrible draft picks consisting of Charles Rogers and Mike Williams. The Lions also went through a plethora of coaches in the past decade. These unfortunate drafts and hires were mostly thanks to Matt Millen. Luckily was fired after the 2007 season. The Lions miraculous turnaround started in 2009 when they hired Jim Schwartz from Tennessee. Schwartz has produced three improving seasons so far, and has made two key draft picks; Ndamakong Suh and Calvin Johnson. Jim is without a doubt the future of the Lions franchise.

The Detroit Lions started this season with easy wins over the Buccaneers and Chiefs. Next on the schedule was the Vikings and Cowboys, both of which the Lions defeated with huge second half comebacks. This past Monday was an especially thrilling game because it was the first time the Lions had had a Monday Night Football game since 2001. The Motor City was buzzing with excitement all weekend that ended with a packed house to see the Lions beat the rival Bears, 24-13. The intro to SportsCenter the next morning started with Scott Van Pelt asking, "Are the Lions SuperBowl bound?" A very valid question considering the strength the Lions possess on both offense and defense. A high powered offense lead by Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson (aka. Megatron) and a defense with Suh as its staple will be very tough to beat. This exciting start to the season has insured that the roar has been restored in Detroit.