Advertisement Assignment

 Going into this project I knew right from the start I wanted to make a spoof ad. At first I had a few solid ideas as what to do and how I would go about creating it. After thinking about each idea I decided on making an ad for the new iPhone 4s. It was rather easy generating aspects where I could pick out and make fun of like the new siri and high-definition camera. I feel pretty confident in my ideas and I predict that my ad will turn out fine. Overall, I think this was a fun yet still effective assignment.

  

Research Experience

My research experience for the most part has been positive. Throughout high school I received various research projects in just about every subject. Surprisingly, my favorite and most affective one was the longest and most demanding. For this project I had to research and write a 15 page paper on three different subjects for my psychology class final. I think what really helped for this project was the fact that we had a sufficient amount of time to complete it and was given a lot of support on where to find information. I think that research projects were very beneficial and made me find my own information instead of it being handed to me. Through the process I learned how to find information and learn on my own. Because I have had a good experience in previous classes and have a positive outlook on research projects, I think it will translate over to my college courses.  

Higher education and race

Higher education is still talking about race because the legacy and ideas of the Jim Crow laws are still somewhat present in todays society. Many students also do not get to experience different cultures and people from different backgrounds before they go to college. I believe that higher education institutions are still talking about race because of the fact that many students come from towns that are predominately one race. For instance, at U of M there are the rich white students from metro Detroit, the less fortunate minorities, the orientals and then everyone else. Most of these students came from towns where it was mainly their own race and have not been exposed to much diversity. When arriving to school most students have not experienced the higher level of diversity and it is a lot different from what they are used to.  

Diversity

When the words “diversity” and “Multicultural” come up I think of different backgrounds, races, cultures, qualities and opinions all being brought together. Being raised in Ann Arbor I have been exposed to diversity all my life. Coming to Western was definitely a change for me. Although Western does have plenty of clubs, programs students/faculty from different countries which all promote diversity on campus I don't really see multicultural being a big part here. I see the effort but the amount of diversity I am used to being exposed to. After reading Chavez's essay I thought that she was trying to portray that diversity and multicultural are things that the government came up with to make the people with different backgrounds feel a certain way about their lives.  

Peer Review

 Participating in a peer review was very helpful to me. By hearing my own writing out loud made me realize what it really sounded like and how everything fit together. I also think it was good to see what someone else thought about my writing. I was given good feed back that was useful in editing my draft to make it better. Another aspect I liked was hearing how someone else organized their paper and what they included. It gave me ideas of how I could incorporate things they did to my own paper. Having a peer review was very useful to me and I think it will contribute to producing a better paper.  

"Me Talk Pretty One Day" By: David Sedaris, Writing Assignment

 It was the first day of my senior year and I was headed down the overly crowded 6200 hallway to Math Analysis. The room was filled with familiar faces as I strolled over to take a seat next to my friend Taylor, who had helped me survive algebra 2 the year before. Naturally everyone was gabbing about their summer vacations when Mrs. Schneider, our teacher who looked like the iconic picture of a grandma sporting short gray hair, large silver glasses and an old embroidered jacket said “Everyone please take your seats, we are going to review the class syllabus, did anyone not pick one up?” as she looked around the room.

After the generic “this is due then” and the “that is worth this” we received our first assignment. I quickly scanned the worksheet and then looked around the room. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing unlike me. “Great” I mumbled to myself starring blankly at the page. I didn't even know where to begin which triggered the conscious thoughts of “Oh crap, I'm screwed” and “I need to drop this class A.S.A.P.” “So, how are you doing over here?” I looked up with an expression on my face like I had just seen a ghost, my teacher had just caught me by surprise. “Oh, um uhh, great!” I replied hoping she wouldn’t hover over my desk watching me as I tried to scribble something on my paper that would pass as an answer. Finally, what I had been waiting for all hour, the loud obnoxious bell rang and everyone shoved their binders in their backpacks and shuffled out the door. As the day went on, I couldn't stop thinking about my fate in math, I knew it wouldn't end good.

Later that day, as I was sitting down at the old kitchen table attempting to finish math, my dad barged in “How was your day?” interrupting my train of thought and instead of the normal “great” I broke down. “Horrible, I'm going to fail math, it's been decided, I don't know how to do any of this crap!” as I threw down my pencil onto the table and grasped my head with my hands in frustration. “It will be okay, calm down, it's just the first day!” I just looked at my dad and in my head thought “Yeah... you're right, it's just the first day and I'm already lost.”

As the year went on, it truly was a struggle. I did just about everything to keep my grade up where it would be considered acceptable. At the end of the year I looked back and all I got out of math that year was learning it just wasn't my thing.