My Writing During Freshmen Year

I came into English 15 without really writing a (real) paper since first semester of my senior year (senioritis kicked in around december and all hope was lost). I took AP Language and AP Literature for my last two english classes in high school. So basically, my writing was about books we read or had to be written in a specific model. Coming into English 15 where you made your own thesis/your own style was much different and little uncomfortable to me. I thought it was hard to come up with something on my own and really make it my own; to make it believable to the audience I was focusing on.
Also I think that one of my biggest struggles was that in my papers in this class I was either being too informal or too formal; I couldn't find the balance between the two. I also think that my papers started off strong, introductions have always been my strongest point (I like to be creative), but then I think that it would start to lose it's purpose towards the end. I need to start strong and end strong. The reason I think that my papers started to lose their purpose or credibility was a little because I was being too wordy. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until the last paper, when we did an adjective/verb activity in class. I seem to put my words in the past tense a lot/ use extra words that I don't need. Wordiness definitely does not add to the success of a paper.
I am not an english major, but I will be using writing my whole life. I plan to be an elementary school teacher and how would it look if I emailed parents with bad grammar or wordiness? Not so great I would think! Also my major includes pre-k to 4th grade children. If I am teaching at the higher levels I will be teaching them english and I need to know how to write. Also along with my major, I plan on minoring in Spanish. Someday I may have a spanish-speaking child in my classroom and will have to teach him the basics of English. If I don't know how to write well or know verbs or grammar I will be of no help to him! English is definitely something I need to carry with me in my future.

Last Week of Classes

This is the last week of classes and I have very mixed feelings about going home. Of course I can't wait to see my family and my friends, but I am going to miss the friends I have made here. I decided to make a pro-con list of staying here and going home.

Pros of Going Home-

• No schoolwork
• Home-cooked meals 
• My mom doing my laundry (hopefully)
• Not paying for everything (gunna have to use my puppy dog face to achieve this one)
• Seeing friends
• Spending time with family
• Beach and vacations!

Cons of Going Home-

• Missing everyone here 
• Parents can tell me what to do (kinda)
• Not being able to eat Big-O pizza
• The 9 hour drive home
• Spending TOO much time with family (they can be annoying)
• Colder weather for now

See my pros and cons are pretty much of the same amount, so my emotions are conflicted. For now I am just so happy that it is the last day of classes! Now I have to get through 3 finals and then decide if I'm happy or sad to be on my way home. 

Delta Gamma Parents Weekend

I recently joined the sorority Delta Gamma, and two weekends ago was our parents weekend; a weekend where our parents can meet our sisters and see what we are doing at Penn State. I was really excited since I hadn't been home or seen my parents since Christmas break. It had been 4 months! Anyways, my mom, dad, and little brother came up for three days and we did various activities. On Friday my family, my boyfriend, Maureen (from class) and her parents, and I all went out to dinner. I was nervous to see how my parents would interact with Maureen's parents; my parents are quite goofy and embarrassing. But, the parents hit it off right away, and we were at dinner for a good three hours, and then we went to Kiwi (YUM!) and stayed until close; Maureen and I practically had to drag our parents out of there. The next day the boys went golfing and my mom and I got breakfast and went shopping; it was nice to spend time with her. Later that day my sorority had planned a "cocktail hour" at a frat house; yes, my parents were semi-introduced to Penn State Fratland. I do have to say that the frat boys cleaned their house very well, and that the food was pretty good. The cocktail was an hour of eating appetizers, drinking, and trying to socialize, but honestly just getting stuck in a corner with your family because there was no where to move. Later that night there was "music and mingling" at the frat. Basically this meant that it would be a typical social, just with parents. This idea was a little strange to me; I wasn't sure I wanted my parents to see Penn State students playing flip cup or beer pong or worse, actually joining in on these activities. I avoided the party and went out to dinner with my family and my sorority sister Emily's family at the Nittany Lion Inn. I had been to the inn for a special function before and the food was amazing, so I had high hopes for this dinner. I was sadly disappointed. The dinner menu was very small, with limited choices, and high prices. But, all in all I had a nice time during dinner. The next morning my sorority had a brunch at Toftrees. My dinner was made up for! There was a huge buffet with anything you could think of-eggs, french toast, pancakes, potatoes, pasta, fruit, salad, made to order omelets, and more! Oh and I can't forget about dessert-chocolate fudge cake, three types of cheesecake, brownies, truffles, coffee cake, cookies, and much much more-I'm quite the sweet tooth!
The brunch ended around 12, and the weekend came to an end too soon. My family had to head back right away, 9 hours is a long time to drive. I was so glad that they got to come visit me, I had such a great weekend!

Paper 5: Comparing and Contrasting Publications

The two publications I chose were Glamour Magazine and the Boston Globe. Glamour is my monthly guilty pleasure, and the Boston Globe is what came to my house every day when I lived at home. Glamour is described as a magazine, "For young women interested in fashion, beauty and a contemporary lifestyle." The cover features a photo of celebrity, usually a woman,  and has various cover stories in neon colors to make them pop out at a reader. Each issue of the magazine has a theme, and this months is the Swimsuit Issue, which means that the focus of the magazine this month will be swimsuits. Each issue is split up into sections, and this is repetitive each month. The sections include, Cover Reads/Hot Topics,Fashion, Beauty, Health, All About You, Obsessed, and Everything Else You Need. The tone is very upbeat throughout all articles, and definitely geared towards woman in their teens-twenties. The Boston Globe, on the other hand, usually has a more formal tone. There are tons of articles in the Globe, and most are about news topics and are written in a more serious manner. The audience of the Boston Globe is mostly anyone who lives in the Boston area; news that concerns them. The Boston Globe, like Glamour, is separated into sections and these are repetitive each day. The sections include News, Metro, Arts, Business, Sports, Opinion, Lifestyle, and Magazine. The sections of lifestyle and magazine have more of a relaxed tone. The cover of the Boston Globe always has a picture on it, usually it is about the most prevailing news in Boston or even the country/world, depending on what news is available that day. For example, something that happened in Massachusetts could be on the front cover or if something happened in Iran, that could be on the cover too. The cover stories are always the most important, similar to Glamour. 

What is Great Writing?

< Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of the year. For another, he really wanted to do his homework but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night. And he also happened to be a wizard.
~ Narrator

 "HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I - WANT - TO - TALK - TO - HARRY - POTTER -"
< "THERE IS NO HARRY POTTER HERE! I DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN! DON'T YOU COME NEAR MY FAMILY!"
~ Ron Weasley, Vernon Dursley; conversation on the telephon

< Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministy of Magic confirmed today.
< "We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."
< Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.
< "Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it - who'd believe him if he did?"
< While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.
~ Daily Prophet article

"You are protected, in short, by your ability to love! The only protection that can possibly work against the lure of power likeVoldemort's! In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart's desire, and it showed you only the way to thwartLord Voldemort, and not immortality or riches."

—Albus Dumbledore and Harry.^[src]

I chose the Harry Potter series to represent good writing. I couldn't find a whole passage, and the quotes above are not necessarily the best in the series, they are just examples of what I mean by great writing. I thing J.K. Rowling is very versatile in her writing and she shows that in this series. She talks with the voice of a narrator, she talks as Harry, and as all the many characters in the books. The amazing thing though, is that she puts so much thought and description into everything; the personalities of all characters are very complex and in depth. Her writing is so descriptive that a reader should have no problem picturing everything in their minds. I know that while I was reading these books, it was like I was at Hogwarts, or the Burrow. I think great writing has a lot to do with the readers reaction; if they feel like they can picture/experience everything she is writing about,while reading, I think that the book is a success. 

Reflection Proposal

Jillian Lynch

English 15

23 March 2012

Reflection Proposal

            When I was in high school I was President of Peer Mentoring, a program that helped the incoming freshmen with anything they needed, whether it be finding classes or bigger issues. One of the bigger issues that this program dealt with a lot was bullying, cyber-bullying being the most common. Bullying has always been common in the high school age, but with technology being what it is today, cyber-bullying- bullying someone via technology, has become the bigger issue. Why is that? Is society actually initiating this form of bullying?

            Social networking is the biggest thing for kids to connect with each other outside of school. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Formspring are all enablers of cyber-bullying, some being worse than others. I agree that Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with distant friends, and display photos, but when it is taken to the next level things can get out of hand. Luckily with Facebook anything you comment is linked to your name. This doesn’t mean that bullying can’t occur, it just isn’t anonymous. Twitter is similar, anything you tweet is linked to your name, but you can tweet about someone without directly “tagging” or mentioning them. Tumblr is a blogging site where people can post pictures of themselves or anything that “self-expresses” them, and they can also write whatever they want. Along with writing about themselves, people can comment with their usernames or anonymously. And lastly, Formspring, is a question and answer website, where anyone can ask questions or comments about someone anonymously.  I believe that the anonymity pushes cyber-bullying even further.

            When names are linked to comments or posts, people are extra careful about what they say; they are more afraid of getting in trouble. But, behind the anonymity of a computer, people are harsh; they say things they would be afraid to say otherwise. I know many friends who have received formspring comments from people they thought were friends, saying awful things.

            Is society giving us too many opportunities to cyber bully?

Logical Fallacy

This is a bandwagon appeal. It is saying that it is everyone in America's favorite mascara, so it should be yours too!

Wicked Confused

When I tell people where I'm from, the most common question I am asked is if I have a Bostonian accent. And to answer your question, no I do not "Pahk the cahr in Havahd Yahd, but there are some Boston quirks that I have grown up with.
Growing up near Boston was wicked cool; yes I use the word wicked. Before college, I never had a second thought about using that word. But, as I met people here they certainly picked up on this vocabulary word. And when they would ask me what "wicked" meant, I was at a loss for words. Wicked means nothing other than wicked. To me, "wicked" was something I threw around a lot in conversations. "Oh my god that movie was wicked sad" or " Wow that party was wicked awesome". It's just a less lame way of saying that something is super cool. I say it so often, that my friends here have picked up on it. They throw it into their conversations now, and I think it's hilarious!
Other differences are the words, "aunt", and "room". I pronounce "aunt" the way it is spelled, not like the strange way PA people say "ant". I am sorry, but it is my Aunt Mary, not my "Ant" Mary. But for the word room, I pronounce it "rum". I don't why, but I just do; I guess us Bostonians just don't draw out the double O sound!
 But, the most baffling thing of all was the word bubbler versus water fountain. I was sitting in my dorm with my friends when I said I was going to fill my water bottle from the bubbler. In all seriousness, everyone looked at me like I had three heads. They had absolutely no idea what a bubbler was; apparently everyone who isn't from Massachusetts calls it the water fountain. Never in my life have I ever called it a water fountain; it sounds so formal! In school, if I was thirsty, I would just raise my hand and ask to get a drink from the bubbler; no issue whatsoever. But, here, people were wicked confused because a "bubbler" to them is something to smoke pot out of. My mistake! 

I went Penn State Crazy

As I said in my last post, I needed/wanted a school with a lot of school spirit. When I took a tour at Penn State I was amazed at how many people were wearing Penn State sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, sweatpants, and even hats and scarves! They were so proud of their school and I couldn't wait to be a part of something so big. Even after the tour I bought a t-shirt and sweatshirt for myself, while my mom and dad bought themselves apparel, and picked something up for my brother (it was my first college visit and I think my family and I were a little overexcited). When I found out I got into Penn State, and officially accepted my entrance into the college, I was sent Penn State blankets, and even more apparel. My graduation party was full of Penn State objects; banners, cupcakes, and a pile of Penn State related gifts. As you can see, I was really excited about all the "things" Penn State had to offer. 

 One thing that's great about college is the independence you have. But sometimes this independence can get to be too much. Without my mom there helping me manage my spending, my shopping habit went a little too far. Like most girls, I love to shop. For girls shopping is like an obsession; even if we're not buying anything, we have to at least look! Personally, I love to search through online stores and just look at everything I want; If only I still had money to buy things!

   I sort of went crazy when I arrived at Penn State. As you know, I was really sad and miserable the first few weeks here; so I shopped, and shopped, and then I shopped some more. I couldn't stop myself! Everything that had the Penn State logo on it, I wanted. I felt like I needed EVERYTHING and I had plenty of money from working full time in the summer, so I thought what was the harm? Well, my bank account was harmed pretty badly. The 2,000 dollars I had quickly made it's way down to a mere 400-500 dollars. Let's just say that it is a good thing I got good grades my first semester because my parents were not so happy with my not very frugal spending!

   

Welcome to Penn State

My name is Jillian Lynch and I am from Milford, Massachusetts. For those of you who don’t know where Milford is (obviously most of you wouldn’t), it is about an hour west of Boston.  During the process of applying to college I knew I was definitely looking for three important things; a big school with a lot of school spirit that was also quite far away from my hometown. As you know, Penn State was my choice, and it was everything I wanted. Milford is about 7 hours from Penn State in car, and in bus it’s about 9 hours. And believe me, I started to regret going so far away during those tortuous bus rides. During the summer I couldn’t wait to get to Penn State and start to live the college lifestyle; I knew only one other person from my high school going and that was enough for me. I was the first of my friends to leave for college; I was their guinea pig. If I had an easy transition, so would they, and vice versa. Well I was quite confident that I would be fine; I had a very easygoing personality and was always good at making friends, so I thought, no problem! My parents drove me up, set up my room, and then spent some time on campus with me. When they said they would be leaving soon, I think I had a little panic attack. While imagining me having a panic attack please picture that “deer in headlights” look on my face. I was going to college, but wouldn’t my parents be staying with me? Or at least maybe my mom…wasn’t she my roommate? Those are the things that I would have loved to happen, but I’m pretty sure housing wouldn’t be too fond of my mother and I rooming together (we’d cause too much trouble together anyways). So off drove my parents and off I went to my dorm room ALONE and here at my Penn State my parents left me to cry and be miserable FOR TWO WEEKS. Just kidding, I wasn’t miserable, but I did cry every day for about two weeks; I couldn’t even call or Skype my parents for that long…I would get too upset every time I tried! You might call me a baby, but jeesh I was homesick! Not everyone understands this and I get that, but if you’re stuck at college with a not so great roommate for four months (until Thanksgiving), then you might be able to imagine what I was crying about. Going home for the weekends were out of the question; the buses were not cheap and the 9 hours it took to get there and come back were already half of a weekend. Eventually it got better, the other person I knew from my high school was actually my boyfriend, and so I wasn’t completely alone. I made a lot of friends, went to all the football games, and now love college. The point of this blog is to write about my experiences in college; the good times, the bad times, and the very strange differences between Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. I’ve been given some very strange looks, and I know I’ve been given some back. But, those stories can be saved for the rest of my blog!