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!