Muddy Writing

Hmmm... the mudiest point of my writing is, I think, my tendency to use "you". I assume that everyone who is reading my paper has had the same life experiences and automatically understands what I am writing about. I have to learn how to avoid this, though it is difficult for me. I also use "we" a lot, though I am not sure if that is a no-no or not. Writing has always come so naturally to me and I definitely have a very specific style. When I write, the words almost seem to put themselves on the page. If I have a very clear understanding of my subject matter, the words just flow freely. I sometimes get writer's block, but only when I haven't fully researched the topic. I find that if I am fully prepared to discuss the topic, I can present my point with such confidence and knowledge that many people have a hard time disagreeing with me. My family always called me "the lawyer" because I was so good at this. On the other hand, once I have made up my mind about a topic, I have a hard time seeing and understanding the other possible points of view. That is another issue that is difficult for me in my writing- to remain objective.

My College Experience: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly ...Part 1

My college experience has been long, frustrating, and only a few times rewarding. I started as a freshman at the U of M, Morris right out of high school. I didn't have to study in high school and didn't know how to once I got to college. I had been naturally smart and had always gotten A's and was quickly overwhelmed by the college level of textbooks and dicussions. Morris was known for their academics and I couldn't keep up. That's not entirely true, I could have done very well if I had only tried. I became very depressed (though I didn't know that's what it was) and my grades and friendships suffered greatly. I began skipping more and more classes even though I didn't have a legitimate reason to miss them. I didn't enjoy any of my classes and though I was on the track team, even that was not fun anymore. I withdrew socially and after two years there I left a miserable shell of the person I was when I arrived. I had graduated high school with a 3.79 and left Morris with a 1.5. I was a very competitive athlete and left completely out of shape. My one bright spot at Morris was my boyfriend, Doug. He graduated from Morris in 2003, my last year there. We each moved to the cities where we continued to date. I tried going to a local community college, but hated that even more than Morris. Also during that time my Grandpa became very ill and passed away. I was even more upset than before and I began to think that maybe college just wasn't for me.

Folklore Influence in America

Children's fairy tales are definitely an American icon that did not start in America. They come from every country there is. The majority of our tales that have been passed down come from the countries our ancestors came from, which only makes sense. Therefore, many of the most common ones are from Germany, Russia, England, Norway, France, and Italy. There are many variations of each story, th0ough. Each country seems to have their own version of the same basic tale. Some, such as Norway, are known for being more gruesome and violent in an effort to scare children away from the behavior depicted in the tale. Fairy tales, for the most part, are meant to be cautionary tales for young children who are being taught to listen to their parents. Little Red Riding Hood is perhaps the best example of a cautionary tale. She is warned by her mother to stay on the path and not speak to strangers. The version in many countries is that Little Red Riding Hood disobeys her mother and therefore she and her grandmother are eaten by the Big Bad Wolf.

When Walt Disney came along and put his stamp on these stories he decided they were too frightening for children and took out many of the original elements of the stories. Even though there are many "Americanized" versions of fairytales, a few major elements are constant, though they have changed significantly from the original versions: Good always triumphs over evil, the Prince always rescues the Princess, and everybody lives happily ever after. This is the epitome of the "American Dream". Every little girl grows up wanting to be the Princess. It's fine for children's literature, however, it is extremely inaccurate. I don't believe we should scare our children, but maybe we could find a happy medium between glitter and gore.