Finishing Up

1. Self-Evaluation

This semester helped me learn a lot about not only writing, but also myself as a writer. I came into this course thinking of myself as an average writer, with nothing special about my writing capabilities. I quickly learned that I was pretty good writer through the grades that I earned on my first few papers. In the past, I was taught that it was not proper to use personal pronouns and contractions in formal works. This semester, I was taught that the style of the paper all depends on who your audience is. You don't have to use big words in every piece. If your audience is your best friend, then the paper doesn't have to be formal at all. These things will help me become an even better writer as I continue to work on my skills. From this course, I also learned a lot about my school and what goes on here. If I had not taken this class, I most likely would not have attended any art or cultural events. I would have been missing out on a huge part of this wonderful university. These events showed me that I actually enjoyed the arts, contradicting what I previously believed. If it were not for this course, I would have ignored all the cultural events that are offered here at Penn State, not only the ones this year, but also the ones to come in the future. 

2. Blog Response Round-Up

- http://thebigpengtheory.blogspot.com/2012/02/hi-anyone-who-happens-to-stumble-onto.html#comment-form

- http://meeten3.blogspot.com/2012/02/for-first-time.html#comment-form

- http://voiceoflaurenrhoden.blogspot.com/2012/04/fairy-tale-new-years-eve.html#comment-form

3. SRTE Evaluations

- I completed my SRTEs!

Cultural Event #2: Essence of Joy

On April 15, a 20th anniversary concert was held by the Essence of Joy at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. Essence of Joy is a choir focusing on African and African American traditions. I would not have known of this event if it wasn't for my friend from high school. She is a part of this choir and invited me to go see them perform. I thought that I would go to support her, but I'd go with another friend in order to not be completely bored. I have never been to a choir concert like this before, other than mine from back in elementary school, so I didn't really know what to expect, other than boredom.

Did this event live up to my expectations? Well I expected boredom, so no, it did not live up to my expectations at all. This concert was so much fun. With each song that they sung, the choir was really getting into the music. Just from watching the students in the choir, I could tell how much fun they were having through the smiles on their faces and the enthusiasm that was radiating off of them. Not only was the choir having fun, the audience was too. In each song, the audience would be clapping their hands to the beat, showing how catchy the songs were.

My favorite part about this event was when they sang "I Smile!" This song was an upbeat song that involved a lot of action in the choir. During the chorus, the left side of the choir and the right side would both face each other and take turns singing "you look so much better when you smile." For the last line of the chorus, both sides would face the audience and tell us and we look so much better when we smile. This song couldn't help but make me smile because you could tell that the choir was having so much fun while singing.

Going into this experience, I expected to leave during intermission because I would be bored. I couldn't have been any more wrong. This was a great experience and I would love to attend another one of these in the future. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity!

"May the odds be ever in your favor"

Who says murder is against the law? Obviously not the Capitol in the newest hit movie, “The Hunger Games”. This movie was based off of the first book in a series of three by Suzanne Collins. These books take place in the future, in a place called Panem, modern day North America. This story line captures the emotions of viewers as they watch 24 innocent children forced to fight to the death. But this movie has much more to it than just blood and gore. A love story begins to unfold as the games are about to begin, but is it real? Or is it just an act to help these two “lovebirds” win? You be the judge.

Like most movies that derive from books, there is a ton of pressure on the producer in order to make the film as accurate as possible. If too many details are changed, the fans may not enjoy the movie, giving it a bad review. This movie, however, was extremely similar to the novel, as cuts were only made in order to squeeze this detailed story into a movie less than two and a half hours. Only a few alterations were made, including the death of one tribute and the exclusion of a character. These are both minor details that don’t make much difference, and are changed in order to avoid lengthy background stories. And let’s be honest, no one likes lengthy background stories.

The novel that this film was inspired by was written in first person, through the eyes of Katniss Everdeen, a young 16-year-old who bravely volunteered herself into the games, in order to save her younger sister. Since Katniss has no communication with anyone outside of the games, giving the producer some room to be creative. While the games are in progress, the producer decides to show the reactions of the citizens, which are unknown in the book. The producer also creates a character named, Seneca Crane, who was only referred to as the “Gamemaker” in the novel. This creation of a character and the omniscient point of view both add to the effectiveness of the film.

“The Hunger Games” has action, romance, and even a few good laughs. If you ask me, I’d say, “Let the seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin! And may the odds be ever in your favor!”

Art Event #1: Mary E. Rolling Reading Series

I never considered poetry to be one of my interests. I always viewed it as boring and, for lack of a better word... "girly." These opinions were developed through common stereotypes about poetry, which were communicated to me through friends, and also portrayed through some television shows. I guess you could say that I never really gave it a chance. I just believed everything I heard. When I learned about poetry in school, I just went through the motions and did what I had to do. I didn't look for a deeper meaning in the poems, and I never really learned what it was all about. Whenever I thought of poetry, I thought of a few lines, each ending with rhyming words. 

This poetry reading opened my eyes to the truth about poetry. I didn't really know what to expect as Nicole Cooley and Julia Spicher Kasdorf were introduced and approached the podium. All it took was one poem in order for me to realize that I couldn't have been any more wrong. These poems didn't contain rhyming words, but they told stories. They told stories that were described vividly enough to make me feel as if I was there when it was happening. Some poems contained humor, stating "your milkshakes bring all the boys," talking about a diner. Some poems used dialogue along with imagery to help the listener picture what is happening. All of these aspects were present in each poem, but the topics varied. They varied from stories about childhood, stories about a particular place, or even stories about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

This event helped me understand the truth about poetry. It allowed me to see the meaning behind it, the reasons that it is written, and helped me understand that pretty much all of the stereotypes about it are false. I was very pleased with this experience, and I would definitely be interested in attending another one of these events, along with other art events that I usually tend to avoid.