Blog Reviews

Kaylyn Parson's Blogs:

Kaylyn's blogs were very intriguing. I have to say she is talented for all that hard work she put in her writing! Great job! I got to learn more about Kaylyn and her writing style. She approaches topics by choosing very ordinary topics and making them interesting to read. The titles of the posts are clever and they go well with the writing. I think she did a great job of getting her point across.

I like how she writes in a honest manner by simply putting her feelings in the posts at the time of the events. I believe her writing style is interesting and she cleverly introduces us to her personal thoughts and opinions on different matters of life. I believe that I will truly enjoy reading her future posts because her style of writing is one of a kind.

A few of my favorites:
In "A Struggle to Continue," Kaylyn does a great job of giving us a great sense of the struggle she writes about. I think it was really clever writing about a ship that is lost at sea (I hope I am right), yet doesn't say it outright. She uses great word choice, so the audience can understand the situation clearly. I think that this is a great blog to start reading from her collection. It only makes me want to read more of what she has to offer. It gives me a great idea of how creative she can get with writing. This was a great article.

In "Appreciating the Craft," I learned about Kaylyn's appreciation for other authors' writing. Through her writing, we learn how she approaches the different styles of writing and what she picks up from it. Her reviews on both essays that she chose are detailed and give us a clear idea on what these essays might be about.
Kaylyn really proves her appreciation toward these crafts by simply saying it and showing it by picking a few things that she found to interesting to her. She did a great job concluding her observation by encouraging readers to "stop and look." It is an act of motivating people to read and understand the art and the process as well.

In "Death in Nature," I was amused by the simple fact that she described the life of a fly. She brought out things that never crossed my mind. It was really interesting to read about a fly and yet learn so much about the author's imagination. She writes what she sees and thinks in a very unique manner.

Michelle Nulliner's Blogs:

Michelle's blogs were really interesting to read. I absolutely loved the simplicity of the matters, and how she takes these simple matters and intertwines them with her strong writing skills to captivate our interest even deeper. She does a great job of providing the readers what they want to learn about her and her writing abilities.

I believe that she can gets her point across and provides the necessary detail to further entertain or inform her audience. Michelle's writing style is intriguing because it encompasses talented writing skills, detailed imagination, and creativity.

My favorites:
In "Five Minutes of My Day," Michelle cleverly gives a great picture of how five minutes of one's time can consume so much more than we think it can. I enjoyed how she incorporates her endeavors and goals as well as her worries in a blog that is only supposed to be on the short five minutes of one's life.

In "Feminism," I found the light humor and the strength that Michelle possesses. I like how shes uses one event in her life that allows us to see one strong opinion that she has on certain situations. I like how she begins it and ends with the light humor and a sense of pride when she chooses to do as she please.

In "Hermit Crab," Michelle gives a great example of this type of essay. One thing that I would have recommended is a better title. Besides that, she did a great job of giving readers a great list of how to be successful. I like how she lists the three main points in her essay as separate paragraphs. Separating them like that offers emphasis on those points and grabs readers attention. It also warns readers that those are the main points that will be discussed.

How to procrastinate on writing a paper

Well, start by ignoring the assignment for a few days. A week. Maybe start the day before it is due. Maybe do it on the day it is. A few hours before class. Whatever you decide on, procrastinate well. Just do it a day before it is due, so you can have more time to procrastinate before it actually is due.

Start by cleaning your room. Definitely make sure your desk is clear of unnecessary items, then put your books needed or the laptop on your desk. Clean your laptop if it isn't clean, so, you can be able to see what you are typing clearly. Then sit and open your books and figure out what your assignment requirements are. Open a word document and start typing your name, professor's name, course title, and date it. Go get a drink of water. Clear your recycle bin and get rid of the unnecessary documents, pictures, or whatever is being stored on the laptop for no apparent reason. Check your email. Sort everything in separate files. Permanently delete the deleted emails. Check your junk mail. Do a little research on your paper assignment if research is required. Try to come up with a thesis while you are checking myspace, facebook, or a blog. Check your time.

Once you start getting nervous about your paper. Just start working on it as soon as you have checked your email, myspace, and facebook again.

What are you waiting for? Procrastinate now!

Waiting

Right after work, I called Lisa to meet up with me at Friday's to eat dinner and chitchat. I was starving, and I didn't want to go home just yet. Besides, it was just my mom who was at home. Everyone else was too busy to eat together anymore. I finally decided on the closest location for us both. I sent her a text, "The one on 59th." She responded ten minutes later, "Ok." That means she is busy at work, and she will probably take forever to come, and until we order our food and wait for it, I will die of starvation. "How long will it take you to get there?" No response. I was stuck in traffic anyways, so she can take her time. Fifteen minutes later, I was on the highway heading to my destination, which felt like millions of miles away to my growling stomach.

She patiently waited for me. For anyone. The food was ready. She knew the type of food I loved, and how I liked it prepared. She didn't have to ask me anymore. She was beginning to look at her watch every couple of minutes. The time was going by so slow. She must have been thinking that I could be coming in any moment now. The sadness was visible in her tired eyes. She has been patient for so long, and she wasn't about to give up.

I blasted the radio to forget about my hunger. I sang aloud, and kept checking my phone. No response from Lisa yet. What happened to her? I hope she doesn't make me wait long. I kept thinking how much I hate waiting! Well, maybe she is already there and forgot to text me back.

The food was getting cold. She regretted not waiting a little longer. She was scared that I would start complaining about the food being cold. I never thought I was so selfish.

"59th and Bell here I come!" I said when I was literally two minutes away. I saw Lisa's car already parked in front of TGIF. I walked in, and asked for Lisa's table. The handsome waiter looked around and looked at his list. He seemed confused and said that he would be right back. He came back, "Are you sure she is already here?" I wasn't. So, I called her twice. She didn't pick up. Maybe that wasn't her car. I decided to wait for another five minutes. My phone finally vibrated, "Hey, girl sorry! I just left work. I will be there in 15 minutes. Order our food already. Choose anything with chicken for me." That was okay with me.

My mom couldn't wait any longer as her tear plummeted on the table with the empty chairs. She left the food untouched and headed to bed.

(Not a true story I promise! And, I am wondering if this works as a braided story??)

Trying to make ends meet...

J-O-B

I was supposed to be off today, which means I get to sleep in. But I got a phone call at 7:30 A.M. from an unfamiliar number. I let it ring while I tried to keep my eyes closed shut some more. My phone vibrated. Someone left me a voicemail. As soon as the thought of it possibly being an employer calling me in for a job interview, my eyes opened wide to check my message. "Hey, Reata. It's Debbie. Kelly called in sick, can you please try to make it in an hour or so. Please call me back if you can." Great... only my manager, I thought. I felt bad, so, I called her. After fully knowing that there were no other options but for me to come in, I decided to get up and get ready to go to work. I kept thinking about how I was supposed to be catching up on my homework today, and it just upset me. However, it turned out to be an okay day.

Would you like to try anything on?

When I quit working for ASU as an office assistant for the College of Nursing, I set out to look for a decent job. I must have not looked hard enough because I settled for the first low-paying job I found. I was afraid of not having a job, so I said yes. I started working for the diamond store back in December of 2008. And, boy, was that a horrible time to start! The busiest time of the year for any jewelry store: CHRISTMAS! I started as a seasonal cashier for two months, and I hated every minute of it. Because the managers liked me so much, they wanted to make me permanent. I stayed because, at this point, I was lucky I even had a job, still have a job.

May 14th

May 14th is seriously a month away! I don't know if I should be excited or afraid. Right now, I am feeling both. My last semester of college has been hectic, especially with being a full-time student, working for 35 hours a week, and having so much church responsibilities. I can't wait to finish all these 5 English courses that I am taking with decent grades. So, the bigger issue is what am I supposed to do after I get my English degree? Continue schooling? Become a writer and how do I do that? Stay at the job that I am at until I find a decent one? Shoot me if I stay for another month of being used.

Leaving Childhood Behind

Looking past the brown leaves covering the cement and past the old tree barks, I see a very young me at the age of 12 and my sisters running up and down the alley behind my house back home.

It's Fall there, I can't stop looking at the beautiful red, yellow, and brown leaves scattered everywhere. Our tiny feet walking over them, I can hear the crisp sounds so clearly right now as I stand on the bare cement ground of my yard during the spring season here in Arizona.

Taking a deep breath in, I can clearly smell the rain awaiting to erupt through the clouds as I try to tag my sisters. Out of breath from running, we decide to go inside for a quick drink. Mom didn't let us out anymore because it started to pour outside.

So, there I sat on the couch in the living room facing the window to not miss the drops of rain that hit the ground. I imagined myself free and older. Much older. The picture was vague and I gave up.

Now that I am 22, I refuse to imagine myself any older, and I don't foresee the future. I just live each day as it comes. I walk over to my car and pull the handle. I decide to go to work a bit early. I hear Chicago calling me, but I continue looking ahead and go through life at present time.

Review on: "Afternoon of an American Boy" & "The Drama Bug"

I found both of these essays to be really interesting. They inspire me in a way to write about my personal life that I am most comfortable with to give a vivid reflective essay portraying the meaning I am trying to get across. Reading both stories, I learn different aspects of writing that I need to improve on, to better, or that I unconsciously use.

E.B. White's "Afternoon of an American Boy" gives me an idea of how descriptions of character or appearances really affect the story as a whole. Without the detailed description of Elwyn's shyness toward girls, I wouldn't understand why he couldn't approach Eileen or what could have possibly went wrong on the afternoon he took her out. I like how White writes about himself subjectively. He gives me a detailed description of what he thought was bad about him. He hated the fact that he was shy, and he told me what he meant by describing a situation rather than just saying he couldn't approach girls. With this type of writing, I have learned how to approach my future writing that begs for detail.

I believe David Sedaris' "The Drama Bug" is so honest and entertaining. Sedaris really gives a great portrayal of his early childhood. It seems like he really isn't keeping anything back, even though he might possibly be holding many things back, but it is just the way that he opens up and becomes quite frank with the audience. I think it is all about his style of writing. He smoothly says something and smoothly transitions into something else while still keeping the reader's attention and at the same time, he doesn't drift off from the main topic at all. I like his essay because of those main reasons. I would definitely use his style of writing as a way of approaching my writing.

Overall, both stories were great. I have learned so much from just analyzing White and Sedaris' writing style.

So, it came in 3's...

I watched the sky for a very long time from the time it was blue until it finally turned black with shiny stars. I was wasting time laying down on the swing instead of reading "Crime and Punishment" for my World Literature course. Many thoughts came to mind and I argued with myself about a few other. I wondered what I would do after graduation, when my sister will finally move here, when my boyfriend will graduate, when he will ask me to marry him, and what my wedding or my future life would be like. I held the book and finally opened it to the first chapter, but then I wondered what I would name my kids.

Mom always thought I was the smartest in the family. I would laugh whenever she would say that. I hated the fact that she would praise me in front of people. I would blush as soon as my name would come up and walk away as fast as I can. I am the first one to graduate from a university in the family. So what? Mom and Dad take too much pride in it. It's okay. I will let them do as they please.

Eva finally got married to Tony, her true love. She always wanted to get married and leave the house so she can finally move on with her life. To me, she seemed like she was rushing, but hey, it's working fine for her. I always wished she would finish college, but she gave up too quick. She only had a few more classes, then, she would be making thousands of dollars just helping companies with websites rather than being a personal banker. She would have been the first to graduate college in my family.