Rough Draft

Rough Draft

 

Being a mom has completely and totally shaped me into who I am as a person today. I had my son Joseph on October 7, 2007.  I was 20 years old. I am now 27 and he is 7.   The majority of the last 7 years it has been just him and I.  There are a handful of moments that I can say are the greatest moments in my entire 27 years.  Every single one of them has been in the last 7 and involved Joseph.  His first steps, the first time he called me mommy; which also happened to be his first words.   The first trip to the ER with him, his first day of school, and his very first student of the month award.  Then there are things that interest us that we involve our children in and hope they grow to love also.

                I have always loved reading.  It is an escape.  In times of stress and when I am completely overwhelmed, it is a way to become another person, with another life and a completely different set of problems for a while.  It has always been one of my biggest joys, getting a new book, cracking the spine and smelling the pages.  Even better is an old, used book.  The worn in pages turn so smoothly. The dusty musky paper smell is one of my favorite smells.  This has been something I wanted my kids to enjoy also.  To be able to escape into the pages of Treasure Island, or off into Neverland.  To have the ability to step away from the pages of his book and slip into his own imagination where he can be a Pirate or a Viking Warrior.  Where for a little while he could be anything he wanted as long as his imagination would allow.  It would be something I could be extremely proud of, providing my son with the ability to broaden his imagination and gain a considerable amount of knowledge through literature.

                I started reading to him while he was still in my stomach.  Maybe it was just me hoping so, but I was sure that when I would settle into my big fluffy recliner and kick my feet up with the warmest, softest blanket, a cup of warm delicious hot chocolate and my favorite book at the time, he would also instantly settle down inside my stomach.  The rest of the time during my pregnancy, he was always so active, kicking around and punch at my insides like a ninja.  So during these moments that were so peaceful and relaxing for me, he also seemed content and calm.  Maybe he could also feel how at peace and happy I was with life when I had my book in hands.

                Once he was born, I read to him every single night. He would sit with me while I read my books.  Then I would read to him.  Some of my favorite books, as with most kids I assume, when I was a child were Dr. Seuss books.  For my baby shower, Josephs Grandma on his fathers side gave us a set of Dr. Seuss books.  They belonged to Joseph’s father when he was a child.  They all had his name written in the front page.  They also all had pages missing and were colored in and worn down by Josephs father when he was a child.  To this day, they are some of our most valued possessions.  Hop on Pop quickly became one of Josephs favorite books.  He always wanted me to read that one or would want to hold it and look through it.  Every night we would snuggle up in his bed with his Toy Story sheets on it and all his stuffed animals as an audience.  Sometimes, his hair would still be wet from his bath, smelling like the blueberry Spongebob shampoo he loved.  Other nights we would pile up on the couch, or in my bed or chair, sometimes on the floor and sometimes in a fort he had built earlier.  Different places, but always the same book, Hop on Pop.

                He started to pick up the words by memorizing the pages.  Sometimes, we would turn a page and he would say the word on the next page before I could.  I was so thrilled and overjoyed to see him so enthusiastic about learning words and learning to read.  Sometimes he struggled, one night he would know a whole page of words and the next night he would forget those and remember a completely different page.  I would get so frustrated because he would shock me with reading a whole page of words and then forget them the next day.  I would try and remind myself that he was just barely 4 years old, but I would just get so excited that he was progressing so quickly with it.  That was pretty darn good for that age.  Even it was just page memorization.  With time he started remembering the pages, one at a time. 

                This night in particular stands out.  This night is one of those nights that I mentioned earlier that fits into that small handful of moments that are the greatest in my life. The kind that show you what you are meant to do with your life.  I was meant to be Joey’s mom, events like this showed me that to be true.  As hard as its been, often so frustrating, overwhelming and sometimes just too much.  It is still the greatest thing I will ever do.  This night, and that handful of others showed me that.  Being his mom has given me more pride and joy than I have ever felt, an actual sense of purpose.

                Joseph and I were in the big fluffy recliner chair in the living room, all cudled up.  He was sitting in my lap and I had my arms wrapped around him.  He smelled like that blueberry shampoo, one of my very most favorite smells, but mostly when its in his hair.  He liked to turn the pages, even if I was reading.  So he was holding the book.  I was distracted, doing that creepy mom thing, staring at his big, beautiful blue eyes.  Noticing how many freckles he had gotten that year from playing outside in the sun so much. They spread across his nose and up around his eyes.  His strawberry blonde hair stuck straight up in the back of his head from his double cowlick that could not be controlled no matter how his hair was cut or styled. He definitely needed a hair cut again too, it was starting to hang over his ears.  While I was looking him over, he started reading. I stopped looking at him and looked down at what he was reading.  He read through the first page on his own.  I was happy, he was so impatient to get started, just like I was with my books.  He read through the first page flawlessly. I was impressed. I waited for him to turn the page and look up at me with those big beautiful eyes and tell me it was my turn to read a page. He turned the page, but did not look up.  Instead, he read through the second page.  He made it through two pages without any trouble or help! This was great! He moved onto the third page, the fourth, fifth and sixth.  Like a breeze, he read through them all like he had been reading his whole life.  With each page his sweet voice became more excited, stronger and more steady.  You could hear the pride in his voice as he would move onto the next page with success.  He was surprising himself too, that he was able to go through that many pages without help.  By this time I had tears in my eyes.  I had a huge smile on my face and my voice and hands were kind of shaking with excitement.  I was so proud. He looked up at me and smiled and looked back down and continued to read.  He read all the way through the book without any help or stopping.  I thought my heart was going to burst through my chest it was so full of love and pride for this little boy.  He closed the book, started to bounce up and down excitedly in my lap and said “ I read the whole thing mom. All by myself.  I read Hop on Pop! Can I please do it again?” How could I say no to that? I would have let him read it to me over and over again all night to me if he wanted to.  So, he then read to me, the whole book without any help again. 

                Once he finished reading it again a second time, he got up and walked around the house with the biggest, smile.  He was so full of pride in himself.  Being able to teach my son something and seeing him excel at it, something that I enjoy so much myself gives me so much satisfaction.  He is now in the first grade and just about to surpass a second grade reading and writing level.  Being able to teach him to read, has been one of the most gratifying experiences and quite possibly one of the most important things Ive done yet. 

Potential topics for my first paper

I have had a really hard time deciding on a topic that I feel is suitable for this paper. Reading has had a big influence on my life, I have always enjoyed escaping through a story and get very caught up in what I am reading. However, pin pointing an experience that has affected me either positively or negatively is not as easy as just saying I enjoy reading, it is a big part of my life. I think the most effective story I can tell on this topic is how being able to read and enjoy books has affected my life as a mother. I have a 7 year old son who is in first grade and who is now reading at a second grade level. I have read with him since he was born and it has always been a thing between us, one of many ways that we bond.  It has always been very important to me that one of the many things he could do, and enjoy doing was reading a book.  Settling down, picking up a book and getting lost in a story.  There have been many experiences with him, that with great detail come to mind and give me fond memories of different stories we have enjoyed together.

Another topic I have thought about is the very first book I read on my own without being told to. I was in sixth grade and I was walking to my moms work after school and it was raining.  I stopped at the library to dry off and warm up and picked up one of the books that was on display and sat by the fake fire that was in the library and began reading. I ended up bringing that book home and finished it in two days. All 870 pages, in two days. I stayed up nearly the whole night the first night I had it at home.  This is when I first realized how much I loved reading.  This is also a very important memory for me because it introduced me to a series that I fell in love with and am still in love with and am now enjoying with my son.

The tricky part will be thinking back on all the details for these memories that I have. I remember them, but its the little details that will take the work digging up to bring into my story. My topic may very well change before my rough draft is complete, if through working on these, another memory pops up that seems more important than these.

In class lab: Narrative Literacy

             A Traumatic Transcendental Experience

Narrative Essay: Jeanne Juenger

http://www.westerntc.edu/writingcenter/pdf/samples/Narrative%20and%20Reflection/JuengerJ.pdf

Page 1, Paragraph 1 

1.       Locate and copy an especially vivid description from one of the narratives in your textbook (be sure to use quotation marks and indicate page and paragraph #)

• ·    “Like one condemned to the gallows, I mounted the well-worn steps leading to the suspended loft. The choir loft, an isolated, lonely place akin to purgatory, an existence between God in His heaven and man bound to earth, was to be where I faced the terrible specter of technology, even technology now centuries old.” 

 Red

Narrative Essay: Raina McCumber

http://www.westerntc.edu/writingcenter/pdf/samples/Narrative%20and%20Reflection/McCumber.pdf

Page 1, Paragraph 5

 

2.       Locate and copy an especially vivid bit of dialog from the same (or another) narrative (again, be sure to use quotation marks and indicate page and paragraph #)

• ·          “I was feeding the chickens, ducks, and geese when I felt a sharp pain on my back. I couldn’t help, but scream out. Wondering what it could be I turned around to see Red coming at me once again. I tried to get away, but he was too fast. He leaped up, flapping his wings, stretched out his legs, and thrust his claws into my legs and struck my back with his beak. I quickly turned around and threw the bucket of feed at him. Red jumped back, but wouldn’t run off. He just stood there watching, daring me to make a move. I never took my eyes off him as I reached for the bucket and started yelling at him. Red backed up a few feet while I moved the bucket back and forth trying to scare him. I started to breathe a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Red turned to face me. I crouched down in a defensive mode. I got ready by grabbing the bucket handle really tight to hit him if he decided to come at me again. Red didn’t move. He just stood there and shot daggers at me with his devil eyes. I kept swinging the bucket. Red took a few more steps then turned around. He was pushing my every last nerve and enjoying the game of toying with me. Red’s gaze made me nervous. I started to back up slowly. When there was enough space between Red and me, I took off running to the house.”

 

A Traumatic Transcendental Experience

Narrative Essay: Jeanne Juenger

http://www.westerntc.edu/writingcenter/pdf/samples/Narrative%20and%20Reflection/JuengerJ.pdf

Page 1, Paragraph 4

 

3.       How about sounds, smells, touch, emotion? Locate and copy (again indicating page and paragraph #) down a couple of especially vivid sensory descriptions from the same (or a different) narrative

• ·         “So, I ascended the steep, narrow stairwell with only shadows lighting my way, a foreboding sense of a sure and sudden descent to depths unknown building with each faltering step. Emerging from the tomblike stairwell, Jon and I entered the long, narrow place of judgment, the choir loft. Directly ahead of us lay the dreaded, yet mandatory tool, the pipe organ console. The bare, solid oak choir benches to our left and the formidable, dark oak banister to our right held us captive as we walked the 25-foot path to the console. The waist-high barrier at our right hand overlooked the massive sanctuary below and crouched beneath the expansive, vaulted ceilings, denying with all finality any intercessions for help from either heaven or earth.”

More rhetoric...classmates readings

I'm finding that my definition of rheotoric or what I think it is, is mostly similar to my classmates posts.  However, by reading their posts I'm learning that it is used in a lot more situations than what I thought. Also, since learning about rhetoric and its use in writing and speaking, I'm finding out more and more what it's purpose seems to be. It can be used in speech's, papers, the news, and in conversations with people around us.  I'm seeing a huge use of rhetoric in the news. I find myself looking for the use of rhetoric in everything I encounter from day to day now. At home, we have a radio in the kitchen and it is always set to news radio.  So just sitting here working on my homework I am hearing the use of rhetoric in the news radio.  We fell asleep with the television on in our from the other night and I woke up at 2:00am to an infomercial and if I understand it correctly, I am seeing rheotoric being used to sell items on these infomercials that before watching you never thought you needed and after watching feel like you absolutely positively need that set of knives. One other classmate stated in her post that rhetoric can be used to convince someone that pasta would be good for dinner. I had that exact experience the other night when my girlfriend somehow convinced me that getting out of bed at 10:00 pm and going to cold stone for ice cream would be better than falling asleep.  So it would seem that rhetoric is used in every day experiences, not in just what we read and write.

What is rhetoric anyways?

My understanding of rhetoric, which comes from our text book and conversations in class. I had never really heard of rhetoric in this context until this class. I think that rhetoric is a way to effectively illustrate a point to other people.  Whether it be through text, sound or illustrations and pictures.  It is a way to get your point across to people about a subject that is important to the writer. It is a carefully and thoughtfully composed writing that will help your readers understand what you're  writing about or convince them of something they are not educated about or undecided about. Rhetoric is used to provoke thought and opinions from your readers and expose them to your opinion or argument on certain subjects whether it is truthful or not. It seemsrhetoric uses whatever is necessary to get your point across. .

I went to Dictionary.com to see what the exact definition of the word rhetoric is so I might be able to better understand the word and its purpose. The definition in the dictionary is:

Noun

1) The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

2) Language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content.

I think my understanding of rhetoric lines up with the definition in the dictionary.  The word persuasive is used more than once, which tells me it may be used to dramatize or over exaggerate to get others to listen to and believe what you have to say, whether it is fictional or not.  I can see why this may be effective, but I prefer reading logical and factual writing. If rhetoric can be used following facts and logic, that is more convincing to me than something that has filler words such as could, likely, maybe and might. I'm more likely to trust and gain knowledge from reading things that are factual and have resources and truth.

Comparing Narratives

Visual VS. Written Narratives

I think whether it is in video form or the written form, they are both powerful messages.  This is a very sensitive subject in our country and something that is quite personal for me. But as far as the effect it has, it really depends on the type of learner that the audience is. I, personally am a visual, hands on type of person. For something to be able to affect me I need to be able to touch, feel, smell or hear it. The videos to me were so much more powerful because you can not only experience what they are saying by hearing the words, but you can hear the tone and emotion in their voice which allows you to fully feel what they are feeling or felt in the story they are trying to tell. You can see on their face the joy or the pain or frustration or success that they experienced.  That helps people be able to relate to them better because when you feel someone else's emotions like joy or pain, it kind of becomes your own.  Especially when it is a subject that is close to you personally.

 When you are reading, you are hearing that writers words through your own mind. You have to use your own mind to create the scenery in that story or the sounds or the things that the writer felt when they were creating their story. So, In a sense that story along with what you've created in your head can become a bit mixed or more of your own. Think about when you read a novel. you get an idea of what the characters look like, how the scenery looks, feels, smells in your head based on what the Author has detailed for you to read.  Then that novel is then made into a movie.  Which can be kind of terrifying. Because what if they ruin a great book by casting the wrong people that are not at all like the characters you have created in your own mind based on what the Author has detailed for you, the scenery is not the same. It becomes a bit flawed to you, because you were never really able to experience the full effect of what that Author wanted you to feel from their story.  Your interpretation of that story will be different from the Author, the Producer and the Directors interpretation of the story as well.  You don't get the full effect of what they are trying to show you, because you only have their words, not what their senses are experiencing and you cannot visually see that through words alone. Writers are able to detail what they experienced, which helps us understand to an extent what they experienced, but it does not bring the full effect that visual experiences do. Again, this is my personal opinion on this and people with different learning styles may experience that differently and get more from written form.  I really think how things affect us depends on so many factors, that its hard to pin down just one and say that's what it is.

Narratives from day to day

My close friends and family that know me well, know that I have a strong sense of humor and can be very sarcastic and enjoy humor and sarcasm in return.  So, of course we tell lots of stories throughout the day to get a laugh out of each other or to explain the funniest thing that happened last weekend or however many months ago.  I also am a very clumsy person and am extremely accident prone. I am one of those that trips over her own hair and chokes on air.  More times than not, that produces a good story after the initial shock of whatever accident I just survived has passed. I spend a lot of time outdoors and that can cause a lot of accidents to a stable person, so someone like me with weak ankles and terrible balance is always picking herself up off the ground. Again, these qualities that I have provide a hilarious platform for me to share these stories with my family and friends. There are very few times that I talk serious with my them.  I prefer to handle those things on my own and only share the laughter and humor of my life with them, not the drama and stress. I enjoy seeing my loved ones smile and hearing them laugh, even if it happens to be at my own expense. That does not mean that serious, important stories are not a part of my day though.  I believe being a supportive, loving family member and friend means listening and being there when you are needed. I will listen to any of these people that need me, tell me stories of things that are bothering them or bringing them down and then if it is welcomed, will provide my experiences and ways that I handled similar situations to try and help them through whatever struggle they are going through. Another more serious form of "story-telling" involved in my day is communication with my instructors, my sons teacher, co workers and managers. Occasionally the story telling may lighten up with these people, but more often than not it will be to communicate something important or something that I find necessary to communicate to them.  For example in my math class, I struggle big time. So I may explain to my instructor the many ways I worked through certain problems in detail the night before to try and find the correct answer and how I do not understand which part of that specific problem. This allows him to understand where I am struggling be able to work through that part with me and better understand what he needs to work with me on so that I can be successful in his class.

I read a lot also. So a good amount of the story telling in my life happens in the novels that I read.  I enjoy reading the news online and then reading the community's responses to the news articles posted on the internet which gives me an opportunity to read not only what is going on in our community and around the world, but the opinions (stories) of the people in the community and around the world in response to those news stories. 

Rhetorical Writing in my past week

There were several different writing examples I had in the last week. From Face book, texting and email to applications, homework and a few handwritten letters.

I wrote an email to my friend Rob, who is deployed on an aircraft carrier in the Navy and is currently stationed in Greece. When he is out to sea, there is no other way to communicate with him other than email. So this medium of writing is extremely useful in situations like that. It was definitely informal communication and the tone was friendly and happy.  We talked about things like where he just came from and the details about that certain place. We talk about family, how they are doing and how each other are. More specifically our last conversation was about gyros and which I wanted him to try while he was there. I am not sure there is a specific genre of writing or topic, more just random conversation as a means of continuous contact until he is home and we can talk in person.  Its easy conversation.  The purpose of this type of writing is to communicate with each other when it’s not possible to do so face to face.

We send texts every day. I specifically have a wide range of people from day to day.  There are the people I text every day from my girlfriend, to my mother, sister and close friends. Then there are the random people that I will text with every few days.  Those texts are usually more purposeful.  Coworkers, friends, distant family members.  It’s another means of communication until I see those people in person.  All of them have a specific purpose whether it’s to say "Good morning, I love you and I hope you have a good day at work" to my girlfriend or a reminder to "Please remember Joey's baseball glove" to my sons father. The tone with each text is not going to be the same because we are trying to get different points across to different people with different meanings, so the tone has to change to communicate that effectively through typed out text, whether casual or formal. 

I also had to fill out an application to be able to chaperon a field trip with my son's first grade class.  It was very straightforward what I had to write.  There were questions and I had to provide clear and specific answer.  This is so there is no mis-communication in what they were asking and the responses I was providing.  It was formal and the tone was professional, if there was a tone at all. These types of writing don't appear to require much personalization, tone or quality.  Just straight, specific facts to get down to the point of what they initially need.  My information to make sure I am eligible to accompany a group of 1st graders safely to the zoo.

Writing Genres

Shopping list 

• Watermelon
• Pineapple
• Grapes
• Apples
• kiwi
• Marshmallows 
• Cream Cheese
• Vanilla 
• Walnuts
• Plates
• Cups
• Napkins
• Cake
• Pizzas 

Driving Directions

1. Take I5 North until you get to Exit 142 A Auburn/North Bend exit 
2. Merge onto Hwy 16
3. Follow that to the WA-516/ SE 272nd st exit toward Covington 
4. Turn left onto 201st Ave SE 
5. 201st Ave SE becomes 199th Pl SE.
6. 199th Pl SE becomes 200th Ave SE
7. The house is on the right with balloons on the mailbox

Memo

Good Morning Jenny! Please dont forget to pick up charcoal for the grill! I am at the grocery store getting the food! See you later this afternoon! Excited for your birthday party tonight! Love You! 

Writer VS. Author

WRITER	AUTHOR
Social Media posted opinions	Novels
Song Writer	Textbooks
Social Forums	Children’s Books
Personal Messaging	Plays and Movie Scripts
Advertising	Poetry
Newspaper Articles	Educational Magazines and Papers
Entertainment Magazines and Papers

Is everyone an Author?

 

I personally cannot say with confidence that "yes, everyone is an Author."  I have always believed that Authors were people like Stephen King or Jane Austen. I do think that everyone has the capability to write if they chose to, but I would not label them all Authors.  I realize that in the introduction to our textbook, there are several statements backing up why every person could be considered an Author. However, I think by saying that a random person who creates a Facebook page and has 200+ followers reading their personal rants is an Author, puts them in the same category as someone like William Shakespeare. That's hard for me to accept.  Because if we say that just because technology allows us to share our personal thoughts to people all over, that makes us an Author.  I really think that takes away from the real Authors and the respect that title holds for them by pouring themselves into and creating timeless works of art like Romeo and Juliet or Pride and Prejudice.  I am certainly not saying that everyone could not be an Author if that's what they wanted. I am just saying that I don't agree with categorizing or labeling them the same as people like John Steinbeck or Harper Lee for creating an acceptance speech for wining an award. The dictionary's definition of an Author is:

 

noun

a person who writes a novel, poem, essay, etc.; the composer of a literary work, as distinguished from a compiler, translator, editor, or copyist.

 

 I think that supports more of my opinion that that of the supporting opinions in the textbook. We teach our students in all grade levels about some of the works of the Authors that I mentioned above as part of curriculum in Elementary through High School grades, not so much about personal opinions and rants on social media. I could be wrong, this class and text may teach  me otherwise.  But if and until that happens, I prefer to leave the title of Author for those who have earned it and not label anyone else otherwise.