The final Blog ;(

     After reading Barbara Graham’s and David Brooks article, each of their thesis goes in a different direction, because in Barbara Graham’s article “Confession of a Quit Addict”, the thesis explains “You can learn a great deal about yourself from quitting and failure”. However, in David Brooks article “It’s Not About You”, the thesis explains in a different direction when he states “Americas colleges have sent another class of graduation off into the world”.

     Both of these articles go into different directions because Barbara Graham talks about the learning experience of quitting and failure, and David Brooks talks about a more academic topic of students being sent off into the world. However, both of these authors have a similar writing because they both developed their thesis statements by how they each argued their reasons of their point through the article. The organizational pattern that Barbara Grahams uses in “Confession of a Quit Addict”, is the organizational pattern of chronological. Barbara Graham sets up her major events according to the time it took place in her life. For example, she first talks about the point in her life when she was a straight-A high school student. Then the point in her life when she dropped out of college during her sophomore year, and then talks about the point when she needed to change so she could be happy.

     The organization pattern that David Brooks uses in the article “It’s Not About You” Is the organizational pattern of cause and effect. David Brooks identifies the motives for the events that take place in the article, and also the outcome and results of the action of the events. For example, the author states, “Todays graduates are also told to find their passion and then pursue their dreams. The implication is that they should find themselves first and then go off and live their quest. But, of course, very few people at age 22 or 24 can take an inward journey and come out having discovered a developed self.”

     Nevertheless, the writer that presented the most meaningful argument to me is Barbara Grahams article, “Confession of a Quit Addict”. Barbara Graham provided a better understanding of her argument due to the fact that it was over her personal life experience and what she has gone through. Barbara Grahams article be came more enjoyable because she painted vivid picture of her life that you could connect with through a personal perspective.

My Fall 2017 semester

In my Fall 2017 semester at Blinn was such a new experience for me. What went well was the beginning of the semester, because it was the beginning and everything was going easy at first, I addition of things going well was the start of building relationship with Professors and new people you never really met before. However, what did not go well was the time management that I had to learn. Like for example, the study hours, sleep subdual, free time and homework that needed to be completed. Also, another thing that I would have to point out was my eating habits, as an athlete I was far from eating the way I was supposed to. Like on the weekdays I would eat nothing but fast food fast food and junk food, on the weekends it was even worse. Which effected my energy and mood through the day.

    Where I succeeded throughout the semester was learning to manage my time and to adapt to things quickly than others. Therefore, I had more than enough time to complete the homework that was assign to me throughout the week, additionally I had free time to get a head on upcoming work in the following week. However, where I failed on was the complications with the exams in my classes. Even through everything was going smoothly with my daily assigned work, it was the exams that kicked me down. Over all this was my biggest failure and still continues to be. However, what I loved was the free time I had and the responsibility, but most importantly the freedom I had overall. I say freedom because as any other students growing up we all look forward to receiving that freedom, although there are still principles we still have to go by but nothing like High School. However, there are still some disadvantages in having too much freedom don’t get me wrong get me wrong, but at the end of the day we all have to make our own choices in this world.

    Out of this whole semester I did not really find anything that I can say I hated, however if I must point out something that I disliked it would be the fact that I did not have a car to drive to school in. I say I hated it because I had to wake up an hour early just to walk all the way to school just to make it on time. I feel that my performance this semester will benefit me in my next semester in a more beneficial way, because now I am aware what is expected next semester and what I should look out for. What I would do differently in the future is to try and stay focused throughout the semester as long as possible. Like for example, throughout the semester when the holiday breaks where over I started to lose the motivation in work.

Blog #6

     The article is over the Las Vegas shooting, the name of the article is called “The frightening Enigma of the Las Vegas shooter.” By David A. Graham. This article talks about what has happen and that the killer does not match the roll of a mass murder, he talks about how a mass murder would be a young individual. The man was a 64 years old millionaire who lives in a retirement community. It also talks about how the killer did not have criminal background, nor that he was a mentally ill person. While reading this article the authors primary argument was how the killer did not match to someone who would killed 60 people, and how that there was no concrete evidence to put together. The author supports this by gathering information from the Officer of the police department when he says, “He lived in a clean neat retirement community next to a golf course.” The author gives more supporting info from The New York Times, “he owned several other properties around the country, police said his house in Mesquite was in good order.” The last supporting info gathered was by the killer’s neighbor when he said, “Living in this kind of community, you don’t expect that. It is just unbelievable.”

     The classmates that I have chosen to wright about is Sarah Jaffar article. When reading Sarah’s article over the Las Vegas shooting, she breaks down and explains what is going on in the article. Everything that she noted was correct and on point. One thing that she handled great was how she did not leave out any key points from the article, and made sure that the reader was well informed with what was going on. If  I were to add to the discussion, I would provide more detail on where in Las Vegas the shooting took place and when it happened. However, overall Sarah’s writing came out sufficient and proper.

Chance the Rapper figurative lyrics

Chance The Rapper- Sunday Candy

The name of my first song is called, Blessings by Chance The Rapper. The name of the album is called Coloring Book. The lyric that I have chosen is when he says, “Ain’t no blood on my money, ain’t no twitter in heaven.” The lyric that I have chosen is an idiom because it is expressing a different meaning from the literal meaning.

The name of my second song is called, Sunday candy by Chance The Rapper. This song is a single. The lyric that I have chosen is when Chance says, “Mine’s is hand made, pan fried, sun dried Southside, and beat the devil by a landslide.” The figurative language is a metaphor, because he explained facets of his Grandmother that he can’t quite describe with words, so he uses memories and concrete objects connecting with her. This shows a profound gratitude and emotional complexity towards his Grandma.

The name of my third song is called, Cocoa Butter Kisses by Chance The Rapper. The name of the album is called AcidRap. The lyric that I have chosen is when he says, “cigarettes on cigarettes, my mama think I stank I got burn holes in my hoodies all my homies think it’s drank I miss my cocoa butter kisses, I miss my cocoa butter kisses.” The lyric I chosen is considered to be symbolism, because he implies that he smokes a lot of cigarettes that caused him to “stank”, and that also he misses his cocoa butter kisses that his parents use to give him but now all he smells is cigarettes. The cocoa butter kisses emphasize the importance of Chance The Rappers happy pass moment with his parents.

200 althlets take a kneel during the anthem.

     The topic that I have chosen, is over the NFL and President Trump regarding kneeling protests during the National Anthem. In Arnie Stapleton article, “More than 200 NFL, players sit or kneel during national anthem” from the Chicago Tribune by Arnie Stapleton. The author's subjective discussion of this topic, is that he is discussing the altercation that President Donald Trump's has with NFL athletes, teams and other organization that do not participate in the national anthem. Also, the author clarifies the purposes and actions of those who assumingly are disrespecting the American flag, in taking a knee during the anthem.

     In this article the author gets his good points from getting other people’s response and opinion of the protest against the national anthem. For example, one of the things that the author mentions are that President Donald Trump, in his opinion, says, "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you'd say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired”. After reading this article and feeling informed from beginning to end, I felt that there was no information that the author might have left out. The most subjective opinion from the article was when the author says, “Dozens of more players protested before the Raiders-Redskins game, the final one of the day and not far from the White House in Landover, Maryland. All but a handful of Raiders sat on their bench and seven Redskins took a knee while their teammates stood arm-in-arm along with owner Dan Snyder and president Bruce Allen.”

     While reading this article the author offers factual misconceptions as his own opinion, when he states “Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the anthem as a protest of police treatment of minorities. This season, no team has signed him, and some supporters believe  NFL owners are avoiding him because of the controversy.” Although, Colin Kaepernick may have refused to get up, I believe that it is a factual misconception that, NFL owners are avoiding a top 10 quarterbacks because of a controversy. Nevertheless, I do agree with the author in what he is saying and how he is explaining the altercation of the protest, because of the way he gathers information from multiple resources. Most importantly how the author gathers not just one side of the store, but both sides so that the readers are completely aware of the situation.

Completing my first Exam

I have just completed my first Exam and it was a little difficult. But, managed to get through it with some confidents. I did not expect the exam to be just some breeze, so when I received the paper I was not surprised. I prepared for the exam in many ways. For instance, by studying on my own, because that is how I learn more effectively. Also, me and a few other class mates formed a study group the night before to refresh our memories, so that when we would wake up the next morning on the day for the Exam we would not be so rusty and nervous. One way that I would prepare differently is by studying over the notes as much as I did on the vocabulary that we were assigned. One of the things that was most difficult for me was the fill in the blanks in the end of the packet, but overall the easiest part for me would be the vocabulary in the beginning. If I were to give advice to a youngster taking their first short answer / essay test, I would tell them to study alone in a quiet place and to also use study groups with classmates to get a different perspective. Most importantly some ways to relax yourself for an Exam and to get the best results, is to not over study yourself where you become exhausted. Also, get a goodnights rest and a good breakfast to keep you alert and energized for the Exam. Nevertheless, the best way to unwind after the Exam is to fill yourself with food and take a long resting nap.

Let me introduce myself

My name is Juan. Antonio. Rodriguez, I was born on October 9, 1998. This is my first semester in college so I am still getting use to the whole college life thing. I am from Fort Worth, Texas born and raised. I am into a lot of things that give off a good vibe, but there is only one thing that sets off a spark inside me and that is a sport called Boxing. I have been in boxing for 14 years, I am a 4x National Champion in two different weight classes, with a silver medal from “The Games of Texas”. I take pride in this because it is not just a sport to me, it is an opportunity to turn my dreams into reality. Where I want to go in life is not an easy road, but then again, the road to a goal is never easy. My goal in life is to go to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Although people may say this dream sounds impossible and out of my reach, I am a big believer that if your dreams do not scare you then they are not big enough. The process in getting there, is by taking the academic route so that I can get my education. Being that Texas A&M University has passed the law in boxing becoming an official sport, that is the next step for me! Another reason why I have chosen Texas A&M University, over any other college, is because in 2016 Texas A&M University sent 27 of their athletes to the Olympic games in Rio. With that being said, Texas A&M University has become a big resource for me to accomplish my goal.       

     If I were to tell you 4 months ago how the process was going to be on how I planned to further my education in college. I would have said that college would not have been a part of my plans anymore. Due to financial problems, conflicts with my Mother and Father, and helping them with getting things back to the way they were. Instead of college I would have signed a contract with a boxing promoter and I would have gone pro. However, as times got rough and my true dreams seemed to fade, I kept my faith strong in God and my dream alive. I refused to not fulfill my parents’ expectations in becoming the first Rodriguez to graduate college. God willing, when the time comes for me to succeed, there is not anyone I would prefer, then to see my Mother and Father watching their son fulfilling their expectations right in front of their eyes.

My intriguing view of Charles Blow's article

    

     The reason why Charles Blow’s “Library visit, then held at Gunpoint” published in the New York Times, article stood out to me is because of a few things. First thing, the headline of the article, at that point I was excited to read and find out what this was all about.  Another reason, being that it was about what happened to his son while in a college. I can put myself in that position.  Nevertheless, what grabbed my attention was that it wasn’t just some random college kid that attended Yale.  It was Charles Blow's son. In the article it states, “I got a call that no parent wants to get.”  It was his son calling from college letting him know that he had been accosted by a campus police officer at gunpoint. There was one type of language that stood out to me, it was how the writer brings to your attention that his son went to Yale and was a third-year student and the situation his son went through while in college.

     I would recommend this article to other students and teachers because it is an important article that I have enjoyed reading and very interesting.  Also, I would let them know what makes this article so strong is because it connects with the situations and conflicts that are happening in our society today and what you see on the news about officers killing innocent people and the conflicts that do not get resolved.  The writer has strengthened in getting his point across from the victim in getting his side of the story and being first to find out what happened and that he had talked to him about how to conduct himself if this situation ever occurred.  As it states in the article, “This is how my son remembers it”.  There are plenty of strengthens that come from the writer in this article that will connect to a reader.