The blogging aspect of Lives and Times has been an interesting assignment for the class requirements. It challenges the students to think "outside of the book" and classroom for that matter, and express thoughts and opinions through a digital outlet. This assignment has taught me a key lesson: learning does not end in the classroom. I found that some of my posts were personal reflections on things that I had learned in class and I could tie them back to course material but they were communicating more about how aspects of my daily life play into this class. It has been a challenging assignment, both in terms of work (ie remembering to post weekly and trying to figure out how to blog to begin with) as well as an intellectual challenge through finding notable events or ideas to blog about. There is quite a difference between the spoken and written word. The latter is where my eloquence is lacking. It has been a real challenge.

I chose the five posts for my portfolio based on criteria such as the time that I put into it, fluidity and diction, relevance and creativity. The following is a list of posts that I have chosen for the portfolio. Beginning with the post dating the farthest back and proceeding to the most recent post, here are my selections and explanation for each post:

1. Writing is Like...

This post post allowed me to express myself through an analogy.  I chose to compare the writing process to baking and decorating a cake. I put quite a bit of time, effort and thoughtful creativity into this particular post because it meant so much to me. I also included a photo of a cake that I made. This post is my favorite. 

2. SMC=Fernham/Oxbridge

I chose to write about the similarities that I found between the universities posed in Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" and our own Saint Mary's and Notre Dame community. This is an example of a post that I was able to weave my own life experiences into and have them coalesce with class  material. 

3. The Role of John

This post elicited the most responses from my classmates. In this piece, I advocated for John in The Yellow Wallpaper.  The class consensus was that John was a controlling and negative male character in Gilman's story. I felt that he was actually a positive force, encouraging her to heal. This post is a reflection of my ability to analyze competently and clearly.

4. Girl Interrupted 

I chose to include this post in the portfolio because I felt that it was a reflection of my ability to, once again, analyze  well. This post was mostly a reflection of Girl Interrupted and my thoughts on how it fit into our class curriculum and my thoughts on the film. This post was lacking a bit in creativity but it was intended to inform rather than entertain.

5.  Career Fair: Place Matters

This post is fine example of my ability to relate life experiences to the class; it is a reflection of my creativity as well as

my ability to communicate fluidly. I chose to write this post because I was absent from class on the day of the fair and

I thought I should share my experience with my blog readers. It was amazing how well my experience fit into the course material that we were covering. 

The portfolio assignment has really opened my eyes and encouraged me to spend more time on my posting and inject some more creativity into my posts. I am planning on being more thoughtful in my posts and also, commenting more on other blogs to create a communication channel with my classmates. The blogging assignment, difficult as it is, can also help me develop as a writer in the world of Public Relations, which is some practice that I can definitely use!

I am really looking forward to watching O in class and comparing it to the two films that we watched. Its pretty incredible how you can see such a shift in society based on filmography. It will be interesting to see how race plays a role in the more current film and if it is such a big deal as it is perceived to be in Othello. (references to the Moore etc.) I will plan on writing a response to this question after I see the movie!

Career Fair: Place Matters PORTFOLIO

I apologize for the lateness of this post! I was out of town last Thursday at a career fair and unable to write.

The career fair was held in Chicago at DePaul University in the student center. I have been to Chicago countless times but never to DePaul. In my preparation for the fair, I found myself trying to find images of the student center to give myself an idea of what the room looked like and what I should expect to see there. I realized that in this case, place really does matter. I was trying to imagine what I would feel like at the career fair by seeing what the space looked like. This realy ties into what we are learning in Lives and Times because of the significance that a place has over thought processes and the ability to be creative and respond to environmental elements that can play a part in the overall mood of the event.

The room itself was stark but well lit. There were many places that one could escape to to clear the mind and gather thoughts. I have a clear memory of how that room affected my performance at the career fair which is a testament to what we have been discussing in class!

Girl Interupted PORTFOLIO

At first I could not quite figure out how Girl Interrupted fit into our class past the theme we were discussing of the notion of "women's sicknesses" such as anxiety, nervousness and depression that we saw in The Yellow Wallpaper. Now, it is clear to me why we were required to view it. Because writing seems to be a serious theme in this class (I did not expect this) Susannah is really able to express her thoughts and emotions through the pen and paper. She finds solace in writing, much like the character in the Yellow Wallpaper felt. The two are so strikingly similar.

I am not a big movie watcher, so as much as I could enjoy a movie, I did enjoy seeing Girl Interrupted (I had seen it before a few times) with the class on Monday night. I am looking forward to more discussion about the movie and what it means to us.

The role of John in The Yellow Wallpaper PORTFOLIO

The Yellow Wallpaper was an enjoyable piece to read. She was really able to convey the mass pandemonium that was happening inside of her mind through her choice of words. Half way through reading the piece, I had to sit back and take a breath!

We talked quite a bit about her husband John and his character within the story. The class had mixed feelings on his role in the story and if he was a positive influence in her life. Interestingly, I thought that he was helpful and good for her but not everyone agreed with me (which is a good thing!!). I thought more about my initial feelings on him and went back and read some passages in which he is discussed. The more I think about it, perhaps he was a bit condescending and made her seem like a pathetic case. When I think back on when I seemed the most stressed out, I would have probably enjoyed being "babied" but that is just me. Gilman seems like she is more independent (I've gathered that from her writing style) and perhaps less endeared by the "babying" that John gives her.

Just wanted to follow up on my comments in class!

SMC/ND = Fernham/Oxbridge? PORTFOLIO

So far, A Room of One's Own has really got me thinking about the situation between Saint Mary's College versus the University of Notre Dame. The parallels between the two institutions in the book (Fernham and Oxbridge respectively) and our neighboring institution are disturbingly evident. Though Notre Dame now accepts women into the college, that noti0n of the "upper crust" of academia and the feelings of entitlement generated by seemingly proven intelligence dominate the aura of the college. The buildings are unnecessarily ornate and display the wealth that the institution boasts. At Saint Mary's, the buildings are undoubtedly beautiful but appear lowly in measure and richness in comparison. The difference between the food that Woolfe detailed is comparable to the difference between food offered between the two colleges. Notre Dame has a surplus of food while Saint Mary's cooks enough and the portions are smaller (not a bad thing!).
I enjoy the environment of my small, simple college in comparison to Notre Dame across the street, however there are elements of the college that I would change to more closely resemble what is offered at Notre Dame. I feel our class selection is slim and we could use more major options in the field of science.

I wonder what Woolfe would think about the present day relationship between SMC and ND. Would she think it is fair, what we have to offer the women of Saint Mary's? Or would she encourage more resources and options for the women? Something to consider!

Sorry for the boring post!!! Here is a picture to brighten up the awful day out there

Writing is like... PORTFOLIO

Writing, for me, can be compared to the process of designing a cake. I am comfortable in my ability to design and create cakes from start to finish, but if I slack off at any point in the process, it is very evident. If I lose motivation to write well, it really hurts my whole entire piece, just as if I lose motivation to ice the cake correctly, my mistakes will show. Furthermore, like the cake process, the writing process has structure but also allows for creativity.

The most important aspect of the writing process is the finished product and making sure that it is easy to read and comprehend. Similarly, the success of the cake baking process is contingent upon the final product and how it looks aesthetically.

I enjoy both writing and baking cakes but I know that I have quite a bit to learn!