Final Blog Assignment

Ryan Lemieur

Eng 111 Sect. G

Carrie Tebeau

Final Blog

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne

In order to define myself as writer I have to distinguish who I am as person.  As a human being I am continually crossing geographic, social, religious and economic barriers in pursuit of enlightenment.   Barriers should not be feared; they test your beliefs and make you stronger in every dimension of understanding the human condition.  Things I once wholeheartedly accepted as absolute truth are now just debunked myths.   My understanding of life changes as life reveals new insight.  I am constantly wrestling with who I am as a person.   Successful people do not just act on their instincts; they challenge them and see if they are true or need to be reexamined.  To walk through life assuming simplistic viewpoint are correct in this complex world without challenging them is an awfully dangerous predilection to follow.  I have taken this generally liberal mental approach to life and applied it to my academic pursuits.  As a writer I am just beginning my literary journey.  The further I am pushed to write meaningful compositions in college the stronger my writing process and voice becomes.

At a young age I exhibited an aptitude and acuteness for writing.  I remember in the third grade and being the new kind at a new school.   Horror films series such as Nightmare on Elm St., Halloween and Friday the Thirteenth dominated every school yard conversation.   Of course I was not allowed to watch any of them.  I felt like a complete outcast among my new peers.   In my mind I was the only kid from Kansas, who had never seen a scary movie.  Looking back I strongly believe that not being permitted to watch these horror films expanded my imagination and inflamed my curiosity towards them.  With all the time I had alone to myself I fantasize and wrote exclusive stories about students from class and me being hunted by the horror villains Freddy Kruger, Mike Myers and Jason Voorhees.  I would write really clean horror stories, probably classified more as adventure stories.  This was a great way pacify my social anxieties of that time.  I can see now that I was using my writing talents to bond with my fellow peers and be accepted.

Being an outsider, I feel most alive when I am getting out of my comfort zone and taking risks.  This is contrary to the way most people maneuver around in their daily lives.  It is way too easy to permeate an unadventurous disposition for life.  Over the last year I have had a call to healing and came to the realization that I am a sincere and sensitive soul.  Contrary to all the parading around I have done over the last fifteen years of a misguided ultra machismo facade.  I had to be brutally honest with who I am.  I have concluded that without filters at my central core:  I am emotionally charged, I am passionately concerned and I love all things.  With this paramount revelation I have had to relearn the shape of my soul.  Being a hyper sensitive soul I am inclined to focus illumination not on the doom and gloom of life.  This is no easy task though.   It is a never ending moment to moment struggle to stay optimistic throughout the average day.  But the peace of mind I have at the end of the day is well worth the contest.  I now realize it is exceedingly more meaningful and helpful in life to see reality for what it is and not what you want it to be.

I have traveled just about everywhere in the United States.   Between being in the Marine Corps and driving an eighteen wheeler for most of my adult life; I have seen and experienced every facet of America.  I have learned as a writer to write about what I observe.  I think the first blog entry of the semester demonstrates this.    I feel one of my strengths is a keen capacity of observation.  I feel like my appearance and personality cloak me in zebra flash.  They allow me access into many diverse worlds.  I believe I have uncanny ability of presence to penetrate most cultural settings and observe people in their natural settings.   I love to observe the subtle human condition.   I learn compassion and empathy for people I more than likely will never meet again by poising the questions:  What really separates any of us?  Could that have been me?  Are we really all that different?  In essence I use these questions to help define a writing voice for the goal of taking a piece of each person to represent the whole of humanity.  To do this I need to be simple and clear in my writing. 

When I am asked to define myself as a writer I fondly remember reading Walt Whitman’s original and infamous Leaves of Grass.  The first few lines read “I am the poet of the body and I am the poet of the soul.  I go with the slaves of the earth, equally with the slave masters and I will stand between the masters and the slaves entering into both so that both will understand me alike.”  I think that this brilliant phrase sums up what I try strive for when in I am attempting to impartially strengthen my writing voice. 

During this first semester of college I have written more meaningful essays than I did all through high school.  At moments I felt over whelmed with all the writing assignments from this class and my others.  I did not have a home computer this semester.  It was damaged during my move in the summer.  I did most all of my writing in the computer lab on campus.  Secondly, working 45 hours a week takes away from mandatory homework time.  Learning to implement proper study habits was a continual process throughout the semester.  Despite these two set backs I whole heartily believe I rediscovered my writing talents this semester.  I have definitely strengthened my writing voice.  As a writer I strive for a creative and unique approach to developing thoughts and then shaping them into memorable writings when I am constantly challenged.  Just as my blog entries for tell a story in reverse and tell a boring story demonstrate.  I will definitely need to refine my writing process for Eng 112.  First thing will be to get in the habit of writing an essay outline first; my mind has an acute sense to wander.

Portrait from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass

What is a blog?

The word Blog originates from weB LOG.  A blog is a continual series of written submissions from an individual onto a specific website.  Blogs are interactive allowing visitors to that blog website to leave feedback and exchange ideas.  Many blogs provide news or opinions about a particulare subject. 

I prefer blogging to written journals for many reasons.  First I have a right wrist impairment that limits my ability to write long form.  Typing on a computer allows me endure through the writing process.  Second I prefer the editing functions that are accessible on a computer.  These editing tools allow for greater work quality, efficiency and less paper waste.  Blogging is great for exchanging ideas and learning about niche topics.

The popularity of blogs has everything to say about American culture in the digital information technology age that we live in.  Blogs inform people through digital technology.

The Colbert Nation is hilarious

When I need a laugh, I watch the Cobert Report with Stephen Colbert on Comcedy Central. The show is amusing and informative covering multiple facets of hypocracy in out American culture.  Stephen uses the persona of a political pundit that spews right wing propoganda to illustrate a deeper understanding of how ridiculous the political arena is.  Like today he suggested that the Republicans and Democrates should compromise over the Bush tax cuts and extentending unemployment benifts by giving the rich tax cut as long as they do so to purchase the unemployed.

That’s not funny

Humor is a mystical phenomenon.  I believe humor is everywhere.  It provokes laughter and provides amusement.  Humor mainly exist in human interactions.  Humor is observed verbally, visually and physically.

Future College

I think gradually over time as more Americans achieve a college education our culture will recognize the flaws of our current sytem.   In America we still subscribe to the education sytem of an agricultural era.  Off in the summers to work the harvest and schooling in the winter months.  Since practically no one works a farm anymore, we rationalize summer breaks of as a time to rest the mind.  Studies of achievement standards tests are debunking this notion of needed rest.  When students return to school in the fall and are tested on core subjects of reading comprehension, writing and math they test out horribly.  Escpecially among lower income students that really have limited access to resources that stimulate their minds such as summer camps, museums or education field trips, things higher income students have access to pushed by parents that value education.  When the same group of students are tested at the end of the year the lower income students actually test better.  So this notion of summer vacation of vegging out does way more harm than good.  Constantly stimulating the mind will be seen as the new norm of educational practices.

Frontline

The Frontline documentary reverberated alot of the same sentiement I have towards digital-cyber nerds.  Most of these types of people have anti-social tendencies.  They are people you do not have good social intuition.  They are usually shy and awkward around groups, ecspecially in setting outside of their comfort zones.   I think these people eventually avoid all circumstances that require face to face communication.  I think that it is sad, these people are so insecure and lonely they spend their real lives in fantasy land trying to connect with anybody on some level.  As with any new advancement in technology their is a capacity to abuse the intended purpose.  People judgement of technology, if it is “good or bad” come from what it is that they want to see.  Mainly people are motivated by fear and focus their thoughts on negative situations and out comes.  That is no way to live, picking out flaws and not appreciating what is good.

Compelling Ads

For me I have really tuned out most television ads.  The only time I really watch television is for sporting events, and with that I usually doing stuff as the game is going on in the back ground.  Most of the advertisements that I pay attention to anymore are on-line.  I watch shows on HULU and The Colbert Nation so that really limits commercial exposure.  The one that I go out of my way to pay special attention to are usually for mens magazines.  The pictures of beautiful women on them captivate my attention.  I just read about a study that found men who stare a clevage for more than 10 minutes a day increase their life expectancy.  By doing this it increases their heart rate and stimulates blood flow.  So now starring at beautiful women in ads for a few minutes a day is a health issue of life and death.  I will gladly follow doctors orders on this health tip.  Keep the ads coming.

the end

The horn was blairing non-stop, the ambulance sirens began growing silent.  The car started to roll backwards, the millions pieces of shattered glass restructured themselves back into the windshield.  The massive amounts of blood gushed back into the lifeless bodies as they gasped their final breaths back into their lungs.Their bodies were made whole again.  The ultimate moments of terror were stricken from their minds.  It is at this moment they realize how precious life truly is.

Mundane Monday

I awoke to a dim light and then it ripped from my bed.  It’s another starshaped world I had left behind. Now that I have thought it over. It was just another lonely night; it’s not so bad. I am looking forward to living this life I live; I get to start it over.

CU L8R

Sup cuz? what U up2 2nite? goin 2b@2pacs workin da nu album. fo shizzzle Wordup