Blog Post #1: I Once Was Miss America
In I once Was Miss America, Roxane Gay starts off talking about how Vanessa Williams won the Miss America beauty pageant, and the event made her realize that girls like her can be beautiful. The mention of Vanessa Williams winning Miss America and inspiring others sends a message that people can be beautiful no matter what their race is. Gay talks about the struggles she faced in grade school and how reading the Sweet Valley High series affected her. She often read and re-read the Sweet Valley High series, reading these books served as an escape from the real world. She connects her own life to the book as she wants what the characters in the story have. She mentions how being different leads to her being socially isolated and treated negatively. Gay’s peers bullied her by making remarks about her Haitian background and appearance. The constant teasing caused her to go off on her classmates, and she told them that one day she would become Miss America. However, this made her situation worse as she gave them another reason to make fun of her. When Roxane learned that a new Sweet Valley book was coming out, she got extremely excited. Then, the book came out, and she finished it and realized that it was awful. Her understanding is that the series was not the best, however, reading it gives her a sense of nostalgia. Roxane realizes that she did not belong to Sweet Valley, but she keeps on reading an imperfect book series because it brings her back to a time when she could escape the hardships of reality and enter a world of her inner desires.
Blog Post #2 - Shitty First Drafts
The right words do not happen to come out all at once, pragmatically it takes a couple drafts to write something worthy of satisfaction. Lamott deliver her instructions on how to write an exemplary paper and writing such a paper requires writing Shitty First Drafts. Good writing does not happen to pour all on to the page, it takes writing various ideas, and gutting sentences and paragraphs to make a symphony. The first few drafts could contain gems because a writer decides to let their mind run freely without restrictions on the thought process. Since no one is going to see the first draft, it is best to write everything that comes to mind. Even, the best writers go through the process of writing multiple drafts before producing critically acclaimed material. I know that when I write, I cringe at what I write first, but that thinking changes after several attempts. Lamott provides a glimpse of how she uses her own advice by recalling times when she had to write food reviews. She is not exuberant to write, but she does that, so she can get on with writing material that she would like to publish. It takes several tries to create satisfactory writing.
Blog Post #3 - BBG 11
Chapter eleven lists many ways of exploring topics, and committing to a single topic is my weakness. There are endless possibilities of topics to choose from, but it is so difficult to commit to a single topic. I find that committing to a single topic is a great way to starting a paper. I have had several moments, where I could not commit to one topic. Trying to find a topic that is well suited for an assignment is crucial to begin a paper. Liking your topic would make the process of writing a paper would simpler, as you would be able to write an essay without giving up. In high school, I ran into the problem of finding appropriate sources because my topics were too narrow or specific. I realize that not having enough sources means there is not enough to write about. The topic that is chosen should have published research about it. Having enough evidence is key to making a strong essay. Obviously when choosing what evidence to use, picking credible sources for evidence is the best option. In order to have a valid research paper, the evidence must support the paper. Having a proper topic will help guide the direction of an essay.
Personal Essay Draft
Having immigrant parents and being born in the United States has defined what my identity is. My parents came to this country so that their children would have a better future than living in Bangladesh. They expect their son and daughter to go to college and get a job in a respected field. They also expect me to follow tradition, but that seems impossible.
My parents are very fortunate that they made it into this country since they came here on a lottery system. When my parents came to this country, they barely knew any English. They worked any jobs they could just to provide for me and my sister. My parents were using the idea of the American Dream as their guide to a better future. They rubbed off the idea of the American Dream to me, and this has driven me to do well in school. We lived in one of the worst areas in Atlanta and accomplishing the American Dream felt impossible because I had to worry about my safety. Specifically, I lived in Dekalb, and the crime rate is higher than the national average. In the span of eleven years, my house was robbed eight times, which led us to install a security system. During one of the robberies, I remember seeing broken glass all over the floor which was from the patio door. My mom, sister, and I walked further into the house to discover the burglar, and at that moment we froze. We let the burglar just walk past us as we stood helpless. At the time of the burglary, I was nine years old and extremely terrified. Drug dealing and murder were common in my neighborhood. Violence was inevitable in certain areas such as the Kroger near my house where a couple of shootouts occurred. After living in Atlanta for fifteen years, we moved to Florida where my dad bought his first business. Now my dad owns two businesses, and we are doing awfully a lot better than we were in Atlanta. For my family and I, the American
One rule my parents wanted me to follow was to not eat pork and avoid alcohol at all costs. Avoiding pork was a dietary custom that my parents followed due to their Islamic religion. According to the Quran, the holy book of the religion, pigs are dirty animals, therefore, you are prohibited from eating them. However, I do not follow this rule since I like eating pork. My parents would go to extremes to stop me from eating pork at a very young age. In elementary school, all my teachers were let known that I was prohibited from eating pig, and they had to make sure I would not eat such food. There were many occasions when I saw something in the store that I wanted to eat, but my parents would read up ingredients on labels to make sure there were no pig byproducts such as gelatin. This one time I wanted to try Grey Poupon, a type of Dijon mustard, but my dad read the label and noticed that it contained Chardonnay. I was told by my dad to put the Grey Poupon away, and instead, I had to settle for regular yellow mustard. After giving up on my religion in high school, I started to eat pork on a regular basis. My decision to eat pork for the first time was influenced by curiosity. I ate the pork proudly for the first time. I felt that I had broken a pointless rule. I felt free, yet I was hiding in the shadows because my parents do not know that I do not follow their religion.
My parents were strict about friends. I was not allowed to sleep over the night because my parents were always worried. To further explain, my parents did not like the idea of their son sleeping over at a stranger’s house. They only allowed me to sleep over at my family members’ homes. Another reason why I could not sleep over is that my parents thought I would do something that I am not supposed to do. For example, they worried that my friends could offer drugs or alcohol to me, Also, they feared that I would get hurt somehow. It wasn’t until sophomore year that I slept overnights at my friends’ houses. They eventually let me sleep over at my friend’s house only because my mom was friends with my friend’s mom.
While I grew up, my family celebrated Ramadan, which is the holy month of Islam, and it occurs every year according to the lunar calendar. Every year, we would fast for fourteen hours a day for a whole month. At the end of Ramadan, we would celebrate on a day called Eid al-Fitr. As a young kid, I liked meeting up with family members on Eid. On the day of Eid, my family and I would pray at the mosque, then we would invite people over to our house to eat Bengali food and talk. There was a tradition on Eid where adults would give kids money and gifts, and it felt like it was my version of Christmas because I received a lot of money. I used to fast when I was younger because I was religious, but I stopped during ninth grade after losing touch with my religion. To me, I felt there was no reason I should have put myself into the struggle of fasting when I had no desire of being religious. I gave up on my religion because I could not understand the point of following strict rules and obligations. Fasting requires dedication and will, and I did not have the stamina to do so since I felt very tired if I did not eat. When I used to fast, food would always be on my mind. Sometimes I would hide food under my bed, so I would not get hungry.
To conclude, my parents and I might not see eye to eye, but I know they only want the best for me.
Research Proposal
My research will focus on why being an exploratory major is necessary for selecting a major in a future field. Choosing a major and sticking to it is a crucial decision that one must make at college. Before I came to Florida State University, I did not know what I wanted to major in, therefore I chose to be an exploratory major. The main purpose of being exploratory is to help make an informed and calculated decision and advisors help with the process of choosing a major. At FSU, advisors can help you determine your talents and skills, explore areas of study, and graduate on time. I am going to be a part of this community for at least year or more until I pick my major, and my advisor has helped me select classes for fall. Advisors try to help students as early as possible: orientation. My experience with the exploratory advisors at orientation was very insightful as we discussed potential majors that interest me, and they even assisted me in choosing classes for the summer. Potential candidates that I might interview include a former exploratory student. I will try to understand the former exploratory major’s overall experience with the exploratory department and interactions with advisors. Also, emails from the advising department are considered important texts, and it will be further discussed in my research.
Blog Post #6 - BBG Chapter of your choice
Blog Post #4 - Personal Profile Mentor Texts
In chapter 13, the use of argumentative tactics is discussed so that writers can strengthen their claims and arguments. Persuading the reader to side with an argument based on credible evidence may seem tough at first. Writers use the tools of persuasion and argument to state their opinion, and they get their readers, also known as the audience, to agree with them. I find this method to argue my opinions effective as it has worked for me when I wrote argumentative essays in high school. I find it necessary that my audience should know that I am knowledgeable about the topic of my essay. Using various appeals in an argument can help win over the reader. For example, pulling the reader’s heartstrings adds emotional appeal to an argument. My English teachers from high school taught me about ethos, pathos, and logos, and I still find it beneficial to use those methods in writing my arguments. The organization of my argument involves inductive reasoning. I do this by presenting my evidence then I draw a conclusion from it. To me, inductive reasoning is the easiest way to present ideas to the reader, and I convince the reader of my argument by making generalizations about the evidence I collected. Well formulated arguments require having accurate and relevant evidence.
Mark Binelli of Rolling Stone presents an interesting profile of Nate Norman, where he goes into detail about his rise from being a pizza delivery boy to a kingpin drug dealer. Before his days of moving pounds of weed, Nate is painted as a kind, small person who got picked on, but the tide changes for him as he gets himself involved in a lucrative and illegal job. The author does a pretty good job of presenting this information about Nate and his associates by presenting it in chronological order. As Binelli describes the events that take place, he provides commentary from the people involved in this story. I truly admire the approach the author takes in presenting the chain of events because he provides many different people’s perspectives on the events that take place. The people’s perspectives serve as quotes and commentary in the author’s article, and it important to have many perspectives as it allows you to step back and view the bigger picture.
From this model profile of Nate Norman, it can be said that Nate and his friends and associates were making millions from selling a harmless drug, but the money changed Nate so much that he thought he was invincible.
Blog Post #5 - Mentor Text - Community Profile
I usually don’t listen to podcasts unless I am assigned to read them, and my belief was that listening to podcasts was a way to get some sleep. However, listening to The Habitat kept me up, as it did not completely bore me. The narrator’s description of the environment was very detailed and precise, and I could very well imagine what the volcano at Hawaii looks like. The sound of tires rolling off gravel and the descriptive narration painted a picture of the setting in my head. As humans we have been curious about exploring other planets, and alien life, so it is interesting to see how NASA will take the lead in making new scientific discoveries. The one-year experiment of living on a Mars-like environment can show us if astronauts are capable of living on Mars without losing their composure. It is crucial to NASA that they pick candidates that have the mental capacity to live in an unknown land. Personally, I would not be able to handle the distress of having to live in a confined area for a year with people I barely know. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for planetary exploration, and hopefully, NASA will see successful results from their experiment.