Gun Control?

One of my homework assignments was to read the article, Annie get your gun. This article was about women and their right to use firearms. Alot of people or dare I say, "men" think that women with guns are silly. Or maybe that they might hurt themselves because their too weak. I think its all sexist. Personally, I think owning a gun should be a choice and not prohibited whether male or female. But there should be strict guidelines and laws when it comes to who purchases them. Lets face it, if someone wants to get a hold of a firearm, they will find a way. At least if its registered, its place of origin can be tracked and it would aid in catching a criminal.
All this talk about guns was sparked when Palin was running for office. Palin was very open about her use of firearms. I was surprised when a multitude of women came forward and defended the use of firearms. A man in the article stated that, "Its not the gun that kills, its the person behind it." Which is so true and makes it bad for everyone else. Alot of people were also very angry at Palin for coming out of the gun closet and telling people it was okay to use them. So who cares what people think anyway. The majority of people in the United States didnt like her because she was a Replublican from Alaska.
When I was a teenager, I had barrells of fun at camp. I enjoyed riding the horses but most of all I loved target practice. I didnt shoot a single thing but the target in front of me and the grass. No murder scenes, just straight fun. Why cant everyone just play nice and shoot at the right things. This remains a mystery.

Reflections - Learning in English 111

This has been a rough couple of months for me due to juggling English and Biology together. It was alot of writing and memorizing. Gathering ideas for writing a paper is no joke. I always thought English would be easy yet I found myself racking my brains for ideas. Even though I feel that writing is definetly my weakness, as time went on it seemed to gradually get less complicated. Once I had developed an outline of my plans, my thoughts would flow a little easier. I had to work really hard to understand some of the papers I was writing. Im finding out from alot of people that writing is not an easy tas for them either. Some people explained that coming up with a subject was easy but putting it all together was another story!
English 111 has taught me a few things or two. This class has shown me how to break down compositions.Ive learned the art of using Rhetorical Triangles. One triangle shows you how to address the author, audience and to state your purpose. Another triangle explains how to use Rhetorical Appeals such as: Pathos, Ethos and Logos.
Pathos shows you how to write by envoking emotion. Such as humor, sensations and drama. Does someone or something in your life bring joy to you? Do they make you cry or desire them? Thats what Pathos is.
Ethos shows you how you relate to an audience through credibility and trustworthiness.This could be someone in your life that left an impression. A person that made their mark in this world that you greatly respect. For instance, I respected my grandfather for all his great accomplishments.
Logos deals with the facts and logic. For example, maybe someone in your life that made logical sense to you. Like your father or your favorite teacher.
The Purpose triangle teaches you how to use persuasion, entertainment and information in your writing. All these tools guided me when it came to writing all of my papers.
My professor used alot of visual aids which help to keep my interests. He used commercials, documentories and movies. After we were done he made us analyze some of them. I feel like this helped because I am a visual learner and cant take a professor that runs about the mouth. :)All though some of the people in my class did. Plus this is a very TV stimulated generation these days. Everything is about entertainment now! And this enquiring mind wants to know!
So, I learned alot about writing and me this semester and that Ill probably never become a English teacher because they have to read entirely too much. I also learned that I suck at computers and Ill probably take a computer class next semester. Or maybe at my work because they have a computer class every six months and at least thats free. Hopefully one day Ill strengthen my skills and my papers will be interesting to people from beginning to end. This was a good sememester.

My Great Influence - Revision of diagnostic essay

Ive had lots of influences in my life but one has changed my life considerably. It was my grandfather, his name was John. To start, grandpa gave great counsel and when problems arose he would say, “Stay positive and just deal with it.” “Never quit Michelle because God’s got something good for you.” Even though I have a degree under my belt already he inspired me to go back to college and pursue another career.
As you know, divorce can be life altering for anyone. I was distraught when my marriage ended and grandpa John told me there was hope after a failed marriage. He gave me the courage to open up my heart.
Presently I work in healthcare theatre and at times it can be very stressful. Sometimes the patients and their families will make you lose your religion. But he asked me, “Do you like your job?” And I replied, “Yes, but its mentally and physical demanding.” And he pointed out that I should have more resilience because for these people it could be there last destination. He also said,“Not yours because you are young and your life has just begun.” Id like to say that I have no patience but yet his advice just humbled me. Now I try my best to treat people with dignity and respect.

My grandpa John was known for his tainted past, massive ministries around the globe and his vast perception. My grandfather really changed the way I viewed the world and now Im going to tell you why he's such an influence to me. To illustrate, As a young child and adolescent he struggled with a heroin addiction. He ran the streets of New York with a bunch of local gang members which landed him in several prisons. His mother would search the streets until she found him or returned home praying the authorities wouldn’t knock on the door saying her son was dead. This life kept him from being a fit parent, unable to provide for his children because no employer would give an addict a job. He entered into many drug rehabilitation centers but they did not give support to him. His mother and wife felt helpless because they couldn’t help him. Until one night, he laid lifeless in a dark street high off heroin, beaten and unable to protect himself from being robbed because he was so high. As he lay there, he began to feel like there was no hope for him. Being murdered in the streets or overdosing would be his ultimate demise. All he could do was lay there and wait for someone to call for help. Finally, help came but there was a warrant for his arrest so the police picked him up off the damp cement and carried him to the penitentiary once again. When he arrived, some of the men said, “John there is a church where you may be able to get help”. When John was released from prison he slipped back into his old ways once again. Under the control of drugs, he boarded a bus and passed out. At the next stop, he exited and decided to walk home. Then something caught his eye, a well lit cross belonging to a place of worship. It was the church that was described by the men in prison. Out of curiosity, he entered the church and was met by the members. They told him about a camp for addicts where they can help rehabilitate you. So out of desperation he joined the camp. He was really touched by the empathy and love that he felt from the counselors there. The camp counselors guided him spiritually and physically to help break his addiction. Finally, something worked and life was worth living.

Although his marriage to my grandmother Naomi failed, he remarried in 1967 to a female evangelist named Anne. They both settled in Virginia Beach and opened a small church eventually growing into one of the biggest mega churches in the state of Virginia, Rock Church. My grandfather worked diligently to accomplish his prophetic dreams. In the 1980’s, he formed a rally that was held in Washington, D.C. called “Washington for Jesus” so people could pray for our nation. Also he had a desire to help recover drug addicts and help those suffering from poverty. Africa always a heavy burden in his heart, he visited there regularly. With hard work and enough support, the Rock Church of Africa (Liberia) was opened. Soon an orphanage, free medical clinic and schools would follow. Churches were built in India, Fiji, and Ghana. There are five hundred Rock Churches internationally.

My grandfather is proof that everyone has a chance at redemption. He is the evidence that poverty and addiction can be overcome. Everyone that knew him held him in a high regard. He loved people and when he looked at you instantly you could feel God's love beaming from his eyes. When he spoke to people he saw no race, color or creed. And he didnt care if you were a Democrat looking for CHANGE or a Republican seeking more power. He didnt care about titles and false promises. He wanted to bring back that foundation to America and that is GOD. And without it, our country is slowly meeting its demise. Those of you who want CHANGE, buckle your seatbelts because its coming. My grandfather taught me that we have lost our focus. The very idea of why we exist. And that is to act out our place in this world and complete our destiny. All in all, Grandpa John showed me that other people in this world need help besides America and my family. One day, when the time is right, I will continue his work in Africa, strengthen my character and help build on to the great legacy that he has left my family. So what will you do?


My Great Influence - Original diagnostic essay

My grandpa John was known for his shady past, enormous ministries around the world and his vast wisdom. As a young child and young adult he struggled with heroin addiction. He ran the streets of New York with local gang members which landed him in several prisons. His mother would search the streets until she found him or returned home praying the authorities wouldn’t knock on the door saying her son was dead. This life kept him from being a fit parent, unable to provide for his children because no employer would give an addict a job. He entered into many drug rehabilitation centers but they did not aid him. His mother and wife felt powerless because they couldn’t help him. Until one night, he laid lifeless in a dark street high off heroin, beaten and unable to defend himself from being robbed because he was so high. As he lay there, he began to feel like there was no hope for him. Being murdered in the streets or overdosing would be his ultimate demise. All he could do was lay there and wait for someone to call for help. Finally, help came but there was a warrant for his arrest so the police picked him up off the wet cement and carried him to prison once again. When he arrived, some of the men said, “John there is a church where you may be able to get help”. When grandpa was released from prison he of course got high once again, boarded a bus and passed out. At the next stop, he exited and decided to walk home. Then something caught his eye, a well lit cross belonging to a church. It was the church that was described by the men in prison. Out of curiosity, he entered the church and was met by the members. They told him about a camp for addicts where they can help rehabilitate you. So out of desperation he joined the camp. He was really touched by the compassion and love that he felt from the counselors there. The camp counselors guided him spiritually and mentally to help break his addiction. Finally, something worked and life was worth living.
Although his marriage to my grandmother Naomi failed, he remarried in 1967 to a female evangelist named Anne. They both settled in Virginia Beach and opened a small church eventually growing into one of the biggest mega churches in the state of Virginia, Rock Church. My grandfather worked diligently to fulfill his prophetic dreams. In the 1980’s, he formed a rally that was held in Washington, D.C. called “Washington for Jesus” so people could pray for our nation. Also he had a desire to help rehabilitate drug addicts and help those suffering from poverty. Africa always burdened his heart, he visited there regularly. With hard work and enough support, the Rock Church of Africa (Liberia) was opened. Soon an orphanage, free medical clinic and schools would follow. Churches were built in India, Fiji, and Ghana. There are five hundred Rock Churches internationally.
My grandfather gave great advice and when problems arose he would say, “Stay positive and just deal with it”. “Never quit Michelle because God’s got something good for you.” I was devastated when my marriage ended in 2000 and he told me there was hope after a failed marriage. I work in the healthcare field and it very stressful so sometimes the patients will make you lose your religion. But he asked me, “Do you like your job”? And I replied, “Yes, but its stressful”. And he pointed out that I should have more patience because for these people it could be there last destination. “Not yours because you are young and your life has just begun.” My grandfather changed the way I viewed the world. This is living proof that everyone has a chance at redemption and proof that poverty and addiction can be overcome. Clearly, other people in the world need help besides America and my family. One day, when the time is right, I will continue his work in Africa and help build on to the great legacy he has left my family.

Vegh,Stephen."Rock Church leader praised for his local, national impact.Febuary
20,2008. November 15,2008.http://hamptonroads.com/2008/02/mourners-gather-
funeral-rock-church-bishop-john-gimenez

Multiple Intelligence - How do you learn?

One of my assignments was to read something called, Multiple Intelligence: How Do You Learn? and it was pretty interesting. In the beginning, it talks about how some people are visual learners. They rely off of images such as; movies, art, graphs and charts. (etc.) They seem to think these individuals would fare well in careers like: mechanics, inventors visual artists and many more.

Next, they talk about people who are verbal learners. Which means their skills are in listening and use words unlike visual learners. A good career for these individuals would be: teacher, writer, lawyer and maybe a government job. Using logic is another learning ability. Their able to learn text with the use of numbers and reasoning skills. Good career fields would be in computers, researching and science. Bodily is the ability to perform a job with body movements. Being a dancer, actor or firefighter usually fall into that category for jobs. Musical inclined people usually excel in singing, composing and music. Also, there is something called interpersonal. This is a skill that deals with relations to others. These people can understand others emotionally more than others. Possible careers choices would be sales, counselor and business.

Finally, theres intrapersonal. These people usually try to get a grip of were your coming from when it comes to life, relations, strengths and weaknesses. Careers to follow might be: a philosopher and/or researcher.

This article has much more to offer. It explains in detail some of the skills that these people have and describe more jobs that they would do well in. Ive learned that I have a visual, logical, and interpersonal intelligence.

This is a very helpeful article. However, there is no evidence that this article's information will work for everyone. It just simply guides you into different career directions. So does any of this apply to you? Just read it and you'll see!

About Springsteen's Born in the USA

To be honest, I was never a Bruce Springsteen fan. I do remember hearing the song Born in the USA quite a bit when I was growing up. It was one of those catchy tunes that came on the radio all the time. Since I started my English 111 class, we've studied the lyrics to it. And to my surprise, the song was about something quite the opposite. I neglected to pay attention to the words, as I do with the majority of music that I listen to. Anyhow, I'm still not a Bruce Springsteen fan to this very day. But Id like to shed light a little light on what he's trying to point out.
His song repeatedly talks about the CHARACTER being born in the USA so I assumed that Bruce was being very patriotic, of course I was dead wrong. He makes it a point that the CHARACTER in the song, went to war and returned to his hometown and became a nobody. What a homecoming! And I guess he was pretty upset about it because he (character) was born in the USA. His brother (character) meets a nice women while in Vietnam. While serving his country, he tragically loses his life. Unfortunately, the only thing his wife has to remember him by is a picture that was given to her. I could say more but its just to depressing.
Studying the lyrics at class has really taught me a lesson. Be careful of what you listen to because you don't know what your programming in your head. And also, the next time your listening to your favorite tune, take time to hear the words because it might actually tell a story that might impact your life. It is abundantly clear that Bruce has some anger issues about war because he didnt even want PALIN to play his music during her running for office (v.president). I think he needs counseling for his very non-american and aggressive approach.