Reflection

Wow, we're almost done!  This class has taught me so much about myself, literature, our society, and the world.  To start, the first unit we talked about really intrigued me and made me think very differently about things that have  become second nature to our society.  It's obvious day to day that there are ads everywhere, but when we looked at the effects those ads are having on children I started to recognize on a bigger scale how sad our society has become.  We are a society that has more than enough to get by and yet we are always wanting more and more, quicker and quicker.  Businesses run our lives, everywhere we turn there are ads for something.  After reading Feed I realized how bad this is for our society.  I used to read fictional books and just enjoy the story.  Since having this class I am able to make strong connections to the real world which I think will really help me in life.  Rather than just seeing Feed as some messed up society I had to recognize the similarities it had to our society and contemplate how much closer this society is to our future.  We are constantly making new inventions, so it's not unbelievable that one day the internet would actually be inside our bodies.  It would be ignorant to dismiss this as impossible.  Similarly, today if you don't have access to the internet you are five steps behind in the job market just like Violet's father was without the Feed.  I realized that technology is great and is not going anywhere anytime soon.  But, it is important to recognize how detrimental the consumerism it is creating is to our society.
That leads me to the Thoreau challenge.  This challenge had a lasting impact on me.  I realized how much I enjoyed background noise, but how unnecessary and distracting it really can be.  As a society we have lost touch with our roots, nature, the real world around us, because we are too caught up in technology.  Like I said I am a firm supporter of technology but I still recognize the importance of taking time out of your day to slow down and appreciate what life has to offer.  By spending a week without technology I was able to get so much work done but I realized how much I depend on technology in positive ways.  I am able to be in contact with family and friends at the push of a few buttons, the time it takes me to get school work done is cut in half from the use of a laptop and the internet, and finally, TV and radios are great for parties or relaxing at the end of a hard day.  This class helped me realize that everything has positives and negatives, but it is important to question whether the positives outweigh the negatives.
Hunger Games was by far my favorite book of the semester.  Between semesters I do enjoy reading, but I have fallen into reading only Jodi Picoult books because I really like her writing style and what she writes about, her books are guaranteed to interest me.  If I would have just picked up the Hunger Games I would have put it right back down because the story seems so unbelievable I would have dismissed it by the description on the back.  However, I loved the story and found that i don't dismiss fiction as easily as I did before.  With technology developing the way that it is anything is possible and again like Feed this society had many links to the society we live in today.  The story really intrigued me and after discussing it in class I had a whole new prospective on the book.  While reading, I didn't even recognize how similar reality TV in the story is to reality TV today.  The Hunger Games were brutal, sad, and immoral, but the way the audience affected every move the tributes made relates so closely to society today.  As a reality TV fan I really had to self reflect on why I liked reality TV and why I had been denying how blatantly scripted many shows are.  Similar to how children hold on to their belief in Santa and the Easter Bunny, against my boyfriend's constant nagging about how fake Real Housewives, Jersey Shore, and Teen Mom are I held out confidence that although some parts may be scripted there was no way the shows were totally fake.  Now every time I watch any of these shows I am constantly analyzing their decisions and I usually come to the conclusion that most people are acting in a way that has more than likely sparked better ratings.  This is probably one of the biggest learning experiences of the semester just because it completely changed my way of looking at one of my favorite forms of entertainment.
Overall, this semester has taught me a lot.  I have a much more critical eye and am able to look at how issues affect our society as a whole.  However, the last issue I want to discuss is how often our class criticized  the selfishness that often came out in conversation.  For example, when discussing the Dumbest Generation many people reacted by saying well I don't need to know many historical facts that my grandparents generation had to know because they didn't have the luxury of the internet to look it up when needed.  I just want to close by saying I don't think it is bad that as a generation we do, buy, read, watch etc what interests us.  I think it's wrong if people don't recognize the importance of understanding history but that doesn't mean that I'm going to go back and read my history book; I think it's wrong if people don't recognize that books that are boring to you may be extremely interesting to someone else, but I don't think it's wrong to admit you're going to put down a book after a few chapters put you to sleep.  I think life is too short to waste time reading books that make you fall asleep, or memorizing facts that you don't need and admitting you do these things does not make you a bad or ignorant person.  I think our society's education system requires us to read many different ideas for a reason, because they are necessary to become a well rounded, educated person.  However, being a well rounded educated person does not mean that you have to choose to do things in your free time that don't interest you.

A world without books

I think a world without books would look like the society depicted in farenheit 451.  Language would begin to dwindle because from birth reading helps to build vocabulary.  Critical thinking would disappear because there have to be new and differing ideas for analysis to even exist.  Rather than life being like an onion and people having to explore the layers in their own way, life would be more like spaghetti with a few different kinds of people (i.e. noodles, sauce, and meatballs) but what you see is what you get!
I would definitely miss books if they were forbidden because although there are some nights where I am exhausted and just want to relax and watch tv, other nights reading really relaxes and me and makes me feel a lot less lazy because I am still working my mind.  I don't read for leisure during the semester because I always have something to be working on, but during the summer I love sitting on my roof, by the pool, or on the beach and reading a good book.  Like I said before reading presents new ideas and allows the reader to interpret the story any way they want.  A reader could analyze a story and see a whole different way of looking at it than the author even intended. 

One way I feel we "burn" books today is by turning them into movies.  Although I love watching movies, I feel in a way they often take away a lot of the texture within books.  When you read you can imagine the characters in any way you please and you know what they're thinking.  In a movie there is no way to read the characters minds, which can really take away from some deeper meaning, and there are often time limits on movies so a lot of the book gets thrown to the waste side anyway.  Not to mention the problem actor choices, if the wrong actor is chosen, the whole movie can crumble leaving a bad image on the book as well.  I am anxious to see the movie Hunger Games but I know that it won't even compare to the book!

One other way I feel we "burn" books today is through spark notes.  I personally do love spark notes because sometimes text is too dense, too long, or just plain boring so spark notes is a quick easy way to get the jist of the story.  However, like movies, you only see a glimpse of the book through spark notes.  Granted you are seeing the most important parts, but the plot is completely lost.  Using spark notes in conjunction with reading can be very helpful, but if books were lost and spark notes were all that was left it just wouldn't be the same!

The danger books present are questions.  If you are told all of your life one way of thinking then read a book about a completely different society questions arise.  What would life be like in that kind of society?  How is our society similar?  Who is right?  Who is wrong?  The most dangerous questions is probably:  If we are wrong, what can I do to make things right?  Dictatorships are very threatened by any kinds of questions becuase they often spark revolts.

Hunger Games

To be honest I could not put this book down!  The whole time I was reading I kept imaging what it would be like to live in this society; where each year someone’s child was put onto a television show to fight other children to the death and the rest of the year families were fighting starvation.  I was also very interested in how mature Katniss was for her age, and how much stress she had to handle each day. 

Like Feed, this book was a glimpse into a future that seems so far away at first glance, but so close when you take a moment to think outside the box.  Feed portrayed a future where the Internet and computers have become so necessary they are actually a part of the human body.  Like today, the tendency of turning a blind eye to real issues leads to the degradation of human bodies and corporations ruling the world.  Hunger Games relates to this because the thought of finding entertainment in children killing each other seems like pure fantasy, but look at what we find to be entertaining.  Ronnie and Sam on the Jersey Shore are miserable and yet so many people find entertainment in their arguing.  By supporting this we not only make these “real” people into characters but we reinforce their behavior.  Also, the people in the Capitol were captivated by the star crossed lovers aspect of the games and even supported two tributes winning the games so they could be together.  Maybe that’s why we keep watching Ronnie and Sam, we want a happy ending even if the process is torture.

1984 portrayed a future where Big Brother is always watching.  Our presentation highlighted many different “Big Brothers” in today’s society.  Not only are the Capitol and peacekeepers always watching the people of Panem, but also much like government in 1984 those higher up reap many benefits that the citizens have long forgotten could exist.  I found it very interesting and disturbing that the Tributes were dressed up and fed so well before the games so the people in the Capitol would not even have to recognize the horrible conditions that these children are living in.  For the tributes it’s like a bit of paradise before the worst and possibly last experience of their lives.

Although this book paints a very complex picture of what our future could look like that also in many ways mirrors aspects of our society today, I couldn’t help myself from focusing on the complex relationship between Katniss and Peeta.  I really believed throughout that Peeta was really in love with Katniss.  I was shocked when he allied with the careers but still thought in the back of my mind that it was in some way to help Katniss.  I was so excited when Katniss started to develop feelings for Peeta and freaked out when they were separated right after the games.  I will definitely be reading the other two books in hopes of the pair getting together by the end!  

Gabler and reality TV

Ok, to start I myself am a bit embarrassed to admit that I am actually quite a reality TV fan.  For some reason I have always found Real Housewives, Jersey Shore, or Real World much more interesting than say Two and a Half Men.  I have tried to figure out why this is over the course of the semester while we have discussed consumerism.  Why do I support Jersey Shore cast members making a ridiculous amount of money for partying when I work my butt off to make a fraction of their salaries?  I came to the conclusion that, some call it being nosy, but I am genuinely interested in how other people live their lives, whether it be similar to mine in some way, or in no way at all.  With my friends I don’t have to pretend to care about what new drama is plaguing their lives, and I even considered being a psychologist. 

Like I said before, society often deems this interest as nosy.  This is personal support for the idea Gabler presented when he stated one of the reasons people enjoy reality TV as: “They allow us to be moral outlaws.”   Although I strongly support this idea, I was a thrown by another of Gabler’s ideas:  “Those we observe become ours, hostages to our eyes. "Survivor" and "Big Brother" feed our sense of potency.”  I’m not totally sure I understand this point of view, does anyone else??

Although it seems like an oxymoron I have to agree with the fact that reality TV can be intriguing because of the sense of community some of the more popular shows create.  I work at a nursing home that employs many different kinds and ages of people.  Therefore, finding something you have in common with coworkers can be quite a challenge.  However, I cannot tell you how many people discuss American Idol on a daily basis.  This reality show provides a stronger sense of community for many in the workplace because of the common interest it provides, which gives very different people a launching point for conversation.

The discussion of suspense struck me as well because although there are so many different genres of movies, a common thread between many is that they are more captivating to an audience if they are true, or even “based on a true story.”  Look at 1000 Ways to Die for example.  Some of the deaths are so ridiculous you have to wonder how related they actually are to the true story; but this is part of the entertainment, the thought that these silly, gruesome, or horrible things could have actually happened to real people.  Without that question in a viewers mind, if the show admitted to being completely made up, how many people would lose interest?  Honestly, I feel I would.

            Finally, while watching the Jersey Shore I really focused on Gabler’s idea that we relate to the people on these shows more because they are just ordinary people.  Sammi, Snooki, Jwow, Deena, Pauly, Vinni, Mike, and Ronnie to be honest, could not be further from people I know.  And to be honest some of their personalities are so obnoxious it’s hard to believe anyone even likes them.  However, every episode seems to be quite similar and yet very successful.  Sammi and Ronnie are fighting or “smushing” constantly, the other cast mates are partying and hooking up with people, and occasionally we see a few of them working, but even that seems far from what many people I know would consider work.  Although these people are quite obnoxious they are still very successful so I’d say this proves the idea that sex sells, we relate to real people more, no matter how ridiculous they may be, and reality TV allows us to be “moral outlaws,” just for a bit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AEzVwtbnuU

Big Brother

Although 1984 is very long and is written in very small print, I find the concept of this society to be quite interesting.  Our society has not completely taken away our right to privacy but when thinking about the process of getting on a plane and the new technologies like gps' and onstar it is easy to wonder when the line has been crossed. 

When we want to fly somewhere not only is our luggage thoroughly checked, but we are also checked.  Basically when traveling via an airline system everything that is going with you must be accounted for.  Some people consider this to be too far but I think it is quite essential to the safety of our society, considering past experiences.  However, I must admit if I flew  more often I may be singing a different tune!

On a different note, most people have a gps.  This technology is great because it not only tells you how to get from point A to point B but it can also take you home at the click of a button and tell you when you are off route and how to get back on route.  This kind of tracking information is very helpful, but how do we know it is not or could not be used for other purposes.  Onstar goes a step farther by giving you the access to a real person when you need help.  This is great when you have a flat tire or run out of gas on the highway, but don't these technologies sound shockingly similar to telescreens?  At any moment a party member can plug in your telescreen and see and hear everything your doing.  Who knows maybe Onstar agents or the gps companies can do the same thing, just not as openly as in 1984. 

Transported into the future

This future world is absolutely astonishing.  I thought people in the 19^th century were distracted and the people here in 2011 are constantly distracted.  It is as if their entire life consists of one distraction after another.  There are even some people who have never been in the woods, and would never want to.  If I weren’t here myself I would never believe this, it’s like a horror story!

Currently I am wandering on the campus of Shippensburg University.  There are so many people pursuing further education and yet almost everyone I am passing is on what they call a cell phone.  It’s a tiny device that you can apparently make calls to almost anyone from.  It gets “service” from these huge towers and somehow you can talk to people from miles away!  You can also do something called texting, which I am not quite sure about.  Apparently there is a keyboard that you can type on and send a written message to someone just as quickly as making the calls I mentioned earlier.  I find this so peculiar, if everyone is constantly talking what do they have to say to each other over dinner? 

I was able to stop a group of college students, only because they were walking together were they not on their cell phones, and ask them what all of the fenced off areas consisted of.  They informed me that the University wanted to connect the library to a recreational facility they called the CUB.  This was even more astonishing than the cell phones.  There was so much beautiful open space on this campus that was already taken up by buildings for classes, dining halls, a gym, and parking spaces for these very unusual cars.  Why on earth someone would want to take even more of the nature away so people can stay inside while walking from one building to another is just baffling to me. 

I also saw students walking around with a flat device with wires coming out of it and into their ears.  I thought maybe these students had hearing impairments but when I stopped one of the students to talk they pulled the wires out of one ear and I could hear noise just blasting out of the end.  The student informed me that this device was called an ipod and asked me if I was born yesterday.  How rude the youth can be today.  It is as if they wouldn’t know nature if it hit them in the face, and they are attending a University in the country! 

How these people get any sort of work done, I have no idea.  What would make a person of 20 years want to waste their life with their nose stuck to a technological device smaller than a deck of cards is beyond me.  I think there will be plenty of people who reach their elderly years and wish they had experienced half of the nature I was able to.

Life is normal again!

So today is my first day with technology again and I feel great!  Although it did take a lot of time to text all of my friends and catch up, I don't feel out of the loop anymore :)  Now that the experience is over I definitely feel like I have a stronger work ethic.  I will refrain from texting when I am doing school work because I do find that very distracting although I do love to!  I realized that if I am working on something easy having background noise actually makes me feel better without distracting me.  But, if I am working on a paper or reading I can focus much better in silence, even though it is awful to get started! 

The challenge did make me realize how much I depend on technology.  However, like many other people said, I think we have just adapted to the environment.  Our world is filled with hustle and bustle, in cities you can't have pure silence even if you want it.  So, radios, ipods, TVs, and cellphones are all adaptations we have become accustomed to fit in with out surroundings.  Personally, without a cellphone I can't keep in contact with any of my friends because I live so far away from them.  Even if I do want to go out and have a face to face interaction I need my cellphone to coordinate it!

Therefore, I will be using my technology again, the challenge didn't make me hate technology.  But it did make me appreciate it more and realize the most appropriate times to use technology!  I think I will encourage family members and friends to at least try to use technology as little as possible so they can come to appreciate it themselves.  I think you can read people's blogs from this challenge and think you understand the experience, but honestly I don't think you can fully grasp the concept of living without technology for a week without doing it yourself!  So cheers to everyone who has finished their week and good luck to those who have a little more time!

4 1/2 days without technology!

So, I thought this challenge would get harder as the days went on.  However, it's not as bad as I thought.  I am able to get so much more school work done, so at the end of the night I feel accomplished rather than stressed about how much I have to do.  When I first sit down to work I still feel a bit uncomfortable without any background noise, but after about 15 minutes I get much more focused than I would if I had the TV on in the background.  At night is when I miss TV the most, I had to work 5-1 this weekend so I always try to get to sleep earlier, but without tv I have had a hard time relaxing.

As for not using my phone, that's a bit harder.  Every time I turn around I feel like I have another reason to use it and have to remind myself this is EXTRA CREDIT!  But overall I think I am benefitting from not using my phone as much because, just like with TV, I am able to sit down without any distractions.  I think technology is great and absolutely essential in today's society; but I think everyone should have to experience a week without it just to realize the potential each day holds!

I thought the radio and my ipod would be the easiest to give up because I am definitely a TV girl, but it has been so hard to not turn the radio on in the car!  Also in the mornings on my way to work I find my mind wandering and my sleepiness being more obvious!

Overall, I think the lack of distractions has and will continue allow me to develop a stronger work ethic so when I do get my technology back I will make better choices regarding those devices!!

Living in the woods

"I went to the woods because I wished to life deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."  Henry David Thoreau
I think it is quite admirable that Thoreau went to live in the woods.  The solitude that you experience when you are emersed completely in nature I find to be pretty invigorating to be honest.  My boyfriend's family has a cabin in the mountains near Raystown Lake and when we go there for a weekend trip I feel completely cut off from the world.  I don't get service, so my cellphone is shut off all weekend; there is no interenet connection so the laptop stays at home; there is no cable so no TV; there is no running water, so yes we have to get jugs of water from a stream, shower at a neighbors house, and use an out house (which by the way is TERRIFYING in the dark with the thought of snakes and skunks!).  So, needless to say we have to create our own parties, which when in the company of friends is actually pretty awesome.  I wish there was running water, but other than that for a weekend trip Raystown is soooo relaxing.  You wake up whenever you want, eat what you want, ride fourwheelers, go to the lake, go for a hike, make a fire, and party the night away with great friends.  I feel like around here with all of the other ways to entertain yourself going into the woods would not be your first choice, but once you're there it's amazing how fun a deck of cards, four wheelers, a fire pit, and a radio can be.  It becomes more about the people you're with than what is on tv, or what is playing in the movie theater, or how much money you're going to spend at the mall.  This kind of weekend I feel everyone should experience at least once.
However, a whole year is a different story.  Yes watching nature is wonderful; going to the lake is super fun; cooking burgers and hot dogs over a real fire, not a grill, is awesome; partying with no one around but the friends you came with is great.  I'd say after a week at most for me this would get boring, I would miss the comfort of my own bed, my friends being a call away, my TV shows, and the horses.  The fact that I could only handle this for a week is saying one thing and that's with friends.  To be in the woods alone even for a weekend would be horrible to me.  I don't really enjoy being along for an extended period of time, and I don't understand what more you can learn alone in the woods as opposed to with friends.  What is the significance of complete isolation; human contact is one of our needs as human beings.  I would definitely get so lonely, scared, and depressed that I would be miserable even if I did go out and experience nature.  I disagree with Thoreau that living in the woods in complete solitude for a year would fulfill you to the point that when you died you would know you lived.  Family, friends, nature, horses, work, school:  all of these things do create some stress, however, they make life worth living.  When all is said and done I want to die knowing that I did the best that I could at everything I attempted, that I made a difference in the lives of those closest to me, and that I experienced every situation I desired. 
If I spent a year alone in the woods I think I would walk away from it feeling accomplished because I don't know if I could do it, but more so that I wasted a year being alone as opposed to being with those that I love.

1st day without technology!

Today I started the challenge of living without technology for a week.  To be honest so far it's not so bad.  In order to keep bills at a minimum when I moved out of my parents' house I decided I did not need the internet   I can go to my neighbor's or parents' houses to use the internet whenever I please so getting it myself was not really necessary.  Over the past year and a half living without the internet has saved me money and prevented me from getting addicted to facebook.  Also, having to go elsewhere to use the internet, can be a pain, but it gives me a reason to visit my family or neighbor while being productive!  So, since I am already used to using my computer for mostly school work that part has not been hard at all. 

I feel I will miss using my cell phone more in the next few days when I want to hang out with someone or when I'm bored.  I think a cell phone is somewhat of a comfort item; if I'm walking to class or waiting for class to start it's really nice to be able to catch up with friends.  It will be quite an adjustment to not have a friend a text away!  However, this morning I had to meet a friend to complete a class assignment at a local preschool.  I had about 20 minutes before I had to leave and since we have to read Feed by tomorrow I thought I could get a good chunk read before I left.  Let me just say, not being able to set an alarm on my cell phone was so distracting.  Every few minutes I kept looking at my phone to see how much time had gone by.  Also, I felt very uncomfortable not being able to find out where my friend was when our meet time came and went.  These are the reasons why parents get their kids cell phones in the first place!

I think giving up the TV and radio/ipod will be tough.  This morning it was VERY quiet when I was getting ready.  However, not being able to watch TV did allow me to focus more on reading Feed.  However, every time I got into the car today I caught myself turning on the radio.  It has become a habit, just like putting on my e-brake everytime I park.  Tonight will be the real challenge though.  I love winding down from the day by watching tv before I go to bed.  Falling asleep to silence has never been easy :/  Wish me luck!

Feed

I began reading Feed this past week and I find it to be an easy and interesting read if I can sit down and focus.  However, if I am not really in the mood to be reading I find it so hard to concentrate because the language they use is so very different from ours!  On page 4 Titus says "When you're going places with other people, with this big group, everyone is leaning toward each other, and people are laughing and they're chatting, and things are great, and it's just like in a commercial for jeans, or something with nougat."  When people start relating real life to a commercial, things have really gone down hill.  It makes you think, is this the life that we are headed for, where we relate real life to commercials instead of creating commercials to accentuate the best parts of life?
On page 5 Titus goes on to comment on how lonely he is:  "At parties, I was starting to get real lonely, even when there were other people around me, and it's worse when you leave.  Then there's that silence when your driving home alone in the upcar and there's nothing but the feed telling you, This is the music you heard.  This is the music you missed.  This is what is new."    I find it almost humerous how Titus says there is nothing but... then lists so much stimulation that if I were put in the situation I probably wouldn't be able to focus on driving.  How can someone say there is nothing while admitting there is so much going on.  This must be a type of plentitude that Lasn discussed.  He has so much that when he is immersed in all of the benefits that are meant to prevent loneliness he still feels lonely.  He has become so used to the overstimulation of this future world that he feels empty without 200 things going on.
I feel a similar issue is presenting itself with the youngest generation in our society.  There are now countless videos that are being advertised that promote early literacy or future success in school.  However, one of the first videos available for babies were Baby Mozart videos.  In my Early Literacy class we discussed how the corporation selling Baby Mozart videos offered full refunds to anyone who returned their videos because the American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement recommending that children under 2 should not watch any television.  The problem found was the speed at which television moves is much faster than any speeds an infant would naturally be exposed to.  Chronic exposure to this speed for infants was found to be correlated to ADD or ADHD later in life.  It's almost as if the exposure to technology from such a young age actually wires the brain differently.
Although technology has some great benefits, I feel it will take time to really be able to weigh the costs and benefits because we still don't know the effects later in life.

Gaming addiction and the commercial media

The "Second Skin" videos and the pages we read in Culture Jam were quite interesting to me.  I felt that the videos showed a side of gaming that I really know nothing about since I don't play video games, and havn't even gotten "addicted" to facebook.  However, I did have more time on my hands back when myspace was the popular social network, and I remember coming home from school and going directly to the computer to see if I got any new comments.  I could never really explain why it was so appealing to me, I spent most of my days with the same people who would comment on my myspace and yet the fact that I had 5 new comments was always very exciting. 
Although social networking is different than gaming I feel the "addictions" are similar.  Online you can essentially be whoever you want to be which takes away from the inhibitions most people experience in a group of people.  Ironically this is also what makes meeting people over the internet very dangerous.  I also found the concept of a halfway house for gamers to be quite interesting.  It seems odd but similar to the tobacco industry, alcohol industry and the drug trafficking, success is based on hooking people to what is being sold in order to maximize profit. Liz Woolley described this idea well, "It's designed to get them in there and keep them in there...so when it happens don't be shocked, you're falling into corporate strategy."  This corporate strategy Woolley describes is exactly what the commercial media counts on us buying into on a daily basis as well. 
In Culture Jam I found it to be sad, expected and actually detrimental in the long run that so many huge name sponsors turned away the idea of having a buy nothing day.  I know the sponsors such as CNN make money when we buy products they sponsor.  However, I feel that it would have been beneficial for them to send the message that although they are making money off of us, they at least realize how damaging our blind consumerism is to society as a whole.  I feel that by acknowledging these issues and supporting our awareness, they could have gained more respect and trust from the people of the United States.  I may be wrong but I feel this might have led to more success in the long run than trying to silence new ideas. 

Introduction

Hi everyone!  My name is Molly Kordes and I am a sophomore here at Shippensburg University.  I am majoring in Early Childhood Education which will certify me to teach Pre-K to 4th grade.  Outside of school I love riding horses and I am actually currently renting a farm house that sits on a 60 acre horse farm in Carlisle.  I also love spending time with friends and since I am not living with my parents I love doing things that do not require spending money such as hiking, spending time at Raystown Lake with friends, or simple pleasures like movie nights at my place.  

Intro to Lit is a required Gen. Ed. for my major.  However, now that we have the first day of class under our belts I am looking forward to the subject matter that we will be covering.  I read the book 1984 in high school and the ideas presented were quite interesting and I look forward to reading it again and thinking a bit deeper about the messages it conveys.  I feel that as a college student I will now be able to read a bit deeper not only into 1984, but the other course readings as well.  I also find the way that the class is going to be set up quite interesting and much different than any other classes I have taken.  I feel that the small group work will make it easier to think critically about the subject matter as opposed to being put on the spot in front of the entire class.

When I don’t have a lot of school work to do I love watching television.  I know it’s pathetic but I do love to watch reality TV such as The Real Houswives and Teen Mom.  However, I also enjoy watching shows such as I Shouldn’t be Alive that tell amazing stories of survival in the most extreme circumstances.  As far as music I enjoy listening to almost anything.  The same applies to my taste in movies; some movies that I really enjoy include:  The Notebook, The Replacements, Goodfellas, Pineapple Express, Law Abiding Citizen, Taken, Couples Retreat, and Date Night.  However, I also enjoy watching Disney movies with the children that I babysit.  My past experiences with literature were mostly academic based.  However, I do love reading Jodi Picoult books in my free time, outside of the semester.  I enjoy her writing because the incredible amount of research on the topics she writes about is very evident and she writes her narratives around very controversial issues.  Literature in my opinion is any kind of book that provokes thought. However, I have to admit I am not a very strong English student so I am open to other suggestions!