My quote

Willow at the club is a perfect example of how teens will change too much about themselves at once in order to make friends. “Although it’s okay to make minor adjustments to your personality to make friends, it’s imperative that you keep the core of your identity and your beliefs intact to avoid making friends for the wrong reasons” (White). Teenagers should keep this in mind when they are trying to make friends. As Buffy the Vampire Slayer makes clear, too often, teenagers change who they really are and how they act in order to make friends. However, as White makes clear in her article on teenagers changing the way they act to fit in, if they change too much about themselves and their beliefs, they will make friends for all the wrong reasons.

I don't really know. I just feel like I don't introduce the quote well enough and that it seems to kind of appear out of nowhere. If anyone has suggestions, let me know!

MIKE'S PAPER PROBLEMS

So after working on my paper for awhile and rereading it, I’ve realized that my biggest problem would have to be the organization of my paper. I feel as though I am incorporating all of my secondary sources well enough, but I jump around in my paper a lot. For example, I start off with a summary of my specific episode. Halfway through the summary, I decide to elaborate for about a page on a specific point in the episode’s plot, incorporating some of my secondary sources. It sounds pretty good adding the sources where I do, but then when I start summarizing again, the paper doesn’t sound as fluid. It’s kind of like “oh, I thought his summary was over, what’s he talking about now?” and then I start again. The summary of my episode is critical and I feel as though there would be no other place to put my secondary source analysis in the paper other than halfway through the summary. I’m trying to work through this problem, but it is tough. Let me know what you guys think…
Another minor problem I have is building up to my quotes so that they don’t appear to come out of the blue and transitioning smoothly between some of my thoughts. I know that I need to build up to the quote, but I can’t seem to find the right words to build up to it. I’m going to the writing center later this week, so I guess I’ll just wait and see what they say.

WB Post 3 - Deodorant

The topic that I decided to research for this assignment was that of deodorant; Crystal Body Deodorant to be specific. The two web pages that I looked at were very different. The first of these, which can be found at http://www.thecrystal.com/, caught my attention right off the bat. The page was colorful and vibrant. The first thing I noticed about it was a slide show of pictures that they had running on the right side of the screen. In these pictures, there were photos of a happy couple, several women meditating, as well as the product itself. One could guess from these pictures that this web page and ad for this product is meant to attract adults, specifically females. On the left side of the ad in bold letters, it says ALL-TIME TOP 10 CLASSICS, which catches the reader’s eye. They also bold and color key phrases and words that they want the reader to focus on such as “recommended by medical experts”. Near the top of the page, they had different links that one could click on to receive more information about the product if they wished. The links ranged from the history of the product and related products to information on how to purchase the product and how to contact those in charge.
The second article that I looked at was almost the opposite of the first (it can be found at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1372565/crystal_body_deodorant_spray_4_fl_oz.html). This article did not contain pictures or text in bold or vibrant colors. Rather, it was just a long article with a lot of information. The article was very informative and contained helpful information about the product such as what the product is, the ingredients that are in the product, how to use the deodorant, and how to purchase it. Although this advertisement had a lot of information to offer, it was very lengthy and did not do a very good job of keeping the reader’s attention.
After comparing the two advertisements for Crystal Body Deodorant, I realized that the first web site I went to did a much better job of persuading the public to try the product. It grabbed the reader’s attention right away with its use of different colors, different fonts, different sized and colored text, and pictures. Although the second article had more information written about the product, the first article had more relevant information and information that simply applied to the audience better. The first advertisement took a much more creative approach to sell the product, and the result was that it was overall more persuasive than the second one.

Here Comes the Sun

For this blog, I chose one of my all time favorite songs. I’ll admit it’s kind of old, but the lyrics and the tone of the music lift my spirits every time I listen to it. This song is “Here Comes The Sun” by “The Beatles”. Listening to the lyrics, one cannot help but feeling relaxed and happy. The song talks about the positive aspects of life. No matter how bad things may seem, they will get better. “Little darling I feel that ice is slowly melting, Little darling it seems like years since it's been clear, Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, And I say it's alright”. Things will clear up and get better. You will get through this. The sun is coming and will put the clouds and the bad days behind you. That is the message this song is getting across, and it is a genuinely positive one. This aspect is tough to find in songs nowadays, which is one of the reason it’s one of my favorites. Its upbeat attitude and melody can cheer anyone up.

Princess Scream Once Blog

This article really brought a lot to light for me about the episode “Hush” of Buffy. First of all, it almost makes me mad how some people, or beings, seem to think that they are better than everyone else. This occurs a lot in this episode. First of all, the Gentlemen place themselves at a higher position that their minions. They think that they are superior and make their minions do all the dirty work for them so that they don’t have to deal with the struggle and difficulty of capturing their victims. Without any reason, the Gentlemen see themselves as superiors to everyone and everything in the episode. In a way, Buffy does the same thing. Immediately when Giles says that only the scream of a princess can kill the Gentlemen, Buffy automatically assumes that she is the princess and says “How do I get my voice back?” (Wilcox 148). Although she is the slayer, I do not believe that she automatically has the right to assume that she is the princess. Why isn’t Willow the princess? Willow is just as intelligent as Buffy, if not more intelligent. Why can’t she be the princess? Buffy automatically assumes that she is going to be the hero and places herself at a higher level than anyone else, assuming that she is the only one who can defeat the Gentlemen.
The difference between Buffy and the Gentlemen is that Buffy actually does work. The Gentlemen let their servants or helpers or whatever you want to call them do the work, whereas when Buffy assumes that she is to be the one to defeat the Gentlemen, she does the work herself. She sets out to fight them and gets her hands dirty to get the job done. One must give Buffy credit for this and the fact that she is taking it upon herself to do the work to defeat the enemy gives her some validation for assuming that she is to be the princess, but still does not give her the right to assume that she is better than anyone.

Is it Art?

I found this article to be very interesting, though confusing at sometimes, because of its references to so many other movies, television shows, religious characters, and art throughout history. This article really helped me to open my eyes to what was happening in the “Hush” episode of Buffy. To be honest, while I was watching the episode, the minions of “the Gentlemen” seemed so familiar to me and I could not place my finger on what they were from. I think that Moeller did a great job comparing them to both the flying monkeys in “The Wizard of Oz” as well as to the clowns in “The Yellow Submarine”. I never saw “The Yellow Submarine”, but they definitely had many similarities to the monkeys in “The Wizard of Oz”. Both look as though they are being kept as pets and being kept from escaping. As Moeller says, “Are these partially-restrained assistants subhuman mentally/emotionally, previously capable of flight but now captive with clipped wings?” (Moeller 101). I think that this quote says it all. As the monkeys in “The Wizard of Oz” wreak havoc like they escaped from prison, the minions of “the Gentlemen” go on their own rampage, attacking and kidnapping their victims.

Grimm

I felt as though the article “Grimm Realities” did a superb job connecting the old fairy tale, “the Gentlemen”, to the plot of the episode “Hush” of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, I wish as though I had read this article before I watched “Hush” because it did a great job explaining the tale of “the Gentlemen” and, believe it or not, before I watched this episode of Buffy, I had never heard the tale. As a child, I never really heard many fairy tales. I know, I was a deprived child, but I found it very interesting that, according to Bridges, “plenty of children’s folk rhymes deal overtly in death, juxtaposed by a happy melody and a cute rhyme”. I could definitely see this concept portrayed through “the Gentlemen” in “Hush” (Bridges 102). I would never have guessed that “the Gentlemen” would have been considered a fairy tale. All in all, I feel that Bridges did a great job showing how Joss Whedon incorporates the fairy tales and their characters into Buffy.

HUSH-mike

“Hush” was the second episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I have watched. I was impressed overall with the episode. It was entertaining and kept my attention. I would like to focus on one scene in particular though that relates to my research paper. It has to deal with people giving into peer pressure. The scene is the one where Willow is at her witch meeting. At the meeting, all of the members are trying to decide on an activity that they can all do to spread the word about witches. Willow does not like the idea of a bake sale, so she suggests that they practice with potions and spells. The rest of the members of the group, with the exception of Tara, are offended by the idea and say that casting spells and practicing potions would just make them be stereotypical witches. Tara likes Willow’s idea and begins to tell the group how she feels when she is inturrupted by the “leader” of the group. The leader makes Tara feel uncomfortable and as if her opinion is not welcomed. Tara feels intimidated and ends up not speaking her mind and stating her opinion. This is just another prime example of a teenager/young adult feeling intimidated by others and not acting in a certain way for the fear of being rejected.

Free Writing 2-Secondary Source Quote Analysis

“Although it’s okay to make minor adjustments to your personality to make friends, it’s important that you keep the core of your identity and your beliefs intact to avoid making friends for the wrong reasons.”

Teenagers should definitely keep this in mind when they are trying to make friends. Too many times, teens change who they are, what they like, and how they act in order to make friends. However, if they change too much about themselves, they will make friends for all of the wrong reasons. Actually, they probably will not make real friends if they change too much about themselves. Their “friends” will think that they are someone they are not. For example, a teenage boy may pretend to love playing tennis in order to make friends. It may work for awhile, but eventually, when he is asked to play tennis with his new friends and has no idea what the rules are or even how to hit the ball, they will find out that he was lying about his love for the game and will most likely reject him for it, or at least label him as a liar. When this happens, the boy will be back where he started, on the outside staring in.
On the other hand, if teenagers are themselves and don’t try to do anything too drastic to fit in, they will make true friends. It may take more time, but eventually they will find someone else who really does have the same interests as them. This is the basis of a true friendship. By having a true friendship, or multiple friendships, teens will feel accepted and in turn, will be happier.

Free Writing-To what lengths are teenagers willing to go to be accepted?

To what lengths are teenagers willing to go to be accepted?
Teenagers seem to be willing to do just about anything to be accepted. During the awkward years of middle school and high school, teens will change anything and everything they can about themselves in order to fit in. They will change the style of clothes they wear, who they hang out with, the types of activities they do in their free time, and even how they act in general in an attempt to be one of the crowd.
One of my articles (the title escapes me at the moment) states that teenagers try to dress “cool” to fit in. It goes into detail about one girl in particular who was home schooled up until high school. She never had a problem with herself or the way she dressed until her first day of official classes, when she came home from school and told her mom about all of the types of clothes she needed to buy, just so that she could fit in with the “popular” students. She, like many teens, felt the need to be accepted and changed the way she looked and dressed in order to do so.
Another one of my articles talked about a teenage boy (who was in the school orchestra) who desperately wanted to be a part of the popular crowd. He even stopped hanging out with his true friends (who were seen as dorky) in order to get noticed. He never got accepted into the cool crowd and lost his true friends because of what he did. In this case, the teenager completely stopped associating with his true friends so that he could feel like he was a part of the popular crowd.
The need to be accepted can also lead people to engage in unhealthy and unsafe activities. Oftentimes, people feel pressured to participate in risky activities, like smoking or drinking, in order to fit in. Not only are these potentially harmful to one’s physical well-being, but they could also lead to more serious problems, like addiction.
The list of what teenagers are willing to do in order to fit in seems almost endless. They will literally change who they are (on the inside and outside), ditch their true friends, and make bad decisions to be accepted.

After the Ohio State football game this past Saturday, I visited home for the first time since I moved in. To be honest, my reactions were very mixed. Of course I was very happy to be able to see my family again, especially on my mother’s birthday; however, I soon came to realize that I was not really home. It was not until earlier today when I returned to campus that I felt as though I was where I belonged. When I returned, a feeling of comfort and happiness rushed through my body. I knew I was back home. Ohio State has changed me. It not only has helped to turn me into a more responsible adult, but has also taught me how to develop and keep true friendships and has really taught me the meaning of family. Family is not just someone’s group of relatives that helped to raise them. It is also having those people around you that you can trust and go to for help. The people that you know have always got your back. I have been fortunate enough to find some people like this at OSU. So now, I not only have my family at home, but I also have another family. I have a family at Ohio State. These people make me feel comfortable, happy, and cared about and make campus feel like something more than a school. Obviously, I will not be able to stay at Ohio State forever, but for the time that I am, it will truly be my home.

Writing Blog 2 - Ohio Stadium

One of the most well-known locations on Ohio State’s campus is Ohio Stadium, better known as “The Horseshoe”. For this assignment, I decided to pay a visit to the famous home of the Buckeyes. The stadium, at least around sunset on Wednesday nights, is a location that stimulates the senses and leaves an impression upon the viewer that will not fade away.
When I first arrived at the stadium, I was overwhelmed by the breathtaking sight of the setting sun against the beautiful and historic walls of “The Horseshoe”. I sat and closed my eyes to reflect upon all of the feelings that were penetrating my mind at once. While my eyes were closed, I could hear the sound of birds chirping and could feel the crisp, fall air brush against my face. For the first time since I arrived on campus, I felt relaxed and at peace. The silence and beauty of the historic stadium can make even the weariest minds feel rested and at ease. My heart was then filled with excitement as I thought about the fans, the pride, and the unity that would fill the stadium in three short days. When I finally opened my eyes again, I felt as though I was no longer in Columbus, Ohio, but in Ancient Rome, looking at the huge arches and massive columns of the Coliseum. This sight alone is enough to make a profound impact on anyone, not just a Buckeye.
There is more to “The Horseshoe” than just physical beauty. Ohio Stadium is probably the single most unifying location on campus. Its primary purpose is to seat Ohio State Buckeye fans so that they can enjoy the game in comfort; however it has a secondary and much deeper purpose. This purpose is to unify. Every Saturday in the fall, the stands are filled with more than one hundred thousand screaming fans. Although they all come from different backgrounds and have different beliefs, Ohio Stadium brings them all together. No matter how many differences the fans have, they all have one thing in common; and that is the pride of being a Buckeye.

Buffy - Primary Source 2

For my second primary source, I am once again looking at the pilot episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This topic however, does not represent a single scene from the episode, but a trend that occurs throughout it as a whole; A trend that we see all across the country among teens. The trend is teenagers doing whatever they can to be accepted and fit in at school and with their peers. For example, when Buffy is getting ready to go to the dance club, she holds up two outfits and tries to decide what to wear. She decides to go with an outfit that she does not necessarily feel comfortable in. She chooses to wear an outfit that she refers to as “slutty” because she wants to be noticed by her peers and accepted. Later in the episode, one of Buffy’s friends (Willow), who is usually a nice and quiet girl, changes the way she acts around people in an attempt to be noticed. She approaches a boy, which is not in her character, just to try and get him to like her. As soon as they start talking, the boy asks her to leave the club with him, and against her better judgment, she does it, just so that she looks “cool” and people don’t make fun of her for being boring or strange. People changing who they are and doing things that they don’t feel comfortable doing in order to be accepted by their peers is a huge problem, especially in this country, that is having a very negative impact on our teen population.

MIKE'S FIRST PRIMARY SOURCE

For my first primary source, I decided to choose the scene from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Buffy is talking to the librarian and decides to once again take on her responsibility as the vampire slayer. Up until this point, Buffy was “retired” and was just trying to be a normal high school girl. However, when she is at the dance club, she sees her friend go off with a vampire, she decides to take action. She pushes aside her own selfish wants (being a normal girl and not fighting vampires) and decides to become the slayer again for the betterment of her community and to help keep her new friends safe. This was probably the most important scene in the episode because it shows the internal conflict in Buffy and the classic confrontation of good versus evil, right versus wrong, and selfishness versus selflessness.

I don't like blogger

So this will be the second time I write this because the first time (right after I hit submit) it kicked me off. Anyways, I found the article "But She Was Naked" to be fairly interesting. I think that it is very true how seduction can be both beneficial and detrimental. For women especially, seduction means power. Women are able to get almost anything they want through seduction, and this can be seen in "Our Mrs. Reynolds". In this episode, Saffron is able to get what she wants through seduction. She uses seduction in a dark way, trying to hurt others through it. However, it can also be used for good, as Inera shows through her "unique" work. She is able to use seduction to make men feel important and loved, which is oftentimes tough to do.

Firefly Blog 2

So I thought that this episode of Firefly hit home on more of a deep level than the first one did, especially with the captain. As I said in an earlier blog, I felt that the captain was kind of putting on an act and portraying himself as a hard and cold individual to cover up a softer side that he has deep down. At least from this episode, it appears as though this hypothesis was correct. We see the softer side of the captain in the scene in which Saffron is seducing the captain in his bedroom. Instead of standing his ground and continuously pushing her away, as he does when the crew is around, he lets down his guard some and allows her to get close to him and kiss him. I think that this scene was very important because it shows the caring and soft side of the captain that we don't get to see in the first episode. This episode just makes me wonder if the captain is going to begin to show who he really seems to be deep down or if he will continue to portray himself as the emotionless leader of the ship.