Personal Reflection about my Blog

            This is not the first blog that I have done for my classes.  I have used UMW Blogs before for my poetry seminar class and WordPress for my education class.  We used each blog differently.  My poetry blog was a place we posted the poetry we created in the class.  My education blog was used as a place to write about what was going on in my life and in my practicum classroom.  I really do like having blogs because I think it is a neat place where you can post your writing.  I really wish I had used my blog more during this semester.  When I looked at other people’s pages that had added more to their page than just the assignments, it made me wish that I had done more to my page.  I wish I did freewritings and then post those because then it would show my progression with freewriting from the beginning of the semester to the end.  I think the blogs main importance was to show the progression of our writing and ideas about writing during this class.           

            Even though I think having a blog is very beneficial, it does make me nervous to think that my works will be read by others, even people that I don’t know.  That is the only concern that I have with the blog because I don’t know how other readers would react to what I wrote.  I think that was more of a concern when I was doing WordPress because that allows access to anyone, while UMW Blogs only allows people from UMW to access my blog.  When I wrote my posts for this class, I did not worry about what people thought when they read it, but maybe because I was just doing the assignments.

            As I said before, I really wish I had done more with the blog.  I felt like I only really used it for the assignments and since I didn’t feel like I connected with the blog.  It was a busy semester so I did not really have time to make my blog more personal.  If I had made it more personal then it would have had more value to me.  I would have liked to have used the blog more, like posting more responses to articles.  I think if we had to freewrite like once a week and post that on our blogs, it would have made it more personal for me.  I would do it if I was told to freewrite or do some type of writing activity each week.  That way we would do something that was personal to us and that would make the blog more personal.

            I also think we could have commented on each others blogs more and make comments about the freewrites or the responses that we had to do.  That way we can see each others writings and keep a close eye on everyone’s writing development over the course of this class.  I also think it would be beneficial if after we posted our papers on the blogs that the people who critiqued and revised my paper could look at the final draft and make a comment about the changes from the draft to the final paper.  I think that could be beneficial for us to see the changes and how we helped the draft and how the writer used our feedback to make adjustments to the final paper.

             I think this blog has the potential to allow us to reflect on ourselves as writers, but since I did not feel a personal connection with the blog, I considered it more of an assignment.  As I said earlier, I think I would have more of a connection if we did more assignments with the blogs.  This class has helped me with my identity as a writer and I wish I could have shown that more with the blog.  I think if I made it more personal and did freewrites and reflections on my blog, I would have been able to reflect on myself as a writer.  Even though I did not have that connection with these blogs, I can see a big potential in the blogs for that personal connection and reflection on ourselves as a writer.  I think blogs are really cool and beneficial and I think you should continue using the blogs.

A Birds-Eye-View of our Class’s Blogs

            While looking through out class blogs, I noticed that a lot of people spent their time composing their responses and adding additional freewrites and posts to add to their pages.  It was really neat looking at the progression that many of us made throughout the course of this semester with our responses and papers.  I noticed that Ashley G. made a lot of progress with her identity as a writer.  At the beginning of the semester, she said that she is more of a reader and was very shy about her writing because she did not really like to write.  As she progressed with her posts, there was an increased confidence in her ability to write, which she thanked freewriting for.  She used freewriting as a way to get out all her ideas, even the ones she did not know she had, and get her voice out into her papers.

            I think many people found freewriting helpful in giving them confidence as a writer and helps them get their voice in their writing.  Some people found the blogs useful to post these freewrites.  Lauren had some freewriting in her blogs: she wrote about meta-thinking and “caffeine drowsiness.”  Her freewrites are very detailed and just get out all of her thoughts and ideas.  I can tell in class that Lauren has a lot of ideas and loves to write, so I think using the blog allows her to write and get out all of her ideas out on the page.  I do like the humor though, especially in her freewrite “caffeine drowsiness.”  I like the humorous play in the title, caffeine drowsiness, and the humorous explanation of the title in the first paragraph about the crash and burn of caffeine and how it affects her mood.

            Humor is really nice to have in the blogs because it allows the person to play with writing.  Dave uses a lot of humor in his papers and responses that he posts in his blog.  I can tell that he loves writing and playing with language, especially when listening to his presentation on Lynn.  I like that he uses the reference of his paper “Black Hamlet” in his memoir and two of his response posts: the one on race and response to Miller.  I loved reading Dave’s memoir because I loved his play with language and then his inner turmoil of using what could have been considered inappropriate word choice and then his realization at the end that it’s okay.  Throughout this paper, and many of his other papers, he is very funny and that is entertaining for him to write as well as for us to read.

            Mostly everyone had all of their papers and responses posted, but I focused on a few of the blogs that people spent a lot of time on: the ones that were really detailed in their responses or had creative/humorous responses or had added extra stuff to their blogs.  Kelley posted a poem on her page from Langston Hughes.  I liked that she did this because she found something relevant to the class that was not assigned, but she wanted to post it on the blog because it was relevant to the first post on race and on voice.  I also liked how Jocelyn took a narcissist quiz when we had to create a post about narcissism.  I thought that added a little extra something to the post and allowed us all to take the quiz if we personally wanted to see how narcissist we are.

            Kelsey also added some extra stuff to her blog.  She wrote in her memoir about one of her English teachers, Mr. Waskowitz, who had a pivotal impact on her writing.  She had googled him and emailed him.  She posted the response he sent her back and I thought that was so neat because it was a very personal post because this teacher had such a huge impact on her writing.  I noticed that Stephanie was also very personal in her posts.  I thought her papers and responses were very in depth and detailed.  She talked a lot about her family and boyfriends, and was very personal.  I like that she was able to use the blog as a way to get out her feelings.  She also used the blog a lot and placed extra stuff in there.  She read an article and posted her responses to it.  I really liked the comic and YouTube clip she posted because they pertain to our writing class.  The clip focusing on problems with Elbow’s writing, which is good because this class does focus on the positives and negatives people have with Elbow’s ideas on writing.  The comic was humorous too!  I love Calvin and Hobbes and I like how it focuses on the writing process with academic discourse.

            I really enjoyed looking through everyone’s blogs and focusing on those who really used their blogs for freewriting and posting items of importance in them.  They did not just use it for class assignments, but for their own personal uses.  The most important thing the blogs were used for was to practice show how our writing has progressed throughout this semester.  I would have liked it if we had more assignments to post on the blogs so then we could take our times to expand our ideas and then post it so everyone could read our response.  I think this would show how our thinking about writing has changed during this class and show how our writing has evolved and improved.

Miller Response

            When Miller writes, she uses almost a different persona in her writing than you see in real life.  Her identity changes when she writes and becomes a different person, her writing makes her seem older and more mature than she really is in real life.  She does not use herself in her writing because she does not want her text to imitate her, but she wants it to create new parts of her.  Miller uses her writings to create extensions of herself, parts that were not visible before but now she wants to spread to everyone.  I think it is important to show different sides and extensions of yourself in your writing and it is a way of using your voice.  These extensions are coming from Miller, so they are still a part of her voice even if the extensions are not a significant part of her.  Miller is trying to say that writers must use their voice, but that voice can change from your setting and environment around you or any influences you have; it is still your voice, even if it is only an extension of yourself.

            This relates to Bazerman’s idea of the “spot” which is when we are demanded to write and we must write whether we want to or not.  Miller’s concept is more that when we write, we are influenced by the setting around us and mood we are in and that changes the way we express our voice.  Miller varies in the way that she rights, either she writes down a lot in one burst or she slowly takes her time carefully writing, thinking as she is writing.  She also explains that our backgrounds have an impact on the way that we right because we are expected to right in a certain way and that should be our voice.  These extensions that come out of us, constructs a new voice that is a part of her and Miller explains when she is writing, she is that voice that is in her writing.  She is in the moment of her writing and that is her voice.

Memoir

            I finally got my computer back from Circuit City.  Apparently my hard drive hard drive had crashed, so I  had to wait for them to get a new one and then install that.  I have my computer back, and now I can post my memoir.  I know hard drive crashed so I had to retype my memoir again, but since we got them back on Friday, I was able to retype my paper.

Memoir Post

            I will post my memoir as soon as I can.  Right now it is only saved on my computer, which has decided not to turn on.  I am going to take it to get fixed, so hopefully they can fix it soon and then I will be able to post my memoir.  Sorry for the delay.

Hashimoto Response

            I was confused when I first started reading Hashimoto’s article because he starts out sounding like he is praising voice, especially when he takes a bunch of quotes from authors who are advocates of voice, like Elbow.  He quotes a lot from Elbow.  But then Hashimoto turns his paper against voice.  He believes that voice is not necessary to write a great paper.  What really matters is the content that is placed in the paper.  Voice can be nice, like adding on to the paper and making it more personal, but what really matters is the facts and content.

            One argument Hashimoto makes against voice is that voice can be scary to writers who have not found their voice.  It sure is easy to get excited about writing a paper in your own voice, but when you start to think about it, what is your voice?  Voice is a spiritual thing all writers have, but how can you find your voice?  This fear of not finding your voice can block writers because they cannot grasp this concept and their minds freeze up without a writers voice.  They start to wonder if that means they aren’t a writer.  I like how Hashimoto compares this voice to spirituality and religion.  It reminded me of one of my education classes on Tuesday.  We were talking about education in the past and that in some areas (like early America with the Puritans) people were taught to read and write so they could read the Bible.  If you could read and write, you were saved.  If not, you were damned.  It’s almost like how the advocates of voice act.  If you can find your voice, then your paper is saved.  If you cannot, then your paper is damned.  They say that if you write a paper with voice, then it will be good, but if it doesn’t have voice the paper will be bad.  Hashimoto does not agree with this, because he does not believe that voice can damn or save your paper, it just depends on the content of the paper.

            One other argument I liked is the idea that voice can be viewed in different ways.  The writer might write their paper with their voice, but the readers might not like that voice.  How can the paper be viewed now?  If you focus so much on voice, the whole idea of content and the actual writing of the paper gets blown away.  To tell you the truth, if someone does not enjoy the voice of the paper, they are not going to notice how well the paper is written or focus on the actual content.  That’s why Hashimoto thinks voice can add to the paper, but what writers should really focus on is the content and not worry so much about placing voice in papers.  What will make the paper good is how well it is written and the content that is placed in it.

Muckelbauer

            Muckelbauer says that imitation has values, but notices that it also is romantic.  First he explains the general difference between invention and imitation.  Muckelbauer says imitation is usually considered repetition and reproduction, while invention is more concerned with variety.  They are usually thought of as complete opposites.

            Muckelbauer also cites many learned scholars in this article to show his knowledge, like Terryl L. Givens who found three components to imitation.  His components include the model, which is the object of imitation, the copy, which is the product of imitation, and some relation between them.  Muckelbauer explains that romanticism does live inside imitation.  He says it is in between the two, which means it is the relation of likeness between the two.  He then explains his three movements of imitation. 

            Repetition of the same: reproduction, is the first movement Muckelbauer explains to the reader.  In this movement, someone tries to imitate the model perfectly with no mistakes.  This is the opposite of invention because it is focused just on replicating an object perfectly, without making any changes. 

            Repetition of difference: variation, is the second movement Muckelbauer explains.  This movement is when someone wants to make a replication of a model, but wants to do something different with that model.  This replication is not meant to keep the model and product looking identical; there must be differences between the two, some variation.  This is very similar to invention because we think of variety and differences. 

            The last movement Muckelbauer discusses is differences and repetition: inspiration.  This movement is different than the first two, because it focuses on how inspiration changes the model as the model transmits inspiration; the person becomes entranced by the inspiration being transmitted.

There is no “I” in “Team”

            Narcissism.  Self-centered, vanity, smugness.  Am I all of these qualities?  Am I as narcisstic as the rest of my generation?  These were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I read Lorena Nava’s article on narcissism.  Is that selfish and narcisstic to first question myself about being narcissistic than the rest of my generation?  I really do not know the answer to that question.  I do not know if I am narcissitic.  Every has moments in their lives when they want to have the focus on them…trust me, I have had plenty, especially as an athlete.  I have had many moments playing softball when I get upset that someone else is starting over me or getting a little jealous when someone gets the game winning hit or game saving catch and it is not me.  Is that narcisstic?  I’ll admit, that is very self-centered and I am only upset that I didn’t get to help out my team by myself, which would make me not a good teammate because we all know there is no “I” in “team.”  But I also have many times in my career as a softball player when I am happy that someone else made these game winning plays.  Softball is a team effort and we all work together in order to win the games, it is no individuals work; it’s the team’s work.

            So I think that everyone, like myself, has those moments when they want to be the center of attention for a little bit.  Everyone gets those cravings, but some get them more than others.  I do see that others in my generation do act narcisstic and only care about themselves.  The media has changed the way we perceive ourselves and given my generation the need to look like the celebrities and super stars.  Especially with young girls, image is the most important part of life and our generation has become obsessed with their images.   People who become consummed by their desire to look like the models do become narcisstic because they are obsessed with their self-image.  It is sad to see the downfall of celebrities as well as friends and family who go through this stage of self-consumption.  Since many people try to look good for the media, which could be paparazzi or just friends, they can turn to eating disorders to help them out.  Also, those who are very narcisstic try to advance themselves in society and life and take down everyone else who can oppose them.  That is sad to see someone walk all over their friends, families, and fellow co-workers.  Narcissism is in our generation, but it is not an obsession for everyone and some people can grow out of their obsession.

            As for voice, narcissism would not get in the way of someone’s voice.  Narcissism is all about one’s self and if that person is self-centered their voice will be self-centered.  The only way narcissism would interfer with someone’s real voice is if they are pretending or really trying to be narcisstic when they aren’t, their voice would be forced and would not sound natural.  If I want to sound natural in my paper and show my voice, I find who I am inside of me and put that on my paper.  If I’m narcisstic, it will show through my voice in my paper.  Overall, I do not think being narcisstic will affect a writer’s voice, it will only show through their voice that they are narcisstic. 

Corbett Response

            Reading Response (due by class time on yourblog): Corbett is an advocate of imitation in writing, but he also warns that ifyou want to develop your own voice, you shouldn’t work with one author for toolong. First why does Corbett advocate for imitation? What are the benefits,according to him? Then, what do *you* think of his warning about voice andimitation? Do you buy it? Why/not? (5 minutes)   

            As I read Corbett, I noticed he talked a lot about imitating.  He said when he was in high school, his teacher had them copy word for word essays and writings from famous writers, in order for the students to gradually adopt that style of writing.  I never thought that just copying the diction of a famous writer would have any effect on the copier’s writing style.  Corbett said that he noticed a huge difference in his writing and said he began to write similar words and imitate the style of the writers overall.  That is why he made his class do that, because even if they copied the words half-heartedly, Corbett said they still would improve their writing style. 

            I did notice that Corbett did not like staying with one author for a long period of time.  He said that the students begin to sound like that one author, when they really should be imitating all the writers they imitate.  I really do not know what to think about Corbett’s use of imitation.  He says that it worked for him and his students, but I just do not see how imitating someone is going to help a student’s writing process get better.  Even if it does work, the writer loses their voice when mimicking other authors.  When they mimic others, they start to talk or write like that person or overall people, and lose what they would normally have done in their writing.  While Corbett says it works to help his students’ writing process, I think they would lose their voice in their papers and would have a hard time trying to find it again.

Kerri Spaulding

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