Multi-Genre Project: Research Proposal

For the Multi-Genre Research project, I will be looking at adoption, both local and international. I know that people have mixed feelings about it, and that it is becoming more and more popular. I would like to know more about the process of adoption. I also plan to find more about how adoption is viewed in other cultures around the world. This is personally meaningful to me because my family is still in the process of adopting our 2-year old foster baby, Alex, and it has been a huge journey and process for us. Since my mom has done so much research over the past year and a half, I will use her as one of my sources over the next week or two. I will also be contacting my family's social worker to learn more from the state government's side of adoption. I can also use government websites, books, and blogs from adoptive families as sources.

Article 4 Response: Multi-genre Projects

I decided to read Living Thin, which is a girl's story about her battle with eating disorders. I found this to be very interesting. I think I like this way of presenting research because it isn't just a 10 page paper of straight facts and analysis. It seemed really personal and it had a lot of different ways of showing information. She wrote about the different feelings she experienced while fighting Anorexia. She even personifies Anorexia as an abusive boyfriend. This example helped me to understand what exactly a multi-genre project is. I'm not really sure what I want to research, possibly child literacy, or special needs students. Maybe even a mixture of both. Who knows.

Article 3 Response: UN Millenium Goals

Imagine having to sit in a classroom like this, trying to learn.

As you might have collected from my previous blog post, I have a special place in my heart for kids. That's why I was immediately drawn to United Nations' goal to achieve universal primary education. Most of us don't really enjoy going to school, but I think that if we didn't have the opportunity, we'd be in a world of hurt. Honestly, free public education is something many people take for granted, including myself. Lots of children around the world aren't offered a formal education and if they are, it sure isn't free. Equal education and literacy is something I feel very strongly about. I love to learn and love to read, and it kills me that there are people around the world who aren't given the opportunity to love those things like I do. I apologize in advance if this post gets a little "ranty."

Here's the problem. Enrollment rates were around 83% in 2000. Many kids are leaving schools before they are finished, and things like poverty, race, and gender are keeping kids from learning. UN has a goal to raise literacy rates, lower dropout rates, and to generally increase availability of schools to more groups of children around the world. Several partnerships and programs are popping up to help achieve these goals. Schools are being built in smaller rural areas in order to reach more kids. Special programs are being put in place to reach girls, who often have a higher dropout rate or who just don't start school. Since these goals were set, the enrollment rate has increased to 90% in 2011, and the literacy rate drastically increased. The dropout rates are still about the same, and there are still students being left out of education because of poverty, gender, and race. The UN is working to address these issues, but they have yet to be resolved. 

This issue somewhat applies to our own hometown and country. While public schooling is free and readily available, I don't think it is reaching every single student. Sure, the kids are in the classrooms, but I honestly think that common core curriculum teaches to the middle population of students. What about the kids above or below average? The kids who don't learn like everyone else may be getting the short end of the stick, and something should be put in place to help those kids. Dropouts also continue to be an issue. The dropout rates are dropping, but I don't think we should stop trying to fight it until there are zero dropouts. Primary education is so important, as it's hard to accomplish much in life without it.

Article 2 Response: Start Something that Matters

 I think that if you're going to do something, you should do it with passion or don't do it at all. Reading these stories was something I really enjoyed because all of the people who started these causes had a true passion, and started or are trying to start something they feel very strongly about. Some of them stood out to me more so than others.



The first story I read was about Mike's project, CoverForCover. Through his business, he sells kids' books, and for each sold, he gives a book to a child in a low-income family. His mission is to decrease, and eventually get rid of illiteracy in children. This story caught my attention because growing up, I loved to read anything and everything I could get a hold of. I couldn't imagine not having any books in my house to read. CoverForCover is working to share the love of reading with kids who might not otherwise learn to read. It is unique because they don't sell ordinary books like These are the Colors of the Rainbow, but they come up with clever titles such as Mommy's Favorite Juice which is a book about wine. It's a little strange, but it got my attention.



Another cause I looked at was Good Spread. I opened this story because honestly, I just really love peanut butter. However, when I watched the video that talked about Good Spread, I found that they are doing a really great thing. They made a type of peanut butter which is sold in packets. They pledged that for each packet of Good Spread sold, they will donate a packet of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food to a malnourished child overseas. This team of guys really stood out to me because they aren't a pair of big business guys. They're just regular guys with a great idea. 



The third story I read was about Dreamer's Orchestra. This hasn't yet been created, but I fell in love with the idea. The Dreamer's Orchestra will provide an outlet for homeless people. It will be a collection of homeless with a dream. They will sell tickets and hold performances in order to get these people back on their feet. It will also provide a music education program for homeless children, as a way to keep them out of trouble. I really love this idea because music has had such a huge impact on my life, especially being in band. It makes me really happy that someone wants to give other children a chance to fall in love with music the same way that I did.


If you can't tell by the stories I chose to write about, I have a huge passion for working with kids. If money was not a factor, I would spend my time traveling around the world. I would love to learn more about different cultures around the world. I think it would be a lot of fun to do some kind of service project in every country I traveled to. I would want to do medical service work, providing health care and first aid to those who needed it but couldn't get it, either because they couldn't afford it or technology wasn't available.

Article 1 Response: Grammar Rules

This article was actually pretty interesting. It made me rethink the way I write and speak. It pointed out grammar mistakes commonly made in the English language. Some of the points made by the author were bad parallelism, the subjunctive, and semicolon usage. I think this article showed me some things that I need to keep in mind when writing in the future. 


There were a couple of points that went right over my head, and I had to read them twice or three times until I understood. For example, the section about verb problems was confusing to me. I don't think I completely grasp "lay vs. lie" or  "shrank vs. shrunk" concept. The article doesn't really explain this idea, it just points out a few words that are commonly misused, then goes on to the next point.

One point that I could connect with and understand is the one dealing with pronouns. One of my biggest pet peeves is when somebody uses "I" where "me" would be more appropriate, or vice versa. The author makes a note of this, saying, "As long as they're by themselves, object and subject don't give anyone problems. That is, no one who's an adult native English speaker would say Me walked to the bus stop or He gave the book to I." This passage stood out to me because whenever I am unsure of which pronoun to use when talking about another person and me, I usually drop the other person's name to see if it still makes sense. If it does, I know I'm using the correct pronoun. After reading about the verbs, I felt like this little girl; I was completely lost.


I think this article about grammar mistakes was somewhat beneficial to me. I may not consciously think about every point made in the article while I am writing. However, I do feel that I have a better grasp of some confusing grammar concepts after reading this article.

Pecha Kucha Presentation

The Pecha Kucha presentations were...interesting.I will say it made all of the presentations go a lot faster, and made it feel pretty structured. Not having words on the slides also made it more interesting because you actually had to listen to who was presenting, not just read what was on the slide. 

I felt pretty good about my presentation, I learned a lot about my future career. Here is a link to my Prezi about Occupational Therapy. I went over what OT's do, why it's important and the differences between occupational and physical therapy. I hope you learned something from my presentation!

Pecha Kucha Response

I watched a Pecha Kucha called "Music Moves Me" by Breanne Tepler. She talks about how music helped her cope with two major tragedies in her life. I really enjoyed how she explained what happened in her life, her background, and why she turned to music in the first place. She sounded very confident when she spoke and that made me want to keep listening. Since she was talking about something very personal to her, so she was obviously an expert on what she was presenting. She continuously had something to say, there weren't any awkward silences. 

Something that would improve this presentation is if she spoke slower. At times, it sounded as if she had too much to say, and was trying to cram it all in. Especially in the beginning, it was difficult to keep up because she was speaking at a hundred miles per hour. Most of the visuals on her slideshow were interesting, especially the photos of herself or her family. Some of the photos, however, seemed irrelevant. For example, I don't understand why I'm looking at a picture of a tree by a river when she's talking about a car crash. It would keep my attention better if the visuals had some type of correlation to the information being presented.

Overall, the Pecha Kucha was very interesting and left an impression. The presenter was effective in communicating her message. This type of presentation makes me nervous because of the whole "20 seconds per slide" thing. It may make it seem to go faster, which is good, from my perspective. But I think it could also make it feel like it was dragging by. I think I'll be able to fill my ten slides worth, but I'm having trouble deciding exactly what to say.

National Day of the People's Republic of China

In the autobiography that I received from China, Curry (my pen pal) mentioned something about the "National Holidays." I was immediately intrigued to know what this meant. We have several national holidays here in America, so I didn't know if he was referring to something specific, or just holidays in general. I decided to look more into China's National Day. 

 

Flag Raising Ceremony for National Day

National Day is a holiday celebrating the formation of the People's Republic of China. The country was founded on September 21st, 1949, and the first National Day was celebrated ten days later, on October 1st, 1949. In corresponding with Curry, I learned that the National Holidays start on October 1st and extend until October 7th. These seven days are called Golden Week. Besides the Spring Festival Holiday, this is the longest holiday in China. This year marks the 65th National Day of the People's Republic of China.

Military Parade for National Day

Encyclopedia Britannica says that at the first National Day Ceremony in 1949, Mao Zedong waved the new China flag in Tiananmen Square. Today, the flag is raised there to kick off the National Day festivities, as shown above. There is also a military parade like the one shown in the photo, fireworks, singing and dancing shows, and state dinners, according to Travel China Guide. There is a lot of traveling and tourism during this time as well. National Day and Golden Week are a very special, exciting time for people in China.

China's National Day reminded me of Independence Day here in America. There is a lot of patriotism shown and it seems like a lot of fun. I think being in China during Golden Week would be very interesting and an exciting experience. It is definitely going on my bucket list.

Sources:

"China National Day: October 1st, Golden Week." China National Day: October 1st, Golden Week. Travel China Guide, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

Curry. "Autobiography Correspondence." Message to the author. 08 Nov. 2014. E-mail.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "National Day (Chinese Holiday)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

Reading Response #4: Lovely, Dark and Deep

     I'm nearing the end of Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara. Wren, the narrator and main character, lives with her dad. She moved there after she was in a drunk driving accident where her boyfriend Patrick was killed. She has met and is dating a new boy named Cal Owen. She is trying to settle into a new "normal". She is struggling with this because the accident left her with a great deal of emotional trauma and issues. 

     After a not-so-helpful visit to a psychiatrist, Wren goes for a run in the middle of a cold winter night. She is found laying on some rocks not far from her house. She is starting to get hypothermia and has to be hospitalized. During this situation, the title of the book begins to make sense. Wren says, 

"The woods are dark and deep, and I run through them until I can't feel anything anymore...I tear through deeper and deeper parts of the woods. Like if I'm fast enough, the forest might open up and let me in for real. I run until I'm burning. My lungs screaming in my chest, my muscles on fire. My heart's a machine" (Page 243).

      In this passage, it becomes apparent that Wren finds comfort in the woods. They are an escape for her, and they help her to forget anything else while she is running through them. Being in the woods allows Wren to find a state of calm when she is having an emotional breakdown. This photo is what I imagine the woods look like for Wren. They are beautiful and act as a safe place for her to go.


     Even though Wren's midnight run makes her seem like a lunatic, it opens her eyes. Her family's reaction to seeing her on the fringe of death makes her realize that she is loved. She sees that they really are on her side, wanting everything to be okay for her. She begins to take steps on the way to feeling happy and normal again.

Reading Response #3: Lovely, Dark and Deep

     Here I am, still reading Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara. Thus far, the main character, Wren, has moved in with her dad after getting in an accident which killed her boyfriend, Patrick. She suffered many emotional problems such as flashbacks and crying fits. She turned to poetry and running to try and cope with these issues. She has met a new boy named Cal, and after trying to shut him out, she decides to let him have a part in her life. She also had a friend named Mary, who was an intern with Wren's father, an artist. Mary has just finished her internship and moved away, being replaced by the new intern, Nick, who Wren finds completely repulsive. 

     Previously, Wren has been extremely depressed. She would get upset about something, and go on a two hour run through the woods alone, crying the entire time. But now, she's transformed into an almost-normal person. She still has smaller flashbacks, or gets caught up in memories, but for the most part, she's learning how to be happy again. It almost seems like she doesn't want to let herself be happy, but she is trying. Her father's intern, Mary plays a huge role in that. When Wren realizes that she is slowly becoming "normal" again, she says,

  "I hang up. Try to get my head together. My face is burning. I just had a conversation with a guy who likes me. A guy I like. I'm going shopping with Mary. Look at me. I'm a regular person" (page 117). 

     This passage is significant because it is when she realizes that maybe, just maybe, things might turn out okay. Wren's transformation from a sad, emotional person into an almost happy, not quite so emotional person makes me really happy. Her character was shaped by the people around her, as well as time. She does, however, like to go back and forth between being happy and being depressed still. It seems like she puts on a happy face in front of people, but deep down she's still broken. This drawing of a girl that is half happy, half sad reminds me of Wren. For every smile that she plasters on her face, there's an emotional breakdown. I think that Wren's true feelings and personality will be revealed soon (hopefully!). I'm looking forward to finishing the rest of the book.

Reading Response #2: Lovely, Dark, and Deep

     Somehow, I'm still trying to finish Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Amy McNamara. Not because I don't like this book, because I do. I'm actually really enjoying reading it.

     So far in the book, we have met Wren, the main character and narrator. She has a lot of personal issues. She was involved in an accident which caused everything in her life to be changed. She lives with her dad and has met a new boy named Cal. Previously, she tried to shut Cal out of her life but she has started to let him in. Wren is trying to create a new "normal" despite several flashbacks and emotional outbursts. 

This little girl reminds me of Wren, how she's shutting Cal out.

      Something that really confuses me about this book is Wren's relationship with Cal. At first, she thinks Cal is trying to take her in as a "project". She fears that her father asked him to spend time with her and fix her, so she would stop moping around. I think Cal also reminds Wren of Patrick, her former boyfriend. She doesn't want those thoughts in her head, so she pushes him away however she can. She says, "I'm not getting tangled up in anything again. With anyone. Not like this. Especially because my parents planned it" (Page 80). It was actually pretty childish how she shuts him out. 

     PLOT TWIST! Wren feels an emptiness in her life and realizes that the void is where Cal should be. She craves his presence, and decides to make him a constant part of her life. She's afraid he will think she has gone off the deep end, because of her emotional problems; however, she is delighted to find out that Cal is still interested in her. She goes over to his house one day, and their relationship is rekindled. Their encounter was pretty sappy:

"He leans his head closer, touches my cheek. My heart is going to stop. "I'd really like to kiss you," he says. Looks at me. I couldn't say no if I tried. I lean toward him. I have nothing left to lose," (Page 104).

     This passage is significant because it shows how Wren's feelings about Cal have changed. Their relationship is kind of annoying because Wren can't decide what she wants. Sometimes, she blocks him out because she doesn't want to have feelings for anyone. Other times, she's obsessed with him and can't stop talking about him. She needs to make up her mind. It reminds me of a little girl with a flower, like the one in the photo, saying "he loves me, he loves me not." Puke. 

     Don't get me wrong, this book really is pretty interesting. Wren, the main character is very intriguing, even though her life is full of drama. With the exception of the teenage sappiness, it's realistic and even somewhat relatable.

Reading Response #1: Lovely, Dark and Deep

lovely, dark and deep

by Amy Mcnamara 

 

     I chose to read this book because the title and cover intrigued me. I thought the photo and the colors on the book were really pretty. You could say I judged this book by its cover. It didn't have a summary anywhere, so I didn't really have a choice. Lovely, Dark, and Deep is about a girl named Wren who moves in with her dad after a tragic accident turns her life upside down. She has a lot of emotional issues and doesn't really have many friends, until one day she is almost hit by a car driven by a boy named Cal Owen. She tries to isolate herself from everyone, but Cal and her parents are doing everything they can to keep her from it. 

      The author uses a lot of sentence fragments that are sometimes distracting while reading. However, it makes it sound like you're listening to the narrator's own thoughts and actions, and makes it a lot easier to paint a picture in your head of what is going on. For example,

"I feel like I might run off the edge of the world. Like I might need to. I trip a few times. Slip on the sweet-smelling wet leaf rot on the forest floor. Down on my torn knee, scraped hands. Snot runs down my face and tears streak hot against my temples. My eyes burn. I run faster, harder. Like I can outpace the dark. When I fall, I get back up again almost between strides. The pain's good. Feels like a solution to something." (page 17)

This is like Wren, trapped inside her own emotions

     Wren, the narrator, is interesting to me because it seems that she's trapped in her own feelings. She doesn't have anyone to talk to, but that's her own fault... But then, it's not really her fault. She can't look at hardly anyone without being pulled back into her past. Cal reaches out to her, but when she looks at him, she only sees reminders of Patrick, her ex-boyfriend who passed away in the accident. It makes me sad for her. 

     She turns to running and reading poetry to clear her mind. She mentions one specific poem that she really appreciates because the author of it "tells it like it is". I looked up the poem because I wanted to see what she was so amazed by.

Excerpt from Aubade by Philip Larkin

I work all day, and get half-drunk at night.   

Waking at four to soundless dark, I stare.   

In time the curtain-edges will grow light.   

Till then I see what’s really always there:   

Unresting death, a whole day nearer now,   

Making all thought impossible but how   

And where and when I shall myself die.   

Arid interrogation: yet the dread

Of dying, and being dead,

Flashes afresh to hold and horrify. 

     I think that with the exception of getting half-drunk, Wren can connect with this part of the poem because although she isn't dying, death is staring her in the face. She has dealt with death and felt like she was dying inside. I would really hate to be in Wren's place. 

I think I'll really enjoy this book, if I can get past the title, which creeps me out..

101 Things About Me

1. I'm the sixth of eight kids, and yes it's a blended family.
2. We're a foster family, we have a two year old named Alex.
3. Sometimes people think I'm Alex's mom when we're out in public, and I get a lot of looks and comments.
4. I'm not afraid of the dark, but I don't like to be outside alone at night.
5. I don't like to be alone at all, really. 
6. I'm center drum major here at Parkview, and it's a lot of fun.
7. Being a drum major sometimes causes me to be a little extra bossy. Oops. 
8. I really enjoy numbers and math, especially trig.
9. As of Monday, I'm secretary of Mu Alpha Theta.
10. I get really nervous when meeting new people and can be really awkward.
11. I have three nieces and a nephew, they're my favorites!
12. I really love to drive, but not by myself.
13. I don't have any pets but I'm dying to get a puppy.
14. I want to be a radiologist in the future. 
15. I can't stand when people are disrespectful toward their parents or adults.
16. The K in my name is capitalized on purpose, because my mom likes to be difficult. I don't really care if people forget the capital but it annoys me when people spell my name wrong.
17. My family calls me Nay Nay, because of my middle name, which is Renee.
18. My mom thinks it's hilarious to call me Shaniqua because she makes people think that's actually my name.