The Stranger by Albert Camus

If I had to choose just one book to pass on to future generations I would choose The Stranger by Albert Camus. Beside the fact that this is one of the few books I’ve actually read, I did enjoy it. The Stranger is roughly one hundred and twenty pages long. It is based on a man that is put on death row in France for committing a pointless murder that he had no intention of committing. The book really makes one question the Justice System, not only in the United States, but across the world. Along with a great storyline and dialogue, Albert Camus has a very unique way of writing that you couldn’t avoid if you read the book. He is very simple and to the point, yet this book remains one of the bestselling novels since it was published in 1942. This very humble, modest style of writing is the kind of work I enjoy reading because it doesn’t make you second guess yourself during the reading and surely isn’t confusing. I enjoyed The Stranger so much that I chose to do a senior English report on it where I made a short film including video clips related to the topic of justice and I also incorporated music. The Stranger will undoubtedly be a book I remember for the rest of my life and I believe everyone should get their hands on it at one point.

Halloween

   Halloween has never really been a huge event in my life. As a kid, I would love to go trick or treating—what kid didn’t? Today, I see Halloween from a different perspective. I usually don’t know when Halloween is until about a week in advance when someone gives me a random reminder. Halloween isn’t a holiday that I would consider special or at least not special enough to have a family gathering for. One fun part about this holiday, however, is dressing up however you desire. When everyone dresses up differently or tries to look goofy, it makes it a lot of fun because you can begin to see that people don’t always act like themselves. They’re usually a lot more outgoing, carefree, and fun. The worst part about dressing up for Halloween is emptying your wallet for a costume. I usually only wear one outfit Friday or Saturday, that way I won’t have to spend money on two costumes. Living in a house with four other people, trick or treating day got a little annoying when the doorbell rang every ten minutes. It is, however, acceptable because I enjoyed walking around getting candy at one point in my life as well. I don’t think Halloween will ever be that extremely important to me, but I will bring my kids up practicing the tradition to see what they think of it. Who knows, maybe they will get a lot more satisfaction out of the holiday than me.

Changing One Thing at WSU

If I could change one thing about Wright State University it would have to be the parking. Parking isn’t a huge deal to most students around campus besides the commuters. Being a freshman commuter this year, a lot of times it is hard to find a parking spot with reasonable walking distance between your spot and your desired destination. Depending on the time that you pull into to Wright State, sometimes but not often, are there available spaces that you would actually want to park in. If I had to estimate, any time after 9 o’clock in the morning, you won’t find a suitable parking space. Although I do not know the exact percentage, I know that a high number of Wright State students commute, due to location of the college. If it were up to me I would construct bigger lots either on or very close to campus so that no student has to worry about leaving an hour early for his or her class just to able to park their vehicle. Aside of leaving early, I have been late for class two times, even leaving 30 minutes before class. The funny thing is I only live 5 minutes from Wright State. The two occasions that I was late to my first class was because I spent over 15 minutes just searching for a place to put my car. Another reason I think they need to grant every student with a satisfying parking spot is because we are paying almost 90 dollars a quarter just to be able to park on campus. Possibly within the next four years that I’m here, Wright State will take the time to either construct new lots or change who parks where.

Revising Process

After revising and having my classmates edit my paper I felt very strong about my first draft. There were only a few mistakes on my original draft which makes me feel a lot of confidence toward my writing. Drafting a paper is extremely important. It allows student the opportunity to fix grammatical, vocabulary, and punctuation errors. Other than fixing others’ mistakes, every individual also can take the time to notice the mistakes that maybe they themselves have put toward their paper. Along with learning from it, revision also allows us to obviously perfect our essays, journals, and letters. Drafting undoubtedly has changed the way I write. Learning from experience is a huge part of life, and on a smaller scale, it is incorporated into simple writing techniques. Our writing slowly evolves through the process of revision. Aside of peer edits, the edits done by Mrs. Barker are the most helpful (mostly because she is our instructor). The comments written in red ink definitely help pull our pieces in a direction that some people may have never thought possible. Revising papers can be somewhat difficult at times. A lot of students take it for granted, however, not understanding that they can help themselves out just as much as their peers. Other than not being totally confident in my comma placement, revision isn’t that unbearable. Overall, revision has helped my writing evolve, and hopefully, it will continue to do just that. I want to continue to adjust the writing of other people as long as they do the same in return.

At the Moulin Rouge

The painting posted below is a portrait done by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, titled “At the Moulin Rouge”. This particular piece was done between the years of 1892-1895. Lautrec’s reason for doing a painting like the one we see is because he spent a lot of his years studying and even being involved in the Parisian nightlife. In late 19^th century Paris scenes just like the one you view in this painting were becoming extremely popular in saloons. France was practicing a new type of upbeat, action-filled party on-going late through the night; mainly for the upper-class citizens. Toulouse-Lautrec wanted to take this new lifestyle and portray it in his own way, which is why you can view multiple works just like “At the Moulin Rouge”. My belief is that Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec aimed this portrait at other countries. I think Lautrec’s intent was to represent this regime to other city-states at the time. I’m sure he wanted to express the evolving culture of Paris, as well, in order to possibly influence the rest of France. Obviously this painting was completed a number of years ago, so it’s very hard for me to relate to. The skill behind Lautrec’s work is really amazing, but the things he wants to point out with his work are extremely difficult for me to comprehend. This particular painting of Lautrec’s would be classified as a post-impression painting, which deals with the group of French painters progressing past Impressionism. I’m glad I had the opportunity to look through some of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s work.

Unplugging TV

   Unplugging all of the television sets in the world, oddly, has crossed my mind before. I’ve spent random days daydreaming during math and science classes wondering what it would really be like. The official truth remains: we don’t know how it would affect people, and they're here to stay. Kids that abuse technology everyday would eventually be forced to live like our parents did when they were young, and I’m sure it would be a mind-boggling transformation depending on how addicted to the TV some children once were. On the other hand, I do know some young kids who love to watch movies and TV shows, but they still seem to excel in their school work. I think the reason this happens is because there are indeed many documentaries and informative shows that we see on television today. However, a strong counter-argument could be all of the profane and exotic material we are exposed to everyday through our television sets. In my opinion, a television isn’t going to have a major effect on how a child grows up. It won’t have a major effect on his or her health, knowledge, growth, and social influence. Keep in mind all of the intelligent and outgoing teens I’m with during class. Being in college, I would say that almost 99% of the students I am around and communicating with every day grew up with a TV in there house, if not their rooms. We’re all growing up in the golden age of technology and it’s going to be up to each individual to decide the amount they want to apply to their lives.

Advertising

        Since I entered high school, it was my number one goal to decide what I wanted to major in in college. I procrastinated upon my goal for a few years and I finally decided to direct the course of my life toward marketing. So, obviously advertising is one of my main focuses at this particular moment. Over the past few weeks in English we’ve been discussing the reduction of women’s status due to the media along with racism, and children’s exposure to corrupt material. Aside of advertisements that suggest offensive, racial, and degrading material I love the idea of marketing products. It’s really exiting to possibly have the opportunity to help create and distribute commercials and ads throughout the public one day. Advertising has really evolved over the years from simple newspaper flyers, to the amusing Anheuser commercials that we are exposed to almost every time we turn on the television. It has undoubtedly became a lot bigger issue than it was in the past, focusing on unsuitable material and manipulating decisions. I’m nervous, but at the same time overly content with the opportunity I may have one day to promote the new ideas and unique plans that the marketing field has in store.

Why I'm at Wright State

Wright State University has an immense amount of history behind it. You can even take a look at the timeline along one of our own underground tunnels between University Hall and the Medical Science building. The Wright Brothers, Stanley Allyn, Robert Oelman, and Dr. Brage Golding all helped pioneer the institution we attend every day. After seeing what Wright State was all about, its past, its majors, its students, and its faculty there was no doubt about my decision. Along with checking Wright State’s background, my mom attending the same university in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s influenced my decision. When I came on my first visit to Wright State, my instructor was extremely helpful on all levels. She explained everything in detail and precise offers of the university. When I decided to major in Marketing, almost a week later I read in the Dayton Daily News that Wright State ranked in the top 300 business schools in the United States. This was the point I was extremely interested in the institution. My living situation was also very important. Rather than relying on Wright State to pair me up with a roommate that I enjoy being with, I’ve had the opportunity to live with five of my friends from back home. Overall, I don’t regret my choice to attend Wright State at all. I’m really lucky I have the chance to pursuit a degree the next four years at a school I enjoy going to.

Sky Might Fall

In one year, a person hears a lot of music in his or her life. In the past year, one of the songs I’ve grown to love is “Sky Might Fall” by Kid Cudi. Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi) is a Brooklyn based rapper that has an immense amount of success. He was born into a lot of hardships as a child growing up in Cleveland. Cudi is my favorite musician at the moment and I don’t really see my view changing. The picture he paints with his music, along with his inspiring story on his climb to success deserve recognition. The particular song I chose is on Kid Cudi’s debut album, Man on the Moon. The creativity that went into the production and vocals on this specific song, along with the entire album is truly unexplainable. “Sky Might Fall” is aimed at individuals who examine and analyze our world from a different perspective, far away from the average, everyday illusion of ideality. You can really tell in this song he tries to express what he believes is true in order to influence and inspire. In general, the song is targeted toward people around my age or perhaps younger. It is talking to anyone who simply asks “why”. This particular song would fall under the genre of Hip-Hop, as would the rest of Cudi’s music. His music (including this song) is definitely changing the way people view Hip-Hop as a whole. He’s extremely creative, intriguing, and new. This melody makes me think and definitely keeps my attention anytime it’s played. I don’t know if it would necessarily require a stance, I just really enjoy the use of words along with production. You can hear ths song by clicking this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwI3CS2CHE8

Controlled Killing: A Governmental Approach

   Perhaps one of the most intriguing topics in our country today is the controversy regarding capital punishment. It is one of the most significant predicaments that allow the far left to be extended from the far right. Of course to the majority of people (more specifically college and high school students) this argument seems to sound repetitive and a bit cliché, but does a subject which involves the killing of human beings truly deserve to be pushed to the side simply because it seems dull? Practicing justice in the United States is an essential principle this nation was founded on. My question is, what kind of justice is shown when we murder an individual? Who are we to say that taking someone’s life is a punishment? Do we truly know what happens to a human when they die? If the government’s answer is yes, then wouldn’t that be violating our general belief on the separation of church and state? In modern day, our most popular method of execution is lethal injection. In this process three anesthetics are pumped through the veins of the accused individual, all combining to result in a slow painless death (considering the first injection is meant to make the victim unconscious). So, knowing that the accused do not feel any pain or distress proves that the oppressor is counting on the after-life to be a dark and morbid hell. To me, two wrongs don’t make a right, and revenge is temporary. Noted author Albert Camus once wrote “For centuries the death penalty, often accompanied by barbarous refinements, has been trying to hold crime in check; yet crime persists. Why? Because the instincts that are warring in man are not, as the law claims, constant forces in a state of equilibrium.”