Blog Reflection

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been developing this blog. This would be my fifteenth post. I’ve noticed that my writing evolved as I kept writing in the blog. At first I had a very formal approach to the blog experience. I essentially wrote an essay and then posted it on the blog. Then, as I familiarized myself with the whole blog concept, I realized that I could be less formal while still keeping an organized flow of idea. I think I was successful in achieving this. I see myself drifting even more from the whole “essay format” on this post. It should be an interesting writing experience

As I said, my blog posts were initially mere essays. Then I started being comfortable with the idea of “it’s my blog and I can do whatever I want.” Of course, that is not entirely true, since I had the professor’s guidelines to follow and the own guidelines that I imposed upon myself. I knew I could “do what I want,” but what I want includes keeping my posts and ideas organized. That is just the kind of person I am, I guess. I wanted my posts to flow and to be easy to read. I wanted my readers to not struggle with my train of thought. I have ADD and I can sometimes get carried away, like I did in the journal, so I wanted to keep it organized. What do you guys think? Did I achieve my purpose with my posts? Were my ideas clear? See, that’s another thing. I can ask readers questions on the blog and they have the ability to respond. That doesn’t happen as easily with regular essays or papers. That’s cool.

I liked writing about diverse topics and analyzing the material covered in class. It gave me an opportunity to analyze my views and opinions on diverse topics. That’s not something that I do frequently these days since all my other classes are basically math and science. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I love math and science, but it’s nice to get the brain to ponder on ideas and not just physical concepts and numbers.

Of the whole blog experience, I particularly liked how I could add photos, post links to videos and add all other sorts of media into my posts. It allowed for better expression of ideas outside the use of words. It also helps with the mood of the post. My favorite media attachment was when I added the song that inspired the first poem that I posted on the blog. I wrote my last couple of posts while listening to music, so that might have been a precipitating factor in the media addition concept by increasing my creativity.

As I mentioned before, I also liked the fact that others can comment on my posts. I was surprised that my colleagues share and agree with the ideas that I present. Aside from commenting, people can also ask questions. This makes for a more personal experience.

Essentially, what I liked about the blog experience is that it is less structured than the essay paradigm. I can use a different kind of structure. I can make my own structure, for that matter. I liked being able to add pictures, videos and links to other sites on the web. And I really liked as well the availability of a comments feature. I’d definitely like to keep another blog in the future. It’s something that I had previously considered multiple times and this experience definitely tells me to do it.

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Check out my first post here so you can see how it's different from this one.

Serving in Silence Reflection

Topic Question:  What is your reaction to this true story? Do you believe that she should have kept her secret or told it to everyone? Explain your reasons why.

The film Serving in Silence tells the story of Margarethe Cammermeyer, a woman serving in the National Guard who, after disclosing that she is a lesbian, is faced with the chances of being honorably discharged for breaking Army regulations. I have to say that I was surprised when I realized that the topic was her discrimination for being a lesbian. I had imagined that she would be discriminated, but for being a woman in general and not because of her sexuality. The movie is very good and I particularly liked how she stood her ground and did not take the easy way out the multiple times she was offered to retract her statement about being a lesbian. That must have been very hard. It is seen in the movie that it was a hard thing to go through, and not just for her, but for her family as well.

On the left is Glenn Close, the actress who played Margarethe Cammermeyer in the movie,

and on the right is the real Margarethe Cammermeyer.

(Image from http://www.etv.co.za/movies/drama/serving-silence)

Her decision to tell the truth must have also been hard. She knew the Army regulations and she knew the direction the interview was headed. She says that she told the truth because she was being honest. Whether or not she should’ve told the truth is dependent on two (or three) things: whether her goals were career centered or if they were centered on personal fulfillment. Those that live to work would definitely have not told the truth. Those that work to live might have told the truth. I say that they might have told the truth because this would vary by person. If the person is strong willed, confident and has moral support, then that person would’ve definitely told the truth. Any other person lacking any or all of these three would probably not have told the truth. I would classify myself as a work to live kind of person, but I can’t say if I would’ve told the truth. It is hard to throw oneself in the light of a conflicting issue, even if one is sure that one’s view of the matter is right. Therefore, one could easily save themselves the trouble and not tell the truth. On the other hand, movements and changes in the status quo are done by people that stand up and challenge the current ideology. In this sense, I believe that Margarethe did the right thing. She is an example and an inspiration to everyone. Yet I still can’t say that I would’ve done the same in a similar situation.

With this being said, I generally don’t like movies from the 90s or earlier (there’s just something about the look and feel that I don’t like), but it didn’t bother me with this movie. That surprised me. So, to sum up, the movie Serving in Silence is very good and I’d recommend it to anyone. It tells the story of Margarethe Cammermeyer, a lesbian in the National Guard who challenges the status quo of Army regulations regarding sexuality. It is truly an inspiring story.

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Check out this interesting interview with the real Margarethe Cammermeyer:

Skit/Drama Relflection

              A few months ago, we were asked to create a drama were the main topic was discrimination. My group and I, The Pinkish Purple Panthers, decided to make our drama on discrimination towards the homeless. We specifically chose a beggar on a street light. The writing process was relatively fluid and we ended up with a drama that we all liked. We then performed it for our class and it went great. Everyone liked it and we got a good grade. A while later, we were told that we were going to be presenting/performing our drama on the Annual Student Research and Writing Conference: Student Collaborations and Contributions Across the Disciplines held at out university. At first, I was a little anxious about performing in an amphitheater, but I was able to manage thanks to my previous experience as a musician. The performance went great and it wasn’t as big a crowd as I expected.

(Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_improvisational_theatre_companies)

            Writing our drama was a interesting process. We first made an outline of each mayor event going through the drama and how the characters reacted. Some ideas conflicted with others, but we were able to manage them though respectful group discussions. Two of our most innovative ideas were incorporating the poem “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost, and having a character whose role was to portray the thoughts of the other characters as they all froze in scene. We then began writing the actual drama. Since we are a relatively big group and hour schedules conflicted, we decided to write our drama separately and online through Google Docs. It allowed us all to write at the same time, edit and leave comments and suggestions. This was a great idea. We were also able to always have the latest version of the script available, even on our cell phones. After writing the drama, we moved on to making the props. A few days later, we had a successful performance for our class.

               Then, a few weeks later, we were told about our pending performance at the Annual Student Research and Writing Conference on the panel titled “Discrimination: Student Dramatizations and Poetry.” I can’t lie, at first I was a little anxious. I had never performed a play in front of a big crowd. But this is where my experience as a musician kicked in. I remembered that I’ve played in front of big crowds, that things have gone wrong during a presentation and nothing horrible happened, and that you just have to improvise sometimes. That last one is the one that helped me the most. I thought: the worst thing that can happen is that I forget my lines, and I can just improvise, I’ve done it before. As a musician, I’ve had to improvise a lot. It’s not just in parts of a song were you know you’re going to have to improvise a solo. Also, there were other times when people said “the other drummer isn’t going to show up, so you’re going to have to play all his pieces too;” or “hey, tonight we’re going to play this song that you’ve never heard before. Listen to it on my iPod and learn it. We’re on in 30 minutes.” So knowing that I’ve managed though situations before allowed me to lose my anxiety about the presentation. I was completely relaxed and we had another great performance.

(Image from http://www.mjkimpan.com/the-show-must-go-on/)

                Writing our own drama was a very good experience. We were able to work as an efficient team in writing our drama. We came up with innovative ideas and I was able to overcome my anxiety. Through our drama, we delivered a good message about discrimination that was hopefully well received by the two audiences that witnessed our performance. 

Literary Contest Reflection

My experience on the Forty-Eighth Annual Literary Contest was different than I had expected. I decided to write  a short story about a mountain biker riding a trail for the very first time, as he recalls the lessons he’s learned while mountain biking. I changed my mind and ended up writing the topic as a poem. Even though I didn’t win, I’m satisfied with my personal achievement in being creative and expressing my ideas.

As for my writing process, I first outlined the ideas for the topic and then began writing my first draft. Almost immediately, I thought of writing a poem of the same topic. I felt like the poem allowed me to better portray my message, since I saw the short story turning into a fable. That was not the direction that I wanted to go in, so I decided to make a poem. I went through numerous drafts and ended up reducing the new trail experience to just one stanza, then having one stanza for each of the three lessons learned, and then one stanza summing up the entire poem and giving closure to the message.

I feel like I did a good job. I like my poem and I find that it has good literary value. I didn’t plan on winning, nor did I set it as a goal. Still, since I saw it as a good poem, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I won. I was not surprised nor negatively affected by the fact that I didn’t win. I’m still happy that I was able to express how I feel about mountain biking and be creative.

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Click here to read my poem entry for the Forty-Eighth Annual Literary Contest.

The Mountain Biker with Good Vibe | My Poem Entry for the Forty-Eighth Annual Literary Contest

The first time at a trail is always an enlivening experience.

The mountain biker does not know what comes after every turn.

It is a mystery and a delightful surprise.

Even a hill is welcomed by the mountain biker with good vibe.

So he gets there, hungry for life.

The mountain biker makes his way through the trees

Without the need to cut them down

Each root, rock, turn, climb and downhill is a challenge.

He can’t always have straight, flat paths.

The challenge is what makes it worthwhile.

When going down hills, physics is king

There is just no way to trump gravity.

Brake too hard, and he’ll surely lose control.

Brake too soft, and he’ll surely hit a tree.

Balance is definitely key.

The mountain biker is at peace with nature.

He moves fluidly so as to not hit the trees;

Or worse, the ground.

The trees don’t mind, they hardly feel a scratch.

But the mountain biker will surely feel more than a scratch.

The mountain biker flows with nature,

He works with gravity,

He overcomes every obstacle,

And they all reign supreme.

He is the mountain biker with good vibe.

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In case you are unfamiliar with mountain biking, watch this video. The video is not mine, but its at one of my favorite trails at my favorite mountain bike park in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Also, listen to it with some good headphones because the music is also awesome. 'Gotta love Pink Floyd...

After watching the video, read the poem again. Your mental picture and understanding of it might change.

Untitled | Poem from Journal Activity

Why can’t I turn the page?

A happy ending is all I crave…

Or, at least, a happy middle?

I want a chance, a chance to try,

To not feel like we failed before we tried.

Like a man in a desert,

I walk in despair,

Seeking refuge behind the gates.

Are they closed?

I don’t have the key for such locks.

Far, shines the sun, but not so far away.

A second chance is all I crave.

Can I transcend or must I replace?

Will I find an oasis and rest?

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This poem evolved from two journal entries. I began the first journal entry with a quote from the song below. The song is "Not Done Yet" by SOJA and the quote is: "It's just this feeling I get. It's like I'm not done yet."

P.S. To my surprise, I was able to transcend by writing this poem,