In today’s society a lot of the news we receive comes from the internet, newspapers, podcasts etc. It is known that in order for something to be published or broadcast-ed, it has to go through a system that filters the content. Now a days it is common for the news to be fabricated in some way, especially in this age where the we have access to the internet. The media isn’t so subtle with this as it once used to. For example one of mark Twain’s famous quotes states,

If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/12/03/misinformed/

Twain was actually working for the newspaper for sometime, for him to say this about his old job says a lot.

Along with how media is put out there, perception comes to into play also. In the article Perception in Mass Media, the author discusses the concept of perception and explains the different factors that help to influence perception such as, past experiences, assumptions, moods and beliefs. Of course each individual person is unique and has their own unique thoughts and opinions, so it makes sense that everyone will interpret something in their own way.

The author goes on to discuss the different elements that come with perception, structural influences on perception and functional influences. Structural influences is the actual physical act of being exposed to some sort of stimuli while on the other hand functional influences are all of the factors that come into play in order to change ones perception. It is important to know the difference because of the psychological aspects of it, to be able to break it down and really understand it. We do it unconsciously at this point but it is important to be aware.

The author even goes on to talk about subliminal perception, and how people can have their perception influenced by certain stimuli without even realizing it. An easy example of this would be the theory that Disney Land actually has scent vents that release delicious smelling scents in hopes that it will make the guests want to buy snacks and things from their stores. The guests are unaware but their subconscious is receiving the message that they’re trying to get out there. This happens all around us a lot more often then wed like to think, from commercials to movies and tvs shows, they can contain a lot of subliminal messages.

It is quite interesting to think about how much media and stimuli have a influence on our perception of things and the world around us, everything is so accessible now a days and people have somewhat lost patience for many things, people have changed along with the beliefs and influences of the world. This will continue till the end of time because we are all forever changing, growing and expanding. It is inevitable.

Etymology is the study of word history and or the origin of them. When you look at the word Etymology, “etymo” actually comes from the Greek word “etumos”, tracing it back the word means truth. “Logy” means the study of, therefore etymology is the study of that which is true. There is truth and history when it comes to most words because humans and society are constantly evolving language, we don’t talk the same way we used to hundreds of years ago and of course it would make sense that many words would take on different meanings throughout the years.

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As language evolves it has and will continue to have an influence on the way we as humans, live our day to day lives. Even to perform the simple task of thinking we need language. Everyone has thoughts running through their brains, some might even refer to them as the “voice in our heads”, whatever it may be it requires language in order to do it. That is the way we as humans make sense of things and how we bring things into our reality.

Everyone evolves their own language to make it fit into their reality, thousands of different communities all over the world have developed the way they communicate with each other, they manage to create a their own language and change the meanings of words. Especially in today’s society where we have access to the internet and its become a common thing for words to take on different meanings.

Twitter for example has a vast variety of different groups and fandom’s referred to as “stans”.

To “stan” means to look up to a person, usually someone who is famous or who has an impact on society/culture. They watch them and love their content, idolizing them in some way. Twitter stans have created multiple different groups and categories within its community, along with it came a language that has stuck and is continuously growing. So much so that it has managed to travel from twitter to our everyday lives.

Stan twitter language is typically used by individuals who are in a fandom or community that all share the same specific interest. These interests can range from famous musicians to queer identity. In fact it is quite known on twitter for the LGBTQ community to this language.

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There are so many terms that are used and many of them have origins, they are now used in completely different ways. We can thank African-American LGBTQ communities for many of stan twitters classic terms such as “wig” and “tea”. In the community “wig” is used for when something unexpectedly good happens that it causes your wig to fly off your head. “tea” is a synonym for gossip, it has to do with anything drama related.

They’re on “stan Twitter” a very different side of the social network to, say, politics and breaking news Twitter. It’s a whole different world, a whole different language.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/11/09/what-the-hell-is-a-stan-and-where-does-the-name-come-from_a_23264113/

Language has brought together people from all over the world and it will continue to do so. It is constantly evolving and creating history it’s self. There’s nothing more beautiful than the concept of self expression. It is what we were born to do.

In today’s society writing plays a big role in how we communicate and express ourselves. Many people use writing as an outlet, a way to get their thoughts out onto paper. Many others use writing as a way to prove something or even to prove they know something. The ability to be able to write well isn’t as common as you’d like to think and people who do write well are seen as educated people who are above the norm. For example the amount of people that don’t know the difference between “there” and “their” is huge, a person could write the best paper in the world but if they make a simple grammar mistake such as the “there” “their” mistake then their whole paper could come off as untrustworthy.

When I first started to really think about this assignment and my own personal experiences with writing, it made sense that I explain my background and childhood first. I grew up in a Mexican household so grammar and the English language in general was not a thing for us, Spanish was my main language. My mom raised me being a single mom so it was always a little difficult for her to be able to help me with homework or anything of that such.

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During elementary I remember loving English but I also remember how much I struggled, during this time I was in those after school groups for kids who struggled with writing and English. Although I was struggling with it I still loved English, in fact it used to be my favorite class. During my last year of elementary school I signed myself up for an after school tutoring group, my tutoring teacher was amazing and my writing skills improved by a considerable amount.

When I finally got to middle school I was pretty good at writing, I was in English accelerated classes and I always maintained above average grades. During this time I was excited to write because all of my friends were in the same class and so it became competitive. I wasn’t always confident, I did have moments where I felt almost ashamed because I wasn’t as good of a writer as everyone else. My vocabulary wasn’t as wide as I wanted it to be and I felt trapped in a box where I couldn’t fully express myself the way i wanted to.

When I was in my freshman year of high school, I was about 4 months in and unfortunately during this time I had a problem at home that eventually resulted in me dropping out of school. While I was out of school I traveled and lived in my car, I went to so many places and I remember wishing that I was a better writer so I could write about my adventures. An entire year passed by and I decided to enroll myself in a continuation school. It was a school meant for kids who didn’t do well in school or lacked credits. There was 130 students and many times students wouldn’t show up so on occasions i’d have maybe 4 classmates per class. So it wasn’t surprising that most of my teachers were not too serious about their jobs. Many of the assignments were easy and I didn’t have to put too much effort. I was genuinely upset because I wanted to improve my writing and because of the situation I was in I felt like I wasn’t worthy of a good education. I lost my love for writing and I was ashamed of my writing skills.

Im an artist and i’ve never been very good with words, I could never explain to people how I felt but I could easily paint a picture of the emotions I was feeling. As an artist i am always trying to push myself and my artistic boundaries so i can produce different types of works that will keep my audience interested. Recently with my artworks I have been trying to include more of my writing into my paintings, I was trying to combine two forms of expression. I wanted to try and tune into the writing aspect because of my struggle with it in the past. I managed to make a few pieces that I was fairly happy with but overall I was feeling discouraged once again.

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Despite all of this I am still determined to evolve my writing skills, one of the main reasons for me going to college is because I really do want to write better. Writing is beautiful and it has impacted so many lives, expression is what life is about.

When you see something whether if it’s the first time you are seeing it or if its your hundredth time seeing it, it brings along not only an understanding of the thing we are seeing but also the feeling or experience. In John Berger’s short novel, Ways of Seeing, he discusses the concept of perception and the way we see something and process it from an art and photography perspective. He argues that if we see a piece of art that has been recreated or reproduced, it has a lesser value than if we see it in person because it’s missing the essence that makes it art, the feeling that comes with seeing it in person. I can agree with some of this statement, seeing something in person is definitely a different feeling than seeing it through a picture or replication of it. I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s better or worse seeing it through something else, the only difference is that you’re seeing it from the perspective of the person that took the picture or altered it. The energy of that person, what they were thinking, feeling, what they focused on and so forth.

On page 8 Berger himself writes “the way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe,” I completely agree with this statement, everyone views things differently depending on what experiences they’ve had throughout their lives. It made me think of those art workshops where a person models nude in front of a class and the students must try to draw the model as best they can. Each person will reflect themselves off of the model to produce a completely unique drawing that encompasses who they are as an artist and a person. This is important because it helps other people to see things they might have not seen before, Berger agrees with this statement because he asserts that ” We only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice.”

John Berger argues that part of the uniqueness of a painting has to do with where it resides, so if it’s reproduced then it is ultimately being destroyed. Berger states “Because of the camera, the painting now travels to the spectator rather than the spectator to the painting. In it’s travels, its meaning is diversified.” This made me think about how in today’s society, if a piece of art work is photographed a lot or even turned into a meme, it means that the painting is really popular and even encourages folks to want to see it in person. It contradicts what Berger’s is arguing and makes me wonder if his thoughts would be different in today’s society. I know what truly makes a piece of art valuable and extraordinary isn’t where it resides, it’s the feeling it causes you to feel when you see it and what you decide to take from it.

1. “They say” : starting with what others are saying.

In the beginning of “They say, I say” Graff and Birkenstein discuss important key elements that could be used to help a writer to indicate clearly on what their thesis is. The key elements revolve around the fact that if the writer stated what “they said,” ( what others have commented about the said discussion) before inserting their own opinions then it would be easier for the reader to see where they are coming from. Graff and Birkenstein also mention that stating your response after what “they say,” can introduce the subject to a larger conversation and indicate whether you are supporting, opposing, amending, or qualifying. They introduced the readers to different types of writing tempalets that help with writing an introduction. This is important because it helps writers to effectively make their message clear to the reader whether they are introducing a standard view or introducing an ongoing debate. Many could disagree and say that these templates could restrict ones writing or creativity but they’re great for helping people get on the right track when it comes to getting their point across to the readers.

What I learned: In this chapter I learned about the importance of the order in which things are said and how it can help to keep your audience engaged. So it’s important that I explain what it is that I am responding too before offering the response or early in the discussion.

2. “Her point is” The art of summarizing

In this chapter Graff and Birkenstein state that in order to write a good summary it’s important for the writer to balance what the original author is trying to saying and the writer’s own focus. They say that when writing a summary you have to be consciously aware and respectful of what the original author is emphasizing while also summarizing them in light of your own text’s central argument. One of the tips they discussed that could help a writer with this is putting your self in the authors shoes, it could help the writer to inhabit the world-view of the original author. Graff and Birkenstein say that if a writer doesn’t suspend their beliefs then a summery can easily become biased and hurt ones credibility with the readers. It is important for the writer to give the reader enough context about the argument in order for the reader to asses its merits on their own.

What i learned: I learned that using bland formulas such as, “she says” or “they believe” could drain the passion out of the ideas im summarizing or it could fail reflect accurately whats being said.

3. “As He Himself Puts It” : The Art of Quoting

Graff and Birkenstein go over the importance of quoting and how you need to have a sense of what you want to do with them or how they can support the text where you will be using the quote. During the chapter they try to emphasize what “they say” has to be connected to what you say. So when the writer is using a quote they must choose a quote wisely that supports a specific part in the text and also have to be able to explain where the quote comes from and what it means. Graff and Birkenstein introduce us to several templates that could help the readers to successfully use quotes, the create a structure that makes it easier for a reader to understand why the author is using the quotation to begin with. The templates not only show the readers to introduce quotes but to explain them as well. This is important because if a quote doesn’t have a frame around it then it could be confusing to the reader and therefore the text could come of as confusing.

What I learned: In this chapter I learned the importance of the frame around quotations and to make sure that im not using a quote to prove that i’ve read the authors work but to instead make sure the quote is actually supporting my own opinion.

hello this is my introduction

1. My name is Katherine Cardona, my nickname is Kat. Anyone is welcome to call me whichever i do not have a preference.

2. My preferred pronouns are they/she, im not super strict on this but i do prefer they over she.

3. My major is Associative Arts .

4. I am in my freshman year of college .

5. After college I want to be able to expand my business and open up my own gallery.

6. Some of my hobbies include painting, drawing, hiking, and gardening .

7. I love writing because it’s another way for people to be able to express themselves and their thoughts, writing is intimate and can help people connect with one another

8 . Some fears I have about this class are not being able to fully express myself and failing.

9 . If I could teach the world anything I would teach them to be compassionate for one another and that we are all the same .

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.