What are essays supposed to be anyways?

When first entering AP Composition, Mrs. G told us to develop a coffee habit. Unfortunately I failed to do so the Thursday morning she handed out the two essays titled "The Essayification of Everything" and "Blogs vs. Term Papers". I now understand why I should've listened to Mrs. G's wise words of adopting a caffeine addiction because I was taken through orbit. My entire definition of an essay got flipped upside down, spun around, and smashed into little pieces until I didn't know what the word even meant anymore. Even worse I didn't even realize the first essay handed to us could be classified as an essay!

Just like the English language, styles of writing and ways of publications have been changing. The world is trying to keep up with the new innovative society. What Wampole points out, is that the essay has become a "talisman of our times". It has been completely changed as it has become easier for people to get hold of and even create themselves. The meaning of an essay has diminished as it suffers a "chronic undecidability". It has become difficult to peg down something about an essay with absolute certainty. However that is the beauty that still remains in essays. Readers are able to put aside what they believe and learn about someone else's opinion or viewpoint. Unfortunately that has also led to the developing human nature of only touching upon things and then simply abandoning them. Wampole points out that the Italian word for essay is "saggio" derives from the same root as "assaggiare" which means to sample. Essays have come to reflect todays society of "sampling" experiences by not fully indulging through things such as internet dating and online shopping. Another type of "sampling" would be blogging. However it isn't all that negative as Richtel points out. Though blogs do reflect the technological age that we have entered. To Wampole's digust, people are now able to post whatever the want for the general public without thinking it through. A week ago, I would have most likely sided with Wampole and sided against blogging. But after reading the essay "Blogs vs. Term Papers" and actually getting some hands-on experience, I have come to appreciate the world of blogging. No longer do I feel as if I'm writing to purely for a grade. People are actually able to get their ideas and thoughts out easier. Blogging allows normal people to actually reach the masses. If given the choice to either create a blog or write a term paper, I would now choose to blog. Before blogging I would deem it necessary to do a substantial amount of thinking before submitting my work onto the web where anyone can access it. Whereas with a term paper, a large portion of the gruelingly long paper just turns into pointless psychobabble to simply reach that minimum of ten pages.

 



Although I have come to develop a liking for blogging, I do agree with Reeves who believes that writing term papers is actually useful as it helps students with critical thinking and argumentation needed in both college and their future career. It is necessary that a balance is found. Teachers should not dwell in the past and only teach the "old ways", but it also would not be beneficial to completely switch over to keep up with the innovative world, as valuable skills would be lost.



Me, Myself, and I

Before getting to know me, one may mistake me for just a typical brown hair brown eyed American. However, when I start speaking in Chinese when I pick up a phone call from my mom, strangers and aquaintances are confused. Truth is, I am half Taiwanese and half American. I was born in Port Townsend, Washington, but my mom is from Taiwan. Throughout my life I've lived in Port Townsend, Trukee, Santa Barbara, and Napa. We almost moved to Idaho, but when we visited I wouldn't stop complaining about how cold it was and that's why my family lives in California now. Even though we live in America, my mom and I travel to Taiwan every year to visit family. It seems like every time I gain about five pounds because I become so overwhelmed by all the amazing food.

Outside of school, my life is insane. Once the bell rings at 3:00 I begin an afternoon and evening of running and music. This year I am the cross country girls' varsity captain. Generally from 3:00 to 5:00 I can be found running the streets of Napa under the hot sun with the team. Once practice ends, I re-enter my world of music. Depending on the day I'm off to a rehearsal for Youth Symphony or for some other music group I probably shouldn't have agreed to be part of because I quite literally don't have time for it. But if for some reason I don't have a rehearsal to get to, I'm off to have a piano or a violin lesson. Piano is my first instrument. I began as a wee little five year who couldn't reach the foot pedals. Today I'm still learning classical music, but now jazz has become my main focus. Each year I take the next level up of Certificate of Merit which consists of theory and ajudication, and in May I am judged on a ten piece memorized program for National Guild Auditions. As for violin I began in the fourth grade at Alta Heights. Even though I've been in countless ensembles throughout the years, I'm not sure how I'm even half decent given the miniscule amount of time that I actually practice. I've just learned to be a good sight reader as showing up to rehearsal without looking over the music once has become all too familiar. As a result, I still haven't come to believe that I'm concert master of my high school orchestra. In my musical life I'm not just a student, but also a teacher. My job outside of school is to teach private piano and violin lessons. I have students that range from the first grade whose feet dangle off the piano bench and young violinists who only have a tiny little half sized violin, to students who are just one year older than me and sometimes even grown adults. Though life is busy, I enjoy every last minute of it. That even includes when I'm left completely baffled when my jazz piano teacher demonstrates how I'm supposed to be able to improvise. Ever get that idiotic feeling when you have no idea what just happened in front of you? Like in AP Chemistry? Sadly it does sting a little at first, but that's how we all improve and without it I wouldn't be where I am today. For me, life is a constant drive towards dedication and learning to stretch myself past where I thought my limits were.