beginning my reflection

This semester i was extremely proud of my editorial and some of my older blogs.

The editorial i wrote had a very rough start, especially the thesis i wrote to go along with it. I worked very hard doing draft after draft focusing on the thesis because i realized it would be the backbone of my whole paper. I never had over 10 drafts of anything and that really made this project process unique. It doesn't bore me to re-read my paper and thats how i know its good.

I researched many websites and emailed people from the APL and Seaworld to try to get information however that failed. But i never stopped looking for sources to get my information from. However i only have website resources. But they are all credible.


With my blogs i realized that in order to have an opinion you need to have all of the background information and a structured outline of your views on the subject. It is often hard for me to express my emotions in such a way that makes sense to other people but thats what my challenge was this semester. I think i have slowly but surely progressed. I know that i have a lot of practicing to do for this but I'm willing to keep working at it. Throughout the blogging exercises i always put in where i got the information from and gave evidence for every statement i made. Towards the end of the semester all of the blogs lost my interest so i could no longer see my growth as i did before. Hopefully next semester i can work at it just as well as i began.

Blog #24: Sea Shepherd

Throughout this whole H2O project people in the class have struggled with structure, thesis, and organization. Many have realized they all tie together because the thesis helps structure an organized piece of writing. This article does a great job at showing how a series of events plays out smoothly in a report.

The first thing you notice is the compassion in the writers tone of the article. The first paragraph really draws in the reader by providing an abundance of quick facts about his organization and he mixes in words so tastefully descriptive. This one sentence has so much energy and power it is the perfect example of something you should have in your introduction, "They belonged to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a vigilante organization founded by Paul Watson, thirty years ago, to protect the world’s marine life from the destructive habits and the voracious appetites of humankind" this style of writing is perfect for anybody writing a thesis for an editorial.

Some writers have trouble connecting the past to the future in a relevant way, this article doesn't fail not once to make every sentence count. Giving background information on Watson and answered "SO WHAT" to the story that was being unfolded. "By his account, he was an eco-warrior before puberty. " The writer used a great layout for his information to be read. starting with giving the outside view of Watson in the intro and continuing to get a deeper story. He also mentioned "Watson was also doing, not thinking." which was an honest opinion without being against the organization. Because they are very dangerous about how they go about their process in saving whales. Its actually not a very organized navy. Sometimes they arent sure where they are going or where they are. Also having to go in broken down ships without knowing. This was a great wat to close his article it brought everything back in to summerize Watson. This structure was thoughtfully organized, and will definitly be used for the H2O project as a refrence to structured work.

obama is black. no if ands or buts

Aranas opinion is valid and she has a right to it. And she could be right and/or wrong. Nobody knows what its like to be a mixed black and white kid unless you are mixed. Many articles, editorials, and organizations have been devoted to the "mixed race." Qualifying somebody as Black or White is a very deep opinionated topic which one can only have an opinion on if they have experienced struggles first hand. yes there are civilised people in America however in the end Obama is seen as Black, when he walks into an interview they see the color of his skin without thinking twice he may be mixed, is the Neo Nazi next door going to pass up a hanging just because hes half white?
no. They see him as just another nigger.

"I self-identify as African American - that's how I'm treated and that's how I'm viewed. I'm proud of it."Obama has stated.

And on the topic of "how he is treated" yes Obama is BLACK he deals with being called colored and nigger too.

"I don't want to sound prejudiced or anything, but for one, I am not going to vote for a colored man to be our president,"

If he identifies himself with being black then why must America try to correct him as if they have lived his life. Why is it so important that we discuss this when Obama isn't arguing about it he knows who he is, he knows the struggles hes been through and he can be who he wants. If black America looks up to him as being black and he is OK with that why is the media so bothered? Language can move on but some things will always be the same as long as people are still looked down on by even there own race sometimes.

Racial identity will always be important because although it doesn't define who a person is, it is a part of who they are. Your history is tied back to your race and some people cant let go which causes a domino effect.


for "the black side" of this issue these are pretty good source to look through:
AOL Black Voices
BET

and for the white side. well turn on the TV its everywhere as usual.