In this blog post I will reflect on my processes used to complete the assignment. The video reflective writing is a good example to describe what a reflective writing piece is. I recently wrote my first draft of my research paper. I wrote an argument about how women deserve a longer paid maternity leave.
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Source 1
Where to Invade Next. Dir. Michael Moore. Dog Eat Dog Films, 2016. Documentary.
Source 2 Neckermann, Christina. “An International Embarrassment: The United States as An Anomaly in Maternity Leave Policy.” Harvard International Review Summer 2017: 36-39. Print.
Source 3 Zargorsky, Jay L. “Divergent Trends in U.S. Maternity and Paternity Leave.” American Journal of Public Health March 2017:460-465. Print.
Source 4 May, Ashley. “Paid Family Leave Is an Elite Benefit in The U.S.” USAToday.com. USA Today Network 17 May 2017. Web. 7 Apr. 2018. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/05/17/paid-maternity-leave-elite-benefit-u-s/325075001/
Ingraham, Christopher. “The World’s Richest Countries Guarantee Mothers More Than A Year of Paid Maternity Leave. The U.S. Guarantees Them Nothing.” The Washington Post.com. The Washington Post 5 Feb.2018. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/05/the-worlds-richest-countries-guarantee-mothers-more-than-a-year-of-paid-maternity-leave-the-u-s-guarantees-them-nothing/?utm_term=.0249869aed95>
Source 6 Baker, Michael and Kevin Milligan. "Maternity Leave and Children's Cognitive and Behavioral Development." Journal of Population Economics, vol. 28, no. 2, Apr. 2015, pp. 373-391. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s00148-014-0529-5.
Where to Invade Next is a documentary about America in comparison to other countries and how we can learn from them. A summary of the film can be found in my blog post: Summary of Where to Invade Next. In this post I will find three topics and write an argument for them.
Topic: Education in America Research Question: Should America provide free education to its citizens? Argument: America should provide free education to it’s citizens because colleges and universities seem to overcharge its students. Over charging for education leads people to feel helpless and not wanting to further their education. Topic: Vacation time in America Research Question: Should companies give employees paid vacation days? Argument: Companies should provide paid vacation days to their employees to raise company morale and lower illness rates. In Italy, employees get eight-weeks paid vacation. This has made employees happier and more productive in their work day. On average Italians live 4 years longer then Americans. Topic: Maternity leave Research Question: Should America provide longer paid maternity leave? Argument: America should provide longer and paid maternity leave. On average, Americans take about 10 weeks of maternity time with pay depending on the company. By 10 weeks you are still learning your child and developing a schedule. In Italy, women are given five months paid maternity leave. Where to Invade Next is a documentary by Michael Moore. The documentary is about Moore visiting different countries and wanting to bring back new ideas to the United States. Finding ways to make America better and avoiding war is Moore’s mission.
In the documentary Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore began his journey by travelling to Italy and speaking to a couple workers. He met with a couple business owners to discover the difference in working conditions between the two countries. He learned that in Italy workers get an eight-week paid vacation where in America paid vacation is not required. Italians believe that vacation time can relieve stress and lower the risks of illness. It seems to be working since Italians live four years longer than the average American. His next invasion leads him to an elementary school in France. Sitting down with children he discovered that children are given an hour lunch period. School chef’s meet with the Mayor’s office and a nutritionist once a month to plan out the school’s lunch menu. The French believe that this will teach proper food etiquette, nutrition, and raise life expectancy. Finland was next on Moore’s stop. Finland is known to have the best education in the world. Moore learns that the reason Finland jumped to the top of the education charts by letting kids be kids. In Finland they do not give any homework and only spend twenty hours in school a week. Finland used to be ranked the same as America in education, but with switching there programs they quickly jumped to the top. Next on the invasion list came Slovenia. There is zero college debt in this country. In Slovenia they allow anyone to move there and go to college for free to better the population. Americans leave college with thousands of dollars in debt; which makes people less willing to better their education. For his last “invasion” he lands in Iceland. Women here are truly equal to men in the business world. Iceland was the first country to elect a woman president. After traveling to the many places throughout the documentary, Michael Moore learned that these ideas originated from America. The Reflective Writing video informs viewers how to reflective write. It is a three-step process that includes looking back, analyzing, and looking toward future events. The video explains that it should be less descriptive and more reflective. In this blog post I will reflect on my process for writing my Life-Choice Memoir, and how I plan to revise.
Provide thoughtful answers to these questions:
In Hills Like White Elephants (Ernest Hemingway) an American couple, with a lot on their mind, decide to have a beer while waiting for their train in Spain. The woman keeps referring to the hills in the distance as “white elephants”. The two beginning to have a discussion about a “perfectly simple” operation, which we believe to be an abortion. The short story ends with them still waiting for the train and very unclear of how things are left between them. In this blog post I will write about how I believe the book ended. I will also reflect on a time when I had to chose to either stay or leave.
At the end of the short story the man asks the woman if she feels any better. The woman responded “There is nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.” I believe that this tells readers that she is leaving the man and keeping the baby. By her saying nothing is wrong with her it is hinting at the fact that having the baby will not make something wrong with her. Throughout the story there are many hints to the woman wanting to keep the baby. She is very optimistic calling the hills elephants or how she references the things around her. When the man mentions an “operation” the girl looks down at the ground and avoids making eye contact with him. Which shows that she does not want to be having this conversation. Another reason I believe the woman leaves the relationship because it is very evident that the man does not want what is best for her. He keeps telling her to have a “simple” operation and saying how they well be so happy after it is done. He continues to reference the baby as the only thing that has made them unhappy. After further discussion he tells the woman “You don’t have to be afraid. I’ve known lots of people that have done it.” To me he is trying to down play the seriousness of the operation and persuade her into doing it. It is clear that the man does not want the baby because it will completely change their lives. He is used to traveling together and drinking with her, but with a child those fun adventures seem impossible. Throughout their argument it shows that the mans view will not change and he only wants what is best for himself, which allows the woman to leave him. What You Don't Know (Lulu Wang) is about a difficult situation and how a Chinese family deals with it. Lulu Wang is out in a hard decision on whether to lie with her family. Nainai, her grandmother, has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and is believed to only have three months or less to live. The family decides not to tell her because it is believed that mental and emotional health is linked to physical health, so not telling her will prolong her life. Lulu Wang is conflicted with keeping the secret and lying. I will give my opinion in this blog about how the Wang family handled this difficult decision and about a time I was faced with a difficult decision.
Throughout the podcast my view on lying to Nainai changed. At first, I felt that it was very wrong to not tell Nainai about her diagnoses because I think I would want to know if I had only a few months to live. In China, the doctors believe to disclose bad medical results to the patient’s family instead of the patients themselves. Chinese culture believes in chongxi which translates to you can wash away misfortune with joy. Her family believed that not telling her would give her longer to live. By the end of the podcast I agreed to them not telling Nainai about her health. Nainai ended up living for three more years with the cancer and remained healthy. It is believed to be related to the fact that her mental health never declined since the family never told her about the cancer. Lulu Wang also reveals that Nainai did the same thing to her husband; not telling him of his sickness. Her action is what really changed my opinion. Nainai lying and doing the same thing to a loved one shows that she is fine with lying about illness to protect mental health. I understand their choice to lie to Nainai about her illness to keep her happy. It is very difficult to find something that made a big impact on someone’s life that I lied or told the truth about. After hours of thinking I finally settled on a time where I told a difficult truth. Life was not partially nice growing up in my life. My mother struggled with drugs and bad men for a majority of my childhood. There were many occasions when food and heat were slim to none. Being the oldest sibling of three, I had to make a very hard decision on whether to speak up and say something to my grandmother or aunt for help. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally decided to reach for help. Telling a mother that their child has been facing a difficult battle of drugs is hard thing to do. At first my grandmother chose not to believe it even when all the signs were there. I had to remind her about the countless times she had to buy us clothes for school or filling our red kitchen cabinets with food. I also chose to get my aunt involved as it would be easier to help my Grand mom come to terms of something needs to be done. We all decided to have an intervention and sit my mother down and tell her how we feel and how things need to be changed. As hard as that time and day of the meeting was, I am glad I did it. It was what was needed to be done and helped my family in the long run. My mom sought help and started going to meetings. She is now a home owner and engaged to finally a decent man who doesn’t treat her like a punching bag. My brother and I are both grown now and currently check in to make sure everything is well. We both love seeing how well our younger brother is taken care of and provided for. He is finally getting the childhood he deserves. I do not regret my difficult decision one bit. Introduction:
In this blog I will shed light on my thoughts about My Name is Margaret (Maya Angelou). The story is about Margaret, a young servant girl, to an older rich white woman. It takes place in the south during segregation. She was treated poorly and decided to take a stand. At the crucial scene, Margaret breaks an important casserole dish and two green coffee cups belonging to her employer, Mrs. Cullinan. The dishes were special to Mrs. Cullinan because they were passed down from generation to generation in her family. Margaret chose to break these three specific items because they are so valuable to Mrs. Cullinan just like Margaret’s name is valuable to her. Mrs. Cullinan said to Miss Glory, the other housekeeper, “That’s too long, She’s Mary from now on” (Angelo). Mrs. Cullinan is showing that people are still racist and is renaming Margaret for her convenience. She shows us the power she has over Miss Glory and Margaret. Mrs. Cullinan continued to call Margaret by the wrong name until Margaret could no longer take it anymore. To stand up for herself and her self-worth, Margaret chose to break the dishes. “I picked up the casserole and two green glass cup sin readiness. As she rounded the kitchen door I let them fall on the tiled floor” (Angelo). The smashing of the cups was a symbol of Margaret’s patience snapping. Margaret was fed up with being treated less then she deserved. I agree with Margaret’s decision in breaking the dishes and standing up for her rights. A time I decided to refuse an authority figure would be when I was in elementary school. The fifth graders were talking about dying their hair before the famous camping trip. When the principle caught wind of this he made an announcement. Anyone who decided to dye or spray their hair would no longer be allowed on the trip. In fear that we would miss out, no one color sprayed their hair. Instead, we decided to do it at the end of the year. Some friends and I decided that no one had the authority to tell us how we should look besides ourselves. My mother’s words ran through my head “Always take a stand for what you believe in.” So, on one of the last full school days at the end of the year we met up at a certain house and colored our hair pink and green. As soon as we hit the courtyard we got pulled aside by the aids and sent to the principal’s office. He gave us the option of having the nurse wash out your hair and go to class or get a phone call home and get sent home. We all chose to call our parents. My mother arrived and was not angry with me at all. She was glad I stood up for myself and my beliefs. On the bright side, we got a free day off from school. I have picked these quotes that I was drawn to from these links. You will also gain insight to my process as well. The Daily Writing Routines of Great Writers (Maria Popova) Quote 1: “I worked on m typewriter in the living room, with the radio and my mother and dad and brother all talking at the same time.” – Ray Brradbury Quote 2: “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” – E. B. White Quote 3: “But the editing, one’s own editing, before the editor sees it, is the most important.” – Maya Angelou Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Anne Lamott) Quote 1: “Writing can be a pretty desperate endeavor, because it is about some of our deepest needs: our need to be visible, to be heard, our need to make sense of our lives, to wake up and grow and belong.” (Lamott 4) Quote 2: “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.” (Lamott 7) Quote 3: “It’s an individual thing. What works for me may not work for you.” (Lamott 10) Teach Writing as a Process Not a Product (Don Murray) Quote 1: “Don’t look bsck. Yes, the draft needs fixing. But first it needs writing.” – Don Murray Quote 2: “Be patient, listen quietly, the writing will come. The voice of the writing will tell you what to do.” – Don Murray Quote 3: “ There are no rules, no absolutes, just alternatives. What works one time may not be another. All writing is experimental.” – Don Murray My Process
Welcome to my very first blog post. I answered questions to The Proust Questionnaire to hopefully give readers insight to who I am.
__1.__What is your idea of perfect happiness? My version of perfect happiness is sitting on a tropical beach with my sunglasses on soaking up some sun rays while listening to the waves crash along the shore. __2.__What is your greatest fear? I have the usual fears like everyone else; the typical drowning and being burned alive. I also fear disappointment. Letting people down or not being what is expected of me terrifies me the most. __3.__What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? A trait I most deplore in myself Is my self-confidence. Once I complete a task I continuously pick it apart and feel that it could and should have been better. __4.__What is the trait you most deplore in others? A trait I most deplore in others is cattiness. If someone is not there to defend themselves, I believe you shouldn’t be talking negatively about that person. __5.__Which living person do you most admire? The person I most admire is my friend, Andrea. She is a very strong and selfless woman. She sees the bright side to everything which is something I’d like to start doing. She shows kindness to every stranger which is hard trait to find anymore. __6.__What is your greatest extravagance? __7.__What is your current state of mind? I am beginning to have a happier state of mind. All of last year’s troubles and stresses are starting to fade away and be resolved. So, currently life is looking very positive. __8.__What do you consider the most overrated virtue? __9.__On what occasion do you lie? Little white lies are acceptable at times. Everyone does it, as long as it not excessive. __10.__What do you most dislike about your appearance? I don’t like my height, I’m taller then most of my friends. I wouldn’t mind being a couple inches shorter. __11.__Which living person do you most despise? __12.__What is the quality you most like in a man? The quality I like most in a man is ambition. Nothing is more attractive then someone who will go out and do what it takes to achieve their dreams. __13.__What is the quality you most like in a woman? Women who support other women is a great quality. Lifting each other up and complimenting instead of judging is a very rare thing anymore. __14.__Which words or phrases do you most overuse? The word I most overuse is “whatever”. When I’m annoyed or mad at someone or something I usually say whatever to end the conversation. __15.__What or who is the greatest love of your life? The greatest love of my life is my group of girlfriends. They’re always there no matter what. Judgement free and encouraging. They support me no matter what, but will not hesitate to tell me when I am messing up. __16.__When and where were you happiest? I’m the happiest near water. The ocean, lake, or pool it does not matter. Nothing to me is more peaceful then sitting near a body of water. __17.__Which talent would you most like to have? A talent I would like to have would be to sing. Ever since I was little I wanted to be the person who secretly has an amazing singing voice. __18.__If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would make my lips a little plumper. __19.__What do you consider your greatest achievement? My greatest achievement is graduating high school. __20.__If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? I would like to come back as a bird. Being able to fly and see the world whenever would be nice. __21.__Where would you most like to live? I would like to live where it stays reasonably warm all year long. If it is below 65 degrees I am shivering, my body was made for the warmth. __22.__What is your most treasured possession? My most treasured possession is a necklace my mom bought me, that I wear daily. It says “fearlessness” and is from The Joyful Heart Foundation. __23.__What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Loosing a loved one is a low depth of misery. __24.__What is your favorite occupation? Ever since I was always interested in helping others, so a doctor or detective. __25.__What is your most marked characteristic? My most marked characteristic is my artistic ability. I enjoy doing little projects and arts and crafts. __26.__What do you most value in your friends? I value loyalty in my friends. Always having your back no matter what. __27.__Who are your favorite writers? I have a couple of favorite writers one being F. Scott Fitzgerald for The Great Gatsby. The use of symbolism throughout the book is great. Another writer is Shakespeare I always enjoyed reading his plays during school. __28.__Who is your hero of fiction? It is hard to pick just one hero, but I would have to go with Daenerys Targaryen. She is a good leader and stands up for the less fortunate and she will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. __29.__Which historical figure do you most identify with? __30.__Who are your heroes in real life? Anyone who shows kindness and help others that are in need. __31.__What are your favorite names? My favorite girl names are Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Emilia. My favorite boy name is Nikolai. __32.__What is it that you most dislike? Inconsiderate people, liars, and clowns. __33.__What is your greatest regret? One of my regrets is not being more involved in high school. I was always nervous of people judging me so I would not go out for anything unless a friend would do it with me. __34.__How would you like to die? I would like to die peacefully at an old age asleep in my own bed. __35.__What is your motto? You only live once. |
victoria KuonenI will write in this blog for my English Composition class. Archives
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