Since I have trouble finding things to write about, I decided to do the optional assignment. Here goes!
1. Did you enjoy the experience? Why or why not? If there were parts you enjoyed, what were they?
I would have to say I actually did enjoy the experience of taking this class. This is because it made me a more confident writer since I usually feel like the papers I write are not that good. In this class I feel like I did a good job since I finished with an A. That is definitely the part I enjoyed was seeing my grades and being proud of the grades that I received.
2. What do you wish you'd done differently? What do you wish I'd done differently with the assignment (besides not assigning it, or assigning shorter posts)?
Something I wish I would have done differently is spend more time each paper. I feel like I rushed through them in order to get them done. I still feel like I did a good job, but overall I could have done better. There is not really anything I wish you would have done differently. This class was set up well, and the assignments were assigned and had due dates at reasonable times. I really enjoyed this class. It was somewhat fun since we had a lot of leeway on what to write about. It tends to make it more difficult and not as fun if topics are handed to us to do.
3. Did the blog make a difference that you saw in your writing skills? in the way you looked at the world?
I feel like it did. It helped me see that writing is not rocket science, and that it just takes time. I'm not sure it made me see the world any differently.
4. Do you think you'll keep blogging (or would you keep blogging if you had the time)?
I would say that I would probably keep blogging if I had the time. I'm not sure I will though between all my other homework I am bound to have, going to class, and possibly having two jobs. I will definitely be busy, so doing blogs may be something that will have to be cut out of my schedule. But who knows.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Serial Killers
People may find this blog post weird, and if you do then I guess I'm sorry. My major is criminal justice so this kind of stuff actually interests me, and I recently saw a television program that made me want to look into this. This blog is about two famous, well infamous, serial killers that have existed in the United States. The first one is one many people have heard about, and this person is Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer is known for killing seventeen boys and men between the years of 1978 and 1991. One thing that most likely triggered Dahmner's actions of murdering these people was the fact that he was molested by a neighbor as a young child, and to make his young life worse his parents got a divorce. After this happened his mother took Jeffery's brother and left him to live alone with his dad. This was bad because he had no way to contact his mom, and it left him to feel abandoned. As a child he also liked to kill animals, and had desires to commit necrophilia, which is having sexual acts with something that is dead. Killling animals is one of the three signs of a serial killer according to the Macdonald Triad. This triad stated that if three characteristics were seen together, were associated with violant behaviors later on in life. The other two included bed wetting and fire setting. By the time Dahmer was a teenager he had urges to kill and mutilate men. Even though he was in and out of jail a couple times for various things such sexual offenses, nobody ever thought his acts were as extreme as they were. There are details about how he would treat his victims, but I will not go into that since it is not pretty to discuss.
The next serial killer that is moderately infamous is John Wayne Gacy. He was known for killing up to 33 men and boys. As a child, Gacy never had a very strong relationship with his father who was an alcoholic, but he always seemed to get along with his mother and two sisters. Growing up he moved around a lot until he got married. Then they had a child, and he became a pretty successful man. Everyone thought that he had the perfect life, but that was far from true. Rumors finally began to spread about Gacy's sexual preference, since it seemed like young men and boys always happened to be around him, and that he would hit on some of them. In 1968 he was convicted of raping a young man, but that was only the beginning. After this he was charged with various other sexual acts as well. In the end they found out that Gacy had murdered up to 33 men and that he kept their bodies hidden in the crawl space of his home. It turned out he was secretly gay, and was frustrated he had to hid this. This video shows a little bit of a biography of Gacy's story. These stories are crazy, and there are so many out there. I can not imagine how someone could do this stuff to other people
The next serial killer that is moderately infamous is John Wayne Gacy. He was known for killing up to 33 men and boys. As a child, Gacy never had a very strong relationship with his father who was an alcoholic, but he always seemed to get along with his mother and two sisters. Growing up he moved around a lot until he got married. Then they had a child, and he became a pretty successful man. Everyone thought that he had the perfect life, but that was far from true. Rumors finally began to spread about Gacy's sexual preference, since it seemed like young men and boys always happened to be around him, and that he would hit on some of them. In 1968 he was convicted of raping a young man, but that was only the beginning. After this he was charged with various other sexual acts as well. In the end they found out that Gacy had murdered up to 33 men and that he kept their bodies hidden in the crawl space of his home. It turned out he was secretly gay, and was frustrated he had to hid this. This video shows a little bit of a biography of Gacy's story. These stories are crazy, and there are so many out there. I can not imagine how someone could do this stuff to other people
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
My Weekend
Well this past weekend was a pretty good one. It started off with me getting off of work at 4, and going to eat with my brother and his wife at the mall. It was fun. They had their little baby Hunter with them. I got to hold him. Even though he slept the whole time there he is so cute. After that Stephanie and I went back to my house to wait for Steven to get off work. I played with Hunter and talked to Stephanie and Steven. After awhile we went back to the mall for pretzel day. While we were there Stephanie decided to have Hunter's pictures done. They came out really good. After that Steven and I just went back home to relax the rest of the night.
The next day my parents came down to Joplin to watch Hunter so Stephanie and Daniel could go to a marriage seminar at their church. They came over and we went to lunch. My mom was getting mad because every time she changed Hunter's diaper he would make another mess in it. I thought it was pretty funny. We went and ate at Wendy's, and then went to Academy so my dad and Steven could hunt. After that I had to go to work until eight. After work Steven and I went to Sonic and hung out.
The next day Steven and I went to a cookout with Daniel and Stephanie at her grandparent's house. That was really fun. We went skeet shooting and had hamburgers. Then it started to rain so we all went home. After that I went home and finished up my paper for this class. Then we went to the drive-in movie in Carthage. That was pretty awesome! I had never been to a drive-in before. We saw "The Hunger Games" again, but it was okay since it was the first time I had ever been to one. That was pretty much my whole weekend.
The next day my parents came down to Joplin to watch Hunter so Stephanie and Daniel could go to a marriage seminar at their church. They came over and we went to lunch. My mom was getting mad because every time she changed Hunter's diaper he would make another mess in it. I thought it was pretty funny. We went and ate at Wendy's, and then went to Academy so my dad and Steven could hunt. After that I had to go to work until eight. After work Steven and I went to Sonic and hung out.
The next day Steven and I went to a cookout with Daniel and Stephanie at her grandparent's house. That was really fun. We went skeet shooting and had hamburgers. Then it started to rain so we all went home. After that I went home and finished up my paper for this class. Then we went to the drive-in movie in Carthage. That was pretty awesome! I had never been to a drive-in before. We saw "The Hunger Games" again, but it was okay since it was the first time I had ever been to one. That was pretty much my whole weekend.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Bravery in People
I'm not sure why, but this past week had me thinking about the brave and courageous things some people do in their lives beyond extraordinary circumstances. That is why I am doing this blog over a couple stories of people who have these stories.
The first is about a French man named Phillipe Croizon. Phillipe has a plan to swim around the world through small channels that connect five of the continents. To me that is brave right there, but to make the story even more brave is the fact that Croizon has no arms or legs. He lost his limbs in a powerful electrical accident that occurred when he was changing a television antenna. He believes that by swimming around the world through these channels it will bring the five continents, and their people, together. That is so amazing to me to have that kind of determination against all odds!
The next story of amazing survival is one that many of you may have already heard of. It was made into a movie about a year or so ago with the movie's title being "127 Hours." For those who do not know what story I am talking about, it is the story of Aron Ralston who found himself stuck between a rock wall and rock for days on end, and survived due to his immense amount of bravery. This incident happened back in 2003 when Ralston went on one of his normal nature day where he would ride his bike, walk the mountains, and climb them as well in the mountains of Colorado. As he was climbing out of a canyon an 800 pound rock slipped and fell trapping his arm between the rock and the wall of the canyon. Even though he tried everything, the rock that had trapped him would not move. After being stuck like that for about five days, Ralston knew he had no choice but to amputate his own arm if he planned on surviving. By this time he was all out of food and water considering he had only planned on being gone for a weekend. After Ralston got himself out he stumbled onto a family who helped him to be rescued. This video shows the trailer of the film that was based off of Ralston's story, while this video shows live footage Ralston filmed while he was trapped. I'm not sure how or why, but I actually remember when this story was all over the news. It immediately made me want to see the movie since it was something I had heard about in real life. I honestly do not know if I could have gone through the pain and agony of cutting my own off in order to survive. That is truly amazing and so brave to me.
In my opinion, these two people are just a couple of the many who have to go through life at somewhat of a disadvantage compared to the rest of us. The crazy thing about that though is that they go out and do these amazing things that none of us would even consider doing. I know it has never crossed my mind to go out and swim around the world. I can barely swim a lap in a swimming pool I can't imagine going around the whole world. And Aron Ralston still enjoys being outdoors and doing these nature hikes. I know if I got my arm stuck for five days and had to cut it off I would be scared to death to go near another canyon. I just wanted to commend these two men for being so brave. Props to them for doing what they do.
The first is about a French man named Phillipe Croizon. Phillipe has a plan to swim around the world through small channels that connect five of the continents. To me that is brave right there, but to make the story even more brave is the fact that Croizon has no arms or legs. He lost his limbs in a powerful electrical accident that occurred when he was changing a television antenna. He believes that by swimming around the world through these channels it will bring the five continents, and their people, together. That is so amazing to me to have that kind of determination against all odds!
The next story of amazing survival is one that many of you may have already heard of. It was made into a movie about a year or so ago with the movie's title being "127 Hours." For those who do not know what story I am talking about, it is the story of Aron Ralston who found himself stuck between a rock wall and rock for days on end, and survived due to his immense amount of bravery. This incident happened back in 2003 when Ralston went on one of his normal nature day where he would ride his bike, walk the mountains, and climb them as well in the mountains of Colorado. As he was climbing out of a canyon an 800 pound rock slipped and fell trapping his arm between the rock and the wall of the canyon. Even though he tried everything, the rock that had trapped him would not move. After being stuck like that for about five days, Ralston knew he had no choice but to amputate his own arm if he planned on surviving. By this time he was all out of food and water considering he had only planned on being gone for a weekend. After Ralston got himself out he stumbled onto a family who helped him to be rescued. This video shows the trailer of the film that was based off of Ralston's story, while this video shows live footage Ralston filmed while he was trapped. I'm not sure how or why, but I actually remember when this story was all over the news. It immediately made me want to see the movie since it was something I had heard about in real life. I honestly do not know if I could have gone through the pain and agony of cutting my own off in order to survive. That is truly amazing and so brave to me.
In my opinion, these two people are just a couple of the many who have to go through life at somewhat of a disadvantage compared to the rest of us. The crazy thing about that though is that they go out and do these amazing things that none of us would even consider doing. I know it has never crossed my mind to go out and swim around the world. I can barely swim a lap in a swimming pool I can't imagine going around the whole world. And Aron Ralston still enjoys being outdoors and doing these nature hikes. I know if I got my arm stuck for five days and had to cut it off I would be scared to death to go near another canyon. I just wanted to commend these two men for being so brave. Props to them for doing what they do.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Burnt Out!
I don't know about everyone else, but I am so, so glad summer break is almost here. It makes me feel somewhat lazy, but I am so burnt out on school! This usually tends to happen pretty much every semester. At least we only have about three weeks left, and then it will be time to sit back and relax for a couple months! I guess it won't necessarily be complete relaxation since I still have to work, but it will be much easier just balancing work and life as compared to work, life, and school. It never fails that by the time summer is over, I am pretty ready to get back to school. It is so crazy I will only have a year left. I am ready, but then again I am nervous about having to find a job in my profession which will be criminal justice administration. Who knows if I will even be good at at. I guess that is something I will worry about when it gets here.
I think that the weather summer brings makes the burnt out feeling even stronger. I love warm weather. It is so awesome to be outside all the time. There is so much to do outside especially when its nice out. There are things to do such as riding a bike, playing catch, tennis, and even swimming! I don't really like to do those things too much when it is cold out since I am naturally cold anyway. If it's not about 80 degrees out then I am cold. It kind of sucks, especially since Steven is warm all the time and he always asks me how in the world I am cold. I will also be in Brazil this summer, and I am so excited about that! I don't know very much Portuguese, but I'm sure I will learn very quickly. I will pretty much have to in order to communicate with anyone at all. In all, I am very excited for summer and a break from school!
I think that the weather summer brings makes the burnt out feeling even stronger. I love warm weather. It is so awesome to be outside all the time. There is so much to do outside especially when its nice out. There are things to do such as riding a bike, playing catch, tennis, and even swimming! I don't really like to do those things too much when it is cold out since I am naturally cold anyway. If it's not about 80 degrees out then I am cold. It kind of sucks, especially since Steven is warm all the time and he always asks me how in the world I am cold. I will also be in Brazil this summer, and I am so excited about that! I don't know very much Portuguese, but I'm sure I will learn very quickly. I will pretty much have to in order to communicate with anyone at all. In all, I am very excited for summer and a break from school!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Loving Qualities
In this world there are two sexes, men and women. It is typical that these two sexes hardly ever understand the other, so it was surprising to me to when I stumbled upon this article about five things guys like in a girl. The first thing was glasses, second freckles, third an independent streak, fourth plain janes, and fifth assorted quirks. The first one somewhat surprised me since I feel nerdy when I wear my glasses, and some girls are the same way. Usually I don't here many guys saying they want someone who looks like a nerd, but then again guys do like girls who are intelligent and smart. The third one really did not surprise me much. I know that I would not want someone who is completely dependent on someone, so I don't know why anyone else would, but that is just my opinion on the subject. The plain jane one also surprised me since I don't know really. The assorted quirks one did surprise me since the ones they described are somewhat annoying sometimes. I found this video interesting with all the different opinions in it (I apologize for the language).
There is also an article about what girls like in a guy. It lists body odor, scars and blemishes, stereotypically "female" traits, vulnerability, and awkwardness. The first one definitely surprised me. I have never found body odor to be attractive. That is kind of gross, but maybe I'm just shallow. The second one I guess I understand. I have heard a lot of girls say they like scars. The feminine trait one somewhat surprised me, but then again it didn't. It is annoying to have a guy who thinks they have to be tough all the time. Showing true emotions is really not a bad thing. These two articles helped to show as a whole what men and women both like in each other. Even though I found some of them odd, some people might follow right along with these lists.
There is also an article about what girls like in a guy. It lists body odor, scars and blemishes, stereotypically "female" traits, vulnerability, and awkwardness. The first one definitely surprised me. I have never found body odor to be attractive. That is kind of gross, but maybe I'm just shallow. The second one I guess I understand. I have heard a lot of girls say they like scars. The feminine trait one somewhat surprised me, but then again it didn't. It is annoying to have a guy who thinks they have to be tough all the time. Showing true emotions is really not a bad thing. These two articles helped to show as a whole what men and women both like in each other. Even though I found some of them odd, some people might follow right along with these lists.
Monday, April 16, 2012
My Weekend
Well this past weekend was a pretty good one because I got to go home! I don't mean just my house here in Joplin, but my home home where I grew up. Saturday after work I headed out to go see my parents. My brother, his wife, and my new nephew went home also. They did not get there until later though. The two hour drive never seems as long on the way there as it does on the way back even though I have to drive almost every time since Steven likes to sleep on car rides. I really miss home a lot. It really sucks I don't get to go back more often with work and school all the time, but I guess it makes it more worth it when I actually can. When we first got there we just talked to my parents for awhile. When my brother got there him, my dad, and Steven all went outside to shoot guns. I usually join but since it was cold and nasty out I decided to stay inside. Plus I wanted to get to hold my nephew Hunter. He is so cute. He will be a month old tomorrow! After awhile dinner was finally ready, Steven left to go see his dad, and the rest of us sat down and ate. After we all ate we decided to watch the new Adam Sandler movie, "Jack and Jill". It was actually really funny. I originally thought that I would not like it since it is kind of corny to have one person playing two roles in my opinion, but that is just me. About halfway through the movie Steven finally made it back. Him and his family had a fun time cooking out. I usually go with him, but since we were going to see them all Sunday I decided to stay and spend time with my family.
Sunday we got up and all got ready for church. I figured Steven and I would go ahead and go to Bartlesville to see his mom, but we ended up going to church at Tyro with my family. After that we finally headed to see his family. We all ate at Golden Corral. It was really good since I had not eaten there in a long time. His little niece kept escaping and going to see the other kids in the restaurant. It was pretty funny even though I think her parents got a little embarrassed. After we ate there we went and hung out at his sisters' house for awhile with everyone. Steven and her husband played a video game. I tried to play but I had no idea what to do. When we left there we went to Quiktrip to get our slushies! We do that every time we go there since they are so good, and there is not a QT close to Joplin at all. After that we went back to my parent's house so Steven and my brother could shoot skeet. They really enjoy doing that. My brother is really good at it. I just held Hunter until my mom got home, then she took him from me. We all decided it was probably time to get home about 9 that night, which didn't put me in bed until midnight. It made today feel like a really long day since I usually go to bed by ten or so! In all I really enjoyed my weekend getting to see my family. I really miss them a lot!
Sunday we got up and all got ready for church. I figured Steven and I would go ahead and go to Bartlesville to see his mom, but we ended up going to church at Tyro with my family. After that we finally headed to see his family. We all ate at Golden Corral. It was really good since I had not eaten there in a long time. His little niece kept escaping and going to see the other kids in the restaurant. It was pretty funny even though I think her parents got a little embarrassed. After we ate there we went and hung out at his sisters' house for awhile with everyone. Steven and her husband played a video game. I tried to play but I had no idea what to do. When we left there we went to Quiktrip to get our slushies! We do that every time we go there since they are so good, and there is not a QT close to Joplin at all. After that we went back to my parent's house so Steven and my brother could shoot skeet. They really enjoy doing that. My brother is really good at it. I just held Hunter until my mom got home, then she took him from me. We all decided it was probably time to get home about 9 that night, which didn't put me in bed until midnight. It made today feel like a really long day since I usually go to bed by ten or so! In all I really enjoyed my weekend getting to see my family. I really miss them a lot!
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