Reflective Essay (945 words -- It's looong)

English 11011 was a new experience for me. It’s a class that I relate my entire college experience to. After all, it was the first class that I got up to go to on my first official day of college. It was a writing class like none I have ever taken before and it definitely, as I’ve stated before in previous papers, was anything but conventional – for me at least.

With any class you have things you’d hope to accomplish when all is said and done. For English 11011, Miss Oliver had six specific goals in mind. The first goal was ‘to learn how to recognize and strategically use the conventions of academic literacy.’ Wow, that’s a pretty complex goal it would seem – not really. Basically, it just states that we needed to be able to recognize the different ways in which to structure your writing in both linguistic and logistical ways.

Attacking this goal from a personal standpoint I believe that I did accomplish this first goal. A specific assignment in which I exemplified this was the Multi-Genre Research Paper. A big selling point of the assignment is the order that you put your specific genres and this assignment really showed me that not only is the piece of work important, but the way in which you order it is REALLY important. A poorly ordered MGRP would’ve spelled disaster for what I was trying to convey.

The second goal was ‘to understand and use rhetorical principles to produce public and private documents appropriate for academic and professional audiences and purposes.’ Or simply stated, to understand who you are writing to and then with that known be able to write to focus onto the needs of your audience.

In the Photo Essay I really understood and grasped this concept. I know it’s seems cliché, but when you are doing a video about ‘Northern Ohio Sports Fans’ you better know the ways to connect to them. As a sports fan myself, I know exactly what that kind of reader would want. They want flashy pictures of ballplayers and shots of your team in its moment of triumph. Did I accomplish the second goal in this assignment? You bet your bottom dollar I did.

Goal number three encompasses a lot. Practice good writing? I sure hope I did. Culminate your research with good editing techniques? – Of course. Not to sound conceited, but I would sure hope that I knew how to do this coming into this course. This goal relies on the skeleton of what the writing process is. I could point to every assignment that I did to show you how I used the sources, editing and proper planning and provisioning to make my assignment one that I’m proud of. Along the same lines, goal number four is pretty rudimentary. Do I believe I practiced good reading in English 11011? Yes, especially in regards to ’20 Something Essays…” That book was not what I would call a casual read. Each essay had something that made it the most awkward piece of literature to read, but did I struggle through it enough to have a valid response? – Yes.

I’m going to trim down my responses to goals five and six because I want to get to the more personal side of English 11011 and how it affected me.

For goal five the online blogging went hand in hand (once more – blogging comes up as a misspelled word). It was something new to me and I think it’s brilliant. I can go back to the blog forever and ever and evaluate how much my writing has improved. That to me is such a special thing. Also, the online database EBSCO that I used for my MGRP was astonishingly cool. It made research a breeze and I’ll never be able to count how many hours I saved in the library using that tool.

Goal six is the ability to integrate previous research with your own research in order to form a good perspective. I keep going back to it, but the MGRP culminated this very well and I think I accomplished this goal. So many articles and books online had great points that I wouldn’t have know off the top of my head, but at the same time, for my argument I also had researched opinions that I wanted to add to it and I believe I was successful in this regard.

Now, I’ve got a little over two-hundred words to tell you my personal opinion on this class and my experiences. Firstly, my classmates: they truly made this experience enjoyable. Did I know everyone? – Of course not, but by the end of year I’m sure they knew my lousy voice and name.

My favorite assignment was the photo essay. It was just so cool and I didn’t know I could edit a short video with such good results. It was a pleasant, fun surprise. Of course, the most challenging assignment was the MGRP. I will not lie. During the last week of the assignment I spent a good twelve hours in the library doing both research and writing. It was stressful, yet enjoyable – which is ironic.

In closing, I really liked this class. The teacher was just the right mix of funny and yet a valuable asset to my clueless-ness. The time couldn’t have been worse, but I think that made it that much more quirky. The writing assignments were edgy, and anything but traditional, which rocked. This class will always be remembered as that crazy writing class at 7:45 in the morning where I finally learned how to step out of my comfort zone when writing.

"Last" Freewrite

What am I facing this last week of classes? Realistically, I think I have it pretty easy. If I calculated correct I'm only having two final exams. All my other classes are just having the fourth exam of the semester to calculate into the grade. My assignment in this class worth 25% of my grade is probably the most stressful part of this end of semester.

What am I looking forward to over Christmas break? -- Not much.

I'll be working retail at Best Buy for the Geek Squad and honestly, it's hopefully the closest to hell that I will get. Seriously, retail during Christmas is a job that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemies. The money is great but that only lessens the sting of getting yelled at by angry customers and working for 9 hours straight with only one thirty minute break to lessen the pain.

Beyond that I will be getting outpatient surgery on my upper jaw. It's the first step in a major surgery I will have next Christmas when they will move my upper jaw forward to fix an underbite that I developed during my growing years.

So as you can tell, I'm really excited for break. (intense sarcasm)

Freewrite: MGRP

The multigenre research project that I am doing centers around the question of whether or not the technology that is readily available in the hunting industry has taken the sport out of hunting. The most fun right that I have done with regards to this project so far is brainstorm and start to work on the comic for the project. The most challenging thing would have to be finding five sources that are reliable and can actually help me with my research. There isn't much material on how technology has affected hunting. As far as progress goes, I'm not too far. I'd say maybe 15-20% complete -- and that's pushing it. I only have 1 of 5 sources needed and that's due to not making it to the library yet. I'm most unsure about the possibility that with such a specific question on an odd topic I won't be able to come to a clear and concise argument. What I need help with the most is finding reliable book sources. I'm so used to getting sources online so having to dish through a library is tough. I've created one of the genres, but it's just a sketch and not a final draft. It's a comic strip.

Freewrite 11/5/07

I think that the revision of intro that the author made for the New York Times publishing was just a more clearly stated thesis of the authors beliefs. I think that for her essay in 'Twenty Something' she was not really giving a clear and consise thesis as much as she was just explaining her lifestlye. With that, her tone seemed like it was one that really didn't care what others thought about her lifestlye.

For the second question, I would have to say that I agree. I have been apart of Myspace and Facebook and I think that Facebook is the healthiest alternative because I feel that it is much easier to connect with people that you actually have withstanding REAL relationships with.

Rock My Network (excuse x2)

Firstly, I wanted to apologize for not getting my blog in on time. This is becoming a nasty habit of reading the essay on Friday and then waiting to do the blog and never having time. I was at the Browns game and instead of having computer access all weekend our internet was out.

Ironically, I read this essay almost three weeks ago FOR FUN, so I was happy that I could read it again knowing what I already did.

I think that the author of this essay is like everyone else in that she craves that 'social satisfaction.' She wants to have friends and more friends and basically, it boils down to I have lots of friends so I'm a special person. BUT, she defines friends different than anyone I've ever met in person. For me, personally, I have a handful of close friends -- maybe five to ten. Then, I've got dozens of other friends, in a much more general sense of the word -- people that I've met, and I see usually twice a week. We get along and enjoy each others company, so I consider them a friend.

I think that in Rock My Network, the author lumps everyone into one large category of "friends." She uses all of the social networking sites to make more 'friends' and meet new people. Having used a couple of notable sites, I think that is absolutely fine, but I found it pretty sad that she found herself recognizing people in real life and yet she still called them by their online username, which brings me to another point.

Reading through it a second time it become ever more clear to me that her perception of the people she meets is diluted. I've talked to many people on the internet through forums and such and it is very hard to gather a perception of what they are really like in real life. Even when a picture is provided someone who seems outgoing and bubbly could actually turn out to be shy and even cold. So, that being said, I'm pretty sure the author is obsessed with the virtual friendships and in return neglects the true friendships that she formed as a child and into her adulthood.

Since mostly no one will discuss a late post I'll put down two thoughts.

1) I personally feel that the author is too wrapped up in the virtual word of friends and thus she will hurt her family relationships and even childhood relationships.

2) The author seems pretty honest in her intentions of meeting new people of 'social' levels. I think that she needs to understand that having a bazillion friends doesn't make you a complete human being.

Excuses

Why did I do my homework at 10:30pm last night? Let me count the ways.

Well, I was home all weekend, but once I got in that car on Friday and left campus, I was pretty much left of any thoughts about schoolwork for the remainder of that day and all the way until late Sunday. I knew I had to get the blog done, but the Browns actually WON a game! Can you believe it?! So I had to sit for the three and a half hours that the game was on and watch it.

Also, I didn't know the homework was due by noon. I will start doing the blog a day in advance because I wasn't even home from church and lunch until around 11:30am.

Prime-Time You

Prime-Time You was an interesting essay to say the least. I wasn't sure I could trust anything this guy was trying to say -- being that he is with the advertisers and who's job it is to predict trends in how I will react to certain marketable enterprises. Whatever.

Part rant against an ever changing society, part plea to humankind to stay as we are, I found the article to be a narcissistic view of humanity in general. Of course we are going to change. With technology, so goes our desires. This isn't the stone age anymore. If someone wants to do something, they will find a way to do it, to make it simpler to achieve.

His goals in life seem to circle around the idea that everyone can be lumped into a trend or an culture. The liberals, the 'button-down corporate America.' It just sounds to me that this mans life relies on the belief that we humans are a predictable sort and can be put in any trend or figure imaginable.

Bologna.

1) Do you agree with the author's perception of people's ever-changing desires and it's negative effects on us all?

2) Do you want what's cool to stay cool, or what's 'in' to stay 'in?' Or do you prefer the changing landscape of ideas and philosophies on what is the new cool?

Rhetorical Analysis Proposal

Sorry for the late, late reply, but I guess it's late or never.

I will be focusing on the short -- make that very short story written by Stephen R. Bathon on page thirty of the Field & Dream magazine. It is an outdoor magazine that focuses on all aspects of hunting and the article in particular is an interesting one that focuses on a hunter's experience in which he was forced with the daunting task of killing a black bear no less than six feet away from him. It focuses on how the author drew a line in the sand, per say, to express that he would not kill another bear because after he looked in the eyes of the bear he had just shot he saw not the prey of a hunt, but another hunter.

The article has a deep tone of secretively trying to convince the hunting community to be mindful of what they should hunt and I think it speaks volumes to many.

In Between Places

I guess I'll start by saying that this would be my worst nightmare. I'm in my late twenties living with my parents and in extreme debt. Fortunately for me, I'm not that irresponsible.

Unlike the other essay authors who were usually not to blame for their circumstances. It was something they were born with, something that occurred early on in their life. It seems, though, for the author of 'In Between Places' that her predicaments are purely her own fault. Perhaps her parents can shoulder some blame for giving her too much financial independence -- or maybe not. It just seems that ten-thousand dollars of debt to your parents by the time you are in your late twenties is a bit severe.

As far as the writing, and the story in general, it was well written, but the author seemed so transfixed on her circumstances that she didn't have any time to realize that it was all her fault. A trip to Mexico, chairs and pillows for an invisible apartment; It just seems to me that no matter what she did as an early adult she could not make the correct financial decisions. To go with the old saying, "You made your bed, now sleep in it."

The expression goes so well for this girl. She's made all these decisions with money that have put her into the situation of having to live with her parents, and now she sits, ashamed and saddened about her life, or lack thereof.

I couldn't relate to this story at all. Perhaps it's because I think I'm much smarter with money than the author and I could never see myself in that situation. The only time I would move back in with my parents was if (as the author mentioned) I was trying to save for an apartment or condo.

The essay is a sad one, but I have no sympathy for the author... That sounds so cold, but it's true.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Can you relate to the author or do you feel you are much smarter when it comes to your financial situation?

2. Do you think the stereotype of "Kidults" or "Boomerangers" is one that is unfair or unwarranted?

The Waltz

The Waltz is a tame and long essay in comparison to all the other essay's we have read in this lovely class we call "Intro to College Writing I." I did enjoy the essay all though, to be perfectly honest, I found myself thinking, "Could the other use anymore examples?" Possibly it's my own mild case of ADD, but that's beside the point.

Overall I found that it was a good insight into a person with such a disorder's life. I found myself thinking like a person with O.C.D. with the scatterbrained approach to almost laughable circumstances. Touching doorknobs with both hands, not sitting in a chair because you don't want to get pregnant (wasn't this an actual rumor in the eighties?) and whatever else the author discerned to us.

There's not a lot to elaborate on to be perfectly honest, the author has a very difficult chance at sustaining a long relationship with a boy just for the simple fact that she suffers from O.C.D. and It's not her fault, it's just that those who choose to be in a relationship with her have the chips stacked against them to begin with. I found it humorous that the one boy who tried his hardest to be with her -- even going to therapy sessions, eventually quit out stating that he basically decided within himself he is not strong enough to live with this disorder. A truthful response indeed, but a heartbreaking one all the same.

Not to be repetitive, but my criticism is this, it felt a little repetitive and long winded but I really did enjoy this essay that was off the path of what all the other essays where about. Not one mention of homosexuality or threesomes.

1. How do you think you would react to finding out that a friend of yours has O.C.D.? Would you be brave and try to stick it out, or would you find yourself hanging out less and less?

2. Do you blame the ex-boyfriends of the author for quitting out on the relationship?

Thesis, Thesus, Theseus -- Or Maybe Just Thesis

Ok, so hunting won't necessarily solve world hunger or feed the starving millions and it definitely won't stop war, but I did have a general misconception about hunting that I think would make a good thesis statement.

"Hunting is about so much more than just going into the wilderness and shooting animals. It's about separating yourself from the outside world for a few hours and enjoying the company you have and the wilderness around you."

I don't want to have a thesis statement that is trying to defend the idea of hunting. Many people are against it and I'm still very skeptical about it so at the very least I think the main idea of my essay would be to say what hunting is -- and what it's not.

It may be a bit too vague, but It's very manageable. I think it would be well within the limits to elaborate on this thesis statement.

Interview Progress!!!

Alert the presses, I did my interview on time. I interviewed a kid who lives on my floor named Neil Cassidy. He is from Findlay, Ohio and is a very avid hunter. He was a great fit for my interview because he is very passionate about the sport -- yes, it is a sport.

I found that the hardest part of the whole interview process was following what he was trying to say. He is not a wordy person, but as I got him to elaborate a bit more on the questions he threw in a lot of 'Umms' and 'Errrs' so I did have to be true to Neil's personality and even when he may not have made grammatical sense, I wrote it down.

I found that it was not that difficult to get Neil to do this interview because generally people love to talk about their experiences and most importantly, themselves. I was really surprised at how easily the page began to fill as I typed away the words that Neil was speaking. When you aren't forced to make up a page of words, bbut instead only ahve to copy down someone else's thoughts it is a very painless process.

A Red Spoon For the Nameless

This short essay centers around a story that the author's mother tells him about not waiting too long to get married and through this story we are shown a much different reason as to why the author is a single man at the "old" age of twenty-three.

The essay was nothing special to me, but it did catch me off guard when I found out that the author was secretly homosexual. The author divulges about a past interest of his that would study with him and go to different functions with him. Unfortunately, due his mother finding out that his friend was gay, but not him -- a large crack was formed in their relationship due to the mother's perception of Stephen, his friend.

Enough about the plot of the essay -- it was well written and I think the author was very subtle in the way that he expressed his sexual preference. I can tell from his observations that he is suffering immensely by not "coming out" and that no matter how bad it would drive away his family to come out, it may be better for him as a person.

I disagree with the lifestyle that is presented in this essay but that is irregardless to how much I enjoyed or didn't enjoy it. A simple, conclusive observation would be that the author will continue to be very depressed and self-loathing until he finally decides to tell his long held secret. He is lonely and there's not much he can do about that unless he decides to change his circumstances.

1. Do you think the author's homosexuality is due in part to his parent's cold relationship?

2. Who is more to blame for the author's relational collapse with Stephen, his mother, or himself?

My Foreign Subculture

I will be focusing on the "hunter" subculture. This culture is truly a foreign piece of material to me as I've never so much as held a gun or been out in the wilderness WITH a gun. I will be interviewing a Junior who lives in my dorm as well as doing some research into any organizations that exist around campus. I'm not trying to become a hunter, but I feel I have a lot of stereotypes that I would like to have torn down. The best case scenario would be to meet a kid without a southern accent, who likes sports, video games, and still likes to hunt. Another rarity that I would hope to find is someone who likes to hunt but doesn't like Nascar. I imagine this will be almost impossible, but once more I feel my stereotypes are leaking through.

The group labeled as "Hunters" would be a subculture because although they share some identities with what some would call "rednecks" or "hicks" (for lack of a better term) they can include everything from ten year olds to seventy year old women who all just share a love for the outdoors and the exhilaration of a well placed shot.

I really look forward to breaking down some walls and learning about this subculture.

"Out of the Bag" Freewrite

The people around me have some interesting things. The girl two seats to my left had about a dozen different cards (ie. credit cards, ID cards, gift cards to olive garden, and bath body works and everything in between). She must like to swipe things. That, or she just doesn't like to throw things away. Really that was all she had so without being to thought provoking -- maybe she likes to only prepare for things one class at a time and not have a bag packed with things for the entire day. If so, that would be very close to how I like to pack my bookbag.

The girl to my left had two gift cards, her keys, a tampon, and a small wallet. One of the cards is an access number for a tanning salon. This means she is too poor to go on vacations. I really hope people catch my sarcasm.

The girl to my right has a box of eclipse mints and some 'Halls Defense' mints. She also has chapstick, two pencils, a cell phone, and her room key. Without going to deep it looks like she cares about her mouth, and taking care of it.

Cliche Rape Story

Let me just start by saying, I was very pleasantly surprised by this essay. The description of this girl being violated was a bit graphic -- to say the least, but I guess it was necessary. From the get go I felt sympathy for this girl -- something I hadn't felt for any other writer in this book. I believe that even though she was very much at fault for her situation, it still didn't take away the pity that I felt for her.

I feel that this essay is a great lesson to anyone who thinks 'this could never happen to me' or that 'I'm safe as long as I go with my friends.' One of the reasons I liked this essay was because this author was not as dysfunctional as the others. She still doesn't carry many of the same values that I have, but at the same time she was just a college student with a family, friends and a social life that fell into a very unfortunate situation and had to then deal with it in both physical and psychological ways.

Looking at how she handled the aftermath of her raping I would come to the conclusion that she may have bottled it up a bit too much. I think she should have gone to a therapist or something of that sort because it seemed that she was still very much damaged inside many months and years later (although I'm not sure if you can ever truly get over such an experience).

Discussion Questions:
1. Who do you believe is at fault more in the author's raping, herself or her friend?
2. Do you agree or disagree with the author's handling of her raping or did you think that the way she handled it was truly the only way possible?

Foreign Subcultures

I would consider myself fortunate to have friends in many different subcultures, some of good intentions and some of not-so-good intentions. I guess the subcultures that intrigue me the most are the 'twenty-something smokers', the 'three nights a week I party', and the 'get high and wasted' subculture. All three of these subcultures I could infiltrate.

Heck, if I wanted to smoke, I could just go get a cigarrette and smoke -- voila! I'm in a subculture. Unfortunately for all of my friends, I won't be a twenty-something smoker because I paid attention in health class and found out that inhaling poisonous toxins is going to knock some serious time off your life. Oh well, next subculture.

The 'three nights a week I party' subculture is one that is also easily infiltrated. Once more, unfortunate for my 'party hard' friends I've decided that I'm more into getting at least six hours of sleep and not waking up next to someone I met at one in the morning. Obviously I'm exaggerating but you get my point.

The 'get high and wasted' subculture is not one that I'm extremely familiar with but I've know people in this subculture. After watching a kid walk around naked in the courtyard of our dorm over the weekend because he was high on acid I decided that this may not be the best fit.

Confessions in Writing

When I am reading an essay that has a large amount of confession going on I usually react in different ways depending on what they are confessing about. For 'Sex and the Sickbed' I mostly felt uncomfortable reading the beginning of her essay. It was very graphic and like I've heard others comment, it didn't leave much to the imagination. Was I more interested -- sure, but that didn't mean I enjoyed the story more.

I guess when the author is so honest that it's uncomfortable to read you begin to realize that she isn't exaggerating and she's pretty reliable as a source. In all the essays I've read in TETW I've realized that most of the subject matter centers around sexuality and the exploration of that idea. Personally I would not delve into such subject matter so by having the authors write about that stuff I've come to realize that there is no way they could be exaggerating about their own life so much. It's so sick, and believable that it HAS to be true.

Knowing that you are going to be sharing your essay I think it impacted my writing style to be more like the way I talk. I tend to be sarcastic when I am uncomfortable and so just as in my speech, my essay was one that was slightly humorous and dripping with sarcasm.

Sex and the Sickbed

This essay is the monologue provided by a young girl who gives us recollections of her boyfriend/lover who was diagnosed with Leukemia. Most of the essay is the writer expressing how she was more affected by the loss of her sex life with her boyfriend than the emotional separation that she experienced.

Did I like this essay? No. I couldn't disagree more with this girl in terms of what her relationship was based on. Did she truly know her boyfriend on the personal side? Perhaps, But she didn't supply us with a lot of depth in regards to his personality other than to say that he was imaginative and easy to talk to. Seems Neil was her first sexual encounter and that attached her to him. Her relational dysfunction is further shown by her demeanor directly after Neil's death. She states that she went back on the hunt for a boyfriend too soon and this was probably due to her being so sexually disconnected. When I was reading this essay I couldn't help but think this girl has a HUGE sex drive and it really showed.


Don't get me wrong, I understand her, but I think that she is too into the physical as far as relationships go and not so much into the personal relationship. Think of it this way, had she not been so sexually active as a younger girl she wouldn't have been so emotionally attached to Neil. This wouldn't have lessened her sadness during his illness and death, but it would've helped her move on and develop healthier relationships later in life. I believe that sex is something should be waited on for until you are married because its much more than just a physical encounter -- it ties you to that person for the rest of your life. When you continue to be sexually active you are literally giving yourself away to the people you are with and by the time you are married it just makes that union less important. That's the way I see it and that is why I had such a hard time feeling any connection to this author and her way of life.

1. Do you believe Jennifer's emphasis on missing her and Neil's sex life is unnatural? In other words, do you think that if your boyfriend or girlfriend died you would miss their body more than their personality?

2. From what the author provided, what kind of person do you think Neil was?

Description (Freewrite)

He's got plenty of facepaint and maybe even a mask. If he's not drinking beer, he's throwing it. Along with talking he prefers barking and yelling. For a man in his early twenties all the way to his late fifties he still has two favorite colors: orange and brown.

He hates Pittsburgh and all that comes with it. If you enter the sacred area that is the "Redzone" he will become even more loud and obnoxious than ever. He may even mix in a few swear words with the typical "You SUCK!"

You may be confused as to who this member of my subculture is, but for those familiar with the lifestyle you should be able to pick it out right away. I am talking about the quintesential "DAWGPOUND" member. A group of extreme Cleveland Browns fans who defend the endzone like it's their right as a human being.

Tricycle

This essay is about a girl, Rachel, who struggles with depression all the while exploring friendship, relationships, and her sexuality. I really did not like this essay for the reasons that this girl seems too messed up with drugs that her thoughts and ideas are so scrambled.

Her friendships are with a girl, Merideth, and her two homosexual guy friends, Eric and Christian. I feel that she is envious of the kind of relationship that those two share. It seems she would rather be with them than be with her boyfriend, Clint. She flirts with the idea of a threesome and it sounds as if her friends are indifferent to it so they have a "sleep-over."

I guess that with my beliefs on her lifestyle and her manner in general it is tough for me to feel any sort of sympathy for her. She screwed up her life by giving herself away and being a slut. She also mixes pot and smoking into all of this which can't help. She can't seem to find happiness and I think this could stem back to her family situation that we don't hear much about. I can't really express how much I disliked this essay and I have a feeling that if we are going to be reading essays like this for the rest of the class I will be pounding my head every time, heh.

Discussion Questions:
1. Do you believe Rachel's sadness towards life is a result of her family or her decisions?
2. Why do you think Rachel flirts with the idea of a threesome? Is it her unhappiness towards her relationship with Clint or her fascination towards the idea?

Miss Teen USA Pageant Response

After watching the debaucle that is this poor girl trying to answer a question I immediately thought,"Gee, this girl is retarded." Was I little harsh? Probably. But, what I hadn't seen was her interview within the next couple of days on some morning talk shows.

Although the girl did not TOTALLY make me change my opinion I did realize that nerves can play a huge rule in giving an answer like the one she did. Personally, I think this girl does not represent any subculture or any type of cultural artifact. To that extent I will say that if someone from another country saw this video they may think that we are a bunch of nimwits running around with bowls on our heads. If this poor girl was to represent a subculture it would be the 'I get nervous and lose my train of thought in front of large groups of people' subculture.

I've spoken in public before in front of maybe five hundred people and I can tell you first hand that no matter how much you prepare, if you aren't completely comfortable then you will forget what you were going to say. With that being said, imagine having to be asked a random question and then answer the question in thirty seconds--not to mention make it all make sense (which she didn't do).

This girl doesn't represent a subculture, she represents memory loss.

Rough Draft for Essay

It's Saturday morning. A 'Hungry Howies' sheet pizza sits on a small coffee table. Five men sit around it in the dim light of my families basement staring at a projector screen and watching college football. Welcome to the 'man cave.' This is no special event. This is the life to which I've been brought up. My father has pounded it in our head, but not on purpose. "You root for Ohio or you go jump off a bridge." Did he say this straightforwardly? No. Did he show it in his actions? Yes.

I am definitely not apart of a small sect. Pure-bread Ohio sports fans are around these parts by the dozens and it's in their demeanor that you recognize them. During College Football season Saturdays are off limits. Weddings are no obstacles either. When my brother was married on a Saturday about a month ago where was I at the end of it all? I was in the lounge huddled around a small television with my father and brother catching the final seconds of a Browns preseason opener.

Our devotion to our teams runs deep. Columbus is the farthest we root. We despise Cincinnati like we despise the Steelers. 'Hang On Sloopy' is going to be my first dance at my wedding--or so I've planned. I have a feeling my wife may not go for that. The day that Ohio State loses it's first game of the season is a day of mourning. I can take you back to when I first felt truly hurt. Ohio State was playing Vince Young and Texas in the second or third game of the season and my family had arranged to put up a projector screen in our backyard to watch the game (This is the kind of devotion that we show to our sports teams). When Ohio State struggled down the stretch and finally ended up losing I shuffled into the house and went to bed. I never wanted to lay eyes on a scoreboard in which my 'team' was on the losing end and when it finally happened I couldn't sleep a wink.

Of course this is all apart of being so highly devoted to a group of teams that, at times, have not had much success. The Cleveland Browns, The Cleveland Indians, The Cleveland Cavaliers; Usually these teams are the source of ridicule and insult--never a compliment. Even with the Cavaliers making the NBA Championship this past season there was plenty of 'haters', but we (northern ohio sports fans) stood strong.

As I've mentioned before, our life was not one chosen, but was one that we received at birth. Many choose to neglect their heritage as a Cleveland and Ohio State fan and to them we say, "Screw You." This life is not an easy one. For fans of places like New England and New York, their life is one of ease. Their teams are perfect and their devotion is never tested. But for Northern Ohio sports fans we've seen it all and yet we choose to persevere. "The Drive", "The Shot"(Michael Jordan), "The Fumble"(Ernest Byers), "The Run" (Vince Young); it's not something most fans would ever have to endure. It was not until recently that we saw Ohio State break it's thirty year drought.

I could elaborate on the hardships that I will face for the remainder of my life as a northern Ohio sports fan, but I shall choose to not bore you. We will have our triumphs, yet we will see the failure up close as well. northern Ohio is due for a Championship of some kind very soon and I will be in my basement, waiting, when it happens.

Brainstorming the Opening of The Subculture Paper

"Good Morning, Did the Indians win?" For most of my life this is the first thing me and my father will discuss during baseball season. For Football and Basketball season you can expect the same except with Indians being substituted with Browns and Cavaliers. My family isn't disfunctional and its not that we don't like to talk about other things but I have been born into a family full of Northern Ohio sports fans.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" That was my reaction when I watched the Indians win in extra innnings several nights ago. It is usually my response to any close sporting event like a baseball game or a football game. Am I mentally challenged? No, but I am a northern Ohio sports fanatic.

'Live Nude Girl'

In reading this essay I find myself disliking the author to the 'nth' degree. She is cocky in her description of how much money she makes and at the same time feels that her line of work is somehow respectable. She must suffer from some extremely low self-esteem as well because she reveals how competitive she is with the other dancers.

I'm not going to completely write her off as a worthless person but in just reading this essay I've lost more respect for a profession that I think is pretty sleazy in the first place.

Why am I in my Subculture?

The answer to the above stated question is simple. I'm from northeast Ohio, and I know no other way. It's not something I chose to be apart of. I love sports and it's much easier to identify with a team that you can actually support by going to games and participating in other events that have to do with your team.

It's also much deeper than that. When I was born my parents bought me my first Browns jersey. I would go outside in the snow with my brothers and we would tussle it out in our make believe football game. It was always the Browns versus the Steelers with the Browns always blowing the Steelers out.

The life of a Cleveland and Ohio State fan is not one that is simple in any regard. With Cleveland, we are still suffering through one of the worst droughts in the sports world, having not seen a Championship since the Browns won one in the AFL in the sixties. For the Indians it's even worse having not won a championship since the '48 season.

My culture I am immersed in is no picnic, that's for sure and it's a struggle to make it through the entire season with out starting to question why you are losing so many games. Ohio State is the only true winner of the past and yet for most it is still not good enough. We need our pros to bring us home a championship. It is time that the guys that do this for a living bring us something back!

Subculture Proposal

The subculture that I have chosen to be in is the 'Northern Ohio Sports Fan' subculture. This culture is full of 100% true Cleveland Sports fans who support the Browns, Buckeyes, Indians, Cavaliers---heck, even the Cleveland Crunch and Cleveland Rockers.

I really am not a fan of people who choose to pick random teams from other cities and states. I believe that unfortunately, you are born into your team affiliations and you should support them no matter what. I truly am apart of this subculture because I love ONLY Ohio sports teams and I've loved them since the day I was born. Cleveland has never been known to be a spectacular sports town but the true fan will always stick by his team and not slander them all the time.

Being born in northeast Ohio and 'liking' the teams from around us does not immediately qualify you into this subculture but you must be an enduring and respectable fan who doesn't jump off the bandwagon as soon as things go sour. I've been a huge Cleveland Cavaliers fan since day one and I've endured a seventeen win season all the way to a trip to the NBA Finals, so I've seen both ends of the spectrum.

Subcultures

Subcultures. To me these are basically smaller groups of people with common belief systems and and comtmon interests that can be as specific as liking only certain types of food.

Better examples of subcultures would be jocks, preppies, nerds, drifters, and druggies (our favorite losers).

Everyone can blend into a society that is much larger than themselves, but I believe that if you have a common bond with a group of people it is much easier to make it through the monotonous day to day routine.

That is the reader's digest definition of subcultures.

About the Writer (That would be Evan)

What are my likes and dislikes? That is a loaded question to say the least. If you were to ask me this question in person I would probably give you a nice reader's digest question and be done in 20 seconds, but since I have you reading this and it's technically a requirement, I will go on.

My main passion would probably be for God. I'm not an in your face kind of person about my religion, but if you're gonna ask me, I wouldn't stay away from telling you. That being said, it all goes downhill from there. I like to play piano, drums, some guitar. I love video games. Mostly sports video games like NCAA Football 2008 and Madden NFL Football 2008 (I'm writing this so late because I was AT a Madden Tournament at the Student Center). I'm also a pretty avid computer guy. I work on the Geek Squad which unfortunately has made me hate computers more than I used to because it's no longer just for fun, but a job. --That and I get yelled at by angry customers.

Finally, I love to write and or talk about sports in some shape or form. I'm a Broadcast Journalism major and I guess what I want to do with that is continue forward and either work for sports talk radio, or even a sports magazine. Lastly, I guess I could do television, but I think you have to become really fake in order to be on television. Too much make up and scripted argumentative writing for my taste.

That about wraps up my life for the past eighteen years. Kind of sad that I can sum it up in so little of a blog. So much for writing a book.