RWS 305 Blog Fall 2019 Sam DeLeon

Throughout high school and middle school I was normally taught how to write essays. First I was taught how to write a paragraph in elementary school. Five sentences and you have a paragraph. Of course that doesn't really matter how many sentences you have. It's just what my teachers taught me when I was younger. As you get older though, in middle school, the teachers think you're so smart now and have you start writing essays! Yippie! I was so not overjoyed with having to write essays with the structure of intro, three paragraph body, and a conclusion. It was the worst. Honestly, I really didn't like writing when I was younger. Maybe it was because of all the structured writing we had to do, really killed my creativity. Although, there were some teachers throughout my schooling that really pushed us as students to expand our creativity through writing. I even had a teacher in middle school named Mr. Myers that created a writing club for our whole class and called...

When learning something new I'm constantly pretty honest about how good I am. I don't try to fake it or make it seem like I'm better than I am. I stay pretty true to how skilled I think I am. I remember when I was trying to learn to do tricks on my skateboard. How to Ollie, manual, and do pop-shuvits.  I really wasn't good at all, although my friends that didn't really skate, thought I was pretty good because I could Ollie. I knew I wasn't much though so I would just say thank you and tell them I'm not really that great at it. I think this approach has helped me to not get into situations where people would expect me to do something crazy I haven't done. Allowing me to slowly progress at my own pace and if I wanted to try something more challenging I could give it a shot and I wouldn't be expected to land it the first try. I feel like as individuals we need to stay honest to ourselves and the people around us. If we're not honest or ...

Best Advice for College Students In Annie Murphy Paul 's " Secrets of the Most Successful College Students ," she discusses the idea of there being three different types of learners; " surface, who do as little as possible to get by; strategic, who aim for top grades rather than true understanding; and deep learners, who leave college with a real, rich education." Before going to college I never read Paul's article although I remember developing my own version of theses different types of learners throughout high school. I categorized them as the people who didn't try, the try-hards, and the ones that just wanted to learn. The people who didn't try usually got alright grades and focused more on things besides school, like hanging out with friends or sports, or anything other than school. While back in the day I thought these people weren't the smartest I come to realize that having good grades doesn't mean you're the smartest pe...

Where I'm From I am from haircuts,  from barbecues  and backyard parties.  I am from the heat of the valleys. (Hot, like potatoes  in a pot.)  I am from the persimmon tree the orange tree whose shade would be what protected me. I'm from lunch after church,  from the stairs we would perch.  I'm from the sit stills and the wrinkly  bills,  from sit down and eat your fill!  I'm from sing your song when you go on and not practice all along. I'm from signs that say yield and large green fields,  strawberries and broccoli at times.  From the waves on the shore  to the birds that would soar,  the mountains we would climb up night. Remember the days of the team,  the days we would get some ice cream.  Till I wake up-- felling distraught -- realizing it was just another dream. Analysis: Looking at George Ellen Lyon's poem, "Wher...

I Don't Know, Figure it Out. I don't know. Sometimes I really don't, but that doesn't mean I can't find out. I think that the best way to learn something new is to go out and do it. Not by sitting there waiting for an answer to come hit you smack dab in the face. When I was younger I thought the only way to learn is to sit in a class and have someone teach it to you. However, I soon realized that that's not the only way to learn. You could learn something new by hearing, seeing, or doing. I think being able to understand how you learn and being able to find the best ways for you to learn will help you grasp and understand new ideas and concepts. I remember when I was younger I wanted to learn how to surf. I would see my dad and his friends go out all the time and I asked them if I could go with them. Keep in mind that my dad and his friends like surfing bigger waves, waves that are around five to eight feet high. Being a little sixth grader and...