Musings

I feel like high school prepared me for high school. Senior year was a complete and utter joke. I didn't take anything seriously and I most definitely didn't put in the time or effort to do my best. I was way more concerned with my social life; senior year was alot of fun. I was not taught anything new that would be beneficial to me for college, nor was I challenged academically in any way.

Eleventh Assignment

Looking back, I can recognize an improvement in my writing. In my opinion, I do not think that my writing skills were poor to begin with, but I have learned some helpful tips. I have always put a great deal of pressure and stress upon myself when it came to writing. Mostly because I really put forth my greatest efforts in order to obtain a worthy grade. I never really "bull-shitted" my work. My writing was a reflection of my intelligence and my skills. I do, however, want to thank you, Dana, for helping me throughout the semester. You have provided me with great help. =)

Engagement Party!

On Saturday, My family and I celebrated my cousins' engagement with a cocktail party at my aunts' house. My cousins' fiance', Chris, proposed to her on Christmas morning of last year; we were all thrilled. After six years, we were all anxious for him to pop the big question. It was an emotional ordeal. Anyway, the cocktail party was fun, it was a chance for our entire family to meet Chris' family. There was a good 20-30 people there. The volume that filled the house was undoubtedly produced mostly by our family, though I'm sure Chris' family added to the noise level a tad. Everything went smoothly. Chris' family had a hard time remembering who everyone was on our side, but we had no problem recalling names and relations to Chris' 10 family members. The wedding is in June, and I'm totally excited.

Tenth Assignment: Dear Santa:

Dear Santa,



I'm anticipating your arrival with great joy. I think I've managed to get myself onto your "Nice" list this year. So here's my Christmas List:

1.) Laptop
2.) Micheal Kors bag
3.) & just so you know, ML deserves nothing, but coal.

Black Friday!

my alarm went off at 5:15 a.m. and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. But when I realized all the shopping and gift buying my mom was going to be doing, I jumped right up & got dressed! My mom, Dad, and I headed for the mall and began our shopping spree. I don't think I've ever seen so many people in the Ocean County Mall before. We made more than one trip to drop the bags off to the car. I overheard a woman say she camped outside Circuit City right after they finished their turkey dinner the night before. I was like, "Are you insane?!" That was crazy. By the end of the day, I was exhausted and my arms, legs, and back were soar. That's pathetic considering that was the most work I've done physically since high school.

BONUS POST- THANKSGIVING!

I was so excited for this Thanksgiving break- no classes for a few days! Behind Christmas, Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday. I love being around my family and eating a ton of food. My family is huge and obnoxiously loud. Thanksgiving is usually hosted at my house or my aunts; this year it was my moms turn. My uncle is a chief and he usually makes his stuffed artichokes, and my Dad makes his famous mashed potatoes. There was a lot of appetizers before we cut into the 22lb. turkey. After we were so full we could barely move, we took a break before dessert. We then decided to watch some home videos from years ago; they were hysterical. We all had a good laugh for an hour or two, and then we started dessert.

Ninth Assignment

I find Dane Cook to be funny, but I completely agree with you in that he's not all he's cracked up to be. My all time favorite comedienne is Bette Midler. I've been a huge fan for years and seen her in concert 3 times. I was 10 when I first saw her in concert, and I think she is brilliant. She is bawdy, vulgar, and exerts an overwhelming amount of talent. She can have you in tears of laughter one minute, in complete amazement after she belts out her classic "Wind Beneath My Wings" the next. In addition, I also enjoy David Spade as a comedian. He has always stood out on my list. He has a great personality and everything that comes out of his mouth is hysterical. I think he is great in 'Rules Of Engagement.'
Further more, Adam Sandler is a great comedian. I find him completely hysterical. He has an enormous talent in that he writes and produces his own films.

Next Semester!

Setting up classes is confusing and stressful. I had the most dificult time on WebAdvisor because they wouldn't let me register online for some odd reason. So I wrote out my classes on paper and I'll go to the Administration Building tomorrow for some help. However, I am excited because my best friend decided to come back to OCC for the next semester and we set up our classes so that we are in the same classes. We worked it out so that we are only here 2 days a week, on Tuesday's and Friday's. I am double excited because we managed to get into your English 151-15. My friend wanted to do the class online, but I convinced her that you were awesome! (big grin).
So, I'll be seeing you again next semester, (at the crack of dawn at 8:00 am.)

Eighth Assignment

Dear "Someone I Despise,"

In the past few months, I've come to realize that you are most definitely not someone I want in my my life. You have shown me nothing but heartlessness; qualities that do not make up a true friend. You do not know this, but I know everything that you have done. Your actions were inconsiderate, heartless, and cold. You took advantage of my kindness; I can't believe I lowered myself to apologizing in order to maintain our friendship. I over-analyzed every situation that was presented to me, and thought maybe I misunderstood you; never could I have imagined a person to be this heartless and careless. I guess I expect too much from people, but you were my friend and were supposed to defend me. You completely disregarded my feelings, ( or perhaps you just didn't give a shit), or perhaps, your jealousy, and "slut-like" behavior became overwhelming for you. Either way, I find you dispicable.
Consequently, these past few months have been rough. I have cried uncontrollably in shock, disbelief, and heartbrokenness everytime I'm updated with your sickening behavior. I have built up an intense hatred for you, so much so that I can't stand to speak your name. All the pleasant, fun memories that we have made in the past, have disinegrated into nothing. I've erased them from my memory. I have moved on, and dissociated myself from you, "her," and "him." The hurt I've felt has now turned into strength and I've surrounded myself with people that matter most to me. This is going to be easier than I thought. It took me a while to come to the realization and accept the fact that there are some horrible souls out there, and you are one of them.

In the end, I'm so glad I never confronted you with all that I know. I know what I know and that's all I need to know. I know about EVERYTHING. I've figured out the entire situation and analyzed to perfection.

P.S. Your new haircut makes you look like a beastly man, and keep smiling with those braces; they make you look attractive. ;o)

Thank you,
Kerianne

Seventh Assignment

College is first and foremost a responsibility. I most definitely view it with the same amount of importance and responsibility as my job, if not more. I think it's acceptable to penalize one who is absent on a continuous basis; in otherwords their final grade should reflect upon that. Because it doesn't seem fair to those who come to class and complete their work. In my opinion, we all chose to be here, so we should be treated like employee's.

Sixth Assignment: College Thus Far...

I can't believe how fast this semester has gone; it's November already! I have to admit though, I expected my classes to be a lot easier. I was not expecting to have so much work. To be honest, I think I've had more homework and assignments in this semester alone, than I did all four years in high school. That sounds pathetic, but it's true. Not to say that I'm overwhelmed, but it has been a change that I've had to adjust to. I think because I had such a negative attitude about attending OCC in the first place, I didn't expect to do well. However, my perception has changed and I've decided to make the best of my OCC experience. 

Fifth Assignment

Emma Lazarus' words are both beautiful and moving. I don't have a specific or favorite piece of writing that truly moves me. However, I got to thinking about what moves and inspires me. It may sound a little cheesey, but the National Anthem get me everytime. I find it incredibly moving, touching, inspiring and sentimental. A lot of songs and poems are inspiring to me.

...but I absolutely love this quote:

"Forgive and forget. That’s what they say. It’s good advice, but it’s not very practical. When someone hurts us, we want to hurt them back. When someone wrongs us, we want to be right. Without forgiveness, old scores are never settled… old wounds never heal. And the most we can hope for, is that one day we’ll be lucky enough to forget." -Grey's Anatomy.

Oct. 21 Breast Cancer Walk

Last weekend I participated in The American Heart Association Breast Cancer Walk in Pt. Pleasant, on Sunday, October 21, along with my family. My Dad's sister, my Mom's sister, and my neighbor's mother were diagnosed with Breast Cancer, so the walk had a heartfelt personal meaning to us all. There was 19 of us and we were called the "Pizza Night Girls," (beacuse for as long as I can remember, every Friday night, my entire family would go to my aunt's and she would make pizza.) So, the Friday prior to the walk, we went to my aunt's house and she had a pizza night "pep-rally" to get us excited and motivated. They went to extremes; my aunt put pink food coloring in the cheese in order for the pizza to be pink, and the dough for the garlic knots was dyed pink and tied into the shape of a ribbon. My other aunt had visors made reading our team name. When we arrived to the Walk, there was a sea of women dressed in pink clothing. The Association gave out t-shirt's and banner-ribbons that read, "SURVIVOR," to the survivors'. They had a half hour warm up session just before the walk started, and then we began the 5mile walk. As we walked the boardwalk, we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. All in all, the experience was one I will remember. We made a difference in the fight against Breast Cancer, and I spent some quality time with people I care about.

Fourth Assignment

I find that in today's day in age, topic of conversation is particularly difficult. There is always a lingering uncertainty of opinions, and standpoints, especially on the subject of politics. For example, in my family, there is a huge division of political views. Many of us including my parents, grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins are all segragated into groups of political likeness. On occasion, we have gotten into some heated arguments and disagreements about the Iraq war, President Bush, 9/11, the handling of Hurricane Katrina, etc. We can brush it off, and respect eachother's right to their own opinion, but as narrrow-minded as it may sound, it can be tough for one to view another in the same light, once opinions have been voiced and stands have been taken on a "hot" or "controversial" issue. However, I do not have a problem making conversation with my friends because such subjects never come into effect. Our discussions usually consists of who did what to who, or who said what about another, and so on. There are times when we are struggling to make conversation.

BONUS ASSIGNMENT

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure if the government should warn or advise American citizens living around the volcanic Yellowstone area. In some ways, of course, the government has an obligation to protect and warn the American people of the potential danger. However, in today's day in age, scientific technology can aid tremendously. I suppose warning the population surrounding the area would be the right precaution of "better safe than sorry," but wouldn't that cause some chaos and panic? We can't stop the inevitable.

Second Assignment: The English Language

America is known as a "melting pot," made up of many different cultures and languages.
The English language has existed for centuries, and is by no means "dying out."
In my opinion, English should be the main or national language of the U.S. This country was founded by the English, and the idea of American English being non-existant is unfathomable. There is no doubt in my mind that the English language will undergo its changes, but it is and always will be the main language of the United States.

First Assignment.

It is much easier to write in form of email, text messaging, and instant messaging because it is a relaxed and stress free task. When writing a 500 word paper for a class, students feel an incredible amount of pressure and stress, and do not know where to begin. However, in email's, texting, and instant mesaging, people can "vent" and writing comes much quicker. When we write formally, we must use correct grammar, punctuation and complete sentences.

In today's world, many of us are computer "savvy," and it is difficult to transcend from computer "lingo" to formal writing. Consequently, technology has made our lives ridiculously convenient. In addition, the use of emailing, text messaging, and instant messaging provides for a free-flowing of thinking.

In closing, I do not believe that this form of writing is acceptable on a perfessional or educational basis.