In Class: Freewrite

I've been thinking about a topic for this assignment and so far I am stuck between research fashion or doing something else. I am leaning more towards fashion, but I am trying to figure out if I want to write about a specific kind, style, or designer. I picked the topic of fashion because it is something that interest me and I don't already know about it. Really all I need is to find the right type of question to help me expand the topic........Thinking of a question...........

I think I am going to research the brand Gucci. Who is the creator, how did it become such a high end value? I have no clue about the clothing or anything that is why I am researching it.

Answering this question will help me understand more about the fashion industry. I think the research will help me and others appreciate the brand more. I always found myself interested in fashion because it seems so easy to make money off of it, but yet so hard at the same time.

Retorical response 2

The essay  Tattoo Crazy gave a first person perspective view on how tattoos have had a major impact among younger generations. The art of tattooing has become very popular among the youth in recent years, and In my opinion I think my generation is filled with innovators and those who are always looking for various ways to express themselves freely rather it be the way the dress or the art they put on their bodies. Throughout history every generation has always made it’s own mark and my generation expresses that through tattoos. Although tattoos are becoming more common there are still a lot of negative opinions about the character of people who have tattoos. In the essay the author Lori Gangi gave a good example of the type of  discrimination that takes places among someone who makes the choice to get a tattoo, “ tattooed people are faced with much discrimination from all sorts of people, not seen for who they are but for what they may look like. They are instantly being judged for their body art, and not who they are“ (Gangi). In my personal experiences I have never been discriminated against because of my choice to have tattoos, but I have learned from the experiences of some of my peers who were denied jobs or treated differently. Before my first tattoo I realized that my choice could have a major impact on my future and  affect the way I’m treated among my elders, but I knew I hade the right to express myself freely and without the opinions of others affecting my personal decisions.  In my opinion just because someone has a tattoo doesn’t give someone else the right to stereotype them and form negative opinions about them before the know who they are as a person. The decision to get a tattoo has no relation to who you are as person or what your boundaries are in life it’s just a form of self expression that everyone should be granted freely. In today’s society many of our favorite actors, music artist, and athletes are often covered with tattoos but they still have the free choice to pursue the career path they chose and often without the negative opinions of others , you rarely hear stories about a actor not receiving a role because of  the way they chose to express themselves the point I’m trying to make is that the tattoos have no affect on how well the actor can perform his or her job. When this scenario is applied to the average person it’s not fair that their discriminated against because of the way they look. I think author of this essay did a great job making this essay easy for someone my age to relate to. I remember being younger and being scared of people with tattoos because I automatically assumed that they were bad people. Although I’m surrounded by people  in my generation who have tattoos everyday I never thought about their opinions or how their choice to have a tattoo may have helped or hurt their progression in life. This essay helped to give me a better understanding on something that not only had a major impact on my life but also the lives of my peers. I think as my generation grows older the role of tattoos will become stronger and they will finally be accepted by everyone, because the role of our elders  and those who oppose of tattoos will become less dominant and it will be harder for one person to discriminate on another person because of their looks if it’s something that their use to seeing. In America people are automatically granted the right to be who they are and they should always take full advantage of that right and not let the opinions of other stop them from being who they are.

Retorical Response 2: Tat

In Class: Freewrite

I am so tierd i just finished morning workouts and its enough with getting up at 6 am. I been having an okay week so i cant complain too much. My cousin just signed his deal with the Warriors congrats C.J. do your thing boy. The only thing that is really getting to me now is sitting out for a year. I havent really given it any thought until last week because the season is near an i want to play so bad and can't, but its okay next year is my year to shine just work on the other aspects of my game and just keep getting better. Something im trying to do this year is push my self to the max on everything i do so that the next couple years come easy to me.

In Class: Thoughts and Questions (essay 1)

They only question I have about the essay is what does it take to get an A. I think if I do everything thing required then I should come out with the grade I want. It is really simple for me and I all have to do is just write and piece it together nicely.

In Class: Freewrite

Second week of school and im already tierd its crazy but i know alot of people are feeling the same way as me. With that said im happy we started workouts its good to be in the gym everyday. Just another day in the life of Hank Thorns. My first week was so busy because i had to fix up my new apartment while managing different task, my apartment looks nice now by the way. Its so early i can barely concentrate i just finished 6am workouts now im in class writing about it. See what i mean the kid is always on the go and on top of the im having some problems back home. So, have any guy out there ever had a girl that just gets on your last nerve like she just nags and nags and nags. Man, its so annoying but women dont seem to get that a man doesnt wanna be bothered with those types of issues. It is what it is though! Next up on the schedule is my second class which is about an hour in a half long then workouts at 2pm, so until next freewrite peace out world.

Retorical Response

In response to the reading “The Biography of Blake Stone” I felt a connection to the narrative. I feel that I can connect personally to the alter ego of Blake Stone. There were times in my own life when I felt insecure and I wished I could be like all the athletes on TV. When I was younger I wished I could be taller and that I could be a better basketball player. In the text, the author speaks of Blake Stone as a man with “piercing blue slate eyes and black hair that gleamed”. Blake Stone was the alter ego that all men wish they could be. All guys dream of being that soap opera character with the washboard abs and the “full year body tan”. As the author becomes more and more like his alter ego he loses apart of himself. In the chat room he is a college student at Stanford when in reality he is a pudgy pubescent boy from Odessa, Texas. Many times in life we lose ourselves when we try to be something we are not. The character in the story becomes a man who drinks martinis and dances gracefully along the ballroom floor. There have been times in my life when I have compromised who I am in order to fit in with a new group of people. When I first arrived at TCU, I wanted to prove to the basketball team that I could play and that I was more than my short stature. During the summer workouts and pickup games I was constantly working harder than my teammates around me. I would stay late and come early. There were days when I felt like my body could not take it anymore but I had to prove not only to the other players and coaching staff but to myself that I was worth signing. When we try to be things that we are not we lose ourselves and we lose those around us. We become people that others do not recognize.

Having an anonymous alter ego online can be fun and exciting. But it can also be dangerous and heartbreaking. In the text, when Stone learns of CalanderGAL’s true identity he is shocked. When she was online, she was a young nurse from Atlanta with long raven colored hair who wore a black cocktail dress that accentuated her voluptuous curves. She made vodka martinis and sang “Unchained Melody”. In the eyes of Stone, she was the perfect woman. In reality, she was a thirty year old woman who was overweight and unattractive. She had low self esteem which led her to create her alter ago. In today’s society, one must be beautiful to be accepted. CalanderGAL was not accepted in society and men did not find her attractive so she was desperate for attention. The use of online alter-egos allows for even the most unattractive people to become beautiful online. In the case of the author, he transformed from a pudgy fifth grader to a suave and debonair young man. In the chat room, he was the man that all the women wanted and the man that all men were secretly envious of. A theme of accepting yourself for who you is prevalent in the conclusion of the text.

The question that I was constantly asking myself while reading the text was why people care so much about how others see them. Magazines are constantly telling women that they have to be thin and that men are supposed to be buff and tan. They also state that men are supposed to be athletic like Lebron James in order to be successful on the court. In reality, most men are not buff and tan. Most men do not have time to go to the gym to work out for hours and hours. There are also very few people who have the athletic prowess like Lebron James. Society focuses on the outer beauty and characteristics that are held by very few individuals. Instead of focusing on athleticism or appearance, people should focus on the character of the person. Instead of talking about how much money a person made, we should talk about their charitable acts or the love they have for their family. When Martin Luther King Jr. made his I Have a Dream speech he stated that he dreams of a land where people are judged by the content of their character and not their appearance. It too is my dream to be judged by the type of person I am and not my appearance.