Mini-Study

The other night I had three of my best friends over for dinner. I decided to make lemon chicken breasts, creamy mashed potatoes, roasted acorn squash and a simple salad. My life totally revolves around cooking and food. I try to express this to my friends. They came over and were immediately amazed at the feast that awaited. We're all college students and they aren't used to home cooked meals.

But while we sitting together eating, I was looking around and realized how much that we know about each other and how much we DON"T know. So we started talking and began to discuss our ideas and beliefs about God. Some of us are very strong Christians and others of us are new comers to the faith. It was interesting to see how different, yet similar our beliefs are.

I realized that some of the things we value are: friends, family, our living spaces, music, and physical activity. Some our traditions/activities are: playing card games, drinking beer, concerts, chatting, etc.

Discourse in "God Grew Tired of Us"

The documentary "God Grew Tired of Us" follows three of Sudan's "Lost Boys" in their journey to the U.S. They are learning to live in the culture of the states and know very little about how to live and work here.

The clip below shows the Discourses of the boys and the tension they cause with American culture. The clip opens with one of the boys seeing Santa Claus in a shopping mall and asking the question what Santa has to do with the story of Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ. The clip continues with the commentary of another boy struggling with the unkindness of Americans vs. the kindness of Sudanese people. He explains a scenario where in his culture you are able to talk to people you don't know and even go to a strangers's house to ask for help. Differently, in America, he finds out that people do not appreciate or welcome strangers into their house.

This shows the Discourse of cultures and nations and also religions.

Never, Ever!

Assignment One: I'd like you to write about this topic: What were you taught NEVER to do as a writer? Come up with about two or three such mandates, and write some of your reflections about each one. Was this rule a good one? Are there sound reasons for it? Are there times when you can/should ignore it?

1. Never to interchange 'I' and 'me

I do believe this is a good rule to remember. Many times our speaking influences our writing and we neglect certain rules like this very one. Many people believe that 'I' and 'me' are interchangeable, but that isn't the case. As writers, is its especially important to remember this rule so that we can sound eloquent and educated.

• Examples of correct use: My sister and I went to the store yesterday. The teacher told Charlie and me to stop talking.
• Example of incorrect use: Me and my dog went for a walk. The movie made my friend and I laugh.

Never Write in First Person

I have always been told to NEVER write in first person in an academic paper. I do believe that this is a good rule. When we leave ourselves out of the equation, it allows us to be objective writers and thinkers. Readers will often times lose their respect when the author is continually giving his/her opinion. The number one reason, I believe, that we should abide by this rule is that it allows readers to develop their own opinions, beliefs, and understanding of a text without the influence of the writer's.

I do believe however, it is okay to use first person in non-academic writing. There are definitely times and places when the writer's opinion, experiences, and beliefs are worth integrating into their text. As a journalism major, it is crucial for me to learn not to be biased or allow my thoughts and feelings to show up in my writing. Although, in other types of writing, I do think it is okay to be less formal and allow your own biases to show through.

Never use WikiPedia as a source.

In middle school, I was first taught to never use Wikipedia as a final source. Ever since then I have had almost every teacher I have ever had tell me the exact same thing. The reason for this is because Wikipedia is able to be written on by anyone no matter how credible they are. Whether the author is a scholar or a kindgartener, they are able to write on wikipedia.

I believe that this rule should be closely adhered to. Sources should come from credible authors. On the internet, it is very hard to figure out how credible a source is. I believe that unless you are just purely curious on a topic, wikipedia is fine. Otherwise, for citing information and using it in research, you should never use wikipedia because of the diverse credibility of their authors.