next Reflection Time! Class Life: This week in class, we discussed logical fallacies, showing and telling, and the basics of our next few blog posts, which seem as though they are going to be very interesting. If you've read some of the Room for Debate arguments my classmates and I have made, then you can tell we're trying to argue a point saying whether we are for or against a point made by the New York Times' Room for Debate website. So, we went over the logical fallacies to be found in our assignments. Fallacies are basically flaws in the logic of the assignments, that could potentially cause our arguments to lose their strength, because there is not enough evidence, because they don't answer the question being asked, or because the person making the argument my be manipulating their words in such a way that although it seems as if they as saying something intelligent, in all actuality, it has nothing to do with the point they're trying to make. Showing and telling has more to do with the One Semester Memoir that is coming up. Showing we the type of writing I studied throughout high school, and telling is the type of writing we used in middle school, so I had a pretty good idea of what each of these were before Dr. Mangini discussed these near the end of class. Before he discussed these, I wrote this in my notebook: Showing - To truly describe the scene, giving the reader a vivid picture about what it is they are reading. Telling - Slightly descriptive, just enough to tell the reader what it is they need to know, mostly informative. I think they pretty accurately captured the definitions of these terms. Home Life: So, I went to the winter retreat, which was amazing, I've come home, gotten some rest, went to a few classes, and I'm getting back into the swing of thinks, which means I'm more than ready to start blogging again! In a previous post, I used the following telling language to explain a moment from my life: The Prayer Experience is basically a tent we set up in the main hall, that we use as an extension of the speaker's messages. It usually is set up as a redemption story that as you walk through, you realize the love and mercy and grace God has towards us. I don't want to reveal too much yet, because I don't want to explain everything and ruin it for all of my friends on the retreat, but the four main rooms in relation to the messages, are Grace, Devotion, Love and Life. We will also have what is going to be known as the psycho room at the very beginning. Here, I will revise this language into a scene that shows readers this same moment from my life. I walked past the door and inhaled the nice warm air. I wonderful transition from the bitter cold of the outdoors. I took my time walking through the hallway trying to experience everything. Pictures of other camps had been posted on the walls, you could see the joy in the faces of those using the canoes and running around the playground. You could almost hear the laughter emanating from the photos themselves, as you saw the children from the summer camp working on their projects and eating their snacks. A cool breeze flows over me as the glass door is thrown open. My friends call me into the gym so we can hang out. The humungous gym seems as though it could fit every person I've ever met, and we'd still have plenty of elbow room. On my right, a homey, antiqued coatrack is placed next to the vending machine. In front of that, two ping pong tables covered in craft materials, zip ties, fishing line, spray paint, giant tarps, and anything else we thought we might need to finish our project. On my right, nine-square was set up, and past that, a giant black tent. On the outside, it seemed totally out of place in the room with the bright yellow floors, but on the inside, it was perfect for the retreat. As I walked into the first room, I actually had to wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness before I was able to move on. I was immediately placed in a small, almost claustrophobic room. Magazine pictures are posted everywhere. Colored strings connecting pictures are also draped from the ceiling and I have to duck and swerve to try and avoid ripping them down. You can see words that describe things that pull us away from God, "Girls," "Money," "Celebrities," "Boys," "Guns," "Music," "Makeup" etc. Anything that we place higher than God. We were supposed to have a strobe light set up to enhance the craziness, but we ran out of time. As you walked through the next door, you were almost hit with a peacefulness, being pulled out of the craziness and placed into a serene blue room with white clouds and golden raindrops hanging above your head. In the center of the wall, a beautiful painting covered in writing. You will come, like a flood of golden raindrops, you will come. And we will be ready. The roots of our hearts will soak up your living water. And we will bloom that all might see your beauty and your goodness. You will come, like a flood of golden raindrops, you will come. There were long scrolls draped down the side of the room, and on the other side, a chalkboard that read:
Characteristic of God... GRACE It is... Being given a pass when you don't deserve it It is not... just a get out of Hell free card As I moved through to the next room, I saw a large chair, and above it, a 4x4 cardboard sign adorned the wall. On this sign, three thrones had been painted. It was asking who we had in control of our lives, do we place ourselves on the throne, and have God completely out of the picture, do we place ourselves on the throne and have God on the side helping us out just when we need him, or do we place God on the throne and allow him to take control of our lives? Keeping in mind with this option, that he has a perfect plan for us, and that we need to accept whatever is in his will, even of we don't always like it, because He loves us and He knows what's best for us. The walls of this room were also adorned with scrolls, all of which were related to our devotion to God.
Sabatino
11/23/2015 10:02:38 am
This is a powerful and compelling post! Will this turn into your memoir? Plenty of potential here. Rife with themes and substance. 11/23/2015 03:58:30 pm
Thanks Dr. Mangini, I think I am going to turn this into my memoir. Most of the work is here, and I think it's turning out much better than I had expected it to.
Qin Zhou
11/24/2015 02:04:16 pm
Thank you for helping me.I really like what you wrote because they are logical and useful. Comments are closed.
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Rebekah W
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