"The American Male at Age Ten"

 I chose this picture because this is
what I think Colin looks like as a ten
 year old, also he said he likes candy
so I thought this image was perfect for him.

The American Male at Age Ten by Susan Orlean is a cute, funny and interesting article about a ten year old boy named Colin Duffy.  The story put me into the mind of an average ten year old boy, it brought back memories of my elementary school days and made me laugh.  The story also showed that if you can actually get a ten year old to open up and talk to you about his life, there could be things that go on in his head that will surprise you.  I really enjoyed reading this story.

I think the thing that makes this story good is that Orlean used so many great details to describe Colin, his friends and what goes on in his daily life that it brought the story to life for me while I was reading it.  The quotes that she used also made the story a better read for me because it wasn't just paragraph after paragraph, she added the Q & A affect to the story that she used while talking to Colin. 

Something that also makes it a good story is that she goes farther with her details, like the sign on the black board in Colin's classroom and also the conversation between Colin and his friend about Street Fighter II Championship Edition.  My favorite quote from the story is, "The best candy is Skittles and Symphony bars and Crybabies and Warheads.  Crybabies are great because if you eat a lot at once you feel so sour." After reading this quote I legitimately laughed out loud at it.  I think that all the quotes about Colin's world views were the best part of the story. 

Orlean approached the story by using an anecdotal type story, which is her telling a story of how her life with Colin would be if they were to get married, I think that it was a good way to start the story because it gives information about Colin before she goes into the rest of the story.  I think that Orlean wrote a great story and went about doing it in the right way.

My Writing Process

My writing process is very important to me.  There are things that I enjoy writing about and then things that I don't enjoy writing about.  Mainly, I like to write about my life as well as things that are going on at Creighton while I am going to school here.  There are a lot of things that go on at campus that are worth writing about, some things better than other.  Another thing that I like to write is poetry and I really do like when people give me feedback on what I have written.  Sometimes you just have to look at certain things in the world and write about them in a different thought process, like writing about a subject from a different point of view. 

There aren't very many things that I don't like to write about.  I just like to get the word out about what is important to the people in my community as well as the people that read my blog.  I enjoy reading all kinds of publications.  My favorite thing to read is books, the best thing about them is that the author has so many opportunities to give descriptions and use any kind of wording that they want to.  I want to be able to start reading more blogs written by other people.  I don't really know what kind of blogs I want to read but I will figure it out. 

I like my writing for the most part, but there is always room for improvement.  I think that I need to work on my style of writing as well as working on shortening sentences.  I have a tendency to making the majority of my sentences into run-on sentences.

There are a lot of things that I like about the reporting process.  My favorite thing is that the reporters get to be in the mix of things.  They get to be there when history is made; it would be the greatest feeling in the world.  I also like that the reporters get to have their own style of writing while keeping in mind the morals and ethics of reporting. 

Saturday

So my day started off pretty shitty, or I thought it did. My computer was acting up and wouldn't let me do anything that I wanted it to do, I needed to do laundry and it was hot out as usual. I decided that I would take my laundry to my parents house to do it there, and at the same time try to fix my computer.

As of right now I am almost done with my laundry and my brother and my dad have fixed my computer and we got norton antivirus installed on there so hopefully it won't be shitty anymore.

I don't know what I am going to do tonight, any ideas? My last day of work is on monday, I am pretty stoked about that and then I leave to see my gf on thursday so that's pretty exciting too.

Quote:

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom."

-Earl Shoaf

Untitled

I was sleeping for a good hour and a half and then I woke up, so I decided I would write about my day. So today, it was pretty hot out. It was about 102 degrees at like 5:30 pm, while I was at work. I was hanging out at a gate and a pen exploded on me, all over my hands and on my pants. At that point I decided that I would put latex gloves on to take away the ink that was stuck to my skin. For the most part it worked to get the ink off, I attempted to get the ink off of my shorts. Rubbing alcohol worked for awhile but then I took the shorts home well to my parents house to get it off and it worked for the most part. My shorts are still at my parents house, while I was there the ink was coming out which is good and all but I do need those shorts back because I like them a lot and I like to wear them on an everyday basis.

Other than that I had a pretty solid day at work. It was super hot but I could deal with it. I don't like how this week has been so hot. I think that it should go back to being like mid 80s maybe upper 70s that would be legit.

I am super tired, so I am going to go to sleep now.

Goodnight all.

Quote:

"It is delightful to transport one's self into the spirit of the past, to see how a wise man has thought before us."

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Tuesday

Work: So I work at a place where I am always outside, its an alright job I mean it could be worse like not having a job. But that is besides the point, I enjoy making money and have a decent amount of hours. The thing that gets to me the most is that it has been super hot outside the last week or so, I do not enjoy sweating constantly for 6 hours at a time. It's just not for me, that's all.

Work Continued: On a lighter note I am almost done with working there, I only have 3 more days of work which is pretty sweet...and then next thursday I fly up to see my gf for the weekend and then I am driving back with here a few days before we start school again. We are going to be staying at her family's cottage on the lake which should be a good experience, I am very excited to stay there for the weekend and to hang out with her and her family.

School: I still need to switch out of a class and pick up a different one, I also need to get my books which shouldn't take that long but I still need to do it. I think I am going to go up to school tomorrow and get my pin number and switch classes so I can get that out of the way before school starts. I am pretty excited for this year and for living in my apartment, that was kind of random but still.

Movies: I really want to see dinner for schmucks, because I think it looks hilarious. Steve Carell is a funny actor and this movie seems to fit well for him. Another movie that I have been wanting to see is inception, a guy I work with was telling me about it and said that it makes you think about life and look at life in a different way which would be pretty sweet.

A Quote That Makes You Think:

"Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are be observed from each new vantage point."

- Harold B. Melchart

Updated Life

I know it has been a super long time since I was last on here, but I was talking to a guy a couple weeks ago and he told me that I should get back into writing on my blog....so here I am :)

There has been a lot of stuff that has happened to me over the last year or so, I was doing better in school...my gf and I are almost up to our one year anniversary which is always a plus and I am figuring out what I want to do for the rest of my life. It feels good to be able to be happy with your life and with what you want to do with everything. This summer has taught me a lot about patience and trust and finding out who your real friends are. It was been for the most part a good summer for me.

I am looking forward to this upcoming year which will be my senior year in college. I think about my last three years that I have completed and just think that there are things that I wish I wouldn't have done but then again I think that everyone has that feeling at some point while they are in college. It is a learning experience that I think everyone should go through even if its only for a couple of years. I have met some of the greatest people while in college and I plan to keep in touch with the ones that have been there for me through thick and thin. College is the place where you find those certain people that you want to be in your wedding down the road, they are that important to you. You guys know who you are, and I just want to thank you for being awesome.

My senior year should be a good learning experience, not only with people but also for the things that I plan on being apart of. I feel like recently I have figured out that I need to get more invloved with organizations on campus, I think that its better to have figured this out now and start late than figure it out farther down the road and have it be too late. I also want to be able to take part in an internship the summer after I graduate, my ideal intership to take part in would be in Washington D.C. or any big city. I want to get the feel of what big time journalists do, even if I don't start out as being a writer. I like the big city feel, it seems to fit me the best.

Well that's all for now, I will be back on here tomorrow.

Here's one of my favorite quotes that make you think:

"Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning."

-Mahatma Gandhi