I've Lost My Phone. Again.

I went to my parent's house this weekend. Thursday, my sister and I went to the outdoor mall to shop for Mother's Day/Birthday presents for my Mom, Grandmother, and Stepmother, but I had no luck. I just do not know what to get for my Stepmother. I know that she LOVES Georgia Bulldogs, but that's about it. She doesn't really carry Vera Bradley, she doesn't wear a lot of jewelry, so I just don't know. And I'm still thinking about it. My Mom and Grandma are much easier to buy for, but I still didn't find them anything. I already have my Grandma something for one or the other, (her bday is also in May) I just hope she hasn't already ordered one for herself, since she had voiced that she wanted this. Now I just need to find her something for the other holiday. Once again, I'm at a loss, but I at least have SOME ideas. My mom, while easy to buy for, is also hard to buy for- she's told me to take something back before. She doesn't wear jewelry, but she has decided that she wants this jewelry armoire, so I thought about getting her a MC gift card to put towards that, but I HATE giving gift cards. If that's what she wants, and I can give her money to pay for it, that will work. IDK, yet. Dilemma dilemma.

In other news, I've lost my phone again. At my parent's house. Hope I find it sooner than a month this time.

I'm FREEEE!!!

Top Things on My To-Do List:

Catch up on Vampire Diaries, Nikita, Fringe, One Tree Hill, Swamp People, etc
Read books on my Nook I have had for a while now
Play Harry Potter LEGO on Wii
Watch movies
Sleep

I've been in school for a year straight, and now I have A WHOLE MONTH before I have to start summer classes. I don't know what to do with myself!! It's really nice to be able to catch up on my shows without thinking about all the other things I should be doing. Very. Good. Feeling!!

Forgive Me... and this will totally be boring

I have been a terrible blogger. I would like to say that the only reason I haven't blogged lately is because I have been blogging for my Humanities class, but that's probably not true. Were it not for those humanities blog posts, this blog might not have had any new posts at all. Well, lots has happened since we last spoke. My second spring semester at ASU is coming to a close, and I think things are going pretty well. I took my Spanish final yesterday, Monday, I have my humanities essay exam and my Environmental Biology test. Noon, Monday cannot get here fast enough!!

On another note,I had thought that I was not going to take any classes this summer, but I have changed my mind. Instead, I will be finishing my Spanish core this summer with my new friend Jessica! I had been looking forward to not having to worry about being studious, or feeling guilty for reading my nook or playing Harry Potter LEGO because surely there is something I should be studying, but it will be nice to have my Spanish class out of the way. Of course, this means I will have a hole to fill in the fall, but that shouldn't be too hard.

In addition to all of that, I have decided to change my major. Right now, my major is Public Relations, but I have decided to change it to Communication Studies, which is still in the same department so I will not be set back at all! And, originally my minor was going to be Spanish, but I just can't take it anymore!! so, I'm thinking of either Psychology or Sociology. I will probably take a few classes in both to help me decide which one, if either.

In other news, I have absolutely nothing going on. This semester I have met some really great people, starting with Jessica, who is my Spanish friend and is just amazing. She and I are like-minded people who have a heart to figure out what it is God wants for us in life and pursue that whole-heartedly. Next there's Katie J., who I met in Aerobics. She and I have hung out and just had fun being spontaneous and care-free. Then there's Katie H., who was in my Bio class this semester and who is an awesome study partner/waste water treatment plant cut-up/"snake charmer" friend. And of course, I can't not give an honorable mention to Wevo, Lindsay, Stanton, Megan, and the hilarious boys who sit behind me in Hum.

That's all for now. I have some other, hilarious, work stories, but those will have to wait for another time. I'm supposed to be writing a paper and studying...

Personal Reflection

I have thoroughly enjoyed my humanities class this semester. Not only because it gave me the opportunity to read things I would not have otherwise read for myself, but it piqued my interest to the point where I would like to read some of the works we read in part in class in their entirety. Having been raised by an English teacher, I have a thorough appreciation for literature and the literature portion of this class reiterated that point even more. I also enjoyed learning new pieces of art as well as ones that most people are already familiar and the culture around which they were created.


What I didn’t like about the class was that it was definitely three classes all rolled into one. While that wouldn’t normally be a bad thing, the fact that we have this class we are getting 4 hours credit for and doing the work for roughly 8 hours credit was a bit overwhelming at times. I also didn’t feel that the professors in the course worked well together in tying each of the three aspects of the course together to make a clear connection between the them. For both the midterm and the final we are asked to write two essays tying the literature, art, and music together within the cultures using the concepts, but there was never a clear connection made in class. The literature portion, which was by far the best, was the only section of the class that thoroughly discussed the concepts and their relevance to the literature. The other two did not even mention the concepts or make any connection to each other or the literature.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and in looking back at my performance in this class, I did not put forth the effort that I A) intended to put forth and B) was required by the course. There is no doubt that my grade will reflect that- I just hope that I pass! I will be taking Humn 2002 in the fall (with you) and now that I have this insight into the course and understand a little better how things work, I will be better prepared for higher success in my next humanities course.



Word Count: 370

Blog 9 Understanding of the Upcoming IDEE

Yes, I understand that the format for the essay has changed, and I understand the format itself. Personally, this will make my essay-writing a lot easier and smoother. I had difficulty applying multiple concepts to two different cultures within 3 categories: art, literature, and music. The fact that this essay is in a more traditional format will make things much better.


Yes, I do have a general understanding of how and why these cultures and periods are different and alike, but I will need to look at them more closely in order to fully make a decision on which 2 cultures I will write.

For the themes, again, I will have to look at the cultures more closely in order to make a firm decision on which theme I will choose to tie into these cultures/periods. I do, however, like that we are now able to choose our own themes.

I am in no way prepared for this upcoming IDEE, so I will now write on my plan to prepare myself.

First of all, I need to print out and study carefully the slides for the literature portion of the cultures. Not only do I need to develop a firm grasp on the concepts, but I also need to be able to look at the texts and make clear connections between the concepts and the events taking place in the reading. Next, in reference to the literature, I need to read through the texts more closely now that we have discussed them in class and apply what has been said to what I am reading. Once I have done this, I can narrow down the two cultures on which I would like to write and start coming up with a theme for each or one that will apply to both.

Next, for the art and music, I need to look over my class notes and print off the relevant music slides so that I can apply the concepts and the theme to the pieces on which I am supposed to write.



Word Count: 341

I was trying to wait for my midterm.... Blog 7

I was trying to hold off until I got my midterm exam back, but that would mean this blog would be really late. So, I am going to write about my midterm and how I feel it compared to those we looked over in class, as well as what I learned from the essays we looked at in class and how I am preparing for the final exam.


My paper earned a D, which I thought was somewhat surprising. I didn’t expect an A, or even a B, but I was hoping for a low C. Without looking at my exam and being able to analyze it after the fact, it’s hard to decide if I believe I truly earned that D, or if I still feel like I did better. In looking over the essays in class, I didn’t necessarily feel like any of those essays were bad, but they were simple. It appeared to me that they just basically explained the cultures and their concepts. There wasn’t a lot of tying those cultures and concepts into the themes, and in some of the essays, a clear thesis was not stated. For my essay, I feel like I had a clearly stated thesis and tied the concepts in with the theme and my thesis. Now, for me, it was easier to do this with the literature. It was very simple to pull examples from the literature and attach them to the theme I had chosen, and apply the concepts to those examples. The art and music were a little bit harder. Honestly, I was really struggling to apply my theme and the concepts to those two aspects of the cultures. For this reason, I knew my grade would not be exceptional, but I still didn’t expect a D.

Looking over the essays of my peers was very helpful. It really helped me get a better grasp on what was expected of me for the final essay exam. In preparation for the final, I feel like I am better able to prepare myself mentally for the exam because I have a better understanding of what the professors are looking for and what is being asked of me. I have gotten my notebook organized and looking over the concepts before the readings, I am better able to pull out those concepts and tie them into the readings as opposed to trying to make the concepts fit into the readings. This will prove very beneficial to me for the final because I won’t have to work so hard to make things fit. Instead, I actually see why and how they fit.

Mosque: Islamic Society of Augusta

In visiting the Islamic Mosque yesterday, I learned a great deal about the Islamic faith. Since 9/11, there have been many negative connotations around the word “Muslim.” I was even taught, before 9/11 ever happened, that Muslims were raised to hate Christians. At the Mosque, I learned something completely different.


The Imam taught us about the different kinds of Muslims. The first are the Muslims who are Muslims simply because they were born that way. They don’t have any concept of Mohammed, they have never read the Qur’an, and they are not familiar with the 5 Pillars. If you were to ask them anything of the Islamic faith, they would not be able to answer.

The second kind of Muslim is the practicing Muslim. These Muslims practice the Islamic faith, but they are not full believers. They don’t truly believe in the prophet Mohammed, they don’t take the Qur’an to heart, and they don’t practice the 5 Pillars. They practice Islam, but they don’t fully believe.

The third kind of Muslim is the Faithful Believer. These Muslims practice the 5 Pillars:

1. One God only. Mohammed is the messenger.

2. 5 Prayers a day: dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, evening

3. Fast one month of the year based on the lunar calendar. No food or drink from dawn until sunset.

4. Pay charity: 2 1/2 % of their savings, not income.

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca

Faithful Muslims also believe in the following 6 things:

1. Oneness of God

2. Belief in angels of God

3. All prophets and messengers: Mohammed, Abraham, etc

4. All 3: Qur’an, Torah, Bible

5. Everything is under the control of God. There are no accidents or coincidences- Hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis- all under God’s control.

6. Judgment Day, Resurrection: Paradise or Hell Fire

The Imam also spoke about the differences of Muslims vs. other faiths. Muslims believe that God wants everyone to be on the same level, that all may know each other despite their differences. Differences don’t have to make everyone enemies.

He also spoke of the reason a woman must cover her head. They practice this because it says in the Qur’an that a woman must cover her hair, and one who chooses not to cover her hair must shave it off. Women are not required to cover their hair, but not doing so will be between her and God on judgment day. In addition to women covering their heads, the men are encouraged to wear a beard. Again, he is not required to do so, but it is strongly encouraged.

Word Count: 426