I feel that I am meeting my annotation goals. I always write in the margins and highlight key details. I fell that over the course of the semester, so far, I have definitely gotten better at annotations.

It was first published on the WorldPost, an online blog site, during the month of January in 2014, by Yo-Yo Ma, a cellist and songwriter.

Us as students should be exposed to art and music in our curriculum because it can give us much needed skills for real world experience when we get older. These ideas should be heard so that the kids that are growing up now can get the best education possible.

I’m reading this text to better understand how art and music can play a key role in a child’s schooling and education curriculum.

Genome: it is a complete set of genes or genetic material present in a cell.

Lemmings: a person who unthinkingly joins a movement, especially one that is in a rush for destruction.

Meridians: a set of pathways that flow through the body that carry vital energy (Chinese medicine/ Acupuncture)

I am working on making sure my ideas are clear and that I get my points across so that they aren’t choppy and unclear. I’m also working on making sure that my quotes and interview evidence sounds good and works well with my points.

My revision goals are that my paper will be organized and that my thesis is strong and clear. Also that my paragraphs make sense, flow well, and get my points across.

1. Finish writing out my thoughts.
2. Input quotes where needed to make points clear.
3. Make sure each paragraph ties to my thesis clearly.
4. Grammar and punctuation.
5. Make sure my ideas are complete thoughts and show the best of my ideas.
6. Make sure my piece flows well.

My biggest challenge is making sure I stay on track on my thesis and my ideas. sometimes I go on tangents and they don’t 100% relate to what I’m writing about.

If this challenge becomes to difficult for me, I would email my professor or ask one of my peers to help me reword something or even just read it for advice.

The idea that stories shape who you are really resonates with me. I think that they are used to teach meaningful lessons, as well as harsh realities, like in Drew and Ali’s interview with Ali’s father. His father talked about a story that he had heard from his father, and that he told his kids when they were growing up. The story is about a king and his son, and how his sons friends weren’t good friends. They did an experiment where they told everyone that they were going to put the son to death. When the friends came to the king, they said that he shouldn’t put the son to death, but didn’t offer anything they owned to save him. When the king then tested his friends, and they found that they would give their first born sons and one would give his life for him. This story shows the true importance in friendship and stories in helping understand life. The idea that narratives can clarify life for us is huge in Julia Becks piece “Life’s Stories”, “ultimately, the only material we’ve ever had to make stories out of is our own imagination, and life itself. Storytelling, then—fictional or nonfictional, realistic or embellished with dragons—is a way of making sense of the world around us.” This idea that there is life and a sort of truth behind fictional stories, even fairy tales, is giving a whole new perspective to the idea that our lives, in one way or another, are stories.

200-400 words comparing your second reading experience with your first. Did you notice something new? Did you react differently to one of the author’s claims? Did you read something critically when, at first, you read it as a believer or vice versa? Continue to “clear the fog.” Look up at least two more terms or references that you don’t know.

When I reread “I Am Not A Story” by Galan Strawson, I had a really different experience reading the second time. I noticed a couple view points that he had throughout the essay. Unlike the first time when I was completely lost between all of the quotes and very little explanations. I only somewhat believe with what he is saying. When Strawson says, “Life simply never assumes a story-like shape for us. And, neither from a moral point of view, should it,” I can’t help but somewhat disagree. not everyone thinks of their life as a story but Strawson is making it seem like thinking that way is completely wrong. Later on in the essay, Strawson contradicts this saying, “Consideration of the sequence – the ‘narrative’…. – might be important for some people in some cases.” So the thesis doesn’t completely go with this point and that where my confusion is rooted. I do agree with his point that the ‘narrative’ way of thinking or looking at your life isn’t the only one. I cleared most of the fog with his essay. There are blocks of quotes that I don’t 100% understand why he put them there, he contradicts his points, and it’s very lengthy so holding onto the original view, when it isn’t restated throughout the essay, is quite challenging. Other than that, I understand a couple of his view enough to use them in my essay we will be working on soon.

Set a timer for 15 minutes and free write your response to Galen’s argument. Note specific moments in his essay as you respond. Some things to consider: Have you ever felt impeded by your “life story?” If so, how? Do you feel like it’s truthful or possible to perceive your self as a singular self or can you relate when Galen talks about possessing many selves?

When reading Galen’s argument about the idea of Narratives and a life story, I was generally confused as to where the argument was going. The points that were made were very interesting and made you think about what was going on inside his head. When he brought up the fact that “life simply never assumes a story-like shape for us. And neither, from a moral point of view, should it”, I didn’t really understand that he was honestly thinking about. When I read that I was thinking that when he says “Story-like” he’s talking about a cartoon or Disney movie stories. When he also talks about the idea that we have many selves, I couldn’t help but laugh. Many selves, like split personalities all trying to fit into one brain, to come up with ideas and make rational decisions? I personally don’t believe that I have other “selves” in my head. I think that we experience life and in turn, it turns into stories which will end in our life being one giant novel filled with little stories. I’ve felt like my life story has held me back in certain ways, but it’s also pushed me forward in a more positive way of thinking. Our life stories shouldn’t hinder us and make us feel compacted and that we must follow a sort of ‘blueprint’. For myself, all I have to follow is the blueprint. I may stray throughout my life, but I have no problem following it. Others may not feel the same way, like their life isn’t a story, but it’s up to them and their perception. Who am I to tell people they’re wrong, that they’re life is a story?

During Julie Beck’s article “Life’s Stories” there were a few moments when her claims really stood out to me. When she says, “In the realm of narrative psychology, a person’s life story is not a Wikipedia biography of the facts and events of a life, but rather the way a person integrates those facts and events internally—picks them apart and weaves them back together to make meaning”. This really got me thinking about how my memories aren’t facts, they are used to help me understand how they built me into who I am now. This caught my eye because she said the realm of narrative psychology. I don’t understand the idea behind narrative psychology, but how she talks about the use of memories helping us create our life stories and meanings behind them.

During the article, she uses a quote from Dan McAdams that really stands out, “When you’re a kid, it’s mostly about plot,” McAdams says. “This happens and this happens. You’re not tuned into the idea that a character develops.” This is really notable because I now understand why, as a kid, my mother never liked watching cartoons with me. Now I like watching shows with more character development, which ended up bringing my mom and I closer together. I think I reacted to this as a believer. I can see how this applies to the narrative of life stories.

This idea that Beck brought up about how narratives soon become blueprints for the culture. The example she used made me think of the possible repercussions of having “blueprints” in a culture, “One such blueprint is your standard ‘go to school, graduate, get a job, get married, have kids.'” This is such a structured thing that a lot of parents and kids growing up really try to make happen, without looking at the overall happiness that you would or wouldn’t experience. I personally feel that this structure will make me happy, and so far has, but for some it may not.

List 4 areas from the rubric that provide you with the greatest learning opportunity. Feel free to include areas that confuse or confound you. Spend a few sentences elaborating on each choice.

Does your conclusion-while rooted in your papers main themes-also introduce new directions for thought?

When working with the conclusion, I will have the most trouble. It will give me the most learning opportunity though. I have always been taught that you should repeat your claims and thesis in the conclusion and thats it. it never sounds quite right like that, so I’m glad to learn how I should actually be writing them.

Do your ideas move the paper forward?

This is a good learning opportunity because it can help me keep my ideas organized and focused. I have a hard time keeping them focused on the topic at hand.

Is your position statement identifiable, with purpose and clear boundaries?

I do have a thesis that is identifiable. I’m not too sure about having clear boundaries. I don’t know what that means.

Have you used synthesis to create new meaning?

I’m not sure what this question is asking. I have used my thesis to explore metaphors in the use of health professions.

I do think that my draft was more about getting everything out of my head than trying to get the message across. When Lamott wrote about the awful descriptions, I related it to my piece. I had sentences that made no sense, descriptions that needed editing, and an idea that need more focus. When she talked about how writers don’t just sit down and fly through their writing, didn’t really surprise me. I remember in middle school when they had writers come to the school to talk about the writing process. They always told us that they procrastinated and couldn’t write the way they wanted to in the beginning. The writing process is the same for everyone, just how you get through it is up to you.

Revision Plan:

My goal for this piece is that my opinion on metaphors in mental and physical health are articulated clearly. 

My steps to complete this goal are to:

1. Rework my thesis (using more of me, my, I) to sound more opinion based and to articulate my stance on the prompt better. 
2. Make sure my thesis is clearly related back to in each paragraph.
3. Try different wording for a stronger impact and a formal essay. 
4. Elaborate on sentences that sound incomplete or choppy. 
5. Add a title. 

My biggest challenge would be to make sure my opinion is clear when it comes to my thesis and the content of the paragraphs. Writing my thesis in the beginning of this process was difficult, and when one of my peers said that it didn’t really show my opinion, it hit hard because I know I’m going to have a difficult time rewriting it. 

I know that when I run into difficulties with any of my steps I can ask my roommates and my peers to help me find a solution or a better route to take. 

End Note: I think the way that you talk throughout the essay about the use of metaphors in the medical field. I do think that the way the essay is organized could be changed so that its not expository and more communicative, like a communication with your opinions. Changing of the format would help with this. I wouldn’t make each paragraph a different article, I would try to integrate the readings together to make the point that they can support your thesis. I also noticed that the citations on your quotes need to be fixed. I also like the use of your opinions and the integration of the facts from the readings. I think your essay is really well written and you have very strong points.