Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Welcome!
This blog will serve as our class home away from school. It will sometimes be a place where we all contribute a little bit of writing; it will sometimes be a place where I post your assignments and related articles and links. It will sometimes be a place where we offer our perspectives on an issue related to the teaching of writing or, sometimes, a place where I will model the assignment I have given you. So, please bookmark this blog on your personal computer so that you can return here at least once a week to check in and to contribute.
For this week, to let us all know you've arrived at the blog and to begin to introduce yourself to us, please post a greeting to the class and to me, your professor, along with a meaningful life quote that you carry with you, like a mantra or motto or motivational phrase. Tell us, in your post, where this quote comes from and why it has been important to you in your life. Your post should be no more than 100 words. Thanks! I look forward to beginning our adventure together.
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Hello Everyone! This is Allie, and I've arrived at our blog. Happy to be here. :)
ReplyDeleteOne quote that I go back to all the time--when trying to console or motivate myself or my loved ones--was an anonymous quote I stumbled upon online one day. It goes something like this:
"Everything will be ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end."
In my somewhat limited life experience I have found this tidbit to be absolutely true. If I'm absolutely miserable I just wait it out, and I always feel better in the morning.
Hi Allie! I love the humour laced into your quote. With that kind of outlook you can laugh the following day as you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again! -Jocelyn B.
DeleteThanks, Allie! I love this wisdom you've shared with us. I like how this phrase is reassuring, even though The End is a pretty heavy topic. And, I think you speak the truth. As my Mother still tells me during a tough time, "This, too, shall pass." Thanks for getting us started, Allie, and thanks for enduring the techno-complexity of the blog. You figured it out! YAY!
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ReplyDeleteI am an avid collector of quotes so it's hard to pick one. The motto I love best is Ancora Imparo. (Latin for "I'm still learning) I have an obsessive personality and so when I get into something (most recently the comedy of Miranda Hart and the music of Joni Mitchell) I uncover and consume as much as I can find. I want to learn all that there is to know about the artist, their inspirations and their body of work. I find my classes excite me in the same way. I just love to learn! -Jocelyn B.
ReplyDeleteJocelyn, I'm impressed by your Latin! Do you know Dr. Grund in the English Dept? He teaches Latin at RIC...check it out! I love the humility and vulnerability embedded in your motto...we are never finished products. I love your curiosity and energy. YAY! Let's go!
DeleteHello everyone, hope you're all having a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteA quote that I always like to keep in mind is from the hockey great, Wayne Gretzky. It is a very popular quote but applies to every day life. It reads, "you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take". This quote constantly reminds me to take risks, something I am always very hesitant to do. However, when I think about this quote I'm inspired and I dive in head first, most of the time realizing that it was a great decision.
I like it! A good Canadian saying...
DeleteCheers to Wayne for encouraging you to dive headfirst into disequilibrium. It's the only way we learn anything...we have to TRY!
Hi Class! I’m excited to get to know everyone in a small class environmeyadda yadda yadda…I’m often a miserable cynic but delightfully sarcastic and easy going. I tend to have an inappropriate, occasionally offensive sense of humor with a filter that may let a priceless quip slip by here and there. That being said, I’ll do my best to stay PG-13 in this public forum. My favorite quote comes from Jimmi Hendrix and is pretty self-explanatory; “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”
ReplyDeleteJared--You're probably the only person I know who describes himself as both miserable and delightful in the same sentence. Wow! I love the Hendrix quote. And, it makes me wonder: how would we ever rid this world of our seemingly innate love of power? what would cure us of this ill? (save us, Jared!)
DeleteHello everyone!! This is Danielle, I hope you're all having a good week so far.
ReplyDeleteLet's see, a life quote. Since high school, I've always liked the "Live.Laugh.Love" quote. I always thought it was a great way to live your life to the fullest.
My recent favorite though is: ""Give a book, because no one talks about the tie that changed his life." -Neal Sofman" because, how true is that? Books are awesome and full of knowledge, imagination, and it's literally someone writing their thoughts to you, what's in their mind. It doesn't get more powerful than that.
Danielle--I like that you chose a humorous motto, something to make you smile while also serving as a reminder (for gift giving!).
DeleteHello, everyone! I'm very excited to be here and looking forward to a great semester!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm an easy-going person, who loves being around people, loves sense of humor, traveling and taking occasional risks; also loves a sense of adventure and a great sense of accomplishment!
The motto that motivates me the most when I feel down is the one by Confucius and it reads something like this, "If you realize that your goals cannot be reached, don't change your goals, change your actions instead".
Nadya--Welcome! I look forward to welcoming you to class tomorrow night. I like the quote that you shared, especially how it forces the person saying it to look inward for solutions instead of pointing fingers outward. Very helpful in life!
DeleteHi, everyone! Like Jocelyn, I am also an "avid quote collector " so it's difficult to choose just one. But since I have to, I'm going to go with this one: "Biology gives you a brain. Life turns it into a mind." This is from one of my favorite books, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenedies. I think it serves as a nice reminder that our life experiences are what influence us most profoundly.
ReplyDeleteJessica: I love the distinction between a brain and one's mind. Our brains, like our bodies, are a dime a dozen. But, our soul, like our mind, is solely and uniquely ours, our footprint on the earth. Love this quote. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, I hope you all had a great week.
ReplyDeleteLet's see, I, like Jocelyn and Jessica, do have a collection of quotes. But, since I have to pick one, I think this one will do:
"The only difference between science and magic, Gwen, is that scientists doubt everything and magicians doubt nothing. That's why magicians get so much more done."
It's from a novel called "Knight Life" by Peter David. It's spoken by King Arthur to a modern girl named Gwen.
Basically, I love the quote because it reminds me that sometimes I won't get a concrete explanation for something. And that I shouldn't always dissect something just for the sake of dissecting things. At least, if I want to cover more ground.
Nathan-I like your quote because it shows us that if try, we may fail but the chance that we could succeed is possible too. Success is trying, not necessarily actually winning! Although, he was the hat trick master!
ReplyDeleteJared-One of my favourite quotes ever! Imagine if he was still with us, all the things he could have taught us to see. The colours he spoke in were so universal!
Danielle-I could live in a library too! I just added your quote to my tumblr because it's so true. There is no better physical gift in the world! Thanks for sharing that one.
Nadya-So excited to have another class with you. I like your quote because it reminds us of the definition of insanity-doing the same thing over and over again and thinking it will change. Looks like you have a great handle on that lesson!
Jessica-I can already tell that you may be a kindred spirit! Don't you get the feeling that our minds are going to expand in this class as we soak up all the exploration of what's inside us and around us?
Matthew-I believe in magic much more than science too! Your quote is so true. How great that even if it's simply an illusion, magicians can still make the impossible seem possible. What doesn't exist they simply create!
Wow, great quotes. My quote journal just filled up a bit more. Thanks for sharing!
Hello everyone, this is Mark. This quote is from Mark Twain.
ReplyDelete"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
If you are on the side of the majority it may not be because it’s the right side. It maybe because of the human instinct to automatically go with the majority. So when one finds oneself on the side of the majority one should pause and reflect upon the situation. This is always something to keep in mind as one journey’s through life.