The Last Blog

This class has opened my mind to a number of new thoughts and outlooks on life. I have truly benefitted from and enjoyed taking this class, which I honestly did not expect to happen. I just want to say thank you to Professor Sexton and all of my classmates for the good times we have had in class. I hope everyone enjoys their summer and good luck to all of you with your future endeavors.

Tragic Sense of Life

I never really knew how to go about responding to this. Then I read Heather's blog. I had to stop and reflect upon my own life. Before reading this life changing blog I could have made a list of events in my life that I considered a great tragedy. Now I don't think I can even list a single event that I would consider more tragic than what Heather has gone through. I found myself sitting here thinking about all of the dumb shit that I complain and worry about in life. I can't really explain in words what I am thinking at the moment but this blog has really opened my eyes and I won't forget it. I can't imagine the strength and courage it took for you to share this with myself and the rest of the class but I thank you.

Plagiarism

When the topic was brought up in class of whether or not plagiarism can be avoided I was intrigued because I had never thought of it in this way. This is a topic that has always been wierd becasue it is so frowned upon. After learning that there are no original stories, it seems logical that everything is in some way a retelling. I do agree that stealing someone elses writing is unethical. However, if you are simply using the others' knowledge or ideas and not just copying everything they said and taking credit for it then I don't think it is plagiarism. Most people use others as a reference for their work but ultimatly it is still that person's ideas and thoughts. Once again I still think this is a touchy topic buy I can see how the arguement could be made that plagiarism could be avoided in many situations.

Bad Day

After hearing the different stories in class about other students' bad days I don't think that I can remember a bad day in my lifetime that even compares. But just to put in my little tidbit, one of my bad days that I can remember was when I was in the 7th grade. I lived in a neighborhood with lots of other kids around my age. Our favorite thing to do was to play football. Our football games were pretty intense becasue we were all so competetive. So we were playing a 5 on 5 game and my team was on defense. It was a close game and it was almost dark out so we were all going balls to the wall. I was covering my friend Devin, who is very athletic and was also taller than me at the time. I was playing off a little bit cause I didn't want to get burned in the endzone. Devin went out for a short pass route and when I saw the pass I instantly bolted toward Devin. Unfortunately, the pass was a low bullet and Devin had to crouch a little bit to catch it. As I was lunging to tackle him, he lifted his head backwards right into my chin. Ever since I was a kid I have always had a habit of sticking out my tongue when I'm really focused. When Devin's head collided with my chin I instantly felt a sharp pain in my mouth. I figured I had just bit my tongue a little bit because it happened on a regular basis. This time was different however. One of my front top teeth had pierced my tongue and almost went all the way through. I began spitting up blood but couldn't see the damage. Then when I stuck out my tongue to show everyone else they almost lost their dinner. My mother was not impressed to see me walk in the front door with a rag completely soaked in blood and a huge gash almost all the way throught my tongue. After enduring what seemed to be a horse needle in the gums and tongue multiple times, I was stitched up and headed back home. The next week was extremely miserable as I couldn't eat much and couldn't even talk. I still have a scar on my tongue to this day, but atleast I still have one, and I never plan on piercing my tongue again.

Individual Presentations

I think that all of the presentations on Monday went well. I was the first one to present my paper and I don't think that I did as good as I could have. I was a little nervous not knowing how anyone else's presentation went. I just decided to do as Professor Sexton said and try to keep it within the time limit. My paper definitely does a much better justice of explaining why I chose my topic. Each of the other presenters had unique and creative topics and I think everyone presented quite well. I think it is quite a hard task to attempt to sum up an entire presentation in a two minute talk.

Missing Out on the Action

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend class on Friday due to a prior obligation with the Earth Day events going on in Bozeman during the week and weekend. I missed the individual presentations for the day but I am sure that there were some good ones. Although I missed class I still had a good weekend with the Glass Recycling Collection. It was very impressive to see over 30 tons of glass recycled in just that single event and I think it shows that Bozeman residents due care about the environment and are willing to do their part to help reduce, reuse, and recycle. I am curious to see the individual presentations on Monday but I am a little nervous about my own presentation.

Best Overall Presentation

I'm not too sure that I can pick just one presentation as being the best. Each and every presentation had strong points and everyone worked hard to put everything together. I think that everyone was able to have fun with their presentations and make them interesting. After watching all of the group presentations I am very interested to see the individual presentations. However, with the time limit being about 2.5 minutes, I have a feeling that some presentations might be going over the time limit. It should be interesting and eventful, as most of this class has been.