Holly Huskey English 1102 2/25/14

Midterm Dear Ms. Hoffman, There have been many activities and subjects discussed that have interested me a great deal, one of which is the little boy named Grayson, that was deaf and received a cochlear implant in order to hear for the first time. This was an extremely inspirational video that displayed the technological advances that our society has overcome. It also brought the question of, is changing the way God made someone morally correct? I spoke about this in my writing about Grayson and all deaf children that have the opportunity to receive such a gift. I stated that if given the chance the child should receive the cochlear implant due to the fact that it would make life a lot easier on the child while opening up many doors that were once closed. The childs job opportunities would increase greatly because many jobs require communication with the public and if they are not able to do so, that would cause a problem within their desired career field. The second activity/subject we have discussed in class that has had an impact on me was the story about the Mexican fisherman and his lifestyle/career. We all have grown up being told that success is determined by how much stuff we have. This is just the typical American culture. Most would agree when I say that the American culture is one of greed and wealth. When reading the story about the Mexican man and the American, it really brought a whole new look on life and wealth. Why would the Mexican man put all this effort and time into growing his business when his main goal when doing so is to do the exact same thing he was doing? If he is providing for his family and is happy with how his life is going why change that. It is the Americans thought that the more you have the more your worth, but in reality it doesnt matter how much you have as long as you are happy with your life in the end. My group consists of Jordan, Sam, and myself. We all work really well together, each of us bringing a different outlook to the table. There are many benefits to being able to discuss topics with a group of people. Like I said before it allows all of us to get a different outlook on a subject. It also provides us with people that are willing to help solve an issue we may have, answer a question we have been wondering, and also can provide clarity about a subject through experience. I believe I contribute a good amount to my group as well as the class as a

whole. I try to think about every angle of a subject, and share what other may not have seen. I am the only girl in my group so I tend to bring a female presence/ opinion to my group members. I can offer a lot to the class the knowledge I have obtained through experience and education on many different subjects. For example, when we began talking about my inquiry projects subject I was able to inform the class about the effects and statistics on sex trafficking and criminal justice as a whole due to my criminal justice background. Fast write about alcohol 1/28/14 Many of peoples views on drinking alcohol come from past experiences with it or religious ideas/ principles. For insistence if someone were to have a negative encounter with alcohol such as an abusive drunk for a husband or an alcoholic parent they would most likely think of alcohol as a bad crippling substance. Where as someone who hasnt experienced such an event wouldnt see a problem with having a couple drinks now and then. The religious reasons for the individuals view on alcohol are simple where their faith lies is also where their obedience lies. My view on alcohol is that it is okay with limitations. Obviously if you were addicted to the substance it would lead to many unhappy places. The above is an example from one of my in class writings. In this piece we were given a subject on alcohol and were asked to right what our views were on it as well as why others might view such a substance as bad or sinful. This was one of my favorite writings because there are so many controversial feelings about this subject. The reason I responded in the way I did was because a member in my family believes alcohol is the worst thing and can lead someone down a bad path, and while I agree with her to a point I also believe that if handled well and in the hands of a responsible person it can be an innocent activity. The reason why this person in my family views alcohol so harshly I believe is due to her past experience with it. She was abused by an alcoholic man for years and I think that that had a huge impact on her views on the substance. Five Minute Write 1/17/2014 I brought in a softball to represent a part of culture I am a part of. Growing up I played softball almost every day. I was a part of the high school varsity team all four years and also played on a travel team. The travel team consisted of year around practice and conditioning as well as traveling from state to state to compete in tournaments. As a team we went up and down the east coast; by doing this I was able to receive a scholarship to a few schools and

ended up attending a school in West VA. While playing there I hurt my shoulder and decided to stop playing completely and focus on school. In this writing we were given five minutes to writes about the object we brought into class that represented our culture. As you can see in the paragraph above I decided to bring in a softball to represent the years I played as a child all the way through my first year of college. I decided to insert this in my midterm paper because it means a lot to me; it is a huge part of my life even when I stopped playing. January 23,2014 Friends A. They seem to value the independence/ freedom portrayed by the friends characters. One girl says that in China they are very much oriented around what their families want and need. B. I think all in all the Chinese college student as well as the American college student value similar things. This is evident by the popularity it shares in both countries. C. There are a couple conflicts between the values I know and what is portrayed on the show. One of these values is sexual intercourse and how it is thought of as something to be given to anyone at any time. D. I love the show friends, its hilarious and I am not surprised at all by its popularity among college students in china In this in class writing we were discussing the impact the show Friends has on china and answering questions. I am choosing to share this writing with you because it was one of my more enjoyable classes (not that I dont like all of your class). It was shocking to me that a simple show in America made it all the way across the countries and has become so popular in a society/culture that doesnt even speak our language and is so different from us. Throughout this first half of the semester I have learned a lot about writing and how simple fast writes can really get my brain going. I have come up with so many different ideas that would never have crossed my mind if I wasnt actively writing. I have also been using a computer to write throughout classes. I find that typing I am able to continuously edit and correct things as well as think quicker and clearer. This is nothing new to me as I have always typed my papers.

Finally my attendance record has been pretty good. I have been every class I can with an exception for the day I got sick and had to miss. Even with the 3 absences allowed I dont know plan on missing class again unless of course my body tells me other wise and I get sick.

Sincerely, Holly Huskey