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Amber Melton
Professor Kimberly B Strickland
English 1010, SLCC
!ne "#, "01$
S!dden Changes
%ne night in early S&ring of "010 ' (as at my older ste&)brother*s ho!se celebrating the
birthday of one of o!r close friends+ ,e*d -!st had cake and yo! co!ld hear at least 10
con.ersations going on at once, la!ghter a fre/!ent that night+ As fate (o!ld ha.e it, it (as a
&erfect night for life)changing ne(s+
0he festi.ities (ere in mid)s(ing (hen ' got a te1t from my little sister Ariana, (ho li.es in
Colorado S&rings, Colorado2 3Are yo! b!sy, ' need to talk to yo!+4 Ariana, being the b!sy 1# year
old that she (as, !s!ally only had time for /!ick chitchats to catch !&, ty&ically .ia te1t+ ' kne(
something (as !& tho!gh from her te1t and immediately re&lied, 3!st (ith some friends, (hat*s
going on5 6o! can call me if yo! need to+4 '*m 7 years older than Ariana, and the oldest of # girls,
co!nting my ste&)sister+ My family is a com&licated one and often re/!ires a chart of sorts to
e1&lain, b!t my siblings mean the (orld to me and '*d -!m& to attention in a heart beat if they
needed anything+
After a fe( te1ts back and forth she finally called me and told me (hat my int!ition (as almost
e1&ecting8 She (as &regnant+ ' immediately (ent into 3Big Sister Mode4 and told her '*d hel& her
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o!t ho(e.er ' co!ld and '*d be there for her in (hate.er decision she made, (hether ' agreed (ith
it or not+
0he follo(ing days ' started doing research on ins!rance and medical care o&tions for my sister
in Colorado and here in 9tah+ '*d told her if she (anted to mo.e here to li.e (ith me in my little
one bedroom a&artment, then she (as (elcome to (hat little ' had to offer her here+ She declined
and decided she and the baby (ere staying in Colorado (ith her boyfriend+
Ariana had al(ays been in a r!sh to gro( !&2 e.er since she (as little she -!st didn*t (ant to be
:too yo!ng* or :too little* anymore+ ' don*t think this is !ncommon2 she -!st (anted to be
inde&endent+ Ariana got into a lot of tro!ble in her teen years, so a yo!ng &regnancy, tho!gh it
(orried me and made me think of ho( a lot of freedoms (ere being c!t short, didn*t come as too
m!ch of a s!r&rise to me+ ' (as (orried that she might not f!lly gras& the conse/!ences and
res&onsibilities soon to come+
' (as (rong+ Ariana got a -ob, started looking into going back to school to get her ;E<, and
(as sa.ing money, slo(ly b!ying e.erything she and this little baby (o!ld need, incl!ding
ins!rance and finding a doctor+ She im&ressed me (ith ho( /!ickly she reali=ed and started to
make the changes needed to make s!re this little life had e.erything+ ' co!ldn*t tell her or my
friends eno!gh ho( &ro!d ' am of her+
My niece, >ailah ?=)eye)l!h@ (as born on <ecember 1#, "010 in <en.er, C%+ ' felt so l!cky that
my sister had asked me to be there (ith her thro!gh the entire e1&erience and (as one of the first
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&eo&le to see >ailah*s gorgeo!s face and hear her first cries+ 0his (as an e1&erience ' (o!ldn*t
trade for anything and the r!sh of emotions and immediate lo.e ' felt (as o.er(helming to say the
least+ ' can only imagine (hat my sister (as feeling, or (hat any mother feels in that moment+
' try to kee& in close contact (ith my sisters and absol!tely lo.e hearing from my nieces
(hene.er ' can+ 0he highlights of my day are hearing the .oicemails >ailah insists on lea.ing for
me, telling me she*s a shark as she gro(ls into the &hone, or (hen she yells 3ABBBEECCCCDDD4
lo!der and lo!der, -!st in case ' might hear it and ans(er+
,hen ' think of my sister and ho(, (itho!t a moment*s hesitation, she ste&&ed into the 3gro(n)
!& shoes4 she*d (anted all her life and had s!ddenly fallen into, ' can*t hel& b!t beam (ith &ride+ '
look !& to her in this as&ect+ She*s an o!tstanding e1am&le for many yo!ng mothers of all that can
be accom&lished if yo! set yo!r mind to it+
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Amber Melton
Eis!al Analysis Essay
Prof+ Kimberly Strickland
!ly F, "01$
A Whole Different World
,hen most &eo&le think of homelessness they think of dirt, grime, and stench+ Some
&eo&le think of addiction, (hether it be to gambling, alcohol, dr!gs or something else+ Some
ty&ical scenes for a homeless &o&!lation in 9tah are begging for money (ith a cardboard sign at
intersections or free(ay off ram&s, (andering aro!nd do(nto(n or by the ;ate(ay Mall (here
the homeless shelter is located+ A ma-ority, if not all of !s ha.e been in a sit!ation of a.oiding
eye contact (hen yo!*re sto&&ed at the light ne1t to the someone begging for :anything to hel&*
or lying abo!t yo!r s&are change or lack of cash (hen asked for :a fe( b!cks* by the homeless
&erson in &assing+ ,hat*s the reasoning behind this5 0o &!t it bl!ntly, it*s beca!se (e*re all s!re
the reci&ient (ill only !se it for (hate.er they*re addicted to, the ca!se of their &roblems and not
for (hat it*s intended for8 food and shelter+ %n occasion (e may feel genero!s and ask o!rsel.es,
3,hat (ill it h!rt, (ho kno(s if they*ll !se it for a b!rger a ne( &air of socks54
'n searching for a &ict!re for this &ro-ect, ' fo!nd se.eral that ca!ght my attention, b!t
this one ' felt (e co!ld all relate to+ '*m s!re e.ery one of !s has (ondered ho( these &eo&le
ended !& in the sit!ation they are in+ 0his &ict!re reminded me of a series done by So!lPancake
on 6o!t!be called Stories Grom 0he Streets (here they inter.ie( se.eral homeless &eo&le2 the
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o&ening statement of each, 3' may look homeless, b!t '*m act!ally+++4 Each .ideo tells the
&erson*s backgro!nd story, (here they (ere before (ith family and friends, e.en a career (hen
something ha&&ened to ca!se all of this to sli& a(ay+
0his &ict!re makes me think of all the things (e associate (ith the homeless and (hat
they may consider normal+ ,hat*s ironic is that (e do this (ith all c!lt!res, b!t not al(ays (ith
the negati.e connotation (e associate (hen disc!ssing homelessness+ 't made me think of ho(
(hat may disg!st the middle and !&&er class &erson, things they*d ne.er be ca!ght dead doing,
are the same things homeless &eo&le are doing (ith a nat!ral moti.ation of s!r.i.al and need for
basic necessities+
' think this &hoto is definitely &laying on o!r &athos or e.oking emotion+ 't comes across
that they*re trying to let the more fort!nate kno(, e.en homeless &eo&le reali=e their life is
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different+ 0he &ict!re is also letting the homeless kno( that they aren*t (itho!t hel&2 &eo&le do
still care and (e are (illing to hel& in the more im&ortant (ays8 s!r.i.al+
0his &ict!re alone made me (ant to do a little research on the facts regarding
homelessness in 9tah+ An article ' fo!nd online at (((+im&acthomelessness+org lists some .ery
interesting facts (ith gra&hs charting the increases, decreases and different ca!ses of
homelessness in 9tah+
' think this &hoto also &lays a little on o!r Logos or logic in that (e ha.e o!r ass!m&tions
of (hat the ca!ses and lifestyle of the homeless are and (hat (e think (o!ld hel& their sit!ation+
0he fact of the matter and (hat ' belie.e this &ict!re is trying to hel& !s reali=e is that (e don*t
kno( the real ca!ses or (hat the &erson (ent thro!gh+ ,e ha.e a general idea of (hat (e think
sho!ld ha&&en, b!t e.eryone is different+ ' feel that (e lose sight of the fact that e.en if (e
consider the lifestyle disg!sting or dist!rbing in many as&ects, these are still &eo&le trying to
s!r.i.e+
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Amber Melton
Prof+ Kimberly Strickland
English 10108 Chetorical Analysis
!ly H, "01$
Tomorrow Is Another Day
As a child, (hen asked by my mother (hen ' &lanned on cleaning my room, '
al(ays re&lied (ith, 3'*ll do it tomorro(+4 As an ad!lt '*.e noticed this has become a
commonly !sed &hrase for me+ 0he great thing abo!t being an ad!lt no( is that it*s ok if '
don*t clean my room e.ery day2 (ell, it*s ok (ith me, maybe not others+ Io(e.er, (hen
it comes to getting the im&ortant tasks done, &rocrastination is my biggest enemy and
most fre/!ent .isitor+
'n reading an article (ritten by Martha Beck entitled, 3,hy Can*t ,e <o ,hat
,e Kno( 's ;ood Gor %!rsel.es54 ' fo!nd, tho!gh the degrees may .ary, &rocrastination
is fairly common and generally made !& of e1c!ses+ 'n talking to a co)(orker of mine (e
came to the concl!sion that a lot of &rocrastinators minimi=e the se.erity by saying they
(ork better !nder &ress!re2 (hen that good grade comes in, this fa!lty tho!ght &rocess is
only re(arded and reiterated+ Beck disc!sses ste&s (e*re already doing and tells yo! ho(
to sim&ly a&&ly those efforts in the right direction and (een yo!rself off of yo!r
addictions to &rocrastination+ 0his being said, ' felt this article &rimarily &lays on ones
logos (ith a little bit of infl!encing of &athos+
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Cight off the bat she tells her a!dience not to s!bstit!te talk for action2 only co!nt the
ste&s yo!*re act!ally taking to(ard accom&lishing yo!r goal+ <on*t rely on an instant
miracle to make yo!r goals ha&&en2 make a &lan and check off yo!r achie.ements as
moti.ation+ My fa.orite /!ote in her article is, 3,eKre act!ally ha&&iest (hen (eKre
&!shing the en.elo&e of effort, not (hen (eKre lost in daydreams+ As yo! fill in the ga&s
in yo!r kno(ledge, yo!Kll feel the kind of e1citement that comes from real &ossibility, not
-!st ha&&y talk+4 Beck also gi.e so!nd ad.ice by not recommending the !se of :scare
tactics* as these ty&ically tend to make !s free=e instead of moti.ating !s to take &ositi.e
action+ 'nstead she states (e sho!ld 3<isco.er the &o(er of Calm4 by reminding
o!rsel.es on a reg!lar basis, es&ecially (hen feeling &anicked, that things (ill be ok2
they (ill (ork o!t+ 't makes sense that (e*d become far more &rod!cti.e (hen (e sto&
freaking o!t and take a moment to breathe and calm o!rsel.es do(n+
0he last tid)bit ' really a&&reciated abo!t this article and that ' think a lot of
&eo&le need to remind themsel.es, myself es&ecially is to not track the (rong things+ '
reali=e this may so!nd some(hat re&etiti.e of (hat*s been said2 &ositi.ity being a
moti.ator, b!t (hat she means by this is if yo! need a day to rela1, take it+ <on*t !se it as
an e1c!se to not get done (hat yo! need to, b!t reali=e that e.eryone needs a little break+
After reading this article ' felt .ery moti.ated and reali=ed that ' need to make
s!re this feeling is a constant and not something that comes and goes like my attention
s&an sometimes+ ' like that she !sed h!mor and reminds !s by redirecting the energy of
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o!r actions, &rocrastination can t!rn into something a little more &rod!cti.e, re(arding
and a lot less stressf!lD
References:
Beck, Martha B+ L,hy CanKt ,e <o ,hat ,e Kno( 's ;ood for %!rsel.es5LOprah.com+
%, 0he %&rah Maga=ine, A!g+ "00J+ ,eb+ 10 !ly "01$+
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Amber Melton
Prof+ Kimberly Strickland
English 10108 Chetorical Cationale
!ly 1J, "01$
Rhetorical Rationale
Target Audience:
Ceflecti.e ,riting ?C,@ ) My a!dience (as yo!ng mothers and friends or family
members of yo!ng mothers+ ' feel this a!dience can relate more (ith sym&athy .s
em&athy of those (ho*.e ma&&ed o!t their li.es a little more in this as&ect+
Eis!al Analysis ?EA@ ) My a!dience (as mostly middle to high class society or anyone
(ho*s ne.er been homeless or e.en close to it+ Lo(er class or those (ho*.e been or come
close to being homeless seem to a&&reciate the .al!e in (hat they ha.e and are more
(illing to hel& their comm!nity+
Chetorical Analysis ?CA@ ) My target a!dience (as mostly college st!dents (ho ha.e a
lot of assignments, b!t really anyone (ho*s made a habit of &rocrastinating+ College
st!dents (ere my main target a!dience sim&ly beca!se (e tend to ha.e a lot going in o!r
li.es in addition to school and more reasons to &rocrastinate ?(hether li.ing !& o!r yo!th
or taking care of o!r family@+
Goal:
C, ) My goal (as to enco!rage yo!ng mothers and let yo!ng mothers (ho*.e 3made it4
kno( that they*re im&ortant and set a good e1am&le+ Also, to let friends and family
members of yo!ng mother kno( that they need to gi.e the &raise and enco!ragement
these (omen deser.e and ho( im&ortant they are in the s!&&ort system+
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EA ) My goal (ith this &a&er (as to make &eo&le a(are that not e.ery homeless &erson
meant to be in the sit!ation they*re in+ Some -!st had a terrible stroke of l!ck and can*t
seem to get back, (hile others are legitimately homeless for their o(n actions+ ' ho&ed
that it (o!ld enco!rage &eo&le to be a little more considerate, think abo!t (hat this
&erson*s sit!ation might be and acti.ely hel& the less fort!nate+
CA ) ,ith this &a&er ' (as ho&ing to make &rocrastinators, like myself, more a(are of
the !ltimate re&erc!ssions of &rocrastination and some sim&le (ays to im&ro.e+ ' also
(anted it to reiterate (hat*s really being accom&lished (ith &rocrastination+
Revisions:
0he only re.ision ' made (as d!e to a &eer re.ie( that s!ggested ' add more and not
make my &a&er end so /!ickly+ ' added more facts from another article ' fo!nd in the
&rocess of research+
Peer Reviews:
' didn*t feel like ' got .ery m!ch feedback as ' only had one &erson re&ly+ 0his co!ld*.e
been d!e to the fact that ' &osted mine so late in the e.ening ?reiterating my &oint in
&rocrastination@+ ' kind of feel like the rest of my gro!& does the same thing tho!gh
beca!se '*.e noticed (e all s!bmit o!r &a&ers some(hat last min!te+ ' a&&reciate the
feedback ' ha.e gotten tho!gh as it (as .ery informati.e and constr!cti.e+
Additional Info:
' tend to (rite abo!t things ' can relate to, &ersonal e1&eriences, things '*m &assionate or
o&inionated abo!t+ ' think that*s the only (ay to thoro!ghly e1&lain yo!r &oint of .ie(+
0hat being said, yo!*ll most likely ne.er read a &a&er abo!t &olitics or religion from me
?either beca!se ' don*t kno( m!ch or it*s a to!chy to&ic@ or anything abo!t being a
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&arent, tra.eling to other co!ntries, or my :&ost)college* life, beca!se those e.ents
ha.en*t ha&&ened for me -!st yet+