My Major

As an undecided major, the hardest part of this assignment was picking which major to focus on for this class. In the end, I decided to write about my top choice; psychology.

Photo by de Castro, Angelica. "Like this..." posted 12/10/2013 via Flickr.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
 

1. The four goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and change human behavior. Simply put, this requires a deep understanding of the human mind. Psychology is one of the broadest fields of study because so many sub-topics can be grouped under this umbrella. For example, observing an autistic savant is considered psychology as much as conducting surveys on sleep patterns.

2. Just as psychology is incredibly broad, a psych degree can be taken almost any direction.  The obvious career choice for a psychology major is to become some sort of psychologist. I personally am not sure what I want to do with my degree, but the topic itself has always fascinated me. The most important thing for me is that I study and find a career in a field that I love. 

3. I'm fascinated with knowing what makes people do the things that they do. Every action, choice, and thought boils down to the individual's past experiences, brain chemistry, and personality. The way that two people can look at exactly the same situation and have completely different takeaways is amazing. 

4. Sadly, my favorite modern psychologist (actually neurologist who was fascinated with psychology), Oliver Sacks, passed away this past Sunday.

It's difficult to say who is at the front of modern psychology because there are thousands of individuals and groups that are doing incredible work in the field. And each person or group is focusing on a different aspect or sub-discipline.

5. The Journal of Psychology and Social Personality is published monthly by the American Psychological Association. The APA is based in Washington D.C, and publishes 12 other journals that are considered the best in the field. 

Cambridge University Press publishes the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences from their base in Cambridge, England. 

One of the best sources for information on developmental psychology is the series of Handbooks published by Wiley-Blackwell. Unfortunately, these books are not free, but they are the most relevant, modern source. They're located in Hoboken, New Jersey. 

Reflection:

I learned from Emma's post exactly what a physiology major is required to know, and the list is pretty extensive. Pursuing a career in the medical field is demanding because students have to be well rounded and take a huge variety of different classes.

Nick is an engineering major who is trying to find what field he want's to specialize in. Engineering is similar to psychology in that it has so many different sub-disciplines to choose from.

Both Nick and Emma are choosing careers that are much more hands-on and physical. It's possible to see a broken bone or a deep sea oil rig, where it is impossible to see depression from just looking at a person.

My Thoughts on Comments

The article that I summarized for the "My Controversy" post doesn't have any comments posted, so I had to find another article on the topic. I found one from the Huffington Post that has plenty of comments.

The more I read about Jared Fogle, the more nauseated and horrified I feel. And many of the other commenters feel the same way that I do.

Credible Comment 1

Screenshot taken by Boone-Roberts, Morgan on 8/28/15 via Huffington Post. 

1. While this is probably the least wordy comment on the page, it's probably the most important, and the most credible. The commenter is plainly stating a fact. There is no statement of opinion, so it is really difficult to argue with what she is saying, although some people unsuccessfully try to.

2. This woman is most likely as upset as I am that no one is calling what Fogle has done "rape". It's always called "sex with minors". People are always hesitant to call anything rape, even when it can't be called anything else. Her no nonsense attitude shows that she is not even remotely wishy-washy on this subject. She knows what she believes and states it very clearly.

3. Alicia doesn't name call and she doesn't make questionable assumptions, which is mostly why I think she is a credible source. She doesn't tell a personal story or claim to have insider knowledge of the situation, she just says what she feels in very concise language.

Credible Comment 2

Screenshot taken by Boone-Roberts, Morgan on 8/28/15 via Huffington Post. 

1. Christopher is expressing his wish to see Fogle charged for all of his crimes, not just for his possession of child pornography (not to minimize how horrible that is, but it's even more disgusting when you add in his raping of multiple young girls).

2. I'm guessing this commenter's background in law (it says that he went to Charlotte School of Law) is influencing his thoughts on this controversy. From his desire to see Fogle prosecuted fully, I would make the assumption that he is a prosecutor and not a defense attorney as he shows no sympathy towards Fogle. 

3. He is stating his opinion, but in a well written, coherent way. His disgust is apparent, but it isn't the driving force behind his comment; instead, his argument is logically laid out. Also, his background in law gives him at least some credibility. 

Unreasonable Comment 1

Screenshot taken by Boone-Roberts, Morgan on 8/28/15 via Huffington Post. 

1. I'm struggling to find how to tactfully explain how offensive I find this comment. This man is so far off base in so many ways. His comment shows a complete lack of understanding, and frankly, he's just trying to be rude and offensive. 

2. This man is most likely homophobic, as evidenced by him comparing a rapist to someone who is gay. He is also conservative. Saying that liberals as a whole will excuse rape is so incorrect, and has no basis in fact. 

3. Besides the glaring spelling error, this man does manage to write a readable sentence. But the positives stop there. I'm choosing to believe that Keith is just trying to offend people and start an argument. It's almost too scary to think that he might actually believe that what he's saying is true. Again, comparing homosexuality, which isn't a choice, to pedophilia, which absolutely is, completely eliminates the possibility of anyone taking this man's opinion seriously.

Unreasonable Comment 2

Screenshot taken by Boone-Roberts, Morgan on 8/28/15 via Huffington Post. 

1. As much as my first unreasonable comment jumped to ridiculous conclusions, so does this one. Anyone who assumes someone else's political affiliation based off of their actions is just showing prejudice. Contrary to what Polly believes, not every Republican is a bad person. 

2. I think I'd be safe in assuming that Polly is a Democrat. I understand that everyone believes that their own party is in the right and most of what the other party believes is wrong, but that cannot be applied to every situation. 

3. Nowhere in the article does it mention Fogle's political party. The article has nothing to do with politics. I'm having a hard time understanding why this commenter felt the need to bring politics into this discussion, besides to display her prejudices. Instead of expressing her horror about the topic, she automatically wants to blame Fogle's sick behavior on him being a Republican. (I searched for about 15 minutes, and couldn't find anything about his political affiliations.)


Reflection:

Brandon found comments that pertain to the Cecil the Lion controversy. He clearly laid out exactly why each comment either was or was not credible, and provided ample commentary on how he determined the credibility.

Mehruba's comments come from an article about the "Death with Dignity Act". Her credible comments both come from heartbreaking personal stories, which are often the most credible sources because not many people (besides maybe other family members) can refute what they are saying.

My Controversy

Along with almost everyone else who is aware of the developing story, I'm sickened and horrified by the story of Jared Fogle, the former Subway spokesperson.

In July, it came to light that Fogle, a 38 year old man, was accused of paying minors for sex. The girls were ages 16 and 17 at the time that the rapes first occurred. There's that word, rape. That's absolutely what this is. And yet, no one wants to call it that.

Screenshot taken by Boone-Roberts, Morgan on 8/27/2015 via Goshen News.

I knew immediately when I saw this assignment that this was the controversy that I wanted to talk about, I just had to find an article. I found this one from Goshen News, a local newspaper in Indiana. Fogle is from Indianapolis, so it's obvious that local newspapers would be covering this story.

As a feminist and a decent human being, I am outraged that Fogle has not been charged with rape. The prosecution's reason is,"There is no federal statute for rape in this situation that would have applied". As a result, he is only being charged for being in possession of child pornography. And that's exactly the problem.

Surely, there should be a federal law that would apply in this situation. And it's a crime in and of itself that there isn't one. Maybe this case will motivate someone in Washington to propose a new law. Because, without one, this man will spend a minimal amount of time in prison before being released back into the world.

Calendar Reflection

Oy vey, six hours of homework per week seemed overwhelming. Then, I planned out my week, and realized that if I use my time wisely, I should be fine this semester.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings will be dedicated to doing English homework because I don't start class until noon those days. Knowing that I work better in the morning, I can do most of my thinking early. Then I can do my less difficult work in the afternoons.

If I stick to this plan, I should easily be able to manage my workload with a minimum amount of stress. It looks so nice on paper, but I'll see how well it actually works as the semester progresses.

After reading Dylan's post, I realized that I need to be going to the rec way more than I am.
There are so many new responsibilities that come with living away for home for the first time. Learning to balance them all is essential. And waiting for laundry to finish is the best time to do homework, because you have to stay close to the laundry room.

Savannah made me feel like a slacker because she's involved in so much this semester, but I agree with her that being busy helps me not procrastinate. If I'm already up and running, I might as well be doing something productive.

My Writing Process

Well, currently my writing process includes a cup of tea and Sam Smith on in the background, so I'd say that's a fairly good start.

-What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?

I'm generally the kind of writer who needs time to work. In high school, being assigned an essay that was due the next day was a nightmare, because I can't force myself to sit down and write. I need time to ponder, brainstorm, and plan.

Unfortunately, all of that thinking doesn't usually make its way onto paper, so I lose a lot of genius before I can get to my laptop to start writing. This process makes for some choppy essays, so I have also become a decent editor and revisor.


-Does your writing process include several of the above approaches? If so, which ones?
Generally, I am a mix of a heavy planner and a heavy revisor.

I do a lot of planning even when I'm not actively trying to write; sometimes the best ideas come to me when I'm showering, driving, or doing everyday tasks like laundry.

Like I said before, my writing process works well for finding inspiration, but leaves a lot to be desired as far as an eloquent, well thought out essay goes. This is where the revising comes in.

For one of the essays that I wrote for a scholarship, I saved each draft in case I wanted to come back to something I had written earlier. I ended up with 10 individual drafts. They all had the same basic ideas, but every draft was structured and laid out differently. I'll keep proofreading, moving paragraphs around, and rewording sentences until I am happy with the final product.

Image by Leung, Jessica. "Energy" 12/5/07.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License. 

Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?
So far, this process has worked well for me. One drawback is that it is time consuming. Unfortunately, that's part of why I did not do very well on the AP English exam. The lack of time to think and proofread greatly decreased the quality of my essays.

The positive side is that I usually end up with essays that I am very happy with and proud of.


Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not? 
I am extremely set in my ways, so trying to change my writing habits at this point would most likely be unsuccessful. My writing style has gotten me this far, and I see no reason to change it.

Reflections

I read Isabel's post first. She is a sequential composer, which I think is awesome. I would most likely have much less revising to do if I wrote that way, but I really do like the way that my process works for me.

After reading Emma's post, I realized that most people in this class will have aspects of either a Planner or Sequential Composer. As higher level writers, we need to have the perfect idea on which to build our essays, and that can only come with the right inspiration and planning.