Mirror Meditations

 A toast!


Writing is not new to me. Connecting words into interesting thoughts of coherency has been a practice of mine since middle school. I, being both my best audience my most feared critic, writing has been quite enjoyable. That is, until college when term papers have become as plenteous as frogs on the street after a rainstorm. Writing for the approval of others has its challenges but has become more rewarding as the semesters roll on. 

The once daunting classroom has grown into comfortable surroundings. Classmates are great for bouncing ideas off of and helping with editing before the assignment is completed. Professors are a trusted source for giving constructive criticism and are a final critic of the overall product. 




This post is a self-assessment of how I feel I am doing so far with this system. Below is part of the rubric the professor will be basing our grades on. Only the two better options are included because, so far, there isn’t a need to worry about the two lower possibilities.  


 

Love2Learn  has been a mentally stimulating assignment, filled with intimidation causing this author great concern. Whereas the classroom has been a secluded sanctuary for freewriting Discussion posts and turning in seven-page essays on diligently researched facts, blog writing has my thoughts laid out for whosoever will to read, scrutinize, critique, or praise. Collaboration and peer-reviewing are commonplace in the academic atmosphere, and since I know that we are all ‘in the same boat,’ having classmates comment on my writings doesn’t seem like a bad idea. It is no different, at that point than exchanging papers to read over to see if they catch any missed mistakes. It is good practice because once outside of the academic surroundings it will be expected that our writings get peer-reviewed before and after they get published.  Even this blog, which began as a semi-dreaded class assignment has reached around the world and was read by someone in India! If there were any fears of being in the public spectrum, this will definitely help me overcome them quickly. Nothing beats trial by fire!


Since other eyes reading my work isn’t the most stressful part of blogging, then what is? Format! After I write this post, I will try my first attempt at adding gadgets. Having a quick way for readers to find specific posts will make the blog easier to navigate. In addition to the opinions in the posts, some fact-filled short essays can be added in pages. The hardest part is making sure all of the paragraphs are the same size and the same space. Everything can look perfect while creating the post, but when it transfers over to Preview, everything is out of sync! I have started this post over 5x already, and still cannot get it right! Not being familiar with blogs, and barely knowing how to properly use a computer to its available extent, this does not sound fun. But instead of giving in to fear, it is more than possible that many prayers will be uttered, and several emails will be written to classmates and my professor before I finally get it right. My husband is constantly reminding me that I am not alone. My God has called me to get my degree, and my God will help me do just that!  

Going back to the rubric, let’s analyze if the criteria have been met. Doing this feels like the boasting Beowulf seemed to have no problem with. Boasts were a way for the magnificent deeds of great men to live beyond their mortal bodies, giving their souls a chance to live on as long as the stories about them were told. Only, the problem is, this blog does not seem worthy enough to live throughout eternity, and perhaps will forever be forgotten once this semester is at a close. Pertinent details, quotes, and passage analysis have been included. Embedded links and references have been included, though a reformatting and changing of sources to an appropriate MLA style reference is needed. Grammar and punctuation require a second and perhaps third editing. The writing is organized, and the images and videos are compatible with the information. So, yes, the blog is following the required standards.

With help, practice, and toying with formatting the overall feel of the page could become more user friendly, and the tone of voice may be less formal and find a more relaxed dialogue than it currently holds. Relative introspection is a desired trait that writers should not shy away from. Being lax on self-analysis endangers writers to have excessive pride in their works, and if that be a truthful case, how is anyone ever to improve? John Steinbeck, writer of East of Eden wrote, “Perhaps the less we have, the more we are required to brag.” It is best to let others do that for you. 


There is no better example of a boast than Beowulf. 
Warning: It is a little graphic with violence. 



References

58:11, Isaiah. Biblegateway. 1982. Thomas Nelson. 7 September 2020. <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+58%3A11&version=NKJV>.

goodreads. 2020. 7 September 2020. <https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/boasting>.

Openbible.com. Ed. Stephen Smith. 6 September 2020. 7 September 2020. <https://www.openbible.info/topics/called_by_god>.

"Beowulf (5/10) Movie CLIP - I Am Beowulf (2007) HD" Youtube, Uploaded by MovieClip, November 23, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNaj7uCVPCI&has_verified=1

 

 

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2020 at 3:54 AM

    Hi Carlie! There seems to be an unnecessary amount of space between some of your paragraphs, but I know from reading your post that formatting has been difficult for you. I have also been having issues with formatting on my posts. Also the paragraphs where the lines are 'justified' (when they are all straight rather than aligned right or left) look best, so I'd recommend you do that for the rest of your paragraphs as well. Good job :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mission MommaSeptember 12, 2020 at 9:33 AM

      I was debating on whether to justify, or align left. Sometimes, both ways look awkward. And yes, there is unnecessary spacing in this post. I tried a million times to adjust the paragraphs around the photos without loosing any of the content, or the font size randomly changing. But I will do my best to keep it uniform.
      I hope you enjoy the content despite the format?!

      Delete

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