Essay Topic

Since Elizabeth is no longer in our class she said I could use her topic... she will be dearly missed!

-Tentative Topic: Moral Tensions in the U.S.

-Tentative Research: Find sources that document factual evidence of past and present moral tensions in the U.S. and how/why they have evolved.

-Rationale: I chose this topic because not only does it generate my interest, I think it will generate the interests of others as well. Whether it's trying to uphold morals or deciding whether to have moral at all, the choice between right and wrong is a daily stuggle for everyone. I believe that an essay centered around this topic will reveal new, insightful ideas to people. The room for discovery in this essay is limitless.

Reading Response Two

In Holmquist's research essay about drugs, I find his honesty very refreshing. While he incorporates sources into his paper while mixing in his own experiences I feel this is what gives the essay the sense of a discovery paper rather than just a regular old essay. The overall controlling idea of this essay is that even though he really likes doing drugs and they are not even that unsafe while taken in appropriate doses, that he will never do drugs again because of the effects he has seen drugs have on his friends. I thought it was interesting that he made this connection, and that the controlling thesis did not really come out until the end. Throughout the essay you had a sense of his attitude on drugs, but the first time he actually comes out and says "I admit it. I like my drugs. That's why I don't do them any more. I like them too much." [Holmquist B29] what he feels is in the very end which is pretty much explaining why he won't do them which is presented in a very honest, upfront way. I feel Holmquist shows a good way of providing research while balancing it out with his honest opinion as well. For example, "They are also extremely easy to get. In a recent survey, 51 percent of twelfth graders could easily et MDMA (Ecstasy use up sharply, 2001) And I know LSD and GHB are a lot easier to get." [Holmquist B25] This shows the author relaying information from credible sources while still making it more realistic to the reader by sharing his own opinions and thoughts. Overall, I thought the author did a really good job explaining the different uses of drugs while still not going over the edge and making the essay into some goofy story about why people do the drugs that they do.
Contrasting to the second discovery paper, Garrett-Brown explains why tanning is bad for you. Both essays take a topic that is frequently used to many people which have both positive and negative aspects. For example, a lot of people do drugs. A lot of people really do not think that certain drugs will have a long-term effect on you and sometimes solely do them as a source of recreation. This could be the same for tanning. Getting ready for a spring break trip or even just trying to make the most out of winter, tanning is a relaxing thing that a lot of people do throughout the year. Each cost money, each have relaxing benefits...but in the long run do people really understand the consequences of each? Skin cancer for the tanners, and possible brain deterioration for the drug users? The way Garrett-Brown explains the effects of tanning is pretty similar to Holmquist's essay. She shows genuine interest in the art of tanning, and even a certain fascination for it. However, she focuses a lot on the negative aspects like many people who are worried about their futures would be. However, not only does she focus on the negative aspects but she also focuses on what she calls the "Middle Ground". "[. . .] I'm not expert, so I sought proof of my hunch that the sun is really our friend and found it. Of course, I'm not condoning the 1976 'Savage Tan' or complete ignorance of the dangers of a depleted ozone and proof that severe sunburns lead to cancers, but I think there must be some middle ground." [Garrett-Brown 460] I think Garrett-Brown has a harder time explaining her controlling thesis and stating evidence to support her throughout her "discovery" paper. This might be because this essay is much shorter than Holmquists, but it also might be because her sources seem to be leaning a little more on the "why you should tan" side. I feel like if she had more of what she called "middle ground" sources throughout her essay, her controlling thesis might be made more clearly and everything might be more evident. For example, she makes it sound like tanning is bad by using the source that states "The Rural South These Days Has More Tanning Salons Than John Deeres" then by saying "A nice tan once meant you spent your days on the beach playing volleyball and swimming, hiking in the mountains or riding a horse, riding a horse, riding a bike around town or jogging in the afternoons; it was usually accompanied by fit and trim bodies and healthy smiles." To me, these two sources kind of cancel eachother out and make her look unsure.
These essays and Ballangers opinions on how to write an essay give me great insight on what I should do while looking up topics for my essay number two. A good thought by Ballanger, "Research is something writers naturally do whenever they have questions they can't answer on their own." [Ballanger 430]. I believe this is a good quote I should go by while deciding on what I should research and write on. I think I should pick a topic I know somewhat about, but also a topic I can find credible sources to research about. I can use these two essays we read about this week as prime examples by finding something I have passion on writing about, yet about something that I would like to back up with specific facts and quotes.

About Me

I'm Sara Hauck from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Eden Prairie is a suburb right outside of Minneapolis which is fun because I love to go downtown with my friends. I love the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota and I love to go boating. My brother is a senior at TCU so that helped make my decision about going far away from home a lot easier. I've also really enjoyed coming down to Fort Worth as a child (I have relatives here) so that is also a reason why I chose TCU. I swam varsity all four years in highschool and loved to play intramural beach volleyball. I'm up for anything and meeting new people so say hi!

While I read the first short story, “I’m A Believer” by Charlotte Hogg I thought the story would be about her fulfilling her goal to become a writer and to meet Davy Jones. And in the end, that is exactly what happened. There were a few things that surprised me about the article. She said that when she was fifteen she never wanted to be Davy’s girlfriend, but just to meet him. That is interesting me to me because most girls that age are daydreaming about celebrities and wishing they could become someone far from their league. I was also surprised by her maturity throughout the piece. While still holding on to a childhood dream and fantasy, she continued on with her life, not letting her dream hold her back from anything. The part I found most funny about the story was when she was saying that she was so infatuated with Davy Jones as a teenager that she actually, “[. . .] asked a total stranger to the prom simply because he looked so much like Davy Jones.”
The other story, “The Joy Of Mud” by Catherine Black was about finding the beauty in something you have overlooked throughout your past. While reading this short story, I thought it was interesting how she hated growing up on an island and how she differed from her peers. “I hunted down the few coffee shops Honolulu could offer and buried myself in novels set in faraway times and places.” This also ties into how she left as soon as she could get away and that no one thought she was going to come back. However, the most striking part of this piece is the fact that she found the joy and happiness in her hometown by not even looking for it.
The intriguing thing I found about these two articles is that they both had a realization towards the end. Something that they had been looking for all along, for instance Charlottes wish to meet Davy Jones and Catherine’s wish to acquaint herself with the spirit of Hawaii were found easier than they thought. Charlotte met Davy Jones quite easily, which was something she had not expected in reality. Catherine thought she would never find the true spirit of her homeland until she took a simple trip up a mountain that would change her views on her home forever. The thing these two readings disagree on is their faith. Charlotte’s faith and excitement on meeting Davy Jones was the same high energy throughout the whole story. On the other side, Catherine’s interest in Hawaii was not with excitement until she returned back to the island after going to college in the East and traveling abroad. The reasons why are what makes these stories different yet similar to each other. Charlotte followed her goals of meeting Davy Jones while maintaining a positive, lighthearted attitude throughout the duration of the story. Meanwhile, Catherine kept a negative attitude and always imagined her self somewhere completely different than where she ended up.
The realization that the characters find throughout the stories are what makes the stories into something more powerful than if they were just to write about meeting a favorite movie star or getting dirty in the mountains of Hawaii. I enjoyed the fact that it seemed as each character grew with their feelings and opinions throughout their findings. For example in Catherine’s story, her realization about how Hawaii actually was came in one of the last paragraphs of the story. “I can’t believe I was clueless about it for so long.” It was more of a personal journey for her rather than a sudden realization. For Charlotte, her realization that Davy Jones was rather a stranger than her best friend came quite suddenly and was a realization that took place over that one day. “I accept, finally, that this person I know so well I don’t really know at all, and I, the daydream believer, am just a fan.”