Blog 14: What I've Learned

         I have to admit that I wasn’t sure if I was going to take this course when I first started the school year. Because I had taken AP English in high school, my first-year writing requirement was already fulfilled—it didn’t seem like a process I needed to repeat. My experience in Writing this semester, however, has been a lot different than the ones I had in high school. My dad is the one who convinced to take a writing class my first year at BYU, and I’m so glad he did, because I have learned so much over the past couple of months.

         I learned that preparation really does pay off. One of my favorite parts of this course was that we had deadlines for prewriting and rough drafts for every major paper. I have a difficult time starting on assignments early, and so these requirements gave me the opportunity to spread out the workload and manage my time more efficiently. I realized that I could write a lot better if I just sat down and wrote a rough draft first, put it away for a while, and then went back and revised it. Hopefully now I can use that knowledge to do better on writing assignments in my future classes.

         Another important piece of information I gained from this course is that it’s always best to get a second opinion. When I was in high school, my mom would read over my papers and give me a few tips here and there, but they were mostly minor editing changes (she tended to be a comma Nazi). While participating in peer reviews and tutoring sessions at the writing center this semester, however, I learned to take advice about altering my papers on a larger scale. No one, especially me, can write a perfect piece on the first try, so it’s really important to be open to new ideas and suggestions—even if they involve turning the whole project upside down.

         I’ve had such a great time in Writing 150 this past semester—watching YouTube videos, having great discussions, and learning how to better my writing and rhetoric. Now I just hope I can implement the things I have learned from this class into all the other areas of my life.

Blog 13: My First Pow Wow

Dreamcatcher I bought from one of the vendors

         So, I had a pretty interesting cultural experience this past weekend—my friend Jennica and I went to our first pow wow. When I first spotted the advertisement hanging in the window of the Cannon Center, I imagined the 31^st Annual BYU Cedartree Pow Wow would be a life-changing event—magical and culturally enlightening. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped to be a part of the Pow Wow. Jennica was excited too (it was her idea to go in the first place) and so we made plans to head over to the ballroom in the WILK Saturday night at 6 pm.

         We prepared beforehand, looking up specifics about the event online, making sure we packed our ID cards, and bringing a little extra money so we could buy something from the vendors afterwards. When Jennica and I got to the ballroom, what we saw was not what I had expected. There were chairs surrounding the main floor and many of them were empty, although most of the empty chairs had jackets or bags set on them to indicate that they were saved. As we tried to find two open seats, I realized that Jennica and I were very much in the minority.  I guess I had not expected the Pow Wow to be such a family affair, but after listening to the announcer for a while it was clear that this particular Pow Wow consisted of a string of competitions (which helped to explain the number of families present). Many of the musicians and dancers were judged on their performances and awards were handed out at the end of the night.

         The performers were dressed in colorful, elaborately beaded costumes, with matching accessories, feathers, and moccasins. It was fascinating to see how much their modern forms of song and dance called upon elements of their ancestors’ lives. They seemed to have such a strong connection to their heritage and past.

Although I felt slightly alienated for most of the night, I gained a real admiration for the Native American people participating in the event and their devotion and respect for their present community and their ancestors.

Blog 12: Research Paper Progress

         I’m not as far along with this research paper as I hoped I would be, but I’m planning on doing some major catching up the end of this week. The EBSCO database has helped me find some really great sources—I just need to spend more time organizing my thoughts and making sure that this is more than an informative paper.

Blog 11: Issues Paper Free Write

         My researching for this issues paper is far from complete, but I have developed a stance on my question of whether or not vaccines should be required for children in the United States: the American government should mandate that children be vaccinated, except in extreme medical cases, because the benefits of this process outweigh the risks and those who are not vaccinated pose a threat of harmful disease to the rest of our country’s population. Families who claim that their child sustained serious injuries or complications because of an inoculation should have their cases filed and reviewed promptly by the US Court of Federal Claims. If a strong connection is found, these families should receive just compensation for their losses. I’m trying to stay open-minded during the research process, however, and so my position is likely to change (in small ways, if not completely).

         Procon.org has been extremely helpful in the early stages of writing this paper because it provides a quick glimpse into the arguments on both sides of the issue regarding childhood vaccines. The website also contains helpful background information and a list of other possible sources discussing my topic. This is starting to sound scarily like an annotated bibliography, so I’m going to move on.

         Working on this paper has also been a great opportunity to familiarize myself with the Harold B. Lee library and all that it has to offer. I have to admit that I was intimidated by the sheer vastness of the building and myriad of resources—I’d usually only use the building for a quiet study spot—but the tutorials and instructor sessions have made all of that more accessible. Searching the website has also been a beneficial way to me to find a number of different sources addressing the issues surrounding childhood vaccines. Now I just need to start digging deeper into all the information I’ve found and craft an intelligent and strongly founded argument to support my stance. But that’s the easy part, right?    

Blog 10: Pros and Cons About My Research Topic

The question I’m researching is whether or not any vaccines should be required for children. Some of the pro arguments for this issue state that any personal, moral, philosophical, or religious views are not grounds enough to give parents the right to risk the public health. Supporters of required vaccination also claim that vaccines are extremely effective at eradicating disease and preventing serious illness and death. Researchers at the Pediatric Academic Society have found that childhood vaccinations in the United States alone prevent approximately 10.5 million cases of infectious illness and 33,000 deaths a year. Vaccinations against hepatitis B and HPV (human papilloma virus) are considered extremely important because they help children avoid serious outcomes such as cirrhosis of the liver, cancer, and death. Those individuals for childhood vaccinations also feel that the FDA-approved vaccine against the swine flu should be required, as infants and children are more susceptible to the disease. They also claim that many studies refute the notion that vaccines cause autism, that many people who are vaccinated can still get sick when exposed to others who are infected, and that vaccines produce significant economic benefits for our society.

Those against requiring childhood vaccines argue that doing so would violate their 1^st Amendment rights to exercise religion freely. The opposed also claim that vaccines are unnecessary because the threat of death from the disease is so small, attributing the significant decrease in cases of whooping cough, measles, and scarlet fever in the early 19^th century to improved personal and food hygiene, effective sewage disposal, better nutrition, and water purification. They maintain that vaccines can cause serious reactions, trigger auto-immune disorders, brain inflammation, and clogging or disruption of the lymphatic system. To them, these risks are not worth taking, especially since many of the diseases they are meant to prevent are not always life threatening. Some opponents of requiring children to be given vaccines also believe that these vaccines are promoted first and foremost to generate profits and donations for manufacturers and organizations that endorse the vaccines.

Blog 9: 50 Words on Finishing My Rhetorical Analysis

       I was expecting this rhetorical analysis paper to be one of the more difficult and unpleasant assignments I completed for this class, but I guess I surprised myself. I actually enjoyed writing this paper. Pulling apart Churchill’s argument and trying to understand the tools he used to convince his audience was rather fascinating.