A common theme of this class that has stuck out to me is the focus on dystopian worlds and the look into how we define the cultural norms and societal standards of our world. I took this class at the perfect semester as we are facing this global crisis that sometimes feels as though we are living in a fictional book. Many of our readings were very relevant to our current situation and invoked an eery foreshadowing. 

My favorite part of this class was our ability to really individualize and perfect our personal writing style. We were given creative freedom to write in a way we desired that I feel really helped me improve my writing style. Instead of being taught a specific way to construct our essays with strict guidelines the freedom to write how we wanted really made me enjoy doing the assignments. I also loved the idea of the blog style writing as I have always wanted to start a fashion blog. I loved getting to incorporate visual representations as I have never gotten to do that in any of my college writings. Memes have been my favorite to add to my writings and bring a light hearted and amusing element. 

One of my favorite activities was all our free writes as the act of writing whatever came to mind without thinking too critically about it I found was a great way to start essays. It was a great way to brainstorm and get all my ideas out before having to organize and develop them. I think I will use this technique for future writing assignments as it is a great method to look back on throughout writing as reference. It is also challenging for me as I usually am very meticulous with my writing and could spend hours writing just a paragraph as I want to ensure it is well thought out and structured. This helped me realize being too thoughtful with every single sentence can sometimes take away from writing. Depending on the task at hand, writing can be more fluid and less monotone when you get all your thoughts onto the paper first then revise. With every free write I felt I got more comfortable with just letting myself write what came to mind and not contemplating or overthinking it. In the end, this became a fun and almost therapeutic task to just be able to let go and write.

My favorite blog post was our open letter as I feel very passionate and interested by the impact on social media. I want to pursue a career in social media marketing and it was enlightening to research it’s influences on our society. Not to mention, it is a topic very relevant to the time we are living in. I also believe it allowed me to reflect on my own relationship with my phone and social media and take a step back. I feel like this piece really helped me grow as a writer since I offered a perspective that was hard for me to acknowledge I knew was right. Rhetoric was also a vital aspect of the open letter and I learned a lot about how to appeal to my target audience and defining who that may be. It helped me learn the importance of remembering to acknowledge readers and keeping in mind the best ways to address them. This was something I was not personally accustomed to doing as most of my college writing is strictly for academic purposes and to professors, therefore it was enjoyable to write a paper to my peers.

The piece I feel like helped me grow most as an individual was our open letter free write I chose to address to high school seniors. Although this was not as long as our other writings, I felt it was the most impactful. I also felt a deep connection to this piece, it really allowed me to reflect on my college experience thus far and what has made Chapman so special to me. It even inspired me to continue journaling through this quarantine as a way to express my feelings and the day to day struggle of emotions we are all facing. This piece of writing made me realize exactly why I missed not being at school and how much I have grown since leaving for college two years ago. I have never really taken the time to reflect on these past few years and realize how far I have come since being a terrified freshman in a new environment. So although it was addressed to high school seniors, I felt it was almost an open letter to myself that solicited my belief that you end up where you are meant to be and that in the end, everything happens for a reason. Not to mention, never again take for granted the amazing experience of attending a school like Chapman and being fortunate enough to be able to go to a campus that is not online.

Logging off for two days was especially hard during this pandemic where in Southern California we have been put on stay-at-home orders. If I were to have done this assignment during a few normal days on campus I feel it would have been much easier as I would have been busy with school and my other commitments to distract me. Though in the end I think it was a nice break as I have spent a sickly amount of time on social media and online the past two months due to boredom. It was a little less stressful knowing my friends were not doing anything but stuck inside their homes and therefore I didn’t feel an urge to text or communicate with them, aka I had no FOMO. 

I will admit I sent no alarms either of the days as I knew I would want to waste away as much of the day as possible thinking I was going to go crazy. So I had the luxury of waking up around 10. I am lucky to live by the beach in San Diego and therefore I spent both days running on the beach and walking my dogs with my family in the beautiful, hot sunshine. It was hard not to check any social media accounts when I took my phone running so I could listen to music. I turned off all notifications and kept it on silent to help keep my temptations at bay. I thought this way a very relaxing way of starting off the day and after my runs I sat outside to tan and do any homework I had due. Not having my phone allowed me to be more in tune with my surroundings and nature. I have also fallen back in love with reading during this quarantine which passes the time so quickly and is a great distraction. I feel like I escape the real world when I am immersed in my book so I read at night in bed after dinner instead of scrolling through my phone or FaceTiming friends. I actually finished my 400 page book in these two days because I had so much more time to read instead of going online! I am not a big Netflix or TV watcher so it wasn’t hard to refrain from watching either. 

I cracked only once on the first day while doing homework on my computer. I got a text on my computer and felt the need to respond to my friend immediately before realizing I had broken the rule! I quickly turned my computer on do not disturb. I also participated in calling my grandparents with my family which was a great way to spend an hour after our family dinner. Speaking of family, I think the most challenging part was dealing with them trying to tempt me and continuously tease me about how there is no way I could survive two days without my phone. Though their banter motivated me to prove them wrong.

I admittedly probably would not do this voluntarily again but I do believe it gave me perspective of the absurdity of how much time I spend on my phone daily. It definitely makes me think twice now every time I am aimlessly scrolling through instagram. The advantages during this time are definitely the connection we have between one another digitally. I am able to FaceTime and keep up with all of my friends, my extended family and I are all able to zoom with each other. All of which really helps me get through each monotonous day. Though there are definitely many disadvantages that come along with all the devices we have. Even in quarantine I feel like people are only trying to display their highlight reel on social media. Everyone is struggling in one way or another during this time and sometimes social media leads us to believe we are the only one having a hard time. This translates into life before covid-19 as well, we all want to look as though we are living our best life all the time for others to see. 

All in all, I think everyone should consider logging off for a day or two especially during this time in order to have time of self reflection and relief. It really makes you realize how we do not need to be constantly attached to our devices and hopefully makes you appreciate time in nature and with family more. It might even encourage you to take up a new hobby or experience something new! Personally, it allowed me to remember how much I love leisure reading and how therapeutic it is. 

https://atianasmith.wixsite.com/mysite

Social media platforms beloved by us millenials and Gen Z, have precariously turned our world upside down. The prominence and domination of social media in our daily lives and society has become undeniably significant in the 21st century for better and for worse. Have these networks intended to bring us together, in fact be driving our hyper-connected society apart?

These platforms of entertainment have the lamentable capability to deteriorate our relationships, social skills, as well as diminish moral values and self esteem, especially in today’s youth who are averaging more than 9 hours of screen time daily, according to nonprofit Common Sense Media.

As one of these teenagers, or some may call us “screenagers”, I have first-hand witnessed the means by which Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter have engulfed the way we have grown up, specifically my fellow teenage girls. Constantly contemplating and then rethinking our posts in order to maximize the amount of likes we will receive, how many followers we can gain, if our photo looks too edited or not edited enough, if our caption is witty or too basic. It has alarmingly become the norm, documenting and capturing each of life’s moments in order to “brand” ourselves and create a highlight reel of the day to day displayed solely through a photo or limited 280 word message. In turn, these outlets have become our way of making sense of our identities. So it comes of no surprise there has been a rise in the number of teens diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression, as well as trends of self-harm, eating disorders, bullying, and suicide. We feel the need to be accepted by one another while also trying to individualize who we are. It seems as though every teenage girl is facing a mental health disorder as we feel pressure and therefore obsess over constructing a perfect life, looking a certain way, and establishing personas precedent by the aesthetics and glorified stars we encounter as we fixate on these platforms daily. We invest ourselves into building an audience consisting of friends, friends of friends, sometimes parents, and strangers in order to feel a sense of belonging. Research shows these investments may come at the expense of more meaningful interactions. This poses the question: in spending immense time building a personal brand are we in turn sacrificing the product?

I ponder if time with friends is planned specifically to display our “instagram worthy” meals, adventures, or outfits to the world. These social outings take 10 minutes before being able to dive into a dish because everyone needs to take a photo of the meal, then post about it to earn the satisfaction. We no longer know how to live in the moment, value quality time with family or friends, or disconnect from the screen that seems to hold us hostage. We have embraced a constantly surveillanced lifestyle that bears no walls between public and private. Though I cannot be the only one who feels the strain of comparing myself to the idealized and curated lives of influencers and instagram models as an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August found the suicide rate hit a 40-year high among teenage girls ages 15 to 19 in 2015.

The draining societal pressures these platforms exacerbate became evident to me when I left home to attend college. It appeared to be an unspoken competition of who was thriving in their new environments, who had made the most friends, joined the best sorority, or loved their university most. I witnessed this through endless posts, as well as instagram and snapchat stories of friends ensuring to debut their college life as a fairytale. I had even learned some of my friends hoped to transfer schools or come home a few weeks into first semester, though this baffled me as I began considering their countless posts of the typical, idolized experience of partying, greek life events, and immaculate friend groups. It had all been a facade of fictitious happiness we all feel necessary to construct, this progresses into real life as we rely on social media to feel validated about who we are and what we are doing. One study a few years ago found that Facebook use was linked to both less moment-to-moment happiness and less life satisfaction. Comparing our lives to those of influencers has become a perilous trap which teenage girls so easily and unwittingly fall into. We can no longer have gratitude for what we have or be self-assured in our appearances when analyzing how our own lives measure up to those we see in the media. The glorified lives of influencers, models, and celebrities set unrealistic and impossible standards of beauty and lifestyle due to photoshop and editing.

Though a proposed solution was the creation of “finstas”, fake-Instagrams, in order to have private accounts with minimal followers, therefore we would be able to represent our true and unedited selves. Yet, those accounts too began to lead us to feel like another identity we had to portray. Have our personal brands overtaken our actual personalities as we begin to consider, who we would be without our phones?

We have learned to edit out the parts of ourselves that didn’t fit our aesthetic, put our lives on hold for the perfect post, voluntarily become keywords used for data mining, and given up our emotions to algorithms which understand us better than we know ourselves. I am therefore not suggesting the eradication of smartphones or social media altogether, but instead us millennials must learn to cultivate healthy relationships with these platforms, ones which allow us to discern the boundary between reality and the sea of deceptions we have worked hard to devise. Small changes can lead to achieving this, such as allocating technology free time while with friends and family, disconnecting from all social media for 24 hours, stop checking social media first thing when waking up or immediately before going to sleep, calling friends instead of communicating over these platforms, designating phone-free time during meals, turning off push notifications, or activities with friends that allow you to disengage from media like working out and yoga.

Social media has become a cause of stress in our lives, no longer a community, entertainment or anything positive. We can no longer continue to live addicted to the false reality social media allows us to believe. It is time to reevaluate the authority we have consented it to possess over our identities, emotions, and ultimately our lives.

Sources

“Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. Provides Business Update Related to COVID-19.” Del Taco Restaurants, Inc., investor.deltaco.com/news-and-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2020/Del-Taco-Restaurants-Inc-Provides-Business-Update-Related-to-COVID-19/default.aspx.

“Increasing The Minimum Wage Doesn’t Benefit California’s Poor And May Even Cost Them, Study Finds.” Public Policy Institute of California, http://www.ppic.org/press-release/increasing-the-minimum-wage-doesnt-benefit-californias-poor-and-may-even-cost-them-study-finds/.

Walton, Alice G. “6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 3 Oct. 2017, http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#7af11bcb2e5a.

Standardized tests have been apart of students’ academic lives for over 50 years. Though today, their roles have become more significant and have a greater role in college acceptances. The College Entrance Examination Board was established to administer and expand education through the SAT and the ACT, both of which are the most well-known tests used in the college admission process. Universities should not require these test scores on student applications as they are not true testaments of an applicant’s academic abilities. SAT scores are directly correlated to financial income. The National Center for Fair & Open Testing along with College Board calculated in 2014 students in each income bracket scored higher than lower income bracket students on every section. Therefore, students who are wealthy and able to afford tutoring and outside help have an unfair advantage against those who cannot.

Students who do not do well on these entrance exams will be hurt in the long run. Not scoring high enough may lead to a student not being accepted into a top university. Therefore, without a degree from a competitive school or it’s connections they may not be able to get their dream job or a great job straight out of college. Without getting a job they might lose sight of their initial dreams and goals. This could lead them down a bad path in life or all together force them to have to change intended career paths. In the end, this may lead to mental health problems or diminished self-esteem.

Lastly, the amount of stress and anxiety students are put through because of a simple test is tremendous. How do we expect our students to study for months possibly even years for a single test which determines the next four years of their life? These poor students are already going through the emotional rollercoaster of high school, they have an entire full semester of academic classes on top of studying for these tests, and many are probably already dealing with other issues socially or in their homes. It is unnecessary effort, time, and stress that they are put through for many months to years. Not to mention, many families are forced to pay the financial burden that comes along with the test. Paying for tutors, books, study tools, and the test itself. We are putting these young children in more harm than good when this can be solved by simply doing away with a simple test.

Are we living in an Orwellian Nightmare?

In today’s world our devices and screens have become not just a prominent aspect of our lives, they are our lives. Orwell would be petrified to see how we carry a smaller form of his vision of the telescreen in our pockets everyday, taking them wherever we go. Many of us even feel an overwhelming sense of fear or anxiety when we are without them. Screens have overtaken our lives as many own multiple technological devices in addition to these smartphones. 

Through the advancement of technology we have gained the ability to easily communicate with anyone and access to countless sources of information at our fingertips but we have also lost a sense of privacy in out own homes. The government using strategies such as constantly surveillancing our devices and internet searches through dating mining or monitoring our phone calls as a justification to aid national security. Though I believe the government monitoring has gone too far. Innocent civilians are often prevented from normal life activities when their data is placed on watch lists. They may not be allowed to travel through airports, apply for certain jobs, or are questioned by authorities when they are targeted. Not to mention, when the government obtains this information they are able to easily share it and hold on to it for as long as they please. There has come a point in which our privacy has been neglected due to safety precautions, yet it seems to have reached far beyond the line. This is due to our own merits as we voluntarily give up our privacy when we allow websites to access our personal information or post photos and videos on social media platforms. This gives almost anyone such as marketing firms, hackers, or stalkers the freedom to seamlessly find this personal information, though we like to believe it is kept private and safe.

Many of us have also heard speculation that our smart speaker devices such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home are constantly listening to our conversations and monitoring our daily habits or schedules. With this knowledge many people still chose to purchase the products and keep them in their home, possibly deciding it is better to turn a blind eye. Therefore, is may be our own fault for not choosing to ignore the indecencies of our government and not stand up for our privacy. 

   In his March 4, 1929 inaugural address, Herbert Hoover focuses on the “ideals and aspirations for America.” Hoover proposes criminal justice reform and declares that a “large responsibility rests directly upon our citizens,” while embodying an upbeat, positive tone. The former president communicates his proposals to the entire nation, so he angles his ambitions to apply to the typical American. Hoover creates a sense of power, and a contrasting sense of unity by appealing to ethos of the audience, using parallelism, and incorporating anaphora into his work. 

Hoover lures the audience into his ideas by appealing to their ethos with the constant use of three pronouns: I, we, and our.  He pleads, “I beg your tolerance, your aid, and your cooperation.” The overall attitude of this address is inclusive, however, when necessary, the occasional use of “I” portrays Hoover’s dominance. He utilizes the first person singular pronoun precisely 22 times through the speech. Each use increases his credibility in the eyes of the American people as he assures his leadership position. Hoover often integrates “I” into the address in order to ask the audience a favor and insure their cooperation. In opposition, he fills the majority of his monologue with  the communal pronouns “we” and “our.” Hoover announces,“We aspire to distinction in the world, but to a distinction based upon confidence in our sense of justice as well as our accomplishments within our own borders and in our own lives.” He is speaking for the nation as a whole, because he is now the leader of the entire country. As a result of this inclusive rhetorical method, the citizens feel like a part of the progressive future plans and Hoover gains their trust. With the application of various pronouns, Herbert Hoover captivates the readers by appealing to their ethos. 

Through parallelism, the former president draws attention to the most important messages in his work. The reformation of the criminal justice system is one of his most important objectives. So, he articulates, “Crime is increasing. Confidence in rigid and speedy justice is decreasing.” He uses this method to give each point balance and equality. Due to the similar format, these ideas are fluid, and therefore more persuasive. At the same time, he juxtaposes these two contrasting ideas to convey his point with more meaning. This stark contrast becomes a focal point in the essay. The divergent elements form a single impactful point. Hoover also uses parallelism to highlight the greatest purpose of this address: the “ideals and aspirations for America.” In the concise section prior to his conclusion, Hoover repeats the words aspiration and ideal four times. He discusses the “realization of these ideals and the fruition of these aspirations” and asserts, “There is no short road to the realization of these aspirations.” This reiteration is an intentional tactic to drill the most significant proposals into the citizens’ minds. Furthermore, the placement of this recurring parallelism is strategic. Hoover concludes his address with his strongest, most important notions so that the US citizens will not forget them. Thus, the president’s use of parallelism, specifically the use of an antithesis and his calculated placement, emphasizes his leading claim of the speech. 

Likewise, former president Hoover sets up corresponding ideas in a uniform format to make his beliefs easier to remember. While discussing his future aspirations for America, Hoover talks about “a new economic system, a new social system, [and] a new political system.” With the use of anaphora, Hoover stresses the importance of each system he discusses. As a result, the American people are able to clearly imagine his intended path for the future. Additionally, he concludes the inaugural address by listing the many benefits of our country and the accomplishments we have made. He lists these by creating three sequential sentences beginning with the phrase, “In no nation.”  This calls attention to Hoover’s prominent opinion that the United States is superior to the other nations. The use of anaphora creates focus on this closing statement and a sense of patriotism in every audience member. These unvarying introductions to Hoover’s principal statements creates rhythm that heightens the significance of each idea.

In his inaugural address, Herbert Hoover creates the idea of a positive future for the nation. He focuses on his plans and desires for the country, catering to the average American citizen. He proves his power with the use of “I,” but is very inclusive with the use of “we and our,” appearing to the ethos of the audience. Moreover, he includes parallelism and anaphora in his work to enhance his statements.            

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Most late starts of second semester senior year were no late starts for the kiss up student I was. Instead of getting the luxury of sleeping in every other Wednesday morning like my peers, I trekked to the grocery store in order to pick up a dozen plain cake donuts from the bakery. All that lost sleep and effort to win over a teacher.

  Mr. Leal was a man of many talents, the most impressive included making AP English Literature very interesting which all high school students know is a difficult feat. Though his other talents include eating the most food you can imagine while in class, eating a dozen donuts within a two day period, singing and playing deafening Orchestra or Rock music in class, perfectly matching his printed tie to his creaseless button up shirt, convincing his students every day to walk to the shopping center to pick up his lunch, and having a fanpage instagram account. 

To say the least, he was not a fit man by any means, in fact he wore ties solely to distract from his bulging potbelly. Mr. Leal told his students this through his self deprecating humor, which made him incredibly eccentric. His laziness contributed to his rotundness, never moving from the comfort of his desk chair. He even carried around a solar powered fan in attempt to dry the sweat caused by his own excessive body heat. My favorite memories of Mr. Leal include watching him drink straight from the milk jug he kept in his mini fridge, the stench of the snacks he noisely consumed as we took reading comprehension quizzes, the vast amount of mayoneise he deliberately applied to his sandwiches, and hearing his daily “Don’t be a noob” to the student in class who had asked a dumb question. His sarcasm took getting used to as he would make fun of the students he actually liked to show he cared about them, tell them they lacked strong work ethic to foster improvement, laugh at their ideas to exhibit his intelligence, and insult their grades if they didn’t receive an A in the class. He was also a dreamcrusher in many ways, always telling my classmates they would never be admitted to top universities or earn qualified degrees. 

“Atiana never pursue a dumb college major, like dance or underwater basket weaving” he once told me while I was telling my friends about my upcoming college dance auditions. 

“I am actually going to double major in business and dance, so I can do both when I’m older. But don’t worry I definitely will not be pursuing any type of basket weaving.” I sheepishly laughed, knowing it was a bluff as soon as I said it. He crushed my spirit then just as much as he did when he admitted he knew the donuts were sheerly an act to win him over.

“I only eat plain cake!” he shouted the first time I brought him an assorted mix of glazed, chocolate sprinkle, and maple bar donuts. He trotted to my desk, smearing donut glaze all over a carefully crafted analysis essay. In that moment I was truly at a loss for words as my jaw dropped in sheer horror. Fellow classmates giggled with utter amusement at the sight of my stained essay papers. From that day on, I knew to only buy plain cake donuts. 

Leal’s AP Literature class was a battlefield which left every student constantly on their toes, never knowing when there might be a quiz on the previous night’s reading or what essay prompt would be assigned. I had always enjoyed writing from an early age, English was my strong suit in the world of academia, though none of my knowledge had prepared me for his class. I realized this on day one when we were given a diagnostic essay, which I failed. Unfortunately, it never got better after that due to the first assignment consisting of memorizing 27 poems and construing a theme for each. Throughout the semester, learning to interpret the language of Shakespeare’s work like King Lear and Macbeth into insightful discussions and essays became second nature. It almost became enjoyable, I never thought I would admit that. In class essays were undoubtedly timed and never tranquil as Mr. Leal would do everything in his power to distract us students through music, singing, shouting, or eating. 

Though, that was unfortunately not the most aggravating part of Leal’s essays, but instead was the grade I received on each one, the unchanging 86. This, I believed, was purposeful in order to put my grade extremely close to the A he knew I was striving for. At one time I thought it would be crazy for a teacher to never read past the introductory paragraph of a student’s essay, now it no longer phased me. In turn, it meant writing nonsense after the first page of an essay became an art my class and I had perfected by the end of the year.    

It was the second to last day of AP Literature, the day of the infamous final essay, in which the epiphany occurred to me. Looking down at the prompt and reading, “Please write a well crafted essay describing what you have learned in AP Literature this year”, my classmate’s and I’s dumbfounded faces were in disbelief. 

It became apparent, despite his caveman like habits and unorthodox teaching, Mr. Leal was one of the most insightful and intelligent people I knew. His lectures engage everyone, as every point he made seems to hold a new revelation. One in specific stood out to me, in which he dismantled postmodernism and disclosed that an individual is defined by their relationship with the world. The struggles of his class were not for the faint hearted. His tactics taught students to write about anything, wherever and whenever as they were forced to look deeper into texts and understand them at a greater level. Mr. Leal provided incredible knowledge not only concerning literature, but as well as life lessons and day to day truths. He educated about the real world through his wisdom, guidance, and the essence of curiosity and desire to understand. He provoked each students’ individual discovery of values and virtue. He applied his expertise to his lessons and taught because of his love for what he did. Something I will never forget, the point Mr. Leal always stressed, “Don’t place yourselves within the ranks of those mediocre masses too open-minded to stand for very much at all.” 

I received my final essay grade, a 90, which had proven my efforts and persistence, or possibly that the donut strategy had worked after all. In eventually winning over Mr. Leal, I gained more than a good grade; Mr. Leal helped shaped the way in which I saw the world. As his quote goes, I learned to never settle for mediocrity in writing nor in my academic endeavors. Most importantly my peers and I learned to never be the mediocre in the world, as exerting one’s full potential in all walks of life would lead to personal prosperity. 

Every student needs their own Mr. Leal, a teacher who encourages and instills their passion within their students through challenging them to recognize different perspectives and strive beyond their personal bests and for that I will always be grateful to Mr. Leal.