College Writing

Annotation Essay Questions

2010-04-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

Alcohol:

1)How does Alcohol affect the family and friends? (death also)
Alcoholism and Its Effects on the Family

2) When is comsumption of Alcohol too much? Is death common?
Alcohol Abuse: How to Recognize Problem Drinking

Effects on the Individual

3) Why is Alcohol looked down on morally and even religiously?
Rethinking Drinking: The Moral Context

4) Physically, how does Alcohol affect a person?

5) Mentally and emotionally, how does Alcohol affect a person?

6) Are there treatment for Alcoholism?(ex: AA) What can Alcohol lead to?
America's Mental Health Channel

7) Are there long-term and short-term affect with alcohol consumption?
(long-term: cancer for example, short-term: alcohol poisoning for example)

8) Are there any controversies world wide having to do with Alcohol drinking or alcoholism as a disease?

9) Pregnancy and Alcohol, common? Info about drinking while pregnant.
Alcohol and Pregnancy- Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy

Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy-March of Dimes

10) What are some stats with alcohol consumption? (Race, age, gender, genetics, death)

11) Is drinking socially as opposed to having an alcoholic disease looked down on just as much?

Ethnography FINAL draft

2010-03-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

Imagine, you are on a main road going about 60 miles per hour, winds so cold as they hit you hard in the face and you feel the tingles run through every inch of your body. Imagine going so fast that even with the blink of an eye you are five feet further from where you were before you blinked. Imagine having all the fear in the world, but having to pretend you are completely fearless since death could be inevitable. Imagine feeling so scared that your stomach tosses and tumbles continuously, and you feel as though you may see that bowl of Lucky Charms and those triangles of toast that you ate for breakfast that morning. Imagine being able to experience the thrill ride of your life, and having to have that “do or die” attitude the whole entire time. Well, that’s what it is like though. That is what it’s like to have the title of a biker, a street biker.

What better way to experience the subculture of bikers than to take that thrill ride yourself and see why the experience is such a big part of their life. So, there I was standing in front of the biggest challenge of my life. I saw my boyfriend pull into the driveway with his green and black HJC helmet I bought him for Christmas, his Shift brand motorcycle jacket that is black and white, and of course the Lime green Kawasaki Ninja 650R street bike that I was about to ride. He just looked at me and could see the fear radiating from my eyes and through my body language. He did his best to relax me, but I had a feeling no matter what he said wouldn’t relax me. But then before I knew it, I was on the back of his Lime green motorcycle with my own black and white HJC helmet and my own black and white Shift brand jacket, all ready to go. He began to drive and I felt myself clench my fingers onto his jacket, holding on as if I were about to fall out of a three-story building window.

As we had approached the speed of 40 mph, my arms, at that time, were wrapped around his entire stomach and I couldn’t understand how this was something “fun” for bikers. As the Lime green motorcycle reached 60 mph, I could feel every gear shift change as well as my body thrust forward from the force. I eventually tried to loosen my hands as they began to feel numb from the ice cold winds and the amount of pressure I was using to hold on tight. I relaxed and looked around. I finally began to realize why bikers feel the way they feel while riding.

I opened my eyes and saw all the different color trees pass my vision one by one. I saw all the cars pass by at lightning speed, but strangely some even seemed as though they weren’t moving at all. I remember driving by all the people in their cars and all the pedestrians. Surprisingly, it was funny because the second you drive by people when on a motorcycle, everyone seems to stare at you in awe with their jaws dropped and their eyes wide open with excitement as if you were a celebrity passing by or something.

Finally the thrill ride came to an end and as we approached my house, he eased on the brakes and I felt myself jerk forward. It was bumpy due to all the rocks in my driveway, and that wasn’t very pleasant because I have an injured back. I could feel the sharp pains run everywhere in my back and especially up and down my spine repeatedly. Those sharp pains hit every muscle in my back and I was just glad the ride was over. After what felt like an eternity, I felt myself let out an enormous sigh of relief as if I had dodged getting hit by an 18-wheeler truck. Then, the excitement had arrived. Excitement of overcoming such a dangerous thrill ride had overpowered my body like a dog’s excitement when he accomplishes a hard trick to get a cookie.

This is what it is like though. This adrenaline rush is what a biker thrives for and what a biker lives for. Riding that motorcycle, their baby, is a value that makes them want to wake up in the morning. Although death can sometimes be on your mind the entire time, to be a biker is to be fearless when thoughts like that occur. Being a true street biker is to know that although it is dangerous, being fearless is just part of the gig, even if you have to fake it. Be fearless and stare death square in the eye makes you have such a confidence in yourself that makes bikers feel as though they are on top of the world. That is just what it is like though. That is what it is like to be a biker, a street biker.

Ethnography Rough Draft

2010-03-12T21:20:00.000-08:00

Imagine, you are on a main road going about 60 miles an hour, winds so cold as they hit you hard in the face and you feel the tingles run through every inch of your body. Imagine going so fast that even with the blink of an eye you are five feet from before you blinked. Imagine having all the fear in the world, but having to pretend you're fearless since death could be inevitable. Imagine feeling your stomach toss and tumble continuously, and you feel as though you may see that bowl of Lucky Charms and toast you ate that morning again. Imagine the thrill ride of your life, having that do or die kind of attitude. That's what it's like though. That is what it is like to have the title of a biker, a street biker.

What better way to experience the subculture of bikes than to take that thrill ride yourself and see why the experience is such a big part of their life? So, there I am standing in front of the biggest challenge of my life. I see my boyfriend pull into the driveway with his green and black HJC helmet I bought him for Christmas, his Shift motorcycle jacket that is black and white, and of course the bright green Kawasaki Ninja 650R street bike that I am about to ride. He says, "It will be nothing, and the ride won't be that bad", but I think all bikers say that before a passenger jumps on the back. But before I know it, I'm on the back of his bright green motorcycle, with my own black and white HJC helmet and my own black and white jacket, all ready to go. He begins to drive and I feel myself clench my fingers on his jacket, holding on as if I am about to fall out of a 3-story building window.

As we hit 40 mph, my arms are now wrapped around his whole stomach and I can't understand how this is fun for bikers. As the bright green motorcycle approaches 60 mph, I can feel every gear shift change, as well as my body thrust forward from the force. I eventually try to loosen my hands as they begin to feel numb from the ice cold winds and the amount of pressure I'm using to hold on tight. I relax and look around and finally begin to realize why bikers feel the way they feel while riding.

I open my eyes and saw all the different color trees pass my vision one by one. I could see all the cars pass by at lightning speed, some even seeming as though they weren't moving at all. I remember driving by all the people in their cars or even pedestrians. it was funny because the second you drive by on a motorcycle, everyone seems to stare at you in awe with their jaws dropped and their eyes wide open in excitement as if you were a celebrity or something.

Finally, the thrill ride comes to an end and as we approached my house, he eased on the brakes and I felt myself jerk forward. It was bumpy in my driveway because of all the rocks so I felt pain in my spine run up and down repeatedly due to my bad back. Sharp pains ran through every muscle in my back and I just hoped to come to a stop soon. He stopped the engine and finally my body's pain began to relieve. Excitement of overcoming such a dangerous thrill ride overpowered me like a dog's excitement when he completes a hard trick to get a cookie. This is what it's like. This adrenaline rush is what bikers have to live for.

That's when it finally began to dawn on me why bikers enjoyed the dangerous thrill rides so much; Although death can sometimes be on your mind the entire time, once you act fearless and stare death in the face, that is when you get the adrenaline rush that makes it all worth while. That's what it is like to be a biker, a street biker.

Ethnography Ideas

2010-02-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

Ethnography Ideas

Idea Number One:

1. What Subculture? Krumping

2. Why are you interested? I am interested in this subculture because I have seen Krumping a lot on television lately and I think, besides the fact that it is a type of dancing, I would like to learn about the culture behind the dance. A lot of people that dance, especially very expressive dancing like Krumping has stories of why they do that type of dance that go way back.

3. Access? Unfortunately I don’t know anybody personally who does this type of dance but the way I would access it would be online. I would watch the different types of people on youtube maybe and their different stories to observe.

4. What do you already know? I only know a little bit about what Krumping looks like but that’s about it.

5. Preconceptions or Biases? I don’t previously have any biases on the type of dance and the only preconception I have beforehand is that I think Krumping is pretty cool to watch. Especially things like their competitions.

Idea Number Two:

1. What Subculture? Religious Subculture (Christian)

2. Why are you interested? I am not religious myself, and I want to go to church and experience/observe “Sunday at church.” I always have been interested why Christians are the way they are and why they believe in the things they believe so I figure this is a great opportunity to go to church and observe the Christian subculture.

3. Access? I have a few friends that go to church, as well as my boyfriend and my parents are both very religious. I will probably go to church on a Sunday morning and attend a Christian church where I can comprehend the different things they learn and their values.

4. What do you already know? Honestly, I do not know tons of things about church or where the beliefs originated. I do know basics, like Christians believe in a God etc., but I do not know everything in the bible etc. and this is what I would like to learn.

5. Preconception? Biases? Going into this, I do have some biases because I do not believe in everything that Christians believe in so it will be interesting to try to understand their point of view. I don’t believe in everything that is in the Bible nor do I follow all the values a true Christian would follow.

Personal Essay

2010-02-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

The time frame is around a year ago, and I am driving home from work when I receive a call from my mom crying, with the tone of fear in her voice, and my heart begins to beat faster and faster. My mom says, “Sam, I need you to come home right now. We need to talk about something serious.” To me, that’s all I needed to hear in order for me to realize what the bad news was. I hang up the phone and feel my eyes tearing up, almost forgetting I am still driving. The whole ride home my mind stays completely blank. As I drive past all the different colored trees, all the different types of cars, and all the different kinds of people, my mind is so mangled that each one of those things look the exact same. All the different trees, cars and people look like blurry, faded, black and white objects, with no meaning or personality. As I drive home, I feel my body tingling with fear and all I can think about is him. I finally approach my house and I pull into my driveway slowly hoping that maybe if I slow down, time will slow down with me. I stop the car and feel the wetness of each tear drowned my eyes and run down my face like individual rivers. The tears keep coming now that my mind does not need to concentrate on the cement roads and staying between the yellow lines on the left and the white line on the right. I finally make it out of the car and see my mom. I knew something was really wrong by that single look she had in her eyes. I get into the house and she begins to tell me everything. “Samantha, the results came back. It’s not what we hoped but he does have it…he has cancer.” My heart dropped to what felt like my feet and I could not believe it. My mother has just told me my two-year old nephew and godson (this young, fun-loving boy who means the world to me) has brain cancer.

This nightmare all started when my nephew and sister lived with us at home and we began noticing Alex’s unusual behaviors. Alex wasn’t like other two-year old children and we could tell that there was something wrong. We knew we had to get him some help and figure out what is going on. We would go to different doctors and tell every doctor the same symptoms over and over, doctor after doctor. We would tell the doctors how Alex would do things like barely walk, constantly lay in the fetal position, and how when he did walk, he was always falling over or off balance. You could look into his eyes and see the fear he had inside, the pain, and the sadness. After many doctor’s appointments, we finally got some tests done such as MRI’s and CT Scans. Unfortunately, once the MRI results were back, that’s when it all became clear. We were informed that Alex had tumors in his brain and down his spine. At that time, we were unsure whether they were malignant or not. The doctors explained that his not wanting to walk was all because of the tumors causing pressure on the brain (hydrocephalus) and it was making it hard for him to hold his head up. After hearing that, I felt the tears run down my face. How could this happen to Alex, just at two years old?

But I will never forget actually seeing those MRI pictures when he was admitted into the hospital. I remember the doctor showing us Alex’s tumors. I have never seen anything like that in my whole entire life. The MRI pictures showed all his tumors in his brain and all the tumors down his spine. The ones in his brain looked like frosting on a cake, spread out all over the place. Then to see the number of masses down his whole spine, one after the other after another, back to back, on top of each other, it was horrible. We got the news that day that his tumors were in fact malignant and he in fact did have cancer. At two years old, my nephew Alex was diagnosed with cancer and began chemotherapy about six months ago.

Going through that experience with Alex, and of course continuing to go through this disease with him has been truly one of the hardest things I think I have ever had to face. The bad news kept getting worse and things never seemed to look up for him. He now is three years old and is legally blind from the pressure in his brain. Chemotherapy seems to be helping a bit and he will start preschool next year learning how to read and write brail. But now, watching Alex do things the way he does completely has changed the outlook on my own life. When I sat down to write this essay about my journey with Alex and his fight with cancer, I didn’t understand how or why HIS willingness, courage and fight could change my life for the better. After writing this essay I discovered that you don’t always look up to the people that are older than you and that people who are older are necessarily more experienced. I realized that Alex is and always will be my role model. Alex has changed my life and in ways has saved my life. Alex has made me want to make my life mean something and makes my life worth living because you never know when life can throw a curve ball at you. After writing this essay and thinking about my nephew, the question really shouldn’t be why did this happen to him, but rather it should be how is it possible that such a young child can persevere through such a terrible disease, still with a smile on his face and I can’t get through some rough days at school, or long days at work? Alex will forever be my role model and I learned that he can be through this essay.