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Final Reflection

I have always felt that I have been a talented writer. While some students are better at science and math, I found myself gravitating toward the subjects of English and art. However, I was a little nervous to start a college level writing course, even though I never had any trouble writing in high school. As my English 101 course started, I realized that I was not going to have to write any nine page papers in one day, so I was really happy. I never felt overwhelmed by any of the coursework and I also thought that my work was adequate. Sometimes there was an assignment that took a lot more work than other assignments, but overall I enjoyed writing and liked the projects that we did in class. One thing that I definitely struggled with though was time management. Between the five classes that I was in, homework really did add up quickly, so sometimes I was really stressed out by all the time that I knew I was going to have to put toward each assignment. This stressed then made me want to procrastinate, which happened this semester a lot more then I would like to admit. In the end, I realized that sometimes you have to compromise when you have ton of stuff to do and not a lot of time. As a perfectionist, this was a really hard concept for me to accept. I also had to learn how to write and think faster. My style of writing makes writing something really small take a really long time. I usually like to make each sentence perfect before moving onto the next, but this sometimes can take forever. My English 101 class really helped me to instead practice writing down a sloppy but long rough draft and then later revise it.

One of the pieces of writing I wrote for this course was a persuasive essay about why people should recycle their clothes. The assignment for this essay was to pick a topic that you were passionate about and then try to persuade the audience to agree by using information gained from other sources. In order to right an effective persuasive paper, I had to think rhetorically about my topic. This meant not just thinking about how I felt about the topic, but also about how some of my audience members who don’t have the same opinion thought about the topic. Once I figured out why some people might be against recycling their clothes, which could be because they think they don’t have enough time to do so, I wrote a paragraph explaining why I believe this argument really is not valid. Overall, I think my essay is very persuading because of all the statistics I used in it. I had to do a lot of research in order to find these statistics and I tried to use a variety of sources that were written by credible authors who may have a variety of different opinions. For example, one of my sources is a popular and credible news company, another is a website that is more business focused, and another is source is one that’s main purpose is to get people to care about the environment. Overall, I really enjoyed writing this paper because it was on a topic that I have strong feelings on so it made writing it very easy.

In addition to my persuasive paper, I also wrote a review paper for my class on the movie Moana. This paper was one of the most challenging for me because I had never wrote a review for a movie before. I definitely had to go outside my writing comfort zone which was a little stressful for me but it turned out fine. To help me know how to write an effective movie review, I first analyzed other people’s movie reviews on different movies. By doing this, I learned that there were a lot of similarities between all movie reviews such as the fact that they all started by summarizing the movie storyline, they told statistics about the movie, then their own opinion on the movie, and finally a rating. After I figured out how to write the perfect movie review, it was time for me to watch Moana and analyze it for my review. Once I knew what to include in my movie review, it was pretty easy to write it. For my review, I had to analyze who the audience was for the movie as well as what the main purpose and themes of the movie were. I learned a lot during the process of writing this movie review, including how to cite a movie in MLA format. Although it was not the best piece of writing I have ever completed, I think it was a pretty great movie review.  

In the end, I have definitely seen a big improvement in my writing skills over the course of this class. I became more aware of how to about how to think rhetorically when I am both reading and writing. I think that this is reflected in both my persuasive essay as well as in my movie review.  While I was taking my English 101 class, I also was taking a public speaking class and I found it to be really really helpful to have both at the same time. Sometimes the information I was learning in my speech class, such as how to analyze an audience, really helped me with my writing in English 101 and I also know that my speeches were a lot better because of my English 101 class. In addition, learned how to manage my time more efficiently in college because of this class. That is something that will continue to help me through my college career. Because of this class, I also feel a lot more confident with my writing. In high school, I always liked to have my mom or my best friend read over my work to make sure that it was “good enough” but now I feel like I can simply look over by myself.

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Response to Huppke’s Article

1. Huppke’s opinion on raising the minimum wage is not really for one side or the other on the debate. He thinks it would be a good idea to raise the minimum wage to the equivalency of inflation. However, he doesn’t think that raising the minimum wage will help solve the problem of poverty in America so that way he isn’t really “for” the argument of raising the minimum wage either. Huppke’s response is different from most authors’ responses when they take a stand because Huppke is not specifically on one side of the argument. His opinion more lies in the middle of the debate.

2. When Huppke tells about how his opinion changed while he was researching the debate, it gives his argument more credibility. This is because it shows that he did a substantial amount of research on both sides of the argument and was open to both sides of the argument during his research.

3. The end of the article is the part where Huppke really takes a stand and tells how he feels. Also, during the middle of the paper, he says that by raising the minimum wage, it doesn’t target those in poverty, which shows that he’s not too concerned with raising the minimum wage.

4. Huppke addresses the various sides of the debate by including facts that support both sides of the argument. For example, he talks about a report done by the Congressional Budget Office and says how it showed how raising the minimum wage could cause 500,000 jobs to be lossed, and then later goes on to say the same report found that it could push 900,000 people above the poverty line. I think by including both sides of the argument it makes Huppke opinion stronger because it shows he sees both sides of the argument.

5. In his series of articles, Huppke first introduced the topic of the minimum wage and why it is so controversial, talks about argument for and against raising the minimum wage, and concludes by taking his own stand on the debate. Those for raising the minimum wage believe it will raise people out of poverty and allow people to spend more. Those against raising the minimum wage say that it will cause people to lose their jobs. I believe that the minimum wage should be risen at least to the level of inflation, so that if someone is working a full time job that pays the minimum wage they would at least be able to afford food and housing. I also believe that on top of raising the minimum wage, people should also care about providing more education and job training in order to help those in poverty. I think this would greatly help those who are affected by poverty.

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Library Citation

Li, Yongjian, et al. “Governance of Sustainable Supply Chains in the Fast Fashion Industry.” European Management Journal, vol. 32, no. 5, 2014, pp. 823–836.

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Brief But Spectacular Take Script Draft

Intro:

-Video of snow falling

-Play Christmas Song, by Nat Cole

-Video of Christmas tree and lights

-Me reading a Christmas book, drinking hot coco at home. Camera shots of Christmas tree and fireplace

“Oh hi! I didn’t see you there”

*clap*

My name is Carleigh Roettger and my growing passion is Christmas

I have loved Christmas ever since I could remember

*show pictures of when I was younger* *Change sweaters*

The reason why I love Christmas so much is because of everything that comes along with it. I love being able to be around my family and friends. Because people have school and work off, we’re all able to get together to celebrate the holiday. We also have some amazing food which is always a great thing.  

My family and I have a lot of traditions that we love to keep going every year *show picture of pickle ornament*. One goofy one that we do is a game called find the pickle. This happens when my grandma hides a pickle ornament somewhere on the Christmas tree and whoever finds it first gets to open up a present.

*Change into Santa beard and hat*

Some people are don’t like Christmas. I call these people Scrooges and Grinches. I think it's because sometimes people get too caught up with the whole commercialization of Christmas. They’re too worried about gift giving and worrying about not giving enough gifts or the perfect gift to people. But i think in cases like this, we all just need to take a step back and realize that Christmas is so much bigger than just gifts.

My name is Carleigh Roettger and this is my growing passion on Christmas

Reid: But isn’t it too early to be celebrating Christmas?”

. *ask Alexa how many more days until Christmas*

*Video of Christmas lights with Merry Christmas text*

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Monopoly

Because the passage was fairly short, I read straight through the reading and only stopped to look up a couple word definitions. I did not take notes while reading the passage because it was on my laptop and I'd rather write notes down on paper. I kept my attention on the text the whole time and did not switch to any other tabs on my laptop except to look up the definitions. If I ever have a hard time understanding a text, I usually try to reread it or take a short break. Sometimes my eyes get tired of looking at a computer screen so then I have to take a break. When I am reading on my laptop, I can usually read for around fifteen minutes before I begin to lose my concentration but that also depends on how tired I am.

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Tell Me Something Narrative Response:

Every morning when I wake up, I reach over to my nightstand table and grab my water bottle to take a very long and refreshing sip. I then go to the fridge and refill it. All I have to do is push my water bottle up against the water dispenser button on my fridge and cold, pure, and clear water will rush out instantly. I then set my water bottle by my backpack so I don’t forget it when I leave for class or where ever I need to go.

When I’m cooking food and the recipe calls for a cup of cold water, all I need to do is stick a measuring cup right under the faucet and turn it on. I can even adjust the temperature of the water easily all by turning the handle. Once I am done making my meal and I need to clean up, water helps me again. All I do is stick my dirty dishes in the dishwasher and after I run it, I can expect to have clean dishes the next time I need to make food.

At the end of the day, when I am ready to relax and go to sleep, I take a shower so I can wake up the next day feeling refreshed and ready to go again. All I have to do is turn a handle, and clean water will pore out of the shower head. I am almost always cold, so I love the feeling of the hot water on me. In the shower, it is very relaxing and I am able to think very clearly so sometimes I am in there for twenty minutes. However, I never have to worry about running out of water.

Water is a very important part of everyone’s life. We need it to survive and it helps keep us clean and refreshed. Sometimes, I think that a lot of people in America take it for granted. All we have to do is turn on a faucet or press a button and pure and safe drinking water spills out. However, in a lot of other countries, this is not the case. Some people have to walk miles every day just to get a sip of water. Others in foreign countries my not even have the means to get clean drinking water. In America, we are very lucky to have access to our water.

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Peer Review

First Peer Review:

Writer’s Name: Justin Stolp

Reader’s Name : Carleigh Roettger

Reader’s comments:

1.  The main point of the authors text is to persuade the reader that weed should be legalized in America. The author stated the pros and cons of the argument against the legalization of weed. However, until the conclusion, it is hard to tell what position the writer is taking on the debate of weed legalization so he should state his opinion right away in the introduction.

2. The writer is responding to the fact that a lot of states and countries are legalizing weed so the entire country of America should also. These events further support the author’s argument because if other countries are doing it, then maybe America should too. I would say that the author offers a good amount of background information. I think it was a good idea to have just two body paragraphs to really show that there is two distinct sides to the argument. The author speaks with authority and believe what the author is saying because there’s credible sources and also the contradicting opinion.

3. Like I said before, I like how the paper is organized with just two body paragraphs to show how separate the two sides of the argument for marijuana legalization is.  The language choice is a little week I feel like though, some more descriptive words would be nice. The introduction really catches my attention because it is surprising that the writer would ask such an accusing question but it needs a clear thesis. The author talks a lot about why marijuana is bad, which is good to show both sides of the argument but if he wants to argue that weed is good he should maybe give a reason that the other side’s opinion is wrong.

4. There is quite a bit of grammar errors but I notified the author.  

5. One strength about the text is the attention getter, it really draws the reader in

6. The writer could improve the essay by adding a clear thesis in the introduction, revision grammar errors, and citing the bibliography in MLA format.

Second Peer Review:

Writer’s Name Vince Skroch

Reader’s Name: Carleigh Roettger

Reader’s comments:

1. The text’s main point is to persuade the readers that second hand smoke is a big problem and there should be more smoke free environments especially around kids. My reading confirms the writer’s comments.

2. The author is responding to the fact that lots of people are dying because of lung cancer and other diseases related to secondhand smoke. These events have influenced the writers work by giving him startling statistics and facts to support his argument. I feel like these facts offer enough background info for the reader. The writer speaks with authority and is believable because of these statistics as well.

3. I think that the organization of the essay is effective because it first starts out explaining that research says second hand smoke is a problem and then talks about what the effects of secondhand smoke are and wraps up the essay talking about solutions for the problem. The language choice is basic but appropriate. I feel like the introduction could have been a little stronger if he used a statistic about how deadly second hand smoke is for the attention getter and if there was a clearer thesis. The effects of the text is to make the writer feel upset about the amount of deaths from secondhand smoke and this was definitely intended.

4. There are quite a few grammar errors that need to be fixed as well as sentence structures but I notified that author.

5. There are lots of good and persuasive facts in the essay that really reinforce the writer’s argument.

6. A few things that the writer could improve on is revision grammar errors, citing sources properly, I clear thesis in the introduction, and citing sources in MLA format in the bibliography. 

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Favorite Brief But Spectacular Takes

1. She’s 91 but she feels 15. Here’s her secret: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUc7hjYLbI

2.  Brief But Spectacular: Padma Lakshmi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs568hoqf2k

3.  Poet Sarah Kay’s ‘Brief but Spectacular’ take on poetry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrY9n4O0tCo

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Position Paper

How many pounds of clothes do you throw away every year? If you are like most other Americans, chances are you have no idea. However, according to Eleanor Goldberg’s Huffington Posts report on clothing waste, the average person in America throws away approximately eighty one pounds of clothing every year (Goldberg). Sadly, ninety five percent of this clothing could have been recycled (Goldberg). Clothing waste is a major problem not just in America, but around the world. As the production of clothes becomes cheaper and faster, more and more clothes pour into landfills. In turn, this causes an increase in greenhouse gases as well as more toxic pollution to leak into our lakes and rivers, furthering the demise of our planet. I believe that people starting to recycle their old clothes and buying thrifted clothings items would be a big step in the right direction when it comes to saving our planet.

Sadly, people tend to avoid recycling their clothes because they are too lazy to try to sell them to other people or bring them to a thrift store. In today’s society, people are constantly busy, so to take the time to bring old clothes somewhere else seems like a waste of time if there is a trash can two feet from their closet. However, there are lots of places close to home that will take your old clothes such as Goodwill or the Salvation army. All you have to do is pull up your car and workers will happily unload all your bags of unwanted clothes and then you’re on to your way. In addition to Goodwill or Salvation Army, some stores such as Plato’s Closet and Cherry Pickers will even pay you cash on the spot for some of your gently used name brand clothing, which is even more incentive to donate your used textiles. However, for some, leaving your home may be enough of a turn off not to donate your clothes, so for this there is a solution. There are many mobile apps and website that people can use to sell or get rid of old clothes. These include Let Go, Poshmark, Thread Up, Ebay, Craigslist, and so many more. As you can see, there are a variety of ways to get rid of clothes that does not involve throwing them away.

However, even with people donating their old clothes, some textiles may still end up in landfills if people choose not to buy thrifted clothes and instead always buy brand new items. Many people are turned off by the idea of buying clothes that have been worn by other people. One reason for this state of mind is the idea that wearing someone else’s old clothes is unsanitary. However, washing used clothes can quickly get rid of any signs of them having a previous owner. Another reason that people choose to buy brand new clothes instead of thrifted outfits is because they think that shopping at thrift stores is uncool. This isn’t the case anymore though. In fact, thrift shopping is become trendy, and for good reason. At thrift stores, you can find cute styles that are both brand new and vintage for affordable prices (Zaleski). And as a push for environmental awareness and sustainability increase, so does the trend for thrift shopping.

Thankfully, there are many ways that we as consumers can help control the pollution of the fashion industry. The first step we can take to help this is to stop buying fast fashion items. Fast fashion items are articles of clothing that are very inexpensive and move quickly from the catwalk to big retail stores in order to meet the customer demand (Fast Fashion). However, do to the fast pace and cheep price of these textiles, they often are poor quality and go out of style just as fast as they go in. In the end, the fast fashion items find themselves in landfills, causing unnecessary pollution. In fact, according to the World Resources Institute.org, the average customer has bought sixty percent more clothing in 2014 than in 2000 , and each garment last half as long. This is a serious problem. To undo this catastrophe, people need to think twice about what they are buying. Instead of buying cheap fast fashion clothes, you should save your money and buy more expensive, high quality clothes that will last longer and therefore stay out of landfills longer. As talked about before, people can also utilize their local thrift stores for both buying and donating clothes. This will help keep clothes in the consumers closets instead of in heaping landfills.

Another idea that I propose is to have places for both people and companies to get rid of old clothes that will then go to textile recycling facilities. As mentioned before, ninety five percent of the clothing items that Americans throw away could have been recycled. The problem is, people don’t know where to dispose of their clothes so that they will be recycled. However, if there were bins for old, scrappy, stained, ripped, and otherwise unwearable clothes to be placed in, the amount of clothing in landfills could therefore be decreased dramatically. After people put their old clothes into these bins, which will be located conveniently in cities all across America, they will be picked up and brought to a textile recycling facility. Here, machines will cut down the fabric into small pieces and form them into pellets to be spun into new fabric. The clothes will also be sorted by color so that redying will not have to completed, which will save both energy and dye pollution. While this recycling may be expensive, the recycled thread can be sold to companies, which will make them into new fabric to make into make clothes. As you can see, with the cooperation of citizens and these new textile recycling bins, clothes can be completely eliminated from landfills.

I firmly believe that recycling clothing will drastically decreasing global pollution which is a big step to solving the world’s environmental issues. While many people want to be environmentally conscious, they often times let laziness get in the way of recycling their old clothing. However, by donating old clothing, buying from thrift shops, as well as recycling unusable clothes, Earth and its resources can be preserved for future generations to enjoy. So next time you go to throw away an out of style shirt, think of how it will impact the environment while toiling in a landfill.

Bibliography

Goldberg, Eleanor. “You’re Probably Going To Throw Away 81 Pounds Of Clothing This Year.”

Huffington Post, 8 June 2016,www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/youre-likely-going-to-

throw-away-81-pounds-of-clothing-this-year_us_57572bc8e4b08f74f6c069d3.

“Fast Fashion.” Investopedia , 2018, www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fast-fashion.asp.

Zaleski, Annie. “How Thrift Shopping's Positive Social Impact Helps People Overcome

Barriers.” Des Moines Register, 21 June 2018,www.desmoinesregister.com/story

/sponsor-story/2018/06/21/why-thrift-shopping-having-moment/721915002/.

Sweeny, Glynis. Fast Fashion Is the Second Dirtiest Industry in the World, Next to Big

Oil, EcoWatch, 16 Oct. 2018, www.ecowatch.com/fast-fashion-is-the-second-

dirtiest-industry-in-the-world-next-to-big--1882083445.html.

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-garment-recycling-works-2877992

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Position Paper Revised Intro and Conclusion

Intro: Revised attention getter and citation of source

How many pounds of clothes do you throw away every year? If you are like most other Americans, chances are you have no idea. However, according to a report on clothing waste written by Eleanor Goldberg on the Huffington Post’s website, the average person in America throws away approximately eighty one pounds of clothing every year (Goldberg). Sadly, ninety five percent of this clothing could have been recycled (Goldberg). Clothing waste is a major problem not just in America, but around the world. As the production of clothes becomes cheaper and faster, more and more clothes pour into landfills. In turn, this causes an increase in greenhouse gases as well as more toxic pollution to leak into our lakes and rivers, furthering the demise of our planet. I believe that people starting to recycle their old clothes and buying thrifted clothings items would be a big step in the right direction when it comes to saving our planet.

Conclusion: Fixed grammar errors 

I firmly believe that recycling clothing will drastically decreasing global pollution which would be a big step to solving the world’s environmental issues. While many people want to be environmentally conscious, they often times let laziness get in the way of recycling their old clothing. However, by donating old clothing, buying from thrift shops, as well as recycling unusable clothes, Earth and its resources can be preserved for future generations to enjoy. So next time you go to throw away an out of style shirt, think of how it will impact the environment while toiling in a landfill.

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Brief But Spectacular Take 

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Here’s What Happened Narrative Essay

Wake up at six, go to school, go to practice, go home, do homework, sleep, and repeat. This is how almost every other weekday for me would have gone, however this one was very different. It was a cold, dark, and rainy thursday night before my high school’s homecoming football game. All week long, the senior girl’s group chats were on fire. Who’s hitting whose house? What supplies is everyone bringing? When and where are we meeting? While this may seem very suspicious to some, this was the norm for each senior high school class during homecoming week. Senior girls would have a “senior girls night out” where they would go around to every senior boys house and do minimal amounts of harmless vandalism. In return, the boys would have a “senior boys night out” the week of spring fling to get revenge on the senior girls. For the past four years that I had been in high school, I had heard so many outrageous and funny stories about the things that people would do on these crazy nights, and finally it was my turn to make memories of my own on my “senior girls night out.” Hastily, I put on the all black outfit I planned, slipped on my running shoes, and hurried out the door with my supplies before my mom could ask any questions.

When I arrived at my friend’s house, everyone was already there and sorting out a variety of items we had bought. Toilet paper, silly string, plastic wrap, glitter, diapers, tampons, shaving cream, hot pink thongs, and so much more were stuffed into plastic bags and labeled with an unfortunate senior boy’s name. I felt both anxious and very excited as I waited for the time to be one in the morning to assure that all the boys would be fast asleep when we hit their houses. I thought about how tired I would be the next day during my classes, but there was no way I was going to miss out on this opportunity. Before I had a chance to fall asleep, the clock showed one o’clock, and me and my friends quickly loaded into the car and drove to our first victims house.

When we arrived, me and my friends quickly and quietly hopped out of the car, grabbed the supplies, and went to work decorating our guy friend’s yard with all sorts of reminders that we had been there. Me and my best friend Anna played catch as we threw a roll of toilet paper back and forth over the tree branches in the yard. My other friends went crazy with drawing shaving cream designs all over the driveway as well as decorating our guy friend’s car with pads and tampons. We all tried not to burst out into laughter as we hung underwear and diapers in the trees. However, just as we were about to seran wrap the car, we noticed a light in the house turn on. We all froze and I could feel my heart stop in my chest. As soon as the front house lights turned on, my friends and I started running as fast as we could back toward the car because we did not want to get caught. I don’t think I have ever sprinted so fast in my entire life. As soon as we were all in, my friend stepped on the gas and we sped off to our next destination.

During that night, we ended up going to about seven houses in total, and each one looked amazing when we were done. However, the house that we got the best was our friend meason’s. After we left, each tree was decorated in such a thick layer of toilet paper that it looked like it had snowed. His truck was also very festive, and was wrapped multiple times with seran wrap and pink party streamers. In fact, my friend’s and I were so proud of the work that we did that we had to get a group picture with our graduating year spelled out with pads, an adult diaper, sticky notes, and tampons in his driveway.

I know for sure that I will never forget my “senior girls night” out and it was definitely a major highlight of my time in high school. I’m sure that ever senior girl whoever partakes in the event will agree with me. The night is also very important because it brought me so much closer to my friends and classmates. Although I was freezing cold and sleep deprived when I got home, I was also very happy. Even as I looked at the picture of me and all my friends that night in the driveway of Mason’s house with our graduating class year in front of us, it makes me smile, and I think it will forever.

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Mutt Love Rescue

http://www.muttloverescue.org/index.html

Mutt Love Rescue’s website is very effective at getting people to donate money and adopt a dog due to the amount of pathos they use. Right away when anyone opens the website, they look into the eyes of an adorable but sad looking puppy sitting on the porch and that would make anyone’s heart melt. Right under that picture, there is a link so that anyone can donate money and a tab to click on to “save a life.” Overall, the website relies heavy on the use of pathos to convince its viewers to contribute or adopt a dog.  Under one tab labeled “available dogs,” there is several pictures of extremely adorable pups that can be either adopted or fostered by any good home. In addition, under the “save a life” tab there is more information that is valuable to people looking to donate and more pictures of poor dogs, some of which that had to be put down. This information and pictures makes viewers guilty and sad, which in turn pressures them to donate money to the cause, which is why the website creators were sure to put a donation link in this section. However, there are a couple things that this website could do to become more convincing. They could add sad music to really pull at the heart strings, add facts and stories, and fill in some of the black space at the edge of the website. They could also show some picture of dogs that were hurt or in bad shape so that it really showed what would happen to the dogs if people don’t donate money. If these last details were added, no one with a heart or compassion would be able to resist contributing to Mutt Love Rescue adorable cause.

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Sprigg's Essay on Buying Local

1. I would say that Spriggs has definitely convinced me that her topic is important. She did this by using facts that were about how the Earth will be thrown out of balance if we don’t make changes to our current lifestyle. For example, she mentioned that Glacier National Park could be gone by the year 2030 due to Carbon dioxide emission and then talked about how shopping locally can prevent this from happening.

2. There are several counterarguments that Spriggs considers such as the fact that buying locally limits people’s options. However, she quickly counters this argument by saying that this will make people enjoy their food more and it is one small sacrifice people can make when it comes to saving the planet. She also mentions the counter arguments that buying locally is worse for the environment and the economy but also immediately gives reasoning for why this isn’t true.

3. One section of the essay that I find to be very effective is at the beginning when she talks about the effects that carbon dioxide has on the environment. This good reasoning and evidence as well as the clear identification of why the topic matters makes the essay very effective especially when she goes on to talk about how buying locally eliminates carbon dioxide.

4. The pictures that Spriggs include in her essay really help support the argument because they show the audience that her argument is real. For example, when she shows a picture of several semi trucks it really shows that the transportation of produce across thousands of miles is happening and is contributing to carbon dioxide emission.

5.What is the cost of having strawberries for breakfast with your cereal in the morning during wintertime in Wisconsin? Well according to Katherine Spriggs’ essay on buying local, it could be very devastating when it comes to our world's environment. Without a doubt, I agree with Spriggs that people should buy locally and boycott foods from places far away because of the negative effects that not buying locally has on the environment.

One reason why I support Sprigg’s argument is because of the resources it takes to transport all the produces from one location to the next. This is because the transportation of goods across thousands of miles is extremely costly when it comes to money and fuel. The Earth only has a limited amount of fossil fuel so if is not necessary to transport a vegetable thousands of miles when it can be bought from a farmers market five miles away then why waste a precious resource? Another reason I support Spriggs’ argument is because all the transportation it takes to move the produce released lots of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere. This in turn causes global warming which threatens many species of animal’s habitats.

However, some people argue that buying locally is unrealistic because it limits the amount of choices they have when it comes to their diet. As Spriggs mentioned, people want whatever kind of food they desire at their convenience. They don’t want to have to wait several months for their favorite fruit to come back in to season and would rather just be able to pick up whatever they please from their local grocery store. However, this is really a selfish way of thinking especially if it means the extinction of important species of animals and their habitats.

In the end, it is clear to see that Sprigg’s has a very valid point and that people need to start buying locally so that the planet can be preserved for future generations. So next time you go to eat apples in the spring, think about all the carbon dioxide that was emitted into the air so that the apple you are eating can be on your plate.

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Voices from Rural Americans

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/education/edlife/voices-from-rural-america-on-why-or-why-not-go-to-college.html

1. Pappano’s Article does a really good job at complementing the report article because it puts real students behind some of the information and statistics in the report article. In almost every rural student’s paragraph, they mention that poverty and lack of education in their small town is a big influencer on why a lot of other students in there situation don’t end up going to college, which is a big point made in the report article. One interesting point that was brought up in the report article that was not talked about much in Pappano’s article was that colleges are starting to care more about rural students. Some want to offer rural students scholarships and believe that geographical diversity is just as important as racial diversity in their college. However, the report article did not talk about how the students upbringing in small conservative towns affected their transition into college, which Pappano’s article did talk about. For example, the student named Autumn from Minnesota explained that she was being judged for her more conservative beliefs.

2. The report article talked about how after rural students go to college they will probably not be able to come back. This is because in a lot of small rural towns, there is not a lot of jobs that require a college degree. One student who I believe will stay in their rural town is Ryan because he is planning on getting a certificate in diesel technology and then working at his current job in his hometown so there is no need for him to travel anywhere else. On the other hand, I think that Richard will end up leaving his rural town and not returning because he plans on studying medicine and will probably need to look outside his small town to find a job after he graduates. Richard also achieved a very high GPA and ACT score and was able to take some advanced placement courses in high school which will help him be very successful in college.

3. If I was to write a letter giving advice and suggestions to Autumn, a new college student from a rural town, I would say:

Dear Autumn,

Going to college from a small, rural high school is a big leap but if you are willing to work hard then you will have amazing things come your way. I understand that you really value your beliefs which is totally okay and I think it is great that you are not willing to change them because of someone else. In college, there are a lot of ways you can meet other people who have the same beliefs and hobbies as you by joining clubs, which can help you stay connected and feel more accepted. Some days in college may be difficult and really challenge you but don't give up. You may feel sometimes like you are the only one struggling but so many people are so don’t be afraid to ask for help along the way if you ever feel overwhelmed.

[carleighroettger-blog]

Moana Movie Review

Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, Moana is a fantastic animated movie that has a lovable storyline and characters as well as great music. Moana is a Walt Disney Production movie which debuted in the year 2016. It is classified as a musical and family movie and is actually Disney's 55th animated film. The movie follows the journey of a Pacific Island girl, named Moana, as she tries to restore the heart of Te Fiti which she needs to accomplish in order to save her people. Moana is a young woman who is next in line to become chief of her small village and suddenly notices that her home island in the South Pacific is beginning to experience a food shortage due to natural occurrences.  This is because the heart, which belongs to the island goddess Te Fiti, was stolen by a the demigod character named Maui, who is played by Dwayne Johnson, causing Moana's home island and other islands in the Pacific Ocean to experience a loss of animals and vegetation. With the help of the ocean, who chose her to go on the journey, as well as her grandmother, Moana travels across the ocean to first find Maui and then restore the heart of Te Fiti. Along her adventure, she faces many challenges that stall her journey and teach her important lessons. In the end, Moana is able to restore the heart of Te Fiti and save her people and their island. Throughout the movie, the theme of friendship and not giving up are constantly playing out. These are both important themes that everyone can relate to. One particular thing that is great about the movie is the way that the creators portray the character Moana. Unlike most Disney Princesses, who are usually pictured as being fragile and lady-like, Moana is very strong, brave, and never willing to give up even though sometimes her journey seems impossible. Overall, Moana is a beautifully animated film. There is a great attention to detail especially when the characters enter the spirit realm, where there is a lot of colors and elaborate monsters and plants. The story is also very impressive, and there is a lot of detail when it comes to Moana’s culture. I really enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to anyone, especially those who like Disney movies and movies with a happy ending. The storyline was really great and constantly kept me wondering what was going to happen next. Throughout the movie, I really grew to like the characters and I thought they were all developed very well. Another thing that I really enjoyed about the movie were the songs and movie soundtrack, which I thought were very catchy and adorable. The only thing I did not like about the movie is that some points were a little unrealistic, which is to be expected when in comes to animated family movies.  In the end, I would give the movie a rating of four and a half stars because of the beautiful animation job, well thought out storyline, and lovable soundtrack.

Moana.  Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker. Perfs. Osnat Shurer. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2016. DVD.

[carleighroettger-blog]

Flash Mob

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-5uBDDtvLpakwB_d3kPB94bzAr3SeuY3XnojDHLkiWo/edit?usp=sharing

In order to plan out a flash mob, my group members and I looked at an article on how to organize a flash mob on Wikihow.com. From there, we thought of a theme, which was Charlie Brown Christmas, and then decided what the details would be. We wrote every idea we had on a piece of paper and then later revised it by deciding what would work with are theme the best and what was the most realistic. Overall, I was really happy with how our flash mob idea turned out and wouldn’t do anything differently. Sometimes I am a bit skeptical about collaborating with other people on a project because some people don’t finish their job, but this was actually a pleasant group project experience. The work was split up evenly and everyone’s ideas were incorporated into the project which made for an amazing flash mob.