Entry Fifteen: 50 Proud Moments

1. Being Senior Class President
2. Achieving a 4.0
3. Being chosen as a Peer Advisor
4. Getting my subbing certificate
5. Staying close with my high school friends throughout college
6. I was able to go to Europe for two weeks without my family
7. I learned how to change a diaper and burp a baby
8. I go to mass regularly
9. When my niece and nephew were born
10. Organizing a philanthropy for my Uncle in Iraq
11. Maintaining all of my scholarships throughout college
12. I've had the same best friend for sixteen years
13. I'm close with both parents
14. When I passed the C-Base the first time
15. When I got into the College of Education
16. This summer I got A's in both of my 500 level classes
17. When I opened my bid for Sigma Kappa
18. I got slated for a position my first semester in college
19. I'm proud of my knowledge of KU Basketball
20. My friends can come to me with any of their problems
21. My friend Mikayla asked me to be her maid of honor
22. The friends I've made in college
23. I'm graduating early
24. I did well in my mock interview
25. I can make my friends laugh when they are sad
26. I have a close relationship with my grandma 
27. I also am very close with my aunts, uncles, cousins
28. I'm proud of my Irish heritage
29. I've worked at Hy-Vee for over four years
30. I've been told I will make a great teacher
31. When I got into Northwest
32. Each year, I grow closer and closer to my two brothers
33. I'm learning how to cook
34. I'm eating healthier
35. Of the writer I have become over the years
36. My morals
37. My inability to stay mad at someone
38. Having skipped less than ten classes my whole college career
39. I call my mom every day
40. My excellent memory
41. My ability to quote movies
42. My knowledge of pop culture
43. My planing abilities
44. My communication skills
45. Being asked to help coach the freshman girls team my senior year of high school
46. Winning Courtwarming Queen
47. I'm a loyal person
48. I'm forgiving
49. Skipping a grade
50. I'm proud that I was able to come up with fifty things!

Entry Fourteen: Nature Walk Poem

As I walk to my car I’m surrounded by darkness

With the moon as my sole savior

Shadows move around me

Making me question whether or not I’m alone

Even the crunch of the grass sounds eerie

I get in the car and lock the doors

The sound of Taylor Swift calms my apprehension

For the time being

Driving home I notice the stars

I wonder why they weren’t there a few minutes ago

When I was walking in the dark

Then a truck comes from the opposite direction

With lights so bright, they seem to mock me

And my fear of what is happening in the dark

I pull in the parking lot

And see that dumb cat lurking on around the place

I hurry into my apartment

Locking the door

Leaving the eeriness of night behind me

Entry Thirteen: Response to 'Follow That Cab'

I really enjoyed this short story. The form is what made it interesting for me because I was able to put myself in the shoes of the husband and wife as they were running around frantically trying to find the taxi and their suitcase. I think had the author of the story not used such choppy sentences, then the effect would be lost amongst readers.

Entry Twelve: Reflection

To be honest, I have not stuck to my weekly writing plans so far this semester and the only excuse I have for it is lack of time. I know that seems like a lame excuse, but I feel like I am constantly doing homework or projects or papers. Not to mention all of the extra stuff necessary for me to do for my sorority and my job as peer advisor. And when I actually have time to myself, I don't really want to pick up a pen and start writing, in face I just want to sit down and watch Lifetime movies with my roommate while doing the occasional facebook creeping...yes I'm guilty...
Now that Homecoming is over, I do think that I will be able to devote more time to my writing, and perhaps I will become more comfortable with it as well. I am not really sure how I feel about the fact that I haven't been writing mainly because I don't feel like I have stopped because I am constantly writing something for classes; but maybe if I make time I'll start to make sense of things that have been bogged in my head that I haven't had time to get out of my head....maybe that time is now...

Entry Eleven: Rewrite of "Praise the Tortilla"

I praise Irish Soda Bread in memory of my Grandpa
who so loved this treat, with its raisins and green colored sprinkles
whose face would light up when we took it to him after chemo

I praise Irish Soda Bread because it is so dang delicious
and thank God it is only sold once a year or I would be more voluptuous

I praise Irish Soda Bread because it's a symbol of my heritage
and the family I have been given for whatever reason
It reminds me where I came from and who got me there

Entry Ten: Poem Review

Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem "Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person, Could Believe in the War between Races" appears to be coming from a person fighting a very serious internal battle. Cervantes finds herself in a conflict between the world she lives in when she secludes herself inside versus the real world that awaits her outside the door. I think this poem could make a case for being canonized as a great poem because it speaks to an issue that so many Americans find themselves battling. Throughout the poem the theme of conflict shines through as she uses words like "my land" versus "this country" clearly defining a separate feeling for each one. Many people will find this poem easy to relate to, which is something that I think needs to be considered while determining whether something is "great" or not.

Entry Nine: "Two Ways to Belong in America"

Reflecting on the reading, "Two Ways to Belong in America" and how the two sisters took two different approaches to adapting to their new life in America. After reading and thinking about my own life and my own values and beliefs, I would have to say that if I were to permanently move to a new country, I would find myself somewhere in the middle of whether or not I was supposed to conform to the identity of that culture or carry on with the identity that has been created for me here in America. I think at first, it would be difficult to dive into that new culture just because it would be new and scary and completely different. However, after spending significant time in that country, I think it would be important for me to adapt to the customs of their culture and try and integrate myself into the working community. I think that if I were to want to be successful in that new country, adapting to their ways would be almost a necessity and if I wanted to live their long term, I would possibly consider citizenship of that nation in order for me to have a more permanent sense of belonging. I do think it is important to remember where you came from, and for the most part my values and beliefs that have been instilled in me as an American would remain the core of my value system.

Entry Eight: Nature Walk

This might be difficult without any adjectives, but here it goes....

I walk out the main door of my friend's apartment and as always I'm slightly overwhelmed with how dark it is. Her apartment doesn't really have street lamps and when I leave at 10:30 at night there isn't a whole lot to illuminate my walk to my car. Luckily tonight, the moon is my guide and as I click the unlock button on my car, that anxiety heightens in my stomach just a little bit. Shadows kind of creep me out, especially when I'm not sure is casting them and the lack of sound is so deafening that I wish her usual party animal neighbors were outside going crazy right now. The grass crunches under my feet from the cold air, that consumes this place as soon as the sun goes down,. I get into the front seat and turn on my car, turn up the Taylor Swift CD that is permanently in my player and wait for my car to heat up. As I pull out of the parking lot, the anxiety in my stomach begins to subside. The stars are lighting the streets ahead of me and I see a couple pushing a stroller along the sidewalk. I think to myself, "What in the world are they doing walking their baby at this time of night?" as I momentarily pass judgement regarding the couple's decision for their own late night nature walk, I'm blinded by the brights of a truck that looks as if it could demolish my Camry. I turn onto my street and pull into my parking, turn off my car and walk to my door. The eerie feeling is still there as I watch the same cat walk across the parking lot that is there every week. I walk into my apartment and lock the door, leaving the eeriness of the night behind me.

Entry Seven: Response to a Blog

I randomly picked Jake's blog for this assignment and I decided to respond to his posting about the two buildings, which we wrote in our writing journal. When I started reading his post, I neglected the title (which gave away the name of the building) but I automatically knew what building he was talking about. As soon as I read the words "Its Saturday night. The mood is hyped up, the music is loud and the line to get in this old, rugged building is seemingly never ending," I knew that he must be talking about the Outback. I think it's cool that Jake was able to use so few words to effectively describe a place to the point that readers would know what he was talking about. I was put in the moment by what he wrote and was forced to think about that long line that leads into the bar and how cold it can be waiting outside, especially in the winter, because no one dresses weather appropriate and the atmosphere that is created once inside the bar. At the Outback, everyone is just so happy to see each other and forget about the stresses of school and other obligations and just have one night to have fun; and that is what was going through my mind as I read Jake's piece.