Whitman's Language of the Self

I thought the article about Whitman's Language of the Self was very true. The article mentions Whitman's egotistical writing style. I found a lot of this in Whitman's poems that I read. He seems like he is in love with himself, and he is the main topic of all of his writings. I personally do not like Whitman's writing style. It is very self centered and uninteresting to me. I do not enjoy reading about someone who thinks he is the best thing that ever happened to the world. Mark Bauerlien writes, "But, together with Whitman's glorification of the paramount self, one also finds a series of rhetorical gestures that obscure and even censure the self. Some of Whitman's self-amplifications actually undermine the centrality of his identity." It is clear to me that no matter how you spin it, Whitman writes about himself way to much. Throughout his poem entitled Excelsior, Whitman literally does nothing except compliment himself and proclaim that he has done everything better than everyone else. I did not enjoy reading any of his poems because of this reason. The mans ego is obviously very big if he claims that he is the best at everything that he does. I found it interesting after reading the article that Whitman did not like his parents and left his home at age twelve. After this, Whitman became an apprentice printer. A little later after this, Whitman discovered that he was a gay with much surprise. Overall, I thought the article about Whitman's Language of the Self was very good. I thought that the message of the article was correct and I agreed with all the main points in the writing. Mark Bauerlien obviously did his research before witting this article and it made Whitman's Language of the Self a very interesting read. Even though that I do no enjoy reading Whitman's writings because of his self centered topics, I did enjoy reading this article about Whitman's Language of the Self.

Covering a War

I think that being a journalist in the war would be very exciting in many ways. I also think that being a journalist in the war is a pretty big deal, and something you would never forget. You would get to see many things during this time, such as how the soldiers live, how they fought on the front line, and how they tried to survive and be safe everyday. Even though it would be exciting it would also be very dangerous and scary at the same time. You would never know what is coming next, and you would just have to be along for the crazy ride. You would probably have to get stuck in many different situations, some scary and some exciting. You would always have to be ready for these different situations. There would also be many different obstacles you would have to go through to get to the places you were going to get the information you needed from the people who had the information. You would be able to learn so much, and do things you wouldnt normally get to do on a day to day basis. Being a journalist during the war, would be like being in the war yourself without totally being in it. You would get to feel and see what all the fighters are seeing and feel like you are a part of it. Being a journalist during a war would be something you would never forget. You would always remember being there because it would be a pretty big time in your life. Also, it would probably be the most exciting times in your life, but yet the scariest. You would tell people about it all the time, and telling the stories would never get old. Also, you would be experiencing something that not a lot of people get to experience in their life, so you would be pretty lucky. You would be one of the closest people to the war, besides the ones that are actually in it. Being a journalist in the war would probably be a great experience, and one you wouldnt forget.

Persuading Someone What I Want To Do

This year I really wanted my friend Ryan McLaughlin to play baseball with me. He has not been playing baseball for three years now, so he will need some work. I want him to be on our team because I think we will have a chance to do pretty good this year, so it would be cool if he was with us. We also have a lot of fun in baseball, and he would probably enjoy it. The more people that are on the baseball team the funner it is . All of Ryan's friends are on the team anyways, so he might as well be on it. He would probably have fun if he was in baseball again. Ryan is already in two sports though that take up a lot of time during the year so he isn't for sure if he wants to be in baseball. Convincing him to be on the team is kind of hard. He likes baseball a lot, and is a big Cardinal fan, therefore he would have fun actually playing the sport. I also think the whole team would enjoy him being on the team. Most of the players are friends with him, so I think he would have fun with us. Also, we could use a designated hitter, and he thinks he could do that. The more players we have the better we could be. Also, if someone were to get hurt he could play for them, because he knows what he is doing enough to play the position. I am still convincing him to play baseball, because he still is not sure. Most likely he will play because a lot of his friends are playing. Everyone is convincing him to play too. I think he would enjoy it, especially if we do good this season. He might as well be on the team, I really want him to do this. Even if he did not start, he would be a fun person to have on the team. I finally did persuade Ryan to play baseball. I think it is a good decision on his part. He will not regret being on our team.

Finding Out Who I Really Am

I think that everyone should be who they really are. I do not like it when people try to act like someone they are not and when they fake their personality. I think that people do this all the time when they try to fit in to a different group of people. They will do so much just to fit in. This is very common, especially in high school. When everyone is trying to find their true friends.. Everyone tries to be in a certain group and sometimes people will try to hard. They try so hard that they lose all of their friends instead of gaining one or two. I do not think that I do this. I try to be who I really am all the time. I feel like people like for who I am no matter what I do. I do not like faking my personality to any one, because then I will eventually be the real me. With me, I will always be myself and will always be honest with you about myself. I do not fake any thing and I do not like it when other people do this. I do not change my personal values to fit in with any certain group of people. I do what I do because I want to do it, not because other people want me to. I don't always care what people think of me, they either like me or they don't. I just try to be myself, and being myself so far has actually got me somewhere. I have good friends, and it also helps when it comes to sports. If you be yourself you will be better off, and in the long run everything will work out. People will like you a lot, they will know its the real you, and they will be around you a lot more. You will have more friends, and a better life. Being a fake person once again is something i don't like, and in the end everyone will find out who you really are so just be yourself. You will get farther. So don't be afraid to be who you really are!

Tested by Nature

One experience when I was tested by nature, was the Pleasant Plains Baseball southern trip my freshman year. The weather was the worst possible conditions for a baseball game. The temperature was around 15 degrees and the wind was gusting, making it seem even colder than it actually was. At the time, I was a freshmen on the team and I did not play very much. We had three games in this one day and by the third, I literally thought I was going to die from the extreme cold. There was a small heater in the dugout, but it did no good in warming the team. Coach Greer was in a bad mood because the team was not doing well and the cold made it even worse. I do not remember playing much in these three games, but I wish that I had. Playing might have kept me a little warmer than just sitting in a freezing dugout. The cold was so bad that I was just wishing for the games to be over no matter if we won or not. This is very unlike me. I always want to win no matter what, but the weather had worn me down to just not caring. The only thing on my mind was leaving the game and getting warm. I think at one point in the game snowfall began to precipitate but it was gone in a matter of minutes. My hands were so numb that I could not feel anything. I was in the cold all day long and it was one of the most miserable experiences that nature has put me through. When I read this assignment, this experience was the first one that came to mind. In Illinois we experience all types of weather from extreme hot to extreme cold. I find the cold to be much more unenjoyable. I have been in the extreme cold many times, but I can not think of any time that was as bad as the Pleasant Plains baseball southern trip my freshman year.

Christmas Break

I had a very busy Christmas Break. It was very fun and it went by very fast. I got a lot for Christmas. I got lots of clothes and some video games. It was a very good Christmas. On Christmas eve my family went to my grandparents on my dad's side. It was a very good time. I got a lot of gifts there and I had a good time spending time with family. On Christmas day we did presents at my house and then we went to my other grandparents house. There was a lot of family at my grandparents that I had not seen in a while. We unwrapped gifts there and pretty much just stayed there all day. It was very fun. I got lots of good gifts from everyone. After Christmas, I had a basketball tournament in Macomb. We did not do very well in Macomb as a team. We won one game and lost two games. We did not play to the best of our ability and it was not as fun as it could have been. We stayed one night in Macomb and this was probably the highlight of the trip. I did alright in the games that I played in, but could have done much better. I spent the next few days hanging out with friends. New Years Eve was a very fun night. I spent the night hanging out with all my friends and it turned out to be a very exciting evening. The remaining days of break I spent hanging out with my girlfriend, Maggie. Overall my Christmas break was very fun. I am sad that it is over and I wish that it could have lasted a bit longer. I am now wanting spring break to get here already. I enjoyed the time that I had off from school and I am not looking forward to going back to school. My Christmas break was very fun and I enjoyed it very much.