I'm still working on it

Hey everyone. How is your week going? Mine is going okay. Actually, I am lying. My week absolutely sucks. I don't know if I have mentioned this or not, but I found these weird bumps on my hands, including my fingers. My mother told me they might be warts so I should go to the dermatologist. Well, I went earlier today and she told me that they were just broken and bumped up blood vessels and they should go away in about a week. They just need time to "heal." I asked the doctor why something like this would happen and she said exactly this, "Stress." You're joking, right? And the day before Thanksgiving, I got a broken blood vessel in my eye causing my eye to look like it was bleeding! My husband's aunt (who is a Registered Nurse) told me it just needed time to "heal" because it is also caused from stress. So, a broken blood vessel in my eye and all over my hands and fingers because I am "stressed out?" Ugh...I guess I need to take a break!


In my bright idea for this final blog, I thought I would talk about stress. In all my life, I can honestly say that I have been stressed out numerous times for many numerous reasons. The fact is though, I have never had anything like these broken blood vessels happen to me. So is this literally my body telling me fucking stop it? It is saying come on Mallory! Just stop! Take a break, stop worrying about EVERYTHING, and take a chill pill! I hate to use the phrase, "chill pill" because my mother always used to say clever things like that to me when I was overwhelmed, but it is literally the only thing I can think of. I just need to take a vacation, whether that vacation be on my couch watching TV and playing video games, or going back to Vegas for a week. Holy cow! A light bulb just turned on in my head. I should go back to Vegas with my husband for a week!!! That would be awesome. When we were in Vegas on our honeymoon, we had the time of our lives.


Wow, rant much? Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Stress. It happens to everyone for whatever their reason may be. How do we avoid it? How can we (as humans) not stress out so much or on a daily basis? The truth is, I don't think there is a way to avoid it. Because if there was, wouldn't we have all figured it out by now so we wouldn't worry about it? Second of all, I don't think we would be human if we didn't stress out. Life is all about stress and without it, where would we be as humans? I think it is just up to the person on how they handle it. Now the only question I have is for myself. How will I handle it? I guess I am just waiting for X-mas break to start so I don't have to worry about my grades or whatever else deals with school. Then I can worry and stress out about what presents I will buy for everyone and if I even have the money to afford buying gifts! Alright Mallory, calm down and take a chill pill! (Haha, I'm funny, aren't I?)

I will leave everyone with this: it has been a pleasure working with everyone. I wish you all the very best of luck! Remember, don't stress! And Happy Holidays!

~Mallory Etheridge

Will this be the end?

Hey everyone. How is everybody? And how was your Turkey Day? Mine was excellent. My husband and I went over to his grandparents house where everyone gathered to fill our bellies! After everyone had about four helpings of the delicious turkey my husband's grandmother made, we joined in for a little fun and gambling with a Texas Hold'em Poker game. I would tell you all how I did, but I will just say that I am not the best poker player! I am more of a Euchre player or Spades myself. Let's just say that I was relieved that we were not playing for money! *giggles* We eventually, and when I say eventually, I mean six hours later, got to play Euchre. I absolutely love Euchre. It is my all time favorite card game in the world. I have been playing since I was about six, so not to toot my horn or anything, but I ROCK at Euchre. It was good times over there. I always have the best time with my husband's family because they are so much more open than my family. I really feel at home in their family, it makes me feel special.

Anyway, I will get to my topic for the week and that would be, are we really at the end of a semester already? Fall semester always seems to go by so slowly for me and this Fall has gone by so fast. Usually towards the last week or two of a semester I have turned everything in I would have needed to and I just spend my time studying for exams. It is definitely different this semester because I am in two workshop classes, so we have to wait to the very end to turn everything in and then get our final grades. I still have not quite figured out which situation I like better. A ton of material to go over and over and over and over again until it is so racked in my brain that it is never leaving so I do well on my exams, or no exams and paper and paper and paper and paper after paper to turn in. There are advantages and disadvantages on both sides, but honestly, I do not like either situation. I just want to be done with school period...FOREVER. I am really getting sick of school. I really cannot handle the stress anymore. It is just so much to do and deal with. I cannot remember a time when I was this stressed out. I have literally broken out in acne all over my forehead and the rest of my face, and I have what my husband's Aunt Tamara calls a broken blood vessel in my eye, which she says is caused from stress. I don't know if everyone knows what that means, but it basically looks like my right eye is bleeding. It looks absolutely disgusting. She says it will go away in a few days, but if it doesn't, I will definitely be going to my eye doctor.

Wow....I have really gone off in a total rant here and I am approaching my 500 word requirement. My whole point to this blog entry was simply this: while it has been a difficult, interesting, and frustrating semester I hope that I have done everything I can to improve my writing. I want to be able to write for all different types of situations, so I have a lot ahead of me in the future. I am not 100% sure if we are supposed to write in here for next week or not, so I will say a quick and general goodbye. It was lovely working with everyone and I wish all the best in the future for everyone.

Improvement

Hey everyone! How are you all doing this week? Is everyone as excited as I am to end the semester? I personally am very excited because I graduate in April so it's just the end of this semester and then two more classes in the winter 2011 semester. I can't begin to explain how excited I truly am! And it isn't just because I am graduating, it's a lot more than that. I guess it is the realization that I will be done with undergraduate school and i will have my Bachelor's Degree in English from Oakland University. And I don't necessarily know how everyone else feels, but my time at Oakland University has been incredibly difficult. Everyone here is so hard to please and I know it will only get worse if I ever decide to go on to graduate school.

Anyways, getting to the topic at hand for the week. I started this blog because I wanted to be able to improve my writing skills over the course of the semester. I know many people haven't really been reading my blog in particular, but if you have, can you please comment on my writing? I always try so hard to do what I think is right when it comes to my writing, but I have realized lately that I simply write how I speak. And is there necessarily anything wrong with that? I'm not sure of the real answer, but I don't see anything wrong with how I write. I know that I am good at spelling and grammar, and I know I tend to use commas over the limit sometimes but I am willing to admit that. Other than these few things, what could possibly make me a better write and make me improve?

After being in this course, I think I know how to answer my previous question now. It is all in the revision process. To be quite honest, I am so full of myself and when it comes to my writing, I always believe my first draft is perfect so I never want to revise. Now that I have grown up a little bit, I realize that the revision process is absolutely necessary because even someone as perfect as me may have missed the tiniest thing that could mean everything to the entire paper or whatever it is that I am writing.

After being so burnt out from this semester, being in two workshop classes, I know realize that I am absolutely tired of writing. And to top it all off, I still have so much writing to do. Three papers, about fifteen poems, about twelve exercises, and only god knows what else. I am really done with writing for this semester and it isn't even over yet. Is everyone understanding my excitement for the end of the semester now?

Anyways, I better cut this blog short now since I have seem to get a little off topic. Maybe I just need to take the time to chill out, relax, hang out, or whatever it is called these days and just get everything done. I won't see you all soon because we are doing those meetings at different times on Monday. Good luck next week. And oh yeah....GO BLUE on Saturday!

I didn't think we were still in high school...

Hey everyone! How is your hump day been so far? I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned today, so they look all shiny and feel great. So far it has been an extremely busy week for me so I am actually quite surprised that I found the time to do this week's blog. I am also very glad that I am not one of those people who are in group two or didn't finish their essay on time last week because I simply would not have found the time this week.

Anyway, my blog topic for this week is a little more frustrating than usual. I believe I have mentioned this in previous blogs, but I will tell everyone again just set a reminder. I am in a contemporary literature class Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. We mainly talk about contemporary poets and other things as well. Poetry isn't exactly my thing because I find it difficult to interpret. And in my opinion, as readers, we can't ever really know exactly what the poet meant or meant to convey in a poem because they simply aren't there to tell us. Many words have many different connotations, so the poem could mean very many different things. I have found that in most poems, those many different connotations work, so how could I really know what Dylan Thomas was talking about in his poetry? I suppose I feel differently than most people because my opinions have not really made it that far in the course.

We all know what an "opinion" is, right? As the majority of the class seem to be English majors, I sure hope so. Well, let me tell you what my definition of an opinion is. Plain and simple, it is a person's own individual feeling or thought on a discussed topic or matter. With that in mind, when my professor told us to express our each individual opinions on "literary experiences" I had a very strong opinion to share. When it came time to give my opinion, I articulated it brilliantly (or so I thought). A fellow student (who has always had some wise comment to say towards me) said exactly this: "You are just absolutely ridiculous, Mallory. That is by far the most idiotic thing I have ever heard."

You have got to be kidding me, right?!? I understand that my opinion may have been a little of the charts or something that he (or maybe a lot of people) disagreed with, but why would you say something like that to me or to anyone for that matter? I had the respect for him to sit there and listen to what he had to say. Obviously he has no regard for what I said or any respect for me. Furthermore, it seems to me that he has a lot of disrespect in general because he could have easily offended others in the class or the professor. It was just MY opinion. It certainly did not need to be shot down like that.

This student's blatant disrespect really angered me and it was not the first time he has done something like that. So my questions are: Are we still in high school here? What are you doing in college if you have no respect for yourself or for others?

I think everyone should think about what this guy has done, especially being in a workshop and not in a lecture course. People have to learn to be courteous and respectful. In MY opinion, if you do not have either of these traits, you most certainly do NOT belong in college.

Interests

Hey everyone! How are you doing? I am finally feeling one hundred percent better.

I got the stomach flu on Thursday morning of last week and now, a week later, I am feeling better and able to keep my food down. Thank God. It was just that horrible that I will spare all of you the nasty details and get onto my subject for this week's blog.

What I would like to talk about is more of a question I suppose. I know that I have had particular interests, I would say, the past four years of my life. But as I continue to learn and to grow, I find that my interests aren't really interesting to me anymore. For example, I am an avid reader. I absolutely love to read just about anything. But here is the thing, I am having a difficult time finding things to read that are sparking my interest. Maybe it is because I have read everything there is to read? I seriously doubt that, but what is the real answer to that question?

Maybe it is because our entire world seems to be obsessed with reading and writing about vampires, werewolves, or something as equally as stupid. Okay, hold on. I know I may be angering some people right now, but stop and think about it for a minute. What happened to authors like Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, T.S. Eliot, or Ernest Hemingway? Oh yeah. That's right. People simply cannot write like them because they are so different and unique.

I guess that is my rant for the week. When I read authors such as the above mentioned, I know that I could never adapt a writing style like theirs. And to be quite honest with everyone, it somewhat ticks me off. I guess it ticks me off because I know I will never be as well-developed as them and I thought that was the main reason why I was in school. To learn from these people and try to do as well as them.

But it seems as though that my time is running short. I find myself in classes such as Contemporary Literature, reading a bunch of poetry that even the professor has a hard time understanding what these poets were trying to say. What exactly does that tell me? That tells me that I could never write like that; therefore, I will never be published, ever. It also tells me that I will never get a job anywhere because I know even less about poetry than my professor does.

So I guess the thing I am asking is this: what are your interests? I want to adapt some new and interesting things so that I can maybe have an opportunity to learn and grow in another field other than my own. I want to be able to become a better writer. I also want to know others opinions so that it helps me through this much needed process.

I appreciate any comments than anyone can make.
See you all next Monday!

Hard work...and for what?

Hey everybody. How are we all feeling this week? I have yet again another blog topic that seems to just be me complaining, but that seems to be the general theme the past couple of weeks so I am just going to go with it.

So, I handed in a paper last week to another one of my classes and I spent a lot of time working on it. When I say a lot, I would guess approximately 5 weeks I spent on this paper. The professor let us look at our grades on Tuesday, but only let us look because it is his intention to hand back the papers on Thursday, and he gave me a 2.0! A 2.0! I do NOT believe it! I worked so incredibly hard on this term paper and he gives me a 2.0. Let me explain why this is an outrage to me. First of all, I have had this certain professor in the past and I have done many other papers for him. I have never gotten anything below a 3.7 in the past and suddenly I get a 2.0? What is going here? Second of all, I am a 3.5 student and above generally. So, the whole idea of getting anything below a 3.0 just naturally upsets me and I got a 2.0. Again, what is going on here? I cannot help but think that it is all my fault. Like I said, I have had the Professor in the past so I know exactly what he expects. Let me tell ya, I cannot wait to get this paper back on Thursday and find out what happened and why I am getting such a horrible grade. At least we have the opportunity for a re-write, right? I guess I have to look at the up side. Ugh...it just still bothers me thinking about it and even telling this story to everything following my blog!

Anyway, staying with the theme here, I am sure everyone has heard that saying, "When it rains, it pours"? After I leave class yesterday, I get in my car and I cannot wait to get home. I go to back out and someone backs into me! Give me a god damn break here! I am probably one of the most cautious people on the road and I saw this woman's reverse lights on so I waited what felt like an eternity before I even moved. She did not go anywhere so I decided to back-up. So I guess somewhere between all of that she decided NOT to look in her rear view and just slammed on her accelerator and backed up directly into me! And then she gets out of her car like it was my fault. Go figure she was talking on her cell phone. Ugh...people sometimes!

So I just thought I would mention this next thing. I wanted my blog to be about improving my writing originally and it has just seemed to be me complaining about life. But maybe while I have complained, I have improved? Has anyone noticed at all if I need help on anything? I appreciate any comments!

Complaining

Hey everyone. How are we all feeling this week? I feel pretty good after the workshop on Monday night. I am glad to know that everyone enjoyed my piece. When I first had the travel essay in mind, I knew I was going to write about my honeymoon. It was recent and fresh in my mind. I just hope it did not bother anyone because I know I talk a LOT about me being a recent newlywed, it is just so exciting! *exclamation points* Haha...I hope you are reading this John...

Anyways, my blog topic for this week is really going to be me complaining a little bit. I know...I know...I do this a lot, but that is just who I am especially lately because I feel like there is nothing I can do about a lot of this. And like my grandmother always said, "If you are going to complain, fix it. If you can't fix anything, do not complain." Back to blogging. I guess I feel a little lazy recently because I have had a few moments of pure and frustrating realizations. Number 1: What am I going to do with my English degree from Oakland University? Number 2: Am I ever going to get a job? Number 3: Will I go to graduate school and is it even worth it?

Well, let me attempt to whine a little but first about number 1. The best I can say is this: my options are totally open to do anything. A Professor told me recently that English degrees are a great thing especially now because English majors and degrees can write, read, and comprehend a lot better than most. He even added that most people in college do not know even how to write a well-constructed sentence, let alone an entire college paper. Do I believe him? Maybe just a little bit...

Now with number 2 it is a little bit more of a difficult question to answer than the others I have posted. And that is simply because no one can get a job right now, especially in our great state of Michigan. I only say this because I know from experience. My husband has literally put in 249 applications online and in our surrounding living area and he has not gotten one phone call for an interview. Let me make this clear: NOT A SINGLE ONE! And these places claim they are hiring. Why do they even bother putting a "Now Hiring" sign on their windows, doors, or post something online if they are simply not doing anything to hire anyone??? I was complaining about this to my dad the other evening and he says it has something to do with taxes. (For example, the next time people go to vote in Troy, they have a proposal going right now to keep the Troy Public Library open. But, the down side is, homeowners would have to pay more taxes a month in order to keep it open.) I am not one hundred percent what taxes have to do with it, but I am sure there is an answer.

Number 3. Well, again, that is still up in the air and it could go in either direction. I feel as though I have the grades and etc. to get into graduate school, but would it be worth it in the end? My adviser told me recently not to apply to graduate school with the hopes of finding a job afterward because the statistics are horrible in my favor. I feel like my BA from Oakland won't even be worth much, but that is just me complaining.

I apologize for all of this complaining, I just feel it all as to be said.

See you all next Monday.