It was fate...but not really.

What is based on fate and what is based on free will? This question always makes me think a lot. It makes me wonder if fate is even real? Obviously things do happen that we don’t choose to happen, so yes I guess that is considered fate. But the choices we make in life are all based on free will. One does not do things for any other reason than that they want to. If Oedipus didn’t want to be the guy that killed his father, maybe he shouldn’t have killed anyone. This is a simple way to do things that people seem not to understand. If you are scared that you aren’t going to succeed in life and that maybe it is your fate to be something less than your potential, then I’m sorry but you are dumb. It would be your choice to give up or work hard, it has nothing to do with an outside source. I do understand that things like some deaths and natural disasters have nothing to do with choice, but a lot of things that people blame on fate are just decisions that they make. If you fight hard for what you want in life, it is most likely that it will happen. But it will happen because you wanted it to, not because you were destined to live that way.

Hatred from the beginning

The thesis statement… why is it so dreaded? Because it has been in our lives for so long and we are still getting it wrong. Okay, so this may just be me, but that why I hate it. It’s one sentence… you’d think it would be easy, but its not. It is one sentence that you have to base your entire paper on. So, if your thesis is bad, like mine usually are, your entire paper will be bad. Analysis papers are my least favorite things in the world. I am the kind of person that needs there to be a right answer. Analysis is somewhat based on opinion. Opinion that I feel like will be wrong. But can opinions be wrong? This is something that I have yet to learn. But back to the thesis, how to I express my opinion into one sentence? Another thing that I don’t like about the thesis is that there has always been a set formula to write one, like we talked about in class, but now it seems like all that has gone down the drain. It should be easier not having a set formula because you get to do what makes sense and what is easier for you. Well… it doesn’t seem easier and I will continue hating the thesis statement.

Outside Reading Essay

I read The Bonesetter’s Daughter for my first outside reading book and enjoyed it a lot more than I usually enjoy school assigned reading. The story was really enjoyable to read and I found myself getting very close to the characters. There was not much that I didn’t understand about the book, I feel like I read it very well. But when it came time for the essay I struggled. The whole time I was reading the book I caught myself stressing in the back of my mind about having to write an essay about it. And even though I feel like I knew all the main ideas and understood the theme, essay writing is way out of my comfort zone, especially when I am restricted with time. I don’t understand how to get the ideas from a 400-page book onto paper in an hour or less. It is also hard for me to choose which subjects in the book I need to talk about. The prompt starts you out but it’s hard to choose what evidence to use and what commentary makes sense with the prompt. I guess just doing essays more and getting comfortable with them is the only way to improve but it seems like I will never get there. 

Amazed by the word amazing

It’s amazing how much I use the word amazing. I really liked the article by Philip Goldberg, even though it is criticizing my vocabulary, because he makes a good point. However, I feel like people in general overanalyze things too much and I get irritated. Yes, the word it used way too much and people probably should find other words to use to describe how they feel, but it works. I use amazing all the time if something makes me happy because people my age understand what I mean. Goldberg says that amazing shouldn’t be a slang word, but it is and you have to accept that because it is not going to change. I like to read things and learn about how other people think but that doesn’t mean I agree or will change my ways. It seems like older generations are always finding some way to rag on younger generations and this also makes me upset. Goldberg talks about the word groovy and acts like it was okay for his generation to use that word, but not okay for people to say amazing. I think that words can have a literal meaning and a slang meaning and that that’s okay. If you need clarification on what a person is talking about, ask them. But, I also understand that sometimes people need to use literal meanings, like in English essays.