Creative Writing 2

In order to get this, you have to read the entire thing. Trust me, you will get a kick out of this because its not what you think it is.


So Im sitting in my room and Im feeling great. Im so in love with this girl that she has a place in my life. We communitcate with each other all the time. We always hold hands. We always enjoy each others company. We never fight. We're always walking to class together. She always brings variety to our relationship because she changes her style everyday. She's my boo and I'll proudly tell the whole world. I'll stand on top of the tallest mountain and shout at the top of my lungs, that I love this girl.

Some of my friends really like her. Some hate her. My parents have mixed feelings because my girl holds no punches. She says things that people would considere to be vulgar, but I dont care. Some say that she's been around the block a couple of times. I know she has because she told me. She's been in relationships with both guys and girls and with mostly all of my friends. That doesnt matter to me. Like Lil Wayne, I wouldnt care if she was a prostitute and hit every man that she knew because it was a long time before we got together.

MUSIC is the love of my life and its hard to keep her tied down to just one person. Again I would stand on the highest mountain and shout at the top of my lungs. She's always with me and she changes her style everyday. Yea, she's vulgar but I dont care because she treats me right.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Gotcha, you gotta admit this had you thinking for a little even after you read the warning. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Last Weeks Already

I can't believe that its the last weeks of the semester already. It seemed like yesterday that I was a quiet and lost freshman trying to atleast make it to his classes on time. Now Im semi-quiet and sometimes makes it to class on time. Its funny because lately Ive been making it on time to my Soc class and Im usually five min late. Its also seemed like yesterday when I had met my friends and got to know them. It sucks because we live so far apart and I probably wont hang with all of them over break, but thats what txting is for.

Also in these last two weeks everyone is tripping about finals. Me, personally have not started to study, and probably will not until two days before the day Im supposed to take it. Im not really that worried about it because its really no point in stressing over a test, when their are more important things that are stressworthy. This week is the last week of class, and I kinda have mixed feelings. Im glad that I wont have to get up and actually go to class at 8 or 9 in the morning. Im kind of sad that I probably wont see any of the people I have had class with again. Even though I didnt show it because I didnt talk that much or show that much emotion, I liked everyone in my class and considered everyone an associate and a potential cut up buddy, if I wasnt so shy.

Oh, well it isnt really any use crying over spoiled milk and its nothing that I can do but hold on tight because these last weeks are going to fly by.

This Sucks

What the heck. No one ever told me that the last couple of weeks of college were going to be so hard. I have work literally coming out of my butt. Papers are popping up out of left field. Everyone is up late studying. Its actually kind of stressing and if I didnt know how to handle pressure I would probably have cracked. Last week was pretty calm, I didnt have that much work due beyond the usual focus questions for Muet and essay for Journalism. I was pretty content and even had more time to play around with. My morning class is over and my UNIV class ended on my birthday, so I ended up doing work on those days and sleeping. Maybe that's why I had so much time, but it's the same this week with a lot more work.

This whole weekend Ive been stuck in front of my computer typing papers. Im not talking about one or two page essays that I could do in an hour. Im talking about full papers. My Muet paper had to be between 5 to 7 pages and my English paper had to be 8 to 10 pages long. That's really not a problem on their own. But crunch time for these fell on the same weekend. Typing these two papers and researching the topics has been a real pain in the butt. When I said earlier that I was at my computer the whole weekend, that is no joke. From Friday to last night I typed and researched. I did take Halo 3 breaks and did watch a couple of movies Sat. night, so I wasnt completely tied down. The bad part is that after this week is over, next week is a repeat because I have to study for exams. This has taught me though to be more prepared and to stop putting things off til the last min.

Saturday Night

Sat. night came and I decided to hang out with my boys. They were blowing up my phone when I was at my grandma's house, so I had to come up with an idea (no one wanted to step up and its pointless to ride around wasting gas). I got my cousins car and picked those fools up. I picked up Pj first because he is the closest one to my house and so we could plan on how to make this thing work out. Next I picked up James, who wanted to go somewhere but didnt want to step up and find someplace to go. All he was willing to put in was gas money, which I have no problem accepting. After that we went to my ex girlfriends house because she had wanted to see me. We talked for awhile, until I had to move the car so her grandma could get into the lane. Lastly we picked up my boy Joe and we were off.

We went to see Transporter 3, which was a pretty good movie because of the fight scenes. We cut up the entire movie and after it was over went to our local Walmart to play around for a little. We must have stayed in Walmart for about an hour, just playing with the toys and window shopping. Then the guys started getting hungry and started buggin about going to Wendy's, so we went there. After everyone had gotten their food, we headed back home. Now, these fools are dumb as a box of rocks. Im the driver, but they showing me funny pictures, while Im driving. All I can say is that its by God's grace that we made it home that night. We had stopped in a empty parking lot because no one felt like going home and just talked. Joe was trying to find something else to do, Pj kept on saying that this was the last time we were going to see each other like we were dying, and James was complaining like he did the entire night. We dropped Joe of and chilled there until his brother started doing things that because I have to leave the state and Pj gets random drug test, we couldnt participate in. On the way home, another driver wanted to start a conflict. They were yelling out the window, flicking us off, and they almost ran into the back of me. Needless to say I kept my cool until when we got to a 45 zone and they started playing around. It really pissed me off because I dont play around when it comes to driving, especially when Im not the only one in the car. I still kept my cool, but we did follow them for about 25 min, just waiting for them to stop.

Overall, it was a fun night, even our little "lurking session" was fun because everyone joked about everything. I cant wait to go back home and see what we can get into again.

Last Friday

Last Friday I didnt get to sleep in like I really wanted to because I had to go to a funeral. The man that had died was just like a grandfather to me and I wanted to be their to support my grandma. My dad thought that it was going to be packed, so we left the house at 11 and go there almost an hour before it started. When the funeral first started, there were plenty of seats, but that wasnt the case when family walked in. His family was so big that they took up there section and most of the seats in the church (the church was small, but still thats alot of people). My cousin and uncle had to even stand up because there wasnt anymore space. After the funeral, my grandma told us to come over her house.

Everyone had changed their clothes and we made our way over to my grandmas house. It was kind of chaotic. It was about 30 of us all packed into a house really only made for 3 people. I had seen family on my dad's side that I hadnt seen for a really long time. I found out that I have cousins exactly my age that I had never met and who are close to the area where I go to school. It was alot of fun. To me, that was the best part of break because everyone was cutting up, felt loose and instead of mourning, they were celebrating the fact that he had been taken from his suffering.

Turkey Day

I was so happy to finally get to eat real food and not that BS Diner food. Thanksgiving usually isnt anything special for me, just another holiday, but this year was something different. Probably because it had been a while since I had a home cooked meal, but also because it was the first holiday that I can truly say that I came home and visited.

It started like any other day. My little sister woke me up and I laid her out because I was having a great dream. By the time I had gotten up and gotten dressed, it was about and it was awhile until dinner was done so, I played Playstation with my little brother. I dominated of course, even though I hadnt played for awhile, and then took a nap. When I had gotten up the food was done and I began to eat like a demon. I had a combo of turkey, ham, potato salad, chicken, and three roles. I was so full that I thought that I was going to pop.

Then my older cousin had called me up and asked was I coming to her house. It was her first time cooking a big dinner like this and she was really excited. I got there about two hours after I had eaten and showed off with her and her sister. It had been awhile since I had seen her sister and everytime she comes home we always act crazy. We poked fun at everything from our grandma to certain movies. After that it was time to eat again, and Im sad to say that I had two slices of sweet potato pie and cheesecake. Ima really have to hit the gym because I know that I gained 15 pounds over the course of five days.

Journay Home

Last Tues. was my last day of class before break, so I decided to leave that day. The whole trip was complicated from jump street and I guess I shoulda planned it a lot better than I did, but I made it safe and sound. I guess you could say that its not really an adventure because Ive heard and experienced some unique stories.

It started earlier that day. I had taken my exam for Math 003 and was wrapping up the class. I get back to my room and start packing for everything and wait for my next class. Turns out its canceled, just as my and this guy from my floor start to walk there. I still have to wait until later that night because my big cuzo had to leave class and pick me up. It was confusing because he got out at 9 and said that it took 15 min for him to get from school to the metro. I didnt want him to wait and I sure as heck didnt want to wait in an area that I didnt know. Anyway I hop on the metro at 8:30 thinking that we would have got there at the same time, but we didnt. His teacher kept him past 9, so he didnt end up getting there until almost 9, leaving me there for an half an hour. Even then I didnt couldnt get back to VA until the next day, so I ended up crashing there. We had to get up at 6 the next morning, so I could meet the lady I was riding with at St. Charles Mall at 7. We overslept and I ended up not even taking a shower that morning, since I was headed home anyway. To wrap things up, I made it home safe and sound and in one piece.

November 20

Last Thurday, I celebrated my 19th birthday. I finally made it through another year safe and sound. That whole day I just praised God for adding on another year to my life. I started off by listening to Marvin Sapp to get my day started, which got my attitude very upbeat. It alos helped that I got a 91 on one of my exams. The rest of the day I didnt do anything. I was determined at the beginning of the week that Thurs. was my official day off, so I did all my work earlier. Somepeople wouldnt call what I did celebrating because I didnt go out and party. I played a little Halo, and watched t.v. Later that night some guys from my floor took me too Chipotle, and after that I went to Cru to "officially" thank God for letting me see another year.


It was strange because this was the first birthday that I was away from home and away from my brother and sister. I figured that this was going to be a quiet birthday since I was away from family, but I was wrong, people were couting down to the exact min. At 12:01 I had about 10 people try to rush into my room until I got the door closed to avoid my birthday cracks. Then the messed up thing is that the got the girls RA to go along with it and she made me open the door. I had so many people blow my phone up the whole entire day. Finally I actually got gifts. Back home if they werent your family, people would be like "oh, its your birthday, well happy birthday" and thats it. I wasnt expecting anything until I got home and ate my grandmas cooking, but some of my boys brought me a Maryland jacket. One brought me a shot glass, and the triplets from my building got me a cake that I shared with the other guy on my floor that shared the same b-day.

Why Weezy Why

I was just chilling in my room today, doing work when I decide to listen to music to help me concentrate better. I go on the website that I usually go to, so I can listen to mixtapes and I see the new Lil Wayne, The Dedication 3. I own the first two Dedication mixtapes so I figured that this one was going to be just as hot. Those were the only series of mixtapes that didnt have songs that I had heard ten times before. So Im thinking to myself "yea, finally some new weezy that I havent heard ten mixtapes ago" and I got all excited to be let down. It wasnt what I expected. The other Dedications just featured him and some of his rhymes actually made sense. This one, he wasnt even on some of the tracks and it was that "new" Wayne I had been seeing lately. The one were what he says doesnt have any substance and he was using the autotuner for pretty much the whole mixtape. WHAT HAPPENED. I was excited, cuz I was thinking he was gonna go back to his old style and swag, but then he goes in the complete opposite direction. Honestly, Im starting to lose my fanhood to Lil Wayne. If he doesnt, how can I put this in a nice way, get better, Tha Carter IV wont sell that good because alot of people are feeling like I am.

Creative Writing

This is something I thought I would try, all the words in bold are titles of songs that you may or may not have heard of. The ones in italics and bold are actual albums.


Can I please take Just A Moment to Breathe and recollect my thoughts. I Cant Believe It, I just heard someone sing a Ghetto Gospel, on The Corner. It gave me the Inspiration to want to freestyle and helped me realize that my pen was Crying Out For Me to grab her and start writing. At first my motivation was to Put On, so my city could be finally noticed, but the tempation of having Stacks On Deck and being called a Boss changed my perspective. Being Born N Raised in a small county, Money is A Major Issue. I Grew Up A Screw Up because I was exposed to people who called themselves Bonafide Hustlers and were always waiting for that Reppin Time, which often times can be Dangerous. Because of that, you Cant Tell Me Nothin, and I always would wonder Whos Hotter Than Me and I would always Go Hard in everything I did. I thought I was one of the Best Rappers Alive, until my friend Chopped N Skrewed me. He told me "Live Your Life and dont worry because one day, you'll get that Milli." Soon after that I took a Step Back, Made up My Mind and was determined that I would Spit My Game, and rep The Anthem for my city.

Comedy Shows Have Real Meaning???

Have you ever watched a comedy show and realized that all jokes aside what the comedian says really makes sense. Its kind of strange because as your watching the show, something clicks you say to yourself, thats really true. Im talking especially about Katt Williams. You may know Katt Williams from Wild N' Out, First Sunday, Friday After Next, Pimp Chronicles 1, American Hustle, Its Pimpin Pimpin and a whole rack of other apperances. When I first watched his comedy specials, Pimp Chronicles 1, American Hustles, and Its Pimpin Pimpin, I died with laughter. I thought that he was just acting ignorant. It wasnt until my dad told me that what Williams was talking about had a lot of truth to it (My dad loves watching him, the only thing he hates is the language and Williams uses a lot of it).

After my dad said this I went back and watched each one and found out that what Williams says does make a lot of sense. I cant put down everything because for one its racist, not just to white or black people, but to everyone from Latinos to the Chinese. Anyway, I found one thing that I can share without having to worry about if Im going to make it back to my room safely. The thing that I got out of Pimp Chronicles was that people are going to hate on you, but its okay because you need them to be stronger. He says to let them do their job and hate, while you run your business. In fact he goes as far to say, that if a woman has 16 haters that they are slippin because they need atleast 20 to show how fly they are. Out of American Hustle, he kept on saying that life is to short to be worrying about small things. Again he brings up people hating on a person and says "that they dont hate you, they hate good stuff, they used to want good stuff, and couldn't get it". Finally in Pimpin he talks about " being in tune with your star player". At first when he said that, I was like huh, but he explained that the star player is yourself. He says that its cool to look out for other people, but dont put yourself on the backburner. He has a couple of stories to go along with that theme, but if i dig into it and clean it up, it doesnt have the same substance. He also says that even though, your the star player, you have to assemble the right team to keep the bull from hitting you. That basically means have some friends that will stick with you when it gets hard and wont ass fuel to the flames.

I wouldnt base my life on these things, but I thought it was interseting that comedy show have actual morals. If you know of anymore, let me know

Thr33 Ringz

The other day I picked up a cd that in my opinion is fire. Im not talking about the new Weezy or DJ Khalad, Im talking about T-Pain's Thr33 Ringz. The cd is better than I expected, I always knew that T-Pain was creative and one of the best artist. He is everywhere from remixes to singing the hook in songs. The hardest verse that I heard of his was the one in Im So Hood. Anyway thats straying from the point im trying to make. T-Pain's Thr33 Ringz was more than likely to blow up and I can see why. This cd really shows his creative side with the beats and his songs. The title is even creative. It comes from him almost running the hip-hop/rap/r&b game that its almost like he's running a circus. Thats why if you've seen him lately he's always wearing a top hat because he's just like a ringleader.

That brings me to the first real track on the cd. In Ringleader Man, Pain takes on the persona of a ringleader. The beat is sounds like a classic circus theme. In the hook he even says "this is my circus, im working, i can flip this whole thing with one hand", showing that he's the leading man. In the second verse he says that the industry is his circus. In the song Karaoke, he talks about all the artist who are jacking his swagger. In music today everyone is trying to be like him by using the autotuner that gives his voice its uniqueness. Everybody is using it from 50 cent, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Birdman, and others, but Pain says that the only ones that he apreciates using it are Kanye and Lil Wayne. He continues to show his love of stripers on the track Can't Believe It. On this track he talks about how he could provide a better life for her because her profession is just going to get her hurt. Finally on the track Chopped N Skrewed, he shows his creative side. He takes a regular chopped and screwed song, which is a slowed down version of a song, with the lyrics chopped up in certain spots and sometimes repeats. (Its not as bad as it sound). T-Pain's song is called that because he's talking about girls who lead guys on, only to just diss them at the end of the night. He keeps the elements of a chopped and screwed song only it is played at a regular place, so dont worry its not slow.

Overall T-Pain's new album, Thr33 Ringz is a great buy for anyone who loves music.

My Trip Home

I finally went home for the first time this weekend. It was my grandmother's birthday so I decided that I would go and suprise her. I had planned this out for weeks and had almost everyone involved except for my parents and my granny. The original plan was to tell them that I had went to Jersey with some of my friends for the whole weekend. Instead of actually going I was gonna get my youth leader from my church to meet my aunt halfway so he could bring me home. Things didnt work out as planned as he had problems with his business on Friday. So we had to rethink things and I ended up coming back with a girl from my neighborhood. Long story short my family was really suprised. My mom jumped up and hugged me and my little brothr fell out of a chair. My dad even woke up, and he's hard to wake up. The biggest reaction that I got was from my grandmother though. She was at a friends house, so I bust in and start singing happy birthday and I thought she was gonna choke me to death. That night we sat up talking the entire night about the past couple of months.

The next day I went and chilled with my little big cousin. I say little big because she's smaller than me, but older. We went to see some friends that i used to work with, and we went to Newport News to take her husbands neice. We talked the whole way there, from girls (guys for her, which was like getting kicked in the head) to politics. On Sunday, I went to church so I could meet up with the lady I was coming back with. I really enjoyed church and went home to chill with my brother and sister for a bit. Overall Im glad that I went home to chill with my family because it made me realize how much I have taken them for granted

Yes, There is HOPE for African Americans

I know its late, but its been almost a week since Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. I figured that I'd delay talking about it since the day after everyone was gonna have something to say. Words can't describe how I feel at this point and time. I know that everyone says that its not about race, and I agree. In fact when I voted, I put my race on the back burner and looked at both of the candidates solutions to the issues and decided that Obama had the best plan for higher education. Im out of state so anything that will help ease the pain of paying for tuition is great. After he won, I still had his viewpoints at mind, but something else took over. WE AS AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE ACHEIVED A MILESTONE. . . . .ONE THAT WE WERE TOLD THAT WE WOULD NEVER HAVE. His winning the election gave me hope, that for one racism didnt have as strong a hold on the country like it used to. Dont get me wrong racism is still around, but to see an African American in the White House is a sign that times are changing. The other thing that came to mind was that nothing seems out of reach now. It shows me that a little boy who has a dream can make it come true with a lot of hard work. I really didnt get to celebrate like everyone else (running along McKeldin Mall and to Route 1) cause some of my friends were mad, saying that America is gonna become socialist and that Obama's going to mess up this country beyond repair. Whatever, I still have a reason to be happy because all the blood, sweat, and tears, all the deaths and unneccesary beatings, all the threats and arrests, all the pain of the ones who came before me and my family, has all paid off. Ima finish up with a something that I seen that makes a lot of sense to me.

Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Barack could run. Barack ran so WE COULD FLY. LETS FLY TIL OUR WINGS FALL OFF

This Weekend

This past weekend was great. At first it sucked really bad because Halloween was cold as crap, but got better on Sat. I went to spend the rest of the weekend with my aunt and my cousin. I havent seen my cousin for about 7 years so I figured that it was time to chill with him. At first I was kind of nervous because I didnt know how he was. Most of my cousins from the city are stuck up and after about 5 min of being around them, I'm ready to leave. He was different though; in fact, we were basically just a like. The train ride consisted of us catching up with each other. After that we went to his brother's house so my aunt could see me and so I could meet his brother. We ended up chilling there for about 2 hours playing video games with his nephew and brother. After that we went to Chinatown to catch a movie. I have never been to Chinatown before so it was a new experience to me. After we left, we went back home and ended up watching Superbad until I passed out.

This morning we went to church. This church was also a new experience because it was atleast three times bigger than mine. It had to had been over 300 people in there. After church we picked up another cousin of mine and went to Pentagon Square. Over all this weekend end was better than any weekend I have been here. Most people would think that I would be boring because i didnt go out to party, but I was with family and to me that is better than partying any day.

Damn I Did It Again

I cant believe that I let that happen again. I think the girl that I really like is in a relationship with someone else. I dont know for sure, but it damn sure seemed like it. Im not hating on their relationship, its true. In fact Im glad that she found someone she could be happy with, and would rather her be with someone who she wont mess around one. Im mad that I always find a girl that I really and truly like, and play the friend card. How in the hell could I have missed the signs. I made up a handshake between us. She offered a spot for me to sit where she was stretched out. I turned it down out of respect for her cause people like to talk. Yup sounds like a real true friend. Like I said Im not a hater because Im truly happy for them if its true. I guess I have no choice now but to play the friend role that I rehearsed all to well. But I aint trippin because she's just one of the many girls in College Park

My Music Preference Has Changed

My preferance in music has changed a little over the last couple of weeks. When I first got here, all I listened to was Lil Wayne. Thats all we listened to back home. I guess you could say we were jock riders because everytime a car drove past all you would hear would be Weezy. I'll be the first to admit that I was one of them too. I own about 3 official albums of his and about 30 mixtapes. The thing that turned me off was that every mixtape that I had been getting had the same songs. That's fine except for the DJ's always said that it was an "exclusive" or "world premier" when I had heard it last month on a mixtape that I already had.

Maybe its also changed because I have been exposed to music that If I listened to back home, I woulda been laughed at. Rock isnt all that bad, like I thought. Ask anybody back home and they will tell you that I hated Rock. Now Im starting to like it a little better because I see that its not all headbanging music. Reggeaton and Latin music is hot too. I never listened to it before because I couldnt understand what they were saying. Now I just listen for the beats because some are even better than American Hip-hop's beats. Finally, old school rap is good because its not talking about shooting or dealing drugs

My friends have helped me have a greater appreciation for music because they listen to all types. I didnt start listening to Rock until some guys from my floor were blasting it in the lounge. Also my Muet 200 class has really shown me to appreciate different genre's of music

Friday Night

Friday night I went to this step show in Ritchie Coliseum. It was worth every penny that I paid plus more. I had never seen a step show before, so this was something totally new to me. It had to have taken alot of hard work because everything was on point. The steppers were in sync with each other, the steps matched the beats and music, and they even incorporated skits into the routine. It made me think about joining a frat because I was in the crowd with Blue Phi and it was like pure brotherhood, everyone was close. Even though some where on the other side of the staduim, the were still united because when one side shouted, the other responded.

Later that night I went to a friends house. I didnt really have that much fun and was ready to leave within 5 min of being there. Before I got there I was really pumped up, I felt like I could run a mile. After I got there I was like this sucks and I'm ready to leave. I think the only reason I stayed was because a girl that I knew was there. It got to the point though that I left when I was ready with the girl's sister because she was ready to leave also. I was kinda bummed cause I felt that I before all my friends, but I'm glad that I did because the girl's sister didnt know anyone from my school.

Overall Friday night wasnt a total waste

Nicknames

I have several nicknames so anybody feel free to call me any of them. I have Travi which my brother and sister started out calling me. When they were younger they couldnt talk that well and couldnt say my name, so my mom shortend it for them. My brother calls me Travis now, but my sister still calls me Travi when she wants something. My cousins all call me this and I thought that it was just a family name until my friends Liz and Lauran started calling me this. Im also called Trav by mostly everyone, I dont know why because its not as cool as the last one, but its more i guess its more formal. Atravesado is the next one. One of my Latino friends back home started calling me this. When I asked her what it meant she just said that its my name with ado at the end. It was kinda weird at first, but the name stuck and soon everytime I would talk in spanish they would call me that. I have plenty of other that I refuse to put down. (Thanks grandma and grandpa for giving me embarassing names and for Ashley who gave me names that got us both in trouble at home). Like I said feel free to call me any of them or make up any of your own thats not degrading.

Sleepy

Im so tired, that I cant hold my eyes open. I dont understand why because we got back early last night. I even went to bed at 3, which is a change from the usual time of 4 on weekends. I really didnt do anything different. I went to this party and didnt drink like always. The only thing different I did was dance a little. I just know that when I got back to the dorm, we were just chillin. I started falling asleep in the lounge, so I went to my room to hang with my roommate and some other friends. Next thing I know is that I wrap my coat around me and Im out. When I wake up, Im all alone, even my roommate wasnt there.

To make matter worse, I almost slept through church service today (Im so proud, I actually didnt oversleep and miss church). Hopefully, I wont be this way in class tomorrow and will actually stay awake in English class (Just playing Natalie, I always stay awake during your class).

Rhetorical Analysis 2

The article that I looked at was one of the ones that I had to read for class. Both of the letters on pp 20-21 in Engagements with Rhetoric have good examples of ethos, logos, and pathos. The first letter is a lot more calmer than the second one. The language is more formal and that helps ths ethos really stand out. Its about the picture of Aunt Jemima of the pancake box and the author is arguing that the picture is unethical to show because its of a slave. It has a little pathos as she talks about her reaction everytime she sees the box. The logos comes in the from of the reason why she wishes the picture to be changed. She states that the woman on the box was in reality a slave who served Confederate soldiers, and she presents her arguemtent in a reasonable manner.

The second letter was more informal. Its that way because instead of writing to a CEO or someone in a formal postion, the author writes to Oprah. Because its informal, its full of stong pathos. The author uses stong words like sick and tired, horrible, and degradation, all words that have a strong negative emotion. Again this one appeals to ethos because the writer talks about how unethical it is to have a slave on the box of a famous pancake mix. It really not any logos here because it doesn't really introduce facts and the author really isn't reasoning. She simply want to change the box throught cause and effect, using her daughter as an example.

Soul Calibur IV

Lately Ive been playing this great game called Soul Caibur IV. In it the characters are fighting for two swords, one that is super evil that eats souls and turns everyone who wields it into a monster, and one that is the exact polar opposite and appears to those with a pure heart. I really dont pay attention to the story, I just give out beat downs. Its only a few of us that play it and it can get really intense at some points. My character of choice is Siegfried, who's weapon is the holy sword Soul Calibur. His weapon is a huge sword that has a super long reach, making it easy to play the long range game. He's also powerful and takes huge chunks off of a character's life bar. I swear I did one combo that took down half of the other character's. My other character's are Nightmare, who uses the evil sword Soul Edge and is basically a monster, and Yun-seong.

Me and Alex play this all of the time. One time her and I stayed up till three in the morning playing until one of us would have a winning streak. The highest streak that both of us got was three at first until I used my fav character and won five games straight. That night I decided that I would switch up character's every three wins so I wont be called cheap. It doesn't matter to Alex though, cuz everytime I ask she doesnt care who I use. We'll play anytime and the funny thing is that we'll say stuff like "lets go do our thing" or "come on lets go have fun" and people will look like confused. After that I usually win with Seigfried, and will always play until she win's a game or until we're both tired.

Homesick

Its been almost two month's since I've been home or seen anybody from home. I want to go home so bad, but I'm trying not to let it show. I got to remain strong so it doesnt seem like Im depressed. I just really miss my lilttle brother and sister. I miss teasing them so much that it they would get mad at me. I miss sitting up with them and talking to the point where I have to tell them "Get the hell outta my room so I can go to sleep" or "damn dont you two ever sleep". I also miss my mom's cooking. Now i regret teasing her about her starving me because her food is alot better than the food at the dinner and I didnt have to pay for every meal. I miss picking with my grandma and having her cuss me out cause I would call her old, or say that she's getting senile. I especially miss my dad. I havent talked to him in a couple of day's because he hates talking on cell phones.

They keep on telling me that they're trying to get up here and see me, but its not the same as if I went home. If I could go home for just one hour, I would be a lot happier than if they came up here and spent the whole weekend with me. I dont know, its just how I feel. Its the little things that make being up here better than back home, but they dont add up to what makes being back home alot better than being here. Im just gonna go and show up unexpected and stay the whole weekend.

Cant Think

Im all out of ideas. It sucks having to make yourself sit down and actually do work. I've been doing work for since about 12:30 and still probably have about 2 more hours left. My brain is fried and I cant really think. Its so hard to come up with ideas to when everyone is eithe watching football or playing Halo. I just got finished writing a four page essay on my muscial identity for Muet 200 and I'm all out of ideas. I could b.s. this blog but it wont be good and wont really have substance.
Its just so hard thinking of ideas after doing that monster paper. I really had to look deep inside of myself and ask what makes up my musical identity. I still really dont know what that truly means because their is no one song that makes up my identity. I listen to almost all genre's so i have a really hard time identifying myslef with one. Except for country, I absoultly have no identity in country.
I truly apologize to everyone who reads this because its not interesting, but I guareente the next couple of one's will be. I just need a place to vent, even though it wasn't really an angry vent.

Rhetorical Analysis Assignment

The clip from Remember the Titans had a real strong sense of Pathos to it. If anyone has seen the movie, they know that the team, even though they played together, were still segregated. During this clip, the coach takes the team on a little trip through the woods. When you first watch it the audience would think that he was either punishing them or whipping them into shape. Its not until he gives his speech that the Pathos really hits the audience member. He really takes them to the field that the battle of Gettysburg was fought. He explains to them why he brought them there, and tells them that the battle that was fought there long ago is still going on. The coach ends it by telling them that they don't have to like each other, but they will respet each other. This clip is really the turning point of the movie because at that point the team really starts playing as a team and their bonds get stronger.
The Pathos is a feeling of pride and brotherhood. The team now realizes that to win that they not only have to respect each other, but become like one big family. It also has a strong emotional pull to it because its saying that racism still around; which was a touchy subject because the team wasnt predominatly white or black. It could have Ethos because the coach is using his character to basically say that its up the current generation to stand up and change racism. The only bit of Logos that actually shows up is the fact that movie was based on actual events.
This was a great clip both for motivation and to bring people together, but its a bit unrealistic. No team or group is going to becaome close like that after one visit to a Civil War graveyard. Also he is implying that they could change racism, which is great to believe, but is harder to do than just respecting someone.

All I Have In This World pt. 2

Gun's, check. Blueprints, check. Crew, check. The guts to carry out the plan, hells yea. What was even better was that the board at the hospital gave my brother a one month grace period, where they would hold him for free. That meant that we could do our thang, and not link them so close together. We had it set up so that White Boy and Fizz robbed the stores, Vato and his boys would cause the riots along with the 12th street Ballers and Real Arrogant Warriors. (RAW). Me and Drew and the dirty work of breaking into people's houses and searching their stuff. It was agreed that everyone would come together for the big bank job. Twelve days of hittin licks and running for our lives pursed after that night.

White Boy and Fizz's operation was going smoothly. They had hit a local CVS, a Walgreens and a couple of mom and pop store's. The only thing dumb they did was White Boy got scared because they were dumb enough to rob a store that he worked at and he left his strap there.

Vato's expediton went real good. The gangs had the police really thinking that a full blown war was about to pop off. The carnage and destruction that happened was acted out so well that we all thought that they were serious. It even made the news.

Drew and Me were doing exceptionally well. We had decided not to take so much from the house's so thatit wouldn't seem suscpicious. All together we came up with about 6,000, but we were still short. I was thinking, damn we have to go with the bank plan.

We had it set up that if worse came to worse that, we would strip ourselves and force one of the hostages to take our place. We walk in into the tiny bank and tell everyone to get down on the floor and dont make. They thought that our chopper's were actually loaded with rounds. Everything went smoothly, and the gangster's were causing the most chaos they had ever caused. (I think the beef actually became real for a second.) Until that cop running to the scene saw Vato smack the teller with his gun. After that all hell broke loose. There were cops everywhere and on every block. White boy was crying like some punk saying "I'm to white to go to jail", Vato was in the corner praying, Drew was sittin down meditating, and Fizz was loading up his gun. Everything seemed to fall apart, but I had a plan. I told everyone to stop what they were doing and release everyone. They looked at me like I was crazy, but I told them that the hostages hadnt seen our face, so we'll get the police to gas the place, strip down like the hostages, and run out with them. The time came and strangly everything went perfect. We didnt get caught, in fact the cops thought that we were hostages too. As the police searched the building for the robber's we got nervouse because I dropped my phone and I was scared the would find it, but it didnt happen. The violence between the two gangs escalated to the point that it was a shootout. It doesnt matter because no one died and we got away safe. We only stole what was needed and my brother pulled through fine. What even better is that we got away scott free.

(Thanks Urban Dictionary for Defining Words I didnt Kno)

All I Have in this World pt 1. (Made-Up, I would never do this)

People say that money is the root of all evil. I tend to disagree. Money in fact, makes the world go round and keeps people happy. That's where the premise for my brilliant scheme came from. Read along very closely because Im only repeating this once, and if you miss something, well that's too damn bad.

It started when my brother needed surgery on his heart. He had a murmer the size of a heart and the doctor's said that if they didnt operate soon that he would die. My parents were told of how much the expenses were before hand, but still came up 10,000 short. They were told that they had to pay upfront, and if they didnt that they would release my brother and hope that a miracle happens. The doctor was nice though and said that they would keep my brother stabilzed for two weeks until they dug up the money.

They didnt tell me what happened but I knew something was wrong. Finally I overheard them talking about the whole situation. Immediatly I knew that I had to do something, so I called up my boy White Boy and Vato (his real name because his daddy was a true gangbanger), Fizz and Drew. White Boy came up with the brilliant idea of hittin a couple of licks (robberies for everyone who isnt fluent in street talk). At first I was hesitatant, but then found myself unintentionally planning it out. I came up with a fool proof plan. We were gonna hit up a drug store, a couple of houses, an maybe a bank. Fizz was all down for it, he said people say he's tha boy thats tote toys way before christmas. We were also gonna get a couple of the gangbangers in the hood to cause a riot, not where people get hurt but just alot of property damage. That was so that the police would be distracted and hopefully wont pay attention. Vato said that he would get a couple of his vato's to help out and since everyone loved my brother, they wouldnt take a part of the cut that I offered them. The plan was fool proof. Nothin could go wrong. Nothing did go wrong. It all worked according to plan. That night I went to see my brother in the hospital and talked to him. I told him not to worry because its my turn to take care of him. I told him that I love him and that no matter what he hears, to know that I did it so that he could live cause if I lost him, I would probably kill myself. He told me that he's gonna be okay and not to do anything crazy. I lied to him and said I wont. As soon as I left, Fizz picked me up and took me to his place to look at the artillary.


To Be Continued. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I just heard that my old schools football team just one their homecoming game. THATS AMAZING! We havent one a homecoming game since about 2003. The football team is usually awful, there were years when we were 0-10. In fact i even heard that the team is doing good this year and have lost 2 of their games. Last year we got lucky and actually won one. It was a good feeling because we were tired of getting blown out by every team we played, but the team we played wasnt that good. I never did understand why we lost till after the season was over. I truly believe that it was because of the mentality that we had. Everyone of the team thought that they were superstars. We had it all, those who tried to catch every ball with one hand, to those who thought they were so "perfect" and blamed everyone for their screw ups.

It wasnt all bad. I think the best game we had to have played was homecoming last year. We played Rappahanock, which is a school about 15 minutes from ours. Practice that week went like it usually did, the usual laughs, screw ups, big plays, and coaches scrimmiming us, thinking that they can beat us. When it was game time, the atmosphere changed completly. For some reason we where hyped up more than usual. it was kick off and Rappahanock scored on their opening drive. We were like ok, that's nothing, we got something for you guys. The next time that Rappahanock had the ball, my boy Carolmaine intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown. We were tied up for about 3 quarters, which was a first because we were either behind the whole game or came back.

The whole night was brutal. Pads were clashing everywhere, people were getting rocked left and right, and most of this happened in the first half. We went in the locker room at halftime and it was different. The coaches didnt say anything, it wasnt nothing they could say cuz we didnt even give them a chance to say anything.

Second half was different. Maybe it was because of the locker room hype up at halftime, but i felt that we were hitting harder. They scored one more time and got a two-point conversation to make up for the missed field goal earlier. We responded by running a punt return all the way back. In the end we lost by one point which was hard. Suprisingly the coaches were proud of us, and didnt make practice that next mon. manditory like they did when we usually had a day of from school. Also talking with spectators in the stands, they said that we played the best that we had in a long time. I had one woman tell me at work that she was proud to see that we were determined to win, even though we didnt.

Maybe its because they took on that persona that we had during that game, but they are doing well this year, and I hope that they continue to.

One Month

Wow, I cant believe that its been one month since we got here. A whole month in a totally new enviroment. A whole month of meeting new people, trying new things. Its been a wild one compared to what im used to back home. Back home a month would go by so slow and uneventful. This month has gone by quick. Maybe because there is something going on almost everyday.

I cant believe that its been a month since I last saw my little brother and sister. my little brother is probably taller than me now. I know its only been a month and he cant have grown that much over that time period, but he's at the age where he's growing fast. My sister probably hasn't changed much. In fact last time I talked to her, she was doing the same exact thing she did when I left.

This month has been one of the best that I have had for a long time. Im just kinda sad that its over already, but cant wait to see what the next one has in store for us.

Confused

Im super confused. Before I came up here I was really diggin on this girl. I could see myself being with her for a long. Im not talking marriage, but a true relationship, not just phyiscal attraction. Me and her got along so good. Her personality was perfect in my opinion and she wasnt conceited. Everytime I talk about someone saying she was pretty, she would be like she isnt. We were super close in high school, and we still remained close after we gradutated.

The problem is that its a girl up here that's just like her. She has the same type of personality like her and is just as pretty. She's more outgoing than the chick back home and is alot friendlier to people she doesnt kno. And the best part is that she holds the same beliefs as me.

Its strange because I've only known this chick for about a month, and we didnt start holding conversations tell bout 2 weeks ago. Ive known the chick back home for about 3 years. Im just gonna have to play the whole situtation by ear, and play the waiting game.

Top 8

Here is a list of the Top 8 (I thought Id change things up because everyone always expects 10 or 20) things i miss about being a kid. Anyone is welcome to cut an paste and put their own responses.


8. Hide and Go Seek
Not the 3 person "you guys go hide and I'll find you". Im talkin bout the one where the whole neighborhood is involved and it has to be a tag team effort to find everybody. I say that because we would hide in tree's and fields and with about 15 kids playing, that person would be it all day.

7. Freeze Tag
it was cool in my opinion tagging someone and picking with them knowing that they cant move an inch.

6. Saturday morning cartoons
Does anyone else miss the classic looney tunes or superman. Now its stuff like Pokemon, Digimon, and Sonic X. Ok tha last one is cool cuz who doesnt love Sonic the Hedgehog.

5. Power Rangers
WHAT HAPPPENED TO THEM! The last time i watched them with my brother there was only three of them and it was wack as crap. The Power Rangers I watched were far from wack. Me and My cuzo used to watch it all the time. We even had the mophers and we would act out what we had just seen.

4. Birthday Parties with cake.
Maybe cuz i like to eat, but just because we get older doesn't mean that we dont want a party with cake and ice cream.

3. Bubble Baths
Toy boats and rubber duckie's. Enough said

2.Disney Movies
The magic of Peter Pan, The Lion King and other Disney classics. Ok the Lion King isn't really missing in my life cuz everytime my little cousin comes over he's like "Travi I want watch Lion King." Its the point that it those movies were so special and weren't didnt really rely on computer graphics, and relyed on animation.

1. Mom
Am i the only one that misses my mom washing my clothes, cooking my food, and her goodnight kisses.

If anyone does there own top 10 or 8 or whatever, let me kno cuz it will be interesting to read some of the things we miss from when we were younger, and it lets me know that im not alone.

In Class Assignments

My upbringin has always been good. Its really helped shape me into the man that I am today. My grandfather had a really strong hand in that. He practically helped raise me when I was younger. Dont get me wrong my parents were there, but he had a huge hand in how i was raised. Maybe because i spent more time at his house then his, or the fact that I was his first grandson. We would always ride together when i was younger. He would take me to his mom's house or his sister's house all of the time, even though he didnt even have a license. We would walk on his road, where we would just talk and I would ask questions that little kids would ask. I remember one time I saw a wild berry and wanted to know could i eat it, and he told me yea and ate it. He always teased me like that.

My Best Friends

Im kinda missing home, maybe its because almost everyone I know went home this weekend. Mainly i miss my brother and sister, cuz they are my life, and everything Im doing now I do for them. My lil brother is the spittin image of me. The only thing different about us is our attitudes and how we act. He's more the quiet type, while im quiet, but not super quiet like him. I jus miss talking with him in person cuz talkin on the phone isnt the same. Even though we had our differences and we often fought like we were tryin to kill each other after the fact we got even closer. It sucks because we just got super close this year and I jus left him around the time that he needs me the most cuz he's jus becoming a teenager.

My sis on the other hand is completly opposite from him. She's totally loud and we argue every chance we get, even now. Its never actually serious, often its hilarious. It hurt me to my heart when she cried when they dropped me off. She comes to me for anything; boy trouble, homework, anything. We have been close since we were younger, cuz i feel like i owe her for almost droppin her when she wuz 2 days old (not really but i tell her that all the time).

I really cant wait till i get back home so i can see them both.

Jus Chillin in my room

Sitting in my room, with really nothing to do really sucks. Its a weeknight and I got class tomorrow morning at 9, so there goes my plans to either go out or just chill with some friends. Those 9 0'clock classes are really killing me. Its hard as crap to go to bed before 12 any night cuz there is so much to do. So basically when i get up, its late and have to rush my shower and to brush my teeth. On top of that, I basically sprint to my first class.

The 8 o'clock one is just like being murdered, coming back to life, and being murked again. It really sucks cuz i try and get up an hour and a half before i have to be in class, so i gotta get up at 6-6:30. That usually doesnt work and I end up gettin up around 7:15. Because of that im usually late. An it doenst help that its a 2 hour and 45 min class. Hopefully I can get used to this new schedule so i wont fall asleep in class again.

I Wuz Bored, So I Jus Posted Sumthing About Nuthin

Is anyone else feeling the effects of college life? I have never had this much fun in my life, its great here. Its always someone around you can talk to, so its never a feeling of being lonley. Its people your age around, which means no fighting with your baby sister over something really dumb, like dropping a cellie. Its just so much to do here that it truly feels overwhelming sometimes. Even the staff is friendly, my RA's are cool, just do like you supposed to an they'll even join in and joke around. The only problem that I really have is the work load, Im not used to doing all of this reading and writing. Thats cool though, you kinda get used to it, no matter how much you dont want to admit it.

I just dont understand how people pass up the opportunity like this. I know people who have graduated long before me, and are still doing the same thing like always. At first I was punking out, I was like " do i really want to go away to a different state and leave my friends and family behind. Now Im glad I made the choice to continue my education. The people up here are great, and even though it doesnt sound like it, i enjoy stayin up late and basically sprinting to class the next morning cuz I overslept.

Music

Music is a major part of my life. Coming from the country where the nearest Food Lion is about 20 min away, activities are pretty limited. Especially when you dont have a car to get around. Its because of me getting tired of sittin at home, looking dumb in the face, that I picked up a pair of headphones. I used to spend about 20 dollars every month for batteries, cuz I would always be listening. Ive been through about 2 MP3 players (im currently without one, so if you wanna hook me up wit one, thats whats up), so i could listen to music wherever I go.

I try to listen to all types of music, except for country. I cant stand country. Im really feeling R&B right now. Not really the sex themes that some artist try and put out there, but the smoothness of the beat and of the singers voice. Ne-Yo, J. Holiday, Trey Songz, and Jazmine Sullivan really, in my opinion make the genre good. Other artist like Urban Mystic and Noel Gourdin bring that old school feel to it. Rap is a good genre too. Of course Lil Wayne is doin big things right now, but im mostly feeling Plies. Latin music isnt that bad either. Reggeton, Bachete (did I spell that right), Merengue, and others have a really nice beat and make you wanna move.

Being from the country, where some people cow tip for fun, anyone can see why music is a major part of my life.

Dear Grandpa

Dear Grandpa,

I finally made it. Right now im at the University of Maryland, trying to make something of myself. Its been a long time getting to this point, but I thank God for the time and bumps he through my way because it has truly made me a man. I still have child ways, cause lets face it, I took after you a little. I have this bad habit of teasing people, just like you used to. I took your place by picking with your latest great grandchild. You would love Butta, and would probably spoil him just as much as you spoiled me. He looks just like me except that he's Ashley's baby and not mine. Also Ashley finally settled down and got married to Anthony, and they just recently got a house. So far, they are so happy and that makes me feel good inside to know that atleast one of their plans and dreams is comng true.

I graduated top ten of my class, and like I said earlier it was a struggle. You always said B and G doesnt mix, and you were right. Spending more time looking at girls instead of studying almost made me miss the top ten spot. But you know how it is, you were young at one point. The family is doin fine, I just talked to them last night. Grandma is doing alright, she still misses you even though she doesnt say it, you can tell by the look in her eyes and sometimes she will just get so sad and look like she will cry. Mari and Rj have grown so much and we have grown so close, especially me and Rj. Daddy is not doing as well as he puts out. He has so much pressure on him right now, that it makes me push harder so that he wont have to worry about anything after im done with school, cause ima take care of everything. Mama is still the same, except that she is getting more and more like your side of the family. I gotta go now, but I just want you to know that we havent forgot about you, and its not a single day that I dont think about you.

Love Always,
Travis

First Blog Assignment

INSTRUCTIONS: Please share a little about yourself as a writer. Use the questions below as “invention” questions to stimulate your thinking, and post the answers to your blog. Write in complete sentences, using as many specific details as you can recall. At the same time, write quickly, without interrupting yourself to revise. This assignment calls for an informal, personal response, so it will not be graded for grammatical correctness. However, note that you may be sharing this information with the public through your blog, so it does need to be readable and not overly personal.





1. Introduce yourself briefly. Where are you from? Where have you gone to school? What educational plans brought you to the University of Maryland, and what fields of learning or potential majors interest you at this stage in your academic career?



Hi Im Travis Mitchell, and Im from Reedville, VA. I went to school at Northumberland High in Heathsville, VA. The reason I came to the University of Maryland Is because I was going to major in Engineering, but I didnt score high enough on the math placement test. Now I plan on majoring in Communications, while taking some Media classes, so I can combine the two.





2. What kinds of writing have you done in high school? At UMD? At another college? Outside of a school setting?



In school I would always write for stuff like projects and essays, up until my senior year. My AP teacher told us that one of our assignments for the first semester was to do free writings. Free writings were the easiest thing to do because you would write about what you would want. I haven't really done anyother writing at any other schools, or outside of a school setting.




3. What steps do you usually follow when you write a paper? Do you outline? Revise? Compose on a word processor? What part of the writing process do you find easiest? What part do you find hardest?



When I first start writing, I brainstorm so I can come up with a good idea. Then after I come up with a solid idea, I gather some info about it, either personal experience or actual facts. Next comes the outline, and then either the final or rough draft, depending on if i type or write. The easiest part would have to be writing because everything is set up, you just gotta put it in sentances. The hardest is coming up with the ideas.





4. What kind of writing has given you the most satisfaction?



Free writing because I can write about what I want, and it helps me clear my mind


5. What is the longest or most challenging paper you have ever had to write? How did you go about preparing and writing it? What did you learn about writing from that experience?

The longest paper that I had to do was the research paper that I had to do my junior and senior years in English. It took about a month and a half to get things straight and start writing. We went to the library and made note cards, and our thesis. I learned how to right a research paper and how to gather research from writing these two papers.



6. What do you remember learning about writing from other courses or other writing experiences that you found useful?

I learned from a Creative Writing class that in order for you to write a good paper, you have to keep the reader interested.


7. Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. What are you good at? What aspects of your writing are you dissatisfied with?

When I write, i feel that im pretty good at keeping the reader interested. I can usually come up with ideas of the top of my head. My weakness would have to be my laziness to actually write. Sometimes I have to force myself to write.


8. What part of the writing process do you think you will need the most support with?

The Pre-Writing because like I said earlier I have to make myself write because this part to me is the most boring.


9. If you had your choice of subjects for a research project, what issues or topics would you like to write about?

If I had my choice of what to do research on, I would do it on a person. Nat Turner to me is an interesting person, in my opinion, even though what he did was flat out murder. I think he's interesting because he had a dream and hope, and he fought his hardest to get it.


10. What do you associate with the term argument? How do you feel about taking a course that focuses on argumentation?

When I hear arguement, I think of people who really dont get along with each other. Its gonna be very interesting to take a course that focuses on arguments because its not just one monotonous point of view.

High School

Does anyone out there miss high school besides me. Its not that i miss the building, cuz i wuz happy as hell when i walked and got my diploma. Maybe its the people and the memories that I have. My friends in high school were a random group of people, but we fit together good, like pieces of a puzzle. There wuz my boy James, who everyone picked with. He didn't care cuz he talked smack no matter what, from football to females. My boy Joe wuz the mouth of the group, and the loudest one. He could be heard from a mile away. My cuzo Pj wuz the crazy one, u never knew if he wuz serious or playin. Pj wuz also the biggest clown, meaning class with him meant never gettin anything done. Me and Terrell were the quiet ones, the only difference is that everyone wuz waiting for Terrell to snap. Yoli wuz the only girl i really chilled and cut up with with. I guess she wuz like one of my best friends, even though she wuz a girl. Her cousin Yazmin wuz something like a little sister to me.

The best memories that I have of high school happened my senoir year. There wuz that time that me and Pj put a pad in the boys bathroom. He had gotten it from one of his friends and we had strawberrys for lunch that day. This fool comes up with the idea to put the left over juice on the pad and drop it in the bathroom to make it look like, you know. The other memory that really stands out is when our government class took a trip to DC. On the way back, me an Yoli sat beside each other and really bonded. Thats when I realized that I had more feelings for here besides as a friend.

Like I said I think the only thing i miss about high school is the people and the memories. Good thing they will stay with me forvever