Technical writing is hard to do, especially when every little detail counts.  For the most part, I got a lot of the little details down, but even so, I still missed some details that were crucial.  It was hard to express how to do something in terms that seem easy for you, but are not for others.

Tan's teachers steered her towards math and science due to test results showing better scores in those subjects.  Her English abilities were miscalculated due to her "broken" or "limited" English from being Asian American. Tan's point of the story is, no matter how much someone tries to push something on you, follow what you want to do.  This point fits into Mother Tongue by showing that even though people wanted Tan to explore math and science, she went with her heart and decided to go into English.

My digital story is either going to be about my woods, hunting, or hunting stories.  I plan to record video clips of my property and narrate.

Digital Storytelling can revolutionize the narrative experience by helping to create a more personal way of telling a story.  Instead of the old fashion verbal or written ways of telling stories, they can be told by movies, slides, and other digital ways.

 "Student Metaphors of Themselves as Writers" is an excerpt about a teacher assigning students to write metaphors about themselves.  He has see many kinds of metaphors such as, fear and courage, control, and silence.  The article is organized by telling about the students assignments, explaining how some metaphors are conceived and paced out, gives the different types of metaphors, and shows that metaphors can be a way of observing diverse people.  Each section of the article gives an example of a specific kind of metaphor and then gives examples.  The sections help provide the reader with the idea that when people create metaphors about themselves, and someone else reads it to get familiar with the writer's personality.

I agree with Middlebury College's policy because Wikipedia is not a creditable source.  It can be changed and altered by it's readers.  Students need to realize this and if the college's policy works, then so be it.  Faculty could also suggest academic journals to students for them to use, this will help students use creditable sources and not Wikipedia.

Personally, I like the movie better.  It gives me a better look at who Chris really was and his views on life.  However, the book shows how his parents really were better, the movie has a bias point of view with them.  I do think that when we watch movies, it has a greater impact on us because we are visual creatures.  We rely on sight quite a bit and this makes us prefer a version of something if we watch it rather than reading it.

I still have the same opinions about Chris, however I don't think his death was a tragedy.  Everyone dies and Chris just happened to die in his element; a peaceful, content, and humble death.  When his parents visited the bus site, it justified the fact that he was just a guy searching for himself among the wilderness.  He was an idealist, and searched for a true meaning of life.  He was very humble about it and pretty much had a one sided opinion.

Chapters eight and nine are mostly about outcasts.  Krakauer interrupted Chris's story in these chapters to talk a little bit about outcasts, because Chris was kind of an outcast among his family.  He had different point of views than most people around him and that made him an outcast.  The question, "What's a name," is asking what do the letters put together represent.  What makes people remember your name after meeting you once.  That's what matters.

The first one is saying that he wanted to get a meaning out of life, and not just exist.   I agree with this statement.  When I come closer to my death, I would like to know that my life was a good one and had a meaning.  The second one is kind of saying that people who seek freedom from their normal life, are willing to travel and experience new things.  I agree with this, although I think if someone decides to pursue this, it should be an educated decision.

I like myself the way I am.  I don't really think I would change much, if anything?  Maybe some things that I have done would be changed, but nothing major.  However, if I could go back to senior year of high school, I would go into the Marines instead of college.  I've thought about this decision so many times and question if I made the right one.  When one wants to reinvent themselves, I think they're referring to changing some things they did, not themselves.  It's the actions that make the person.

"Satellite"- Rise Against

You can't feel the heat until you hold your hand over the flame
You have to cross the line just to remember where it lays
You won't know your worth now, son, until you take a hit
And you won't find the beat until you lose yourself in it

That's why we won't back down
We won't run and hide
Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny
I'm passing over you like a satellite
So catch me if I fall
That's why we stick to your game plans and party lives
But at night we're conspiring by candlelight
We are the orphans of the American dream
So shine your light on me

You can't fill your cup until you empty all it has
You can't understand what lays ahead
If you don't understand the past
You'll never learn to fly now
'Til you're standing at the cliff
And you can't truly love until you've given up on it

That's why we won't back down
We won't run and hide
Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny
I'm passing over you like a satellite
So catch me if I fall
That's why we stick to your game plans and party lives
But at night we're conspiring by candlelight
We are the orphans of the American dream
So shine your light on me

She told me that she never could face the world again
So I offered up a plan

We'll sneak out while they sleep
And sail off in the night.
We'll come clean and start over the rest of our lives.
When we're gone we'll stay gone.
Out of sight, out of mind.
It's not too late,
We have the rest of our lives.

We'll sneak out while they sleep
And sail off in the night
We'll come clean and start over the rest of our lives
When we're gone we'll stay gone.
Out of sight, out of mind.
It's not too late,
We have the rest of our lives.
The rest of our lives

Because we won't back down
We won't run and hide
Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny
I'm passing over you like a satellite
So catch me if I fall
That's why we stick to your game plans and party lives
But at night we're conspiring by candlelight
We are the orphans of the American dream
So shine your light on me (shine your light on me)

Because we won't back down
We won't run and hide
Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny
I'm passing over you like a satellite
'cause these are the things that we can't deny now
This is a life that you can't deny us now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KISf2eNYOHM&feature=related

I think this song is saying that people need to go out and experience life a little more from different view.  Escape from the same tone of society and find your own.  I like it.

Chris McCandless was not foolish in what he did.  However, I do think that he should have been more educated in the wildlife department before he started his journey.  He is simply a man trying to find himself and find a purpose in life.  He wants to get away from society and be his own person; have his own thoughts.  Personally I feel that Chris is a good man and has good intentions.

Well as most people know, I love nature and the outdoors.  When I go hunting, I don't just sit there and stare off into space, I think.  I think about anything and everything, I do some self-evaluating, and enjoy the sound of the woods around me (Until a deer comes along).  After completing all of my education, I plan to have a career outside. My POE is Wildlife Conservation, therefore I will probably be enjoying my future career very much.  I think when one is alone in nature for some time, they find out who they are.  They tend to gather their thoughts about things and start to think for themselves a lot more.  Now a days, too many people just follow the thoughts and ideas of society, and this will eventually get the world in trouble.  Nature has a very unique way about itself.  It is self sustaining and does not have to rely a whole lot on humans.  People can learn a lot, if they would just go out in the wilderness with an experienced person.  Instincts can kick in and one can learn how to live off the land.  One can see the beauty of their surroundings and this may help them connect to their spiritual side; give them some insight on things.

Personally, I favor the plain way of living, such as the Amish.  Yes, I do enjoy technology, cars, and indoor plumbing; but in all honesty, I think I could live without.  The world today is largely based on 'wants' instead of 'needs,' however in some countries needs are not even met.  The U.S. has gotten stuck on the 'high class' way of living and usually put a high emphasis on material things.  Granted, I'm guilty for this as well, but if our nation started living like the Amish, there would be much less chaos.  Material things cause people to get greedy and not think of those in need.  If we only used what we needed and made what we needed, there would be less anxiety in the world; we wouldn't have to worry about running out of resources.  (I always said I wanted to live like the Amish.)

Not much has changed with me.  I'm the same, redneck country girl who enjoys hunting and fishing.  Over winter break, I did a lot of much needed hunting.  I hunted ducks with a buddy of mine, went coyote huntin', and bow hunted.  I was able to do some self-evaluation while sitting in my tree stand.  I've gotta say, I really didn't hang out with friends much.  They would ask me to hang out, and I would say, "Sorry, I'm going huntin'."  I realized that I did not do my best academically during the fall semester, and decided to set a goal to change that.  So far, I started the semester off well, doing my work and limiting my free time to do more work.  This semester will be busy for me, due to softball.  Therefore, I'm cracking down.