Photo Essay

Hypertext Essay

The radio station in the student center is one of the places I hold dear to my heart. This is a place where I am welcomed and very comfortable. This place is as exciting as a glow in the dark, multiple colored lava lamp. It is a place where I can go if I am having any problems that need to be dealt with or if I just want to be around some of my friends. It is a place where I can connect with others that like my music and other genres of music. A place where my friends and I provide ourselves and our listeners with music. The station is a loudspeaker that broadcasts all the time. The inside of the station has mainly black walls with splattered neon paint of the colors yellow, red, and green.

Here I can express myself any way I want even on the walls of this place. Here my friends and I can do just about anything we want because it is our area, our place, our space, and our station. The ceiling has some ceiling tiles over the entrance, the booth, and both offices but not the main sitting area. All over the main sitting area is just the frame ready for tiles to be put in. An architecture structure is built in an L shape above the room with two cabinets as the bases. We can see the structure because it is above the framing in the room and we have no ceiling tiles. About everything in here was hand-made by the people at the station so that is why I get such a “homey” feeling. The floor, which we laid ourselves, is made up of wooden tiles that are two by two feet long that are covered by a thin rubber and separated by one inch wide wooden beams. There is a sound booth I use to broadcast our music to everyone. There is also the manager's office with all the hardware and our back-up files with all of our music and files for playback. The station has a refrigerator and a microwave because we are allowed to. It also has have a lot of of people come to this place because we get a lot of requests and visitors. The usual company are the multiple DJ's including myself, the general manager, the chief engineer, the DJ manager, and many close friends of those people come in this place all the time. We also get the occasional complainer, fan, potential DJ applicant, security, and administration drop by every once and a while too.

The overall surroundings of this place is the Joe Mack Wilson Student Center, all of the people in the student center, the campus life, and all things included with that.

The sights of the station are calm and exciting at the same time because of everything that goes on here. People could be just doing some homework or just studying making it a calm place with not too much noise. Also this place could be exciting when we have our one professional DJ Azul play on the turn-tables because he makes all music awesome and blend with his professional mixing skills. The sounds in this place are somewhat difficult to understand or explain because the radio station has so many different songs playing; the sound is never the same and could be anything. The booth always has some music playing and the waiting room only has the music playing out loud if we turn on the overhead speakers. The station has no specific smell except for some electrical equipment. The station has no taste and the movement in the station varies on how many people are in it and how many are partying.

The radio station makes me feel relaxed at sometimes and other times excited. It is all determined by who is broadcasting music at the time and what music is playing because it is a radio station. If one of the DJ's that likes to play slow music is on, I will be more relaxed and calm but if I am playing my music or another DJ that plays music like me that is very fast paced and loud I will be very excited because they are the tunes that appeal to me the most. I always feel comfortable because I am listening to good music with friends.

Earlier this week a listener in the student center crowd of the station e-mailed the Dean of Students Barry Burkhead about a DJ playing bad music and it being too loud. He said he could not study. This angered all the people in the radio station a great deal. Barry forwarded that email to our General Manager who then forwarded it to the DJ Manager and he took out the complainers name and showed us the email. We all were furious. The student center is not meant solely for studying at all actually; It is a place of gathering where students can talk and have a good time. If someone wants to study they can go to the library right across Sycamore Grove. Another thing is that we are allowed to play whatever music we want as long as the volume is not excessive, no vulgarity, racism, or sexism. We did not play any music of that kind. We were extremely mad because many of us wanted to find out who this complainer was and have a few words with him.

Someone who would not want to be around this place would say the station is a trashy and not deserving of being the radio station. The visitors would probably not touch anything because they would find it not safe or dangerous. They would learn though after staying here for a few hours that this place is an excellent ground for making friends, listening or playing music, and having fun. They will realize that if you are not an irritating person or have any terrible traits about you that the people here will take you in just fine. We always are looking for more potential DJ's because we want all kinds of music to be played.

My ideas for this place are big and small. I think this place is a great area to relax and chill. I have an plan to make this place expand and so much more popular. All of the people here at the station have the idea and plan to expand to sponsors and receive funds for our music. This place is important because we provide music online and for the people in the student center. The student center and school events get music because of this place.

Edited May 4

Being Lost...

Being lost is not a feeling most people enjoy having. When I was a little kid we had an enormous forest behind my family's house. I would always go into my backyard to either throw a ball around with my dad or friends, play with my sister, watch and learn how to cut grass with my dad, do other lawn work, help my mom in the garden, or explore the forest edge of our property. I would never go too far into the forest because I was absolutely terrified of what was in there. I was young so I still believed in monsters and creatures that could come from the forest. On top of that my family had actually seen coyotes passing through the back yard. My room was in the back of the house and my window looked out directly into the forest. So whenever I saw some creepy movie I would be absolutely terrified of what could come out of there. I always thought something or someone was watching me. One day my older friend went into the woods because he heard another one of his older friends was back there dirt biking. I wanted to follow, so I did. There was a very rough path that lead deeper and deeper into the woods but eventually it faded into nothing because of how far it went. We must have been walking for at least thirty minutes not stopping once because we could hear the bike's noises off in the distance. My friend was very excited to see his friend so he ran ahead and I lost him. Now back then I had to follow him because the path was gone but since he ran ahead I had no path to follow. Once he was out of sight I was absolutely lost. I was terrified and horror struck. I screamed and yelled but no one replied. I picked the direction I thought was the way home and started walking that way. Then I heard a growl and a swift movement behind me and that is when I lost it. I immediately was adrenaline pumped and scared for my life. I sprinted full speed in a straight path that I thought would bring me home. It did bring me home and I ran full speed right into my house, slammed the door, locked it and went and sat on the ground and just yelled out in fear. My mom came running and asked what was wrong and I just stared in shock. I did not go back into those woods for a long time until I was much older. Since then I learned not to take chances if I could get lost. It's a scary world so I try not to get lost anymore.
Edited May 4

First Day of College...

My first day of college was not the slightest bit of what I thought was going to happen. It was move-in day and my mother and I have just found my room. I call my roommate whom I have not met yet and get the deal on when he is going to show up, what he has with him, and whether he needs any help. In the process of walking up to the dorm building two guys approached me and asked if I needed any help moving my things into my room. I was totally psyched and said sure because I was lazy then and did not want to have to move all of my things on my own. My mother pulled up in my vehicle with all of my things and we all brought my stuff up to my new room. The two guys were the recruitment chairman and president of the fraternity I later come to join. They invite me to a Braves game on Saturday and leave to go help and find other guys. My roommate shows up after that and my family meets his. We talk for a little bit and set everything up then our parents leave and we talk more about our classes. I learn about his major and that it's the same as mine. We go down to the lobby of the dorm to meet the others because the Residence Life is holding a party for everyone to get to know each other. In the middle of this party a guy I met before move-in day calls me and invites me to a concert that night right then and there. The party by the way was a total bust and was not great at all because the residence life was trying to make us collect names and majors of other people and once we got ten we were able to get some pizza. I give my roommate my card of names on it so he can get some free pizza and I sneak out the back away from the Resident Assistants and meet my new friend. We go to an awesome show and stay out till about 1 in the morning. I come back later and find my roommate still awake so I just get on my laptop. I sit there feeling the new freedom I get from being off in college and thoroughly enjoy it. I realize that a lot of other people are also still awake so I go out into my hall and meet all of my neighbors who some end up becoming fellow brothers in my fraternity but others end up joining a different fraternity but we still remain okay friends. I end up finally going to sleep that night around 4 AM to be ready for the next day and first day of classes to come. The first day of college was a new experience and was a once in a lifetime event.
Edited May 4

If I Won $100,000,000....

If I won one hundred million dollars I would probably go into a small stage of shock at first because I would not be able to believe it happened. I would immediately put all of the money into a bank account and talk to my family and friends about what I should use it on. The first thing I would do is make sure that my family is financially secure for the rest of their lives and have everything they need. I would make sure my dad had no more bills to pay off and own his house. I would see that my mom can finish her schooling and be able to get a job that she will enjoy doing while having her house also paid off. As for my sister I would give her anything she wanted as long as it is not bad. I would get my own place, probably with some of my brothers in my fraternity and we would live together. If I do not get my own place or room with my fraternity brothers I would get a small townhouse so my sister could live there with me and have anything she wanted. I would pay for all her schooling in whatever field she desired and make sure everything went smoothly. She would get any car, clothes, or any material possession within reason. Once my family is totally secure and has everything they would like then I would donate a large sum to my fraternity so all of us could have the coolest events and socials around. We would have all of the best things in our fraternity house and all kinds of money to be able to do large events that could bring in even more money for us all. A problem I have when I have enough money is that I want to give a lot to people I like because I like to see them happy is there is anything I can do to raise their spirits. That is why a lot of my money would go to helping out my sister. I would also give large amounts of money back to my parents as thank yous for raising me and doing so much for me. After all of that I would probably get my self the best quality of material possessions I want like clothes, a car or ten, top of the line computer and laptop equipment, a nice house, and everything to fill those things up. Winning that kind of money would just change my life so much I could not say what more I would do with the money because there is just so much I could do. Although I do know I would be riding a lot of go-karts. I would do my best to be responsible with the money.
Edited May 4

Things I do when I procrastinate..

When I know I have work to do for something but I also know I have time to do something else and can do the work another time I tend do multiple things. I of course feel guilty about putting off the work. A little part of me is constantly telling me the whole time I am putting off the work that I need to just stop, make some free time in my course of procrastination, and do the work right away. If I did listen to that little voice I would: 1) think I was a little loopy for listening to a voice in my head and 2) I would get a lot more work done so I have a free conscience and could do all the activities I was going to do anyway before doing the work. While I am procrastinating I usually am relaxing with my friends or doing some activity with them. Almost always though I am with them because we all stick together whether we are busy or not. Even when I do or do not procrastinate I do my work or slack with them. The reason for this is because eventually they will tell me if I have waited too long to do some work and they convince me to get it all done. Many assignments that I have done so far have been encouraged by them. If I am not with my friends I might be watching some television or on my laptop watching some episodes of a certain show I find good on Hulu. The activity that I almost always do while procrastinating whether I am with my friends or not is go to the recreation center and lift weights since I am such a personal fitness fanatic. I might also be doing an average guy thing and be trying to flirt with a girl or be with a girl which totally distracts me from a lot of things that I should be doing whether it is school work, chores, or any other task I might need to be doing at the time. On most days I use my computer at least 50% of the day. In that time I am on my laptop I am on Facebook. A large amount of time I waste is on Facebook because it is a social networking site all of my friends use and it is a place to meet other people. That is about all I do while I am procrastinating though. I try not to do so much but it cannot be helped.

If I Were A Superhero I Would Be...

If I were a superhero I would be the Flash or at least have his powers. To understand why I would want to be like him I have to tell you some of my past. Throughout high school I ran track competitively and always enjoyed the feeling while running. Something I had pride in was being able to run faster than almost anyone I came across. I always enjoyed the feeling of the air whipping past my face while sprinting full speed across a plain, up a hill, down a hill, over and around obstacles. The experience was always an adrenaline pumped occurrence. Then when it came to sports I may not have been the best at catching, throwing, or what else any sport involved to be done to play but I was almost always the fastest so I always had an advantage. When I would play soccer I could always catch my opponent and steal the ball. When I played recreational football or with friends I could always out maneuver the defensive line. So that is why I would want to be Flash, the superhero. I would run so fast and be able to go everywhere in the blink of an eye. I would travel everywhere and anywhere because I could get there so quickly and get anywhere else if I needed to be somewhere. I could even run on water. Just being able to run on water is reason enough for me to want to be that superhero. To be able to move so fast that I could move my body across water and maintain that high speed continuously is unbelievable. I would do that just in my free time to show off or racing boats. I would cross the ocean multiple times and be able to do it in a matter of a few hours without slowing. I would also compete in the Olympics and other running competitions because I know I would win. That may seem unfair but I would not tell anybody except my close friends of my abilities. I would run in all of those competitions and win them all being known as the fastest man in the world. Something about the title of being the fastest man in the world also contributes to why I would want to be like Flash, the superhero. No one could touch me. No one could catch me. I would be only a blur.

What If Toys Could Talk?

If toys could talk I think I would take a trip into the past and become a little kid all over again. I would go home and find all the toys I played with when I was younger and just talk to them all day and night. My toys would probably become an essential part of my life in some way. I might carry one around in my pocket to ask questions randomly or for advice or maybe just when I need someone to talk to. I also would keep a few of my toys just for the purpose of remembering certain things so I could recall information just by asking them what I needed. Who would have thought that talking toys would make someone's life easier? I certainly would not. During my free time I would probably act no more mature than a kid and have my toys fight each other except now they would be able to fight because they could talk in their fights. They would be able to cuss, yell, and argue thus deciding who really wins the fights I make them have. When I first find out that they could talk though I would have to explain why I deserted them in the first place. I would tell them that I moved on to things that were more entertaining like people that were able to actually talk back to me at the time. If the toys became annoying though I might have to put them away somewhere so I could not hear them be irritating. I'm sure a lot of the toys would not have too many nice things to say to me since I left them and all though. I would mostly talk to the toys that were made to be intelligent because they would be made with some preset information relating to themselves and I would remember what they tell me because it may be something I could use later on in my life. I might also try to take some tips from some of the toys because they were made to be the best at what they were. I would go and find my sister's toys and ask them on advice on different things as well because they would know what is best; an example would be relationship advice. Finally, if toys could talk I would have my other friends get their toys and we would all have a huge fight or battle because we could and the toys would argue through to decide who wins. It would be very entertaining.

Portfolio 2 blog 2

So this week is greek week. All of the greek organizations get together and compete in different events for certain amounts of points. In the end they are added up and trophies are given according to points highest to lowest. On Monday we had a canstruction competition where everyone had to form cans into the shape of a cartoon character. My fraternity ended up making Mickey Mouse. There was no judge for this event, everyone just got points for completing the task. After that was volleyball which we placed third in. We lost to Kappa Sigma and got third and we almost won too. Later that night was kickball which was not able to be completed because the games took so long. Then today on Tuesday a swimming event was held. One of the brothers in my fraternity and myself swam in this event and we placed third again. I was not very happy. So far with all the points collected my fraternity is placed second overall. We have to get first in the next few events today and later on in the week. Fortunately the events later on in the week are events a lot of our brothers are trained and ready to do. Later on there is soccer, a field day, some student center activities, then a few running relays, and finally a basketball tournament to top it all off. In my swimming event today I took an energy shot before the race. During the race I went all out and did my best like I was supposed to but after wards I was very noxious and felt terribly sick. For about two hours after the race I felt terrible and dehydrated. I was drinking water and it was helping out. Although now I feel fine because I am getting ready to go eat and that will put me back to normal. Everyone in my fraternity has been preparing for this week for about two months now and everyone is excited to compete in all the events. All of our guys have been coming to the events and cheering the competitors on even though they aren't in the events themselves. Tonight is dodge ball and everyone is coming out to the recreation center to bean people with the rubber balls. Everyone enjoys hitting the enemy team with objects and call it a game! So everyone is heading to the recreation center around 6 o'clock and is preparing for battle!

Portfolio 2: assign 1

So my spring break was incredible because I went to Destin, Florida. The trip down there was even fun although it took six hours. I went down there with my friend George, Rami, and Alexandria. We all were meeting up with some other friends that wanted to drive themselves down because they had to leave a day later than us because of automotive difficulties. The whole way down there though we were playing music off of George's ipod which was okay but it could have been better. His music is not my music so it's not the best it could be but on a positive note I was the "DJ" on the ride down so I controlled the ipod and got to pick the songs we listened to. The whole time George and I switched off driving the van down there while Rami and Alexandria sat in the back either napping or kissing because they are a new couple. George and I tried not to focus too much on that. Most of the ride we were talking about different things and cracking jokes about anything. When we got there we went in and fell right asleep. We stayed at George's condo that he owns down there. George and I stayed in the master room in separate beds and Rami and Alexandria stayed in the guest room until our other friends showed up. Our other friends showed up in the afternoon of the next day and we went out to eat and got vietnamese food. The rest of the week we went to the beach every day and got some sun and threw the football around a little. We went out to a few more random places and clubs that we could find for entertainment also. I met a few girls which was great on my part but I couldn't pursue anything because I don't live there. I got really burned while I was there but the burn turned into a tan at the end of the week. The pain that came with the burns I could have lived without but I guess that's the price to pay for a tan when you are very white. I bought two books while I was down there which was surprising even for me. I expected to buy clothes instead of some BOOKS. Although I found them great reads and I don't regret buying them. We left on Wednesday afternoon because all of us were lazy and slept in and packed slowly. We casually left with all of our souvenirs and got back to George's around nine at night. We all just sat around on our computers that night and talked about our fun. That was the extent of my fun on spring break.

Doughnuts Revisited

Dear Kripsy Kreme,

I love your doughnuts. I am a very obese person that cannot live without your doughnuts for more than a single day. Each and every day I waddle down to my car and drive to the Kirdpy Kreme at exactly 9 AM every morning becuase I know that the doughnuts are fresj and ready to be scarfed down by me at that time. I always get al least six doughnuts of assorted kinds and toppings. I usually get around three glazed and the other three doughnuts assorted with sprinkles, chocolate, creme-filled, etc. whatever the case may be that day. Then I take those doughnuts back to my house and completely scarf them down utterly stuffing my face with total disregard for who is watching me because I do not care about those people, I only care about your doughnuts. The taste once the doughnuts hit my tongue is unbelievable because it is like an explosion of good tastes ans sweets running down my throat adding onto the wonderful flavor of soft heated bread. I especially enjoy your glazed doughnuts because they are the simplest yet most delicious and mouth watering because of the sweetness from the glaze on the doughnuts. They always are freshly baked when I get them because I stand at the counter and complain until I get the right kind of doughnuts I want. I know you can make them that way like no other doughnut shop because I usually watch the bakers very closely on top of me sneaking into other shops like dunking donuts and seeing how badly they make theirs. The way the original glazed doughnuts shine from the glace just makes my insides turn in joy. I am absolutely obsessed with your doughnuts I just cannot express myself completely. The best way I could think of explressing myself is with this poem:

Oh, doughnuts from Krispy Kreme,
You make me feel like I'm in a dream,
Doughnuts as light as the air,
No other shop could possibly compare,
As soon as I walk through the shop door,
I am instantly eating and wanting more.
I cannot stop myself from buying them all,
I just get overwhelmed when I see them on the wall,
I always have loved what I have seen.
And I love you Krispy Kreme.

I would deeply appreciate it if you could reply to me with some type of coupon book or discounts so I could buy more of your delicious doughnuts from the corner store by my apartment. Even right now I am eating one of your doughnuts becuase writing all of the details about them made me so hungry. Thanks so much for your excellent service and product.

Sincerely,
Stephen Cain.


In my newly edited version of Doughnuts I added onto almost very sentence with a little more description and detail that took some thought. I substituted the word delicious with a bunch of other adjectives instead. I deleted the very last sentence in the last version that says "I plan on buying a lot more in the future," because it wasn't necessary. I think my additions made my overall impression clearer and easier to understand. The letter should be much clearer now.

Assignment 5: Narrating an Object

http://www.time.com/time/picturesoftheweek/0,29409,1957531_2030408,00.html

In this photo from Time Magazine I see a bunch of vikings ready to kill these two men who are playing their violin and guitar because they feel that they should play even if the vikings do not like their music. They will play their music because it is beautiful music that is not appreciated by such savages such as them. The two men originally came to the town where the vikings called home and started playing their violin and guitar for recreation but once they started local neighbors became very disturbed and aggravated. When the two men saw that the local people were frustrated and angry they stopped playing not knowing it was their own music that caused the ruckus. They tried helping out and tried to find out what they locals meant when they said a very irritating noise was bugging them but could not find it. So the two men went back and played their music and then they realized that it was their music that had caused the ruckus. So they played and played regardless of what the locals thought. They locked their doors and went to the basement of the building they were in and continued playing to their liking. In the meantime the vikings are smashing down walls and windows trying to get to the men so they can rid themselves of the noise. The men played and played until the vikings finally broke down into the basement. Now they are battle crying and preparing to slaughter the two men and their violin and guitar playing. The two men played and played not caring what the outcome. The vikings just continued yelling yet not one of them would lead the rest in starting the slaughter. The men continued to play and the vikings got louder. None of the vikings would start the charge against the two musicians but started yelling louder insults and curse words.
The colors that the vikings wore had no significance, they only wore them because they liked the way they looked on them. The vikings are normally very ruthless and will kill anything that does not meet their standards or is anything they do not like. The vikings had no name, just the colors of the uniforms they wore to represent their people.
All I see in this picture is a bunch of men who want to kill the two men playing instruments because the music they are playing is not the kind of harmonic melody they want to hear.

4th Assignment: Radio

Im a DJ at the Joe Mack Wilson Student Center located here on campus at Southern Polytechnic State University. I play mostly Metal and Rap songs with a few Rap songs that have been made over into rock versions. Almost everyday I go into the station either to play music for everyone or just to hang around with my friends. Some of them are also DJs but most of them are not. The people who are DJs have a little bit of authority in saying who stays and goes so when it gets a little crowded in there (maybe about 9-10 people) we start telling people to leave and no more can come in. Even my fraternity brothers I have sometimes removed from the station because they are just annoying when I need to get something done inside there. They are never happy about it but they understand because I have a responsibility to also keep the station clean and not clattered with everyone's belongings so people can move around and socialize. My official shows are on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:00 P.M.- 3:00P.M. and that's when I play my music and host my talk shows. My shows are not the best by far. My good friend David Moghaddom who we call Mogie had the best talk shows. On Thursdays he has a four hour time slot and he gets a lot of listeners and people call in. My other friend George is the Chief Engineer of the station now from being on very good terms with the General Manager from last semester Blake and being an okay DJ. In my opinion though he does not play the kind of music I would prefer. Who listens to 80's shows nowadays? That would be his thing. Although Mogie is the same way because he is Jewish and he plays a Jewish introduction song EVERYTIME he starts his show, but after that he plays an incredible entrance song that's from some movie I cannot think of. We all have a great time in there and play music that we all enjoy. Occasionally we get a complaint from someone that does not like the type of music that the DJ is playing at the time. We actually laugh at those because that means that people are paying attention to what we are saying over the intercom so that means others are listening too and that makes us happy. We are trying to get as many listeners as possible right now just to spread the word whether they are negative or positive listeners. We prefer the good ones though.

3rd Assignment: The Little Store

Welty tells first about where the location of everything was that she remembers. She tells first about how her mother was an independent person never needing to go to the store for herself or buying extra groceries. She tells about her mother being a "thrifty homemaker, wife, mother of three, and a woman that did all of her own cooking." The girl is telling about how her mother sent her down to the Little Store and she would volunteer to go. She explains how one of the farmers around there had a song to bring with him that went...
"Milk, milk,
Buttermilk,
Snap beans-butterbeans-
Tender okra-fresh greens...
And buttermilk."

The girl explains how she enjoys the trip to the store by jumping-rope, hopped its length through mazes of hopscotch, played jacks in its islands of shade, ride in circles down the sidewalk with her Princess bicycle, and skated it back and forwards. She tells how she would play out there with her brothers and friends as long as "first dark" lasted. Then she tells about how she and another boy that lives on that street were fighting the flu epidemic and she made a joke poem about the boy going to heaven with the influenza. She upset her parents with this a great deal.

Then she tells about how the Little Store. She tells about the make-up of the store itself and then the inside of how it is very hard to focus on what you went there for because of all the different things there. She tells how Mr. Sessions knows exactly what you are going to get and how to help you out. She tells how he would weigh you everytime you went in and remember what you weighed before so you could subtract and announce how much you'd gained. That is his way of goodbye. The way she tells about the store comes off in a very positive and cheerful way. Any reader can tell that she feels nicely toward this place. At one point she says "I believed the Little Store to be a center of the outside world, and hence of happiness..."

She reinforces her childlike perspective by telling about everything a child is thinking when they see everything that goes on. Her total obliviousness of the world and the things that go on that she did not understand at the time. Something happens to Mr. Sessions family that she did not really know existed and when she asked what had happened to her parents they only responded "until the time comes for you to know." She also explains how the sewers are a dark scary place she would use to go home on the times she was afraid to just walk home. It was the hard way to go home but she enjoyed it.

2nd Assignment: Boston

I am from Boston. I am from the area where people talk quickly, rudely, and with the northern dialect. I was born there and raised there for about four years. While there I learned how each word sounded by listening to my parents and their friends. Also from all the friends I made growing up with that could speak I learned more words. From there I learned my dialect without knowing it was or what was a dialect. I also learned a few northern traditions and foods that was considered normal and regular to eat at a majority of times. The place I grew up definitely left a mark on me that has stuck with me till this day. There I would either be living near the city or near the coast so I would always be on the water. I got used to waking up to the sunrise over the ocean and going out on a boat and doing water sports all the time. Other times it would be swimming in my heated pool with my family. After moving down to Georgia I was ridiculed for the way I spoke and the way I said my sentences. People would have to ask what I said over and over to understand what I was saying because of how I said my R's. A lot of people would make fun of how I spoke just because I sounded so different. A lot of people started calling me Boston back when I went to middle and high school. Still today I sometimes pronounce certain words with a northern accent. I try not to speak that way anymore because whenever one of those words slip out people are confused and have to ask me to repeat what I said. It is quite annoying so I just try not to do it. Although I do keep my northern speaking ability alive in me by talking like that with my family. Some of my family are from Sweden so they have thick accents mixed with northern dialects so the way I talk is very different from the south. I refuse to talk with a country accent because a lot of people affiliate southern accents with stupidity. I do not really understand why that is nowadays because some southerners are very smart but I just will not use the southern twang, slang or accents. So I keep my Boston side of me alive but do not really let anyone notice. I am glad I am from Boston and I am going to try to keep the place where I was born alive in me forever.

1st Assignment: Greek Friends

I am here at my friend's house relaxing just talking to my friend and his family. They are Greek and quite different from many of the other families I have encountered. Usually I and with my friend in the basement where it is dimly lit by a few overheard lamps. "Still, a great deal of light falls on everything." I was just sitting on a couch just chatting with them and I learned a great deal about their culture and style of living. Sometimes it was hard to understand my friend's father because of the way he spoke and the way he spoke of different things. It would be exact to say "If I can't see these minutiae, I still try to keep my eyes open." I cannot completely understand his father but I try my best to catch every word he says, even the Greek ones. I was invited to stay for dinner and I expected something interesting and yet regular. When we sat down at the table waiting for the food the parents were talking about work very seriously. I could not understand why they were so serious but my friend did. "We miss a great deal because we perceive only things on our own scale.""I reeled in confusion; I did not understand what I saw." Once the food was ready I was excited. They had made a soup appetizer. There I could say "I saw what I expected." After the soup they served us pork loin and rice with a special sauce that was delicious. I was not so enthusiastic about the food at first because of the look of it but it turned out to be quite alright. We talked all throughout dinner and it was very pleasant. Sometimes the family spoke in Greek so I just had to try my best at understanding and making the right gestures at the right times like I understood. After that the mother brought out some kind of dessert that consisted of a Greek cookie kourabiethes and some strawberries mixed with mandarin orange slices. We sat around for a little longer then cleared up. That night I learned a lot about Greek culture. They told me about the different figures in their house and I could see on their faces their own admiration for their pieces of art they had ascertained over the years. They definitely taught me how to admire one's own possessions. "I had my whole life a bell, and never knew it until that moment I was lifted and struck." I had been taught something anew and will now treasure my valuables with greater care. The only way I can think to use the last quote from Dillards would be my friends car. She would go outside and then turn around and come right back in during the ice dilemma days. "This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means that only the simplest animals perceive the universe as it is." This phrase almost completely confuses me but I can see how it is relevant to my friends cat. I saw how Greeks live and learned about them.

All quotes are from Annie Dillard