Fall Break Reflection

My fall break was definitely a trip. It started on Wednesday night, because I had to head back home for a doctors appointment. I was pretty much sick throughout the whole break and stayed in bed. I wasn't able to have a more exciting break like I wish I could have. On the bright side, I was able to spend a lot of time with my siblings, and it allowed me to reconnect with them all. Thanksgiving was good; I love cooking in the kitchen even if I don't like all of the food! Although it is not one of my favorite holidays, it was nice to see everyone again and to have that feeling of accomplishment, because a lot of them said I would never make it to college.

I have changed a lot since I first moved here in August. My whole outlook on life is quite different. In spite of living in the same place my whole life, before college, I realized that I am a well-rounded person. I have always been open to meeting new people, and learning about where they come from. I have improved in managing my time with all of the things I have to do; I have become more responsible and even more independent. Living on my own throughout high school was hard, so going to college and living on campus definitely made everything easier. Coming to CSUMB has helped me find myself, and has allowed me to work towards my dream and my future.

Tuesdays with Morrie

If I were to save any book, it would be Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. This book was written in 1997 and is a true story about a sociologist named Morrie Schwartz and his relationships with his students; one in particular Mitch Albom. Morrie was a professor who was dying from Lou Gehrig's disease. Once Albom graduated from college, he became a columnist for the Detroit Free Press. He didn't see Morrie for 16 years before reuniting with him, because he saw his face on T.V.. Morrie Schwartz and Mitch Albom end up meeting every Tuesday to discuss lifes greatest lessons and treasures. This book is about an old man and a young man finding what the have in common. Every Tuesday, Morrie teached Mitch lessons that involve happiness, love, communication, acceptance, communication, values, and the importance of openness. I personally have read this book a few times and with each read, I learn another important lesson. This book is an eye opener that will never stop grabbing my attention, and holds my heart in it's hand because nothing in between the cover and the back cover is made up. It is a book that doesn't hide reality.

Fahrenheit 451 video project reviews (group 5)

The fifth group that presented consisted of Julia Matthews, Christine Moreno, Cassandra Pauley, and Johanna Stanley. This group worked great together, and they put together a video that would grab the audiences attention. Each group member also worked good individually; you could tell that each one of them knew who and what their character was about, even if they didn't analyze their character consistently through out the film. This presentation was quite entertaining. It was another presentation with a talk show theme, but the talk show was a reenactment of The Jerry Springer Show. Julia Matthews was the host/interviewer while Christine, Cassandra, and Johanna played Fahrenheit 451 characters. Each person in this group represented their character and dressed the part, but it could have been a little better regarding character analysis. Either way, I was still able to learn from each character and know what they were about.

This groups theme grabbed the audiences attention, because it was something that each of us could have easily found and watched on T.V.. I feel like this group really analyzed who their audience was so they could keep attention at all times. It's sad, but true: people arguing and violence grab attention; which is why their presentation stood out. The were smart with their role play, and their use of technology. The sound quality on this presentation was great, but the filming could have been better. It was, at times, shaky and the tops of peoples head were cut out of the frame. Overall, this group did a great job and met all of the requirements.

Fahrenheit 451 video project reviews (group 2)

The second group that presented consisted of Jessica Mendoza-Rivera, Jenifer Morrison, Diana Silva, and Jessica Trainor. This group seemed to work very hard on their project. For their introduction, they chose to have it as a talk show. The introduction played music and was very catchy. All of the members were shown in the video and each character acted well. The interviewer was the only one who didn't act as a character, but did a very good job interviewing each character effectively. The presentation showed a lot about the characters relationships; especially between Mildred and Montag. Clarisse was also a good character to interview, because she was a huge part in Montag's life. Each person in this group dressed up as a character which was a plus. Although they were dressed in character, they were each introduced in the beginning of their interview which added more clarification. I learned quite a bit from this presentation, and the things I already knew, I received further knowledge into the event.

This group had some similarities to my group, but not many. This group did a whole talk show, interviewing all of the characters, while my group did more of scene acting and then went into interviews as a news report. I really liked the talk show idea and I wish my group would of thought of something to this affect. Also, I wanted to incorporate music into my groups presentation, because I know it helps grab a lot of attention as well. This group did a great job and met all of the requirements.