Positivity

Everyone is raised differently but something that we all learned growing up is "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything all." As a college student, you can have a lot going on so all you want to hear from others is "you can do it" or  "you're so awesome." Being a new college student trying to get use to the school and work, you can get very stressed. Any person you interact with can makes you feel a certain way but its up to you to stay positive. You can do anything you put your mind to and more, if you say nice things to others. If you respect others, others will respect you and you'll feel a lot better about yourself which will help you persevere in anything you do.

Macarena V.

SMOKING ON NOVA CAMPUS IS NOT COOL

Everyone in America reserves the right do whatever he or she prefers, so far as it does not hurt others. Smoking cigarette is something people do in public all the time because they consider it as not hurtful to others. This has gone viral in the American society and it is happening on school campuses. I am considering NOVA because that is where I have experienced it so far. A school is supposed to be an institution where people learn new things and advance their knowledge. We do not only go to school to study books but to become better individuals in our respective communities. Despite this, campus is where people take things for granted and do unnecessary stuff. The outer part of the cafeteria is always a place where I like to sit and relax for the time between my classes. Sitting at the place gets horrible sometimes. Fellow students just sit there and smoke unstoppably. Some even come and sit beside you to do it. They only think about the silly pleasure they get from smoking but not the health of themselves and the people around them. These smokers do not consider the fact that people may be asthmatic patients and smoking around them will cause a rise in their disease. It is just too bad and annoying to watch them do this. The gibberish part of it is that posters are there saying "NO SMOKING." It looks like they can not read despite the fact that they are students. I am not against their smoking but I am against it on the school campus because it affects our health and infringe on our comfort. The law enforcement within the school has to make sure the "No Smoking" policy is ensured because school is not meant for that.

Clement Aboagye Boateng
English 111 Section 034A

Almost to the Finish Line

My first semester is almost done and it has been going very well for the most part. However, the end of the semester is coming so fast and I feel like I'm half falling out of a tree and hanging on to a branch with both hands. I just hope I can complete my final three assignments before time's up at the end of the semester. I know I'm not the only one who feels like he or she is running out of time, but I feel like I am. Let us hope for the best until we reach the finish line.

Collin Marquis
Eng 111-034

Life Doesn't Wait

I just watched this video by one of my favorite youtubers, Connor Franta, and it made me think. It made me think about life, my life. I agree with what he said in the video about life not waiting for anyone. About how if you want something, you have to go after it. About doing something that you love instead of being stuck doing something you hate because you think it will benefit you in the long run. You never know if you're going to get a tomorrow, so you have to make the most of today. I feel like this really makes you stop and reflect on whether you're actually living the life you want to live, and if not, then you should start. I've always been pretty scared to think that deeply about my life and the future, but no matter how much that scares me, sometimes I feel like I have to. I feel like we all have to. I'm glad and thankful that Connor made this video because he's speaking a message that we all need to hear.

Isabel U-D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8paaQxzUMY

English, I hope.

I was just suddenly inspired to post the following and, therefore, I will endeavor to make it brief.

It astounds me on a daily basis to hear most people make the same English linguistic mistakes, both written and spoken. While I am over-the-moon for colloquial expressions and totally cool with slang, I do not appreciate the intellectual degradation of the American general population. Over the course of time, each generation appears less educated in so many regards, not the least of which being their comprehension of proper, formal English.
One fine example of a lack of English comprehension is the misuse of certain words and phrases; such as affect in the place of effect or vice versa, lie in the place of lay or vice versa, and "for all intensive purposes" rather than "for all intents and purposes." The misused word that has most recently driven me nuts is hopefully. I hope that the misuse of hopefully will diminish in magnitude.
The main reason this one makes me so bleepin' mad, is that through sheer repetition of exterior influence, that is, me hearing it over and over in its common and incorrect usage, has caused me to continuously make the same mistake. Even though I damn well know better, I constantly find myself making this mistake orally. I worry that these brain farts may bleed into my writing. I HOPE not.
Well, waddayagunnado?

Sincerely,

P.J. Wordsmith

SplytSecond - Criminal

So I wrote, recorded, and uploaded this song last summer. I wrote it as I was feeling overwhelmed by racism and prejudice projected on to me and others I was affiliated with at the time. I believe it to be my most profound and reflective song yet. Tell me what you think and how you feel about racism and prejudice in today's society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q4EYUjO7RY




Jabril Shareef
6491813
ENG 112-009A

Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates

Many have argued whether whose philosophy was superior. Steve Jobs believed in offering one piece of hardware and software, while Bill Gates believed that software coupled different hardware for each specific person was a better route. At first, Mr. Gates and Microsoft boomed and became the most powerful software company in the world. As of late, Apple has caught up and even surpassed Microsoft in sales. So this begs the question, who was right? First off, I would like to say that I am not a fanboy of one or the either, but I side with Steve Jobs. Mac computers are as beautiful on the outside as they are on in the inside. The operating system is more intuitive and "just works." Virus' aren't much of a problem as they are on a Microsoft computer and their resale value far exceeds its counterpart.

Who do you think was right?

Ali
Eng 112 Sec 009A

Religion vs. Jesus

When did such a divide between the concept of religion and Jesus begin? Personally, I am not the most religious person but this does interest me in how two things that are usually correlated together, are greatly contrasted in this speech. Was it Jesus' intention was for there to not be a religion, or is it just a misunderstanding? I am still a bit confused about the whole topic but am interested by the points brought up. What do you guys think? - Alex V. ENG 112(007A)

(Lyrics): https://app.box.com/s/z3k53ec3ssbo800ppeld

Legalizing Marijuana is Not Cool!

By Lawrence Collins

If we allow legalization of marijuana, what will be next?  Will it be legalizing heroine, crack, or cocaine?  It is funny how they try to tax things they can't control.  That's right.  When they realize they can's control something, they tax it.  And then there is crime to think about when legalization of marijuana.  People will always do illegal things to obtain illegal things.  Now, they will do illegal things to obtain the legal drug that should really stay illegal.  While some are saying, "how mus is that doggy in the window", others will be saying, "how much is that joint of refer behind the counter."  All because someone decided that marijuana is good for medicinal purposes--for the eyes, for cancer patients, for aids patients, etc.

Please, please, please support efforts to keep marijuana illegal.  In doing so, you save your community, your society, and most importantly, your conscience!

Lawrence Collins
ENG 112

Somalia Flag

   

                                 SOMALIA FLAG

  My blue flag shines like a star when the sun shines,

That is when everything in the cloud looks bright

Oh I see the light

That is when it feels so right

And I feel so light

That is when I want to hold my blue flag, tight

And start jumping up and down

White stars light the ground like they want to fall down

Feels like all the shine on the ground

When I see the excitement I look around

If anyone else could see what I see

They would be able to see what is inside of me.

-Halimo J.

ENG 112 09A

Turning My Avocation into My Vocation

          Why is the path to most decent careers so long and difficult? At age thirty-two, I finally realized what I wanted to do with my life. While I have accepted the required path, and am dealing with it, I still find myself astounded at the amount of time it will take to reach my goal.

          People often find themselves at a loss when asked what they want to do with their lives, especially in their late teenage years and early twenties. I am a perfect example of this phenomenon. From age eighteen to thirty-two I knew that I wanted financial stability, but had no specific vocational aspirations.

          I was born and raised in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area, having lived my childhood in a Maryland suburb of D.C. in Montgomery County. Having what most would call a “normal” childhood, I attended Kindergarten and elementary school with nothing exceptionally good or bad happening to me. My parents divorced just before I started middle school, and I moved with my mother to Arlington Virginia to attend Middle School. In middle school, I met the first teacher I actually liked, a teacher who could actually get me interested in the material he was teaching. This was a new experience for me. I moved back to the the burbs' to live with my father while I attended high school. The word "attended" is a' propos, as I was not terribly "into" my high school experience. High school went by slowly with nothing terribly inspiring occurring to give me any ideas of what to do with my life. I moved out on my own after high school, and a failed attempt at community college which resulted in wasted money and zero completed credits.
         
          Throughout my twenties I worked in a number of manual labor style jobs, paid my rent, and essentially “spun my wheels”. I went through life month to month, never looking far ahead or making any specific plans or goals. I worked just about every job you could imagine in a restaurant, bar, or nightclub. The long and short of it is; I made decent money, paid the bills, and wasn't going anywhere in life. A short time ago, I was injured and had to stop working long enough to lose my job over it. It was then that I was forced to figure out my future.

          There is a saying; “Make your avocation your vocation”. The only thing that I know I love is history. Truly, -all- human history fascinates me. And so, with a “light bulb moment” coming about a decade later than I would have preferred, I decided to become a history teacher.

          I reverse engineered my intended career into my scholastic road map. The according plan will result in my graduation from UVA in 2017 with a bachelor's degree, and, I hope, a job. Having wasted enough time prior to returning to school, I wish there were an easier, faster, and more direct path to my goal.

P.J. Wordsmith
English 112-7  

I Remember

I remember every time when I am with my father

I remember the smile when I say something foolish

I remember you giving me so much love, care

And

how you have fulfill my all wishes which were right or wrong

I remember how you treat me like two years old  baby with so much care

I remember how you can not see my moody face sad

I remember how you can tell when I am having a bad day

Even though

You can tell me what went wrong, and what a solution is

I remember how you have the best understanding of me in the entire world

I remember you always taking my side even I am wrong

I remember how you have given me best advices which were good for me

I remember your so much love for me

I feel I am the luckiest daughter in this earth to have a father like you

And

I am thankful to God for making you one of the best person in my life

 

One favorite word I want to say I Love  You Dad

without you my life is nothing

May God give you long life, and have your shadow on my forever

And

You stay with me in my happiness, and sadness right next to me

These are words from bottom of my heart for my dad. Sometime we cant express our feelings by telling face to face, and this is a good idea to share your thoughts in writing.
Nabila ENG 112

The Ocean

When I am in the ocean I feel complete.

It surrounds me like a huge blue-green blanket

When I am in the ocean, I feel complete.

It is like 300 million tears of happiness mixed 

together to form one ocean.

I can imagine living down in the beautiful ocean.

-Jennifer C.

I wrote this at a time when I was missing where I grew up. I lived near the ocean and this poem comes from remembering all the good memories made at the beach.

Psychological Transformation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MYsx6WArKY

"Self-Transcendence. It's just a fact", according to Jonathan Haidt, a current social psychology professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. Haidt purposes that humans are "homo-duplex" or two-level man. Lower-level is described as "ordinary"; a person who is interested in fulfilling his own interest and desires. But the second level is called "level of sacred". It is the level which transforms from the lower level and becomes a member of a community. He or she becomes interested in what the team or the community wants and work together to achieve the community's goals. In order to achieve the level of sacred, there needs to be a transcending event that changes our entire view of the universe. Some transcends through religions or possibly drugs. Either case, it changes us. I personally thought this was a great lecture and drawn an interest to me about social psychology. I highly recommend to people who are looking for a change in their lives, searching for a way to become an entirely new person.

-Mike K.
Eng. 112 Sec. 009A