The Hidden Costs Of College...

My eyes were opened to how much money is spent on college, without adding in the tuition itself. In the article "College Costs: Tuition Is Just the Beginning" by Emily Glazer, the writer brings forth the reality that just the tuition and rooming are just the beginning to how much money is put into school.
The article revolves around a mother sending her children off, and all of the spending surprises that she didn't expect. Personal supplies, eating out, and clothing are just some of the few things a college student cannot live without. In addition to small things, there is also travel/transportation and expensive books that add to the list as well as (let's not forget) the endless amount of coffee bought to help on the nights of studying before a test.
The parents and student must also take into account that moving to a totally different place, comes with totally different weather. If it is cold, the student will need warm clothing and possibly snow tires for the vehicle they are driving; the costs add up significantly. There are small things in life that are taken for granted until the day a young person must fend for themselves alone, paying their own bills.
I believe the writer wanted to show the readers that college is even more expensive than most people think. We have to be careful in making sure that we don't have a large debt on our hands at the end of the education process. The writer used chronological order in her writing to show the build up of costs.

Audrey.

With her charm and talent, Audrey Hepburn captured (and continues to capture) the hearts of many. "Remembering Audrey" is a book dedicated to her life and success throughout her sixty-three years. In the second chapter, Audrey At Work, the writer walks about Audrey's work-ethic and delightful character.
Audrey hit it off in her first big film "Roman Holiday", making her an instant star with an Academy Award for Best Actress. She is described as caring and fun-loving on set, but always professional and focused on her job. During her successful career, Audrey was nominated for five Oscars.
Directors who worked with Hepburn, were instantly taken by her charm and style of acting. She always took care of what needed to be done, while maintaining a friendship with those she worked with. Often, she would sit alone reading through a script over and over before going in front of the camera just so she could get the feeling across properly. That feeling has been felt by millions around the world who continue to enjoy her work today.
I really have enjoyed reading about Audrey Hepburn's work because of my theater and acting experience. Everything I have read about her has nothing but good things to say about the kind of person she was; I believe that is because it is the truth. The writer wanted to express what a talented and good soul Audrey Hepburn was. The things written describe that perfectly by using cause and effect organization to display her career.

The end of the flight

After searching online for a good article to read, I decided to write about and found something that actually hit me today. I have watched the space shuttle go off since I was a little kid, living in a small town with nothing to it's name but our space program. Today, the last flight landed.
In the article, the writer talked about how people from all over have come for years just to see the spacecraft launch. I never realized just how lucky I have been to watch it from my own front yard! The people who have been involved with NASA are feeling the bittersweet reality as the space program is put on hold for a future mission to Mars.
America is a place of dreams and hope, we take for granted what we have. That man could even achieve missions to space is unbelievable. Now, we continue moving forward and work even harder to reach farther places. Though this is the end of the shuttle, it isn't the conclusion of man's desire to learn about our universe.
In this particular article, I see the writers use of comparison and contrast as well as her intent to show how long the space program has lived and how things will change when it ends.

And we wonder where self-confidence went...

For this assignment, I chose to pick up an old Teen Vogue magazine that I own. I started flipping through and didn't get very far before I realized just what I wanted to post. There isn't a specific section that I want to write about, rather, the entire magazine.
Looking through the magazine, I saw how corrupt pop-culture is; each add, story, and picture screamed "perfection" and "fake". Our views on beauty have changed so much and it seems like we have lost sight of what being a lady means. I didn't get through 4 pages before I saw models who were so thin, they would probably snap in half if you hugged them. Some people wonder WHY so many girls struggle with weight!
There are so many ways to be beautiful! Just being a woman is a beautiful thing, why should we be a certain weight, height, skin-tone, etc.? Find beauty in what you are blessed with. How boring would this world be if we were all perfect?
If I were to write an outline for a part of this magazine, I probably would have made a list because it would give me freedom to be more specific.

The start of something new...

First thing is first! I started this blog for my writing class with FLVS; in all honesty, I am excited about it. For the past few YEARS I have been debating on whether or not I had the time to start my own blog. This gives me a really good excuse to do so.
In the first part of the assessment of 1.03, I was asked to take a quiz that would tell me what kind of books I enjoy reading. Sure enough, I got the exact answer I thought I would: fiction drama or comedy. I have always liked Jane Austen, Sarah Dessen (cheesy!), Sharon Creech, or any kind of book that took me away from everyday life.
The last thing I read was information on college applications...yuck. I am not much for graduating high-school just to find that this country is rushing my life again. It's funny, most other countries don't care about even graduating high-school and very few attend college. Take Mexico, for instance, they have family-oriented and carefree lifestyles. It is not that I don't want to learn new things, in fact, I really love learning. The simple idea that we have to RUSH life just doesn't appeal to me.
Well, that is probably enough for right now. I look forward to blogging some more in the near future!

Asia-Lyn