Week Thirteen

End of semester reflections

This last week of classes is bitter sweet. Although I am excited for my first semester of mun to be completely over, I really enjoyed this class and am sad it must come to a end. On the positive side, I will be taking many things I have learned from this course with me. Since September I have learned many helpful things on writing a essay, such as improving my thesis statements and how to use MLA format. I have also learned all the small details that lie within a poem and how analyzing them helps to understand the deeper meaning of a poem. I enjoyed the poetry section and the short fiction section of this course but my favorite aspect was the blog posts. I have never kept a blog before and I have grown to love it. I think within a class, it is a great way for students to get to know each other a little more and get the opportunity to see what the interests of the people sitting beside you are. I liked how each different week the blog usually related to something we discussed during class, it was a exciting way to keep us interested in the course material. I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and creativity with other people and reading everyone's blogs each week. It became my favorite part of Fridays. A suggestion I would make about the course is, it might be interesting for students to pick their favorite poem or short fiction story to write a essay on. That way each student can feel passionate about the poem they are writing about and it may make it easier to connect with. Overall, this class has taught me many great things about English and I am looking forward to English 1110. Thanks so much for reading everyone!

Emma Coady

Week Twelve

How To Make Oreo Cookie Fudge

                                               

                                

Oreo fudge is easy to make and delicious!
Needed Ingredients:
1 package of cream cheese, room temperature (8 ounce)
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
15 ounces white chocolate, chopped
15 Oreo cookies, broken into chunks

Step 1: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and no lumps remain.
Step 2: In top of a double boiler, over steaming water, heat white chocolate , stir until melted and smooth.
Step 3: Stir the melted white chocolate and 3/4 of the oreo cookies into the cream cheese mixture.
Step 4: Spread into a parchment lined 8x8 baking dish. Press the remaining cookies into the top of the fudge to make it look presentable.
Step 5: Let fudge chill in fridge for approximately 4 hours before cutting.
Step 6: Cut into 1 inch squares and serve :)

Week Eleven

Week Ten

Quotable

Quote #1. "So many people prefer to live in drama because it's comfortable. It's like someone staying in a bad marriage or relationship - it's actually easier to stay because they know what to expect every day, versus leaving and not knowing what to expect."-- Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres is a comedian, philanthropist, advocate and talk show host. She is one of the most confident women on TV and I love watching her show. She never fails to make me laugh and I admire everything she does for the world. During every one of her shows, she gives generously to others, she cares about what's going on around her and tries her best to contribute as much as she can. This quote has significance to me because I can relate to it. I have found myself sticking to comfort rather then exploring the new because it is easier and feels safer. After hearing this quote from Ellen, I realized that their is so much more in life that I haven't discovered and settling for something that doesn't feel right is never going to make me happy. 

Quote #2. “I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” -- Marilyn Monroe 

Marilyn Monroe was a model, actress and singer who eventually became a major sex symbol in the late 50's and early 60's. Her death was very tragic and people still don't really know what happened. She died of drug over dose in 1962 and there was always the question of if she was murdered. I love this quote because in her movies, Marilyn always played the "dumb blonde" but this quote is so wise. Marilyn is a good real model for girls my age. She was always a bigger sized woman and she is still one of the most beautiful, and iconic ladies in the media today. Marilyn teaches us that everything happens for a reason and the things that happen in life, bad and good help shape us to the person we are ment to be.

Quote #3. "Those who don't try never look foolish" -- Wicked

This quote comes from one of my favorite musicals, Wicked by Stephan Schwartz. It's the story of the two witches from the Wizard of Oz and the experiences that lead to the story that we all know. This play is funny, exciting and sad all at the same time. The quote comes from the song "Dancing Through Life" which is sung by the character Fiyero, who ends up being the scarecrow. The song is about not caring about anything and just dancing through life. This quote can be applied when your nervous about trying something new or when your afraid of the unknown. You can always back down and not do it, in the fear of screwing up, or you can go for it and discover something wonderful. Sometimes you screw up, but that's how people learn. Its better to try then not try at all.

Week Nine

                                                                     Sweet Revenge

 

As I was sitting home starring out my window at the rain, I was thinking, I did nothing wrong. People don't know my side of the story. My parents, my sister Susan and my boyfriend Jake were all on their way over to get me to tell them the truth before they called the police, I am assuming, but they don't know everything. They don't know why I did it. They don't know why I killed that woman. As I was thinking about what I was going to say to them, I replayed it all over in my head. It was exactly a month ago yesterday, on a rainy, cold day like today and it seemed like my luck was really turning around. I had just got a promotion at work and I was headed to meet a old friend for lunch that I haven't seen in years. On my way there, I walked by a man and women fighting on the woman's door step. I tried not to pay any attention to them but the man was being extremely cruel and I was worried for the women so I stopped and said to the lady "are you alright?" She heard me but looked down and didn't respond. The man, on the other hand turned and took a step closer to me and stared in my eyes and said "she is fine, it's none of your concern". I couldn't help but stare back at the man. Something about him was so familiar and I couldn't pick out what it was. I was so thrown off by the run in with this man that I went straight home to rest and have a drink. While I sat on my couch, I thought back to the day of the car accident that killed my cousin Tara, her fiance Brad and my best friend Ally. They were on their way to my house to take me to supper on my birthday. As I thought about these horrible memories I rushed to my desk to get the old articles. Then I realized why the man looked familiar. I read the articles about the accident 3 times and these horrible memories came flooding back to me. The man was proven guilty but only spent a year in jail. I knew this was the same man. At that moment something came over me. That man took so much from me and I wanted to do the same to him. Before even realizing what I was doing, I took a knife from the kitchen and I drove to the house I saw the man and woman fighting in front of earlier that day and watched, waiting to see someone inside. About 45 minutes later, the same women came from the house and was walked towards a trail. I got out of the car and followed her. I followed her until it was dark and no one was around. She had stopped to sit on a bench and make a phone call but I took it as a opportunity and I did it there. I crept up from behind and stabbed her. It was not hard for me and I don't know why I never felt guilt or regret. I did not know this women or anything about her, but I knew that man took the people I loved from me and I could never be the same without them, knowing he was not hurt the way I was. I left the woman there, went home, cleaned my knife and set it back in the draw. No one would ever know I thought. 

Week Eight

Dear 8AM Math Class,

I can't decide how I feel about you. Some days, you are so convenient, but other days you are a nightmare. The worst sound in the world is hearing my alarm go off at 630 in the morning when it's time to wake up and get ready for you. I know it is my fault, I chose to be with you, I could of picked another time slot but you seemed like the best fit at the moment. Now I am questioning my decision... I can not seem to wake myself up half of the time to come to you and when I do, it is hard to concentrate because I am always so tired. I try sleeping earlier in the night time but it still never seems to be enough. I thought you would be so good for me, I enjoy having shorter days and being done by lunch time, I also like getting you over with first thing in my day (no offence). I feel like the relationship we have is going in the wrong direction and we need to make a change. I know I have made some mistakes here, like doing bad on the first test you gave me and dozing off every now and then but we can try our best and get through this. I promise to start coming every day and being my lively, concentrated self if you promise to please be nicer to me on my next midterm. If we keep these promises I think we can make it.

Sincerely,
Emma

Week Six

Man Wishes There Wasn't So Much Blank Room on Anniversary Card

     In Vancouver, Canada, this past weekend, Daniel Cooper spoke to a reporter about how he hates the amount of empty space on a lot of the anniversary cards and birthday cards at the gift shops. Cooper tells the reporter for each occasion, he goes into the store, spends a half hour reading all the cards and he always ends up leaving with one with the least amount of words on it. He says "I always tell myself I'll just buy one with a pretty flower on it saying how much I love her but I hate them all, so I leave thinking I can write something magnificent on my own and I get home and instantly regret it. Should buying a card really be that hard?" The question that haunts us all. Some men just want their wives to be thrilled by the effort put into giving them a card and it stresses men out. What will she say if I write too much or not enough? What will she do if I don't write anything at all? Men live in fear of letting the women in their lives down. Poor Daniel now has to struggle to fill up all that empty space and make it perfect to put a smile on his lady's face. 

Week Five

                                                                            Fall

                                                                               fa
                                                                              ll is
                                                                            my fav
                                                                         orite time
                                                                       of year, its
                                                                     fresh and cold
                                                                   and crisp and old
                                                                 Its colors bring every
                                                              one near, orange yellow
                                                          red brown its beauty is all a
                                                        round, the leaves fall gently to
                                                      the ground and its a playful time
                                                       for all, we laugh we smile our
                                                        cheeks turn bright red as the
                                                          winter starts to creep in, we
                                                              say goodbye to the pretty
                                                                 things we see in fall
                                                                                fa
                                                                                ll
                                                                                fa
                                                                                ll

Week Four

THE INSIDE SCOOP

Of all the ice cream and sweet treat stores in St. John's, Laura Second is one of my favorites. The ice cream and chocolate that the store sells is to die for. The prices of their treats aren't too expensive and you always get your moneys worth. The best time to go would be in the summer because they have all chocolates buy 3, get 3 free, plus ice cream is perfect on a hot day. It makes it very hard to walk by and not go in and buy anything. The staff is always very friendly and helpful aswell. Whenever I feel like trying a new flavor they always let me try a bunch and pick the best one. One bad thing I have to say about the store is the inconsistency with the flavors. Some days I go there craving my favorite flavor and they don't have it. It seems like they don't get regular stock every few days which could upset some customers and turn away business. They also don't always get the same products back each year. There are certain products that customers love around Christmas time or Halloween and sometimes they don't bring the products back even when they are customer favorites. Even though there are a few negative things about the store, I think that overall it is a amazing sweet store and definitely my favorite guilty pleasure.

Week Three

                     
                                                #1- Never confuse education with intelligence

The picture above is a sign on a little house downtown on battery road. I walk this road a lot on my way to the signal hill trail. It is the prettiest street for so many different reasons. It is unique and there is so many cool things to see, like this sign. I took this picture when I was having a really bad day. Final exams of my graduating year were starting the next week and I was so stressed out because these marks were what was going to determine if I could get into university or not. When I saw this sign, I just stood there looking at it for a minute and it made me relax. Never confuse education with intelligence. It is true. Sometimes we think the marks we get in school determine how smart we are but that is so wrong. Some of the most successful people in the world didn't even graduate high school. Everyone has their own level of intelligence and no exam will be able to determine that for someone.


                                              #2 -White water rafting

This is a picture of one of the funnest and funniest days of my summer. Me and three of my best friends drove to Grand-Falls Windsor to go white water rafting. When we planned it, it was beautiful and warm like July was, little did we know August was going to be awful. The day we went was one of the coldest days of the summer and we almost got hypothermia. Five hours on the water, wearing a wet suit, fleece hoodie, wind breaker and a life jacket.... We were still soaked and freezing. Even though it definitely could of been nicer out, it was still one of the funnest days ever. We laughed the entire time and we made a lot of new friends in the process. I'd love to do it again but maybe next time I'll check the weather network first.

Week Two

Bandages by Hey Rosetta!

It will come around
but everything is now
I know everything is right now
The loneliness is a lot
But the nothing weighs a ton
I mean the nothing weighs a f****** ton

That half of the bed
Empty like a page
Of the curses claims you've yet to make
Oh, the promising light
Bending like a spine
Or the whiteness that your pen could write


Get these bandages off
You can stand, you can walk
Leave these towels and gause
You get up, you get out
Into the sun

Thats where we belong
Been a bit too long
All our weaknesses are growing strong
And winter always ends
With water on your limbs, the April rain comes swinging in


Take these bandages off
Let me stand, let me walk
Leave these towels and gause
Let me up, let me out,
Into the sun

Oh, come she will
Come she will
Come, she will
Come she will 
She will


She comes, oh,
She comes, son,
She comes X7

The song above that I have chosen to analize is Bandages by Hey Rosetta. I love the song for not only the musical part of it but I love the words and the form. The song does not have much rhyming going on but the artist chooses words that make sense together and have similar sounds to make the song flow nicely. The song does not have a regular meter. For each stanza the number of syllabus changes giving each stanza it's own pattern, but the refrain is always the same (6,6,6,6,4). The song is very much a open form poem or song when it comes to stanza organization. Even though the length of the sentences are close to the same because the words go with the beat of the music, the number of syllabuls are different for each line so there is no specific structure.

While listening to the song many times and then reading the lyrics very carefully I realize the details of the song and the poetic language within the song. The lyrics speak about being in a bad place but leaving behind the parts of you that are damaged and seeing what is infront of you. The artist uses a lot of metonymy to pertray this idea, he uses sentences like "the whiteness that your pen could write" meaning there is so much more left of someones story. I think the person speaking is talking to someone who is sick or in a really dark place in their lives and the speaker is trying to give them hope to keep going on. The speaker could be the artist singing the song or maybe they are telling the story of someone they know. The song transforms from beginning to end. At the beginning it seems like this ill person has given up but the speaker is trying to show him the light. As the song pergresses, the person seems to realize there is more left for him in this world. The artist suggests this when he says "the winter always ends, its water on your limbs and the april rain comes swinging in". That sentence also contains imagery. While talking about winter ending and spring beginning the listeners can get a clear vision in their head. Many similes are used throughout the song aswell such as saying this person is "empty like a page". The artist used many poetic language when writting the song to make it have meaning and structure.

The song is about, like I previously discussed, someone who is sick or in a negative stage in their lives and thinking life is over. The person telling the story is trying to show this person the meaning of life and that his story is not over yet. The band Hey Rosetta is one of my favourite bands because their songs are more complicated then a lot of music. The lyrics are harder to understand then most songs because the words are more complex. I love this song because you have to really listen to the words to get the idea of the song, plus I love the simple melody of the song. The band is a newfoundland band, even though their music is indie rock. I have heard many covers of this song but the band has a very distinct specific sound so none of the covers I've heard were similar but that's what I like about them. They are unique.I also chose this song because MUN gets a shout out in the video and it shows some great shots of Newfoundland. Take a look!!

Week One

Hey guys, welcome to my first ever blog. I'm not really into this kinda stuff but MUN is all about trying new things and figuring yourself out right? So here it goes..
I am a first year student like most of you I'm assuming, looking to persue a career in buisness. I was never that kid who knew what he/she wanted to be when they were young. I honestly change my mind quite often so I'm sure that might happen a few more times before my MUN experience comes to a close, but I figure buisness is a OK place to start. I am a fairly friendly and out-going person. I love to meet new people and learn new things so hopefully I get to know some of you and learn from you throughout our English 1080 experience together. I am a very active and healthy person. I dance 6 days a week and on my spare time you can find me hanging out with my friends, going out or relaxing in my room doing my nails, listening to music or reading a book. I am definetly classified as a girly girl. For sure. I also enjoying going for adventures outdoors with my wonderful dogs, Marcy and Angel, (Marcy is in my picture). Some would say I love my dogs too much but what's wrong with that? They never fight with me or disagree, and they are always at the door waiting to jump up at me and give me love when I walk through the door. I love to have fun, I love to be surrounded by people and I love new adventures so I am really enjoying MUN so far.
I was born in St. John's, then moved to Labrador City when I was 3 till I was 7. While there, I was blessed with a baby sister which is what I always wanted because I already have a older brother which definitely is not as fun (sorry Alex if your reading this). Some think the three of us look alike but you really couldn't find three more different people then us. We then moved back here and we've lived in kilbride ever since. Newfoundland is a beautiful place to live. I feel like it's a little to small for someone like me but for all you new comers, welcome! I look forward to meeting you all during the next few months together and I hope to learn something from each of you. Thanks for reading my blog!
(PS. My brother Alex is also in this class so if he tells you anything about me, don't believe him)