Admiration Narrative (Rough Draft 2) for ENG 1010: Freshman Composition - The Essay

1984 wasn’t necessarily a requirement, but reading was.  Even though I got to choose my own books that year, I still regarded them as another authoritative persecution.  Dramatically playing the victim of the “dictating education machine,” I begrudgingly read my chosen books.  Ironically, these books which were mostly about social injustices, represented nothing more to me than oppression, and I hardly paid them any attention.  It was my freshman year of high-school and all of the books I read that year would later become some of my favorites.

It wasn’t until I’d been through the laborious rungs of the social ladder that I began to understand George Orwell’s writings.  In my earlier career, a close friend suggested that I read A Clergyman’s Daughter, which is when I saw with clarity, the parabolic and thought provoking values of Orwell’s storytelling.  Being the son of a preacher, A Clergyman’s Daughter described a story somewhat familiar to me, but through a completely fresh perspective.  The book touched a nerve and challenged me to reconsider my ideas of religion, politics, and culture.  After contemplating this book over a lengthy period, I began to see my world a little differently, almost as if I had gained multiple perspectives to view the same idea.  I felt enlightened and it was a pleasant feeling.

               

It was as if someone had flipped a switch in my brain, because from that point on, Orwell’s works took on a whole new meaning.  I returned to my previous readings of 1984 and Animal Farm and saw for the first time that there was more than just the surface story.  Beneath the black print and white paper, there was an entire commentary on beliefs, social structures, individualism, community, motives, governments, honesty, obligations, integrity, among a slew of other topics.

               

I was in admiration of the timeless and ambiguous charm of Orwell’s writing.  The topics and ideas will remain significant throughout the existence of mankind.  The characters, societies and governments are identified in such a way that they could be projected to a limitless number of people, cultures, and political powers.  Orwell’s two best known works were written in the wake of World War II.  When Animal Farm was published many believed it was a blunt attack on the Soviet regime.  1984 was published shortly after and many believed it was a parable for the Nazi dictatorship.  Whether or not they were written about specific parties, both remain relevant and relatively well accepted as literary classics.

               

After reading several of his books, I noticed that my outlook of life started to change.  Perhaps I was already inclined, but Orwell’s writing prompted me to question myself and my surroundings.  I was inspired to release my “concrete” ideas and instead embrace the natural ebb and flow of change, perspective and contrast; to find joy in the constant flux of life.  I concluded to never solidly conclude again.  I realized that there can be several differing opinions to one subject, each with its own logic, and no single one is more correct than the other.  Orwell inspired me to release what I knew and instead, explore and attempt to relate to the unknown.  This outlook has, thus far, helped me to adapt to countless situations, places, and people.

               

After a six year communication hiatus, I finally reunited with my friend who had originally suggested A Clergyman’s Daughter.  Though we had grown, matured and uniquely experienced the highs and lows of life, we both had similar outlooks and ideas.  I can, with near certainty, attribute this alignment to our mutual affinity for Orwell’s writing.

I am amazed that the composition of words and concepts can have such an effective impact on a person’s life.  I am in complete admiration of George Orwell’s, writing style, introspective challenges, wit, political courage, and most of all, his storytelling.

Opinion of Commercial for ENG 1010: Freshman Composition - The Essay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3Dx-hri_x8

I don’t watch much television because I dislike commercials.  I make a conscious effort to avoid commercials and commercialism.  I never liked the idea of someone telling me what I want; instead I try to keep my material desires to a minimum.  In that vein, I have adopted the philosophy of Henry David Thoreau when he said, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!  Live the life you’ve imagined.  As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”  Although, I don’t think Henry David Thoreau had to deal with the rampant throat-cramming consumerism that our capitalist nation has become.

               

The commercial I chose to evaluate was not my decision.  Being completely negligent on available commercials from which to choose, I turned to a co-worker who, without a second thought, knew exactly which was his favorite commercial.  I have taken this commercial as my subject and will gladly share my opinions of it.

               

Zoosk is an online dating service which allows subscribers to manipulate their profiles to market themselves to other subscribers as potential mates, friends, partners, etc.  The commercial starts with two women in an office browsing the available profiles and critiquing each.  The subject of athleticism as a desirable quality is discussed.  The woman is reminded of a date with a so called “athlete”, that her friend set-up.  We are swept into the woman’s flashback where the “athlete” in question is stretching for his first dart throw.  The man is very proud of his sponsorship and seems to take his sport a little too seriously; as the woman stands by scoffing at his antics.  The man throws his dart and hits a bystander who, in a state of complete shock and terror, hits his head on the table on his way to the floor.  We return the office where the woman declares that she will stick with Zoosk for dating.  There is then a brief synopsis of the services offered by Zoosk and why you the consumer would want to invest in its services.

               

As any aware single adult in America could probably tell you, there seems to be an unspoken taboo towards being single.  Instead, we are lead to believe that companionship is desirable and will save us from ourselves, our loneliness and social embarrassment.  If you are single, you should be dating; them’s the rules. 

Zoosk kindly offers us a way to choose a partner from the comfort of our own prerogative.  No longer will you have to be associated with embarrassing “athletes” or other social pariahs of blind-dating, instead you can peruse the readily available at your convenience, selecting only the qualities you desire, having more control and leaving less to chance.  Essentially, Zoosk offers to take the “blind” off of blind-dating.

Instead of the progressive principles and virtues of openness, acceptance, benevolence and forgiveness, this commercial advocates intolerance, discrimination, and selfishness.  Also, I am somewhat dumbfounded that even though a man was hit with a dart, it is implied that the victim of this story is the storyteller, herself.  While it may be morally apprehensible, it may also be a somewhat accurate portrayal.

The commercial does have some redeeming qualities, mostly in the way of physical humor, but also in what could be perceived as a satirical commentary on people’s tendency towards superficiality and over-exaggeration.  The obvious physical humor is in the animated actions and reactions of the players in the flashback.  However, this could also be perceived as the storyteller’s point of view and every good storyteller knows that characters need to be over-exaggerated otherwise the story would lack its dramatic appeal.

In summary, I found the commercial to be quite ostentatious, superficial, mildly humorous and extremely biased towards perpetuating the cultural “norm.” 

Letter of Introduction for ENG 1010: Freshman Composition - The Essay

My name is Matthew Henderson.  I write words.  I say words.  In fact, words are one of my oldest affinities.  For the past 27 years (maybe longer), I’ve been using words in an abundance of venues.  Like any relationship, after a significant amount of time, one learns each other’s strengths and weaknesses.  I can’t say words have the ability to know much about me, but without them, nobody would.

When I was young, my father would fabricate bedtime stories for my siblings and me.  I blame this recurring event for my love of stories.  Stories spurred my interest in reading, which eventually evolved into my love of words.  My love for reading grew so much, that one day I decided that I should write something that I would want to read.  I have yet to write that article, but I’ve put in plenty of practice and I continue to hope to one day write that “something” I’d like to read.

I performed poorly, my first time trying college.  I took an English class with (what at the time seemed) exorbitant amounts of writing and I performed terribly.  I performed terribly in all of my classes at that time.

Outside of school, I’ve had brief but intense writing experiences.  After my first bout of college, I became an affluent member of the live music scene in my local area.  My love for music and knowing some of the right people landed me a volunteer job writing music reviews for a local magazine.  Technically, they hired me as a photographer, but when the writers never showed up to the performances, I was asked to write my critiques.  I wrote exactly three reviews for that magazine, none of which I am proud.  However, seeing my words in print and distributed to the general public was a somewhat uplifting and reinforcing experience.

Upon moving to Denver, I quickly volunteered to become part of the local media.  I have written several reviews of album releases, live shows, movies, fashion shows, and various other aspects of Denver’s culture.  Again, these were nothing of which I was entirely proud, but I saw a glimpse of development in my writing style and composure.

Though I loved writing, I eventually realized that I disliked criticizing other’s art.  I couldn’t turn it off and I soon started criticizing my own art, my own words, and suddenly, I was unable to meet my own high standards.  It made me feel like a failed writer and artist because I couldn’t achieve the perfection I demanded of myself.  I stopped writing reviews.  I haven’t written much since, but I’ve often thought that I would like to write a movie script, a short story, or even a novel.  However, I also feel I lack the consistency, structure, composure and general discipline to finish any writing of longevity to my own satisfaction.

I write several things outside of the English language.  My work as an I.T. Director has allowed me to write in various programming languages.  Also, my love for music has developed to the point that I am now writing music.  Neither of these shares a significant amount in common with writing in English, but I like to think that they’ve both helped me understand the process of structuring small pieces to come together as part of a larger picture.

Working as an I.T. Director has also afforded me near complete computer literacy.  On a scale from one to five, my computer literacy probably lands on five, if five is more computer literate than one.  I’m comfortable on any operating system; I’m even comfortable on a computer with no operating system.

I am very sincerely looking forward to this class and hope to work out some outstanding “kinks” in my writing and composition skills.  In addition, I find writing to be fairly therapeutic, so I think this class will be good for me on several levels.

Narrative on First Bike Ride for ENG 1010 - Freshman Composition - The Essay

It was oppressively muggy and humid that summer afternoon in Sacramento.  Sinbad Court, the quiet cul-de-sac on which my family lived, was so sweltering I swore I could see the heat vapor rising from the ground as if the asphalt was evaporating.  At five years old, however, the prospect of playing far outweighs the inconvenience of heat.  There was a vital level of play to be achieved this day; I was determined to acquire the status of “bike rider.”

I was always an ambitious child.  I don’t recall my age, but I remember telling my mom, “Mom, I’m going to go swim underwater.”  Water is a frightening element when you’re a child, but I decided I was done being afraid of it.  I walked outside, stepped into the wading pool, laid flat on my stomach, took a deep breath, immersed my head underwater and held it there until my lungs were burning.  And that was that; I was a swimmer or at least a submersible.

Graduating from my big wheel, which was in sad condition from my multitude of power-slides, burnouts and skids, my father put the training wheels on my sister’s old bike.  I rode the training wheels twice and then insisted that my dad remove them.  Reluctantly, he obliged me.  He handed the bicycle back to me and I rode off.  And that was that; I was a bike rider.

I rode that pink Huffy around the cul-de-sac proud as a peacock.  Later, I rode out of the cul-de-sac and down the street where some older kids mocked me for riding a girl’s bike.  I hadn’t even realized there was a difference between girl and boy bikes.  I rushed home and promptly clothes-pinned some playing cards to the spokes.  In my five-year-old mind, this made the bike a motorcycle and every five-year-old boy knows that girls play with dolls and spread cooties; girls don’t ride motorcycles.  Of course my argument didn’t hold up with the older, less imaginative kids.  It didn’t matter much to me because I did what I was determined to do that day.

I have been riding bicycles ever since, although, I’ve more recently transferred to a boy’s bike.

Letter of Introduction for Math 1610 - Integrated Mathematics 1

My name is Matthew Henderson.  I have been using math, both consciously and subconsciously, since I learned to count, and possibly even before that. 

Numbers became most significant to me when I was in fifth grade and started playing in the school band.  I’m pretty sure I counted more in band class than in any other class I’d taken previously, even math.  I played in band throughout high school, though I never gave much thought to its mathematical significance until recently.

I didn’t care much for school when I started attending high school.  I was much more interested in skateboarding, biking, video games, movies and nearly every other cliché distraction that education is pitted against.  It wasn’t until I was failing my first algebra class that math made a conscious impact on my life.  My algebra teacher took me aside and met with my parents to discuss the importance of mathematics.  I’m still not sure if it was his speech, or if it was that he simply showed interest in my development; whatever it was, it worked and I had a newfound vigor for learning mathematics.

I did so well throughout the rest of high school, that when I entered college, the school offered me a job as an algebra tutor.  I took the job.  I discovered quickly that explaining mathematics is much more difficult than performing mathematics.

I dropped out of college my sophomore year and began working full time.  I pursued an interest in photography and soon landed a job as a studio photographer for an online store.  There were several instances where I had to use mathematics in sizing photos, timing shots, estimating distance, and adjusting light and aperture settings.  My digital photo editing soon turned into graphic design which brought on a whole new slew of mathematic problems (i.e. how many 2.5in x 3.5in business cards fit on an 8.5in x 11in piece of paper with .25in margins).

Graphic design soon turned into web design which was mathematically similar to graphic design, but in a completely virtual and intangible environment and usually measured in a new unit of measure; the pixel.

Utilizing my natural intuition with computers, I eventually started working as an IT Director which was a bit of a jump from design work, but fascinating to me because of the diversity of the job.  I am currently working as an IT Director where, everyday, I have several mathematical problems.  

Most of the math I use in my business is percentages and ratios and, in the business spirit of immediacy, I generally rely on my computer to solve these problems for me.

About two years ago, I earned my private pilot’s license.  Training for that license required copious amounts of math.  From plotting courses, estimating times in route, estimating fuel usage, compensating for crosswinds, finding the plane’s center of gravity and even using the compass, I found myself surrounded in a mathematical cockpit.

I think my favorite part of mathematics is its application to physics.   I am fascinated by physics and how the functions of our everyday environment can be explained and expanded through equations and mathematic rules.  I love playing billiards because its angles and reactions are like an interactive physics display.  I feel the same about skateboarding, but instead of a flat table, I get to explore an entire geometric playground and experiment with gravity.

It has been nearly ten years since I’ve been in a structured math education environment.  Since then I have certainly used to my advantage the technology at my fingertips.  Some might call it “cheating”, and in a lot of ways I might be cheating myself, but I prefer to rationalize and call it “resourcefulness."

I use math every day, however, I can’t always explain my processes or theories.  I think this class will be beneficial to me, not only as a re-introduction into mathematical learning, but also as a introspective look into why I use the formulas I do, instead of just blindly accepting them as truths.