Metacognition: The Kite Runner Essay

To be honest, I had a lot of trouble thinking about this essay. Obviously, the rest of my paragraphs had to fit in with the thesis. I knew this, but at the same I felt that I wanted to go in different directions with the whole thing.

I guess what I learned about my thinking is that it lacks a lot of focus. I found myself wandering a lot throughout the essay, wanting to go towards completely different points or pieces of evidence. It took me a lot longer to write the essay than I wanted it to.

Other than the focus problem, I realized I don't like exact quotes. I'd rather refer to a whole passage than try to narrow it down to one single quote. I have trouble putting a whole point into one short line, and that's something to work on. I think I did alright picking quotes, but I'd like to get better at it.

As far as the focus goes, it's probably an ongoing battle that a lot of people face. Maybe thesis-evidence essays bore me, and I have trouble with the attention span required to write them. This could mean that I'm better at writing things I'm really interested in. Unfortunately, for the rest of my years in school, I'm going to have to write about a lot of stuff that I don't care for. This means it's something to look at and try to find patterns about.

In conclusion, there are two things I really need to work on- focusing on single ideas and formulating points into compact statements. Both of these involve a little more determination in writing, and I'll certainly think about it.

Blogging Around: Bill and Darrell

Note: Please take points off because I did this assignment late.

Bill's post- "Carry it Forward- The Code of Living"

Bill wrote an interesting post on the law code that campers agree to abide by each summer. These laws are ones involving being adventurous, passionate, and daring.

My comment-

"I agree that those involved in creating their own laws have a much bigger chance to actually follow them. This relates somewhat to The Blue Sweater, where Jacqueline involved the people in creating their own lives.

As far as the actual law code goes, it's pretty interesting how the "laws" are more about taking initiative and being happy than just following rules. Maybe if everybody is passionate and appreciative of the things around them, they wouldn't need regular rules. In other words, if everybody is following these five simple laws, why do we need any others?"

Darrell's Post- "It Matters: Facebook and our Identity Crisis"

Darrell had a really interesting post about facebook and this age of technology- one in which we are often completely obsessed with it. He analyzed research and came up with some possible consequences.

My comment-

"Darrell, this was a pretty sweet post. It's a pretty scary view that we're headed into a world where we really don't know how to communicate with technology. Sometimes it seems like we can't even live without our computer or phone for a week, and that's pretty bad.

I'd say that Facebook gives us a pretty unrealistic view of the world. It's like your entire life can be shown on one page, but that's not true. It means so much more to talk to someone and really learn about them, than it does to just look at their Facebook.

There are really only a few solutions to that problem, and the idea of just completely eliminating technology is pretty ridiculous and not exactly the smartest one. I guess we just have to be careful to balance out our lives and make sure we don't use Facebook too much. We can use technology to our advantage as long as we don't let it control us."