6-6:10pm – Check in…. How you’re doing. What’d you do, TODAY??
6:10-6:40pm – Discussion on final prompts.
6:40-7pm – Final thoughts for semester, closing….
7-7:10pm: BREAK
7:10-8pm: ZOOM office hours, jam session on final prompts.
(ZOOM INFO)
Topic: Office hours
Time: May 18, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84718751800?pwd=aTRVUWRqbEdQTXRQMTkzUE9sR2hvQT09
Meeting ID: 847 1875 1800
Password: 1LswUN

For the Final Prompts… FORGET LENGTH. Fixate on expression, form, freeness. Just answer honestly, with supported opinion.
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I’m not asking for answers to the prompts, but convictions and creativity. YOU, determine the length. Not me. I don’t have any right to tell you how much to write to get a “good grade”… that’s ridiculous.
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We’re only responding to one prompt right?
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NO!!! You are responding to ALL of them.
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The aim of the final is to offer final ideas that are strong, thorough, and owned by YOU.
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YOU ARE RESPONDING TO ALL PROMPTS ON THE FINAL!!!!!!!!!! Sorry if I didn’t make that clear….
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To clarify: Is it an essay per prompt or is it all one paper?
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A RESPONSE PER PROMPT!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hey everybody, I’ve been doing well. Today was a great day. I got my new running shoes I’ve been waiting on for weeks and the first run in them was fantastic. I also got my new road bike that I bought from my friend who sells them for his biking team. My sister came home from college and I’ve been having a great time catching up with her and spending g time with her as I haven’t seen her in months. I took my AP tests which were unique since they were online, but I’m hoping I did well. It’s crazy that the semester is coming to a close though.
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Good to see you, Andrew!! Use those shoes!!!
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What shoes are they?
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They are the Nike Zoom Pegasus Turbo 2s, they’re a lighter shoe for speed and tempo running, I use saucony shoes for easy and long runs.
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Hey everybody!!
Today was really good! I finally was able to get into the summer classes I wanted at 7am! I then went back to sleep after staying up too late texting a friend and watching Shameless. When I woke up officially I made some eggs and toast. I logged on to Canvas and caught up on quite a bit before finalizing my Irby review. I skimmed a few of my favorite chapters again as well:) I love the intimacy of her writing style. I ran out to grab an ice tea, watered some plants, and now here I am! I hope everyone had a lovely Monday!!
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Good to see you, Ava… Glad you had a good day.
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I’m doing pretty wonderful today. I had a slow start this morn but I’ve been on a roll the last few hours. I went on a lovely 6 mile walk with the puppers which was really nice. I stared at the prompts and jotted some notes for them. I just had some leftover artichoke mushroom pesto lasagna that was really yummy. Yea I’ve just been having an all around chill day.
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Those types of days are great…
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Hey 1B colleagues! I can’t believe how fast our semester has come to a close. Quarantine has made me realize that every day is a new chance to strike your own path and be yourself. In other news, I took my online AP Bio exam today and believe I did fairly well. Boy! I sure will miss these classes, yet I know I have grown tremendously from our discussions. 🙂
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Love your attitude and words… Enjoy our brief meeting tonight, and enjoy your writing on the prompts.
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Hello Colleagues. I’m doing really well. The end of the semester is bittersweet for me because I thoroughly enjoyed my classes and am really proud of all of my work. This morning I played some video games with my friend as this is the only way we get to “hang out.” I then baked some delicious sugar cookies for my girlfriend as she was working really hard on her computer science classes. Side Note: When I was at the store I saw Pilsbury cookie dough advertising that their cookie dough can be eaten raw. Game changer. Nestle needs to step it up. I then walked to the park across the street to shoot hoops and was a bit frustrated at the amount of wind as I would blame all of my misses on it. I decided to count how many shots I made out of 100 for the first time to start seeing if I am improving. 72/100. Not bad but I will improve. After tiring myself out and destroying my knees with an hour and a half of basketball. I was relaxed enough to sit down and finish my reaction to Irby. I was happy with the things that I wrote and then enjoyed a nice dinner of meatballs and salad. A strange combination for sure but we are trying to finish eating what we have before going shopping again.
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Nice little snapshot here, Chris…. Love the food mentions and all the sensory appeal.
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This is cookie dough information that I never knew I needed in my life. THANK YOU!
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72 is solid man! Big fan of the narration
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Hi everyone,
It has been a crazy week back at work but also an interesting one to say the least. Now I am getting ready to move because my roommate can’t pay her mortgage so it’s an interesting time. But I am doing well, enjoy to be back at work. Stephanie Neeley
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Hey everybody! I’m doing well today. Today was my time to be able to register for classes for the summer so that’s how my day started. I woke up at 7 o’clock in the morning, registered for the class and went back to bed. I woke up again at 10:30 and made myself cinnamon rolls for breakfast, decided to work a little on our final and study for my chemistry final on Wednesday. I made myself something for lunch, kept on working and made myself something for dinner at around 5:30. Thirty minutes later and here I am ready for class.
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Love this relentless movement and pursuit of scenes and sight for self…
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Thanks for the updates. I spent most of today working on the prompts, reading the paper, or reading my book. Got my utility bill today, yeesh. Need to cut down on computer time. We’ve had some beautiful days, and I’m hoping to get more time with them once I put some more time into writing. There were a few days last week where it was just back to back headaches, but now the storm has calmed down. All is well.
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Welcome, Leif…
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This past week I have been doing better. Focusing on my mental and physical health has really set me back on the path to having a stable foundation to finish this semester off with my best. Today I have finished writing up my Spanish final, worked a bit on the final for this class and went on a nice walk. I’m feeling much better about the end of this semester and I’m working on a plan for what comes next.
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Thanks for coming Jess, and good to hear the good news.
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Today I decided to grab a coffee from starbucks, and hunker down and be productive and stay focused to get my finals going, this one being due this Wednesday, my communications final due this Thursday, and my history final due next Tuesday. So kind of boring, but I am finishing the day with this class and I can go to sleep tonight being that much more prepared to take on the rest of this week! Hope you all are doing well and finishing the semester strong!
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This is an attitude you want to perpetuate throughout your career!!!
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Hi colleagues! I’m doing pretty good. I started a low carb diet last week, and was SUPER GROUCHY the first few days, because bread was life, but I’m doing better now. Trying to eat the right kinds of carbs like more fruits and veggies. Today was business as (new) usual for me, sitting at the dining room table working. Pretty slow in HR these days, but we’re still hiring, so there’s that. 🙂 Was told by the CFO of the company that I work for that she wants to cross train me in a different department after things go back to normal, and I’ve only been there 6 months, so that made me feel good. It’s nice to be trusted at a job that I enjoy, working with people who’s company I like. Sometimes I feel like it’s strange that I’m in my early thirties when just yesterday I felt like I was barely graduating high school. Time goes so quickly! Sorry, rambling, but that was on my mind just now. It’s crazy that the semester is ending. I miss the in class meetings and discussions, but I feel like we’ve all done a pretty good job in this class, given the circumstances.
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Not a ramble at all. Quite a universal sentiment…
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I’m doing great and hope that is doing great as well! I’m just finishing up one of my finals while also being here having a conversation with all of ya’ll. I went to work this morning and it was amazing to finally get out of the house to go to my job. We actually got a bit busy in the morning and then it slowed down as the rain came tumbling down. I began writing some of the prompts and then realized that I had a final due today and that’s what I’m working on while still contributing to our discussions.
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Theresa, I love your low carb idea! I recently found something that may have things for it. I’ve been research beach Body on Demand it looks awesome I don’t know for sure but I just thought it might be something you would be interested in too. Stephanie
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Hey Teresa,
I’m glad you are doing well.I’ve never tried any diets but I always start them but I could never finish them and go through it. I always end up cheating myself. It not as easy as they make it seem to be, but I congratulate you for giving it a try and hope it goes well for you. That’s awesome on the cross training. Almost sounds like a promotion? It’s funny how when you work at a job you actually enjoy, you don’t think of it as a job, but instead a hobby at least for me. The semester is almost done in a blink of an eye and almost feels like we as a class didn’t spend a whole time together. Hope you stay safe.
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Today was a busy day for me. One of my co-workers got her wisdom teeth removed and did not come in today. Her absence left me in charge of the patients for two providers. 43 patients for one MA is tough sledding but I am done now. I’m actually at the office right now because I have paper work that needs to get done. What a day.
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Hi friends,
I can’t believe this is the end of the semester! I still can’t decide if this semester felt very long or very short. I’m torn between each because it doesn’t land anywhere in the middle.
I’m doing well today and hoping to keep this week moving in a positive direction. I spent the day sleeping in far too long, writing for the final, and studying for my bio exams tomorrow. It’s been a slow day but no complaints 🙂
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Hello guys. A sad day as the semester comes to an end. I continued to go through my quarantine routine today, making leftover eggs (because its Monday) and finishing my computer wallpaper. The most notable thing today, and probably all week, was my neighbor who was screaming his conversation with his mom. He was very upset, because of his reptilian mind? Which was more complex than everyone? He called his mom a fool way more than I would’ve been able to. I think quarantine made me forget for a second that other people actually shared the earth with me, and I also forgot how crazy they could be. It was a wake-up call from my own little world, and also entertaining, until he began to talk about opioid use and I left. There’s no better time to start hanging out with a couple people again, in my eyes (6 feet apart! and not posting about it!)
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“Screaming his conversation with his mom.”=gold
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Ha ha… reptilian mind… love the randomness of this!
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Wake up call indeed … love it man!
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Hi everyone! I’m doing good, as usual. I woke up pretty early today because I thought I had a zoom meeting for work and it turned out, I didn’t.. but instead of wasting the day away not doing anything, I decided to be productive and work on finals. It’s really nice out today, not too cold but not too warm either, so I’ve been sitting in my backyard for the past hours just listening to music, brainstorming and jotting ideas down for the final. 🙂
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What are some of those ideas?
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just a few questions for #1, like what made Irby decide to personify her cat. I also wrote a few of my own prompts for #6, but I wanted to clarify with you if we were writing prompts in reference to any of the books or just a general prompt about anything that we wanted to write about?
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Whatever you want… like for me, I would write a prompt about reading, or writing… and how to be more intimate and connected to both… Does this help?
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Good evening all! I had a really good day today! Woke up early to a beautiful pink sunrise and have felt pretty upbeat all day 🙂 Yesterday I did a crazy hike in Annadel which ended up being 80 flights climbed! I’ve never done such an uphill hike in my life but I feel proud that I did it–albeit a little sore! Overall, I’m feeling happy that this semester is almost over and that I’ll be graduated in 10 days.
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hi everyone,
today I worked a lot on my political science class final. It’s a lot of work and I’ve been trying to bite off one chunk at a time. I have put in a lot of effort in my research and writing so far so let’s see if I can keep it up and follow through with a good essay. Other than that I started to clean my room and rid my room of all of the AP chemistry work I’ve done so I never have to think about it again. Unfortunately, I haven’t started answering the prompts but I do have some ideas on how I’m going to approach them. I guess a little bit of a direction is better than nothing so I’m not too displeased with myself.
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Hey, everyone, I’m doing all right today. I’m constantly refreshing the schedule of classes to register for the class that I was to slow to add last week. Yesterday I was going crazy finishing tests and projects and went to sleep at like 5ish. Right now I’m currently at Costco because my parents forgot to do the weekly groceries so they sent me to do it which I prefer because they take foreverrrr to shop.
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Hello everyone!
I am doing great and just trying to stay as busy as possible as the semester comes to an end. Today, like the past couple of days, has been nothing but writing and studying, and of course, the occasional breaks to exercise and eat. The past few days have been uneventful and kind of dull, but i’ve been so busy I keep losing track of time. I like getting into this rhythm, and there is no feeling quite like it.
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For the final I was sort of going through them and jotting down what I would hypothetically write about for each of the authors on the different prompts. I haven’t really decided which feel right yet though so I am really still in the pondering stage.
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Please respond to each prompt with a full and thorough opinion/position.
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Yes definitely. I am just having a tough time picking which authors to talk about for each of the prompts. Like the coffee one for instance. I would gladly have coffee with all of them. They all write in such unique ways and have such interesting backgrounds… it would be fun to shoot the shit with any of them. So I figure I’ll just jot down my reasons for each of them and then decide which one would really be my top pick.
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Love this approach, Rizzie Rizz!!!! Can’t wait to read!!
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HAVE QUESTIONS PREPARED AND ALREADY-WRITTEN FOR THE ZOOM OFFICE HOUR, AFTER THIS 1 HOUR BLOG MEETING PLEASE.
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I’ve also noticed how easier it has been to communicate over time with the use of ‘professormikey.com.’ Glad that everyone has been able to adapt 🙂
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Cheers Pasha..
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Reading over our final prompts I am excited about them. I love the topics we get to write about. Step[hanie Neeley
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Enjoy your writing!!
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Today is essentially just an extension of yesterday. Meaning I didn’t sleep. Instead I’m on season 3 of Game of Thrones. Commit to the binge or diE. Really wanted to tape some butter knives to my desk chair and swivel around in my own iron throne. Still might do that. Kinda genius. Could just be the sleep deprivation talking though. I drank a lot of coffee. Like A LOT. It’s at that point where you just have to stay caffeinated constantly to function throughout the day, but you simultaneously feel like you might fall over at any given moment. By “feel like” I mean I have. Multiple times. But it’s fine. Because it’s finals week. So it’s a nice little taste of normalcy to not be sleeping again and constantly stressed out. Missed that. Hope everyone is being more responsible with their time management than I am.
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Your writing and syllabic sharpness and wit has intensified and sharpened over the semester. Very enjoyable to read…
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I remember last year when I binged GOT all 8 seasons in a week and this was during school lol
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Talk about the prompts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Prompt #3 is my favorite…
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I like that one a lot too. It’s nice to have some reflective, first-person writing, as the personal essays were my favorite to write this semester. I think this prompt is especially good for this semester in particular and what we’ve been through as a society.
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Enjoy!!!
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#3 is my favorite as well. Changes seem to be moving more quickly as we all adapt. I’m looking back through my journal from this semester and I’ve changed more in certain ways over a period of one month than in all of 2019
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I’ve put the most thought into having coffee with an author. I would definitely pick Hunter S. Thompson as The conversation would be either the most ridiculous or mind opening. I’ve been running scenarios through my head and writing about what would take place. This has been helpful in me trying to understand Thompson as a person rather than some mythological being. The second prompt that I’ve delved into was who I connected to the most. I picked Sedaris because of his attitude toward life. I feel that who is as a writer is what I strive for. Also his thought process or frustrations are most similar to mine.
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Please remember you have to answer all prompts. Great thoughts so far!!
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I agree, no other author would provide the same mindset. With Thompson, you wouldn’t be able to predict any of his answers to your questions while the other authors have more consistent personalities.
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Totally agree with this. Imagine that conversation!
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I was talking to a family friend yesterday and the topic of English classes came up. I mentioned that we read Thompson and she told me that her good friends were close with him so they used to all get-together. She said the conversations and meetings overall were pretty wild
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DUUUUUUUUUUUUDE…. please let’s talk about this. You have my #…
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As a student in this class, I find myself going back through what I’ve highlighted and underlined in the books… There so much for all of these prompts, to incorporate into each one of them…
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I’m glad there’s no page limit to our final. It helps me let my ideas flow more freely without the burden of reaching a certain page.
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DUDE…. page quantity is bullshit! That’s not to say a couple lines per prompt will get you the score you want… I’m looking for ideas with life.. a student who has pride and ownership and close to fucking cockiness in their work.
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I agree, not having a page limit lets you take your thoughts in any direction you want without worrying. I think it’ll let us writers be more intimate with the writing because were not trying to fulfill a word count or page number and we’re not trying to fill pages after our ideas are finished.
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I’m excited to write about these prompts, and I think they are great topics! The prompt that I have thought about the most is which author I connected to the most. This one is tricky because I feel a pretty strong connection to each of the authors, especially now that I have finished reading Irby’s book. I will probably write about my connection to either Lawson or Irby, due to their writing styles and thought processes, and in Irby’s case, her use of profanity! 😉
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Her use of HONESTY, and fearless line placement as well!! Enjoy your writing!!!
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That “little taste of normalcy” I’m excited to get back too!
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Can we answer more then one prompt at the same time? Number 2 and 4 could be tied together nicely. Why you think an author wrote what they wrote and how it connects with you.
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Please answer separately.
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Will do!
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For the prompts, I know many of my ideas will fit the prompt and answer the question. However, I’m searching myself for which answer to the prompt best resonates with me. So far, Prompt #4 is my favorite as I feel I have developed a real connection with many of Sedaris’s beliefs.
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Please answer all with the same vigor and enthusiasm!!
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Respond as YOU. Your writing should be WHOLE and truthful, not rushed or weary….
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As for the prompts- I’m excited by the diversity they bring! I was unsure of which topic I liked best, but seeing all of the options and being able to focus more heavily on some rather than others is great! I like the idea of inviting an author to coffee. I’d love to pick Irby’s brain for a day, or perhaps Hunter S. Thompson’s. Plus I think it’s great that we have an extra credit prompt. I’m definitely going to struggle to pick my own though so I’m brainstorming!!
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Love this response, Ava…. Appreciate everything from you this term. Cheers.. enjoy your writing.
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I’ve already tackled the first three prompts and i am having a blast answering the questions! it is kind of strange if i am honest, as in, it doesn’t feel like a final. We have been given so much freedom with the prompts and it has taken all the pressure away.
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Nice!!!
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The prompts for us to talk about what we have learned about our self are my favorite. They’re unique to me for a college class unless it is sociology or psychology. I like seeing the reflective element in a class again. The theme of this course with our books are personal and I appreciate that. Which author would I want to have coffee with I would say all of them but for different reasons. Stephanie Neeley
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Prompt #3 is my favorite just because not only this semester but the whole year there were ups and downs with fires, school lockdown, and now we have Covid-19. I’m praying that there’s a year where we don’t have to worry about SOCO fires or any extreme pandemic. There’s a lot that this year and semester have taught me about myself. It has taught me how to become a better writer and reader with small details of how to do certain things like writing on the margin of my readings and look up words that I don’t understand or hold value and mean something. The journal has been a good way to keep my thought on paper and let myself go and express character.
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I agree, the third prompt is by far my favorite!
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Hello English 1B people. I have had a rough week, I was in a car accident, which left my poor red Prius completely totaled so I have spent the past week fixing it to avoid any extra cost of car insurance. I have also spent so much time trying to fix it because right now I am more quarantined than ever, and I need to get out of the house so I can get out of my own head.
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Glad you’re okay. Good to hear from you..
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What I’ll do to help myself craft ideas when responding to the prompts is go over some of the notes that we did in class and incorporate my ideas that I wrote In my book. Since there is no limit to the our final in terms of length I think that’s really gonna allow the ideas to flow onto the pages
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In the Zoom meeting, AFTER THIS MEETING….. Let’s approach the prompts creatively… ask each other questions…. AND, respond to each other. The idea is empowering and accentuating and elevating our own, organic logic and thought lot.
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Question 3 is interesting. What you learned about yourself can be guided from others, and I think this past book helped the most with that. But from my journal came a part of me that I didn’t know existed, and I’ve learned of its existence. I also like question 5, as I have some questions about some authors’ intent. Two questions: how much should Question 6 be about the books, compared to about ourselves? Also, can Andrew and I include books like On The Road and The Bell Jar from the first semester?
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Yes, but minimally..
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What is Hunter S. Thompson’s reasoning for writing, sharing the stories he does? And, what does he want US to do with all his disclosure…?
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I believe Thompson’s reason for writing is to explain himself to the world. No one can understand his conversations, but I believe he hopes some people can relate to his thoughts and emotions. I think he really just wants the reader to write, as similar to his story, we don’t always reach an end goal.
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Love this… He wants us to write. Completely agree. And, write opposed to accepted convention.
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I don’t think Mr. Thompson wants people to understand his writing but instead have some kind of relationship with the reader and create a story that the reader can bring to life and get some kind of perception of what he was going through. He wants us to stop thinking so much and to just write and write. Every thought that comes to mind gets written down on paper.
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Agreed. Would love to see how you support this thesis..
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In part I feel like Thompson wants those who are not inclined to take copious amounts of illicit drugs like he does to somehow live vicariously through his experiences and his writing. I get a sense of being there when he describes his various drug trips, as well as the feelings of fear and loathing lol. I feel like he wants us to live fully, completely and without fear, or if not without fear, then being able to harness that fear into something productive.
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From what I understood about his writing, he seemed to point out a lot of hypocrisy and what he doesn’t like about America or Americans or maybe even humans in general. So I’d say he wants us to see how much this world has to change in order to achieve happiness or greatness. He does seem to have a little bit more of a positive vision when it comes to goals and expectations which is why I think he wants to see this world become happy and great.
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I think Thompson’s reasoning for writing was, in a way, an opportunity for him to ease his mind. His writing was so exciting and unique that it felt like it was just direct thoughts from him, including the most eccentric and unusual ones. I think he wants us to find a place to escape in his writing. Particularly with Fear and Loathing, he wanted us to see a totally bizarre lifestyle that most of us aren’t used to.
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Bizarre, or hungry??
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I think Thompson wants us to question everything most of all. Question what reality is, question authority and question literally everything we are presented with. He wants us to go out and answer these questions for ourselves rather than sit and listen
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I think Thompson doesn’t necessarily want us to do anything with his disclosure. I think he creatively critiques what he sees and highlights events or observations by exaggeration. Although it could also be the drugs that are actually causing the exaggeration…just a thought.
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Where y’all at???? This isn’t over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I would like to write based off of prompt three because this specific English class it feels like it has been less about fixing the minor technicalities of my writing, and more about bettering my overall personal touch to my writing. I had also never written in a personal journal before this class, and I would like to talk about how it has affected me throughout the semester. Also to state the obvious, there’s a lot going on in the world right now, and it’s given me a lot of time to work on self improvement.
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PLEASE RESPOND TO ALL PROMPTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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my bad hold on
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