5:00-5:20pm = Introduction, familiarize with blog site
5:20-5:40pm = Questions about course, instructor, syllabus, assignments, etc.
5:40-6pm = What do you want from English 1A?
6-6:10pm = What would you want a reader to know about your story? How would you plan on actualizing this through writing, narration?
6:10-6:30pm = How do you force happiness? Can you? Can you just write it into actuality?
For tonight’s page – You can and should write whatever you want into a dominant and ceaseless reality. WRITE your LIFE.
6:30-6:40pm = Questions, Ideas …
6:40-6:50pm = Closing…. How are you going to make this semester whatever you want it to be?
Assignment: Email me at mmadigan@santarosa.edu. Tell me a little about yourself, and what you will get from this class. Not what you want, not what you hope I will “teach”, but what YOU will make happen.
#professormikey 
You know what I want from English 1A? To teach myself something new, about teaching. About students. About writing. About life, and life in this covid cloud…. This WILL be my best semester, EVER.
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Where’d y’all go????
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What I want from English 1A is to better further my writing skills.but also to allow myself more opportunities for thinking and reflection on readings in an academic setting. To enjoy what we’re ding in the class.
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You create your own opportunities. Love the emphasis on reflection!!
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Come on… who’s going to out-pace #professormikey?
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I want to get better habits of reading and writing. I really want myself be on a good level of writing where I feel confident in it and know that I did my very best at it. I will shove myself to become at college level and just to keep improving
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I am mostly taking English 1A as a required class but I’ve always had an interest in English especially after taking AP courses. My hope for this semester is to improve the skills I already have and strengthen any weak areas.
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is there a place with specific assignments on a separate page, and which book do I need first/ should I just purchase them all right now?
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No, I will assign every class, just like we were actually in class.
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Something for tonight’s page….. Excuses produce a puddle of excuses. Production carries you to where you want to be.
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I think mine lagged out
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It shouldn’t… try refreshing.
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Yeah it’s doing the same to me. I just refresh the page every like 5 minutes to see the new comments
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I’m excited to learn new stuffs and things! I’ve been out of school for a few years and it feels good to come back!
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It’s good to re-immerse yourself in something. That’s really cool!
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Something else for your notes…. Be a fan of your own work. It is a necessity if you want to improve, at anything.
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I have a question. How will we be able to see our grades in the future? Does the student portal tell us?
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When we start the book?
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In a couple weeks. I want you all to get used to this first.
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I would like to be able to actually enjoy writing because as of now, it is my least favorite part of school. It shouldn’t be treated like a chore because it is something that can be so beautiful, so I would like to improve my craft and do my thoughts justice,
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You will enjoy your writing, as you will see that it is YOURS. No one else’s.
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when will we start the book? Is what I meant not sure how to correct a comment
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In a couple weeks.
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what is Sedaris, and what do I need to email you to before thursday?
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David Sedaris is the author of Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls, as I said a couple prior emails. You will email me what the prompt says below! 🙂
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I am already so inspired by you guys. Thank you
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Thank you again Debora for your kindness and positivity! Much needed and appreciated, especially these days!!
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I think an interesting discussion piece would be over the ownership of writing. When I pour my heart and soul into a piece, is it truly mine anymore? When it is shared by others, who owns that piece of work? Can literature truly be “owned”?
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Why does it have to be “owned”? Sharing should be the aim, in my mind. Not ownership.
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@Dominic that is a really good question. I think literature is a way share and put out what you have in you. A way to materialized, you know? And there will be people who will sympathize with it and identify themselves. I feel is more a sharing thing than a owning thing.
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I think it’s normal to want to “own” your own work, but ultimately the audience decides all.
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What do you want a reader to know about your character, your story? What do you want to teach those turning your pages?
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I’d really want the reader to feel like they’re living it from my perspective as if the world doesn’t exist. To be interested and involved as much as possible.
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How will you do that?
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what i want my readers to know about my story is that even though life can suck and things get tough and life happens, i can say i never gave up
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Love that. And you shouldn’t.
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I agree with you on this completely. I think that you can learn a lot about someone from the way they react to these type of things. Life can knock you down but getting up can really show you someone’s true character.
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I’d want the reader to be able to see my character is all about self-improvement and personal growth through all experiences. I’d want to teach that life is about balance and that your growth will not be linear. I’d also like to teach that growth looks different to each person and to not judge someone else’s process. Like with literature, even if something isn’t your style you can still appreciate the beauty behind it.
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I love that!! Can’t wait to read your work!!
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Love this. I agree we should learn to not judge someone else’s process. I believe being able to appreciate other’s styles helps universal growth.
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Wisdom right there. Judgement produces nothing, while understatedness and love create a lifetime of growth.
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I want the reader to know I try my very determined in everything I do and put my all in it. I wish the best for everybody and want everyone to succeed. They’re already so many people doubting you, don’t doubt yourself. Which is easier said than done.
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Positive vibes… cheers!! Keep writing!!
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I want the reader to know my character is on a journey of self-acceptance. The conflict in my story is a paralyzing fear of rejection and need for acceptance. I want to teach those that are reading that no one is perfect and we should be able to forgive our mistakes, then move forward. Even when you do not believe you deserve it, you do.
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I’d like the reader to see things from my perspective and identify with it somehow. To be inspired somehow
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You can inspire yourself, always.
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I want the reader to know my character is tough yet gentle, I want to teach them there is more then working a 9-5 and become part of the assembly line. Expand there eyes to new ways of life.
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I know this takes getting used to. Call me if you have any questions. Please keep the discussion alive and in-flight. You were all doing so well. Have to say, strong beginning… much more energetic than what I expected. Cheers!
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If i were to tell my life story i would warn someone that it isnt going to be in linear order sorta like pulp fiction except better since i actually tell the reader its out of order I would tell it through a first person perspective of the way i saw things with authors notes and such on the side to clarify things for people who dont quite understand what im talking about.
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One of my favorite movies. And linearity isn’t law!! Write and narrate as you will!!
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I would want my story to begin in the middle kind of like To Kill a Mockingbird. “This one summer this seemingly insignificant event occurs,” but by the end, it all comes together piece by piece. I would probably put a warning at the beginning that says something about it getting sad at points.
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I’d really want the reader to feel like they’re living it from my perspective as if the world doesn’t exist. To be interested and involved as much as possible.
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Anyone see the smoke and ash outside?? F/CK.
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Yes! It’s so scary. NorCal really can’t seem to catch a break!
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Please be safe, EVERYONE!!!!!! ❤
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I’m over in San Jose so we haven’t gotten anything over here yet
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Good, stay safe man.
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Cali needs a break from these fires 😦 !
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We can’t catch a break, can we?!?!
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Stay safe..
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the smoke is crazy!!! my house hold is prepare to evac. if we have to which I’m sure everyone else is too. i moved up here just in time for quarantine, covid and fires.
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Sorry, Bailey. Please stay safe, and keep in touch with me if you have to evac.
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Covid-19, lightning storms, heat waves, and now fires. 2020 is something else.
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when someone is reading my story, I want to grasp the lesson i’m giving them, giving them the cheat codes in life like my brother would say. I think me writing the details best in my story can definitely will help the reader
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If I were to tell my life story I would like the reader to feel like they are living as well. To understand my life choices and read without judgment to be understanding instead. I would do this by giving detailed explanations of situations and choices.
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@Osiris I loved the way you put it. That your readers could understand your life choices without judgment. Because in the end of the day even though we could have lived similar things, you were the only one who had felt and lived things in your life. I love to see things from people’s perspective. I’d be a big fun of your writing.
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I heard there is something around 1000 various sized fires around California right now from the lightning strikes.
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Ugh….
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Talk to us about happiness. Can you force it? What makes you happy? What is the recipe, the code, the set of steps?
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I personally don’t think you can force happiness. However, I think this helps to force perspective. Without seeing how bad it can be how can we appreciate how great it can be as well? For me happiness comes in many different forms. It’s ever-changing! Happiness looks like keeping an open mind and being able to receive it whenever it finds me/ I find it!
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Interesting!!! Would love to read some more of these thoughts, this semester Sarah!!
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I strongly believe you can’t force happiness because when you do it just makes you more and more unhappy. It has to come naturally by the positive things that surround you
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If not forced, then more accessible through attitude and habits?
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I think you can trick your mind into thinking you’re happy when you’re not by telling yourself you are, which is a way of forcing yourself to be happy. Sometimes you don’t know you’re truly happy until that moment’s gone. But you look back at it and see that that’s what you want to feel like all the time. I surround myself with people that truly make me happy and laugh til my stomach hurts. I do things I love and give gifts to people I love to see them happy, which makes me happy.
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I think for me, happiness stems from gratitude. I don’t think you can force it necessarily, but it is something that you can always be working toward. There is always something you can be doing to improve yourself and doing those things should make you feel accomplished/happy.
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I personally do not believe you can force happiness. I believe that we can work towards being happy and set goals and self-improve but, trying to force yourself to be something you’re not especially without working through what is causing you to not be happy doesn’t work. It will build up and resurface and potentially cause more distress or anything but happiness.Although i cannot speak for everyone that is my personal experience.
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Reading my story I would want the reader to have a good grip on what i am saying and also I sense of style that can be distinguished. My way of actualizing this is through persistence by writing and rewriting to really form my writing style into what I envision.
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Can’t wait to read your work!!
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I feel like to force happiness it takes a lot of work, I think a way to force happiness is choosing an option that you didnt want to just to put a smile on someones else face. For example, choosing to become a lawyer so your parent can be happy rather you doing what you want. You can for sure force happiness. It so crazy that it happens everyday. But i think if you do what makes you happy then you’ll truly live a happy life
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You cannot force happiness in general or in a novel. It has to be fluid and make sense in the context of the situation with the personality of the characters. Just writing about happiness doesn’t make it happen. A person has to be able to relate to it so that they can understand it better and actually receive something from the text.
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I don’t think happiness can be forced directly per-say. I think one can forcibly change the environment around them and the mindsets they have which these two things in tandem leads to happyness.
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I like that… change your environment, and by doing so you invite more happiness, and peace!
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happiness*
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I love this mindset! You may not be able to directly force happiness, but you can certainly give yourself as many opportunities as possible to find it.
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Happiness is subjective! How can one truly understand what is considered “happiness?” Your definition of that feeling is completely different than mine maybe. It’s our job to show what happiness is to our reader!
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I like that point of view very much!
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YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I don’t think you can force happiness. It has to come naturally and it really depends on your mind set. You can always be negative with everything and be unhappy all the time. However you can always see things in a different way and try to receive that in a good way. I know it can be hard situations but I am very inspired by a poem called “The guess house” by Rumi.
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Interesting..
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You can outwardly project you’re happy without actually being happy and this is most likely the closest you can get to forcing it in my opinion. Things that make me legitimately usually involve some form of progress or activity to feel as through my time has not been wasted. Nothing makes me feel more dejected or defeated than wasting time on things I know are not good for me. One of the biggest things that contributes to being happy is allowing yourself to be happy and having a stable mindset to hold balance in your life.
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Yes.. you have to allow yourself to be happy, and KNOW that are worthy of being happy.
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There’s some days when I’m down and I try to “force” happiness on myself by doing things that make me happy/surround myself with people that make me laugh. There’s things I don’t like to discuss and writing them in my journal helps me get them off my chest. So I think you can write it into actuality.
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Okay guys… thoughts? Questions? Remember, homework is sent through email, and is due before next class. I will be using zoom, for office hours, and by appointment. Will send a follow-up email to tonight’s class. Great first meeting y’all!!
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Thank you so much Professor Mikey !
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Thank YOU!
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Happiness is life but life isn’t happiness.
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It can be if you allow.
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No questions here. Thanks for an intriguing first class!
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Thank you, Dominic!!! So nice to meet you!! Let me know if you have any questions!!
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Yeah it was an interesting (in a good way) first class. Thank you.
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For the assignment does it have to be a full page?
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Quality. Not quantity. I’d hope it’d be at least a page.
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excited to almost be able to collaborate and learn as much as possible!
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Awesome!! Again, welcome!!
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Thank you professor Mike! And thank you everyone. It’s a pleasure to be here with you all.
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Likewise!!!
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You can’t force happiness. Happiness is a state of mind that is personal to each of us. Happiness has no rules or guidelines, but it is authentic. Being happy is not always a conscious choice, but most of us are aware when it is in play.
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Happiness not being a choice… something to write about!!
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Question, what do you mean by ” for tonights page” do we comment our answers or just write them down in a journal ?
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Oh, if you’re taking notes what have you jotted? I ask this when in actual class….
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I don’t think one can force happiness but they can definitely spread it with those close by. What usually makes me happy is art, music, family, or even friends. I believe the best way to find happiness is to surround yourself with others who feel happy.
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no questions here. today went better than i thought
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You and your colleagues did unbelievably well. Thank you all so much!!!
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As of now i dont have real questions or Ideas as its too early in the semester for that.
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Sounds good. Let me know if I can be of any help!
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Thank you Professor! This has been a very engaging class and I’m looking forward to the next. Hope everyone stays safe!
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Thank YOU!!
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how long does this assignment have to be I think I just wrote book
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A little over a page. Quality is the objective, not page quantity.
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To make this semester how I want it, I’m going to have to be on top of myself and work hard. Do the best I can and have fun . Thank you for making the blog. Even though i was a little lost at first i think this a great to learn and read other people ideas. I hope ya’ll have a great rest of your week
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Cheers, Abie!! Thank you for everything on this first and very exciting night of class!
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Based off this first class I am very interested to see how this semester goes along and I thank you for being able to participate in this class
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Anytime.
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