Fluency Blog Reflection

I didn't understand what fluency meant at the beginning of this semester. I have learned through my own writing what it means to have fluency and how to strengthen this skill. Being able to express your thoughts in writing in an understandable way for your readers is writing fluency. I think of it as language fluency, in a way. I’ve been in Mexico for the past few days and my Spanish is “muy terrible”. The natives here can’t understand me very well at all, and sometimes it takes a few times to get my point across to them and vise versa. Writing fluency is just like this. It takes practice and time to be able to communicate fluently in your speaking and writing. Throughout this project, I’ve learned how to write in a more fluent way.

Writing daily has encouraged me to express my feelings more and in a more clear way. It’s also helped me to write more in one sitting. I enjoy writing after this assignment and I feel like I have so much to say. Some of my writing has been about random things, but I liked writing about things I know a lot about. Freewriting daily is enjoyable because I don’t have to put a whole lot of thought into it. I just write. I write what I’m thinking and keep going without worrying about if it makes sense or if it sounds right or if I repeated myself or anything. I have seen that my freewrites have gotten much better and I didn’t lag as much towards the end. I have a better understanding of what freewriting is and my fluency has increased.

Another part I really liked about this project was our blogs. Being able to read others’ writings and comment on them has helped me too! I’ve been able to learn from their posts. I mostly liked being able to express myself and seeing how different we all are. This online course can be a little confusing sometimes because we aren’t in a class to be able to ask questions and stuff, but I feel like we’ve all done a pretty good job of interpreting what we’re supposed to do. Some of us completed this project a little differently, and I liked seeing that. I feel like it helped me learn and it’s showed me what I and other’s are capable of.

Overall this assignment was very enjoyable and I’ve learned a lot about my writing style, my fluency, and myself. I can’t say I’ll continue to write daily, but I do see myself continuing to free write often and continuing to better my skills. 

Fall Out Boy Cont.

I remember always wishing that I could go to one of their concerts and at the time when I had gotten into them the most, they kinda stopped and fell of the earth. Then they came back a few years later and now I've seen them twice. The first time was at the Pageant in St. Louis the summer after my junior year of high school. I went with two of my best friends, Becca and Lindsey. We made shorts beforehand. Mine said Young Volcanoes (since that is my favorite song by them), Becca's said "Light 'em Up" and Lindsey's said FOB. They were really cute and we got a couple cute pictures in them. We waited in line all day for like 6 hours. It was totally worth it thought because the best thing ever happened to me! I was fortunate enough to meet Joe, the guitar player in fall out boy. Oh my gosh, it was awesome. We met him and touched his wild, curly hair and then we got to take a picture with him! He put his arm around us and it was so cool! The concert was really good and we were in a really good spot.

Last night, Hoodie Allen opened up for Wiz Khalifa and Fall Out Boy and it was so awesome. I was really surprised they were all coming together because they aren’t alike at all, but Wiz is my favorite rapper and for a little I was obsessed with Hoodie. Wiz was the best part of the show, in my opinion. We were at the amphitheater this time and it wasn’t as good because there’s soooo many people and we were sitting really far back. We couldn’t see anything and if people were talking loudly or anything you couldn’t hear all that well too. It was still really fun and we celebrated my friends birthday. I love seeing fall out boy live. They’re awesome and sound good and know how to jam. They played all of the songs I like a lot including the two I mention and another favorite. Nothing will compare to that concert. 

Fall Out Boy

Do any of you like Fall Out Boy? I've been into them for a really long time now. I remember in fourth grade there was a boy I liked and he stood by me in line everyday for lunch. One day he told me about this song I had to hear and I went straight home and listened to it. It was called "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" and since then I've been hooked. I bought the album with that song on it called From Under the Cork Tree. I remember sitting at my grandma's over the summer and listing to the album on replay all day everyday and I memorized every word of every line and played barbies to the tunes of FOB. I would look through the little book thing that comes in the case and it had all the lyrics and pictures and stuff about the guys. I used to know every detail about each of them. Where they were from, their birthdays, and so much more. I can't remember any of that stuff now, but I lovedddd FOB. I eventually bought all of their albums and know all of their songs. When their album Save Rock and Roll came out I was sooo excited because they hadn't come out with one for awhile. I was in the hospital the day it came out and my mom bought it for me and brought it to me to listen to. I remember the day I left the hospital and I was in my car with all the windows down and the sunroof open and I was jamming to one of their new songs, Young Volcanoes. It's probably my favorite fall out boy song. I remember that moment so well because I had been in the hospital for a couple weeks and I hadn't been outside that entire time. It was terrible and I loved every second of my freedom in that moment. The songs main line is We are wild.

Pre-Mexico

I have never been out of the country. Today, I’m going to Mexico. I’m going to Cabo with two of my best friends from high school. Becca’s parents always go to Mexico and this year we get to go with their family. Rachel and I are going with Becca and I’m so excited. I’ve traveled with them before and we always have such a good time, but now we’re going to an all-inclusive resort and I’m pumped! I’m sitting at her house right now and we’re all doing some homework before we have to leave. We’ve been looking forward to this trip for so long! I can’t wait to just get down there and hit the beach.

I packed so much stuff. I hope my bag weighs less than 50 pounds. I’m sure it will because I always use a huge pink suitcase that definitely weighed around 70 pounds every time I used it, but since we’re flying I used a much smaller one. I packed as lightly as I could, knowing that I’ll be in my swimsuit almost the entire time. I made sure to bring plenty of tanning lotion and clean socks. I love clean socks especially after being at the beach all day then coming home and showering and putting on clean socks. Ahhhh.

While we’re there, I don’t really know what we’re going to be doing each day. I know we’ll be at the pool and the beach the majority of the time, but other than that we have an open schedule and can do whatever we want! I think we wanted to go scuba diving and ziplining. I especially want to go scuba diving. I’ve never done that before and I’m sure it would be super exciting! I’ve heard the water in Cabo is very clear. I can’t wait to just see how different everything is down there compared to here in Missouri.

Our flight is leaving at 6am I think. I’m wearing leggings and long-sleeved shirt because I get so cold on planes. I’m also bringing my lion. I take him everywhere I go. He’s kind of like a pillow pet without the Velcro and he was made in the 90’s. I know I’m 19 and probably shouldn’t have a stuffed animal with me, but I don’t care. He fits in my carry on bag, but he’s big enough to sleep on at night as a pillow. I just love him so much! He’s excited to see Mexico too, lol.

Yoga

Yoga is the best thing ever. I can't wait till it's yoga time. I always light a few candles to set the mood. And you can't forget to start with "finding your breath" as they say. You use your "oooja" breathing (I don't know how to spell that) throughout the whole session. There’s so much to learn about it. I used to take classes and learned a lot through that but they can be expensive so I’ve bought books and watched tons of videos to try and teach myself. It’s not the same as going to an actual studio, but it works. I set goals for myself and deadlines to reach them by. Right now my goal is to do a headstand. I can do one, but I can’t get into the position the correct way, according to the rules of yoga or whatever they’re called. I know the basics about yoga, but there’s so much more to learn. Every pose and every move has a technique and there are right and wrong ways to practice yoga. In order to get the full benefits, you have to do it correctly. It can be very challenging but if you have a good instructor they’ll be able to correct you and show you what you’re doing wrong. Yoga makes you strong and it makes you feel powerful. I feel so much more aware and in control of my body after doing a session. If it’s nice outside, I’ll do it in the backyard. But since it’s been so rainy, I’ve been doing yoga in the living room with some candles and I watch youtube videos on the big screen tv that kick my butt! I started to do intermediate yoga rather than beginners and it definitely makes a difference! I love yoga so much and I have so much to learn and I’m excited to do so!

Anthropology: How is yoga around the world practiced differently in comparison to Western practice?

Like I said, yoga in America is sometimes practiced extremely differently than where it originated from. I want to know how it differs in parts of the world. I feel like wherever yoga started it wasn’t used for exercise but more for meditation and spiritual connections and stuff. Do people in Africa practice yoga or something similar? What does it mean to them or what do they do it for? What about in Europe? Australia? Is it practiced differently in different parts of Asia, or do they all practice it similarly? I’m not very interested in anthropology, but I would be interested in the yoga part of it. The way I practice and like to practice is probably a lot different than other people around the world. Honestly, I don't know where they do and don't practice yoga. I wonder what other types of things there are like yoga that people around the world do. How did yoga come to America? And when? Was it introduced here the way that its practiced in other cultures? I also want to know what cultures hold it to be a special, sacred time? I know some people pray and stuff like that, but with yoga it's more of a meditation. It's personal quiet time, but does everyone see it that way? Can it bring cultures together?

Healthcare: Which form of yoga is best, based on health benefits?

Last semester I took world religions and learned a little about yoga. There are a few different types and I’ve read about how the different types do different things. Some are used for weight-loss or stress relief and others are used for strength or flexibility and stuff like that. I want to know which ones do what and how to do the different types. I’m really passionate about yoga and it’s my favorite type of exercise (besides running) that I like. I hate going to the gym, I’d rather run outside and do some yoga after. But I want to know what kind of yoga to do! For example, when I’m feeling stressed, I’d do this type and when I’m trying to break a sweat I’d do this type. Also, what long-term benefits do yoga have? I know some of the short term like improved posture, flexibility and so on but what benefits can it give you in the long term? Like is it good for your circulatory system? Does it help you with long-term memory or anything like that? And which ones do what?