Graduation concerns

Friday marks a very special day in my life. For the first time in my life I have gone to see a counselor for advice. Up to this point in my life I have been pretty self sufficient and practical. Usually, I can put things together without instructions or understand complex subjects with little to know explanation. I have come to terms that graduating from a university and preparing for a post graduate program, a medical school no less, is a daunting task and rests on the edge of capacity at the moment. With everything else going on in my life, all the prep work that has already been figured out by others is not something I need overloading my system. My counselor said that I had set up my schedule fairly well to this point, but she changed the course loads around and made sure certain pre-requirements are finished before specific checkpoints in my graduation schedule. She also added two courses that aren't required for grad, but are smiled upon by med schools. I now have a spring term that I didn't plan on taking, a lighter fall load for interviewing purposes and an extra semester to spread out my intense workload. However, with sixteen credits of all upper level major required courses next semester and a 200+ hour Kaplan course to complete before June. I have my next six months pretty well booked up. I am excited that I am now running on the last stretch of uphill before the downhill victory lap!

Disclaimer: I am not complaining or meaning to complain although that may seem like a pretty common trend in each of these blog posts. I am basically externalizing things that I normally keep bottled-up or things that I would normally avoid or let slide off my back.

RA 8: Paper B Source

My health care issues paper, despite common misconceptions, fights for the current theory of widespread antibacterial product usage causing more harm than good. Most of the sources I found for the consequences of antibacterial use proved it harmful. Few favor the household everyday use. One website was more a promotion describing the popular reasons, not necessarily true reasons, why using antibacterial is safe and healthy. The enthymeme for this source is using antibacterial cleaner promotes healthiness and wealth because using antibacterial cleaner destroys bacteria that causes illness and death at home and in the workplace and whatever destroys bacteria that causes illness and death at home and in the workplace also promotes healthiness and wealth. This source did not have any doctors or researchers endorsement because frankly there is no proof to substantiate the evidence. True, the antibacterial product may destroy any and all harmful bacteria, however, it will not kill virus, parasite, fungus or protist that also cause disease and death. It will just kill all bacteria, even the good bacteria that promote health in digestion and cell regeneration. This source mainly appeals to emotion and logic, albeit faulty logic. It has us sterilize the workplace, school, home and daycare facilities to protect the people that we love the most. You can even buy personalized kits to say I love you by showing you care for their healthiness and wealth. The logic is faulty that killing all harmful bacteria will make you healthier because the agents in antibacterial cleaners do not distinguish between good and harmful bacteria. It is most harmful for developing immune systems in children to use these products, but it also dangerous to eradicate the bacteria in adults. The argument that they use is sufficient and typical for the average uneducated person. It is accurate that the product will do exactly what it says it will do, kill harmful bacteria, but it says it will make you healthier and that is not true. The argument is also relevant that it explains concepts that relate directly to the enthymeme. Unfortunately, there are no disclaimers on these bottles and soaps and sprays telling people what will happen if they kill 99.9% of all bacteria.

All wedding'd out

I have been endowed for 5 years. In that time I never saw a sealing, live or proxy. I didn't even know what happened in the ceremony. In the last six months, since I got married, I have been to five sealings for friends and family. This weekend will mark another wedding spectacular. I love the sealing ceremony, with the power of the words and the priesthood that makes the marriage binding here on earth and in heaven. Every time I see the ceremony performed, my resolve to be a better man and a better husband is strengthened. I don't remember what happened in mine, other than I cried and felt the spirit. I listen to the words more now and try to apply it to me instead of the two kneeling there because they will probably be like me and not remember what happened at their own. Emotional experiences are funny things. Sometimes every detail is deeply engrained so that you can remember the smells and sounds and colors forever. Other times the details are lost in a cloud and the feeling remains behind. Try as I might, some experiences recall only as feelings while in others I remember what shirt I wore. Being truthful, I dread going to the wedding, but I love being there. My attitude changes once it all starts happening. I shouldn't tell my wife that because I also dread going to or starting romantic movies, but don't mind watching them. She may ask me to go to more girly stuff and I may end up looking forward to such outings, heaven forbid. After this weekend I think I'll be all wedding'd out for a while.

Ra 7: Movie Trailer

RA 7: Movie Trailer
Movie trailers only have between 30-90 seconds to give an audience a reason to watch the movie. Juno has a trailer that is geared towards an audience of self proclaimed intellectuals and trend setters/breakers. It begins with a shot of the neighborhood that most of the movie takes place in. Multiple film festival awards superimpose over this image and linger for a few seconds showing the target audience that the movie was not created by Hollywood elitists, but by little people with a good idea and a dream. They are the Indy films that pop culture is glorifying these days. Another blurb states that the director who made Thank You for Smoking also made Juno. Instantly the movie has credibility with an audience interested in that type of film. The opening scene has a very independent and sarcastic girl and Rainn Wilson, Dwight Schrute from The Office, having a humorous yet well scripted battle of intelligence and wit. This is an appeal to both authority for humor and emotion. The type of people who love well-scripted witty satire will watch this show in the theater and buy it when it comes out for sale. The entire movies makes fun of human frailty yet shows the humanity in characters that seem above it all. There are a few big names in the movie, at least big in the target audience circle. These actors have a reputation to uphold and an audience will watch this movie for no other reason than to listen to them perform their lines and act their part. The movie tackles difficult themes like abortion, unwed mothers, marital problems, awkward adolescence, and social judgment with sarcasm and powerful emotions. The enthymeme according to this movie trailer would be watching Juno will help you not judge other people because watching Juno portrays taboo situations from a different point of view and whatever portrays taboo situations from a different point of view also helps you not judge others.

Spread too thin

This semester I feel like I piled a little too much on my proverbial plate. I thought that if I took the same load of classes and extracurricular activities in past semesters where I managed them all right, I wouldn't have a problem. It is the same amount of work. Well, not adjusting for the difficulty of these classes and that my priorities ultimately lie with my new family now, this same load is starting to drag me down. Genetics, 2 Physics courses, Chemistry, a huge Men's Chorus commitment, two courses with a main component of writing, religion and undergraduate research, keeps me on campus for 40+ hours a week. These classes have a combined homework and midterm study load of 25 hours a week. Each semester I have about fifteen nighttime commitments for concert rehearsal or performance. I'm not complaining because I did this to myself but for the first time in my life I am struggling academically. It may not take me as long to do an assignment or study for a test as most other students, but I'm not a freshman anymore. Focusing on my upper level classes, and doing well in them, my American Heritage grade is suffering. I feel inadequate that a freshman level course is kicking my butt, yet I should be content that I am excelling in 14 units of advanced credits. I guess I should just get used to not having enough time for everything that I need to do and set my highest priorities and trust that with the Lord's help I can succeed.

RA 6: Encounter

Salespeople incorporate many persuasive tactics to pander their wares.  Gold's Gym in particular uses persuasive words, images and financial appeals to sell memberships to people like me. When I went into the gym to talk to a manager about a membership they asked me if I wanted to wait ten minutes to talk to Candy or talk with one of their male salesmen right then.  I knew that they would try to use the "sex sells" method if I waited for the attractive female so I chose to talk to a guy and see what methods he would use.  I'll call the enthymeme for his rhetoric- joining a gym will make you happy because joining a gym will make you healthier and look better and whatever makes you healthier and look better also makes you happy.  I was his audience and he a very good job specifying the reasons why I should join this gym.  At Gold's they have pictures up on the wall of picturesque men and women: cut, bronze, smiling and wearing very little clothing.  This appeals to the emotions involved in social interaction.  They also have hundreds of famous people's names who have worked out at Gold's Gym: Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwartzeneggar et al.  These people are an authority on looking good and fit.  If they go to Gold's, so should I.  Once he went to touch my arm after he made a joke and stopped himself because he was playing the macho physical trainer to a male client, not the hunky flirt to a female client.  He gave a lot of relevant and specific information about his products.  I am a skinny male so the treadmills and elipticals are not high priorites but he brought my attention to the weight training machines and even let me try some of them out.  After every point he made he told me that when I'm a Gold's member I will be able to do this and do that and see this... This gave me a sense of ownership in the product before I agree to it.  He asked how I would do the payments and whether i would put this much down or spread out those registration payments.  He gave me choices between different plans and had me make little decisions before he asked me to sign up for the membership.  He even tried to sweeten the deal with free tans if I did auto pay and signed up this weekend.  

Grades...suck.

One thing that really bugs me is that, in many classes, undergraduate TAs decide the future of aspiring professionals. Based on their own criteria of excellence, they grade a student’s performance and, unfortunately, grades decide graduate level acceptance. Grades are an arbitrary standard of knowledge and, besides, the system itself is quite flawed. There are set increments of 4.0, 3.7, 3.4, 3.0... however these levels have sub categories of percentages. There is no high A-. One hundredth of a percent off an A is still an A-, the same A- that is one-hundredth a percent off a B+. Too many times, I have missed a higher grade by just a few points. Tests are also just an arbitrary measurement of what a person knows. Some people are bad test takers. Others, who know that they will rely on the vast amount of information available for immediate reviewing in the real world, can't recall 4 months of intense cramming for a single comprehensive midterm. That, compounded with the ultimate grade, tells the world how ready you are to be in its professional spheres. On one bogus American Heritage assignment about enforcing the honor code, I got 59% for taking a moderate stance to a complex issue instead of creating a "capital punishment for a minor offense" methodology. I was pragmatic and, therefore, rejected by unfair and biased standards. The really unfair thing about some of these TAs in that type of academia is that many will go on to be teachers in that field. Many of their future students will be turned off completely to the subject matter because of their unfair grading. Isn't learning and enjoying to learn more important than aspiring to some arbitrary standard?

RA 5: Paper A Source

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=abb127cd3f37b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1
I found a lot of research for the affects of viewing violence on violent behavior. To find a persuasive article instead of a purely academic article I searched the LDS.org database. Most of their articles use research to back up their own personal or divine opinions about violence. M Russell Ballard writes many talks about avoiding violence in the media. His audience is usually LDS adults with younger impressionable children. Watching violence for entertainment is harmful for any person, but he wants fathers especially to avoid this vice because children follow a father’s example. I chose this as an example to cite because it had all the STAR criteria. It had enough appeal to emotion with a strong testimony offered and various consequences to family and individual guaranteed for continuing the trend. His authority is both scientific and divine. The argument is logical and deliberate offering conclusions to certain attitudes and behaviors. His enthymeme presented is that people who watch violence for entertainment will fall away from Christ because people who watch violence for entertainment are in the world and of the world. The examples he used are accurate and relevant to the argument that watching violence is not wholesome and will not lead to Christ, and in fact, offends the Lord. One quote in particular strikes a good point with his audience: “I am convinced by a vast amount of research that the images, fantasies, and models which we are repeatedly exposed to in [entertainment] affect the self-image and, later, the behavior of nearly all young people and adults too. The amount of violence a child sees at 7 predicts how violent he will be at 17, 27, and 37. … Children’s minds are like banks—whatever you put in, you get back 10 years later with interest. He said that violent television teaches children, step-by-step, how to commit violent acts, and it desensitizes them to the horror of such behavior and to the feelings of victims.”

I Love Lamp

One phrase that should be sacred and reserved for true affection has become more trivial and watery in the past decades. The phrase "I Love You" feels trite and laughable sometimes, especially among younger people. My sister had her first relationship with a decent guy and "fell in love." She decided to say the words over and over and he reciprocated those words for months. Then one day he said that he didn't want to be with a younger girl for appearance's sake. She asked, "what about our love? You said you loved me and I felt it too." He said that he never did or that he confused love with like or that he thought its what she wanted to hear...This conversation never happened, but the feigned serious relationship did. Too many young people confuse hormones with love and make dumb mistakes acting on the wrong impulses. Many adolescents, especially boys, say things that the other person wants to hear to get things that they want to get. Unfortunately this has occurred with one of the most important phrases and ideals, the concept of love and affection. We are commanded to love our neighbors, friends family and enemies, cleave unto our spouses and become one and treat others as we would ourselves. This commandment is a pure unconditional love, not one with ulterior motives. Marketing love and affection in ads for products and popular TV shows gives the wrong impressions about love and romance. It used to be that children would observe a loving relationship between father and mother and learn healthy practices and patterns. Now Cosmo, The Hills and Paris Hilton are the examples for children, one that says to act impulsively now, say I love you early even if you don’t feel it and break up regardless of the commitment level if you tire of the relationship. Don’t say I love you because that is what you think she wants to hear. Don’t look around the room and say things that you love because you want to be in love. Love is of God and Lust is Satan’s more prevalent counterfeit. “I Love You” is one of the most powerful phrases; reserve it in romantic situations for true love.

RA 4: Editorial

Legal Immigration? Anybody?
Published: October 3, 2008
One of the false pieties uttered by anti-immigration politicians is that they love immigrants. If that were true, Congress would pass a bill to expedite visas.

The New York Times is an authority figure in the news media world. It has a slightly biased liberal agenda like most media outlets, but it deals with serious news and many read its pages daily. This immigration article appeals to any person who still believes in the free world ideals and wants any person to be able to experience it here on American soil. With a deliberate attack on conservative politicians, this article's audience appeals more towards the liberal democrats or any moderate who is fed up with the legal system as is. Minorities, who have already been through the process of legalization, or who can relate to their plight, as well as women who will vote or who can blog are especially the subcategory of that audience. They are those who generally read the opinion section of the Times. The article was accurate and authoritative. It quoted US senators and documents reviewed to institute policy. There was an appeal to emotion especially for the women and minorities reading the article with allusions to the memory of Ellis Island and the support of families. It contained relevant information to prove that not all politicians who say they have the best interests at heart for immigrants will actually do EVERYTHING they can for these people. The argument is that although both side of the legislation say they want to quickly resolve the immigration issue because there is a human component and families in the middle of the illegalities, not all the visas are being issued every year. And they are not rollover visas so if they are not used they are destroyed. What are the consequences of not issuing available visas on the families of America? Not issuing visas will tear apart the families of America because not issuing Visas will separate families. Whatever separates families will also tear apart America. The unissued visas for people who are all but American will cause these individuals to do illegal things to continue working and providing for their families. The issue is not give a visa to everyone who wants one because that would give legality to terrorists and criminals and leeches, but some politicians want to use the visas that are available every year to keep college students and professionals and members of families who have American relatives already in America.