Today in class reading everyone's plays out loud really helped the class to connect with each other I felt. Even though we had a small class today everyone seemed to be really involved and it made the class more enjoyable. Usually everyone is pretty silent and non participative but today I felt that everyone contributed something to the class. I think that having a smaller group makes it easier for people to get out of their comfort zones a little bit and feel comfortable talking in front of the class.

In class Friday, I thought that it was interesting reading through everyones stories and really having to pay attention to certain details to try and guess clues about the writer. That exercise really helped me to be a more focused reader and to pay closer attention to things I may not usually. In addition, I thought it was interesting when we discussed the readings from the previous week and how many people agreed on certain things and disagreed and other details in the stories. One thing that stood out to me in particular is at the beginning of the movie Carrie, how different society was then and now. For example during the incident in the locker room after gym class, today it would be socially unacceptable to treat someone that way, not only by the fellow students, but also by the administration. This also made me think of how different society is throughout the different readings we've had in class so far, including values and also what the overall take on society is by the people during those different times.

Class Readings for Friday

For the two readings for Fridays class, they both encompassed a similar topic, this being cultural heritage. Wether or not anyone chooses to admit it, everyone has a cultural background. For example, European, Asian, African American, American Indian, etc. In the reading out of the book on page 37, the author tells a story of a friend being enthusiastic as they described the journey of studying their cultural heritage. The author seemed less than excited to discuss her cultural heritage, in fact explaining how little the subject mattered to her. In the second article, the author reminiced over spending time with his grandmother growing up in the ethnic neighborhoods of Chicago. One memory in particular that stuck out to the author was the fact that his grandmother would frequently listen to the polka station, occasionally drifting off to other ethnic stations. The author indicated that his grandmother would listen to just about any station, as long as it wasn't in English. The common theme and something that I believe is important to remember when discussing this topic is, everyone has a cultural background of some kind. It would do everyone some good to not only accept where there cultural heritage comes from, but also to respect others cultural heritage. This would make for a much friendlier world.

Class 9/12

In class this past Friday, we discussed the different readings/poems from our book as well as ones on paper. One thing I found particularly interesting is the fact that you can tell so much about a writer by simply analyzing their tone and voice. Certain words can leave clues that will allow you to foreshadow and draw conclusions about their past and present and their meaning for writing what they  did. As I consider myself to be an exceptional writer, one thing I feel I can improve upon is picking up more, on certain details and clues while reading. Reading is not something that I always find particularly interesting and so I hope to improve on that throughout the time I spend in this class.

Introduction

My name is Clayton Lang, I'm currently a freshman at Western Michigan University. I graduated from Lake Orion High School, earlier this year. Throughout high school I was a member of the Varsity Powerlifting team and I enjoy weigh training and competetively lifting. Among other things, I enjoy anything in the outdoors, mainly hunting and fishing. I also enjoy golfing and try and play at least a couple times each week. I also enjoy working on cars and trucks and consider my truck to be my biggest pride and joy. At Western, I'm studying Food Marketing and have a great interest in creative work in that aspect. I consider myself to be extremely outgoing and enjoy making new friends and trying new things!