Language

Words, wrods, wdros, wrdos…what is the difference?  Language is composed of words which is composed of letters, which are composed of lines.  What is it that makes these words so full of meaning?  It is the meaning that humans put behind them and the context in which they are used.  I have had a fascination with the human language since I was a child. 

            My amazement was brought about by my father.  As children most get put into “time-outs,” I however was told to copy down pages of the dictionary.  I was born with the condition dyslexia and had a hard time learning how to use words.  Being told to copy all those words and their definitions helped me to become more diverse in my vocabulary and gave me the ability to articulate myself very well. 

            Over time I have become a recreational writer in order to use my acquired skill.  I use my writing to express myself and have come to enjoy doing it.  I write poetry, short stores and have attempted to write multiple books.  It has slowly become my obsession.

            As any other obsession, it can rule my life.  I can be consumed for days, upon days by my writing.  I have even written a poem containing nothing but my favorite words and definitions.  I would love to continue improving my vocabulary and using it in my everyday life.

            Language is more then words, however.  I also enjoy expressing language through art.  I do this by sketching and painting.  I paint on full and queen sized sheets with water based acrylic paint.  I sketch small on paper and choose to turn my sketches into large scale in order to fully express them. 

            Whenever I finish a piece I try to put words to it.  I either relate it to a poem or short story I have already written, or I create new words for them.  I have recently been wanting to include my writing with my paintings, but have yet to execute this idea.  I have even had the idea of turning and entire book into a highly illustrated painting.

            Language can be used in many ways.  I would encourage people to get involved in as many ways as they possibly can.  I would love to show the infinite amount of ways that people can use language.  Finally I will always appreciate the many ways that it is already expressed, being socially acceptable or not.

Anybody love language as much as I?

Into the Anatomy of Chris McCandless

The first word that comes to mind when I think of the main character of Into the Wild is respect.  His name is Chris McCandless and he has done something that not many people would be able to bring themselves to do.  He stripped himself of all material objects, packed up only what was absolutely necessary to survive, donated all his money to charity, burned whatever was left in his wallet...and went into the wild.  He disconnected himself from his family as well.  In doing this he was able to become the purest he possibly could.  To further distance himself he changed his name to Alexander Supertramp.

Alex is a very intriguing person to me.  I feel so connected to him because it is something I have always wanted to do myself.  I have so much respect for him for being able to pull through with it.  I am hoping to live in Australia for about four years, and at the end of that, somehow make it to Alaska.  I want to leave with nothing but a back pack of belongings and have no intentions in communicating with anybody during my journey.  I also have to specific time limit for this, I want to avoid as many restrictions as possible.

I hope that I am able to "succeed" just as Alex did.  I also relate to his feeling towards his family.  I believe I would be successful because I do not have many ties at home.  I do not have a big, close family as others may have, and I like to be believe I am extremely independent, even at my young age.  I look at Alex as a role model for my own future and plan in  following in his inspirational footsteps.

My Place as a Citizen and Student

Everyone has their own views on what it means to be an American citizen.  Not one person's perspective can be considered right or wrong, because of the freedom given to us by our country.  Being both a citizen and a student I can connect them to make both experiences more fulfilling.  I can use my education to learn about my rights and obligations that I can utilize in my everyday life.  

So far in my life I have formed my own opinion on what I must give back to my state and country.  I know that I am not obligated to join the military, or risk my life for my country because of the freedom it has given me.  My only civic duty is to use my rights and education to form my own opinion and vote.  I am to try my best to make the most acceptable and feasible choice in the presidential elections.  This is the best way to represent my country and add my own input in attempts to improve it.

Many kids my age (18) tend to ignore their civic duties.  They ignore their right to vote, or choose candidates for unrealistic reasons.  This makes it harder for society to take them seriously and harder for them to expand their political views.  This close-minded attitude is what gives kids a bad reputation and I find that my biggest duty as a citizen and a student is to not follow this example.  

Want to Know Me?

My name, as you may know, is Samantha Barry.  My nickname is Sami and my pseudonym is Samara.  I go by so many names because I feel that each part of me goes into different things.  Samantha is what my mother calls me, and what I expect to hear in a serious situation.  Samara is only what I am known as in the poetry community.  Sami, my common, everyday self, is who you will be learning about.  Through creating my own blog, I am learning about and discovering others.  By this I can learn and explore more about my own personal interests.  In order to understand my thoughts and opinions a little more, I am going to give you some insight into my interests.

The first one I am going to talk about is marine biology.  It is my major in college and I am hoping to do research with sharks.  By looking at blogs such as I can’t bear the ignorance any longer. Spread the facts: SHARK FIN SOUP IS BAD, I can learn more about my favorite animal and the crucial issues surrounding my future career.  By using blogs I can keep up with any research updates in my field of study, and maybe even use them as sources for my classes!

The next interest of mine that I will discuss is gaming.  I am a decently hardcore gamer and am always interested in finding out about new games and new cheats for them.  I can use blogging for this by looking at blogs such as What's Hot to find out what is popular and is worth trying out.  

Finally, I will talk about my love for fiction.  I love reading books, and especially ones about vampires and demons.  My fantasy interest can be expanded by using blogs by looking at ones such as New Books for July.  Blogs like this can help me learn about new books, and hear what other people think of them.  When I read about them, I can form my own opinion on whether it is worth reading or not.

As portrayed, blogs can help me in many ways.  I can use them to explore my personal interests or even as sources for school work.  I would encourage everyone to look for blogs that interest them and, as I am still learning about them, I will as well.  Remember that sometimes other people may have the same opinion as you, and blogs are a great place to find those people.

Why Sympathize?

In the novel The House of Sand and Fog by Andrew Dubus III, he creates a main character named Kathy.  In the story, she comes into conflict with another character.  The conflict stems from a house.  The house had originally been her fathers, and before foreclosure, was her own.  The foreclosure  occurred after she failed to recognize the letters coming constantly as warnings that this would happen.  The excuse given to her by the author is that she is a recovering drug-addict that is more focused on the recovery.  This excuse is created in order to grab the readers attention and to make them feel sympathy towards her.  

Kathy should not be sympathized!  The fact that she is in a state of rehabilitation is no excuse for not following up on her everyday life.  Had she just taken the time, and not been lazy, to open the letters she would have known the whole time that this process was occurring.  If anything, the fact that she is recovering should mean that she is taking more time to focus on her everyday life in order to keep her mind off of the addiction at hand.  When beginning a habit as such, one has their own choice and should never expect to use it as an excuse.  Though addictions are life-changing, the government is not exactly understanding towards the effects of something already illegal. 

As well as the drugs, Kathy takes advantage of someone who shows he cares about her, Lester.  She uses him to try to get the house back, even though she is well aware that his entire life could be ruined by what she wants him to do.  If she can't feel sympathy to those she is blatantly hurting, then why does he deserve sympathy from the reader?  It is just as the childhood "golden rule" says:  "Treat others the way you would like to be treated."