Letter to future student

Dear English student,

I promise this isn’t going to be a letter about how much this class is going to suck and you will have to cry yourself to sleep at night. That being said, I don’t mean that this class is going to be a piece of cake. You are genuinely going to have to try to get A’s on your assignments in this class. When you write your essays, you can’t just half ass it and expect to do well. I know that it hard to be personal with your writing, but it really does help if are. The material will come so much more naturally to you and the essays won’t seem that hard to write. Now for the textbook, yes, you will have to buy it and yes, you will have to read it. You have to write blogs on about all of them and he will know it if you’re BSing it. Sometimes it’s going to seem like busy work and you are reading them for no reason, but they do have a point. When you write your essays, they will help you understand what you’re writing about. Trust me. Now, about the professor, he’s actually pretty cool. He’s not one of those people who is super anal about what you do and he will be pretty lenient about assignments. If you are willing to be personal with him, he will be personal with you. Now, does this class sound that bad? Trust me, you will be fine.

                                                                                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                                                   An English student who survived

Overview of the semester

I have always had a positive relationship with writing and English in general. It was how I sort of relaxed and expressed my feelings. It has not changed that much over the semester but over the past couple of years, it has changed dramatically. I have learned how to write papers more efficiently and clearly without over simplifying it. This semester, the most helpful part of the class was the peer review when our papers were looked over by other students. To me, reading other people’s paper and offering advice helped me write my papers and gave me example as to how I should and should not write my papers. The least helpful part of the semester was all of the reading from the text book. Even though some of the articles were interesting, I felt like it was busy work and it didn’t really help me learn how to write my paper. However, I didn’t mind doing the blog post. They helped me reflect on what I read and helped me retain what I learned from the article. With Pecha Kucha, I have mixed reviews. On the positive side, it taught me how to present effectively and only giving the important or interesting information. I learned that less words and more pictures is better. However, I really didn’t like the time constraint for each slide. I felt like I was rushing through a lot of the information and I didn’t get to provide even better, more interesting information. Altogether, this semester has been fun. Mr. Conaway is a super chill professor and it made me feel more comfortable writing about personal experience in my essay. I really liked this class.

Research Intro #2

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ― Anatole France

In this country, we often take animals for granted. We see them as objects that we can kill of our pleasure and that don’t have the ability to do anything great for this world. However, animals have done much more for the world than you would ever think. Besides being great companions and interesting creatures, they have changed the scientific world and have modernized it from the stone age. Now today in present day, the scientific community uses animals as test subjects, scientific models, and donors. We have learned that humans and some animals such as pigs have many things in common that can be switched between bodies and still work. This has revolutionized how and where we can implant organs into people that would otherwise wait months of a new heart or liver. We have also found that some animals, such as dogs, are extremely sensitive to chemicals put out in the air that would suggest that a human has an illness or problem. These are often used to help people who suffer from epilepsies know when they will experience an epilepsy and hopefully prevent it if caught soon enough. It is unbelievable how we, as humans, have completely overlooked how much animals really do for us on a daily basis. If we come to understand why animals are so important in our society, then I believe that the amount of animal cruelty and neglect would decrease because who would honestly want to hurt something that could potentially save them in the future.

Research Intro 1

When was the last time you told you cat or dog “thank you?” They, along with countless other species, have helped keep your family and friend’s health and safe for longer than you would think. Sure, they calm you down when your stressed or make you get exercise when they want to go for a walk, but have you ever stopped to think how much more they have done for the medical and scientific community. Animals are often test subjects in scientific experiments or sources of products that are used in medicine and medical procedures. Because their bodies tend to be more sensitive than humans, if there are any negative effects cause by drugs or health products on the animals, than they know that the product is not suitable for human use and the product must either be abandoned completely or refined so that little to no negative side effects are experienced. Animals are also used for their products that they naturally produce or have in their body such as the blood of horseshoe crabs which is used to detect for potentially dangerous bacteria growth in vaccine and other medical products. However, many people question how ethical it is to possible put animals in pain or kill them for the benefit of human beings. There must be a balance between human’s welfare and animal welfare, otherwise the practices are not efficient. Without animals, we would probably be decades behind what we have already scientifically discovered.

Does Race Exist Analysis

In “Does Race Exist?” by Michael J. Bamshad and Steve E. Olson, they speak about what make race a thing and what makes a person belong to a specific group. When most people think of race, they look at the color of a person’s skin and where they come from. However, simply saying someone belongs to a certain race because of where they come from or the color of their skin is somewhat incorrect. In this article, the authors argue that certain elements in you DNA, called Alu, contain pieces of information that can be compared to other individuals to see if there is any relatedness. What they found is that certain Alus make characteristics specific to one group, but does not separate groups simply by skin color. For example, they found that people from India shared Alus with people from Europe and Asia because of the constant contact that they had with each other either through trade or invasion. In conclusion, there is no real race. People may share similarities, but a race should not be formed simply based on skin color or recent origin.

While this article was very interesting to read, it does have a few things that would make it a little difficult for the reader to understand. First, most of the article has to do with science and facts, leaving no room for any opinions or overviews, so the reader is left confused reading on. From the way that the article is written, you can tell that it is written for an audience who has studied this or is a little bit more educated. If they were to write this for a wide variety of people, they should speak with less scientific words. If they do not want to use simpler words, they should define what they are talking about or break the material up into more understandable topics. If the writers want a larger audience, they should also add pictures and maps to the article to give a better context about what they are talking about. With this revisions, the article should appeal to a much larger audience who will actually find the topic interesting.

Comparison of Cosmos and iGod

Nicholas Carr’s iGod and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos have many similarities in the way that they present their topic and what their topic is. First, they both talk about science and how it can be used to either help of hurt human kind. In Cosmos, Tyson speaks about light and how it has been used throughout human history and how it was first discovered and used by the people of the time. In Carr’s iGod, he speaks more about what has happened with artificial intelligence closer to our time and how it is evolving. In his article, he discusses how a major search engine like Google first started and their goals to make knowledge and intelligence easier than ever to obtain by putting machines inside the human brain. This would allow for easy access to information and facts to every human being. Both articles also present the downfall of knowing too much information. In Cosmos, Tyson states how scholars were buried alive and books were burned because the new emperor of China wanted to prevent people from thinking. In iGod, Carr speaks about how people were terrified out the idea of having machines implanted in their brain and computers being smarter than humans. People tend to be afraid of what is unknown, which is why increasing knowledge in the world is important.

Although both articles focus on similar topics, they are not completely alike. In cosmos, Tyson is more engaged with the audience and is almost speaking down to them as if they are less than him. However, this is because the average person does not exactly know how light really works and how it was first discovered. In iGod, Carr speaks to the audience as if they already know the information which can almost be seen as a disadvantage. The audience first needs to understand the context of the words to understand the article. Carr also uses a lot more quotes from tech geniuses and notable people which assures his credibility. Tyson mainly speaks by himself and occasionally brings in some historical characters. However, his credibility is a little bit more questionable in a historical sense as he is not an expert in history. Altogether, the articles are quite similar and both serve a point to inform the reader about the technological advances in the world.

Black Holes Analysis

“Black Hole” by Michael Finkel is a very strange and interesting article that talks about something that people don’t really know or care about. He uses multiple tricks and tools to entertain the reader and make the information applicable to the everyday person. He first starts with a statement about Albert Einstein and how he was wrong about not believing in black holes which definitely gets the reader’s attention because Finkel is basically proving a world renowned genius wrong. He also does a very good job with keeping his paragraphs short and sweet with the perfect amount of information that is interesting and stimulating to the mind. Most people don’t really understand or know about black hole and wouldn’t really bother to research how they work or what they are. In this article, he makes it very cynical and entertaining. He writes about how much energy is released from a star, such as the sun, as it turns into a black hole. To put it into perspective, they talk about billions of atomic bombs going off as being a few minutes of the energy of the sun. As a reader, that fact that he almost jokes about planets dying keeps me reading and wanting to learn more about how black holes’ work.

Finkel essay also follows one of Huxley’s three directions which goes toward the objective, historical factual, the concreate. In this article, it is very factual and definite. He includes information about when books were first published about black holes and stars as well as what technology was used back then to make those discoveries that would lead to the publishing of the books. He also uses direct measurements about how far away certain stars and black holes are away from our planet and how they will eventually affect us in the long run. I find this to be interesting because it is amazing how somethings that are so far away can have a profound impact on how we live our lives and how our solar system functions. This is why Finkels article does so well with attracting the reader’s attention and keeping it for the majority of or the entire length of the article.

Intro for Essay #2

 If you are anything like me, you stress over the smallest things. When one thing doesn’t go your way, you feel like your whole life is over and you will never be able to reach your goals. Sometimes it gets so bad that you can't concentrate on a simple, you feel exhausted, or you can't eat anything. We clearly know that nothing horrible is truly going to happen to us, so why does our body prepare us for the worst? It shuts off blood flow to the intestine which makes you feel like you’ve eaten everything in the cafeteria, and it puts all of its energy in preparing your body to run away from a speeding train! Seems logical, right? However, our body know better than we do when it comes to stressful situations, but sometimes, too much of this can be more hurtful than helpful. If we can find safe and effective ways of controlling our body's response to stressful situations, then we can determine when we really need to worry and when we just need to take a deep breath and start over again.

Chunklet with Prickles and Goo

                 While stress may seem like an impossible obstacle to overcome, seeing that we face it in about everything we do, there are ways to sooth the savage beast. One way is to exercise. Yes, it’s as simple as that! Now you may say “oh, I’m too busy to go to the gym” or “I hate working out”, but you don’t really need to do much. Doctors and researchers recommend that getting at least thirty minutes of physical activity a day can greatly decrease you risk of developing depression as well as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Not only does it decrease you stress levels, but as you work out, your body releases endorphins that make you feel happier and more awake. If a more potent solution is required, a doctor can prescribe an antidepressant that can do an array of things such as prevent the reuptake of serotonin, leading to a longer feeling of happiness. However, these drugs do not come without side effects and can sometimes cause the user to become even more depressed. In my experience, I never needed to take medication for my anxiety. I wanted to find a safer and healthier alternative to alleviating my stress that wouldn’t interfere with school. My therapist recommended that I worked out more. Nothing too crazy, just going for a run or a walk around campus or swimming some laps. At first, I didn’t feel any different. I still felt like I was on pins and needles everywhere I went. However, as I began to become a little more active, in the gym and on campus, I started to feel like a new person. The little things that use to drive me crazy like test and new assignments started to feel like a normal task. I didn’t feel like I would explode if I didn’t tend to them immediately. I didn’t feel like I was about to have a mental breakdown. As well as feeling better on the inside, I started to eat healthier and the zits that I would get from stress started to disappear. I was a whole new person.

Social Media Solving Social Division Analysis

Danah Boyd, the author of “Inequality: Can Social Media Resolve Social Divisions?” explores how widespread and domestic racism has truly become in America. To demonstrate how bad it has become, she interviews students in a part of Los Angeles where segregation has reappeared in the school. Parts of the school occupied by white students are called “Disneyland” while parts occupied by black students is called “Six Flags” and races never truly mix. She finds it surprising how the students have become to accept this as a way of life and finds it ironic the people thought that all of this racial bias would stop after the election of President Barack Obama. While doing this, she also analysis how social media actually plays in these elections and how it actually tends to reinforce these social divisions instead of solving them.

              To further back up her arguments, she not only uses personal experience and interviews, but she also events that sparked a lot of controversy, not for what happened, but for how people responded to it. She explains how during the 2009 BET awards, people notice names on twitter that were trending, such as Neyo and Beyoncé, who are black musicians. As soon as people saw this, some started to make racist remarks saying that they didn’t understand why so many black people were on TV and that they would give up twitter for this. This strengthens her point that social media for the most part will do more bad for divisions in society than good.

              In this article, you see many indications that there is a lot of fieldwork included that supports what she has heard about for many years. She asks students at other “diverse” schools why they are separated by race. These students answer that it is because what class they take or what sports they play, not realizing that they have been already be segregated by society like they were sixty years before. She also notes that social media can be an indication of how bad racism and segregation has gotten on this country, based on online friend groups and comments on topics. If Boyd did not include this fieldwork in this essay, the article would be in a way one sided, with no opinion or personal experience. Because she puts this in there, the article is much more “easy to swallow” and relatable to the reader

Fieldwork essay topic

In my fieldwork essay, I have chosen to explore stress and how it affects my life every day. I have chosen this because this is something that has physically and mentally taken a toll on me since I was young. I would physically feel tired and sick at times when I was really stress. At times, I would be stressed over small things like if I would make my flight or not. I seemed to be stresses, one way or another, every single day. Not only would I feel horrible, but I would not be able to concentrate on simple tasks like doing some homework or cleaning my room.  Finding a way to escape this constant battle was crucial if I wanted to function as a normal human being. In this essay, I would like to explore what causes stress not only in me, but in others as well as the physical and mental affects that it has on the human body. I have heard many things from people on how too much stress can causes you to age more quickly and could dramatically shorten your life. In hearing this, it would stress me out even more. However, I would like to research this to see if this is factual or not. Finding out how much stress the body can take will either calm me down or freak me out even more. I expect there to be many negative side effects associated with stress, but I also expect there to be a large number of people, especially in this country, to be affected by stress. I would also like to research ways of coping with or avoiding stress and the problems that are associated with it. This will mostly likely range from taking a calm walk to doing intense exercises. In doing so, I might look for information on medical website backed by research from experts and doctors. This will ensure accuracy and should make a well written, credible essay.

Consider the Lobster Analysis

In “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster, he writes about a valued tradition in New England of eating lobster. Lobsters are so popular there that they have large festivals celebrating them and feasting on them. However, in this article he writes mostly about how these festivals effect the lobster biologically and physically. Certain groups like PETA seem to have a problem in which the way lobsters are killed and have protest the festival many times to encourage others to stop eating them. People who do eat them seem to be ignorant as to how sensitive lobsters really are to pain. As he writes this, he is using Huxley’s second direction of writing towards the objective, historical facts, which is concrete. For example, when he is speaking about pain receptors in lobsters, he says “Lobsters do not, on the other hand, appear to have the equipment for making or absorbing natural opioids like endorphins and enkephalins, which are what more advanced nervous systems use to try to handle intense pain.” There is nothing that can really be debated about this and exhibits logos as his argument is based on facts.

              When he chooses lobsters at his topic, he is picking something that people tend not to care about or notice. While these people at the lobster festival are enjoying their lobster rolls, they tend to forget that thousands of lobsters are being boiled alive. Although people know that this happens, they like to make themselves feel better and think that the lobsters are not evolved enough to feel pain. Although the author is not against the killing of lobsters for food, he just wants to bring up the problems associated with it and at least inform his readers of these issues before they eat a lobster again. This may not change whether they eat lobsters or not, but at least they will be educated on how a lobster functions and where their meal came from.  In doing so, his article was well formulated and entertaining to read. However, if there were some pictures to show the way that the lobsters were killed or where lobsters tend to live, this would be even better for the article.

"The Overly Documented Life" Analysis

                  A.J. Jacobs, the author of “The Overly Documented Life” writes about what daily life is like for a middle class person in Americas society today. Specifically, what every waking second is like. He speaks about how our memory tends to be short lived with all of the other things that we have to do and remember. To try to document his memories, he attaches a small camera to the side of his head to record everything he sees throughout his day, including him using the bathroom and staring at other women. In doing so, he is more carefully and self-conscious about what he looks at as he doesn’t want to look back on what he did and saw that day and be embarrassed. In this project, he also states the benefits of lifelogging such as finding the taxi that his left his belongings in and rewinding the tape to see if he had taken an Advil for his headache. In doing so, he is following one of Huxley’s three directions which is towards the personal, autobiographical, and inner experience. He shares specific details about what he did each day and how it made him feel. In doing so, he lets the reader know how he directly feels and the reader will then feel a deeper connection to the writer. He also writes this article is a very comical sense which is beneficial towards his cause of bringing awareness to how much we really tend to forget or ignore things in our everyday life. If it was written in a very dry way, the article would lose speed very quickly and the reader would most likely stop reading after a few paragraphs. He is also very relatable with his experiences that he states in the article like losing his wallet. Most people understand frantically looking for their wallet, wishing that they had a device that would basically remind them where they put it. Altogether, the article was very entertaining and brings up a valid point that we need to be more aware of how much that we really do and what we say in our everyday life.

Catfishing Comments

Out of all of the essays, I like this one the most. It is informative, well written, and straight to the point. The hook for the essay was perfect and is bound to pull the reader right in immediately. She made me feel like this was a real problem in society when I didn’t really think it was before. However, there are some things that she could fix to make it even better. First, the introduction is a bit lengthy. Some of that information could be put into later paragraphs when more information is needed. Also, there should be more sources cited so that the argument is not so one sided. From what I read, much of the information that was obtained was from MTV which is the production company that produces and airs the show. This could be seen as a bias. Lastly, there should be more to compare in the main body of the essay. Instead of comparing and contrasting, there is just a lot of what the articles are about. This would give the essay more length and would clarify each article even more. Overall, this essay was great and really changed my outlook on the issue.

Gregs unfinished rough draft Comments

This essay was very informative and entertaining to read. The hook was good and it kept me reading. It dealt with real world issues that need to mentioned and overall, was written well.  However, there are some minor things that could be adjusted or added to this essay to make it even better. First, the introduction is very informative, but too long. Some of the facts like where Harambe was born should be put in the next paragraph to give more details. Also, there is not much of a thesis to some up what the introduction was about or what the entire essay would be about. Another thing that could also be fixed is the repetition of Harambes name. We already know that the essay is about him so at this point, you can just say “him” or “the gorilla.” The structure of the sentences is also a bit choppy. This could be solved by having a few sentences in the paragraph that are compound sentences with depended and independent clauses. Last, the essay does not have a concluding paragraph. This should just sum up what the entire essay is about and should be concise and accurate as to what the topic was about and what we should have learned. Other than that, the essay was nice and I look forward to reading it in its final draft.

Michael’s (Very) Rough Draft Comments

The topic that Michael picked is very good and overall, his essay is well written. Each argument has many examples and quotes that support his point and he cites them correctly. I agree with his viewpoint on the issue and the information on the topic makes me agree with it even more. His arguments are also fair and well balanced with both sides represented on the issue. However, there are some things that could be fixed to make it even better and flow more smoothly. First, some of his sentences are choppy and simple. To tie them together, he should join one or two of the sentences that relate to each other so that the transition is more smooth. Next, he should also watch out for repletion of words such as “comments” that could be replaced with other words like “says” and “states.” Another thing that could be done to the essay is to add even more information. It doesn’t seem like there are many sources which could be problematic in arguing you point. Last, there is not much of a conclusion at the end. It kind of leaves the reader wanting more, like the essay isn’t over yet. It should sum up what the writer has written about and should be simple and concise. Overall though, the essay is a good start and can easily be made even better.

Intro for Compariative Analysis Essay

When you hear you hear the word “guns”, what tends to come to mind? Some may say shootings and death while others may say protection and hunting. This seems to be a problem in this country. It is certainly fine to own a gun in this country, as it is a right given to every American citizen in the Constitution. However, with the recent mass shootings occurring in the country by people who did not deserve guns in the first place, more and more pressure is put on Congress to have tighter gun laws and stronger punishments for those people who unlawfully use or purchase a firearm. Some members of Congress, mainly republican, argue that limiting access to guns would violate an American citizen’s 2nd amendment right to bear arms. However, if these bill proposals were passed and turned into laws, then countless innocent lives could be saved because only responsible, law abiding citizens would have the ability to possess these weapons.

Source #2 on Congress' lack of support for stronger gun control

In “Massive study of Australia's gun laws shows one thing: they work” by Fiona Macdonald, she outlines how in the past twenty years, Australia has had no mass shootings after enacting a law that prohibited citizens of the country from owning a “rapid fire gun” and punishing anyone in possession of one after the law was passed with jail time. To give the citizens further incentive to give up their guns, the government began buying back any guns that citizen had at market price. Since the law was enacted in 1996 after a mass shooting in Tasmania, gun ownership in the country has decreased by 75% and gun related deaths have also decreased an average of 5% each year. However, the US still fails to believe that having tighter gun control will reduce the rate of homicides committed each year even though Australia has proven that it will. She says that “experts are predicting that around 30,000 people will be killed - or kill themselves - with guns in the country this year” which is a horrifying number and a harsh reality that we unfortunately are told to deal with. If stronger gun laws are passed in the US, this number can and will decrease and countless lives will be saved. This is a reality that I am happy to live with.

Macdonald, Fiona. "Massive Study of Australia's Gun Laws Shows One Thing: They Work "  2016. Web.

Source #1 on Congress' lack of support for stronger gun control

In “Where do things stand in Congress' battle over gun control?” by Emily Schultheis, she talks about how Congress fails to agree on a better way to enforce gun control even after the recent shootings in Orlando and in San Bernardino. Although members of congress have made over 100 attempts to pass stronger gun laws to be voted on by the majority of the members since 2011, none have been successful, leading to more mass shootings and countless innocent lives being lost. She states that “Republicans want to require more proof from government officials that an individual is likely to commit terrorism” if they are to ban someone from buying a gun. However, if congress had passed a law that would prohibit anyone on the TSA no fly list or FBI Terrorist Screening Database from purchasing a firearm, this would have prevented the shooter from the Orlando night club attack from killing 49 people. After so many shootings these past couple years, it is a shame that congress still can’t come to a conclusion on how to stop these deadly attacks.

Schultheis, Emily. "Where Do Things Stand in Congress' Battle over Gun Control?" CBS News July 5, 2016 2016. Web.

Why Gun Control Needs to be Stronger.

In this world, we tend to face so many problems that affect our lives as well as others. Sometimes, these problems can be completely out of our control like natural disasters and disease. However, some people in their world like to believe that gun violence is in that category. Because mass shootings and homicides happen so often, especially in the United States, citizens tend to think that there is nothing that we can do to prevent these attacks accept buy more guns for people to protect themselves and their property. Their main argument is that it is a right given to us by our founding fathers in the constitution. However, many things have changed since the days of our founding fathers. We have changed and created bills to fit our society and protect those who were previously unprotected like women, children, and minorities. Since we no longer live in a society where we need to revolt from a king or dictator, our gun laws should change as well to prevent more gun violence like the shootings at Sandy Hook and Orlando from happening.

Guns are a way of life in America. They are also a major problem. In the past 13 years in the United States, over 480 people have been killed in mass shootings and since 2000, there have been about 160 shootings. This is an enormous number! However, there has been little action in congress to make stronger gun control laws that would prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. Not only would guns be regulated, but the amount of ammunition purchased at one time would also be limited. However, lobbyist and members of the NRA pay millions of dollars to members of congress to prevent any progress from being made. This result in more lives lost from unnecessary gun violence every year.

In this country, we look for ways to prevent gun violence. Some people believe that in order to prevent gun violence, we need to arm others with guns to protect themselves. Others think that we need to regulate who gets a gun and how much ammo they can purchase with it. However, after other countries have faced gun violence, they took different steps. In 1996, after 35 people were killed in a mass shooting in Tasmania, the Australian government completely confiscated all firearms from every citizen in the country. Instead of complaining and revolting, the citizens were understanding and for that year, the homicide rate dropped from 50000 people to 30000 and continues to drop to this day. Why can’t we learn from the actions of others? It is with this hesitation that our country loses more and more citizens to violence that could have been prevented.

As a student at Virginia tech, this topic is especially heartbreaking to me. When the shooting happened in 2007, I was in 5^th grade. Immediately after seeing what had happened on the news, I told myself, “I’m never going to go there! I don’t want to die!” Now, looking back on what I said, it was a stupid reason to not go to a school. However, a child should not have to say this. A child should not be swayed away from a college that is perfect for them because some man decides to murder multiple people. What is worse is that since I began my first day here, there have been several more shootings, including the Orlando night club shooting that beat Virginia tech in largest mass shooting in American history.

It is unbelievable how easily someone in this country can purchase a gun and end so many lives in a matter of minutes. It is even more unbelievable that congress has made no progress in preventing these events from happening. Mass shootings should not be things that come on the news once and month and that people should get used to. They should be tragedies that should be eliminated completely.

Analysis of "Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet"

            Amanda Hess, the writer of “Why Women Aren’t Welcome on the Internet” illustrates the injustices of being a female on the Internet in this society and how hard it is to get justice for those who have been harassed via social media. She speaks about women in profession positions who have been emotionally and mentally abused by comments and threats from strangers online who intend on belittling their success and respect that they have worked so hard for. If these women look for help, they are turned away and are told to grow up.

            In the article she talks about her own experiences with an online stalker named “headlessfemalepig,” who wrote her vulgar emails, called her cell phone, and threatened to rape and kill her. However, because of the racy articles she writes for her job, she had become use to the rude comments and threats from viewers who disapproved of what she wrote. When she was finally told “You are going to die and I am the one who is going to kill you. I promise you this.”, she said she felt “disoriented and terrified” and reports it to the police. Unfortunately, she is turned away by police who don’t understand the danger because it has never happened to them before. The majority of the police department are men and have never been threatened that way that women have throughout their lives on social media. They didn’t even know what twitter was or how it worked. This lack of understanding or sympathy is heart wrenching and it is horrifying that women are expected to ignore these comments that so viciously stab at their self-esteem.

            As a female on social media, I am no stranger to these comments. Although they were never as extreme as a death threat, I would routinely get messages on Facebook and through text message that were quite vulgar and sexually explicit. Some would be as simple as “You’re really hot!” or “What are you wearing under that? Send me a picture!” Others weren’t as forgiving. When I would ask to be left alone, they would tell me that I should take it as a compliment or that I shouldn’t be such a bitch. Not only is this extremely rude and demoralizing, but I feel like the villain instead of the victim. We should not live in a society where women should be worried about going on the Internet and posting their ideas and opinions like so many men do. Equality and respect should exist everywhere, even on the Internet.

Analysis of "The Loneliness of the Interconnected"

            In “The Loneliness of the Interconnected”, Charles Seife criticizes how the world communicates information and slams ideas down others throat to believe through social media and news outlets. He seems to paint a picture of people with their heads cut off, blindly blurting whatever comes to mind on social media and expecting others to fully support it. If they do support it, we think of those people as sensible and smart individuals. If they choose not to believe it, we think of them as fools who cannot understand basic facts. For example, about 20 years ago, one medical researcher fabricated facts that said that vaccinating your children will increase their chances of developing autism. When parents began to read this report, some refused to vaccinate their children, hoping that the parents who did vaccinate would prevent disease from infecting their unvaccinated children. Even when the researcher admitted that he had lied about his report only ten years later, parents still refused to vaccinate their children. This has resulted in hundreds of unnecessary deaths from diseases that were defeated decades before. All because of lies that people still chose to follow. While Seife continues to harshly criticize how the internet and news outlets have ruined our thought process, he fails to mention how important these sources can be in raising awareness for things or events that aren’t even close to us. People are able to be informed on injustices and catastrophe that are happening halfway across the world like wars, famines, and natural disasters. In an instant we are able to donate money to the cause and share this information with countless others in our community or in our friend circle. We seek to find people who have the same beliefs as us, to makes us feel like we belong. However, we need people who oppose us and our beliefs, for if everything is one sided, our views will become stronger and more extreme like Seife says in the excerpt. With different beliefs comes different ideas which makes our society more diverse as a whole.