On Contemplating Contemplations ...

Too much time contemplating you say? I agree. It's time to put up or shut up. I'm ready to rediscover my long lost love for words and use it as an outlet (or an excuse) to free my mind. Hopefully the rest will follow....

It's a new year and something has been reawakened inside me. A sleeping dog you might ask? Most definitely. I resolve to post (and post frequently) my deepest thoughts, desires, and motivations for the year ahead. Hopefully someone out there will be able to relate or at lease converse about topics at hand. So … if you found this blog by mistake, bookmark it. Come participate in this animated renewal of spirit. Geez, that sounded a little Oprah-ish.

Too much to do!

Today I need to study for an essay test in a methods class, decide on a poster idea for Language Awareness, do some research over curanderas (this I am kinda excited about), read about 200 pages of Greek mythology, organize materials for my Technical Writing class, do a mountain of laundry, pick the kids up from school, purchase a mouthpiece for my son (football), run a load in the dishwasher, cook supper, help the kids with their homework, and get everyone in and out of the shower and in bed by 9:00 pm. Sound exciting?

School has only been in session a couple of weeks now, and already I am exhausted. I was able to drop the Approaches to Grammar class because I had already taken one at USAO. I decided to go ahead and keep blogging though. For some reason it seems to be good for my sanity. It gives me a place to vent and share my thoughts and anxieties.

To everyone in Approaches to Grammar: I loved reading your different thoughts and opinions on the subject of grammar. I hope you don't mind ... I might just jeep on reading your post throughout the semester.

Assignment 1: What Grammar means to me

For our first assignment we are supposed to explain "what grammar means to me." I didn't realize how much high school had changed until I read the first chapter of the textbook. Back in the day, ... (lets just say I have not attended a twenty year reunion, but it is fast approaching) at my high school we took a semester of literature and the second half of the year was spent on comp and grammar. It was a well balanced machine. Quite frankly, until I read this chapter, I just assumed I would teach my classes the same way. I was shocked to learn that some fellow classmates were not offered grammatical instruction after grade school.

I believe the more one reads the better their writing will become. However, I strongly feel there should be some grammatical instruction in our high schools. Let's face it, diagramming sentences is not my idea of a good time, but the knowledge of specific terms definitely helped me learn to construct better sentences.

Even though I was offered grammar in high school, I still struggle with little punctuation issues. Comma usage is the worst. A professor once told me it wouldn't completely sink in until I started grading papers everyday. It makes sense. Repetitive practice always makes perfect.

Overall, I feel grammar is necessary. It isn't enjoyable or exciting, but there is a need for it. To me, grammar is the basic structure of the paper. Without a strong foundation the construction will crumble.

The jig is up.

I have been a blogger fan for quite some time. However, I have always been somewhat reluctant to start one of my own.

A few years ago I was avidly reading a blog written by a young lawyer in New York who called herself "The Attractive Nuisance." She was completely anonymous and incredibly popular among readers. I found myself looking forward to her daily post about the frustrations of studying for the bar, her almost non-existent love life, and silly little anecdotes she related about life in general. A certain amount of mystique and adventure was lent to her persona when she wrote about events that happened at work. "Oh God!" I thought. "She's in too deep. She's telling too much. Someone is going to figure her out!" Sure enough, one morning I clicked on her bookmarked blog and "The Attractive Nuisance" had pulled the plug. It was over. The jig was up. Someone at her workplace had figured out who she was. Would I have enjoyed her site as much if she had censored herself? Probably not. That was the fun of reading her blog.

Perhaps censorship is the main reason I never started a blog of my own. Deep in my heart I was afraid I would probably censor my true feelings to an extent. Nevertheless, here I am blogging for the whole world to see. Why you ask? Approaches to Grammar. Ahhh, yes. My blogging is required. Who knows ... maybe I will end up loving it.

P.S. I will try to be completely honest.