ENG 2150: Writing Through New York

Currently, my revising process is going smoothly. I am reviewing all the notes from the peer revision as well as the professor’s notes and comparing it to my own notes. I am still struggling to develop a clearer thesis. I feel my argument is still weak. I am not sure how to narrow my thesis to a strong, direct thesis. I also find it a bit difficult analyzing the quotes and returning to Johnson’s words without it sounding a lot like a summary.

I don’t think there is much to be excited about right now. There is still a long way to go until I will feel satisfied with the essay. Well, one thing that could be exciting is that I have a substantial amount of quotes to support the thesis. It’s the analyzing that’s hiding the excitement. Another thing that is alright is the length. I feel it’s not too short or too long. I’m not sure what the length is going to be after the next batch of revisions, but, if anything, it’ll just be longer. Hopefully, it won’t be too long or it’ll be a bore to read all of it.

Some questions may be what are ways to analyze a quote without it sounding too much like a summary? How can the thesis relay a more persuasive argument? Should the essay include personal experiences? Is it mandatory to include personal opinions and experiences? How do you return to the author’s words without repeating the analysis or quote? How can summaries be completely taken out of the essay?

Hi all,

I’ve arrived in Warsaw, and just finished my first day of work here–I miss you all! I’ve been thinking a lot about the theme of our class and our work together–it is interesting to think about our conversations about New York as I am in a city that is so totally different–and far away.

Today, we arrived in Warsaw in the early afternoon and then went from the airport immediately to a myriad of sites–I am surprised by how “cosmopolitan” it is–I’ve seen an H & M, Pizza Hut, and a few McDonald’s.

Today we went to the Gensha Cemetery–the largest Jewish cemetery in the world with tombstones dating back several centuries. The image I am choosing to share is one of the memorial for Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit, a writer, educator, and pediatrician who opted to refuse freedom for himself, and instead accompany the orphans from his orphanage to Treblinka.

I think that the way I will approach blogging from afar will be to write something short, and share one image.

Here are your “writing groups” for Paper 2–

1: Everard, Javid, Ana

2: Jenny, Ravi, Fahima, Bianca

3: Rey, Lawrence, Natalie

4: Annie, Justin, Sadaf

5: Marina, Erick, Josh

6: Mikey G., Esther, Philip

7: Simon, Nina, Julia

8: Siroor, Will, Isabelle

oops. I totally forgot about the blog. I remembered that the prof saying something about free response blog.. but I forgot. Sorry!

My girls came down to New York for their Spring break, which kept me busy all weekend. It was so nice seeing their faces again and being able to talk to them face to face. Ever since they went up for Spring semester, a lot of things have been happening to me so I was having a hard time with everything. It felt nice to talk it out with them and just keep my mind off of my problems for awhile.

I wished that I have gone away for college a lot of the times. Maybe because I lived half my life in the same city, or maybe because I can’t travel a lot. Whenever I have a chance to get out of NY, I take it. Maybe going away to another state or city will help me appreciate NYC a little better, as well as my family and friends here. But I can’t help but wonder how my life would be different if I went to the college of my dreams instead of coming here. I don’t hate it here but I just keep wondering what if… I hope that this isn’t something I’m going to regret in the long term since it’s the last step until the “real world.”

Every other day, if not every day, I say to myself or I say out loud, “2 more months left of school” followed by a loud “*sigh*”. This semester has by far been the most hectic of them all. Between my 2 jobs & 2 schools, I barely have time to do much of anything. Most people might think that its  the 2 jobs that are really bugging me. In most cases that would be the case, but in this case it is quite the opposite. I am finishing up one degree in one school while pursuing a degree in another. The jobs are definitely tiring but I can handle them.

2 more months. Boy I cannot wait. 3 months of warm/hot weather,fun & relaxation, working to my hearts content, and most importantly.

NO SCHOOL !!!

Oh and I didn’t forget that this blog is about New York. but of course I’ll be talking about Brooklyn.

There are sooo many things that I love to in the summer time. Whether it be Picnic’s in Prospect Park,  Playing Basketball at Marine Park, or going to Barbeque’s. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that are the most enjoyable. My all time favorite thing to do in summer time is to wake up on those 85 degree mornings with sun shining in my face, and going outside with nothing but a wife beader and basketball shorts. Looking down at my mothers garden and feeling the sun’s warm beams against me skin.

Man spring isn’t even officially here and yet I simply cannot wait until the day when I get to say

Not to be redundant but the weather is phenomenal. I love this weather sooooo #$%&ing much!!! Like I hate the winter. I hate jackets, I hate scarfs, I hate gloves,I hate wearing layers, I hate it all. I love knowing that I can go outside with just a tee and a pair of jeans and be comfortable while doing so. The spring time is so beautiful. The flowers are blooming, the kids are running around, and colors just pop. Spring is just a segway for summer and I am really looking forward to this summer. I have so much planned for this summer, I am really going to be working hard on my line and trying to get my name out there. Summer time also means partying, partying – YEAH! I can’t wait for those endless nights with my friends. Ah man, I’m getting teary-eyed just thinking about it.

Wait this blog is supposed to be about New York City..

In my opinion Summer blesses and curses the city. As the temperature rises so do tempers. Yes it is beautiful and all outside but for some reason people tend to lose all of their got-damned sense when it gets a little hot outside. Parties get shot up, people get into altercations for no reason, and the subway stations are hot as hell! The heat just seems to get to New Yorkers. But I can’t stand the shooting and fights at parties though, because everyone goes to these parties just to have a good time and kick back, so why must you be ignorant and bring your beef to a party when you could just settle it with the person or persons at a different time? I don’t get it. That’s why you can’t party everywhere and when you have premonitions about things that may occur follow your gut feeling. And stay away from South Side Queens. Either which way, I’m going to make the most of this summer. I can’t wait

Wait.. We have school tomorrow..

I have just finished taking the hardest midterms of the semester; Accounting and Pre- Calculus. What person in their right mind would take those two classes at the same time you might ask? Well me of course my mind is clearly not right; I am a New Yorker after all. I took my accounting midterm on Friday, and I stayed up all night beforehand in order to study, a lot of good that did me. That day was beautiful in New York City with the sun shining and people out and about enjoying the spring. I couldn’t enjoy this beautiful weather because I was so preoccupied with worry over my accounting midterm. Even after I had finished it I started to imagine what my grade might be and tried to figure out what I got wrong and right. That beautiful day was rained on by my accounting midterm, thank you very much accounting. People always tell me that accounting is a great profession and that I should major in it, at first I was considering doing so. But after taking my first accounting class I’ve come to the conclusion that me and accounting don’t mix very well we are like oil and water. It’s a doomed tragedy for our relationship and one in which we can never overcome. I won’t deny that this doesn’t sadden me as much as it should. There are other majors for me to choose from and me and accounting will just steer clear of each other from now on.

I believe that I and Pre- Calculus shall street clear of each other as well. So I finish with my accounting midterm and on to my Pre-Calculus midterm, oh goody (that’s dry sarcasm by the way). For that class I studied Saturday, Sunday and most of early Monday. All of those days were beautiful days with high weather temperature. My friends all went out those days to have fun and enjoy the spring day while I stayed home looking at rational functions and derivatives, I’m sure all my friends were extremely jealous of me. The midterm was today, Monday and I studied from the morning until it was time for the midterm at 5:00pm. That means I wasn’t able to enjoy my beautiful days once again! How disappointed I was, I love walking around on a beautiful day, especially after having to deal with the cold for so long. That math midterm was hard, but definitely not as hard as the accounting midterm never the less the grade I might receive worries me. I just hope when I receive my grades for those exams it is NOT on a sunny day so it won’t be ruined as well. I think numbers have been stressful enough for me this past week.

As the warm weather is finally flowing in, I am absolutely ecstatic at the thought of summer. Being a summer baby, I cannot stand the cold weather. My body just doesn’t agree with it. I think I have a low body temperature to begin with, so I automatically start to shiver at the very touch of “cold.” After a month, my body starts to get really dry and achy. I love the cheerful winter holidays, but I can do without the freezing temperatures and snow, especially now that I drive. We did not even have that bad of a winter this year, but it was still cold to me. Unless the temperature is 70 degrees and higher, it is considered cold to me.

When I start to daydream in class, the first thing my mind strays to is the beach on a hot, sunny day in July. I love the feeling of the sun beating down on my skin while I lie on a beach towel in the sand. I love running my fingers through the sand, molding it into different shapes, and being buried in it by my friends. The very feeling of it against my skin feels soothing. Taking a nap on the beach is one of the deepest sleeps in which I’ve ever fallen. The sound of the crashing waves and flowing tide lulls me to sleep, and there is nothing that can wake me up. When the sun becomes unbearable and I’m ready to pass out, the ocean water immediately refreshes me. The only cold temperature I can take is the ocean water after hours of tanning. Not only is swimming in the ocean good exercise, but it also jolts me awake and gives me a burst of energy. When I’m finally tired of that, I’m happy to lay out again and dry by the sun. I can repeat this process all day, not having a care or worry in my mind. It’s my form of meditation that I can do every single day without getting tired of it. The feeling of relaxation that I have after a day at the beach is unbeatable. Then I finally break out of this daydream and realize that I’m still stuck in class, listening to a stupid lecture. Crap.