I loooooooooove text

The question is "Is there text in this class? In school? In life?" When I first read this my immediate thought was "what is the definition of text?" I feel that it's meaning now is very different to what it has been in the past. So I looked it up. The online Princeton website defined text as "the words of something written." However, another defintion from the Wikipedia defined text as "A text is a coherent set of symbols that transmits some kind of informative message."

I think both of these defintions are perfect examples of past and present text. Back when electronic devices didn't play such a dominant role in the world, text was simply text. Although it probably did include symbols because that's where the english language orginated from, you really only considered text being words from a book. In today's world, the sky is the limit with what text means. Text is everything we do because usually, everything we do is saying something and therefore text.

So to answer the question(s): yes, text is in the clasroom, the school, in life and throughout the world. Text is in what we wear to class, how Texas Tech promotes itself with graphic imagines, the well known people they hire and growing student popuation and in billboards, advertisements and stores throughout the world. Text is everywhere and in everything.

Who's a tool? You're a tool.

I really don't see how people can be tools (unless referring to the derogatory term meaning your a douche bag). I think we are definitely tool users. In fact, we are quickly becoming bigger and bigger tool users and depend more and more on the tools that are created. I remember when I was 16 and I was the only person I knew who had a cell phone. Now, people can't even function five minutes without touching their phone. Computers are on cell phones now and you can take them anywhere with you. No one goes anywhere without an ipod attached to their ear. Fancy digital touch screen cameras are a common household item. All of these items help enhance and hurry the world we live in. They are in our every day life and without them, most people would be lost. It's hard to imagine how we survived before we had all these tools. It's not just our generation that are becoming such avid tool users. demographics of all kinds are being more aware of tools and slowly becoming accustomed to them. With the world and it's ever advancing technology, us as tool users will eventually become tools ourselves.

Is Video Text????

At first I thought this was a far out question because the first answer that comes to mind is "No. Duh." But if you really think about it, video is the advancing form of communication in the world we live in. Five years ago, this wouldn't have even been a discussion or consideration but with the way the world is advancing, video text is the direction we are heading.

As for video literacy, this is something that is still growing. Most people know how to find a video on the internet and play it, but not everyone knows how to acctually create a video. However, in the near future, video literacy will be a lot more common. It is becoming easier and and easier to become literate with technology. I remember in high school when websites were a huge deal companies were being created for the sole purpose of creating websites for people and businesses. Now it is becoming easier and easier to make one yourself. I was involved in a class discussion where students thought that majors such as PR or all of the Mass Communications College should be required to take a website building class. That was a little off topic but the point is is that video is the way technology is advancing and so although video text seems a little far fetched at first, it is actually the future. Followed by video literacy.

Super Short Stories and FOX/MSNBC

I have limited access to T.V. because I do not have one in my own home and am way too busy this semester to care. However, it has been my experience that all national news casts are bias and selective. MSNBC is one of the worst with bias in that they only tell one side of the story and it is usually some pretty picture wrapped in lace. It does not let on any real idea of the situation but just reports what has happened. FOX is one of the better news channels out there because it is a lot more rounded. They seem to try to come from both sides of the political spectrum and report more in depth on more issues but it is impossible to be completely unbiased and report on everything that is going on.

One man, two fists. Chuck Norris.

Nine cats, one lady. Lonely life.

No shoes. No shirt. No problem.

Jim and Jack. Not my friends.

Straight to the point!

I like the style of writing that is more clear and straight to the point. It's funny because writing is suppose to be about imagination, interpretation and creativity which I like to a certain point, but too much interpretation leaves me uninterested. Like I said in previous blogs, I like structure and following the rules. When there isn't an actual ending to a story and I have to make it up, I do not enjoy the story as much. I like having a beginning, middle and end. Autobiographies and true stories are definitely my favorite style because I don't have to figure anything out. It's all there in the writing. I do like readings that leave a little bit up to you. I enjoyed reading 'Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge.' I have a hard time explaining how that is more enjoyable to read as opposed to 'The Ashtray' but I guess it's because a story has been developed and I can clearly see in my head what is going happening. I feel like I am actually a really picky reader. If it doesn't grab me in the first 3 pages I probably won't read it.

Literacy Autobiography

It is an interesting thought to ponder of how you became the writer you are. I always just lumped my writing experiences together into an “I’m a pretty decent writer,” thought. It never even crossed my mind that they kind of writer I am can be explained by my childhood experiences. I never thought that the kind of writer I am was actually determined in elementary school. It is hard to imagine that if I had actually thought about these experiences and realized what they meant, I perhaps would have found journalism and public relations 3 years earlier than I did.

I remember learning how to write with famous “Johnny Can Spell” in the 1st grade. I remember the bright orange construction paper books we put together that would be where we learned how to write the alphabet. I remember its boring monotony of writing these same curly letters over and over again. I actually remember dreading that part of the morning when we had to “Johnny Can Spell.”

When I think of when my writing career began, my mind immediately flows to the 4th grade Benchmark test. The assignment was to describe the picture given as detailed as possible. The picture was of a Native American girl with a bear. I have always been good about following the rules so I did what I was asked to do and described this picture’s every inch. When I received the grade of 4+, (I thought 4 was the highest given) a sense of accomplishment and confidence swept across me. Although I always got good grades, school was difficult for me and it felt amazing that I got the highest marks on something I thought was easy.

In 5th grade I found that although I had promising writing abilities, they were limited. As a class assignment we were asked to create some fictional story. My creative writing mind was not funny or clever, but just plain weird. When I asked the teacher how to spell “Robinson Caruso’s recipe” and the confused facial expression she gave me in response, I knew that creating fictional stories was not my forte. In 2nd grade, any type of creative writing is praised because we are just learning how to be creative. When you enter higher levels, a more advanced creativeness is expected. I just seemed to have left mine in the 2nd grade.

As I progressed through the school system, my writing was mediocre. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school that I did one of my best works that I am still proud of to this day. It was a true story involving my dad in an almost fatal accident. I titled it “Superman’s Fall” because when you are a kid, you see your dad as Superman. (I think that is so clever and a clever moment like that has yet to grace me.) This paper won the best out of my class.

That was the last triumphant writing moment I had until 5 years later. 5 years later I was a second year freshman in college trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I told an advisor I enjoyed writing and he told me the best way to figure out if I had a future in writing was to take news writing. Sure enough, I found my niche, my place, my style of writing. Like I said earlier, I was always good at following the rules. I was always scared not to. This type of personality of mine reflects in my writing. I was never a creative, fiction type writer because that is not the personality I have. My style of writing is of writing about true events. I truly excel in writing when I feel passionately or strongly about what I am writing; like my father’s story or the countless feature articles I have written.

It never would have occurred to me in a million years that the experiences we had with writing as children were clues as to what kind of writer we are. It actually gives me a sense of relief knowing that what I am doing now with writing and my life makes sense based on these past experiences. It is also a relief to know that just because I am not that kind of creative, fiction type writer (and I wish I was), doesn’t mean that I am not a good writer. There are many different kinds of writers and you don’t have to be good at all of them to be considered good yourself.

Short Stories

The only short stories I have ever really read were the ones assigned to me in past english classes. I sometimes actually enjoy short stories more than books because they are straight to the point, meaning there isn't a lot of setting up. There is just the meat of the story, which I personally find to be the best part. One of my favorite short stories that I think would be great for this class is called "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson. This story is about a town that has a lottery every year that results the town stoning to death the person who's name is drawn. I like this story because it takes the tradition of providing sacrifice for a good harvest, which is a real tradition is some cultures, and makes it into a story. I enjoy stories that are based on true events. Another story with a similar concept is of a professor that has tuberculosis. When he is betrayed by someone, country, he spreads his highlycontagious disease in restaurants across the country. Both of these sound slightly morbid but I just like the idea of taking a real issue, fact, or concept and turning it into a fictional story.

Starting Out

My name is Laura and I am from Lubbock, Texas. I go to Texas Tech University and I bleed red and black. I love TTU. I am set to graduate in May so hopefully that happens. I am a Public Relations major and when I graduate I hope to get a job writing for a magazine. I am excited for my last semester of college!