Statewide smoking bans

Statewide smoking bans should definitely be passed for every state I believe. None of my family members I live with smoke, but some of my uncles and cousins do. When I am with them I have trouble breathing because the smell is just so awful. I really do not understand how people can really enjoy inhaling that smell everyday. I actually have a friend that smoked but after countless hours over many months my friend and I convinced him to stop smoking. Since he has stopped, he has not been sick yet where as he was often sick at least once a month when he smoked. So I think that by stopping smoking he has made himself healthier in the short term and long term.

By passing statewide smoking bans, citizens would not have to worry about secondhand smoke as much. When smoking occurs in buildings it has no where to go and therefore affects more individuals. Passing the ban would force smokers to go outside, away from the building, which will allow nonsmokers to be less affected by the smoke. This in turn will decrease the number of non-smokers who are diagnosed with lung diseases or other diseases affiliated with smoking.

Also, studies have been done in bars and restaurants in many states to test out how applying a non-smoking ban would affect business and sales. The results have shown that there are really no negative reasons for passing statewide smoking bans. Sales and business were still good, while some businesses actually increased their sales.

Blogging is freedom

Blogging is freedom. When one writes on a blog it is like a public diary or journal. They author can write whatever they wish and not be judged. For example, if an individual wants to write about how much they dislike a particular person though it may not be the best place to do it, they may write about it on their blog. Blogging allows individuals to let their feelings out about any subject they wish to write about.

Blogging also gives individuals the freedom to create their own layouts and designs for the pages. There is no set way that a blog must be set up, which allows the individual the freedom to design it how they want it. This is different than in school where there was a certain setup and format that one must follow for writing something to turn in.

I have enjoyed blogging in this class especially when we are given the opportunity to write about whatever we want. But when we have to write about certain topics I feel likes it is just technology taking over for our homework assignments. Instead of writing on paper and turning in our work, we write it on the computer so the professor do not have to take home a lot of papers. I guess doing it this way saves paper though which helps the environment. When we are given the opportunity to write about whatever we want though I have the freedom to choose anything. I love being able to do this as I usually choose to vent about something going on in my life that I may have kept bottled up inside of me if I was not able to blog.

Metaphors

School is an assembly line

As students we go through 12 years of schooling before college. In these twelve years, it seems as if we are just shipped from class to class from grade to grade. School is a never ending cycle with the end result to become successful in a certain profession.

Professors are weed eaters

Professors I feel especially in the Chemistry department here are like weed eaters because they try to weed out students, similar to what a weed eater does to a blade of grass. This is unfair as they ask absurd questions on tests that were not even in what we studied in an attempt to have lower grades.

Education is a whirlwind

In North Carolina school is 180 days long with like a 2 month break and then students are right back at school. Before you know it 12 years are up and you are shipped back to college. I feel that while I hoped to be done with school it did in fact go by very fast and now looking back I wished it would have moved a little slower.

Students are flowers

Students grow and blossom throughout their years of schooling. I have transitioned, growing from a really shy person to not as much anymore.

Professors are rocks

To me I would compare professors to rocks because they often have no emotions and do not seem to care for the student. If a student makes a less than average grade and goes to talk to them about it, I have found that many professors here at USF ignore their questions especially once again here in the USF Chemistry department.

Reasons for not becoming a Vegetarian

I have yet in my life to contemplate being a vegetarian. I do not think I could give up meat. The two reasons I would not become a vegetarian are because of the health risks, and everyone/everything is going to die eventually.

While the article states that becoming a vegetarian helps lower cholesterol, it also mentioned that she was a little overweight. Low cholesterol is not the only thing that helps your body function, and there are other functions that need to work properly to live. Vegetarians have to take all kinds of supplements just to keep their body functioning because they do not eat enough nutrients. Also, Fraser writes about how she was overweight which would happen because your primary diet would be grains and dairy. Being an athlete, this would not be enough to keep me healthy as without protein I would suffer greatly in my performance.

The fact that God created everything for a reason is another reason I would not become vegetarian. Everyone has a life cycle so everyone is going to die eventually so as long as we quickly and painlessly rid of the animal we are doing no harm. God created enough animals so that the life cycle would continue if some were killed. Think about it, if animals were never killed, they would be ruling the world there would be so many of them. There is a purpose for the animals, that is why God has created them and their purpose is to be either a pet or become meat. I could never survive being a vegetarian.

Argument

My conception of argument has changed since the beginning of the semester, but I do not really think it affects me.  For example, I do not think about using logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos when I make an argument to someone.  Now maybe if I was a salesperson that would be vital to think about, but arguing friend to friend or family member to family member they are usually not vital.  When I am in a heated conversation with a friend I still do not think about using logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos when I form my arguments, I just go on what my heart tells me.

To be honest this course is really confusing and I feel like it should be a psychology or marketing class because we are going in-depth about how to make a valid argument.  It just does not feel like a Composition class to me, but perhaps that is just because we are learning to write in a different style. For example, this first project we are supposed to compare and contrast how different mediums use logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos to get their arguments across.  The only people I know that would really think about that are marketing people, people trying to sell stuff.  When people argue they do not take the time usually to make a list of the different types of arguments, but instead act on instinct.  I think people should think before they speak but I know this is close to impossible.

Sorry I just dissed this whole project but I really do not understand it being for a Composition class

Living in a Dorm

When I first began researching colleges I found out that most colleges require that I live in a dorm for my first year.  So when I arrived here at the University of South Florida I did not really know what to expect.  At home I considered my room a little bigger than average; being the only kid in the house I was able to choose the biggest room. When I first walked into my dorm I was all alone because it was orientation and none of my roommates were there yet.  Being a golfer though I knew that I would be living with three other golfers, but I was still kind of nervous because I barely knew them. The first night was so lonely and I imagined myself living in a prison cell because I was enclosed in such a little room.  For the first week I shuffled around the furniture and my personal belongings until I felt more at home.

My roommates came just a day before school started so I was alone in my dorm for almost a week before they got there.  When they got there I was my usual shy self around strangers and kindly helped them situate all of their stuff into their rooms.  It was not until a few weeks into the first semester that I actually began doing things with them and hanging out with them.  Since this time I have realized that my roommates are more than roommates.  They are ones that I can go to if I need help and are always there to support me.  Even though I am 10 hours away from home, living in a dorm with 3 amazing roommates is just as good as living in my larger room at home with my parents.