The College Search: pt.3

Finally! After a gueling couple of months of nothing but college essays, after the many long nights spent editing, reviewing and revising, and after waiting for what seemed like forever, I have gladly recieved my first college acceptance letters. First, to the University of Alabama (and its Honors College). Then to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Then to Centre College. Sewanee, Depauw and the University of South Carolina. All of them said yes. I think that I am finally starting to realize how much my effort in applying to these colleges is paying off. Originally, I didnt think that applying to 16 schools was a good idea. Thankfully, I stuck with it and I am starting to see why it may have been one of the best things that I could have done for myself. So many of my friends are simply applying to UK and calling it quits. I, however, have 15 other possible choices of where to spend the next four years of my life. With that said, it will be a tough choice as to where I will spend those years, but I believe that I definetly have an edge up. Whatever college I decide to attend, I hope that my experience will stretch my mind in ways that it has never been stretched before. I hope to come out of my college days with a clear mind and a plan for what I want to do for the rest of my increasingly optimistic and determined life.

The Road: Envelopes

My initial reaction to the "envelope" assignment was that of distaste. I did not really like the idea of stopping every couple of pages to record something significant. In addition, these significant passages/excerpts were going to be difficult to hunt down among the monotony of the gray and ash of The Road. Well, I am glad to say that I have been proven wrong. First off, the task of finding significant and meaningful passages was not difficult in the least. After a fair amount of reading and analyzing, I came to realize that most every page had something relevant and intruiging to offer, per McCarhty's writing. I actually found myself finishing my 5 quotes/passages in the first 20 or so pages of the reading. Secondly, the recording of these important passage had an immediate effect on the following class, allowing me to actively contribute through my findings. Lastly, these excerpts have given me an adequate base for my paper. Not only do I NOT have to rifle through the book again to find things of significance, but I already have a great knowledge on how my thesis and paper will be structured. I think that in the future, whenever I am encountered with a challenging read/assignment, like The Road, I will construct a system similar to the "envelope" in order to keep my ideas organized and actively flowing throughout the entirety of the assignment.

The College Search: pt.2

Well, here I am again talking about college. This time however, things are a little bit different. I think it is safe to say that I have widdled away at the long list of options and come up with a "top recruits" list of possible colleges. This list has come into form as a result of MANY applications, essays and interviews and I am happy to say that most of them are said and done with. In addition, I now realize how much writing the ever-so important in class esays have contributed to my college search. Each time I wrote an essay, I referred to my knowledge of writing these well-structured, coherent and conversational pieces. This helped me craft answers and opinions to certain essay questions in a way that allowed me to affectively prove my point. This increasing knowledge will definetly help me in the future as I continue to encounter these types of essay-based evaluations. Even though the writing of these essays and discussions is sometimes tedious, I think I have learned how to cope with this aspect as a way to craft a truly sincere and affective argument or discussion. Anyway, here is the rundown so far:

If I decide to swim in college:
1. Depauw University
2. Denison University
3. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington
5. Davidson College

If I decide not to swim in college:
1. The Honors College at The University of South Carolina
2. The Honors College at The University of Alabama

The Road: Initial Reactions

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. It has been a very intruiging first 150 pages, I assure you. These pages, however, have all started to run together. Since starting the book, I haven't really been able to pinpoint a true motive for this kind of story as most every scene consists of gray, gray and some more gray. Honestly enough, that is how I feel about this book. Gray. Emotionless? Kinda. Depressing? Yeah. Fun to read? Honestly, no. But interesting? Sure. The medium of this topic is enough to grab someone's attention. The way that McCarthy presents this topic makes it that much more engaging. His dialogue. His lack of quotations. His prose. And all make this story riveting and powerful and increasingly deep to the point that some of us get tired and weary and tired again with the way that this book reads. So yeah. Even though I am not a huge fan of this book, it still has provided me with a number of new insights and a wealth of knew knowledge about literature. I hope to apply this knowledge to future English engagements with the hope of a possibly more uplifting and promising set of subject matter.