Ryan Smith Week 4 Analysis

I am responding to the theme of “discomfortable writing”

I used my past experiences in life to create a poem in the form of “discomfortable writing” where the layout may come across as confusing

I connected each life experience by one line that helped transition into the next, causing the reader to sometimes stop and think about what the current idea is

I chose to create a manifesto on making the most in life and just experiencing the world to hopefully get others to just get out and do things to make an interesting and exciting life for yourself

I learned about the process of “discomfortable writing” and how there really isn’t a process to it, it’s just what your mind comes up with

Ryan Smith Week 4 Response

Mid-January

Perfect weather for

Plunging into the ocean

An exhilarating experience

Because Why not?

Looks like a fully-functioning plane to me

I wonder what it would be like

To jump out of

Once-in-a-lifetime experience

Falling as it seems forever

Into the welcoming water below

Being on a cliff only a moment ago

The anxiety was unreal

This was at least a 90 degrees drop

Whiteface wasn’t only the name of the mountain

But I’ll go down it anyway

The half-pipe was no joke

For a beginner

This mountain proved to be tough

Rugged terrain and steep incline

It would leave us exhausted

5 kilometers of running

Long but well worth it in the end

A drive through the scenic highway

Nature at its finest moment

Showing all what the world is about

Making some great experiences

That is what we are here for

Josh Belmonte Week 4 Analysis

1. What themes or concerns in the presented reading are your responding to?

The theme of my writing is Adversity. Everyone faces adversity at some point in their life and it is very important to learn how to deal with it. 

      

2. What are the materials and processes you used to formulate your response? Why these? If several, which are you most concerned with?

A lot of the materials I used was morals and lessons I have learned from living everyday life. I used the reading, "A Manifesto for Discomfortable Writing" and I also looked up some manifestos for inspiration.

     

3. Why these materials and processes. What are their limitations? What do they allow?

These materials gave an example of how to write manifestos and influenced me to dig deep in my own morals and life lessons I have learned to put out into my own writing. 

4. What choices did you make? (For example, the tone of a piece of writing, or the lighting decisions for a photograph.) What led your decision-making about them?

I chose to make a more inspirational tone of writing because it helps myself with all the things I have on my plate at the moment as well as being relevant to many people's every day lives. 

5. What did you learn through this response? (You can address new knowledge or new questions you’ve gained regarding the class reading, the materials/processes you used, or both.)

I learned more about myself through this response. I learned to analyze my life better and keep myself aligned better than before. I used this assignment as a sense of advice for myself to get me through this semester. 

           

Josh Belmonte Week 4 Response

"Adversity"

1. The longer you live, the more mistakes you make. Nobody is perfect.

2. Learn from your mistakes and you will be a better person.

3. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you.

4. I have failed over and over and over again, and that is why I succeed.

5. Never quit, never quit, never quit. 

6. We don't develop courage by being content every day, we develop it by surviving the tough times and challenging adversity. 

7. When adversity hits, that's when you must remain the most calm. Take a deep breath, stay strong, stay grounded and keep pushing.

8. God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. 

9. Always remember, everything will be all good and fall into place in the end so don't worry too much. 

10. And once the storm has ended, you won't remember how you managed to survived, how you got through it, or if the storm is really over. But certainly when you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. And that is what this storm's all about. 

12. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. 

13. What you do in the dark will eventually come out into the light. 

14. Everyone loves a winner, but during those difficult times, those next to you will be the only ones there. 

15. Sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right. 

Olivia Clifford: Week 4 Analysis

What themes or concerns in the presented reading are your responding to?
Two of the readings were manifestos which listed a set of rules (for lack of a better word) to live by. I do not like using the word "rules" to describe what is listed in a manifesto, mostly because "rules" has a commanding connotation attached to it. When I think of rules, I imagine someone in power demanding people to live a certain way and, as history shows, rules aren't always good. My manifesto is not something someone forced me to do, it is something I choose to live by. 
One could argue, though, that since I use verses from the Bible in my manifesto, that I am abiding to the rules of my religion, therefore, being forced to do something. I would argue that, though. I do not consider myself to be a religious person. Religion is a system created by man. What I believe is having a relationship with the Lord and to aspire to be like Him. I choose to follow the Word of God because it deepens my relationship with the one who created me; not because I was told I have to do this, but because I willingly gave my life to Christ.

What are the materials and processes you used to formulate your response? Why these? If several, which are you most concerned with?
To come up with my response, I went to my Bible and looked at the passages I have highlighted. I figured I have highlighted certain passages for a reason, they meant something important to me. I thought about some that stood out to me the most, the ones that I remember repeatedly going back to throughout the years. These are the passages I picked. Though there were more, I chose to narrow it down to ten in order to keep it a nice, even number. 

Why these materials and processes. What are their limitations? What do they allow?
Since my faith is very important to me and a large part of who I am, I knew that choosing Bible verses to include in my manifesto was the right way to go. This allowed me to really think about how I've changed as a person over the last few years. I went back to old journals I have where I would jot down whatever was on my mind. It made me realize that though I might not always feel like I'm growing, I have come a long way from who I used to be. This also allowed me to remember that I still have a long way to go from getting to who I want to be. I am happy with who I have grown to be, but I refuse to stay satisfied with where I am. A person never stops growing or learning, and I hope to continue doing both.
I feel maybe some limitations were ones that I placed myself, such as limiting it to ten points in my manifesto. I could have done more, but I chose not to simply because I like having things in a neat order. I'm not necessarily sure if this is a limitation, since it was a decision I made.

What choices did you make? (For example, the tone of a piece of writing, or the lighting decisions for a photograph.) What led your decision-making about them?
I chose to list my manifesto with Roman Numerals. This was partly because I didn't like how bullets looked on the page. One thing I dislike about bullet points is that you can't choose how big the circle is. I like things to be small and I feel the default bullet points are too big for my liking. I also opted not to use regular numbers because I like the aesthetic that Roman Numerals offer.
I chose to to use any contraction words after the Roman Numerals because I felt it gave it more of a formal look to it. I also chose not to end any of those sentences with a period because I didn't want them to come to an end, in a sense. These points are something I hope to always remember throughout my life and to not stop following them.
I aligned the Bible verse to the right of the page because I felt it was important to differentiate the guideline and the Bible verse. I aligned it to the right for aesthetic reasons, to kind of depict the guideline stemming out from the Bible verse.

What did you learn through this response? (You can address new knowledge or new questions you’ve gained regarding the class reading, the materials/processes you used, or both.)
This response really made me think about choosing my words wisely. Even in just describing my manifesto, I did my best to stray away from using the word "rules." I also picked my words carefully when describing my faith as a relationship rather than as a religion. I even looked up the definition of "manifesto." Even though I knew what it was, I wanted to be exactly sure what its denotation was. 
This response also made me realize the importance of aesthetic. I put a lot of thought into how I wanted this to look. I purposely chose things to be aligned to certain sides of the page and to italicize and bold certain things. I had originally wanted this to be in Times New Roman, also. When I was typing it up, that was the font, but when I published it, it changed to something different. I'm not exactly sure how that happened, but it did disappoint me.

Olivia Clifford: Week 4 Response

I Do not back down 

- What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31

II Do not be scared 

- She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.

Proverbs 31:25

III Live in the present 

- Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34

IV Do not dwell on the unknown 

- "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

V Remember you are loved 

- See, I have engraved you in the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.

Isaiah 49:16

VI Be different 

- Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test an approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 2:12

VII Be kind 

- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:23

VIII Do not underestimate your worth 

- Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest if all seeds on earth. Yet, when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade."

Mark 4:30-32

IX Love 

- This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10

X Remember why you are here 

- Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Psalm 150:6

Chris Purefoy Week 4: Response