Randomm

            So I know this post is a little late since it is supposed to be posted by 9 a.m. but I totally forgot until now, so I figured it would be better to post a blog late than to not post one at all, right? Well, I was trying to figure out what I want to write about this week since it is another free write which always stump me. This week I decided I’m going to write about my two new obsessions.

            My first new obsession is the blended café caramel drink for Einstein Bros Bagels. I have always HATED coffee. The smell, the taste, the after taste it leaves in your mouth; I just could not understand what made people like it, until now. Multiple people in my family are addicted to coffee and so is my boyfriend, so I am always surrounded by it. Well last time my boyfriend visited me I gave coffee one more shot and to my surprise, I liked it. So I tried the blended drink from Einstein’s and it is delicious! So that is now where I will be wasting my flex dollars… good thing we have those!

            My second new obsession is watching the TV show, Big Bang Theory. My aunt and uncle made me watch a disc of one of the seasons with them and ever since that day I have been hooked. I don’t know if any of you have watched this show, but you should because it is hilarious! One of the characters, Sheldon, is the strangest and intelligent human you will encounter which just makes the entire show. There are currently four seasons out to buy and thanks to my boyfriend who just bought me the last one I now have them all up to date! My time will now be spent laughing at this show instead of doing homework… :)

Word Count: 314

Pictures!

This is the book that I chose to talk about this week. I know the prompt was to talk about a book that had pictures and words, but this book is 128 pages and has only pictures. As you look at the cover of this book you can see a man holding a briefcase and looking at a foreign creature. This book shows a series of pictures through the story of a man’s life as he goes through the process of immigration. The pictures are very detailed and show the whole story through these pictures without the need for words at all.

            I have never encountered a book like this, which is very fascinating to me. As I “read” the book through the pictures, I found that it was amazing to be able to interpret the pictures and follow the man’s journey. The pictures used many different facial expressions to show the characters emotions, such as the man’s wife and child frowning and crying when they had to part. The artist used some abstract looking pictures to show the way the characters perceived the two different towns. The town the man used to live in was illustrated with “dragon-spikey looking” shadows across the town showing that the town was not a good place to be and the people living there did not like it. When you saw pictures of the new town the man went to, it looks super pretty and perfect. I really liked the way the author used the illustrations to tell the story. I think this was a really clever idea and I recommend everyone to check out this book and give it chance. I hope you will be amazed with this book just like I was! It is called “The Arrival” by Shaun Tan, give it a chance!

(Word count: 302)

Smiles

So this blog is supposed to be about anything we want, so I decided I’m going to talk about something that is very important to me and my future; special education. I love working with other individuals to help them and make a difference in their lives. When I see or hear other individuals making fun of and individual with a disability it breaks my heart. Every time I hear someone use the word “retarded” I cringe at the sound of it. While many people do not use the word directly related to an individual with a disability, it is still a word very offensive to them or someone they are related to. Actually, the phrase “mentally retarded” is not even correct anymore. There was a law passed against that word and the correct way to say it is, “individual with a disability.” Also, when talking about someone with a disability, you should always put his or her name first and then the disability. Such as, “Sam, a child with Autism” instead of saying, “Sam, the autistic child.” Everyone on this earth is here for a reason and we all deserve to be treated equally and with the same respect as anyone else.

Whenever I am working with an individual with a disability there is always a smile on my face. Not because I’m just trying to be happy and nice, but because the individual puts that smile there. Here at ISU, I am part of the program called Best Buddies. In this program you are paired with an individual with a disability from the Normal, Bloomington area. My best buddy is Ed. Every time I call Ed or see him; he is the happiest person, talking about the latest Bugs Bunny episode he has seen or the Chicago Bears football team, which is his favorite. When I volunteered in my aunt’s special ed classroom, it was the best experience I have had. Nikki, a little girl with Down’s Syndrome was my little pal for that week always talking up storm about Hannah Montana and that she was really Hannah and would even get up and show the dances and songs she knew. Leaving at the end of the week was so hard to say goodbye to the class, as all 8 of the children came up and gave me a hug, sad to depart.

So next time you hear someone use the “R” word or make fun of an individual with a disability, I hope you can tell them to stop like I do. Instead of making fun of, become that individual’s friend and feel the smile grow on your face. Not only will you change their life, but watch yours change too. 


(word count: 454)

Why so many commercials?!

            Every time I watch a show on TV, I know there are a lot of commercials, but I never actually counted. While completing the assignment of watching television for one hour, I found it very interesting to actually count the commercials and see how much time they waste. When I am watching a show, why is it necessary to have a million commercials interrupting it and wasting my time? Without commercials, a show would be about a half an hour, instead of an hour long!

            The first night I watched an hour of TV on the network NBC. During that hour there were more than 30 commercials! If I had to group the commercials into categories I would make them: food, products, and movie and TV show previews. I think the commercials they played were very accurate for the group that would be watching them. The hour of TV I watched on NBC was for the show The Biggest Loser. The commercials played were of different types of cars, cellphone networks, Kay jewelry and furniture stores, movie previews, and Subway and Progresso soup commercials. These are all products that would appeal to adults because they are things they would buy or be interested in buying or seeing movies.

            The next night I watched an hour of TV on the network TBS. I was watching two episodes of Big Bang Theory, which added up to an hour. I was shocked by the amount of commercials they played, over 50! They played multiple commercials about food products anywhere from, Red Lobster restaurant, all the way to M&M’s and Red Bull. There was a huge difference in the amount of food commercials premiered on TBS compared to NBC. Why the difference? I couldn’t tell you, but it was definitely a noticeable difference.

            Bottom line, I think commercials are a waste of time. A lot of the commercials were also repeated in each commercial break. If they need commercials, then just play one for each break and be done so my show will be over faster!

(Word count: 342)

Me

Hello, my name is Courtney Lavand, and like everyone else in English 101, I am also a freshman here at ISU. I have never blogged, used Google Docs or Gmail; all of these sources are very confusing for me! While attending ISU, my major is Special Education, in the hopes that one day I will have my own class and be teaching Special Education for elementary students. Most children say they want to be a astronaut, the president, a superhero, I on the other had have always wanted to be an elementary teacher. In high school I started working with children in the Special Education classroom and I loved it, which was the start to my dream of wanting to become a special Ed teacher. 

Before arriving at ISU, I graduated from Crystal Lake Central High School. I loved high school and I was very involved with extra curricular activities. I was on the pom team all four years. My sophomore year I moved up to varsity and continued to stay on the team and make it to state for the next three years. Going to state was the best experience from my high school career, especially after being the state champs three years in a row. 

I am a very family and friend oriented person. I will do anything and everything to help my family or friends and I know they would do the same for me. Back at home I live with my mom and dad and my younger brother Kyle, who is a sophomore at Crystal Lake Central High School. I love to help people and always give people the best advice I can give them. At home, I am a nanny for a 8 year old girl with Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is a disorder involving the brain and nervous system causing the little girl to have difficulty walking and using her muscles. It is a tough job but I love helping out Julianna and her family, which is also great practice for my future career. Here at ISU I recently got a job at Potbelly’s, which I am very excited to start!

Academic wise, English is not at the top of my list for favorite classes. To be honest with you, I love math. I tend to have a difficult time when writing and knowing when to use which grammar and where. I am hoping after this English class, my writings will improve and I can be much more confident then. Well that completes my first blog, let’s see how the rest of these go!


(Word count: 430)