Germany Trip

In March 2014, my German class traveled to Germany for nine days. It was an eight hour, over-night, flight that seemed like it lasted forever. Once we got there we immediately started touring Berlin, not yet used to the time change or caught up on sleep. Throughout the next week we traveled to many places including Oberambergau, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Heidelberg. We went ice skating, tried many new foods, learned new German dancing styles, and visited many museums, castles, and churches. On the day we were to board to the plane to go home, the airline employees of the plane we were suppose to travel on went on strike. We ended up having to find a hotel and spend another night in Frankfurt because the employees were going to be on strike all day. We ended up making the front cover of the Defiance newspaper with the title of "Stranded".  We did end up leaving the next day but our class had to take two different planes to get back to Detroit. Germany was a very fun experience for me and would love to visit again some other time!

Biggest Regret

My biggest regret is always sticking with the normal crowd. I would always be worried if I tried something new that people would judge me. I always stuck with the crowd because I was too worried to stand out and create my own path. My regret does not follow the "not" pattern and I can turn around my regret to no longer feel regretful. I do not always have to follow what everyone else is doing. I could choose for myself what I think is the right path instead of thinking that what everyone else is doing is correct. Having regrets relates to our course theme of lies and deception because we lie to ourselves about doing things. Some of our regrets are because we thought things were not necessary but later realized it would have been better to do something. We deceive ourselves into believing that what we are doing is correct but later regret that act. 

December 2013

Ashley was my best friend in high school. We were the friends that always managed to be with each other in school group projects, were in all the same sports and clubs, and went through everything together. Her family became almost like my second family. Then there is my boyfriend, Evan, whom I have been dating for over three years now. We hang out whenever possible and are always going places together. I fit right into his family and loved spending time with them. Evan and Ashley were the two people closest to me. December 2013 was one of the hardest times in my life. Ashley's mom had been battling cancer for 3-4 years and had taken a turn for the worst. She passed away in the first week of December and I didn't think we would have to go through something that terrible. Only a few days later, Evan's dad also passed away after 10 years of battling pulmonary fibrosis. Seeing the two people closest to me in such heartbreak made me realize that I had to be strong and be by their sides. That week in December was one of the worst times I had to go through but yet made me a stronger person. 

Pamela Meyer: Lying

Pamela Meyer states that lying is a cooperative act meaning that it takes a person to lie plus a person to believe the lie. I agree to this statement because someone needs to agree with the person and believe the lie in order for it to be in effect.  Meyer also states that lying is a way of connecting what we wish we were with what we are.  What is meant by this statement is that people lie to make themselves feel and sound like a better person, one that they wish they were.  

Truth #2 is that we are against lying but covertly for it. I agree with this statement because like Meyer explains we have been lying ever since we were young, yet we say that lying is bad. Everyone lies to help themselves or others but continue to agree that it is a terrible act. 

Some techniques used to spot liars include the pausing, looking down, the same rehearsed gestures with certain explanations, duping delight (smiling), making an expression that masks another, put barrier objects between them and the person they are lying to, and altering vocal town to lower. Clusters of these can indicate lying.  Learning some of these techniques can help one get out of a situation where someone is lying. Meyer adds that honesty is worth preserving in her speech. She says to be more explicit in your moral code and explain how you only accept honesty. I agree because if you accept lying in your world then people will lie to you more often. We can create a cultural/societal change regarding lying by being more explicit in your moral code and by asking more questions to figure out what is and isn't the truth.

The Story of Diesel

For Valentine's Day in 2014 my boyfriend, Evan, decided to buy me a 6 week old puppy. Someone from his school had a large litter of German Sheppard/Black Lab puppies for sale and he knew I loved puppies! When we got to the house that the puppies were at, they escorted us to their barn. When they turned on the barn lights around thirty puppies from two different litters come sprinting out of a pile of straw bales.  They were all trying to jump up on our legs to grab our attention but I noticed one just sitting off to the side waiting patiently.  I went to pick him up and he snuggled right under my chin and I knew he was the one! He was black with a white strip on his chest and white on his paws. They let us take him home that night and on the way home Evan and I had to think of a name. I had already had a name in mind and Evan agreed it was a good fit, Diesel. It was the middle of winter so we kept our little 6 pound puppy in the house. I started teaching him tricks as soon as possible. He was best friends with all of the cats we had and he was about the same size! He definitely wasn't the shy, calm little puppy that he looked like when I picked him out. Today, Diesel is two years old and my little boy weighs 110 pounds.

Audience Awareness

Being aware of your audience is important in marketing, professions, and other sources of communication. Using proper language, pictures, music, etc. in advertisements can sway certain people. In the Apple iPhone 6 advertisement they are aiming to persuade people that don't have iPhones to get one. The phrases "If it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone" and "99% of people that have an iPhone, love their iPhone" are trying to persuade people that the iPhone is the way to go.  Also, they are aiming at younger to middle aged people because of the type of upbeat music. They appeal to this age because they have grown up with smart phones a greater portion of their lives and are more likely to use one.  The Samsung smart TV commercial is appealing to younger to middle aged males as they use a pretty, young woman. They appeal to this audience because that generation is more into technology and it is a stereotype that males watch more TV.  The Mercedes Benz commercial appeals to parents. Parents want their kids to be safe and have them enjoy a car ride. Mercedes Benz targets parents and uses the child getting lost to show them that their vehicles ensure safety. We need to be critical of intended audiences in ads so that it appeals to the group that is most likely to buy or use it.

Rewarding Moments

There have been many moments in my life where I have experienced my hard work being rewarded. There are three instances that have seemed to me to be the most important.  The first instance is during my eighth grade year when our basketball team beat Holgate in the GMC championship game. Our whole team was very close and never missed practices. We worked on and off the court together and put in many hours to make ourselves better. Winning the GMC championship game really showed the team how much our hard work paid off. The second instance occurred my senior year in high school with my softball team.  There were eight seniors on the team including me. We had been through so much during our high school softball career. We were a tight knit group as we all played spring, softball, a little bit of fall softball together. I had been a catcher ever since I was in Pee Wee softball. Once I got into high school I had to out play other girls for my position and I worked day in and day out to achieve my goal of being on varsity. All of my grade of girls had gained varsity positions at the beginning of high school.  We all just clicked on the field and worked very well together after the many years of playing with each other. We were pretty decent for our freshmen, sophomore, and junior years, but our senior year is when we brought our best. We made a run in the tournament and beat the school record for most wins in a softball season. Also during our season we, a division III team, beat the undefeated first place division II team, Greenville, which had won state two out of the past three years. We lost at districts but were very proud of our season.  We knew our hard work since elementary school had gotten us to where we were.  My last notable time of my hard work paying off is this past summer at the county fair. I had been taking dairy steers for around eight years and had practiced walking, showing, and fitting these steers to perfection.  My years of work finally paid off last year as I won first place in Senior Dairy Beef Showmanship, second in Overall Senior Showmanship, and Grand Champion Dairy Steer. Taking care of my steers is one of my favorite things to do and seeing a good thing happen after waiting for many years was very thrilling.