In my writing course at BG, I am asked to write an essay on an experience in my life that changed me as a person. Here are a couple significant experiences that i thought of off hand that had the most impact:

1. T.E.C. retreat/kairos
Both T.E.C. and Kairos were retreats that I went to. I graduated from a catholic school so Kairos was a requirement for senior year, and T.E.C. was a retreat I went on just because I loved Kairos, and they are somewhat similar. Both of these experiences were deepening for my faith, and made me the person I am today.

2. New York City
Going to New York City for the first time was the biggest culture shock I had ever experienced in my life before July this summer. I had no idea about all of the different things that go on there, and I know people tell stories, but it’s different experiencing it first hand. It also was a plus that I was with my family and I also was exposed to the Spanish exchange kid. I have never actually gotten to personally know someone from another country.

I can say that I could pick out many instances out of both events that changed me. I think even though the retreats were separate, i could pick one that has preference, which would have to be T.E.C. I think that the retreats made the most impact on me in the long run. In New York City there were a ton of things that blew my mind. You know how you watch movies and you see bums on the street, naked cowboys, and tons of people running around Chinatown going every directon for a gazillion different purposes? Well I saw it all. This is something I think changed my perspective, because I graduated in a class of 54 people in a smaller town, so we don’t normally get all the excitement of the big city.

I think I am favoring the T.E.C. experience, but you’ll have to see come tuesday when the working draft is due…

In the beginning of chapter one, it describes many different purposes for writing that any person will use in different points of his or her lifetime. According to the book, we will be learning about informative and explanatory writing in chapter two, and persuasive and argumentative writing in chapter three. One of the most important words that is emphasized in mostly every paragraph is the word rhetorical. From what i have read and understand, rhetorical is being able to obtain or remember what you have read in your mind, and being able to project it for someone else to understand.

Later on the book goes on to describe the importances of writing in each phase of our lives. These parts include academic, professional, civic, and personal instances. It also relates people who have to do a significant amount of writing for their jobs to a high income, and also vise versa for people who don’t necessarily write as much for their job.

The Council of Writing Program Administrators has set up a standard set of goals for writing. These goals include rhetorical knowledge, critical thinking, reading and writing, writing processes, and knowledge of conventions. For the rest of the chapter, these goals are briefly explained.

My name is Jordan, but you can call me STERN if you would like. This is the first blog that I have ever made.