It's that time of the year and I'm not talking about Halloween...

 

It’s that time of the year for midterm grades to come out. It’s a good way to show people how well or how bad they are doing in their classes. I personal like this because if I’m doing bad in a class I still have time to get my grades up. It’s like a last warning that you need to start studying more or get some help from your professor.  As far as my midterm grades go I can’t say that I’m completely satisfied because I know I’m a lot smarter than what my grades show. This just shows me that I need to make improvements on my work habits. I know I’m smart enough to understand and learn the material but I don’t have the best study habits. I’m a huge procrastinator and I need to learn how to just get my work done.  The one thing that has been helping so far this semester is my weekly 5 hours of mandatory study hall. In study hall I manage to get most of my work done for my classes. Without study hall I feel like my grade would be affected in a bad way. For the second half of the semester, my main goal is to pass all my classes. Other than passing my classes I want to develop better study habits and better work habits.

My Project

Jacob's Project

Peer Mentor

A peer mentor was recently introduced into our inquiry classes. What exactly is the role of a peer mentor?  To me the peer mentor’s are meant to provide information, support, and advice to the students if needed. Lee was just introduced to my inquiry class a couple of weeks ago and she has done just that. Lee, being a part of the southern community and having more experience than us in college, she can easily give us advice and information on what she has done on campus. Having a peer mentor adds another way for us to learn about opportunities around campus or about activities to participate in like free hugs. We need to remember that a peer mentor is a student just like us. Being around the same age, students may find it easier to ask question to a peer mentor rather than a professor.  Peer mentors also add another dimension to our inquiry class. In college, students need to learn to think outside the box and need to learn how to be more open about themselves as individuals. For example, we are going to be doing a bucket list. A bucket list is a list of things that you want to do before you die. Most of the things on the list are stuff that people are afraid to do or have a strong interest in doing. By making a bucket list it may open our eyes that we should try new things and step out of our boxes.

A "wildstyle" "throw up" !

Graffiti by definition is the name for images or lettering scratched, painted, or marked on a piece of property. Graffiti can consist of simple words or can be an elaborate wall painting. Graffiti has dated back to ancient times. The earliest forms of graffiti were said to have existed in 30,000 B.C in cave paintings and pictographs. However, in today society graffiti is considered to be vandalism or defacement, which is a crime.

Graffiti is said to be used to express underground hip-hop, but it is also used by gangs to tag their territory or to show the gang activity in the area.

"Tag"

There are many types of graffiti and many believe and say it’s more of an art and not meant to deface a property but to decorate and express lifestyles and way of living. One type of graffiti is to “tag”. Tagging is the most common form of graffiti in today’s society. Tag’s are pretty much the artist’s personalized signature but can also be a secret message, or a crew’s initials.

"throw up"

Another form of graffiti is “throw up” which is meant to be done quickly and consists only of two or three colors. One more form of graffiti is a “piece”. A piece is an elaborate drawing of the artists name using more stylized letters and more colors but this type of graffiti takes much more time and increases the chances of getting caught.

The most complex type of graffiti is known as “wildstyle”. These types of images contain interlocking letters and connecting points and are very difficult for non graffiti artists to read. These types of pieces can take up to months to complete for they are done in many colors and cover a large area.

"Wildstyle"

Don't forget to make a title...

What makes a good blog post? A good blog post to me must be three things: interesting, informative, and creative. I like blogs that are interesting. Where does an interesting blog start? The title is where every blogger needs to catch the reader’s initial attention. Interesting titles usually catch my attention and make me wonder what the rest of the blog is about. For example, Oscar's Blog really caught my attention right off the bat and I was curious how laundry fit in with the rest of the title. Other than the title, another way to catch the reader’s attention is to have an interesting opening sentence or sentences. Just like the title, the opening sentences are the first thing the reader’s look at. I really like the way Crystal started her blog with a quote.I also like blogs that are informative. Informative blogs aren’t always the most interesting to read but I don’t mind learning new things. The last thing that I think a good blog needs is creativity. Be creative by putting pictures in every blog or maybe even a video. Pictures don’t always have to go at the end of the blog. Maybe, start the blog off with a picture or put in the middle to give the reader something to look at. Including videos in a blog also can help the readers further understand what you’re trying to get across in the blog.