Journal Entry Saturday June 30

30 JUNE 2012

I have been thinking a lot about family lately. Not just my immediate family, but my extended family as well. I went to a wedding last weekend for my cousin. We traveled to Manson, IA, where I was born, and where the bulk of one side of my family still lives. I had not been back there in so long, and I realized when I got there how much time had passed since my last visit. There were children of my cousins who I had never met who were now 8 years old. This gave me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I have been so neglectful of our relationships and the limited time that we have. I need to be there more often with my grandmother, what if I don't and I miss my chance to hear one of her stories? I rely on my grandparents for moral support and love, now that I only have grandmothers left how can I take that for granted? I realized at the wedding reception, as we laughed and told stories, that I have one of the most AMAZING families that I have ever met. They are fun and adventurous, they are loving and forgiving. It was as though we had not lost a moment's time between seeing each other. I am glad that I went home, I am going to make a habit out of it!

Personal Creedo

29 June 2012

Personal Creedo Blog

This I believe..in living without regret. Living each moment in a way that inspires learning from our mistakes without wanting to turn back the hands of time. Taking back our words and actions is an impossible task, not worth wasting a moment's breath to consider. The actions and words, the utterances of our past have shaped us in every way, without every moment we would not be the same. Who we are, and who we would like to be are products of our every action and reaction. Living without regret is freedom, freedom from perfection and sadness for our actions. I have been hurtful, I have caused pain; but I have shaped my past, present, and future through these events and I have become ME. Without pain there would be no realization of pleasure, and without regret there is no blame. I believe in never regretting my own actions, but more importantly the event and actions of others which have had such a powerful effect on who I have become.

Personal Creedo Exercise 2

28 June 2012

Personal Creedo Exercise 2

The examples of creedos posted on Ms. A's Classroom all had a very powerful meaning to me. I relate to the three of them quite strongly, and they evoked deep personal thought. The power of stories, stories that are from our childhood, these tales were the basis for memories without which we would be left empty. The powerful message behind the fairy tales that so many adults could benefit by re-reading today. The basic need for goodness and decency and the consequences that lie ahead if we behave wrongly are values learned through the stories read to us at bedtime. One of my fondest memories is of my grandmother reading me Peter and the Wolf, over and over again as I dozed on her knee. I long for the intimacy that we shared when she read to me now that I am grown.

Music also holds deep powerful meaning deep in my heart. Sound can excite so many senses, and the combination of notes can bring me to my knees. Whenever I need an escape, I can turn on the radio and slowly slip away. The songs that move us can make us cry or smile so deep within that you cannot hold in your bliss. Such emotion from pure simplicity, even without words I can feel what the composer felt when his fingers graced the keys.

Though I agreed with the creedos left as examples, I am sure there are those that I would not agree with. You are not supposed to agree with everyone, and your creed is personal, it does not matter how many people disagree with you. Just as the original creeds had a religious basis, people of another religion are not going to agree with them. It is equally important to have people agree with you as to challenge your opinion, this world is one of beauty and diversity!

Know Your Audience Blog Post

27 June 2012

Know Your Audience Blog Post

When I was in High School I knew my audience. I had grown up with the same people for years, we were primarily from the same location, and held many of the same beliefs. When I begin the adventure that is College, the first difference that I noticed is that it was so much more diverse. Reflecting much more of what I had experienced in life, moving from job to job and place to place, college is a melting pot of culture and diversity. An online class adds yet another element to the situation because you never meet face to face with the people who you rely on as your peers. The questions that we asked each other are but a glimpse into the lives of the classmates that we will never meet. When I was reading and answering the questions posted in the discussion board, I found myself reaching deep within to give the most honest and meaningful answer that I could. Anything but an explanation of the truth would provide my classmates with a distorted view of who I am as a person and a student. The questions that we gave each other to respond compiled a vast amount of personal information in a very short amount of time. They ranged in emotion from “What would you do with a day to live?” to “What is your favorite movie?” I am not going to lie, I teared up as I wrote the response to the last day to live question.

There was a common bond between most of the people in the class who responded to the questions in the discussion, closeness and love of their families. Nearly every question led back to the same place, family! I have found that this is the most powerful motivator in most of our lives, and what we would most like to do is to spend our time with our families. Though there are many different interpretations of the meaning of the immediate family, the comfort that we find in these relationships is unparalleled. We enjoyed all four seasons, and watched many different movies; but the days would not be as bright, nor the movies so enjoyable without those that we share them with. So, though we come from different places, have many different faiths, are seeking very different careers and goals; the family dynamic remains the same, our comfort and our support.

Knowing a little more about the audience that I am writing to this semester allows me to be more open in sharing my own personal experiences. Though we do not have faces to put with the names, we have something much greater, a deeper knowledge of the inner goals and characteristics that make us all unique.

Creedo Research Exercise 1

26 June 2012

A mere statement about what we believe, as individuals and often as a group of like minded individuals. The Apostle's Creed, often called the oldest creed, is a religious affirmation of what it means to be a Christian. Putting simply into words are the complex ideals of what it means to believe in God, the Almighty Father. Although creeds started as personal affirmations of religious faith, they have grown to encompass any truth we feel passionately about. I believe this is why even the Preamble to the Constitution can be considered a creed. Although in the traditional sense, the "I's" are replaced with "we," the creed encompasses the views of an entire nation of people, and can be recited by millions. Other nations governmental documents can be considered creeds as well, they also excite feelings of national spirit when read.
The group, Amnesty International, believes in "Action for human rights. Hope for humanity," but nearly every business has a sort of creed expressed in the form of a Mission Statement. Groups attempt to make a statement powerful enough to excite the beliefs of a large number of people, while the focus of a personal creedo is purely from within. Our own thoughts and beliefs may differ greatly from those around us and expressing them in a personal creed is one way of bringing them to light for ourselves and others. Whether you choose to share your beliefs or express them as personal affirmations is extremely personal, but just expressing them allows us to understand ourselves and our ideals on an entirely new level.

This I Believe: Prewriting and Freewriting

This I believe:
1. I enjoy life
2. I could be a better paremt
3. I love my family
4. freedom isn't free
5. we need to embrace challenges
6. in following your heart
7. without love we have nothing
8. fun is essential
9.a clean house isn't everything
10. childhood is the most precious thing we take for granted
11. that our karma follows us
12. interruptions stop the creative process
13. we do not need to be handed things, working makes you appreciate it more
14. kids today are spoiled
15. my husband loves me
16. i take on too much at once
17. we create our own destiny
18. pain makes you stronger
19. in living with no regrets
20. in the ability to achieve your dreams
21. happiness is the most important thing in life
22. marriage is sacred
23. that I am blessed
24. beauty hides under the surface
25. I need a vacation!

#9. A Clean House isn't Everything!

When I was growing up, my mother demanded an immaculately kept house. There were not any nic-nacs to dust, and the dishes were never supposed to be in the sink. I always felt like I was more of a maid living in a museum than a kid who lived in a house. After I moved out on my own, I let things go a bit. I was a teenager, still in High School when I got my first apartment, or you could call it a PIT! I developed a love for nic-nacs and other crap that I filled my house with, and it may have been nice if you could find it under the clutter and dust. I spent my time on the things that I found most important, and cleaning was not one of them. Sitting on the couch was always an adventure, you may find treasure as you were digging for a seat. Maybe I took things to a bit of an extreme, but at the time I was happy. Since this time of pure fun and irresponsibility in my life, I believe that I have reached a happy medium. Having kids and a husband that constantly leave things laying around, I do spend a large portion of each day collecting clothes and garbage from the floor and putting it where it belongs. My sink is often overfilled with dishes, that do eventually get done, but it is not the point of stress that it was for my mother. I would love to have my house be clean all of the time, but I do not base my own self-worth on the amount of dust on my mantle! If there is a choice between spending quality time with the ones I love and mopping the floor, I will choose my family. I have decided to develop what I call "clutter blindness." I see what I want to see despite the clutter, and I can be happy with it!


330 words.

Typology Indicators

I just finished taking the Jung Typology test and I am AMAZED!
The description of my personality was spot-on!
I was described as ENFJ, and to explain;
 Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging.

Reading the profile of my personality, I realized things about myself that I do not normally think about.
My desire to meet deadlines, be the center of attention, multi-task (to the point of overload), persuade and lead a group; all these things make up who I am yet they are all operating somewhere in the background.

Recently I made the decision to return to school after being in the workforce for many years. I have held all sorts of different jobs, and tired of them all very quickly. This kept me from returning to school because I feared that I would just as easily tire of a job I trained for. The year I turned 30, I now see as my year of awakening! I made a lot of life changing decisions that year, one of them being to return to school and get my degree to teach. I am now 31, and I am in my year of ACTION. I am embarking on my second semester, and have settled in to the idea of becoming a High School art teacher. I love to help people, and the thought of helping students grow artistically excites me to no end. At the end of the typology test it gave reviews for careers and suggestions, top of the list for my personality was teacher!

What can I take away from this as a writer?
Understanding my strengths and weaknesses would be top of my list to grow as a writer. As I read the typology indicators for writing I completely agreed with everything that it said about ENFJ! I need to be in charge and lead group activities, I find it much easier to write about subjects that are close to my heart, and I spend more time talking about my ideas than actually writing about them. The indicator said ENFJ's use figurative or controversial language, and I see that as a strength in my writing, not something that I need to change. I realize now that limiting the use of "I" and broadening my subject horizon could be the most important lesson that I take away from this.

I am excited to have learned a little more about myself today!

I'm New at This!!

I'm Lindsey, and I'm new to the world of blogging. I have created this blog as part of an assignment in my college composition class, but I am here to have a good time!

I have a very diverse set of interests, but I think I outlined them in the title of my blog...Cars, Coffee, and Critters!

My first love (aside from my wonderful family) is my animals. I have 5 incredibly funny potbellied pigs, and they make me smile every day! I think that this is the most important and amazing thing that animals give us, happiness. No matter how bad the day is they are always there to greet you and happy just to be by your side. They don't ask for much, and they give so much in return! In addition to my piggys, I have 2 goats, 3 dogs, a rabbit and a coop full of chickens.

The second well spent use of my time is my VW Microbus! Her name is Alice, and we have been together for 14 years. I got Alice when I was 17, and it was love at first sight. Through many years, a ridiculous amount of breakdowns and repairs (both of us), relationships, and kids, she has been the one thing consistently by my side. We both may be a little worse for wear, but I believe we are getting better with age! I am on my second time restoring Alice, and it is going to be fantastic!

Fueling my ambitions is a rampant addiction to caffeine..you know the black gold (and I don't mean oil!) COFFEE!! I have a 2 or 3 pot a day habit, so if I appear to be rambling on, don't blame me...blame the coffee!