"It's a form of terrorism."

So said my English 231 professor, last semester. What he was referring to had nothing to do with planes, bombs, or underwear, but rather, the correction of grammar mistakes. Do you remember that grade school teacher that didn't let you go until you used the specific code wording, "May I go to the bathroom?" I do. Her name was Ms.Kaminski, whose name will live on in my memory and will also be associated with making us eat crackers without dropping crumbs on the floor (not humanly possible!). Anyway, this isn't a rant about past grade school teachers, but it is some of my thoughts on the internet grammar phenomenon that has been prevalent the past few years.

"I shall commit my thoughts to paper..." Or blog.

Chapter 2 of Writing About Literature in the Digital Age was one that stuck out to me like the iconic bolts jutting from movie-Frankenstein's neck (I'm sorry, I can't help but use Frankenstein references now). This chapter, in particular the subsections of Blogging Benefit: Process over Product and Writing More, connected with me. Like any other student, I tend to write my papers all in one go, usually at ridiculous hours of the night, hoping that my feverish brain will produce some viable content. It's an uncomfortable process. It's a dreaded process. Very few want to write long papers on things that do not interest them. However, with blogging, one can receive "a comfort level, a habit-- even an identity  as a writer."* The true benefit from this is the blog posts, once added up, "create an ample supply of less developed ideas that can readily become more developed:" This especially struck a chord with me, considering my weakness with underdeveloped ideas. In addition, the "process- rather than product- oriented" way of writing is intriguing to me, seeing that I'm always reaching to that fill up that cursed last page assigned, rather than focusing on the ideas that go into the paper. I'm excited to use electronic media to access and toy with different ideas.

*All quotes come from Writing About Literature in the Digital Age by Gideon Burton et. al.

Frankenstein!

Anyone that knows me, knows I HATE scary things. Scary movies = eyes closed for approximately 1 hr., 35 mins. The Halloween store = A 5 minute sprint to grab everything I need and get out. Even those cheesy Goosebumps books had me skittering to the other side of the room. So, why in the name of Santa Claus would I enjoy Frankenstein? Frankenstein is THE horror novel, Sam! I know, I know.  Here are some of my reasons.

1) It's not what I thought it was. It was a nice surprise, even. I was expecting something along the lines of all the movies I'd seen (which was a silly assumption, considering that movies made on books are hardly ever good). But instead I got a novel that considered aspects of human nature that made me question my own definition of what it is to be human, and other things as well.
2) It's layered. I like onions, cakes and books with more than one layer of story and meaning. It is a book that can trigger something new in your mind each time, as I've found with Frankenstein.
3) Probably the biggest reason, is it's out of my normal comfort range. I'm all about stories with happy endings, granted that it's preceded by a little trouble. In Frankenstein, you don't even know who the hero is, much less the villian. And like a good ol' Bill Shakespeare tragedy, pretty much everyone dies. Heroes don't die in "nice" stories. Or Disney movies.

In any event, I've decided I'll be makin' some sense of Frankenstein.

"We never do what we wish when we wish it." -Mary Shelley

Okay, I'll admit it. I was the kid that always took a cookie from the cookie jar. If I wanted something (usually, a food item. I wasn't planning jewlery heists here) I would sneak into the fridge or the cupboard and retrieve the desired item. My parents would ask all the kids who ate the last piece of cake or the leftovers from their fancy dinner. Hint: it was never me. Even though my parents caught on and now I have cut back on my food frauds, I do tend to enjoy what I like to call "collaboration" when it comes to schoolwork. Just so you know: I am NOT cheating, plagarizing, etc.  But I do like to pick the brains of others for insights, ideas, feedback, etc. It helps solidify and change my own ideas. This is why I like the BYU-Idaho learning model, which consists of:
1) Prepare
-Individually and with others
2) Teach One Another
-Many brains are better than one!
3) Ponder and Prove
-Think it over, and then run with it.

And this will ultimately result in self-directed learning, a big part of my English 295 class this semester. Mary Shelley's quote goes along with this. We won't get anywhere if we sit here wishing. I wouldn't have gotten yummy treats if I hadn't gotten up to the cupboard and gotten them, right? Which I think is one of the main reasons I have this blog. It's to get my ideas out, so in return, other's can help me with their own.