Blogging Reflections

What did you learn about yourself as a reader from creating and keeping up with your blog?

I learned that I often end up thinking asking questions about why characters act certain ways, and why people act in certain ways. I also often question the motives of character that we perceive as wrong and try and decide whether that is actually true. I also found that I like books that have interesting questions in them. I usually have more to say.

In what ways did you benefit from the experience?

It forced me to think about books. I would often start my blog post with one idea, and as I started to write, my idea would change, and ultimately I would have to re write the post because my ideas had totally changed. Sometimes I would be reading a book I thought I had nothing to say about. Because I had to do a blog post I would just start writing. All of the sudden I would discover some theme or lessen to take away from the book that I never would have seen before. It also increased my writing stamina. I started this project barely able to write a page. Now I find myself going way over that and having to cut the entry down because it’s too long. I also used to think writing a page typed was really hard. Now, if I know what I want to say, I can do it in a half hour.

Is writing online different than in a notebook?  In what ways? In what ways can writing online be liberating?  Limiting?

It is so different. Personally, I prefer writing my computer. It is easier to edit for one, I don’t have to deal with erasing and crossing out. I can write something, hate it and delete it. I am the type of person that revises as they write. The negative flip side of that is that sometimes you just need to write everything down and revise later.  I also type faster then I write so I like that as well. I also feel like I have more control when I am writing on line. I know that sound weird but it is true. I can always go back and change my post if necessary. I also control the setting the blog is viewed in. I also like that I am not just writing for the teacher. Other people will read the work and that is motivating.

Do you think that people are more real online or do we create online personalities that project the best of ourselves? Or something else?

I think that we have the capability to edit ourselves online. Having said that I don’t think we necessarily do that. In fact, often people are less edited online. I am not exactly sure what a person’s real self is. I don’t think they are more or less that online. I think some people try and project their best selves while others don’t. I think we often try and project the person we want to be seen as.

Do you think that teenagers abuse the freedom that being online gives you on sites like facebook? Do people type things they would never say to a person's face? Do you think this is a good or bad thing? Why?

I think that people say things that they would never say to a person’s face online. I think the general lack of voices and faces on the internet is a bad thing. It is absolutely more convenient and I believe it should exist. Having said that, important conversations should never be had on facebook. Arguments, confrontations, and other such things need to happen face to face, or at least on the phone. The anonymity facebooks gives you and the other person allows fights to go on forever. You never have to face the other person’s emotions if you are online. Some people argue that you can articulate exactly what you want to say, something you can’t as easily do in person. The problem with this though is that people don’t because they don’t view the person they are arguing with as another person.

Can you imagine yourself keeping up this blog or creating another one?  What would it be about?  What's your opinion of blogs in general and why?   

I am not sure I could see myself keeping up with my blog. I might try. I don’t think I will create another blog. I do have a tumblr though. Actually I have two. One is for images I take. The other is a doctor who tumblr. Usually I think blogs are really cool. They are interesting and fun ways of spreading information and images, or just talking. Sometimes they can get obnoxious though. 
(Also, a link to my doctor who tumblr for anyone interested: http://thenesteneduplicate.tumblr.com/ )

Sorry I couldn't resist :) Ignore it if you don't watch doctor who.

I Have a Neurotic Mother

I am currently reading Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner. The first half of the book is the story of two ten-year-old Russian immigrants (Vaclav came here when he was four, and Lena came here as a baby, but was raised by her grandmother so she went into kindergarten speaking only Russian) living in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn in around 2003 (that’s a guess, they don’t provide actual dates). The second half of the book fast-forwards 7 years later to when Vaclav and Lena are 17. I have just started that bit. 

A character I think is really interesting is Vaclav’s mother, Rasia. She did everything she could to get her son here so he could have a better life. Rasia is often bewildered, perplexed or frightened by American things. She finds Vaclav’s new skinny jeans weird and when Vaclav says he is going to Ozzie’s, she asks who this Ozzie person is and if they are a drug dealer. At first I just found this hysterical. Originally I thought it was simply because of how badly Rasia misinterpreted what Vaclav said. Then I started thinking about it more. Vaclav really just has a neurotic mother.  This is something I can relate to. As I kept thinking about it, there are a lot of ways in which Vaclav’s mother isn’t so different from an American mom. She is hates Vaclav’s girlfriend, she is always really worried about him, she makes him do his homework every night, and ultimately, she really just wants what is best for him.

 I think that often, we look at people who are from a culture that is different from ours as something foreign or alien. We see that they eat different food then we do or have different customs and we back away. We get so caught up in all the little details that are different, that we forget about the big picture. Even as cultures or mannerisms change, there are certain things that we all share. Our values may rank in importance differently but they are still all there. We are all ultimately human. We all care about people and want things and have hopes and dreams and fears. We spend so much time picking out all the little things that make us different from someone else, that I think we begin to forget about all of the things that make us the same, and those are the things that really matter.