What I Learned in English 1101

This semester I had the opportunity to take English 1101 with Professor Arrington. This was a course I was not looking forward to.

                English has always been my weak subject, but after a semester with Professor Arrington, I was no longer dreading that class. If you are not a strong writer and you are scared about taking an English class, make sure you sign up for this one with this professor. You will discover that your writing will become stronger and the instructor helps you as long as you ask for it.

                This course can be a lot of fun but be warned, it isn’t a walk in the park. This class will not be nice to you if you are not willing to put in the work. With that said the work load isn’t all that big. No major homework assignments and a lot of class time to ask questions and get feedback. This class is the ideal class to show a new freshman in college how a true college course can be like, but with the helpful teacher that will guide you if needed.

                Even though it was the only class I had to put forth effort for this semester, and by far the most challenging; it was also my favorite class. The theme of the class was interesting and the concepts were easy to understand. This class was all about developing your writing in order to thoroughly explain yourself and not just talk about something.

                If you’re writing ability is lacking, then this is a course you want to sign up for and not shy away from. It will help you develop your writing and it is entertaining along the way. 

The adventure I thought was the one

                The adventure I had decided to do was the insanity workout program. This was my psychological adventure. I thought that this would help me with my commitment issues but it helped me with so much more.

        

                I started doing insanity and was doing well for the first 2 weeks. After that I missed the first day of the third week and then the next day and the next day and so on. What I had realized was that there was too much that was going on in my life that was more important and I just didn’t have time for it.

           

                As for the workout program itself; it was a very tough but doable workout. The program pushed you in ways that you didn’t know was possible. The first two week kept getting easier. I was able to do more and more and go harder and harder, but eventually in the end I couldn’t keep it up. I guess it didn’t help my commitment issues.

            

                The one thing that this adventure did do for me thought was allow me to finally listen to myself and find out what was important in my life. There are more important things than looking good and I knew that before but what I didn’t know was how insanity was getting in the way of the relationship with my family and my church. The time I took to do this I took away from those things and I never allotted time for family.

           

                Although this adventure didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to; it still was an adventure and I learned how to listen to myself rather than the people around me.

What the F*** am I going to do?

Definition: A psychological adventure is an event that challenges your mental ability and brings new insight into your self-perception. It allows you to overcome a difficult state of mind and in order for this to take place you must have total commitment to said event.

My idea: A Rock Climbing trip to Tallulah Gorge, Georgia.

When: Saturday October 15

How is this going to be a psychological adventure?

                This is considered an adventure based on the definition above because I always doubt my physical ability and if I can accomplish climbing a large rock with only the support of a rope that will bring new insight to my self-perception. It will challenge me mentally because I’ll have to get through the negative statements I tell myself. For example, “Just give up you can’t do it” and “You can’t make it you’re too weak.” Those are the negative thoughts I’ll have to face while rock climbing. I’ll have to force myself to push through my mental block.

Planning:

                The planning that goes into this adventure is researching a place that does outdoor rock climbing and making sure there is some sort of professional in a group that I could join. This ensures that there would be someone there who knows what they are doing and can teach us and help us along the way. I’ll have to research different grades and see which will be enough of a challenge but not too challenging for a beginner. Tallulah Gorge sounds challenging but within limits because it is a multi-pitch intermediate grade. I’ll also search other walls that could be potential climbing spots in case a better one comes along. Other than research, planning when to do this is going to be easy. All I have to do is plan it on a Saturday and I’m all set to go.

Preparation:

I’ll have to buy the equipment if it is not provided which consists of

·         A harness

·         Carabiners

·         Quickdraws

·         Belay devices

·         Rappel devices

·         Helmet

·         Climbing shoes

·         Belay gloves

·         Etc.

All these things go into rock climbing and are essential when getting prepared. Another way to prepare is to get focused for the event itself. Put yourself “in the zone” so to speak. This is to mentally prepare for climbing a wall with just the support of a rope

Documentation:

                This is something I plan on doing with either one or a small group of my friends. We will take pictures and most definitely be posting them on Facebook. Everything from the night before to the purchasing gear right up to the climbing of the wall will be photographed. I cannot think of another way to document rock climbing so new ideas are always welcome. I also plan on writing down what I was thinking about during the climb when the adventure is over.

Adventure is the Unknown

Everybody wants the adventure in their life. It is the thing that makes their life entertaining. "The Adventure." But what is the adventure, what does that word mean and how can it be defined?

In my opinion an adventure is an event that isn't planned that leaves a person with a euphoric feeling and has an aspect of risk and a possibility of failure. The unknown plays a major role in adventures because always knowing what is coming next is boring and uneventful. An adventure is more than just doing something out of the ordinary. Something out of the ordinary does not necessarily give a person that adrenaline rush. Something ordinary for one person is different for another; not everyone has the same routine. Everyone is different but an adventure can be looked back on and be laughed at in remembrance of the good times it was, positive or negative(scary adventure).

Being on a cruise in the middle of a tropical storm is an event that wasn't for seen and is extremely dangerous. Everything on a cruise is planned; everything you do is scheduled, but when that storm comes, also comes with it is unknown. Nothing functioned on a schedule anymore and those who stopped complaining and went with the flow found the fun in the situation. People could be as loud as the wanted in the dining rooms because other passengers were complaining in their cabins. It was an adventure because it was unplanned, fun, and gave the passengers a sense of euphoria, the ones who weren't complaining that is. It was a scary adventure but it was still an adventure because the ship was pushed back twelve hours so flights were missed and people didn't know how they were getting home. It was this uncertainty that made it an adventure. Turns out the cruise line re-booked all the flights missed and got a fancy hotel for the guests to stay in while they waited for their flights. It ended well and was quite the adventure.

My friend Scott and I are not particularly the brightest people on this planet. We come up with stupid, outrageous, idiotic, completely senseless things to do and do them when normal people would say no. I was driving him home one day, at midnight, and we decided it would be a good idea for him to climb on the hood of my car and see how long he could stay there as I floored it down a gravel road with my lights turned off. Yeah we're smart. This was certainly not intelligent to do and I highly recommend staying in the car while someone is driving, but it was an adventure after all. It was extremely hazardous to our safety and totally unpredictable. Whatever dumb thing you want to call it; it was. It was an adventure because after we stopped both of us got out of the car(off the car is Scott's case) and sat on the ground rolling with laughter. Our blood was pumping so fast and sweat was dripping down our faces, man it was a rush. Crazy and unintelligent, yes; but fun nonetheless. That was an adventure I probably will not partake in again but I’m glad I got the chance to enjoy and experience it. Others would believe that this adventure of ours is stupid and not find it an adventure but rather a death wish. Well congratulations, you're uptight and boring, but I don't recommend doing it. But do not be afraid to try something that is outrageous and some might call stupid, because that is when most of the adventures happen, when you don't know the outcome and you might fail.

Adventures aren't all about the activity you are doing, it is also about who you are with and if you can make the best of a bad situation to make it an adventure and look back upon it with laughter. A lot of people will believe that you have to go somewhere to have an adventure but that is not the case. You can have an adventure where ever you are and if you don't think so then go looking for one. However, keep this in mind; The real adventure is how you get there, not the destination itself.