Kelsey's Blog

closing blog

it's unfortunate that i didn't get to talk with anyone at your school... but i hope you had a good thanksgiving and a happy holidays. i hope you guys found it interesting to talk with us when we visited your school and found it somehow beneficial. i hope you consider going to college and have a great future

lincoln #2

well it's been a couple days since we visited your school, and i was just curious what you thought so far. did you like us coming to talk with you? also, you said you've gone on field trips to visit other colleges, what one would you say was your favorite? and why is that? if you didn't like any of the schools you've seen so far, why not? is there a school somewhere other than in minnesota that you'd like to go to, and where is it at?

college

college is a lot different from high school or elementary school. you have to modivate yourself to do your homework, and wake up on time. you have to be responsible for yourself, and it takes a lot of growing up and getting used to. college, though, is a lot of fun. you get the opportunity to meet a bunch of new people from all over. it's a really great experience.
a question i have is, do you see yourself going to college in the future? why/why not?

lincoln blog

Hi, my name is Kelsey and I am currently attending my first year at the U of M. When I'm not at class, I work five days a week at a restaurant in Roseville. When I'm not working or doing homework I like to spend my time with my friends. A lot of them moved away, and that's really hard. But on the other hand it's good. This way I have the chance to meet a bunch of new people, and it's not like I don't still talk with my old friends. As of right now, I'm planning to major in graphic design. I really enjoy art and working on computers so it sounds like a perfect fit.
A couple question I have for you are: What do you think of your school? Do you know what high school you're planning to go to yet? What do you and your friends like to do in your free time?

lincoln and me

so far this paper's proving to be a challenge to me. my elementary school doesn't show up on the website we were given because it's a private school. this leaves me with two options; wing it, going off my memories, or to choose a different school that's on the website. both seem a little iffy. if i use my school anyways, i won't be able to be as precise about details, because i'm going off of what i remember form when i was like 13. on the other hand, if i choose a different school, then i won't have as much background information... so i feel like i'm stuck in a rut. in the end, i'll probably go off of what i can remember

lincoln

kindergarten through eighth grade i attended holy childhood school. it was a small private school right over by como park and the state fair grounds. the main difference between lincoln and holy childhood is the size and diversity. at holy childhood we had about 16 kids in our grade. there was only one class per grade. there was one year where there were only 2 kids in a grade. holy childhood had an estimated 150 kids in the whole school. while lincoln, on the other hand, has about 600 kids.
we had two black people in our class and one korean boy, the whites were the dominant race. it's almost the complete opposite at lincoln. only 2% of the children who attend lincoln are white, 71% are black.

movie

the movie we watched in class made me sad. i couldn't believe that anyone goes to school in such horrible conditions. i thought i had a crappy school, but after seeing that movie it really put things in perspective for me. i think it's riddiculous that anyone should have to go to school where you have to bring an umbrella to gym class because it leaks so much. no one should have to go through that. everyone deserves a good education, but that's close to impossible under the conditions those children are trying to learn under. something should be done, i'm not sure what, but something obviously is wrong and needs to be fixed

sherman a & larhonda readigs

class so far

so far i think this class is going fairly well... i've been having a bit a trouble with all the crap on the computer/internet, but for the most part it's going fine. i still believe that the revision groups are a big help. it's good to hear what a bunch of people have to say instead of having just one person critique a paper. with four people helping then there's less chance for error. if it's just one person they'd have a harder time picking out all of the mistakes. so, in short, i hope we'll still continue with the revision groups.

mean girls

the article "mean girls" by jen albright was a really depressing article. it makes me sad and uncomfortable to see how people treat each other. i hope i never meet people like that in my lifetime. i thought the paper was very interesting, it kept me reading cause i really wanted to see how everything turned out for her. the only thing i didn't really like was the ending. i felt like we sort of got left hanging. i wanted to know more. such as: how bad was the damage to her house? did anything get really destroyed? did she tell her mom who it was that did that to their house? did she press charges afterward? why did the girls call her a slut? was there some sort of misunderstanding? if so, what was it? if not, why would they say that? i really want to know what made those girls decide to do that. also, what happened at the end, afterward? was there anything that happened? it's just really too bad what people do to each other. girls can be bitches

revision groups

so far i like the idea of the revision groups. it's a good way to get a lot of different people's feedback, which i find extremely helpful when i'm writing a paper. i don't concider myself that good of a writer, so i appreciate suggenstions and hints. the only thing i can hope for now is that we continue to do the revision groups, and maybe that we switch off the times. i have a class about forty minutes before basic writing. so when we have to wait, that adds like another hour. plus it'd be nice to leave early sometimes

essay

so far i think the class is going fairly well. i'm a little nervous about this essay though, i always get a little weirded out about papers. i'm not a very good writer, so that makes it all the more difficult for me to be in a writing class. but hopefully when i'm through with it, i'll be lots better. writting papers and giving speeches are two things i dread. what's even worse is when you have to read what you write. yuck. i don't know why but that kind of stuff's always put me on edge. i wish i could just get over it. i'm really counting on this class to help me do that; just get over my fear of writing. or at least understand it, so i can cope with it a little better

up from slavery

it made me sad to see how poorly booker t. washington was treated by people. i know it's hard to trust people you don't know. the people he tried to beg for food from didn't know him at all. as far as they're concerned he could be a murderer or a rapest. the same goes for the teacher mrs. ruffner. she wouldn't want to allow some lunitic into her school that could go on a killing spree at any given time. but i also realize that a lot of things that happened to him happened because he was african american. i jsut find that terrible and unbelievabley sad. no one should be treated differently just because of their skin color. addittudes and personalities are thigs that can be changed.

shitty first drafts

"i know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. not one of them writes elegant first drafts."~shitty first drafts
it's nice to hear stuff like this from time to time. i know, at least for me, it is. i'm very self consciouse about what i write, probably because i don't concider myself a particularily good writer. it's good to know that everyone has to at least make some kind of effort. i guess some people are still better at it than others, but it's fun to think that they just worked harder. at least that way i can imagine if i work hard i can write half way descent papers.

background

for most of my life (minus a couple months) i've lived in the same house. we live about two minutes from the st.paul campus. we live across the street from a seminary, where my friends and i used to play capture the flag. from kindergarten through eighth grade i attended holy childhood, a tiny school right by the fairgrounds. i'd average about 150 people (including faculty) were there.
the main thing i loved about high school was i got to go to roseville. that may not sound like a big deal, but when you go from a school with fifteen kids in your class to 500, it's pretty big step.
it's hard for me to pick a favorite teacher. i had a handfull of great teachers with different qualities that i admired for each one. on that note, i also had a lot of teachers who i didn't like. one of the main ones that stands out was my freshman science teacher. to begin with, i'm not too great at science, which made the class even more uncomfortable for me. but this teacher always loved to call on me, and then make snotty comments and laugh when i didn't know the answer. i have a habit of doodleling, it helps me concentrate. i realize that a lot of teachers don't really appreciate that... but i still don't like how he handled the situation. i was doodleling on my notes one day, and he happened to notice. not only did he stop in mid-sentence, if front of the entire class, he walked over to my desk and snatched my paper off. i found out later when i asked him after class if i could have it back, that he had so kindly thrown it away.
it's weird, when i switched from private to public schools, i could really see a difference in my education. this was especially apperent with the people around me. my grammar, and writing skills were average. in some areas above averages. as were my math skills. but my science and reading skills is were i fail miserabley.
i always saw myself going off to college, but because life doesn't run off of what you think should happen, i'm still living at home.
there are two main reasons i'm still living with my parents; 1. it's way cheaper. 2. i have a going on 16 month old daughter. i can't imagine myself living on my own at this stage in my life and trying to go to school and work. luckily for me i have the option of living rent-free.