To Study, Or Not to Study?

From the title of this blog post it's pretty easy to conclude that studying is the topic. Also, with the
title being the question that it is, it's pretty obvious that I am really not a fan of studying. Honestly I am not! I really need to improve these habits if I am to flourish scholastically. Studying has become a task since I have begun college. I never really had to in high school; there it was not something that I could form into a healthy habit. Now that I am attempting to establish studying as a nightly habit, my brain really is not conforming. Who can help me??
The purpose of this blog post is to provide a source of encouragement to those that regularly study; I commend you. Studying sounds extremely easy, however it is not! There are so many reasons why I should try harder to study, but I think I am not doing my best because I lack the motivation. Well, to all of those that study and perform well on the subject on which they studied, keep up the great work!

Practice to Perform!

In my last blog post I addressed how to better ones writing. I gave tips on how to become a stronger writer and how to independently improve one's writing style. I mentioned several times throughout that blog post, that in order to become a better writer, one must write a lot, and of course, read just as much.  For example, every athlete trains so that they will be able to perform to the best of their ability. Olympic athletes have approximately a year to train before every competition. Do you understand how much practice that is? If properly trained, the performance of the athlete should be stellar! When writing, similar to sports, performing is the ultimate task and good writers always wants to do their best.
Practice is extremely imperative to a writer because it allows them, as well as others, to see where improvement has taken place. Errors are made so that they can be corrected, hence improvement. As students, we practice writing in many areas so that we can ameliorate our writing ability. In any writing course, our work is judged. Our performance is recorded and feedback is given. As a writer, I am constantly reminding myself to practice so that I can perform well. After my performance is judged, feedback is given, and I make the needed adjustments. Writer's first practices, then they perform. This is repeated, and over time it allows the writer to augment their writing caliber. After a while it all becomes a process really. However, let not this process be taken lightly. Remember, performing and doing well is the ultimate task.

Try Very Hard!

Writing isn't something that come naturally to everyone, yet it's like playing sport, you practice to improve. Any author would tell an aspiring writer to read a lot and write a lot; writing is something that needs to be practiced. I think that I'm a decent writer. I write poetry, and I read many different things from accomplished authors. As i read their work, I try and compare their style of writing to mine; I look for any particular sentence type that reminds me of my own style of writing. I understand they an author with several works that has been published is much more of a competent writer than myself, therefore I compare to see where I stand; and to notice areas needing improvement with my writing. I believe that the 'tricks' I use really help, and with the feedback from my english instructor I can only improve.
I believe that every writer should have a 'back drop.' A 'back drop' is an area of selected readings that a writer has, he compares himself to those that are greater, and he when he has written anything, he allows someone who is certified to correct his writings, correct his writings. I work very diligently to improve my writing skills; I even consider writing and literature my strongest attribute as a student. My encouragement to other students is to write a lot, a read the works of those who far superior writers.

Know Yourself!

Living changes people. As a matter of fact, life changes while living. People who are now old were young once, and there are numerous accounts of the rich and powerful losing all the money they may have accumulated through their work. I said that to say- while being alive, many things can change. Although this is true, the one thing that should never change is oneself. If times become turbulent and hard to deal with, how far from the norm would you go to maintain yourself? If you knew today that the world is going to end tomorrow, would you go out and indulge in every sort of lawlessness? If everyone is jumping from cliffs would you? In knowing yourself, you must be able to think for yourself, you must be able uphold your principles and beliefs, and you have to know what you are capable of.
 I have seen very trustworthy people lose themselves by cheating or stealing because someone encouraged them to do so. They surrounded themselves with horrible people, therefore they eventually changed in an effort to 'fit in' or be like everyone else. To know yourself doesn't simply mean knowing your name, rather it also includes upholding the life lessons you have learned and endeavoring to maintain them in the face of those who challenge your character or integrity.

Blogs vs. Term Papers

After reading the New York Times article, Blog vs. Term Papers, I completely agree with Cathy N. Davidson, an English professor at Duke, and believe that the term paper should be eradicated. The term paper can be very stressful to students. I also concur with the argument established in the article that term papers require facts, and there really is no room for loose opinions. Granted, term papers are relevant, in that they allow the course instructor to see how the student has become more competent using the material learned; but with the vast amount of technological resources, such extensive writing can be unnecessary. I say this because term papers are usually 5 to 10 pages in length; that's quite a demand.
In my opinion, the person who wrote the article actually agreed that term papers should be removed as well. The author quoted Ms. Cathy Davidson saying that blogs are fun. I also would agree, simple because as a student, I feel that I am allowed to express my opinion more through a blog than a term paper. With blogs, the students are allowed to not only include facts, but state weather they agree; being able to include personal expressions will always enable a writer to enjoy what they are writing.