Blog Entry Reflections

Nate's Nature Blog: 

          I chose to post my nature blog because I had such an enjoyable time discovering new natural wonders throughout every corner of the world. Because of my keen interest of the numerous topics that I discussed, I was effortlessly able to write an engaging summary of the lakes, volcanoes, animals, insects, herbs, and astrological phenomena. I never once wrote about a subject that I did not have full curiosity in. Rhetorically speaking, when the author of a text has a personal connection to or undivided interest in the content that they are discussing, their writing will engage the audience into finding a passion for the subject, similar to their own.

          Throughout every passion blog post, I attempted to add at least three pictures to the text itself, to give the reader a visual connection. The point of the blog was to astound my audience with the unknown, marvelous acts of nature. Therefore, in order to fully grasp the wonderment of what I am writing about, it needs to be accompanied by a visual aid to completely gain the reader’s attention. The visuals I implemented in my blog posts acted as a rhetorical device: firstly by adding another perspective on the subject matter, and secondly by breaking up the text so it did not ramble on without any intermission. Passion blog posts were my favorite assignments throughout the year as they allowed me to creatively persuade my audience into feeling as much wonder and joy in these natural phenomena as I did when I discovered them.

 

Penn State vs. Michigan:

        This blog post was chosen because anyone who was at the game on that Saturday evening can comprehend the raw emotion and joy that the coming together of 107,000 supporters brought the Penn State community. This was one of the most emotional, civically engaging activities that I have ever been apart of. After the sanctions were placed on the football team as a result of the Sandusky scandal, many believed that it would tear the Penn State community apart. If the entertainment backbone of this university, football games, had no active supporters then the morale of this community would have crumbled. Yet, anyone who was at the Michigan game can tell you that this community is stronger and more tightly bonded than ever.

        This was one of the most inspiring civic engagement movements to happen to this school in recent history. It took over 107,000 students, alumni, teachers, and supporters to come together to take down one of the best football teams in the nation, in four heart-pounding overtimes. Anyone who had read my blog post could personally connect to what they were reading. I felt that the majority of my blog audience could relive that emotional game through my writing, with the help of rhetorical pathos. I attempted to use pathos, as well as an added video of highlights of the game, to rekindle any adrenaline pumping sentiments they felt inside of Beaver Stadium that night. This blog post was entertaining to write as I attempted to put all of my raw emotions from that game into a readable excerpt, yet, only those who were there that day can fathom the community-bonding experience that was the Michigan game.

 

Bioethics and the Environment:

        I decided to post this blog entry from my Civic Issues Blog because of my personal advocacy for the protection of the environment. I try to live my life in an environmentally sound fashion, understanding that it took millions of years of trial and error to produce the beautiful landscape that we know the earth to be today. I liked this blog post because despite my obviously biased opinion on the use of GMOs, I attempted to list both the positives and negatives of this genomic modification. I presented how genetic modification could prove beneficial for some parts of the world, yet also listed the immoral implications of this technique.

       I liked this blog post because although it was hard for me to voice the positive aspects of genetic modification, I felt as if I fulfilled this. With the Civic Issue Blog, it is less about trying to rhetorically persuade your audience, and rather presenting all the facts from both sides of the spectrum to allow the reader to come to their own personal conclusion. I also added images and neatly hyperlinked sources to give the reader additional perspectives on the subject. I enjoyed writing this specific blog entry because of my personal detestation of humans tainting the natural beauties of the world. My outlook on the subject propelled me to voice my own opinion while still including extensive research of the opposite side of the argument—allowing the reader to form a personalized opinion after obtaining all perspectives on the matter.

 

Kelimutu: 

       This blog entry was one of my most enjoyable Passion Blog entries to write and research. I researched many elements of this natural beauty, including measurements, cultural outlook of the volcanic lakes, and cause and effect of the earth’s gaseous leaks on the changing color of the lakes. I thought this was one of my most well written passion blog posts, mainly because of my enthusiasm and awe of the natural beauty. Also because I had several researched perspectives on the volcano and lakes, which allowed me to organizationally plan out what needed to be written in a succinct fashion.

        I also liked how I included many visual images to aid in the description of the lakes. This allowed the reader to directly follow which one of the three lakes I was describing at that moment and also directly visualize the exact transition of colors that each lake would undergo. This blog entry was one of the most astounding natural phenomena that I had discovered while researching natural beauties, which helped me in creating creative and imaginative diction when describing these environmental rarities. The more engaged I would be on the subject, the more innovative my diction and organization would be, and therefore rhetorically persuade my audience into feeling similar emotions on the topic as I did.