Final thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this class this semester.  Coming into class for the first time I had no idea what to expect from the class.  I knew from a few of my friends that had already taken the class, there was a good bit of writing involved.  This scared me slightly because I do not consider myself the best writer in the world.  I never at one point felt uncomfortable in the class though.  The blog posts throughout the semester helped me with my writing tremendously.  Being able to get out thoughts once a week through writing actually helped me be able to express my words on my larger papers.  I hit a few speed bumps on the first paper but eventually got into a grove and felt great about it by the end of the paper.  The research paper was a bit more difficult for me partly because is was a good bit longer and partly because I choose a difficult topic.  It was hard for me to find sources that gave me a significant amount of information because I formulated my topic on my own and it was not one that had been previously discussed in many academic sources.  I enjoyed the group work during the class periods.  Being forced to discuss different topics with my classmates was quite enjoyable and also gave me insight into other people opinions and the way they approach different situations.  I did not enjoy reading outside of class.  Although the information was not difficult to understand and it was good information, I sometimes felt like it was not relevant to the class.  The final project was very enjoyable for me.  I enjoyed video taping with my group and the paper went quite smoothly.  Other than the readings I have no complaints with the class.  I enjoyed going to it more than any of my other classes all semester.

Project Update

As we get closer and closer to the end of our first year of college, our project is coming along very well.  We have already met several times not including the allotted time during class to film and discuss our paper.  Filming has gone much better than expected.  We thought that we would be struggling to fill video time but we actually had to cut some scenes from our storyboard because the other important scenes were taking too much time.  We filmed Matthew and I waking up and doing our everyday routine and we filmed a scene with us each individually talking to our football coach about a scholarship opportunity.  We used one of Matthew's friends for the coach which turned out very well.  He was well-dressed for the part and he played an excellent coach in the video.  We then filmed scenes of Matthew receiving the scholarship and getting the scholarship taken away from him which was a very traumatic experience for him.  We then filmed Matthew and I working out in the Byrnes basement gym.  We ended up filming way more video than we needed for those scenes and cut it down a lot.  I have began to write my portion of the paper as well.  I am responsible for discussing steroids in professional sports.  It has turned out to be a very interesting topic.  Going into the project I thought I knew pretty much all there is to know about steroids but after further research, I have learned a great deal of interesting information about the drug its self and the evolution of the use of steroids in sports.

Brainstorming for Storyboard

After deliberating for a while over a solid topic, our group eventually decided that steroids would be a solid choice.  We then moved on the topic of our video.  None of us were against the idea of filming a video and we all thought that we had fairly good ideas that would make for a good video.  We began brainstorming and jotting our ideas out onto a sheet of paper.  The paper was very unorganized and random but it ended up being a great way to collect our thoughts before we began the actual story boarding process.  We talked about a number of different ways to approach our video.  We discussed the pros and cons of doing steroids in professional sports versus portraying steroid use in high school or college level sports.  We discussed having just one story and following that story very closely or having two separate stories and having them collide in the video.  We ended up deciding that having two separate high school boys, me being one and Matt being the other, was the best route to take.  Matt and I would both be attending the same high school and fighting for the same scholarship on the football team.  We would both meet with our coach and discuss how we were both well-qualified for the position and whoever showed that they wanted it more would get it.  We then go our separate ways.  Matt then decides that he is going to take steroids to try and cheat his way into the scholarship.  I take the traditional approach and work as hard as I can without any supplements to get the position.  Matt ends up winning the scholarship and all the girls at our school have taken notice of his large muscles.  I grow more and more jealous until Matt is eventually caught taking the steroids in the locker room of the gym and reported to the coach.  At this point we go on to discuss the downside of steroids and how it is actually not beneficial in the long run.  We are going to attempt to present our project with a double screen, showing what Matt and I are doing at the same time.  Katelyn and Katherine will be narrating the entire film to minimize confusion.  They may also play the role of the girls that Matt and I are trying to get to like us.  We will use some of our friends for other positions such as the coach and other football players on the team.  We have finished our storyboard and are going to begin filming today.  We have also already divided up the different parts of the paper that we each need to complete and have set due dates for ourselves.

brainstorming for media project

We dove right into the brainstorming process as soon as we had assembled our group together.  As is often the case with group projects, everyone has a different idea within their head about how they want the project to go.  The process of breaking this idea down to make room for the other group members ideas is often not an easy task.  You must strain and squirm to keep your mouth shut when an idea is presented that does not fit into the schema that is present within your head.  This however did not seem to be the case for our group.  I found myself inspired by my group members ideas rather than disgusted.  This was quite a pleasant surprise, for it was not often that this happened to me when confronted with a group project.  I typically felt like the only one who had good ideas and I would end up taking over the project even though I did not want to simply so that my fellow group members terrible ideas would not make it.  This was an exception though.  Finally I had found the perfect group..hopefully.  We began talking about animals and thought that might be a good subject to start on.  After brainstorming about different video techniques, we could not seem to narrow it down enough to make it a concrete topic.  Then we discussed the idea of sports in high school and what issues might arise within them.  From there we talked about kids not making the team or making the team based off of certain stereotypes.  This idea eventually evolved into the subject of steroids.  Steroids, a very common drug used typically by men to gain incredible amounts of muscle have caused a great amount of controversy over the years.  We decided that there would be lots of good information on this topic and it would be a good one to settle on.  We then discussed our parts within the video.  We determined that we would create two stories happening at the same time, one involving steroids and the other not, and have their paths cross at some point in time.  When the paths cross, we talk about the positives and negatives of steroid use and how it effects children in high school.  

writing center

I made my way to the writing center on wednesday around 4pm.  I got there and met with the lovely Samuel to discuss my paper.  At this point I did not have as much done as I would have liked to have done but I went none the less.  I had mostly only worked on my introduction and two of my main body paragraphs which were fairly long.  I gave him a brief overview of my topic telling him that I was still working out how I wanted to word my thesis and how I wanted to structure my argument as well as my body paragraphs.  I told him that I wanted to discuss how introverts were much more effective at doing things than people give them credit for and that society is far to bias towards extroverts.  They are the ones who people think are the ideal friend because they now how to talk to people and always want to do something socially.  I explained the positives of introverts that I wanted to get across.  I told him they were extremely good listeners making them good when working in groups because they take everyones thoughts into consideration.  They also are very thoughtful in general because they enjoy spending time alone and thinking about what is going on in their head.  This means that when they make a decision, they are much more prepared to make that decision.  He then proceeded to read my paper much faster than I could read a single sentence.  He stopped briefly at a few places to ask me what I ment and made a few gramatical errors.  He said he liked what I had so far but that the information was a bit scrambled.  We discussed several ways that I could better organize the information including using better transitions between paragraphs.  We also talked about different ways that I could organize my argument so that it would make a little more sense and make my paper flow better.  He also mentioned that bringing in some information about extroverts would be more helpful than just talking about introverts the whole time.  He wrote down all these notes on the draft that I brought in and then our time was all but up.  I left feeling much happier about my paper until I began working on it again.  But that is ok, I will bounce back from my slump.

Research outline

INTRODUCTION:  With the population of the world growing rapidly, the amount of human interaction is also increasing at a staggering rate.  People are being forced into closer quarters causing the amount of connections to increase.  After all, all humans love to make connections with other humans.  Whether a business connection or a very personal connection, they are all important.  With this increase comes and increase in the diversity of people’s personalities.  Some people are more removed from society while others thrive on interaction and cannot lead a normal life without it.  Throughout history many leaders and successful businessmen have been both introverts and extroverts. 

THESIS: Introverts, however, have a greater chance of raising their social status and being successful in the long run than extroverts.

BODY: Mohandas Gandhi was a very influential leader in India.  He led his whole movement based on the idea of a peaceful revolution.  Through fasting and peaceful protesting he was able to change the direction of an entire nation.  Gandhi was in many ways an introvert.  I will look further into his personality and what he was able to do as a leader due to his personality.

BODY: Mother Teresa was a very shy and soft-spoken nun.  Many were surprised when they met her that she was able to make as large of an impact as she did.  She ministered and looked after the poor and sick for over 45 years.  She was able to make an impact simple because of her charitable ways.  Through her great acts of kindness she won multiple peace awards and quickly gained international success.

BODY: Warren Buffett is an extremely successful investor and philanthropist.  He is widely regarded as one of the most successful men in the world.  He also has an introverted personality.  He is known to be very reserved and shy.  Many people say this is one reason he is so successful as an investor because he has such a cautious personality, he has an eye for the right and the wrong time to invest.  He is almost completely giving away all his riches to various charities with about 83% going to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation (Bill Gates also has an introverted personality) and is leaving almost none for his children to inherit. 

ORGANIZATION:  I plan to deeply explore the personalities of these three introverts, what made them so successful, and how they got to the point of success.  I plan to explore their lives and show how they would not have achieved as much success if they had different personalities. If I feel that the paper is lacking I will add another example of a successful introvert (Joe DiMaggio, Hillary Clinton).

CONCLUSION:  Recap what was said in the introduction.  Talk about the differences between introverts and extroverts.  Mention what about an introverted personality makes them successful.

Extra Credit Pendulum visit

I started my adventure around 6:15.  Why this time you might ask? This is the hour of greatness.  The number six was viewed by the Greek Gods as even greater than the number three, traditionally the most called upon number.  The number six is also worn by Lebron James, arguably the best basketball player in the world right now, and also worn by my very own father.  For these reasons, when the clock struck six, I knew this was the time for me to go. When I left my dorm, the sun was just setting and the Clemson skyline was unlike it has been on any other day.  Presented before me was a dark and dreary sky with the exception of a small hole in the clouds directly above the crest of a distant mountain.  Peaking through this hole were gentle rays of sunlight taking their last breaths before they were covered by the impending darkness of night.  These rays projected beautiful shimmers of orange and purple light creating a soothing blend that reminded me of a soft freshly baked kaiser roll.  I began to walk towards the pendulum and quickly discovered that I was ill-prepared for the trek.  There were numerous puddles of rain water that seemed to be attacking my skimpy non-waterproof shoes.  I persevered through this challenge and eventually made it to the pendulum with soaked shoes.  The whole time I was walking over I was wondering if would be moving or not when I got there.  When we took the field trip in class it was not working.  It seems that whenever I hope for such things they never seem to come true but to my surprise, I rounded the corner and saw the ball slowly swaying back and forth.  My excitement overtook me and I let out a gentle cry that sounded similar to the horn of an old volkswagon bug.  The cry actually never came out but if it had I imagine that is what it would have sounded like.  I was as happy as a fox in a hen house.  The excitement, however, wore off very quickly as I realized I was getting cold and my feet were getting more and more pruned.  I did take the time to read the label and discover that it was build by the physics professor Albert Reed.  I then grew bored and headed back to the comfort of my dorm. 

Research in progress

After visiting the Cooper Library to start my research, I immediately realized that my topic was too broad and it was very difficult to find specific information.  Making my topic more sharp and concise will come as I do more research but for now I have found some interesting sources that may help me in that process.  The first book that I came across was a book on the personality and character in the White House.  The book is essentially analyzing all of the different presidents and how their personalities played into their success. Although this is not directly related to being an introvert or an extrovert, after looking through it briefly, it became clear that this could be very helpful for my paper.  The book goes into detail about how Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and John Kennedy were all very outgoing people and that this contributed to their success in many ways.  It also talks about John Adams and Woodrow Wilson and how their shy and reclusive personalities affected their time in office.  I look forward to reading more deeply into this book as it seems to have very good relevant information.  This source could be very helpful in my body paragraphs by providing multiple examples of actual people and their stories.  I also found several online journal articles that go into detail about the differences between and introvert and extrovert and what makes a person fall into either category.  One sentence that stuck out in my mind describing extroverts was that there is little or no barrier between their feelings and expression of their feelings.  I found this very interesting because it gives a definite line between the two types of personalities and how to tell if a person is one or the other.  One word that particularly stuck out in my mind when describing introverts was cautious.  Everything they do leads back to being cautious and not jumping right into things.  These article will be helpful in my introduction and conclusion because they will provide a good foundation, giving the audience a good idea of what the two types of personalities are.  I also found a book sitting on my roommates shelf while watching TV one day that I think may help provide some good information.  The book is on Steve Jobs and it analyzes his personality and success throughout his life.  The book goes fairly in depth describing his personality and this may be a helpful source to back up my argument (if I ever find one).  I am hoping to find a few more good sources to help my body paragraphs but I think that I am off to a good start so far.

Free write: Research Paper

I would like to compose my research paper on the positives of being an introvert and extrovert in todays society.  I would like to research more deeply the benefits of both types of personalities and how they add to society in their own separate way.  I became interested in the subject after reading an article in TIME magazine which analyzed the two types of personalities and the positives and negatives of both.  I want to further investigate the former leaders of our country and famous figures of the past who made a large impact on the world and how their personality played a role in their success.  Leaders such as Gandhi who changed the world through the use of non-violence and peaceful protest.  Martin Luther King Jr. is also a great example of a leader who used non-violence to achieve great things.  Other famous figures who carved their way to fame through the business world such as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs would also be very interesting to research.  I want to research the personalities of these people and analyze what about their personalities made them successful.  I do not think this topic will be too hard to find information on.  The article I found in TIME magazine will provide a great deal of helpful information.  With some research in the library, I may be able to find many books on the topic as well as biographies on the important figures that I want to discuss.  These biographies would be helpful in analyzing the personalities of these famous people and what their thought process was that led them to their fame and success. There is also a great amount of information on this subject on the internet.  From surveys to experiments, this could be a very interesting topic with a great amount of information to support it.  I want to organize my paper by first talking very generally about the two types of personalities.  Talking about how people who are introverts or extroverts approach love, music, their home, their job, and many more day to day things. I then want to slowly progress into a more in depth analysis of different famous figures and the importance of their personality.  I want to stress the fact that both types of personalities have been achieved success.  This topic is not only very interesting to me but it also is a topic that has not been looked into extensively.  Although I do not believe it will be hard to find information on, it may be difficult to piece the information that I do find together in an organized fashion.  

Visual Rhetoric Thesis

Thesis:  This Nike advertisement successfully motivates people to purchase their product by connecting with the audience on a human level, showing a great level of passion and patriotism, and pure simplicity.


In preparation for the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa, a number of companies took the time to create many compelling visual advertisements.  With the major producers of soccer equipment leading the way.  It was very hard to turn on the tv and watch a sports channel that was not displaying something about the World Cup or a commercial advertising a product relating to the World Cup.  The two leading competitors in this market are Nike and Adidas.  Both companies put out strong and very convincing advertisements months before the World Cup even began.  Their goal was to gain the interest of soccer fans, young and old, who were looking for news updates on the World Cup, hoping that these viewers would be inspired to invest a little more in some nice equipment.  The image above displays Wayne Rooney.  Wayne was born and raised in England and is the epitome of an English footballer.  Wayne does not put up with anything and does not care what others think of him or his playing style.  He is tough, scrappy, quick, strong, and always seems to get the job done no matter what his task on the pitch.  Almost every English fan loves him for these exact reasons.  After all, who wouldn't root for such a strong hometown boy.  Although it appears he is drenched in blood in the picture, he is actually painted with the colors and symbol on the English flag with a large red cross in the middle and a pure white background.  To the average person passing by, this commercial may look quite strange and over the top.  Nike, however, knows their audience quite well and a true soccer fan would be ashamed if they did not understand the symbolism behind this advertisement right away.  I personally am a fan of Nike over Adidas and a huge fan of Wayne Rooney.  I grew up watching him play and fell in love with his style so much so that I would try to replicate it whenever I got on the field.  It is for these reasons that I chose this advertisement.  I love the simplicity of it and I love how it is not just your average athletic commercial.  There is a deeper meaning within the picture and it is filled with so much passion and patriotism.  Although I am a major fan of the United States soccer team and would  root for them in a match against England without any thought, I cannot say I would be upset if Wayne Rooney scored against us.      

Soccer has been a large part of my life thus far.  Since I was five years old, not a year has gone by that was not filled with soccer.  Weekends and weeknights were spent playing and training.  Looking at a picture like this makes me appreciative of all the hours my parents committed to me playing the sport.  I was on the verge of playing varsity soccer in college and received several offers from smaller schools that I turned down to come to Clemson.  When I came to Clemson, I considered walking on to the team multiple times but ended up settling for a spot on the Club travel team.  Looking back at this point, it would be easy to say that everything I put into soccer was a waste of lots of time and lots of money.  And after making the decision not to play at the division one level in college, I began to think it was a waste. But when I look at a picture like this I remember what I really got out of soccer.  I gained many friends, priceless experiences, a great work ethic, time management skills, a closer relationship with my parents, and so much more.  It was my life, and always will be a part of my life.  In the background of this picture is my good friend Joe Demout who grew up playing with me all the time.  Joe was one year older than me but we always seemed to end up playing together.  On my first tournament away without my parents when I was twelve years old, Joe was my roommate.  In many ways his story is similar to mine.  He started out playing varsity at Davidson University and eventually ended up at Clemson on the club team.  We are playing against College of Charleston in the picture which is very close to home for me.  I also had some old soccer friends on their team.  The whole game was one big reunion.  We all started out with big dreams to play pro or in college and we all ended up on the same field in the middle of Clemson.  But yet we were all still perfectly content with where our life had taken us and did not want anything more than what we had.  It brought me back to the idea that it's the destination that is important in life but the journey. 

Visual Rhetoric

Almost everything in the media today involves visual rhetoric.  Whether a major motion picture or a simple commercial, visual rhetoric is quite prevalent.  While watching the movie Remember the Titans, I noticed many examples of this persuasive visual pictures.  I realized that visual rhetoric is extremely vital in creating a movie in the first place.  If the perfect setting and atmosphere is not created through the set and through the way the actors perform, the movie will not be interesting.  Consider the movie Lord of the Rings.  If Frodo Baggins of the Shire was a giant confident strong man, then the movie would loose a great amount of credibility.  Similarly, if the enemy in Lord of the Rings were very small unintimidating friendly looking people, again, the movie would loose credibility and people will loose interest.  In the movie Remember the Titans, there is a scene in which the football team is taking on a very tough opponent.  The scene shows the opponents coach looking like a very mean and angry person.  By creating this image of the football coach, the audience is able to much more easily get attached to the "good guys" facing the coach through visual rhetoric.
Television commercials work in a very similar fashion with lots of examples of visual rhetoric.  These commercials are completely concerned with their audience.  Without taking control of the minds of viewers, the commercials would be useless.  While watching television earlier today, i watched a car comercial that showed the process of the car being made in a factory.  I noticed that the factory that the car was being made in was almost completely white.  Not only was the factory completely white but also completely symmetrical and spotless.  This creates a very good image of the car for the viewers because it makes the car seem like it has zero flaws because the factory it was created in has none.  Within the same commercial, there was a scene in which a very happy and good looking family was dancing while going on a road trip in the car.  This again creates a positive image of the vehicle because when people begin to invision themselves with that vehicle, that is the image that is implanted in their head.  They believe that is they purchase this car, their family with also be happy and good looking and sing a lot.    

First Week..

Towards the end of a long and greatly anticipated Christmas break, I began to think about school.  Many things crossed my mind.  From getting books on time to who I would meet this semester, the list of thoughts went on.  The focus gradually drew away from having a good time on Christmas break to what my first week of the second semester would be like.  A strange mix of emotions came with these thoughts.   I was nervous, I was excited, and I was happy.  The nerves and excitement were easily explainable--but the happiness, that was a different story.  It is not common for a person like me, who has struggled with school their whole life, to be happy about going back to hard work and little sleep.  Even at this point I cannot quite understand or fully describe this emotion relating to my return to school.  I arrived a few days  before classes formally began and rode up with a former good friend of mine.  The car ride up took only a record breaking three hours and was filled with story exchanges, good music, and trips down memory lane.  Upon arrival, I hauled my eight bags, five of which were my sisters, up the stairs and to my second floor room.  The scent when that I was confronted with when I entered my room was very neutral, yet very familiar.  It was like meeting an old friend whom you know very well but do not have much in common with anymore.  Within the next few days I was almost too busy to think.  I managed to shift my schedule around four different times to accommodate with my soccer schedule and also dropped out of more classes than I probably should have.  Overall, it has been a smooth first week.  All of my new years resolutions have been in effect, I feel good, and my friends and family feel good.