Not all animals put on a layer of fat in the winter

The title to this blog was the quote on the back of a t-shirt I had from my highschool cross-country ski team. I am writing this blog to help you understand why 1) Cross country skiing is, well, the best sport ever and 2) why Cross country skiing is WAY better than downhill skiing. I have been skiing since I was about 5 years old. It is, in my book, the absolute best sport ever. First of all, Cross country skiing is a fabulous cardiovascular workout. Usually races are 5k (3 miles) long, so it takes a lot of endurance. Even if you are just skiing for fun, trails go on forever so you can't really start and then stop 10 minutes later...you have to finish. Unless you want to wimp out and turn around, but then you will crash into other skiers and that is never good. To ski you have to be able to tolerate very cold weather and that alone takes a lot of strength. I mean, honestly, what is better than wearing spandex in the middle of winter? Cross country skiing puts to work every part of your body. Legs, arms, abs, they all get an amazing workout. It is also extremely relaxing if you are doing it for recreation. You get to enjoy being in the middle of a winter wonderland, just you and nature. Now for my second point....cross country skiing is far superior to downhill skiing. In downhill skiing you are only on the slope for maybe 20 seconds in a race (downhill). On the other hand, in cross country skiing, you must be able to go up AND down hills for 3 miles or even more depending on the race. Cross country skiers don't have gravity to help them out. Downhill skiers seem to have that an attitude of, "I'm a risk taker, I can fly down a hill really fast and put my life in danger". Cross country skiers aren't trying to prove how brave they are, they are proving how skilled and strong they are. I recommend that everyone tries cross country skiing on a warm, sunny day where you can go out and meditate in nature!

Rhetoric???

To be honest, prior to reading Herrick’s introduction, I had a very limited idea as to how to define rhetoric. I was intimidated after reading the title for this course and found myself not even knowing exactly what it meant. I must admit I am still not quite sure what to expect. Before reading this excerpt, I would have described rhetoric as being closely related to the art of persuasion. Moreover, that it focuses not only on the content of what is being communicated, but also on the fashion in which it is presented. Unfortunately, that was the extent of my knowledge of rhetoric and I looked forward to reading Herrick’s "An Overview of Rhetoric" in order to become more acquainted with the subject matter we would be discussing for most of the semester.

After reading Herrick’s introduction, I felt much more informed as to what exactly rhetoric is. I was partially right in my original definition that rhetoric is related to persuasion, but I feel that I missed the big picture of what rhetoric actually is. Rhetoric is present everywhere and is essential to our everyday lives. Herrick’s reference to George Kennedy when he describes rhetoric as, “when we express emotions and thoughts to other people with the goal of influencing (persuading) them,” really helped to give me an understanding of rhetoric. This quote leads into the other parts of the reading that I found most interesting, which are the many forms in which rhetoric can be used. Kennedy says rhetoric is when we “express” (not write or speak about) our emotions and thoughts. Originally, I only thought of the use of rhetoric as being confined to writing and speaking. In actuality, rhetoric can be seen in music, dance, acting, painting, and even architecture. This really opened my eyes to how much rhetoric exists in our everyday lives. People use all kinds of symbols and art in order to persuade or convince someone on any given issue. This reading also describes rhetorical discourse and the social functions of the art of rhetoric. These two sections were organized extremely well and provided me with an understanding of the characteristics of a rhetorical discourse and how rhetoric applies to different aspects of our lives and communities. When the author was discussing rhetorical discourse, he mentioned that rhetoric is usually directed towards a specific audience, and is often adapted by the rhetor to accommodate for the beliefs of that audience. One thing I found interesting is that the "audience" can, in fact, be yourself. For example, if you are debating the pros and cons of a situation, you are, in a way, persuading yourself act in a certain way or not. It is true that rhetoric has had a bad reputation in that past, but after reading this article I feel that, perhaps, it only got that reputation because the people using the word rhetoric did not completely understand its definition entirely. Anther possibility is that the general definition of rhetoric has changed over time yet the negative associations still linger today.

Overall, my definition of rhetoric has expanded dramatically. I can say that it is not only persuasion, but the study or practice of symbolic expression. Rhetoric has a role in almost all human interactions. In so many things we do, we are trying to convince one another of our thoughts or opinions, and these can all be considered forms of rhetoric. Although there is still criticism of rhetoric existent today, I think rhetoric is definitely worth studying and analyzing.

How did I end up here?

How did I end up here? Anyone who knows me knows that I refer to myself as "technologically disabled". I really dislike dealing with computers, TVs, or any sort of technological device. If anything happens to go wrong with my computer I usually get frustrated and pout rather than try to fix it. Eventually, someone comes to my rescue and repairs it for me. So, I find it amusing that when I registered for English 201 I ended up in the section titled "Rhetorics of Network Culture". However, the more I have read about the class the more intrigued I have become. I have actually managed to convince myself that this class is going to be fun and I might learn something useful. Being that I am a dietetics major and hoping to go to medical school, it is unlike any course that I have taken. Overall, I think this should be a pretty interesting course.
I suppose I should introduce myself a little more for anyone who may run across this, and for the other students in my class. As I mentioned above my major is dietetics and my longterm goal is to go to medical school. I am a junior but unfortunately I won't be graduating until the fall of 2008. This is partly my fault because I did not declare a dietetics major until my sophomore year and I took it easy during my freshman year. However, I must emphasize that the amount of classes required for dietetics and premed are quite extensive. I also took many Spanish classes to prepare me for a month long trip to Costa Rica I took last summer with my best friend. We lived with a host family and volunteered in a food shelter and a kindergarten. It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life and I hope to go back next winter break. I love to travel and see new places and experience life to the fullest. For this reason I sometimes question medical school. Do I really want to spend the best years of my life in school? Tied down for 9 or more months out of the year? Whenever I have these doubts I always come to the conclusion that it will really be worth it in the end and I know I wont regret it. Class is about to end and then I am off to research (hopefully not for too long). I must say this "blogging" is pretty exciting!