Christmas in February

Today my PCM 300 classmates and I dissected a sentence from one of my blog posts. I was given the task to reconstruct it and come back with 10 perfect substitute sentences accurately depicting the magic of creation. Not creation in the biblical or biological sense, but the way I feel when I compose a brilliant piece.

So far most of my "babies" have been birthed for scholastic purposes only. However, in the past few weeks, some of my writing has made it on the outside. Incidentally, I have received some awesome feedback. And a job offer. For money.

My children attend an MPS school. It is common knowledge that most teachers are underpaid, overworked and often have to purchase their own classroom materials. While I cannot afford to donate to the school, I do enjoy showing my appreciation with a note here and there. The results are always astounding. I shower these teachers with praise and all they can do is gush about my writing.

However, the real payday came about 3 weeks ago. My son has always had a difficult time controlling his behavior and emotions at school. After seeing a child psychologist for a year and meeting with a psychiatrist, I agreed to try an anti-anxiety medication they suggested. I did my research and started him on the meds. But I wanted to give the school a head's up about the situation. So, I sat down and wrote a detailed letter covering everything I thought they should know about the drug and its side effects and what to watch out for. I sent the letter to school in Adrian's backpack and forgot all about it.

A few days later I stopped by the school around mid-morning because I forgot to give Adrian his meds. When I stepped into the office to sign in and get a visitor's pass, the Vice Principal, Ms. Dykes, invited me into her office. I was on edge as I always am when I see her, for she is the unfortunate bearer of bad news. On the contrary, I had nothing to worry about.

It so happens that she had been looking for someone to help her with a research project. Adrian's teacher thought my letter was so well written that he decided to show it to Ms. Dykes. She pulled me in the office to tell me how impressed she was and asked me if I would consider helping her when the time came. I was flabbergasted. I readily agreed and went to see my son with a happy heart.

I do not share this story to toot my own horn. It's just funny how opportunities seem to fall out of the sky when I'm not looking for them. This one was quite blatant, but the next one may not be. God grant me to eyes to see them and the courage to follow my heart.

There's a first time for everything

Normally, I'm not one to complain about a writing assignment. I love to write. It's my passion. It's my life's breath. That being said, I'd like to go on the record as also saying that this "hard news" article is the very bane of my existence at the moment.

I did finish it, but I am not sure what to think about the end result. It seems to meet the criteria. However, it is so alien from the writing I like to do that I don't feel the swoon; the ghostly, hair-raising, tingly sensation setting my nerve endings on fire and signaling a job well done.

How do I take my imagination and boil my exuberance down into one to two sentence paragraphs with little to no frilly, flashy or fluffy words? I mean, I was afraid to use a thesaurus this time for fear of having my very elegant, delectable phrases torn to shreds by my peers and their ruthless little red pens.

The funny thing is that I've always toyed with the idea of becoming a journalist. I guess I just didn't realize how much of me I would have to leave out to do it. Not to say that I couldn't do it. But I need a lot more practice!

Heading in the right direction...for real this time.

This past week has been a whirlwind. I finally went through with it. I changed my major from CMT to PCM. I met with my advisor and prepared a tentative schedule for the two remaining semesters. My plan is clear. My goal set. My aim steady and straight.

These final semesters will allow me to focus on my growth as a writer and visual communicator. My plans include courses in newswriting, desktop publishing and possibly public relations and video production as well as a summer course, which will include a ten day adventure in Costa Rica!

Not only will I get to practice my español in another country, but the communication materials I help create will be used for purposes outside of an Alverno classroom. This prospect alone is extremely tantalizing. I welcome this extreme challenge of on-the-job training. Seriously...bring it on.

Pat myself on the back? Well, don't mind if I do!

Hello everyone!

A few of you have expressed difficulty when trying to post comments to my blog entries. Well, after playing around for about 2 hours, I finally figured out the problem. When I edited my layout, somehow the configuration for my widgets got distorted. I fixed it now though, so please let loose on any or all of my posts.

Read. Comment. Enjoy.

Rosa the Writer

Here I go again...

God help me, I think it's happening again. I'm almost afraid to write it down because then it will most likely come true. Not that it would be a bad thing if it did, but I like to believe that I have more control over my life than fate. So I'm just going to put it out there and hope that I make the right choice.

I'm thinking of changing my major...again. I have done this in the past, and it didn't work out. I tried going from a CMT major to a CLD major and changed back in one semester. It's not that I don't enjoy helping people in the community; it's more like I don't enjoy living in my community because of its' unfortunate location in this ice-cold wintery state. I felt it didn't make much sense for me to be studying Milwaukee's problems when I plan on leaving as soon as I graduate.

So, I came back to my original program and after a semester of disorientation, I am finally getting back into the swing of things. However, even though my graduation date is a mere 3 semesters away, I still feel like maybe, just maybe, CMT is not the perfect fit for me. Oh, it's a good fit, that's for sure. But, it's kind of like one of those 5000 piece puzzles where the pieces seem interchangeable at first. In the beginning and middle stages of completion, it doesn't seem to matter. However, when you are nearly done, you notice that the picture isn't coming out like the one on the box. By now you are sick of this puzzle and wonder why you started such an enormous task in the first place. You know it doesn't make sense to quit when you've come this far, but you wonder what will matter more to you in the long run; the big finish or the big picture?

I started the CMT program because the combination of the three disciplines seemed like a more logical program for me. It gleamed and sparkled with the promise of a more diverse and marketable portfolio and boasted potential job titles that could provide my family with a very comfortable lifestyle. After hearing stories from my CMT professors about their dream homes, lavish vacations and prospering businesses, I do not doubt that this is true. However, the writer in me is starting to wonder if I'm doing an injustice to myself by not focusing on my one true love in an effort to get the heck out of here.

I've begun to explore the "What If?" factor of changing from the CMT to the PCM major. From what I've seen, it looks like I could still graduate at the same time, but I wouldn't need a few of the courses I'm already enrolled and quite invested in this semester. I suppose my next step would be to meet with my advisor...again. I could also try to arrange a meeting with the head of the PCM department and see if it's wise to change course so close to the end. Or perhaps I could even explore what would happen if I changed my support from Elective Studies to Professional Communication.

I'm still not clearly leaning one way or the other, so I definitely have my work cut out for me. I just want to get the most mileage out of my education that I can.

Survey Says...

This semester I feel very blessed to have a schedule full of classes that I thoroughly enjoy:

· PCM 300-Advanced Professional Writing
· PCM 320-Advanced Media Studies
· PCM 364-Digital Photography
· CIT 200-Foundations of Computing and Information Technology
· MGT 221-Managing in Organizations

As you can imagine, the "advanced" nature of these courses leads to quite the full load during WEC. By the time my final afternoon class rolls around, I'm usually on the border of fatigue and exhaustion. However, last Sunday's class discussion was so charged with passionate energy that it was difficult for many of us to contain ourselves long enough to let any of the other 20 students get a word in edgewise.

The textbook posed an interesting question. Is a virtual community a "genuine" community? Some people voted no on the grounds that communicating online doesn't allow people to engage all of their senses. Others argued that not being able to smell or touch a person doesn't stop us from having a relationship with said person. A few people took a more "scientific" approach, by first defining the meaning of "community" according to the dictionary and then justifying their opinion based on their findings. My response was a combination of the latter two options. After reading that a community can be classified as "a group of people who share similar backgrounds and interests", I argued that a social network like Facebook or Myspace can indeed be placed in such a category.

For me personally, these networks have not only helped me keep in contact with former co-workers and friends, but they have also allowed me the chance to reconnect with former classmates from high school and friends from childhood. These people may have moved away or just went m.i.a. for a few years, but now we can pick up our chats on a daily basis right where we left off and immediately the years begin to melt away. Since my friends don't live on my block, like on Desperate Housewives, when I want to make plans for the weekend, I can post a bulletin on Myspace or a status update on Facebook advertising the fact that I am free and could use some company. Response time can range anywhere between 1 minute to a few hours, but usually by bar time, I've got a pretty good idea of who's available and a few places we can go.

Now some people would argue that these communities aren't "genuine" because they take the place of "face-to-face" communication, which can lead to misunderstandings because there is no body language/facial expressions available to check against the semantics. However, I would argue that people are more apt to give their "genuine" response when communicating in writing. Of course there's the slight chance for miscommunication, but perhaps people should be a little less sensitive and give the sender the benefit of the doubt to avoid needless confrontation.

However, I want to know what you think. Yes, you. What is your opinion of social networks? Do you believe they are "genuine" communities? Do you feel held captive in your houses because of their existence? Do you feel Myspace and Facebook keep you from having flesh and blood relationships with your neighbors? Do you even want to know your neighbors? I want to know what you think and feel on the subject. Please feel free to use personal stories to give examples.

I will end my blog with this story which I also shared in class. About a week ago I noticed one of former co-workers had a negative status update. "I'm not sure I can deal with this anymore," it read. Her mood was "aggravated". In my head I wished her a happy day and went about my business. However, for the next couple of days, I noticed her updates becoming hysterical and her moods growing darker. I tentatively sent her a quick message on Myspace offering a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen if she needed one. The next morning I received a message back from her. She thanked me profusely in big bold letters for caring and informed me that I was the ONLY person to bother to ask if she was OK. I thought this was odd because she works with a few mutual friends of ours, but I was glad to help in any way. After this message, I noticed that her mood seemed to be improving and her updates became less hostile and more hopeful. Now, I don't say this to give myself a pat on the back for being a good friend. My attitude is this: If it weren't for these virtual communities, I wouldn't have even known my friend was in trouble. This medium allowed me to reach out to her and pull her back from whatever black hole she was sinking into. If that's not the kind of service a community should provide, then I don't know what is.