Reflection

The two essays I did were, "My Dislocated Knee" and "Nature Essay." In both of these essays, I was trying to remember certain memories that I have had in my life, one being an experience in nature, and the other being an injury. The main idea of "My Dislocated Knee" was I dislocated my knee during a football practice last year. The main idea of "Nature Essay" was that I had a very calming experience after church one day. While writing these pieces, I learned how to deeply describe objects by using multiple adjectives and big words. Three things about writing that I have learned so far in this class are, use multiple adjectives, always read your peers work to look for writing tools that could help you, and never be scared to try knew things while writing.
The main place where I revised for new ideas was in my descriptions. In almost every description, I would try to use big words and multiple adjectives. I would always try to trim down sentences that were to long and akward. One of my akwards sentences, Sentence 2, before revision, this sentence was extremely misshapen, but then I clarified it. I also used very much repition in my Nature Essay, I repeatedly stated that it was a very peaceful experience. After revision, I started changing the sentences around and using different descriptive words.
One of the most important things I learned was how to paint a picture in the readers head, which I learned from Erika Burton, Erika's Blog, I feel that this is very important because the lack of descriptive words can make a description sound very dull and boring. Although with the use of many adjectives, you can create an image using only words. Another thing i learned was how to speak your mind in your paper and be honest, which I learned from Kacie Mccoy, Kacie's Blog, I feel that if you are honest in your writing, then it gives the reader a more personal connection to the writer and it doesn't seem like the writer is wearing a mask. The last thing I learned was how to always try to use correct grammar and spelling, which I learned from Emily Anna Price, Emily Anna's Blog, I feel that spelling and grammar always makes and exceptional difference in the way the reader feels about the writer. It gives the reader a better since of respect for the author when the author uses correct spelling and grammar.

Nature Essay

I had a great experience in nature on Sunday, October 7, 2007. After church, I got in my golf-cart and rode into the woods. I found my deer-stand and climbed up into it and just sat there. I didn't use a chair, I lay there as the cool breeze kissed my cheeks, and looked up at the trees with the rays of sunlight percieng through the branches, and the bird nests and the baby birds up there looking for there mommy's. At that time, I felt like nothing was wrong in the world. I watched the birds fly gracefully, and the squirrels run fast. It was one of the most relaxing experiences I've ever had. It is similar to the way that Emerson and Thoreau described their experiences.
In Emerson's essay, he says, "...will separate between him and vulgar things." This is exactly the way I felt when I sat there in solitude. I felt like there were no outside disturbances in the world that could possibly catch my attention or distract me. I didn't think about what was going on in the world or what I was going to do when I went back to the house. I only thought about what I was doing at that exact moment, and what was around me.
In Thoreau's experience, he lived in solitude for two years. He says, " I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." I felt exactly the way that Thoreau feels. When I was laying there, I only thought about God's creation and how beautiful it is. I felt like I was closer God and I had heard everything he had to say to me.
Emerson and Thoreau both wrote about their experiences in nature. I feel like my experience was very similar to theirs because I was in solitude just like them. I even had the same feelings as they did, such as feeling closer to God. If Emerson and Thoreau were still alive, I would definitely go into the woods with them.

My Dislocated Knee


I have always had a problem with my knees. I have a disorder in which the outside of my left knee never fully developed, and the bone stopped short of going all the way up to my femur(active voice). I wish I'd known of this before I stepped out onto the field on August 22, 2006. Although I was extremely sore from the workout on the previous day, I still attended practice. It started off as just a normal practice, we ran the usual drills, and stretched like normal. It started to rain, so we all went inside and sat there for about an hour. Afterwards, we resumed our practice. The ground was extremely spongy and covered in puddles. It was very hard to practice in these conditions but we did anyway. The assistant offensive line coach, Coach Bowen, fat and lazy(adjective out of order), decided to try out a new drill. We were taken to a large metal cage-like thing that stood about three and a half ft. off of the ground; more commonly known as the shoots. We were told to get on the opposite side of the person across from us and get down as low as possible and hit him. I successfully completed the drill about 7 times. However, on the 8th time I lined up from Don Hendrix. Since he is much shorter than I am- he hits much lower than me, so I got down as low as humanly possible. Knees bent, my stance was very poor because I was so sore(absolute). When the coach blew the whistle, I fired off the ball but I didn't make it very far. The mixture of me being too low and my poor stance caused me to put too much pressure on the inside of my knee. This in itself could result in injury but I also have the disorder on the outside of my knee, so my knee was much more prone to fold in. That's exactly what happened. Before I collided with Don, I fell to the ground screaming in pain, that i had broken my leg (participle phrase). Little did I know that it was far worse. Jason, the trainer, and the offensive line coach, Coach Hacker, ran over to me to see what was wrong. They took off my pads and rolled up my pants leg, and that's when I saw it. My leg was bent at an awful angle and my kneecap had been pushed to the outside of my leg, about three inches from where it's supposed to be. Thoughts about never being able to play sports or run again were running the my mind like a Kenyan in the Olympics.
After about three hours, two x-rays, lots of paperwork, and too much Seinfeld my knee was eventually relocated. The doctor told me just to give it some time and it would be fine. It has been over a year since my injury. Since then I have suffered another dislocation, 2 surgeries, and 5 months of physical therapy. I'm now able to participate in weightlifting, and sports. I hope that I sustain no more injuries.