Daybook
8/28
The strangest dream I have ever had is when I am being attacked by something. I don't know what I am being attacked by but I am scared of it and run as fast as I can. But when I run, it feels like I am running through wax. I try to run faster but I keep going in slow motion. I then try to scream as some sort of way to get help or something. But when I feel myself scream, I hear nothing. I keep 'screaming' but no scream ever escapes my mouth. Then, I wake up.
9/13
My literacy sponsors are racing, Star Wars, my mom, my friends, and video games. My racing is a literacy sponsor because the stereotype is that racers are not into reading and don't further their education. This helps influence me to break the stereotype and be who I am and not a stereotype to please what people think. Star Wars is a major literacy sponsor as Star Wars was my first series I got into reading. I got into the Star Wars books that extend out of the movies and would read all the time. I still continue to read the Star Wars books. My mom is also a major literacy sponsor as she allowed me to get a lot books. Which in turn lead me to read a lot. My friends are a literacy sponsor as they suggested books that I would've never picked up on my own. Books that I have really enjoyed and will look at more seriously the next time I see it. Video games has also been a good literacy sponsor as I play video games and get into a certain series, I want to read the books that are a part of that series. I have in turn read a lot of books that came form a video game.
9/18
Diaz says to keep writing while Lennon say to let go of your thinking when it comes to facing writer's block. Diaz values to never give up on your writing while Lennon values spontaneity in your writing. Personally, I can remember walking away from a fiction piece I was writing 5 years ago but when I returned to it, it took off again. I tend to start off a piece by hitting the ground and running, starting off great. My imagination kicks in and I can keep ideas and my thoughts rolling. Later in my writing, I'll either go to completion or hit writer's block. The methods I have for getting around it tend to be a mixture of Diaz and Lennon. Where I stop writing but keep thinking about the piece. Thinking of new ways and ideas I can use for it. Finally ending up with an idea where I can keep writing and finish the work.
9/20
To me, an argument is when two or more people have a difference of opinion, idea, etc that they feel strongly about and fight against the other person's viewpoint. A contradiction on the other hand, is when two objects, people, words, etc are the complete opposite of one another and are compared or changed. Like saying one thing but meaning the other. these are my definitions because an argument is when there is a disagreement between two or more people but a contradiction is where white vs black, two completely opposite things.
9/25
I agree with Vonnegut's "we don't really know what the good news is and the bad news is" because we assume something is good or bad news from the instantaneous results. But later in life, they can become the opposite of what the instantaneous results seemed like. If someone were to go through a traumatic experience, it will be bad news initially, as the traumatic experience hurts them in some shape or form. As tine goes on though, the person ends up learning a valuable lesson that came form the traumatic experience. Now, no matter how bad the experience was, it turned out to have some good values from the bad. Therefore, the bad news can also be good news depending on what you focus on. I also believe that there is a balance between the good and bad, where everything in the end becomes neutral.
10/2
The discourse communities I used to be a part of are the baseball team, school band and the few after school clubs. The discourse communities that I am a part of are my classes, racing team, tumblr and the rusher family.
10/9
The preview for the movie about my life would have a variety of clips of my racing, the drama in and outside of racing, my family and my schooling. It would say something along the lines of: a dedicated female racer racing in a male-dominated sport, her life on and off the race track are opposites of one another yet she makes them both work. Ending with 'Will she succeed at her dream or just fall short of making it to the big league?'. Focusing on the my double life of racing and being normal.
10/16
The three activities I participate in that are different from one another are racing, video games and my interest in the boy band, Big Time Rush. In racing, I see things as an athlete would see things. It also influences my day-today activities because from racing, I have become more focused and determined than if I didn't race. Racing also has knowledge I have obtained from it that I can transfer into conversations. Video games is different from racing as it is purely for fun and is a stress reliever from work that causes some stress. It also gives me a different mindset and views of the world than from racing. My interest in Big Time Rush is different from video games and racing as it is the almost complete opposite of the previous two. It influences me to listen to their music and have fun listening to it. I go out and support the band, where I don't for the others as I do with this band. It also helps me be a fan from having fans and keep myself at ground zero.
10/18
A discourse community impacts your "sense of self" because it is who you are. Your primary discourse, the one you are born into, is the core of your being. Yet it'll be the most pressure, as your family expects things from or your academic curriculum does. But your secondary discourse determines who you are, as you choose to be a part of a certain discourse communities. These liberate a person from their primary discourse and expectations as their secondary discourse is their choice and accepted for different reasons. These affects your "sense of self" as your primary discourse is the base of your sense of self. Your secondary discourses build around your primary and sometimes break you free from your primary.
10/23
Thinking back to my life pre-college to today, my sense of self has changed. Firstly, the change from living in Canada to the USA. I've had to adapt from living in Canada to the United States. As much as these two countries are similar to my previous experience in being in the USA, living here is very different. Such as the diversity compared to Canada. In Canada, though we are considered diverse, there wasn't much true diversity as the Caucasian's were more dominant and the language spoken everywhere was English. While living here, I've seen more different races and heard all sorts of languages. There's also a change in environment as I am further south and the weather acts differently than where I was from. Secondly, I have had to adapt to living on my own without my family nearby at all. Before, I was at home and had my parents around. Now I have to cook, clean and do everything on my own than when my parents could help me or how I was living before. I didn't do much cooking or cleaning before. Lastly, I've had to deal with not having the tools previously available to me as before. Back at my parents house, we had just about every tool imaginable to solve any sort of problem. I only have a screwdriver set, a hammer and a few other things. Without the previous options, I have to make do and be creative, so to speak, with what I have.
My whole identity has changed from pre-college as I've become more independent and more of myself. I have always been independent, which I use more now as I live and survive on my own. Additionally, being on my own has allowed me to be more of myself. Than restrict myself around my parents in fear that they'll judge and criticize me.
11/1
I find english, the class, to be the easiest to write for while engineering, the class, the be the hardest. I find english to be the easiest because I have been writing for this type of class for years. So knowing how to write is easy as I know what to do. Engineering is harder because I have never been taught how to write for this class before. So it is much more difficult as I don't know how to write for it and what they want for the assignment. I struggled in engineering for the writing in engineering in the beginning but I did adjust and get better in the end.
11/13
When I encounter material I don't understand, there are three different things I do to try and understand it. They go in different order depending on the subject and the subject matter itself. I try to take a whack at it and try to work it out to see if I can figure it out. This mostly involves thinking about or trying a different method of approach to the problem. I also ask a friend for help. If the friend understands, they can try to explain it to me and hopefully I will understand what they are saying. Lastly, I google what I don't understand. Doing some research that will give me a complete answer or a better explanation to the material.
11/20
A situation where someone was trying to persuade me was my last race of the year when another driver's crew chief was trying to persuade myself and my crew chief. This other team's crew chief was trying to persuade myself and my crew chief to let them start on the outside for the next restart, claiming that a valve in their engine was out. He first talked with my crew chief, who was skeptical and relayed the information to me. His method of persuasion was to play the sympathy card, trying to play to our emotions. In the moment, the claim made no sense to me, as I don't think when I am driving and wasn't thinking when the information was relayed. So I basically ignored it and went to the outside, as this was the favourable starting position and allowed me to lead every lap. Therefore, his method of persuasion was wrong, as we are on a race track where it is every man for himself and I have no brains when I am in the car. In the end, he didn't have engine problems so it was good for myself in the end but not for him.
11/22
A situation where I was trying to persuade someone was when I was trying to persuade my dad into letting me go to school at UNCC. I was a trusted person to my dad as I am his daughter and have gained his trust over time. But I had to play the money angle. My dad can be cheapskate with money over ridiculous things. Giving him good evidence of how we can make it as cheap as possible was the method that I took. Showing him how it can be cheaper than what he is assuming the cost will be. This method was different from the last as I knew my dad better than that crew chief knew myself and my crew chief. I knew that my dad would need logic, not just simple emotion. Which is what that other crew chief should've done. The only similarity between our methods of persuasion was that we were trying to get something. From the different methods, different outcomes were achieved. The other crew chief didn't get what he wanted while I did. Therefore, knowing your audience to know which method of persuasion to pull on proves to be the key to persuasion.
12/4
Dear incoming freshman,
Assuming you are going into the college of engineering, I would like to offer helpful advice that if you listen to, will appreciate later. Firstly, I will explicitly warn you that ENGR 1201 will be your most difficult class out of all of your other classes. There is a lot of work involved in the class that can become overbearing, while trying to do your other classwork as well. Try not to procrastinate, you will end up paying for it in the end and it'll hurt you more than anything else. Lastly, do the extra credit. Though it is annoying and seemingly pointless to do, it will help out your grade more than you think.
But their are good points as well, it isn't all bad. You will meet other people that are as driven as you are and can be more relatable than your other friends in high school were. You can learn some useful tips and tricks that you can use later on. Lastly, you are now an adult. You make your own choices and not your parents. Use this wisely as this can be a blessing.
Just try to stay focused and keep up good grades and you should be fine.
Good luck,
Dominique Van Wieringen
The strangest dream I have ever had is when I am being attacked by something. I don't know what I am being attacked by but I am scared of it and run as fast as I can. But when I run, it feels like I am running through wax. I try to run faster but I keep going in slow motion. I then try to scream as some sort of way to get help or something. But when I feel myself scream, I hear nothing. I keep 'screaming' but no scream ever escapes my mouth. Then, I wake up.
9/13
My literacy sponsors are racing, Star Wars, my mom, my friends, and video games. My racing is a literacy sponsor because the stereotype is that racers are not into reading and don't further their education. This helps influence me to break the stereotype and be who I am and not a stereotype to please what people think. Star Wars is a major literacy sponsor as Star Wars was my first series I got into reading. I got into the Star Wars books that extend out of the movies and would read all the time. I still continue to read the Star Wars books. My mom is also a major literacy sponsor as she allowed me to get a lot books. Which in turn lead me to read a lot. My friends are a literacy sponsor as they suggested books that I would've never picked up on my own. Books that I have really enjoyed and will look at more seriously the next time I see it. Video games has also been a good literacy sponsor as I play video games and get into a certain series, I want to read the books that are a part of that series. I have in turn read a lot of books that came form a video game.
9/18
Diaz says to keep writing while Lennon say to let go of your thinking when it comes to facing writer's block. Diaz values to never give up on your writing while Lennon values spontaneity in your writing. Personally, I can remember walking away from a fiction piece I was writing 5 years ago but when I returned to it, it took off again. I tend to start off a piece by hitting the ground and running, starting off great. My imagination kicks in and I can keep ideas and my thoughts rolling. Later in my writing, I'll either go to completion or hit writer's block. The methods I have for getting around it tend to be a mixture of Diaz and Lennon. Where I stop writing but keep thinking about the piece. Thinking of new ways and ideas I can use for it. Finally ending up with an idea where I can keep writing and finish the work.
9/20
To me, an argument is when two or more people have a difference of opinion, idea, etc that they feel strongly about and fight against the other person's viewpoint. A contradiction on the other hand, is when two objects, people, words, etc are the complete opposite of one another and are compared or changed. Like saying one thing but meaning the other. these are my definitions because an argument is when there is a disagreement between two or more people but a contradiction is where white vs black, two completely opposite things.
9/25
I agree with Vonnegut's "we don't really know what the good news is and the bad news is" because we assume something is good or bad news from the instantaneous results. But later in life, they can become the opposite of what the instantaneous results seemed like. If someone were to go through a traumatic experience, it will be bad news initially, as the traumatic experience hurts them in some shape or form. As tine goes on though, the person ends up learning a valuable lesson that came form the traumatic experience. Now, no matter how bad the experience was, it turned out to have some good values from the bad. Therefore, the bad news can also be good news depending on what you focus on. I also believe that there is a balance between the good and bad, where everything in the end becomes neutral.
10/2
The discourse communities I used to be a part of are the baseball team, school band and the few after school clubs. The discourse communities that I am a part of are my classes, racing team, tumblr and the rusher family.
10/9
The preview for the movie about my life would have a variety of clips of my racing, the drama in and outside of racing, my family and my schooling. It would say something along the lines of: a dedicated female racer racing in a male-dominated sport, her life on and off the race track are opposites of one another yet she makes them both work. Ending with 'Will she succeed at her dream or just fall short of making it to the big league?'. Focusing on the my double life of racing and being normal.
10/16
The three activities I participate in that are different from one another are racing, video games and my interest in the boy band, Big Time Rush. In racing, I see things as an athlete would see things. It also influences my day-today activities because from racing, I have become more focused and determined than if I didn't race. Racing also has knowledge I have obtained from it that I can transfer into conversations. Video games is different from racing as it is purely for fun and is a stress reliever from work that causes some stress. It also gives me a different mindset and views of the world than from racing. My interest in Big Time Rush is different from video games and racing as it is the almost complete opposite of the previous two. It influences me to listen to their music and have fun listening to it. I go out and support the band, where I don't for the others as I do with this band. It also helps me be a fan from having fans and keep myself at ground zero.
10/18
A discourse community impacts your "sense of self" because it is who you are. Your primary discourse, the one you are born into, is the core of your being. Yet it'll be the most pressure, as your family expects things from or your academic curriculum does. But your secondary discourse determines who you are, as you choose to be a part of a certain discourse communities. These liberate a person from their primary discourse and expectations as their secondary discourse is their choice and accepted for different reasons. These affects your "sense of self" as your primary discourse is the base of your sense of self. Your secondary discourses build around your primary and sometimes break you free from your primary.
10/23
Thinking back to my life pre-college to today, my sense of self has changed. Firstly, the change from living in Canada to the USA. I've had to adapt from living in Canada to the United States. As much as these two countries are similar to my previous experience in being in the USA, living here is very different. Such as the diversity compared to Canada. In Canada, though we are considered diverse, there wasn't much true diversity as the Caucasian's were more dominant and the language spoken everywhere was English. While living here, I've seen more different races and heard all sorts of languages. There's also a change in environment as I am further south and the weather acts differently than where I was from. Secondly, I have had to adapt to living on my own without my family nearby at all. Before, I was at home and had my parents around. Now I have to cook, clean and do everything on my own than when my parents could help me or how I was living before. I didn't do much cooking or cleaning before. Lastly, I've had to deal with not having the tools previously available to me as before. Back at my parents house, we had just about every tool imaginable to solve any sort of problem. I only have a screwdriver set, a hammer and a few other things. Without the previous options, I have to make do and be creative, so to speak, with what I have.
My whole identity has changed from pre-college as I've become more independent and more of myself. I have always been independent, which I use more now as I live and survive on my own. Additionally, being on my own has allowed me to be more of myself. Than restrict myself around my parents in fear that they'll judge and criticize me.
11/1
I find english, the class, to be the easiest to write for while engineering, the class, the be the hardest. I find english to be the easiest because I have been writing for this type of class for years. So knowing how to write is easy as I know what to do. Engineering is harder because I have never been taught how to write for this class before. So it is much more difficult as I don't know how to write for it and what they want for the assignment. I struggled in engineering for the writing in engineering in the beginning but I did adjust and get better in the end.
11/13
When I encounter material I don't understand, there are three different things I do to try and understand it. They go in different order depending on the subject and the subject matter itself. I try to take a whack at it and try to work it out to see if I can figure it out. This mostly involves thinking about or trying a different method of approach to the problem. I also ask a friend for help. If the friend understands, they can try to explain it to me and hopefully I will understand what they are saying. Lastly, I google what I don't understand. Doing some research that will give me a complete answer or a better explanation to the material.
11/20
A situation where someone was trying to persuade me was my last race of the year when another driver's crew chief was trying to persuade myself and my crew chief. This other team's crew chief was trying to persuade myself and my crew chief to let them start on the outside for the next restart, claiming that a valve in their engine was out. He first talked with my crew chief, who was skeptical and relayed the information to me. His method of persuasion was to play the sympathy card, trying to play to our emotions. In the moment, the claim made no sense to me, as I don't think when I am driving and wasn't thinking when the information was relayed. So I basically ignored it and went to the outside, as this was the favourable starting position and allowed me to lead every lap. Therefore, his method of persuasion was wrong, as we are on a race track where it is every man for himself and I have no brains when I am in the car. In the end, he didn't have engine problems so it was good for myself in the end but not for him.
11/22
A situation where I was trying to persuade someone was when I was trying to persuade my dad into letting me go to school at UNCC. I was a trusted person to my dad as I am his daughter and have gained his trust over time. But I had to play the money angle. My dad can be cheapskate with money over ridiculous things. Giving him good evidence of how we can make it as cheap as possible was the method that I took. Showing him how it can be cheaper than what he is assuming the cost will be. This method was different from the last as I knew my dad better than that crew chief knew myself and my crew chief. I knew that my dad would need logic, not just simple emotion. Which is what that other crew chief should've done. The only similarity between our methods of persuasion was that we were trying to get something. From the different methods, different outcomes were achieved. The other crew chief didn't get what he wanted while I did. Therefore, knowing your audience to know which method of persuasion to pull on proves to be the key to persuasion.
12/4
Dear incoming freshman,
Assuming you are going into the college of engineering, I would like to offer helpful advice that if you listen to, will appreciate later. Firstly, I will explicitly warn you that ENGR 1201 will be your most difficult class out of all of your other classes. There is a lot of work involved in the class that can become overbearing, while trying to do your other classwork as well. Try not to procrastinate, you will end up paying for it in the end and it'll hurt you more than anything else. Lastly, do the extra credit. Though it is annoying and seemingly pointless to do, it will help out your grade more than you think.
But their are good points as well, it isn't all bad. You will meet other people that are as driven as you are and can be more relatable than your other friends in high school were. You can learn some useful tips and tricks that you can use later on. Lastly, you are now an adult. You make your own choices and not your parents. Use this wisely as this can be a blessing.
Just try to stay focused and keep up good grades and you should be fine.
Good luck,
Dominique Van Wieringen