Last Posting

I know on the first day of this class when I looked at the course schedule I couldn't believe how much writing we were going to be doing. I told myself that I didn't know if I could seriously write that much. I have never had a class before with so many papers at the length before. Now that the semester is almost over I look back on the first day and say I was totally over exaggerating the situation. This class has been nothing but good things for my writing process and learning how to better my writing with more details.
During the course of these fifteen weeks I have learned more about writing. I think that during this time I have improved my writing skills when using details to describe a person or where I have been. I know that I still have a lot to work on when it comes to writing because I think that no matter how good your writing is you can always improve. After these fifteen weeks I still struggle with knowing exactly what to write. When writing I often find myself getting side tracked and talking about something irrelevant to the subject I am supposed to be focusing on. I think that the class was structured so we could finish our mini ethnography at the end. I wrote all of the papers preparing me for my mini ethnography and didn't have too much trouble laying those papers out. When it was time to write my mini ethnography I almost felt lost because I didn't know what to include from past papers and how much of the past was I supposed to incorporate in my mini ethnography. I feel that I personally benefited from the conferences because I had a better idea of what I needed to fix in my blogs and my writing in general. I think that the number of conferences could stay the same or increase because I feel they can only help not hurt.

Favorite Piece of Writing

   My favorite piece of writing so far has been my research proposal and literature review. I have done a research proposal before but it wasn't called a research proposal. But I never written a literature review before. I think that the research proposal was easy for me that's kind of why I enjoyed the writing so much. The literature review was hard for me and I think that for my first attempt it turned out pretty good. The challenging part of the literature review was just getting started because I had no idea where to even start. The research proposal was easy because I already knew what I was going to say. I also enjoy writing the blogs each week. I have never kept a blog before so this is my first experience using this form of writing to express my opinion. Each week I think and express my opinion on questions that expand my range of knowledge. I have really enjoyed this part of the class. Keeping a blog is helping me to organize all of my thoughts for my final project. 

Cut UP

We were in our dorm room, a very tiny space with cute decorations, two beds, two desks, and two armories smelling of vanilla, and with lots of pictures. You have to be on your constant A-game, and try to bring about whatever you feel the director wants from your specific character. The two ladies in the shop were hysterical, and just about every guy kind of laughed and was surprised to see what had happened. When we arrived at the social, what I saw was unbelievable. It was raining so people were spread out under then tents. From there on out I spent more times at the games watching them and being capable of doing the research I needed to do. It was the moment that changed my entire mini-ethnography, along with my thought of the band.

Observing

I could feel the hot sun coming down on me as I got out of the car. I had arrived in a place unknown to many twins. The twins festival. Twins were everywhere to be found. As soon as I started walking up to the main building in the middle of the street I knew something was different. I had finally found a sense of place. My twin sister and I went to this festival where over a thousand sets of twins gather each year. Twins come from all over to find a place in the world, where they are not alone. The festival consists of a parade and stages a place for twins to get to know each other. While I was at this festival I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people. My family happened to come with us to this twins festival and during the festival my mother happened to say something that stood out in my mind. She said, "I feel out of place." I found this very soothing to myself because I almost feel this everyday. This festival makes twins feel comfortable and really have a place. The day went on and I think I was just so amazed to see so many people that looked exactly alike. The feeling was very overwhelming and was surreal. After the day had ended my sister and I reflected on the day. We both came to an agreement that we were overwhelmed. We thought that this festival was the coolest experience for us because in our minds on a regular basis we feel different. There is a feeling in our lives that we are the only ones who are living as one person and we have to fight to get noticed as individuals. When we went to the festival we finally felt that it is okay to be different (twins) because we are not the only ones who are experiencing the same kind of feelings. I also found these thoughts to be true because of the sources that I have found for my final project. All of the sources have stated that they are trying to find their individualism but they wouldn't trade being a twin for the world.  I have been to the twins festival twice. Once when I was really little and recently. I hope that some day when I am older I can go back and enjoy the same experiences and share them with more people.  

Six word stories

Waiting for my day in time!

What we share will never compare!

Rhetoric

   My definition of rhetoric is the use of language for different purposes and languages. But I also known about visual rhetoric. I would describe that as a different display of art and that it is very extravagant. I think that rhetoric is the about appearance, the way we dress, and the way we act. I really don't hear the word rhetoric all that often. Like I said before, I usually hear about visual rhetoric. I think that rhetoric is usually used in a positive way to bring across and audiences point. I think that rhetoric plays a role in my subculture because of appearance. I think that twins have a visual rhetoric that makes us different from everybody else. I will use the visual rhetoric in my portfolio to make it presentable. 

Writing for Me

Writing for me is like looking up in the clouds and daydreaming. I say this because when I write I get emersed in my writing. When I daydream I get lost in the clouds. Just like when writing a paper I get lost in the paper. Everything that I am doing at that time just floats away and I don't think about anything else.

New Writing Process

This semester my writing has change. I plan out what I am going to write and I also find that I am better organized to write. One of the assignments that happened to give me the most trouble was the last one. The Annotated Bibliography gave me the most trouble. I had never written an annotated bibliography before. I found that this assignment was confusing because I felt like I kept repeating myself. I found myself not knowing what to write. For example when I went to explain what I was going to use the site for, I didn't exactly know yet. That was bad planning on my part. I also found that the format gave me trouble because my computer wouldn't work with me. I found myself also guessing and hoping that the sites would fit and line up correctly. The assignment that I think will be easy for me is the website and the portfolio. I like to design, so I think that these assignments will be the easiest. 

I like to write for myself. I actually keep a journal. I like to write about my life and different activities or events that have happened to me over the years. Writing for me is a way to express myself. I feel that when I am writing for myself and not for a grade I write my best material. I enjoy writing for myself because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I also find out a lot about myself when I write for me and not for a grade. I think that my writing that I do now will just be preserved for the future. When I am older I will look back at what I say and remember why I wrote that or when. In the future I think that my writing will hold lots of memories for myself and whoever chooses to read it. 

My Family

My Family is very unique to myself and others that may know them. Most of my family if not all of them live in the hills of Kentucky. So just by learning where they are from Kentucky many can get a fast first impression. My dad's family live on a hill surrounding all of their other relatives. They call the hill Anderson Hill. At the bottom of the hill is a little white house that all seven of the siblings grew up in when they were little. Now that times have passed there are six house on this one hill. All of the siblings built house and live now on the hill. Every time we visit the hill it is like having a family reunion. Now that many of the siblings are old most of them have left there houses to their children or even other relatives. What is so unique about this hill is that it has been in the family for almost one hundred years. Now there are subdivisions and other buildings growing around this farm and land. But when we arrive at the hill we can always tell that there is a well felt family atmosphere everytime.
I also have a crazy relative that used to live on the side of the hill. He is no longer living there so I don't get to see him much but he was the most talked about relative on my fathers side of the family. He is known for doing crazy things. One summer day he was having a yard sale. He set out the items and stayed there for most of the day. When he left in the afternoon he would set a straw dummy that looked like him in his place. The dummy had a shotgun in his hand and one of my relatives came up to the dummy and started talking because they thought it was him. Definitely a funny story that my relatives tell when they need a good laugh.

My mini-ethnography

     Preparing for my mini-ethnography I have not yet decided the best way to organize my information . I have a general idea. I would like to inform the audience of the subculture I have done. I would also like to example why I chose this particular culture and how I am very much an insider. I would like to share part of my experiences because I am so embedded in this culture. I will then start off with an account from my interviewees. The interviewee will probably be my twin sister. I would like to inform the audience of her account of being a twin. I think that throughout the piece I would like to put the sections together. For example, I would like to put the interviewee information together. Then give my knowledge of research information on the subject. I think the best way is to put the information together and have a theme throughout the body of information.  I would like to conclude with more of my own opinion and how this subculture could influence other people. I am not sure at this point if I am choosing the right way to set up my mini-ethnography. I do believe that there is no wrong or right way to put the information together. I think that the way I have chosen is good for me and I believe that it will help me to better explain my subculture. 

Glossary of Terms

In my subculture there are many words that we use to talk to eachother that many other people may not understand or know. For example, my sister and I have nicknames for eachother that mean something. They are fun little nicknames that are just between us. We as have like a hand shake it is not really secret but it is just between us. Also since we have grown up in the same house together we use alot of the same words. Right now, I cannot think of any off the top of my head. An example of us communicating without anyone knowing would be to look eachother in the eyes and we know exactly what the other is thinking. Also to get eachothers attention we kind of do a little head nod to each other. So far not one time have we not known what the other is thinking. Doublement is meaning like double trouble. People say doublement when we are together.

Reflections

     As I look back now on my research, this project has definitely been one of the most challenging, and interesting at the same time. The hardest part of this research process has been coming up with enough information to use. There has definitely been helpful information from twins that I have located on the internet and will be useful. On the other hand the information has been small but insightful. The easiest part has been writing what I want to say. Because I am an insider I already know a lot of information, so knowing more about the subculture helps me to start the flow of information onto the page. If I could start over from the very beginning I think that I would change my subculture. I would not write about twins because I already know about them. I choose a subculture more interesting and unknown because I would learn more in the process. I think that when I started I didn't know what I was getting into, so I chose a subculture that I know very well. Looking back I should have made the decision not just in a split second, but thought out the reason why twins is a good subculture to explore and just taken more time to choose the right one for me. I think that this blog has helped me keep my thoughts straight, other than just on paper. If all my thoughts were on paper they would be unorganized and definitely no ready for use. This blog has really brought all my thoughts together overtime. I think that this blog will be overall helpful in my mini ethnography because I will have the information at hand all laid out for me. I think this way I am organized and will be ready to start the paper with all my information. My blog that I have kept will make that process much easier and now that I am organized the process will be more enjoyable. 

My Readers

My readers care about this issue because they may want to know more about the subculture of twins. They may find this issue to be interesting and of valuable knowledge. My readers may want to know more about twins. For example, what they are like, how they act or if they are different from every other person. I think that the readers already know that there are twins. They know that twins do share a special bond. I want my readers to know how twins are treated differently and how they feel. Because having a twin is not like just having a sibling. The bond is much different. I just want to show and tell people how different our bond really is. I think that people will find us to be very interesting. Not many people think about having another person that looks exactly like them. Everyday I think about being a twin and what it means to me if I wasn't. I have never known another way. So it is hard for me to imagine what it would mean not to be a twin. I just want people to see and feel for themselve what it would be like if they had a twin. Most people that I have talked to say they wish they were a twin. I am trying to give my reader this feeling. I think that it will be easy to persuade my readers because most of them are not on the inside of this subculture and never can be. The insiders must be born into this subculture. They also can be persuaded because they may not know about this culture. What is told to them is probably the only thing that they know so that's how they learn more about it. The readers could use my writing just to find out more information on the subculture. They may be interested and possibly have to research the subject and I think that I could be a valuable source when it comes to my subculture.

Research

Well as you have already noticed my subculture is twins. I have found throughout researching this subculture that most of the twins have the same feelings. The main feedback that I have been given is twins want other people who are not twins to understand the closeness and the bond that they share. For example, in some of the blogs that I have annotated refer twins as being like a married couple. Now, to some this might sound weird but to twins the metaphor is dead on. This theme definitely runs through the fieldsite because they are all twins and most of them think the same way. I have not found a person or found research that proves the bond and the closeness to be wrong. The feelings that they share are different than normal single people without a twin and this is why the closeness of twins is the main theme. 

In this subculture at the beginning I was definitely and insider. Now, eight weeks have passed and I am still very much an insider. My position has not changed at all. I don't expect my position to change because I can not undo being a twin. 

Giving Back

I have been part of the subculture of twins. I have experienced many different situations and know some twins who are in our community. From the research I have been gathering in my community there are many opportunities where people are in need of help. Most people with twins or the twins that I have been talking with need money. Twins are very expensive because whether they need a college education when they are older or just a pair of sneakers when they are young. Twins need two of everything. They can share some things yes, but when it comes to necessities they are very expensive. Also mothers of twins need help raising their young twins. For mothers having one child, that is hard enough let alone having two. 

For my community I plan to give back possibly participating in community service. I am planning on helping twins in my community back at home. I would like to help mentor them and just try to give them a better life because they don't come from a wealthy home. I will try to help them and their family with anything they need.  

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=lz6ffk752i9r6fx550111

Impressions

The first impression that I got from my field site is that the landscape was very different. I remember the place being surrounded by hills. The parade that the festival held for the twins was up and down hills. I joined the parade with my twin sister and the weather was extremely hot. Many people were struggling down the hills because they were old or just tired from walking in the extreme heat. I also was overwhelmed with how many people were actually there. Everywhere you looked a set of twins were standing nearby.
In the new space that I was in I felt like I belonged. I was one of the group per say. I am obviously an insider in my subculture so going to the place and seeing people that are like me was fun. I got to experience what the atmosphere was like with other people that relate to me. It was kind of different because I had never been there but it was easy to get used to.
In my subculture I am in insider. I don't know that I could even consider my as an outsider. There are things that I don't know about twins that I am still learning an experiencing. That is the only way that I could be an outsider. I think that the different experiences that other twins have had an I haven't make me an outsider in that aspect of not always knowing the answers.

Sources

The two sources that I have cited for my mini ethnography are...

"Good Twin, Bad Twin." Twin Stuff.  Larkin, Cheryl. 1995-2000. .

"Being a Twin." Twin Stuff. Baker, Shannon. 1995-2000. .

These sources are from the Internet. They are two sources that I found and have useful information. They are by two people who are twins. They wrote these articles on the website to better describe twins to people who may not know a lot about twins. 

I think that these two articles will help provide information for my mini ethnography. They provide different views from twins who are older and have been through more experiences. One of the articles is comparing the twins to decide if there really is a good or a bad twin. The second article is about being a twin. The author writes about the different feelings that twins have. She also writes about how her and her twin sister can feel each others pay. I think these articles will give myself a good perspective on other twins. I also think that these articles have information to offer that will be helpful in completing my mini ethnography.  

My Fieldsite

The site that I have visited is where twins gather once a year to talk about there experiences of being a twin. They have a festival dedicated just for twins. Every year about 3,000 twins dress alike and put on a parade. If not a twin then there is definitely and out cast feeling. 

My one focal point for my site is that people go out of there way to make twins special. Twins get their own town named after them. They are treated special when they gather together. At this special gathering they are treated like royalty. They feel a special bond when they are around their own kind per say. I had a great experience here, enjoyed the stories and can't wait to go back sometime.    

Another place that brings back memories

I went to Panama City Beach last year on Spring Break. My sister and our friends family went on the trip. We spent nine days in Panama City. This spring break was probably the best I have had so far. I had never been there before so city was definitely a shock to me. Everyday we went to the beach. The sun was so hot and there were so many people there. I remember the smell of food because right across the street there was a seafood restaurant. The people were not much different than the people around here because most of them were tourists as well. I also remember at night we would here singing from our room. We were staying right beside a bar and every night they would have karaoke. Some were very good and others were horrible. I also remember at night the sounds of the waves. They were very loud but soothing, they almost put you to sleep they were so calm. I also remember at night hearing people driving by and they would scream or have there music up very loud. Panama City is a crazy place but I had a lot of fun and would go back someday if I ever had the chance.

Finishing the ethnographic assignment

     To finish my mini ethnography I would like to find more information in periodicals. I think that is where my project still needs to further progress. My interviews are progressing very well I still have one left to go. I am also going to work on the observing part of my ethnographic study this weekend. 

At this point I don't have any questions pertaining to our future assignments. 

The light of the hoop shine in my mind everytime

I see a goal. The bright summer, spring sky only reminds me of one thing.

My sense of place the basketball hoop in the driveway.

My Sense of Place

   The place that I am thinking of is in my driveway. Every spring and summer my sister and I would play basketball. The basketball goal was located on the corner of our driveway next to a black gate. The black gate would rattle in the wind. I can hear the black gate chiming when the ball rolls away and clangs up against the slender gate. I remember the sun and smelling the spring air. I also remember the corn field across the street. When the field was picked of the crops you could always smell the musty air of corn. 

This place in the driveway was my favorite place to go. Even in the winter when I needed a place to escape the basketball goal in my driveway always brought me out of my troubles. I spent a lot of time shooting hoops by myself. I would always find, that outside in the driveway shooting hoops is where I could do my best thinking. 

This place also brings back many memories. My sister and I would always take on my dad in a game of horse or pig. In my early years my dad would always win. Later, I was good enough to finally beat him. We also took on my brother but he was never any good at basketball.  

This is a sense of place where I have many memories. I sometimes still go back to visit my place of happiness because it brings me back down to earth when things are a little crazy in life. 

The subculture of this documentary is skaters. I think that the movie is an ethnographic study but it is also entertaining as well. I think that the interviews were very good to help move the story along. They were the ones that were actually really there so they know what happened. They were a group they had their own rituals like for example they had to get it approved by the group if they were going to bring someone with them. Some of the stereotypes that were put on this group was that they were surfers, most of them had long hair and they were tough. They didn't take anything from the other people that weren't locals. I think that this documentary was very good because it not only showed past views and scenes from the past but also what the skaters thought about the group now looking back on themselves. I really enjoyed the documentary not just because it was about skating but because the group was very well filmed in the past and future and I think that makes for a good documentary.

Some of the conclusions that I have drawn from my subculture might be that many people don't treat twins differently if they are by themselves. I have seen many people treat us different when we are together. I know that everywhere people are treated different. Definitely if I went somewhere else and observed other twins in a different area they might be treated different. I also think that people are people no matter where you go. I think people are going to treat people like they are different but also they may be judged where ever they go. So there are good and bad things about my subculture if you go somewhere else or  just like the problems that are faced here. 

Privileges Box 12

Privileges

I am privileged in many ways some that I have control over and some that I don't.
I consider my age to be a privilege. I am privileged to have a family that loves me.
Gender, American Citizenship, Middle-Class level, freedom, school system, average student, christian

The privileges that I have will effect my because I am of the middle class family and we have money to use. If I were talking about people who are not in the middle class then my research would be different. It would be different information and findings if the informants that I interviewed were from the lower or even higher class. Also because I am a female my research will be different than a male perspectives. My sister and I probably have a different bond than a male set of twins have.

Research for My Subculture

I have not done any research for my subculture at this time. I have recently have changed my subculture. The subculture that I will be exploring are twins. The reason for this change is because I am a twin and already know a lot about the subject. I plan on interviewing my twin sister and I also plan on interviewing someone who is not a twin. The reason for interviewing someone who is not a twin is because they might have a different perspective on the subject. I would also be interested in knowing what they think about twins. The question that I may ask my twin will be if she thinks that we are treated different because we are twins. 

I think that academic research is not different than non academic research. I believe that research on the Internet can be academic. I think that books are also apart of academic research. So I don't agree that there is such a thing as non academic research. 

Fieldsite

My subculture that I have chosen is called Kn'ect. Kn'ect is a Hall Council in Knotts Edwards hall here at Ball State University. I am not exactly sure that I want to explore this subculture for sure yet. I am in this subculture so I will not have to be an outsider looking in. The meetings take place in the first floor lounge of Knotts Edwards Hall. The meetings last an hour and are every Wednesday night at nine. This hall is a business hall for freshman. We put on a lot of programs for the business student. We also raise money for different charities. I think this subculture will be easy for me because I am very much involved in this council and the council is very self explanatory. 

My Subculture

Each day I have a routine that I do to get my day started. The main routine that is different than maybe other subcultures is that I have special TV shows that I watch everyday. I get up and watch the Today show every morning. The next show I watch is the Ellen show; it comes on every week day at eleven. From twelve to one I watch the Andy Griffith and Lucy show. Then from one to two o'clock I watch Home Improvement. The list goes on and on through out the day.  Now, that my class schedule has changed I don't get a chance to watch all my shows. Last semester I had a schedule that worked nicely with all of my classes for all of the television shows that were on during the day. This is one of my subcultures. I really enjoy watching television shows, especially older shows. I don't know of anyone else who enjoys watching television as much as I so this makes me unique. 

Paper from the Past

I have written many papers over the years. From poems, to essays, to research papers and different kinds of narratives. The one that stands out in my mind the most is a research paper on capital punishment. I wrote this paper last year as a senior in high school. The process I took to write this paper was first a thesis statement, then I did my research for the subject, next an outline, then I wrote my notes on cards, finally the paper. I don't have a method to my writing, other than just sitting down gathering my thoughts and getting the paper done. This paper consisted of three drafts. I enjoyed writing this paper even though the paper was ten pages long. I also enjoyed writing this paper because I learned about capital punishment. 

I feel that the difference between editing and revising is that there is no difference. They are one in the same. Editing and revising is making changes or altering different things. When I think of revising I think about revising papers. When I think of editing though, I think about editing movies, magazines and newspapers. I think these two words can mean something different to others but to me they are the same.