Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover
My outlook on the surrounding world has always felt the same, not looking past
what is right in front of my eyes. I never looked deeper into the message that
a picture or a place could portray. Every place could have an important meaning
to anyone on our earth but it could easily be overlooked if we just look at
what is in front of us. Looking deeper into a space entitles using your
imagination and looking at the space from a different point of view. Looking
deeper into a familiar space is hard to do without looking at it from someone
else’s perspective, it will help widen your view and allow you to see someone
who might cherish something that you are used to. Over the past two semesters
my view on the world has been widened by various activities such as the
word-picture assignment, the observing rhetoric at work activity, my rhetorical
analysis paper, and my ethnography research for project space.
Looking at a picture seems to have no meaning past what you see with your eyes.
In my first semester of English 114 I was assigned to describe a picture and
turn it into words. This assignment caused me to look deeper into just a
picture of a wave. Explaining what the picture of the wave was the easy part
but looking deeper past the barrel formation of the water was the challenge.
This wave symbolized much more to me than just one wave out in the ocean. It
showed the entire ocean and the life in the ocean to me in just a small
picture. It forced me to think about much more than just the wave and the
people who could ride it or swim next to it but it made me image the people all
over the world. Every wave is different just as every person on our earth is
different from the next. It was not easy to see a connection I could make with
just a picture of a simple wave but when I looked deeper into it and tried to
image what it could represent I found the theme of everyone is different. Waves
are all different, people are all different, and that there are people and
places beyond my reach that I need to explore to create great experiences. This
assignment helped me realize that it is possible to look deeper into any
situation presented and that there is more to people and places that they show
on the outside. Looking inside a situation could teach you a lesson and change
you for the better.
"the perfect wave"
In an assignment following the word-picture assignment we had to travel to a public place and observe the people and their interactions around us. For this assignment I traveled to Topanga State Beach to observe the people who enjoy the beach for many reasons such as surfing or just hanging out with their families. My time at Topanga was different this time because I was focusing on who was at the beach and what they were doing. I observed many people when I was at the beach and it really helped me understand some of the different reasons have for going to the beach. For example I observed a man who was alone but looked like he was enjoying his time and he was very social with the people around him. This man showed me that used this particular beach as a social spot where he can come to relax and be around the people who he wants to be around. In addition I observed a young couple who looked like they were tourists. The man seemed to enjoy dipping his feet in the water and shared a lot of laughs with his partner. She was trying to read but seemed more interested in watching him have fun rather than her book. This showed me that this couple traveled to the same beach as the first man but for a very different reason. They are focused on their relationship and are enjoying the time they are spending together. My trip to Topanga was a good lesson for me to appreciate my surroundings to try to understand the various reasons people would travel to the beach.
"Topanga Beach"
For
the final essay in progression two, last semester we were required to explore a
text and look for a message through the rhetorical strategies the author used.
I chose to use a picture of a sea turtle with a piece of trash in his mouth. If
I were to look at this same picture before I took English 114 I probably would
have ignored the piece of trash and only think about the turtle. I don’t think
that I would have thought more about it other than the turtle being cute. But
this class inspired me to look at this picture with a different viewpoint by
using logos, pathos, and ethos. The piece of trash in the turtle’s mouth showed
me a connection to logos because I used logic to understand that, as humans
sharing the earth with animals, we are doing something wrong and that we should
not make the life at sea live in our mess. When I first looked at this picture
I noticed that the turtle was cute but I was not too worried that it could be
in danger by having plastic in his mouth. Pathos was used in this picture because
it appeals to my emotion after I realized the dangers of the piece of trash. I
naturally felt bad for the turtle and wanted to help in any way I could which
is directed toward pathos. Finally after doing my research about this picture I
noticed that this picture was famous within the foundations that are trying to
project our oceans. Credibility relates to ethos and the groups that support
this message are shown deep within the picture. This essay helped me realize
how much I look past important things and that I need to slow down and look
deeper into the text. I enjoyed writing about this problem because I support
the message is sends to everyone across the globe about protecting our oceans
but I would have never been involved if I never wrote this essay.
"Protect Our Sea Life"
During Project Space we
were assigned to do an ethnography and fieldwork for this paper. I travelled to
county line and zuma beach with a friend from England, Tom, to conduct my
research. The assignment was to view a place from a different point of view and
I chose to view it from Tom’s point of view. This was Tom’s first time to a
beach in California and it certainly lived up to his high expectations. I am
very familiar with these beaches because I have spent a lot of time throughout
my childhood and teenage years coming here. When we arrived to county line
Tom’s eyes lit up with excitement. We saw dolphins, pelicans, and even a whale
which all added to his joyfulness. Tom spent time taking pictures and lying in
the sand, he really looked like he was enjoying where he was. I noticed the
huge smile across his face and the liveliness I heard in his voice which proved
to me that he was in paradise. This beach is the average beach I go to twice a
week in the winter and almost every day in the summer months but it gave a new
person such excitement. I was very glad that I got to experience this beach
from someone else’s point of view because without Tom being with me, it is just
an average beach. I realized that I take nature for granted and that I am lucky
to live by such great landmarks. Simply looking at this beach from a different
angle changed my perspective on my surroundings. I looked deeper into the
message that this beach portrayed to my friend and how happy it made him so it
made me happy. Even a familiar place might need you to look deeper into what is
really there before you can judge everything that goes on in that space.
"County Line"
Taking English 114 has
improved my ways of looking at my surrounding world and helped me to become a
better-rounded person as well as a student. Whether if something is valuable to
me, a cherished place, or maybe just a picture I can understand how to now look
past what I can just see and look for a deeper meaning. Describing pictures,
observing people, and writing various essays about how I can see deeper into
normal spaces will help me for the rest of my life. It is very important to not
“judge a book by its cover” and to look and see if it might mean something
special to you.
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