Well, I bet that you're sitting in your chair, reading this and thinking, "What in the world is a 'shutterfly?'” It is not a real word, but it is a word that I just created to describe myself. You see, the first that thing that you need to understand about me, Amy Freeman, is that I LOVE butterflies! With this growing butterfly obsession, I have become a shutterfly. A shutterfly is a person who chases butterflies with their camera in order to capture as many still-life images of the magnificent butterfly. Shutterflies are also easily distracted by this winged-wonder. They will, well, I will be fully involved in a deep conversation, capture a glimpse of that colorful, delicate, gossamer butterfly and all of a sudden you see my head turn and trail the fluttering butterfly across the landscape and hear a gleeful "butterfly" escape from my lips. Such is the life of a true shutterfly. ;)
One of the true beauties of being an English major is that you can create your own words. Anyways, my name is Amy and I'm 29 years old. I just recently returned to Kennesaw State and I also changed my major as well. My original major was for Early Childhood Education but a lot of factors came into play during the Spring Semester and I decided that pursuing a degree in English gave me a broader range of opportunities. I’m kind of on the fence right now between coming back and pursuing a Master’s degree to teach English or pursuing a Master’s degree in Professional Writing.
I’m really blessed to have some amazing friends who are really supportive of my choices regarding my major and the possible careers that I want to pursue with my life. My mom and my step father, on the other hand, are not supportive of my dreams. They believe that I am wasting my time, but I really believe that literature can be a tool that bridges social and cultural gaps within our world. My step father would love for me to pursue a degree with computers and technology because I always have to fix his computer, but he doesn’t understand that although I may grasp a limited understanding of computers – there is no passion for hard drives, RAMS, or source coding within my bones. Literature has always been a prominent passion in my life.
I understand the purpose of social media, the media and texting, but I fear that they pose a threat to literature and literacy. In today’s society it is becoming the norm for children to spend their time playing video games, watching television, tweeting, texting, or playing on Facebook. Imagination is dwindling. Children no longer need to create their own fantasy worlds; one click of a button and they’re instantly plugged in. The growing disinterest in reading and the substitution of a good old fashion treasure hunt within those sacred, white pages of a book leave a bitter taste burning in the back of my throat. The thought that children will not learn the art of cursive writing in school saddens me, yet they learn all the lingo and jargon for texting and tweeting.
I chose to become an English major because I love to read, I love to write and I want to pass down my passion of literature to the up and coming generations who have been swept away in the tsunami of social media. I want to help children and teenagers reconnect to their imaginations through either writing books or teaching the beauty and simplicity of the classics and mix things up with a diverse selection of great texts that will hopefully ignite a passion for imagination and reading within their hearts and souls.
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI can understand how difficult it is not to have support from the side of the parents, BUT don't give up your dream ;) the idea that just has just came to my mind... maybe she can just teach some parts of the literature, reading or writing with the use of computer. I know that it is not directly what your step father wishes, but in fact you deal with computers, well, just in an another way :D
For me personaly, when somebody says that something might go wrong for me because I chose something they don't like or whatever, I just do it and show them that it is worth, even if they didn't believe me ;)
I really cross my fingers for your dreams, they will come real;)
well,this is my fifth year at the uni and it is this and last year that made me think why is really study what I really study :) can you imagine after 3 years!!! :D
I always liked to communicate with other people in their language, even with mistakes, because this is the main aim of the communication. to speak, speak and speak. I know that our position is a bit different because English is, I suppose, your mother tongue. Here we learn grammar, literature, but in fact when we will teach we will not teach the literature itself. This makes me a bit demotivated towards literature, but still I like to discover the author's life and the work he wrote, though I have some "problems" in remembering what I've read ;) I have passionate literature teachers that make us think about what we read, make the courses more interesting with teh use of some videos, that help us better understand the idea. I really like this style, because it is not just boring reading, but bringing new things, ideas and technologies into teaching literature. what do you think about the teaching the litearure with the use of computer?
wish you a nice day;) I am looking forrward to hear from you soon ;)
Mirka
Hi Mirka,
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have some great ideas in regards to incorporating technology with teaching literature. I've just learned, this semester, about a website called www.prezi.com - you might find it helpful! ;) It's similar to power point, but it's really neat.
I do think that it's a great idea to implement technology into the classroom - sadly for my step father that won't be enough. He wants me to work with computers to make a lot of money. That is how he defines success.
What do you want to do with your degree? What are your interests and hobbies? Do you have any siblings or are you an only child?
I'm an only child although my dad had another son by marriage before he met my mom. My half brother is 18 years older than me - so we really don't know each other. I have two step brothers and they are all considerably older than me as well. So I grew up with no true siblings and it was very lonely - so books became my best friends. I love to read. I wish I had more time for reading for joy - but as I'm sure you know,being an English major takes up a lot of our free/fun reading time. I love spending time with my friends. I have some really amazing friends and we just hang out and talk and watch movies and play games and laugh. I love to laugh! I also love taking pictures of Nature. Its just fun to capture the beauty and essence of a sunset or the leaves changing color.
What is the landscape like is Slovakia? Do you have snow? Mountains? Beaches? Tall Trees? Lots of flowers? What are the animals like? Do you have any pets?
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeletesorry for the delay ;) i have one younger sister, but she is special,, she is disabled but she loves singing, drawing, painting and i think she is better than I am ;) but e, personally I love dancing latino dances. salsa, bachat, merengue, reaggeton. this is my passion, sometimes even more than school :D
the landscape in SVK is very nice. we have High Tatras mountains (http://www.vysoketatry.com/en.html)full of hills, flowers, they are beautiful especially during the summer. In winter there is usually snow, so people go there skiing. the walking parts are closed during the winter, because it is dangerous. we don't have see so we don't have classic beaches, we only have one or two next to the city river Danube. I live in the capital city, you can have a look here ;) http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/
our animals are interesting and nice. i guess that we don't have the same animals ;) http://www.slovakiasite.com/fauna.php
concrning pts I don't have an. wha about you? i would prefer to he bab rathe than dog.. myfriends sometimes think hat i am crazy, but i prefer to get up because of the baby rather than the pet :D
and my question is do you have snow? and what about the xmas opr thanksgiving, when are they taking place? i am a bit uneducated in this field :D
hope to ear from u soon ;)
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeletethanks for your post earlier on (much earlier - I'm sorry I didn't get to reply sooner) - it was very encouraging and I appreciate it :)
I love literature, too and I sometimes write something but mostly only when I feel melancholic, or, quite the opposite, just for the kicks. I don't think it's much of a value though :) I think studying English was a great choice for you - it gives you so many opportunities to actualise yourself in a creative way and you seem such a person to me.
Also, I really don't recommend you going into studying IT - ever! My brother is an IT student so I know what I'm talking about. It's no fun ;)
I believe you'll be able to find a job that'll fulfill you. If you end up teaching literature after all, I hope you'll be able to pass your keenness on, because there are so many great American book classics that it'd be a shame not to.
Have a nice day