Hello!

My name is Lauren Parsons and I am a senior at Kennesaw studying English. I hope to one day get into publishing. I love reading, it's one of my favorite things to do, and to be able to read new works in their raw, unadulterated form is incredibly exciting to me. I've jumped around majors a lot since I started college, but I've always found that I not only enjoyed my English classes, but actually look forward to reading a new book and taking apart of piece of literature. Right now, I'm just trying to finish my undergraduate degree, and then I'm seriously considering pursuing my Masters in Professional Writing and then perhaps getting my MBA before I start my career in editing.

My family and friends are incredibly supportive of my career choice. They know that I enjoy literature and think that a career being surrounded by it is exactly what I need.

Literature is constantly changing - we are increasingly becoming a tech society, and most books are offered in a e-reader format. Everything is evolving with technology. The internet, and places such as blogs and news sites, are how people communicate and gain access to information. People are sharing their work online and with many sites providing the ability to comment on posts, it's becoming more of a dialogue than simply the writer giving something for the reader. Everyone is contributing to literature, and everyone is creating it, which I think is fascinating.

I believe I answered the last question in my first paragraph, so I'll leave this post at that.

- Lauren Parsons

Intro

Hi! My name is Meagan, and I am a third-year English Education major here at Kennesaw. I really enjoy school! I know that makes me a nerd or a dork or whatever, but I embrace it :) I love taking notes, learning, reading, discussing, writing, researching, and almost everything that goes along with education. I decided I wanted to be an English teacher in sixth grade. I had the most amazing teacher, Mrs. Hoagland. She made learning enjoyable, and really tried to reach her students on more than an academic level. Her classroom was a safe place for expression and a haven for learning. After seeing the passion with which she taught, I decided I wanted to be just like her. That summer, I moved from Boston, Massachusetts, to Marietta, Georgia. The two cities were polar opposites. The last thing I expected was to be further inspired, but that is exactly what happened. My seventh grade Literature teacher, Mrs. Wiles, was the Southern counterpart to Mrs. Hoagland. Mrs. Wiles turned her classroom into a rainforest, a cafe, an obstacle course, but most importantly, she turned it into a breeding ground of inspiration and learning. Every day was an adventure in her class, and I believe she inspired more students than just me. My desire to be an English teacher was bolstered and fortified--nothing would stop me. My love continued throughout high school and college, and I am so excited to finally be in upper-level classes that will push me even further into my love of English. My friends and family completely support me in my pursuit to be an English teacher. I have always gotten that I was "made to be a teacher," or, when I talk about my aprehensions and fears, my friends and family dismiss them, saying, "Don't worry about it; you'll be great and you know it!" or something like that. My parents are nervous about my job opportunities once I graduate, and honestly I am a little scared, too. However, I know that God will provide the perfect job for me, even if it is somewhere I never expected. Speaking of graduation, I have a lot of plans! I plan to get a job, and while I'm teaching, I want to get my Master's degree. I am debating if I want to minor in Spanish right now, so that maybe 10 years down the line I can teach English in South America. I have also promised myself that after I graduate and get a steady job, I am going to get another dog. :)
I am a little nervous to be a teacher, because (among other things) I think the American idea of literacy has changed. I am not surprised that it is changing; this world is constantly evolving with the help of ever emerging new technology. In fact, I think it is technology that is aiding the change in the meaning of literacy. To be literate used to mean one could read and write. However, nowadays, to be literate means to acknowledge that there are different ways to read than just from a book, and be able to read those different genres. Reading a blog, for instance, would not be considered "real" reading twenty years ago, because there was no such thing as blogs twenty years ago! But now that the majority of reading occurs online, there are different rules and etiquette for reading and writing online. This has definitely influenced American ideas of literacy.
I look forward to learning about everyone else! Happy Blogging!

Butterflies & Shutterflies; A Snapshot of Amy Freeman

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. 

Hello, my name is Tm

I'm glad to be talking to everyone here on this inter-class blog. I am a new student here at Kennesaw State. I first started college in another part of the country ten years ago. I stopped going to school because I had nothing to make me strive for success. Now that I am married and a father I feel that I am ready to complete the journey that I started years ago.

I found my way into this field quite by chance. I always thought that making a living doing what you wanted to do was impossible but fortunately for me I happen to enjoy reading, writing and talking about both of those things.

I love almost all kinds of music. If feel that a song is either pure and genuine or lacking pretension then I can appreciate it. I was angrily tapping away at my typewriter one night - regretting that I had never learned to play an instrument - when it struck me. I am a talented player of the electronic smith corona typesetter, in fact I have mastered the manual coronet typewriter, the pen, and the unsatisfying keys of the computer keyboard as well. Ever since I came to terms with the fact that words are my notes. I have found a lot more peace in my life.

I want to teach english to younger generations, because a passionate teacher can influence lives greatly. A teacher who is dedicated enough to literature and writing can show people that there is nothing wrong with being bookish, literate or obsessed with knowledge.

I think that my country would be better off if we could somehow bring back some sort of formality. People here think that you is spelled "u", and that reading is somehow dumb. They wear sandals and baseball caps into nice restaurants. And they swear in front of children and the elderly. I think that knowing how hard it is to write a sonnet, or understanding some of the brilliant things that were written hundreds of years ago might make at least a few people realize how silly they look when they act this way.

What do you think?

Introduction

My name is Rachel Rogers and I am a junior at KSU. I just transferred to KSU after graduating with an associates degree in Journalism from Darton College. I chose to be an English major because I enjoy studying literature. I also enjoy expressing myself through writing. In high school I simply viewed English as an easy class, not something that I would be pursuing as an undergraduate.

When I began my collegiate studies, I was a business administration major, intending to work in human resources management upon graduation. Fortunately, I was blessed with the opportunity to intern at an insurance company for a summer. While I was at this job I came to the horrible, yet freeing, realization that I was not cut out to work in the business workplace. I was able to change my major to Journalism, take 21 credit hours during my last semester at Darton, and still graduate on time. Needless to say, my family was surprised with my seemingly last minute switch from business administration to journalism, but they chose to support me regardless. My switch from journalism to English was a nearly seamless transition, so no one was really surprised or less supportive.

I recently visited my high school and paid a visit to my senior English teacher in order to let her know that I had finally decided to major in English. "Of course you are," was her simple response. She knew, three years ago, that I would ultimately end up in her field, possibly even in her profession. Upon graduation, I am intending to go to graduate school to pursue a master's degree. Then I may teach at a university level, but it really depends on what God's plan is for my life. Currently I am just progressing with my English degree while waiting to see what the future has in store for me.

I do believe that people's perspectives about literacy and literature are changing in the United States. For instance, the term literate once meant that a person simply had the ability to read. Today being literate requires the ability to not only read books, but technology as well. In today's society everything is wireless and instantaneous. People must be able to comprehend and also function within today's technologically savvy generation in order to be considered literate. I also believe people's perspectives about literature have changed. When my grandmother was in high school, there was great emphasis placed on studying "the Classics" within an English classroom. Today we still study the Classics; However, we do not only study the Classics. We study newer works in addition to the ancient works. Also, the average American reads less now than ever before. I believe this is due, in part, to our society's increased technology. Today people have "better" things to do with their time than to sit down and read a book, like watching videos on youtube and constantly tweeting about their meaningless lives on Twitter.

Hi=)

Hey yall, my name is Rachael B and im an English major at Kennesaw State. This is my second year here and i love it! Im in a sorority here at ksu and i couldnt be happier. Im very involved on this campus and participate in sports here. I play soccer on just a fun team, not the ksu soccer team, i do it just to play and have fun. The reason i choose to be an english major is because i love reading and writing. At first i wanted to be a high school teacher, the that evolved into being a professor. The reason i want to teach is to help students see the true meaning of english, its not all reading old books and writing book reports. I want my students to see how fun reading can really be and how its a different world. At first my parents did not want me to teach because they thought it was an easy way out. Its not that at all to me, its my passion. Eventually my parents came to terms with it and now they are just happy i am doing something that i am going to love for the rest of my life. In America i think that reading books are changing. To me, i really think its because of Harry Potter and Twilight. These series have made girls and boys all around the world start to read more. They really brought books back to life, this, of course, being my own opinion. Once i graduate from Ksu i plan on going to graduate school. I would love to get my masters in English and then finally teach!

Greetings

Hi Everyone,

My name is Michele A (one of the Michele's in our class) and I am an English Education major but I really want to work in a school library / media center. I believe I am the oldest of all our class and working on my degree a little later in life. I've been an Domestic Engineer ('stay at home mom', just a more sophisticated way of putting the most important job in the world ) for 24 yrs, a good portion of that time has been spent in the schools. I've been everything from room mom, field trip mom, president of everything and even a substitute teacher. I've always wanted to teach, even played school growing up and was always the teacher. I have been told that I would make a good teacher by my children, their friends and my children's teachers. I love to read and love to get others to read, and I love teenagers. I am not much of a writer but I am working on that and have a few things written hear and there, and a list of ideas. Just can't always get it all out of the head and onto paper.

My family is very supportive, my husband is hoping that when I start working he can become a ProBass fisherman. I taught my girls church class for eight years and they can't wait to help me decorate my first classroom or library.

I haven't really given to much thought to Literacy in changing in the US, but I do feel we have improved in that area. I think and hope that with everything getting so technical that the illiteracy rate in low. Now a days you almost have to be able to computer for a job and you have to be able to read to do that. (for the most part) I have an iPad, with the Nook Application on it, but I've yet to read a book on it. I don't see books going away any time soon, there's just something about the feel of holding and reading a book.

As I stated I am an English Education major, but life has recently thrown me a curve and I will probably changing my major to just English. I'm not sure what I am going to be doing after I graduate. I just know I want to use my degree in someway be it in a school library, public library or possibly my own private accredited Home School center.