This Semester

Prompt:

This semester you have had opportunities to analyze features of academic, professional, and public texts. You have also had opportunities to write academic texts, present for a general audience, and to compose blog posts and tweets for social media. Given what you now know about rhetorical choices, genre, and language history and change, reflect on the nature of writing in 2015. What challenges and opportunities do new technologies/platforms offer?

Choose only 2 examples and explain.

Identify examples among your own blog posts and those of your peers of successful responses to the unique challenges and opportunities of that genre.

To the right are the outcomes for the writing course I took this semester (Writing 121).

Response:

With every new social media site or way of communication there forms a new genre of writing. Blog writing is different from tweeting is different from instagram captions. I think this is beneficial in the way that people can promote themselves and learn in whatever way they choose by communicating in a way or multiple ways that they find most comfortable. Different fields are using different modes of communication, so being exposed to different types of social media is not useless; is is becoming more and more of a predominant part of culture.

Another thing that genres like blogs do is make complex information discovered in studies by professors easier to understand for the average person. Many people who are very involved in a field have a blog, and this allows for complex information to be simplified so more people can obtain knowledge on a variety of subjects.

However, with this, there is also more availability of false information to the average user. This can create an ocean of unreliable information that people believe because it 'sounds right' or 'makes sense' with no evidence for how credible the source is. Because of this it is important to understand how to justify what sources are and are not credible.

This is the textbook our course curriculum was based off of.

Celebration of Student Writing

Prompt:

Write about your experiences at the Celebration of Student Writing. What kinds of presentations did you observe? What kind of range? What do you think is the added value or decreased value of large celebrations of peer writing?

This is the board I made for the Celebration of Student Writing. It was based on the research I did regarding muscle growth.

Response:

This Celebration of Student Writing was supposed to be more sustainable this semester, but I noticed that most people made boards as opposed to doing something electronic. A lot of the presentations were interactive as well and I noticed many people giving out candy as well. There was a huge variety of topics covered by students, from projects about multiple sclerosis to comic book characters.

Having a large celebration like this provides for a more relaxed environment in the way that people don’t pay much attention to your project as they do to their friends, but that is also a downfall considering the time and effort that went into doing the research and making the projects. Because people are there with a lot of people they know they are not likely to have the attention span to listen to you talk for seven minutes. Also, there were so many projects it was hard to decide which one to go to.

Preparing a five to seven minute long presentation really wasn't necessary. People would usually just come along and you would have a conversation about your topic as opposed to you spouting off information the whole time. Personally I liked it because I didn't have to give my presentation and it was a very lively environment but no one really even came over to see my project. Maybe it would help if the projects were sectioned off by topic (like medical projects in one area and psychological ones in another area and artistic ones in another area) so people could go to whatever area interests them. It was a fun experience to be around so many other people in my same writing course, I do think that there are a lot of issues with how the celebration is laid out.

Draft of Problem Statement

The problem I have come up with for my paper is: many people underestimate or are not aware of the importance of carbohydrates for muscle growth when doing resistance exercise. Usually people think that proteins are the most important thing to consume a large amount of when exercising, but carbohydrates are just as important.

Here is a visual of muscle protein synthesis. Note: hypertrophy is another word for muscle growth.
Link to this webpage: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/figure-1-protein-turnover-b-copy.jpg

Carbohydrates fuel muscles for resistance exercise, decrease muscle protein breakdown during exercise, and benefit muscle recovery when ingested with proteins or amino acids. As I mentioned in my last post, glycogen stores in muscles are the stores of carbohydrates in muscle tissue which provide the energy for people to put the most effort into their workout. Since carbohydrates are our most quickly and often metabolized source of energy, it is best to have plenty stored in muscles because, if there isn't enough, your body will start to burn proteins for energy (muscle protein breakdown). Carbohydrates also help fuel processes to carry amino acids to muscle tissue for the rebuilding and recovery of torn muscles.

Note: See my previous blog post for definitions of bolded terms.

Defining Your Terms

Terms often have a variety of different meanings to a variety of different people. Someone in one field may interpret a term one way, while those not in the field or in a different field think about it in a completely different way. This is why it is always important to define the terms you are using in writing. That way, the reader will be able to understand what you are writing in exactly the way you intend it to be interpreted.

Note: I have decided to change my research topic. I was having trouble finding evidence to support my past claim, so I have decided to focus on writing about the importance of carbohydrates when it comes to muscle growth and athletic performance in the gym.

In my paper, I plan to define muscle protein synthesis, muscle protein breakdown, complex carbohydrates, simple carbohydrates, muscle recovery, glycogen stores, muscle growth/hypertrophy, amino acids, and proteins. I will just discuss them as they come up in my writing so the readers understand what those terms refer to and how they all connect. These terms matter because they are used very often in my field and the average person may not understand what those are or what they mean in relation to the context of my paper.

Here is a model of a glucose molecule, which is the sugar that makes up carbohydrates.
I found it at this web address: http://www.bio.miami.edu/dana/pix/glucose.gif

Muscle protein synthesis (MPS): the production of muscle proteins for muscle tissue. This can lead to muscle growth.

Muscle protein breakdown (MPB): the breakdown of muscle proteins in muscle tissue. This can lead to loss of muscle mass.

Complex carbohydrates: Carbohydrates that are more difficult for the body to break down and act as a stable, longer term source of energy. These are found in foods like sweet potatoes, whole grains, brown rice, quinoa, etc., and stored in muscles as glycogen.

Simple carbohydrates: Carbohydrates that are very easy for the body to break down and provide a short burst of energy for the body, often found in processed foods such as white bread, white rice, and white pasta. These carbohydrates are not stored in muscles.

Muscle recovery: The rebuilding and healing of torn muscle tissue after resistance exercise.

Glycogen stores: Stored carbohydrates in muscle tissue.

Muscle growth/hypertrophy: The result of muscle protein synthesis and proper recovery which occur from exercise and nutrition.

Amino acids: The monomers (building blocks) of proteins.

Proteins: A macromolecule, along with carbohydrates and fats, that is composed of amino acids.

Here are the links to the essays we read for class:
http://vizedhtmlcontent.next.ecollege.com/CurrentCourse/bartholomae.pdf
http://vizedhtmlcontent.next.ecollege.com/CurrentCourse/LaurellJohansonBlack-SRB.pdf

My Writing Process

When I actually get around to writing, the process is very long and stressful. I often get extreme writer's block and then I'll have a moment where I can type for a half hour straight without stopping. I also talk about my subject with my mom a lot because she is better at coming up with ideas than I am and she knows a lot about, I'd say, everything.

Something else I tend to do is look for any sort of excuse to get up and do something besides what I am supposed to be doing. Maybe I'll start watching TV (because it's usually on and in the same room at the computer) or go to the kitchen when I am really not hungry or check my phone or send some random Snapchats about how I need to be doing my homework, ironically enough.

 The picture above is a messy representation of where my writing process happens. I spend a lot of time thinking, planning an outline, and collecting evidence so I am not left in the middle of typing my paper and not clear on how I am going to back up my statements. I like doing this because I can relate English to math: it's like a formula. All you need to do is create your intro, body paragraphs, and conclusion and list the points you want to make in each paragraph. From there you can write your paper smoothly while knowing exactly what you want to say.

I like to do this in a place I am comfortable or around some other people to help me brainstorm. First I show a picture of me on my bed with a notebook attempting an outline, next is me at the dining room table which is closer to where my family is, and the last is a picture of me at the computer, which shows me actually typing my paper.

This second picture shows how I write, in steps similar to those pictured but probably in a variety of orders. First I am shown on my bed brainstorming; I often think I have a good idea, but then as I think more I just end up confusing myself and having to come up with another idea. The second picture shows notes I take, describing the possible outline, layout, evidence/supporting info, and sentence fragments for and to use in my paper.

The next two sketches show me at the computer sighing, typing, and deleting, as I always have trouble getting started or end up with three different intros I could use. Then I talk to my mom for ideas and can actually figure out something substantial to write.

Soon after I decide to distract myself and procrastinate for a while by watching TV. After that I will get tired and refuse to work anymore, so I sleep and wake up and the process starts all over again, eventually resulting in my finished paper.

Here is the link to the essay I read regarding writing processes: http://vizedhtmlcontent.next.ecollege.com/CurrentCourse/priorandshipka.pdf

Research "Problem"

I believe the problem I am looking to discuss in my research is that regarding advertisements for new exercise programs making false claims about the results they will supposedly give you. 

There is always some new product or set of DVDs the advertisers are trying to convince us to buy when we know they are all the same. However, when we start watching them, that specific one seems to stand out because it was created by doctor so-and-so, or it includes something that makes it unique.

In my paper I would like to identify the issues with all of these false claims and explain what some of those specific claims are and explain why they are incorrect and how they can be harmful to those making purchases or practicing what is told to them.

This is not necessarily one of the programs I will discuss in my paper, but it is an example of an exercise program advertised on TV with the same claims as many other programs.

Ted Talk Response: "Txtng is Killing Language. JK!!!"

Many have said before that texting impairs peoples' ability to write in standard American English as English classes require. In the Ted Talk "Txtng is killing language. JK!!!" John McWhorter identifies that texting is not in fact writing, but "fingered speech." 

He supports this by stating that writing was invented to get a point across to a certain audience in a very formal way, whereas many people text in the way that they speak. Also, new words, slang, and terminologies have arisen and evolved through texting. 

The only issue I had with McWhorter's presentation is that he provided texting samples that did not seem very accurate, or slang that my class mates and I had never heard of before watching his presentation. For example, everyone I know spells out words for the most part and does not attempt to leave every letter out they possibly can to shorten their message (like the example to the left), which is what he presented to be closer to the truth. My friends and I simply tend to write with our own personal lingo and expressions to make the texts readable in a way most similar to how they would sound if we were speaking those words ourselves.

Language is constantly changing, with new slang and word usages and even just brand new words that were created to identify recently invented or popularized objects, games, TV shows, acts, and many other things as well. Because of this, it is not necessarily fair for someone to say that someone else is speaking 'incorrectly' simply because it is different. 

As many linguists have identified, standard American English is not the "correct" way of speaking, but rather only one type of english. There is African American English, British English, and many other types of english that are valid languages spoken in a variety of places around the world with different terms and ways of spelling the same words.

I know that I have a certain way of speaking myself, which changes depending on the environment I'm in. At school I do not tend to use my personal way of speaking, but try to keep it more academic and appropriate for the environment, as I am not with my friend or family but in public. In a school or work setting people want to be treated with respect, and that will not happen if they break certain boundaries, such as using too much profanity or speaking in such a way that your teacher and/or peers can no longer understand what you're saying because there is so much personal slang involved.

Personally, when I am at home I shorten half of my words so I am only pronouncing the first one or two syllables. If I did that at school I am pretty sure people would think there was something wrong with me and be confused about what I was trying to say, but at home I am with my friends and family and they understand what kinds of things I say and the meaning and context behind them.

In a professional environment it is safest to stick to common expressions recognized by most age, racial, and cultural groups and keep standard American English grammar errors to a minimum when speaking. Just because someone uses made up words and slang at home or with their friends definitely does not mean that he or she does not know standard American English, but rather that the individual understands the parameters in which it is necessary and appropriate to use. 

Research & My Bibliography: 'Genres'

For my annotated bibliography project, I probably looked at a wider variety of sources than I have ever had to for any type of research previously. A large part of this is because I now have access to a database that I used to find almost all of them. While doing my bibliography, I really noticed the differences between different 'genres' (i.e. newspaper article  vs blog). Altogether, I used peer-reviewed articles, blogs/blog posts, newspaper articles, and a professional website in my bibliography.

The most helpful type of source probably has to be peer-reviewed articles. Some were purely discussing a study that was conducted, and others talked about the studies of individuals that were taken into account to formulate and support newly presented ideas. They are lengthy and use a lot of terminology, but the 'abstract' of the article is very helpful in summarizing the findings and/or conclusions of the authors. These are the best type of source in my opinion because they are purely based off of actual research findings instead of opinion or common belief. If they contain visuals, they consist of graphs and charts.

This shows the typical layout of a peer-reviewed article.

Blog posts were helpful too, but this a much less reliable source than a peer-reviewed article may be, at least from the scientific aspect of things. I say this because those writing about something exercise-related are probably making those claims as someone who has actually experienced the affects of whatever he or she is discussing, but not know the science behind them. Blog posts vary in length depending on the author, but for the most part they are shorter than peer-reviewed articles. These aren't always based off of fact, usually with the author voicing their opinion on a subject because they have the freedom to, and there are rarely any facts or statistics mentioned to support the claims made in blog posts. Obviously there is much less terminology in a blog post than in a scholarly publication as well, making it a more friendly genre to the everyday person searching the internet. Blog posts have a lot of visuals in them, too.

Blog post paragraphs are often short and to the point, as shown in this visual.

Newspaper articles had to be the least useful in my research. They do vary in length, but the ones I found were very brief. Newspaper articles tend to touch on a lot of different subjects with vague detail. Strong claims are often made, again with the credibility of the author and statement under question. They are similar to blog posts in that they are meant for the everyday person, but newspaper articles are much less personal than blog posts can be. Short articles don't usually have pictures.

I could really only find one professional website, which I identified by the URL ending in "edu." Websites like this often contain what I suppose one could call 'articles' regarding certain subjects that are often written by professors, making them a credible source just as peer-reviewed articles. Depending on the type of article you are viewing in the website, it could either be long or short. Some contain visuals as well, but mainly graphs or charts.

This project has really helped me identify efficient ways too find credible sources for future research. I think the issue was that before I simply didn't know how to research something aside from doing a Google search on it. Now I understand a wider variety of genres and what they can offer to the readers.

Exercise Science & EMU Faculty Members

I was required to find someone who works at Eastern Michigan University in an area of study similar to that of my interests. The closest major available here that applies to what I am interested in is probably Exercise Science, which consists of learning about subjects such as physiology/anatomy, biology, chemistry, and so on.

One of the first people I came across on the school's website was Anthony Moreno, who is the undergraduate program coordinator of Exercise Science at EMU, as well as a professor. His interests are most applicable to mine out of the main Exercise Science faculty, however I do not think any of his publications are relevant enough to my research topic for me to use them. 

It stood out to me that one of his interests is strength training and preventing sports injuries for youth because strength training is my focus as well. On Moreno's page in the directory, it also stated that he is interested in "the role of motor skill ability on physical activity throughout the lifespan."

A second faculty member I found, named Becca Moore, is an assistant professor at EMU. She took part in writing an article titled "Carbohydrate and protein hydrolysate coingestions improvement of late-exercise time-trial performance." At first I thought this might be useful for my research, but it was not applied to weightlifting, MPS, and hypertrophy, but rather the effect of the coingestions on a cyclist. I have come across the term 'coingestion' with protein and carbohydrates while doing research for my topic, so this may help me understand the relevance of coingestion in regards to exercise overall.

Looking at these profiles along with those of the other faculty members, it seems that there is a wide range of things to look into regarding Exercise Science: coingestion, obesity, cardiovascular exercise, how muscle changes as individuals get older, topics regarding muscular diseases, and the list goes on. I am disappointed that I wan't able to find someone at EMU with research interests that directly correlate with mine, but Exercise Science is definitely relevant to my topic. Obesity is something I think I would like looking into so I can better understand the physical state that is opposite of the one I am currently focused on, plus it is such a growing problem in the United States and other places around the world.

Research Subject Ngrams

Ngrams are a Google service that finds word patterns and tracks their popularity over time in the literature available on Google Books. My English teacher asked my class to use the Ngrams to see how terminology of our research topic has progressed in popularity over time.

Above is the first set of terms I searched. As you can see, all of these terms and phrases started being used more frequently around the same time--the mid to late 1940s. This makes sense to me because weightlifting and concern with serious muscle growth seems like a relatively new concept with increasing popularity. 'Muscle protein synthesis,' 'skeletal muscle mass,' and 'skeletal muscle hypertrophy' are phrases that are more scientific, so I would expect them to be used less frequently than 'weightlifting' and 'resistance exercise.'

The first question I would ask is why 'skeletal muscle hypertrophy' is even below 'muscle protein synthesis,' since the result of MPS is hypertrophy? It seems to me like they would be used together. However, I suppose that muscle protein synthesis does not have to be that of skeletal muscle, so the graph could be accounting for MPS of other kinds of muscle tissue in the body. 

Another question I have is why is 'weightlifting' used so much more often than 'resistance exercise?' I feel as though it would be the opposite because weightlifting hasn't always been encouraged for women, so it seems like it should have been more popular between the 1980s and early 2000s when discussing fitness and exercise.

My second set of terms I found very interesting. I used all of the same words and phrases as before, but added 'nutrition' to the sequence. It is very clear how popular the topic of nutrition has been throughout history. Of course, nutrition for the everyday person is a little different than for someone trying to put on muscle mass, so it makes sense that overall, nutrition is more commonly discussed than the other words. It is just surprising how little they appear to increase in popularity and even seem relevant because of how frequently nutrition is mentioned. It also shocked me how popular 'nutrition' has been for so long.

Something I wonder conclusively is: why is everything having to do with my research topic at such a high popularity now? Is it simply because people have more time to focus on these things now? Or is it more because of technological advances that allow us to research 'muscle protein synthesis' and 'skeletal muscle hypertrophy?'

Analyzing One of My Research Sources: "Trying to build muscle? Don't Cut the Carbs."

As I was finding sources for my research project, I came cross a newspaper article on my school's database titled "Trying to build muscle? Don't cut the carbs." I know that carbs, specifically complex carbs, are vital for muscle growth, but at the time I found the article I wasn't really sure why. My expectations for finding the scientific explanation of that in this newspaper article were not high, but I was able to accumulate additional information about it.

Obviously the claim of the article is that carbs are essential for muscle growth, firstly because its a primary energy source for your muscles, but also because it raises insulin levels, allowing your muscles to absorb amino acids from the proteins you consume.

Since this is a newspaper article, most likely it is targeted to the everyday person interested in fitness. People usually browse through a newspaper and just read what interests them, so this would definitely catch the eye of someone who works out on a regular basis.

If this were discussed in something like a peer-reviewed article, it probably would have included a lot more terminology and included ore evidence and explanation behind the claims, as well as the author most likely would have a Ph.D. in the subject. However, the need for carbohydrates when building muscle is not new knowledge, but is not as common of knowledge as it should be. Therefore this may not be the topic of a recent peer-reviewed article or professional research document.

Because this is a newspaper article, it does lack a thorough explanation of the claim, along with the credibility of the author being debatable. I would say this does make the argument weaker than it would be in a more sophisticated, scientific piece of writing that includes concrete evidence and data to support the claim. Nevertheless, this is a short article that has some good information in it, although further explanation would be helpful.

This is a more technical explanation of how broken-down carbohydrates raise insulin levels and therefore allow one's body to take in amino acids more easily. You can find this image along with other information on carbohydrates at http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/a-comparison-of-carb-back-loading-and-the-renegade-diet

Peer-Reviewed Article: "Muscle and Protein Synthesis in Response to Nutrition and Exercise"

As I have thought about my last blog post regarding my research topic, I have decided I should first start on a broader scale and see what kinds of articles I can find related to my interests before deciding that is the particular topic I want to research. The first thing that made the most sense to search for was an article having to do with exercise, nutrition, and muscle growth. I came across the article, “Muscle Protein Synthesis in Response to Nutrition and Exercise” by P. J. Atherton and K. Smith which seemed fairly fitting.

I suppose their aim is to express guidelines and information to those interested in the most effective way to maximize muscle protein synthesis and therefore muscle growth. This article discusses the nutrition and exercise factors of muscle growth in several parts so there is really more than one claim, but the one I found most interesting was the claim stating that high repetitions of exercises with a weight low intensity to failure can be just as effective as low repetitions of exercises with a weight of high intensity. The claim jumped out at me because I thought that high intensity/low rep created mass whereas low intensity/rep until failure was primarily for strength.

Of course, I believe there are exceptions to this claim. Everyone’s body works somewhat differently, usually making one more effective over the other for that individual. I personally find that with some exercises it is best to use lighter weight and with others heavy weight, depending on the amount of focus I desire on a particular muscle or simply that with one more of a muscle contraction is felt than with the other. A bigger question to ask may be ‘why do some individuals’ muscles generate more muscle protein synthesis with high intensity/low rep sets and others’ respond better to low intensity/rep until failure sets?’

This is a similar concept to the diverse approaches some personal trainers take with each of their clients for how much of certain foods they should eat or what kinds of exercises they should do to reach their physique goals since different body types respond differently to various exercises and amounts of macronutrients. For example, those with a slow metabolism build muscle easily and can’t burn fat quickly, so they may have to do more cardio or eat less than someone with a high metabolism if the ultimate goal is to gain muscle mass. Of course there are more technical details for that and everyone’s metabolism is unique, but they do their best to accommodate each person’s differing needs. Similarly, it may be beneficial to research the ‘why’ instead of creating a set amount of guidelines for every person to follow.

Considering this was one of the first articles I saw, I believe it gave me a better insight to the biology behind what is really happening in one’s body in response to foods and exercise which I have never looked into before. It provided a solid basis of information for my future research and was applicable to my personal activities and interests.

“Muscle Protein Synthesis in Response to Nutrition and Exercise”: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3381813/?tool=pmcentrez

IIFYM vs. Clean Eating: English Research Topic?

All fitness enthusiasts want to know how to achieve the best results. How to do so is where the topic gets controversial. Many people simply believe in clean eating, others do things like backwards dieting, and some like the 'if it fits your macros,' or IIFYM, approach which is something I would be interested in researching for a future English assignment.

This method, I believe, consists of having a set amount of fats, carbs, and proteins to eat each day and staying within those limits, allowing yourself to splurge on something no-so-clean if it fits in these daily set amounts of macronutrients. People like it because it helps keep them from binging, helps create a balanced lifestyle, and apparently allows them to best transform their bodies, more so than simply clean eating. 

Other than these few things, I don't know much about IIFYM, how to do it, and why it works for some people. I believe it would be interesting to compare the views of those who practice it and those who don't believe in it or prefer clean eating. Right now, I believe that clean eating is the way to go. Our bodies weren't meant to digest the processed foods we have today and either way they are still unhealthy. Ultimately I think those who see better results from IIFYM than they did with clean eating is because their nutrients was not appropriate before. In a way I see it as trying to cheat your body by providing it with the refined and unhealthy version of those macronutrients. Basically, you can't cheat the system because it knows when something is off. 

However I could most definitely be wrong. This method may consist of mainly clean eating with a few splurges here and there, or it may not. I have an extensive list of questions about IIFYM in comparison to eating clean. What are the rules of IIFYM and how are they determined? If this method does work well, then why? What do those who have experience with both approaches have to say? Because everyone's body is different, will some benefit from clean eating more than the other and vice versa, or is this applicable to most?

I did some simple internet searching and found a woman who wrote a blog post about her positive experience with switching from eating clean to IIFYM and she listed a number of links, many of which discussed how to approach it. I have yet to look through the sources, but her post is linked below.

"Jodiefuturefigure's Blog": https://jodiefuturefigure.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/the-iifym-directory/

MLK and Modern Day Society

"Letter From Birmingham Jail": 

http://www.uscrossier.org/pullias/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/king.pdf

Martin Luther King Jr. is easily the most recognized and inspiring civil rights leader in the United States. He was a thoughtful speaker and writer, and his passion and ability to these things is the reason he is so renowned for his works. I had never thought about it before, but he did these things in a persuasive manner;  his "Letter From Birmingham Jail" which is linked above is often analyzed in English courses, such as the one I am in now, to observe how to write persuasively in a graceful manner.

Basically, this letter was written by King while he was in jail for performing nonviolent acts against segregation in the city of Birmingham. A few clergymen wrote an article regarding these acts which was displayed in the newspaper, so King decided to write this letter as a response refuting their claims of his acts being "unwise and untimely." He claimed the exact opposite: his actions were very wise and very timely. He calmly discusses is reasons for being there, compares himself to the other clergymen, points out the things that were not carried out as part of agreements made with the people of Birmingham on their part, and tries to connect with the audience on a more emotional level as well. 

The persuasive use of ethos, pathos, and logos is identifiable throughout the piece of writing. Going off topic a bit, I couldn't help but make connections between King and Hitler. They were both persuasive, trying to convince groups of people to do things for certain reasons, but approached these methods differently, one aiming for peace between people and the other for hatred towards groups of people. In circumstances such as the Holocaust where people were being persuaded to blame use others as scapegoats, valid evidence was not presented. We discussed this in class and it is worth thinking about. If the German people had understood what needed to make up a substantial argument, they may not have been persuaded as easily and who knows, the Holocaust could have possibly been prevented.

Overall, I think King's messages are very applicable to today's society, but I feel as though what is commonly discriminated against and abused in our society as a social norm has shifted. Yes, recently there have been issues regarding police officers and teenage African Americans, such as what happened with Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin or in Ferguson. 

However, nowadays the media alters the truth and, in all reality, it is impossible to know what the people involved were really thinking. People don't take to these instances lightly: individuals are either on one side or the other, and one could say that in itself creates more boundaries between us.

I would love to believe that we can live in a world where wars and bullying and discrimination don't happen. But, I do not believe this is at all realistic. There will always be someone who thinks less of someone else for whatever reason, or has some bias towards a group of people. Until every country is an equal mix of people of all races, genders, sexual affiliations, cultures, backgrounds, beliefs, etc., this is not even a remote possibility for society. The United States is more diverse than any other country as far as I know, and we still have many many problems with these types of issues.

We are beginning to emphasize the importance of individuality more than ever, though. This is causing people to become more comfortable in expressing this individuality, and in turn creating more to be discriminated against. For example, just a few decades ago people would almost never admit to being homosexual. It wasn't remotely socially acceptable. Since racism became less of an issue and people became more accepting, or so it seems, I think people believed that there would be more of a chance for other things to become accepted as well.

Discrimination against homosexuals is like the new racism. It isn't legal for people of the same gender to get married in many states, so if that isn't history repeating itself then I don't know what is. This is America; people are people and everyone should be treated equally. That's what our country is about, right? The words that our country was built upon have never actually been fully enforced because there are always exceptions to that rule. Why is this even up for debate? People are people. We are all individuals, yes, but when it comes down to it we are still all alike, and we all deserve to be treated that way, no exceptions. 

Animals should also be included in this because they are such a huge part of our lives, yet there is so much abuse and inhumanity going on constantly. Of course, more has come with technological advancements and a growth in population leading to mass production of food. The meat industry is absolutely unbelievable with its current methods. 

Lives are lives, and living in a space that's too small or crowded, being fed remains of other animals, and being killed brutally is not really living. Think what you will about animals and whether they have feelings or not, but every person who has an animal in their life that matters to them should believe they do. Whenever debating with someone about this, I always say something like, 'How would you feel if that was you?' Almost always my response is similar to, 'But I am not an animal. The circumstances aren't the same. There is no comparison to be made because humans are simply superior.' Tell me this didn't used to be the common belief of practically every white person in the United States when comparing themselves to slaves and provide concrete, detailed evidence, please.

Taking this into account, Martin Luther King's words can be applied to anything and everything in some shape or form. There are areas I did not touch on such as women's rights and stereotyping, simply because I would go on forever if I could, but considering his words is worthwhile in facing our frequently changing society.

Blogs on Nutrition, Fitness, and Health

Below are three blogs I found that each discuss fitness and nutrition in a different light.

http://toneprofessionalfitness.com

This blog is about general fitness and eating well. The author includes posts about tips on what to eat and when, what kind of foods to gravitate towards or stay away from, and exercise advice; basically how to be healthy and active. This is a good blog for basic information and tips on healthy living.

http://www.lifetime-weightloss.com/blog/

Lifetime Weight Loss posts information about healthy eating and the science behind weight loss and how the two intertwine. It includes posts about dealing with cravings, how to plan meals, absorption of nutrients, and a wide variety of other topics having to do with health, personal trainers, losing fat, and so on. I like these posts because they often incorporate the actual science behind the topics instead of simply stating advice. This blog provides a basis of knowledge along with the information to support it to act as a trustworthy website for health and nutrition advice.

http://www.bodybuildingblogger.com

Bodybuilding Blogger has fitness and nutrition advice for those who are serious about weightlifting and maximizing muscle growth. It provides a viewpoint geared towards extremists of the fitness world, offering somewhat altered advice since the style of training and nutrition is a bit different from other types of athletic activity and nutrition. This is my particular area of interest as well, so I can learn things that will directly help me reach my goals.

Clearly, all of these blogs intertwine because they are about living a lifestyle that incorporates fitness, nutrition, and overall good health. They differ because each is detailed and specific in its own way. One is primarily tips and tricks for being healthy and active, another is about weight loss, nutrition, staying healthy, and the scientific explanation behind these things, and another is geared towards those focused on bodybuilding and using training and nutrition to maximize muscle growth. Each has somewhat of a different perspective on how to approach an ideal, healthy lifestyle.

This is My Blog

Hello, I am Elyssa Engler. In this blog I will discuss what I am doing in my college English (121) class and its application to my area of interest: nutrition and fitness/wellness. 

There are a lot of stereotypes about fitness nutrition, training, and what to do to see the best results (as far as muscle gain and fat loss goes) that are extremely false or actually unhealthy. In my blog I will attempt to address the most accurate truths on how to maximize health, muscle gain, and fat loss and correct the falsely believed stereotypes through knowledge I accumulate through the usage of multiple online tools.

**Ted Talk Video Link: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en

In my first English 121 class period, my peers and I watched a Ted Talk (**link above) about "single stories," or the stereotypes we most commonly believe as a result if a lack of exposure to, in this case, different cultures. The speaker, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, uses the argument that this ignorance because of a lack of exposure to different realities causes us to believe that the "single story" is the "only story," making it hard to imagine anything but that story. She uses experiences from her life to support her argument. 

For example, when she came to America to attend college, her roommate  asked where she learned to speak English so well and assumed she did not know how to use a stove because she was from Africa. Clearly her roommate was unaware that English is the official language of Nigeria, Adichie's home country. Additionally, she was not in any way unfamiliar with stoves or any other type of technology we have in America, as she had them where she lived, too. But, she is probably not the only one who would assume such things, as we all have a stereotypical idea about what certain people and places are like.

There are single stories for practically everything, and my blog will identify some of these single stories for the fitness world. It will also show my growth as a student in learning multiple stories from the writing and education world along with learning about my discipline of interest. 

Currently, my single story for education is that one needs a quality, formal education to be successful in life. I understand that there are exceptions to this, but I am not sure how these people go about becoming successful. Using this blog will hopefully teach me that there are other ways to be an educated, successful professional without an extensive formal education and how to do so in any discipline.