SRTE Thingy

Hey Mrs. S, I filled out the SRTE form. Thanks! Love, Austen :)

Self Evaluation

            This semester I definitely learned a lot about writing and the Penn State arts community and how this community interacts with me every day. As far as writing goes the main thing that has stuck with me through this semester is ethos, pathos, and logos. I was unaware of how much of a role these three elements played in everyday life! Any or all of these elements can be found in any news article, advertisement, or any book that you decide to pick up. I am now consciously aware of when a company or author is trying to grab my attention by using any of these methods and how using these methods could affect my decision making. I also learned about the different types of art forms that are all around me every day.

            I didn’t know that there were so many ways to define art and how the definition of art could apply to so many things. We spent quite a large amount of time attempting to redefine Penn State as an artistic community and this proved to be quite a difficult task. This was hard because there are so many different ways to define art and so many different ways to apply them to Penn State.  Ironically, after the Sandusky scandal Penn State needed really needed a redefinition and luckily (or not so much) for us, we were in the perfect position to do this. Penn State is a thriving artistic community that is much more than just the football team, the Blue Band, or the artworks in the Palmer Museum of Art. Penn State is a community that is made up of people that contribute to its artistic community every day. Penn State is much more than just a place to learn and obtain a degree; it is a place that promotes art. I’ve never talked about art so much in my entire life and I never thought that I would enjoy it as much as I did! I am beyond glad that I was able to take this class and look beyond the “football crazed and drunk” Penn State stereotype.

"Everyone is getting some in this poem! And that's important!"

Before break we were told in class that we would have another author or poet or someone come to our class and do another reading. I’m not sure how, but I didn’t guess that it was going to be our very own instructor! So class that day was even more interesting than it usually is. I learned about a type of poem called a “found poem” and I really enjoyed it. A found poem can be just about anything, and you usually don’t realize that its poetry at first. I never really thought about this being a form of poetry but I actually enjoy it, I think it is very subtle and usually gives a bit of advice or wisdom. I also think that this is one of the purest forms of art because you don’t really know when you’re doing it, it just happens and when you reflect upon it you see the artistic value of it.

            I also enjoyed the story about all the family outings to amusement parks such as Six Flags: Great Adventure and of course the infamous Action Park. I think that this story was so interesting because it was just a normal family out enjoying each other’s company for the day. This is something that gets over shadowed in today’s world because everyone is so worried about their jobs, school, and iPhones. So it was nice to hear about something other than technology and how it’s ruining the world around us. All in all I really enjoyed this reading because we got to hear some of our teacher’s own works and see a little bit more into her life and experiences. I also really liked the poem where everyone was getting some because “that’s important!”

Wawa...nuff said!

Wawa is possibly the greatest convenience store EVER. Period, end of story. It’s better than Sheetz, Turkey Hill, 7-Eleven, or any other imposter you could possibly think of.  I’ve never walked into a Wawa without seeing something that I wanted, because just about everything that you could possibly want can be found in Wawa! Tasty Kakes, candy, chips, coffee, and the best hoagies known to man can be found there. Wawa also has its own brand of iced teas and juices that will drive one’s tastes bud insane! Combine their delightful drinks together with one of their hoagies and you have a little piece of heaven on earth!

Now you might be thinking that you can get any of these things at a Sheetz or Turkey Hill but you’re seriously mistaken. Wawa is like having Wolfgang Puck prepare whatever you buy there as opposed to Apu from the Kwik-E-Mart! You can’t even compare the two! Wawa wins this debate hands down. I personally visit Wawa so often that I know the people that work there and they are all very friendly people. So honestly, what more could you want from a place? They have friendly workers, great service, great quality products, and this all leads to a very loyal fan base! When Wawa becomes a household name (which it will) you’ll know why! Everyone needs to go to Wawa at least once in their life because it is seriously a life changing experience!

*On a side note: Penn State would do well to look into getting a Wawa!

Dave Housely Reading

            I was definitely excited to go to this reading because of all the good things that I heard about Dave Housely. I heard that he was funny and quite entertaining so I knew that this was one of the outside readings that I was going to attend because, honestly everything else sounded a bit boring. When I got to the reading it was obvious that this was going to be a very relaxed and easy going reading. There was music playing and Dave was interacting with everyone, making sure that they had a copy of Barrelhouse Magazine, and just being very friendly.

            The reading itself was also very interesting because the short stories that Dave read were not just average short stories, the characters all had something “special” about them. The last story that Dave read, there was a guy who was missing one of his fingers and was looked upon as though he had a gift because he had the “Jerry Garcia finger.” This was also my favorite story because all of the characters were a little sketchy and I didn’t know where the story was going to go. Overall I really enjoyed this reading because Dave Housely is such a lively person and he’s also a very talented writer. I would attend another one of his readings if he comes back to Penn State and I would also recommend that everyone should try to attend one, or at least read one of his books!