Explanatory Synthesis Notes (WP2)

For the writing project number 2, I am writing about the effects that cannabis has on the brain and the physiological effects, such as motor skills. I ma writing about this topic because there are so many people of no specific age, but mostly teens, smoking cannabis. Since it is a plant, many think that it is organic and that they are doing no harm to their bodies and brain. Many people say, "Well if God didn't want me to smoke it, why is it a plant? It's there for a reason."There have been many arguments about this question. People think that by smoking it, they are relaxing their bodies and having a great time. While this may be somewhat true, cannabis is not relaxing your body. It is actually making you more paranoid! So, I am writing on this topic so that people who do smoke realize the harm they are causing to their body. Even people who have considered smoking it because they want to get that experience, I am hoping that after reading my paper, they will think twice about doing so.

My source number one is called "Long Term Effects on the Brain." This source mentions how smoking cannabis frequently will lead to brain damage. Not just temporarily but permanently. This source also provided me with pictures of brains of people who tend to smoke cannabis. This source will help to explain HOW cannabis is affecting the brain and I will also be able to explain what long term effects it has on the brain.

My source number two is about the history of cannabis. It mentions how cannabis was first discovered, it's original names, and its many uses. For people reading my paper that have no idea about what cannabis is, this source will definitely help. I will be able to give them a brief history about how cannabis came to be, how it was discovered. I will also be able to talk about its many used. Many people think that it can only be smoked, but that is because many people probably don't know about its other uses. So this will help my readers be aware of the possible ways that cannabis can be used.

My source number three is about how cannabis impairs drivers. This describes the physiological effects it has on a person. More specially speaking, people who drive after using cannabis. There are so many people that think it is okay to drive while high because it is not the same as being drunk. But this source says otherwise. Readers will be able to see that driving while high may have many of the same effects of drinking and driving.

California

So my cousin is turning 20 on Thursday and her mom wanted to surprise her for her birthday and send her on a trip. She messaged her best friend and I and told us she had planned a trip for Los Angeles California! I have always wanted to go there but I never thought I would have the chance to go! We are staying in between Venice Beach and Santa Monica Beach, so I couldn't be any more excited. She just found out we were going on Saturday night and immediately texted me and said, "Hey, so we're going to Cali!" I could tell how excited and happy she was. We leave Thursday in the afternoon and I cannot wait! Plus, when we get back, it'll be spring break, so that's great! :)

Weather and Time

I feel like I'm always ranting about the weather. But lately it hasn't been as cold and that makes me happy! It's been windy but I could deal with that. I just couldn't deal with the low temperatures and the snow, it was starting to drive me crazy! It is finally starting to feel like the spring is coming and it is such a great feeling. I also feel like this week literally flew by. I didn't even have time to breathe because there was so much going on this week! I blinked and next think I know it's Thursday night! I don't know if it's because the weather is getting nicer, but time is going a lot faster than it did first semester. Although that means summer is coming, I feel like I don't have enough time to study and get everything done. I feel like I'm growing up so quick and that scares the hell out of me. I'm not ready to be an adult just yet. I just wish time would slow down a bit.

Explaining ____ (Ideas for WP2)

There have been many cases of people being awake during surgery after even after anesthesia. This could occur because maybe one's body does not respond to the anesthesia. They still fall asleep but they're awake. Meaning that their eyes are closed but they're mentally awake. They're paralyzed and cant move their eyes, any part of their body, or even yell. Just what the anesthesia is supposed to do. Except they're mind is awake and aware of everything happening. The patient is able to hear everything being said and the patient is also able to feel everything being done. For example. if the patient is having open heart surgery, they could feel the doctor cutting their chest open. The doctors don't know that the person is feeling pain because the patient cannot respond to the pain. The patient lies there feeling every pull and tug, every cut being made. I saw a movie called Awake where this happened and it interested me. How is it that this only happens to a number of people and how does one know that they wont feel pain after anesthesia? I have been intrigued by this for a while. Is it perhaps something in the anesthesia or something with the way our bodies work? Could there be tests done prior to surgery to make sure this won't happen to the patient? How common is this and how often does this happen? It's just crazy to me that someone could be fully aware of everything happening and the doctors don't know a thing. They will continue performing surgery because they think the patient cant feel a thing and that their body responded to the anesthesia.

Hate for chemistry

When I was in high school, I enjoyed chemistry. But now that I have to take it at college, I realized how much I dread going to class everyday. I took a quiz for lab in chemistry today and I failed miserably. I was so upset because it dropped my grade 3% and that's huge! The problem with this quiz was that there was content about out next lab which hadn't been done yet. I just think it is so stupid to do that and expect the students to do well! I don't understand how we are supposed to do problems using equations we haven't even learned yet. I am livid. Absolutely cannot believe that my grade dropped so much.

Pets

When I got back from school yesterday, my pets ran over to me like they hadn't seen me in years! I have a cat named Cooper and a chihuahua named Cloe. I love them both very much and I've seen them grow from when they were babies. It's so weird how you could get so attached to a little fur animal. They become your best friends, they become family. I love cuddling with them because I know they do it willingly. I wouldn't trade them for anything in this world and I cannot picture my life without them. I absolutely hate leaving them when I go to school. I know it upsets them. I know animals can't talk but they know how to communicate their emotions by the look in their eyes. I know I only leave them for a couple days, it still kills me to see the sad look on their face. I love my pets and I always will.

Sleeeeeeep

Last night I went to sleep at around 4 am because my best friend stayed the night and were were in a friends room just hanging out. We didn't realize how late it had gotten until we decided to actually check our phones! Let me just add that my mental bedtime is midnight the latest. I will not function properly if I don't get at least 8 hours of sleep so you could only imagine how tired I was this morning. I was running on 4 hours of sleep and I was literally a zombie. I dragged myself out of bed and somehow went to class. I also somehow went to the gym and killed my workout. I felt like a zombie all day and I had 2 cups of coffee when I usually have 1 and not even that helped. As I type this, I'm thinking to myself that instead of ranting about how I was sleep deprived, that I should probably go to sleep! I hope you all get some rest, goodnight!

The Weather

I cannot stand this weather. It is way too cold to even walk to class! My face literally freezes within two minutes of being outside. I was walking to the gym earlier, which is like a 3 minute walk, and the tears in my eyes were frozen! It's ridiculous that it is about to be spring in a couple of weeks and my hands are freezing within 30 seconds of being outside. I was watching the news and saw that Chicago was having unseasonably cold weather. It upsets me that two weeks ago, it was sweater weather and now I need 10 layers of clothes to keep warm! I really hope that the weather gets warmer so I could be happier.

Experience Reflection (WP1)

When this paper was first introduced, I had mixed emotions about it. I was confused as to what was expected of us, even after reading the examples in the book. So I just think it needed to be explained more thoroughly. Other than that, when I decided what I wanted to write about, I thought about how cool this paper could actually be. I was making things harder on myself than they needed to be. This paper was basically telling a story of a moment that had a big impact and your life but there was a concept behind the story. The other part of the paper required the concept to be explained in your words and then use two outside sources to explain the concept. The whole paper was brought together by synthesizing your idea of the concept with the ideas used in your outside sources. I was walking back to my room after class one day and decided I wanted to write about the concept of love. My design plan/outline was originally made based on this idea. Throughout the process, I didn't change my mind on my topic. I felt that I had a very strong topic and there was a lot that could be said. I believe that both my concept and my paper were strong. When composing this paper, I believe I accomplished what I set out to do. I wanted to let my reader know what I thought the concept of love was and I believe I was able to do that in my paper by using visual detail and a personal narrative. I made sure to include as much detail as I could so that my reader wasn't confused on what happening in both the story and the rest of the paper. I also compared love to a diamond. I believe that by using a recurring symbol in the story, the idea of my paper will be better understood. I chose to compare a diamond and love because a diamond is one of the strongest rocks and love is one of the strongest forces.

Groundhog Day

A couple days ago, I was hanging out with my roommate and a couple of our friends. I remember one of them mentioning that spring was coming early because the groundhog didn't see his shadow. I stood there and one of friends said, "I feel like I would've known that if I was in high school." It's weird how once you're in college, unless you keep up with the news, you're pretty much clueless! I was just happy at the fact that there's only about 6 weeks of winter left and then comes spring!

Tuesday

It's crazy to think that it's already Tuesday! It feels like the weekend was just a couple hours ago! It sucks how the days will drag by but once the weekend comes, time seems to speed up and next thing you know, it's ready Monday morning and time for class. I'm just glad it's already Tuesday because that's my longest day of the week and it feels great to get it over with and get everything I need to get done.

Revision Process Reflection (WP1)

When I first started writing this paper, I was so confused on what the idea of it was. I didn't know what I was going to write about but once I got going, I knew exactly where I was heading with this paper. I finished my first draft and was so happy with it. Although I was pretty happy with it, something still seemed off so I went into the writing center. It was my first time going there so I didn't really know what to expect. Jasmine was the person I had my meeting with and she made me realize that my paper could definitely be improved. My paper confused her in a couple places and I knew that my other readers would be confused too, so I made sure I added more detail so that it was clear what I was talking about. She also gave me a couple tips on what I could possibly expand on just to make my paper stronger than it already was. When I was actually revising, I noticed that my paper could use a lot more visual detail so that the reader could picture themselves in my story, so I also made sure to add more visual details. After adding, deleting, and changing things, I was finally content with my second draft/final paper. I was glad we got two drafts to revise as opposed to one because if you didn't like how the first draft turned out, you could always make changes to make it better. Revising my paper multiple times definitely added strength to my paper.

This Weekend

During the fall semester, I always felt like the weeks dragged by and the weekend was so far away. The hours went by so slow and the days ever slower. For some reason, once this semester started, the days have been flying by! I feel it was just Sunday night and it's already Thursday night! I wake up, go to class, go the gym, and then do homework. Before I know it, it's already time to go to bed. I don't understand how the days seem to go by so fast. I always look forward to the weekend because I get to see my family and my pets. I know 5 days isn't really long, but when you're far away from your family, it seems like forever. I am so attached to my cat and dog. Being away from them breaks my heart, which is why I get so excited to see them on the weekends! My mom is my best friend, so not being able to tell her everything about my day kills me! On the weekends, I also get to see my boyfriend. He makes me so happy and coming home to him allows me to finally catch a breath and relax after such a long week.
I love the weekends and I am so glad that they're starting to come quicker!

Best Friend

My best friend and I were always together. We were always hanging out with each other at each others house. If we weren't hanging out, we were working together. Saying goodbye to her when it was time to move in on campus, my heart broke. It would be so weird not seeing her everyday. Going from living two minutes away to two hours away definitely wasn't easy. Once school started, our schedules were so different. It was so hard to talk everyday and keep up with everything going on in each others lives. We didn't talk as often as we did before and I felt like our friendship was coming to an end. Losing a best friend is never easy so I was really hoping that wasn't the case. Over winter break, we started working together again. I still felt like things between us were a bit off but I still considered her my best friend. Recently, we've been talking almost everyday and I feel like things are slowly getting better, which makes me happy. Yesterday, she texted me saying she was coming over. It was so random but I was so glad we could finally see each other after weeks of not being able to. We were able to catch up with each other and I am just so happy that I haven't lost my best friend.