Other than classes, I...

I often hear mixed opinions about what to do in one's spare time at Stockton. "It's a suitcase college, so it gets really boring." "Nobody wants to go home on the weekends because there's always so much to do!" I feel that my opinion lies in the middle; there's nothing to do if you don't look hard enough. Though I have not engaged in every single extracurricular activity offered, I have tried my best to attend a few.
The period I was most active with campus activities was Welcome week, as was most other Freshmen. It was a time in which we were all uncertain, which meant we were all open to anything new offered to us. After that, I must admit that I wasn't as aggressive in terms of finding something to do in my spare time. I did attend events such as the Club Fair, and I have joined clubs like Hillel and the Art Club, but I know that if I make an extended effort, I could find more to do. Perhaps this is because I'm still in a period of adjustment, and I'm still looking for a balance in terms of my studies and what I do for relaxation. I figure, though, that after this first semester, I'll have a better grasp over what I want to do.

1st Conference

As I expected, I received critiques on my introductory paragraph during the first conference. I really wanted to write about positive and negative influences produced by the media and the efforts of others. Yet after discussing the opening paragraph with my teacher, I realized that my thesis was not exactly "arguable." I stated in my original thesis that American citizens should make an extended effort to help those in need, but my teacher told me that this was not an arguable thesis because "shouldn't we all make an effort?" Then, I added a twist that really made a difference; I discussed how our capitalist economy's mindset of "every man for himself" does not benefit the struggling, lower class citizens.
Though I struggled to make the thesis provocative, I understood the professor's reasons for wanting me to do so. A thesis, even in a third person paper, has to have a bias in order to really give the paper sustenance. I felt with the revised thesis, the ideas I had already written for the body had more power and flowed better. In the future, I would like my teacher to help me with the placement of my thesis. In high school, the thesis had to be at the end of the introductory paragraph, no questions asked. Though I was prepared for the fact that this rule might change once I was in college, I feel that I'll need a bit of guidance before I can master the freedom of placing my thesis wherever I desire.

College and Careers

I chose to attend Stockton college because I believe as a liberal arts college, Stockton would help me select the path I would take in the future. My goal is to take a variety of classes, which will open up two paths for me. The first is to discover a new variety of subjects that may interest me that I have never before considered for a career. I have heard stories of people that go in with no idea what he or she wants to do, and then after sampling several classes, finally pinpoints his or her career.
The second path is to select one of my current interests for a possible career and get the advice needed to further develop my skills. I believe that is one of the key purposes of any college: for its well-educated and experienced teachers to pass on their expertise to the students eager to pick up the skills.
Both paths are vital to success in the real world, and while I plan to explore both, I also plan to eventually narrow down my career choice based on my studies.

Ehrenreich's time in the lower caste

     Barbara Ehrenreich's experiences with lower class work must have been eye-opening, yet at the same time, the reader can tell that it doesn't change her views as a well-to-do American.  One of her experiences that seemed to shock her was the tutorial video on how to clean surfaces.  She is appalled to learn that no water is used in the process, which as she later confirms with housecleaning experts, is ineffective and completely unsanitary.  Small details such as the aforementioned one further proves to her how menial the lower class jobs can truly be, and thus strengthens the message of her book.

     While Ehrenreich's book has moments in which conveys its message effectively, there are moments in which the reader may question the author.  She seems to immerse herself in her work, yet every so often, she will make an offhand comment that suggests her mental views of the lower class are still somewhat stereotyped.  For instance, she mentions that at one point that "Maybe...I'm getting a tiny glimpse of what it would be like to be black."  This comment is racially insensitive, profiling all African Americans as lower class workers living with unfavorable conditions.  When she later reveals to her maids that she is, in fact, an author, she almost expects them to look at her with a sweeping sense of awe.  However, no one really seems fazed; in fact, one worker is actually satisfied with her lower paying position because it's all she's really known.  Ehrenreich's experiences, while more realistic than the reader who is merely seeing them on paper, are not genuine.   As someone who has known another life, she will never truly see the world through the eyes of a member of the lower class.