Stop and Stare

Its crazy to me how much can happen with in 6 weeks, my best friends and I moved into a new house, I’ve had 4 exams, two projects, read 3 books, turned a year older, and flown to Los Angeles. Aside from personal things I have learned so much in such a short time. Everyone just needs a second to stop and stare and think back on experiences, memories, findings, and learnings. 

Knowledge always exists, whether the knowledge is correct or relevant is another thing. At some point in time though someone had to create knowledge of things we currently know now. We create our own personal knowledge about things through preconceived notions and personal experiences. While certain knowledge might not be “new” to the world as a whole it can definitely be new to an individual. As a child we gained knowledge of some many things constantly as we learned from our parents/guardians. Think about all the things we have learned thus far this semester, not just in this course but also in all our courses. Most days of the week I learn something new, and that becomes new knowledge to me. In relation to this class knowledge is everything, like it should be with any of our courses. This has allowed me to apply meanings to words that were just a small part of my vocabulary. When I hear the word “voice” more comes to mind than just your vocals but rather it is a medium of expression that authors use to help convey their messages. We are expanding our knowledge/understanding in this class to allow is to progress in the EMW major.

A month ago in this class I couldn’t even pin point exactly how to define rhetoric. I has piggy-backed on Sammi’s definition of composition as “Composing is indeed the combining of parts or elements, but it is also the creation of something new, something original from those parts." I still agree with this statement but only wish to add that composing is also a talent and an art form. To effectively compose a piece that gets your message across to an audience precisely is so few and far between that it should be considered in the same regard as a magnificent painting.

Reflection fits into composing because it allows the author to consider the message they have sent or are sending to an audience. It is important because the whole point of rhetoric is to use language effectively to communicate a message. It takes reflection on both parties, the audience and the composer. Reflecting on a piece I feel is really important for the audience because it’s the emotions you get with our words. If you just read a piece over and then put it aside and never thought of it again you would never be able to get all the meanings and symbolism that may exist.