What do you expect?

Last year I remember sitting in my College English class reading the poster next to me on plagiarism. All I could think was "how could you possibly get caught plagiarizing here unless you blatantly copy and paste words". For something teachers preached so much about, the only consequence was a zero on the plagiarized paper. Therefore, many students including me didn't care to cite their sources properly.

Teachers didn't spend time going over how to cite sources because they left it up to the mean librarians that nobody wanted to listen to. My old ways will not fly here at Richmond, which is why I'm grateful that Hjortshoj explains the ways to cite sources properly. I was never really sure how to cite and I wasn't clear on what the rules of plagiarism were, so I'm glad he cleared it up. When I get my first college paper back hopefully I will have cited correctly. If I didn't cite properly hopefully I can learn the right way so I don't make the same mistake twice because plagiarism in college is taken more way more seriously then in high school. I don't expect the teachers to be lenient here because it's a serious issue thats on the Honor Code.

Travel Around the World in Minutes : $0

If I told my mother that I just went to The Globe Theatre, Harlem, and Morocco in a matter of minutes, she would most likely call the Health Center to check me for swine flu. However, I did visit all three locations last night! I was upset that there was no one around to talk to at any of the places but I still took advantage of the opportunity to explore. My first stop was the Globe Theatre and even though I wasn't dressed in Shakespearean attire I still felt like I was back in that time because the hay on the ground and old looking houses gave it an old feel. Upon arriving I noticed the row of portraits of people from Hamlet which caught my eye because the pictures looked so real. Also, I was really surprised to come across the Trojan horse since I always thought it was a clever idea and to actually be able to stand on top of it was thrilling for me. Next on my stop was Harlem, which made me feel better since I miss the Big Apple. At first, I wasn't aware that this location was Harlem in the 1920's but the old cars and cotton place hinted at the time frame. The way the buildings were set up with the sidewalks and stoops seemed to really capture a picture of what Harlem looks like to me even if this was Harlem in the early 1920's. It was so much fun to ride the trolley since you don't see them around anymore and the tour it gave was a nice history of the Harlem. My last stop was Morocco, which ended up being my favorite. The picture below with Skylar sitting on a cart gives you a glimpse of what Morocco was like. The little shops set up on the side sold pottery, rugs, and other hand made crafts which made this site really unique. I also saw my first animal and went on mini soccer field. Morocco looked a bit like the movie Aladdin to me in the way that the buildings and shops were set up. I liked how the buildings weren't brick and how they were differently shaped from those in Harlem. Morocco gave off an arabian theme which I admired. It all seemed so real and made me actually want to visit!

To tell you the truth, I wasn't thrilled about visiting these places before I logged on because I thought they wouldn't be interesting. However, I learned that I can't judge something if I haven't even seen it. I also was able to see how much thought goes into making one of these sites. Everything serves a purpose and makes the places seem more realistic.

The Virtual Me.

I went into this virtual world blind in the sense that I had no idea what my name, appearance, or feelings would be. The first step I had to take to get settled into this world was to find a suitable name. I googled gender neutral names since I couldn't think of many because I google everything since it's my GPS for the internet. When I came across the name Skylar I knew it was exactly what I wanted, it was a name that was not common and could be spelt one of two ways. It's a very unusual name but that's what I like about it.

I'm not quite myself in Second Life. It's not that I don't want to look like myself it's just that I believe it has always been fun to come up with my own character and change the appearance depending on my mood. Whenever I log into Second Life I have to change my avatars outfit. This does get quite annoying because I'm so indecisive and it can take awhile to find something that I like. I think that by looking different from real life your able to gain a different perspective which is interesting.

I'm not "creeped" out by Second Life. It actually reminds me of the game the Sims but more adventurous and realistic. I also like the fact that I'm able to take snapshots of places I'm most likely never going to be able to visit. I look forward to exploring more of this world with Skylar Hendes.

The Transition

I'm not proud of my high school habits. When I was assigned a paper I would wait until the last minute because I would put the deadline in the back of my head and not think about it at all. My procrastination was like a game to me because I never knew if I was going to be rewarded with a good grade. However, it didn't really matter to me what grade I received because I always new there were plenty more papers to come.

My writing process reminded me of a horror film, really scary and not knowing what to expect in the end. I felt like Hjortshoj knew exactly what kind of writer I was - the lazy procrastinator who likes to crank a paper out as soon as possible. I'm aware that my old habits can't stick with me so I'll listen to Hjortshoj's guideline "College teachers observe weaknesses in student papers that are characteristic of unrevised first drafts." I don't expect to get the grades I use to here, but I can always work towards getting them after changing.