In Class: Ethical Appeal Artifact

For my ethical appeal I brought in an Ozarka water bottle. I looked at it as an ethical appeal because on the back of the bottle in big letters it says, "Please Recycle." By stating this on the label, the Ozarka company is making an argument that it is an ethical company because it is making an effort to save our planet by asking all of its consumers to recycle the water bottle after the bottle is no longer of use to them. Under the "Please Recycle" it also makes an argument to inform by saying, "Did you know this bottle can be recycled? But fewer than 25% of all plastic bottles actually are recycled. We need your help. Be Green. We can all make a difference. Please recycle." The Ozarka company is asking for all of its consumers' help and politely I may add by saying, "Please Recycle." Even by saying the word "please" I get the feeling that the company has ethics because they aren't simply saying "Recycle" they are pleading for us to recycle and with their politeness I notice that it does in fact make me want to recycle even more so than I did before because fewer than 25% of plastic bottles are recycled. As a consumer as Ozarka water I feel that I can make a difference if I recycle.

Unit 1 Proposal: How 'bout them cowboys?

The Historic Stockyards of Fort Worth, Texas! I chose this public space as my Unit 1 topic. There are an endless number of reasons why I chose the Stockyards, but the bottom line was I've been in many public spaces of Fort Worth and many of which I've people watched while I was there except I haven't spent much time at the Stockyards. I find historic places particularly interesting because I always wonder to myself, "what made this place historic?" Some places earn the title of being "historic" while others arguably may have not. Because I have not spent hardly any time in the Stockyards I will ask myself this question when I get there. In my observation I expect to find a lot of stereotypical "Texans" but I also believe I'm going to find many other groups of people. I expect to find "real" ranchers and cowboys but I also expect to find the people who simply bought a pair of boots for the sole reason of "being in Texas." I've heard that the Stockyards are a tourist trap but I don't quite believe that. If they really are then why do I hear so many Fort Worth natives talking about them with such high regard? I believe myself to be neutral when it comes to a target audience of the Stockyards. I am not a cowgirl but I am also not a girl who sits by and let's a chance at riding a bronco or bull slip through my fingers. My plan of action is to go into the Stockyards as a neutral observer as well. I want to keep my eyes open to every detail and possibility so I have no biased opinions towards the things I may be observing. As for now I will sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride that the Stockyards is going to take me on. 

YES WE CAN make an argument for CHANGE

On Tuesday morning January 20th, 2009 a chill filled the air of our great country. It may have been caused just by the winter wind but I believe a chill of expectation ran down many of the spines in our nation while awaiting our 44th president's inauguration address. I have no doubt that President Barack Obama met many of those expectations that morning. 

The very first line of his mesmerizing address was composed of an argument that he had been making throughout his campaign for president of the Unites States. He made an argument of fact that although he is our new president he is first our fellow citizen. This argument portrays how he wants to walk along side the people and not in front of them. He wants many of the same things as the average citizen of American wants. This phrase is also making an argument of emotional appeal because he is speaking directly to the people of his country and making the appeal towards every citizen whether they are "Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus or non-believers."

Throughout his address he makes arguments of the past, present, and future countless times. His reference to his father possibly not being served in Washington, D.C. sixty years ago makes the argument that times have changed but the past was not long ago. He acknowledges that our present is riddled by challenges large and small but his argument of the tasks we face in the future: economic rebuilding, global preservation, peaceful relations with numbers of foreign nations, and an effort towards countless state-wide, country-wide, and world-wide improvements.

The numerous arguments seen in the address were extremely effective I believe and they were also universally applicable and easily understood. Arguments of every kind were vividly expressed in President Obama's address and our nation can expect countless more arguments to be made, possibly of far greater magnitude, on behalf of our ever CHANGING world.

In Class: Public Space

I've been thinking about the types of places I could possibly do my Unit 1 project on and I have a lot of ideas. I could do the Stockyards, a coffee shop, a used book store, a Goodwill store, a YMCA, an old records store, Hulen mall, a park, a restaurant, etc. I think I'm leaning most towards the Stockyards because I haven't been there very much since I've been down here at school and I think I could observe some very unique people in that area. I could see if the stereotype of Texan cowboys and cowgirls is fulfillled. I could also see what different types of people visit the Stockyards, are there just cowboys and ranchers, are there mostly tourists, is everyone dressed in rodeo attire? If I did one of the other places I think I would do an old used records store, although I would have to find one first. It would be interesting to see what type of person listens to each type of music. To see if the stereotype of that music genre fits the person. These are just ideas in the works for right now so we'll see what I end up deciding to do.

In Class: College Life

I've been realizing recently that it is almost impossible to graduate from a four year college if you do not go in knowing your major within the set four years. I've been frustrated because I came into TCU knowing that I wanted to go through medical school and be an opthomologist (an eye doctor). I wanted to do surgeries for the rest of my life and then I realized that although I loved the medical field very much that I did not want to be in school for the rest of my twenties. I changed to nursing and because I changed late they are now saying I will graduate in a frightful six years rather than four or even five years because I decided my major late. I now have to transfer home to the University of Colorado Nursing School in order to have even the slightest glimmer of hope in graduating within my four year time period. My question is, why do they call them four year universities or four year colleges when if you have no idea what you want to do for the rest of your life there is no possible shot for graduating in the said "four years." I think the universities and colleges nation wide have formed an alliance against people wanting to graduate in four years and I am convinced that some of the schools may even may for advisor's to say, "change your major as many times as you want" without telling the students that there will be many more years of payments, papers, exams, etc.

In Class: How I Define an Argument

When I first began this class I believed an argument was only something someone was trying to argue their view point or position on. Whether it be who you thought was the most qualified candidate in the 2008 election or why your parents should let you have a later curfew. Now after reading the first chapter of Everything's an Argument I believe an argument is not only a cause to state your position or some belief you have but it also encompasses almost every text either written, spoken, or visual in our society. For example, I now believe that a person's choice of outfit in the morning can be an argument. Also another example that I thought was interesting from class was that a stop sign may be viewed as an argument which I had never thought of before it was mentioned. I can see how almost everything around me can now be argued that it is making an argument from reading the types and examples of arguments defined in the text.

Hi :) my name is Claire

Hi, my name is Claire Mueller. I'm from Greenwood Village, CO which is just fifteen minutes south of the Mile High City also known as Denver. I'm a sophomore here at TCU and my major is nursing. I chose to come to TCU because I looked at a ton of other out of state schools in Texas and across the country and I found myself always comparing the other schools to how much I liked TCU. There was no comparison. Long story short I became a horned frog and here I am. More about me: I'm twenty years old and I have just one brother, Dane. I feel pretty lucky because he isn't just my brother he is my twin. I'm only one minute older than he is. We are very different though, most people do no believe we are twins because he is six foot three inches tall and I'm only five feet tall. I live with him, my parents, and my two huskies back home. My parents names are Allison and Ferdinand Mueller. My dad's name is very unique I know, we are German and that's where the name comes from. My mom and dad were high school sweethearts back in St. Louis, MO where they both grew up. My mom is a nurse and my dad is a doctor. My dogs are named Skyy and Kizzy. Skyy was named after the beautiful blue skies we have in Colorado and Kizzy (Kismet is her real name) was named after a fourteener (a fourteen thousand foot mountain) we climbed just before we got her. I'm very close to my family and I miss them a lot while I'm here at school. I'm Colorado born and bred and we have lived in the same house ever since my brother and I were born. I'll tell you more about myself later. 

As for why I chose to take this class. First of all it was required that I take it but I chose to do so this year because I'd very much like to improve upon my writing. I believe being able to write and speak well is a very important thing to learn because it gives you the foundation level of being able to express and present your ideas. I would really like to improve upon my speaking skills because I get very shy when I have to speak in public in front of large groups. I'd like to set that fear aside. I'd also like to be able to present an argument because I've never learned how to do that either. 

The type of writing I do now is mostly free writing. I text my life away basically and I e-mail occasionally. I also write in a journal at night when I need to get things off of my mind. That's the extent of my writing at this point. 

I am excited about this course and I read, agree, and understand the terms of the syllabus. I think this is going to be a very challenging class but I'm always up for a challenge.

That's all for now :)