English 1010 Evaluation

Haha…this is what I wrote last semester for my evaluation. Wow, my writing has changed…

Although English is my primary language, I am continually amazed by the various aspects of my English, such as grammar, tone, or word choice, that need growth. During these last fifteen weeks, I have become more aware of my writing and comprehension strengths and weaknesses; strengths, which include that my ideas are relevant and on topic and weaknesses which are supporting my thoughts with concrete statements and writing errors, such as commas, quotation marks, etc. With this new knowledge and understanding of my currents writing level, I have been able to see more clearly how I have grown and the ways in which I can improve.

In conclusion, I feel that through focusing on my writing and comprehension weaknesses, I have developed a clearer picture of what I am capable of. This is exciting as I can always use motivation to write. Throughout the semester I have been pushed to study new and different ideas, learn different terms that were connected with them, discuss them with my fellow classmates, and organize these new ones while creating my own in order to write an assortment of essays. And after fighting through this jungle of a variety learning techniques and weeding out some bad habits, I am confident that I am prepared for what battles lie ahead of me next semester in English 1020.

ADDICTION: Movies

My love for movies has certainly been obvious this year as I viewed close to forty during this school year alone. The very idea that you can escape to another person’s life or simply a different reality is appealing—I experience a “high” that lasts for at least thirty minutes following a film. Somehow, my mind builds a connection to the characters, scenery, and music.

The life of movies is the passion—heart and soul—of each of the actors, directors, and producers. Different perspectives allow for different views and philosophies to be integrated into the story, dialogue, characters, and atmosphere of the film. Throughout each scene, my understanding of the mind of the writers and directors becomes clearer. The meaning or moral of the story within these films have a great emotional affect upon me, because I create an emotional attachment with the characters—I feel as if I have gone on their life journey with them.

Does Pigment Make The Black Man Incapable?

What is your first thought when you hear or see the name “Bill Cosby?” Do you think of infamy or fame? Do you think of loving father or a sexual harasser? Do you think of hero or man with amnesia? Ta-Nehisi Coates addresses most specifically the “audacity of Bill Cosby’s black conservatism” in his article entitled “’This is how we lost to the white man.’” Throughout Coates’ piece, he gave somewhat of a history and created a sort of “backdrop” to place Cosby’s most recent activity in front of and in comparison to. However, I feel that Coates’ attack toward the end of his article was based on opinion rather than fact. Not only did I feel that Cosby was underrepresented, but I also felt that Coates’ logic was just as ridiculous as he said Cosby’s was.

Dear Diary

Have you ever missed someone so much that you can hardly breathe, sleep or eat? Every waking moment you spend consists of wasteful sighs and dreams of an existence—a day—where you fall asleep to hopeful dreams of tomorrow and you wake to a blissful morning. Faint sounds of chirping, smells of fresh coffee, and the sensation of that special someone lying next to you listening anxiously for your next breath, absorb your senses. Each time you pass a couple your thoughts are automatically consumed in that person that is etched on your beating, red, sick pump that sends life to your aching soul.

What am I to do? One girl. One life. One chance. Clinging to what the future holds forces me to an state of unawareness; helpless and sick, I feel the reality I desire will never come. I long for each refreshing breath with every fiber in my bones; from the exact moment my eyes meet his, I loose control. My knees weaken and buckle, my stomach turns and leaps, and in one sweeping motion I no longer standing on the ground.

For now, I am made to wait and grasp to the intangible dream, thought, and feeling that endlessly ensnares my thoughts to its captive audience. Am I so weak as to allow my emotions to take control? Yes! Ha…indeed, I am.

“Handling The Pan” in Memphis

Making my way to yet another brown brick building, I glide up the stairs, through the double doors, up two more flights of stairs and head down the hall, going north. Patterson only has one amiable quality in my eyes—the building is always just the right temperature. Entering the large classroom, I notice a man that I fail to recognize. I assume that this is just the man I had come to see speak--Dr. Pete Gathje. With a name like Gathje, I’m already impressed. But soon, some other students trickle in and Dr. Gathje’s time had come. First, Wendy, the English 1020 professor who makes us earn our sanity, introduced her former professor. During the brief preface to the informative speech, Wendy spoke of Dr. Gathje’s involvement—both founder and director—with Emanuel House Manna, a non-profit organization that “promotes hospitality for homeless persons, provides support for Prisoners and their families, promotes educational work in schools and the community, and promotes efforts to abolish the death penalty.” In conjunction with his work at Manna House, Wendy mentioned Dr. Gathje’s position of Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at Memphis Theological Seminary.

Although the amiable man had caught my attention through various statistics, he did not strike me as the sort of fellow that could convince me to pull national defense finances for the homeless. There is something so flawed and yet so true about his logic. Therefore, I must give this homeless issue more thought. Until then, I will ponder the never-ending question, “How can we (The City of Memphis) help the poor and homeless with our time and finances?”

Left Behind…Again…

One summer afternoon, I received a panicked phone call from my Mom that Ryan was extremely depressed. “I’ve never seen him like this before,” she whimpered. Scared that her only son had been wounded, she pleaded with me, “PLEASE! Send him a card or a letter; give him a phone call and talk with him for a while. SOMETHING! He misses you so much!” After such a traumatic conversation, I felt compelled as a sister and friend to leap at the first opportunity I had to write him a letter. Throughout the two-page letter, I addressed the depression that he was struggling with by reassuring him that the Lord was with him; “God will comfort and guide you.” Praise the Lord that with each passing summer Ryan acquired a higher tolerance for my absence; and with a growing tolerance, came a growing knowledge of coping mechanisms. Unfortunately, I missed him, but comprehending what he was feeling was difficult as I’m the eldest child. The saddest part was that I didn’t seem to miss him as much or in the same way as he missed me; I guess I just don’t realize how difficult is has been for him to adjust.

Improv Everywhere

Improv Everywhere is a group of comedians that love to play pranks on the streets of New York City. Their pranks do not harm New Yorkers, but rather promote laughter in the serious and busy city. They’ve pulled over twenty different pranks—musicals in a food court, two-hundred seven people freezing simultaneously in Grand Central Station, twenty-three people give a random guy one hundred hugs, etc. With each harmless joke, they first form a plan and have a meeting on how they will act out their devious plan. Once in action, they blend into the masses, suddenly pull their prank, and disappear just as quickly as they appeared.

I feel that our society could use more of these harmless pranks in order to lighten up the dark, serious sky that we use to cover ourselves. This life is too short to spend worrying and stressing over details to the point that we can’t enjoy the time we are given. This group reminds me that I should relax and soak in the laughs that this life has to offer. The animals, the heavens, the earth, the waters, and the people, that God has so richly blessed with should not be taken for granted. I hope to enjoy many more laughs.

Why Do I Play The Violin?

The week before Spring Break, my violin professor, Soh Hyun, gave her students the assignment of physically writing out the reason they study and perform the violin. My thoughts went wild as I recalled different learning experiences I have had, the countless hours spent on lessons, rehearsal, and solo practice, and the bright future I saw for myself with regards to what I can offer those I teach. Two weeks passed, and I had an hour in which to answer the question that is the basis for why I am even playing the instrument I love. And after two weeks of the brewing an answer in the back of my mind, I finally sat down and wrote the reason I go through all the trouble of going to these lessons, rehearsals, and hours of practice. Though I completed the assignment in about five minutes, I feel that it was all right there in my brain just waiting to come out. And here is my answer:

I play the violin in order that I might further the talent that God gave me. I study so that I might grow my talent as far as I possibly can. I teach so that I might pass on my love for music to those around me and to show that anyone can enjoy music at any age.

~Meghan Lyons

The Racial Divide: African-Americans vs. Caucasians

Building Friendships, Not Diversity

First, you must know my background—I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio until I went to college here in Memphis, I am Irish, German, and Scottish, and primarily Caucasian people live in my hometown.

We are all naturally biased towards what we know best and what we know best is normally what we feel most comfortable with. So, when we choose to speak in a certain manner, certain clothes or friends, we are doing so based off of what we know best. During my first visit to Memphis, I noticed that the African-Americans here had darker skin than most of those I had seen up north. And after the few days I spent here at The University of Memphis during freshman orientation, I noticed that most of the African-American people did not mix with the Caucasian people as much I had seen up north. This was very intriguing.

Throughout the school year that I have spent here at The University of Memphis, I have observed that those who do not act like most of the other people of their race are not usually welcomed by their own race. For example, if a Caucasian male dressed in an urban style, used slang in his speech, and had a heavy southern accent, he is not necessarily welcomed by the entirety of the Caucasian community because some consider his urban style to be only a trait of African-Americans. Therefore, some will not associate themselves with people like this guy, and use derogatory terms, such as “whigger,” when referring to him. As a result of the definite divide between African-Americans and Caucasians, there are less people who desire to date or marry the other race, thus there are less mixed people, meaning darker skin and lighter skin—no much in between.

The history of our country does not condone such behavior as ignoring or mistreating those who do not fit the mold we have created for those we like are to fit in. Therefore, we must break out of our molds and prototypes that feel comfortable and natural; learning to treat everyone with respect is the first step towards friendship.

RaNdOm QuOtEs

I find these quotes insightful. I love reading them over and over; they give me truths to ponder. Enjoy!

“Many things will catch your eye, but few with catch your heart. Pursue these.”

“True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable.
True love is not about finding the perfect person. It's about being that person.”

“Sometimes the people we meet change us forever.”

“You can't go through this life being afraid to love, because, without love, there just isn't any reason for living.”

“Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink. But if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love. If you must steal, steal away from bad company. If you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink in the moment that will take your breath away.”

“To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world.”

“Don't be afraid of showing your feelings, be afraid of regretting it when you don't.”

“Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget.”

“Beauty unaware of itself is the most beautiful.”

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you've forgotten the words.”

“Some people come into our lives and then leave very quickly. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same.”

If Only, If Only...

Below is a poem I wrote to my boyfriend, Matt, during a time when he did not understand how handsome I think he is. We do not see each other very often because we are going to colleges fourteen hours apart, so I felt that writing him a poem would aid in reiterating my feelings.


If only, if only you knew how much I was missing you
There would be no sad goodbyes with steady cries
Only dreams of when we will meet again

When I think of your face I think of the place
I find rest and hope of bright future, full of never-ending love

And when your strong steady hand holds mine
I feel as if I can rule the world with you by my side

Your loving arms keep me warm and secure
Through the storms of life they are the cure

But when you lips cradle my own
I feel that where you are is where I belong
I long for those soft sweet moments where your lips embrace and your heart will race

If only, if only you knew how much I was missing you
Everything you are, everything you do, everything I see when I look at you
I love it all...I won't lie

Last, but not least, I adore your eyes
For there lies the key to your heart
Through them I can see into your intermost part

I love you
That's it
One-hundred percent
Hurting you isn't what I meant

Only to show you
Despite all the handsome men I have seen
You are the most handsome! YOU, Matthew King, are my dream! <3

God is Calling The Prodigal: The Older Brother

The preacher where I attend did a three Sunday series of sermons on the parable that Jesus told about the Prodigal Son. I found the last sermon particularly powerful; it was on the older brother’s role and perspective in the story.

Text: Luke 15:11-32

1. The story of the Prodigal Son.
a. The younger brother asks for his inheritance and receives it.
b. He leaves, taking only one-third of the father’s assets, but a portion of the workforce as well.
c. The older brother stays behind and works hard to maintain the family’s property.
d. The older brother returns to a celebration of his brother’s return.
e. Notice the statements the older brother makes to his father:
i. I have been slaving for you.
ii. You didn’t give me anything.
iii. He devoured your property.
-The property was the younger brother’s to spend.
f. The older brother’s statement is slander.

2. Who does the older brother represent? The faithful Christian
-This story is really about the older brother.

3. We learn that…
a. God will treat us justly.
b. With privilege comes responsibility.
c. We need to have an attitude of service.
d. We should be forgiving.
e. We need to see our brother’s return as God sees it; it is a celebration!