The final week...

I can't believe that the term is already over. It has gone fast. I think this term was the most challenging so far. The advice that I would have for someone that is going to write a research paper is do as much research as you can and start your paper on week three of the term. I think the more time you have to fix up your paper the better it will be in the end. Also, I would definitely recommend handing your paper into the writing center. They are great at reviewing and can give you some recommendations that you might not have thought of. I feel like I strengthened my writing process as a whole. I feel a lot better about writing a paper of such importance such as a scientific research paper. I think the hardest part about writing such a paper was the introduction and conclusion, especially the thesis statement. Once I get those parts done the body of the paper is a breeze for me. So I would say that those two things are the ones I need to work on the most. I just want to say good luck to everyone in future terms and in future endeavors. Hopefully I will see some of you again in other classes.

Thoughts on my finished paper...

I am so glad to be done with my paper. It takes a load off my mind. I can't say that I had an awesome time writing it, but I learned a lot in doing my research. I am taking with me facts that I never knew before. I feel accomplished that I finished the paper and excited to see how I did on it. I am really happy that we had to do a first draft of the paper. Otherwise I know I would of procrastinated and not gotten it done til probably a week ago. I had to do a paper for my other class too, so that would not of worked out well for me. I can't say that I would like to research any other topics right now, I think I am just glad that I picked the topic I did. I think it is time for a little break and relaxation til next term. I am sure other people feel the same way. Good luck to everyone and enjoy the rest of the summer.

The process...

The process of writing in this class has been a little difficult. Some of the things that we have had to write about I wasn't sure that I would be able to do it. I can say that I did it anyway the best I knew how and made it through. What is it that they say "what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger." At the beginning, I didn't think that I was a very good writer, but I proved to myself that I can do it. I just have to tell myself I can do it from the beginning. I think if you put your mind to something, it will get done. I hope that in the future, I can do whatever I set my mind to. I also hope to continue to work on my writing and maybe it will be easier as time goes on.

Peer Reviews

To be honest I have never done a peer review before. I think that it will be quite helpful to show how you can make your paper better. I don't really mind having other people read my paper. I worked hard on it, so I shouldn't feel ashamed in any way even if there are some errors. It might be different if it were an opinion paper or a story you had to write. With it being a research paper though, it is knowledge based on fact and it has documents to back it up. I hope that people don't get too bored with it though since it is kind of long. I maxed out the pages with all the information I found. We will see what my classmates have to offer whether its good or bad. It might be good to get some criticism from a second set of eyes. Sometimes it is hard to see the flaws that are right in front of us.

The last six weeks...

The last six weeks have been interesting I would say. Since starting the new term I have been thinking about these papers that I have to do for each class. I am actually really glad that we are having to do a first draft, it will get me going and ahead of the game. Otherwise, I think that I would be stressing out about getting two papers done in only a matter of a couple weeks. As for personally in my life, that's a whole other story. Right before I started this term, I found out that I am pregnant again which was totally unexpected. We are taking it as a blessing though. We were not protected after having our son just a short 10 months ago, so I guess it was bound to happen. We didn't want our kids more than two years apart anyways so we were probably going to try after our son turned one. All in all we are excited about it. After that big news, we haven't had much going on. We got a new couch, which was desperately needed. Its so comfortable and it reclines on both sides, which is awesome! My husband was tired of me complaining on how the desktop computer never worked right for me, so he decided to buy me a netbook for school. What a good and loving man I have. So far it is working great for me. I like how its small, then my son can't get his hands on it. And I have my very own pink case for it. Now don't get me wrong, we can't really afford any of this right now but what are taxes for. For that reason I hope this baby is born before the new year, lol. Like I said my son is 10 months and getting into everything. We had to block off the dining room so that he couldn't get to the kitty litter and the dog food. He is so close to walking, I am expecting him to do it any day now. He will walk along stuff and holding your hands. He is a pro at pulling himself up to a standing position. He is also to the point of wanting the food that mom and dad has. So I am sure that baby food will be no more pretty soon. He has 7 teeth with an eighth about to pop through so he is able to chew almost anything. I love being able just to watch him grow and learn. I am so happy to be able to be a stay at home mom so I can see his firsts happen instead of someone telling me about them. Well, I think I have babbled on for long enough so I hope every else is having just as good of six weeks as I am.

School influencing my life...

I think that school is greatly influencing my life. I knew that school would be challenging or difficult when I started. Now that I am in my fourth term and halfway through it, I think it is still a challenge. Sometimes its hard to find the time to do schoolwork and sometimes there is something I would rather be doing than sitting in class. I still support myself in the decision to go to school though. I know that it would be so much harder if I wasn't a stay at home mom or if my baby didn't take two naps a day so I can get something done. I am glad that I am doing the whole school thing while he is still young, I don't know how I am going to get anything done when this new baby arrives towards the new year. I don't want to think about it yet, but luckily I will be almost done with school by then. I give anybody credit that works, goes to school, and has kids. I don't know how you do it.

Citing your words...

I think that it is very important to cite your references while writing any kind of paper or essay. If you don't use citations, you are not only plagiarizing but your not giving whoever wrote the words in the first place the credit. I know if I wrote something and was not being cited, I wouldn't be so happy about it. When you are plagiarizing, you are not being honest with yourself. You would feel a lot prouder of your paper when it is finished if you used your own words; and when you do have to use others words it is really easy to cite them. So I guess what I am saying, is that it is just as easy to cite as to plagiarize.

Being an online student

I really enjoy being an online student. I think it is way better than leaving the house just to go to class. I am a stay at home mom so for me it is easier to take online classes. I don't have to get a babysitter and I can do my schoolwork while my little one is napping most of the time and usually before my husband gets home from work. When I got out of high school, I tried the whole college thing, with living on campus and then off, and I hate to say it but it just didn't work. My husband and I had just started dating so I would have rather spent time with him than go to class. Plus I didn't really have a drive for school, not like now when my drive is my son and growing family. This is my fourth term here at Kaplan and I can honestly say that it can't be going any better. I manage to get all my schoolwork done on time and I am not being a procrastinator like I have been in the past. The best thing I like about being able to attend class from home is I can sit here in my pj's and ask questions that might be stupid, and it really doesn't matter because I cannot be judged in person by anyone but myself. It is almost empowering.

New Couch

Well I am getting the hang of this blogging thing I guess. I just added all of your blogs so that I can follow what everybody is doing. Not much has happened this week. It seems like it has been such a long week for some reason. My husband and I went couch shopping today. It has been six years, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a child since we have had a new one. The old one has been chewed up and sewed from when our border collie was a pup and our cat has taken it over as her bathroom for some reason. I know what your going to say...gross, right? Well we tryed everything from spray to boxes on it every night. I think she is just jealous because she does not get the attention she used to. She has been in the family for 6 years and then came dogs and kids after being alone and having all the attention for 2 of those 6 years. So in the end we finally broke down and got a new one today from Ashley Furniture. It will take 2 weeks until we can pick it up, but I am pretty excited. Well enough about that fiasco. Hope all is well with everybody.

Composition 2

So this is all new to me. I have never blogged before. I guess I never really thought my life was all that interesting, but now I have a little guy to entertain us, so maybe now I will have something to write about. Hopefully I can keep all of your interests and let you get to know me a little better. Good luck to all of you this term.