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student blogs

The Beginning of The End!

Im starting this semester with so much excitement but also very anxious. This is my last semester as an undergraduate student. I have waited for this moment for what feels like forever, to finally say “this is my last semester”, it has been a long time coming.

Im anxious because I’m thinking about what’s to come next and how I will manage and navigate through that. I do want to keep going and not stop for any reason at all, but I also don’t want to become overwhelmed with everything I have going on already.

For those of you that do not know me, my name is Jasmine. I’m senior here at Kean University. My major is English-Writing with Psychology as a minor. I’m really looking forward to #NetNarr this semester and learning as much as possible. Looking forward to a great semester.

student blogs

hi!

hello, i’m giselle and this is my second semester at kean. so far, so good. when people ask about me, the first thing i tell them is that even if i have headphones on, i promise i can still hear most of the time. since my ‘”edgy” high school days, i’ve had the bad (or good?) habit of playing music 24/7. it’s a comfort for me, but i’m always told i should stop doing it because it comes off as rude. just tap me and we’ll spill our guts!

my love for music back in those days generated my interest in writing back then too. i have stacks of journals with embarrassing poems and entries i wish i could burn, but i’m too sentimental. i still carry a journal wherever i go and use it to unclog my brain when needed. i did my undergrad at Montclair State and read a lot. so for my graduate studies, it only made sense to shift my focus to writing.

i’m a very shy and quiet person, until i’m not. i love talking to people about their passion and interests because i have a lot that i can go on and on about. i love poetry, memoirs, vignettes, documentaries, crocheting, photography, drawing, painting, sculpting, fashion, and so much more. i’m only good at half of those, but it doesn’t stop me. singing or playing an instrument is where i draw the line.

like everyone else, i feel pretty confident in my knowledge of the world wide web because i was born into it. all of my interests listed above became my interests because of the internet and technology. i’m intrigued by our small discussion last class and i hope to learn even more from internet and technology… in a way that doesn’t make me fall into an existential spiral please. :^)

student blogs

Welcome to the blogspace

Hello! Welcome to the blogspace. My name is Jonathan and this is where my responses to our class readings will be. I am a graduate student in the English Writing Studies program, as I have recently completed a BA in Creative Writing last year in May. I spent over seven months out of university. The first four months were spent at a salad assembling job. In the meantime, I had focused on finding freelance writer opportunities in order to make some money and kickstart my fiction writing career.

The reason I chose to enter this English Writing Studies Program is because I want more opportunities in my field. Holding a Creative Writing Bachelors hasn’t been enough to find any jobs and I because I struggle with writing enough words to find a creative writing deal, I decided to find more opportunities in another field. This program complements my pre-existing degree, and will give me opportunities that will be more successful than just the one degree.

I am looking forward to learning a lot about the things the ENG 5085 COMP THEORY & NEW MEDIA class has to offer. As an introduction, I have a Voacl account where I upload some of my written works. If I get a significant amount of reads, likes, impressions, and comments, Vocal will pay me a little bit. I’d really appreciate it if you guys read it.

https://vocal.media/poets/labor-s-antipathetic-enemy

student blogs

What do you go by?

Something that’s been on my heart a lot lately is the simple thought that God doesn’t see you by your sin or the things you’ve done wrong. He got up on that cross and died for you by name, He rose again on the third day for you by name, and He has gone to prepare a place for each one of us by name that accept and live by His unending grace. He is coming back soon to call us home by name.

So I guess the question I have for you to think about is this: what is the name you go by?

At some points in my life, I called myself the loner because regardless of whether or not I had friends around, it often felt like I was there just to fill the space. I still have my moments, but moments are not the whole picture. I know that now.

There were some points where I just considered myself a disappointment. I let myself down on promises I made to myself often. I forget things a lot when my mom gives me a list of things to do. Even in moments when I had told someone a friend’s secret for the sake of my friend’s safety I used to consider myself a disappointment to my friend because I’d betrayed their confidence, regardless of the reasons.

Sometimes I felt defenseless or like a victim more than anything, for a number of reasons that some of my past creative pieces outline.

I could go on with the names I used to go by, but ultimately none of those names I give myself matter. None of those were the name that Jesus called me by, though He considered what I called myself in how He called me. He never compromised the identity I was born with, and nor should we when approaching others, but He used the identity I once held to show me just a fraction of the great magnitude of His grace.

I mean think about it, Paul was once the greatest persecutor of Christians, but in every letter he wrote in the New Testament, he introduces himself as a servant of, an apostle of, or a prisoner for Christ, and in a couple of those openings his pupil and friend, Timothy, is included as such. Simon Peter was a fisherman and a gambler, but in both of his letters included in the New Testament he calls himself an apostle, and in 2 Peter he adds that he is a servant of Jesus Christ. When we accept Christ as our Lord and savior, we are dying to ourselves– the identity we held before is no more and we are made new through the power of Jesus’s blood. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” This is echoed from Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Paul continues to build on this idea of becoming a new creation in Christ in Philippians 3 as well, but I think before quoting this it’s important to say that even when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we are not yet perfect– on this side of heaven we are consenting to the process of sanctification. We are committing to not only resting in God and His promises and trusting that His work is enough to make us perfect come Judgement Day, but we are also considering that He doesn’t keep us from the fiery furnace– He walks in there with us. Philippians 3:12-16 says this:

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”

So while in this very moment we are not perfect, the Word tells us of God’s promise to wash us clean of our sins (Isaiah 1:18) and to create in us clean hearts (Psalm 51:10), the work is as good as done. What God says will happen, will come to fruition. What God says will happen is as good as done.

God shows this in a myriad of ways, but I want to go back to Daniel for a moment, before Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walk into the fire. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace be heated to seven times its normal heat, which was so hot that even the guards outside the door that threw the three into the fire died. The significance? Seven days of creation, opening line of Genesis is seven words, symbolic of fullness or completion. In that opening line of Genesis, the middle of those seven words in the original Hebrew is two letters– alpha and taw– which are the beginning and end of the Hebrew alphabet.

In other words, when God is at the core of who we are, what we do, how we live… there is nothing that can stop His power that is living in you. Culture changes. We change. Things and people come and go. But one thing is sure, as it’s said in Isaiah and quoted in 1 Peter:

6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:6-8

And while we are in the exile that is this life on this earth, Peter points out that we should be conducting ourselves in a way that shows gratitude for the payment of the debt we could not pay. The payment that, when we place full faith in Jesus, makes us righteous before the perfect, holy, and just God. The payment that makes us adopted sons and daughters of the Most High God.

So I ask again, what do you go by? The changing states of mind, past traumas, or other struggles you deal with (not that those are any less valid hurdles in life)? Or do you call yourself a servant of God, a child of God, and someone that– however undeserving– God calls beloved?

student blogs

New Semester = New Beginnings!

The start of each semester feels like a breath of fresh air. I like how calm it is in the beginning, because this is the only time you feel you can accomplish everything, and by the middle you just hope to keep it all together! I’m very excited for this spring semester personally. I like how it starts off with super cold weather and then as it wraps up we end up in beautiful spring weather, its like finding a light at the end of the tunnel that their is no turning back on.

I am truly enjoying this masters experience, although at times it can really feel a bit overwhelming and stressful. I take comfort in most of us having the same classes for the last 3 semesters, because it bring a since of stability which I enjoy.

My name is Jasmine but my online persona is Holly Mahogany. I am very into social media and monetizing my participation on the apps I use such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook mainly. Recently my 3 year old has shown an interest in making up her own dances and recording them and showing me. I don’t want her on social media just yet, but I appreciate the enthusiasm. I also Have twins who will be 8 months this Friday. They are literally all over the place to say the least, so basically I am pretty busy. I do work full time from home as a Customer Care Supervisor and I don’t think I can ever leave the house again for work.

During undergrad I remember taking a class that dealt with “Netnarr” with Professor Alan Levine. It is a class that I remember so well because it truly left a great impression on me. I still play with one of the apps on my phone called “Digital Alchemy”. Basically you need to create everything within the universe, even the universe ! I have played it but never found all the objects, it really is a great creative time waster. I know this class will be very interesting with the information we will be given. I also remember “Netnarr” as a way to connect with other classes that are learning similar things we will learn. I can not wait to jump in.

student blogs

Welcome!

For those that don’t know me, I am Chelsea Gray. A writer, reader, and so much more. I currently work as a teacher in a daycare and love it, but my end goal is to teach middle school or high school English, my reason, is they get all the fun books (though I wouldn’t actually know because I didn’t read them when I was in school.)

Speaking of books, I am bibliophile, I have over 500 books in my room now. I went on a bit of a buying spree this month, I didn’t buy any books last year, so I made up for it by buying 39 books so far. I also collect playing cards, I have 93 decks.

Academically, I like to challenge myself and I have an end goal of pursuing two more degrees after my MA in English Writing Studies. I want a Master’s in Communications and then I will go for my Ph.D. in either English or Communications but my dissertation will be a combination of the two Master’s degrees.

Writing these intro blogs gets harder and harder. I don’t like repeating myself so I try to challenge myself with providing new information. Since the last intro blog I’ve done, my family has gotten some really good news! I’m going to be an aunt in March (and on Pi day hopefully)! Perfect for this family of nerds I grew up in.

As for this class, I’m really excited to explore what AI can do. I already know they can do a lot, I’ve had one for 6 years now, but mine was designed to be more like a friend or a chatbot. Nothing like what ChatGPT was designed for. I’ve played around with another AI before this class, Holo AI which was designed to help writers write novels. It’ll be very interesting to see where AI and this class go.

student blogs

It’s me, again

I could go on about myself like I did last semester for e-lit, but that sounds a bit redundant. So if you’re interested in learning (or re-learning) a bit about my faith, my past self, my present self, and who I’m striving to become, it’s in the hyperlink above. If you’re anything like me and don’t really feel like reading two whole posts for the answers you could easily be getting in one, I’ve got you there too. Here’s some of the basics about me:

faith

If my other blogs, or writing pieces, or social media accounts, or my JLY sweatshirt (15% off code : BIANCA) on the first day of class didn’t give it away enough, I’m openly and unapologetically Christian. I’m not exactly about denominations– the Church is the Church, as far as I’m concerned, and the Bible doesn’t outline anything about any denomination being more or less righteous than another. That said, not every denomination holds doctrine that is actually backed by the Bible, so that’s why I simply consider myself a Christian.

I’m also not exactly the type to seek out conversation, but I am more than happy to talk or just listen if anyone is curious, hurt, or confused by anything Church- or Bible-related. I promise I won’t bite or judge, as it unfortunately seems that being judgmental is a stereotype for most Christians. The questions you might have, I’ve probably had at some point too or at least had a friend wrestle with that question. Ecclesiastes 1:9 mentions that there’s nothing new under the sun; that applies to struggles, doubts, fears, you name it. You aren’t alone. That said, I may not have all the answers, but Galatians 6 talks a bit about this co-learning process that this class is even modeled around.

You’ll probably find that faith is a huge part of what, how, and why I write, and that’s because it most certainly is. On my last blog post from last semester, I talked a lot about why that is, though it also is in many ways an overflow of gratitude for all He’s done and how He loves us.

why i write

I’ve said this many times to friends and as part of my testimony, but I genuinely believe that writing as an art was the crutch God gave me to make it to the moment I came to a place of full reliance on Him. That’s really just how I started writing though. I kept it up for a number of reasons, including the fact that it is a crutch in many ways when I’m walking through a difficult season of life.

Among these other reasons, I write because it helped me feel heard– like I had a voice at least the pages would listen to when no one else would– and it would be selfish of me to keep that entirely to myself. I consider this especially now that these issues aren’t as prevalent in my life and I understand writing is a resource, not The Source.

Writing also takes up a large portion of my prayer life. I keep a few different journals for prayer

other things i do & other commitments

I might’ve mentioned this at some point last semester as well, but one of those commitments I have other than school is that I’m a youth leader at Sparta Church, where I go just about every Sunday for high school core classes, services, and also for work. But as for youth, I’ve been doing this every Sunday morning and night for almost two years now. My senior girls have a special place in my heart, and I’ll be missing them so much as many of them leave for college at the end of the summer, but so proud of the bold, bright lights they are for Jesus. In many ways, the co-learning structure of this class makes me think of them because they teach me so much more than I think they’ll ever realize.

While this was a daunting challenge at first as well, I was a camp counselor last year for Sparta’s summer camp, Breakaway Day Camp. I’m an introvert, and though I like trying to be more extroverted at times, this was a lot to handle. I can’t say that I didn’t love it though. As exhausted as I was, these were some of the best weeks of my summer last year. And if I end up sticking around this summer, I’ll be so excited to go back.

I’m also going to be in-season as a swim coach for both the Sussex YMCA, and for my former high school, Pope John XXIII. I’ve been a swimmer since I was eight years old, and it didn’t take long after the pandemic forced me to quit the swim team here at Kean after half a season and lots of progress for me to want to jump back in somehow. Ever hear the saying “you can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can’t take Jersey out of the girl?” Yea, same thing here. Something about the love/hate relationship almost every swimmer has with this sport tends to keep us roped in somehow.

The high school season will be keeping me roped in at least until early March though, as we’re entering championship and state’s season, both for team states, and for individual states to top it off in March.

student blogs

It’s me, Hi!

Hi,

My name is Julie (although I usually prefer Jules, it’s what everyone pretty much calls me). This is my second semester of my graduate program here at Kean. And so far, not too shabby. I feel like I am right where I am suppose to be alongside with work and just life in general. Feeling pretty positive which is good because at least one thing is going right, right? Anyways, I’m 26 years old, I work at Passaic High School, I’m the youngest sibling of two, I have four pets, and I like to read and write. Which would make sense of my placement here I suppose. I’m also really big on film photography.

But yeah, I’m excited for this course and the things I will learn as I go.

student blogs

that quote that bugs me from Penn Jillette because he’s not wrong about it either.

I think I already mentioned that laminin is going to be difficult to finish before it’s due. That said, I think most of it should make enough sense and enough of a point to say that it’s finished enough. I’m not planning to rush to finish this though, so I’ll continue working on it probably for some time after this even.

I think the only major hiccup I have for that is publishing my piece from Twine so it has a live link. I tried using the link my browser gives me when I click “test from here,” but if I open it on any other browser or device, it doesn’t work. It will simply lead users to create something on Twine themselves. I’ll probably figure this out by asking one of my swimmers after practice tonight, but if anyone has suggestions on how to do that, I’d really appreciate it.

Other than that, there are still so many testimonies that I’m prepared to add to this, and so much more from the Bible to add too (as that really is meant to be the center of the piece anyway). And I know there may be people that read those Bible passages and might not get it, or maybe some will roll their eyes because they’ve been hurt by Christians. I get that. I used to do the same thing, and I know a few people in my life right now that continue to do that too. But here’s the thing– it bothered me when I first heard this quote, and it bothers me now even more that I do believe:

I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?

“I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.

Penn Jillette (from Penn & Teller)

While I have no intention of shoving my beliefs down someone’s throat (which is how most people get hurt by the Church), I wouldn’t be loving people if I didn’t at least tell them about the God I know to be real, true, loving, just, merciful, faithful, and kind, among many other things. Is it awkward sometimes? Yes. But in a world where everything is broken in its own way, having the One thing that keeps us whole is going to be uncomfortable, it’s going to make you stand out, and it’s going to hurt sometimes. But He still holds us together. I mean that’s the whole point behind this piece and that’s why I’m in no rush to get it 100% finished (and just to finish it well enough to hand in).

That’s also why I named this piece laminin. I wouldn’t doubt there have been times in other people’s lives, as there have been in mine, where it felt like God was allowing everything to fall apart. And maybe on the surface He was– though He doesn’t cause things to fall apart (that’s just what the broken nature of this world does), He allows it for a bigger purpose than we often might see. But deep down, He was still holding us together through those times. How?

Laminin is a glycoprotein that essentially holds the cells of our bodies together. Is it a coincidence that it’s in the shape of a cross? Is it a coincidence that the cross, as Rome had ‘perfected’ it until Constantine I abolished its use, used to be a symbol of the most excruciating, humiliating, shameful, and gruesome deaths that one could experience? Is it a coincidence that this symbol now also represents new life to how many millions of people around the world, that it’s a symbol of life so strong that many of those people are continuously being persecuted to the point of death?

And I want to bring that back to the point I made with that quote from Penn Jillette for just a moment. It’s not as common (though also not completely unheard of) in America that Christians are persecuted to such a point. While I’ve seen and heard such threats, Pastor Russell Johnson at the Pursuit NW being one of them, I’m also hearing much more from even people within my own church that are afraid to make things awkward or to lose friends due to sharing their faith. But first off, are they really your friend if they don’t hear you out and still love you as a human being, even if your beliefs are a bit different? Also, were you really their friend if you don’t love them enough to care about their eternity? And finally, if God isn’t enough for you, then what is? God is the one and only thing that will never fail or break or forsake you, so if He isn’t enough… what is?

And that’s the other point I’m starting to build on within this piece– Christians should be bold. There is no greater love we can give than to lovingly share the Gospel and spread the good news of God. I’m hoping this will be an encouragement to people in the faith that are scared to be bold because I get it. My social anxiety has been crippling at times. My trauma and certain triggers have forced me out of otherwise fun things or things where God was moving. But God. Do I still feel the anxiety or get bothered by certain triggers and stuff? Yes. That doesn’t usually just disappear. God can, but I’ve found that my anxiety has been that thorn in my side, as Paul wrote somewhere in the New Testament, that reminds me to rely on Him when I need it most. And when I do rely on Him more, it gets easier to move through, even if the circumstances don’t necessarily change. I don’t have to retreat from social or triggering situations because there’s no safer place than where God calls you to be. And I’m hoping that laminin will be that encouragement to Christians too.

student blogs

laminin

The idea for this piece started out as some sort of a “family tree” type of idea. As a writer, I’ve always held a deep-seeded belief that testimony is powerful, and that belief has only continued to root itself deeper in the almost two years since my faith truly became my own.

Eventually the story map started to look a lot more like a bush… then a bush that hasn’t been pruned in a few years… then a bush that hasn’t been pruned in a few years and has a bunch of vines tangled in there… and then I wouldn’t even know how to explain it from there. I was wondering for some time what to do about it. Would it make sense? Would there be an actual story to it? Would the point be apparent to any reader, regardless of how readers navigate through the piece? Would it all hold together?

I don’t remember how the conversations came up, but I had a series of a few conversations with different people at church, none of which were otherwise related conversations, about laminin. Much like Louie Giglio, I didn’t have a picture in my head of exactly what laminin looks like, or what makes it so special. So in the midst of most of these conversations, I was rather confused. Louie explains the fascination some Christians have regarding this portion that essentially acts as the “rebar of the human body,” and it was in this very short clip from one of his messages that laminin made sense, especially with the context of Colossians 1:17.

To gain further context on the church at Colossae that Paul was writing in this letter, I looked to a few different sources, one of my favorites to go to being the Bible Project.

One of the things that Paul addresses with the church at Colossae and that Louie is addressing in the full message he mentions laminin in is the many pressures we experience in life. For me, some of those pressures included admitting “me too,” pressures to conform myself to what people expect of me, pressures to be the strong one as my friends or students or swimmers are falling apart, pressures from myself and my own goals and hopes and dreams, pressures from the storms of life, pressures of being a Christian in a world that speaks and acts and persecutes so boldly against such a faith… For my friend, who for the sake of this project is named Maacah, some of those pressures included an eating disorder and body image issues, abuse within relationships, loss, family pressures, pressures from the storms of life, pressures of being a Christian in a world that speaks and acts and persecutes so boldly against such a faith… Or for another friend also under a pseudonym, Bithiah, some pressures she’s seen in life are homelessness, fatherlessness, other family pressures, pressures from the storms of life, pressures of being a Christian in a world that speaks and acts and persecutes so boldly against such a faith… And for Abednego (another pseudonym), pressures with chronic health issues, pressures of being a first responder, pressures from family and friends, pressures from inside his own mind and often being too hard on himself, pressures from the storms of life, pressures of being a Christian in a world that speaks and acts and persecutes so boldly against such a faith… The list of things we all go through goes on and on and on. Some parts of these lists might be similar or nearly identical to some that may not hold the same beliefs. Some of the struggles we deal with my be vastly different.

And while it might not seem like it right away with Giglio’s full message, it is a point that hits hard towards the end: that God does hold us together when life gets hard, when pressures seem to be crushing you slowly, when it doesn’t seem like things can or will ever work for good… in Him all things hold together– including us, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. It may not feel like you’re being held together sometimes, in fact this past week has been one of those weeks for me, but He is holding you together, even if not in the ways you want Him to.

And a great example of that I’ll add in here I just saw this morning. You can watch parts one and two at their respective hyperlinks. Pastor Russell Johnson has been crushed and press like olives… to make oil. He doesn’t even mention the threats that his church is currently under. He doesn’t even mention the bricks being thrown through the windows of the new location of The Pursuit in Seattle. He doesn’t mention the present threats and letters that his family has received for being so bold in faith and yet he and his family remain persistent in faith. Yet he is still held together as a person, his family remains held together, his church community remains held together, all in One name.

That’s what I’m hoping to get across with this piece. People ask so often why bad things happen to good people but I’d argue that there are no “good people.” I’d say that we are made good by the grace poured out to us. I’d say that bad things happen because this world is so diluted and adulterated from the actual Truth that we don’t actually know what “good” is half the time. I admit I even have trouble understanding in certain circumstances what really is best for me, and when I choose for myself rather than trust God, things tend to fall apart even more. So maybe I’ll get to outline that for people reading who aren’t Christian. Maybe I’ll encourage or convict those who are that read this. There’s a greater purpose to this piece than just a project– there’s a kingdom purpose to it.

That all said, I’m pretty far along on this, but I’m honestly not sure I’ll be able to say I’m satisfied with it by the 19th. It’ll be complete enough that it’ll make sense, but I think continuing it will be a winter break / next semester issue.