“This I Believe” Speech

1. I believe in the motto of treating others the way you want to be treated. When there is something that makes you upset or sad it is easy to often find others to blame or take out frustration on those around you. However, people often tend to mimic the behavior they are receiving. I have seen this with teachers throughout more specifically my high school experience. While always treating adults with respect certain teachers often said belittling and mean words to the class and in return the class would be dismissive to her and not truly devote themselves to her class.
2. Another belief is “getting what you deserve.” This motto can be interpreted in many ways depending on a good or bad situation. In a good scenario, a student could work very hard for an internship and devote their time to working, studying, and preparing for it then ultimately receiving the internship. A bad situation that I have encountered has been in sports. In high school, I used to play field hockey and before a game, the captains line up with the captains from the opposing team to shake hands and flip a coin to see who receives the ball first. The captain from the opposing team made a point to express how much “better” she was than our team and told us to forfeit and save ourselves from embarrassment. However, within the first half of the game, she received two yellow cards for unsportsmanlike conduct on the field and my team ultimately won.

Passion Blog

1. One idea I have for my passion blog is music that speaks to the audience. For our passion blogs this semester, we need to select a new message for each post and I truly think if I choose music I can find new songs in each work that relate to different messages. Music is something I am very passionate about and love to listen to different artists and play my favorite songs when I’m angry, sad, or happy and want to listen to a good tune. I feel I will easily and efficiently write a well-thought-out passion blog weekly on the topic of Music.
2. Another Idea for my passion blog is sports. More specifically college sports and I can find a message that can relate to student athletes and how they manage sports and school.

Civic Blogs:

1. One idea I have for my civic blogs is mental health. I think it is very important for all people especially college students to feel comfortable talking about their mental health. I would be very interested to see and look into how universities, schools, and workplaces can make their environments more open for people to feel comfortable about their health.
2. Another civic issue blog idea is how media has affected different generations. Technology is slowly becoming a necessity in people’s everyday lives and while I think it is important to be familiar with the use of technology to make sure we do not fall behind in society I think it has become damaging to younger generations. Face-to-face interaction confrontations and fresh air has been stripped from younger kids who spend their days on social media and gaming consoles. I feel there needs to be a balance and change in possibly learning to create a balance of the use of technology and human interaction.

As the semester is coming to an end we are wrapping up and starting to dive into our last project, History of Public Controversy. This project, differing from the others, is a group project which I really like. I am able to work with my classmates and complete a project with help and new ideas from peers.

As learned in Jessica O’Hara’s recorded class lecture a controversy should have two distinct sides with clear arguments. When my group and I were discussing ideas we wanted to truly narrow down to a topic that is in that definition of controversy and one that is relevant to today. We thought about the controversy of aspects of climate change, certain aspects of fashion, and music. However, after long discussions and ideas floating around we finalized our idea on the Abortion controversy. The abortion controversy is very relevant in society today but can be traced back to issues that started decades ago.

Now that we narrowed down our topic we must plan how we are going to present our topic. After watching the video Jessica showed we can see how music, images, and effects can truly add to the effectiveness of a video if used correctly. For example, if you are talking about an exciting event you probably do not want to use a somber song and vice versa. This is only the beginning of the project and we have time to brainstorm more but I am excited to see how we will succeed and see the projects from my other classmates as well.

I am still formatting mine. I have the pictures and know the basic ideas of what to talk about but need to format and order them.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AJalsW2mLlFMAk0eeb-N3u11p-KTMYGlc314KSZsxYE/edit?usp=sharing

One source that I will use for my Evolving Ideas Essay and the TED Talk is Seneca Falls Convention by History.com https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/seneca-falls-convention

Using this source for the Evolving Ideas Essay, I will use the history being told within the source to express how the Seneca Falls Convention served as a turning point and effective paradigm shift in the ideological stereotype of traditional gender roles in society over time, especially in women. The source expresses how the Seneca Falls Convention was one if not the first, most effective effort towards equal women’s rights and led to the right for women’s education and the ratification of the nineteenth amendment which gave women the right to vote. I will also heavily use this source for my TED Talk because while my paper will be on the overall shift pre-paradigm, paradigm, and post-paradigm the TED Talk will focus solely on the Seneca Falls Convention as it shaped society to what women have and are able to do today.

Another source I will use is the Women’s History Collection of Aletta H. Jacobs. This source focuses on the pre-paradigm. Jacobs goes into detail about the life of women before the women’s suffrage movement and the past stereotypical idea of women as caretakers and not as essential in society. I will focus on this a lot in the essay as well to paint the picture of life for women in society early on which will then make my paradigm shift much more effective as I then proceed to express the great changes that occurred as a result of it.

In addition to these sources, I still need many more but these are two great foundation sources that I have that I was able to gather a great amount of vital information to give me a start.

“To Raise Brave Girls, Encourage Adventure.” The title of this TED Talk given by author Caroline Paul back in 2016 sparks a movement of change. We learn in history through textbooks, readings, and even in films that often there is this concept of traditional and stereotypical gender roles. Caroline Paul encourages a shift in change of how society educates and raises girls, while greatly emphasizing the importance of enforcing risk-taking and bravery and the idea that girls can do anything. With personal experience herself by being the first woman to work for the San Francisco Fire Department, this experience opened her eyes to write books and go speak to people about how we are headed towards change and how we can grow even more. 

The paradigm shift in place here is the idea of the notion and stereotype of women being seen as “stay-at-home moms’ and being caretakers rather than creating a life for themselves and making a change on that typecast. In efforts to encourage parents, educators, and society as a whole to break free from traditional gender stereotypes movements, books, and films have been more recently released focused on shaping women today. Viewing women as strong role models and equal to the higher power of men creates a completely shifted view of the known gender roles in the past. One of the ways this can be shown is through Hilary Clinton’s running for president; whether one was for or against her beliefs, her role in the election stood as an opening door for further women’s role in society. 

Caroline Paul uses her platform to express the severity of this issue and how these stereotypes and ideas over time have shifted and could continue to grow. With almost all things in life, nothing is essentially perfect and could always grow to be improved and this is just one prime example of that. 

Below you can access the link to Caroline’s TED Talk:

https://www.ted.com/talks/caroline_paul_to_raise_brave_girls_encourage_adventure?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tesco share

Idea 1:

Movie theaters began as early as the year 1905. From this date on, movie theaters have been a place where families and friends can gather and enjoy the magic of cinema while being surrounded by hundreds of people enjoying the same thing they are. However, as time has passed and technology has developed, streaming services such as Netflix have been introduced. With these services, people no longer desire to go to the movies and simply wait for the movie to come out on the service to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes. But what about the movie magic? What about the laughter from strangers that fills a theater from a joke in the film? The movies create a sense of unity and bond through so many people in a room that is not the same at home. Most of this shift started from Covid-19. With movie theaters closed and people unable to leave their houses, people gravitated towards their following options. Today, with COVID-19 mandates being lifted and theaters reopened, people have yet to revert to their own ways, leading to a severe decline in theaters. Next time you’re watching a new movie at home that is in theaters, think about being a child, getting popcorn and candy, and sitting in the packed theater filled with excitement. Then think about how you might feel if suddenly that was all gone. 

Idea 2: 

Holiday traditions started in the early 19th and 20th centuries with Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and more. Let us look at Christmas, for example. The holiday started solely as a religious holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ, where people celebrated and partied and drank wine together while attending Church. This mainly was celebrated among the men, and it was a day where social classes essentially “disappeared” as all were welcomed into all homes to celebrate this day. As gift-giving was introduced in the 19th century, the holiday shifted to the main focus of gifts and Santa. While many people today still remember the true meaning of this holiday and celebrate Christ, the overall population has shifted to the alternate traditions of family meals, gifts from Santa, holiday movies, etc. 

Idea 3: 

Technology is only continuing to develop more and more as the years go on. While having advanced technology is beneficial in many aspects of life, such as communication with others, it has caused a significant shift in how people live their lives. It has allowed people to feel comfort in essentially “hiding behind a screen.” Daily conversation and knowing how to conversate in person has become a skill on a severe decline throughout people. Think about it: how times have changed. Remember those birthday party invites you handed out in class… Those are now evites and human interaction is not required. Calling friends to make plans and hang out has become a simple text over snap. It is also becoming fearful for the younger and newer generation to the world they are entering.  Will they enter a world immersed in technology and little to no interaction? Additionally, on a deeper level, technology has opened doors to bullying. People feel confident and brave behind the screen and essentially “do not care” who they hurt. 

After listening to both Noah’s and Alexa’s, I felt they both did a great job. To begin with Noah’s speech, he spoke about the “Change the Priorities” poster. With the goal of advocating for a change in the government policy towards the homeless, Noah used Visual Rhetoric and close textual analysis to express his main points of color and language to the audience in order to convey his message. I personally found Noah’s speech to be very effective and found myself learning more as he spoke about a topic that I was unfamiliar with. He also spoke with immediacy and concern which truly helped the effectiveness of his speech as well. Additionally, Alexa also spoke with the same immediacy and concern in her speech about The Gettysburg Address. Using a close textual analysis Alexa expresses how Lincoln uses ethos, pathos, and logos to gain his audience’s trust. One thing specifically that Alexa did really well was structure her speech in a way that made her topic and points clear to the audience. It was clear that she was very familiar with her topic and took the corrections from the speakers before her and applied them to her speech. Overall both Noah and Alexa did a great job with their speeches and I look forward to more from them further in the course.

Speech Outline: MY PLATE 

A. INTRO

1. 1. Attention getter: How many of you have seen this colorful plate at your schools or doctor’s offices growing up? This guide to healthy living has honestly followed us throughout our lives. Even today, as Penn State Students, the guide is shown on our Penn State Go App whenever we look at our menu dining options for the day.
   2. Commonplace: Overall health
   3. Exigence: Rising health issues such as diabetes rise, being overweight, etc., lack of knowledge for how to improve health
   4. Constraints: People can’t access the same fresh vegetables or fruits and might not be able to eat the same because of cultural dietary restrictions; this plate’s most considerable portions tend to be the most expensive.
   5. Audience: Appeals to all people and ages everywhere from the time you’re allowed to expand from baby food
   6. Mode Analysis: visual rhetoric 
   7. Thesis: Through the lens of close textual analysis and visual rhetoric with points of language and color. USDA MyPlate represents a balanced nutrition that guides all generations toward healthier eating habits.  
   8. Intro: How many of you have seen this colorful plate at your schools or doctor’s offices growing up? This guide to healthy living has honestly followed us throughout our lives. Even today, as Penn State Students, the guide is shown on our Penn State Go App whenever we look at our menu dining options for the day.  By touching upon the commonplace of health and the exigence of the need to address the rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and the nation’s overall health. and with the slight constraints of cultural diversity of diets and financial limitations, Through rhetoric lenses of close textual analysis and visual rhetoric, the United States Department of Agriculture’s or the USDA’s MyPlate showcases main points of language and color to represent a balanced nutrition that guides all generations in their search for healthier eating habits.

B. MAIN POINTS/BODY

          MP 1:

1. Language 
   1. The first visual rhetoric choice I want to talk about is through the textual choices being made through the brief overview descriptions for each food group on the image itself which speaks to all ages and strengthens its audience.
      1. Wording 
         1. My Plate creates a manner of writing from simplicity to more complex writing, extending his audience outreach appealing to all ages. To further express this point, the quote from the image itself, “Eat fruit of all colors. Go for fruit instead of juice, which has more fiber and fewer calories,” is a quintessential example of combining the languages of youth to elder, from stating words such as “colors’ ‘ and “juice’ ‘ as something that gravitates to a child’s mind to words like “fiber’ ‘ and “calories’ that are more focused upon by an older audience.
      2. Short attention span 
         1. Kid have a shorter attention span than adults do and are more likely to see a larger paragraph and only read the set of words so essentially the first sentence. Due to this USDA’s MyPlate’s choice of working is written in a way of appealing to their younger audience then their older audience as the paragraph progresses. As explained earlier in the wording a child will read “fruits of all colors” and be content in the task being asked of them while an adult in search for more reasoning and an answer to their question  “why?” will read further down to find the answer of more fiber and fewer calories which is words and information  a kid could essentially “care less for.” 

MP 2:

1. Color
   1. The second visual rhetoric choice I want to talk about is the color choice being made to improve the USDA’s effectiveness. 
      1. Color Association with Food Groups 
         1. A young child attracted to the colors and pictures from the diagram to an adult who has the common physcological tendency to associate things of color to another will associate red for fruit with apples, strawberries, cherries, and more and green with vegetables of broccoli and peas, and blue for dairy and the color of milk cartoons and brown to rice and wheat. And you may be wondering as to how purple can be associated with Protein as much as the others are more clearly. But for years in supermarkets and in produce, manufacturers as a portrayal and association with foods of good quality and when you think of meat you want to think of good quality chicken not pink, good quality meat not to much fat, and so much more. 
         2. More about the association with the color purple can be read here: https://www.plant-ex.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-purple-colours/#:~:text=Manufacturers%20use%20the%20colour%20purple,a%20dominant%20trend%20this%20year.
      2. Gradience
         1.  On a more artistic choice made my USDA, the slight gradience in color from more dark and dense to lighter color can be associated in showcasing the wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairies that there are in the world to offer. Which also touches upon the constraints of cultural dietary restrictions and price. There are a wide variety of each food group being offered in the world and enough that each and every person can choose their own types of fruits, protein, or vegetables that adhere to their personal dietary restrictions and financial availbility.

C. CONCLUSION

1. Through the lens visual with points of language developed through ages in the audience and color visualizing each food group and our variety, USDA MyPlate represents a balanced nutrition that guides all generations toward healthier eating habits.  

Rhetorical Analysis Rough Draft: 

Introduction

[para 1]

Good health and well-being can easily slip one’s mind, causing them to become prone to bad habits. That, along with the ever-changing society we live in, are the reasons why these attributes should hold a higher priority in all people’s daily lives. As symbols of this goal, two distinct objects that come to mind are the Apple Watch and MyPlate. The Apple Watch, a modern wearable technology, has an impressive range of health-centric features that allow individuals to monitor and enhance their physical well-being. On the other hand, there is MyPlate, a visual representation of balanced nutrition crafted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which serves as a guide for generations in their search for healthier eating habits. Although the Apple Watch and MyPlate may initially seem to inhabit different target areas of health, they share captivating appeals in the recognition that overall good health and well-being are the foundations of an individual’s overall satisfying and healthy life. Through comparative analysis, the ways in which these artifacts make their own appeals will be explored. Lenses of close textual analysis and visual rhetoric are used in these appeals, as these artifacts also share characteristics and distinct qualities that underscore the importance of health and well-being in people’s lives, whether by modern cutting-edge technology or by timeless dietary guides.

[Body Paragraphs]

[para 2]

USDA’s MyPlate has and continues to play a pivotal role in shaping public concerns and expectations surrounding nutrition and healthy eating in the United States. As a visual representation of dietary guidelines, it serves as a guide for conveying essential information to the American population of all ages and offers a clear framework for making healthy food choices. MyPlate does a excellent job showcasing societies commitment to promoting the health and well-being of its people. Reflecting to its exigence being the need to address the rising rates of obesity, diet-related diseases, and the overall health of the nation. However, MyPlate also faces some significant constraints. Some of these constraints including the challenge of navigating through the cultural diversities of food and peoples individual dietary preferences. While another constraint being financial limitations of some of the eating habits. Nontheless, it stands as a exemplary civic artifact and is a vital as a example of how rhetoric can be used to express important information, influence behavior, and address rising societal issues. 

[para 3 and 4]

Serving as a visual tool, USDA’s MyPlate conveys key messages about healthy eating and nutrition. Through its simple and easily understandable design, there are distinct, wellplanned visual choices made my USDA to allow MyPlate to be effective for its audience as a whole. By visually dividing the plate into sections representing different food groups, dairy, grains, fruits, vegetables, and protein. MyPlate encourages individuals to think about their food choices and portion sizes and persuades its audience to act by suggesting that they can improve their health and well-being by following the recommended proportions and making informed dietary decisions. The proportions being larger or smaller depending on how much of one specific food group should be intaked. MyPlate’s use of familiar food imagery makes it relatable and relays the idea that healthy eating is achievable for everyone.

Specifically relating to the image itself of MyPlate, the mindful and careful choice of diction allows this artifact to speak directly towards its audience through the lens of close textual analysis. The brief overview descriptions for each food group on the image itself speaks to all ages. To further express this point the quote from the image itself, “Eat fruit of all colors. Go for fruit instead of juice, which has more fiber and fewer calories,” is a quintessential example of combining the languages of youth to elder. From stating words such as “colors” and “juice” as something that gravitates to a childs mind to words like “fiber” and “calories” that are more focused upon from an older audience. This deliberate choice made my USDA works as a close textual analysis to support MyPlate as a persuasive artifact that both empowers individuals to make healthier choices and highlights. the importance of addressing systemic barriers to healthy eating.

[para 5]

The 2015 Apple Watch is a multifunctional wearable device used by many with a high-centric feature to promote health and wellness. While starting as a modern fashioned high tech watch, it quickly developed into a step towards a healthy lifetsyle. In 2018 Apple came out with their Series 4 watch which focused on more well-being features and shifted their promotion of the watch from fashion to health. Apple then changed their  “Why Apple Watch?” tab on their website being headlined as “The ultimate device for a healthy lifestyle” and continues today. With the similar goal of health and well- being and the exigence of the increasing concern for individual health, the Apple Watch serves as a comparative artifact to the USDA MyPlate, but in a digital and personalized context. Its primary audience includes tech-savvy consumers seeking to track their  well-being, but could also extends to healthcare professionals interested in imposing wearable technology for health initiatives, in a broad sense the watch is more directed towards an older teen and adult audience.  The constraints of the Apple Watch lie in its reliance on the users engagement and accessibility to the latest technology, which may limit its reach and impact on certain demographics.

Good health and well-being can easily slip one’s mind, causing them to become prone to bad habits. That, along with the ever-changing society we live in, are the reasons why these attributes should hold a higher priority in all people’s daily lives. As symbols of this goal, two distinct objects that come to mind are the Apple Watch and MyPlate. The Apple Watch, a modern wearable technology, has an impressive range of health-centric features that allow individuals to monitor and enhance their physical well-being. On the other hand, there is MyPlate, a visual representation of balanced nutrition crafted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which serves as a guide for generations in their search for healthier eating habits. Although the Apple Watch and MyPlate may initially seem to inhabit different target areas of health, they share captivating appeals in the recognition that overall good health and well-being are the foundations of an individual’s overall satisfying and healthy life. Through comparative analysis, the ways in which these artifacts make their own appeals will be explored. Lenses of ethos and visual rhetoric are used in these appeals, as these artifacts also share characteristics and distinct qualities that underscore the importance of health and well-being in people’s lives, whether by modern cutting-edge technology or by timeless dietary guides.

I read many interesting Elevator Pitches from my classmates and I found many of them to be intriguing. However, out of all the pitches, the one that I feel intrigued me the most was Alexa’s elevator pitch. 

Alexa wrote and spoke about plastic bags and the dangers they have and why switching to reusable bags is more beneficial. While her whole blog was interesting, as I was reading I was trying to pinpoint exactly which United Nations Sustainable Development goal she was targeting. The further I read her pitch the more I realized that it touched upon multiple United Nations Sustainable Development goals and I think that it drew me more to her pitch; it was unlike the others I have read. Her pitch touched up goal 3 “Good Health and Well-being,” goal 6 “Clean water and sanitation,” goal 14 “life below water,” and goal 15 “life on land.” 

The use of logos in her speech was a very effective rhetorical choice on her part. It allowed readers such as myself to truly grasp what she was saying with evidence and facts to support her claim. The clear research she has done and credible facts she used also set the tone for a striking speech. Instead of Alexa speaking on her opinions she added facts about the harm of plastic bags and the facts of the benefits from reusable bags; to the reader this increases the level of persuasiveness. 

Overall, Alexa’s speech taught me many things. While I did know that plastic bags were harmful I never took the time to research why and her pitch allowed me to find out. If I would add anything to Alexa’s pitch I would add some recommendations to the readers for reusable bags. She mentioned that many reusable bags still do not fit the criteria of being “good;” so if she added some recommendations of bags she found to be “good” it would also add to the effectiveness of her speech.