Author Archives: Sadie Willett

My Analysis of Devin’s Elevator Pitch

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Dear blog,

After listening to our class’s invigorating elevator pitches, I was posed with the question of which pitch moved me the most. All of the elevator pitches were intriguing and extremely well-spoken. However, Devin’s elevator pitch stood out to me the most. Her delivery was immaculate and the title of her blog, “Would You Care More,” stands out to me because it forces you to think deeper to yourself about her blog content. Devin’s civic artifact speaks to me because of course I care about wildlife animals and preserving their existence, however, I consume fish an excessive amount. I never felt guilty about it prior to listening to her elevator pitch. For some reason, I looked at it with a different perspective rather than consuming cow or chicken. However, I am definitely going to cut back on my shellfish consumption now.

The statistics in her pitch struck me and gave her a sense of ethos because she was invoking credibility in her speech with factual evidence. Devin stated that the fish do not have enough time to reproduce and grow their population in order to sustain the amount that are overfished. She analyzed most people’s thoughts by saying that although we believe the sea is so big for the fish to repopulate, this is not the case.

Lastly, Devin concluded her speech with an extremely meaningful touch. Her sentence that stood out to me the most was, “It is not long before we reach a point of no return.” This forced me to think differently about my choices and to want to act on them. Overall, Devin’s speech was very significant to me and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. I cannot wait to indulge in her final product.

Why I have a passion for traveling: A thread of stories

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Dear blog,

Prior to writing today’s post, I researched why others have such a strong passion for travel. The five most popular reasons include: learning, escaping, discovering, making new friends, and for the experience. I definitely have a love for traveling due to these five special components. However, my reasoning is more deep and internal. For me, traveling helps me emerge from my shell. Travel enables me to overcome my timidity and inject some life into their otherwise drab existence. I learn patience, wisdom, perspective, appreciation, and relationships when I travel. You have to cope with a lot of unexpected things when you visit a new place. An example of this was this summer.

Immediately following graduation, I along with fourteen of my other friends packed our belongings and drove approximately four hours down to the Jersey Shore. The trip was not glamorous, it was more based around spending quality time with our closest friends while celebrating the finale of our high school experiences. We had to learn how to act quickly in tough situations. For example, when two police officers showed up at our front door due to several noise complaints. Some of us were still seventeen at the time, including myself, so we had to learn how to comply with law enforcement. It was extremely nerve wracking at the time because our parents were not present to represent us and keep us safe. On the way home, two of our friends were in a car that had broken down on the middle of the highway. I was sitting in the back seat of Eliana’s white Toyota Rav4 when she answered the phone to a voice. I expected it to be her mom, wondering what time we would be home. However, when Eliana put the phone down, she seemed worried and uneasy. We quickly learned that we had to drive two hours back in the other direction where we came from to rescue our friends. There were no flames nor injuries. However, everyone was extremely anxious. We had to act on the situation quickly, forcing us to become independent without having the assistance of our parents at one call away. After all, we were five hours away from home.

Growing up as an extremely shy individual, the trip to Jersey Shore allowed me to expand a new sense of independence while growing closer with my best friends. Living with them for two days led to a new side of me that they had never witnessed before, making our relationships stronger than ever before. More importantly, it taught us how to act in the real world now that we are growing older, especially with the transition to college being right around the corner.

Traveling: Incorporated with a Flair Element

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Dear blog,

The time has come where the passion topics must be chosen for the semester. It was an easy choice for me to decide which topic means more to me. I scratched my brain for what makes me the happiest, what ignites the most excitement in my bloodstream. Traveling. The action of preparing for a couple days or for a weeklong trip. The opportunity to indulge in an unseen culture paired with different policies and lifestyles. No matter the destination, each trip is a new adventure that comes with a new feeling of purpose.

Today, this summer’s adventure will be discussed. In June, I was presented with the wonderful opportunity to travel to México. This destination allowed me to grasp a new appreciation of culture. I traveled to México immediately after graduating high school belongside my best friend and her family, otherwise known as my second family. We have been best friends for eight years now and neighbors for three. Given this information, I’m sure you can imagine that the trip was quite an adventure. It was the kickoff to summer and a long awaited celebration of our four years of high school. The group packed up and flew to Cancún, México. The first thing anyone would notice was the language change, which is given in any foreign country. Although English is a first world spoken language, when you travel to a place such as México, it is rarely spoken. Luckily, I have been studying the Spanish language for six, going on seven years now throughout middle and high school. The luxurious, all inclusive resort we resided at included speaking of the English language only by the employees. As for the friends we made there, most lived in México and I communicated with them through Google Translate or my scarce knowledge of the language, of course making a few grammatical mistakes on my part here and there. The second culture difference I noticed was body language. I would not make the conclusion that everyone is kinder in México, however, they are friendlier with a much more flirty side than here in America. In addition, they are much more carefree in the best way possible. Some may argue that they are only carefree due to being on a vacation, however, I observed this carefree emotion downtown as well when I visited the shopping center. Lastly, the final cultural difference examination while vacationing in México was the nightlife. Mexicans live to party, especially in Cancún. The guests partied for approximately seven to eight hours each night. Open bars, live music, and dancing would take place. They would also chant and sing “Tequila” every hour or so. While this is normal in the United States at clubs and bars, it is usually paired with a celebration. Whereas in México, this was a daily occurrence for them. I am not shaming at all because everybody deserves a break from life, especially while on vacation. However, I noticed a big difference between there and here in the United States. In México, they take it very seriously, almost as it being one of their passions. Some would say that it is extremely socially acceptable there to become rowdy throughout the nighttime. After experiencing a significant cultural difference, I felt privileged and honored. I quickly realized that it is the reason I have such a strong passion for traveling and I am thrilled to travel the rest of the world while appreciating hundreds of different cultures later on throughout the rest of my life.

UN SDG Elevator Pitch

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It is the day of your 18th birthday, you wake up with excitement as it is a huge milestone in your life. You can finally vote! In other words, you are now participating in the democratic process, a right that should be exercised by everyone. You have the freedom to vote for the next leader who will represent your ideas and beliefs in society. However, in 1848, the circumstances were different. Women did not have the right to vote in elections. Women did not have a voice. Until, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was introduced. Stanton was an American leader in the women’s rights movement who in 1848 formulated the first concerted demand for women’s suffrage in the United States. She advocated for the equality of men and women’s rights, specifically a woman’s right to vote. She worked alongside other activists fighting for gender equality, such as Susan B. Anthony, where they worked together for another 50 years after the initial convention. The two powerful figures organized campaigns, testified before lawmakers, and addressed crowds in lyric symphonies, conferences, and public places. 

Stanton’s most famous quote was, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.” This is a rhetorical commonplace because every woman in the community agreed with her statement and shared the same values as her. However, some were too afraid to speak up. Stanton used the rhetorical appeal of ethos in her speeches by proving her credibility to others. She also used the rhetorical appeal of pathos by enabling her listeners to think about what she was advocating for differently with the use of evoking emotion. Another one of Stanton’s speeches that is worth analyzing is her “Declaration of Sentiments” speech. The activist challenges the status quo in her speech and seeks solutions to the overwhelming issues she perceives in society. Repetition, allusion, and pathos are some of the literary devices Elizabeth Cady Stanton employed to support her arguments for greater women’s rights. She uses repetition inside her deceleration to make it easier for the reader to understand her intended argument and how crucial it is to the wider context.

The artifact of Stanton’s famous quote is directly related to the UN’s fifth sustainable development goal; gender equality. According to an analysis performed in 2021 by Pew Research Center, the UN’s governing body is valued by 67% of countries in the world. The UN is a worldwide organization committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. Stanton was faced with an audience of a biased, stubborn, and non inclusive citizenry. Her continuous preaching and activism caused the 19th amendment to be passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920. If Stanton fought for gender inequality and led others alongside her to victory, so can we. Society then and now relays harsh backlash to others’ thoughts and beliefs. Although, this must not stop us in the pursuit to advocating for equal rights. How will you speak up and fight for change in gender equality? Thank you for listening.

Persuasive Artifact Commonplace

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Dear blog,

Today I am going to discuss commonplaces. A commonplace in rhetoric literature is a statement or bit of knowledge that is commonly shared by members of an audience or a community. An example of a civic artifact that has a commonplace is goal four of the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development. This goal is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The persuasiveness of this commonplace is that the United Nations states facts and attempts to deepen your knowledge on the need for education worldwide. For example, the UN website tells you that 24 million learners (pre-primary to university level) may never return to school. The website uses clipart pictures of children, school buildings, and school busses to give you a photographical perspective, as well to incite feeling and emotion in order to convince you that the need for quality education worldwide is extremely essential. In addition, the UN website uses infographics to further their point. These infographics show what global primary schools lack from the years of 2019-2020. 25% of primary schools globally lacked electricity, drinking water and sanitation, while 50% lacked computers and internet access. The rhetorical commonplace of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education is persuasive because the level of education a person has unquestionably impacts their quality of life. Education enhances information and skills while also fostering the growth of the personality and attitude. Most significantly, education affects people’s prospects of finding work. A person with a lot of education is usually quite likely to land a decent career. Unfortunately, in order to survive in the world, you must have a reliable source of income and to be financially stable. While education strengthens your knowledge and gives you brain power, it is essential in order to get a good job and become financially comfortable later in life. This is a known fact and everyone knows that global education is very much needed, however there is little change being done. It is a persuasive commonplace because the UN knows how essential it is for student engagement, college and career readiness, social-emotional learning, and student improvement.

My Two Passions

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Dear blog,

Passion. What does that mean? Someone’s interests, their hobbies, or someone’s desire to pursue an activity? In fact, it could be all of the above. However, for me, having a passion is doing something that makes me happy as much as I can. My passions make my life better because it makes me feel alive, and have a sense of belonging. I have struggled with finding my passions and a sense of purpose before. However, once I explored numerous hobbies and found what was right for me, I finally felt like there was something that could solve all of my problems. My two passions include traveling and reading. Traveling brings me an unlimited amount of happiness. The feeling of having a getaway from real life and exploring the world excites me. I have been out of the country several times now and experiencing new cultures and traditions fascinates me. This summer, I had the privileged opportunity to travel four different times. I went to Wildwood, New Jersey with my friend group after graduation, Mexico with my two closest friends after that for another graduation trip, Long Island to visit my roommate, and lastly, I traveled to Georgia with my family at the end of summer. This summer was one of the first times I was able to travel with my friends and it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life.

My second strongest passion is reading. To be honest, I have not always read. I know that I should always read because it strengthens my vocabulary and exercises my brain. However, sometimes I just can’t get into a reading groove because I will only continue to read the book if I’m interested. As someone who watches TikTok a lot, I quickly learned about the Colleen Hoover series. I wanted to read a book in the summer, so for my birthday, my mom gifted me “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover. It is honestly one of the best books I have ever read in my life. As soon as I picked up the book, I could not put it down. Reading books now gives me a purpose and makes me proud to know that I am working my brain instead of scrolling through my phone all day. It makes me happy to know that reading makes me forget about everything else in my life while drowning in the fictional story.