Dear 16 year old Jasmine

Dear 16 year old Jasmine,

 When I was 16 I said some pretty hurtful things to my best friend. She wouldn’t come see a movie with me so I started screaming at her and saying that she was a horrible best friend. I said she was selfish because she only wanted me to do what she wanted to do, and never went along and participated in activities that I liked. I started saying that she dragged me to a concert that I didn’t want to go to, but I went because I knew that she loved the band. I said that I had repeatedly wasted money accompanying her places that only she wanted to go to.

After a few minutes of going on and on, she began to cry. She felt like I didn’t want to be her best friend anymore and that I hated her. In all reality I hadn’t previously mentioned things I wanted to do, I always just agreed with her plans. Since she was more vocal about what she wanted, she got what she wanted. I began to feel horrible because this whole argument was not her fault, but in fact my own. I just expected her to read my mind and accompany me to all of the events and activities that interested me but I never communicated that to her.

If I could go back in time, I would have communicated to her better. I wanted her to start doing more things that I liked, but I would have told her that in a totally different way. I realize now that screaming at someone is the wrong way to get your message across and it hurts the other person’s feelings. I’m so grateful that we are true best friends and was able to get past that whole ordeal but to this day I still feel guilty about what I said. I hurt her because I was angry and said whatever, however I wanted to say it. I would have waited to talk to her after I had calmed down from her denying my movie invite, because when someone is angry they say things they really don’t mean. Lastly, I would have thought before I spoke because I love her and I would never do or say something to hurt her.

Redesign of Advertisement Essay-Reflection

Jasmine Smith

November 1, 2012

Lauren Rinke

MWF 8am

Redesign of Advertisement Essay-Reflection

I didn’t quite know how I was going to tackle the assignment going into it. I couldn’t understand how I could complete a full detailed paper based on a little ad. The ad didn’t have much text, or much imagery so I knew I would have to dig deep into my imagination to successfully redesign the ad.

I was flipping through one of my JET magazines and for some reason the Chrysler 300S ad caught my eye. I could clearly point out the Chrysler 300S’ intended audience, so I felt like I could go from there and create an effective ad. The ad was simple so I felt like it would be easy to analyze the original ad and then turn it into a complex and elaborative ad.

I wanted to redesign my ad so that it was very different from the original. When I thought of the opposite of a businessman, I thought of a new mom with little kids. From there, my mind was filled with a lot of ideas. Before I knew it, I could see the whole ad redesigned.

The challenges I faced as I began the essay were coming up with an introduction that would set my essay up and lead my audience into the body of my paper. I also struggled with structuring my paper, I had so many ideas that my paper was all over the place. I overcame my struggle by going to the writing center. I was then able to organize my thoughts and reconstruct my paper.

I liked this assignment because the second half of the paper let me use my creativity. By using my creativity, I could become a lot more detailed and my paper began to flow better.

This assignment taught me how to effectively use the rhetorical appeals. I knew what the appeals were but I didn’t necessarily know how to use them. Now I not only have a better understanding of them, but I can use them in a paper.

If I had a second chance at writing this paper, I would have brainstormed a little more before I began writing my rough draft. I also would have looked at more ads that had more going on. I would have had more details to give with a different ad. Overall, I am satisfied with my paper but it could have been better.