Total Eclipse

I found that Annie Dillard’s writing was fairly interesting to read. Some things that were included in the piece confused me. For example, the reference to the clown painting… I mean, most people despise clowns, and not many people love to eat their veggies. It’s just a double whammy, and I found it kind of strange. For me, I found the part of Dillard’s writing where she spoke of Emperor Louis of Bavaria to be intriguing. She wrote of his death by fright at the sight of the eclipse in 840, before a time when he would have prior knowledge about what is really occurring during a total eclipse. Dillard compares what Emperor Louis of Bavaria must have felt to what we in the modern world would feel if we saw a mushroom cloud in the horizon—utter shock and despair because soon, we will no longer be alive. It seemed to me like Dillard was describing that during the eclipse her logic was no longer in charge and a human instinct of terror and fright completely took over. The last thing that stuck out to me as I was reading was a reference to “a decorated sand bucket and a matching shovel”. The first time this was mentioned was when Dillard was describing the hotel lobby. There was a decorated child’s sand bucket and a matching sand shovel beneath the cage of a canary and amongst spilled millet seeds on the carpet. The second time these two objects were mentioned was when the author was describing the mind having two tools—grammar and lexicon. She then compares those two tools to the bucket and shovel. Overall, I thought that Total Eclipse was a well-written and interesting essay.

"Talk of the Town"

After reading “Talk of the Town”, I was left with a mix of emotions and reactions. Being so young at the time of the attacks, I have only a vague memory of watching the tower falling on television, but not really understanding the massive impact the 9/11 attacks would have on our country.

When I read the sentence “We knew we had just witnessed thousands of deaths; we clung to each other as if we ourselves were falling” written by John Updike, I felt as if I had just received the worst of news. I cannot imagine what he could have been feeling or thinking at this point in time. I feel that being so hauntingly close and viewing this massive destruction would be a surreal experience and would leave one somewhat dumbfounded and at a loss for words.

I personally know of at least a few people that I believe would be somewhat angered by Susan Sontag’s response and personal viewpoint on the 9-11 attacks, but I see that Sontag has an extremely valid point, and she certainly forced me to take a different viewpoint of 9/11 in reading what she wrote. The sentence that I think struck me the most and made me think was “In the matter of courage (a morally neutral virtue): whatever may be said of the perpetrators of Tuesday’s slaughter, they were not cowards.” Sontag really makes you as the reader think past your initial reaction of disgust and fear, and helps you see further into the 9/11 attacks.

Both authors helped me gain insight on the happenings of 9/11, and aided me in considering viewpoints that I would not have probably seen had I not read these essays.

All About Me

The first thing anyone should know about me is that I absolutely live for the sports I participate in. I play soccer, downhill ski, golf, play tennis, run distance, and mountain bike. Soccer is my favorite and my club team is like my family, we do absolutely everything together! I also coach four sports over the summer-- golf, soccer, tennis, and swimming. I teach tennis, swimming, and golf at my country club (Nakoma) and coach soccer with my club. The kids are so fun to be around all summer!
 I have been having a pretty rough time this summer not being able to be active due to a knee surgery after an ACL blow out in the spring, and several procedures concerning my lungs which had me in the hospital for a while. Other than sports, I love to travel-- especially with my family. I leave for Ireland in a few days to visit my father's side of the family!

As of right now, I am almost completely set on attending nursing school with the ultimate goal of a position as an AP/NP, but I'm not positive on what specialty I would like to take. I am weighing the pros and cons of both anesthesiology and NICU care. I thought about going into physical education and that thought still crosses my mind. I think I would also enjoy that, and an added bonus would be the ability to coach!