Self Evaluation and Finishing Up

As my freshman year of college comes to a close...wait, holy shit! I am not a freshman in college anymore! I can remember visiting all the schools, filling and sending out the applications, waiting to hear back from schools, going to all the graduation parties, talking to all the parents about where I was going to school, and how I was going to have my life changed in a drastic, sudden, and abrupt way just a few 8 months ago. This semester I learned how to manage my time between fun and academics........somewhat. I certainly could have spent more time studying, but at the end of the day I got the job done, and I got the job done well most of the time. I made a lot of many diverse friends, and being at a school with almost 45,000 students I thought that it might be too big for me to handle. But that's the beauty of this school. Everyone is so happy to be a apart of the Penn State culture. I see so many familiar faces everywhere around campus, and everyone that comes here to visit recognizes someone face around campus the weekend that they come here and always say "Wow, it really isn't as big as I thought it was." I am so lucky and so blessed to have the opportunity to attend my next four years of college here, especially as  PGA Golf Management major.

As far as english goes, I feel that I couldn't have gotten luckier to have Sheila as my english teacher. I thought this class was going to be a lot of grammar, vocabulary, and paper after paper after paper, but it was much more than that. We read stories that were mature, disturbing, funny, and different. I was not thrilled about the culture events that we needed to attend to, but in the end I am happy that I was exposed to the diversity that the world has to offer. I continue to wake up every day grateful to go to such a good school, with so much spirit, and so much pride all around. My goal for next year is to not miss one class during the school year. Pray for me! Thank you Sheila for being a great person and wanting us to better our lives here at Penn State and for exposing us to everything Happy Valley has to offer.

Blog Response URL

1.  http://fedappolon.blogspot.com/2012/04/take-care.html?showComment=1335393749324#c3274830962980635771

2.  http://findyourselfthroughwriting.blogspot.com/2012/03/art-of-swagger.html?showComment=1335393891647#c2764795373568990230

3. http://voiceoflaurenrhoden.blogspot.com/2012/03/so-what-we-like-to-party.html?showComment=1335393975862#c7841960046624975550

SRTE's

I completed my SRTE's.

Cultural Event #1: Festival of Poets

On April 28th, 2012 I went to Webser’s Café to attend The Festival of Poets. The two poets that were presenting their work were Sheila Squillante and Sandra L. Faulkner.

Sheila Squillante was the first poet to share her poems. A lot of Sheila’s poems were based on the dark emotions that she had when she was going through tough relationships, breakups, and the anxiety that took place thereafter. Her voice was very soothing, and she had a very powerful way with words. Every person that was at the café seemed to be hooked and tuned in to what she was saying. I think this speaks volumes to her as a poet and writer. I respected how much courage she had to share her dark and depressing feelings that she had in a hard time of her life, but certainly does not have those feeling anymore. Her kids were there and she seemed very happy to be a mother. I was proud to say that she is my English teacher.

The second poet that shared her pieces of work was Sandra L. Faulkner. Her poems were certainly different than Sheila’s, being that they contained more feelings and thoughts of sexual acts and romance. To be quite honest, none of these pieces turned me on, and no offense to her, it was more her age and the way she looked that made me all weirded out. I don’t know about anyone else, but a woman who looks in her sixties reciting poems that had a sexual nature to them does not turn a teenager on, or want to keep listening. However, I did respect that she has the courage to recite her work to the crowd. You could say that I enjoyed Sheila’s presentation significantly more.

I am not a huge fan of listening to poetry, but I am a fan of writing poetry. It is one of the best ways to express your feelings because you can take as much time as you want to express yourself through words on paper. Although I will probably not attend another poetry reading, I can’t say that this experience was a complete waste of time.

Arts Review: In a Class of its Own.

     Ruth’s Chris Steak House is nothing short of spectacular. I have been there on numerous occasions, but my most recent visit there was for my birthday. Ruth’s Chris Steak House is not a typical meal, nor does it have a typical price for a steak dinner. It is very expensive, but my family and I only dine there on special occasions, my birthday serving as the special occasion. The food alone is enough to make someone recall their experience at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse because of how unique and special a meal there really is. As the consumer in my experience I could not have been happier. I liked the upscale, classy scenery and dress code. The servers seemed like they really cared about my family and I having a good experience as well as an enjoyable meal. I liked how they gave their opinions, and whenever they were asked a question they gave an honest answer. They were not just trying to make money for them or the restaurant, but rather cared about my dining experience and satisfaction. I thought the food was phenomenal. My salad was perfect size for an appetizer, and was brought to me with great efficiency. The steak is second to none. I liked that the plates are extremely hot when your steak is served, so that the butter can sizzle while you cut your meat. The sweet potato casserole is more like apple pie than potato. The flavor of the food is unlike any other restaurant of its kind.

      In my opinion, Ruth’s Chris Steak House offered a great product. One thing that could be changed about their product or service would be to cut into, or ask the consumer to cut into their steak to see if it was cooked right. This would improve the efficiency of the service. The Ruth’s Chris Steak House restaurant that I went to on my visit there was located in Providence, Rhode Island. This location is a prime spot for dining. It is not too far from the highway, and it includes outside dining for warm evenings. Another suggestion that I would make is asking the chef to leave the kitchen for a few moments to see how people like their steaks. This also makes the consumer feel like each steak cooked is specially cooked for them. As a prospective business owner or manager I would adopt Ruth’s Chris Steak House’s business model as my own. Every employee, from the valet parker to the manager treated each guest with the utmost respect. The manager asked our family what the occasion was for our visit to Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The manager told the hostess and the server. The hostess decorated our table with “happy birthday” confetti. The server wished me a happy birthday when he introduced himself. Every employee really cared, and as a consumer I could not ask for anything more. Ruth's Chris Steak House is a restaurant that is in its own category of class.