Assignment 3

     "Standing By" by David Sedaris, was a very entertaining story to me. I have to travel very often and it's usually by airplane. I have had EXTREMELY bad luck when it comes to flying, I do not remember a time where there wasn't a delay, cancellation or bags being lost. The fact that I can relate to the story makes it a lot more interesting. Basically everything he said, I have experienced first hand or heard stories from my step dad. My step dad flies about twice a week for work, so to say the least I am highly educated on "traveling etiquette". Dressing nicely is at the top of this list, you see so many people while traveling by airplane so it is in your best interest to present yourself in a nice way. My step dad stresses dressing nicely so I always do. Now when I go into an airport and see sloppy people I can't help but think "who let you leave the house that way?".    
      When Sedaris was mocking the way people dress in the airport I couldn't help but laugh because I have seen my fair share of sloppy looking people (275). Everyone judges other people however, the woman in the story took the judgement to another level by opening her mouth about a young man and his baby (276). To me the moral here is "keep your mouth shut". No one really cares what you have to say, they are just listening because they have to. They are trapped in the same situation as everyone else traveling. People have their own problems and don't need to listen to the next guy complaining about a line or whatever it is that they are complaining about. I know just how annoying it is to listen to a stranger go off on something you absolutely could care less about. Traveling really isn't a social gathering, sure there are a lot of people around but chances are you are never going to see any of them again, they are just faces in the crowd as you are to them. Instead of complaining to someone while traveling try to keep a positive tone and talk about something unrelated to the problems you are experiencing.
       At some point, one needs to realize that everyone has their own opinion or view on something. If you disagree, just keep it to yourself. Unfortunately not enough people know this. Most "air travelers" know this because of all the people they come across. You meet all different kinds of people, a lot of them are unfriendly but don't take it personal. Traveling can bring out the worst in people, it adds extra stress and anger because one never knows what may happen in the next moment, it is beyond our reach and that in itself can put stress on a person. As humans we like to have control of things and we do not like to be surprised about something that happens five minutes down the road. When we have plans or a schedule, we like everything to go accordingly and unfortunately while flying, that often isn't the case. Delays and cancellations are things beyond our control.
       I think Sedaris wrote the article because he wanted people to question themselves the next time they are in a situation like this. I think it's a challenge. Maybe the people who read this article will change the way they are in this kind of public setting. Maybe this article will make flying a more enjoyable thing to do. We will never surely know why he wrote it or what his intentions were but I think he was trying to challenge everyone when he wrote this.
      Sedaris brought up many questions in the article even if it didn't really seem like it. They were more hidden questions. Statements that persuaded you to be disgusted or maybe even annoyed by a certain individual he was talking about (176). I think he put the readers in his shoes, he made the readers feel his annoyance, disgust, and judgement. It makes one think the way he wants them to. I think that the main questions he rose were things that relate directly to human nature such as, judging people "do you do it?", complaining "do you?", taking your anger out on others "do you do that?", being rude to other people directly or indirectly "do you do that?", etc.. Obviously people do all of these things but I think he rose these questions to challenge people to try to change these things or to hold back when doing these things.
       Overall, I thought the article was really well written. Sedaris did a fantastic job pulling me into the story and actually feeling the emotions he was feeling throughout the story.
My only questions were: Do you guys think the story was written as a challenge?
Has anyone else experienced anything like this while traveling? Did you find yourself in any of the positions that Sedaris described?
                                                 Sedaris, David. "Standing By."
                                                 First Year Composition Reader. Boston:
                                                 Pearson, 2011. 275-277. Print.

Sedaris "Standing By".

     In Sedaris' "Stand By", he is describing his experience while traveling by airplane (275). Overall the article is negative and points out very obvious things that most "air travelers" would understand such as poorly dressed people, crabby airline workers, angry passengers, delays, cancellations and even flights being over booked. Sedaris points out a poorly dressed family and stresses how this family presents themselves while traveling (276). Unfortunately for Sedaris, he was put in the position to listen to other people complain and bicker about flying and somehow it spiraled out of control and landed on the topic of politics, he was trapped in a line and was forced to listen to it (276-277). In the end, Sedaris finally makes it on his final flight and raises an interesting question, "But what if this is who we truly are, and the airport's just a forum that allows us to be our real selves, not just hateful but gloriously so?" (277).

Sedaris, David. "Standing By."
First Year Composition Reader. Boston:
Pearson, 2011. 276-277. Print.

Introduction

Krista Marie Aarestad:

I am originally from northern Minnesota..
I moved to Hales Corners, Wisconsin when I was 13.
I like the fact that there's actually civilization in Milwaukee.. Where I'm from it's all farm land, cows, horses, trucks and tractors.
One thing you must know about me: I LOVE country music! As a result of growing up in small town nowhere, I am extremely into sports. I've pretty much played every sport there is with the exception of hockey (my mom wouldn't let me play)
One sport stuck with me through high school and that was soccer. Basically my life revolved around soccer and my team. These days I pretty much work, go to school and hang out with friends and family. Nothing too exciting. My family is small, at home it's just my mother, step father and I. My brother, sister, and the rest of my family are still in Minnesota. ): I've got two little nephews, Kash (1) and Kruz (4 months). They are my inspiration.
I had always known I wanted to work with children but I wasn't ever set on anything in particular. My senior year was experimental. I had already taken all of the child development classes so I decided to volunteer. I ended up at the elementary school working with children from three to four. They were in the early childhood classroom and all of the kids had to attend speech class. While being in the classroom I decided I wanted to work with and help children in their situation. I picked up some sign language while I was there and noticed it was a very useful tool to communicate with the kids. That's the reason I decided to go for my minor in ASL.
I absolutely hated English in high school. That was directly related to the teacher I had. The class never received any feedback in the class which was frustrating because there was no improvement in my writing. I'm hoping that this class will help me with formal writing. Short stories and free writing I'm alright at, but formal writing is another story. I enjoy working with other people rather than being alone. But when it comes to writing, I prefer to be alone. I'm excited to improve my writing and feel confident in an essay I write instead of embarrassed. For me writing is like an escape. When I am able to just write a story about anything, I feel a lot more creative and  I go off into a whole different world. I had a short stories class in high school, that was my all time favorite class. My teacher was amazing and gave so much feedback and was easy to talk to and be open with in my stories. She gave me more courage when it comes to writing but I still need to work on formal writing. =/