Oh, The Things You Learn at College . . .

I have another list! This is a list of the things I've learned since coming out to college at BYU. Some are BYU-related, while others apply to college in general.

15 Things I've learned while at BYU/College: 

1. The ground floor of buildings is almost never the 1st floor. It's usually the 2nd or 3rd.  

2. When it comes to roommates, privacy, peace, and quiet are all practically nonexistent. 

3. It's always good to know all of the computer labs and printing locations on campus.

4. Be prepared for all sorts of weather, be it rain, snow, or hail in one day. 

5. Caffeine is my friend, even though I can't get it on campus.  

6. Going to Sacrament Meeting in the same room that I had a science class in is both interesting and slightly disturbing.
7. Navigating the HFAC is like putting together a puzzle. An impossibly difficult puzzle that has pieces missing and other pieces that fit where they really shouldn't.
8. Understanding the HBLL system makes life (and writing papers) infinitely easier.
9. The Memorial Hall in the Wilkinson Center is the best place to take a nap.
10. No matter how many times I walk down Rape Hill at night, knowing that nothing will likely ever happen, I still get a bit nervous.
11. Having neighbors upstairs that are taking a clogging class is possibly the most annoying thing ever.
12. When in doubt, ice cream is always the answer.
13. Sometimes, the best motivator is last-minute panic.
14. Also, sometimes, the best times when inspiration comes is during the wee hours of the morning.
15.And no matter how mild or rough my week was, I'm always glad when it's Friday!!

The Dark (Byronic) Knight

Hello everyone!
Okay, so I absolutely love Batman. But most of you know that little fact since you've likely seen my Batman purse, T-shirt, posters, or you may be familiar with my obsession with the 90s series and the new movies. So, in honor of the new Batman movie that came out recently, this post is all about taking apart and analyzing the Dark Knight and comparing him with the concept of the Byronic hero. This will also be an attempt to answer the question of why these characters are so popular.

For those that aren't familiar with literary history, the Byronic hero was created by Lord Byron who lived in the late 18th and early 19th century. This poet was basically the rock star of his time with widespread fame and devoted fans. Even today, his poetry is still widely read and influential. The Byronic Hero is a style of character that Lord Byron created. This character is dark, moody, brooding, and has the outlook of a condemned soul. Many of Lord Byron's characters had these qualities and even Lord Byron himself was known for being rather dark and brooding. This concept of a dark, melancholy protagonist took the world by storm and we see elements of the Byronic hero throughout the evolution of English literature and popular media. Some examples include Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, and various characters in modern media today, particularly the stereotyped "misunderstood bad boy." The Byronic hero may have even been the creation of the saying "tall, dark and handsome."  Eventually, the Byronic hero finds its way to the superheroes, most notably with Batman.

Let's take a look at Batman. He has no superpowers and is trained in a fighting ninja style, including the ability to blend in with shadows and become "unseen". As his alter-ego, billionaire Bruce Wayne, he has unlimited access to technology ahead of its time, as well as billions of dollars to finance his cause. His motivation is shaped by his parents' death and his training. His personality is truly that of the Byronic hero: mysterious, brooding, and full of emotional scars from tragic events. Along with his fighting style, Batman resorts to more brutal actions and scare tactics to get his information, a characteristic that would be controversial. He also relies on darkness itself as a tool for his efforts. In fact, Batman's whole persona and existence is darkness, which is very characteristic of the Byronic Hero. Particularly in the last movie, Bruce Wayne's personality took on a more tragic nature, in that giving up his life became the only solution he could see. This tragic is another notable characteristic of the Byronic Hero.

Batman was the next big superhero after Superman introduced us to the concept of the superheroes. His creation likely stemmed from the desire to create something different. The world now had Superman, the invincible superhero. Now, there needed to be a hero that didn't have the appearance of the classic hero, but still had enough awe-inspiring power/abilities to create the sense of a superhero. They needed a dark hero, a Byronic hero. So Batman was created. In reality, Batman resembles more those detectives from those old detective movies rather than a superhero. You know what I'm talking about: those black and white movies with the melodramatic dames and the cold mysterious private eye who always had something hidden up his sleeve. Again, we see more influence of the Byronic hero in these detectives. Batman then could be seen as a mixture of such a detective and a superhero. So, the Dark Knight is made from the combination of the clever minds and Byronic personalities of the great detectives with the combat skills and vigilante style of a superhero.

But why do people like these characters, and why was there such a craze over the Byronic hero in the 18th-19th centuries in the first place? From what I've studied and read, I think people were looking for a more complex protagonist. In 18th century literature, the protagonist generally was the one with good qualities, or at least with good intentions (whether things worked out well for the protagonist or not is a different matter. Authors do love a good tragedy). But soon, authors such as Lord Byron were looking to expand the protagonist into someone whose qualities may not be society's idea of a good hero/protagonist. With the Byronic hero, people could delve into the darkness of the hero and explore new elements in the protagonist. It's notable to say that at the same time as Lord Byron, American writers Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne were also exploring the darker side of humanity and fantasy with their haunting short stories and poems. For them as authors and for us as the audience, darkness and dark heroes are an endless source of fascination because it creates a new complexity in the character. It may also have a bit of that forbidden fruit factor; we aren't supposed to like it, but we do. Of course, there were people who didn't care for this type of hero, preferring the classic hero. But regardless, the concept of the Byronic Hero remained a great influence in literature and modern media.

Now to the question: why is Batman so popular? What draws people to this dark character? We have the same reasons that people were drawn to the Byronic Hero. Just as there were mixed reactions to the Byronic Hero, there were mixed reactions to Batman. There were those who rejected him on the grounds of him not being a "real" superhero since he didn't have any super powers. There were also others who didn't care for his personality and found him too dark to be a good superhero. On the other hand, some received Batman gladly as a new and refreshing character from the usual superhero diet. People liked Batman because he was a dark hero that wasn't afraid to immerse himself in the dark underworld of crime to get the information he needed.

But there is so much more to the concept of Batman than the novelty of a dark superhero. For there were those that could relate to Batman. Batman, though incredibly talented and rich, was still human. To some people, that humanness is what really drew them to Batman. Because Batman was imperfect, he could be more real. He had his own problems and his own demons to sort out. For those people, like me, half of the fun of watching and reading Batman was not only figuring out the crime or seeing how he'd defeat the villain, but also figuring out the Batman himself. Batman became more than a superhero. He became a puzzle, a real human being. Perhaps those very human qualities are the deepest and most frightening reasons for our love of the dark heroes such as Batman; we see a little of ourselves in that darkness. We see someone who isn't perfect and is a little more like us. While he may be powerful and charismatic, Batman isn't untouchable. And through his imperfections, he becomes more real to me as a character and as the Dark Knight.

So why is Batman my favorite superhero? Besides some of my obvious and shallow reasons (he's buff, has awesome ninja skills and has that sexy mysterious air), something about him just draws me to him. Maybe it's those Byronic qualities; maybe it's his human nature.  Regardless of the reason, I love Batman as a superhero and as a character and I probably always will. So go watch the new Batman movie because it's pretty awesome! Or don't. I can't make you do anything. But you'll be missing out. Until next time, folks!

Using Math to Discover the Purpose of Research Papers

Okay folks, I have the link to my latest research paper at the end of this post if you wish to read it. Honestly, I think it's my best one. So my post is about research papers and their purpose in life. For the majority of college students and even the majority of students in my major, writing research papers is definitely not one's idea of a good time. In fact, most of us dread that paper and put it off until the last possible moment, then pull all-nighters to finish that very, very rough draft (and yes, I speak from experience).  But as I learned in my recent English class, writing a research paper takes much more thought, time, and effort than those usual few hours of feverish typing.  Writing a good research paper means asking the right questions and exploring them. It means developing a thesis that not only states something you wish to prove, but leaves room to explore the reasons behind your statement. It means hours of searching through articles to find that one quote to add the right punch to your paper. And it means revising, revising and more revising to get that last sentence to sound perfect.

But even with the right research, the proper amount of time and the dedication, many of us still think, "Why am I writing a research paper? I don't plan on writing these types of papers for a living, so what's the point?" I know we've all thought of this. Even an English major like me has had these thoughts. It's a logical line of reasoning. After all, we go to college in order to learn specific skills so that we can find a good job after graduating. If "writing a research paper" isn't one of those skills that is needed in one's job field, then what would be the point?


This reminded me of  the argument many high school students use to debate the purpose of math. They would say things such as, "I don't plan to have a job where I have to use the quadratic formula, so why do I have to learn it now?" Of course, then the teachers would bombard them with all the different jobs and careers that require some math, which probably still didn't convince many of them. For English majors especially, math is a subject considered relatively useless, but I would argue differently. I say that learning those formulas and different theorems in high school actually did help more than we may think. Yes, I am defending math, the girl who has struggled with and loathed math since she knew of its existence. Despite our  rocky relationship, I believe that math has helped me. However, I feel that it wasn't necessarily the specific skill of solving a formula that proved useful; it was the other skills that came along with learning and doing math. By learning and using math formulas, we learn how to solve problems that seem unsolvable and we learn how to memorize.  By  practicing and struggling through math, we learn to concentrate, focus and backtrack when we make a mistake. I'm sure that any employer would welcome these skills in a prospective employee. 


I believe that it's the same type of learning with research papers. While they aren't very fun to write for most of us, they do help us to learn skills that will likely be needed later on in life. By learning to formulate a strong thesis, we learn to think in different ways.  In researching, we learn how to use various resources of the library and how to differentiate between reliable and unreliable sources. By writing in the formal research style, we learn how to present our subject material in a professional and intelligent manner (i.e. no smiley faces or lols). And by learning the MLA, APA, or Chicago formats, we learn how to write papers in a style that many businesses use, preparing us for jobs that may require us to write a little. Let's be honest, no matter what type of job you go into, you will almost always have to do some writing. And these skills will no doubt come in handy in the future whether you plan on working for a corporation, studying medicine or becoming an entrepreneur.


So there's my opinion. Simply put, research papers are good.  Now I'll just have to remind myself of that fact the next time I'm up late developing my thesis and my research. But I agree that while they can be very frustrating, it's also surprisingly rewarding to see a decent research paper and think, "I wrote that." It gives me a sense of accomplishment and even ownership.  That's probably why I want to be an author so I can feel that all the time. Ha, just kidding. . . maybe. Anyway, don't give up on writing research papers! Until next time! And here's the link: 

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5uiRbUNh6bHQTctczR5bF9jZE0/edit

Dissecting the Mind of an English Major.

Hello everybody! This is my first official post as a blogger! I never thought I would get  into this, but I've decided to use it for my opinions on literature and to show off any great writings I've done. I want to start off with a list. Yes, this is a little cliche, but I feel that it's appropriate.
First of all, here is a bit of information about me: I am an English major. Whenever I tell people this, I usually get one of three responses: A) "Oh, I'm so glad you're doing that and not me!" B) "What are you going to do with that?"  and C) "Why?" Believe it or not, I get the last question all the time, which made me think about some of the traits of English majors and our reasoning behind our love of English literature.  So, I decided to make a list of reasons why I'm an English major.  Now remember, this list isn't meant to generalize English Majors; this is just my own experience and my own personality as an English Major.

Ten reasons why I'm an English major. 
1. I get very edgy when someone is treating a book a little roughly.
2. I can sit for several hours and listen to people give presentations on papers... and not get bored.
3. I consider a book like Lord of the Flies to be a light read.
4. When I'm reading a book, one of my first thoughts may be, "I can write a paper on this!"
5. I will analyze movies and characters and start comparing them to other movies.
6. I would much rather write a final paper for a class than study for a test.
7. The majority of books on my summer reading lists are by authors who are dead and have been dead for at least a century.
8. I'm an incredibly fast reader, which means that I can get through thick books in an insanely short amount of time.
9.  I'd much rather argue about authors of the 19th century instead of current politics.
10. And yes, I do get annoyed when people use incorrect grammar.

So there you have it. I am an English major, and proud to be one! The rest of my posts will be short essays that I'll write, and occasionally I'll post a paper from class that I'm proud of. So enjoy reading my thoughts on literature, movies, and whatever I may be thinking at the time.