My Reflection on English Writing

　　Writing apprehension kills creative writing ideas. Before I became a university student, I only wrote for the purpose of preparing for exams. During the second and third year in my high school life, extensive training of English writing helped me write a short essay within the time constraints. Time limits my inspirations and my thoughts limit my expressions. Due to writing apprehension and academic pressure, my writing ideas appear to be generated only for high scores. I had not gotten high scores for a period of time, and I asked my tutor for help. She told me that the grammar and the structure of my essays were almost error-free. My tutor suggested that I can add some vivid and intriguing ideas to better my compositions. Even so, writing original English essays within time limit is still hard and stressful for me.

　　As a freshman and English major, the first challenge I encountered was writing English on a personal blog. Originally, I considered this training a tough task. Nevertheless, the positive effects of writing English on blog considerably changed my mind. By cogitating about the given topics and questions, I sharpened my critical thinking skills. Moreover, I learned to communicate with my key pal in English on my blog. To my utter surprise, I felt comfortable when I wrote English with a computer. I had sufficient time to input new information and then output my organized thoughts. In the first semester of my university life, I endeavored to accomplish this blog project and gradually regained my confidence in English writing.

　　In the second semester, for me, keeping personal journals in English is a brand new challenge. Sometimes, I feel stressed as a result of the required word count. Also, lacking enchanting topics annoys me at times. However, after I overcome my writing apprehension, I increasingly enjoy the moment I keep my journals. I join various activities to gain new experiences and richness of life. I hope I will read my journals in the future. Therefore, I write down the events that impressed me most in a straightforward and amusing way. I keep maintaining this attitude of writing English journals, which motivates me to willingly record my life in English. Without writing apprehension, I perform better than before.

　　As far as I am concerned, these challenges are turning points during the process of learning English writing. Regaining confidence in English writing is well worth the efforts I put on these challenging tasks. I hope I will keep learning hard to overcome difficulties when I am writing English.

Journal 10 ( May 24 ~ 30 )

News about a physically-challenged woman

Aimee Mullins, a woman whose legs are amputated, has been a Paralympics track star. Besides, she has another vocation – model. Being a Model? Could it be true? For most of people, it is almost unbelievable that one whose legs are amputated becomes a model.

However, the report also mentions that artificial legs are multifunctional nowadays. When Mullins was a Paralympics track star, she wore special artificial legs that can help her run fast. On the other hand, when she showed up at a fashion party, she wore thin and long artificial legs to make her a bombshell (a very attractive woman) in the spotlight. Mullins’s redefinition of physical disability surprises me, too. For her, artificial legs are used not only for walking; they can be stylish fashion accessories. Just like various contact lenses and eyeglasses that make people charming, artificial legs also have the similar functions.

This news changes my stereotype of artificial legs. I cannot help but admire the change brought by the amazing technology. Just as Mullins says, “she’s at the beginning of the end of that period when people who are missing natural limbs or have some other physical issue are automatically considered disabled.” Without doubt, technology changes people’s imagination and attitude toward the physically-challenged.


Zijing Art Exhibition

This was the first time I attended art exhibition this year. I had a fantastic experience this time. My friend, Joyce and I discussed various kinds of artistic works, sharing with each other the imagination, explanations and feelings of each work. Though it took us two hours to appreciate most of the exhibits, I still enjoyed the moment that I appreciated artistic exhibits with a bosom friend’s company.

The most interesting thing when we were at the exhibition was that sometimes we had different interpretations of the exhibits. Of course, some explanations make us laugh, so we did not feel bored at all within the precious two hours.

Finding a friend who has the same interest or taste as mine is not easy. Moreover, a patient, considerate friend is usually hard to find. Joyce is very patient whenever I ask her for help or invite her to join the activities. I am so fortunate to have Joyce as my good friend. Thank you so much, Joyce. ：）

Journal 09 ( May 17 ~ 23 )

I feel that I am entirely immersed in art! I attended an art exhibition and an art lecture recently. Among a wide variety of works in the exhibition, “Installation art” and “Pottery of owls” impressed me most.

As to the art lecture, the lecturer, who is an art director of Golden Bough Theatre, showed his passion for art and his love for Taiwan. While many brands and corporations in Taiwan try hard to go international, the purpose of Golden Bough Theatre is to spread “seeds of art” throughout this island, Taiwan. The way this art director spread “seeds of art” is to share with people in Taiwan several plays performed by Golden Bough Theatre. For instance, Golden Bough Theatre was here (CCU) on tour last semester.

All plays performed by Golden Bough Theatre are expressed in Taiwanese. Certainly, the themes of plays revolve mainly with historical events in Taiwan. That is, they are local plays, which easily make a close connection between the performers and the audience. The play I watched last year was absolutely hilarious. Just as director Wang said, “Watch a play happily, and bring back happiness.” Indeed, I felt delighted and relaxed after the performance. (This is my first time to watch a live Taiwanese play.) What a fabulous play!

Most people do not stick to their dreams and give up realizing them at length. After the art lecture, I admired director Wang’s great dreams and actions. As a proverb goes, “Actions speak louder than words.” director Wang is definitely a role model for all the dream seekers. Also, there is another important concept: “Apply art to daily life.” Actually, people are always surrounded by various kinds of art, but they do not or do not want to pay attention to art.

Appreciating art is a relief for me. Art do add spices to my life. ：）


I feel a sense of happiness and satisfaction since I learn something every day recently.
Sometimes I learn something about psychology by reading inspirational books.
That is an effective way to help me grow in mental.
Also, I am grateful to people around me for helping me release my pressure lately.
Thank you so much!

Smile ：）


Picture: http://blog.roodo.com/woodland_school/archives/9738899.html


More information about Golden Bough Theatre:
http://www.goldenbough.com.tw/

Journal 08 ( May 10 ~ 16 )

May 11

Lady Nai-nai（貴婦奈奈）, a psychological counselor and a popular blog writer, came to our university to deliver a speech. The topic of her speech is “Communicating with love.” Actually, I have become a fan of her for around two years. I appreciate her articles about various themes and her straightforward writing style. Therefore, I seize the opportunity to attend this live speech, hoping to learn more from her address.

She started her speech with two thought-provoking stories: The Missing Piece and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O. What a coincidence! (These books are her favorites and mine too.) But, she interpreted these stories in a different angle. She associated the stories with “love”. For instance, from her interpretation of the stories, the process of searching for the missing piece is like that one is in search of his or her Miss Right or Mr. Right. I agree with her brilliant explanation of the stories. As she said, these two stories can be interpreted in several ways.

During her speech, she created some psychological games to interact with the audience. Through the games, the audience can find the differences of communication skills between women and men. Besides, she also recommended some great books, which may help the audience change their minds when encountering difficulties. I can’t wait to read those books. Ha~ ^^


May 13

I attended an activity held by Tzu Chi Collegiate Student Association at Chung Cheng University. People who attended this activity had vegetarian dinner.

“Go green, go vegetarian!” has become a hot slogan in recent years.

My parents have become vegetarians for over 20 years, but they do not order me to be a vegetarian. In fact, I usually have vegetarian meals at home, so sometimes I dislike the smells of meat.

The purpose of this activity reminds me of the importance of being a vegetarian. Therefore, I will try my best not to eat meat and have a healthy diet in my daily life. ：）Keep sticking to this concept of health!

Go veg! ：）





More information about 貴婦奈奈
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/abig99

Journal 07 ( May 3 ~ 9 )

May 4 (Tue)

I went to the library with Jean, one of my classmates. To collect information for our report, we searched for several kinds of picture books written and drawn by different artists. In addition to those masters’ works, we also found some books familiar, which we had read in our childhood. At that moment, we read those picture books as if we were back to our sweet childhood. We enjoyed those books so much and even borrowed many from the library. I think reading picture books can help me get rid of worries and enliven my life. Picture books are like a candy house. When I am reading those books, I am so delighted as if I taste sweets. Thus, reading picture books when I am upset is a great relief. It seems that I am captivated by picture books. Ha~



May 5 (Wed)

I haven’t seen a dance performance since last year. This Wednesday, a dance show “Speed” performed by “Horse”, a male dance group, amazed me. At the beginning of the show, a dancer rode a bike and then other dancers appeared. To my utter astonishment, dancers started to perform by “folding papers”. They were so creative that they could express efficiently and clearly by “folding papers”. That is really a brilliant idea! Besides, some exaggerative dramatic effects were added to the performance. The audience could follow the performers or the plot easily.

I think “dance” is a combination of concrete and abstract things. Concrete elements include performers’ movements, gestures, facial expressions and body language. Abstract things, on the other hand, mean something that performers want to express, which is always not easy to understand or imagine. As far as this dance show “Speed” is concerned, I appreciate the way the dancers performed, which was straightforward and hilarious at times. Finally, I think it would be better if the plot of the second part of the show is arranged vividly.



May 9 (Sun)

Mother's Day ：）




More information:

"Horse"
http://horse.org.tw/

Journal 06 ( Apr 26 ~ May 2 )

An extensive area of paddy field and pleasant climate refreshed my mind in the beginning of the trip. After passing some stations, the station crowded with people – Tainan, is the destination of this one-day cultural trip.

National Museum of Taiwan Literature
The combination of brick red and white correspond to the historical value of this museum. Gorgeous appearance, unique interior design and abundant exhibitions make the museum a hot tourist attraction.

To appreciate Taiwan literature, visitors can do it by seeing, listening and even “playing”. For instance, when I touched a certain part of the poem of buffalo, the buffalo, which is composed of words, would move. What an intriguing design!

When it comes to the development of Taiwanese culture, old TV, turntable, and so on cannot be ignored since they are symbols of an era. However, something has existed for several years… Are you familiar with this special shape?


This is a game that I usually played in my childhood.
I like this lovely design.
It adds different Taiwanese nursery rhymes to each square. Ha~ it’s so cute!











Another interesting exploration is The Exhibition of Taiwan & Japan Exlibris.
Exlibrics [Latin word] is a label identifying the owner of a book in which it is pasted.
I found those exlibris creative and they are full of artistic value.
Then, after seeing a video teaching people how to make exlibrics,
I got a chance to make a simple one. See! This is my exlibrics ↓



If I have spare time and useful tools, I hope I can make an elaborate exlibris and pasted it in my favorite book. ：）







I also visited other ancient architectures with Tina, Joyce and our private tour guide, Sandy.
We spent an agreeable day together. I considerably appreciate this ancient cultural city.
Finally, I hope I can visit other must-see scenic spots in Tainan and taste local delicacies next time.


More information:

The poem of buffalo
→ Click different parts of the buffalo,
something interesting will happen~
http://dig.nmtl.gov.tw/literature/02land/land_01.php

National Museum of Taiwan Literature
http://dig.nmtl.gov.tw/literature/index.php

A report of Exlibris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6XUQCmn1HA

The Image of the Four Seasons

This Tuesday, I attended a special concert – The Image of the Four Seasons. This is a campus & community tour (2010) of Taiwan Artists Ensemble. Two unique elements make the concert fascinating. One is that the conductor’s vivid exposition of “The Four Seasons” (composed by Antonio Vivaldi) is easy for the audience to follow and understand. In this way, the audience have deeper understanding of this great violin concerto instead of being a listener only. Through the conductor’s clear introduction, I find that the images which the composer tries to express become straightforward. The other element is that “digital art” is adopted, which adds different colors in the tour concert.

I enjoyed the pleasant moment when I listened to “The Four Seasons”. If I have an opportunity to go to such a wonderful concert, I will attend it without hesitation. ：）