Derek Dolby's ENGL 105 Blog

 During this writing process, I realized that not only are movies an outstanding form of media, but they are one of the hardest things to melt down and summarize into a paper. There's just so much to write about, especially the physical aspects. The combination of senses that go into cinema are fine-tuned, where every detail is interwoven and tailored for an emotional, informative, or exciting experience. Words on a page are unable to compare to the artistry of film, and that's just how I see it. Also, it turns out that I am not a particularly astounding writer, so that's another obstacle to overcome. In the end though, I fully believe my writing will come out fine.

  Growing up, I had a terrible time doing homework. When I say terrible, I mean absolutely, unapologetically horrendous. I get the work done, yeah, but never when I probably should have. I mean, last year I wrote a 6 page essay in 2 hours. Bad, right? Well, anyway, I've been trying my absolute hardest to fix my lazy habits. In all honesty, I'm easily overwhelmed academically, especially because I'm very focused on my personal life and my time at home. Going to college ripped me out of my bubble where I thought my job, family, and significant other was my entire world, and I haven't been adjusting as well as I'd hope. I've been using calendars and a pocket journal to keep myself on track, and it's starting to help. I'm on the road to improvement, and I'm trying my hardest to stay on it.  P.S. Anyone have tips on making yourself do assignments early?

1)  For me, the scene that most greatly impacted me was when Michel and the entirety of Buddhafield were playing and prancing in the stream. From the outside, you see these beautiful people embracing each other in what looks like pure euphoria. I soon came to realize that these people were just vulnerable, and searching for meaning, and that their false guru was exploiting them for his own narcissistic needs. It made me wildly uncomfortable, because these people were absolutely blind to what was happening around them. The unfortunate victims of Buddhafield all seemed so surreal to me. They were at the peak of their happiness and physical ability, but were still just means to an end for Rachel. 2) What surprised me the most was just how much these people put themselves into Rachel and Buddhafield. These people were throwing away everything they had, owned, and had earned just for the validation and attention of Rachel. It was depressing, but understandable. The search for meaning ha...

  These first 2 weeks on-campus at PNW have been such a weird experience personally, beforehand I was strictly online. My entire first year of college, I didn't make any kind of connection between other students and instructors, mainly because COVID-19 wrecked all of us socially, and I'm not outstandingly social anyway. Actually being here though, I've been more social and feeling better than I have in 2 years. The pandemic was definitely one of the hardest events I've ever been through, challenging me in every way possible. Now that I'm back to normal, I'm looking forward to my come-up.