Nervous Conditions: Chapters Six and Seven

After putting it all off, I *finally* completed chapters six and seven, and got a great understanding of all that's happened with Tambu's conjoined, yet messed-up family matters that should be resolved sooner or later. All I know is that I'm going to spread out reading times from now on so it will be less apprehensive for me, especially with annotating, with takes the most of my time in reading. I feel like chapter six was the easiest one to keep up with, because chapter seven experienced a lot of family feuds from different points of view, and it didn't help to think that the family was separated into two or three groups during the meeting and discussion. I learned first that - after catching up with the end of chapter five and beginning of six - Tambu has been introduced to white missionaries, or expatriates. Dealing with them would surely bring out a challenge of race, but she seemed to adapt quickly, although she did sometimes feel like an outsider when she knew of Chido going to a Government school away from home, which would bring out even more cultural differences in him, because I can see that he's become different.

With the cultural points of view from characters in different regions - whether in the mission or at home - they all see or believe some things based on what their education taught them. I kept attention to Nyasha as she fought with Babamukuru and saw how much courage she had to speak out to him like that. She's had an attitude since she was embarrassed with Maiguru being so concerned and she is always annoyed with her parents taking so much care to her. All I can really draw from the introduction at this point is that she has truly rebelled, but I am still thinking about the escape or entrapment and what they mean by culture influencing those issues. I have definitely gotten a deep understanding of Tambu's point of view and how characters around her influence her cultural standpoint, and right now she's used to living in calm conditions, but after so much feuding I'm not sure where she stands. I can tell that there are still issues needed to be fixed, and right now it looks like plot is moving to something new - and it still needs to be discussed between everyone in the family. I hope I can continue to understand what the message of this book is and what it means, because it is all tying together now.

Free Post: Mardi Gras Break / No Sleep

So, I hope everyone had a fun and equally restful break as I did, because I knew we all needed one after getting back into school life and adjusting to new second semester assignments ahead. Now that we're back, I really can't keep a good focus, and I didn't expect that I would put everything off since I obviously didn't dwell on school or any assignments all week. I had a chance to catch up on sleep and just relax over break, and I really wanted to see parades, but I went to the beach for a solid week with family and friends. We did actually stay in Baton Rouge until Sunday and headed for Florida midday, so we got there in late afternoon and unpacked. We met up with friends in the next couple of days, but we didn't get the chance to see any parades since we were a way from home, but I'm sure they were as free and wild as always. The beach was relatively windy, so we got to go there for some time, but did spend time doing outside activities like bowling. It was a fun experience to get to talk with people you love spending time with, and I cherish this because it's not a big family get-together, but rather a time to spend with close friends and relatives (not that I don't love spending time with my family or anything!).

Another part of the Mardi Gras holiday is the beginning of the religious season of Lent, which started on Ash Wednesday. I don't know if any of you gave up anything for the seven weeks of fasting, but I decided to challenge myself and give up Facebook. This gives up opportunities to connect with friends who I talk to for anything, whether it's for help or just to talk to them on the chat option. For the first couple of days, it was extremely difficult to resist even logging on, but I've gotten used to not being online and I haven't gotten on since. Now I'm sure I can last for forty days into the Easter season, and just in time for Spring Break! Otherwise, I was glad to spend all this time over break relaxing and not caring about school (honestly), but reality set in: I had to read and annotate two chapters of Nervous Conditions, which, as I anticipated, wouldn't take long, but I'm actually still in the process. I want to understand all that I can of this story to piece it together, and I'm doing pretty well on my own. Although it takes long, I'm pretty used to working under pressure or a time limit, even if it means no sleep. But I am still adjusting to not becoming too comfortable and discipline myself to do work. I'll admit, I'm pretty sad that the break's over, but there's still Spring Break and eventually summer to look forward to, so I'll be okay right now.

Thoughts on Valentine's Day

Hi Block 3 and others,

Tuesday is Valentine's Day, and most of us are either dreading it, can't wait for it, are indifferent about it, or are just there to make a joke about it. For me, I've been pretty indifferent about it for the past couple of years, and think of it as any other day to enjoy. I have recently asked people: "what do you think of Valentine's Day?", and they usually respond by saying they think it's overrated. I agree that it is, but it's also a time of expressing love and giving each other chocolates (which isn't always bad). Yeah, I'm sure we all agree that chocolate is good, but most of the singles try to have a good time with friends and family without getting so into the holiday.

For Valentine's Day, I don't usually see all the lovey-dovey couples making a big spectacle of themselves in front of everyone, shamelessly, because I think the norm is for them to be relaxed. If I do see some of that, well... at least they're happy with each other and their friends! Anyway, my plan is to be super nice to everyone and just smile all day, because if I'm happy then it'll make a good impression on everyone else. I don't really hate Valentine's Day, but I just don't care for it, as I've said, but being nice might make everyone think it's all right, regardless of being single. I'm just pretty excited to see how everyone acts on Tuesday, and I hope everybody has an enjoyable time mocking couples or just being happy with the holiday.

More Nervous Conditions and Research Paper: Wrapping It Up

So, as most of you know, our research papers are almost done! I honestly feel ready to turn it in right now, and I'm sure most of y'all are, too. Of course, there are still some minor revisions and finishing touches to be made first, but I know this has put a lot of stress on us, with so many other subjects to balance (and don't forget sports & social stuff!). Anyway, I feel like this paper came out really smoothly after the process of developing research and forming a draft. I didn't expect it to be completed with ease, but I think I did a lot of overwhelming before even writing the paper. I truly think that, even though it was a fairly quick process, I have worked diligently enough to earn a good grade - and I think it's because my sources are reliable and I explain things with enough support & background to make an impression on people about my issue.

Aside from this paper, I have recently read chapters 3 & 4 of Nervous Conditions, and the book is coming together really well. I know most of us were easily lost and confused as Tambu (the narrator) explained the events leading to her brother Nhamo's death in detail. We found and analyzed, as a class, that this readily explanation from Tambu before Nhamo's death was meant to let readers know what type of character he really is, and that he slowly changed to selfish, reserved, and sort of jealous of Tambu's worthy diligence. She was an equal match for Nhamo, but what confused me most was how calm she was in the phase of his death because she knew that she would have the opportunity to go to school. And I was even more confused when I found out how ungrateful she was when she went to the mission. Plus, we discovered a little bit about Nyasha's character, which is interpreted as rebellious yet obedient to her mother. I think her rebellious side is from being comfortable, since she is not afraid to argue with her mother in front of Tambu (maybe to reveal make a connection). Altogether, I'm excited to see where the book takes its high point, because I can already sense increasing tension! Hope you guys are all enjoying it, too.

Total Times:
Thursday 2/9 - 30 minutes doing peer review for others' papers and reviewing my own paper.
Friday 2/10 - 20 minutes doing more self-review of my own paper.
Saturday 2/11 - 50-60 minutes re-reading Ch. 3 of Nervous Conditions and annotating.
Sunday 2/12 - 20 minutes reading through paper & 2+ hours reading/annotating Ch. 4 of Nervous Conditions.

Nervous Conditions and Research Horrors

In the past week, I haven't found a lot of time to put into research, because I've been so preoccupied with a lot of other things. I wanted to get a thorough, rough draft done by last Thursday, but it didn't happen, and I wound up starting/completing it tonight. The reason I put it behind so far is because I really didn't know where to begin with organizing. I had it all planned out in my outline, but I think my sources were stretched too far to create a relatable paper. All of this overwhelmed me, and I couldn't get my head together to write a decent essay. I said, "okay, I should probably gather more sources that relate to my thesis." This process was done in the midst of writing my paper, which may not be very organized, but I was productive in finding sources that gave strong support! I also definitely considered revising my thesis, since it focused on so many topics, and I was scared that I couldn't relate them all. Eventually, although I had a lot of trouble with putting my ideas together, I created a final-looking paper that I could be confident with. I've come a long way with this paper (although it doesn't seem like it), and I can't wait to see the finished product.

Meanwhile, our English class began reading Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga, who is an African author, and currently writes these folklore tales as a hobby and as a living. I was honestly excited to read this book: the cover looked enticing enough, and I could tell it would be a tale about African hardships. I didn't expect that the narrator would start the book with a broad sentence: "I was not sorry when my brother died." I'm sure many were shocked my this statement, since there is no provided introduction to work with, like in Lord of the Flies, and since she (the author) never went into depth of what the main picture is about. I found the beginning to be confusing, and it's because it was slow and detailed, explaining much of the setting. There were some sentences where I could visualize the African homestead, and others where I had to retrace words. Another aspect that throws me off is Dangarembga's style as a writer, because the sentence structures are sometimes hard to follow. Now, I have made it halfway through Chapter Two, and I can definitely see the plot intensifying as the narrator's resent toward her brother grows. I can make prediction based on that, and I hope to see them happen in the story.

Up All Night

So, after I finished my rough draft of the research paper (after devoting myself for eight hours!), I knew exactly what to blog about. It seems as if every weekend is the same for me: I'll have all this downtime on my hands to be productive, but then I find myself doing more goofing off with friends or just relaxing instead of getting actual work done. It turns out, and trust me, I found this out a while ago, most things are much easier said than done. For me, and most high schoolers, if you make the choice to get work done, live up to it and stop lying to yourself! I know that I shouldn't speak so sternly, because I likewise find myself in this position every Sunday. I try to work progressively, but I haven't really found the right habits in being productive yet.

Procrastination is the biggest excuse for not getting things done, for me and for many. Like I said, this happens to me every weekend, and I need to learn to limit myself to where I have to focus. I get distracted fairly easily, although most of you wouldn't notice, and sometimes it's hard for me to commit to getting homework done unless I'm driven to. I've made progress in working on Saturday, but whenever I write out a plan to work I find that I don't follow a strict schedule; I'll work for a good hour, but find myself getting off track for three hours at a time. I know I've told myself and others that I need to find a good balance in being productive and using time wisely, but I'm not going to lie, it's incredibly difficult. So, if I had any advice to give any of you, whenever you have downtime, use it, but not to where you can comfort yourself for too long. Use the rest of your time in being productive, but manage to save time for other things that ease your stress!

I titled this "Up All Night" because this is a typical Sunday night for me. In the dreaded hours of the night, I don't get to sleep until anywhere from midnight to two o' clock in the morning, and even though it's a bad habit, I make sure to get my work done. I'm sure most of you can relate to this, since we constantly complain about the work load, because sometimes it can be too much to handle, but if we can find ways to manage enough time to get it done, it'll seem that much easier. I know that this might seem like the unrealistic promised land for you guys, and I can't really see myself finding a perfect work balance, either, but I think it's time to start establishing good habits before we strain ourselves too much and become overworked.