English 485: Expedition Adolescence

Hello everyone! My name is Andreana Atkins (everyone mispronounces it so don't feel bad. Just take out the "a" after the "e" and you're golden) and I am a senior English major here at Upstate. I am 23, and my hometown is Greenville, South Carolina. I have loved English and writing for as long as I can remember, and knew I wanted to be an English teacher since I was in the 6th grade, at the tender age of 11. Haha, don't you just love that word, "tender"? It just so happens that our student teacher in 6th grade was the most awesome teacher ever and I wanted to be just like her. Miss. Johnson, I will never forget her. She became my full time English teacher when I got to 8th grade and I couldn't have been more stoked about it. Cried like a baby when I had to go to high school, but she still kept in touch with my parents. Still can't find her until this day. I only hope to be as fantastic of a teacher as she was. I LOVE to write. Short st...

My name is Krishanda Davis, I am from Clinton SC. I am 21 years old my birthday is on March 13 th , I am a secondary English major at this point I am a junior/senior due to me changing my majors a few time since being here, I am at least now sure that this is what I want to do as a career. I’m pretty laid back and kind of shy but will engage in classroom activities. I work at Sprint as a retail consultant I love technology and have been working in that field for 3 years now. I have 3 sisters who I adore very dearly, I’m very open minded and open to a lot of things.  I read when I have time at night. I used to read all the time but between work and school, it’s hard but I always try to find time on the weekends. I read because it clears my mind. It’s better than just constantly watching TV all the time to me. I like to read when I’m alone so that I can clear my mind in peace. It’s hard to do it with noise and a lot of people around. . I just wish I had time to read like I used t...

Hey there! My name is Kelsy ; a 23 year old Junior/Senior English student with a minor in Creative Writing and a penchant for bad spelling. I'm in my fourth year of higher education due to a change in majors and colleges two years ago, so it's a little up in the air when I will be graduating. One of my biggest wishes in life is to travel the world, a dream I've already taken steps towards, as I traveled to Nicaragua this spring. It was an experience I will never forget! My deepest passion however is story telling, in all its forms, and I hope to publish a novel or work on a film in the future! My favorite YA book as of the moment would be Ready Player One . it's an interesting mashup of dystopian concepts and 80's aesthetics that appeals to me and my favorite cliches. The fact that it's getting a film adaption is wonderful, though I do have reservations about it; I'm not terribly keen on some of what I've seen in the trailers but i'll have to wait ...

Hey guys, my name is Victoria Vance and I go by nearly any variation of Victoria so if you have a bad day or just don't care or can't remember how to say it you can always call me by one those, it's all good. I am a senior here at USC Upstate and I'm majoring in Secondary Education with a concentration in English. I am the type of person who is incredibly sarcastic in the nicest way possible; can't help it but I am a very nice person. I promise I won't make you cry or want to punch me or anything like that. I'm from Columbia, SC and I graduated from Lugoff-Elgin high school. No, you probably never heard of it. But I promise it does exist, if you don't believe me Google it. An "interesting" fact about me is that although I am an English Ed. major I am absolutely horrible at writing and I do NOT enjoy it. I know, totally scandalous. But despite not being into writing, I would describe myself as an avid reader with a very broad palette as far as...

My name is Erika Kozub and I am a junior here at USC Upstate majoring in Middle Level Education. I am a local to the upstate, but originally born in Ukraine where I lived for 2 years before moving to the United States with my family. I graduated from Byrnes High School in 2015 immediately planning to attend USCU in the fall to major in education. I've known for a while that being a teacher was the profession for me. I love to learn, and love teaching even more. Coming from a huge family, I am constantly surrounded by kids and teenagers and I absolutely love it!  am an active member at Way of Truth Church in Inman where I am am a leader for many local missions and a Sunday School teacher. I am a huge coffee drinker and Disney fanatic! I'll cook just about anything, especially when I'm stressed. I'm a fish out of water and wish there were more hours in a day where I can find myself in a pool. My current obsession is my "old people" show on Hallmark Channel calle...

Hello, my name is Karen Medina, I am 28 years old and would fall into the category of "Non-Traditional" student. I recently celebrated my 5 year anniversary of marriage, my husband and I have a 3 year old son and we are welcoming our 2nd baby on Valentines day. Yes, my life is as stressful as it sounds. It is extremely hard to juggle school, work, and home life. With that being said, my son is my biggest motivator to finish college once and for all, (no matter the number of mental breakdowns I have a semester). I currently work as a first grade assistance and although I love it, it has shown me that Middle Level is the place for me. Middle level with English/History concentration. I am not sure which concentration I would like to start out in, both have great things that I enjoy. I love reading and writing BUT with my busy life I hardly have time to read or write. I will say that I am a bit of a romantic and enjoy anything written my Nicholas Sparks. Also, working with smal...

Hey Y'all, My name is Sharissa. (I always have to spell it out at Starbucks.) I am a sophomore here at Upstate. I was home schooled ever since I was in first grade, although I try to leave that out. There are a lot of stereotypes for being home schooled, so I let people get to know me before I get all of the home schooled jokes. And yes, I have heard all of them. I played volleyball throughout high school, but I also got the best of both worlds and was apart of a drama club, where I was cast in a few musicals. When I started college, I had no idea what I wanted to major in, but I knew that if I did not go right after high school, I would never go. So I went. By the end of my first semester I figured out that I wanted to be a teacher and inspire lives, while I was in the middle of a presentation. My major is now Secondary Education focusing in English. And I have never been more exited to finish college. My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird. When I had to read it in high sc...

Hi you guys! My name is Caroline Graham. I was born and raised in Spartanburg, SC. I graduated from Broome High School in 2015. I'm a junior secondary education major with a middle level add on and a minor in women and gender studies. I've always toyed with the idea of becoming a teacher. In the later years of high school my decision really solidified through taking AP Lit/Lang and teacher cadet. Now I love my education classes (and professors) at upstate and I love crafting lesson plans for my clinical students. If you've ever taken a look at my coffee tumbler you'll notice that I'm obsessed with NBC's The Office. It's always on in the background and I could probably quote every single episode. I also love Disney movies and every show on ABC family/Freeform. I'm pretty sure my blood has been replaced by black coffee. My boyfriend is a barista which is my basic white girl dream come true. I'm the biggest foodie ever. I love to cook and bake. Wheneve...

Hi, I'm Kesi and I'm from Greenville, SC which is where I live. I also drive back and forth to campus Monday- Friday. I am a senior and major is secondary education in English which I hope someday to be a high school teacher. I'm a mother of three. I have a 10 year old son, 5 year old daughter, and a 7 month old boy... Yes, my hands are always tied between school, work, and kids’ (so much that I forget to eat at times lol), but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love to read, but I must admit that I haven’t been able to read as much as I would like to read outside of required material from school under circumstances of having so much on my plate. I grew up with a sister close to my age, and we would spend summers reading the book list for school instead of enjoying summer as a true kid lol. Hmmm I don't think I have a favorite book yet. If I did have to choose a book I've read even though I don’t think it would be classified as YA, I really enjoyed reading T...

Hello everyone, I'm Lindsey Dawkins. I live in Laurens, SC, and drive back and forth to Upstate. I know interstate 26 really well! I'm a secondary education (plus middle) major, and my concentration is in English. In my spare time I read whatever I can get my hands on. Lately, I've been reading a lot in the mystery/thriller genre. I also like to eat Hot Cheetos, or go to Mexican restaurants, and nothing makes me quite as happy as a Venti Iced Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks. I loved Sarah Dessen books when I was in high school, and my favorite was definitely The Truth About Forever. I was also completely and totally obsessed with The House of Night series by P.C Cast. I've always leaned more toward the dark and spooky, and that series had it all. However, my favorite YA book of all time is actually a relatively new YA book that I read around the beginning of this year: Feed by M.T Anderson. I carried this book around with me for days, and would just flip to a page a...

      My name is Chelsea Chan and I'm a junior with a clear view on my path in life. My daughter Ellie turned three this summer and it's a beatiful experince to witness a mini you grow physically and intellectually. Everyday she does something that amazes me. I have always been able to soak in information which grew to an appreciation of wisdom and understanding. Especially now in this point in my life where I surrendered my life to Christ and have been saved for ten months. So coming back to school I can already notice my view on everything is altering now that I am spirtually maturing.        In high school my all time favoriate author was Meg Cabot and she wrote the Princess Diaries series and also other trilogies like Airhead , and other mature novels such as boy meets girl . Now that I am living a Christian life, I love Francine Rivers novels such as Redeeming Love . Another one of her books I finished was A Lineage of Grace w...

Hey, you guys! My name is Parker Anadell! I'm a Secondary Education English major and a sophomore at Upstate. I'm a barista at Bella Latte on Reidville Rd and I also own my own business! My fiance and I are wedding videographers, our business is Fipps Filming - Wedding Videography (check us out on Facebook)! I'm really passionate about education and I'm always searching for new things to learn about. I literally laugh at any and every thing. Life is too short not to! If you have pictures of your dogs please show me. Reading has always been a favorite pass time for me. My favorite books are Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, Violet & Finch by Jennifer Niven, I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, The Future of Us by Jay Asher and so many more. YA Literature has always been my favorite and these texts have either made me cry my face off or take on a new look on life. I'm really excited to be taking this class and to develop a new perspective on so man...

Hi there! My name is Madison and I'm a communications major and an english minor. I want to write articles for magazines one day or possibly do public relations type work for independent companies. Originally, I was an english major, but communications worked out better for my desired career path. I have a passion for writing and reading, so I had to keep English around as a minor to keep myself happy! I love reading, although I don't get to read much as a luxury anymore. One of my favorite books is Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I also read a lot of horror by authors such as Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe. One of my favorite books I read as an adolescent was Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Hello classmates, my name is Danny! I am a Secondary Education English major. I was born and raised in Clinton, SC, where I attended Clinton High School. I currently work at Sam's Club here in Spartanburg as a cashier and accountant. I enjoy writing and aspire to publish several novels. Along side my love for writing, I, of course, have a fondness towards books in general. I find myself drawn to Young Adult novels, but I also enjoy poetry, short stories, and even play scripts. I enjoyed James Patterson's Maximum Ride series, John Green's The Fault in Our Stars , and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. My favorite poem is America  by Tony Hoagland and my favorite play is Trifles by Susan Glaspell. I do enjoy Shakespeare's works as well, especially Hamlet . I am excited to get to dive back into another semester full of reading and book discussions while getting to work towards my desired major.

Hey everyone, my name is Taylor Simmons. I am a Secondary Education English Major. I'm from Columbia, SC (kinda). My dad is in the military so I moved around a couple of times but I graduated high school in Columbia, so that's where I usually say I am from. I have two jobs, one being at the H&M clothing store here in Spartanburg at Westgate Mall and I also work at the front desk in the Wellness Center gym on campus. I love reading, I have enjoyed it my whole life. Young Adult fiction is my favorite genre to read. I began reading this genre mostly in middle school. It's hard for me to name a specific favorite book because I have so many. Some of my favorite Young Adult authors are Sarah Dessen, Just Listen  is one of my favorite books by her. John Green is another one of my favorite authors. I also enjoy the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series of books by Ransom Riggs. The Crank  series by Ellen Hopkins is another one of my favorites. I also love Impul...

Hey guys, I've never blogged before, so here goes. I hope to teach middle school children one day, for it has been my dream for quite sometime now. I have been working in fast food for almost ten years. I love my job, but i need more students.  I'm an assistant manager at little Caesars, and my entire staff consist of high school students. They melt my heart and have taught me so much. I watch seeds grow that I have planted within them and it is absolutely beautiful. I love seeing them talk about their passions and day at school. I love adolescent literature. I've read almost every goosebumps book and i consider Impulse to be my favorite book. I also love cut , by  Patricia McCormick. I remember loving speak in high School, but i  can't remember the details now. Some of my other favorites include The battle of jericho, To kill a mocking bird , and  The freedom writers diary.