Introducing Me: Olivia Bennett

By -

 My name is Olivia Bennett. I am a secondary education English major. This is my second semester at Upstate. I have transferred around quite a bit. Before coming to Upstate I went to North Greenville University and Spartanburg Methodist College. I like to think that all the transferring around I have done gives me a unique perspective at education. 

As far as hobbies go, I like to go to the gym. I started going to the gym in my first year of college and I've been going ever since. When I first started going to the gym it was just a way for me to avoid the famous "freshman fifteen." Four years later and now the gym is a place for me to challenge myself, learn new skills, and allow the stress of school to melt away for an hour or two. I definitely recommend going to the gym for any of my classmates who are feeling overwhelmed by school or are feeling overwhelmed in general. There is no better way to clear my mind then sticking some earbuds on and start climbing on the stairstepper.

When it comes to sports I played tennis in high school and played tennis while attending Spartanburg Methodist College. I do not really play tennis much anymore. Occasionally my boyfriend can talk me into playing a game but for the most part, I consider myself retired. 

I keep two little boys for about 18 hours (give or take an hour) throughout the week. I have been working for the family for going on four years. The eldest boy is nine and the youngest boy is two. Some days are better than others but for the most part, I enjoy keeping my kids. At this point, I've been with the family for so long it would feel odd not having two little boys in my life. I like to think of my job as a learning experience. I have learned so much about children from my kids and I hope to apply that knowledge in my future classroom. 

I know this is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but I like to learn by just listening and taking notes. I'm not a very big fan of hands-on learning. My dislike of hands-on learning may just be because I like to be left alone while doing school work. To help me be successful in this course I would say the biggest thing I need is patience and understanding. I say this because we're already almost done with week two and I have encountered so many obstacles with technology so far this semester it is not even funny. It is so easy for me to misunderstand something or not realize something needs to be turned in when everything is done online. I think by being patient and understanding it helps me not to freak out so much if I somehow miss the turn in box for an assignment (which I kid you not happened to me this week). I put too much stress on myself as is regarding grades and school. 

During my childhood and adolescence (elementary school/middle school age) the books that stand out to me most are the Warrior Cat series. I used to (and not even going to lie still do) love reading them. The fantasy world of wild, clan cats sucked me as an adolescent. The characters were relatable (even though they were cats) and the characters were memorable. I can still tell you just about anything that happened in any of the books. I only read Warrior Cat books for a few years, mostly because there are like forty plus books in the series, not even counting the manga and special edition books. I would check the books out at the library and buy the books with birthday and Christmas money. To this day these books hold a special place in my heart. 

Books have meant a great deal to me throughout my life. I have always enjoyed reading and letting myself get immersed in the stories. Reading is extremely relaxing to me and allows me to just take a break from my life. When I read I don't have to worry about what I still have to do that day or what grade I made on a certain test. Reading allows me to take the place of the main character and simply enjoy the ride. I could not imagine life without books and the comfort they bring me. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Pains - The Symbolism of the Tree in Speak

By -
I have felt the paralyzing pain of internal disease. The kind of trauma that causes your mouth to curl in and swallow you whole. I, like so many other women, are walking the halls in Melinda’s shoes in “Speak.” I thought Laurie Anderson did a phenomenal job of twisting all of the tribulations a high school girl goes through, into the tree that Melinda is. Whether we’re as strong as an oak or weak as a bush, we have all gone through the disease that strikes Melinda from the inside out. Melinda is like a half-dead tree. Some parts of her strive to blossom and create beauty. Other parts are broken and diseased. Like a dead tree, Melinda needs to save herself and “cut off the damage, [so it] is possible for the tree to grow again” (187). The symbolism of a tree is significant in “Speak.” Trees reflect her growing process. In the beginning, Melinda is a sick and lifeless tree. Her view is negative and dark. She’s so far past repair, bursts of sunlight do her no good. Sunlight would be pe...
Read more

How Starr Goes from Acting to Embracing in The Hate U Give

By -
In The Hate U Give, Starr Carter is caught between two worlds. She lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, but her father sends her and her brothers to a private school where she is surrounded by white people. She talks about acting differently depending on what group she is around, which can create some identity problems. She says on page 11, "Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black." When at Williamson, she sees white kids that think it's cool to engage in black culture, but she knows they don't understand what she goes through in her Garden Heights community. She witnessed her friend Natasha's death when she was 10 years old, and she sees gang activity in her community all the time. When she is among her black friends, like at the party, they tease her for hanging out with the white kids. This reminds me of a Drake song where he says, "I used to get teased for being black, and now I'm...
Read more

Postmodernism in Curious Incident

By -
Before I start writing, I first want to acknowledge that I just really loved this book! It seemed like a lot of the class had trouble enjoying or appreciating the novel because it's so different stylistically, which is understandable, but all of those unique elements helped make the novel more authentic. The main topic I want to focus on (also what I'm writing my paper on) is how a lot of postmodernist elements were used in the novel to make Christopher come to life. While obviously not every postmodern novel is about an autistic kid, I think Haddon really used a lot of these elements to his advantage and they ended up working out really well to characterize Christopher. One of the major postmodern elements which helps this book really craft an authentic portrayal of autism is the fact that it's metafictive. Basically, this means it's a "story within a story." Readers would be extremely limited just reading the parts of the novel which are meant to be C...
Read more