Lopez1

Steve Lopez English 1010 Ms. Blommer May 22, 2013 Self Reflective Essay Throughout this semester of English 1010 Intro to Writing, I have really grown considerably as a writer. One of my weakest points academically is easily language arts. I have always excelled in writing quickly and shortly, but I have never grown so used to elaborating to such depth what it is I am writing about. My experience in this class has made me realize just how important and useful a skill such as writing can truly be. I plan on taking my educational career much further and to do so, I must be able to write at such a level that it is acceptable to my professors and to my employers if I encounter any. I'm happy to say that this course has given me the majority of the skills that I will need for a large part of my life and will continue to use them respectively. I was able to use all of my new found skills to accomplish the final portfolio and have it turn it just fine. By learning many of the smaller aspects earlier in the year and slowly moving towards the bigger parts, I was able to refine and use my skills to their finest once this portfolio came. All 3 parts of the portfolio came

Lopez2

together very nicely and worked out just as I would imagine them to. The task would be very difficult, if not impossible without the proper guidance. With the proper use of organization, the final portfolio was a very small task to accomplish and was speedily finished. All of the parts used certain methods of writing that eventually intertwined and created a large piece that is thoughtful and compelling. One of the most useful things that I learned was the use of peer review, and how it drastically changed the outlook I had on my papers, Not only did it have all of my thoughts on the page, but it also had the thoughts of my peers on it so that I could reflect off of others ideas and expand on my own. I found this to be one of the main things that I used while writing my Issue Exploration. When having to refer to different points of view on the topic I chose it made me really think about why the opposing side thought the way they did, and how I could possibly change their ideals, if I could at all. This gave me the mind set of two different groups of completely different people, and allowed me to think of things I would have never thought about and refute those things. Although obviously there will never be a winner in such things as this, it makes it simpler to understand when you have to think about both sides instead of heavily on just one. With all of this new found ways of thinking about writing I know that I can achieve goals that I have set for myself in my college career, and will continue to

Lopez3

further my education in all the things I love as well as some of the things I despise. With the good use of English, one can reach out their goals for other things much further and generally have a much better understanding of many things that they will go into. I believe that what I want to go into will greatly benefit from having a great background in English that will continue to progress.

Lopez4

Steve Lopez English 1010 Ms. Blommer May 22, 2013 Annotated Bibliography AllieJo2619, Gay Marriage. Why it should be Legalized, TeenInk.com Allie says that homosexuals should have the same rights as everybody else, and if everybody else is allowed to chase what they want, why cant homosexuals do the same? This brings up a great point and really pulls on the readers emotions to try and lead their mind towards the legalization of same sex marriage.

Chrisafis, Angelique, Frances Gay Marriage Bill Fought over on streets as much as Parliament, The Guardian (Image 2) The image used shows some of the many protesters that helped the efforts of the movement go forward; with the help of many people almost anything is possible. This shows just how the masses can change or influence certain huge decisions that occur in many government systems, not only the United States.

Erlanger, Steven, Hollande Signs French Gay Marriage Law, New York Times With the debate of homosexuality popping up everywhere, it is safe to say that many different countries have different ways of dealing with issues such as these. Same sex marriage came very easily for France and it all went smoothly. With results such as this, why is the United States still so afraid of nothing.

Hartman, Rachel Rose, 53 percent of Americans now support gay marriage, poll finds, Yahoo! News

Lopez5

With the steady increase of people supporting same sex marriage, many states in the Unites States will eventually have to change their laws, and succumb to the majorities wants. With so many people changing their minds and helping the side of same sex marriage, many people are having second thoughts and changing their opinions.

Morgan, Glennisha, Beyonce, Madonna and Other Celebrities Chime in for Gay Marriage, Huffington Post (Image 1) Many people look up to celebrities as idols, and if they have a very prominent ideal, their fans are most likely to hear about it and change their minds, or even lead them to believe something other than what they believe. Influences that are this strong have a huge impact on the changing thoughts of many Americans.

Rafferty, Andrew, Rhode Island becomes the 10th State to Legalize Gay Marriage, NBC News Many states are changing their minds on the current situation with same sex marriage; the masses have come and attempted to change the minds of many people. With the help of many people the polls were easily in favor of same sex marriage and the vote was unanimous.

Lopez6

Steve Lopez English 1010 Ms. Blommer May 22, 2013 Issue Exploration Introduction Gay marriage is a huge issue in the United States right now and it is taking us by storm. Many people have changed their views on it in the recent years, this years poll indicates that 53% of Americans are for Gay rights, and 42% are against it. (Rachel Rose Hartman, Yahoo! News).Much of the hate towards gay marriage comes from religious background and has put up a good fight in most states. As of now there are only 10 states that allow gay marriage. This raging issue has been going on for many years now, and is continuing to grow. Many people care about this because it is based off of equal rights. Many people believe that people should have the choice of whether or not they want to get married, straight or gay. Summary There are many people that stand against gay marriage, or stand with it very few people are unfazed by it. One of the most recent advances in the gay marriage fight has been in Rhode Island which recently had their voices heard, and is advancing

Lopez7

towards gay marriage being legal. Their fights have been long and hard to do, but it is finally paying off and they have much faith in it passing even with the efforts of the church to stop it from happening. There are also many reasons that people think that gay marriage is something should not be allowed to happen, some reasons such as, Religious Freedom, Rights of Children, Withering Traditional Marriage, Education, and Husbands. Others don't take a side and just watch as the battles go down, and record what is happening, not taking a side, but just showing the information that there is to have about certain debates that go on. Issue Overview Although both sides of this heated debate have their reasons for either being against, or with the idea, they still have many faults. The idea of making same sex marriage legal really scares many people, it can change the way that people think about other people, and it can change the way even children view society as a whole while growing up. Many little things such as this can affect people in ways that are understandable, but also fixable. Many people also have the thought in their head that same sex marriage can be okay. If two people are in love, it is their place to say whether or not they are, and that it is not a sickness of some sort. If all people are created equal, why can't they be treated as such? Other thoughts that pop up into these debates are thoughts such as how it can change things for straight couples, and how it effects the population of people that are straight and are looking for a

Lopez8

husband or wife, there could be less people to create marriages of the opposite sex. Many of the people that do not want same sex marriage to become legal try to make it sound like a terrible thing, by essentially scaring people into believing that it isn't natural or that it will do more harm than good, they get into peoples heads and attempt to push them towards all of the negative that is shown. On the other hand, there are the people that are not homosexuals, but believe that it is their right to have if they really want it, these people look towards the good of the cause, and not the other sides incredible accusations. They believe people should be all treated the same, and that we are all living in the same country and that we can all live together, straight or homosexual. Synthesis There are many debates that are ongoing about same sex marriage. This topic has never been so blown up as it is now in the United States, and many other places. Many different questions come to mind when talking about the large scale debate that goes on every day; why dont we allow it, why is it frowned upon, how will it affect us, and many other thoughts. With the change of the times, many people have become more towards equality, and not taking away rights from certain individuals that deserve them. Much of the support going to same sex marriage are more modern families, or clear minded people, as the other portion of the debate is mainly right-siders or people coming from religion.

Lopez9

With the increasing amount of support that same sex marriage is receiving, it is almost inevitable for most of our states to slowly conform to the idea of it. Many people such as, known figures or celebrities have come out and either said that they are gay, or that they support gay rights. Many people have changed opinions based off of just these small things that happen in our media, you could say it is kind of a flavor of the month deal. By making a small but very recognizable reference to a popular song, Beyonce, a famous singer and songwriter, shows her support of same sex marriage, which makes many people, that are her fans, believe

The Huffington Post, Glennisha Morgan, JPEG; Image 1

to also do the same thing she does, as if she were their idol. With all of the new media hype that has risen, people have gone to social networking and spread the word of such things to receive even more support from their peers or acquaintances. Not only has the topic seen a lot of media attention, it is actually sparking up huge debates in other countries, such as France. Frances president, Franois Hollande, recently signed a law called the Marriage for all act that allows gay

Lopez10

marriage to take place, without any disapproval (Steven Erlanger, New York Times). This shows just how fast a country can change in order to keep its citizens happy. Many good things have come of this new law in France, and there is only better that will come to it.

Paris, April 21, 2013. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen; Image 2

Although there are many people that say that same sex marriage is incorrect, and shouldnt be allowed, there are l egal rights that are given to every citizen of the United States that shouldnt be overlooked on the topic. One of our civil liberties is the pursuit of happiness, which homosexual people are not allowed to chase. (AllieJo2619, TeenInk.com). With such a large amount of people not with same sex marriage, it is hard to get across the thoughts from the other side. The repercussions of allowing same sex marriage are said to be great, when in fact, there are none at all. Allowing gay couples to show their affection for one another in public, does not affect anybody, let alone a large group of individuals.

Lopez11

Solution There have been many ideas to push towards same sex marriage being legalized throughout the United States, but many of them have either failed, or not happened. There are many things that contribute to why or why not these things happen, the opposing side can completely outnumber them and make everything done pointless. There are many states are extremely against same sex marriage are arent due to change their ideals anytime soon, but when certain places like this are around, there are small ways to change peoples minds, if even minuscule. By slowly advancing thoughts of same sex marriage into certain states, not on a large scale, but slowly at first, there can be a change of mind that slowly ripples out into a huge change that can affect a large span of area. There can be set ups of small organizations that can create small events in towns that can educate people of the pros and cons of same sex marriage, and in turn change their opinions on the subject. People do not like to be pushed into thinking something, but eased into it, and knowing exactly what it is that is happening. When these communities have been set up and have been influenced, they can slowly grow out and become even more known, and eventually rippling out into a large area and creating a huge community of people that will support the movement. This pushes the favor towards same sex marriage when it comes into law in the certain state, and with more followers and people that will help; there is a large chance that the change can

Lopez12

occur. Recently in Rhode Island, the bill has passed that same sex marriage will be allowed, and during the entire debate about it, there were huge groups of people that helped out and with the overwhelming amount of people the vote was easily passed. The bill overcameto gay marriage. (Andrew Rafferty, NBC News) when masses join together, they can easily elect people into senate to vote and show their beliefs. So by slowly joining a community and gathering numbers, the number of states that will eventually allow same sex marriage will be on the rise if such conditions are met, or even taken into account. There are many people that already do things such as this, but on a smaller scale, if it were to be used throughout the United States, the debate would eventually come to a halt and same sex marriage will be legal in all states.