DeVreOuntre Buchanan

Weekly Journals

Week 1
I really enjoyed class this week, it was cultivated and fun. Almost as if y'all are my long lost family. During discussion
this week their countless pathos, when we exclaimed of personal/political issues. During this none of us showed
vague emotions, but touched deep on our issues. Earlier this week we talk of many ways to start an essay. Which is
something I've always struggled with, in efforts wanting to express everything in one sentence. The graphic organizer,
T Chart, and their were a couple of more methods that we discussed, all helped me align what I needed to write
about. This is by far the most personal class I've been in, I look forward to the next 17 weeks with you all.

Week 2
This week of class was very interesting. We touched on several of subjects, but Martin Luther King letter
from Birmingham jail really stood out to me. I admire how Dr. King played the mediator role, we need emulate neither
the "do nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. For there is the more
excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. The statement, Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever.
The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, stood out to me too. No can be oblivious of righteous forever.
Dr. King does an exceptional job at positively exclaiming negative situations to those held responsible. This is
displayed when he puts the pressure on the leaders, the churches by saying, If today's church does not recapture
the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an
irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Yet, nothing stood out more so then his continuous
repetition of when you phrases. In contrary that repetition of any form cannot be ignored. It is free, yet a very
effective style used in order to get an opinion on the subject matter. His continuous elaboration with when you
expressed his passion for the subject at hand. It was emotional, and could not be ignored. At first it left me in awe
physically, yet mentally emotional, but more so curious. I was curious of "How can you advocate breaking some laws
and obeying others?" With research I concluded that there are just and unjust laws. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. letter
from a Birmingham Jail was an effective non-violent act of protesting. It captured the eyes of society. It was true and
straightforward. Leaders could not disregard it. It serve as the channel through which our just grievances could reach
the power structure.

Week 3
Every week of class has had its bread and butter. This weeks was the groups discussion. I cant speak one
everyones group, but me and my group members had a blast! (Laughing out loud) I want say any names, but one of
my group members camp experience proved that Disney channel is only entertainment. To say it was far from picture
perfect is an understatement, it was Hades retreat. First off, they were the only person their age there. Secondly she
was on the winning kickball teams which were rewarded free ice cream. However, the coordinator believed their
attitude wasnt up to par. So they had to buy their own food, unfortunately she didnt have any money. And to put the
icing on the cake, a fourteen year old bot had to buy her food. Keep in mind their 18. (Laughing out loud) I cant go
into further details, Im afraid my life will be in jeopardy. But I will say this; it was one of the worst weekends of their
life.
My other group member story was more so, humble. Theyve faced a few hardships, but yet to be
hindered. I admire their tenacity to succeed; they portrayed it as if failing is even an option. They too are a cool down
to Earth person as my other group member. They also talked of transitioning to the US. When they talked of how slow
the US is compared to where (laughing out loud) they are from, I begin packing my bags simultaneously.

My personal narrative wasnt near as exciting or visual as theirs were, nonetheless they showed me them
same respect. Fortunately they found it intriguing. They commented on the things I needed to do in order for it to be a
legit narrative. Theyre pointers really aided me. I look forward to the next group discussion.

Week 4

Week 5
Weekly Journal
Despite having a lot of intriguing topics, class seemed a little slower than usual. The group editing really assisted me.
It displayed a lot of grammatical errors and was the perfect of essay of what not to do. We received our personal
narratives Monday I did exceptional, but as all rough drafts mines was flawed. My use of commas and quotation
marks really hindered my essay. There were also some pointless mistakes that I was blind too. Today in class we
wrote a five paragraph essay in approximately twelve minutes about our favorite pet. Im sure everyones aware that
dogs are men best friend. My reasons are in contrary that Cane helped me grow up. He taught me countless of
responsibilities. Ill be the first to say, cleaning dogs crap is not the coolest job in the world. Its actually one of the
worst things of having a dog, if not the worse. Cane taught me that patience is virtue. It seems as if it took him forever
to become poddy trained. In his adolescence my mom allowed him to sleep in me and my brothers. You couldnt take
a foot step without stepping on a dog pamper. We trained him by gabbing his next and pointing his nose at the
accident he made, then at the pamper and paddling (as a form of disciplining) him with a newspaper. The only von
was, he sniffed his pee every time he use he peed. He was very jealous too. If I was playing with one of my friends
dog he would growl and bark to the top of his lungs. I hated it, but I love the fact that I knew he did it in contrary that
he loved me so dearly. This taught me to understand others emotion. Everything that Cane taught me assisted me in
the real world some way or another. Despite him being deceased, I can live with the fact that he knew that I was his
dad.
Week 6
DeVreOuntre Buchanan
Weekly Journal
Comp. 1
9/25/2015
I was astounded when I missed class this week. It was mind boggling, left me in complete awe. Despite that
scarce incident, this week was very virtuous. Rather faster than the normal paste, but, Hey! Whos complaining? A
few of you asked me why I didnt make it to class, when you all later saw me and discuss to me what I missed. I feel
as if thats a testament of the comradery weve gained. This has been manifested in large part on account of
Professor Burns work ethic. Class isnt the latest version or 106 & Park, nor Wild & N Out. However his style of
teaching is efficient. In contrary that our class has a concrete relationship, I would like to share with you my personal
statement.

Personal Statement
My name is DeVreOuntre Buchanan. Im currently majoring in criminal justice. My interest in it dates back
to my adolescents. Then is when my father was in the military and mom schedule at the prison was hectic. As a result
my brothers Jamarean Buchanan, my twin TeVreOuntre Buchanan, and myself spent a lot of time with my
grandparents. With them we learned the morals, opportunities and rights as a citizen. Its almost as if they molded us
become civil right leaders.

My grandparents molded me and my two brothers to never waste time. They also taught us that as
long as theirs life in your lungs its never too late. I referenced that in contrary that when my brothers and I became
of age to take care of ourselves, a scarce amount of them had these same traditions. They were products of the
environment. Taught only to get it how you get it. Which is preposterous! No child should be taught survivor of the
fittest. However children should be given love, and taught respect. On account of me being a police officer, my
obligation is to eliminate those negative influences, make the world safer, and last but not least be an example. At
this level Ill be an example that children who come from the slums can make it as long as theirs life in your lungs its
never too late.
Week 7
DeVreOuntre Buchanan
Composition 1
Journal 7
10/02/2015

Monday we presented our scholarship essays. Despite being late and not having one I still manage to be effective
throughout the group session. In the group session you exclaimed the things that are needed in order to have an
effective essay. My essay prompt question was, What three aspects in your life have you benefited from the most.
How has adversity favored you? In this essay I exclaimed of these things. I talked of how life in the ghetto was,
finical struggles, and my David and Goliath story. There are a seldom few who have witnessed struggles I survived. I
have lost people to the streets, jail cell, and graveyard. Sure enough I would change these things if I could, but I have
learned to deal with them. In contrary that life goes on. These situations helped make me who I am. I just thank GOD
I was fortunate enough to make it beyond these situations. Too, in my personal writing is an example of one these
scenarios. By the way, Im glad Professor Burns allowed us two weeks to revise and edit them. He even pointed out
every grammar error in my paper. Today he spoke of how the abroad life was. Along with him sharing his experience
abroad was the guest speaker. She narrowed down a lot of revenues for studying overseas. She and I even partook
in a friendly Spanish grammar competition. Unfortunately, I lost! Overall class was really good. For the most part
everyone was presence and focus. This may have been the first week you did not have to tell anyone to power down
their cellular device. Despite his and the speaker informing us of the benefits of studying over broad, I do not plan on
taking their advice any time soon. Slowly but surely.

Week 8
I feel as if breast cancer month is overrated. In contrary that its not the only form of cancer that exist. It is promoted
and publicized more. As a result it is more subject to raise funds, charities, and awareness towards it. This is deemed
unfair, in efforts that everyday someone is diagnosed with other forms of cancer as well. Breast cancer has its own
month, color, and slogans. It is disrespectful to purposely raise eyebrows towards breast cancer, and neglect the
others. I apologize if Im offending anyone, those are not my intentions. I may be taking this more personal because I
know someone on a first name basis that being treated for stage four colon cancer. As breast cancer, they take
chemotherapy, as breast cancer their blood level is frequently low. As breast cancer, they constantly have to have a
blood transfusion. In effects of the chemotherapy their too, skin has become darker. They also have their good and
bad days. Im not against breast cancer, I believe society has benefitted off of it, pretty much everyone is aware of it.
Despite this I feel all forms of cancer should be promoted. In contrary that all are important.
Despite having class Monday, this week was still productive. I learned that editorial writing is a professional
opinion. Or a white collar way to go about persuading someone of your view on a situation. Since we did not have
class Monday we were assigned to read arthur, David Crystals article 2b or not 2b. He was against the fact that
some believe shorthand texting makes us unlettered. We discussed our views on the rticle Wednesday. Today we

answered a few question on editorial writing. Class was productive, yet fun as always. I even taught Professor Burns
a new hand shake.

Week 9
Being in class with me thus far, Im sure you all have figured out that I talk a lot (laughing out loud). Which concludes
that I am not afraid to speak peace. Although, a lot of pros come with this, I must admit there are a lot of cons to this.
Furthermore there are a lot of issues that I am for as well as against. The editorial writing is well needed for me. It is
almost as if I am venting to a shrink. Why are we content with settling, why do college students procrastinate so
much, if the best things in life are free, why does it cost to pay attention? The list goes on and on. Also, I firmly
believe everyone who meets the asvab requirement should be enlisted in the military; in a field of their choice for a
minimum of four years. All whom are categorized in this will benefit tremendously. They will benefit financially greatly.
The more people in the military means the less people on the streets. This would make the United States safer. It will
also increase our military tremendously. The obesity, unemployment, homeless, poverty, dropout, and crime rate
would decrease. We would cultivate more relationships. Everyone involved in this would receive discipline and if
were all fighting for the same cause no one could be right or wrong. I stand firm and bold on my belief!
At the age of eighteen were permitted to buy cigarettes, vote, marry, and charged as an adult. So why are
we not allowed to buy alcohol until the age of twenty one? That is an issue that I am also contemplating on writing
about. Despite the short week of class, this week was very productive yet again. Professor Burns is even getting the
hang of our hand shake. Be safe you all, and GOD bless!
Week 10

Week 11
Journal Week 11
This week of class was one of the better ones. Which is a bold statement in contrary all of our classes are rather
upper echelon. Everyone was participative in class assignments. I believe the NASA vs Pluto set the tone for the
class. Who would have thought the classic yo momma joke would be the tool used to bring life to class this week.
Along with being rhetorical it gave everyone humor. As we saw various students were bantering.
Ive also grown fond of the editorial writing style. It is almost as if I am getting rewarded to rant/complain on a subject
matter to my appeal. I never knew people truly cared for the smart aleck. Editorial writers are professional smart
alecks. Their job is to attack or defend certain policies, issues, or laws based on hard facts, statistics, and analogies.
They choose their topics wisely. Such as select a subject matter that widely known. They are to be very distinct on
that particular subject. Another thing that is interesting about editorial writers is the fact that they declare an outright
agenda. Which is stating ones opinion or thesis clearly. They build a good argument too. What I like to consider a
smooth criminal. Good editorial expresses a point of view, while great editorial express point of views and persuade
others to join their camp. They use facts, statistics, quotations, and theoretical explanations for condemning
antagonist perspective. They do this by leveling conflict and content. I learned that when writing an editorial paper,
your opponent are not fond of cultural, social, or political analogies. This will highlight both the things that are alike
and the things that are different. When doing these things, a case is made for their views and knocks down their
opponents claim. Editorial writing is cool.

Week 12

Week 13
Week 13 Journal
Despite forgetting to submit my journals on time the last two previous weeks doesnt mean class has not been on a
role. The class participation has really been on a role. We have been arguing over political issues. This has really
elevated the class tempo. They both are tragedies, the racial conflict going on at the University of Missouri and the
bombing in Paris. Although the discussion got a little heated I think it is fair to agree to disagree. It felt as if it was me
and Professor Burns against the world. Yet I do not regret it, I feel as if our agreements were merely because we
judge the issues of why and how they occurred rather than involving emotions. I felt as if a small portion of us were
sympathetic to the incident that occurred at the University of Missouri in contrary that they were only threats and
freedom of speech. Despite, that does not mean we should not be sensitive towards alleged threats. I mean after all, I
think we all agree that we rather be safe than sorry. As well as who could be focus on class when ones life is at
stake. As far as the incident that partook in Paris it too was a tragic and very devastating. The bombers mission was
to destruct. Professors Barger made a point when he said, we all agree that it was a tragic, but it did take courage for
the bombers to follow through with the suicide mission. Which I agree with. Yes it was ignorant and downright stupid,
but going into an event as chaotic as that and knowing you have to kill yourself is more than enough to contemplate
of, let alone doing it. Overall our class has been on a roll! Thank professor Burns for the interesting topics.