The video that we watched in class, presented an interesting topic, that video game players can help to make the world a better place. This is a topic I had never thought about before watching the video.  The average video game player spends over three billion hours playing video games annually and it has been determined that the same amount time spent in school learning as a child is the same as the amount of time spent playing video games. In order for video game players to change the world and make it a better place they have to go beyond the threshold of imagination.  The speaker believes that best version of ourselves if presented in video games.  Video games create a world in which no challenge is unbeatable. Challenges are presented based upon the gamers specific skill set.  Online gaming also has feedback available from hundreds of people that are available to help complete challenges.  The gaming community is filled with super powered, hopeful individuals and together these gamers can join together and do great things. There have been games created that simulate world crises and encourage the gamers to solve these crises, as well as forcing the gamers to think creatively in order to survive in a simulated world without resources.  According to the speaker, if the gamers take the ideas and concepts presented within the game and apply them to their lives they can make a difference in the world today.  An example of this is the game that simulates a shortage of oil. Research showed that the players in the oil shortage game used less oil in their daily lives, outside of the game, than those who have never played the game.

 Within Chapter 1 of Good Reasons, "Reading and Discovering Arguments", Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer assert that it is possible to make writing more credible, informative and effective.  Their claims are supported by exploring argumentation. They define an argument in regards to writing and combine this with the expectations of writing in a college setting.  The intent of Faigley and Selzer is to effectively summarize the elements used when writing an argumentative piece, with the hopes that this will better prepare students for college level writing assignments. The authors use examples and other tools in order to make the information easy to understand for the average college student.

A blog that I enjoy following is called Smart Pretty and Awkward. It's a blog that gives tips how to be smarter, prettier and less awkward.  Each post begins with an inspirational quote.  The most recent quote that was posted is

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage” — Lao Tzu