In the day and age of advanced technology, different terminologies and slang can spread like wildfire via texting, social media, and other various internet platforms. A perfect example of this is the popularization of the term “yeet.” This word has been brought up in multiple contexts throughout the past five years.

Originally, yeet was coined by a popular Vine user by the name of David Banna in a short seven-second video he created. It features one of his friends asking him to “try and give his mixtape a listen,” so David decides to check it out for a second. He immediately realizes the selection of songs is not to his liking and throws the CD as far as he can, exclaiming “YEET!” mid-throw. This video took the Internet by storm and users across the world started using the term in their own lives. On April 11, 2014, Urban Dictionary officially posted yeet as a slang term with a definition reading: “to violently throw an object that you deem to be worthless, inferior or just plain garbage. It is not uncommon for the person participating in this act to yell the word, “YEET!” at the top of his or her lungs, notifying all surrounding individuals in the area that said object is useless.” Here, we see the first interpretation of yeet that is still used today in its original form. Throughout the rest of the year, this video was reenacted by multiple “Viners” (Vine’s popular content creators) and gained millions of views. The original video has resurfaced on YouTube here:

Around the same time frame, yeet was also exploding in popularity as a dance technique involving the dipping of one’s shoulders in alignment with a beat. On March 20, 2014, Vine user Jasmine Nicole uploaded a video of a boy doing a dance to a small crowd around him chanting “yah, yeet” rhythmically, shown here:

This video gave millions of people laughs and the inevitable memes and parody videos started popping up all over –

In these instances, yeet was being used as an exclamatory phrase indicating excitement and/or positivity. This differed from the world’s previous interpretation of the word, but that didn’t stop anyone from enjoying it. This version of the word even made its way into popular sports; for example, when crossing up an opposing player in basketball, a player may exclaim, “YEET!” to emphasize the faking motion and one-up their opponent. Another basketball situation in which yeet may be exclaimed is when taking a highly unlikely shot – say, for instance, the shot clock is about to hit zero but you’re nowhere near the paint so you have to throw your half-court 360 special in order to win. In doing so, you may find yourself yelling “YEET!” in a Y.O.L.O.-esque fashion.

Summatively, yeet has become a slang term used primarily in an exclamatory fashion. Multiple meanings have sprung from its original Vine video posted by David Banna and they can each be interpreted via the context the word was used.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed writing. Whether it’s a short made-up story, a history essay, or a simple summary of something I experienced, I more often than not enjoyed writing it. Recently, I uncovered one of my writing journals from my first and second grade years and I was intrigued to find out what I had written about back then. Upon reading just a few entries, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia as I heard my favorite song from back then. I found a story I wrote with my sister about a bear that could talk and drive a flying car from a video game I used to play. Shortly after, I found a journal entry from the day I saw my first 3D movie. It even had a date scribbled on it, reading 11-22-10. This discovery uncovered my earliest memories of writing. Time flies.

Image of the journal: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/321345128843313152/541887870495883265/20190203_234646.jpg

In recent years, I’ve come to learn how much I enjoy writing. I know my abilities aren’t crazily unique or special, but I feel proud when I successfully formulate a structure of words that fully encompasses the message I’m trying to get across. I always take time to choose words that fit best, but often slow my writing down drastically in doing so. Sometimes this isn’t an issue, but other times I run into roadblocks trying to find words that explain exactly what I’m trying to say. For this reason, I welcome expansions to my vocabulary and enjoy finding new ways to phrase things. The more I learn, the better I’ll be able to elaborate on what I’m thinking and develop my writing skills further. I think writing will be a big part of my future. Maybe not as an author or journalist, but it will definitely be the key to my success in whatever career I end up pursuing.

I think writing has the power to influence almost any aspect of my life. It can most strongly impact what type of job I get, as my resume and the level of professionalism I present my thoughts at will determine the quality of job I am accepted into. Not only can it impact my career, but also my daily life. If I lack writing ability, I would be missing out on the deeper meanings behind certain quotes and references. Writing and reading are tied closely together, so the more I read, the more I’ll be able to understand complex concepts and recreate them in my own words. Having an expansive vocabulary would allow me to express my feelings and thoughts to the fullest. Regarding how writing impacts me, I feel there is tons of room for improvement in the way I write. My writing structure gets repetitive and I often default to the same few transitions and generalized vocabulary. Because of this, I sometimes poorly represent myself due to lack of writing experience. In taking English 101, I hope to become an improved writer so that I can do better in all of my classes in the future. Regardless of where I end up, writing will be a crucial aspect that determines how well I do. But, learning how to branch off from my own partially repetitive style is challenging. While I want to improve in literacy, I find it difficult to see writing and reading from a new angle. I’ve always had a hard time comprehending readings and I am a very slow reader. Overcoming these challenges is a demanding task but I plan on doing so this year. Once I understand writing techniques, actually applying them to different situations is enjoyable to me. But the comprehensive part that must come before that still proves to be a challenge. I want to break the ice this year and drastically improve with my writing because it’ll only become more difficult from here on out. As I go further up the college class chain and take higher level courses, more complex writing will be required. Having to research how to write and constantly relearn along the way will put a huge dent in the rate at which I would be able to complete assignments. My goal for this year is to become as much of an efficient writer as possible.

Chapter 1: “They Say”

Graff and Berkenstein discuss one of the most important aspects of writing – addressing what “they say.” In this chapter, they inform the reader that when constructing an argument (or even a general statement,) one must cite the relative context around why they are making their claim. The anecdote these two use to help explain this idea fits perfectly, as a speaker made a claim that the audience thought no one refuted. Throughout the speaker’s argument, they became puzzled because the critics’ claims against the proposed argument had not been stated. The speaker only referenced them after the fact, and only then was the audience able to make more sense of his/her argument.

What I learned:

Prior to reading this chapter, I hadn’t really thought about approaching an argument in this way. I also learned various methods of doing so through the templates given in the text.

Chapter 2: “Her Point is”

This chapter emphasizes the importance of viewing both sides of the story when writing a claim. If a writer were to forge a biased summary of their opposition, not only would they misrepresent the other side of the argument, but they would also discredit their own argument as it is clearly biased and doesn’t refute the opposition properly. By stepping in the other side’s shoes, one can properly summarize in order to provide proper information.

A challenge I see with this:

I think a roadblock in my writing may come up in doing this. Because it requires me to write both regarding the opposing side appropriately and in the context of my own claim at the same time, I see myself having a hard time adding this to my writing from now on.

Chapter 3: “As He Himself Puts it”

This chapter encourages writers to utilize quotations in the most efficient way possible. It argues that many writers will often leave out vital context to a quote, leaving readers confused on its meaning. This issue can also reveal bias, as some writers may pick out specific words from a larger statement in effort to twist the meaning of a quote to their advantage. This is an issue that must be avoided in any form of writing to maintain credibility.

My takeaway: I am still curious on where to draw the line between providing proper context and overanalyzing a quote. I know that providing context and information is beneficial, but I don’t know how to tell if I’m ever reading “too hard” between the lines or trying to see something that isn’t there.

In reading Ways of Seeing by John Berger, I became exposed to the realities of photography and how it can take away from an object’s physical presence. Seeing something on a digital screen can be a completely different experience than seeing it in real life. For example, a photograph of a huge waterfall posted on the Internet may be pretty, but a screen does not reveal the massive scale one would experience in real life, nor does it provide the scents one would smell in its presence. Without these two physical aspects, individuals’ impressions of these landmarks may be misled as they were unable to experience them in their true beauty. While the Internet allows for us to see anything from anywhere at any time, we lose out on the world’s physical aspects because the virtual world cannot provide them. These principles also apply to the world of art. “Originally paintings were an integral part of the building for which they were designed. Sometimes in an early Renaissance church or chapel one has the feeling that the images on the wall are records are records of the building’s interior life, that together they make up the building’s memory – so much are they part of the particularity of the building. The uniqueness of every painting was once part of the uniqueness of the place where it resided.” Paintings used to be unique to the life of certain buildings – but once photographs came into play, they lost that individuality and became viewable anywhere at any time. Each of these reproductions lessens the mental and emotional experience the creator had in mind when fabricating their masterpiece. Without taking in the sensory triggers in the physical atmosphere around the painting, its value is diluted. Without being able to see how the brush strokes interact with the lighting, its uniqueness is discounted. Without being able to see how the colors fade into one another and contrast each other, its individuality is lessened. Without being able to experience the painting interacting with its surroundings, its identity is changed. When people photograph paintings that would otherwise only be available when in the presence of their respective building, an alternate perception of the painting is created. Seeing it in real life may offer a completely different experience than in a simple digital photograph. This blurs artists’ intentions behind their work in the chaotic storm of media shared all around the globe. When we perceive their works differently, we lose valuable insight on a message they may have been trying to get across regarding the surroundings. We also lose possible connections that could be made, for example, an artist may have chosen to create his painting for a specific landscape, envisioning its texture in tandem with the cold, jagged rocks of the physical setting surrounding it.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton