journals = COMMENTS!!!

Hi everyone. Well, it would not be the first time this has happened, and I must apologize for the possible confusion that I have caused because of my fluid use of the term "post" to indicate a number of written actions that you can take on this web site.

A post is a new thread of discussion, essentially. Thus, a single topic, message, or prompt is considered a post.

A comment or reply is when one offers a remark under (literally, underneath) one of these larger threads. Your journal entries are essentially always going to be comments; that is, replies to the larger post-topic itself.

To publish a comment, simply click on the title of the post or on the link at the bottom of the post which appears as: "## comments". Go to the bottom of the post and you'll find a blank text box in which you can type. I would suggest typing your e-journals on MS Word before and saving them... just in case anything goes wrong with the internet or your computer. It's never a good thing to lose your work, so back it up by saving a hard copy in a folder on your hard drive.

Therefore, to clear things up please only COMMENT to the posts labeled as journals; you do not need to post a new thread of discussion in order to complete your journal entries unless told to do so.

Attn: David Tran and  Sylwia Wiecek. I have moved your posts and published them as comments under journal #1. If you'd like to copy and paste, and republish them yourselves, please do so and I will delete my entry.

Questions? Email me, or... comment to this posting!

Happy writing.

journal #1: welcome all, offer us an intro

To complete your first journal entry by commenting below you must receive a reply email from me inviting you to join. Once you have joined, please compose the following before we meet for class again this following Wednesday. In truth, this entry should take no more than fifteen minutes to complete and you may find yourself freely writing, so don't rush or limit yourself. Let this and all other writing assignments come organically and from the gut at first; you'll produce better results if you follow such advice. 

1.) State your name and the username that you've chosen as your identity on our e-journal.
2.) Answer the following prompt: Have you ever felt exiled in your life? Or, have you taken a serious journey, traveled great distances, gone on a religious retreat or pilgrimage? Tell your story briefly. If you haven't experienced exile or a journey first-hand, has a close friend or family member done so? Tell their story as if you lived it yourself. If there is no one... then explain your favorite tale or narrative of exile/journey. This favorite of yours can be from any medium of presentation; that is, a book, a movie, a musical album, etc. Which ever you choose, consider this: how were the "characters" changed by their exile and/or travels? Was their journey merely physical?


PS: In the news today I saw this article on NPR about aging, which is truly one of life's greatest journeys. Enjoy.