A Self Appreciation: My Personal Stereo - Essay Example

Essay #1: The Artifact Essay Goal The goal of the artifact essay is for you to explain to an audience what a particular artifact means to you and (more importantly) why. Context In America (and many other countries), people are consumers of goods and resources.  We buy stuff--lots of it.  We need some of it.  We don't need most of it.  However, we are often conditioned to want it no matter what.  Your essay will explore ONE item that you have PURCHASED that carries significant meaning for you. Assignment Write an essay that shows your peers and your instructor what significant meaning a PURCHASED item has for you.  Focus your essay on ONE item and its meaning to you.  Be sure that this item is something that YOU bought-- don't use a family heirloom or a hand-me-down. Turn in the assignment on time.  Late essays will be penalized. Focus the essay on the item and why it's so important to you.  While some very brief narration of the time you acquired the item might be appropriate, you won't be doing much storytelling (unless the act of acquiring this particular item is why it's so significant).  You should be focusing on the item itself and why it's so meaningful to you. It’s up to you to choose an artifact to write about.  Your item can be something hugely important, or some everyday item that you have become accustomed to having/using and is therefore significant in your life.  Just remember, that this essay needs to stay focused on the item and why it's so special,  and that item needs to be something that you have purchased yourself. Requirements 3 pages minimum (in MLA Format). Essays must be at least 3 pages in the proper format. Stay specific to ONE item.  That means not focusing on a collection of items or an event or experience...think about THINGS! Show critical thinking and reflection.  Focus on what the item is AND why it is so significant to you.  This "why" portion is the most important aspect of your explanation.  Remember  that this is supposed to be about one item that YOU purchased yourself. Tips The temptation with this assignment is to tell a long story that involves the artifact.  That is NOT what we want here.  Instead, you should be writing ABOUT the item itself and WHY it's so important. Don’t write about anything you don’t feel comfortable sharing with the members of your class. Stay focused on the artifact and why it's so important Due date Turn all drafts of your essay in on time—watch Angel for due dates. Outcomes This assignment is intended to help you learn to: develop a process for narrowing your subject matter write a thesis-driven academic essay follow the grammar and punctuation rules of Standard Edited English use a variety of sentence structures to create clear, complex, college-level prose provide useful, constructive feedback to your peers on their writing effectively use feedback from your peers and your instructors to improve your writing  Evaluation This essay will be evaluated using the Artifact Essay Grading Rubric. One of the most pervasive elements of contemporary American existence is the act of consumerism. Whether consumerism emerges as a by-product of the capitalist system or simply because citizens in the United States have much expendable income, the simple fact is that it is an essential motivation for nearly all citizens. Indeed, consumerism has also become a prominent aspect of my own life. When I consider things I have purchased, I recognize that many of them were done out of a desire to participate in this consumer culture. Some of these items, I use every day, dispose every day, and enjoy every day. But with a lot of things in my, there is one thing that I really enjoy and appreciate a lot more than anything else. Even as there were many such items I purchased, I believe the item that I value the most is my personal stereo system. There are many reasons why my personal stereo system carries a high level of value for me. Of course, perhaps the most outward reason is that the stereo system has a high amount of use and also had a high amount of monetary value. I have purchased it using my oen money which I have saved for a long time. It doesn’t cost that costly like the high end branded stereo system, but for a person like me, it didn’t cost any cheap either. And so, the value for money that I enjoy through this personal stereo system makes it valuable for me who directly spent on it with my own savings since I would be the one who will be directly enjoy the benefits of my personal stereo system. As a prominent reason I appreciate it is the nature of the stereo system as exemplifying the money I saved to purchase it. In these regards, the stereo system embodies all the hard work and prudent saving I had to go through in order to purchase it. It does not give me a hard time figuring out how it should work. All I have to do is to plug my mp3 player in it and it plays automatically. It does not have a separate user interface so I am a bit familiar with how to make it work while controlling the mp3 instead of the stereo. Another consideration is that the personal stereo system has a sleek look. I enjoy this look as it fills my room and adds to the general decor of the place. My personal stereo system looks like a furnished wood with stereos stuck inside it. It looks sleek and sexy when I put in inside my room which adds to the whole decoration of the room. It goes well with my taste for furniture and it complements the way my room exhibits a high school themed room. It’s interior decoration aspect to the room makes it. In addition, having a personal stereo system in one’s room seems to send a message to visitors that I care about music, and that it can build an environment that is for recreation and for relaxation. Through this stereo system I am able to connect my mp3 player and fill the room with whatever music I am listening to at the time. This aspect of music is highly important to my life as it creates an atmospheric feel in the room and helps me relax. If I want to feel as if I want to be in a club, I can select an R&B song and turn the stereo’s in a bass synchronization so it becomes very clubby inside my room. I can switch to a disco song and the stereo exemplifies the sound and it’s automatically disco nights inside my room. If I am in a sentimental mood, the stereo system exemplifies the mood and makes the atmosphere conditioned to my mood. So does it when I am happy, when I am sad and others. I also enjoy that the stereo system has a record player built in with it. The record player, while old, plays music that sounds slightly different than the mp3 player. Whenever I have friends over it is very enjoyable for me to be able to play records and simply talk with my friends around. It feels as if it sends us back in the 70’s where they used record players. With this, the stereo system functions as the medium for many of my social events at home when I invite my friends over for a party or even if I am enjoying my time alone. This is another aspect that greatly makes me appreciate my purchase of the stereo system. While there are a number of use functions that the stereo system has for me, I also recognize that there are elements of the stereo system that I enjoy that have nothing to do with listening to music. I have mentioned earlier that its look decorates the room. It can become a topic of stories when some friends come over to my place. Finally, I have been with my personal stereo system and using it to listen to Christian music. Christian songs have interested me a lot because many songs nowadays are focused on hate, jealousy, anger, and negative feelings. When I hear the Christian music in it, you know it because of the lyrics; you will get many lessons in Christian music. The topics on other songs are inclined to hate, jealousy and such but with Christian songs, it gives the mind a moment to think, and when you put it down it can make evil thoughts disappear. These lessons from music have a lot more to offer when exemplified by the embodiment of the stereo system even if the listener has a different way of life. In conclusion, this essay has examined consumerism and the nature of value in terms of a specific item. The specific item that I purchased which has the most value for me is my personal stereo system. It’s demonstrated that the personal stereo system has many uses, such as listening to music and relaxing that contribute to my appreciation of it. In addition, the stereo system is valued because it exemplifies the hard work and dedication I accomplished in saving and purchasing the item. Read More