From being active for campaigns I believe in, like The Girl Effect, to hearing what Mr. President has to say, or even handing out valentines, I am an active rhetor. Blogging throughout the semester helped me realize all the rhetoric that is involved in my daily life, while LA 101H taught me how to better understand this rhetoric. I chose the three blogs that were best linked to rhetoric in my life.
Rhetoric is not restricted to words. Sometimes melodies can do more for a rhetor than narration. The Girl Effect blog post takes a look at the rhetoric of music. This proved to be helpful when we created out media project and needed to select music that gave off the right rhetoric feel.
When President Barack Obama came to speak at Penn State, I was lucky enough to be a volunteer at the event. Using my knowledge of rhetoric, I was then able to understand how the President motivates the United States and to find the exigency. I found the President’s rhetoric captivating, and with this experience I began to understand rhetoric on a deeper level.
On Valentine’s Day, I handed out cards to help ease the homesickness my floor mates and I were experiencing. Instead of finding the experience amusing, I found myself analyzing the rhetoric of the cards. In this experience, rhetoric was directly connected to my life, where before, even though I understood rhetoric, it was difficult for me to see myself using it.
