I'm the biggest boss that you've seen thus far.

A "boss" is someone who is the best and most dominating participant in any sort of activity. So generally speaking, I am the biggest boss in everything I do. Well, perhaps not everything, but I am certainly good at a number of activities. For instance, I can read well, text quickly, and beat at least five people I know in a foot race. There is one activity, however, that I am most definitely not a boss of yet. In fact, I might go so far as to call myself a “newb” in this category. I am, of course talking about Second Life. I could make excuses for my lack of knowledge about this world, like I've only been Second Life for about two weeks, but I know that my questions are due to the fact that I am technologically challenged. My main question is so simple it is embarassing: how do I change the appearance of my avatar?? I have read numerous articles and watched videos that are meant to teach me how to do this, but I still am unable to make my avatar's hair blonde! It is incredibly frustrating, and I feel as if I will never figure it out. I get so caught up in my frustration sometimes that I often will claim that, "This world is impossible to maneuver! I will never figure it out!" I sincerely, sincerely hope that this is an incorrect claim, and that sooner than later I will be able to give my avatar some golden locks.

Toto, we're not in high school anymore...

"Ignorance is not an excuse." Those are the words that were branded in my brain from the beginning of orientation here at the University of Richmond. When it comes to plagiarism at UR, ignorance is no excuse. When I was in high school plagiarism and paraphrasing were most definitely not taken lightly, but there were certain situations where it could be...overlooked. I still had a bibliography at the end of every paper and knew MLA citations down to a T, but if I had made a small mistake teachers generally just took a point or two off my final grade. I don't know why, but I'm pretty sure that if I make those same mistakes here I would get more than a few points deducted.

I think that even with those few "acts of kindness" on the behalf of my teachers I am already pretty well educated in the art of citing. Since being here, I have experienced my first college paper and seen that what's expected is different, but I know I can adjust. In high school, the main sources I used were passages from primary sources, which are exactly what I will be using with my Core papers. However, in both my International Relations and English classes, I am sure I will be using other sources, such as academic papers and periodicals. I have had some experience with those sources, yet I feel that I am going to have to become a bit more rehearsed in that method. For now, I will rely on my previous knowledge from high school, and I think with some practice, some trial and error, I will be able to become a great college level writer.

SL Scavenger Hunt

This week in SL we had to participate in a scavenger hunt. In small groups, we were given lists of landmarks we were to visit and take pictures of. My group and I split the list up and went our separate ways to explore the SL World. 

My first stop was my professor's house/office on Richmond Island in SL. I always love going to my professor's office because it is in such an unexpected place: the sky. I also think it is cool that he has an office in SL, because if I am for some reason unable to get to his real life office, I can just pop into his SL domain to get the help I need. It is a little hard to believe because a floating house is unrealistic, but that does not bother me. I still like it there. 

Professor Essid's Second Life House

Next, I teleported myself to the International Spaceflight Museum. By the way, that is one of my new skills, teleportation. I'm a pro now ;). Anyways the museum was great. I found out you can get on a space shuttle and go into outer space from there. How awesome is that? It's perfect for someone like me who knows they would never get a space shuttle but is still curious about the solar system. I walked around and attempted to talk to a few passersby but failed miserably. Overall though I thought the International Spaceflight Museum was the most interesting of all the places I visited.

International Spaceflight Museum

Although I had five places to visit overall, including The Theorists Project and the University of Caledon Oxbridge, I ended up back at the University of Richmond Island. I am most comfortable on this island for it is where I can recognize the most landmarks. There is a building that looks eerily similar to the Tyler Hanes Commons, and a number of buildings that tend to freak me out because I feel like I am looking at the real thing. Throughout all my travels I mastered the art of taking a snapshot (and asking peoples permission to take snapshots), and I am beginning to feel as though I know my way around SL. If anything I have the tools to get to where I want to go now. The scavenger hunt was not only fun, but very useful in helping me continue my learning of the SL world.

University of Richmond Island

The name's Caroline, but you can call me Jessi Claremont.

Second Life is a world that revolves around one main concept: identity. It's a place where people can escape to, where a 5' 2" 130-pound boy can gallivant about as a 6'4" 250-pound superhero, and where a caucasian can experience life as an african-american. It is where a typically shy individual can spread his or her wings and find an entire new world of friends and confidants. Second Life can further emphasize a person's personality traits, or it could change them altogether. Identity can be a shield and, here, it can even be a tool.

When choosing my title I had one criteria, which was that it should be a gender neutral name. The first name that popped into my head was Jesse. I began to try a choose a last name to fit with that name (everything from Wetherby to Popstar), but because Jesse was such a popular first name, I was forced to switch the spelling from an "e" to an "i." This forced concession however worked in my favor because the last name that eventually worked out, which was Claremont, looks much better to me with the "i" ending before it rather than the "e."

I am still getting used to the fact that there are now two of me. I haven't made many changes to the Second Life me, mostly because I have no idea how to change things about me, but I have figured out how to change her outfit. She was born in this ridiculous 80's looking dress that had to go, so now she sports ripped jeans and a tiny Richmond t-shirt. I like her, and although she is technically me I am still getting to know her. This is just the beginning of our relationship.

Transition to College Writing

My first few sessions of English 103, Introduction to Expository Writing, with Professor Joe Essid have felt like a splash of cold water in my face. I realized that although I did work hard on all my high school papers and usually received high marks for the work I'd done, I was given a larger margin for error and a lot more help when I encountered obstacles than I will receive here.

Initially I was worried; as I thought about it more and more and read Hjortshoj's discussion on common college student errors though, I have become more at ease. I am guilty of some of the errors that Hjortshoj mentions, like the five-paragraph footstool and the single draft final paper, but I am also a hard worker. I think that with the help of English 103 and Professor Essid I am going to be able to leave those bad habits behind.