I have changed a great amount my first year at the University of Oklahoma. I believe my experiences these two semesters have shaped me into what I am now. This is not an easily definable change, but I believe it is a positive one. After this semester, I not only understand more about composition, but I understand things about life and my person that I never before imagined existed.

Augusto Boal, the creator of the Theatre of the Oppressed, said, “No-one can see me twice as I am, in each fleeting instant of my life, as all instants are fleeting… as is life. I will never be the same, each second that steals away from me. And similarly, those who see me now will never be the same as themselves in any two successive seconds of the trajectory of their paths through life.”

I never before understood life in this way. Every single experience, whether or not it stand out to us, we remember it, or it is a minute instance, shapes our person. This is an amazing idea, one that I will consider from this moment on. I am a different student than at the beginning of the semester. I have learned so much about writing in this short time. This is a result of my experiences in composition I and II. Thinking about my assignments, the planning I did, actually creating my work, listening to my instructor pass his wisdom onto me, and receiving feedback are among the things that made me who I am now as a writer. Without the exact way these experiences went, I would not be the exact writer that I am. I am truly thankful to understand this concept.

To miscroscope one way that I have changed because of my experiences, I will focus on my works of composition. At the beginning of my first semester, I was all about planning my work out to the smallest of detail. I had such a systematic approach to composition and English as a whole. Although this is not a bad appropoach to take on the subject, I learned that when I approach my work that way, I do not thrive. I may have felt good about my final grade, but I didn’t always get my whole point across. This is important to me because I view writing as an art. After all, it takes your whole self and all of your history and knowledge to create a paper just as it does to create another work of art. When I planned things out to a tee, I would fail to put my emotions into my work. I now understand that to create a paper (or even a blog) that I feel good about, it needs to have me in it. I still plan out my work, but in a different, not easily definable, way. This new way of doing things and this new view on life came as a result of my experiences in composition I and II.

Is frugal living important to you? In no way do I live as resourcefully as I could. I do, however, think about it often.

I think living more frugally would be a wonderful thing. I wish I were able to give up the things I don’t necessarily need. I am already careful about having extras of things I already have—I always have been that way. Except with clothes. And shoes. And makeup. And accessories. I am a young lady, after all. I NEED these things. Okay, I don’t. I realize I have a problem. When my parents or friends try to talk me out of buying things I don’t need but that I HAVE to have, I hit them with, “But I EARNED this money. I serve my country and make good grades and I do this and that to deserve it, and if I wait to buy it, I may not have the money…” They can’t come up with a good enough way to counter those brilliant excuses! About my problem…Is it really a problem? I mean, we work to make money. Why do we want this money? To have the things we need. And WANT. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t live an overly-privileged life. I was given a second-hand car (not by my parents) and it counted as a gift for every holiday for that year. I am putting myself through college. I have to work for what I have. I don’t have a lot of extra things compared to many people my age that I know. Nevertheless, I do spend money on things I don’t need.

Living a completely frugal life would be immensely satisfying. I would be happy to reduce my spending, and my need to “keep up with the Joneses.” It would leave me less stressed, more prepared and wealthier. But how far should this giving things up go exactly? Okay, so I can live without buying anymore shoes for a while, and I don’t need another pair of expensive sunglasses. But beyond the extras like that, what should I do without? I can buy used things like textbooks, furniture, etc from now on. Doing away with the little things like buying bottled water or soda will make a big difference. Comparison shopping will also help a great amount. I can give up going out as much, and instead find cheap entertainment.

Doing these things will allow me to save money and enable me to be well-prepared for my future. What measures do you take to live frugally?

I chose to go 24 hours without my laptop and Facebook. This proved to be a difficult task. Since it is the dawn of finals, I constantly needed to check my syllabi and review online study materials. I live in Adams, so every time I needed to do these things, I had to go to the Walker computer lab. Even when I did go to the computer lab, I did not use Facebook. I also did not read the Facebook notifications that are sent to my Blackberry via email.

I have my OU email synced to an email client on my laptop, so normally when I get a message, I am instantly notified. It was difficult to go without that comfort. It was more than annoying to have to go to the computer lab to check my email throughout the day. I am not really a Facebook junkie, so refraining from it was not too much of a problem.

Although less convenient than simply using my personal laptop, only using the computer lab and abstaining from Facebook turned out to be a good experience. I spent a LOT less time online and in my dorm, which was a nice change. I was motivated to get many things done at once so I would not have to make trips back to Walker. I got to talk with people I know but do not normally see outside of class when I was in the lab. I also had a LOT more free time.

I think Wendell Berry’s opinion in his article "Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer" is understandable. He chooses not to own a computer because it wouldn’t do anything positive for him. He would rather not rely on energy corporations at all. He relies on his wife to type and edit his work, and a computer would interfere with his relationship with her. He doesn’t think that a computer could make him better at what he does. I see his points plainly, but he lives a more frugal life than most people today. If I were able to rely less on technology, I would choose to. I would NOT choose to live without a computer, however. My laptop is a crucial part of my life because of college. I am reliant on it right now, and I would rather not ever go without one simply because they are convenient.

I am glad I spent a day without my laptop and Facebook. The Internet was not readily available to me, so I managed my assignments better, got my work done faster when I did go to the computer lab, spent more time with people than normal, and had much more free time. Abstaining from Facebook allowed me a couple of free hours that I normally spend catching up with friends and their statuses and pictures.

I am OUTRAGEOUSLY thankful for my oh-so-useful laptop, and I am not going without one anytime soon.