Getting to Know Ally

Hello, fellow classmates! I am super excited to be getting to know you all throughout this class and look forward to your feedback.

1) Introduce yourself. Tell us a bit about who you are.

My name is Allyson Masterson, but often people just call me by the nickname, Ally. I will probably sign off on these blogs as Ally, but I honestly have no preference which version of my name you use to refer to me. I am an upcoming senior and working towards a Secondary Education degree with a concentration in English 🎒. I am very excited for the next Spring semester so I can start my student teaching and am eagerly awaiting my graduation 🎓. 

My extra-curricular activities consist mostly of being the Vice President of the Delta Psi chapter of the educational honors society, Kappa Delta Pi (KDP). I was also lucky enough to be initiated into the English honors society, Sigma Tau Delta, this past Spring. As you could probably tell, I am very dedicated to my studies and my fields of interest; however, on my off times, I highly enjoy watching movies 🎥, listening to the latest bops on the radio 🎧, and trying to widdle down my 'To Be Read' list 📚. This last hobby is a never-ending battle of reading books as much as I add them to the list 😅, but after this Summer session, I expect to see the list shrink significantly. 

2) Why are you taking this class? What do you hope to learn or gain from it, specifically in terms of your writing? (Even if you are just taking it because you need the credits, you should still push yourself to write about some thoughtful goals.)

I am taking this class as a way of practicing and expanding upon the writing skills I had learned in my English 377 tutoring class last Spring (Hello, Lee 😁!). Even though this class is a requirement for my degree, I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to actively continue to use the skills I gained from that class over the break between semesters. I heard in my 101 and 102 classes that the best way to get better at writing was to practice, practice, practice. 

My goal for this class is to learn how to actively practice writing, and to accept criticism better. I tend to get too close to my writing sometimes, so when people give me feedback it feels super personal. My goal is to get better at accepting criticism and use those suggestions to build better end products :). 

3) Talk about some memorable internet “texts” you have interacted with—even if that just means they’ve made you laugh or think a lot. They don’t have to be your favorites—just talk about whatever comes to your mind. 

Lately, since I have been trucking through my "To Be Read' list and catching up with shows on Netflix, I have wasted many an hour on Pinterest finding funny memes or pictures that relate to the books I have read and shows I've watched. Here is a couple of my favorites:

These pertain to a show that recently came out on Netflix that is based on the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows book series, called Shadow and Bone. Since I loved the books so much, I couldn't resist looking at what people came up with about the show.

This one was inspired by my recent dalliance with rewatching the Naruto series. I can't really explain why I chose to rewatch it-- possibly due to nostalgia, maybe to connect with my younger brother, or just because I was vibing with it at the time. In any case, I love the wording of this one ;).

So as some of you may already know, I am a fan of the Kpop group BTS. Recently they have released a new single called "Butter." It has been doing fairly well in the charts and is remarkable because of its lyrics being sung in all English much like their previous hit "Dynamite." I am constantly impressed by how much simply a picture can convey a whole story. For this reason, I will forever be fascinated by memes and posts like this.

Thank you all for reading through to the end of the post. I have never done a blog like this before, so I am excited to navigate the many formatting options and improving on my tech skills.

-Ally