Nolan Firth

  Prior to SUPA Writing, my knowledge on literary analysis was slim to none. I’ve heard of people analyzing data and statistics quite often, but not so much writing or composers by individuals. With the little knowledge I had on literary analysis, I thought it was just simply summarizing something in greater depth than normal. I was utterly wrong. Summarizing would be to take ideas and project them in a more developed, meticulous way. To analyze would be to add your own thought of such elements that you are presenting upon, most times looking deeper and asking yourself “why” and “how” to reach your own conclusion.  I quickly learned how to analyze when I was given the task to pick a cover from the popular magazine, The New Yorker. I “simply” had to analyze a very jejune picture, with what seemed like little meaning behind it. At first, I simply summarized this picture in about one and half paragraphs, thinking I had completed the task. In following classes I realized that wh...

 Here , I take the time to explore a video uploaded to Tiktok by Max Euceda, a college student and fitness influencer. Euceda was accused of taking steroids to achieve his current physique. Euceda offers a rebuttal, stating that with hard work, disciple, and consistency, a body like his is achievable. 

  “Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” I constantly refer to this quote, as it stays rent free in the forefront of my mind each and every day. I mostly think of this when I enter the doors of the gym, as I come to better myself, both physically and mentally. I have gotten very serious in the gym in the past year and a half, so this topic is extremely relevant to me, and many others who work hard to better themselves in the gym.  I chose a 60 second clip of someone getting criticized about being unnatural, and taking steroids in order to achieve a desirable physique. Clearly, the critic does not have much knowledge of the gym, and what takes place in the everyday life of people who train to better themselves at an extreme level. Now I would consider myself as someone who takes lifting very seriously. I count my calories, make sure I work hard in the gym, get proper sleep, and research better foods I could be eating as well as just general tips in order...

  As I was choosing a cover from The New Yorker magazine to analyze, I kept searching for a cover I had no immediate judgement about in order to produce a better piece overall. When I arrived at “Forward Thinking” by Ian Falconer, I had no immediate judgement. I was drawn in by the simplicity of the cartoon, and what could be the motivation behind Ian Falconer to create this. As I began to dig deeper into the cartoon, I first decided to look into the publication date to see what major events were front and center at the time. This piece was produced on August 1, 2011. In 2011, some very major events occurred, more than I was aware of in fact. One of the most memorable moments for most would be the death of Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist responsible for the attack of 9/11/01. In 2011, the global population reached 7 billion. Also, consumer-level robotics began to boom. Economically speaking, there was a debt crisis occurring in the United States at the time of this publication. The ...

There comes a point and time when enough is enough. No matter how big or small the situation may escalate to be, none of us are capable of handling vast amounts of hate and not seeing an effect on our well-being. For Caster Semenya, there became a point in time where she could not handle the disbelief, hatred, and doubt others constantly gave her, leading to her having to eliminate herself from the situation outright. Caster was constantly questioned on her gender, as most people did not believe that she was a woman, simply because she was outperforming her counterparts day in and day out. Do her competitors have a just reason as to why they don’t think she is a woman? Does Caster Semenya deserve to be questioned and examined, in order to make it fair for her opponents?  “Either/Or: Sports, Sex, and the Case of Caster Semenya” by Ariel Levy, a well known journalist, seems to be about intersexcuality and sports, but could also be about just, and unjust actions. Throughout this com...

 Most of us can think back to a memorable date in our past. Maybe this specific date is your anniversary with a loved one, a birthday, or possibly even the date you bought your first home. For Alex Honnold, a professional rock climber, that memorable date is June 3, 2017. On this day, Alex climbed El Capitan, a 3,000 foot vertical rock in Yosemite National Park. This wasn't your regular rock climb. Alex free soloed this mountain, meaning he did not use any ropes, or other safety precautions. Yes, you heard that right.  Alex Honnold came up with this crazy, yet doable idea in his mind. He wanted to be the first person to free solo El Capitan. Going into this, many people have tried to do this exact climb, and Alex knew that. 25 people have fallen to their death in an attemt to climb El Capitan.  In 2015 Alex and his film crew started documenting this process of working himself up to a free solo climb. His film crew consisted of some of his very close friends in which he ha...

 Imagine that you are 50 years old working in the corporate world when all of the sudden you have an extremely unusual idea. You want to escape reality and live what to you is the perfect life. For many adults 50 and older, they look forward to watching their grand kids grow and develop, their annaul vacations, and fires with their family.  For Mario Salcedo, a single gentleman in his late 60s, his perfect life doesn't contain any of these usual ideas. He lives his life on a cruise ship. For nearly 7,000 nights (19 years), Mario has been cruising nonstop. Many employees on these cruise ships know him personally now due to the fact of how much they see him on occasion. One employee even knows his exact breakfast order and has it ready for him every morning.  Mario seems to be extremely happy. He is living his dream. Who wouldn't want to live out their life long dream?  He seems to make many friends on these cruises, with some who have the same love for cruising as him...