Avatars: The Me I Always Wanted

In the new technological age, virtual reality has become a very popular part of our culture, and with these virtual realities have come virtual lives, using avatars as their representatives. Avatars are a means of expressing oneself through a different outlet. In a virtual world, a person can become whoever they want to be, no matter how accurate it may be. They are not known as the basement dweller without a job, but instead, a level 50 elf with mystical powers and lightning bolts. The word "self-portrait" is a fitting term associated with avatars because they are the representatives they see in themselves. Maybe they see someone more attractive or more heroic. A lot of people's avatars are extremely ridiculous, however, this can still act as an appropriate representation because it reveals the goofiness of the user. Avatars allow for users to do things they could only imagine doing. This dream world is what has made virtual reality so popular, especially for Jason Rowe. His physical limitations have prevented him from enjoying most of the things boys his age enjoy doing, however, through virtual reality, he has become just like everyone else in his world, a desired, yet inaccurate portrayal of themselves.

Visual Rhetoric Project

The writing of my Visual Rhetoric project did not go well on my first attempt. I was not prepared to write such a demanding essay this early in my college career, especially for an Engineering major. Although I know writing is important, I did not come to college to write essays, but instead, solve functions, learn about how things work, and to build an engineer's mind. Add this to the fact that I have yet to adjust to my workload, it was difficult to balance it with the rest of my assignment. For me, personally, I am a very slow writer because of my perfectionist mindset of wanting to make every word sound right. Overall, it was a difficult challenge that I need to improve on.

Don't Smile for the Cameras

Pictures are the visual representative of a person or family's life, however, it hardly represents the whole story. As Lenore Skenazy mentions, the pictures and videos of her child show an angel, who was always nice and happy. This is not indicative of what her child was actually like, but instead, highlights the memories that she wants to remember and the moments that she wants others to see. Through pictures, life can be altered. Most pictures consist of smiling individuals doing some fun activity or in some unique place. However, this isn't natural because how often a person actually smiles or is doing something interesting is not representative accurately by pictures. If pictures were intended to resemble life, the ratio of smiling, interesting pictures would be much smaller, compared to the pictures of real life. However, people don't wont to remember the times spent arguing or doing nothing around the house. By omitting these moments in life, one also forgets their own life and upbringing. These forgotten moments are what mold and create the individual's character. Life has become a series of photographs, all with the same smiling faces, just in different backgrounds.

Representing Reality Analysis

The reading of Ch. 14 exposes the influences that pictures, both personal and famous, have on an individual. It states how photos can persuade a viewer to act and think a certain, due to the utilization of the context that is portrayed. It shows pictures taken of the Haitians after the earthquake, revealing the desperation and tragedy that filled their lives. However, it also mentions personal photos of families, taken at the high points in a family's history to represent that family. Although these two types of photos seem like complete opposites, they both have a similar result. They each are a form of rhetoric in their own way, providing their own arguments towards their cause. In the case of the Haitian photos, they target viewers to sympathize with the Haitian people, while the family photos are meant to act as a representative for their family's history, even if isn't indicative of all of the family's history. Added to this, the reading also talks about how these family photos are what symbolize America. The pictures taken help define the character of the picture's owner. Each photograph has its own message, its own life force, that speaks to the viewer, giving them the interpretation that they see, ignoring the space in between. These interpretations given to them are what helps show the wanted history of American families, which represents America. This analysis of what a photo represents in life is dependent on the moments in life that need to be and have to be paused, no matter how honest they really are.