Another Interview

So I conducted my fourth interview today! It was great because the guy that I interviewed was an Anthropology major! He was great! He was not to excited to be interviewed at first, but I was charming, so he came around.  He does not really come to the library that much, pretty much only when he needs to, but that's ok. He is a senior, and is very academically disciplined, he is not like most kids who come to the library and plan to study but end up spending most of their time on facebook.  He was very nice, and was  the first person I interviewed that was a complete stranger. I was really nervous! I still feel really awkward asking people all of these questions. 

He was also the first person that I interviewed that was not a freshman. This made his situation totally different from everyone else that I have interviewed, because it is a lot more convenient for freshman whole live on campus to come to the library- but he has to make an effort to go to the library to study and work. I think this is why he is so much more productive than most other students that come here, he even said that when he comes here he "comes for a purpose, so I works the whole time." For students who live on campus coming to the library is not as much of a deal because it is a simple couple minute walk from south campus.  So people come to the library to socialize more when they live on campus I think, when they live off campus- I think those are more productive students (this is just a generalization).

revised second interview

So I had an original script and I realized after I did one interview that it was a little to vague. Then I read my script out loud in class and the entire class gave me some really productive feedback. They came up with a lot of other questions that I hadn't really gotten when I was making up my own questions. I had good starter questions, but then I did not really have any follow through questions.

I still feel really shy to go up to a complete stranger and start interviewing them. So for my second interview I interviewed an acquaintance. This I think was a god way to start because I can build up my confidence to making a good interview- so that for my next interview who I promise will be a complete stranger- I will be able to have all the kinks worked out and I will be able to have a smooth conversation with that person.  

After already completing two interviews, I am realizing that this project is going to be a harder than I had originally thought. I still notice that people mostly come with computers, and people think that they are spending their time wisely- but they all usually end up on facebook, or playing some type of game. The computer is really important to have because so many classes put homework, study-guides and your grades online that you really need one to keep up. So my conclusion is that having a computer is essential but also very distracting. 

Interviewing

So I conducted my first interview today. I was shy, so I interviewed a friend. She was willing to help, and this was a good way for me to start out. I was able to build some confidence with the first interview, I am easing my way into this assignment. I am nervous to go up to complete strangers and just start interviewing them. That is just a little weird for me. I do not know, I just feel like a creeper when I am like "Hey I am studying the social environment of this area- can I interview you?".  I know it is not really that weird, but I just feel slightly uncomfortable. So to try to make myself more comfortable I interviewed an acquaintance first.

I do find the results of the interview interesting, besides my previous statements. I think that it is interesting that people do become territorial of their spaces. Some people are more than others. For example I have noticed that some people always come to the third floor to study- but not necessarily in the same spot. Some people need to study in the same spot every time, but others just come to study on the third floor- it does not really matter where. I think it is kind of amusing that people become so territorial over a public place. 

I have also noticed that people stick together and rarely branch out to talk to new people. The only way people talk to others is generally if they have a question and realize that they are both studying the same topic. 

interviewing

So now that I have been at my designated area, I have to begin to form questions for interviews. I am some what nervous for the actual interview. There is a good variety of people for me to interview here, but I am not really sure what to expect out of the interview. I know that they people that I will be interviewing will be working for the most part, and they probably won't mind answering some questions for me, but I am interested to see how people respond- how similar or different their answer will be. I also hope that they don't think I am a creeper for asking them so many questions. I feel like the interview is so thorough, I think I might have to try to focus more on certain topics, not as many personal questions. Personal questions make me as an interviewer feel awkward and I think that they will make the person answering feel awkward. So I think I am going to try to ask a lot of questions, but make it slightly informal, I think that way people will feel more comfortable answering questions, and in return may tell me more because they feel more comfortable. I do not want it to sound like I am not going to ask all the necessary questions because I will, I just want to make the person who is answering my questions feels comfortable so they will tell me more. I also don't want to seem like a creeper, so I will try to be professional and chill, if possible.

Does anyone else feel slightly creepy with this project?

Field Project

So I have been working on this project for a while now. I am studying the 3rd floor in the W. T. Young Library in between the cores. I have noticed that the more people come the later the night goes on. I have also noticed that people generally come in at least pairs to study. Most people also bring computers, and the work varies from groups of individuals working together to groups of individuals working separately. This place is suppose to be an area to work quietly but the later the night goes on the more noisy it becomes. People also in general basically stick to their table unless they see someone they know then they leave there table to talk then come beck to their original table to study. I haven't really noticed any regulars. I have noticed that people generally come in comfy clothes. These are most of my first general observations of the area. 

I think that people feel safe here but they do not really consider it a cosmopolitan canopy. In a cosmopolitan canopy there is a variety of people (which the library has), but the area is generally more inviting (the library is somewhat secular). Most people stay at there respective tables and generally do not move to meet new faces. I think that each study table is in its own little world.  

The Handmaid's Tail

This book was a little hard for me to start. I was having a little trouble following the plot and keeping focus, but the more I read the more I was able to understand. I also found Margaret Atwood's writing style interesting.  She has very bold and strong statements. A small passage that I found interesting was: 

"But a chair, sunlight, flowers: these are not to be dismissed. I am alive, I live, I breathe, I put my hand out, unfolded, into the sunlight. Where I am is not a prison but a privilege, as Aunt Lydia said, who was in love with either/or."

This passage stuck out blatantly to me because of her use of very powerful verbs and strong visuals. I think this passage is great! I especially love when she says that "Where I am is not a prison but a privilege".  This statement has more of an impact because of the alliteration between prison and privilege. It is also a more powerful statement because those two words have completely different meanings, and very negative and positive connotations. 

In the beginning of this statement she states objects that people often take for granted. However the only object that doesn't really correlate to life is the chair. The other two (sunlight and flower) are both very related to survival on earth.  The sunlight is vital for the flower to grow, and for life to continue where a chair can just help someone when they need a break from life I guess.

I just love her use of vocabulary with words like love, privilege, prison, alive and live.  She creates nice visuals that provoke thought throughout the reading.