WP1: Rough Draft 2

I don't know the girl in the photograph. And I probably never will.

But she and I share a connection. Both of our lives have been affected by cancer.

My Grandpa died of lung cancer before I was born. I never had a chance to meet him. To play sports, celebrate holidays or enjoy his hand picked Christmas presents. He was taken from me by a terrible disease, and left me in this world without a grandparent.

And like me, it's possible that this mother could also lose someone that she loves. Her beautiful little girl could die from cancer.

Cancer contributes to 23.1% of all human deaths in the United States. To put that number in comparison, that's more than the number of people who die from diabetes, influenza, alzheimers and all other unintentional accidents combined.

And unfortunately, thousands die every year from cancer that could have been prevented. Movements like the pink ribbon campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer are working to change that, but it's just a start. Too many people don't know or underestimate the danger of cancer. Instead of getting into the doctor's office for simple tests that could save their lives, many only get it when symptoms begin to appear, and by than it is too late. They are lost to those around them, just like my grandpa. And that is a tragedy.

But let's be honest. It's hard to connect with raw information and statistics. Sometimes you need something more to get through to people. That is why this photograph of a young girl fighting cancer, with her mother by her side is so important. Unlike a number, this image puts a face on cancer and it's effect on the world.

At first glance, you probably notice that this girl has no hair and that she has IV's coming out of her arms. This is a common side effict of chemotherapy, a costly treatment used to fight cancer. But when you look beyond her initial apperance and gaze into her eyes, you begin feel a human connection. It's like she is looking back at you. They say the eyes are a window into a person's soul. And when you look inside the soul of this little girl, you begin to feel like she could be your daughter or younger sister. A member of your family. All of a sudden, you begin to care.

This is classic pathos, appealing to our emotions and making us feeling something. We feel compassion and even pity for the girl and her mother. Many of us probably are probably reminded of our own families when we see such genuine affection in a picture. And when we can relate to the characters in an image, half of the argument is already won.

This photograph also argues it’s point through logos and it’s arrangement of the photograph. The daughter laying her head on the mom's shoulder, with her mother's hand pressed against her back is a classic demonstration of love. They look happy in this picture. Happy simply to be together. Happy just because they are alive. They don't have to say this with words, because we can see it in their body language.

Body language often communicates our deepest feelings. Anyone can form the vocalize the words "I love you." But the affection shown in this picture can't be replicated or faked. The human smile is a universal symbol for happiness, and in this case a picture is worth a thousand words.

Instead of focusing on the bad, this photograph focuses on what little good there is in a situation like this. There is a contrast the two brave people we in the foreground, somehow making it through another day with a positive attitude; and the dark, blurry and uncertain world around them. It’s classic good versus evil, hope over despair. By refusing to be defined by the difficult circumstances around them, they are an inspiration to anyone looking at the picture.

This picture is a reminder not to take life for granted. And the world certainly needs a reminder. Statistics show that millions of people young and old will have cancer in their lifetime. Yet the warning often goes unheard or boldly ignored, especially by young people. To understand this, we have to look at the context at which the average college student is coming from. Because students are generally pretty healthy, care free and disinterested in the future, it’s hard to really think about something like cancer. For us, it's all about today and what's happening over the weekend.

But a picture like this can bring us back down to Earth. Connecting with this girl and feeling compassion to her situation makes us think. What if this happened to me? What if cancer took away someone that I care about?

So many of us take our lives for granted. We waste precious moments that we will never get back. I mean think about it, when was the last time you genuinely stopped and thought about someone else’s needs? When was the last time you genuinely helped a stranger or even a friend?

Do we need some sort of award or incentive stop being selfish for a few minutes? Why is it that in a country where we have so much, we have so much trouble giving even just a little back? Look at how lucky we are to be living in a country like America with the opportunities that we have. Why don’t we do something with it?

This picture really puts things in perspective. For this mother and her daughter, life isn’t about the next vacation or what hot new toy you want to buy next. It’s about surviving, and keeping close to you the only thing that matters.

Compare that with your own life, and what do you see? Are you living your life to it’s fullest potential? Do you appreciate all of the people around you? In short, could you be doing better?

Life is short. So make the most of it. And if you get lost along the way, maybe this girl can help you find the light.

WP1: Rough Draft 1

I don't know the girl in the photograph. And I probably never will.

But she and I share a connection. Both of our lives have been affected by cancer.

My Grandpa died of lung cancer before I was born. I never had a chance to meet him. To play sports, celebrate holidays or enjoy his hand picked Christmas presents. He was taken from me by a terrible disease and left me in this world without a grandparent.

Then again when I was 8 years old, brain cancer took the life of my grandmother. I never had a chance to say goodbye because we were living overseas. It just wasn't right.

Unfortunately, I am not alone. Cancer contributes to 23.1% of all human deaths in the United States. To put that number in comparison, that's more than the number of people who died from diabetes, influenza, alzheimers and all other unintentional accidents combined. But that's just a statistic. And it's hard to connect with a statistic. Which is why this photograph of a young girl fighting cancer, with her mother by her side is so important.

From what we can see, it appears that this girl is being treated for cancer and fighting for her life. Unlike a number, this image puts a face on cancer and it's effect on America. When you look into the girls eyes, you feel a human connection. That's the argument I feel the photographer was trying to make when he took the picture.

The first thing I noticed when looking at this photograph is that there is no color. And I believe this was done to show the seriousness of the picture. But despite the technical aspects of the photograph, the moment it captures is filled with color. You can see and feel the love shared between a sick daughter and her mom. They care about each other. They trust each other. They would do anything for each other.

I also thought it was interesting how the photographer arranged the mom and her daughter in this picture. The daughter laying on her shoulder, with her mother's hand pressed against her back is a classic demonstration of love. They look happy in this picture. Happy simply to be together. Happy just because they are alive.

There is a contrast between the daughter and mother in the foreground, and the world behind them. Rather than include a hospital scene with nurses and medications, we instead see a dark out of focus background. I believe this represents all of the negative stuff this family is probably going through. There is no mention of costly chemotherapy, no hospital bed for the little girl to be confined to or nurse waiting with her next dose of pills.

Instead of focusing on the bad, this photograph focuses on what little good there is in this picture. And that's a smile, a smile that shows hope. The focus of the picture is on two brave people, somehow making it through another day with a positive attitude. They are refusing to be defined by the difficult circumstances around them. In just a simple frame, they are sending a deep and lasting message.

Despite statistics that show millions of young people will die from cancer in our lifetime, somehow the message often goes ignored. And to understand why this is, we must look at context. As college students, we are generally pretty healthy, care free and disinterested in the future. It's all about today and what's happening on Friday. It's not really our fault. It's just the care free world a lot of us live in.

But a picture like this can bring us crashing back down to Earth. Seeing the pain on this girl's face and knowing what she has been through, it makes us think. What if this happened to me? What if cancer attacked someone that I care about?

Perhaps this photograph is not only a call to be aware of cancer in the world. Maybe it is also a warning, that bad things can happen to anyone. Even you. If an innocent little girl can be chosen as the victim of such a terrible disease, who is to say it couldn't happen to you? And as much as we would love to look at the positives in a picture like this and hope that the girl will be ok, we also have to look at the facts. People die from cancer. She might die from cancer. Thousands do every single year.

So many people out there take their lives for granted. They waste precious moments that they will never get back. How often do we stop and think about someone else? How often do we do something for another person just because we can. It seems like that most of us, we need some sort of award or incentive to really get involved in the community. Why is it that in a country where we have so much, we have so much trouble giving even just a little back?

But I think this story can change that. This picture can you make reconsider the course that you are on. When we look at our lives, and compare them side by side with the face we see in this picture, maybe it will make us think. Our we living our lives to their full potential? Are we appreciating all of the people around us? In short, could we be doing even better?

Life is short. And the best things about life often get overlooked. Maybe this girl will send you a message. Maybe this girl will show you the light

WP1 - Statement of Purpous

My Grandpa died of lung cancer before I was born. I never had a chance to meet him. To play sports, celebrate holidays or enjoy his hand picked Christmas presents. He was taken from me by a terrible disease and left me in this world without a grandparent.

When I was 8 years old, cancer struck again and took the life of my grandmother. She had brain cancer. I was living overseas at the time, so I never had a chance to say goodbye. I had to hear about it over the phone instead. It just wasn't right.

Unfortunately, I am not alone. One of my best friends in college is a guy named Andrew. He's a really relaxed and fun person, and I love to hang out with him. And while he's pretty good at hiding it from most people, I know that he has an enormous weight on his shoulders. It affects him everyday, and makes it difficult to enjoy his life. For the past year, his mom has been fighting breast cancer.

Stories like this are the reason that I chose my photograph, and will guide me and give me purpous as I write about it. People need to understand why this picture is important. Why the people in this picture are important.

Millions of people have died from cancer, and millions more have had their lives damaged because of the people it has taken away from us. Cancer has caused death in people that are very important to me. That is why I want to inform others about about the risks and dangers associated with cancer. Connecting with this photograph I hope will be the first step.

In order to do this, I need to consider when writing my primary audience. While our class is small, informing even one young person about this disease is very important. And who knows, maybe they will decide to get involved and do something about it! Every dollar donated to cancer programs brings us closer to finding a cure. Every hour volunteered with cancer victims can make a huge difference in someone's life. And every person that decides to get screened, or tells someone close to them like their mother or husband to get screened, can potentially save a life.

Unfortunately, I also have to remember the context that most of my readers will be coming from. As college students, we are generally pretty healthy, care free and disinterested in the future. It's not really our fault, it's just the way that we are.

A lot of college students are also breaking free from the restraints of childhood, and might avoid anything that makes them feel less independent. We want to be strong and survive on our own, so going to the doctor seems silly and can take away that feeling.

Because of this, it will be important for my writing to relate to the students in my class on an emotional and personal level. They need to understand the fear that cancer victims feel when they are diagnosed. They need to have empathy for the emotional pain cancer causes.

I also need to put cancer in context for my readers. It probably seems like something that will never happen to you. But facts are facts. And the fact is, millions of Americans have died from cancer. Chemotherapy and other cancer treatments cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. It's aso true that a completely healthy person, college student or even a child can fall victim to this disease. It can happen to you, your friends or your family. Anyone, anytime. And chances are at some point in your life, someone close to you will have to battle with cancer.

Finally, I want this blog to communicate a message. I want to connect my readers not only with the little girl and her mother in the picture, but with real stories and information that they can connect with. And the best way to do that is with the internet. I want to incorporate blogs, pictures, video and other multimedia into my project so that it can jump off the page and make an impact on the person reading it.

Cancer is a scary and terrible disease. But my purpous and goal as I write this semester will be to inform others of ways to prepare and hopefully avoid cancer, and teach them how and why they should get involved in the fight! We are stronger together than we could ever be alone.

WP1 - Prewriting Assignment 3

Cancer is one of the scariest words that can come out of a doctor's mouth. Cancer is vicious, destructive and deadly. And even though there are ways to fight the disease, it is extremely difficult. And for many, the battle is ultimately lost to death.

In 2006 over 500,000 American's lost their life to cancer, contributing to 23.1% of all human deaths in the United States. To put that number in comparison, that's more than the number of people who died from diabetes, influenza, alzheimers and all other unintentional accidents combined.

But death is simply the end result. Trying to fight and battle cancer is perhaps the most difficult part of all. For many, chemotherapy is the best option, because this treatment kills cells that multiply (including cancer).

Chemotherapy also has many adverse affects. The most visible sign is hair loss, which can make even a beautiful woman with long hair go bald in a matter of weeks, just like the girl in the photograph.

Chemotherapy doesn't stop with your physical appearance. It also affects the way that you feel. Most people who undergo chemotherapy feel nausea and vomit regularly. Chemotherapy is also very tiring, and can leave victims feeling exhausted constnatly. And even if it works and kills the cancer cells in your body, the results can come at a cost. Chemotherapy can also cause damage to your heart, liver and kidney which can also cause other health problems.

All of this information provides important context for the photograph I have chosen. Not only does the bald appearance of the girl give a clue into what she is dealing with. But it's important to understand why chemotherapy is hard, and what this girl has probably been through. Even with great treatment from wonderful doctors, there is a very real possibility that the girl could die. Or has died from chemotherapy.

I also look into the mother's eyes and wonder if there is a financial situation in this story. Deciding what kind of chemicals, duration and even where you undergo the treatment can have major implications on the cost of chemotherapy. In this picture it looks like the girl is in a hospital (the most expensive choice) which means the mother is probably paying a lot for her treatment.

All of this makes you think about the story behind this photograph. What kind of stress has this family been through? What bills do they have to face on a weekly basis? And for the poor little girl, what has this done to her? Does she enjoy life at all any more? Will she get better?

Cancer is a terrible disease, and this photograph to me brings a human face to the problem. Cancer kills people just like us. Our friends and relatives. The people closest to us. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men have a chance of developing cancer in their lifetime.

What are you doing about it?

Works Cited

"Cancer Statistics 2009"A Presentation from the American Cancer Society. 2009. American Cancer Society. ACS

"Cancer." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 01 October 2004, 9:35 CST. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 Aug. 2004. <Cancer> <Chemotherapy>

WP1 - Prewriting Assignment 2

This picture can be described in one word - closeness. This image is cropped to focus entirely on a mother and her daughter. There is nothing else in the background.

The photograph could have been taken in other ways. We could have seen the girl in her hospital bed. There could be IV's and medicine in the background. Or perhaps we could have seen these mother and daughter outside of the hospital environment, perhaps going for a walk or having dinner. But the photographer instead decided to go in a different direction.

The focus on the people as opposed to the background or the conditions they are living through is also important. It made me think of the fact that people often label cancer as a disease, and it's victim's as a number. It's important to remember that these are real people being torn apart by this terrible disease. My grandma died of brain cancer, and one of my good friend's is losing his mother to breast cancer. These are terrible things that are happening all over the world, and in this case our focus is brought to a little girl who has had to grow up so fast.

This photograph didn't use any color. And I think the person who took this did it for a reason. Color is often synonymous with happiness, feeling and good things happening in life. Perhaps the photographer intentionally made this photo black and white to demonstrate what might be missing from life when someone has cancer. It's a powerful method of ethos to show us that while life goes on when you fight a battle with cancer, it can take away the very things that make it so special. Hope and happiness, freedom and relaxation.

While the picture is black and white, the people in it are certainly not. This image was clearly not taken for a family album or for friends. I think it was taken to show the world. The girl is sending a powerful message of ethos. We know she is sick, and that she is struggling. But she has not given up. She is still fighting. And she can still smile in a dark world. Her presence lights up this frame, and in a way overpowers the lack of saturation in the photograph.

Overall I feel this picture used elements such as cropping, focus and desaturation to tell a vivid story in just one snapshot. The cropping shows two people, and the focus is on what this disease has done to the, and how they have responded to it. The lack of color I says that cancer takes something from you. But their pathos shows that love can overcome anything, and gives us a powerful feeling of ethos. We care about the people in the image, and we want this little girl to get better.