Final Writing Seminar Portfolio

These two pieces I submitted for my final portfolio. The poem is already on here, but it's been significantly revised. The air conditioning essay was born while I was shivering in class.

Go inside a candle.

It is a quiet life.

I am silent, an observer.

I am smooth, cylindrical, and cream-colored.

My scent is citronella.

 

From the outside, I am still.

Inside, I am watching.

I am a tool of sorts, though a decorative one.

My purpose is to safely sustain light,

But I am used to make my surroundings soft and intimate.

 

I have seen celebrations of all kinds:

A child’s radiant smile as the birthday cake approaches,

Romantic couples at dinner,

A fiftieth wedding anniversary,

With the family gathered together.

 

I am used infrequently,

So each event is precious.

I await each one with anticipation,

Eager to enhance the mood

And play my small part in celebrating life’s joys.

Air-Conditioning Misuse

 It happens every spring. I can feel that summer is coming; I excitedly anticipate the approaching days of cut-offs and flip-flops, but every year my hopes are dashed on the first hot day. When it arrives, I don my sandals and head out to meet my friends for lunch. I cross the threshold of the restaurant, looking for my friends, and bam – there it is: the icy blast of air. Once again, the business owners have managed to put a damper on my summer. They have turned on their air-conditioning so powerfully that I am reduced to a scrunched-up ball of shivers and goose-bumps. I find myself wishing fervently for a sweater, of all things, on this glorious summer day. I have always wondered why schools and businesses insist on wasting their money on so much air-conditioning. For the betterment of both the owners and the patrons or students, air conditioning should be used more sparingly.

By turning down the air-conditioning, businesses and schools would significantly benefited financially. Think how much money could be saved if a college turned down the air-conditioning, even if only a few degrees, all over campus. That little bit of work that the air-conditioner need not do, all over campus, every day; they could really add up. The money they would save could be used during the heating season, so that the students and professors could be comfortable year-round. Or perhaps the money could be donated, used to update technology, or put towards an endowment fund. The possibilities are endless, and all from giving the hard-working air-conditioner a little well-deserved rest.

Another way to cut back on air-conditioning, aside from adjusting the master temperature control, is to include an “off” position on the dial of the personal units that are present in places like dorm rooms. This would give the students the option of simply opening the window for ventilation. The air-conditioning, instead of just being turned down, would be completely off, thus saving even more money for much more rewarding uses than maintaining the indoor temperature.

To me, it is perfectly clear that these public buildings have gone overboard with the air-conditioning. It seems that this conclusion is not so readily apparent to them. Perhaps these stores, restaurants, and schools waste so much money on temperature control because they are following the American trend of “the more the better,” leading them to adjust their thermostats as far down as they can while still staying in business. This philosophy is completely at odds with the idea of a happy medium. As many people as there are that dislike being overly warm, there are an equal number that dislikes bundling up in the summer. Thus my advice is to turn up the thermostat a little and save some money. It is not possible to please everyone, so it makes more sense to be consistent with the season, so that, for example, the patrons of a restaurant don’t have to dress for two seasons at once.

In the case of schools, there is another incentive to go easy on the air-conditioning. Studies have shown that students respond to instruction better when they are, among other things, free from distraction and are comfortable. From personal experience, I know this to be true. When I walk into a classroom that is so cold that I literally start to shiver, my concentration level on the lesson is significantly reduced. I become preoccupied with ways to get warm, or I become stiff with cold. I remember the first time I took the ACT, the classroom was absolutely freezing. I hunched over and tried to ignore how cold I was, but it just wasn’t working for me. By the time I got to the last section – Science – I couldn’t ignore the cold anymore, and performed horribly on that section. I ended up retaking the test, and the second time the test room was a comfortable temperature. I was able to concentrate more fully, and found it much easier to get through the last section. I improved my score simply by being free of such distractions as the air-conditioning situation.

Everyone has different temperature preferences. What is slightly chilly for me will be comfortable for another and hot for still another. The best way to handle the situation at college would be to give each classroom or dorm room control over the thermostat. If that is impossible, say at a store or restaurant, the temperature should at least be moderate. When every student unanimously agrees that it is freezing in their classroom, it means that money is being wasted and students aren’t getting the full benefit of their education, not to mention the fact that these public buildings are stubbornly refusing to allow me to put away my sweaters for the summer. The great thing about summer is the liberation from the layers of clothing that are required to spend time outside. Summer is a time of freedom, when I can run outside in my bare feet and a sundress. Imagine how nice it would be if I could wear a summer outfit all day without feeling cold. The power is in the hands of the store owners and the campuses: with the mere turn of a dial, summer could become a continuous state, money could be saved, and I could finally be warm.