Monday, May 9, 2011

Week 1

My name is Peyton and I am a Senior majoring in Studio Art. I will be graduating in December 2011. I am taking this class for multiple reasons the first being out of pure interest. I have never taken an online class, let alone an online class at Meredith and once I heard what it was about I was extremely interested. Unfortunately, I have met a lot of people throughout my four years in college who all the sudden think it is a good idea to have an animal. In most of these cases, unfortunately, these individuals or couples bought an animal without planning it out and had to give it away. I want to be able to promote a responsible and loving home so animals can be part of a family and not be taken in and then given away because of some humans irresponsibility. I hope to learn more about what actually goes on in animal shelters and learn and develop a greater understanding and appreciation for the volunteers and workers of these places as well as spend time with the animals. It breaks my heart and probably many others that (some) of these animals hardly receive any interaction or attention from humans so I hope to learn the value of that. I hope this class can be a step into more volunteer work for me and help me appreciate the innocence of these animals. I also hope to learn more about my camera and how to achieve the best picture possible. I am most looking forward to seeing the reactions of these animals (in particular the dogs) when they are able to receive some of the love I hope to bring. I am very excited about the act of taking the photographs but more importantly to hopefully find them a GOOD home! I am intimidated by doing this on my own. I will be going to the Durham Animal Shelter and I will not really have any connection with the people there. I hope I come across in the right manner and not as a bother. I have high expectations for an online class because of the independence of it. I definitely don't see this as a "breeze" as any means. For me and my schedule, this online class appears to be a challenge. I think it is going to take a lot of thoughtful input and time but I think it is going to be so gratifying that it wont be hard to put in the time like it would be to a math class. I think the flexibility will be beneficial as long as it is planned and orderly. Sometimes too much freedom is a bad thing.
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6 comments:

  1. Karen B.May 10, 2011 at 8:03 AM

    I am looking forward to seeing what you bring from the Durham shelter. You may be exposed to something there that we don't see here. I agree with what you said about the challenge with flexibility. I am hoping the regular contact with each other through our blogs will help to keep me on task.

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  2. JessMay 10, 2011 at 8:39 AM

    Ahh, you are going to a different shelter too! I'm obviously out here in Manteo on an island flying solo. I don't know if Durham will be the same, but here in Manteo whenever I contacted the director of the animal shelter, he told me a volunteer could help me get the animals situated if I ever needed assistance with that. Either way, I think our experiences with different shelters will really contribute to the class :)

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  3. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 8:47 AM

    I really appreciate what you said about not expecting the class to be a "breeze" because it's online. I too am really going to have to organize my time really well to keep up with the responsibilities of getting to the shelter and working with the photo editing. But if we do a good job, we really will be doing these animals a wonderful service, won't we!

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  4. KibaMay 10, 2011 at 9:11 AM

    I feel you on the whole "don't bug the people there" challenge. I also understand the issues with people getting dogs and then realizing they cannot care for them. Recently, a family member got a dog, even though she's going to have a kid in less than two months, and gave it away less than a month later. It broke my heart that this little black lab puppy was given away once again at such a young age.

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  5. ChrisMay 10, 2011 at 10:01 AM

    I'm sure that if you stay true to the values of a Meredith Girl that you won't be a bother to the people at the other animal shelter. I am also angered when people adopt a pet without prior planning. My biggest pet peeve (pun intended) is people who keep beta fish in a tiny bowl. (Even worse are impulse-buy goldfish that don't have even a bowl. I saw pictures from a couple with two fish in a Smirnoff bottle before :( )

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  6. (Mary) Shannon JohnstoneMay 10, 2011 at 5:34 PM

    Definitely! You and Jess will be providing an important perspective to this class by working at different shelters. I am so looking forward to the conversations we will have comparing and contrasting our experiences. You are not flying solo! We are all part of the same team!!

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