Black Balloon by Goo Goo Dolls

  Verse 1

Baby's black balloon makes her fly 

I almost fell into that hole in your life

And you're not thinking about tomorrow

'Cause you were the same as me 

But on your knees

Verse 2

A thousand other boys could never reach you
How could I have been the one
I saw the world spin beneath you
And scatter like ice from the spoon
That was your womb

Chorus

Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder
Or are you someone's prayer

Verse 3

You know the lies they always told you 
And the love you never knew
What's the things they never showed you
That swallowed the light from the sun
Inside your room

Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder
Or are you someone's prayer

And there's no time left for losin'
When you stand they fall

Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder

All because I'm
Comin' down the years turn over 
And angels fall without you there
And I'll go and lead you home and
All because I'm
All because I'm
And I'll become
What you became to me

This is a song that I have listened to a lot, yet never really paid attention to the lyrics or meaning behind the song. The Goo Goo Dolls write a variety of songs that have catchy beats, but when looking closer they are generally all about something very deep. According to the Goo Goo Dolls, the song “Black Balloon” is about a girl (most likely a lover) that gets hooked on heroin. The title and symbol within the song is a black balloon. This represents the darkness that this woman has in her life and the further darkness that the heroin brought into her life.

         In the first verse, “Baby's black balloon makes her fly”, the song is talking about how the heroin makes this woman high and happy. It begins to tell how the man almost fell into the same habit as her. He refers to how far deep the addiction is by saying “you’re not thinking about tomorrow” implying that the only thing that this girl cares about it getting high in the moment. He explains that they are similar but she has been taken over by the drugs.

         In the second verse, the singer/song writer talks about how no one else could get through to her, and he doesn’t know how he was the one that could. He explains that he watched her downward spiral unfold.

         The chorus is the first part that implies that she is dead when it says “angels fall without you there” and “I go on as you get colder”. It is saying that his world turned around when she died, and he continues to live despite the tragedy and heartbreak.  

         In the third verse, the first line is “You know the lies they always told you”. I interpret this as the lies of old boyfriends or hers as he says that she never really knew love. The second half of the verse asks what is was that was missing that made her take her life.

         After this, the chorus repeats itself. The very last verse is the chorus with some words changed where he explains that after years go by and he gets older he will join her in heaven. 

            Audio essays, although in many ways similar to written essays, have the ability to be much more enticing when done correctly. In an audio essay the writer can clearly express his or her tone and can keep their audience interested by adding in extra sound effects and transitions. In order to keep the audience interested, it is important to stay on point and have an engaging message. The introduction should draw the audience in and want them to hear more about the essay. For example, on npr.org one article, “College Football: Pro and Con(servative) Views”, has an introduction that begins with a question. The first sentence asks, “What do anti-abortion beliefs, and patronizing Chick-fil-A, and a devotion to college sports have in common? Hmm.” This is engaging and makes the reader/listener want to hear more.

          The body of the audio essay answers the question. It provides analysis, has commenters, and makes a point. In the essay on npr.org, directly following the introduction sentence is a claim made by Trey Grayson, the former Kentucky secretary of State and U.S. Senator contender who is a knowledgeable source for the information that is being presented. Using a source backs up an argument and makes it more believable. Important points within the body are clarified and quickly restated so the message is clear and concise.

           The conclusion wraps up the essay well and quickly. The conclusion can either come to a consensus or leave the audience for somewhere else to look for my information. In the audio essay on npr.org, the essay concludes with the point that the essay was trying to make all along. It is straightforward and gets immediately to the point. After the conclusion statement the writers give themselves credit and a song is played until it fades out and ends. Ending the audio essay with a little song creates a more upbeat tone and leaves reader/listener satisfied.

An extremely important part of the college experience are football games. At ASU, football games are important to the school as they raise school spirit and culture. It is a place where ASU fans all come together and feel united. It is a special event for ASU because any ASU fan can come, whether they are a future student, current student, recent alumni, or graduated thirty years ago. There are not many events that can bring all ranges of generations together, though football can. For an ASU student, there are many different seating options that will give the fan a different experience, although it’s the same event. One could choose to sit in general admission with family, friends, and possibly even some fans from the other team. They could also unite with the student section to cheer the team onto victory. Students feel united in this way, as they are all students going through the same experiences, cheering their team onto victory. Another recent addition to the football games is the Greek section. All students in Greek life can sit in this section. This makes students feel even more united, as they are all apart of the same system and group of organizations. All in all, football games are an incredible event that unites ASU fans like no other.Let’s interview an ASU Alumni, Jennifer Peitler, to see her thoughts on college football games. Jennifer, did you attend football games at ASU when you were in college? Yes, Nicole, I did. I think that football games are very important in order to have well-rounded college experience. How did football games shape your experience? They helped me get a better college experience because it let me become more involved in the school and gave me more pride in being a student at ASU. Clearly, football games made Jennifer feel much more connected to her school. Lets see if current ASU students feel the same way. Let’s interview Kathryn Warwick, Danielle Wesseleink and Myranda Garcia, current freshmen, and see what she thinks of football games. Kathryn, how have football games impacted your college experience thus far? Football games are always a fun time, and I have met so many people at every one! I love to get dressed up in maroon and gold with all of my friends before I go out. We go all out in ASU shirts, tattoos and even sun devil jewelry. Anyone who sees us knows we have a lot of pride in our school. Thank you Kathryn. Let’s hear from you Danielle. How do you feel that football has shaped your college experience so far? My friends and I love to attend ASU games, and the game is something that I can talk about afterwards with a lot of people. After every game a big group of people on my floor in Hassayampa get together and we talk about our favorite part of the game. It’s just an easy way to connect to people. Wow! It sounds like you have made a lot of friends and bonded over football games! Let’s see if Myranda feels the same way. Myranda, do you feel the football games have helped you to make friends at ASU or bonded you closer to anyone? Yeah, I do. It’s something that I can talk to with anyone, whether it be someone in my sorority, a peer in class, or even one of my professor. With the games on ESPN, I think it’s cool because it’s something I can talk about with my parents and friends at home. As an out of state student, it was hard to adjust at first, but when people from home make comments about the games, I feel like they aren’t so far away. Thanks Myranda. After hearing from so many students and alumni, it seems to be evident that the football games at ASU have had a big impact on them. It has increased their social circle, created bonds, and made them feel more at home. Let’s interview Kody Kohl, a current ASU football player to see if he feels the same way. Kody, how has participating in college football influenced your college experience? I wouldn’t have it any other way. Playing has made me want to do better not only on the field, but in class. All of my football brothers give me so much support. It is an opportunity that cannot be replaced.

An extremely important part of the college experience are football games. At ASU, football games are important to the school as they raise school spirit and culture. It is a place where ASU fans all come together and feel united. It is a special event for ASU because any ASU fan can come, whether they are a future student, current student, recent alumni, or graduated thirty years ago. There are not many events that can bring all ranges of generations together, though football can. For an ASU student, there are many different seating options that will give the fan a different experience, although it’s the same event. One could choose to sit in general admission with family, friends, and possibly even some fans from the other team. They could also unite with the student section to cheer the team onto victory. Students feel united in this way, as they are all students going through the same experiences, cheering their team onto victory. Another recent addition to the football games is the Greek section. All students in Greek life can sit in this section. This makes students feel even more united, as they are all apart of the same system and group of organizations. All in all, football games are an incredible event that unites ASU fans like no other. Sources ASU.com – to find information on the football games, schedule, halftime show, etc. Interview football players Interview ASU alumni Interview ASU student Interview Greek student Interview band member Interview cheerleader ***Most research will be primary. Questions will include: How does this event make you feel united? How have football games contributed to your overall college experience? Etc. When putting all of this together, I will use a mix of facts, interviews and primary research to get my points across and express the importance of this event. I may start with the facts and overall event. I will state why it is important to Arizona State University. Then, I will use a variety of interviews to back up my assertions, and illustrate the variety of people that find this event to be important. I will ask them how it has impacted their organization, and how it has impacted them personally. I will cut in and make a transition between each interview or new idea. The story line will be my assertion, and it will conclude with a better understanding as to why this event is so great. I will begin and end it with background music. I will most likely end it with the Arizona State University fight song. I may have little audio snippets in between interviews as well.

While composing Writing Project #2, I enjoyed writing all of the annotations. I thought that it was fun to compare shopping areas that I am familiar with and shop at myself in Tempe. I can talk about my subject for days, so thinking of things to say about each place came naturally. In Writing Project #2, it took a lot more effort and brainstorming to think of what to write about and how to execute the paper. As far as a homework assignment goes, this was one of the less tragic papers. One thing I did not like about Writing Project #2 was the technological aspect of it. I am not good with unfamiliar websites. It was also challenging for me to think of ways to support my criteria. I never thought of factual reasons as to why a store was the way it was. I just kind of knew based off of my experiences. It was interesting for me to delve deeper and try to understand the different aspects of the stores in a more concrete way. Breaking the stores into small parts to evaluate gave me new insights. All in all, I thought that Writing Project #2 was easier than Writing Project #1 because I understood what I was supposed to do, while in Writing Project #1 I did not.

Chapter seventeen in Palmquist’s “Joining the Conversation” talks about using sources effectively. This is important to know how to do in Writing Project Two because without knowing how to do this, a well-rounded and convincing evaluation cannot be accomplished. According to Palmquist, “Your sources can help you introduce ideas, contrast the ideas of other authors with your own, provide evidence for your points, define concepts, illustrate processes, clarify statements, set a mood, provide examples, and qualify or amplify a point.” In writing project two, one could choose to do anything listed above with their sources to make the paper more effective and intriguing. Chapter seventeen also covers summarizing sources and different ways to present information. Summarizing is important, as the annotations in Writing Project Two are short. Presentation is also important as each description is meant to be compelling. Using images increases the effectiveness of the entire work according to Palmquist. It is, though, important to cite the source in which pictures comes from. Photographs can be a form of plagiarism. It is important to not only cite sources and pictures, but they must be distinguished. According to Palmquist, “failing to distinguish between your ideas and ideas drawn from your sources can lead reader to think other writers’ ideas are yours.” Clarity is very important. In chapter eighteen of “Joining the Conversation”, Palmquist talks about designing documents. He says that it is important to understand design principles. Design principles include balance, emphasis, placement, repetition, and consistency. All of these should be considered when writing and reviewing Writing Project Two. He covers the fact that you must design for a purpose. It is stated that “A well-designed document presents your information, ideas, and arguments in a manner that helps accomplish your purposes.” This is very important to consider in Writing Project Two in order to earn a great grade. Palmquist continues to talk about design for your readers. He says, “A well-designed document helps readers understand its organization, locate information and ideas, and recognize the function of its different parts.” Different design elements that can be used include font, line spacing, and alignment. Making the write choice will make a document much more easy to read. The easier the document is to read, the better the final outcome. It is also important to understand that the way a paper should be designed will differ depending on it’s purpose. Palmquist states that “Understanding the design conventions of the type of document you plan to write will help you create a document that meets your readers’ expectations.” In Writing Project Two, the readers expectation is to read a review based on well-defined criteria.

Writing Project 2

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