Scene Depiction Essay

I have always been curious about CSF and what they are all about. I had heard of some of my friends going to many different groups or events that they would host different nights, but I was usually busy with my school work or had to work the nights that they were going on. So when I heard that we were going to complete a scene depiction essay and we would have to choose a group or club that was of interest to us, I considered CSF. I just wanted to see if it was a right fit for me. It gave me a reason to look more into CSF and the different groups that they offer various nights. The group that I decided to do my scene depiction on was SHIFT, it is every Tuesday night at 7 and it is for freshman. It worked out nicely that this was the group I was interested and it was just for freshman.

I had heard about CSF advertising various groups during K-week and when they pass out flyers on campus, so I knew that it was just something that whoever could stop by and it was open to whoever wanted to come. This made getting in touch with people and going to a meeting much easier. Being able to drop in and sit and observe at an open meeting , made it less awkward and it wasn’t like I was the odd man out just sitting in on something that everyone else was very confused as to why I was there.

As I’m walking up to the Christian Student Fellowship (CSF) building, I notice it’s a very long building and of which there is a door on the right side to which we enter. As I walk in, immediately to my right is a room of which are a few couches along the walls where people are in small groups and mingling about. I notice that everyone is just very casual and comfortably dressed, I can tell it is a very just “come as you are” type atmosphere.  To my left is a large room with a vaulted ceiling and has dark carpet that is spread throughout.  There is a stage near the front of the room with a drum set and guitars and there is music that is being played by speakers throughout. There are large round tables with chairs set up around them.  Many people are gathered around in small groups and talking amongst themselves and just waiting around till it starts. I can tell with their being tables set up it gives the more personal connection that you have with the others at your table, you not just another person in a huge crowd.  As I make my way downstairs I see they have dinner provided and most people are making their way over to the tables where they have a buffet set up. There are also many drinks available toward the back of the building in a smaller room. I decide just to hang back and just try to see what this whole “Shift” thing is all about.

 Once people have made their plates, they make their way back upstairs into the large room where the tables and chairs are. Most people continue to eat and talk amongst themselves at their table while they wait for it to start. I sit towards the back, and just observe what is happening around me. Even though I don’t come regularly like some others do, it seems they still make an effort to make everyone feel welcome and at home. Also, it seems that most everyone knows everyone else, and it also seems as though the people that come regularly love it here and want everyone else to love it just as much. 

Music starts to play and most people just continue talking, then after a few minutes I notice a woman come onstage, wearing jeans, a nice shirt and cardigan, and everyone starts to wrap up their conversations. She begins to welcome everyone and thank them for coming tonight. Then proceeds to ask everyone to stand and join in worship. After a few songs have been played and everyone has sung along, she comes back up on stage and starts to talk to the audience again. She then announces various events that are coming up and that CSF will be hosting this spring.

She introduces a man of the name, Austin Wofford, who then proceeds to take the stage.  He comes onto the stage and introduces the series that they will be talking about for the next few weeks. The name of the series is called “myths” and tonight’s message is entitled “Partying—it’s what we do in college”.  As he is giving the message, everyone seems very interested and paying close attention to what he has to say. He addresses the many sides of partying and why it is the “thing to do in college.” He then talks about how it doesn’t have to be everyone’s “thing” to do in college. Many people just assume that it is “just what you do” in college and that it’s just expected that everyone party’s in college. He then elaborates that it’s ok to be different and make you own choices, rather than just following the crowd and doing what everyone else does. As he is giving the message he makes an effort to make eye contact with everyone and make them feel as though he is talking just to them.

Later on he talks about Shift groups and mentions to everyone that if anyone is not in a group then they can still sign up for one. He explains that Shift groups are small groups that meet once a week or so and discuss a book together.  The leaders of these smaller groups are older, upper classman, which have volunteered to be leaders of the freshman groups.    As the meeting comes to a close, people are slowly getting up to leave. Some decide to leave right away, and others stick around and continue to talk and mingle around. A few are also going to sign up for shift groups and picking a time that works with their schedule. 

Courtesy of ukcsf.org

It is easy to tell this is a close nit group, by the way they continue to hang around and talk with one another. The way that the small group members talk with their leader is in a way that you can tell that the leader generally cares and they have this caring nature for everyone in the group. Many of the group leaders are mentors for the freshman, and I can tell that the freshman feel relaxed around their leaders and are comfortable enough with them to come up and talk to them about anything they need help or advice with.

                After coming to shift and experiencing more of what CSF has to offer, I understand how people like so much here and I love how the topics being discussed were very relatable. It’s not as intimidating when you understand the message that is given and you can relay it to your own personal life.

Peer Review Reaction

As an author, I didn't have much of my paper since my group meets on Tuesdays, I only had my reason for why I chose this group. I explained how this group was of interest to me and how I had heard about them.
Since Brooke's group was meeting on Tuesday, she just had her first paragraph or so. As a reviewer, I helped Brooke with her introduction and trying to fix how she started into her scene depiction. I wanted her to not jump into it too quickly, she needed to give some background info, like why she chose this group, before just explaining what happened when she was there.
I thought peer reviews would just be a waste of time, but they were actually somewhat beneficial. Even though I didn't have my paper completed, I was still able to get a few helpful tips. However, if we were given a bit more time for the whole project, then it would have been easier to make it to a meeting and had time to write the paper, so come peer review time, we had a foundation to build off of.

Peer Review

There are definitely positives and negative with peer reviews. They can be very helpful with giving improvements for the final draft, but on the other hand some people might not care as much and not put as much effort into the peer review that others might. If the reviewers give good advice on things that will actually help build the overall paper, then I think peer reviews are great.

As a writer, I want the person who’s reviewing my paper to give me honest feedback and help me make an overall better paper. I want to have someone grade my paper that will give feedback that will be beneficial to the overall finished product of my paper. As a reviewer, I need the author to have a decent rough draft so I have something to work off of, and can give solid feedback. For group sizes I think about 3 per group is a good size. Therefore you can have more than one person’s opinion on your paper but it’s not too large and having too many opinions.

  As for length, I think it’s better to have us pick the groups so its people we know will give honest opinions and not a random person that we don’t know if they will have good or bad advice for our papers.  Overall, peer reviews can be very beneficial and help the quality of my finished product, but only if you know the reviewer will give honest feedback that will truly help your paper.

Mini Scene Depiction

From inside the car you can tell it is a nice sunny day outside and SJ and Michael are riding in Michael’s new truck. SJ is sitting in the passenger seat and is sitting up on his legs to raise him up. Michael is driving the car and is focusing his attention toward SJ.  The only music you can hear is what is being played on the radio, “if you want it, you got it.” When this song comes on the radio SJ recognizes it and instructs Michael to “follow my lead”. They alternate singing the lines, and continue to go back and forth, when the chorus comes on they sing together and start to dance. You can just faintly hear the music; the main focus is on SJ and Michael singing along to the song. It is easy to tell they are enjoying their time together and are laughing. They are both casually dressed, Michael is wearing a blue button down with the sleeves partly rolled up with a grey undershirt and SJ is wearing a casual tan t-shirt. They continue to sing and bob their heads up and down with the music. As the other truck backs up into the path of Michael’s truck, the tires begin to squeal and all you hear are the tires and the crashing sound of the truck smashing into the other truck. You see Michael quickly move his hand in front of SJ to protect him against going through the window or the airbag hurting him.

Scene Depiction Essay- Outline

For my scene depiction essay the group/club I plan on observing is CSF. They have lots of smaller groups, some are just for freshman and others are open for anyone. As of now I'm planning on observing the freshman group, which is called Shift. They meet on Tuesdays at 7, I'm going to try to make it tomorrow and if not I will go the following week.
I have always thought about going to CSF, but have never got around to going. I have been raised a christian and have always attended Southland Christian Church which partners with CSF for many different events, so I have always heard about them.

Speech Reaction

When I first watched my speech I had no idea that I swayed back and forth so much. I looked absolutely ridiculous and I guess I just did it because of nerves. I also noticed I talked with my hands a lot, which can be very distracting to the audience, when I move them around so much. So besides the fact that I looked kind of crazy, I felt that overall I sounded decent. I was worried that I would forget my lines and just stand up there like an idiot not knowing what to say, but it turned out better than I thought.

The major part with my actual speech that was probably something I could have improved on is how I transitioned from one part to the next. I didn’t smoothly move through the three components of my speech as much as I could have, if I had just practiced more and paid more attention to those areas in need, it could have sounded much better.  Another thing that also goes along with nerves is that I went through my speech rather quickly. When I practiced it I was consistently right at about 3:20, but when I did it in class I was only a little over 2:20. I wish I could have fixed the fact that I went through it so quickly and skipped over a few things. Information wise, I felt I hit all of my points for my entertainment, career, and family relatively well, I could have elaborated a bit more and gone some more in-depth. So overall, considering the fact that I hate getting up in front of people and I was pretty nervous, I did better than I thought  I was going to do, and was pleased with the outcome.