What I already knew - in action

Tuesday in class, I had a sort of epiphany. Not completely, because I have always known this, but class did make me realize how much this actually happens. There are several people that complain and do not appreciate what they have in life. Instead of taking the bull by the horns, they cry. Also, people can really get into the habit of exaggerating a story. Whether it is important or not, some people can stretch a story fairly far and make it seem either extremely good or extremely bad. And because there are people that do this, others are misguided! Others choose to listen or believe what is being said instead of finding out for themselves. Which is ironic because I wrote my proposal in a branch of this type of activity. It is funny how I learn something new and it appears to happen more often around me soon after I learn more about it. I also realized how immature some people can be. Although everyone is immature some of the time, it can become really annoying. Especially when the topic will not be set aside, but keeps getting brought up over and over again. The point has already been made and was done so with immaturity, so why not just let it go already?

Thesis and •Points•

Why are humans so quick to judge others depending on gender and how can anyone stop? …… It takes hard work to change what society repeatedly tells you to do.

I)                    The problem

II)                  Society

III)                How to fix the problem

100 People

Mainly, I realized that I do not know very much about politics. This excerpt was good, but I kept finding myself lost in the context. There are several things that I have not learned and do not know or maybe am not aware of. This is a flaw that I would really like to change. To start, I have been watching the news much more often and reading the newspaper. Even doing this though, does not help me to understand the past which I do not know. I have never had a good history teacher. When I was a senor I did have a fairly good government teacher and he actually helped me to LIKE learning about history/government. Being older may have also had an influence. It seems as if when you are younger, history is the last thing you want to learn. As I got older it became more interesting and I wanted to know more about it. Especially since it seemed I knew nothing. This excerpt definitely helped me realize that I still am not up to date on the latest news or yesterdays history. I feel that this greatly  reduces a persons perspective and creates an ignorant aura about the person. I am glad we had to read this because it helped me to realize that I need to push myself more. Although I did not get all of the information, it did help me.

PR

On Thursday we went through "peer review". This was something I have never done before and believe me, it did not sound very appealing. What happened was I gave my personal paper to a stranger to read and review. Although this sounds frightening, it really is not that bad, but actually rather helpful. Firstly, it helps diminish the pressure of handing it into the teacher, who is a partial stranger as well. Secondly, it helps to release the pressure of having to review it solo while also bringing in a new perspective. And so, even though this seemed rather frightening it turned out to be a good experience. It gave time to talk about your writing while listening to thoughts about it from a new point of view. It also helped me to know if the reader understood the point I was trying to portray. So I am glad we took time out of class to do this because I as well as being reviewed, I was able to review someone else and see what they were doing. This helped bring more ideas to my paper and see how they excelled.

-To Do-

Lately my brain has been feeling like oatmeal, so I am sorry if this blog seems completely out of place. The things that I want to do and want to be are always piling up. I want to be an achiever of my goals, but how am I going to do that when I cannot remember them all. Writing down your goals is very important. I am frequently making myself little "to do" lists. It not only helps me remember them but also gives me more reason. Reason to move on and keep on keeping on. I have goals in life and I want to fulfill them. Being able to see them plays a large role in completing them. I do luckily have a bucket list, but I feel that I still fail to add to it. Some things that I want to do are unforgettable. I want to be a "changer". I want to inspire people to be extraordinary. Helping someone to do something they cannot without a push. Giving someone a foot in a door or even just making them smile. I want to be a person that can create a huge difference without even realizing it. Going through the trouble to help someone because it does not even seem like trouble. I want to make a difference. October is breast cancer awareness month. One day I would like to be able to have a cancer awareness club set up. And with that club I want to help others be aware. Last year, I wore pink every day in October. Small steps can lead to big changes. Anyway, I want to make this club a reality and then, some day, shave my head for cancer awareness. This is something I want to do to help myself realize some of the things cancer victims go through. This is a very small step considering what they go through, but it is one I can take. I am not sure how this will all play out, but I am really hoping that I will be able to do this someday. I feel like cancer victims deserve to be recognized. This is one thing I can do to help them be recognized and also help myself be more aware.

If I Were A Boy - Beyonce

This video was...it's hard to put into words. We all know what we want to find in a partner. We have our list, in our head or on paper, it doesn’t matter. We know what we have and what we want. The real question is, “Do we appreciate what we have?” Is not what we have enough? It seems as if we are in such a fast paced, judgmental world that we do not, in so many words, stop to smell the roses. We go on in life and many finding the impulse, impulses to be happy. The fastest way to get happiness would make sense to be instantly, right? But what if it hurts someone in the end? Or what if this “instant” happiness leads one alone and unhappy. Why is it that so many people do not think about the outcome? Would you rather have a penny double each day for one year? Or two billion dollars tomorrow? After 146 days, doubling a penny would accumulate to approximately $892,029,807,941,224,925,661,428,730,905,928,962,681,077.75. This is a large amount of money, definitely more than two billion dollars. But it is different with money. People think more about it. I don’t know why exactly but I have my assumptions. This video puts into perspective a common relationship. Although it is by far not the only or the most common, it is common. Why it is common, instant happiness with no care of hurt could be a reason. I am not sure. It would be much harder for me to hurt someone than to simply love them in the first place, so for me, it seems beyond crazy. It is a lot to think about, becoming the opposite sex. This video definitely does not portray all the types of men, but it does portray one. What would you choose?

Girl Vs. Boy

I feel that so many of us convey ourselves differently than we actually are. Hollywood plays a large role in how we grow up viewing things and so, we act differently. People begin to copy, consciously or not, what they see. A sort of monkey see, monkey do sort of thing. So when we describe men or women, I feel we describe them fairly accurately as stereotypical men or women. This is because we are describing the group, men or women. It is a completely different aspect when we look more directly to just one person. As a group, although, I feel that a common description is correct. Each man or woman shows more of what is “Hollywood” than who he or she really is. It is much easier to notice when you first meet someone and then realize how they change. At first he was seen more plainly as a common, average person. Until he transformed into whom he really is. The way I describe a man is just as I see it. And until I see it differently he is a stereotype, common man. I will admit, some men and women are not common at first sight. Then again, we are maybe only describing the unknown. We are stereotyping the display, the display that each man or women puts up to cover his or her real personality. I have not actually thought too long or hard about being a man. And the things I have thought of made being a man, easy. There would be no periods, no labor, no premenstrual syndrome, no makeup, no skintimate, no axillaries to shave, and no heavy purses to carry. But in a more realistic point of view, I have not. And really, I am not sure how much I would want to. It would be hard to do and even harder to find out what it would be like. Being a girl has its downfalls but, I would not change a thing. I guess I can never know for sure though:)

The Notebook

"And how, I wonder, will this story end?" Already, there is a start to thinking about the end. Looking into the future wondering, “What will happen?” Then he speaks of a cold that will never go away and that has been eighty years in the making. I believe he is speaking of fate. Fate had this cold in the making. So the eighty years of his life were building up to this cold? And what type of cold exactly? His life, he appreciates what he has when he states “neither have I burrowed around with the gophers.” Stating his luckiness for what he has, instead of his unhappiness and greed for what he does not. And he goes on to say he is lucky, knowing that there are people that are worse off. Though he may think what he has is lucky, he goes on to say he is no one special, showing humbleness or truth within himself. But still he realizes the greatness he has had, “to love another with all of his heart and soul.” It also seems that he is deeply rooted in appreciation for what he has. He would not take it back because his path has always been the right one. It is similar to saying that everything happens for a reason. And still seems to restate his dedication several times: the notebook I have read a hundred times, well-worn cover, etc. And then he goes to a place that he must go to. But I believe it is because he wants to that he feel s he must. And it is this want that he dedicates himself to. “A person can get used to anything, if given enough time.” I feel that he almost lived by this quote, knowing that his hardships will be able with time. Just as time heals all wounds as a person becomes used to his wound. He shows this himself when he speaks above the crying, something he has become numb to. And so he prays for strength, strength to keep on? For composure? And especially this stories demonstrates a lot about hope. The hope he has that keeps him dedicated and brings “dedication” to life. The hope he has and the experience of his hope presenting itself as a miracle is a great power that changes the mind. He lives beyond the facts and the facts’ flaws. This is the miracle that has come to dominate his life. It is the miracle that gives him the hope that brings his dedication to try, knowing it may not happen.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

This story was extremely interesting and somewhat funny to me. So he first moves to Paris because he is so interested in learning the language. Even so, that he arrives early to class to observe others in their own conversations. It may seem at first that he was going early simply to learn more, but is soon intimidated by the confidence of the others. This is surprising that people become intimidated so easily, mostly because it is true. Intimidation may come easily but the act of giving up, I believe is seen much less. And soon he is already caught up in a question to which he does not know the answer. It is interesting how a person can know something by heart at one point and after so many hours, days, months, it is almost as if it was never known. The teacher turns out to be very, very intimidating and I found it quite funny to read how he scrambled to think of an answer to the teacher’s now, trick question. All because of the response she gave her students, David quickly realized that this question was not just about answering it. And just like any other human, he jotted notes about the answer to her question. And as he finally delivered his answer, her response made him believe he had butchered the entire thing! As she proceeded with the other students, class proceeded to an end. And “we all left class foolishly believing the worst was over.” How humans can jump to conclusions because of past experiences is an amazing thing. The patterns humans put together because of the way it happened before. And then, they end up being wrong. It is a funny thing, but I feel that the way this teacher was, really did help the students learn the fastest. I also find it interesting how people in power operate. The students were forbidden any other language than French. Even so, the teacher found her way into the minds of the students and used each student’s language. This is a mental blow, I believe because each student’s language in the classroom is almost personal. It is what they grew up with and mentally is a comfort zone. So she whips that out in front of them for a whole new degree to insult them. This was mildly funny but also, strange. Strange how one person can understand this and use against the other. After the fear became so strong to David it was not only in the classroom, but in his everyday living. Without completely realizing it, he was excelling in the French language. And finally one day in class, he realized that he understood everything. It was such a rewarding experience for him, that he “bathed in the subtle beauty of each new curse and insult”. And I say, “Yea for David”. The stress and discomfort that he endured provided him with the satisfaction of a well earned knowledge.

When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine

This story meant a lot about waiting, waiting in life for life. It showed what it means to hope and how to cope with what is to come. “Each week Mr. Pirzada wrote letters to his wife, and sent comic books to each of his seven daughters.” Without knowing whether his family is alive or not, Mr. Pirzada took the time each week to hope and believe that they are. This story also demonstrates the genuine kindness found within limited people in the world; as well as the racial choices done throughout living. It’s funny how things can go unnoticed or unremembered, although it may occur two, three times. Children especially demonstrate this factor of ‘going through the motions’; unnoticing things, simply moving on without complete appreciation for everything that happens in a day. They do, just as this young lady does when Mr. Pirzada comes over. This story also makes me think how adults feed into the minds of children. They feed the children with each of their own thoughts and moves. Just as it made no sense that Mr. Pirzada was not Indian, her father insisted on her understanding what he meant. This also demonstrates the innocence of a child and how she has a lesser judgment of human and thought.

As I proceeded with this story I began to think I would not like it as much as I thought. It seemed as though it was only dragging on to end in disaster. Although it had some other key points that made me think about living, I still was unsure that I would like it. Finally it ended with Mr. Pirzada reunited with his long awaited family. And I knew that if it would not have ended in this way, it would not have felt right.

Learning To Read and Write

This story really ended up catching my attention. Between its realistic views and picturesque writing, I was in an intense trance! I feel that when F. Douglas stated, “Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities,” it really shows how much of an impact, even the thought of slavery, had on everyone.  Slavery was so strongly lived by that even the sweetest of hearts turned to stone. I feel this shows a great, terrible crisis that American’s once easily accepted into their lives. Douglas ended up becoming a very lucky slave who had extreme wit. He created plans that would further him in knowledge. This is a strong aspect of him that I feel is a need in society still today. Still, even though Doulas was a strong character, inside he still held a weakness. I feel that this was stated more directly when he stated, “you will be free as soon as you are twenty one, but I am a slave for life!” He was also a deep individual, for he thought into the answers which he sought. Knowing that “the thought of being a slave for life” would bear heavily on his heart at the age of twelve showed that he had grown up very quickly. And soon he experienced the reason his owners did not want him to read. He experienced hate towards his owners.  And because of this he thought of reading as a curse? What a thoughtful individual to blame knowledge instead of human power and mind. He must have had a heart larger than Texas to hate himself for hating someone else, to hate his mind because he hated his enslavers, to want stupidity so he would not hate. Still he moved on and began again to learn, connecting meaning to words and understanding his surroundings. Once he understood, abolition, he knew, somehow, that it was meant to be his secret knowledge. Even others knew that Douglas was much further than just a man. This, I feel, was stated when the Irish men met Douglas. Because Douglas was a good man, he earned the advice from the Irish men. And though he earned the advice he had wanted his entire life, he chose the route of knowledge first. He chose what he once hated. He chose the thing that every person needs, strength of mind.