Metacognition: Mashup

When we were first given the assignment, I honestly thought it sounded relatively easy. My initial thought wasn't quite right. Before given our choices for the topic of our Mashup, I already had one in mind: strength. When given our topic choices, strength was not one of them. Determined to stick to my original idea, which usually is my best idea, I asked permission to use it. Permission granted, I got to work right away.

As I looked through Jane Eyre, I realized this task may be slightly more daunting than expected. I had a few ideas of passages I wanted to use, so I looked those up first. Some worked, some didn't. Thinking of and finding new passages was much more difficult. Looking back there are a few scenes that may have been better choices than the ones I used, but overall I think my Jane Eyre passages were incorporated nicely into my finished product. One thing in particular that I liked was the flow of my Jane Eyre passages. Yes, some were next to each other, but in the end I decided it was definitely the most effective way to showcase my topic. This was probably the easiest section to complete.

The next task to check off were my "outside sources". This consisted mostly of scouring through endless pages of Google suggestions. At one point I also listened to the songs on my iTunes for a fit. One song, "Fix You" by Coldplay, played a few times. Each time I noticed it. For some reason it really stood out to me. Thinking this was probably a good addition to my Mashup, I incorporated some lyrics from the song into it. That was easier than expected. Filtering through websites to find pictures, a poem, quotes and excerpts was much more difficult and time consuming. Still, overall I was satisfied by my findings.

The hardest part of the assignment was to find passages from other texts read this year. I did this by picking a book, King Lear for example, and refreshing my memory. I read the back of the cover, some sparknotes, and a few random pages to get my brain flowing. Eventually a few, more like a dozen, lines and scenes popped in my head. The hardest part was finding them all. After finding most of them and writing them down, I read them all over again and again. Eventually I decided on one that I thought best fit. I repeated this process for my other book. It was probably the most time consuming portion of the project, but there were also probably quicker ways to do it.

The last portion to complete was to simply put them in the most effective order. I was stubborn at first in doing this, believing I had gotten it right the first time around. I knew that couldn't possibly be right though, so I sucked it up and re-arranged over and over again until I was satisfied. Each element ties into the one before it and the one preceding it. Happy with the turnout, I posted the website and emailed my link.

It was an interesting experience, and I actually liked it. In the beginning I thought it would be useless, but I was proven wrong. I think it took just the right amount of time and effort. It was strange to not directly put my thoughts into the project, but in a way I still was. My thoughts, someone else's words.

Captured Thought: Happiness

      One of my best friends is really into quotes. When she's upset, its the only thing that makes her feel better. A few days ago, this particular friend was very upset. I'm not all that into quotes, but being a good friend, I bombed her with inspirational quotes from people around the world. While I was searching for these words of wisdom, I actually found one that made me stop and think. The quote read, "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence". Now sure it got me thinking and all, but who said it? Some random nutjob? It was actually Aristotle. By this point I'm impressed and intrigued.

       Then I thought, why on earth do we do half this things we do?! Most of our actions don't make us happy. Maybe half do, if you're lucky. So why aren't we extremely selfish? Always do what brings us joy, even if it hurts other people? Frankly, it's logical. Mean, sure, but logical. Then I realized why we put ourselves through pain. We do it to make the people we love and care about happy. Love, no matter what form it's in, tends to make life complicated. It would be smart to accept that fact and move on. So we make ourselves unhappy, to make the people we love happy. Fine, I can handle that. Then, yet another quote struck me: "Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own".

      That is slightly different than my last thought. It's one thing to make yourself unhappy for someone you love, but is it necessary to put another person's happiness before yours in order to love them? I don't know the answer to this, but it's something that really made me stop and think. How do you know you love someone?  Just because you're blood related to them doesn't mean you love them right? So if my third cousins' happiness doesn't come quite before my own, does it mean I don't love them? We're family, so I must love them right? Or maybe the quote is referencing romantic love. That would make more sense in some ways. It also might not. My parents' happiness is more important to me than my own. My best friends' happiness is more important to me than my own. My brother's happiness is more important to me than my own. That doesn't mean i love them romantically, but I'm sure I love them. I still don't know the answer to this question, and I don't expect anybody to find the answer anytime soon. It's a question that I'm conscious and aware of now though.

360 Degrees: Proper Parenting

How to raise a child has been a controversial topic for many years. It's not something that is down to a science, but it's also not something you "can't do wrong". Of course there is definitely room for mistakes; no one is perfect. New parents have to figure things out on their own, possibly doing things differently than their parents, maybe trying to keep the same morals and procedures around for their own kids. New parent figure most out things on their own because a lot of stuff comes from natural instinct, but planning is necessary. How prepared are todays parents?

Should social services visit  and evaluate every home? Is that an invasion of privacy? Then again, why should there be anything to hide? Is it over -the-top? Many children could be saved from dangerous home situations every year, but then we have to face the harsh truth. Where would all of the children go? Would it even be beneficial to remove the child from his or her home? On top of that, where we get all of the social workers and money to pay them? These are all unanswered questions that need to be seriously considered. There are children suffering in silence everywhere.

Abuse is extreme, but what about the littler things? Are babies getting the right amount of healthy brain stimulation? Are they eating the wrong foods? Are they watching television too early? Moving enough? There really isn't any way to tell if every child grows up with all the right opportunities. The only thing I can think of to help babies across the country and all over the world grow happy and healthy is to educate future parents. More parenting classes should be available and encouraged. We're raising the next generation of leaders. It is an important job that should be taken seriously. Taking a course in parenting shouldn't be something to be embarrassed about. It shouldn't be expensive either. I've noticed too many new unprepared parents caught off guard about what they're "supposed" to be doing.

Another related issue is teen pregnancy. Teenager's brains are not fully developed. How can they play an adult role if they simply don't know how to? There are things adolescents cannot comprehend yet, such as the outcome of risky situations and their consequences. They have a hard time thinking into the future about consequences. How can you raise a child if you're acting and thinking like a child yourself? There really is not a way to eliminate teen pregnancy all together, that's unrealistic. So what do we do? Educate children more? Teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. has dramatically decreased since 1990, but they're still high. Abortion is another thing to consider, but that's a whole other topic. Are teenagers really able to successfully raise a baby on their own?

Like I said before, there is no exact science to it. Everybody has to figure it out on their own, but it is not something to be overlooked. Parents play in important role in shaping the mental, social, academic and  physical lives of their children.

Best of Week: Why First Place?

    As I sat in the MUNUC conference this weekend, I had some enlightening thoughts. The most interesting observation I made was Saturday, as my committee debated pandemics. I noticed that every time a country said something, the U.S. jumped right in. It seemed like if they didn't approve of what another country was saying, they made sure everybody knew about it. It was almost as if they thought they had some sort of right over the rest of the world. As I noticed this, I couldn't help but wonder if our country's representatives acted like this in the real world.

    Yesterday, when I came home from Model UN, I was looking for an article for Current Events. As I browsed the websites, I noticed that every article had one thing in common. They all wanted America to stay on top. Why though? Why do we have to be the best all the time? What's so wrong with being second best, or 5th best or 50th? Aren't there more important things in life than politics?

    I just couldn't wrap my head around why. It was all I could think about. I still don't really understand. I understand it's human nature to want to be the best, do want to dominate. I also get that we don't want to be a poor country. But why can't we just be happy? I don't think I will ever really understand, but I can't get that thought out of my head. I decided that I'm not going to let it effect my thinking though. I'm not going to blindly strive to be number one. I'm content with what I have, I don't need a silly title to make me proud of where I live.

Metacognition

        My thinking changed a lot over the past semester. I like to think that I've transformed in a way. I'm more accepting of help, inside and outside of school. I also think I've learned to balance talking and listening a little better.

      I used to think that I could do everything by myself, but I can't. The idea that I didn't need anybody else was something that I believed since I was little. To let that idea slip away, even a little bit, was a difficult concept. I did it anyways. My grades improved, I am less stressed out, and I'm generally happier. I have great friends to rely on, and teachers I know I can go to for help. Teachers are there to teach, so why wouldn't I let them help me? The whole "miss independent" idea seemed silly in hindsight. It finally made sense to me why people always tried to change my stubborn mind about it.

    I've also been working on balancing observing and talking in class. This year I have definitely been observing a lot, maybe too much. If I told my teachers this year that I contributed too much last year they might not believe me. All of my life I've been a little too talkative during class discussions. Even in Elementary school the teacher would tell my mom that I didn't have to say something about everything. I know I still have a long way to go before I find a good balance between the two. Hopefully I'll be a little closer after this semester.

   I'm pretty excited about the next semester. I feel like it's going to be a good one and I'm looking foreword to all the changes and challenges that come my way.

Blogging Around

    There were many intriguing posts in the last few months by my fellow classmates, but a few really caught my eye in particular. These both posts use impressive descriptive language and open doors to new ideas and thoughts. 


    The first blog entry i chose was Faith's "Get Organized" entry. Faith, you turned a post about organizing your suitcase into something witty and entertaining. That is not easy to do, so nice job on that! I agree that it can be hard at times to motivate yourself to do organizational chores. I get the exact same feeling of stress. You did a fantastic job of describing the feelings you had when presented with this task, while preforming it and after you completed it. It's important to be organized, so you might want to figure out how to motivate yourself without waiting for the death threats first. I should probably follow my own advice and do the same. I think we'll both find it easier and less stressful to live in a clean, organized environment.


     The second blog I chose was Shawn's "iMedia" post. Shawn, you're right in that it's incredible how much fun this little boy is having while doing something most of us would never consider enjoyable. Some 3 year olds play with barbies and action figures, some play with trains, some play music, and some conduct it. Everybody, hopefully, finds their own passion at some point. This little boy may have been lucky and found it very early on in his life. If he is doing something he loves and having fun, what is the problem? Students venture on to college after high school to learn. They mostly get to choose the classes they want to take, in subjects that intrigue them. Those classes result in a degree that hopefully lands you a job you really want and enjoy. If you worked so hard to get to that point in your life and do something you supposedly love, why are people always complaining about going to work? Why don't you see more smiling and laughing adults during work hours? It doesn't have to be stressful all the time, just remember that it's not always bad to be a kid. Sometimes it's good to learn a lesson from a young, unrestricted mind. You did a nice job on picking a topic and video Shawn! I think it opens a lot of doors for new thinking, as do your questions. Very impressive. 

Metacognition: Get Organized

      As my mom walks in my room she says, "I think a tornado passed through here." I told her about my assignment and she was pretty relieved some cleaning would finally get done. I decided to tackle my desk as my project.


     My first feeling was excitement. I've always wanted to be organized, and I've re-organized hundreds of times, but it never seems to last more than a few days. I pledged to keep my desk clean and clutter free for as long and I can manage. As I moved old papers, jewelry, magazines and books into piles, that excitement soon turned into dread. That dread only built up more as I opened each of the four drawers and discovered the horrifying truth. I had papers from eighth grade and freshman year in one of them! I was just about to give up and try to organize something else, but I resisted that urge. I knew I would be happy and it would all be worth it in the end. To distract me a little from the task at hand, I blasted some music. My mom didn't even yell at me because she knew I was cleaning.


   I divided things up into seven piles. CD's and DVD's, magazines, books, papers I need, papers I don't need, pictures (there happen to be a lot of stray pictures), and jewelry. By the time everything was divided into piles, my desk was almost clean! I still had my somewhat organized jewelry box, alarm clock and laptop on it. I took them off and wiped it down. I threw out my old papers and put the new ones in a binder. Then I put all of my jewelry in its correct spot in my jewelry box. I also thew out the magazines i was done with and put my old books in a pile to be donated. When I was finished I was left with a pile of pictures.

   That pile of pictures was turned into a collage that hangs above my desk as a reminder of my new (partially) organized room. Every time I see those pictures I'll remind myself that I need to keep my desk clean and clutter-free. If I ever think about tossing some old papers over there hopefully I'll think twice about it now. I'm relieved it's all over and I feel better about doing my homework at my desk now. Having an organized room makes me feel more in control. This time I hope I can maintain the feeling.