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.

iMedia: What Would You Say

What Would You Say by Dave Matthews Band Video

      What Would You Say by Dave Matthews is a catchy upbeat song that seems to be funny and meaningless. Although catchy and upbeat, it has a serious meaning. This band is known for having upbeat songs with serious meanings. 

     If you listen to the lyrics and really think about them, this song can affect yourself and our culture. Dave sings, "Look in the mirror my friend, I don't understand at best." He's saying that we should be grateful for the freedom we have. Sometimes you need to take a step back and really look at what you have compared to the rest of the world. It's necessary to realize you probably have more than most people and it's important to be thankful about it. 

    The other part of his message is to think about what people who don't have as much feel like. Dave also sings, "What would you say, If you were a monkey on a string, If you were a doggie on a chain." We recently attended a presentation about North Korean refugees. At that presentation we viewed a 5 minute introductory video where we were supposed to think about what it would be like not to have freedom of all sorts. Life would be so different, it's hard to wrap your head around the whole idea. A lot of those North Koreans are literally like monkeys on strings, like Dave says. If everybody in our country, or even the world, would think about others sometimes, the world would be so much better.

    Sometimes we forget that there are people dying and suffering every day. It's easy to get wrapped up in your own little social circle and forget that the rest of the world is out there. This song is a little reminder that you should step back and appreciate what freedom you have. So let the dog run around with out the leash or inform others about freedom in other countries. Any action, no matter how small helps. You can make yourself and others happier; it's a win-win situation. 

Connection: Disguises and Life Relationships

    Shakespeare teaches us a huge number of important lessons in life. Disguises may seem like a way to mix up the plot in his books, but it could be hinting at something a little bigger. In King Lear Edgar pretends to be a mad beggar so he is able to avoid his fathers' men. At the same time, Kent is disguised as a beggar. These characters disguise themselves to become someone they're not. It may have been to make themselves happy, or to make the people around them happy. Either way, we come across both of these situations in real life today. Your friends and family could be pretending to be someone they're not.

    Middle School, High School and College girls say it all the time, "she is so fake," but it might be true sometimes. Kids pretend to be something or someone they're not so they can fit in. They don't do this quite to the extreme degree that Kent and Edgar do, though I think it can get to the point that kids will often question who they are. It might actually be a good thing though. Some people may get more out of life and have a deeper understanding of themselves after they put the mask down and face their true selves.


   It isn't only teenage girls that pretend to be something they're not. Boys and girls of all ages do it all the time. Every human being has an urge to gain a sense of belonging, and it's natural to want to change to fit in. It's not necessarily something to be ashamed of doing, although it probably won't do you much good in the end.
  
  I think Shakespeare was trying to tell us to watch our backs. We never really know who is being honest and who isn't. We have to pick and choose who we trust and who don't. Choose you're friends wisely and make sure you stay true to yourself, because you never know if people are really who they say they are. 

Dialectics: Free Will and Education

There are a lot of different ideas about free will floating around in our world. Some people think that everybody has a restricted form of free will. Others think we have complete free will, and some individuals believe we have no free will. In my opinion, we have restricted free will at first, and gradually we are granted complete free will. I also think that the amount of free will given to us correlates with the amount of education you have received. If you have a lot of free will, you most likely will have a lot of education.

Young children are uneducated, and are also controlled by their parents or teachers. They have very limited free will. Children are required to follow rules about what they do, what they say and how they behave at all times. 

         As kids transition into adolescents they are given more leeway to do what they like. At the same time they are becoming more educated. They are intellectually able to make decisions, think for themselves and behave as they choose. This is generally the high school stage. A lot is being learned and a lot more responsibility comes with that. Teens are able to make smart choices because they are learning so much. They are also becoming more and more inclined to fight back and rebel, so they become more inclined to think outside their old boundaries and say exactly what is on their mind. While the brain may not be mature enough to handle this yet, it can be viewed as a bad thing. If we view the increase of free will as a bad thing, we never have the chance to learn. Learning and education are not only granted through the school system; people learn through experiences also. They are both equally important and well thought out decisions can’t truly be made with out both of them. As you age, you still learn through life experiences, if you’re not learning through school.

      As adolescents begin another transition into adulthood, they have more of what we refer to as complete free will. Their classes and teachers still keep their minds somewhat confined in college, but once they graduate that constraint is gone. Their minds are completely free to make decisions and think for themselves. They're also free to take action on those thoughts or ideas. These actions teach them, and they in turn make different decisions. These decisions, formed from an individual’s free will, and education go back and forth in one big vicious cycle.

         We will always have more to learn, which keeps our free will on edge. You never know what boundaries an adolescent might push with their increase of free will, and you never know what decisions an adult with complete free will may make. People can surprise you, but remember that their actions stemmed from some type of education, whether it’s school or life experiences.