Metaphor and War:

This packet is definitely... interesting. It may be a bit too democratic for my liking, but it's composed of politics, therefore it can't be completely unbiased. Anyway, I think the author was really treading in some deep water with some of his metaphors. Most of them are stretching the truth on both sides of the argument, and I'm just not sure how I feel about that. He conceptualizes people as states, and people are really much more complex than that. People are the reason for this packet in the first place, therefore, they should be more important and widely recognized than states. I don't know why the packet didn't appeal to me exactly, but he seemed to think that war was ultimately the wrong answer, when sometimes war is necessary. He likes to define things as units of possible measurement, when I just don't agree with that. Morally, people need to be weighted more than monetary benefits. This passage, just doesn't do it for me.

"A Doll's House"

It's a play that I've recently read for my IB English class. Despite it being rather short- about 90 pages- it actually has a lot of content in it. It's centered around Nora Helmer, the wife of a bank manager, and how her husband's job influences her life. Many of the situations she is put in reflect the treatment and general thought of women in that time period, the late nineteenth century. She and her friend Christine Linde are the only two females in the novel Women were much lower than men in a societal scale, even in relationships. Nora would often ask her husband's guy friends to ask him of a favor, because they had more influence than she did on him. He also continually talked down to her, and acted like he possessed her. Near the conclusion of the play, Nora wants to leave her husband. He insults her intelligence, in telling her that she's not smart enough to know what she wants. Eventually, and rightfully, she walks out. I'm using this book to prove that the place of women in society links to their protests for equivalence in the twentieth century, such as earning the right to vote. I picked this topic, because I love to study minorities breaking out into society.

Life.

So I'm going to question whether or not it's worth living life the way I do, or have I been doing it wrong throughout my high-school career?  There is no guarantee that this journal will ever matter in my life, simply because there is no guarantee that my life will carry on anymore past tomorrow, or long enough for my Theory of Knowledge grade to matter.  There is no guarantee that anything I do will matter.  So why do I sit here, late at night, laboring over homework, if none of it will matter?  Because that's such a glass-half-empty approach!  I think it's always in one's best interest to live life for tomorrow, and try and make a better future for themselves and the ones around them.  I have goals and ambitions, and I plan to achieve them.  I'm not going to sleep through high-school.  I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity it presents, and learn as much as possible. To live life for today would be stupid, because you may have fun today, but you have to deal with the consequences eventually.  It may be more painful at times, but a long-term, goal-oriented life is the one that I've chosen, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Choosing a College...

So this past weekend, I visited Miami in Oxford.  No, not the one by the sunny beach in Florida.  There's a t-shirt there, actually, that says, "Miami was a college when Florida belonged to Spain."  It's rather funny.

Anyway, I fell in love with the college.  It has a great program for education, which works well since I want to be an english teacher.  They gave us a sixty minute informational powerpoint presentation, followed by a ninety minute walking tour.  When I arrived on campus, it was pretty cool, but I was just okay with it.  During the presentation, I learned a lot of things about Miami that made it unique and credible.  This made it appeal in an academic standard.  Then in the ninety minute walking tour, I fell in love with the campus.  I loved the lay out of it, its facilities such as its recreational center and dorm rooms.  It has great academics, and is just an all around great school.

However, I've been told that every college I visit will be this positive.  I'm worried that I might not find the right one for me, but I still have two years to look.  Hopefully I will be able to make an informed decisions, just like most things in life.

The competitive edge...

Maybe this doesn't apply for everyone, but it definitely applies to me.  I am very competitive, and I'll try to win at anything.  Whether it be a video game, a staring contest, or the highest score on a test, you can expect me to bring my A game (whatever that means.)  I don't really know why I, or most other people, are so competitive.  There's something about being the best that is desirable.  I think as humans, it's the power that comes with it.  Perhaps we're all greedy, and we want to reap the benefits as best we can.  A lot of the times that I compete, however, it's more for the purpose of proving that I can.  I don't necessarily have to win.  As long as I perform well- and beat out a majority of the other competitors- I am pretty content with what I've done.  This is based on the activity, of course.  If I'm playing Halo, five kills is good enough for me, since I'm awful.  If I'm playing Mario Kart, however, anything but winning just simply isn't good enough.  In conclusion, I feel that humans are competitive for very greedy reasons.  It's either because they care what other people think, and want to prove a point.  Or because they want to be in power. 

Jon, Kate... and the cult

Err, will I get sued for that?  This may seem like a preppy, shallow and trite concept to write about, but there's actually a lot to write about here.  It's rather interesting that Kate can cry so many times on the front of a magazine, and Jon can cheat repetitively, and it's everywhere.  Do they not care?  Of course they don't.  They don't care about their cult (8 kids).  They ONLY care about themselves, and they make fools of themselves for money.  Of course their marriage was dysfunctional and failed.  They're both megalomaniacal freaks who will do anything for a quick buck.  I have little sympathy for Kate, and no sympathy for Jon.  My only defense for Kate is: I, too, would go insane if I had 8 screaming children, and I felt like my partner wasn't pulling their weight.  Jon is just a worthless bag, for all intensive purposes, who chases after 22 year-old bimbos.  Yes Jon! Of course she'll date you.  You're filthy rich, because you've milked your cash-cow kids for all that they're worth.  I think its ridiculous that they throw themselves and their cult at the media to make money.  Its all a scam, in my opinion, and they've successfully pulled in all of America.

Beowulf

How black and white this text really is.  It's a 3000 line anglo-saxon epic poem- you're welcome Mrs. Hilston.  Anyway, it's a repetitious story about good vs. evil.  I liked it, but it has a very linear concept.  People celebrate. Something bad happens.  The problem is addressed. The problem is solved.  This repeats three times throughout the text, yet is somehow considered a classic.  I do not think it should be a classic, since its roots are that bards sang this to drunk men in bars, in an attempt to steal their money.  I also think that English teachers over-analyze this text, tremendously.  I think it was meant to be a very shallow story, and many teachers make an attempt to make it deep and ambiguous.  The text, however, does show many anglo-saxon concepts.  It portrays the significance of weaponry, pride, family, honor, loyalty, women and heroic qualities.  Beowulf is a unique hero due to many of his qualities.  He can brag quite well, and has many supernatural abilities.  He also never actually loses a battle.  In conclusion, Beowulf is a good book, but it's over-analyzed by English teachers universally.

Music

It seems as though everyone says, "music is my life," or, "music is everything."  I know that music is not everything in my life, but it's definitely a powerful tool.  Music can help one survive an emotionally hard time, because when an artist sings, it feels as though they empathize with you. It feels like there is a song about everything and anything that happens in life.  There are songs about love, or a lack thereof.  There are songs about friends, parties, almost any emotions or even music itself.  Another topic that is argued in music, is what is the most important part of a song?  I believe that lyrics are the most important part of a song.  I hold this to be true because people often sing along to songs, rather than play along.  Also, the lyrics create the mood to a song, and I listen to songs depending on what kind of mood I'm in, rather than what beat I'm feeling.  Controversially, however,many people would argue that maybe the beat is the most important, or the melody of the instruments.  In conclusion, music is an important part of life in which we all partake, and lyrics define each and every song.