Last month was the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. Looking back on 2013, I realized it was very boring and not very exciting. It wasn't a bad year but it definitely could have been better. One way I plan on making 2014 better than 2013 is adding more excitement to my life. It is very easy for me to fall into a routine and pattern and get comfortable with that, I forget to be spontaneous and have fun. I am writing about his now because we just finished the first semester and a month has passed since the beginning of the new year and I haven't changed too much. I am going to be more spontaneous and fun by talking to more people. A lot of people complain that high tech is very small and there isn't enough people but there are over 500 hundred students. I barely know any and I am going to talk to more people and build new relationships. I think being a friend and having friends is exciting and I really want to focus on that. I am also going to spend more time in the beautiful outdoors. I live in North County in Southern California. It is so amazing here and I don't appreciate the unique gorgeous environment enough. I have planned hikes to potato chip rock in Poway and Cedar Creek Falls just outside Julian. In 2013 I also became scuba diving certified and I really want to go diving more. There are so many exciting parts of nature I have yet to experience. I want to make 2014 the best year possible and I am going to do that by talking to more people and building new relationships, getting out and appreciating nature, and taking risks. 2013 was boring because I didn't take many risks and chances so there was no reward.Rather than shying away from what scares me a little, I am going to take it head on. Often times I over think situations too much. I want to think less and do more. 2104 is going to be my best year yet and I look forward to all the crazy adventures I have yet to go on, especially Paris and Rome!
Today in class we discussed the importance of news and how it affects many people watching it. In class we also watched a full news broadcast on NBC. We looked at the importance of each story and how the order changed its affect. The story that really struck me was on heroin usage. The story talked about how today heroin is such a huge problem ruining the lives of millions. One specific statistic that really caught my attention was heroin overdose has doubled since 2008. I think the heroin usage story had a greater affect on the view because right before it they had a segment on Phillip Seymour Hoffman dying from heroin overdose. He was a great actor, very well known and loved so views felt personally connected to his death. The news station used pathos to help the view feel sorrow and sadness for his family then immediately afterwards they used logos by sharing many statistics about the increase in heroin usage. By combining both pathos and logos the viewer was very emotionally involved in the segments. I think the heroin usage story was the most significant because it affects our future the most. If usage continues to increase at the same rate which it has been there will barely be any American's still alive. I thought it was really interesting and important how one politician used his entire state of union speech to express the need for heroin clean up off the streets. The most interesting segment to me was the one about the young fire fighter who gave a dying patient a bone marrow transplant which saved his life. I thought it was very inspirational and uplifting to learn about those two mens journey. Often times news can be very negative and hard to watch but that story made me want to watch it more. I love learning about situations that have a happy ending. I liked how the news station put that segment last because it ended the show positively. Either the information is sad or happy, it is very important to watch the news and know what is happening in our world today.
Today we went on a field trip to Writerz Blok. It is a art exhibition/studio where graffiti is completely legal. There are walls where artists come to do murals and other wall where beginners can practice lettering and techniques. The owner and founder of Writerz Blok wanted to help troubles kids stay off the street and tagging property and getting into trouble. He want to help his community. I loved his story and his business. It was really fascinating to look at all the professionals work. Graffiti is so different from any other art and I think it is often associated with gangs and bad parts of town but it does have beauty. One part that really struck me was seeing all the trees covered in art as well. There are canvas and walls there but people thought outside the box and decided to use something one normally wouldn't. On my next draft of my stencil I want to make it more outside the box but still apply what I learned from testing my stencil. I really want to get creative and think of original ideas. Going to Writerz Blok was an amazing experience and I definitely want to go back. "I need someone to protect me from all the measures they take in order to protect me." - Banksy I found this quote particularly interesting. Lately there has been a lot of focus on the government and their involvement in our lives. The NSA/CCS has had many eyes on them. There are rumors being said that they tap into phone lines and listen to calls. Yesterday I watch a CSI episode where someone attempted to murder a reporter because he was doing a piece on government surveillance. In the episode, the reporter uncovered how the government has been using drones to listen to conversations. It is a fictional show but I can't help but think how much of it is actually possible. There is a fine line between protecting and spying and no one is quite sure which side the government is on.
Lately something I've been thinking about is how social media effects us. I think it is very interesting. People post certain things to appear a certain way. Everybody is different online than in person. It's like we are trying to create a more interesting and cool version of ourselves. Some people post all the food that the eat so they appear to have good taste and show that they can afford to eat at fancy restaurants. A lot of people will post a picture every time they hang out with someone so it seems like they have a crazy busy social life. A lot of people get obsessed with how others perceive them. The truth is none of it matters. It doesn't matter if you have 5 likes on a post or 500 likes. It doesn't change who you are. I often have to remind my self of this. I posted an image on instagram and I find myself checking my phone very often to see how many likes it has but the truth is it doesn't matter. Life is so much more important than the amount of followers you have. The Phantom of the Opera is my favorite play. I saw it on Broadway about 3 years ago and ever since then, I have been obsessed with it. I used to sing Think of Me at the top of my lungs in the shower. I love it for many reasons. I love the dramatic music and the characters and the mystery but there is so much more than that. It represents the deep meaning of unconditional love. Unconditional love is much different than any other love. Unconditional love is usually seen between a mother and child, rarely between and a man and a women. The story represents how society often misperceives people and it takes a pure and honest soul to uncover who they really are and love them for that. Obviously I am not looking for the love of my life but I want unconditional love, everyone does. I will practice loving unconditionally with my friends and more with my family. My dad and I have a distant relationship because of things that have happened in the past but no matter what happens I still should and will love him. It is an unconditional love because no matter the condition and situation, the love the two share will remain. I love my dad but often times I need to be reminded to love unconditionally and this play helo
“It's not a gun control problem; it's a cultural control problem.”
I agree with the quote because it highlights how our society acts about guns and deaths. There are numerous television shows and movies about homicides, serial killers, and criminals. Those television shows are filling our minds with death and horror and we are becoming accustomed to it. Death is becoming a common topic in today's society. Because people act so casually about death, murder is becoming less frighting. We are taught that murder happens and there is no way to prevent it but that is not true. No matter what tool you use, murder is committed by a person. Therefore it is not a gun control problem but a cultural one. If society was happier and represented life in a more positive way, more people would fear death. Change the influences, change the people. This is my current thought on gun control but I am very open to more research and class discussions. I want to hear others opinions and understand the whole situation. I think that is important before making a strong opinion on anything. We have to hear more opinions than just ourselves. I really like Aristotle's quote "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. " I look forward to this project and all the situations we will be studying. I m excited to form my own opinions on topics and express and hear different ideas and thoughts. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix spoke these famous words. This quote really speaks to me. Not only do I love the play on words, it has a very deep meaning. When I think about my future and what I want to be when I grow up, I often think of being a CEO or owner of a big successful company and having power in the work place. I don't really think about being a loving person all the time and I need to focus on that more. If everyone focuses more on loving and less on controlling, it will be truly peaceful. However, this quote simplifies it very much. How am are we supposed to get the whole world to be peaceful? It starts with one person and that person is me. If I demonstrate a life of love and humbleness others will join and create a revolution and will effect the whole world. It starts with me and I am ready to start. 1. What do you think the artist trying to say? What does this mean? Is this work valuable? Why or why not? (Significance)
I think the artist is trying to portray how when we grow up we give up on our dreams or we are forced to. The man in the image is older and shows how age effects our imagination. Almost every child wants to be an astronaut or a rockstar but as we grow older, most people focus on being successful and wealthy. This art piece has different significance depending on the viewer. I definitely relate to this but maybe a younger child would not because they still have their dreams. 2. How can you connect this art to current events, the past or the future? How about to other literature or to your own experiences? What does this art remind you of? (Connection) This art piece can relate to everyone in different ways but especially the people struggling in the North Korean death camps. Once they are in the death camps, they have no chance of getting out. They will die there. Their dreams and goals are stolen from them when they are imprisoned. Tom Robinson was a character in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and he had his dreams cancelled when he was sent to prison after allegedly raping a white female. This art piece reminds me to focus on what makes me happy and what I want to do not what everybody wants me to. Dreams should never be cancelled or die. If you can dream it you can achieve it. Art can represent many different meanings to many different people. To me, this art piece represents dreams. The way the colors blend together look similar to my dreams. Dreams are very abstract and so is this image. I love falling to sleep and dreaming. Every night I look forward to the vivid, wild images that will appear in my head. It frustrates me how I am unable to remember all of them. I wish I could. Dreams are the only time where we really think freely. There are no restrictions or standards. Dreams are completely your own and since there is no way to control them, its pure and raw. Our dreams show us who we really are. They expose our thoughts and fantasies. I love dreaming because you don't have to worry about offending someone or being judged. They stay inside your head unless you choose to tell someone. I want to live my life more like a dream. I want to be who I really am. No restrictions or standards of the way I act. Just pure soul. I want to be real and colorful. Dreams don't hold back and neither will I.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2014
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