why memory says this isn't goodbye

"It's weird...you know the end of something great is coming, but you want to hold on for just one more second, just so it hurts a little bit more." -Tonya Timmons

And here it is: the final blog post for my English class.

Maybe you too will be parting ways with your fellow classmates in just a few days. If so, you might understand it when I say that we'll be free from the confines of the white walls that held us together for the past four years. Did I just make high school sound like a prison cell? Is there a difference? Just kidding. But seriously, all these thoughts about bidding, to some people, a final farewell is making me nauseous. The welled-up tears in my eyes, the pit in my stomach, and the dizziness in my head caused by the realization that it's the end of this road, makes me absolutely woozy. I loathe this feeling. But I know that goodbyes are inevitable and therefore so are all the emotions that come along with it.

Because of the new TV series Touch, I learned about the Chinese legend of the red string of fate: the idea that gods tied invisible and connected string around the ankles of the people around the world whose lives are meant to touch each other. And this idea that some people are meant to meet one  another, to make a difference in each other's lives, isn't new. So I've been thinking more about it lately because graduation is right around the corner and I would like to think that I will still be connected to the people I have (and haven't) met in high school. Because the uncertainty of not knowing whether or not I'm ever going to see some of these people ever again is killing me.

However, there's another idea that struck me that Duncan Watts in a Psychology Today interview spoke about. He said: "When I joined the Navy, I went through a process of random allocation to a unit. Two guys were with me throughout the recruiting process; we all lined up together, and we each went to separate divisions. In that moment, the rest of our lives got determined. When I look back 24 years later, many of my best and oldest friends and people with whom I had all kinds of life experiences, and without whom I wouldn't be the person that I am--they all were in my division. Do I think that wasn't random? No, of course I think it was random! There was no hand of God coming down and moving me around so that I would meet these people, and go on to have the life I had. But do I think it doesn't mean anything? No. Meaning is something that we create, so it's just as relevant when we associate it with random outcomes as it with non-random ones."

For me, this was an inititally surprising take on fate. Maybe Watts was right in that God, or any spiritual being, had no part in setting up his life experiences. Maybe, in contradiction to Touch, life isn't formulaic and sequential. And maybe life is completely random. Was it random that I met the people I met in high school and had the experiences I had? Maybe.

But regardless of how things came to be, the ultimate thing to take away from the ache of saying goodbye is being able to remember the meaning of our experiences with one another; it's so difficult to part ways because for whatever reason, we were supposed to meet. Those memories will be with me for as long as my health allows.

And that's why I can sleep at night. That's what puts closure on everything: knowing that there's a thread of remembrance linked between me and my peers. Even though we may be miles apart, our memory ensures our close proximity. The legend goes that the string may stretch and tangle, but it will never break. I know that this may be goodbye, but it's not forever.

Guest post: Looking back at memories

The following post is from one of my classmates. Check out her blog, Change is Permanent.

"Just as a prelude to what I am about to discuss, it may be a little hard to understand at first, but stay with me.

Ever notice that when you recall a memory, you aren't looking at other people from your own perspective, but from an outsiders view? In other words you are reflecting at the scene as though you are looking at a fish in a fishbowl. You see the situation from a third person perspective as opposed to first person.

While it is possible to think about memories from a first and third person perspective, the idea that we are sometimes the "outsider" of our own memories intrigued me. What does this say about human nature? Does this outsider view reflect how I have changed as a person?

In a study done by Cornell University, faculty had subjects reflect on their present selves and their high school selves. They had the subjects rate themselves on their social skills before and after high school, invoking a third person perspective. The study concluded that the "third-person recall produces judgments of greater self-change when people are inclined to look for evidence of change, but lesser self-change when they are inclined to look for evidence of continuity." This third person perspective seems to be a way of reflecting on the past as someone different, someone who you weren't before.

This isn't to say that we are changed people because of the way we view a memory. But it may reveal something about how we feel about the people or the place in the memory. This weekend I caught myself recalling my trip to Israel in the third person. While I have no bad memories from the trip, I am not as close as I used to be with the people that were there with me, so this space between us may be creating a third person perspective. So next time you catch yourself recalling a memory from an outside perspective, take a step back and ask yourself why."

A bad case of

(via Katey Lynn)

senioritis: a disease that affects every human being who has ever been a senior in high school. A senior with typical symptoms: not doing homework, not caring that they're not doing homework, not going to school because they're just not feeling going through the dragging process of attending classes that day, they don't pull out their assignment notebook until Sunday night at 11:30 (commonly confused with severe cases of procrastination), etc. They say the disease is contagious; airborne in fact. Seniors who haven't been hit yet, you're part of the lucky bunch. Seniors who have already been hit, you've probably been hit hard. And according to urban dictionary, there's only one cure: graduation. 

How can seniors become so apathetic so suddenly?

I was once a junior and boy does that feel like forever ago. A year can change so much. One moment I'm taking the ACT and the next I'm sending in a $300 enrollment deposit, confirming the next four years of my life. One day I'm pulling out my hair from all the stress that comes with US history homework and the next thing I know I don't even care about the C I get on my Calculus quiz.

The concept of time is a complex idea. In reality, you can only move forward with it. You can turn back clocks but you can never make it the same exact time as it was before. It will never be this date, this time ever again. This whole idea, I'll admit, scares me. The fact that I can't relive, that is. I can't relive that moment when I took the ACT (not that I'd want to), I can't be 16 again, I can't legally drive a car for the first time again, and I can't go back to how it used to be.  I can only look forward to what's ahead. And there's beauty in that. There's beauty in the mystery of the future. Change can be depressing, sure, but it can also be beautiful. There's so much to look forward to: graduation, college, pursuing a career that you want. It's all scary. But we can't escape the inevitability of change. It's the only thing that is consistent. So we might as well accept it, embrace it, and make the best out of the moments we have because there's no way to escape what we can't control.

The Hunger Games, an eco-critical approach

What is eco-criticism? According to Peter Barry's Beginning Theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory, some things eco-critics do include incorporating concepts such as energy, balance, symbiosis, and sustainability of resources. Eco-critics also examine the concepts of life vs. death and collective ethical responsibility.

I went to watch The Hunger Games on Saturday and I couldn't help but see things with what seemed to be this eco-critical perspective. I found this idea too prevalent to pass up such further investigation. I'm interested in how having this perspective shapes the way I understand the movie as a whole or how this understanding differs from viewers without knowledge of eco-critical theory?

First off, I must confess that I watched the movie without first reading the book. Therefore, my whole perspective of The Hunger Games is based on the movie. However, I heard from several of my friends, huge fans of the books, that the movie stayed true to the novel for the most part and that they were very content with the cinematic version.

(The following paragraphs are what one could call a spoiler alert. If you haven't read the book or watched the movie (and plan to), I suggest you stop reading right here.)

What automatically captivated my attention was the lead character, a girl named Katniss Evergreen, and her distinguishable feature of self-reliance. Not only is she clearly portrayed as the family pillar, but she also has an indisputable connection with nature. This display of the connection between humans and nature is very important in the eco-critical theory.

The woods in which Katniss escapes to hunt for game gives off a sense that the greenery is secure and familiar to her. It seems natural for her to swiftly pull out a bow and arrow and aim for the large deer 20 feet away. Although she has the intent to kill the creature, I could tell from her lifestyle that hunting is a very natural part of her life and that any means of accessing food to survive is a necessity. This situation is also patterned through other characters in District 12. Gale, Katniss' best friend, also hunts to support his family.

When all the tributes are finally set into the arena for the games, they are forced to adjust to the way of life in the forest. Katniss proves her extensive knowledge of nature in saving Peeta from eating poisonous berries, climbing trees to escape danger, using the mockingjays as a means of communication, and her overall ability to stay alive.

One other largely important aspect of the eco-critical approach present in the film is the whole concept of life vs. death. The games are a battle to the death. Regardless of who you are fighting, you must kill or be killed. There can only be one winner. It was captivating to watch the kids in the games, who seemed utterly terrified, become so malicious and intent on killing another kid with the same bad-luck to survive. Some kids formed an alliance with each other against the others. The games remind me of the "entertaining" gladiator fights and how there could only be one crowned victor. Only one could live. Only one could die. That provides an interesting balance to the games, and obviously (sarcasm) brings sensibility to its overall purpose. When Katniss and Peeta create an imbalance in the system by both winning the games, all hell breaks loose. Well, all hell is about to break loose. And now we wait in anticipation of the second movie.

In summation, The Hunger Games can be looked at very eco-critically and I would like to think that it is a very reasonable way of understanding its madness. Vicious tiger chases and all.

Good Riddance

Regrets: we all have them, no matter how much we tell ourselves not to. Two months from now, I'll be graduating. In four months, I'll be entering the collegiate realm. In five, I'll be an "adult". 3 major events in my life are going to happen in less than half a year. That thought has me up all night and distracted all day because in truth, I do regret a lot of things that happened in the past four years. It's trendy and cliche to insist that having regrets would only further complicate our lives; without them, we wouldn't be able to learn from them. Sometimes I think that having regrets can be a good thing. Having a regret means that one acknowledges a mistake, a bad decision, a wrong path taken in their life. That acknowledgment and acceptance is the first step towards ensuring better decision making in the future.

When I read this article, I wasn't surprised to find "education" and "career" as the top two categories of regret. In fact, I felt rather reassured that those were the two biggest regrets of the people surveyed. 1. I could and should have pushed myself harder in my studies in high school. I don't know how different my life would have been if I did, but since I get this question a lot, I say that I would do the past four years differently if I could. 2. I haven't found my passion, but I know my interests and I'm trying my best to pick a career that I succeed in and love simultaneously and more importantly, not regret.

Regrets can tear us up and bring us down. Regrets can make us understand and appreciate. Regrets: we can choose to ignore them and move in a different direction, or we can recognize them and move forward.

Addicted on acceptance

In the novel Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom, Morrie explains to Mitch that one way to deal with pain is to completely immerse yourself in that painful sensation, allowing for the full ability to detach yourself from that feeling.

This blog post by Lance Dodes harps on a similar idea which I found quite interesting: in order to become "un-addicted" to something, you must not repress your thoughts about your addiction. Dodes explains that one cannot simply push aside thoughts about, say, a yearning to drink excessively. By fully recognizing your need to drink, you have then become aware of your problem. Convincing yourself that you don't want to drink makes the problem worse in the apparent lack of self-recognition and acceptance. The easier it is to accept these thoughts, the easier is becomes to predict their onset, and therefore the easier to disengage with that obsession, reliance, and addiction on something, whatever it may be.

Psychoanalysis: The next years

2012. Later this year, me and my six hundred some peers will be graduating from high school. Tomorrow will be March. 3 months have already gone by this year which means that there's only technically 3 more months until it's all over. Only 3 more months left and yet I'm still undecided on not only a college but also a career.

When we were younger, it was okay to want to become a teacher or a musician or an Olypmpic athlte. It was okay and even encouraged to chase those dreams. I don't know when it was, but there was a point in time when those dreams morphed into reality. I always dreamt of becoming an Olympic volleyball player. I know of senior students who would make fantastic teachers but aren't pursuing that career because they know it's exceptionally difficult to land a job after college. However, I do know students who are going into college with the intent of majoring in education because they know that's what they will succeed in. Although I'm 110% supportive of those kids and their motives, I do understand where the first group of students are coming from.

Ostensibly, the nation (as well as the world) has recently been struggling economically. Our nation's leaders have failed to pull us out of debt and it's affecting everyone. As incomes significantly drop, college tuition continues to rise. Gas prices are increasing and for the most part increased taxes are hitting Americans hard. A lot of high school seniors (myself very much included) are currently feeling the pressure to get on the right track now. Even though I hear things like "follow your dreams" and "don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something" I still hear voices in my head telling me to do the more realistic things. Don't act. Don't teach. Don't become an audio engineer; even that doesn't pay enough. These thoughts...are they my own? Are they my parents'? Are they society's? What should I DO?

My parents told me to find a path on which I would be successful. Whatever it may be, whether or not it's my dream, ensure the utmost success out of it. I find conflict here: what if my dream is to play international volleyball for the rest of my life? I mean, I'm not going to lie. I have thought about that. But then I have to ask myself like I was taught: will I be successful at it? That much I cannot guarantee. So here I am declaring a psychology and international relations major and minor respectively, hoping to become a successful child psychiatrist. Hopefully I'll find ways to play volleyball and travel when I'm not in a therapy session.

I know these times are tough and I don't even have a steady job or a family to support. I only hope that I can come to terms with what I have learned from my parent's advice and society confines while simultaneously remembering what I've wanted to pursue since 5th grade.

Biopreparedness and Xenophobia

Humans and animals alike are biologically prone to developing certain sensory aversions in association with various conditioned responses. In my psychology textbook was an example of humans generally associating sudden shock/pain with external stimuli such as lights and sounds. In contrast, humans typically associate physical illness such as nausea with intrisic stimuli such as food or water. These associations make humans more prepared for survival. For example, someone who gets food poisoning from spoiled Chinese food is more likely to not eat food that smells like just like it, therefore decreasing the likelihood of getting food poisoning a second time. Someone who has never eaten spoiled food is at a higher risk of food poisoning because they have never smelled or tasted spoiled food. This represents biopreparedness at its best.

Not only do humans learn taste aversions, but aversions to certain environmental stimuli as well. The idea that motivated me to write this blog post was the concept of people learning to fear members of different ethnic groups. Upon mild research, I found the idea of xenophobia, or the fear of foreigners (and more specifically to those of different cultural groups than your own) intriguing. At first read, the idea seems laughable. A fear of foreigners? Pshh. But really, taking the concept more generally, I don't think it's necessarily the fear of foreigners as it is the fear of foreign ideas.

Someone of a different skin tone assumes a different background which assumes different experiences which ultimately assumes different ideas and perspectives. How much in common does an Italian-American have in common with an Asian-American? Skin tone, hair color, eye color, height, build, and a lot of other physical features. But that's it. So why would there be any barrier be present between the two? Why at my school cafeteria do I see a table of ten Asian-American kids seperated by a table of ten Polish-American kids seperated by a table of ten Latino-American kids? In my opinion, it's not because our school is discriminatory or racist and it's not because those students are 'fearful' of the other students. It's because anyone would naturally prefer to live in a comfortable environment surrounded by people who share common interests, ideas, experiences, and outlooks on life.

Fret not. We aren't living in a xenophobic America. In a stereotypical high school setting, the artsy kids, Asian kids, jocks, nerds, and other labeled groups typically surround themselves with members of their respective groups because they have that much in common. Creating friendships which overlap such groups are certainly present, but I would think that initiating such a friendship starts with some degree of 'fear' of clashing ideas.

It would be false of me to assume that my Filipino self has nothing in common with someone of an Irish background. Xenophobia is exactly that: a phobia. It's something that can and should be overcome. It's the only way for barriers to break and acceptance to grow.

Olfaction and Memory

Our sense of smell triggers memory greater than any of our other four senses. The olfactory cortex is located in the limbic system near the amygdala, the brain structure which stores our emotion. I was thinking about the power of my sense of smell on Monday, the day when the weather decided to make a sudden transition from 20degrees the day before to 57 degrees. I know the weather isn't exactly an attractive topic of discussion but it was captivating enough to make me break down.

When I got home from school, I got out of the car and suddenly the environment smelled all too familiar: it smelled like spring. When I took in a deep breath, my lungs weren't attacked by the sting of cold air and the tip of my nose wasn't frozen. Rather, I took a deep breath and I could practically smell the leaves on the trees, the pollen from the flowers, the grass, the sun, and the everything that was Mother Nature. Suddenly, images of my past spun through my head. One of the things I thought about was how I should be at lacrosse practice. Freshman and sophmore year I played lacrosse, a spring sport, and that day after school smelled just like it did everyday after school on the field.

The sense of smell is one of the most powerful senses and one of the most important to me. With it I can smell the pancakes my dad makes in the morning, my mother's perfume, the natural scent of pine (which is amazing), and it provides me with the ultimate power to remember.

2 eyes, 1 mirror

So for psychology class I had a new assignment: to sit down in front of a mirror and look at myself for 20 minutes. Then I had to write about my experience including thoughts I had about myself, who I see myself as, where I think my future is headed, yadayada. So when I did this exercise, I didn't think I would get anything out of it. I thought I would stop myself after the first minute upon feeling uncomfortable. But (bear with me here), when I looked into my eyes for so long, there was a point when I realized I was looking at a stranger. I felt as if I didn't even recognize the person staring back. Is this really me?, I thought. Then, Is this who I want to be?

I'm not sure if my eyes got me, or if it was just staring at my reflection for so long that I became a stranger to myself. Either way, through this unorthodox assignment, I came to a conclusion that I don't self-reflect enough. Sure, I think about what others think of me (even though I know sometimes I shouldn't) and I think of where I want to be in 10 years, but I've never looked in the mirror and encountered myself before. It was just an overall odd yet somewhat enlightening experience that I thought I should share. Give it a try. I hadn't believed in the saying before, but maybe eyes really are the windows into our own souls...

The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin

A lot of us make new year resolutions we can't keep: eat healthier, work out more, be nice. At the beginning of the year it starts out well and we think we actually have a chance of attaining our goals for the rest of the year. But after the third week of going to the gym or eating solely a banana and yogurt for breakfast, it slowly dies down. Why make a resolution that can't be kept? The problem with these kinds of resolutions: specificity. What I learned from reading The Happiness Project is that if you're really determined, being specific actually does helps you achieve your goals.

"A 'happiness project' is an approach to changing your life," (Rubin xvii). Gretchin Rubin is a writer living in upstate New York who last year decided to start a "happiness project". Her project serves the dual purpose of creating a grateful sentiment and positive outlook on life. "I had everything I could possibly want, yet I was failing to appreciate it," (2). In this book, Rubin refers to Benjamin Franklin's virtues and uses them as somewhat of a template for her project. For example, January's resolution was to boost energy. She then chose 5 things that would help her boost her energy: going to sleep earlier, working out better, tossing, storing, and reorganizing, tackling a nagging task, and finally acting more energetic. In the book, throughout the chapter "January" she would go into depth the details of those 5 points and how she was going to accomplish them. Once February rolled around she would do February's resolution in addition to January's and likewise she would keep adding on with the ensuing months so that by December she would be working on all the 11 other month's resolutions.

I thought this project was an interesting idea. Rubin clearly isn't a depressed woman but rather someone who would like to appreciate everything life has to offer her. If Plato and Thoreau explained that the quest for happiness is at the essence of all humans, then why shouldn't I make an effort now to be as happy and grateful as can be? This year I will be off to college starting a new chapter in my life. I don't want to be unhappy and certainly not ungrateful. Plus, having a little project of my own is fun and different and makes me think that this year I will be able to sustain my resolutions throughout the whole course of the year.

I copied Rubin's January resolution by stating the need to boost energy and I think 5 days into the new year I have been good at boosting my energy. Two nights ago I went to bed at 9pm and got 3 more hours of sleep than usual. All I have to say about that is that it is such a great feeling not being so groggy and getting a massive headache during the day. That experience was enough proof for me that the tedious work of the project actually pays off.



Yesterday in my psychology class we were talking about our new year goals- not necessarily our resolutions but what we would like to achieve this 2012. If we were to chose one thing, what would we want to accomplish by the end of the year. I decided on one thing: fight for yourself and stand up for your decisions; you don't need to listen to anyone else but yourself at this point in your life. Hopefully this goal will help me make the right college and career decisions and help me become more aggressive and determined.

This book inspired me to want to become a happier, healthier person without changing anything or anyone in my life. If you're ready to become a new improved you, well you know what you've got to do: pick up this book and take look. There's much inside to discover. You'll finish it in no time, cover to cover.













http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4709856546_7b781aec41.jpg
http://www.happiness-project.com/TheHappinessProjectPB-large.png

Culturally Aesthestic

Here's a topic I rarely touch on: aesthetics. I was holiday shopping with my mom at Sephora, a cosmetics store similar to ULTA. She was looking for a particular brand of perfume. I wasn't looking around for anything since I rarely wear makeup or care to search for any beauty products for myself. Naturally, this left me to observe the handful of young and old women employees. They were all in the same uniform: black dress pants and blouse, most with very high heels. Their hair was either straightened or curled, nothing was natural. Most lips were glamoured with various shades of red lipstick and their eyes heavily brushed with shadow and mascara.

Don't get me wrong- they all looked pretty. But that is the point of makeup, right? Makeup for women is supposed to lift self-esteem and enhance the face. But sometimes I wonder what those women actually look like. They signed up to doll themselves up everyday, which would be a fun job, but I wonder if they ever get tired of having to put on all that makeup and dress like that everyday? I wish I could ask them how they feel when they wake up in the morning and look in the mirror. Is putting on makeup a way of hiding oneself from others? Is it a way to hide from oneself?

To what extent does modern culture affect the way young women choose to dress themselves? At beauty product stores like Sephora, most young women enter seaching for a product that will help them look better. Of course the employees need to display their products by putting it on themselves, but how much does it affect their customers? Do teenagers feel pressured to look like these women?

I also wonder how much this drives sales. My guess is that the women employees in the store who flaunt their products on their own bodies, convince their customers enough to buy those products and more. What I find most interesting however is that one look at a person can unconsciously have an effect on your own personal ways and habits.

"What a day for a daydream"

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-daydreaming/201001/how-work-your-daydreams

"I've been havin’ a sweet dream
I been dreamin’ since I woke up today
It’s starrin’ me and my sweet dream
Cause she's the one that makes me feel this way..." -Lovin Spoonful

Sometimes I catch my mind drifting, slowly but surely detaching itself from the present when suddenly and abruptly it's interrupted by reality. I daydream, like most people, about many different things. I'll think about what would happen if I were to just stand up on a table in the middle of a lecture and curse the teacher. Would anyone laugh? What would the expression on my teacher's face be? Would I ever actually have the guts to do it? But really, I have thought about this several times during some boring lectures. It's a thought that keeps me entertained and more importantly, awake.

Often times however, I daydream about very emotional experiences. Yesterday was the 3 year death anniversary of my grandma. Throughout that whole dreadful Monday, my mind kept wandering to the events that surrounded that same day 3 years previous. During all my morning classes, I could almost smell the flowers, feel the cold marble floor of the basilica under my feet, see a procession of cars all with the same red flag on their antennas, and practically hear my own weeping. A wave of sorrow took over me. Daydreams can be both positive and negative, and are powerful all the same.

Six Degrees of Separation

Today, our resource informationalist at school was providing us with various tools to use to best maximize our reader pool when blogging. I was curious to know whether or not my friends were the only ones reading my blogs. So on this blog, The Blak Umbrella, I was looking under the "Stats" tab and found that people from the U.S., Germany, Russia, and even 1 person from Malaysia read, or at least stumbled upon, my blog at one point. As a result, this ultimately got me thinking about the world's interconnectedness. Ostensibly, the internet can have two people across the world connected within a matter of several button pushings and mouse clickings. It's becoming easier and easier to connect with strangers.

For example, chatroulette is a website that allows one to video chat with strangers. At the push of a button, a new stranger will appear.

Omegle is a website where one can simply have a conversation with a stranger. It's like facebook chat except there are no user names, no pictures of you, no webcams, and the amount of personal information you choose to give out is up to your own discretion.

The scary thing is how easy it is to utilize these social websites. You don't need to sign up for anything, nor create a profile. Anyone and everyone can access it as anonymously as they want.

Here's a fun fact that I heard awhile back (not sure if it's true): you pass a person at least 7 times before actually meeting them. I constantly think about this idea when I meet someone new: how many times have I passed you before in my life? This weekend I just met a volleyball coach at a coaching clinic. He looked very familiar and I couldn't help thinking: how many times have our teams been in the same tournaments? Did you go watch USA play Poland this summer too? Were you sitting in front of me? And then another question: do you know my uncle (who is a volleyball coach too)?

I wondered if he knew my uncle because the volleyball world is so small and I couldn't understand where I knew him from. Then I played a game with myself: I wonder how many degrees of separation there is between him and I. Who does he know who has a friend who has a friend who has a friend who is friends with me?

This summer in the magazine Muse, I read about the idea of the six degrees of separation on Facebook. If you were to pick any stranger in the world on facebook, you could most likely find a friend of theirs who has a friend who has a friend (and so on for six times) who is friends with you. I think this theory might be true, especially since I've befriended people on Facebook who live across the country and and yet we have at least 1 mutual friend. If I were to befriend someone from Denmark, I think it could be possible to have on average, a sixth degree of separation with that stranger. Crazy, isn't it? Want to know something crazier? In this ABC article from November this year, Facebook's recent experiements show stats that say the sixth degree is now the 4.74 degree!

Our connectedness as a world shows the power of influence we have on each other, be it through our ideas or simply through our social connections, our interconnectedness makes the world smaller and the strangers on the streets less..strange.


Read more about six degrees on Wikipedia (There are more links if you scroll to the bottom where it says "external links". There are some fascinating ones.)

Read about the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" trivia game. That's just funny and yet so incredibly mind-blowing.


Picture source:
http://futurefilm.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/footloose.jpg

Stopping the Stereotype

I was thinking about how to create a blog post about stereotypes and Thanksgiving when I thought about how Native Americans are amongst the several frequently stereotyped groups in America. This got me thinking about the controversy over University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's mascot, Chief Illiniwek. I found the article released by the University in 2007 regarding the NCAA's banning of the mascot. I personally don't mind the name "Fighting Illini" or the outfit of the mascot. When the Chief was first installed into the University in 1926, I think it would have been if anything an empowering and encouraging sentiment towards the natives of America. At that point, I don't think it was ever an insult nor a stereotype.

However, over time things change. Native American culture is sadly slowly fading and as the younger generations are becoming more integrated into Westernized America, they are losing touch with their native tongue, traditions, and ideals of their ancestors. Native Americans my age dress like me, talk like me, and are apart of the same school systems as I am. I can see how it would be offensive to a Native American if they saw Chief Illiniwek as representative of their culture, especially now. The article talked about how the half-time dance was offensive as well. I had never seen the dance so I did a classic youtube search and I now completely understand why the NCAA would want to ban the performance. For me, the dance portrays a mocking attitude towards Native American culture as a whole. We live in an era where stereotyping of any kind of culture is incessant and yet intolerable. I wish I could hear the perspective of a Native American because hearing their view might change mine. I think U of I has their own personal right to keep the mascot they've had for 81 years, but if the culture it represented was outraged, then I would have to respect that and let go of the tradition. At the same time, I'm sure for Illini alumni and current students, it might hurt a lot, but it being a tradition doesn't make it any less of a stereotype.

I'm clearly still very mixed on this issue...what do you think?

Metaphorical Mysteries

In class we read chapter one of "Metaphors We Live By" by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson who talk about how metaphors are mechanisms for our perceptions of the world. They shape how we understand concepts, make meaning out of ideas, and relate to other people. I never really thought about how I just naturally incorporate metaphors not only into my everyday language but also into my writing. Metaphors shape our thoughts and have become so intrinsically involved in our language.

I took this idea further by thinking about how often musical artists use metaphors as their overarching idea for a song. I scrolled through the music in my iPod and here are some songs I found that may have some underlying metaphorical meanings:

Straightjacket Feeling- All American Rejects
Life is a Highway- Rascal Flatts
Skinny Love- Bon Iver
Broken Strings- James Morrison
Boulevard of Broken Dreams- Green Day
Just Like a Pill- Pink

How effective is a metaphor in the way that we relate to a song or an artist?


For example, Broken Strings is a song that is largely about the broken relationship between a man and woman and how it's hard to make up for the mistakes just like how strings of an instrument are unplayable when they are broken. The reason why I like this song (and why I like many songs) is because of its lyrical appeal. In my head I get the image of someone struggling to play a song on a guitar with a few snapped strings. I see frustration and I can only imagine the awful sound it would produce. Only then can I understand the struggle between this man and woman. From a songwriting perspective I've learned that it's best to take a simple idea and say it through abstract or profound lyrics which make the song more interesting. The listener then has an image attached to the idea or at least something to compare it to in order to fully understand and appreciate the meaning of the song.

Here's a psychology blog called The Metaphorical Mind that I stumbled upon. Would you agree with the blog's author, Christopher Ramey, that metaphors are a way of achieving some kind of poetic syntax which makes a text flow more easily and create an emotional or imaginative attachment? I would like to know from you to what extent do metaphors shape our thinking, learning, and overall understanding of this world? Until next time...

How to Understand Culture

The interesting idea in this blog post is the idea of one's culture having an influence on their concept of time. Language has an effect on the way one perceives time and it also involves the culture they are used to. Some visually think of chronological time as moving from left to right, others from right to left, others from west to east, and others up and down. Why is this important to understand? We must realize that there are myriad reasons why we perceive things differently from one another. In this case, the extent to which you perceive time is dependent on your culture.

As another example, in English class, we were discussing the ways to best immerse oneself in a culture in order to fully understand and appreciate it. A general concesus was made that the best way to fully understand a culture is to be a part of it; to go out and experience it hands-on. While I also believe in that this form of immersion is the best, the class also agreed that traveling is not always the cheapest or most realistic option. We discussed one of our readings about how even museums might not be an effective way of understanding a culture because of the subjectiveness of the museum setup, despite the whole purpose of its existence. Who chooses the artifacts, the paintings, writes the signs, and chooses the pictures? And in that sense, museums influence the way that we perceive not only specific cultures, but also our understanding of history.

In another piece which we read, "The Museum Experience", the idea of a schema came up. Not only is our thinking about museums (and as a result culture, historical events, and the perception of time) affected by the people who create museums, but also by our own expectations. Even before we enter a museum we have our own pre-conceived notions based on the experiences we've heard from other visitors, adverstisements on the radio, the concept of the museum and how generally interested we are in the topic (because I think sometimes we choose what we want to understand), and many others.

It seems as if understanding a culture is a difficult phrase to define in itself. So, my question is: how do we know when we have fully "understood" a culture? If there are many factors which contribute to our understanding, when is the tipping point when we can jump up and down and say something like, "I get it! I fully understand how to be American." I mean, I don't think I even fully understand the American culture and I was born here. Since we are subjective in nature, it's interesting to think about the extent to which others have an effect on our own perception of the world.

Thoughts?

iChange

Welcome! Read this article: Facebook changes touch privacy nerve - ABC News

iProducts, Facebook, Google, the weather. Everything is changing. "Nothing is permanent except change," said Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher. It always fascinates me how our society and my generation specifically reacts to good and bad "change".

Referring to the above article, take Facebook for example. Ostensibly, there are users who are reasonably upset with the novelty changes because of lack of privatization, one of many ironic implications. The public showing of a user's every move and their lack of control over it, upsets many. On the old Book of Faces, you could easily delete "Chelsea wrote on Sara's wall". What is now permanent however, is: "Chelsea wrote: 'I had a great time at your party last night!' on Sara's wall". You can even see what other people wrote on the walls of groups they are a part of (and you might not even be a member of that same group!) However, just because you deleted something on Facebook, or anything on the Internet for that matter, doesn't mean that the information has simply disappeared out of thin air. Somewhere it still exists, your imprint is still on the world wide web. Once it's posted, it's posted forever. Deleting it simply makes it temporarily hidden. And perhaps, that's all some people want. But, does the enhanced publication really make a difference? To what extent does making something privatized a little less privatized make a difference in the long run to your public profile on a social online network? The day Facebook made it's most recent updates was the day that 1 in 10 of my friends decided to complain about it via status. Statuses like "Facebook sucks!!!", "Wtf facebook??", and "Thank you fb for giving the world ADD", made me realize the irony. Facebook is always changing, people. Don't like it? I have a solution: Get off it. These changes are obviously upsetting many youngsters. That's negative change.

Positive change: the iPhone 5. Many iPhone users thoroughly enjoy their mobile for many different reasons whether it be from a business, social, or academic perspective. Constant updates to the iPhone make life faster, easier, and more fun. No one really seems to mind these changes; many seem to anticipate it and are anxious about it, waiting in line for hours for Apple's doors to open. Why is this kind of change equally responsive but in a more positive light? Change is simple and ever evolving. People like it, people don't. If there's anything to remember folks, it's this: "Change is neither good nor bad. It simply is." (I can't find the speaker for that one.)

If you are neither a Facebook nor iPhone user, I apologize if I made this exclusive or unrelatable. But, I think we all experience change in our daily lives, from trying new foods to heading off to college. It can be absolutely frightening and positively refreshing. However, I think change isn't something to be afraid of. Sometimes we should embrace it. And all the time we should expect it.

#MyFavoriteSongsEver

#MyFavoriteSongsEver has been trending on Twitter all day long today. For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter, there's this thing called a "tweet" which is the essence of Twitter. Instead of "updating your status" on Facebook, you simply "tweet" on Twitter. You can tweet about really anything, as long as it is under 140 characters. Anyway, using a hashtag (#) is a way that things trend on the network. Example tweet: " #ThatAwkwardMomentWhen you ask someone where they go to school and they answer 'the same one as you...'". You can click on that hashtag and you can see what other tweets have mentioned #ThatAwkwardMomentWhen. So today, a lot of people were tweeting about their favorite songs. I thought that I might as well share some of my favorite songs right here.

Yes, I do have to relate this to psychology so I guess this blog post should be called #MyFavoriteSongsEverWhichRelateToPsych. Enjoy :)

1. Believe - The Bravery


The best part about this song is the chorus: "So give me something to believe, cuz I am living just to breathe. So give me something more. To keep on breathing for. Give me something to believe." I like these lines because I think that we all need something to believe in at some point in our lives. Regardless of anything: race, class, age, or religion, we all experience tough times whether it be a recession, the death of a loved one, or simply getting a big, fat F on a math test. We all need to believe in something: a god, an incentive, a meaning to life. It's what helps us get through every day.

2. Different - Acceptance


This song is all about setting yourself apart from others. What makes you special? Sometimes, we don't even understand who we are or what we stand for. In times like those, we need to remember what we believe in (see previous song) and that we are each uniquely our own.

3. Free - Jes Hudak


This song was on the reality show Platinum Hit (http://www.bravotv.com/platinum-hit/season-1/about). The challenge was to create a song while on a road trip. My favorite line is, "Sometimes you've gotta leave everything you know just pick up and go. There's so much out there to see. How will you know who you can be? The hardest thing I've ever done is try to find where I belong." There's so much in the world to explore and sometimes we just need to get up and see everything. I think that sometimes we don't realize our full potential academically, socially, and culturally, because we're afraid to stretch our limits and be uncomfortable with the challenging of our own thoughts. One of the hardest things for a teenager, or a senior in high school in particular, is coming to the realization that college is right around the corner. This means a lot of responsibility and a whole lot of decision making. A lot of 17 and 18 year olds haven't a clue what their place in the world is just yet. But this song reminds me to keep an open mind and that the next few years will be difficult but it can be a very fun, eye-opening experience.


4. Good Life - OneRepublic


This song enforces the complex idea of what they call "positive psychology" (sarcasm). People who keep a positive outlook on life typically live healthier and are happier. Uh, duh. "Good Life" is a simple reminder to remember all the positive little things that make the day go well and that it's perfectly acceptable to belt out, "THIS HAS GOTTA BE THE GOOD LIFE!" Once you sing it, you'll remember really what makes this life so worth living.

My Dear Readers...

Welcome! Buckle up and enjoy the ride. For English class, I will write on this blog throughout the course of the school year and I can only hope that you enjoy every single post. Posts will encompass various topics, some of which will be assigned by our teacher and related to the English curriculum, and many of them will be topics of our choice. Additionally, we were instructed to select an overarching "umbrella" or lens through which we look at a particular topic or issue. The umbrella I chose was psychology: the way humans perceive the world and what shapes our differences in perception, what causes us to behave in a certain manner, the extent to which experiences shape our choices and personality, etc. So, my hope is that upon reading these posts you can go forth and explore the world through multiple perspectives, challenge your own thoughts and ideas, take stances, and have fun discovering what you might have thought was undiscoverable.

Okay, clearly I'm interested in the way people think and behave and the reasons for it. But I promise there's more to me. I'm athletic- I play volleyball and like to go for runs and (fun fact) do pushups when I'm bored. One of my hobbies is playing the guitar and writing songs. To me, the most important things in life are family, faith, education, and helping others. I believe that the meaning of our lives is to create our own meanings and find ways to make life worth living. As for my future, I can't wait to take on the world with open ears, open eyes, and an open mind. One of my beliefs is that life is like driving in a car: not knowing where you are or where you're headed to, but knowing that in the end it will all be worth the ride.

On a final note: comment, comment, comment! I want to hear your voice too. I don't want to talk at you but with you!

Stay tuned. It gets better!