Best Of The Week: Technology

I can not live without my iPhone. Without my phone, sometimes I get the feeling that I lost connection with the world. When we talked about how technology has evolved and is still evolving it made me realize how attached I have become to my technology and that it could not always be a good thing. Texting, e-mail and instant messaging has made our society so socially awkward it frightens me to think about how the future generations are going to interact with people, NOT over the computer. Will they even be able to hold a real conversation? Some people can't even do that right now, and technology is no where near where it could be in the next 15-20 years.

I think the creation of social media basically was a death sentence for human interaction. People feel so much more confident behind the security of a computer or cell phone screen, they are willing to push limits they never would dare go near in a real life situation.

Our class discussion really brought me to highlight the important things in life and while technology is definitely one of them, I hope I can find a way to change the way I use it.

Blogging Around

I commented on Elli L's blog because it helped me realize something about myself I had never thought about and it helped me come to terms with my bad habits.


This blog brought up a point that I had not really addressed. Whenever I clean my room, I do it because I know the feeling I will get after of having a clean room, but I have never thought about why it takes me such a long time to realize that my room needs to be cleaned.

Now I figured out it was because I like to put things off and avoid doing them until the last minute just like you. This is an extremely bad habit that I have gotten myself into. It can not only translate into bad grades in school but also my future could be drastically impacted by my lack of attention to detail.

I commented on Brittany's blog, "Creating Your Own Philosophy" because I thought she brought up an extremely interesting point in regards to school clubs and the point systems.

Brittany I thought that your blog was extremely relevant to almost all students at Glenbrook South. Not just with clubs, but every day at school. Yes school can be boring, but if we are not passionate about what were learning, we may as well not even been in school, for it is not benefitting us, the teacher or our other classmates and isn't that the long term goal? School is for growth, not only of the single student but everyone else around them.

When you talked about the point system you dropped for cure club, it really got me thinking about how many things I do in life where I just go through the motions, so I can say "Yeah I was there, I did that" and how much a waste of my time that has been. People definitely need to reconsider the things they do because there are so many negative outcomes if your not passionate about the things you spend your time on.

Blogging Around

In Deena M's blog, she expressed her thoughts on how good a clean room feels. I replied back by saying,

This blog is really easy for me to read because I can completely relate to it. My closet is always a huge mess, with clothes and other things piled up until I realize that I can't take it anymore, but once I clean it the mess returns in a matter of weeks. But whenever my room is nice and tidy theres just a feeling of relief and comfort that comes ove me, its so much nicer being in a clean room.

Also, cleaning something that is very cluttered is always an accomplishment and definelty gives me a positive attitude as well.


In Danny C's blog, he brought up important questions that were stated in Sophies World and it helped me to understand the value of the material in the book.

This post really made me look outside just the book, and take the questions that the author brings up as something to definetly look into. Up until basically now I was just reading the book and gaining knowledge on the material inside of it, but was not properly understanding it.

I think one of the main purposes of us reading this book was to put our own lives in perspective and genuinley think about the questions that are asked, and not just read over them.
I
 completely agree with you in that things are irrelevant without thinking about these things because not only do they help us question things about our lives but also it really makes you think about the rest of the world.

Get Organized

My room has never been as messy as it is now. There are clothes spewed out all over the floor, and I am basically unable to determine clean from dirty. This may be strange, but looking at this mess is very intimidating. I do not know what part of my room to tackle first.

It is actually stressful to walk into a cluttered room every day. It makes it feel like you do not have space to live much less breath. As I begin to sort through the clothes, papers, pens and books thrown on my green carpet, I immediately want to stop cleaning. I know my room will be messy again in just a matter of days so whats the point? And this time, just like every other time, I push that thought out of my brain and keep cleaning.

45 minutes later, I stand by my door and look at my spotless room and automatically feel accomplished and relaxed.

I had never thought how good I would feel after simply cleaning up my own mess, a normal and common activity. A clean room makes things much easier. I can now study in my room, without feeling like I'm sitting in a laundry bin or just relax and not constantly have to be reminded of how sloppy I am.

Before truly thinking about how I would feel after I clean, straightening things up was always a chore for me. Something I dreaded doing because I knew it was counterproductive. Now, I still do not really enjoy the process of cleaning, but I know how much it can help in other aspects of my life instead of just having a clean place to sleep.

Best of The Week: Socrates

This is the one chapter of the book I found myself instantly drawn to. Socrates theory and philosophy interest me greatly.

The most amazing thing I thought of this chapter was the story of the people in the cave. After reading that story my mind went on a journey and explored so many different aspects of our everyday life and helped me determine how important they were. It made complete sense to me as to why the other cave dwellers were so unhappy with the one who escaped. If someone told me everything I ever knew and believed was a complete lie I would have a similar reaction.

It really goes to show that even the little things in life, that we often take for granted, are worth appreciating.

I will definitly use his teachings and prinicples in my everyday life, whether it be related to the story of a different aspect of Socrates philosophy. Each aspect opens new doors which can lead to endless possibilities of thinking in which I am willing to explore.

Metacognition: Shadow Catcher

During the first quarter, we did many things in class that I would consider to be unusual in other classes. One of these things included reading the novel The Shadow Catcher. It was a book that was definetly hard to understand in the beginning and throughout the course of the book.

When I was reading this book I remember constantly thinking "What is the point of this story?" and putting the book down in frustration because everything that was written seemed to be irrelevent. Each time I read a new page I wondered why I even bothered reading a book I did not understand.

Then, I decided to put all of my opinions outside of my reading for one night, and basically start fresh with book. Instantly, I like it and wanted to keep reading. I surprised myself when this happens. Usually when I get frustrated with things, I give up on them.

One thing I wished I changed about my thinking is that I start keeping an open mind from the beginning, and I should not have to dislike something in order for my thinking to change.

Blogging Around

In Maria G's blog, she talked about how the photographer from Born Into Brothels also struggled just as the kids did, but in a different way. I replied to that by saying :

Maria, what I enjoyed most about this post was that you focused more on the photographer and how she struggles along with them. This gave me a different perspective of the movie, because i just looked at it through the eyes of the children and how hard it was for them.

Also, I never thought to really connect it back to Shadow Catcher in the way that you did. I always took different angles but I agree that the importance of identity was definitely a major part in both of these works of art.



In Deena M's blog, she talked about the importance in your expression of style, and not wearing a uniform. I replied to that by saying:
I can relate to this blog post probably more than most people, since I went to a catholic school for 10 years of my life. Not only did the uniforms bother me by there appearance but I don't think that it is fair for someone to punish you based on your appearance. There is much more to it than just being able to pick your own clothes. The school I went to, everyone was the same. Not only in the way we dressed, but since we all dressed the same then we were classified as basically the same snobby rich north shore kid.

These things bother me. 

When you talked about teenagers being able to express themselves and have a sense of freedom; I completely agreed with that. Having your own sense of style is something that makes a person different from everyone else.