Blog # 7 This is I believe

Leah Altamont's essay, "Optimism is the path to success," tells us how having the right attitude can affect one's approach to accomplishing a task. Ultimately, a person who has a favorable temperament will, more often than not, find their achievements to come easier than someone who does not have a positive attitude. Her story is particularly about her experience learning how to tie her shoes and how on her first attempts she was not too confident with her abilities. That is even after learning the "Bunny Song" to remember the steps of how to tie them. The next day, after her first failed attempt, she was more confident in knowing she would figure it out his, and this timewith confidence on her side she was successful.

I chose this reading, because no matter what obstacles come our way in life, we should never give up. It does not matter how big or small the challenge is. Think of how the world would be today if our ancestors gave up after their first try at something. It would be much different; there would not be automobiles, phones (of any kind), houses to reside in, grocery stores to shop in, and many more convenience we now have. The uncanny situation about all of those inventions/creations are that the inventors/creators all ran in to several failures prior to their achievement.

Undoubtedly, people achieve more with an optimistic outlook. On the other hand, and I know this from many first-hand experiences, if someone does not think they are going to achieve something (having no confidence in them self) then they are not going to achieve. Numerous people throughout my life have given up on their dreams prior to even attempting to seek them out. As well, many of those have let minuscule challenges/obstacles stop them dead in their tracks, and they stay off track the rest of their life.

Too often, our society gives up. They would rather settle for the easy. Instead, fight and put in hard, labourous efforts to achieve their true potential. Not a single person in this world can better themselves come tomorrow, so long as they put in the effort today All in all, No one should stop striving for excellence because surely with enough effort will be achieved.
(http://thisibelieve.org/essay/42895/)

"Facebook in a Crowd," Blog #6

Hal Niedzviecki’s article, “Facebook in a Crowd,” reflects upon his experience of attempting to become a real friend with his Facebook “friends”. The title of his excerpt sums up the reading rather well: Facebook in a Crowd which means to me: just another face lost in the crowd. After, he has a failed attempt at throwing a party with Facebook friends on the list of attendees. He discovers that his attempts to acquire friends through social networking may not be the best way to acquire them in the real world.

            When did the number of online friends become a means of having a sense of accomplishment in life? Do not get me wrong. I was once an individual swept away by the glory of having thousands of friends. But is it not the quality of friendship that makes the most difference? It has made a huge impact in my life, knowing that there are other people in the world who truly express a genuine concern for another person's well-being and share similar beliefs.

            This goes right along with Hal’s experience with online friends. He sent out a request to 700 of his Facebook friends. Yet, only 1 person out of 700 who received the request actually showed up for his party. That one person is a true sign of the quality of online friendships. One can figure that only .00143% of someone’s online friends truly care.  Although, I can rationalize, and say that he most likely has people on his friend’s list that are true friends (just as we all do).

            The true moral of the story is quality versus quantity: quality should always take first precedence.

iPod World:The End of Society, Blog #5

Enrichment of Life Impeded by Fright

Andrew Sullivan’s article, “iPod: The End of Society?,” brings to the reader’s attention the ups and downs of portable music in a metropolitan area. It refers to a culture of the “oblivious”, each one of us is stuck in our “own little musical world.” Andrew points out that we are denying ourselves life enhancing interactions which once came to us without thinking; an influence brought upon us by another person's choice of music or their matter of opinion which we happened to overhear. Though, the portability of music, nowadays, allows us to have access to a plethora of songs which we can manipulate into our own album of musical enjoyment.

            In today’s modern world, the weaknesses of our society, due to the likelihood that someone’s feelings may be hurt is in my opinion why we keep our music to ourselves. It is the reason why we cannot listen to music out loud. It goes back to the old rhyme, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” What happened to that?

In today’s age, our society walks around on egg-shells afraid that the least little thing may offend somebody. We all secretly live in fear of being sued. Our school playgrounds mirror that same fear. Every corner is rounded, padded, and made of soft plastics. The ground that the equipment rests on is covered in a cushioned rubber mat. Have we become so frail that we cannot heal from a bump or scrape, let alone heal from the emotional wounds of words? Yes, words can be eternally powerful. But what in our universe is more powerful than our mind? Nothing.

Words of another or the words from the music they listen to should not offend us, so long as our mind is strong. Our minds can fathom and create into existence vessels which can carry us worlds away. Yet, so weak that a word can impact/destroy it. We, as people, need to be more concerned with what we think of ourselves than what others think of us. Maybe then our minds would not be so easily offended, and our society not as frail. Then we, once again, can be free with our music, not escape into our own world, and enjoy the enrichment of life that others can provide.

"Literacy Behind Bars" Blog #4

           "Literacy Behind Bars" is an amazing narrative written by one of the most notable historic figures of our time: Malcolm X. He guides us through the path he took in order to become an acclimated reader. His journey truly began inside the walls of a prison in Charlestown, Massachusetts where envy of a fellow inmate's knowledge took root deep within his soul. This envy was then fertilized by the written word and grew into a mighty oak of known literacy (the notable Malcolm X we know today).

            Quite surprising, to me, this was the first time I had read the words of Malcolm X. An author who, I am now certain, will frequent my bookshelf. With the exception of one passage from paragraph two, I enjoyed and looked forward with anticipation to reading each sentence.

            I, like Malcolm X, feel a sense of pride when I discover new words, as though, I was a child the day after Christmas showing off his new bike. I am unstoppable when I have a new word in my repertoire, and I enthusiastically retort it to all my friends. I am envious of Malcolm, though. At times, I wish I could be freed of the responsibilities, distractions, and day's events that freedom grants us. I find myself, at moments, pondering the life of a monk. How great would that be to have all the time in the world, free of distraction, to escape into the world of books, and be able to meditate, indefinitely, on what you have just read?

"Sh*tty First Drafts" Blog #3

Fine First Drafts

In Anne Lamott’s excerpt “Sh*tty First Drafts” from her book “Bird by Bird,” she explains the importance of fumbling around with thoughts/ideas and spewing words onto paper in order to have a beginning for a writing. This mess of ideas has led many wordsmiths to masterfully craft quite, exceptional works of literature. In the final paragraph, she states “all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.” A statement, I am sure, all authors may easily be able to relate to.

I, personally, do not have “sh*tty first drafts.” The reason for this is because I put a generous amount of consideration into the construction of each sentence I write. My “sh*tty first drafts” never make it beyond a “sh*tty first” thought. Typically, my first drafts are a “down” and “up” draft all blended into a refreshing toothpaste ready for a “dental draft.” I was utterly captured by those metaphors the author’s friend had made which were referred to in the last paragraph.

Though, my favorite remark the author makes is in the second paragraph. She states that, “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it.” That is an excellent, true to life point that she makes. I do not believe any authors have started writing and have felt, prior to putting pen to paper, that this is the one that will have the greatest impact. Instead, the well-known and impactful novels/stories are only discovered after they have been read. In a sense, an author may not even know how great it is until after they, themselves, have read it.