Meta-Blog IV

Readers,          ---Please look at this blog---
        The year draws to a close, and the only thing left to do now is reflect. I looked over the blogs I have written for you throughout the year, and I am delighted at what I found. I have found that while a blog is essentially for the readers, I believe I have gotten much more out of it. Writing an a weekly basis was like the stone that honed my sword. It helped me think of new ways to connect to my audience, and write in creative ways. In fact, I discovered that one of the things that I blogged about most, recently, was the power of words and perception.
         One of the areas I think I most improved in was finding out and applying the principle that writing is not something done from a million miles away. Good writing speaks to the reader. It is personal and involved. And that does not necessarily mean that the writing addresses the reader. It simply means that the author recognizes that someone is going to read their work, and tries their best to include the reader in what they are writing about. I think I have improved in that, at least. I strove to engage my audience in my writing, however uninteresting the topic choice. I have developed my "voice" as a writer, and while my writing style is far from perfect, I think it is uniquely my own.
          I think that one of the reasons I have changed recently is that I recently fell back into the habit of reading a lot. During the middle of the school year I have other commitments, and schoolwork, that keeps me from having time to sit and read. But as soon as I started again I was refreshed. It led to me respecting the power of words and reading. And that leads me to what I think I enjoy most about the blog. It, like reading, allows me to exercise my brain. And not in a rigorous math-calculation sort of way. It allows for creativity, and thinking. Exercise, eating right, and sleep are all supposed to lead to a happier life, but if you're not reading and writing I don't think you've reached full potential. So I wish to thank the blog project, for letting me stretch my creative wings. I may not have flown, but I certainly glided around a bit.
         One last thing. At the beginning of the year I posted a "test-post" that I titled "The End." I did it so I could cleverly say something about "The Beginning" at the end of the school year. So before the school year ends, I would like to say that while this may be the close of my required writing on this blog, I hope this is the gateway that leads me to a love of writing. Thank you for reading.

The Story You Tell Yourself

Readers,
  Recently in class we broached the subject of belief. We did not get to this topic through religion, as one might suspect, but rather through a discussion about happiness. We eventually decided that happiness is really all about perception, and that someone with a small paycheck could be just as happy as someone with a large one, simply because they believe they are. But then our teacher made the claim that perhaps everything we are is simply a story we tell ourselves. That our goods and bads are all made up in our minds. That we are a self-defining species, and maybe even our limitations are set by ourselves.
  This instantly struck a chord with me, because it is a philosophy that I stiffly stick to. I picked it up from a book I read by Patrick Rothfuss, titled The Name of the Wind. In this book one of the main characters describes this philosophy, but with one step further. The character used the example of a man many considered to be a hero, but went into hiding as a bartender. He said that we are all defined by the stories that we tell ourselves and by the stories others believe about us. He claimed that the Hero had been created by people telling stories of his heroic deeds, and eventually the Hero believed he was one. But then the Hero had to go into hiding, so he took on the persona of a bartender. He wore this persona like a mask, a bartender's face, but a Hero's soul. People saw him as a bartender, but in his mind-story he was still a Hero. As time went on, however, he began to believe that he was indeed a bartender, and not actually the Hero he had been built up to be. Thus his mind-story changed, and the Hero was gone.
  While this is a sad example of how we view ourselves, I think it shows exactly what I am talking about. We may define ourselves in our minds, but we are equally shaped by the belief of others. Even the strongest mind is eventually worn down by the belief of thousands. One simply cannot continue to believe they are a Hero, when everyone else is convinced they are a bartender. But the best part of this philosophy, I think, is that it could go both ways. If in a mind-story someone is convinced they are ugly, then that is all they know. But if everyone they know believes they are beautiful, then eventually they will believe this too.
   I say all of this because I think it is incredible to see the power of belief in how we see things. We could create a complete lie, but if everyone believes it, then it is true. That is the power of faith, it can turn lies into the truth, and the truth into lies.

Slam Poetry

Readers,

Recently my entire American Studies class had the opportunity to listen to legendary poet Roger Bonair-Agard. He read poems to us that he had won awards for in many poetry slams, and I must admit, it touched me. The rhythm and wording of his poems didn't follow what I normally considered as poetry, it was different. It was better. The words didn't rhyme, there was no discernible beat, and I am not a good enough scholar of poetry to understand what meter he was using. But no of that mattered. When Mr. Bonair-Agard read his poetry, the words seemed to have power. They flowed together as if they did rhyme, but they didn't, and I nodded my head as if there was a beat, but there wasn't. That is what completely captured me. I have always harbored the romantic belief that words hold incredible power, you just need to use them right. What I experienced that day was proof to me that words do hold power. It reminded me of a YouTube video I had seen a while previously, but had not realized what I had found. George Watsky recorded his own poetry slam, which you can view here. He also uses his words with power, and it is a good example of what I am trying to define. I will try to leave you with this: I was shocked to find that poetry is the key to showing what I suspected all along, that words hold immense power.

Junior Theme: A Reflection

Readers,

         I believe a reflection on my junior theme is long overdue. I have had time to contemplate the entire experience, from the beginning when I thought of my question, to what I consider the end, when I co-led a discussion on my topic during America Studies Day. When I first started this journey, I thought my reflection would include how hard the entire thing was, how much work I was forced to do, and how little I enjoyed the experience. At this point, however, I think my only option is to say the opposite. I had fun with Junior Theme. I enjoyed the research and the writing, and eventually the presentation I got to give. Of course it was plenty of work, but I knew that was coming from the beginning, and it made the finished product so much more rewarding. And in the end I think that this was the goal that the school set for Junior Theme. To create a strenuous writing project that eventually showed students how rewarding and enjoyable such a project can be. It is very possible that this goal was not accomplished with everyone, but I am very happy to say that it was accomplished with me.

The Obvious Choice

Readers,
Tonight my job is easy, because there is only one story to talk about. Osama bin Laden is dead. There is no article to link to yet, but hopefully you believe that I would not lie about this.

The point of this post is not to talk about the unbelievable pros of his death, or the cons. This is just a placeholder, so the views of someone whose life could be considered "defined" by 9/11 can be recorded.

Because it's true. This episode of Osama on the run after 9/11 has lasted almost a decade, around when I was in first grade. I barely knew the world was round then, let alone that a whole sect of a religion was bent on my destruction. So it makes sense that this is "a turning point" for me. The death of Osama is certainly a relief. Even if there was doubt that he was still alive, and that he had not openly appeared  in a long time. Knowing that someone who has come to stand for the attacks on America is now dead is a relief. The relief is not the bull-head "America wins!" relief, though, it's a feeling of "finally we can put this one to rest, and move on." Frankly, I didn't want to be known as the generation that spent it's better years looking for Osama. Luckily, that's not us anymore. Now we can finally be the generation that caught him, finished things, and went on to do more great things. Because we couldn't dwell on this forever. Whether we caught him or not, we'd have to move on. Now we can. Congratulations America, we won.

And the Paper Will Write Itself

Readers,
       As JT moves into its final stages, it's time to start thinking about how I'm going to write this paper. It starts as a slightly frightening aspect, as this is such a large project. However, I find it helpful if I do everything one step at a time. Usually I begin writing a paper and plan it as I go along. But I've realized that I have to plan most of this paper beforehand, because of it's length. So in order to organize myself, I decided that I should think of my thesis map before I try to put anything together. I am under the impression that if my map is strong enough, the information and research I have done will fall into place behind those "arguments." I would encourage others to do this as well. Make your arguments strong first, and the paper might write itself.

Finding the Right Person

Readers,
       Junior theme continues on, despite how much more time I wish I had. The need for an interview was one of the tricky requirements that we had to cover recently. At first it seemed like a daunting task, for I knew no one in the Automotive industry to talk to. On top of that, my question sounded more opinion-based and interpretive that other questions, one that required drawing on a lot of different factors. This made finding an expert on "the car" very challenging. However, I then realized that my life would be made a lot easier if I tried to find someone who was an expert on a specific piece of the automotive world. Highways, for instance, or production, or sales. Someone with knowledge on any one of this sub-topics would help me unravel the answer to my question. So I was able to put myself in contact with an expert on interstate highways, as well as other topics. This, I think, will help me towards the end.