Passion Project Update

I'm stuck in a bit of a slump. I have found a ton of words but I'm stuck when it comes what to do with them. Initially I was going to make a video acting out the definition of the words but most of them can't be acted out. I was also thinking of of making a dictionary of my own words(not like words I made up but like the words I wanted to put in)  but I don't know how to make it interesting and not just like a regular dictionary. I think I'm going to start exploring more on the origin of language(not just the English language but all language) and maybe even try to find out what makes certain words more common then others like why do certain words die out while others are still in.I have a lot to figure out so I plan on using my Fridays more wisely.

127 Hours

"There is no force more powerful than the will to live." When we first discussed this quote in class, I immediately thought of drowning. I remembered hearing this quote on Teen Wolf (yes I'm quoting Teen Wolf sorry), "You know when you’re drowning you don’t actually inhale until right before you black out. It’s called voluntary apnea. It’s like no matter how much you’re freaking out, the instinct to not let any water in is so strong that you won’t open your mouth until you feel like your head’s exploding. Then when you finally do let it in, that’s when it stops hurting. It’s not scary anymore, it’s… it’s actually kind of peaceful.”  I also thought of  crazy incidents where people are stranded. Life of Pi came to mind as well. I thought of how long he was stuck at sea and how even trapped on a boat with a tiger he managed to keep himself sane and alive long enough to find shore. I also thought of how people resort to cannibalism in order to survive. Before this lesson, I had watched 127 hours at home. I always enjoy doing things more than once (like re-reading a book) because you pick up on things you may have missed the first time around. This movie was no exception. I think my viewing experience changed a bit now that I'm older, forgot about some details and was generally more aware when watching. It's like the first time you go through something just to go through it, then you go through a second time and look for your answers.The first time I watched the movie I was interested but I wasn't aware. I didn't completely understand what Aaron went through. The struggle he went through didn't really sink in. I hadn't realized how much strength he would have to possess to go without food and water for 5 days while enduring freezing temperatures, hallucinations and not being able to sleep. Watching the movie the second time really let all of that sink in. Before I was like "WOW he cut off his own arm  to survive!!!!!!!" but then I learned what he really did and its like " WOW HE CUT OFF HIS OWN ARM. HE HAD TO BREAK HIS OWN BONE. HE HAD TO CUT OUT A NERVE. AND HE FELT IT ALL BECAUSE WHERE HE WAS CUTTING, HIS ARM WASN'T DEAD AND IF THAT'S NOT BAD ENOUGH HE HAD TO USE A DULL KNIFE TO CUT HIS BARE FLESH. ON TOP OF THAT HE WAS LOSING A GREAT AMOUNT OF BLOOD WHILE HE WAS ALREADY STARVING AND HADN'T DRANK WATER IN 5 DAYS. AND AFTER ALL THAT HE GRABS HIS CAMERA AND TAKES A PICTURE OF HALF OF HIS ARM HE LEFT IN THE ROCK THEN JOGS FOR WHAT PROBABLY FELT LIKE HOURS TO HIM WHILE FEELING THE DIZZINESS FROM ALL THE BLOOD LOSS TO FIND HELP. MOST OF ALL, AFTER ALL THAT HE CONTINUES TO GO ROCK CLIMBING. AMAZING"
Some people after seeing what he went through would think he was crazy for continuing to rock climb after having his accident but I would have to disagree. After finding out he still continues to do what he loves I was happy for him . I feel like it's very courageous of him ( mostly because if that happened to me I would never leave the house again)(heck I don't think I would have even made it past stabbing my self in the arm the second that knife hit skin I would have passed out)(actually I probably wouldn't have even made it that far I'm a wimp I probably would have stopped trying as soon as I ran out of food and water)(maybe even the second it turned night time I can't handle the cold and the 3 blankets I'm using right now  in my almost 70 degree house while typing would have to agree). The point of the movie, I believe, is to show, like Arron himself said, that "When something happens, it's a trauma, but we decide if its going to be a tragedy or a triumph." Aaron definitely turned this experience into a triumph. Instead of drowning himself in self-pity he did something. He didn't give up. He took action, freed himself, learned from his mistakes, and took this opportunity to better himself.

Dasani - Invisible Child

After reading the 5-part story on Dasani and her family I was left in deep thought with many questions. I had a few questions when reading like, Why does the city not put money towards fixing the shelter?, Why do they even examine the shelter if nothing is being done to fix it?, and Why do the police not take the problems going on in the building, like rape, burglary, etc., seriously?.I was angry that all these people are being ignored. And that's just at Auburn there's tons of shelters out there with families just like the ones that lived with Dasani that are being left behind. I get disgusted when thinking of all the children that suffer in these shelters and how their families are probably trying to leave but they don't have anyone to help. At the end of the story I was left wondering what Dasani was doing now. The common questions like what happened to Chanel and Supreme, how are they liking their home, how is the family doing, etc, came to mind. What really struck out to me was the way the author ended the story. I was confused on why the author would leave us so abruptly without a conclusion but, I'm starting to realize that no ending would be satisfactory for me. I think the author was right in leaving the story off where she did. Even with more parts I feel I would still want more because Dasani's story is never ending. She has so much of her life left and is full of so much potential. The author did her job, showed us what we needed to see and when she felt she got her point across she stopped. I feel like she's leaving the story unwritten for Dasani to write herself. Overall, I really enjoyed the piece. I learned a lot about being homeless and how shelters work. I learned that a roof above someone’s head doesn't necessarily mean they have a home and that homeless shelters aren't the safe havens I believed them all to be. I was able to understand why so many people never get out of poverty and how there is an impulse to buy new things once you have the money to afford them. After reading about their life, I felt very grateful for what I have but shameful at the same time for all the things I take for granted on a daily basis. 

Despite our lives being so different, I see a bit of myself in Dasani. She's determined, filled with hope, is genuinely curious about everything, and never quits. I admire her strength and her ability to rise back up after having a bad day as well as her decision to make a better life for herself. Rather than get into drugs, stealing, etc., she planned on saving up her money and buying her family a home and now she aspires to go to college which I think is wonderful. If I could talk to Dasani I would tell her to never give up. I would tell her that she shouldn't let where she is from hold her back from achieving her dreams. I would tell her that she has the potential to accomplish great things. I would tell her how much I admire her. Lastly, I would tell her that the president and his family do live at the white house.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild was one of the best movies I've seen in a while. I enjoyed the movie in general but there were a few lines that I loved. One of my favorites was "The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right. If one piece busts, even the smallest piece, the entire universe will get busted." I suppose I enjoyed the movie so much because of how wise and fearless Hushpuppy was. It was amazing that at 6 years old she was able to see the world in one big picture. She knew there was so much more to the universe then her. She was able to comprehend so many things. A few lines that got to me were "When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me flying around in invisible pieces. I see that I'm a little piece of a big, big universe", and"All the time, everywhere, everything's hearts are beating and squirting and talking to each other in ways I can't understand. Most of the time they probably be saying, 'I'm hungry or I gotta poop' or sometimes they be talking in codes." Hushpuppy was also fearless due to the way her father raised her. I found their relationship to be very interesting. Wink, her father, wanted her to grow up to be strong so she could take care of her self and handle anything that came in her way. He's always rough with her but there is a touch of gentleness because he does love her. My favorite quote from wink was "My only purpose in life is to teach her how to make it," because it sums up all his intentions with the things he does, like when he tells her not to cry or when he has her open up the crab by "beasting" it (opening it up with her hands and eating it like a beast would). In the movie we see Hushpuppy act the way her father told her to. She refuses to leave the Bathtub and when she'd forced to she comes back anyway. She knows what people say about the Bathtub but she doesn't care. She then says "They think we're all gonna drown down here. But we ain't going nowhere", "One day, the storm's gonna blow, the ground's gonna sink and the water's gonna rise up so high ain't gonna be no Bathtub, just a whole bunch of water… But me and my daddy, we stay right here. We is who the earth is for."  and "Everybody loses the thing that made them. It's even how it's supposed to be in nature. The brave men stay and watch it happen, they don't run." Hushpuppy is one of those brave men. When the aurochs approached her she wasn't scared, she looked them straight in the eye because she knew that " Strong animals know when your hearts are weak," and she wasn't weak. Another reason I loved Hushpuppy was because she had such big dreams and aspirations and plans of making a name for herself. She says a few times in the movie that "In a million years when kids go to school, they're gonna know, there was a Hushpuppy and she lived with her daddy in the Bathtub." Overall, I loved the movie and it's ability to make the way of life in the bathtub seem normal, at one point I found myself not wanted to see them leave either.
I think this movie fits into our humanity unit because it shows some important traits we have as humans. The movie shows that we are able to solve problems. When the Bathtub floods, they find a way to survive despite the challenges. It also shows we have empathy.It shows a free way of living. They didn't have modern technology, they didn't live in a big city,they had to find their own food not buy it and basically they lived a simple life. They couldn't buy food from a grocery store they had to fish for it themselves. Lastly, it showed us that there are different ways of living and thinking but even with these differences we still have the same characteristics that make us human.

Passion Project Update & Reflection

We are now halfway through our passion projects and I can honestly say I haven't gotten much done. I had lost track of how little time I have. My progress is small. I have read "Half of the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and I have taken notes on what I want to include in my presentation. I also started my second book two  weeks ago called The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedman. It has taken me 6 passion days along with multiple 30 minute reading sessions before bed to finish Half the Sky. I started my second book on the 7th passion day but haven't gotten far in it.I've been too busy with school work to try to read but my laziness/ procrastination has paid its dues as well. I spent the last passion day finishing my Myers-Brigg blog post so I lost some time there too. With only 8 passion days left and I still need to finish The Feminine Mystique and my third book on women's history. My plan for the rest of the project is to read more at home. I will try to dedicate more of my free time to reading so I can finish both books. In addition, I will keep my reading at home now instead of during class time. During these next 8 passion days, starting tomorrow, I will begin the research part of my project like where feminism first began and how it's grown. Also, during these days I will construct a poll to give to the class and to others. Lastly, I will begin to start/build my prezi and add information on as I go. I might have to do some work at home but if I stay on schedule I think I'll be able to include everything I want into my project.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

After taking the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), I uncovered that I was an INFJ. 

The "I" stands for Introversion meaning that " I often prefer doing things alone or with one or two people I feel comfortable with. I take time to reflect so that I have a clear idea of what I’ll be doing when I decide to act. Ideas are almost solid things for me. Sometimes I like the idea of something better than the real thing." 

The "N" stands for Intuition meaning that "I would rather learn by thinking a problem through than by hands-on experience. I’m interested in new things and what might be possible, so that I think more about the future than the past", "I am interested in doing things that are new and different", and I like to see the big picture, then to find out the facts."

The "F" stands for Feeling meaning that "I believe I can make the best decisions by weighing what people care about and the points-of-view of persons involved in a situation. I am concerned with values and what is the best for the people involved. I like to do whatever will establish or maintain harmony. In my relationships, I appear caring, warm, and tactful."

The "J" stands for Judging meaning that I use my decision-making (Judging) preference (whether it is Thinking or Feeling) in my outer life. To others, I seem to prefer a planned or orderly way of life, like to have things settled and organized, feel more comfortable when decisions are made, and like to bring life under control as much as possible.Since this pair only describes what I prefer in the outer world, I may, inside, feel flexible and open to new information (which I am).Do not confuse Judging with judgmental, in its negative sense about people and events. They are not related."

After this test I became more aware of certain things I do. Sometimes you don't realize the kinds of things you do until it's pointed out. If I was asked to describe my personality the first thing I would think to say wouldn't be that I prefer to look at the big picture then find out the facts, but if asked I would agree. I realized that those certain things I do lead me to think differently than others. The most important thing I learned after taking this test was that there is no one set way of thinking. Everyone sees things differently and most will probably think differently than me. 

According to this test, there are at least 16 different personalities. But that's just a rounding. There are always going to be people who break the mold, even if its just a little bit. What makes us human could be our differences in the way we think. There are at least 16 ways of thinking, 16 different curiosities, and billions of ways of fulfilling our curiosity. We are human because we ask questions, we find answers, we go on journeys, we make discoveries, we are always solving problems, we are always improving all because we all think differently and we are all curious. 

Joyas Voladras

Our hearts are probably our most important muscle/organ. They're only about the size of a fist but they pump blood through our bodies 24/7, 365 days of every year only ever stopping when we die. That's a lot of work. In the essay Joyas Voladras we learn about many hearts including the engine of a heart trapped inside the hummingbird. The hummingbird is a magnificent creature. Their hearts beat 10 times a second (while normal human hearts beat a mere 1-3 per second). Not only does the hummingbirds heart beat almost 10 times faster than ours but "a hummingbird's heart is only the size of a pencil eraser." With a heart like that it's no surprise that hummingbird's don't live to be a 100 years old. Hummingbirds live a fast ambitious life and "The price of their ambition is a life closer to death." It is said that "Every creature on earth has approximately two billion heartbeats to spend in a lifetime. You can spend them slowly, like a tortoise, and live to be two hundred years old, or you can spend them fast, like a hummingbird, and live to be two years old." This was one of my favorite quotes in the essay because it makes you think. I believe that Brian Doyle was trying to get the readers to think about is how they spend their 2 billion beats. The tortoise and the hummingbird are obviously two different extremes and I don't think that we are meant to be like either one. We as humans are given the happy medium in this situation. Although we don't live to be as old as a tortoise we are given more time than just 2 lousy years. Hummingbirds may live a fast life but it's a bit of a meaningless life. When reading and re-reading this quote I initially thought of a video we saw last week in class. In the video, Neil Pasricha discusses his 3 A's of Awesome: Attitude, Awareness, and Authenticity. Basically, he talks about how it's important that we live the little time we have here on Earth with a positive attitude, that we are aware of all the awesome things, especially during dark times, and that more importantly we have authenticity, and no matter what we stay true to ourselves. I believe Brian left us with a similar message. He gets you thinking about those 2 billion heart beats. In the last paragraph of his essay, Doyle talks about how "all hearts finally are bruised and scarred, scored and torn, repaired by time and will, patched by force of character, yet fragile and rickety forevermore, no matter how ferocious the defense and how many bricks you bring to the wall. You can brick up your heart as stout and tight and hard and cold and impregnable as you possibly can “but even though we are torn, and even though we build walls we can't stop being aware of things good or bad. Our walls topple " in an instant, felled by a woman's second glance, a child's apple breath, the shatter of glass in the road, the words I have something to tell you, a cat with a broken spine dragging itself into the forest to die, the brush of your mother's papery ancient hand in a thicket of your hair, the memory of your father's voice early in the morning echoing from the kitchen where he is making pancakes for his children." With this in mind, the answer to our question “What does it mean to be human " becomes clear; we are not humans because we have hearts and organs, we are human because of how we live. "So much held in a heart in a lifetime. So much held in a heart in a day, an hour, a moment." As humans we are aware of many things. We know when to build our walls up, we remember the pain but at the same time we remember the good. We can't help being aware, and we can't help that our walls fall down. We are curious beings with the need to share with others. We have empathy. All these qualities effect how we live, and all these qualities are what make us human.

What does it mean to be human?

I believe that every person is a human. We all have skin and organs and ears and arms and legs, etc. And although some people are missing a few pieces we are still the same. We all have a heart beat and a brain even though some work better than others.  We all eat, drink and sleep to survive. Humans are people who are created by a mother and father. The main factor, I believe, that makes us human is that we have consciousness. Humans are aware of their surroundings and their actions, they know right from wrong, they experience life, and they can communicate with one another.

My Second Google 20% Project

For my second Google 20% project I plan on working around the topic of travel. I've always been mesmerized by the world’s beauty (well maybe not always I’m pretty sure as a child all I wanted was food and toys). I plan on finding and researching some the most remarkable places on Earth there is to visit. An obstacle I know I will face from the start is the three places I want to research. I know I could go the easy way and say places like London and Fiji but I've been thinking a lot about risks. When asked to pick a topic for this Google 20% project, we were told to take risks. I’m not quite sure how to make this risky but for now all I know is that I want to find hidden places, the kind of places that don’t show up on your world travel calendar. I want to make this project great and different. I’m just not so sure on how to do that yet.

Terri Schiavo Case Study Conclusion

For information on background, legal cases, etc. about Terri Schaivo click here.

To wrap-up our bioethics unit, we've been given the question: Do you believe that the decision to disconnect Terri Schiavo from life-support was justified? 

I had to think about this question a lot and I've changed my mind a few times. There's a lot to consider when having to decide on whether someone lives or not. If I were asked this question say last week, I probably would have answered straight away, NO. I believed, at the time, that Terri had just as much of a right to live as I did, and I still do, but I don't think it was completely wrong for them to pull the plug. There are many articles out there on this case where you can find information on how active Terri was all those years. (look here) At one point in time she was doing okay, she could react, open her eyes, and she still had a personality(check out this article by Attorney Barbara Weller). Because of this, I believed that Terri should stay on life-support. I thought through the perspective of "she could still get better." But, the truth is that Terri was said to be in a persistent vegetative state(PVS) and she would most likely not improve. I had to take a step back from my initial beliefs and look at the big picture. I thought of all the people that were being negatively effected by Terri staying alive. A lot of people, especially her family, were suffering. So, yes, I believe it was justified to pull the plug on Terri Schiavo. It had been 15 years and she hadn't had any major break-troughs. Terri herself probably wasn't all that happy either. Of course she had her family but her family had lives too, they had things to do and couldn't be with her 24/7. So Terri for the majority of the day was stuck in a hospitable bed with nothing to do but look forward to a possible visit from her parents. I think it was best for everyone that Terri be disconnected from life-support. My only wish would have been to do it in a more humane way. For 14 days Terri starved to death. That could have clearly been avoided.

QUALITY OF LIFE: What is in Terri Schiavo’s best interest? Is her life still worth living? What makes life meaningful?

I thought a lot about these specific questions when making my final decision. I believe it was in Terri's best interest to disconnect the life support. Life is always worth living, there is always hope and love and good things to look forward to in any kind of situation. But in Terri's case, there's no much hope left. Life is worth living if you can make it meaningful. There wasn't much Terri could do and its painful to think she was stuck in a tiny room  in her bed for so long. Yes, it was good that they tried therapy but they didn't accomplish anything. She was still in the same state. After 15 years of agonizing boredom  it seems almost just as inhumane to have kept her alive as it was to let her starve to death for 14 days  Terri didn't have much of a life for those 15 years. She was more stuck in a moment than alive. And she wouldn't have been able to escape that moment. Everyday was pretty much the same. The routine soon became meaningless. I believe what makes life meaningful is the ability to live it. To be able to do what you want and to think on your own. To be able to express yourself and accept the ways others express themselves too. IN this case, Terri would have been able to do much with her life but sleep and eat and even to do that she needed help. Overall, it was in her best interest to be disconnected from life support because there wasn't much of her life left to be worth living for. She wasn't able to make her life meaningful and if you can bring meaning into your life, then what is there for you to do?

The DNA Dilemma: A Test That Could Change Your Life

"The problem with genome sequencing is that everyone could have incidental findings."

Recently in class we read the Time's article "The DNA Dilemma: A Test That Could Change Your Life."  It's very interesting to read articles like these and to hear about new technologies. Most people probably don't know about genome sequencing and how much we can tell from  them. In case your one of those people, genome sequencing gives doctors the ability to read your genes and see "down to every last typo on a chromosome". The article describes the procedure as : "...lab technicians need less than a teaspoon of blood, which is chemically treated to burst open the cells so the DNA inside them can be collected. Those microscopic strands are then fed into sophisticated machines that read each of the 3 million bits of information, called base pairs, that make up a persons genetic alphabet. Computers scan the data for the equivalent of spelling mistakes. Some mistakes cause disease; others don't."  Along with the technology to discover these things comes the tricky questions like : Should doctors tell patients everything they learn, even about the risk of diseases for which there are not yet cures? and Should parents tell their children what might await them as adults?
The article brings up the results of a study where parents were asked if they would want to know everything that's wrong with their child and shockingly, "nearly all the parents said they would want to know about every disease risk, even if there's no treatment available." Unlike the parents, the group of bioethicists, lab directors, geneticists,  pediatricians and genetic counselors felt the opposite. The majority of them believed only results that could be immediately acted on should be shared with families; personally, I would have to agree. If I was a doctor, I wouldn't tell my patient or the parents anything that doesn't affect them now. Part of my beliefs is that I believe in living in the present and worrying about what matters now. The future is a big issue in genome sequencing. Its the doctors actions of whether to tell or not that affect the child's future. For example, the results could show that a child has the possibility of getting a disease as an adult. Most people right away would want to know what disease it is, but its only a possibility. The disease hasn't formed yet and they don't know for sure that it will. Accidental findings like things aren't 100% correct. Tom Murray has an interesting opinion on this, he said : "Great, we can sequence the genome of a fetus. What the hell does it tell us? Much less than most people probably believe. Probabilities are not the same as guarantees." I wouldn't want to know about anything I might get in the future and even as a parent I wouldn't want to know if it was my child. The times article features a story about a woman named Laurie Hunter who had her children sequenced. She talks about waiting for the results of her own genome sequencing when she says "Sometimes what you don't know is easier. I feel completely overwhelmed with information. Now it just feels like a waiting game." The problem with finding out everything is that once you know there's not much you can do, not every disease has clear instructions on how to prevent it. People argue that knowing is overall beneficial because later in life there may be a cure to the disease but you have to keep in mind that things change. The typo may not affect you/your child after all, anything could happen, and if you're told you might loose all your memory at age 50 you'll live your whole life with that in the back of your mind. Imagine telling a child they could develop cancer as a young adult, that child will have that weighing them down. 
In conclusion, we may have more technology than what is good for us. Its great that you could stop a child from getting diabetes but there's always uncharted territory " and patients entering this territory with imperfect maps need to reckon with the odds of getting lost."

Reflections and Resolution 2012

Reflect: I hadn't really thought about the past year and resolutions when New Year's came around. I guess I'm not huge on the thought of having to write 13 instead of 12 on all my papers(that's going to take some getting used to). I started to think back to the beginning of 2012, and it crossed my mind that the year started way before the first day of high school(which for me is my own personal New Years). I realized the start of 2012 was when I was halfway through 8th grade. It seems like ages since I've walked those halls and attended Rogate. Since then, I supposed I've learned more about myself. I've discovered that I'm a huge procrastinator and that I spent (still do) too much time on the computer rather than outside. I also have seen a change in what I like. For instance, for a good chunk of the last half of 2012 I began to get into books again. I've made some new friends, lost some old. Most importantly, I've started to look at the world through different perspectives. Realizing there's more to life than just the small town of Mansfield. I've spent hours thinking about my future and others and the little things in life that make it so much better. Right now your reading my post but somewhere across the world, great things are happening. I've learned this year that bad things happen(obviously) but we should always focus on the good. Like I may be regretting procrastinating right now because its like 10:30 and I still have tons of homework to do but somewhere out there a newborn is crying and at the same time a couple is breaking up  while another is confessing their love. Its important not to get to caught up in the bad because there's always good . 

Rebuff: I'm not one that believes in New Years resolutions. I'm glad for the people who do accomplish there goals but most people just leave empty promises. I think that if you have a goal you want to accomplish you should start right away. I feel as though people wait until the New Year to start and then don't follow through. This reminded me of a quote I read from Looking for Alaska "You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth  thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present." I feel like people hope for changes in their lives because they want to be happier, but they never take the first step. They don't act on it so its just stuck as a daydream rather than an actual resolution. But today, like everyday, is the perfect day to do something great. So, Happy New Years! Now go do something to make this year better than the last. 

The Ethics of Social Media After Death

There are many questions dealing with what should be done (if anything)  with our online identity when we die. And ,of course, there are many different ethical perspectives we could use to attack these questions. Recently, I've read a New York Times article about life after death. I've also seen a TED talk by Adam Ostrow who also questions if our online identity should live on even long after we're dead.

Some of the questions asked are: "What happens to our online personality after we die? Could it...live on?"(-Adam Ostrow) Should it live on? What should happen to our social media accounts and blogs after we die? Should our families get to be in charge of our internet identities?

The should part is where different answers and perspectives of ethics and right vs.wrong comes into play. To answer Ostrow's question, our online personality can live on. He even says later in the video"But today we're creating this incredibly rich digital archive that's going to live in the cloud indefinitely years after were gone,". But the real questions that need to be asked is should we allow them to live on. Personally, I think its important to preserve these online profiles, but others may not want their life to stay on the web forever.

Many people haven't thought about this topic yet. As Rob Walker says "Not many people have given serious thought to these questions. Maybe that’s partly because what we do online still feels somehow novel and ephemeral, although it really shouldn't anymore. Or maybe it’s because pondering mortality is simply a downer." But, I think people should start taking this topic more seriously.  Most people see these questions as silly topics because its just Facebook, but whats on there Facebook is important. I think Facebook profiles should be memorialized ( along with other sites) because our online profiles are the equivalent of the scrapbooks, photo albums, and diaries we never made in person but are online. Going back to what Adam said, ".. we're creating this incredibly rich digital archive that's going to live in the cloud indefinitely years after were gone," By memorializing we are allowing the option of other loved ones to share pictures of the deceased.  The ability to do this is more amazing than it seems. Before websites were created things were hand written and pictures printed instead of stored on phones. And, although they may seem to be more precious, there made out of material, meaning they will fade and be destroyed. The NY Times article comes across this by saying "Something else happened at the same time: the family realized that a big batch of slides in his grandmother’s possession had faded beyond recognition. Hunt was stunned. 'Memories that were precious to me — not just living them, but after that going back and revisiting them — and now it’s gone,' he recalls. 'I thought: I really need to do something.' ” This makes a valid point that the things we put online(unless deleted) will stay in perfect condition forever.

Think about it; if I were to write out this post instead of typing it,eventually it will fade, but maybe many years from now my grandchildren can stumble across this site, in the pile of trash that is my online identity, and read this very post. It is somewhat of a morbid thought to think about death, but with death comes new life and its cool to think that even though I never met my great grandmother, my great-grand-kids can look at my profiles and get an idea of the person I was and hear about my life without me having to be there to tell them.
Questions like "Should our families get to be in charge of our internet identities? Should it live on?" cant be answered with a general yes or no, these types of questions have different answers for every person because everyone has different morals. The deceased should tell what they ant done to their profiles,  like an addition to their will, because the family may have different opinions. The New York times article talks about a situation where a web pioneer lost her digital legacy due to the family wanting people to remember her for her. But its possible she would have wanted different, the article writes “Her work is her legacy,” one admirer, Rogers Cadenhead, wrote to Harpold’s niece, Melissa Krauskopf, an attorney who served as the personal representative of Harpold’s estate. “I have corresponded with several of Leslie’s friends about her sites all disappearing from the Web. For what it is worth, all of us believe that she would not have wanted that to happen.” There are ways for this to be prevented: there are sites Adam talks about that help you decide what you want done with your personal identity.

In conclusion, even though I believe our identities should be able to live on forever in the cloud, not everyone feels the same way. Everyone has different opinions and views on whats right and whats wrong.

Google 20% Project

For my Google 20% Project I plan to learn about the moon.Here is a link to the video I made to pitch my idea to the class. I don't know much about the moon so I plan on learning things from the basics(like the distance from the earth) to discoveries found on the moon to things like eclipses and blue moons. I chose this topic because I'm interested in space. Like every 5 year old, I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up.But my fear of the soul-sucking darkness of space has temporarily slowed down my career of being a successful astrounout and walking on the moon so, instead I will learn about the mysteries of the moon from my computer. I won't need much materials to do this project other than access to the Internet. I plan to take my information and present it in a prezi thats pretty and awesome looking. Some road blocks I may run into are not having enough information. If this does occur, I will expand my research to other things like if the moons on other planets have the same properties as earths moon. Also, I will discover the reasons for the similarities and differences in these properties.

Is Chris Langan successful?

Recently in class we read about Chris Langan and saw him appear in the game show 1 vs. 100. Chris Langan is said to be "the smartest man in America" and he has an IQ of 195. There's no doubting that Chris Langan is smart but he hasn't been able to use his intelligence to become successful.  My personal definition of success is someone who makes an impact on the world and others. In the book the Outliers (where we first heard of Chris Langan) we are learning how different factors affect our success. If success was simply being happy and content with your life, Gladwell would've wrote things like "do what you love and love what you do." But being happy isn't success. I wouldn't say I'm successful because I'm happy when there are people out there earning millions of dollars and making a difference in the world. Those people that change lives are what I call successful. Chris Langan is currently married, raising his farm animals and is happy, but I wouldn't call him successful because he's happy. He had the ability and responsibility of sharing his ideas with the world. But, since Chris didn't go to college, people don't take his ideas seriously. There are plenty of people who haven't gone to college and don't have very good jobs and are considered unsuccessful, but Chris Langan is one of those people and he is considered (by some) successful because he's happy. Why should Chris Langan be called more successful than those people just because he has a higher IQ? I do believe people should be happy with their lives but when it comes down to the point, Chris Langan is no more successful than the average man.

THE KINDERGARTEN DEBATE

After reading Gladwell's opinion and the opinion of Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt, I'm stuck in the middle. Depending on your child, delaying kindergarten can be either a good or bad thing. Like Gladwell states, delaying kids from kindergarten make them the older kids in their grade, automatically giving them an accumulative advantage. Those kids may often be perceived  as gifted and above average.  Just like in sports, red-shirting your child puts them a step ahead. On the other hand, the young children of the grade start off with a disadvantage that carries with them onto college and grows in the process. But, like Wang and Aamodt say in "Delay Kindergarten at Your Child's Peril", after awhile, the older kids get bored and start to careless and become less motivated. Meanwhile, the younger kids in the grade do better than the kids the same age in the lower grade because they had more time in school. This is where I'm stuck. These assumptions don't apply to everyone and I  can even see some counterexamples in our class. Unlike what Wang and Aamodt say, the older kids in our G&T class work hard and try to get good grades. In contrast, Gladwell states that the younger kids have a disadvantage and don't do well because they are far behind but in our class the younger kids do just as well as the older kids for the grade. Overall, I don't think there's any specific way to go. Delaying your child isn't necessarily better. I think the best a parent can do is base their decision on the needs of the child because every child is different.

The Truths and Myths of Being Gifted

Being gifted has it’s ups and downs and misconceptions. There are a lot of things people assume about  gifted students , most of them being myths. There’s more to being gifted than what meets the eye.

Being gifted comes with its ups and downs. When you’re gifted certain things are easier for you to learn than others. Learning is quicker and clearer. Also, if you’re in a gifted and talented program, you get new experiences and projects. I still remember some of the cool projects and trips I took in elementary school when I was in a gifted and talented program. But, being gifted has its cons too. When you’re gifted people start to make assumptions and high expectations for you. I’m always expected to be perfect, to get all A’s, to be a role model for others, and to not mak mistakes. Eventually, there’s a lot of pressure and it feels like people are waiting for me to mess up. Another downside is that people make fun of you. People are always saying I‘m in all the “smart kid classes” and make other remarks. Now that I’m older most of my friends know that I’m smart and don’t tease me but I don’t like telling people I’m in G&T because of how they will react and how they’ll expect me to know everything.

There are many myths about Gifted kids.  Some myths according to the National Assosiation for Gifted Children are that gifted students make everyone else in the class smarter by providing a role model or a challenge and that gifted students don’t need help;they’ll do fine on their own. I agree with NAGC that these are myths. The truth is that most students don’t even pay much attention to gifted kids. They think we know too much already so they don’t try to be like us because our expectations are high. The only time people come to me in class is to ask if they can copy my homework, I highly doubt they’d try to be like us or that we have that much of an affect on them. Second, just because a student is gifted or talented doesn’t mean they are gifted at everything. There are classses that I do better in than others. Gifted kids don’t know everything  and need help just like any other student. Another similar myth that goes along with this is that gifted kids are self-directed, they know where they are heading.This isn’t always true. Lastly, another myth given by familyeducation is that all gifted kids are high acheivers; they don’t have to work for grades. This is far from true. I work hard on my school work and if I don’t study for a test I’ll fail just like any other student would.

There are some people, though, who understand the needs of gifted children. For example,  family education states “Gifted kids who do well in school may define success as getting an "A" and failure as any grade less than an "A." By early adolescence they may be unwilling to try anything where they are not certain of guaranteed success.”  When I first read this I was surprised because it was like they read my mind. Ever since 3^rd grade when we started to get letter grades, I was expected to get good grades. “Good grades” meant that I had to get an A and anything less was a disappiontment. Once again, like the words were taken right out of my mouth, family education wrote “Gifted kids are often perfectionistic and idealistic and may equate achievement and grades with self-esteem and self-worth. This can lead to fear of failure and can interfere with their achievement in and out of school.” Whatever I’m doing I always try my best in fear of failing and disappointing. I get even more nervous when I play sports because if I don’t succeed and I make a mistake, I’;m not only letting myself down I’m letting my team down.  The last truth was written by byrdseed and it sums up my thoughts pretty well: “Not only are they dealing with the usual trials of growing up, they are often doing it with an increased awareness of their faults, a frustration with being unable to do everything well, and a world that often doesn’t know what to do with them. Worse, they often lack the emotional tools to accompany their increased awareness.”

In conclusion, there’s more to being gifted than getting good grades. Being gifted comes with high expectations and great amounts of pressure. Based on this post, being gifted doesn’t sound like much fun but it can be. Even though I have a burden on my shoulders, I use the high expectations and set goals for myself and even though I’m pressured I don’t know if I would be getting as good of the grades I do know if I wasn’t pushed to excel. Being gifted comes with its difficulties but I get to see life in a different perspective and I with classes like this I get to learn and experience new and exciting things. 

GT Seminar 1: First Post

Hi! My name is Brianna Montalvo and I'm a freshman. I'm really looking forward to this year in gifted and talented and I'm hoping I have as much as a great time as i did last year in Rogate. I'm interested in all the new units we have and especially excited for the iPads we get to use! I hope to get to learn about some of the new people in our G&T class this year. I'm most looking forward to Great debates and the 20% project. 

About Me

 The highlight of my summer would have to be going on vacation for a week to North Carolina.I got to bring a friend along and we stayed in a beach house with some family friends. I had a great summer but I'm anxious to get this year started.  Here's some of the things I like and dislike:

Likes(:

1. I love to play sports like soccer but basketball is my favorite sport.

2. I love listening to music on my spare time. Some of my favorite artists are One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Olly Murs and Justin Bieber.

3.My favorite subject is math.

4. My favorite color is purple.

5. I love London and hope to visit there one day. 

6. My favorite foods are chocolate, strawberries,watermelon, and mac n' cheese and pickles.

7. I like to go on the computer on my spare time.

8. I like to go rollerskating, bowling and mini-golfing with my family.

9. I like going to the beach.

10. My favorite season is winter because I love cuddling up with warm blankets on the couch, drinking some hot coco and reading a good book. 

Dislikes):

1. I don't like pizza or spaghetti.

2. I don't like airplanes but I would rather go on an airplane than a boat or train.

3. I don't like insects like spiders and butterflies.

4. I don't like when the people I love are hurt.

5. I don't like the dark.

6. I don't like waking up early, I'm not a morning person.

7. I don't like gossip or fighting.

8. I don't like wet doorknobs. 

9. I don't like speaking in front of people.

10. I don't like rude/mean people.

Last blog post of the school year

I'm sad to say this is my last post for Rogate. I had a great time this year and I'm sad to be leaving. This year in Rogate class has been fun, interesting and no doubt my favorite class. I'm going to miss this class. My favorite part of Rogate was the things we got to learn. We did projects and lessons on things we wouldn't normally learn in regular classes and we discusses our views on the topics as well. The class discussions we had throughout the year were great. Rogate introduced me to a lot of new interesting things that I'm glad to have learned.My favorite project we've had was the Google 20% project. This was my favorite because I got to spend time learning about something I enjoyed. We also used blogs in Rogate but we didn't get a chance to use them often. In order to use these more effectively, I think a topic should be assigned  each week that the students will write about and have the students comment on each others blogs. Also, I think we should use our blogs like we use our Edmodo. I'm glad to say that I will be taking the Gifted and talented Seminar I next year and I'm very excited. But I am going to miss the middle school especially my friends who will be leaving and the teachers. I'm excited though to finally be in high school  and I'm starting to realize how old I am. It feels like yesterday we just started our first day in Rogate. I'm ready for the challenges that face me. I plan to spend my summer playing basketball, going on tumblr, stalking one direction,going to the beach, and hanging out with friends. I'm also looking forward to no homework for 2 months(except for the summer assignments) and warm weather. This year's been great and I can't wait to see what kind of fun things we'll do next year.

Kickstarter

The website Kickstarter is a crowdsourcing website. Kickstarter allows you to show people your invention and if they like it, they will help you fund it. On Kickstarter you have a time-limit to when you have to reach your goal but you can make your goal anything. If you are someone who helps fund on Kickstarter, the inventor will give you something in return. As a class assignment, we were given $500 (fake) to spend on any ideas in Kickstarter that we wanted to help back. Here are the 5 projects I decided to fund.

The first project I decided to fund was Revolights.  Revolights allow you to ride in the night with lights on your wheels. I decided to donate $250 to this project. Doing so will get me :

[THE YELLOW JERSEY] ... Receive a brand spankin' new, pre-ordered set of the finalized, CUSTOM Revolights! You'll not only get your lights before they are released to the public, but you'll also be able to cruise your Revolights in style after selecting the (legal) taillight color of your choice from our color palette. Your name will be added to the revolights.com website as a "Yellow Jersey Backer". Via exclusive team member updates, you'll also be able to access key project milestone updates all the way through your lights' shipment (+ rewards listed above - [THE GREEN JERSEY] rewards). Note: shipping to Canada add $20, international add $30 to pledge amount.


The second project I decided to back was Hot Cakes. Hot Cakes is a cakery that needs money to help finish the cakery so they can continue to make their delicious organic treats. I decided to fund them $100. This will get me:

Salted Peanut Butter Level: This is one of our favorite cookies we make so we want to name you, who is so generous and giving, after its amazing, indescribable flavor - much like our gratitude for your gift. If you pledge at this amount, we will give you a sweet Hot Cakes tote bag, 2 jars of our Caramel Sauce (your flavor choice), 2 of our famous Molten Chocolate Cakes in mason jars, a dozen cookies (of your choice) and a pair of our adorable Get Your Hot Cakes undies! What a package (no pun intended ;). *Shipping not included


The third project I decided to back was AIRbudz. AIRbudz allows you to listen to music and still hear whats going on around you. I would spend $15. This would get me:


With a pledge of $10 the backer will receive one of the first packages of AIRbudz in any color option and a carrying case exclusive to Kickstarter pledges. Add $10 more for each additional AIRbudz and carrying case you want (i.e. 3 AIRbudz and 3 carrying cases = $30). (Please add $5 for shipping to Canada and $12 for international shipping.)


The fourth project I decided to back was Hickies. Hickies is a new kind of laces that allows you to turn any pair of sneakers into slip ons. Hickies are laces without the bow tying, the knots and all the struggle. I would spend $100 and I would get:


NEON COLORS EDITION! KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE. GET 4 NEON COLORS PACKS: green/pink, yellow/green, pink/yellow, orange/yellow. (US shipping included, shipping to Canada add $10, international add $15 to pledge amount)


The last project I decided to fund was Stemrack. Stemrack allows you to bring your phone with you when you ride your bike. It attaches to your handle bars and keeps your phone,ipod,ect. safe and accessible while you ride. I would spend $35 and would get in return:

Custom Color Stemrack - You can pick the base and rack colors. Includes Shipping (AK, HI, International please add $5 )