Wednesday, November 17, 2010
"My Way" Blog
After watching our most recent episode of This American Life, you should begin thinking about times when you did things your way, for right or wrong. Two particular segments of the "My Way" episode concern us--Joe (the teenager who doesn't believe in love) and the photographer. Do you have a set of beliefs and values that stand apart from everyone else? If so or if not, either way, what are those beliefs and values? Have they ever been challenged by the public, or any other audience? Think about how you do things your own way, and how those ways may affect those around you, whether you know it or not. OR, just write a reaction to all of the segments of the episode. Please respond in 10-15 sentences, while attempting to use ALL 6 phrases and the 2 clauses for full credit. Thank you!
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I sit in chapel everyday, taking notes of all of the things people say that contradict what I think is true Christianity. I remember dreaming about what heaven was going to be like. But now, I'm not sure I even care. There is so much hype about God at our school. Of course, it's because EHS is a Christian private school, hence the first word in it's title "Episcopal". My faith my dilemma, I struggle each day with keeping my mouth shut about God. It annoys me, a pesky fly, never wanting to go away. I don't want to go out on a limb, and say that I don't believe in God, but I will stretch it. I hear things in chapel that make me upset. I am upset because these things said sometimes disagree or clash with things said weeks earlier or things I've interpreted from the various denominations in Christianity. One of the main things is homosexuality. Many Christians believe that man was made for woman; God said so. Therefore, these same Christians conclude that homosexuality is wrong. But, at the same time, they say that we are all made in God's image, and that we are equal. I have a few friends that agree with me about the contradictory nature of the Bible, but there is one person that strongly disagrees: my mom. She picks fights with me and uses my lack of faith as a weapon against me, but I think that what i want to believe is my choice. I'm 18 years old. I have every right to say and believe what I want now.
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I thought that the man who visited his wife three days a week had a perfectly good reason. His wife, the women he still loves, probably ate with him every day when she was alive. He just wanted to keep eating with her. The kid that decided he did not believe love was a good idea is very strong. He does not care what anyone thinks. His arms shaking with joy as he is excited that he is dominating his mythical game. Though he does not love his parents he does not lie and say he does. In the third one telling the truth is something the man believes in. I think that Blanton should be elected just because he will tell you how it is with no lies, but since he always tells the truth people see his flaws. I think Blanton probably should not have said he would beat the (explicit) out of someone. The last one on the photographer was really sad. In my opinion if the photographer saw that help was nearby then he did not have to help the woman. Also the man was about to pull her out and then the wave came, he should of just grabbed her since he was so close and tried to run back. It is probably very hard to live with the thought of someone dying because of you your whole life.
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I have a very strong belief about baptism. In my view, people should not be baptized until they are old enough to truly know and understand God. Many people now a days get baptized as babys, knowing nothing about where they even are or whats happening. Who knows, they could grow up to become atheists or devil worshipers. So when the person is old enough, could be as young as 13 or 14 or as old as 65, that is when I believe an honest and true decision should be made. By then, he or she knows the kind of commitment they are getting into and that it is not a joke, rather a way of life. Many people try to argue with me by saying that it does not matter if you are baptized by a baby, you are still in God's kingdom and have been saved. While that is true, that baby, young and innocent, has no idea what is going on. I, baptized when I was 16, was fully sober and aware of my decision I was making. I am not here to criticize or judge anyone who was baptized as a baby, because many of those people have also been confirmed or re-baptized as teens or young adults. It is just something that I, whether right or wrong, believe in.
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I recall a time, from when I was little to about two years ago, when I myself did not believe in love. I had never seen it happen, or for that matter, last. There, in my parents marriage, never appeared any form of love. Emotions were kept at an arm's length or farther. When the 13 year old boy said that he would never believe in love or find it, he reminded me of myself. Although, I always loved my mom, I never believed in romantic love, one that could be shared with an equal man. This so called love, hurtful and damaging, was something I never wanted to take part in. When I am hurt, I hold it inside, so no one can see it or cause it to inflame. The kind of hurt experienced by love was too visible, like the effect of my parent's married life and divorced one. The boy from This American Life will find that one person who changed his perspective just as I did. I never believed in it because this love, intangible and invisible to the naked eye, takes a trained eye with a magnifying glass to identify and see the truth and reality of it. Just as one's fascination with magic, "love is the closest thing we have to magic" (from a movie that I am not sure the name of) and every person finds their magic in another, no matter they recognize it or not.
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1984 completely changed my perspective on literature. Before I read that book, I had associated literature with Shakespeare or Hawthorne, or with epics, like Beowulf or The Iliad, assignments for school through which I plodded, but never felt a real connection. In 1984, Orwell practically reached into my brain, grabbed the scattered pieces of my ideas, and put them together so that they made sense. I was amazed that someone could actually write a piece of literature that, when taken as a whole, could explain the dark possibilities of society. I had to dig inside myself and figure out what I personally believed, and no book had ever put me into such a vulnerable position. Through the soul searching, I realized that literature had the power to make me see the world differently and think in a totally new way. One of my goals is to read more of Orwell’s novels, challenging my preconceived ideas about the world because his work offers the unique environment to safely redefine oneself, under the amazing umbrella of being an “author” who can think and say anything they want – no restrictions, no requirements. I believe that the freedom of thought cultivated while reading Orwell’s work, overflowing by way of his own dreams, become a part of me, encouraging me to broaden my perceptions of the world and make meaningful associations between literature and the world around me. While literature fascinates me because it helps me evaluate my beliefs, Orwell’s creation of thoughts, through literature, has allowed me to explore my ideas by way of someone else’s. I have chosen photography as my way to share with others, as Orwell did through his novels, because I have found that the camera gives me the best vehicle to express my beliefs and values.
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Like the old man who visits his dead wife three times a week, I have certain “rituals” that I follow in order to feel complete. Visiting his wife and hanging out with her provides the old man with a sense of completeness. As weird as this may seem, I always have to wait till the last minute before a soccer game to take off my rings. If I take my rings off earlier, I feel as if I won’t play as well. Joe, the strange middle schoolboy, refuses to fall in love or love at all. He is strong for standing next to his belief and rejects the beliefs of society. I think the boy is at an awkward age and will eventually learn to love. Blanton, a psychologist, founded “Radical Honesty.” In order to be happy, people must tell the truth all the time. His old job being a therapist, Blanton left his practice to become a political candidate- one who never lies. The documentary photographer, who thrives off of the pain of others, had an opportunity to save a woman’s life but failed. In my opinion, the photographer should have helped her the second she fell in the water. Even though there was help near by, he should have stopped taking pictures and tried to help. It must be really hard for the photographer to live with himself knowing that he could have saved that woman’s life.
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I admire how Joe has his own opinion and thoughts about love, but at the same time, what he thinks is wrong and weird. The way he thinks is extremely different, almost disturbed. I also like how his mom understands him and knows he means well, even though he says he doesn't love her. At the same time though I wish his mom would help him become more normal. Hopefully as he gets older he will grow out of the phase he is in and start to like girls. Blanton, who has no filter, says everything that comes to mind. Regardless of who is around and what it is. He cusses and admits to things that most people would try to hide. Sadly, he doesn't seem ashamed of the things he has done in life. The photographer touched me the most. He wanted to save the person who fell into the ocean, but other people, the lifeguards, were already helping her. Knowing that people have seen the picture, with others already helping her, yet still getting mad at him bothers me. Part of me thinks yes he should have helped, but that means he would have had to put his life in danger. And the other part of me thinks, a lifeguard was already helping her.
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ReplyDeleteIt takes a lot of courage, a lot of self-confidence, and independence to believe in opposition to the majority of your family, friends, and in general, what the world believes. Joe, funny looking smirk on his face and strange attire, is a lot different than most of us. l Joe, a radical thinker and rebellious person, does not believe in love. He believes that there is no true love because it does not exist. Joe talks like there is no fun in life and he seems separated from the rest of society. Like Joe, there are somethings that I believe in that are not the same as other people. One thing I strongly believe in, always had believed in since I could think, was that there is always a reason for everything and that all the good we do will be rewarded. Acting with a good moral foundation that helps others has always been a kind of way of life for me because to me, it is a duty. I act the way I do because it is my attempt at making things better, thinking that I will be given back what I have given. I have not really been challenged by the public about what I think but have been backed up for it. Our own opinions should not matter to other people unless they care about what others thoughts more than themselves.
ReplyDeleteMusic encompasses longing and hurting, true emotion. Commercialized markets and pop culture screw us constantly every single day as they pollute our eardrums with their overly catchy auto-tuned "masterpieces." Integrity, expression without shame, seems unreal today. Artists sell more records based on their outlandish social lives and douche-like behavior in public. The legends of yesterday, the influences which I embrace, created music to break the categorical, racist, political, and socio-economic shackles clamped tightly around the wrists of their generation. Could society have truly recessed so far as to accept the lack of lyrical substance as genius? For all these reasons, I choose to release my music for free until I feel it reaches a standard of true artistry. I mean if someone has the right to insult you with words, freely, shouldn't their expression in song be free as well. Especially if it is unsolicited. Therefore, I also refuse to waste my hard-earned money on albums of no quality. The albums I buy support artists who take pride in their art and treat it as such: not a money-making opportunity but a responsibility to express. Mr. Bender proclaimed to us in chapel that "no prophet will come out of Bellaire." Well, I sure hope some true artists will arise from the generation that needs a musical bailout.
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When I was young I was the kid who always said "I can do it myself". I found out that a lot of time, this was not the case. My parents have helped instill values in me that i grasp firmly to even today. The most important of all of my values is my Christian faith. It has given me a code to live my life by, treating others as i would have them treat me is a very important philosophy i have. Secondly is achieving Eagle Scout. Through the many years I spent in the Boy Scouts, I learned valuable lessons of leadership and commitment to my goals. The Scout Law sums it up pretty well: A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. I try to follow these twelve points every day of my life. There have been a few instances in my life where I have had to stand up and defend my faith in God, or justify my activities as a Boy Scout. I always try to stand up and do the right thing in cases such as these, but you can never throw out your beliefs in the face of adversity. If you do, what would define you then?
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