Journal #29

Nature is a very powerful force that is completely out of our control. If I could control nature, I would probably make winter nonexistent and have a pleasant weather of 75 and sunny with a light breeze, all year round. There would also never be horrors of tornadoes, earthquakes, or hurricanes. In my experience, all of these nature driven events have only caused destruction and turmoil. The most recent of these, would be Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy came just a few months ago and effected the lives of those living in New York. You always hear about hurricanes in the south around the Bahamas and other islands, etc. but it was quite different to hear of one so close and destructive to the United States. I think a hurricane would be one of the most drastic experiences out of the three I mentioned, not saying that the other two are not. Something about a hurricane just seems even more horrifying. Probably because I have never experienced a hurricane first hand. Living in Illinois, we are no strangers to tornadoes and have been effected by them multiple times. We have even witnessed the effects of the after effects of an earthquake. I remember this happened when I was in eighth grade. I woke up to the walls shaking and I was so confused. I tried to run to my parents room but it was extremely difficult in my shaking and unstable state. A hurricane is completely foreign to me though. I can not imagine what it would be like to have to leave my own house and climb up on a roof because of the excessive flooding. Or have to wait for search and rescue to find me after the hurricane is over. I would be absolutely terrified. The only good thing about a tragic event like a massive earthquake or hurricane is that it brings a community together. After a crisis like this, it is so inspiring to see people all around the world join together and show their support.

Journal #28

In our sociology class, we have actually been studying different cultures and societies etc. We just switched from psychology, which is more individualized behaviors, and now in sociology, we observe groups of people, like a culture. For a project, we had to research a different culture and create a power point and then present it in front of the class. This included the group's culture, geography, ethnocentric view, and their cultural relativism. The group of people, my project group was assigned, was the San. The San is also known as the Bushmen. The San and their culture are completely different than ours. One of the differences is that they live in a desert climate. Because of their climate, they have to wear very little clothing in order to stay cool. Also living in the desert, water can sometimes be quite hard to find. When the San people are faced with a drought, they do whatever they can in order to keep themselves hydrated. This could involve sucking the moisture out of plant or creating a sip well. A sip well is a method that uses straws and an empty ostrich egg to gather water out of the ground. I could not imagine getting my water this way. But in their situation, you do what you got to do. The San people are a hunter and gathering society, much different than ours. Yes, we do have farmers, but most people go to the grocery store when they need food or one of the thousands of restaurants we have. Another different between our societies is the roles that the people play. In our society, children are expected to go to school and get an education. In the San society, they see the kids job is to simply play and be happy. One of the major differences I found with the San society and ours, was the role that the women played. In our society, women have the same freedoms as men, but men are still seen superior. This is the opposite. The San people believe the women is superior and serves as the leader of the household and makes all important decisions. I found it very interesting learning about the San culture and it made me very appreciative for my own.

Journal #27

I could not imagine being miles away from home fighting to defend our country. The isolation would be unbearable for me. I know I would not be by myself because there would be other soldiers with me, but emotionally and mentally I would feel very alone. I am the kind of person who does not do well alone. I mean I can go to camp or a retreat without my family for awhile and be fine but to be away from my family for the amount of time that our soldiers are would be heart breaking for me. I am looking at a college that is eight hours away from home and this does not bother me. I know I am away from my family but I also know that I will be able to visit them and have the time to keep in contact with them through social media and cell phones. In the war though, there is no turning back. If you get home sick you cannot just drop everything and drive eight hours home. That is not how it works. From what I understand they do not have much free time to sit around and text their family or friends. I have such high respect for the people that serve our country because they do things that I know I could never do. The people fighting for our country are so incredibly strong not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. They never put themselves first. They leave all of their families and friends behind to do what they do. They miss birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and more in order to fight for what is right. They might even miss the birth of their own child. They do not even know that when they leave, if they will be coming back. The way they are so selfless and loyal amazes me. Another thing is that they do all of this voluntarily because it is something they love.  The men and women fighting for our country are truly heroes.

Journal #26

Something I experienced that turned out differently than I thought it would was my first year of cross country. Every year I had done volleyball in the fall and had never run cross country in my life. Reasons led  me to try it though and I was eager to try it out. I had run a lot over summer and was very diligent to my training prior to the season starting. When we had our first practice, I knew I had given myself a good foundation to begin training and figured I would not be the slowest girl on the team. I ended up being the fastest one! It was a complete surprise to me, but also very satisfying for all of my hard work had paid off. This only reassured me that I had made the right decision in choosing cross country over volleyball. Like I said, cross country was completely new to me. I had run track for years, but cross country was so different. The amount of miles we ran in track cannot even compare to the miles and miles we run in cross country. Because my body was not used to this much running, I developed shin splints. Being new, I was very vulnerable to getting them and I did everything I could to try to get rid of them. They developed right before our first meet at Rochester. I remember icing them minutes before my race and then slipping on my shin compressor for when I ran. The shin splits only got worse though and I ended up having to go to physical therapy to treat them and was out for almost a month. This was not ideal whatsoever. When I pictured myself running cross country, having an injury that affects my entire season was not apart of the vision. I am thankful however because I was able to heal from my shin splints in time to run at Regionals and Sectionals. Overall the experience was very humbling, even though completely unexpected. I am all the more excited for next years season and really seeing what I can do without an injury holding me back.

Journal #25

Giving is a universal action that I think everyone understands. In America alone, we seem to give on many occasions, even if for only shallow occasions. I think giving can be a good thing and a bad thing. It all depends on the person's heart when they give. For some occasions like holidays where gifts are exchanged, I feel that some people see giving as an obligation rather than a privilege. Especially Christmas, I know a lot of people who think buying and giving presents to their families is more of a chore. I personally think you should be excited and look forward to blessing someone you love with a gift. To me, it all depends on the status of your heart when you give. You can give someone the most expensive gift in the world, but with a bitter heart. A gift should be given joyfully and sincerely to the person receiving it. One of the five love languages is gift receiving. This is actually the top language in which I feel loved. That is just how I am personally wired. I love the thoughtfulness of a gift and find it really special when someone takes the time to think about what you would like and enjoy. Gifts are usually a very positive thing, but I feel that sometimes they tend to distract. One of these would be Christmas. I hate when people focus so much on gifts and what they want for Christmas that they completely forget the real reason for the season, the celebration for Jesus' birth. I feel like a lot of holidays seem to be revolved around gifts instead of the real meaning. Another one that is overlooked is Easter. It really is sad how people waste their time eating candy and hunting for plastic eggs instead of remembering the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Overall I think gifts are a very good thing and should continue to be given, but with the right state of heart.  

journal #24

Semester exams is something I think every student dreads. The worst part about it is that it kind of ruins the excitement of Christmas break. Break seems so close, yet so far away. Eight semester exams stands between you and freedom. I remember my first set of final exams that I experienced freshman year. I remember being completely paranoid and not knowing how much or how long to study for so I had started studying at least two weeks in advance. I was so anxious about them and was constantly bugging my teachers to give me the study guides as soon as possible so I could prepare myself. I probably went through over two hundred note cards or more to make flash cards for myself. Not surprising, I aced all of my exams and had no reason to worry as much as I did. It was my first set of exams though so you cannot really blame me. Being my junior year now, it seems almost impossible to study two weeks in advance. It is hard enough trying to study for your final tests and finish your projects that are due the week before final exams even starts. Junior year has definitely been the most challenging year so far and I am sure my exams will be just as challenging. My plan to study is simply becoming a social outcast. this weekend. I have little plans for this weekend so I my time will be consumed with studying, studying, and more studying. I think one of the best ways to study, for me anyways, is to not procrastinate and wait until the night before to study for the final. My process includes making note cards of all the study guides and then caring around the note cards with me everywhere. Any spare moment I had, whether its riding in the car, or extra time left over at the end of class, I use it to whip out my note cards and study for my exams. Something else I think is important in preparing for finals is to make sure you have a filling breakfast the morning of. There is nothing worse to be distracted by when you are testing, than a growling tummy.

Journal #23

Being self sufficient is actually the reasoning for why my family and I just moved. We were living in a really nice house in a neighborhood that we loved, but have recently moved in the past week in order to be self sufficient. Our new house is not in a neighborhood and sits on fifteen acres of land. With this new land, we plan on growing trees, starting  a huge garden, and maybe even raising chickens. All of this in order to be self sufficient. To me, being self sufficient is being independent and living and doing things on your own. It means not being dependent or reliable on others in order to survive. This is something that Emerson is really emphasizing in his essays that we have read so far. He talks about self reliance which is very similar if not identical to self sufficiency. I think to be self sufficient you must have a good work ethic. This is because you are doing this by yourself, so if you decide not to work, then nothing will get done. Responsibility also plays a big role in being self sufficient because if whatever you are doing fails, or does not get done, there is no one else to blame but yourself. Being self sufficient is a very good characteristic to have I think because it is something that you will need for your entire life and something I think you must possess to be a successful adult. Your mom and dad are not always going to be there to take care of you and pay for everything. Although it is great now, you will eventually have to learn how to provide for yourself. This is one of the reasons my parents are stressing me about getting a job. They want me to get experience and see what it is like to work and earn for myself. I definitely understand where they are coming from and am currently job hunting. Hopefully within the next few weeks, I do will be on my way to being a more self sufficient individual.