Monday, April 27, 2009

Connecting With Others

Matt Harding wrote an essay called Connecting to a Global Tribe which talks about how people have small social networks, that don't expand over a lot of other people and places. We are often curious about other people, and places, but our brains weren't designed to comprehend a world that is so big filled with so many people. What started out as something just for fun with no real big purpose, he created a video of him doing a jig in countries around the world. Over 20 million people have
watched his video, resulting in two more videos that cover over 70 countries from all seven continents. People started asking if they could join him while he was doing his jig, which has led many people to be involved. Our social networks grow everyday, which can be stressful on our caveman brains as Matt Harding puts it. People who forget their differences are able to enjoy their life without worrying about their differences, which lets you focus on everyone's similarities. Our brains can relax, because you realize simple it is to just forget the differences and focus on the similarities. If people could come to realize that the differences just make everybody unique instead of scary and weird, I believe the world could be a better place.

I chose the image of people from different countries holding up the world because it shows that everyone can live and work together. I got the image on http://mywebsite.register.com/db4/00383/buildinghisdream.org/_uimages/holdingtheworld.jpg

Monday, April 20, 2009

Beauty or Talent?
















http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/08_02/2PaulPottsRTN_468x477.jpg

http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/apr2009/0/9/susan-boyle-pic-sm-247189641.jpg


I believe that people shouldn’t be judged just because of the way they look, but because of what’s inside. Both Susan Boyle and Paul Potts from Britain’s Got Talent didn’t have the looks of a star, but they had a magnificent voice. People may have great talents, but now, if they don’t have the right looks, people take one look and say ‘How are they going to be any good at this?’ I believe this is wrong, people aren’t perfect, some people have both the looks and the voice, others only have the voice. If a person can only focus on the outside of a person, and not on the inside, then they might as well stop looking because what they find may not be the true person.

Susan Boyle had a dream of performing in front of a large audience and becoming someone famous like Elaine Page. An audition on Britain’s Got Talent was the perfect way for her to pursue her dream, but because of the way she looked, both the audience and the judges both were looking at her thinking ‘There is no way she can have a good voice, she doesn’t look like star material. And the smile of hers looks like she is just a goofy person who is playing some joke.’ I believe this isn’t fair because they had no solid proof that she was going to be a bad singer. The moment she opened her mouth and started singing, everyone was taken by surprise. The judges and audience started cheering and clapping for her, which I believe is simply a way to show that they hadn’t thought she would make it. One of the judges remarked that in the beginning, everyone was being very cynical to her, and that this wasn’t fair. Susan Boyle knew she didn’t look like a star, but came anyway because she had a dream and was willing to pursue it. This goes to show that it doesn’t matter what’s on the outside, but what’s on the inside. The same goes for Paul Potts who also had a dream.

Paul Potts had a similar dream to Susan Boyle; he had always wanted to do opera singing as a career. He worked as a mobile phone salesman in South Wales, not the type of person you would find singing opera is what the judges were thinking. I believe this wasn’t fair of them either because were you work doesn’t affect your ability to sing, it’s what you do for your voice that affects your singing ability. All the same, he decided to take his chances to fulfil his dream, and ended up winning that years Britain’s Got Talent. Judging people from the outside I believe shouldn’t be done. If people would learn to judge only by what’s inside, I believe that you would get farther with less mistakes.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

I Am Poem

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWAreqTkRZPeGMTqhrCbrktizi22MqDfg10AhKbu2Acn_PJRG6fAp_Ftvzu7aZWUDx5QtdEGLqSAhyphenhyphen_8jycn3yr1pBNwWvHCpd3lnonW6IVRlMflrNhsFj4nZitzzW99aWE33g9eXE_zq/

I Am


I am a deer
Cautious in new surroundings
Darting to the shadows when trouble occurs.

I am a wave
Crashing on the shore,
Powerless against the larger waves,
Dragged back by the current.

I am the dull cover of a textbook
Monochrome on the outside
But open my pages to find adventure inside

I am a light bulb
My filament flickers and sparks
Brightening as my doubt goes away.

I am me
Struggling with my confidence,
But strengthening everyday.
I chose the picture of waves by Karen Winters because my life can be like the ocean in many ways. Sometimes, my life is calm, other times it feels like all the action will never stop, just like waves crashing onto the shore during a storm. Also, sometimes I feel powerless, like I'm being dragged back into the current. Like my life, the ocean has many moods, some better than others.