GPA College Blog 2

I was surprised when I figured out my GPA. I was slightly expecting it to be higher. I think it's now understandable that I have this. I'm pretty disappointed in myself because I really want to get into a good school. My grades have gone down slightly, so I need to get them back up.

I haven't learned any new information on the colleges I would want to go to. I do know that if I want a chance to get into a private school I need really good grades, which at the moment I am lacking. Also, a lot of extra curricular activities, which I am on top of at the moment.

Internship Talks

The variety of the internships that the juniors found was amazing. I was luck enough to go during Multimedia to watch and listen to other's vignettes. Some did showed they comfort while reading their vignettes, but their gestures and sudden bursts of confidence made their presentations very nice. Some of the internships these students had were exactly like having a job, and to others just a shelter away from school. They learn a lot about the things they do not want to do, which is very important, this way they don't jump into a career which they do not love.

I look for something I absolutely love, or else it will end up just boring in front of a computer screen(even though I love that). I need to figure out what I really want to do, and I should find my internship as soon as I can. I am looking for a familiar face as a mentor, a person who will guide me, who will want to educate me, and who will constantly be there for support through the process of being in the internship and leaving school.

I'm not sure of what her name was, but she worked with a psychologist I believe, something like that, at a university. She spoke of the red, awkward chair she would sit in, where she felt comfortable. I think she was successful because she spoke of something she knew, she didn't try to make something up, or go into the technicalities of her internship. We didn't need a description of her role to know the feel of it.

Suheir Hammad & Marjane Satrapi on War

Part I
"I will not hate for you, or even hate you"
Leadership is called but she won't follow, terrible things have been done, but she can't find the hate to hate those who have caused it.
"I will not side with you, or dance to bombs because everyone is dancing, because everyone can be wrong"
Just because a majority or many people will do one thing, doesn't mean it is correct. One side can not be the right one to everyone.
"Which male child will perish a new day?"
Children are set out to fight, others run from war, others are killed. That is why she asks this question.
"All colors run, none of us solid"
Everyone is everything, one can not be completely good or evil. Her point gets across by using the metaphor of color.
"Where do refugee hearts go? Broke, displaced, where they're not from, don't want to be missed, faced with absence"
The people who are refugees find it difficult to once again find a home, to find acceptance and to belong.
"Do not fear what has blown up... If you must, fear the unexploded."
I have no clue what this means, but it is intriguing. It leaves her poem open ended, to ask one self this question.

Marjane and Suheir have experienced different wars, different problems, different situations, but their point of views can be similar. Marjane finds that following others is easier as she is in Austria, but later realizes that being different (Islamic/Iranian) is completely fine. Marjane had done a couple thing she wasn't very proud of, and she felt like she ran away from the war. Though the burden of the war still weighed her down. She knew of the boys who were sent out to fight, and her friend had been harmed by the war. Marjane didn't worry for a brother or her father, but of her friends, that one in particular she hadn't seen or spoken to in years.

What is "striking" is that war every where seems to be the same. They spoke of different times and different places but they still had the same message. Children are effected, and those who are part of it can't bring themselves back.
Part II

Suheir Hammad speaks powerfully about her brothers, the wars withing countries, throughout the world, and who is behind them. They are all people like you and I. They are fathers and brothers, many of a young age. She wishes her brothers aren't hurt, she despises the discrimination which has to be faced for the color of their skin, and accent on their voice. Marjane witnessed the revolutions which came across the countries she lived in. Her family part of it, her family killed, her family hurt by their surroundings. They made her run away from this revolution, from the people who would claim to be part of the positive change, not taking blame for the young men who were killed. Revolutionaries are praised as she was younger. She grows up, and knows that ther isn't one good side. People were held in prisons

Asia Current Events: Oman

Oman is located in the Middle East. It is East of Yemen and South of Iran and the Gulf of Oman. Muscat is the capital of Oman, and it is located in the Northern part, by the Gulf of Oman. Oman is not a very big country, it is "slightly smaller than Kansas." The weather throughout this country is very hot, dry in the inland, and humid in the coast.

Oman was affected by the oil spills, beach water is polluted because of it. This is very troublesome to any country, especially those which are as small as Oman.

Street Art

1) What are qualities that you noticed in the documentary that you can transfer into your own work?

The artists would not limit themselves to just a plain canvas or one medium; they would combine several mediums(i.e. spray paint, photo-shopped images, tile, other paint). They were in a way "fearless", they knew what message they wanted to convey through their art, and nothing would stop them. Not a specific size, limit of color, form, or texture. I feel like this has opened my eyes, I'm not forced to make my art piece go well with everybody else's as long as I'm giving off the message I'd like.

2) What amazed you about the artists work?

They put them selves in troublesome situations, to create art that could be taken down in a matter of days. They travel quite a lot to spread their art, and spread the word, this takes a lot of effort. The time they use to create their art is minimal but very meaningful. They create an image which follows them, the Space Invaders go with "Space Invader" and so on. Many share similar qualities in their work, whereas they aren't copying form each other, they are more "inspired" by each other.

3) How did the artists use their craft to convey a message?

They use repetition, in a way "brain washing", where "Mr. Brain-Wash" got his name. Some seem to use even text to clearly give off their message, like "Life Is Beautiful", or "Hope" on an Obama poster. As they are consistent they attract attention, people decide to look at their art however they want. Though their expression is illegal, to some it may be beautiful.

"The Metamorphosis" Chapter 3

Insects are usually considered pests in our world, when they are in households. The change of the protagonist into a sort of pest can represent many things. Before reading "The Metamorphosis", we read about the author, Franz Kafka, who didn't seem to have a great life/live style. Possibly the author felt he could reflect his childhood into Gregor, as he could have felt bug, or a pest, not welcomed to where he was. Kafka wasn't some one who was very stable, possibly afraid of commitment, as he had engaged and dis-engaged to women a couple times. Gregor couldn't hold any relationships either, because of his job. Gregor was a salesman, who thought other salesmen had it better, I think that Kafka could have had problems as an author initially, believing other were better as Gregor did.

I personally wondered why it was a "beetle". Looking around I discovered(source below) that Kafka's intentions were not to be specific on what kind of bug he was, but just emphasis that he was "monstrous" and "gigantic". What was important was that Gregor became something that could disgust his mother just with a glance. How Gregor looks is all up to the imagination of the reader, a couple features are explained, like his neck(at a point when he turns around), and thin legs. A giant frog would instantly be killed, they wouldn't keep it in the home, I don't think anyone could like with a really big frog hidden away. Gregor is harmless, and weak, though he looks awful. This is all the point to him being a sort of "insect".

"The Metamorphosis" Chapter 2

Personally I believe that everyone you meet changes who you are. The people who you surround yourself with, influence you in the greatest way possible. You can't choose your family, but you sure are surrounded by them a whole lot! The Samsas don't seem like they work as a family. No one but Gregor works in this family. Yes, his parents are old, but all the load is dropped on poor Gregor. They don't seem to communicated very well, as in the first chapter both his mother and father were trying to get him out, and he managed to keep them away only saying a couple words. Gregor's father is hurting his mother and sister by threatening Gregor, and by hitting him. He has no idea how to deal with his son's transformation, so he thinks violence and brute force is the answer. Grete, Gregor's sister, feels like she needs to hide away that she was giving him food initially, as they didn't know what her parents response would be. This family over all seems very destructive.

1)Communication

This is vital in any relationship/interaction. From people to computers, or sister to mother.

2) Dependence

A family shouldn't be dependent on one person, but on each other, there for support when needed.

3)Complete honesty

Lies shouldn't be part of a family, there isn't a reason for them to belong.

4)Respect

They aren't beating each other with newspaper, or throwing fruit at each other(cough)Gregor's father(cough)

5)Love

They have to want to stay as a family, and protect each other.

Samsas Grade: C-

This family doesn't have 1-4, but they have love. If they didn't Gregor wouldn't be alive, his mom wouldn't have stepped in on his father stomping him like a bug. His sister wouldn't have bothered ti ever go inside his room to clean and feed him, or even stand being near him. Lastly Gregor wouldn't have taken the responsibility of his parent's debt as his if he didn't love them.

"The Metamorphosis" Chapter 1

"What circumstances in Gregor's life might have caused him to feel dehumanized even before the metamorphosis took place?"

Gregor worked has a sales man. He work all day, and studied what he'd be doing/working on all night. He didn't have what some may call a " life". Gregor is addicted to work, even though it is clear he doesn't enjoy the one he has. He compares himself to other salesman who probably have it easier, he says "what a demanding job I've chosen!" as he lists all of the various, tiring things he has to do involving his career..He needed to take his mind of things, get a hobby, which wasn't related to his work.This was apparent to his mother as well, as she has told Gregor's manager she would get mad sometimes because he didn't go outside some night, or afternoons. He kept himself away from other interactions with society, he couldn't really hold a relationship with anyone, this making him feel dehumanized.

He probably acts this way because, if he works hard enough, long enough, he will finally be able to pay off the debt, and be free. Gregor is being used, he is paying off his *parent's* debt, not his. To them, he may be just what brings in money. He is too much off a good person to accept this.

When he woke up as a bug, that worried him for a bit, but then he seemed to forget, all he could think of was his job, and how it was a quarter until seven. One can not be completely sane, and forget that they turned into a bug for a couple minutes as they think of work.

Being part of a community, having friends, socializing, it's one of the most "human" things I can list, and this was taken away way before he became an insect.