Journal #29

Nature is in control during natural disasters. During things such as hurricanes, tsunamis, or tornadoes, we as humans have absolutely no control. There is nothing we can do to stop them from happening or make them less powerful. The only thing we can do to have any hint of control is to protect ourselves and our homes and belongings. These disasters can do whatever they please with the world, and it is a scary thing that there is nothing anyone can do in order to prevent this. This is why many people are very afraid of these kinds of situations, when the power shifts from us to nature. Not only to natural disasters have total control, but when you think about it, nature in general has control over nature. We cannot prevent the rain or snow from happening. We must mold our lives around the weather, the weather does not mold around our preferences or feelings. When we refuse to conform to this mold, it presents a challenge we as people of a greater control must deal with the consequences for. This is a part of what makes nature so beautiful. Humans cannot change the weather and make it better or worse as we please depending on our moods, as we do with many things in our lives. We need to respect the way it is and think of it as a constant. As they say the only thing that is constant is change, and this is very true while making this point. When we are constantly changing, it is good to have some constants. Nature being in control of itself gives us that opportunity. Natural disasters and weather have such an influence on our lives, and I think that it makes people afraid to think about such an abstract thing having a greater control of our lives. It is like God,  only we can see and predict weather, but alike God, we have no influence or control over it.

Journal #28

In sociology, we just did presentations about different cultures and the things that they believe and do. Through listening to the different presentations, I found some of the aspects interesting and some very odd aspects as well. If I were put into the place of some of the cultures we discussed, I could be very uncomfortable. Many of the cultures were hunter gatherers. As we live, we go to the grocery store buy our packaged meat and berries, and go home and eat them. In the hunter gatherer societies they have to go out and pick berries and kill and animal each time they want food. Although this is a bit extreme of a difference, there are other situations that would be different. For example if I was put into a very wealthy society, I would probably act how they would consider inappropriate. Although I am not an inappropriate person, Some of the behaviors that we would consider normal would be rude or inappropriate. For example, if you are put into a wealthy society and you were to not dress as nice or make a joke they thought was a child's joke, you would be deemed rude and the odd one of the group. In our culture we have a certain definition of what is normal to us. When people are put into our society and do not act like how we do, we automatically think that they are odd or do not associate with them because they are different. We all have a certain type of person that we all are, and is a part of each of us within our culture, and each culture itself has one. When put into a different society, we must either choose to conform and act as they do, or act as we think our normal is and accept that they may not include you as a part of their culture or society any longer. If you think about it there are so many cultures in the world and each of them is its own.

Journal #27

If I was miles from home defending my country, I would feel lots of emotions. I would feel scared first of all. Being in an unknown place so far from your home is enough to be pretty scared, but put the fact that you are fighting in a war, it makes it even scarier. I cannot even imagine being in a war type situation, with guns blasting, and shots being fired every which way. I imagine it is overwhelming and life changing. You could never erase the image of people being shot and killed or wounded from your mind no matter how hard you try. I would be scared everyday and every minute that I could lose my life and never see my family again. Family brings me to the next emotion I would feel, home sick. I do not usually get homesick if I am away from my parents for a few weeks, but I cannot even imagine being away for years on end. I would miss them so much, and even though there are ways to contact them, it would not be the same at all. I am sure I would cry a lot, and from a result of crying probably get sick . Sickness would also be something I would be concerned about. I feel like that big of a change in your diet and atmosphere would probably make you very sick, adding to all of your other emotions. I feel like if I was away and my family remained at home, I would feel like I was missing out in so many things. I would miss my little cousins growing up, possibly marriages, and deaths. I would hate myself for missing such important events, even though I knew I was doing something for the good of the country. Overall I really cannot even imagine what people fighting in the war go through, and are truly heroes. They put themselves through so much and do not get nearly enough appreciation as they should.

Journal #26

One time when something did not turn out as I expected was on my birthday. In December, my friend had texted me saying that I should come over on the night of my birthday and we would watch a movie and I could open my present.  I had to come over later in the night, eight o'clock I believe, because she had to work late. She also said I could not spend the night because she had to go to church in the morning. I was fine with that because I had taken the ACT earlier that morning and was exhausted. After dinner, I was going upstairs to grab some things before I left for her house, and my mom asked if I was wearing that, a sweatshirt and sweatpants. I said yes not thinking anything of it, but I later decided that i should probably put jeans on and I threw on a new shirt. When I got to her house, which is just down that street from mine, I parked my car and knocked on the door. She greeted me, but I took a couple steps inside when some of my other friends popped up and yelled happy birthday. I was very surprised and not expecting it at all.  my friend later told me my mom was on her way with pizza and that she had helped her plan it for a couple of weeks. My other friends had just found out about a week ago, and somehow all managed to keep it a secret. They had parked their cars down the street, just in case I saw them. They had also been there for about an hour, because I am know for being early for everything. It ended up being a super fun night, and we all stayed the night, but spent most of it talking. I think what made it so fun was that I was not expecting that at all.

Journal #25

Giving is a very important thing to do. Giving can be sometimes even more fun that receiving something. Christmas was recently and giving is a huge part of the holiday season. People say that Christmas is not about receiving, but is all about giving. I actually really enjoy giving gifts. Gift giving is fun for me because if I know that they are really going to like it, I get excited to see their reaction. I look for a long time to find a gift that I think that they will enjoy, and it is very rewarding when they like it as much as I had hoped that they would. Giving is not all about gifts however. Giving can be all kind of things. You can give love to people. Your can also give your appreciation for people. Giving appreciation for people plays a huge role in building relationships with people. People enjoy being complimented and praised, and when you do so, they tend to like you. If you think about it, most likely you will realize that many of the relationships in your life have started from some sort of giving. Giving is a trait that people look for in a person. When you describe the type of person that you would like to either be friends with, or to date of marry, a common trait is often giving. No one wants to be with a selfish person. Selfish people are often perceived as rude or mean. No one wants to be rude or mean! Giving is a trait that if we do not have we should look into developing if we do not have. We should all be giving people because that would make the world a better place to live in and it could solve a lot of the power problems in the world today. People get greedy with power instead of giving the choice to the people as our country should be, and it causes problems.

Journal #24

The best way to prepare for final exams is to not procrastinate! If you procrastinate, then you will get closer and closer to your exams and then you do not have enough time to properly prepare for the tests. If you do not prepare for your tests, then your will most likely not do very well on the tests. The best way to get ready is to make flashcards and to figure out which test you need to get the best grade on, and then study the most for that exam. To figure this out, for take your first quarter grade, multiply it by two, then take your second quarter grade and also multiply it by two. Then, you add them both together. You take this number and subtract it by four hundred and fifty. This equation is used to find out what grade you need to get in order to get an A on the exam. To then get this grade it is essential that you make flashcards for the tests that can use them, such as Spanish and Chemistry. You most likely cannot use flashcards on math tests, but you can do sample problems. These problems can be found on old tests and worksheets you have completed. Also, you could ask your teacher for problems that could be done for practice. All of these steps should help to make you get the best grade possible on your exams. On the weekend before make sure you bring all of the items you may need home to study, and be sure that you get plenty of sleep at night on the week of finals. Most importantly however, is that you eat breakfast. This way your stomach will not be growling during the test, and thinking about food instead of focusing on your tests. Overall, finals do not have to be terrible if you prepare in the correct way and follow the steps I have discussed.

Journal #23

Being self sufficient means that you can function by yourself. You can provide for yourself and do necessary things in order to survive. For example, as a child you depend on your parents for everything. They make you food, get you dressed, buy your things, and even when you are younger, bathe you. This is not being self sufficient. As you get to an age where you can start to do these things by yourself. Although teenagers may think they are self sufficient, they probably are not. When you are in high school, your parents still make your meals and pay for most of your expenses. Even in college, where you feel like such an independent person, you still are not self sufficient. Parents pay for at least some of your college tuition, and when you go home, it is their home, not your own. In my opinion, if you are being self sufficient is when you are completely dependent on you and only you. You have your own house and car that you bought with your own money that you earned. You also pay for your bills, including home, car, and life insurance. These things add up, which is why being self sufficient comes at an older age. Some people may start this earlier than others, but usually it is around the same age for most people. Along with just financial and personal independence, there is also being self sufficient mentally. If you look at yourself to solve problems, and want to handle things yourselves, without consulting people such as your mother and father. This means that you no longer depend on them for important decision making, and always wanting them to solve a problem for you. When you are self sufficient, you may go to others for guidance, but overall you make the decision yourself and no one else can decide for you. Being self sufficient takes time to reach, and does not come easily.