A Response to Victoria's Essay...

I know it might be odd as to why I uploaded a photo of J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, but the reason I did is because she has a very interesting quote. She said, "It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." I think this quote is very relevant to Victoria's paper because in life we don't necessarily have the ability to control everything and everyone around us. Yet it is very important to make our own decisions even those based off of things that we can't control. While, you did not necessarily get accepted to your number one university, you made the decision to decide for yourself which University you would attend, even if it wasn't your parents' first choice. I think this paper was really successful in its message because it is impossible for anyone to not relate to its content. No one has the ability to control everything in their lives, yet the decisions we make dictate our happiness in life.

A Response to Kevin's Essay...

I too was the type of child that did so many activities and changed her mind all the time. I wanted to do everything! But I think that is really normal about growing up and that it is necessary to discovering who you really are. Trying new things is the key to find your true passions. Putting yourself out there and doing something new opens up new opportunities that you would not have necessarily discovered otherwise. I'm pretty sure that if you had not been willing to put yourself out there or try new things you would have never gone on that mission retreat or been a teacher's assistant. Without these experiences you would not have learned more about yourself.

A Response to Sarah's Essay...

This paper really resonated with me because everything you wrote about describes the lives of many. You go to school, go to college, get a job, have a family... etc. At least that is what is expected of you. It is like the evolution of life. You start small and work your way up to becoming more advanced. Yet many times, people don't follow that exact model. I remember that when I was applying to college, my mom looked at me and asked, "do you even want to go to college?" At first this question really threw me off because college was the obvious option. However, my mom never completed college because it just wasn't for her. As a population we deem this path to be what is considered "socially acceptable" but I really like all the questions you pose about what happens if you don't fit on this path?

A Response to Sarah's Essay...

I know you discussed the movie Food Inc. briefly but I have also seen this film and I was thinking about it the whole time I was reading your essay. Similarly to you, I did not have any desire to give up eating meat after this film. My mom said that people told her to watch the movie because they would never want to eat meat again and my mom responded, "Why would I not want to eat meat?" Even after watching this movie I did not want to stop eating meat, though I did have a better understanding of the meat that is better to eat. Meat is so common within our society that it seems unusual to be a vegetarian. On a menu there are vegetarian options as opposed to meat options. If it is more unusual why is it considered to be the better options in an eco-friendly sense?

A Response to Lauren's Essay...

I found this essay really interesting because last semester in my Psych 111 class, the professor actually spoke about one's true circadian rhythm and what time we are supposed to sleep and for how long. According to various studies, he explained that humans' brains are designed to get the best sleep between the times of 2:00 AM and 11:00 AM. I thought that it was pretty funny that these are the times you go to sleep and wake up, yet they are considered frowned upon. How can it be that what is scientifically proven to be correct is actually socially incorrect?

A Response to Alex's Essay...

Everyone has heard of The Golden Rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated. It is what we learn at a young age and is supposedly a common value in life. Yet it is something often forgotten. This essay really made me think of kindergarten. I went to a jewish elementary school so we learned values from the Torah at a very young age. I remember the first thing I learned in kindergarten was The Golden Rule. It was a motif throughout the rest of elementary school, yet I don't often hear it anymore. It is something that is expected, yet never emphasized. Is it possible that as we get older we lose the meaning of The Golden Rule? Could it be that The Golden Rule is almost a childish value? If The Golden Rule is supposedly expected from everyone, then why is it so often forgotten?

A Response to Steven's Essay...

For some reason this essay reminded me a lot of the movie Mean Girls. This movie puts a large emphasis on social stereotypes and I think that has a lot to do with your paper. It is not "socially acceptable" to sport a mullet in this era. It is obvious of this fact due to the reactions you received from close friends and family. Yet, why are you seen in a different view when purely changing the way your hair looks? Just like how Cady suddenly becomes more popular when she changes her appearance, you were viewed differently when you changed your hairstyle. Your personality did not change at all, but because your hair became socially unacceptable, you were the subject of strange looks and rude comments. It is a common saying that what is on the inside is what is more important than the outside, yet then why are we so commonly judged for what people see when they look at us and not when they look in us?

A Response To Sarah's Essay...

This paper really made me think about how we spend each day. Especially in college, life really is a routine. I really liked how your "journey" really resembled breaking out of your routine. And not only did you escape the entrapping lifestyle that coming to college brings, but you did something that left a mark on not only you, but others as well. It is interesting that helping others is a different part of your life that doesn't necessarily fall under the pattern of each day. But it is so true that each day, one does not think about how one is going to help others. That is why I think it is so interesting that you incorporated the routine in your life with the journey you took to help other people. The two ideas could be seen as being very different, but when you really look at them, they actually go hand in hand.

A Response To Justin's Essay...

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

Robert Frost

This paper really made me think about how many decision we make in our lives. And how important each decision that we make really is. Some aren't very important, like what will we eat for breakfast? But others, like choosing which college to attend, have a huge impact on our lives. It sometimes is difficult to make a decision because you wonder, "what if I regret this decision in the future?" There are so many things that one considers when making a huge decision, like choosing a college. I know that I have made many decisions in my life where I look back and think, "Should I have done something different?" However, while each of these questions may plague me for a little while, I learn to come to the realization that I chose this particular school or whatever, for a reason and that there must be some worth to my decision.

A Response to Sydney's Paper...

This paper really made me think about how the world has the ability to revolve around different aspects of life. Money is one of them. However, this led me to think about how we live our lives. We go to school at a young age, and continue into our early twenties. Then we are expected to get a job and work until we reach an old age. At this point this is the time that we are "allowed" to stop working and really enjoy what we have accomplished. It is sort of sad to think that the only time we are truly allowed to bask in our accomplishments is towards the end of our lives. This paper really made me think about how we are constantly in a state of working or learning or doing the things we are supposed to be doing rather than constantly enjoying the lives we are living.

A Response to Tara's Essay...

Tara's essay really resonated with me because I had a very similar experience with a teen tour in Europe. I too traveled alone and it was difficult in the beginning. I think she did a really good job of showing her struggles and explaining how they were resolved. Getting out of your comfort zone is a really hard thing to do and it always takes time to find your place. I liked how you give all the details, down to finding your comfort and discomfort on the plane, to show what your experience was really like. I agree with Tara that leaving the country is a great way to get out of your comfort zone because there really is no going back. You have to just stick it out and know that eventually you will get through it and probably have a really interesting and great experience.

A Response to Breonna's Essay...

This essay really made me think about a village I visited in Kenya. We knew we were visiting a local Masai Mara Village and we definitely had some preconceived ideas about what it was going to be like. When we arrived we were also very surprised at the difference in lifestyles between us and the people of the village. The picture I attached was a picture I took of a little girl in the village. It really stood out to me after reading this essay because it reminded me of the descriptions in the paper. It seems like a shack of a home but it is all these people know. It is their lifestyle. I really loved how the paper touched on the idea of how we analyze ourselves after we see something different and that was very on par with my experience at the Masai Mara Village.

A Response to Victor's essay...

The meticulous breakdown of Victor's paper really led me to think about my experience in the dining hall and my relationship to what the "stereotypical" dining hall is as well. Often times I mark mojo as being a terrible place that never properly serves my dietary needs. Yet, thinking about what a "stereotypical" dining hall is I suppose it is not that bad. One often thinks of overweight, unhealthy looking lunch ladies that are mean and serve you a pile of mush onto your tray. Obviously, anyone that has been to mojo knows this is not the case. However, while I did think about this, Victor also helped me to think about all of the decisions I make. Not necessarily just about dining halls, but just in general. Listening to his specific thoughts on paper showed me how similar people have the ability to breakdown their surroundings and judge situations and people so quickly.

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