15 Years Completed. 1 Day Left.

I started Buckley in Beginners when I was 3 years old. Today is my last day of Senior year at Buckley. This feeling is indescribable. I see Buckley as a second home, a place that I can feel comfortable at while still gain the knowledge to succeed in life. Buckley has sculpted me into who I am today and for that, I am so thankful. I know I will often visit Buckley to pay back the respect that it deserves for guiding my life into the right direction. I am not saying "goodbye" now because I know I will just say "hello" in the future when I send my kids here. So, Buckley, I say "thank you for everything you have ever done for me. See you in the future."

Why do these computers take so long to start?

You need to do your homework that is due next period but you can't because you dont have your computer with you. You realize that there are computers available in the library so you run over to "check one out". You get one and press the power button. Three minutes later, the computer you "checked out" gives you the grey "log in" pop-up. You type in your username and password and hit enter. Your homework is now due in 10 minutes. You are waiting for the computer to load. Four minutes later you are still waiting. Your homework is now due in six minutes. You start to think of "good" excuses to tell your next teacher. All of a sudden, that little grey box shows a message: "Applying your personal settings". You get a sign of relief. "PHEWFFFFFFFF". You think to yourself, "Finallllllllly." You then realize three minutes later that the little message stating "Applying your personal settings" is THE most decieving message that you have ever read. Three minutes until your homework is due and the computer actually logs you in. You double-click the "Microsoft Word" logo with a slight hope you finish your homework in time. The computer freezes.

Senioritis 2.0

This blog covers exactly what I was talking about in my first "senioritis" blog. I am sitting in the Senior Courtyard without a clue of what I want to do today. "Senioritis" is a feeling that I can't explain. However, the proper definition seems to be presenting itself on the tip of my tongue. I hope a blog in the near future defines this feeling/distraction known as "senioritis".

Senioritis

I don't really know how to define "senioritis". Words such as "lazy", "uncaring", and "indefferent" all hint at the definition but none of them truly capture the real meaning. What amazes me most is that I am fully aware that I have "senioritis" but there is nooooooothng I can do about it. Some very smart doctor somewhere needs to make a vaccine to cure this awful yet unbelievable feeling. SENIORS '11.

Rain = Pain

As you can probably tell from the title of this blog- I don't really like rain. However, I love snow. To me, rain ruins almost everything. Ironically and realistically, though, rain brings life and gives water to many in need. I like warm and sunny weather so when it rains, I get upset. I guess I'm just stubborn to not appreciate rain... Kind of like technology... :/

I am a technologoholic.

To be honest, I cannot picture my life without technology. I can say, realistically, that I use some form of technology every 10 seconds. I know that I take technology for granted. I rarely appreciate the greatness of my smartphone or my computer, yet I am on at least one at all times of the day. As I am writing this blog, I am starting to realize that the little things are what amaze me. Checking the clock: A process that is second-nature. I do this so often, but have NEVER taken the time to really think about it. I know, that last sentence was funny... Anyway, how would I post this blog without technology? I would not be able to. Unfortunately, my life revolves around techonology. I am a technologoholic.

Main Idea for Metamorphosis Essay

The main idea for my Metamorphosis Essay is to discuss the value of everyday life on a more personal level. I want to use Gregor as an example to show the possible, even though exagerated in his case, drastic change that can transform a normal life to something much different. I also want to discuss conformity in the sense that a person should live his/her life however he/she wants to. I want to interview my grandma to see if the way she was raised or how she raised my mom at all reflects the way that I was raised. I want to tie all of these ideas together and make a masterpiece!

Graphic Novel Illustrations

PG 1014 #1: Even though the illustrations present a sense of humor, they demonstrate the seriousness that is needed to truly understand the novel's point--the idea that one cannot predict his or her own future. I feel that these illustrations do a good job of conveying this idea because they reveal the true "vermin" that Gregor becomes.

PG 1018 #4: I feel that Kuper is more sympathetic toward Gregor than Kafka is because of the depictions that he presents in his graphic novel. Kuper shows Gregor's face which allows the reader to connect on a personal level with Gregor. The visual of his face implies that Gregor is still somewhat alive on a human scale. Overall, I feel that Kuper is most sympathetic toward Gregor.

Metamorphasis Vs. Heart of Darkness

Unseemingly, Metamorphasis by Kafka and Heart of Darkness by Conrad relate. Heart of Darkness illustrates how dreams create a world in which anything is possible. Although not many see how this relates to Metamorphasis, I found a quote suggesting the contrary: "What if I slept a bit longer and forgot all this foolishness..." (Kafka 946). This quote represents how dreams allow individuals to escape from reality. Gregor, a bug in Metamorphasis, wants to forget everything that has recently happened to him and go back to how reality used to be. Ultimately, the usage of sleeping and dreaming conote that dreams are perfect worlds.

Psychoanalytic Heart of Darkness Intro Paragraph

A dream is an artistically elevated project in which its creator has the ability to include absolutely anything to his work of art. Marlow, from The Heart of Darkness, has the capability to escape from the real world and roam his own world, a world that he painted “black” with imagination. Some view him as a designer, an originator who can live within his dreams and communicate in a “language” only known to himself; but others, pessimistically, see him as a “neurotic”, a crazy man, because of his illusion of living in a fantasy. A dream is an uncontrollable state of mind, physically impossible to predict. Calling Marlow crazy because of his unconscious creativity is shocking. Thus, the artists are geniuses for obtaining the ability to create an entire world, to the smallest of details, from complete scratch. To call an artist purely “genius” is dismissing his creative insanity but to call an artist purely “neurotic” is neglecting his inventiveness. Therefore, I view the artists as “neurotically genius”, a description mixing the beauty, imagination, irrationality, and maladjusted qualities that both Karl and Conrad discuss and present. 

Essay Foundation

"Dreams are viewed more as a language than as symptoms of repression"(121). "Artists are borderline neurotics"(120). My essay is going to be structured around these quotations because I feel they discuss very important and contreversal points of view. People view these "artists" as "neurotic"; however, I see them as "neurotically genius". I am going to compare the views of Karl and the dream world that Marlow creates because I truly feel that Karl only sees half of the story, the "neurotic" side, and is completely blind to the "genius" side.

Essay Thoughts

Artists are viewed as "neurotic" because of their over-the-top dream world. Artists view their dream world as a language. Dreams are an uncontrollable state of mind. Thus, the artists are not "neurotic", but rather, creatives souls who are able to unconsiously create worlds. When a human thinks, the first thought is considered to be an "automatic" thought - an uncontrollable thought. After the "automatic" takes place, a "controlled" thought progesses. A "controlled" thought is a thought that thinks over and revises the original or "automatic" thought. I want to discuss, in my essay, how artists are viewed as "neurotic" in a condescending way. Personally, I see the artists as neurotically genius.

Psychological Significance Of Journey

Marlow's journey to the heart of darkness is undoubtedly a physical trek and the readers are fully aware of this. What the readers might dismiss from their thoughts is the psychologically devouring trip that this journey presents. The jungle is physically survivable but is it mentally sustainable? Marlow hints at mental surrendering but continues on his journey through the Congo. Personally, I think that the mental challenge is far more difficult than that of the physical.

PG 430: #6

The description of the painting that Marlow discusses represents justice through many different perspectives. The blindfold represents the "unconscious" and "unaware" side to the woman while the lighted torch connotes that the woman is in search of something. I think that Marlow personally relates to this persona.

PG 429: #2

I think that Marlow connects London in Roman times and the English colonization of Africa as a means to parallel his personal desires. The usage of very successful defeats over others gives the reader an intuition that Marlow wants similar success. Thus, I think that Marlow uses these examples to either foreshadow success in his story or give the reader a sense of hope for the speaker's wanting.