My Party

If I were able to register to a party I don't believe I could come up with such a commitment just yet, because I'm not very aware of all the stances of the different types of parties. Issues that I am concerned about are education, taxes, energy, immigration, and abortion. I think that based on my beliefs of these issues and what the candidates' beliefs are would help me narrow down what party I could associate myself with since they would have similar views of me.

2008 Election Issues

On a separate sheet of paper (or your blog, or my email), rank the three issues listed below that are most important to you...then, tell me your stance on the issue.


1. Education - No Child Left Behind Act
As an incoming college student, I believe that education is a big issue for me. I have been researching the No Child Left Behind Act and it does appear to be flawed especially for the low-income schools that are experiencing the consequences; I find the act to be unfair and to have too high of expectations annually.

2. Energy
I really feel that we rely too much on oil and especially foreign oil. I find this to be an important issue because I am concious about the environment. I'm not sure how well the funding is in relation to researching/promoting alternative fuel sources but we should look to that.

3. Taxes
I am not very aware of our tax system but I think we should implement a tax system where it is based on income and not allow for tax cuts for the wealthy.

Why Vote?

I won't be eighteen by the time the elections will be taking place, but if I was I would vote. Voting for president would determine what the next four years would be like. It is much more than the candidate, but also the issues that we believe. If I were to have anyone as president I would want to make sure that his or her representation of my country is on par to my beliefs. This is why I would vote, if I could.

What makes an American?

Well, to put it simply, an American is a legal citizen of the United States. However, I believe there is more depth to it. The fact that people from across the globe can immigrate to the US and add to the diversity in America, add different kinds of faces to the label American. Also, because we are able to some extent express our beliefs freely and be who we want to be defines us as American.

My Architect

Prompt: Today in class we watched a portion of the movie My Architect which is based on the world-renowned architect, Lou Khan. After we finished watching the movie, we were to reflect on Louis Kahn's story in light of today's journal write.

Due to the environment of the classroom we were not able to watch the entire movie and personally I do not think it is sufficient enough to comment on Lou's life, since we had to restart the movie during the last hour of class. From what I could grasp, an illegitimate son of this famous architect is trying to get to know his father by retracing his past and conversing with colleagues/friends of his father's. Lou had three women in his life, with one being his wife and two having illegitimate children of his. Nathaniel, one of his illegitimate children, is the one that is being focused upon in this documentary. Personally, I found this part of his life immoral since I cannot judge him as a whole. If I were in Nathaniel's position I don't know if I would feel the way he did in wanting to know his father.

Last Words

After watching Randy Pausch's last lecture in our class, our teacher decided to have us write what our last piece of advice would be either in a lecture or poetry format and make up a scenario as to why we are writing this. These last words of ours would then be presented aloud to the class.

Prompt: You have only a limited time left to live. You are somehow able to leave a message behind, to pass on some final thoughts. What is your message?

Last Words:
I don't think it is my place to give pieces of advice on life
Seeing that I've only been alive for just 6 years past a decade
Have I really experienced all the things that life has to offer?
I know I have not but I will try to give what I can give
All I know is to cherish the happy moments you have in life and laugh
because death does not know any age, whether you're 5 or 100.

Childhood Dreams

When I was younger I didn't have that many goals as a young child. But when I was about 4 - 5 years old I wanted to be many things such as: tap dancer/ballerina, teacher, doctor, and princess. My mom enrolled me in a ton of classes to help me choose what things I like and dislike such as tap dance class, art class, piano, & swimming. I also hoped to own a parrot and a monkey, however at 4 years old I ended up having 2 zebra birds and a brother. When I saw Randy Pausch's last lecture it made me motivated to achieve the dreams that I have now, which are more realistic than the ones I had back then. My favorite piece of advice of his was that there are brick walls put up for a reason.

Sounds of Silence

I hear the faint sound of an airplane flying overhead along with the friction between the paper and pen. I can hear myself breathing and the rhythm of footsteps across the floor as well as the sound of the closing of the door. I hear the echoes of a piano below the ceiling and mismatched beats going along with the music. I hear, yet again, another airplane overhead. These are the sounds I hear after 100 seconds of silence.

What is Art?

I find that when people think of art they automatically come up with painting or drawing.
I believe there are different forms of art and they don't necessarily have to deal with any kinesthetic creativity whatsoever. In my vocabulary, I define art as a way of expressing one's self. When I say "one's self" it could be their thoughts, emotions, view towards anything such as an issue. And their expression can be in any form. It could be music, poetry, painting, architecture, or cooking. Whatever form a person deems self-expressive can be art.