Around halftime of a football game a commercial came on that showed the chain effect of one, small act of kindness. This thirty second commercial briefly motivated me to try to do the same as the man portrayed in the commercial; perform one act of kindness, which would be followed by a chain of people paying it forward. I was excited to try to make a difference the way the man in the commercial did. However, even after some amount of success, I stopped caring. Until I saw the commercial again the following Sunday. I then wondered why this excitement of helping others only lasted for a short amount of time. Many people have said the same words I said; "I want to make a difference". However, they either stop caring after a brief amount of time or they carry on with their lives and often don't give it a second thought. Perhaps, this is because they see themselves as too small, or don't know where to start, or even simply don't care enough. I believe, however, that people act this way because they are missing the big picture. People make helping others about themselves and get bored when they don't recieve the accolade they believe they deserve. Angela Maiers wrote an article that teaches those who truly want to make a difference, how to make a difference. The article also helps people realize the big picture of showing others that they matter.
In Angela Maiers' article, "People Know They Matter When", she begins with a simple and easy task; simply letting people know they are recognized. Even if the person is a stranger, it is still simple to perform this task. Her next step in making people realize they matter is to genuinely listen. After listening attentively, ask a sincere question. This tells the person that what they said was relevant and interesting. Maiers lists several other ways to make people know they matter such as celebrating them, doing small acts of kindness, simply believing in them, and other simple yet effective things.
The people that follow the steps described in Maiers' article are truly the people that make the world go around. If these people didn't exist, the world would be a society focused solely on itself. One place that demonstrates the applications of Maiers' article is Skyview Academy High School. Skyview Academy differs from the typical high school in a number of ways. One way it differs is through the way each student treats other students. At Skyview Academy students know the names of all the other students and acknowledge them as they walk past in the hallway. Students at Skyview Academy might even sit down at lunch and have a conversation with someone they never talked to before. This is because of the confidence that has been instilled in them by other students. The majority of students at Skyview Academy help other students realize they matter. Those students, in return, make others realize they have importance and eventually it circles back around into an interminable cycle.
The argument can be made that students at Skyview Academy only act this way because they feel comfortable in the environment in which they are accustomed. However, I believe that because of their welcoming and hospitable personalities, students at Skyview Academy would act the same way outside of the school as they do while in their comfort zone. If students at Skyview Academy carry these attributes into the real world, people will begin to see a difference and the chain effect portrayed in the commercial on tv will come off the screen and be put into effect in actuality, blessing and transforming the lives of others.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Cultural Shifts
Winston Churchill said, "To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often". Churchill was right on the money when he said that. Throughout history, those who change and improve are successful and those who remain stagnant fail. Technology has arguably advanced more in the past ten years than it has in any other decade in human history. One of the attributes of these advancements is the improvement of communication.
While the invention and improvement of cell phones is the unambiguous change in communication technology, there are many other changes that have started this revolution. The advancements in communication technology have enabled people to talk more frequently and communicate with each other even if they are on opposite ends of the earth. These ideas have been possible for a rather long time. However, in the past decade, people have been enabled to send an email while sitting on the hot sand in the desert, or talk face to face with a person 1,000 miles away. Social media such as Facebook or Twitter has given people the opportunity to share their life with the world all with one click of a button. Communication technology over the past ten years has had the greatest effect on the world than almost anything ever before.
As Winston Churchill said, "To improve is to change"; the world did just that through the advancement of communication. Because of these changes, people can communicate with one another with ease on the screen of a phone, computer, tablet, and many other devices.
While the invention and improvement of cell phones is the unambiguous change in communication technology, there are many other changes that have started this revolution. The advancements in communication technology have enabled people to talk more frequently and communicate with each other even if they are on opposite ends of the earth. These ideas have been possible for a rather long time. However, in the past decade, people have been enabled to send an email while sitting on the hot sand in the desert, or talk face to face with a person 1,000 miles away. Social media such as Facebook or Twitter has given people the opportunity to share their life with the world all with one click of a button. Communication technology over the past ten years has had the greatest effect on the world than almost anything ever before.
As Winston Churchill said, "To improve is to change"; the world did just that through the advancement of communication. Because of these changes, people can communicate with one another with ease on the screen of a phone, computer, tablet, and many other devices.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Color
Color in the world today affects people more than almost anything else. Color is used as a rhetorical device. It provokes feelings in people to persuade them one way or another. Depending on the target audience, people will use one color or another.
According to research, different colors represent different emotions, personalities, and lifestyles. Most people do not realize they are manipulated every day by the use of colors. If someone wants to make a bold and powerful statement, the color black may be used. The color black may often be used by a company targeting leaders who strive to be powerful. Research shows that blue is the least appetizing food color, yet the most relaxing color when put on the walls of a bedroom. Yellow is known to be the most cheerful color. However, people lose their tempers most in rooms painted yellow. If someone desires to look pure and innocent, he may use the color white. Whatever the color might be, it is rarely decided randomly. Color is one of the most effective visual rhetorical devices.
Whether it is to create a feeling of power, innocence, tranquility, luxury, optimism, reliability, or relaxation, color is used widely to appeal to any of the human senses.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html
According to research, different colors represent different emotions, personalities, and lifestyles. Most people do not realize they are manipulated every day by the use of colors. If someone wants to make a bold and powerful statement, the color black may be used. The color black may often be used by a company targeting leaders who strive to be powerful. Research shows that blue is the least appetizing food color, yet the most relaxing color when put on the walls of a bedroom. Yellow is known to be the most cheerful color. However, people lose their tempers most in rooms painted yellow. If someone desires to look pure and innocent, he may use the color white. Whatever the color might be, it is rarely decided randomly. Color is one of the most effective visual rhetorical devices.
Whether it is to create a feeling of power, innocence, tranquility, luxury, optimism, reliability, or relaxation, color is used widely to appeal to any of the human senses.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Is Fantasy Football ruining the enjoyment of real Football?
In the past few years, Fantasy Football has taken the football world by storm. Participants research player's statistics, the Draft comes, and they have their team. This is an activity that goes on throughout the season. Stats earn you points, points earn you wins, and wins earn you bragging rights, money, or even a trip to the Super Bowl. While the activity is fun and the rewards are even better, Fantasy Football is ruining the experience and enjoyment of the NFL. Fantasy Football diminishes a fan's loyalty to his favorite team and often results in fewer viewers of a live game.
To a football fan, there are not many things better than watching his favorite NFL team beat a bitter rival in a nail biter game on a Sunday afternoon. It's a feeling identical to seeing his daughter win a national competition. It gives a feeling of pride deep down inside of him. However, if his beloved team loses, much like seeing his daughter lose, he is devastated. These emotions are traits of loyalty. Whether it's because of a popular player, hometown favorite, or even the colors of the mascot, anyone who has ever watched football has at least a small sense of loyalty. No football fan has ever said he likes every NFL team evenly. A Pittsburgh Steelers fan would never wish anything good on the Baltimore Ravens; until Fantasy Football. Fantasy Football has brought about unthinkable events such as Broncos fans hoping for a Raider's quarterback to have an outstanding game. This is because Fantasy Football gives a participant players from teams he may not like. However, he does not want his Fantasy team to suffer, resulting in support of a bitter rival. Most football fans would consider this sort of detestable act betrayal.
Once the favorite team has won, football fans often remain seated on their couch. They channel surf until they find the next upcoming game. If the game is between two teams outside the hometown's division, one will often say to himself "I just want to see a close game with exciting plays". However, Fantasy Football has resulted in participants getting up off the couch and leaving the game; if they were ever even watching any football initially. Many Fantasy Football team owners do not even care about the game itself but only about the statistics at the end of the day. Games can often be much closer than the stats present them to be. However, Fantasy Football partcipants cannot enjoy this close competition because they are enthralled in keeping up with their Fantasy team.
Football is about hard hits, close games, and pure loyalty. Fantasy Football should be considered an abomination because of it's corruption of the enjoyment of NFL football. When a participant builds his team of players from various teams, including rival teams, he is losing his loyalty to the team he has rooted for his entire life and often does not watch football games for the sheer enjoyment of competitiveness.
To a football fan, there are not many things better than watching his favorite NFL team beat a bitter rival in a nail biter game on a Sunday afternoon. It's a feeling identical to seeing his daughter win a national competition. It gives a feeling of pride deep down inside of him. However, if his beloved team loses, much like seeing his daughter lose, he is devastated. These emotions are traits of loyalty. Whether it's because of a popular player, hometown favorite, or even the colors of the mascot, anyone who has ever watched football has at least a small sense of loyalty. No football fan has ever said he likes every NFL team evenly. A Pittsburgh Steelers fan would never wish anything good on the Baltimore Ravens; until Fantasy Football. Fantasy Football has brought about unthinkable events such as Broncos fans hoping for a Raider's quarterback to have an outstanding game. This is because Fantasy Football gives a participant players from teams he may not like. However, he does not want his Fantasy team to suffer, resulting in support of a bitter rival. Most football fans would consider this sort of detestable act betrayal.
Once the favorite team has won, football fans often remain seated on their couch. They channel surf until they find the next upcoming game. If the game is between two teams outside the hometown's division, one will often say to himself "I just want to see a close game with exciting plays". However, Fantasy Football has resulted in participants getting up off the couch and leaving the game; if they were ever even watching any football initially. Many Fantasy Football team owners do not even care about the game itself but only about the statistics at the end of the day. Games can often be much closer than the stats present them to be. However, Fantasy Football partcipants cannot enjoy this close competition because they are enthralled in keeping up with their Fantasy team.
Football is about hard hits, close games, and pure loyalty. Fantasy Football should be considered an abomination because of it's corruption of the enjoyment of NFL football. When a participant builds his team of players from various teams, including rival teams, he is losing his loyalty to the team he has rooted for his entire life and often does not watch football games for the sheer enjoyment of competitiveness.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Eating Rituals
Lunch in a high school cafeteria is made enjoyable not because of the food, but because of the interactions between friends and the relaxation of a break from a long day of school.
If you ask a high schooler what his favorite time of the school day is, he will probably say lunch time. This is not because of the cyclical portions that repeat themselves everyday, but because of the unpredictable, eccentric things that take place through conversations, interactions, and even simply in one's own mind. With the exception of a few high schoolers who are absolutely infatuated with food, the majority of high schoolers take their time walking to the cafeteria because they wait for their friends or need to take a football out of their locker. As the high schoolers walk into the cafeteria and grab their food without a second thought, they search for other sudents that belong in their people group. Once found, the students make a bee line straight for that certain group of people. Before sitting down, high fives, fist bumps, and possibly even hugs are given to everyone. Then, the conversations, jokes, awkward silences, and parking lot football games begin.
Even if a high schooler sits alone at lunch, it is not because he is too consumed in his food to interact with others. This high schooler may play on his Gameboy or Rubik's Cube. He may possibly even just imagine he was in a world far away. But he is not solely fixated on the food in front of him.
A cafeteria at a high school is a chance for students to recuperate from a long, hard morning of school. To be able to talk freely for a substaintial thirty minutes is much needed for high schoolers who are powered by their venti, sugar-free, non-fat, vanilla soy, double shot, no foam, extra hot, peppermint white chocolate mocha with light whip and extra syrup from Starbucks; or maybe just a Red Bull. It is truly surprising that high schoolers even have time to eat because of the amount of words they pack into a limited amount of time.
If you ask a high schooler what his favorite time of the school day is, he will probably say lunch time. This is not because of the cyclical portions that repeat themselves everyday, but because of the unpredictable, eccentric things that take place through conversations, interactions, and even simply in one's own mind. With the exception of a few high schoolers who are absolutely infatuated with food, the majority of high schoolers take their time walking to the cafeteria because they wait for their friends or need to take a football out of their locker. As the high schoolers walk into the cafeteria and grab their food without a second thought, they search for other sudents that belong in their people group. Once found, the students make a bee line straight for that certain group of people. Before sitting down, high fives, fist bumps, and possibly even hugs are given to everyone. Then, the conversations, jokes, awkward silences, and parking lot football games begin.
Even if a high schooler sits alone at lunch, it is not because he is too consumed in his food to interact with others. This high schooler may play on his Gameboy or Rubik's Cube. He may possibly even just imagine he was in a world far away. But he is not solely fixated on the food in front of him.
A cafeteria at a high school is a chance for students to recuperate from a long, hard morning of school. To be able to talk freely for a substaintial thirty minutes is much needed for high schoolers who are powered by their venti, sugar-free, non-fat, vanilla soy, double shot, no foam, extra hot, peppermint white chocolate mocha with light whip and extra syrup from Starbucks; or maybe just a Red Bull. It is truly surprising that high schoolers even have time to eat because of the amount of words they pack into a limited amount of time.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere
Martin Luther King, Jr. had a gift to move crowds like few men have ever possessed. King led thousands of people in peaceful protests against the appalling view on slavery. Eight Alabama clergymen wrote to King while he was in jail. This letter contained their discontent with King's demonstrations. To this letter, King replies with an intelligent and persuasive response. He addresses all the claims made against him and denounces the concerns of the clergymen.
In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Burmingham Jail", King writes about many key and influential ideas that have been quoted in the past and are still used in the present. One of these ideas that has been quoted for nearly 50 years is the idea that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". This idea is both compelling and accurate. At this point in time, African-Americans were considered citizens of the United States of America. However, they were treated with extreme prejudice and injustice. In this quote, King is saying that because injustice has been shown to African-Americans, the door has been opened to injustice elsewhere. Adjustments had been made to the standards people had for justice and whites became accustomed to treating African-Americans with injustice. The dictionary definition of justice is fairness, equity, and impartiality. When African-Americans were not treated with fairness, equity, and impartiality, America had lost it's sense of integrity in the justice system which resulted in a threat to justice everywhere. If one group of people could be discriminated, why couldn't another?
An example of King's idea is Adolf Hitler and Germany's discrimination of the Jews. It began with a dislike and prejudice against the jews by taking away their rights. This injustice was much like the treatment of blacks in America. The Jews were limited as to what they could say, where they could go, and what they could do. This initial injustice opened the door to an injustice nobody could see coming. The death of six million jews.
Even a slight unfairness or inequity is a slippery slope. Once one people group is intentionally and consitently treated unjustly, it threatens the constitutional rights of everybody.
http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/00117/civilrights.html
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justice
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/injustice
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Burmingham Jail", King writes about many key and influential ideas that have been quoted in the past and are still used in the present. One of these ideas that has been quoted for nearly 50 years is the idea that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". This idea is both compelling and accurate. At this point in time, African-Americans were considered citizens of the United States of America. However, they were treated with extreme prejudice and injustice. In this quote, King is saying that because injustice has been shown to African-Americans, the door has been opened to injustice elsewhere. Adjustments had been made to the standards people had for justice and whites became accustomed to treating African-Americans with injustice. The dictionary definition of justice is fairness, equity, and impartiality. When African-Americans were not treated with fairness, equity, and impartiality, America had lost it's sense of integrity in the justice system which resulted in a threat to justice everywhere. If one group of people could be discriminated, why couldn't another?
An example of King's idea is Adolf Hitler and Germany's discrimination of the Jews. It began with a dislike and prejudice against the jews by taking away their rights. This injustice was much like the treatment of blacks in America. The Jews were limited as to what they could say, where they could go, and what they could do. This initial injustice opened the door to an injustice nobody could see coming. The death of six million jews.
Even a slight unfairness or inequity is a slippery slope. Once one people group is intentionally and consitently treated unjustly, it threatens the constitutional rights of everybody.
http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/00117/civilrights.html
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justice
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/injustice
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Banned Books
Books in a high school curriculum often contain some amount of inappropriate content that is banned or challenged. Parents, schools, and libraries most frequently challenge books with offensive language, sexuality, or content not suited for an age group.
The groups challenging these books want to protect a child from some of the ideas that might incite racism, perversion, or profanity. These are all legitimate concerns due to a teenager's easily impressible nature. However, a high schooler faces many of these problems on a day to day basis even without these books. Shouldn't parents, schools, libraries, and anyone else challenging these controversial books be focused on eradicating the problems in pop culture (which have a much greater influence on high schoolers)? However, removing the issues in pop culture would be a gargantuas task and, therefore, these problems will remain in the world. This is why keeping these issues in a high school curriculum is a wise idea. When youth are sent out into the world, it will be beneficial to have some understanding of the world's views on certain issues like those presented in the books in a high school curriculum. Also, these books (mostly classics) present these problems to high schoolers in a more sophisticated way, making the audience view them negatively. Books can adequately and accurately break down stereotypes and bias. Often times, stereotypes and bias are incorrect, unrealiable, and have little thought put into them. However, books can help expose people to the truths of cultures and societies helping to reduce predjudice.
Controversial books should remain in high school curriculum because they provide views and ideas that the reader will benefit from in the real world.
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/statistics
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks
The groups challenging these books want to protect a child from some of the ideas that might incite racism, perversion, or profanity. These are all legitimate concerns due to a teenager's easily impressible nature. However, a high schooler faces many of these problems on a day to day basis even without these books. Shouldn't parents, schools, libraries, and anyone else challenging these controversial books be focused on eradicating the problems in pop culture (which have a much greater influence on high schoolers)? However, removing the issues in pop culture would be a gargantuas task and, therefore, these problems will remain in the world. This is why keeping these issues in a high school curriculum is a wise idea. When youth are sent out into the world, it will be beneficial to have some understanding of the world's views on certain issues like those presented in the books in a high school curriculum. Also, these books (mostly classics) present these problems to high schoolers in a more sophisticated way, making the audience view them negatively. Books can adequately and accurately break down stereotypes and bias. Often times, stereotypes and bias are incorrect, unrealiable, and have little thought put into them. However, books can help expose people to the truths of cultures and societies helping to reduce predjudice.
Controversial books should remain in high school curriculum because they provide views and ideas that the reader will benefit from in the real world.
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/statistics
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks
Sunday, September 8, 2013
What You Should Know About Me
The most accurate thing anyone has ever said about me is that I'm ambitious. This meaning, when I have my mind set on something, there is no way on earth you're going to change it.
Before I talk too much about myself (which is what this blog is about) I'm going to talk a little bit about my family. My parents met at Wheaton College and married shortly after that. Not long after getting married they had my brother, Ben, and my sister, Elisa. A few years later they decided they were ready to handle a third kid. That's when my second sister, Heather, comes into the picture. 16 years ago, my parents came to the realization that they had yet to have the perfect kid. I turned up instead. I couldn't be more pleased with my family and I would give up anything for them.
If you try to know me by the expressions on my face, you won't know me at all. Even if you grab coffee with me and bombard me with questions, you won't know the real me. The best way to know me is simply through time. The more time you spend with me, the better you'll know me.
If you know me even slightly, you know my passion is basketball. Basketball is what drives me in everything. From the shoes to the game, I love everything about basketball. Through basketball I have developed discipline, drive, and even something to talk about.
I do not strive to fit in and would never compromise my personality simply to be liked. I won't tell you what you should and shouldn't do, it's not my business. Although, I stand strong to my convictions and I'm not afraid to say no to anyone.
I consider it a gift to be ambitious and to have drive and a purpose. I truly believe this will be the reason I succeed in life.
Before I talk too much about myself (which is what this blog is about) I'm going to talk a little bit about my family. My parents met at Wheaton College and married shortly after that. Not long after getting married they had my brother, Ben, and my sister, Elisa. A few years later they decided they were ready to handle a third kid. That's when my second sister, Heather, comes into the picture. 16 years ago, my parents came to the realization that they had yet to have the perfect kid. I turned up instead. I couldn't be more pleased with my family and I would give up anything for them.
If you try to know me by the expressions on my face, you won't know me at all. Even if you grab coffee with me and bombard me with questions, you won't know the real me. The best way to know me is simply through time. The more time you spend with me, the better you'll know me.
If you know me even slightly, you know my passion is basketball. Basketball is what drives me in everything. From the shoes to the game, I love everything about basketball. Through basketball I have developed discipline, drive, and even something to talk about.
I do not strive to fit in and would never compromise my personality simply to be liked. I won't tell you what you should and shouldn't do, it's not my business. Although, I stand strong to my convictions and I'm not afraid to say no to anyone.
I consider it a gift to be ambitious and to have drive and a purpose. I truly believe this will be the reason I succeed in life.
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