homework

I am not much of a complainer, and I tend not to dwell on the things set forth but I do have to agree with the complainers that the homework issued out by for the most part, all my teachers is a bit much and a serious need to assign more during class and less at home is definitely worth some time thinking about.  I spend on average 3 hour or so, on just the small homework things, such as math problems, reading assigned pieces of literature, and busy work, things of that nature.  Those three hours do not include the massive amounts of writing and blogging assigned throughout the week.  I would have to say I write at least 3 to 5 pages a week minimum from the blogs to the current events assigned in other classes and it is very hard handle.  Sure, it is not a lot of work for the student that is not involved in outside activities, clubs, sports or a combination of the three, but to the student that is involved in numerous clubs and honor societies on top of playing a varsity sport, which in itself is very demanding, means the homework given for the most part has them working into the late hours of the night.  Homework on the weekends is a given,  not one weekend has past where I have had no homework at all since the beginning of the year, and no the first week of school does not count.  I always have 2 to 3 blogs due and those are usually saved for the weekends due to the huge amounts of work given throughout the week prior.  But besides that, work is usually given by almost every other teacher on the weekends on top of the blogs put off due to the huge load of homework already being taken care of.  There is a tremendous change from last year to this year in the amount of homework given, and not only in just a few classes, it is in every class.  In addition the huge bump up of writing assignments given from English to electives which I find absolutely ridiculous, that writing assignments must be given in electives, but that is a whole other story.  Last year hardly any homework was given and homework on the weekends was a rare occasion, but instead more work was done in the classroom which I find much more beneficial.  Lastly is what, is the purpose of homework?  Yes homework reinforces the things taught but what I seem to find is happening this year is the homework given is not taught in the classroom at all especially in subjects like math and the next day the entire class period is spent going over the homework, defeating the purpose of why homework is assigned.  I tend to wait to the last minute to do larger projects, but not to the point where it affects the quality of the finished product, and they are usually always on time.

“Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your won presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement.” Said by Alice Koller defines and describes the need for solitude and the need to be alone.  I agree with this quote or statement by Alice Koller, I enjoy solitude and this does not mean I do not like to be around or involved with other people whatsoever.  I would have to say I am in the middle of spectrum on the balance of personal solitude and involvement and interactions with other people, but leaning more to solitude than involvement with other people.  I do not find being alone frightening or scary at all, in fact I find it the complete opposite.  Solitude is peaceful and relaxing, it for me helps calm down my mind and slow down for a brief moment of time, as the world around flies by at an extremely fast pace.  Being alone gives a person time to think, and I believe the thinking that occurs while alone is very different from that of the thinking that occurs when surrounded by others or while being over stimulated by the things happening around you.  When I am alone I usually like to just relax, taking in the freedom of not being bothered by anything or anyone, this usually is accompanied by music.  Usually easy going relaxing kind of music is what I prefer.  While alone I also enjoy just laying in bed and just watching some television without being interrupted or disturbed.  I believe solitude is a must to remain sane, although  I am sure many people disagree.  I know of tons of people that cannot stand to be alone, whether it is because they are frightened of the thought of it, or they just enjoy being around others much, much more. As is the same in the work environment.  The type of job a person chooses is directly related to their preference on being alone.  Some jobs are completely involved in human interaction and rarely incorporates alone time.  While other jobs are based almost solely upon solitude and being alone, take for example a person who works and computers or possibly a person such as an architect or engineer designing something.  These jobs are done alone for the most part and rarely involve group collaboration.  These kinds of jobs are my dream jobs, I would much rather work by myself than with a group of people or be involved in pleasing or taking care of a people.  Not saying I do not care about people I would just much rather it not be involved in my job.  I try to balance solitude and group activities, but in the end I do tend to prefer to be alone.

music

I think music is an important part of pretty much every person’s life.  Whether music consumes them or just is something used to pass the time music has affected everyone’s life in some shape and form.  I my life I wouldn’t say it consumes me or changes who am I entirely but I would say it helps relieve stress, makes a situation different, or just simply cheers me up.  I think for the most part music is a great distraction for me, but some songs hold a deeper meaning, or pull on certain emotions or memories in my life.  Most of the music I listen is for the most part up pretty upbeat and tends to put me in a good mood.  I of course have music that is deeper than the rap and hip hop music I normally listen to you but I do not believe it has a really deep meaning besides being a little more easy going, and friendlier to the ears and mind.  I guess music is pretty important in my life, I most likely could not live without it but I don’t believe it changes who I am as a person.  I do believe music does portray the type of person you are and the kind of character you have in some ways. Some kinds of music that “stir” me so to speak are songs with powerful and meaning lyrics.  They sometimes do not even relate to my life at all but you can tell the emotion and power behind and in the words they are saying or singing.  This kind music really opens your eyes.  Music that leaves me “cold” would be songs that invoke old memories and in some cases not so good memories. These kinds of songs that take me back in time or make a vivid memory return to me are the songs that make me “cold” so to speak.  I believe I am a pretty open person especially towards music.  I have an open mind and will listen to pretty much anything.  I tend not to enjoy country or any kind of hardcore metal or things of that nature.  But every other genre I will gladly give a chance.   I enjoy rap and hip hop the most, it is primarily what I choose to listen to but if a I hear a good song that is out of the ordinary that is not something I normally would listen to I give it chance.  

cellphones

I believe phones are both the greatest worst inventions every made.  The invention of the portable cellular telephone was revolutionary, it made it possibly to communicate from almost anywhere at any time.  The way they have transformed has changed the purpose of what a cell phone was made for.  They have since become a way to stay connected to a person almost permanently, and this is where the problem lies.  It is too easy to stay connected and is very addicting.  I will admit that I am a pretty big cell phone “junkie” so to speak.  I am not as bad as some people I know but I love to my cell phone, and I love using it.  For the most part my phone is always within grabbing distance, or easily accessible.  I am a fairly frequent “texter” as well, for the most part I cannot go an hour without sending or a receiving a text, but I do not ignore the people or things around me, unlike some people I know.  I find that very rude and I would never do it.  I do find myself spending a bit too much time on my cell phone.  I am sure if I counted how long I spend on it a day, it would be measured in hours, but I do not think it is to the point where it is negatively affecting how I function. If there were no cell phones, my life would be different because I would not know any better.  If the cell phone grid network went down for six months I would probably be pretty angry.  Most of my plans are made and communicated over cell phones and it would be pretty hard to effectively make plans.  I would be one pretty bored kid.  Besides the fact I could not effectively make plans, I would definitely miss not being connected to certain people throughout the day.  I find texting fun, and a great way to pass the time while doing things that I might not actually enjoy doing. Sure cell phones have negative effects if they are abused, and they are definitely abused by many people but most things are bad if over used.  Everything in moderation and I believe that applies to cell phones as well.  Without cell phones are world would definitely be a completely different place, and in my opinion it would be a lot less media driven and a lot less technologically advanced.

drivers

There are tons of different kinds of drivers in the world, ranging from superb to less than satisfactory.  I believe the way a person drives is a good indicator of their personality, and they way they are actually as a person.  There are definitely differences between one driver to the next, anything from the little things like adjusting mirrors and the way they position their hands on the wheel to the big things like obeying the speed limits and following laws.  Some differences could be whether a person decides to wear their seatbelt or whether they drive with their seat leaned all the way back or instead drive sitting straight up and pay close attention to the road.  As well if a driver decides to blast music at an obscenely loud level or if they instead keep the radio down to a minimum.

            I believe every person who has driven or has been in the car with a person driving has witnessed people doing incredibly stupid things behind the wheel.  I personally have witnessed anything from blowing a red light to cutting off another person to even the little things like not using a blinker which seems minor but is a very dangerous thing.  Sometimes the dangerous things people do although is still their fault has been due to a very hard or difficult situation they have been put in.  I have found myself in some difficult situation behind the wheel but generally I have done okay in reacting and resolving them.  Kind things people do behind the wheel unfortunately are few and far between.  The most common is the wave on, which means letting a person go before you on a turn or such.  I think one of the kindest things you can do is let a person merge into a lane from a turn on a busy road.  It saves the person waiting a tremendous amount of time and it only wastes about of five seconds of your life.  I know when someone does it for me, it really brightens my day, so I try my best to reciprocate the favor.

I have found myself in one bad situation that lead to me unfortunately getting a ticket.  I drive a 2000 Celica which if you do not know is a sports car.  It has extremely small windows in the shape of teardrops almost and they are very hard to see out of.  Well long story short I pulled out and slightly and I mean slightly cut off a cop.  He was not too thrilled, and although I tried to plead my case he had nothing to do with it and issued me a ticket.  But besides that little mishap I have had a fairly good driving record and I still fancy myself as a decent driver.