Metacognition: Get Organized -- A Tribute to Aristotle

Throughout this whole wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving break, I was brainstorming ideas about what to reorganized in my life. I could have easily written about cleaning my room, but I do that task every week so it wouldn't be something new that I've done. However, I did do some rearrangement in my life and I just realized that I've done it today.

I told myself that I would finish my college applications this break and so I had to sit myself down, lock myself in, and motivate myself to accomplish this task. So I ventured off to the new and improved Glenview Public Library, rented myself once of those quiet study cubicles and had two hours to finish those darn, dreadful applications.

Right before I opened up my laptop to get started, I brought alllllll of those college pamphlets and brochures that they send me throughout the year. I kept them all in a drawer in my desk and they just kept piling and piling. So I brought all of them with me to the library and realized that I need to just keep all the college pamphlets and brochures of the colleges that I want to go to and that I am going to apply.

And so, I threw out all of the trash mail from the colleges that I am not interested at all to go to and/or apply to, and in the end, I had all the necessary packets from the 6-7 colleges that I want to apply to. Now I wanted to put them in a nice orderly fashion. It's a good thing I brought a binder and some folders so I got into putting those packets/pamphlets/brochures into their own categories of the different colleges I am interested in. I bind them up in the binder and voila! it's alll organized in a nice neat order and now I can function properly.

As I reflect upon my reorganization, I realized several things. Before assorting the college packets/pamphlets/brochures, I was kinda stressed prior to finishing my apps. And I absolutely HATE it when things are disorganized (this is why I need to clean my room once a week). So I strictly had to sit myself down and actually do something about this disorganization. While doing this assortment, I felt great and once I get into the mood of doing something, I keep going and forget about the outside world. I just kept pushing and pushing myself to accomplish this task. And once I had my huge, fat binder finished, I felt relieved and obviously less stressed.

I'm a very organized person and I need to have everything in it's place or else I cannot function properly. Little things such as putting brochures into categories can really save time and create a stress-free environment. I know for a fact that if I take the time to organize everything and know where everything is, I will most definitely go far in life.

Change of Mind: An Eternal Life

For the past several years, I've been deathly afraid of death (irony!). I simply couldn't take the fact that one day, I will just disappear from the face of the earth...forever. Forever?! That's a very long time and I can't imagine going through something for an eternity. I was just scared of the unknown. Of what ACTUALLY happens once I die. Will I still have my spirit and carry it on forever in an eternal realm? Will I be in a place of pure happiness? A place where I will just forget about time and not know that it's for eternity? All these questions cloud in my mind and sometimes, I get the weirdest feeling in my body whenever I think about this subject.

And throughout this whole time, I've always wanted to live forever. I just wanted to see what the world would be like in the year 5348. How humans would change. How technology would change. Food, cultures, music, etc. It was because of the fact that I was scared of death and didn't want to experience that reality.

However, I recently changed my mind. One day, during Humanities class, we were talking about philosophy and the future and how in each generation we are embarrassed of the previous generation of their thoughts, technology, innovative ideas, etc. Then we got into discussing about how in 2050 we will have the technology to allow a person to be able to live forever. I thought it was absurd. I couldn't believe it and I don't think it will happen. BUT, the reason why I've changed my mind about living forever is because of the fact that once we have this advanced technology, it is predicted that people will just be mushed together into singularity and that everyone will be just one conscious. I cannot live a life like that. I love individuality and uniqueness and this is how our lives currently are. I don't want to be labeled as a "concept". "One person". Psh. No.

I think there is a reason for everything that happens in life. It is a constant chain reaction. There is a reason why we die. So I just feel that it would be wrong to have the capability of living forever when that's not the purpose of life.

Connection: Humanities to Psychology

So far, a quarter of the school year (in addition to a couple of weeks) has passed -- which means that there are only 3 quarters left of high school!! However, this year is not a bundle of joy as everyone makes it seems. Yes the school year as a whole is great, but the work part isn't that great. My schedule is so full that I don't even have a lunch this year! I'm taking soo many classes, but all these classes are informative and I feel like many of them intertwine and connect to each other -- such as Humanities and AP Psychology.

While I'm taking these two courses, I constantly see connections between the two. If I learn something from psych, the same concept comes up a couple of periods later in Humanities class.

For example, when I learning about the brain and all it's structures and functions, my teacher, as well as the textbook, mentioned that "the brain is like a computer." In other words, the functions of the brain are similar to those of a computer; storing information, deleting "files", updating our "hard-drive", taking external information from an outside source and interpreting that information, and the like. However, when we discussed this concept in Humanities, my teacher from that class completely disagreed with that metaphor. He claims that the brain and a computer are two completely different, separate things and that those two concept are clearly not the same.

Currently we're reading and discussing about the book Sophie's World in Humanities class and the majority of the book is consisted of philosophy. And even though a lot of these ideas are about the purpose of life, in psychology class we're discussing about consciousness. These two things might be different concepts of each other, but they both lead to an enigma of why humans are placed on earth and what happens in the afterlife. Psychologists haven't discovered where the conscious derives from our body and philosophers aren't 100% sure if there is a spirit separate from the body. This is one of the unanswered questions both philosophers and psychologists are still trying to figure out and they won't give up anytime soon.

I like the fact that I'm taking both Humanities and AP Psychology this year because not only do I learn about one idea, fact, or concept twice, but I receive the opportunity of learning these topics in two completely different perspectives.

Best of Today: School

Every time I walk into Mr. Allen's Humanities class, there's no way that I can walk out of that class without learning something new. One day we would be talking about vertical listening and apply it to songs that we would listen to, and the next we would discuss about what kind of graph does life follows. Today, however, I learned an interesting fact about the history of educational institutions (a.k.a. school).

As a class we were discussing on how Socrates discusses about philosophy to the public rather than lecturing it. And then Mr. Allen goes on by asking the question of why do teachers lecture students during school. Eventually, Mr. Allen tells us the whole story of why schools were established in the first place: The reason why school starts at a certain time, why we have scheduled classes, why we have bells in the beginning and end of every class, why we have lunch breaks is all because of the fact that back then, Western society wanted to train us to be well qualified factory workers. I was utterly shocked when I heard about it and then it clearly all made sense to me. Mr. Allen went on by saying that society didn't want us children to be working in such harsh conditions in factories, so were else were they supposed to put them other than school where they can train them to become great factory workers.

Now I'm glad that schools don't function that way anymore. Yes we still have to start/end at a particular time, have scheduled classes, hear the bell ring at 5 minute intervals and the like, but we have so much more freedom including in the school year. Freshman year may not have been as laid-back, but senior year definitely is more relaxed by choosing your own courses that you want to participate in. Also, with have this freedom of choice, one is allowed to explore different fields of creativity. And from then on, you are able to choose WHATEVER career you want to partake in and become whatever person you want to become in YOUR future.

iMedia: De La Cru

Fall Sports Assembly 2010

In all four years of my high school career, I've participated in the De La Cru Hip Hop dance team that's held at GBS. I've been on the JV team freshman year, and on the varsity team since sophomore year. Dancing is truly my favorite hobby out of all the hobbies I acquire and I want to carry that on throughout my life.

This is my last year being on the team, and even though it's going to be very sad and painful to leave the group, I know that that is motivating me to do my best this year. As I view this video, it really shows the progression we've been through, throughout many years (even before I was on the team).

To take a look at DLC's history, it started out being the hip hop portion of the Orchesis dance troupe. Then two teachers (I believe Mrs. Moulakelis was one of them) took DLC out of Orchesis to make it into it's own group. In the beginning, the team only included Hispanics and students of Latin origin so it wasn't very diverse. And as the years proceeded, it's reputation and diversity improved. 

As a freshmen, DLC was just a dance team, nothing special. But throughout my 4 years of high school, I've seen how much this dance team has evolved. Our reputation grew, the number of dancers from different ethnicities grew, and our popularity grew as well. This just shows how such a little group, that has been disliked and unknown, can grow up to be a beautiful form of art that is enjoyed being viewed.

This just reminds me of the times I watch America's Best Dance Crew and they show dance teams that started out without any official dance studios or that don't have any money to buy themselves costumes, but with determination, motivation, and optimism, they were able to achieve their dreams of becoming one of the best dance teams out there in America.

I can say that we did the same; we don't have a dance room to ourselves, we use the cafeterias as our practice rooms, we make our own costumes, and we practice our dances without mirrors. But through all of those challenging obstacles, in the end we were able to become one of the best entertaining clubs offered at GBS.

Best of Week: Born into Brothels

I never realized how a simple documentary can change one's perspective of the world dramatically. Just by watching a factual movie filmed from the opposite side of world makes me think twice about my life.

In the past two days, we've been watching Born into Brothels in which a group of children of prostitutes around the ages of 8-12  are filmed and observed in India. It is a very serious topic but it also interesting to see how this kids interact with their world and surroundings. In AP Psychology, we've been taught the word resilience which by definition means a quality allowing children to develop normally in spite of severe environmental risk factors. And I definitely agree what these children are resilient to what they're born into.

The part that hits me the most is how these children become so happy and entertained by just one little thing, such as taking pictures. This whole new world of photography creates lots of fascination and engagement that they forget about their horrid worlds that they're living in. They're moving on, trying to get the fact that live in the brothels out of their way of their lives. They want to be educated, they want to be clothed and fed, they want to have a few more coins in their pocket, and its motivation and optimism that they might live better lives that keeps them moving.

And this is how I try to live my life. I know that living with one parent is difficult, but I should be thankful that I at least have one parent. Sometimes I forget that I should be happy with just all the things I have and that I shouldn't complain, so movies like this documentary helps me remind myself how I shouldn't take my life for granted. I know for a fact that I will never forget this concept of thinking.

Metacognition: QE Essay

Woah, woah, woah, I am done with the QE Essay?! The minute I handed my finished, proof-read, edited, final draft of the QE Essay to Mr. Allen, I felt at like 50 pounds of stressful weight just come off of me. Now less pimples will form on my face. ;)

As you can tell, this essay created a lot of stress for me due to several factors. This paper was the first essay I've ever composed in my life that included a very different version of the types of papers I'm used to writing. Mr. Allen was looking for a very specific structure but in those structures, his instructions were very vague, especially when it came to Section II. I'm accustomed to teachers telling me specifically on what to write about and what they want from me. The instructions posted on how to write this essay was a little unclear for me and I wasn't sure if I was doing it correctly.

An example of doing it incorrectly and where confusion took place was when Section I was due. In the very beginning, I thought that this paper will ONLY consist of 3 paragraphs (as explained in the instructions of Section I). So all I wrote for my first draft of Section I are the opening paragraphs, without the question and explanation of why to explore that question. After I got that part back and saw my grade, I realized the big mistake that I made. It was my fault that I didn't ask Mr. Allen to distinctly re-explain the rules.

Then Section II came along. We had several days to complete this section. I understood that we were supposed to incorporate 5 sources used in class in our essay and only use 3 quotes. But the challenge I had to face with this section was to carry out the question throughout this section. It was pretty difficult because as I was writing this section, I thought that I was just repeating myself over and over again in order to keep the question in mind while the readers would read it. In addition, I had to take more time in order to write this part, therefore I used a late pass to extend the time to write this essay.

Finally, Section III. The conclusion. The instructions were also a little vague for me. Overall, it was just the problem of pleasing Mr. Allen with my essay and writing what he wants us to write, even though he didn't say much on how he wants us to write it.

This definitely was a challenge to write this essay. However, I realized that this has to be written and I just can't simply avoid this assignment. I had to face the approach of actually sitting down in from of my laptop and just typing away.

And only reason why I finished this paper on time is by seeing the due dates for the different sections and allowing myself some time to write those different components. Even though I technically used an additional day to write the essay, I was able to finish a completed paper on time! 

On the bright side, I did identify some positive outcomes from this assignment. It demonstrated a unique style of writing and I'm sure most of us in the class have ever written an essay like this. It also showed me how to express the concept of creativity on a piece of paper. I never realized how hard it is to describe creativity and then actually writing about it...well that never came into my mind.

I'm glad that I was faced with this kind of assignment because it opened doors to  a whole new world of originality.

Blogging Around

Sharon Meyer: (Best of the Week: Ask for Forgiveness, Not Permission)
I absolutely love your blog! I remember the day that the blog was due and I couldn't think of anything that we were taught that week, so I looked at yours and I wanted to do that topic, but I chose not to cause I know that mine wouldn't be as good as yours if I copied it. That was definitely a great lesson that Mr. Allen taught us: Ask for forgiveness, not permission. This really shows how people are cautious about their actions and aren't as adventurous and open-minded as they should be if they didn't think of the consequences. And I totally agree with you that everyone should start acting like that in their lives, especially in school where there are a lot of rules to follow. Sure there are MAJOR consequences for MAJOR actions that shouldn't of have been done, but students should start doing the things that they think are right that could be viewed as wrong.

Sharon, I say that I tag along with your vow as to not ask questions about my actions and just proceed with them. I want to be more open-minded, more risky, and then learn some moral lessons from those actions. We shall both take the challenge together and see what the outcomes of this will be. Let us ask forgiveness, not permission! :)

 Kara Quill: (Carry It Forward: Forrest Gump)
I realllllly love your blog Kara! The moment I saw Forrest Gump, I was like "OH MY GOSH! I need to read this blog!!" (since we already had this discussion about how much you love Forrest Gump :D). I totally agree with your reasoning and I can totally relate to what you are saying.

Life really is like a box of chocolates and I received a lot of boxes in my life. I never would of thought that I would be living here, in Glenview, with my brother and my dad. I never imagined myself as any kind of leader, therefore I never thought to be a P.E. Leader or Peer Group Leader. It's just that along your lifetime, you experience many events that have a ripple effect and constantly changes the course of where you want to go in life.

I learned from my dad that I should always be optimistic about things that occur in my daily life. If something bad happened, I should get over it and move on. It's in the past, I can't change it so I have to learn to deal with it. And this helped me a lot when my mom passed away. I'm totally fine now and I learned to accept the fact that she's not physically here anymore but I still have a father and a brother to love me. And I count everyday as a blessing. I am happy for the friends I have (including you :D), the education I receive, and the family that will stick with me until the end.

People need to realize that they just waste time when they are depressed, sad, or make big deals out of little problems, because that won't make their lives any easier or more fun. Be happy, have fun, and LIVE YOUR LIFE!! (so cheesy...)

Metacognition: Hands-On vs. Keyboard

As I reflect upon my work for the past 3 years of high school, I begin to realize how my approach to a project completely differs as to an essay. If I get assigned a 10 page research paper that's due in a month, I'd probably end up starting the actual essay the week before it's due; if I get assigned an interview project for a history class, I'd begin planning it a day or two after it's been assigned.

My attitude towards projects is much more positive than essays, therefore I prefer doing much more hands-on and physical assignments. I believe that they're more enjoyable to do and it's pretty easy for me to plan them. I generally set separate deadlines for myself in order to be organized and to have control of the assignment. Classes such as Clothing, Interior Design, Business, MedTech, Photography and Art include numerous of physical/hand-on projects, such as making a dress or a house design, or a business plan, or a medical informing Powerpoint. My participation and grades in those types of classes probably exceed since I love participating in them.

On the contrary, due to the fact that  I don't enjoy writing essays that much, I end up procrastinating on them. Even though there are ENORMOUS disadvantages on typing up an essay at the last minute, there is one advantage that I have from doing that. Usually when I wait until 2-3 days before the assignment is due, I write better. I like writing on the spot since that's when I'm in the mood to write and I can go on and on without going beyond the point. Regardless of teachers disliking that form of planning, I've grown used to my own system of organization and that's how I'll do it probably for the rest of my life since it works for me.

Best of Week: Fluidity

The majority of us seniors are most likely stressed out by now. Even though it's just the beginning of the year, college is the biggest contributing factor of our stress level: choosing the college that's suitable for us, finding the time to visit those colleges, and most prominently, applying to those colleges-- (being accepted into the college will occur subsequently).

What I learned this week will not only benefit me for college, but also for life. 

On Thursday, we took a day off to discuss about college essays and Mr. Allen was generous enough to share several helpful tips to apply to our essays. He demonstrated a "Flow" chart that is easy to follow and useful for practically anything.

The chart is fairly easy to follow: if your skill level is low and your difficulty level is high, you're going to be pretty anxious; if your skill level is high and your difficulty level is low, then chances are that you will be easily bored. You want to aim for the equilibrium, or the "flow"; you want the right amount of skill level as difficulty level. You should have this approach for anything that you encounter in your life.

I realized that if it wasn't for this graph, I would be losing my mind and I would be overly stressed by now. I have to deal with a handful lately; being on De La Cru, a P.E. Leader, a Peer Group Leader, a TLC Tutor, an Interact Member and on top of all of that, not having a lunch. I also need to find time from all of that to work on my college applications. However, with the help of this graph, I am able to approach anything that seems too scary or too stressful to handle. I simply have to take baby steps and if I feel too overwhelmed, stop. Take a break. A breather or two. And then ease my way into the task until I finish it.

What I learned from this week: let my life simply flow.

It Matters: Academic Dishonesty

When you hear of Philo T. Farnsworth, you would think that the first impression that would come to your mind is some kind of significant historical figure. Unfortunately, Farnsworth is far from that. In fact, he was widely well-known at his time, but he is ever forgotten now due to several regretful mistakes.

Surprisingly, Fransworth was a very accomplished television inventor; ever since "...the age of three, he was making precise drawings of the internal mechanisms of locomotives. At six, he declared his intention to follow in the footsteps of Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. At fourteen, while tilling a potato field on his family's farm in Idaho, he saw the neat, parallel lines of furrows in front of him, and it occurred to him...that a picture could be sent electronically through the airwaves in the same way, broken down into easily transmitted lines and then reassembled into a complete picture at the other end. He went to see his high school science teacher, and covered the blackboard with drawings and equations. At nineteen, after dropping out of college, he impressed two local investors with his brilliance and his conviction. He moved to California and set up shop in a tiny laboratory." (Gladwell, Malcolm, The Televisionary)

A pure genius you would say. However, Farnsworth believed that he can take his invention of the television independently, without any assistance from corporations, patents or partners. In his words, "If you had the vision and you made the vision work, then the invention was yours...(Gladwell, The Televisionary) Having this thought in mind, someone else took Farnsworth's idea, made it as their own and publicized it.

If Farnsworth simply took the action of applying a patent on his innovation, he would have ended up being a one of the few famous life-changing persons in the world.

Similar to the patent is the Academic Dishonesty Policy. District 225 strictly follows this policy. This document of "guidelines" simply explains why one should not copy, cheat, allow a person do work for you, you do the work for someone else, etc. Every year, every teacher, in every class reads the Academic Policy to every student in order to enforce these rules. Would you think that this following example demonstrates Academic Dishonesty?:

During the passing period, Samantha asks her boyfriend Tom what was on the Calculus quiz he took that morning and which she will take last period. No papers are exchanged; they just talk about the quiz. Tom thinks he blew two of the problems, so he doesn't give Samantha any answers, but he tells her the problems on his quiz.

Think twice. This ABSOLUTELY exemplifies an example of Academic Dishonesty. 

I think that the reason why this policy is frequently enforced is so that we will be prepared for the outside world when we encounter it in the future. When it comes to college, and one cheats or copies, that person is kicked out of the college for good. No exemptions. No excuses. They're done. At least we have consequences, but we can still continue going to Glenbrook South. But what they do in college is basically what they do in reality. If you invent something, you want to protect your innovation so no one else can duplicate it and so you can receive the credit for inventing that. You don't want to end up like Farnsworth, cheated and forgotten; you want to end up being a famous successful inventor!

 Link for Glenbrook South's Academic Dishonesty:
http://www.glenbrook225.org/south/students/resources/academichonestypolicy/Pages/home2.aspx

Change of Mind: FedEx Arrow

You know the saying "You learn something new everyday"? I definitely learn something new every time I step into Mr. Allen's humanities class! 

I believe that on the very first day (or maybe it was the second), Mr. Allen showed us the arrow on the FedEx logo. An arrow on FedEx?! Yes!! It was there and I though it was the most unbelievably amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. I never knew about it until that day and from then on, I always see the arrow on FedEx. 

Discovering that special arrow completely changed my mind about life. It demonstrated how people just see things on the surface side of life; they don't look beyond it and they don't look very carefully. It seems like we always look at the obvious signs, and never look at the detailed components that make up those signs.

This made me realize how oblivious I can me whenever I encounter events in my life and how much I can miss if I don't look at things outside the box. Having this concept in mind will be extremely beneficial for the future and it just simply makes life more interesting and fun! 


And I definitely love discovering something new every day. It makes my life more interesting and I always tell others my new Fact of the Day so their lives will also be more fascinating.

Do you see the arrow?