Knowing Yourself (and IB Diploma Candidates)

Let me say that knowing myself, and getting to know you has been the most awesome part of this entire tri. I absolutely love knowing people's backgrounds, and this unit has gotten me extremely happy, and curious. I love bonding with people over random things, and being comfortable enough to say what i want around people, claiming them as my friends. I would love to claim all of you as my friends, and hear each and every personal story you have to tell. I wish to say that I don't want this unit and this class to end. I fear we won't be as close without this class, and I wish deeply that we could spend time together again. Perhaps we could have an IB get together? What do you candidates think of our mini group? How have our connections deepened/how could we connect better? Do you think there are sub cliques, even in our own mini group?

Being Yourself

Is it better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not (or what you want to be)?

interesting twist to life and how you live it, i think.

Loneliness

Why were we created to need company of others? Why couldn't we be happy with either side, being alone and having company?

How RUDE.

So today, while waiting in line for the women's bathroom, there was a girl in front of me that was in a wheelchair, and a girl in front of her. The next stall to open up was the handicap one. If it had been me in front of the girl in the wheelchair, i would have offered her that stall because there are four other smaller stalls for me to go in, and she can only use the one. Statistically, this makes sense. But no, the girl in front of her went into the handicap stall, which just pissed me off. When the next stall opened up, which was obviously a small stall, she obviously could not use this one, and had to wait longer while the people behind her got to skip into that little stall. it just made me so mad that i wanted to yell at that girl. My question is do you think this would be treating the handicap girl in a "special" way if i had allowed her to go before me into the handicap stall, or is it just an efficient way to get everyone through the line quicker? What are your thoughts on this issue?

Knowing Yourself

I think the question i'm going to pick for my portfolio will be that from the personal narrative; how do we know ourselves? How can we ethically describe ourselves ethically and accurately without giving the impression that we mean something and someone else takes it differently? I feel like I'm going to explore this question well simply because of who i am as a person ^^

WHYY

Why is it when things go bad, you relate to all the songs on the radio?

Would you continue ...?

If the tri ends, would anyone continue? I have this feeling that every once in a while, when i find a post that i can relate to, i will comment. Or perhaps i will start putting more in-depth stuff on FB for everyone else to comment on. If i have the time is my own key, but i must say i do almost enjoy reading everyone else's problems and commenting. I find it ... normal, and relaxing, especially to know that people are having the same problems as you.

Poetry

The more i think about expressing emotion, the more i think of writing in general, especially poetry. Three people that i know like to express their emotions through poetry, and it made me wonder why we feel this need to express emotion through writing, and why it has to be in this style?

Strut VS Swagger

What's the difference between a strut and a swagger?

Procrastination: Why?

Why is it we procrastinate, if simply to stare at the ceiling or listen to music for an hour, suddenly realizing we have almost no time left for things we should do?

Halloween Candy and Traditions

When did it ever become a tradition for little children to go door to door getting candy? (Reminds of cars driving by offering candy, not to be creepy . . .) Why do we come up with such weird traditions? What's its purpose in everyday life?

Multi-tasking

When does it become "too much"? How many things can you handle, before it is inevitable that you forget about one, or give up on another?

Being Proud

I realize i have not written in a long time, and i feel ashamed. But that is not the purpose of this topic. There are two different connotations to being proud - the bad kind and the good kind. One is where you're too proud, considered to be where you don't allow change kind of proud (like in spanish that movie about honor vs love?): i can't explain it right. The other type is when you finish something magnificent and feel super proud of yourself (guess who finished their EE? this chick!) why does it, in essence have the same feeling, but two different outcomes? Just a thought.

PeerMark FAIL

I guess we can't do peer reviews cuz the only time we could have submitted that is if we were awake at 12:42 am and submitted it quickly because it was only open for that exact minute. Haha i have a feeling she'll forget about the turnitin folder for our ethnographies too xD im guessing it'll actually be due monday night. yay.

interesting thing, intuition. I think it stems from habits we see in others.

Revision

After today in Kronzer's class, i have found that i am surreptitiously scrutinizing my work all the time. I find myself going back to my sentences and asking myself if i have said something wrong, or could do something differently. Perhaps it is because i was gone the day of the most important power point with all of the important words that we need to know and every time that i propose an outline it is somehow wrong (making myself feel stupid, hence constant revision). BUT ... Could this not mean that i am looking for a greater meaning, as well?

After class today in TOK i find that the importance of my sentences is greater, and i do not type as quickly as i once did because of my constant revision.

I feel it is less callous, and more genuine.

What do you feel about your own writing abilities?

Relationships and "Love" 2

When a fight is resolved, why do the feelings of despair drift away? Why do humans forget about the bad and look towards the good? Is there a reason why we want to forget about the past, or can we look at the past, not ignore it, and actually put it to good use?

When is it time to forgive? Why do you forgive? What propels someone to continue on?

However I look at it, I find myself lost in a sea of questions - i realize that when i post about this it's not because i haven't found answers, i do know that i have found at least some answers, but what i wish to talk about are all the questions. The more i get some answered, the more I find new questions.

What causes "love"? What balance is there in the equation of love? When does personality outweigh attraction, and when does an overwhelming personality cause someone to look at an unattractive person, and find they are now attractive?

Work Time

Is it ethical to work on something else in a class when the teacher asks you to work on something else specific? OR, like Darda says, if you know what is more pressing, is it okay to work on that instead? I realize that in class is a different story, but during worktime, what's considered right?

Searching for EE stuff

Why is it so hard for people to write about math in simple terms? Those of us who are trying to learn it, simply can't because we have to go through every step before we can understand it - i bet there is an easier way to do so. Math people just don't know how to dumb it down, or write it out fully.

Deaf Driving

I saw a lady driving yesterday that was signing to a girl in the seat next to her - how do you deal with things like being deaf in circumstances that don't particularly allow it? And is it right to drive while signing, because it is rather dangerous, but it's not as if one is going to sit there and say (sign) nothing to the other person because there is no music to fill that space. Is this right or wrong? I found it rather debateable myself :D

Christianity and Atheism

Biggest knowledge issue ever - how did the Earth begin? Many will say God, and many will say science and big bang theory (or something along the lines of calculating how our planet came to rest in the perfect spot). I gotta say, it can be a heated discussion :D

Being Personal

Sometimes, the only way to truly get to people is by being personal with them. I understand that there are always people around that don't ever feel comfotable with revealing things about themselves to complete strangers, especially with today's world lacking in the honesty department. However, i have found that by being personal with someone, you have gained an inside. By being personal, you have passion and depth that are always admirable by the crowd because they find they are afraid to be personal because of the consequences.

Small towns are notorious for being personable people; really friendly and outgoing. This is what makes so many people like them. We were talking about this at my cross country meet because we were talking to this lady in the small town we were in, and she was very outgoing and friendly. Though i know that this is a stereotype, and not true for everyone, the vast majority are. Why is personability so likeable?

I wrote a post last friday based on the trouble i was having in my own relationship, and i find it was the most passionate, most heartfelt post i've put out yet.

what causes people to not get personal? I am an extrovert so it's rather hard to see the other side of things (though i have been shy before i'm not a complete extrovert).
What makes people be so outgoing?

Why am i so personal?

Relationships and "Love"

How do you know when someone is "the one"? I fret I will always doubt. When there's a fight, but you somehow make it through, does that not show that you are willing to work through the hardships, making the relationship last longer, and therefore point towards a long lasting relationship? But what about those people that move on after time? They bore of you? Do you not fear this? And after having gone through so many failures before, does this not support that the relationship may end?

But what if you didn't work hard enough to keep it going? What if, had you solved this one fight, you would have found that you would have lived your life in bliss forever, having finally figured out how to handle the differences you do have?

But when do you decide that, finally, this is the last fight you can handle? Yet does this not bring you back to the question in the previous paragraph?

How do you know someone is for real when your perspective is forever slanted towards them because of the fact that you really like them?

And when does "like" turn to "love"? When is it the for-real love and not the high school version of love that is so often betrayed and turned against?

Why is it that some people realize this love in high school, and hold onto it for the next 43 years while some people think they've found this love in college, and divorce in the next 7? Does it also relate to the fact that we have to realize and accept our differences, or is it something completely different?

When you have learned to cope with the differences and compromise, is there a point when you realize that the differences are just too much?

Why do we refuse to move on when we know the relationship is destined to fail? Is that what real love is? That no matter how this person acts, no matter what they say, no matter what, you could still go back and hug them tight, do nothing the entire night and find that you've enjoyed every minute of it despite the fact that you have nothing in common, because all they've ever done is for you. Is this love?

What is love?
And how do we know when it's real?
And how do we know when someone is "the one"?

Perception

Today, after talking to one of the coaches, i realized just how different perception is. Especially within one cultural group. (And football is like a sub-group of a culture hah!) I found that a lot of the stereotypes we have about football players are not actually from the football players themselves (though i suppose can be, always exceptions!) but some of it is from the coaches! I hope you guys all get to read my paper because i feel like it's going to be really long, packed with info and SUPER good! I'm not sure this is a knowledge issue (beginning was tee hee) but i just had to post this :)

Contraversy

If IB wants people to write in any area for their Extended Essay, why did they make Math an area that is practically impossible? This angers me

Football

While observing the football players for my ethnography, it made me wonder how the first stereotype began. The one player i talked to wanted to be a graphic engineer couldn't believer and was currently in IB Math. While I do know the stereotype, and I do kinda believe it, I didn't realize that stereotypes had been amplified to strongly. It is also true that the reason stereotypes appear is because it tends to be the majority, though not the entire group. There are exceptions. And i find i'm actually an extreme extrovert and i can't wait to go back tomorrow.

New TV Show

I am currently watching this show where the human techonology breaks down - no electricity, no cars, etc. And they have to revert back to times when they had to create their own food by growing it, and having animals. It makes me wonder what would happen if we were thrown into that situation - could we survive? Do we know enough? Would government (federal) matter at this point?

whyyyyy

Why do humans feel the need to better themsleves, and make life "easier"? When was it that someone all of a sudden wanted to create technology and make the future have to compete to always better themselves? I understand that for medical purposes its wonderful, but for everything else . . . sometimes our only education is that what we'd learn in song and dance like African song.

Forgetfulness

It's rather a knowledge issue in itself. I had an idea of what to write, but then it just blew through me to the other side of who knows where and here I am left with nothing to write about. Where did my thoughts go? Why do they disappear? Why is it that we forget? I understand that there are certain things we should forget (bad memories I suppose would be nice) but the little things, why so? I've heard that we only really a small fraction of our brain.

I think of the book Unforgettable from the rebel read this year, and I understand it's not always a positive experience to remember everything, but why do we have to forget so much, either?

Emotion

On Monday, during second hour, I had what the nurse classified as an anxiety attack. While its roots may lay in the beginnings of a sickness, I hadn't even had any of the symptoms for it yet. What is the purpose of anxiety? I realize that nervousness is something you get before a test or an important event, embarrassment is what you feel after doing something others consider riduculous (or what you consider others to think is ridiculous), and that fear is what you feel before a snarling dog.

What I don't understand is the anxiety. It had no positive effects. I understand that neither does embarrassment, but it at least is an emotion that makes sense in the way of social life, as well as nervousness. Fear is the fight or flight distress signal, and is rather understandable. Anxiety, on the other hand, simply caused a teary response that had me breathing rather quickly and shivering uncontrollably. Later on, I got the sickness I am now recovering from, but I doubt that is normally the point of anxiety.

It had me thinking that emotion is rather unreliable, especially when the nurse was asking why I was freaking out and I found that I had no answer because Spanish was one of my favorite (and easiest) classes. There was nothing t boe anxious about. I figured to myself it out to happen in History because of the notes that I had not done yet or in TOK because of the four papers we're trying to write. Instead, it happened in the class that was the safe zone of my day, the one with the least amount of stress you could say.

Perhaps this is a more personal matter, but it is an example of the unreliablity of emotion. It's all I've had to think about for the past 3 days.

What do I do wrong?

So while watching this girl walk towards me, I found myself admiring her dress. I have to admit, the brilliance of the blue and white was just, well, beautiful. I opened my mouth and told her that I loved her dress, and all she did was glare at me. Now I wonder if it was just a long shirt because she was wearing jeans underneath, but since it came below her butt, naturally I assumed it was a dress. Perhaps I was mistaken.

Later on in the week, I made conversation with this girl next to me (because I was rather lonely walking by myself) and told her how much I loved her florescent orange soccer ball. She gave me a look. Then, silly me, I continued, and asked her if she used it in games? She nodded and turned away. Somehow, I'm wondering if I'm too forthright or my victims (such a bad connotation, I don't mean it that way) are simply shy.

Does this count as a knowledge issue? I'm still a little vague.