interaction #2

I wake up this morning with a critical decision. What to do today? I can cancel out any outdoor activity because the dreary weather makes me want to stay inside the entire day. I remember earlier in the week walking down the street and passing a small hotel. While I normally wouldn't think twice about this rundown place, I hear beautiful music coming from the lobby. On my adventure today, I walk back to the hotel with the melodious sounds and decide to enter. Immediately after entering, I see the pianst playing with her skillful fingers soaring over the key board. Her quickness makes me want to stay and listen longer and longer. She continuously plays with out a break. I keep thinking she'll stop and I'll be able to talk with her, but she is too focused on her music to be aware of anything else around her. Maybe I'll come back and see what she has in store tomorrow.

interaction #1

Today I was walking through town and ran into a woman, probably in her 70s, that adored my dog. She intstantly began petting Saddie and asking me questions all about my companion. In just a few minutes of our meeting, she tells me that her name is Maddy and that she was a dog walker. But being far away from her home she gets lonely and misses connections to her past, so we plan to meet tomorrow at the park to play with Saddie and hopefully ease her homesickness.

Lee Kathryn

My name is Lee Kathryn and I am 12 years old. I live on my own because my parents were killed in a car accident last year. I am always with my dog and he follows and comes with me everywhere I go. I want to learn to be more open to families since I don't have anyone to call a family besides my dog. I live in the town hotel and get help from my kind neighbors. My favorite pasttime is jump roping, if I have any spare time, I will be found jump roping in the playground.

What I learned about the cultural revolution...

Before I researched the Cultural Revolution, I only knew that it dealt with the leadership in China in the recent past. I did not know any details of this revolution and how it effected even the people across the world. The Cultural Revolution occurred from October 1966 to October 1976. The leader of China at the time, Mao Zedong, wanted to revive the economy of China. To do so, he allowed others to reign and lead China to fix the problems at hand. While it seemed like a good idea, the leaders abused their authority and became known as reactionary bourgeois authority. Mao referred to Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi as the bourgeois because he felt that they oppressed the people and objected to the cultural revolution. With uncertain government, China spun into confusion. Mao then, felt the need to attack the ruling communist party. Along with his wife, Jiang Qing, he organized the "Red Guards" to spread socialism throughout the communist China. His ideas were criticized by many others because of the many negative effects the revolution had on China. While the cultural revolution was designed to equalize the nation, it created many harmful effects on the population. Countless ancient buildings, artifacts, antiques, books, and paintings were destroyed, along with the halting of the educational system of China. Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, and her associates defended Mao's policies. Their strong efforts led the movement to end when the Gang of Four was arrested. In all, I learned that the cultural revolution of China had good intentions to create a better place for the people of China, but it in fact left China with fear of the government and a very poor economy.

Antigone: The Feminazi

Society treats men and women very differently. There are many stereotypes towards both sexes. Men are supposed to be tough, strong, and more powerful than women. In return, women are characterized as fragile and loving people, that possess much compassion. The caring image is used to represent women as a whole. While, today men and women are seen much more as equals to one another, there are still differences that the public recognizes. Equality is often the goal, but in actuality, it is rarely reached.
There are unintentional stereotypes that make it more difficult for particular genders to obtain equality. While women may have equivalent education and work experience, they are not always treated under those circumstances. In the business world, when a man and a woman have the same role in the company, the woman will unfairly receive less pay for the same amount of work. While women have disadvantages in these regards, they have other advantages based on the overall nature of a woman. Typically, a woman is very passionate which grants her more respect as a maternal figure. Women normally have higher standards of family values than the male population, which makes them less focused solely on their careers. Being focused on their families is a natural instinct for many women. However, not all men or women fit into these categories.
Standards for women have dramatically increased in recent decades, and are continually improving. While equality is the overall goal, I think that many women are satisfied with the achievements that have already been made. Many women enjoy the focus on their family and don't like to have the responsibility that a male feels to be the powerful, breadwinner of the house. I think that women and men are looked at as equal people but with different responsibilities that dictate their actions.

Ms.Williams response

A. Free Fallin'
"I can tell you, and I will. Apollo said through his profet that I was the man who should marry his own mother, shed his father's blodd with his own hands. And so, for all these years I have kept clear of Corinth..."

The play, Oedipus Rex, defined the idea of fate. Throughout the story the characters try to escape their fate by making choices that lead them to other alternatives. While the characters try and change their fate, they realize that even by their own free will, they can not escape what is destined to happen. The entire play was based on the idea that fate is the defying factor in life, and each decision made will only lead to the same outcome. The characters learn that no matter which choice or action they take, they can not change their predestined fate. Oedipus struggles to change his destinty of killing his father and marrying his mother, by leaving the town he was raised in, Corinth. However, because his fate was already decided, when he leaves determined to alter his fate, he kills a man on his journey home, his father. Then, once he arrives in Thebes Oedipus marries a woman, his mother. This exemplifies the main theme of the play, that free will can not change fate.


B. What's in the bag?
The idea of fate is very definite. I don't think that there is a set outcome in each person's life that can not be changed throughout the course of many choices and actions. The future consists of many unanswered questions that are answered during an individual's lifetime. Each day a person can make many small, simple decisions that eventually make up the majority of their life. These small choices that may seem meaningless actually all add together to determine the outcome in someone's life. While every day each person is faced with an insignificant decision, the combination of those decisions give each person their true character. As you make one decision, it leads you to another choice based off of your previous choice. So with each action you take or choice you make, you have the ability to alter your previous changes, but you can not go back on any decision made. Each choice has an outcome and by using free will, you can change that outcome. Therefore, I think that each individual has can control their own fate using their power of free will.

Journal: What is the big deal with MLK?

The big deal with Martin Luther King is that he was an inspirational man that had ideas for changes in the future. Martin Luther King was a brilliant man that saw past the typical stereotypes of skin color and instead looked to other qualities to judge a person. He had a very progressive mindset, one that was not common during his lifetime. He went against the traditional views of segregation and didn't settle for standards that he didn't believe in. Martin Luther King had strong moral beliefs and stood by the ideas he thought were right, no matter the circumstances. Martin Luther King was also a leader for many other African-Americans that disputed the segregation laws. He gave the people of American a new outlook on life and forced citizens to accept the new standards of a fair and just society. Not only did Martin Luther King impact the people that were alive during his time, but he influenced the culture today. People everywhere think of Martin Luther King as a strong, respectable, and influential character that wasn't afraid to speak up for what he thought was wrong. If Martin Luther King had been like the typical person of his time, then many of the changes in the African-American race wouldn't have occurred. The changes that Martin Luther King fought for are sen everyday all across America.