301 Texas Natural Science Museum

2007-12-02T15:04:00.000-08:00

The exhibits in the Texas Natural Science Center give many examples of what it means to be a Texan. 'Texan' is not a term confined to describing people, it is a word that gives meaning to many different plants and animals as well. To be a Texan gives the meaning of being big, rugged, and a leader. Looking back at past leaders from Texas helps me to see how being a Texan can link me even to the dinosaurs that lived here.

The Texas Pterosaur was the first thing that caught me eye when I entered the museum. It is the largest flying creature ever discovered, and it was found in present day Big Bend National Park. Living about 65 million years ago with a wingspan of 40 feet, the Texas Pterosaur is a great example of a Texan.

The Texas Pterosaur is joined by the heavily armoured Aetosaur (Howard County) and the aggressive Onion Creek Mosasaur as great examples of early Texans.

On the fourth floor, I saw many more animals that are native to Texas. The raccoon's adaptability and aggressive behavior make it a perfect example of a Texan, however, these same attributes also often makes the raccoon a pest. The Nine-banded armadillo is the state mammal of Texas, and makes up for it's extremely poor eyesight with the ability to move quickly, to stay underwater for six minutes, and to protect themselves with their armor. The armadillo, although usually seen dead on the side of the road, is a native to Texas, and is often used in popular culture as a symbol for Texas.

After visiting the Texas Natural Science Center, I am more aware of what the word Texan really means. It does not just describe the people who live here, it also gives meaning to all different types of animals that used to live here or still do. Being a Texan does not really mean someone or something that was born here, it is a term that describes the attitude, values, and experiences of those who inhabit the Lonestar State.

Blanton ODB

2007-11-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

Many of the works of art that we saw at the Blanton Art Museum portray important leaders, both as subjects of the art and the artists themselves.

One of the first examples I saw of an artist as a leader is Antonio Berni, and his series of works depicting the lives of Juanito Laguna, a street boy, and his girlfriend, the prostitute Ramona Montiel. Using recycled materials on paper, Berni used the story of juanita and Ramona to protest the exploitation of people by the Argentinean capitalist system, and hoped that his work would make the problems of poverty more visible to society. Berni's unique use of recycled materials, and his criticism of society and politics make him a leader because he used his talent in a very unique way to draw attention to a severe societal problem. (Below: 'Ramona Lifting Weights')

A second example of leadership that I found in the Blanton is the paintings of the Virgin Mary by Albert Durer, a German painter and mathematician. His paintings depict Mary as a nurturing mother of, arguably, the greatest leader to have ever lived. The paintings of Mary show her with Jesus as a baby and again after his crucifixion.

Some of the most obvious examples of leadership that I found in the Blanton were the sculptures of famous Greek people, most of which were politicians. My favorite was the sculpture of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. She was the leading idea of what beauty was during that time. I think she is an important leader because her curves and honesty show the real beauty of a woman. A second example of leadership I found was in the sculpture of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. His rule initiated an era of Pax Augusta, or Augustan Peace, and he gained the respect of the Roman people, military, and government leaders for the way he ruled. The third important example of leadership that I found is the sculpture of Doryphoros by Polykleitos. This sculpture is an early example of classical contrapposto. As a leader in the art world, Polykleitos created the sculpture to have perfectly harmonious proportions, and to stand so that his shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs.

Downtown Excursion

2007-11-19T14:58:00.000-08:00

I never really thought about how much architecture is symbolic of ideas, time periods, and attitudes until our trip to downtown Austin. The different types of buildings, the art inside, and the atmosphere that the buildings create all infuence the way I feel about architecture.

We started at St. Mary's Cathedral, which was my favorite building that we visited. I enjoy looking at gothic architecture, and the church reminded me of places I have visited in Europe. The Gothic style of St. Mary's has many parallels to buildings I saw while I was in Venice. The Doges Palace is one of the best examples of Venetian Gothic Architecture, and has the most defining features of this style: multicolored brickwork, pointed arches, quatrefoil friezes, and an almost box-like structure. St. Mary's Cathedral in Austin has pointed arches, but lacks multicolored brickwork that is often found in Venetian architecture. The light colors and geometric patterns used in Venice gives the buildings a lighter appearance than the heavy, dark bricks do. The rose window that dominates the front of St. Mary's is not so much a Venetian Gothic feature; it originated in France and was later spread throughout the world during the Gothic Revival.

First Picture: St. Mary's Cathedral. Austin, Tx.

Second Picture: Building on the Grand Canal in Venice, shows Venetian Gothic features: quatrefoil frieze, an arcade with columns that create pointed arches.

Third Picture: Doge's Palace, shows Venetian Gothic features: quatrefoil frieze, an arcade with columns that create pointed arches, multicolored brickwork

Fourth Picture: Port in Venice, shows Venetian Gothic features: pointed arches, multicolored brickwork

After visiting St. Mary's Cathedral, we moved to the state Capitol building. The Capitol has a completely different feel and structure than the Cathedral does. The dome dominates the structure of the Capitol building, and gives a feeling of superiority. It is the largest state capitol in the U.S. and it is seven feet taller than the U.S. Capitol. The size and strength of the Capitol parallels the characteristics that many Texans embody. The same dome feature of our Capitol appears in some of the most famous historical buildings, such as the Pantheon in Rome, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and the Tah Mahal in India.

First Picture: Capitol of Texas

Second Picture: Pantheon: Rome, Italy

Third Picture: Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem

Fourth Picture: Taj Mahal: India

Our third stop on our downtown excursion was at the historic Driskill Hotel. Inside, it was decorated with a distinct Texan feel. The sculptures, painting, and even the furniture all gave the feeling of going back in time. The Driskill was built in 1885, and from the cow that is on the front of the hotel, I can see that the 'worship' of cows dates back very far in Texas history.

Unity/College Writing

2007-11-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

I have encountered many challanges in writing for this class. I have never had to write a paper that incorporates so many different ideas and concepts. The challange for writing P3 has proved to be the most difficult, and I have been havind trouble satisfying the word limit while also not making my paper sound too wordy.

As I have been trying to "Only Connect...Live in fragments no longer," (Anthology, pg. 767) it has been very hard to connect all of the fragments of P3 into one cohesive paper. I want to include discussions about who my role model is, and why I want to be like him, my initial motivation for P1, my second life experience and how it changed my motivation for P2, and what I learned from Second Life. Since I am still in the process of working with P3, I do not know how it is going to turn out, or if I am going to be able to effectively connect all of my thoughts. I am trying to "Hammer [my] thoughts into unity" (Anthology, pg. 762) but it is proving more difficult than I had first thought it would be.

When I read the introduction to Alan Watts' "The World is Your Body," I was impressed by the number of things he has accomplished in his life. He was "and editor, Anglican priest, graduate dean, broadcaster, author, lecturer, entertainer [and had] fascinations for archery, calligraphy, cooking, chanting, and dancing" (Anthology, pg. 768) I think that if he was able to unify all of the ideas and thoughts going through his head into his writings, I should definitely be able to unify my thoughts for P3. After reading Watts' essay, I also gained a better appreciation for words and the complexity of language, "languate is full of spooks," (Anthology, pg. 772) and I must be able to use the correct words and devices to communicate my thoughts. If I accidently use the wrong words or mix up my grammar, many of my ideas could be lost. Also, when I read "Two Modes of Knowing, Writing the Natural Way" by Rico, I can see that by utilizing both sides of my brain, I can better unify my thoughts. Once I am able to better understand what each brain does, I can "learn to channel each one appropriately toward different phases of the writing process...[and] ensure that they work cooperatively for the greatest possible creative interaction." (Anthology, pg. 202)I aim to better unify both sides of my brain while working on P3, so that my I can express my ideas more creatively and more effectively.

The idea of writing two seperate papers, and then combining them into one fluid paper is a new concept to me. I had a lot of trouble trying to work out in my mind how I would take pieces from each paper and put them together. This is not how I have previously ever written a paper. Normally, I am able to convey my thoughts without too much difficulty about the construction of the paper itself. However, when I look at the definition of a compositions, "to put together parts or elements as to make up a whole" and "to fashion, frame," (Anthology, pg. 127) I can see how piecing different thoughts together should be a normal part of my writing experience. Hammering my thoughts into unity and 'connecting' are things I should do in every paper I write from here on out, and are necessary elements of a composition. Now that I have these definitions and examples, I am less confused about the point of P3, and think I am much more capable of finishing it so that the paper has a cohesive, unified thought throughout.

Extra Credit- A Question of Color

2007-11-13T20:42:00.001-08:00

The film screening and roundtable discussion put on by The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement taught me a lot about how people view beauty. I never really thought about people thinking that lighter skin is more beautiful. Most girls I am surrounded with are obsessed with just the opposite: tanning so that they can have darker skin. However, the movie "A Question of Color" really opened my eyes to the discrimination that occurs in and among minority groups.

Most of the film focused on divisions in the African American community. There were many interviews of different women who described what it was like growing up in a society where lighter skin is viewed as more beatiful. An African American woman with a lighter complexion said that "[she] likes being lighter, because [she] is able to blend in more easily." The women who were interviewed also brought up issues about hair, lips, and noses that I never even thought about being an issue. They all said that they were told that the more their features resembled those of a white woman, the more beautiful they are. I was extremely suprised by the amount of discrimination that occurs within the African American community.

In the sixties and seventies, many African American women felt liberated in their appearance by the 'Black is Beautiful' movement that swept the nation. Angela Davis, a member of the Black Panthers and a spokesperson for the Black Consciousness Movement, was referred to many times in the film by women as their inspiration to begin wearing their hair 'naturally' in an afro.

Melba Tolliver was another woman who is a symbol for black beauty. As a New York news anchor and reporter, she refused to wear a wif or a scarf to cover up her afro to the White House wedding of President Nixon's daughter's wedding in 1971.

During the discussion, after the film screening, many people discussed how discrimination has affected them. A Latino woman brought up the fact that the desire for a lighter complexion is just as prevelant in the Latino community as it is in the African American community. A black man with a lighter complexion said, "looking back, I can see how my lighter skin may have gained me favor when I was compared to other black men. They were just as qualified as I was to lead, but they had darker skin." It was discussed that in business, the fact that lighter skinned African Americans are given leadership roles more than darker skinned African Americans may not stem from a disklike of dark skin, but a desire to be surrounded by people who look like themselves.

I learned a lot about discrimination from the film and the discussion. A lot of what I hear reminded me of the book " Invisible Man," in which a black man tries to act white when he moves to a big city. From working for a paint company called Liberty Paint that made Optic White, a paint that could cover up any stain, to pretending to not like yams, the main character goes on a journey of self discovery. While he is told by everyone that white is right, the man is finally able to accept himself as a black man, and buys yams from a vendor on the street. The man in "Invisible Man" reminds me of a lot of people in the film because he was using a lot of devices to cover up who he really was. I think that discrimination and a lack of confidence in our own appearance goes beyond any single race or color, and it is important to give up the devices we use to pretend we are someone other than ourselves.

ODB- Texas Museum

2007-11-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

Our trip to the Bob Bullock Texas Museum reminded me of a lot of history I have learned about Texas, and of the many heros of Texas. The exhibit began by exploring the very first Texas, including the Apache, Comanche, Caddo, and Tonkawa tribes. The Karankawa Indians were the first tribe that European explorers had contact with. I admire the Karankawa Indians for their desire to help the Spainiards by bringing them fish and teaching them how to survive on new land. I also admire them for their closeness to nature, they "tuned their lives to the availability of fish, game, and wild plants" (Bob Bullock Story of Texas Museum) The Karankawa Indians are also known for the dugout canoe that they perfected that enabled them to travel by water and by the smoke signals they used to communicate with distant groups.

Another group of people I admire from Texas history is the explorers that first came to present day Texas. Alonso Pineda was one of the first exloreres to make it to the Texas, and he mapped the coastline in 1519. Then, in 1528, Cabaza de Vaca shipwrecked on Galeveston Island. Francisco Coronado, in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola, lead an expedition across northern Texas between 1540 and 1542. In 1685, LaSalle Fort St. Louis at Matagora Bay, which laid France's first claim to Texas. These exploreres, and many more, are inspirational leaders because they had the courage and the couriosity to venture into unknown lands. I think that this inquisitiveness that it takes to risk your life to explore a place you know nothing about is an important aspect of any leader, and is a quality that I would like to incorporate into my leadership vision.

Another group of people who influenced the making of Texas that I look up to are the men who fought for Texas as an independent republic. Stephan F. Austin, the 'Father of Texas' said, "The prosperity of Texas has been the object of my labors, the idol of my existence- it has asumed the character of religion." I think that this type of dedication and passion is necessary when a leader is fighting for a cause they believe in.
At the Alamo, men such as William Barret Travis, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and others defended the Alamo against extreme odds for thirteen days, displaying the type of determination that is necessary for being a leader.

In the movie "The Star of Destiny," I learned a lot more about leaders from Texas. When Wiliam Barrett Travis was in the Alamo, he wrote a letter, signinig it 'Victory or Death.' His complete committment to his goal is what made him such an important and influential leader. Sam Houston, who led the Texans in the battle of San Jacinto, was a great leader because of his military intellegence. Instead of fighting a normal battle during the day, Houston realized that because he was outnumbered by Santa Anna's troops, he should use the element of suprise and attack at night. Because of Houston's cleverness, it took only eighteen minutes to defeat the Spainiards. Watching "The Star of Destiny" inspired my to continue on the legacy of leadership started by the first heros of Texas. As 'Sam Houston' (the narrator) said at the end of the movie, "The Texas spirit lives in every one of you."

Extra Credit- Women and Fair Trade Cultural Event

2007-11-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

This Sunday, November 11th, I attended an event put on by the American Friends Service Committee (http://www.afsc.org/austin/women-trade.htm) that promoted Women and Fair Trade. Eight women's cooperatives were selling their products, and I got to watch a documentary film called "China Blue." My favorite co-op that was there was the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund, who was selling colorful, embroirdered blankets. I really enjoyed looking around at all of the crafts that were being sold, but I did not really understand the whole point of the event until they put on the movie "China Blue."

I learned a lot from the movie 'China Blue' about the culture in the Chinese factory. The movie follows a sixteen year old girl named Jasmine Lee as she moves from her hometown to Shaxi (South China) to work at the Lifeng jeans factory. Work begins at the factory at 8:00 AM, and overtime begins again at 7:00 PM until 2:00 or 3:00 AM, or until the supervisors say the workers can go home. The workers are required to punch in exactly on time, or are fined $.20 for every minute they are late. This has no comparison to my life, I do not have to work, and when I do have a job I mostly pick my own hours. Also, being late to work or even not showing up has not been a big deal at any jobs I have held. One of the parts of the movie that struck me the most was when Jasmine said that her parents went through a lot of trouble to have a second child, and they wre disappointed when she was a girl. I cannot imagine my parents being dissapointed because I am a girl, as if a male is more worthy of life than a female.

This is Jasmine Lee and her friend

One of the main differences that I see between working in China and working in the U.S. is that there is no real rules in China. Yes, there are Labor Laws, but they are not enforced. When consumers send inspectors to make sure the working conditions in the factories are up to par, the factory owners are notified in advance and coach their workers to lie to the inspectors. Also, although there are laws that say young people cannot work, many of the girls were only 14 and had fake IDs so that they could work. This in itself is a huge difference between the culture in the U.S. and in China; here most people get fake IDs so they can buy alcohol, but there the girls were getting fake IDs to work at a young age to help their families. Another way the factories got around the labor laws was by having two set of time cards for the workers. The first set recorded the real hours the people worked, and the second set were punched by special security guards to show to inspectors.

I found the attitude of the factory owner, Mr. Lam, almost amusing. He repeatedly said that the workers were taking advantage of him while working overtime. He also claimed that foreigners have the wrong view of China. He said that China is now a Democratic society and that workers have definite, respected rights. He then continues to say that the workers are just peasents who do not have the intelligence to learn a work ethic. I do not understand how someone can question the work ethic of a person who only gets half a yen per hour of work (= $.06) and who works seven days a week without the overtime pay or the minimum wage that is required by law.

The differences in the work culture between China and the U.S. is huge, and I learned a lot about girls what girls younger than me go through in other countries. Now that I see how many hours are required for so little pay, food, and shelter, I honestly do not think that I would survive in that culture. Going to this event inspired me to promote fair trade, and I plan on continuing to support the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund. ( http://www.pcwf.org/ )

ODB- The Tower

2007-11-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

I learned a lot about our University during our trip to the President's office. First, I was very impressed by the office itself. I really respect the job of the President. He/she gets hammered from all sides and must deal with the State to keep the Univeristy above the standard. Normally I would see an office like the one we visited on Thursday and think that it is overdone and a bit extravagant. However, I think that the balcony/porch area that surrounds the fourth floor is anything but unneccesary. Just as we have been discussing the need to retreat and recharge, I think that the people who are running our University also deserve an easily accessible place to relax. Also, I think that it would be easy to lose sight of what is important when holding a job such as President of U.T. The balcony of the fourth floor gives President Powers the ability to look out at the campus, and reassess values. I am sure that the details of money, policies, and social relations can at times be overwhelming, but at least with the view that he has, President Powers is always reminded of why he holds such an important position.

I also found the actual architecture and design of the office interesting. The images on the ceilings, the books, and the pictures that are found on the fourth floor exhibit what is valued most by the University. At first, I fould it strange that of all of the images and history that could have been put on the ceilings of the Office, the architect chose to depict the development of printing and the history of dress. However, once I looked at the Constitution of Texas, which declares that the University is "for the promotion of literature," (Anthology, pg. 304) I can understand why the history of printing is so important. Printers' marks, such as those depicted on the ceiling, assured the authenticity of a book against piracy and forgery. In the early days, the "privilege of printing was obtained from kings, princes, or popes," (http://www.library.uiuc.edu/rex/window.htm) which required a lot of money and time on the part of the printer. The history of printing depicted by the marks on the ceiling on the fourth floor are a tribute to the people who spent a substantial part of their lives advancing literature.

Lastly, I think that the prominence of the female figure on the fourth floor is very important. The lack of female figures on the UT campus would lead one to believe that the role of the woman is undervalued on campus. However, there are many depictions of the female in many different roles on the fourth floor; this is an illustration of the importance of women to the development of UT. In the President's Office, the female is shown on the ceiling with symbols of both the Arts (Left) and of the Sciences (right).

Many other important aspects of womanhood are illustrated on the fourth floor: a statue of a mother and child, a statue of Joan or Arc, and a statue depicting the beauty of a woman

'Alice' as a paradoy of college life

2007-11-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

There are many aspects of the "Alice in Wonderland" story that parody college life. At the beginning of the story, Alice falls down a long hole. The fall was so long that she "tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything." ("Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" in The Annotated Alice, pg. 13) This fall much resembles the first few days on campus, surrounded by a completely new environment and unable to see exactly what lay ahead. Alice's confusion about the future and eventual inability to figure out what laid ahead is much like the process I went through upon moving to Austin.

A second parody comes from Alice's constantly changing size. When I first moved into my dorm, I felt almost claustrophobic. My room now is much tinier than my room at home, and I am sharing it with someone else. I immediately realized that I brought too many clothes to fit into my closet, and that I would have to rework my habits because of my new roommate. I think this is how Alice felt when she was stuck in the White Rabbit's house. Alternately, I also feel very tiny in Austin. The campus is so big and there are so many people here that I can get lost in the crowd and forgotten. Alice was at one point so small that she almost drowned in her own pool of tears. I can identify with Alice's confusion about her size because I feel huge until I step out of my dorm room, at which point I realize I am just one in what seems like a million.

A third parody of college life in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland comes at the tea party. This seemingly adult event turns out to be composed of the most immature and difficult people Alice has encountered. Even though Alice is just a little girl, she is able to hold her own against the Mad Hatter, the Dormouse, and the March Hare, "This piece of rudeness was more than Alice could bare: she got up in disgust, and walked off." ("Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" inThe Annotated Alice, pg. 77) Alice's frustration with the creatures is a feeling I am often overwhelmed with at Austin. Moving here, I almost felt too young and unprepared for the college life. Now that I am here, though, I sometimes am frustrated by the lack of preparation and the stubbornness of the people who are supposed to have everything worked out. Some of my professors seem to think that their class is the only one I am taking, some of my TA's are on power trips and refuse to offer any help, and some of the upperclassmen I have met are on the verge of failing their classes. I hoped to be inspired by the older, professional people that I would encounter at UT, and although I am by a few, I am also often disappointed. I have learned that I can only rely on myself, and that I have to take my learning into my own hands if I want to succeed. Just as Alice decided to get up and leave the nonsense Tea Party, I make the decision to not attend classes that are pointless, and I choose to spend my time in the way that will benefit me the most.

The fourth parody that I find in the Alice stories is that of the Looking Glass. Alice is intrigued by what lies beyond what she can see, and spends her time imagining what she would do if she could leave reality behind. Alice fantasizes, "Oh! I do wish I could see that!" ("Through the Looking Glass" in The Annotated Alice, pg. 141) This is also what I often find myself doing: imagining life beyond a world that is composed of papers, midterms, RDBs, and a strange obsession with checking my grades on Blackboard. I hope that after college I will find a world full of opportunities, in which I have my choice of a future. However, just as Alice does, I know that these hopes are just a dream and that my goals will not just be handed to me as they are in a fantasy world. I think this is an example of something every college student faces; we all have big hopes and dreams for the future and for the 'real world,' but it is up to us to make that dream a reality.

Landscape Architecture 2

2007-10-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

Gardens have been sources of beauty, relaxation, knowledge, and peace throughout history. The first famous garden was the Garden of Eden (pictured below), "God caused to spring up from the soil every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden." (pg. 610) Even in this very first example of a garden, there is included the idea of seeking life and knowledge in nature.

A garden is defined as "an enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit, or vegetables," (pg.640) but I think that a garden is much more than that. A garden is also a place where people can go to relax, and are a source of knowledge and self searching. "The hedge was green...its roots showed through the clear water, and fish swam about in them- and it was wreathed all over with dog-roses and Traveller's Joy." (pg. 647) This description, by E.M. Forester, is also a better illustration of a garden. Forester "percieved the magic song of the nightingales, and the odour of invisible hay, and stars piercing the night sky." (pg. 651) When I spend time in a garden, I also want to have reality wash away, and just listen to the birds, feel the sun, and enjoy nature. Matthew Arnold, in his poem "Lines Written in Kensington Gardens," he declares "In the huge world, which roars hard by/Be others happy if they can!/But in my helpless cradle I/Was breathed on by the rural Pan." (pg. 655) Arnold understands that being in a garden and enjoying nature provides a completely different kind of happiness that the type that being in the busy world brings. While running around campus and going to classes and meetings, I am happy when I am successful. When I am in a garden, happiness comes by simply being there. The tower garden, more commonly known as the Turtle Ponds (pictured below), provide this type of serene happiness that I need every once in a while.

Landscape Architecture

2007-10-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Although it is important to have a special place at U.T. for 'retreat and renewal,' I have not yet found a place for myself that I can go to for relaxation. There are many places on campus that offer a place to sit, rest, and think. The turtle pond (pictured below), Waller Creek, and the Main Mall are all places I have gone to in order to relax and not worry about all of the tests and papers I need to work on. Joseph Jones sought out Waller Creek as his 'therapy' during busy times, and says that he "must have fallen in love with Waller Creek." (pg. 662) The idea of being able to fall in love with a place at first seemed a little dramatic to me, but when I think about places I have frequented, and can understand what it is to love a place.

The dance gym at my high school was my 'place.' Every time I got really upset at school and felt like I was going to cry, I would hold it in and run down to the dance gym; there would always be someone else on the team there (usually skipping class) and I would always feel better afterwards. Any time I forgot something I needed for class, I would borrow it from our Director, and any time that I felt like I just needed to get away from all of my schoolwork I would simply tell my teacher that I was needed in the dance gym. I spent more time in that gym than I spent in any other place at the school, and spent a huge amount of time outside of school time there as well. I would like to find a place like this here at U.T. Although it is not the same as my dance gym, when I need a retreat now I just go back to my dorm room. At first, my room didn't seem much like home, and I didn't like spending time there. Now that I have it decorated how I like and have my pictures up, it feels much more like my home and helps me relax and get work done.

In The Anatomy of a Riot, I read about "the first confronttion with police occurring on the Univerity campus" (pg. 668)Although I understand what it means to love a place, I do not think I could die for a place like David Chain did. My friends and I used to joke about chaining ourselves to the doors of our favorite donut store, Donut Palace, when the city was planning on forcing them to shut down so that city buildings could be put up in the shopping center. However, I do not know how far I would go to protect a place. The students who protested the stadium enlargement and the cutting down of trees around Waller Creek (pictured below) were very committed to forcing the city to change their minds about the construction plans. I hope to find a place at U.T. that I would also feel so strongly about that I would protest it's removal; however, I am still looking.

Alice In Wonderland

2007-10-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass both require imagination and curiosity of the reader. I have never read the Alice storied before now, and found reading them fun. but a bit confusing. I especially like the part in Alice in Wonderland about the game of croquet because of Carroll’s imaginative use of flamingos and hedgehogs as bats and balls. Also, using people as bridges who walk away paints a funny picture of what Alice had to deal with when trying to play a simple game of croquet.

One main theme that stands out to me in Alice in Wonderland is the recurring question, "Who in the world am I?" (The Annotated Alice pg. 23) As Alice tries to get into the garden by eating and drinking different things to change her size, she is constantly worried that she may not be the same person she was the day before. In Wonderland, she cannot remember things she learned in her lessons, which made her think that she might be someone else who doesn't know as much as she does. Alice gets extremely worried when she thinks she might have turned into her friend Mable, who does not go to lessons as much as Alice does and has fewer toys that Alice. Another time at which Alice gets confused about her own identity is when the Caterpillar asks Alice to explain herself (pictured below) Alice's reply is "I hardly know...at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since that." (The Annotated Alice pg. 47)

Alice's confusion about her identity is a constant struggle throughout Alice in Wonderland, and it is not until Alice wakes up from her dream that she stops worrying about who she is. The answer seems to be obvious- Alice is Alice- but I can understand how confusing one's identity can be when everything around that person is constantly changing. Moving to Austin this year has made me question myself a few times. The completely new environment of college (having a roommate, being away from family, huge class sizes, new friends, etc.) sometimes makes me wonder why I am here and who I am. However, unlike Alice, I think that not knowing who I am is a good thing rather than something to be scared of. Not knowing exactly who I am or what I am doing gives me the chance to change and become the person I would like to be. Being unsure of myself allows me to try out all types of things and meet many different types of people; I am not restrained by my own identity.

In Through the Looking Glass, Alice imagines that she is in a new world, where everything is backwards and chess pieces are alive, and she meets nursery rhyme characters such as Tweedledum, Tweedledee (pictured below), and Humpty Dumpty. While in the Looking Glass House, Alice reads a poem called Jabberwocky, which is full of Portmanteau words such as 'mimsy' (flimsy and miserable). Alice asks Humpty Dumpty to explain the poem to her, but the poem is still confused nonsense. Although it's hard to understand the meaning of the poem, Alice says that "It seems to fill my head with ideas" (The Annotated Alice pg. 150) I think this is the idea of fun, nonsense poetry that Carroll used; to make the reader think and imagine what the words can possibly mean. Poems like this provide an escape from reality and allow one to think up new ideas.

Although I have always thought of the stories of Alice as children's books, I can see now the parallels between Alice and myself as a freshman in college. Just as the new worlds that Alice visited, U.T. has "it's own rules, its own logic, and its own language" (Anthology, pg. 128) The University, and Austin itself, is just as foreign to most freshman as Wonderland is to Alice. When I first got here, all of the buildings and streets were so confusing, but now the idea of a 38 1/2 street seems commonplace to me. Also, when I refer to places such as PCL, FAC, J2, and Kins to a non-UT person, their confusion reminds me of how I felt when I first got here. "The rites and rituals of the alien world seem to [us] strange and absurd" (Anthology, pg. 781) The stories about Alice are very applicable to me and my peers, as they follow a little girls pilgrimage and her search to understand herself, just as we are all trying to understand our place at U.T.

Project 2

2007-10-22T16:50:00.001-07:00

The experience of playing Ralph Waldo Emerson in Second Life gave me a better appreciation for Emerson’s life and his leadership abilities. Through Second Life, I gained more motivation for this assignment, I learned techniques that will improve my reading and writing, I acquired more knowledge about Discovery Learning, and I attained a deeper understanding of leadership, diversity, and the Sympathetic Imagination.

I chose Ralph Waldo Emerson as my role model because of his “literary contributions and his pivotal role in creating the Transcendental movement.” (1) Emerson has many qualities that I find worthy of emulating, such as his leadership, his deep intellect, his ability to understand nature, and his refusal to conform to the norm. Ralph led many other revolutionary thinkers, including Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman, in their work to create a new American literature. I am especially inspired
Ralph Waldo Emerson (2)
by the bravery Emerson displayed when breaking from the Unitarian church to become a writer. Even though his father was a Unitarian minister and Ralph had just begun his career as a minister, he chose to spend his life working on what he believed in. I think it shows great boldness to separate yourself from your church and your family, and it is this boldness that I would like to acquire.

Working with the Second Life application gave me more motivation than simply writing a paper about my role model. Being given the opportunity to become Ralph Waldo Emerson encouraged me to investigate him even more
Snapshot of my Avatar (3)
deeply than I had when writing my first paper. Creating my avatar required me to understand the time period during which my role model lived. I found it difficult to correctly dress him according to what Ralph Waldo Emerson actually wore because Second Life lacks the pieces I needed from the early- to mid-nineteenth century. For example, I really wanted to give my avatar a dress tie, but I ended up settling on a ‘Chippendales’ bowtie. Actually seeing the avatar that I created helped to motivate me because it made the experience more life like. I was able to not only dress my avatar accordingly, but I also got to change his physical features to better resemble my role model’s. I gave my avatar wrinkles and grey hair to emphasize Emerson’s work ethic and long life. Participating in the Second Life conversations further drove me by allowing me to experience what life could be like as Ralph Waldo Emerson. When I was engaged in conversations in Second Life, I was able to fully ‘become’ Emerson. Now I can look back on the time I spent in Second Life acting as Ralph Waldo Emerson as motivation for this project and future projects.

Through Second Life, I learned that writing and reading are both active functions. Really being able to read and write requires one to not blankly read or write words on a page, but to intently think and respond while doing so. Second Life required my classmates and me to write while reading other people’s comments; we could not just write what we thought without reading other people’s contributions. This active style of reading and writing is more difficult that merely writing a paper because it compels us to listen to what other people have to say rather than just giving our own thoughts and opinions on a subject. I think that this is a very important lesson; effective reading and writing is the mixture of listening to other’s views and comparing them to our own. Compared to writing Project One, I think that now I can write while thinking about what I learned from Second Life and incorporating those lessons into my own views.

Second Life is an effective tool of Discovery Learning. It is a system “of instruction that causes all students to think and work more creatively and to accept responsibility for their own learning.” (4) At first my experience in Second Life was very frustrating; I could not move well and I did not understand how to change my avatar’s appearance. However, after I spent more time in one the U.T. Island in Second Life, I learned how to fly, jump, turn in all directions, and change the clothes and facial features on my avatar. Once I fully understood how to control my avatar I was able to enjoy the experience and have fun in Second Life. Part of my frustration while I was learning about Second Life came from having to figure it out on my own. I am not particularly good at video games or computer technology, so it was difficult for me to even get the application onto my laptop. After I was able to complete the download, I had trouble working with my avatar and often found myself wishing I had a manual that told me everything I needed to know about Second Life. However, when I look back on my experience, I am glad that I was not told step-by-step what to do in Second Life; most of what I learned came from discovering what I could do on my own.

A second frustration that came from working with Second Life was the actual conversations we were required to engage in with other avatars. It was difficult to keep a chat going over a computer screen because we lacked facial expressions and body language that is such an important and vital part
Working on Second Life (5)
of every day communication. Also, since it was a simple text chat instead of a voice chat or a live discussion, it was sometimes difficult to discern which avatar was speaking; I was constantly rereading to see who was talking and where the conversation was going. Another problem that I found with the Second Life conversations was that a lot of the avatars were supposed to be from different time periods. We were directed to stay in character the entire time while we were in Second Life, which often led us to pretend to be confused when someone from a more recent time period began discussing technology that we were not supposed to be familiar with. For example, during the first discussion that I was involved in, the avatar Catherine Chesnokov brought up how people often use technology in a way that it was not created for (i.e. online hacking), “[12:31] Catherine Chesnokov: in my time, technology did have great influence, but some people use it in the wrong way.” (6) I had to pretend to not know what the Internet is, because there was not even the idea of the Internet during Emerson’s lifetime. It would have been much easier to carry on a conversation if all the avatars included were from the same time period. I think that the chat in Second Life was an effective way to learn about our role models and their ideas about leadership, but I also think that it would have been more convincing if the conversations had occurred in real life with all students dressed as their role models.

The first discussion in Second Life taught me about many different ways to view leadership. Catherine Chesnokov, the avatar for Catherine Crier, viewed leadership mainly through actions. As a state judge for
Snapshot of Group 2, Discussion 1 (7)
Texas, Crier found leadership opportunities through the law. She used her place as a woman in “a male dominated field; the field of law,” (8) to inspire women and other minority groups. For Catherine, leadership is about understanding other people and bringing justice to the world around her. This is different than the view of leadership that avatar Yukiyoshi brought to the conversation. As a martial arts teacher, he views leadership as the ability to teach his students the ultimate goal of martial arts, “the preservation of life and the avoidance of violence.” (9) Yukiyoshi uses his skills to lead his students so they will know that violence is the absolute last resort when conflicts arise. Wayne Boozehound, the avatar for Leonardo da Vinci, brought still another view of leadership into the discussion; he said “it is appreciation for the small things and the makeup of the world around us that should be important.” (10) Wayne understands leadership to be the ability to recognize and understand the significance of even the 'human foot.' Through my conversation with these avatars, I was able to learn more about leadership, and I now understand that it goes beyond a single person’s idea of leading.

The second conversation as an avatar in Second Life helped me to appreciate that to be a leader, a person must be able to understand diversity and appeal to different groups. As Ralph Waldo Emerson, I
Snapshot of Group 2, Discussion 2 (11)
stressed the importance of knowing that although we are all different, every person is connected on a spiritual level. The avatar Jessica8 IWish brought up the adversity she encountered because of her physical disability. She taught me that while it can be difficult to be discriminated against for something like a disability, a leader will rise above the discrimination and “prove them wrong.” (12) The avatar Yukiyoshi emphasized his ability as a leader to teach people “from all walks of life.” (13) This is an important aspect of a leader; we must appeal to a wide base of people, not just those who are like ourselves. I think that to be a leader we have to not only understand the basis of diversity but also celebrate the differences in people around us.

During my time spent in Second Life as Ralph Waldo Emerson, I learned a lot about the Sympathetic Imagination and how difficult it is to understand fully where someone else comes from. I was to “penetrate the barrier of space and actually enter into the object” (14) to grasp the views of my role model. At some points it was difficult to ‘be’ Ralph Waldo Emerson. When our discussion turned to current technology I found it difficult to remove myself and try to view the discussion in Emerson’s eyes because he would not understand words like ‘internet’ and ‘online hacking.’ At other times I thought it was fairly easy to act like Emerson because I agree with a lot of his views and the way he thinks. For example, when we discussed the attributes of a leader in our first conversation, it was easy for me to use many of Emerson’s famous words because I have a lot of his most famous quotes memorized. I learned that using the Sympathetic Imagination really depends on your likeness to the person you are trying to understand and your ability to relate to the other person. It was fairly easy for me to relate to Emerson, but I think some of the other students may have had trouble ‘becoming’ their role models, if they chose people extremely different from themselves. Overall, I found that the Sympathetic Imagination can be applied to many different situations, and was encouraged to use it more often outside of the classroom; if I could understand Ralph Waldo Emerson I can surely understand someone from my own generation.

The use of Second Life has helped me to understand my role model, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and has taught me about leadership, diversity, and the use of Discovery Learning in the classroom. I think that creating an avatar and pretending to be Emerson has given me a deeper appreciation for his work and his leadership abilities, and has shown me many different aspects of leadership. I will be able
Snapshot of my Avatar (15)
to apply what I have learned from Second Life to my own life because now I better understand the Sympathetic Imagination and I can also integrate all of the leadership views I learned about into my own leadership vision.

Word Count: 1834

1-Curry, Katy. "Ralph Waldo Emerson and My Leadership Vision." pg. 1
2- Ralph Waldo Emerson. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/emerson1.gif
3- Snapshot of my Avatar. Second Life.
4- The University of Texas at Austin. "The Discovery Learning Project." http://www.discovery.utexas.edu/dlp/goals.html accessed October 18, 2007.
5- Working on Second Life. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/FS30107/pics/SL%20class%20pics/Katyclass.jpg
6- Chesnokov, Catherine. Group Two, First Topic.
7- Snapshot of Group 2, Discussion One. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/FS30107/pics/SL%20groups%20in%20action/2.jpg
8- Chesnokov Catherine. Group Two, First Topic.
9- Takaaki, Yukiyoshi. Group Two, First Topic.
10- Boozehound, Wayne. Group Two, First Topic.
11- Snapshot of Group 2, Discussion 2. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/FS30107/pics/SL%20groups%20in%20action/2B.jpg
12- IWish, Jessica8. Group 2, Discussion 2.
13- Takaaki, Yukiyoshi. Group 2, Discussion 2.
14- Bate, Walter Jackson. “The Sympathetic Imagination in Eighteenth-Century English Criticism” Vol. 12, No. 2 (Jun., 1945), pp. 144-164.
15- Snapshot of My Avatar. Second Life.
________________________________________________________________

Appendix

Group Two, First Topic
[12:05] Wayne Boozehound: Hello
[12:05] Catherine Chesnokov: what do yoll think?
[12:05] Wayne Boozehound: I believe that a true leader is someone who strives for perfection.
[12:05] Pose Ball: Yukiyoshi Takaaki, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.
[12:05] Pose Ball: Yukiyoshi Takaaki, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.
[12:06] Pose Ball: Yukiyoshi Takaaki, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.
[12:06] Catherine Chesnokov: for example, I used to be a state judge in the state of Texas. As one of the leaders in the field of law, I wanted to bring justice there
[12:06] Wayne Boozehound: Has all colleagues joined us yet?
[12:06] Pose Ball: Yukiyoshi Takaaki, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.
[12:06] Pose Ball: Yukiyoshi Takaaki, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.
[12:06] Catherine Chesnokov: perfection.. hmm.. no one is perfect though
[12:06] Catherine Chesnokov: of course, as a leaders, they try to be as perfect
[12:07] Wayne Boozehound: Yes but it is what we all strive for, though it can not be reached it is the process we go through which defines us.
[12:07] Catherine Chesnokov: i agree
[12:07] Catherine Chesnokov: so what defines us in your opinion?
[12:07] You: Defines us as leaders?
[12:07] Catherine Chesnokov: yes
[12:08] You: What efines us as leaders is the ability to trust ourselves
[12:08] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: What defines us as leaders... hm.
[12:08] Wayne Boozehound: We are all leaders indivdually but we are all composed differently.
[12:08] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, everyone is a leader to a different degree.
[12:08] Catherine Chesnokov: we are leaders in different fields
[12:09] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: A leader can be on a very small scale, such as the leader of a boy scout troop, all the way up to the leader of a nation, such as the President of the United States
[12:09] You: Either way, to be a leader, one must be a non conformist
[12:09] You: whoso would be a man must be a non conformist.
[12:09] Wayne Boozehound: I would like to ask who is all of you and what is your profession?
[12:09] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: While I agree that to be a leader it is possible to be a nonconformist, I do think that there are many mainstream leaders too though.
[12:10] You: I am a philosopher and a writer
[12:10] Catherine Chesnokov: I am Catherine Crier, a former state judge in Texas, a anchor on TV, right now i am an author
[12:10] Wayne Boozehound: Philosopher a true trade and a noble one.
[12:10] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: My profession? I sold antiques in San Jose, California while teaching my family's classical martial art until I got cancer and died in 2002.
[12:10] You: Yes it is, I am one of the founding members of the Transcendental movement.
[12:11] Wayne Boozehound: Ah, I see an author, words are the art of the intellect, I myself wrote many journals.
[12:11] Catherine Chesnokov: philosopher, so how will philsopher be a true leader in the world?
[12:11] You: nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of ones own mind.
[12:11] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Many others achieve some sort of level of immortality through their work.
[12:11] You: We lead the world to different ideas.
[12:11] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: authors*
[12:11] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: What ideas do you believe are most vital in a leader?
[12:11] Catherine Chesnokov: different ideas. will these ideas make changes in the world?
[12:12] Wayne Boozehound: Ideas, they are very powerful, also to find the inner workings of things is a true mystery.
[12:12] Wayne Boozehound: It is the process of finding these things out that is so important.
[12:12] Catherine Chesnokov: be a leader, I have to have passion for issues, a desire to understand thw rold
[12:12] Catherine Chesnokov: world*
[12:12] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: That is a very ambitious desire, Catherine.
[12:12] Wayne Boozehound: Ah yes Catherine I agree entirely.
[12:13] Catherine Chesnokov: well, as leaders, we have to have ambitions, right?
[12:13] You: As so I
[12:13] You: do*
[12:13] Wayne Boozehound: That is true young Catherine.
[12:13] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I agree, leaders are often ambitious, however, I don't think ambition is found in all leaders.
[12:13] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Some leaders are simply those that are naturally born to take control of situations and have the charisma to be followed by others.
[12:14] Catherine Chesnokov: maybe not ambitions, but at least desires
[12:14] You: My ambition has been to break apart from traditional ideas of my time and form new ideas about spirituality in individuals and in nature
[12:14] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: You interact with people every day who are leaders in their own right and you may follow them without even knowing.
[12:14] Catherine Chesnokov: thats right
[12:14] Wayne Boozehound: Desire is true to a leader, if you do not have desires or passions then what is important in what you do?
[12:14] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, you must have a desire to do something, Catherine, I agree.
[12:14] You: Not just desire, but the confidence to do something about your beliefs.
[12:15] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, that's a valid point, Ralph.
[12:15] Catherine Chesnokov: yes confidence
[12:15] Catherine Chesnokov: confidence is building on what?
[12:15] You: You must trust yourself. every heart vibrates to that iron string.
[12:16] Catherine Chesnokov: trust, which means we must believe in ourselves
[12:16] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Care to elaborate?
[12:16] Wayne Boozehound: I once said that something as simple as a human foot is an artistic masterpiece and an mechanical marvel, it is appreciation for the small things and the makeup of the world around us that should be important.
[12:16] You: yes!
[12:16] Catherine Chesnokov: "make up of the world around us" I like this point
[12:16] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: The human body is a fascinating thing.
[12:16] Catherine Chesnokov: we make up this world, and make it better
[12:16] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I devoted my life to learning how to use it in the most efficient destruction of others.
[12:17] You: in what way does it fascinate you, Yukiyoshi?
[12:17] Wayne Boozehound: Yes, everyone should take the time to appreciate the things around them.
[12:17] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Not that I am especially violent or wish death upon others, but it is a cultural tradition that has been handed to me over the course of many generations in my family.
[12:17] Wayne Boozehound: Only after destruction, does one have the power to rebuild.
[12:17] Catherine Chesnokov: rebuild?
[12:17] You: I do not look to violence to make my points be heard
[12:18] Wayne Boozehound: Yes, rebuild your character, your values.
[12:18] Catherine Chesnokov: building character is what I am really concerned
[12:18] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Sometimes, though, a swift kick to a vulnerable place gets a point across.
[12:18] You: Yes, but I choose to always use the power of the pen!
[12:19] Catherine Chesnokov: i choose to use the power of law
[12:19] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: The ultimate goal of the martial ways, though, is the preservation of life and avoidance of violence. The power to "choose to spare life" is really only a power when one actually HAS the ability to take life. Does that make sense?
[12:19] You: Yes, you are a very smart man.
[12:19] You: maybe you should become a philosopher!
[12:19] Catherine Chesnokov: avoidace of violaence, yes i make sense to me
[12:19] Wayne Boozehound: The power of the pen, I chose to use art, science, mathematics, engineering, and also the pen to display my feelings.
[12:20] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: You have a very wide range of scholarly interests, Wayne.
[12:20] Wayne Boozehound: Man should have many passions (and women)
[12:20] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: And Ralph, I look forward to reading more of your writings!
[12:20] You: You definitely should, one of my most influential is "self Reliance"
[12:20] Wayne Boozehound: All people should have passions i mean
[12:21] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I agree.
[12:21] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Life is much more dull without them.
[12:21] Catherine Chesnokov: passion is wat im talking about
[12:21] Wayne Boozehound: Has anyone here ever viewed art before?
[12:21] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: So many people drift through life and come to the end without ever feeling fulfilled.
[12:21] Catherine Chesnokov: as i said, we need to have passion for issues
[12:21] You: Yes, I am very inspired by art in nature.
[12:21] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Those with passion and drive, oftentimes natural leaders, live much more fulfilling lives, I think.
[12:21] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Do you think the art of leadership can be taught?
[12:21] Wayne Boozehound: Yes, nature can speak to so many deep in their hearts.
[12:22] Catherine Chesnokov: passion can actually help us achieve our personal satisfaction
[12:22] Catherine Chesnokov: nature, human nature?
[12:22] You: I think everyone has the ability to be a leader.
[12:22] Catherine Chesnokov: yes
[12:22] Wayne Boozehound: All these things we are discussing make us leaders in our own ways.
[12:22] Catherine Chesnokov: "in our own ways"
[12:22] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I think to be a leader, one must be a good listener... just throwin' that out there.
[12:22] Wayne Boozehound: Catherine, I notice you find more importance in people rather than nature, why is this so?
[12:23] Catherine Chesnokov: i have to more interact with people then nature
[12:23] You: Yes, but nature can teach us a lot about people.
[12:23] Catherine Chesnokov: because as a judge, i have to understand them in their points of views
[12:23] Catherine Chesnokov: only in that way, i could make the right judge over any case
[12:24] Wayne Boozehound: Do you have passion in your profession, do you wish that you could do something different?
[12:24] You: I am very passionate about what I do. I do not think that I am cornered into one certain profession.
[12:24] Catherine Chesnokov: i made a decision that shock both legal prefession and the journalism world
[12:24] Catherine Chesnokov: even tho, i decided to be a anchor on TV
[12:24] Yukiyoshi Takaaki is Offline
[12:25] Catherine Chesnokov: but my passion did not change
[12:25] Wayne Boozehound: So your break from the norm and in that way do you believe you are a leader for others?
[12:25] Catherine Chesnokov: "passionate about what i do", that what a leader should always do. I agree with you Ralph
[12:25] Catherine Chesnokov: wayne, i am not a perfect leader
[12:26] Catherine Chesnokov: but i believe in a male-dominate field, the field of law, i was a leader
[12:26] Yukiyoshi Takaaki is Online
[12:26] Wayne Boozehound: Wayne? that is only a pseudonym, you may call me Leonardo da Vinci
[12:26] You: Yes, I think that the most important thing a leader does is inroduce new ideas to the people around them, to lead them in a new direction than what they already know.
[12:26] Pose Ball: Yukiyoshi Takaaki, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.
[12:26] Pose Ball: Yukiyoshi Takaaki, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.
[12:26] Catherine Chesnokov: new ideas, and new ways of make these ideas work
[12:27] You: For example, I was a Unitarian minister until I realized that I am not interested in strict religious ideas that are imposed on us.
[12:27] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, technology has really made it interesting in the application of new ideas.
[12:27] Wayne Boozehound: New directions, yes a leader should lead others down a path untraveled and I believe we have all done this in a way.
[12:27] You: Therefore, I began exploring spirituality in nature and in people.
[12:27] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Sounds like you like to walk the path less travelled, Ralph.
[12:28] You: Yes, yes I do Yukiyoshi!
[12:28] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: You can call me Yukio.
[12:28] Wayne Boozehound: Technology, What A Marvel!! I myself am an inventor and appreciate the workings of all around me.
[12:28] Catherine Chesnokov: technology
[12:28] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, too bad you didn't leave in the 20th and 21st centuries, leo!
[12:28] Wayne Boozehound: Is anyone here scared of technology?
[12:29] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Wow, you really would be amazed at what has come.
[12:29] Catherine Chesnokov: technology did make changes in the world
[12:29] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I think technology is a great tool that can bring power to the weak and I pray it is not misused in the future.
[12:29] Catherine Chesnokov: but because there are leaders in the field of tech, we can have these cool techs and make changes by using them
[12:29] Catherine Chesnokov: yes, they are tools
[12:29] Wayne Boozehound: Yes, I am a man of the 14th century, the Renaissance and the start of modern history.
[12:30] Catherine Chesnokov: in 14th century, tech is not advanced at all
[12:30] Catherine Chesnokov: so you makes changes in the world by arts?
[12:30] You: Neither is it in my time.
[12:30] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: No, but Mr. Da Vinci did much to further it.
[12:30] Catherine Chesnokov: anything else?
[12:31] Wayne Boozehound: Yes not much technology wise during my time but it was an age of learning and art.
[12:31] Catherine Chesnokov: in my time, technology did have great influence, but some people use it in thw rong way
[12:31] Catherine Chesnokov: wrong*
[12:31] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: How so, Catherine?
[12:31] You: Mine as well. I used technology to print off my newspaper, The Dial
[12:31] Catherine Chesnokov: online heckers
[12:31] You: online? whats that?
[12:32] Wayne Boozehound: Yes, please elaborate on this so called, "online"
[12:32] Catherine Chesnokov: like they use technolody to steal other people's password
[12:32] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I was a simple man and technology was never a huge part of my life, but now my students carry on my tradition and most of our new students hear about the style via word of mouth or the internet, which is really a fascinating thing.
[12:32] Catherine Chesnokov: ok, without these technology
[12:32] Catherine Chesnokov: how can we also make changes in the world?
[12:32] You: You people of the 21st century.....you need to get back to nature and explore your own spirituality and your individuality.
[12:32] Wayne Boozehound: what is this "internet" you speak so much of?
[12:32] Catherine Chesnokov: as leaders, we cant always depend on technology
[12:32] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Oh, I was a very spiritual man, Ralph!
[12:33] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Most people did not know that i was a Shinto priest.
[12:33] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Do you all know what Shinto is?
[12:33] Catherine Chesnokov: internet...
[12:33] You: No, Yukio, please explain!
[12:33] Wayne Boozehound: A Shinto, I am not familiar with the term, please explain.
[12:33] Catherine Chesnokov: i dont understnad "shinto" neither
[12:33] Wayne Boozehound: I would love to learn of all of your cultures.
[12:34] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Well, Shinto is the native religion of Japan, having existed long before the introduction of Buddhism. It focuses on the worship of nature and the idea of cleanliness and spiritual purity.
[12:34] You: I am very inspired by Buddha.
[12:34] Wayne Boozehound: I see, very fascinating.
[12:34] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: In my style, Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin-ryu, many Shinto rituals are a part of the training.
[12:34] Catherine Chesnokov: cultural differences make us different leaders
[12:34] Catherine Chesnokov: agree?
[12:34] Wayne Boozehound: Agree highly.
[12:35] You: Yes, however, we are all the same in spirit. God is immanent in us all.
[12:35] Catherine Chesnokov: God, different people have different beliefs
[12:36] Catherine Chesnokov: so "god" is diffenret in different cultures
[12:36] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, in some there are many gods and deities, but ultimately, they are all the same, I believe.
[12:36] You: Yes, but my peers and I believe that the spirit of whoever 'god' is exists in all of us, and in everything in nature.
[12:36] You: It is waht bounds individuals to nature.
[12:36] Catherine Chesnokov: do you think "god" is also one kind of leader?
[12:37] Wayne Boozehound: Yes everyone should find worship in something.
[12:37] Catherine Chesnokov: god inspires us to set our goal and help us move forward?
[12:37] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I think many draw from god as inspiration and that is a very noble thing, but some miscontrue his name and status for not so noble purposes.
[12:37] Catherine Chesnokov: thats wat a leader will do right? inspire people?
[12:37] You: I think god transcends the individual and the individual belief, and that 'god' binds the world together.
[12:37] Catherine Chesnokov: i agree, Ralph
[12:38] Wayne Boozehound: I find contempt in the study of things and through my work I display the beauty of God's world, I have done religious pieces and I hope to portray a hope and a higher being.
[12:38] You: Bye all!!
[12:38] Catherine Chesnokov: nice talk
[12:38] Catherine Chesnokov: :)
[12:38] Wayne Boozehound: Thank you all for this indepth convo.
_____________________________________________________________________
Group 2, Second Topic
[12:41] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Oh my old, aching bones.
[12:42] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: How is everyone feeling today?
[12:42] Jessica8 Iwish: pretty good. just a little stressed
[12:42] You: Me too.
[12:42] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Stress is a pain.
[12:42] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I often see people stressed because they feel discriminated againsts.
[12:42] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Due to the immense diversity in the world.
[12:43] Jessica8 Iwish: That is true
[12:43] You: Yes, however, diversity is a very good thing.
[12:43] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Diversity is a great thing and allows us to learn a lot, but how is it related to leadership
[12:43] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: ? *
[12:43] Jessica8 Iwish: Diversity is all around us and as leaders we have to accept it and embrace it
[12:44] You: Although we may have been discriminated against in the past for our differences, as leadrs we must move pasts that discrimination.
[12:44] You: Do not be a slave to your own past.
[12:44] Jessica8 Iwish: Exactly
[12:44] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: If I may ask, where are you two from?
[12:44] You: I am from Boston. I was brought up by my father, who was a Unitarian minister.
[12:44] Jessica8 Iwish: I am from Dallas
[12:45] Jessica8 Iwish: I am a student at the University of Texas at Arlington
[12:45] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: So a southerner and a Yank, heh.
[12:45] Jessica8 Iwish: yes sir
[12:45] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: There is much diversity between those that live simply on opposite ends of the same country.
[12:45] You: Yes there is, but we are all connected.
[12:46] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I came to the United States in the 1950s from Japan, having escaped during World War II.
[12:46] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: My father and grandfather were killed during the war.
[12:46] Jessica8 Iwish: Too bad everyone doesn't think that way
[12:46] Jessica8 Iwish: oh really. I'm sorry to hear that.
[12:46] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Being a Japanese in U.S. was a hard thing in those days.
[12:46] Jessica8 Iwish: I bet
[12:46] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: And it took a lot of effort to succeed.
[12:47] Jessica8 Iwish: Many people have tried to put me down but we just have to learn to rise above all that
[12:48] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: How have you risen above?
[12:48] You: A lot of people are ust misunderstood. Ant because of that they are discriminated against.
[12:48] Jessica8 Iwish: I have a disability and people tried to make me think that I could never be successful in college but I proved them wrong
[12:49] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: You must stand out and be a leader in your community.
[12:49] You: Thats really good. I bet you were just misunderstood by those around you.
[12:49] You: But I think that to be great is to be misunderstood.
[12:49] Jessica8 Iwish: I have learned not to judge other people and just accept them for they are
[12:50] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: That is one of the problems of diversity.
[12:50] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Is people judge what they do not understand.
[12:50] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: So it takes a leader to be above that an be able to unite different groups.
[12:50] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: be it race, religions, or whatever.
[12:50] You: I think people just need to understand that others' pasts do not make them who they are.
[12:50] Jessica8 Iwish: I have had a lot people not wanting to be around me just because of my disability
[12:50] You: what lies behind us and what lies before us is nothing compared to what lies WITHIN us.
[12:51] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: that was deep.
[12:51] You: Thanks Yukio. I try.
[12:51] Jessica8 Iwish: haha
[12:51] You: I think that to be a leader, we must not only accept diversity, but celebrate it
[12:51] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Anyways, I was the headmaster of a classical japanese martial school
[12:52] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: My students are an incedibly diverse range of people.
[12:52] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: To be able to lead them and be able to continue wat was given to me by my family was immensely difficult.
[12:52] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: The Japanese told me I couldn't do what i was doing. It was ridiculous to come to America and teach Americans!
[12:53] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: But I continued to do so because i believe the arts were dying in Japan, had turned to just pretty dancing, and the Americans were more zealous students.
[12:53] You: That is very inspirational Yukio.
[12:53] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: It has brought together people from all walks of life.
[12:53] You: We must not go where the path may lead. We must go where there is no path and leave a trail.
[12:54] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: A trail is something I think everyone wants.
[12:54] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Many people fear death, but to be remembered is to be immortal.
[12:54] Jessica8 Iwish: Since I am working as a social worker, I have seen a large group of diverse families but most of them have the same problems. We all need to learn that we all have something in common
[12:55] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, we really do.
[12:55] You: Yes, we must all strive to be ourselves in this world and not let our differences stifle our uniqueness.
[12:55] You: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishme
[12:55] Jessica8 Iwish: We have to look beyond the exterior
[12:55] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, absolutely.
[12:56] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: sadly though, I dont feel like racism and ignorance is something that can ever be fixed
[12:56] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: For as long as there are different types of people, there will exist stereotypes and prejudices.
[12:56] Jessica8 Iwish: I don't think so either
[12:56] You: But that cannot be an excuse for not succeeding.
[12:56] You: Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
[12:58] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, I am a big believer in affecting and helping those directly around you and hope they continue that. The whole "pay it forward" idea.
[12:59] Jessica8 Iwish: As leaders, we hope to make an impact on other people an hopefully they will make the same impact on others
[12:59] You: Yes, and me must think outside the box in order to inspire other people. We have to not be consistent in our ideas.
[12:59] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Consistency can be a good thing, Ralph.
[12:59] You: Like I always say, foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds
[12:59] Jessica8 Iwish: Yes broaden our horizens
[13:00] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Foolish consistency is the key word though.
[13:00] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Foolish, rather.
[13:00] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: It is hard to be consistent in your ideas sometimes though when we, as humans, are always changing.
[13:00] You: Yes, but always thinking the same was is foolish. We cannot be leaders if we have nowhere new to lead people to.
[13:01] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Thats right.
[13:01] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: And as we grow we must adapt and modify our ideas.
[13:01] You: Yes it is, but as diversity increases, as leaders we must also change with the times.
[13:01] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, this was a big part of my life.
[13:01] Jessica8 Iwish: Adapting is an important quality of a leader
[13:01] You: We must always reemember though, on the spiritual level, we are all the same, god is immanent in us all/
[13:02] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: The martial arts in japan and their leaders were dying because there was no vitality, no life, in the arts because they were no longer being used. The techniques were becoming practiced poorly and watered down. I made sure that did NOT happen with my style.
[13:02] Jessica8 Iwish: Yes nobody will follow you if don't have new, exciting ideas
[13:03] You: that is true. we must lead people in directions they are not used to.
[13:03] You: Heroism works in contradiction to the voice of mankind.
[13:03] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Sometimes you must revisit old directions though.
[13:03] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: So old they are new.
[13:04] You: Yes, we must learn from people in the past.
[13:04] You: I am inspired by Plato, Goethe, and Buddha.
[13:05] Jessica8 Iwish: We must all learn from our mistakes and others so that they are not repeated
[13:05] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, we must.
[13:05] Betty Questi shouts: Very nice, Shakespeare!
[13:05] Jessica8 Iwish: Improving on ourselves is another important attribute of a leader
[13:06] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: It is a pity that the level of ignorance surrounding different types of people, though, is still so great.
[13:06] You: yes it is, that is why my friends and I have been working to explore all types of new ideas, and share them with everyone around us through lectures, newspapers, and essays!
[13:07] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: I think the key for the next generations is for leaders to be able to unique different groups, social, religious, economic, and more, and be able to show people what we have in common.
[13:07] Jessica8 Iwish: Yes communication is the key.
[13:07] Jessica8 Iwish: We must enlighten others so that they don't become ignorant on diversity
[13:08] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, communication is crucial.
[13:08] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: (Irony in the silence).
[13:08] Jessica8 Iwish: haha
[13:09] You: haha. yes, i think that People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character
[13:10] Yukiyoshi Takaaki: Yes, this is a very accurate and telling statement.
[13:11] Jessica8 Iwish: We just all need to interact with others and unite
[13:11] You: Yes, and we need to keep growing and learning from other people
[13:11] Jessica8 Iwish: We will be stronger that way
[13:11] You: Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow

College Idealsim

2007-10-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

Before I came to college, I thought that my time at the University would be difficult and stressful, but also freeing. During my senior year of high school, I constantly found myself thinking 'I can't wait till college,' for one reason or another. Usually it was because I was frustrated with my living situation and was hoping that moving away would be less of a strain. Although I think living away from home is definitely a better situation than living with my mom, stepdad, and little sister, I have found that dorm life can be stressful as well. Living with a roomate is more difficult that I had thought it would be, and I really miss little pleasures like having a kitchen sink, a full size refridgerator, and a closet big enough for all of my clothes.

I also couldn't wait for all of the freedom I would get when I moved to Austin. I remember hating my 1:00 curfew and having to answer questions about where I was going and when I would be home. Now that I am at UT, I have taken full advantage of my new found freedom. However, I have realized that I have a lot more responsibility as well. Classes, homework, tests, papers, extra credit requirements, and field trips take up a lot of the time that I was previously so excited about having for myself. Even though I have a lot more responsibility to deal with at UT, I think it is important to be able to choose exactly what I do with my time instead of answering to my parents all the time. I have been "savoring [my] freedom, and reveling in the sensation of untapped posibilities." (pg. 836)

When I was getting ready to move to Austin, I thought of college as my turning point. I felt that once I got to Austin I would change into the person I would become for the rest of my life, that I would discover what I am meant to do. I had been "yearning..to find something to anchor on, to cling to - for some place which [I] could call admirable." (pg. 817) Now that I am here, I don't think much has changed. I have the same work ethic, I believe in the same things, and I have the same values. Maybe I will always be the same person, but different situations will force different parts of my personality to surface. For example, some classes I have this semester have forced my fighting side to come out. I have always had to work hard, but in certain classes I have to refuse to fail in order to succeed. Maria said "Not only do I want to learn from my professors in the classroom but I look forward to meeting people with different cultural backgrounds whom I can also learn from," before she came to college. I thought the same thing and am also looking not only to professors but also to the people I am surrounded by to learn about life.

2007-10-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson and My Leadership Vision

In order to compose my leadership vision, I studied the works and ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He is an important role model for me because of his literary contributions and his pivotal role in creating the Transcendental movement during the early- to mid-nineteenth century. Incorporating Emerson’s main ideas about the individual and society into my own life will help me to become a well-rounded leader in any situation I encounter. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s youth and education influenced the ideas of the Transcendentalists and played an important role in all of his essays, speeches, and poetry.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s youth greatly influenced his later life and the leader that he eventually became. Ralph’s father was a Unitarian minister, and Ralph initially studied to follow in his father’s footsteps. At fourteen years old, Ralph began a higher education at Harvard University and held his first leadership position as the freshman student body president. After his time at the University, Ralph became the pastor at the Second Unitarian Church in Boston, but soon left the ministry because he lost interest in Portrait of Ralph
Waldo Emerson (1)
the rites of Communion. This crisis of faith led Ralph to explore the spirituality of the individual and allowed him to critique traditional religious views in order to form his own theories about life. Hindu and Buddhist poetry greatly influenced Ralph’s early writing, and a botanical exhibition in Paris inspired him to live as a Naturalist. One of his greatest literary influences came from the German Higher Critics, a group of three German men who analyzed historical records in search of independent confirmation of the events described in the Bible. These sources and other classical philosophers led to Ralph’s future as a leader in the Transcendental movement.

Emerson collaborated with other influential thinkers of his time such as Herman Melville (pictured above-left), Walt Whitman, Emily
Herman Melville (2) Emily Dickinson (3)

Dickinson (pictured above-right), Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau to form the basic concepts surrounding Transcendentalism. Ralph felt that the United States was in dire need
of literary independence from Europe, and led the way to a whole new type of writing and thinking to create the genre of American Literature. The main impetus of this revolution was a ‘reaction against eighteenth century rationalism, the skeptical philosophy of [John] Locke, and the confining religious orthodoxy of New England Calvinism.’ (4) Emerson joined forces with Margaret Fuller, a fellow Transcendentalist, to create The Dial; a revolutionary newspaper created for literary criticism and the spread of new ideas about philosophy and religion. While it only lasted four years, the journal successfully spread their ideas throughout much of Massachusetts. The idea of Transcendentalism expressed in the newspaper and in other writings encompasses many premises and ideas, but the main ideas can be narrowed down to the following four tenets; the individual is the center of the universe, the

January 1920 issue
of The Dial (5)
structure of the universe duplicates the structure of the individual, nature is symbolic, and virtue and happiness depend on self-realization. The Transcendentalists also used these concepts to become leaders in other social reform movements such as anti-slavery and women’s rights, and to inspire individual thought and personal motivation in the American people. Although there are many literary contributors to Transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited as the main catalyst of the movement and inspired many others to continue and expand upon his work. If I had to pick one idea to generalize Emerson’s philosophy, it would be that ‘Transcendentalists believe in miracles…in inspiration, and in ecstasy.’ (6)

For my own life, the most inspirational aspect of Emerson’s accomplishments is his literary contributions. His thoughts on individualism, self worth, integrity, and hard work can benefit the individual of today and of all future generations. His lecture on the American Scholar and his essay titled ‘Representative Men’ gives practical advice on how to advance in life and describes what makes a successful person. Emerson applauds the Scholar for the bravery they must exhibit to deal with ideas and warns the Scholar to remain independent in his thinking and judgment. Plato, Swedenburg, Montagaine,
Emerson, Essays
and Lectures (7)
Shakespeare, Napoleon, and Goethe are included in “Representative Men” as examples of heroes who ‘never shut their eyes.’ (8) Emerson looks up to these men because they were always thinking about the society and their place in the world. I think it is extremely important to not only study our own role models, but also the people who influenced their accomplishments. Emerson’s appreciation of Plato and Goethe further inspires me to become a leader, and displays the importance of drawing on past heroes to help formulate my own ideas. Much like Emerson did, I want to use a compilation of role models to create my own identity as a leader. It is very important to me to keep a role model whose ideas come from a diverse background, as that is how I would like to form my own opinions. The group of people that I plan to look to for guidance includes Emerson, Victoria Woodhull, Bobby Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Buddha, and Betty Friedan.

Ralph Waldo Emerson also relays important thoughts about individual success in his essay ‘Heroism.’ He makes the bold observation that ‘Heroism works in contradiction to the voice of mankind.’ (9) It is important to realize that the right choice is usually not the common one. Emerson makes it clear that a hero cannot be common; a hero must fight when no one else will and must not fear the reality of rejection. To become a leader I have to learn from Emerson’s essay; leaders are rarely popular in the beginning of their career; most celebrated writers and artists were not praised for their contributions until after they died. The expectation of immediate success and acclaim would most likely lead to disappointment for any potential leader. However, becoming a leader should not occur because one wants approval. A person should seek leadership in order to benefit society.

Ralph addresses one of the most important aspects of a leader in his essay ‘Self Reliance,’ which I have read numerous times since my freshman year of high school. Emerson discusses the importance of self-reliance, self-reliance and the individual, and self-reliance in society. Many of Emerson’s most famous lines come from this paper; my favorite is “Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” (10) It reminds me that continuing to think in the same way I have always thought will get me nowhere. In order to grow as a person and as a leader, I have to force myself to strain the way I view life and the people who surround me. I have recently begun to view the world differently through the use of Sympathetic Imagination. By attempting to see the world from someone else’s point of view, I am able to understand more completely how some people act and think. Using Sympathetic Imagination can be difficult because it is often impossible to identify with other people’s backgrounds and cultures if I had prior contact with them. However, even the endeavor to appreciate where other people come from breaks up the foolish consistency that often takes over my mind. Emerson also stresses the importance of refusing to conform to the standards of the current times: “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” (11) Although conformity is easy, it is the people who choose to be different and to stand up for what is uncommon who are remembered after they are gone. To become a leader, I must strive to not sit idly by when I feel justice is not being served or when I feel that truth is being ignored.

In order to integrate what I have learned from Ralph Waldo Emerson into my leadership vision, I started by studying his writings. Now that I have a grasp on Emerson’s life philosophies, I am able to select certain aspects of his ideas and fuse them with by own beliefs. For example, I do not particularly understand or agree with Emerson’s belief of the immanence of God in the world. I appreciate the Transcendentalist view of God encompassing all aspects of the world, thus bridging the individual to nature. However, I do not accept this idea as my own and I do not include much spirituality in my leadership vision. Although I am not sure what I want to do with my life, I do know that I want to be a leader in whatever path I take. Therefore, my leadership vision must “incorporate my dreams and passions…be authentic and true to (my) realities...and continue to evolve.” (12)

The time I have spent studying Emerson has inspired me to continue researching other potential role models to help me evolve my leadership vision. It is important to me to widen my intellect and to incorporate more people and ideas into my own life. I think it would be extremely narrow-minded to find just one role model and base my entire vision on that person; Ralph Emerson understood this and drew his inspiration from scholars, philosophers, artwork, and nature.

I find inspiration in the written word, in the natural and physical environment (The Eiffel Tower), in history, in art (Venus De Milo), and in my hopes for the future. I plan to continue Venus De Milo (13) Eiffel Tower (14)

developing my personal vision into leadership roles so that I can become an effective, contributing member of society.

Word Count: 1400

1. Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson, http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/emerson1.gif
2. Portrait of Herman Melville, http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/emerson1.gif
3. Portrait of Emily Dickinson, http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/brainiac/emily-dickinson.gif
4. Hart, James D. “Transcendentalism.” in The Oxford Companion to American Literature, 5th ed. (N.Y. Oxford University Press, 1983.), pg. 770.
5. January 1920 Issue of The Dial, http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/72/DialJan1920.jpg/180px-DialJan1920.jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dial&h=286&w=180&sz=11&hl=en&start=60&um=1&tbnid=VEXXZbboStN8GM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=72&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtranscendentalists%26start%3D40%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
6. Emerson, R.W. “The Transcendentalist” in Emerson; Essays and Lectures. (N.Y. Literary Classics of the U.S. 1983) pg. 196
7. Emerson, Essays and Lectures, http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0940450151.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
8. Emerson, R. W. “Representative Men” in Emerson; Essays and Lectures. (N.Y. Literary Classics of the U.S. 1983) pg. 622
9. Emerson, R.W. “Heroism” in Essays; 1st and 2nd Series. (First Vintage Books/Library of American Edition, 1990.) Pg. 144
10. Emerson, R.W. "Self Reliance" in The Best of Ralph Waldo Emerson. (N.Y. Walter J. Black Inc, 1941) pg. 127
11. Emerson, R.W. “Self Reliance” pg. 123
12. Lee, Robert J. “Ground Your Leadership Vision in Personal Vision” in Discovering the Leader in You, 1st ed. (San Francisco, California, 2001) pg. 31
13. Venus de Milo, The Louvre: http://www.utexas.edu/courses/larrymyth/images/AA-Venus-de-Milo.jpg
14. The Eiffel Tower, Paris: Photo by Katy Curry

ODB- Cows, Christians, and Cultural Studies

2007-10-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

The presentation given by Janet Davis, "Cows, Christians, and Cultural Studies," was extremely informative, and taught me not only about the Animal Rights movement, but also showed me how interconnected the animal kindness crusade was with women’s rights, the temperance movement, and the spread of Christianity through missionaries. Davis' discussion about the missionaries and politicians using animal cruelty as a striking point against other cultures and religions surprised me. Missionaries took advantage of American ignorance, and used the practice of animal sacrifice to gain support for their 'imperial policing.' Although many people's economic welfare depended on the use of animals to do work, animal rights activists and political figures over emphasized 'cruelty' done to the work animals in order to maintain control of other countries and to improve the image of U.S. foreign policy. Statements such as 'thousands of people were gloating over rivers of blood' (referring to animal sacrifice) touched a cord in the American people and drove the increase of American involvement in developing countries. Politicians used the mask of animal rights to further their foreign policy goals.

The animal rights movement was often linked to other movements going on in the U.S. in order to gain more support. For example, the Women's Christian Temperance Union joined forces with animal rights activists under the idea that 'drunkenness and cruelty are symbiotic.' Animal rights were taken on by the Evangelical Christian movement by missionaries who by picking specific passages from the Bible, were able to cite concrete examples of why animals should be treated peacefully. For example, Matthew 25:40 - "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." The evangelists took passages such as this one completely out of context. Normally, 'brethren' refers to other people, and the context it was said in was when Jesus was talking about clothing the naked. Activists took advantage of people's religious beliefs to gain support for the animal rights movement.

Although I am a huge supporter of ending cruelty to animals, I do not believe that animal rights activists should have alternate agendas. Working for the protection of animals should in no way include targeting specific cultures with differing religious beliefs about animals, targeting low class people who use animals to sustain their livelihood, or advancing the foreign politics of the United States.

ODB-Jesus and Mary, A Christian, Jewish, and Muslim View

2007-10-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

Before attending the Panel Discussion on Jesus and Mary, I was not aware of the distinct parallels of the ideas about Jesus and Mary in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions.

I was brought up in a Baptist church, so I had a very developed grasp of what the Catholic priest discussed in relation to Jesus. However, I can see how it is hard to explain (and, for me, hard to comprehend/believe) the idea of the Trinity. When I was growing up, I was told that it is a truth of the Bible, and that some things having to do with God are so immense and deep that the human intellect will never be able to understand them. Thus, the Trinity (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) is believed purely on Faith. However close Catholicism may seem to resemble Baptism, I was somewhat unaware of the substantial impact that Mary has on the Catholic faith. The Priest (I was unable to catch his name) cited the confusion of the Trinity as the main cause of the Schism in 1054, which resulted in the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. Some people found it much easier to understand and to revere the Virgin Mary than 'God in three persons.' Either way, the priest made it clear that Catholics believe in the divinity of Christ and that Jesus is the Messiah.

I have much less knowledge about Judaism and Islam that I do of Catholicism. After listening to the Rabbi's description of how Judaism views the role of Jesus, I think that their views are much easier to understand (and from my point of view, more believable) than what I have been taught. I have always found it difficult to believe anything based solely on faith. I like statistics, history, and facts to back up what I believe in. This analytical side of me leads me to understand Jewish views of Jesus; he was a historical fact (I don't think that anyone has successfully refuted that), that Mary was in fact a 'young woman', not a 'virgin' (according to the Jewish translation of the title given to Mary in Isaiah 7:14), and that the Holy Trinity does not fit into their monotheistic religion. I have a lot of newfound respect for the Judaism, and if I had to adhere to a certain belief of the three presented on Wednesday, I would definitely support the ideas presented to me by the Rabbi.

I am still very ignorant when it comes to Islam. From what I understood, Jesus is a prophet (a messenger, a miracle worker, a healer, a 'chosen one'), but not a divine being. Although God protected him, Jesus is viewed as a normal human being that lived and died (much like the Jewish view of Jesus). I am still a bit confused about the Islamic view of Mary. The Imam discussed the importance of Mary to Muslims, and gave details that she is mentioned 37 times in the Koran and that she is more important that Muhammad's mother. The Imam also said that Mary is honored in Islam, and that she is an important person in their religion. I was able to further understand the beliefs surrounding Mary and the birth of Jesus after further research: "The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was no more than God’s apostle and His word which He cast to Mary: a spirit from Him” (Sura XL, vs.171). “Unbelievers are those who say: ‘God is the Messiah, the son of Mary”’ (Sura V. vs.70).

I can in no way say that I fully understand the ideas and beliefs of any of the three religions presented, but I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about each faith and the principles about Jesus and Mary that surround them.

RDB 5

2007-10-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

‘If a sparrow comes before my window, I take part in its existence and pick about the gravel’ (Keats)

One impetus that led me to attend U.T. is the high level of diversity found at our university. Although there was a large proportion of Hispanics at my high school, the amount of diversity to be found at GHS stopped there. The Spanish-speaking population mostly dominated one corridor of our high school, and the rest of the school did not see much of the ‘diversity’ that our school district claimed.

In contrast to most of my schoolmates, my sisters and I were raised to almost ignore differences in color, ethnicity, and religion. I was always told that race meant nothing and that the way people dressed and looked meant nothing. Now my sister is engaged to a Vietnamese man, my boyfriend is Filipino, and some of my best friends are Peruvian, Hispanic, and German.

(My sister and her fiance)

(Michael and me)

Through my high school peers, I know that I could have easily grown up calling people ‘wetbacks’ and telling every Hispanic person at my school to ‘swim back across the river.’ As much as I love my hometown, I feel extremely lucky that I knew that we live in a bubble, and that the world has more to offer than the suburbs of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. ***

The selection by Johnny Lee reminds me that there is more to ‘diversity’ than what I automatically thought. His mother asks him ‘Is my son the gay,’ (872) as though that distinction is the end-all, be-all of his being. People are not just categorized by their color and ethnicity, but are discriminated against for sexual preference, political leanings, academic standards, family income, and what part of the country they are from. Diversity transcends what the eye can see; it is made up of the heart and the mind as well.

Religious Symbols of the Top Nine Organised Faiths of the World (according to the number of adherents and the definitions used by classical scholars of religions) From left to right, top to bottom: Christian Cross, Jewish Star of David, Hindu Aumkar,
Islamic Staf and Crescent, Buddhist Wheel of Dharma, Shinto Torii, Sikh Khanda, Bahá'i Star, Jain Ahimsa Symbol.

Looking back, I feel that in high school, I simply ignored the differences in those around me. Now that I am at U.T., I find that celebrating, rather than ignoring cultural and religious ideas contrary to my own is the ideal lifestyle. After reading the selections in the Anthology, it strikes me extremely important to not just accept others, but to understand and to incorporate other people’s ideas into my own life. Looking back to my childhood, I think that my parents were on the right track to a ‘sympathetic imagination;’ they taught me to ‘penetrate the barrier of space’ between our own family and other families, but I don’t think we ever made it to the most important part, ‘actually entering into the object.’ (Definition of Sympathetic Imagination)

This is one of my new goals of my time at Texas: to understand John Keats’ statement about the sparrow: to take part in other people’s existence.

***Rereading the past paragraph almost makes me cringe. As much credit as I give myself for being open-minded, I still am apt to define people as ‘Vietnamese and Hispanic,’ as if this title can wholly encompass any person. ‘I’m black and Korean, devoid of sympathy for culture vultures that circle over my head, a fateful halo that reminds me that it’s time to be free of the 38 parallels I’ve seen folks draw on me’ (204) I guess it is hard to define any person with these types of words. I am Caucasian and brought up Baptist, but I enjoy Asian food and art and I don’t particularly agree with many basic Christian principles.

ODB-Ebenezer Baptist Church

2007-09-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the Ebenezer Baptist Church was, for me, uncomfortable. I was brought up in the Baptist church, and was at my church basically every time the doors were open until about Freshman year of high school. It was around that year when I realized the whole church thing was not for me, at all. The politics that surrounded the church were what finally made me leave; the pastor's indescretions were all over the papers for about a year. All of this has kept me out of a church since then. I can say that the church was beautiful, that the people were nice, that the songs were pretty. However, I do not feel I learned anything. If I did, it was just that I still feel wrong in a church, I do not bow my head, I do not close me eyes, and I do not sing. This is not out of disrespect. Rather, I think it is out of respect for those around me. I almost feel that my presence, as a non-believer, cheapens the worship of those around me. I know I was supposed to learn something about a different culture on Sunday, but I felt like I was back at First Baptist Church of Colleyville, extremely out of place.

RDB 4

2007-09-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Origins, Goals, and Purposes of Universities

“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.’ (R. W. Emerson)

The most important aspect of college, for me, is to cultivate my mind. In high school we were often given chances to learn, but with strict guidelines of how we were to think, write, read, and analyze. In my Junior English class, we were told to write the ‘Jane Schaffer’ way. The guidelines for writing a paragraph under her guidelines were to start with a TS (topic sentence), followed by a CD (concrete detail), followed by two CMs (Commentary Sentences), and finished with a CS (Concluding Sentence) My teacher painstakingly counted our sentences in all our papers and graded strictly along the Jane Schaffer rubric. This is not learning. It did not require thinking, she only asked us to form our thoughts around a structured outline.

The idea of a university is not to create adults who can regurgitate endless facts, but to ‘transform lives for the benefit of society through the core values of learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility.’ (331) We are not here just to read and repeat the names of the different levels of the atmosphere (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere)

'Discovery Learning Pyramid' -includes the 7 principles on accelerated learning, one of which is 'successful learning is an active experience totally involving the learner.'

In order to transform our lives, students are required to ‘construct knowledge rather than receive it from a higher authority.’ (332-333) At the university, we are not given all of the answers; we are not even told where to get all of the answers. This type of instruction requires students to do some exploration of their own. To succeed here, I must not only attend class, but also read (and comprehend) the textbook, read the extra materials posted online, watch videos recommended by my professors, go on field trips, and attend extra lectures and discussion sections.

To fulfill the purposes of a university, we must not only discover and learn, but we must be active in our community, because it ‘depends upon people sharing the values of openness, mutual respect, and the freedom of all to express themselves.’ (321) It is not sufficient to move independently here, we cannot merely learn and discover within ourselves. To fully take advantage of the university, we are required to interact with others, to learn from our friends, and to understand new cultures.

‘Knowledge is not merely a means to something beyond it….but an end sufficient to rest in and to pursue for its own sake.’ (306- Peter T. Flawn)

Peter T. Flawn, U.T. President, 1984

RDB 3

2007-09-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

I am a firm believer that youth exceeds the bounds of age. I was lucky enough to have a childhood full of family barbeques and Friday night sleepovers. Although I did have to go through the stresses of my parents getting divorced in third grade, my young age allowed me to bounce back, and I am able to look back gratefully at the experience. I have not been put through the trials of the young girls of Troop 1500, and I have been blessed with every luxury I could ask. My carefree childhood has led to the extension of my young years into my college life. I still am a kid; I am an 18-year-old little girl. And I love it.

“Time let me hail and climb” (617) My parents gave me all the time in the world; they worked to let me be a Girl Scout, a soccer player, a star in the school play, and a ballerina. Looking back, I know it was hard for the two of them after their divorce to work together for the sake of my sisters and me. Their dedication to us surpassed all of the problems they had, and all of their personal disagreements. I even look back now with happiness on their separation. After my parents lived in different houses, they became more bearable people and were sincerely happier. Their attention to my feelings, and my need to be a child as long as possible, allowed me to keep my youth as long as I allow myself to.

I think youth is mostly defined by the ability to see the world without prejudice. Although at times I can be a bit jaded, I was brought up in a bit of a ‘bubble.’ My schools, the church I attended, and my neighborhood were all sparkly clean, seemingly untouched by the outside world. Once I got to high school, I realized how sheltered I had been and decided to venture outside the D/FW area. I saved money and went to Costa Rica, and two years later I took a trip to Europe with some people from my school. My trips gave me the ability to find a different view of the world, to separate my beliefs from my family’s beliefs. My classes in high school, the trips I took, the friends I made, and the volunteer work I did helped me to ‘make a world in which to find a place to discover a self.’ (623)

Although while I was in high school I got a chance to branch out, and to explore who I really am, I still retained my youth. I still seek new opportunities and I desire to learn. I’ve still got my youth, I’m a bit smarter and worldlier, but I am a kid. The world is a mystery to me, and I will still be young as long as I continue to explore.

RDB 2

2007-09-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

During a high school research project, I came across Victoria Woodhull, and she has since become one of my favorite role models. Her fiery attitude and concrete beliefs compel me to ground myself in my opinions, and to take a stand even when I know I am going to lose. Victoria was an advocate of women's rights, a newspaper editor, a supporter of free love, fought for the 8-hour workday and labor rights, and was the first woman to run for president. Encouraged by few, loved by fewer, and hated by many, Victoria always stood her ground. Although I do not agree with all of her beliefs, I think her perseverance is worth mirroring. The newspaper that she owned was the first to print the Communist Manifesto in English, and she was also the first female stockbroker. She was a favorite of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but disliked by Susan B. Anthony. I find Victoria to be an inspiration and a model to those who have strong beliefs about right and wrong.

<1872 cartoon by Thomas Nast, lampooning the free love movement. A caricature of Victoria Woodhull holds a parchment reading "Be saved by Free Love." The woman in the background, burdened with her drunken husband and three children, replies, "Get thee behind me, (Mrs.) Satan! I had rather travel the hardest path of matrimony than follow your footsteps!"

A couple of my favorite Victoria Woodhull quotes:
"I ask the rights to pursue happiness by having a voice in that government to which I am accountable."
"It makes no difference who or what you are, old or young, black or white, pagan, Jew, or Christian, I want to love you all and be loved by you all, and I mean to have your love"

I enjoyed the readings by and about a few of our distinguished Texas Alum. Margaret Cousin’s acknowledgement that 'It was then, indeed, that I first became aware, which indubitably changed my life," (891) helped me to understand what it is that I want from the college experience. I also want to become aware. I am bored with living life 'in a bubble'. I have always thought of myself as a reasonably informed person, but I would like to expand my boundaries of thought and knowledge. I also loved John Schwartz's note that he "came to The University to lose [himself]." (921) I find that idea scary, exhilarating. I am enjoying that I have the comfort of a few of my high school friends at UT, but at the same time I wish I could lose myself like Schwartz did.

RDB 1

2007-09-03T14:16:00.001-07:00

I find the differences and connections between the left and right hemispheres very interesting, but a little difficult to wrap my mind around after watching the video on Lebon's page. The man with the disconnected hemispheres could not understand what he saw on the left side of the mark....but he could draw it with his left hand. It made me more aware of how complex we are; I think there will always be a point to which we cannot understand ourselves. I took a psychology class in high school, and we spent a lot of time discussing how the brain works. I remember learning about the Corpus Callosum, which is the biggest of many fibers that connect our left and right hemispheres. According to some studies, women have a larger corpus callosum than men. Some scientists use that evidence, along with many other differences in our brains, to explain the differences in male and female thinking and behavior.
I definitely agree with Daniel Pink, the desire for abudance has not only grown over the past few decades, but has begun to take over. However, I do not know if I would agree that it is because 'our left-brain needs have been largely sated, our right brain yearnings will demand to be fed.' (113) I think many of the 'neccesities' of today are driven by left brain impulses. We desire to be organized, to be on a schedule, to know whats going on all the time, where our families are, where we are going, etc. Blackberrys, Macbooks, PDAs, GPS, bluetooth technology, iPhones. All things that when are taken back to the basic idea are just a way to keep our lives running on time. From everything I have read it seems that scheduling, directions, organization, and technology are largely developed in the left brain. On the other hand...I do see what he means by our more aesthetic side pushing the desire for abundance. (2 Billion dollars a year for candles?!)
'As I created the hypermedia, moreover, I felt I was using both sides of my brain' (109) I completely agree. This whole hypermedia thing is foreign to me. The farthest I have ever ventured is to Facebook, and I am still unsure if the video I tried to put on here will work. I think that I am getting a little better, but our first class was extremely confusing with talk about 'avatars' and 'second life'. Hopefully this class will force me to really figure things out. At this point, both sides of my brain really hurt.

Here is a test I took. It says I am a little more right brained.

http://similarminds.com/brain.html

HOW IT WORKS: Stare at a yellow dot in the animation. Eventually, one or two of the other yellow dots will disappear.

This illusion supposedly proves Professor Jack Pelligrew's theory that the brain is continually switching between the right and left hemispheres.

The theory of brain switching came about when Professor Pettigrew attempted to explain the odd optical behaviour of a fish known as the Sandlance.

The Sandlance's eyes are disconnected from each other's motion and unlike most animals, it's eyes can move independently of each other. It's eyes do not move simultaneously, only one eye moves at a time.

Professor Pettigrew theorised the reason for this sequential motion is that each eye is connected to only one hemisphere of the brain, right eye to the right hemisphere, left eye to the left hemisphere and when the brain switching occurs only one side of the brain at any one time has full control of the brain and hence body. In this case the side being switched to.

This also means that the eye connected to the side being switched to has the ability to or "right of way" to send signals to the necessary muscles in order for it to move