Fitting in is what it's all about

Freshman orientation day was the worst day of my life. I've always been so shy and used to going to school with the same people for the past 4 years. Now things were changing and I had to be shoved into this whole new school that apparently is the size of a small college campus. When I got to my freshman advisory room I knew one person. Just one. Out of maybe 25 people I knew one. How is that possible? But I'm thankful. I'm thankful that I knew nobody in the classroom because it gave me the opportunity to make new friends. As the year progressed me and this girl started talking more and more and pretty soon we became friends. Four years later we're still best friends and we're closer than ever. Of course she's not my only friend and we do have a group of friends but it's funny to think that maybe if she wasn't in my class I could be a totally different person. But once again How is that possible? Well, it's possible because as you and I progress through high school we learn new things and we meet new people that have learned other things. We influence each other on a daily basis and we change our behaviors to fit or maybe not fit in with others. Fitting in is what it's all about in high school. We all want that sense of belonging. Sometimes we're ready to do whatever it takes to fit in. My friends influence me every day. We talk everyday and we tell each other everything. I think the more you know about people the more you can know about yourself. Especially when those people are your friends.

American Culture

What I don't understand about American culture is how we have such a lack of culture, yet it makes up its own culture. The Article by Robert Kohls described how many different sections of culture we have created. The one that stood out the most to me was our usage of time. We put so much importance on time and our whole lives revolve around it. In other countries they value their time. They spend so much time not caring about it. They show up to meetings on their own time, they take the time to enjoy their days. In the United States however, we find it rude to take our own time and to show up late to a meeting. We are constantly working and attempting to conserve time for later, but when we have that time to relax some people spend their time sending a last minute email. Another focus on time that really shocked me was the new language of time that we have created. He specifically referenced the usage of the words "kept, filled, saved, used, spent, wasted, lost, gained, planned, given, made the most of, and killed". When I read these words I tried to compare it to how many times I use these words a day. I find myself constantly complaining about needing more time to finish all my school work. I complain that if I had an extra five minutes for the five that just passed. But what does this say about our society? Are we so accustomed to not having time to do anything that we forget we can make the time to do things we want. Americans can make sacrifies in their work life to create the good old fashioned "me-time" we all crave. But what happens if we don't work, and we start spending so much times on ourselves. That creates a whole new American culture that we have created. What do we work for? We work for money. What do we do with our money? We spend it to buy the materialistic items and pay our bills and take time off to have that quality me and family time. We as an American culture have corrupted our view of culture and the meaning of what it is to have a true tradition other than our religions. 

Laziness

On Friday we read the story Goodnight IPad. I had mentioned during class that we have so much technology that was made for us to be more efficient, but also it is created out of our laziness. We have created the remote so we don't have to walk up to the television and change the channel or volume. We have created an automobile so we don't have to walk everywhere. If we didn't have these advances, how would we function? Would we not go anywhere? Would we not watch television. As necessary as the new technology proves itself to be we have become so dependent on it as individuals that we can't function properly without it. How many teenagers do you know of that can't tell time without their phone, or they feel disconnected from their friends when they can't send a text message.

This is part of me...

In my spare time, I read quotes. Every quote is different in its own way. It maybe be the same quote, but maybe the picture in the background is different. The different picture in the background can change the mood of the quote. When reading quotes I'll find some that relate to my life and what i'm going through, sometimes I'll find some that I can share with friends to help them feel better or to make them laugh. Quotes and music lyrics go hand in hand. Sometimes you'll hear a song and you think "wow, this describes my life", then it becomes your theme song. But for me, that theme song will only last about a week until I find another song or read another quote. My favorite movie is P.s. I love you. I've thought about why I like that movie so much, and I came to the conclusion that my favorite quote comes from that movie. My favorite quote is "Thing to remember is if we're all alone, then we're all together in that too". This quote is my favorite at a time like now, when my friends and I are all getting ready to leave for college because it reminds me that no matter what we're still together. Well, another thing to know about me is that my favorite color is purple, and my favorite food is pasta. My favorite animal is a giraffe. I could not tell you why they are my absolute favorite animal, but I do know that they are different. They're so tall, and their necks are so long. I like different. Different is good.