Sunday, June 4, 2017

Final Essay

Linda Inverso                                                                                                  Inverso 1
Dr. David Preston
English Language and Composition
1 June 2017


                Masterpiece Academy Question: How I have grown because of this course?
              
 “So your teacher is Preston? You’re doing what now!? Your homework is to post on a blog? No textbooks?! You decide on what to learn? Freedom? What the ..”, is how a normal conversation goes when people ask about the English course I’m taking. I tell them about open source learning, I know a bit about it because my dad’s a fan of that style of teaching, and how we have control over our own education. People just look at me with an odd expression on their face. There’s this stigma surrounding teenagers and how they can’t be trusted because they aren’t adults and therefore lack responsibility. So when people look at our class, they think we’re crazy because, to them, teenagers don’t deserve freedom or know what’s best for themselves. Our class isn’t crazy. I was very invested in this course. Every time I had an opinion of something we were doing in class, I looked forward to blogging about it and using the Internet as my resource to find out more about the topics. 

I felt that a lot of trust was placed upon my colleagues and I. I remember the first day of school when Dr. Preston left the classroom to leave us to get together to make a


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choice: should we totally abandon the rules and the traditional ways of education for this course or go old school and use a textbook? Using the Internet as our source for
information, teaching ourselves, and not being scolded for not turning in work on time sounded intriguing. We have never got that kind of freedom nor were we used to breaking away from the traditional ways of school. We’re so used to being talked at and getting bored to death. Then we stress about trying to get good grades, pass classes,
and doing loads of homework. I have done every assignment in this course and have posted for pleasure. I don’t believe in prioritizing because I aim to be successful in all my classes. As a class, we could have honored this trust even more because we were extremely quiet and put off work way too often. Emerson would frown upon us.

I read Fahrenheit 451 for the first time because of this course. I can really relate to Montag feeling like an outcast. I sometimes feel like everybody’s doing the same things in life and I just want something different. Society will kick you out if you think differently so it’s easier to conform. I have something called Social Anxiety. When I read Self Reliance, I couldn’t help but call Emerson’s bluff and think, “How am I supposed to be self reliant when I have this disorder about fear? Even if I just look at someone my body reacts in a weird way”. Then I thought about it more and I concluded with, I am only stopping myself from getting better by blaming other things. This inspired me to take steps to becoming more self reliant by looking for help and try not to let this fear get
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in the way of things I want to accomplish in life. Another thing from this course that I ponder almost every day is about the idea of remixing. Essentially, everything is a remix?! I have no idea why, but that idea blows my mind. As I’m typing, I’m remixing the alphabet. This concept makes me wonder, is anything truly original?

During this school year, I have reconnected with my passion for playing an instrument. I haven’t done so in five years! I’ve always loved playing an instrument but something has always gotten in the way. I stopped playing the clarinet because I switched schools. Then I stopped playing piano because the teacher moved away. I didn’t know how to teach myself. This passion has kept growing stronger and stronger. One thing this course has taught me is that you can teach yourself and the Internet is a huge resource! So I’m willing to continue taking guitar and even teach myself because I truly want to be better. In fact, all this Emerson talk inspired me to join choir next school year with my best friend. This course also had rekindled my love for reading. All throughout my life, if I ever had one second of free time, you would catch me with a book in my hand. And then I got to High School. I never had time, I always had to read books teachers made me, people convinced me that it “wasn’t cool”, and I would spend my free time watching hours of videos online. Reading just transports you into another world and I’m so happy I can return to it.


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When my colleagues and I took over the classroom, the current theme I found was that we all seemed to question the world and the things around us. Most people go about their lives with these questions but never bothered looking into them. As humans, we fear the unknown and it’s our nature to question things surrounding us. Kayleen questioned the school system and tried to find out why it is not as successful as it should be. Turns out we have been doing the same thing for 100 years! The video she showed mentioned that technology, society, and the ways of living life get renovated yet the school system has stayed the same. Jackie questioned human behavior. She asked the class to answer some riddles. Half of the class tried even when they knew the answer was wrong because they wanted to at least see if they got it right. The other half didn’t answer because the feared if they got it wrong, it would cause embarrassment. Why are we so fearful? Why do we let these fears hold us back instead of trying to see what the outcome is? Liliy questioned something that everyone experiences and see others experience. Death. She started off by telling the class a personal experience, which lead her to question about the real causes of death. Gabriel questioned our brain’s ability to memorize. How could we improve our own memories? Is it possible to do so? He gave us some tips and even made the whole class get up to stretch and close our eyes to meditate. Eldrin questioned something we all do, laugh. It’s part of the human experience, every one does it but why does this action exist? What I’m trying to say is, we all tried to decipher common things that go on in our daily lives and find out why they happen and if we can do anything else to improve ourselves.
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There were many pleasant memories of this course. Looking back, the first thing comes to mind when it comes to laughter was the first day of school. We were just finished making our decision about how we were going to run this course and we started to get to know Dr. Preston better. It was the first time he cussed in front of us. His diction surprised us all and resulted in laughter from everyone, including me. It brought us closer as a class and made us feel more comfortable. Kind of like a non-related family. Another funny thing I remember was the apple that believed in itself. That is truly inspiring.
                                                                                                                       
I’m still in the process of completing the hero’s journey, however, I can confirm that I have taken big leaps this year to start it. I’ve been bettering myself by watching what I eat, exercise, learn more about things I like, be with family, and read. I’ve been taking more risks like signing up for choir next school year knowing that I may have to perform. I have also been getting help for personal problems that hold me back from at least trying to chase my dreams. A challenge has been battling against my own mind. Another challenge this year was an extremely important family member passed away but I feel that made me a stronger person. I have just come to a realization that I’m never going to get what I want in life if I don’t take risks. It all ties into self-reliance. I’m still on this journey but I’m not giving up just yet.

I didn’t think this school year would go by fast but it did. This is so cliché but, I can remember the first day of this course like it was just yesterday. I want to Thank Dr.
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Preston and my colleagues for helping me learn new things and inspire me to make some changes to my life. I am truly going to miss this course and posting to the blog. Who knows, maybe I’ll start another blog someday. The learning will never stop.


Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Birthdays.Rambling to myself.

"Damn you're getting old," my sister said when greeting me in the morning. So here's something I've thought about: kids act like we're so experienced with life.. but that's because living through how many years we had, that's all we know. Later we grow older and we think to ourselves, "if only I can be that young again."
And for what?! Because I haven't been enjoying life recently. Because I've been stressed about school and scared about the future. How do I "have it good" now?! 
But maybe that's it....... I've been spending my life so worried about work and the future that I have forgotten how to, well, live. So I'm challenging myself at 17 to try new things and be more laid back. To enjoy life day by day. To not say, "TGIF" and wait for holidays to feel relieved. After all, I won't be 17 forever and I most certainly do not want to remember my teenage years as being so bland and dark. 

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

My Masterpiece Academy Lesson

Click this link to view my power point about my Big Question.
I learned a lot of things about this topic.. and other things kind of related to it somehow I guess haha(apparently music influences the milk production of cows).
Ever wonder how animals react to music designed for their own species?
These cats seemed pretty calm whilst listening to the music. https://youtu.be/YUhcY86ybi0
Choosing this topic helped me get even more interested in it.  It's so cool to think about what actually goes on when we listen to music. We never really think about it, but a lot of work goes into it! All of this happens in a matter of seconds.... okay I'm rambling now but I'm just so mind blownnnnnnn. hahah (:

Monday, May 22, 2017

#PrayForManchester

The world is a scary place. How can such a cruel thing happen in a place of joy and love? I cannot fathom the fact that people were trying to see someone who they adored and this happened. Concerts are magical. They bring people together to enjoy something they have in common. It's heartbreaking that such an experience ruined and that people died. My thoughts/prayers go to the people involved and Ari and her team. I just hope everyone there stays safe.

(adding a song because I truly hope violence stops)
Better Days- Victoria Monet ft. Ariana Grande

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Gemini Season


















It's finally Gemini season. It's typically  one of my favorite times of the year, not because it's my bday season but because we are well into Spring and it's about to be Summer! If you're into astrology, then you're most likely shocked that I'm a Gemini. (I'm also a Slytherin.. shocking to those who don't know me personally) Geminis are known for being extremely, witty  talkative, sociable, and outgoing. In public, I'm not any of those things so I can understand why people could be confused as to why I'm a Gemini. These traits are mine when I'm truly myself with people I'm comfortable with. I  pretty much have most traits that go with this sign. And no, Gemini's aren't "two faced."🙄

I will confirm that the twin thing is true. Most of the time the nice, quiet twin is out. Get us triggered and the other twin won't hesitate to come out and be up in your face. I've learned that there is more to astrology than just your sun sign.. but your sun sign is a big part of who you are. So to any of my fellow Gems, happy birthday!! Can't wait to read more about astrology in the summer and decipher what it means to be born in Gemini.

Friday, May 19, 2017

Summer

So close.... yet so far away! There's about 12 days of instruction left but it feels like I'm slowly crawling on my hands and knees to the finish line and boy, do I need some water. This race has truly been tiring. The sun has been pressuring me to get good grades and my mind doesn't let me stop to take a break. At this point, I don't care to win a medal. All I want to do is to cross this finish line and get some water. Even when I think that, my mind tells me that I need to try to win or else I'm going to be mad at myself and so will the sun. So with bruises, tiredness, and being drained, I carry on and try to win the race.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

My masterpiece academy: A thought process

Big Question: Why does music sound good to humans?
My masterpiece academy project has been completed since last weekend. I can honestly say that I've learned many interesting things and I really hope everyone likes it. I originally had planned on finding an experiment that I could do that proves how we(humans) listen to sounds but as it says on the board  (by Robert Burns), "the best laid plans often go awry." I'm not a scientist (and have no interest in becoming one) so I don't have fancy equipment to do that kind of experiment or know where to begin. I do think the information on my presentation is fairly interesting but I hope that I don't let anxiety take over me whilst presenting. I apologize for being boring if that does happen.
I still want my presentation to have some pizzazz so throughout today's period, I found something else that I could do. Hint: it involves animals!! :D
I know my question is about humans but I feel that to understand what I'm trying to answer, we have to compare information to animals too. So hopefully my idea works out and isn't boring but I guess we'll find out.