This year has been the first year that I've ever used a blog for anything. I'm really glad that I got this experience, as I had always wondered what exactly a blog was for. I realize now that it's really for anything. I've found it to be especially useful this year in English class as a tool for making points I don't have to opportunity to make in class, reflecting on the class, or just reflecting on my life in general. I really enjoy this ability to write to myself; I don't care who else is reading it, the audience I write to is me. Though I don't need a blog in order to write to myself, I enjoy the way it looks and the fact that others can experience my thoughts along with me.
I'm grateful that we've been asked this year to write in online blogs, not on paper, because I find it easier to say what's on my mind when I can type it out. Since I can type a lot faster than I can write, my writing can be more stream-of-conscience, which I think is a desirable trait in blogs. When I'm asked to think deeply and analytically, I need to get all my ideas down first and sort through them after. The blog has been a great tool for this type of writing, because I can just write and write without thinking about an exact prompt; it's my opportunity to ramble. Like I said, I don't write my blogs for anyone else but myself, so I don't care if I sound like I'm rambling, like right about now. Blah blah blah blah....
But seriously, I'm very pleased with my experience this year in English class with blogging. It hasn't been assigned too often that it gets boring, and so every blog seems original and natural. Yes, that is probably the key word: natural. Blogging this year has never felt forced or foreign, and always feels like my ideas just flowing from my brain to my fingers to the keyboard to the screen. Were there more specific prompts, I would probably have trouble. I'm very happy with the prompts that Mr. Allen has assigned us.
Unfortunately, this is my last real blog post of the year (besides a Blogging Around post), so I'll say goodbye now to all my loyal fans (namely, Mr. Allen and...well that's about it). Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
What if?: Life in the Veld
While reading and discussing Life and Times of Michael K over the past couple of weeks, I've been wondering what it would be like to just live out in the wild ('veld') like Michael K does, detached from the civilized world. At first, that seemed to me like a silly thing to wonder about, but after a while of pondering, I've actually come to realize how different my life would be if I lost all these things that connect me to the rest of human society: basically, most of my daily habits and actions.
One of the things that has struck me most about Michael K's experience in the veld is his lack of interest in interacting with other people. If I were to go and live in the wild, I would be without any family or friends, which I can't imagine doing because I love my family and friends very much and wouldn't know what to do without them. But let's say, for the sake of this hypothetical journey, that I do not find value in human relationships, and am perfectly fine with going solo. The next step would be to find food, which I would have no idea how to do, because the only food I eat is bought at a store or restaurant and is killed and prepared for me. I've never hunted and have only fished for sport, not sustenance. But let's say I happen upon a gun and/or some kind of animal trap, and find a way to catch food. I then would need to cook the food, which, because of watching Bear Gryllis on Discovery Channel, I would know how to do. So, I suppose, if I really worked hard at it, I could sustain myself for a day out in the wild.
But living the remainder of my life in the wild, that is out of the question. Despite the fact that I would need certain medicines and an education, I truly don't think that it is possible to just live out in the wild in this postmodern system that we affectionately call America. There are certainly laws against just running free in the wild, as most of the forests and parks are managed by the US or state governments. And since, in my opinion, humans crave advancement and progress, I don't think I could really ever be fulfilled just living from day to day with no real purpose.
That brings me to my final thought about Life and Times of Michael K, which is that even Michael, who just wants to drink water from a teaspoon lowered into the ground, cannot even manage to just live out in the wild. Though we said, in our discussions, that Michael escaped the system, I tend to believe that, in some ways, he did not. He ends up, at the conclusion of the book, in the same place where he started: back in the city. Even Michael, who found a way to survive and even reach a level of self-actualization, could not be allowed to remain where he was. The system just strengthened its hold. So, when imagining myself living in the wild, I come to the decisive conclusion that I cannot, and no one can (at least not in Western society), escape the system.
One of the things that has struck me most about Michael K's experience in the veld is his lack of interest in interacting with other people. If I were to go and live in the wild, I would be without any family or friends, which I can't imagine doing because I love my family and friends very much and wouldn't know what to do without them. But let's say, for the sake of this hypothetical journey, that I do not find value in human relationships, and am perfectly fine with going solo. The next step would be to find food, which I would have no idea how to do, because the only food I eat is bought at a store or restaurant and is killed and prepared for me. I've never hunted and have only fished for sport, not sustenance. But let's say I happen upon a gun and/or some kind of animal trap, and find a way to catch food. I then would need to cook the food, which, because of watching Bear Gryllis on Discovery Channel, I would know how to do. So, I suppose, if I really worked hard at it, I could sustain myself for a day out in the wild.
But living the remainder of my life in the wild, that is out of the question. Despite the fact that I would need certain medicines and an education, I truly don't think that it is possible to just live out in the wild in this postmodern system that we affectionately call America. There are certainly laws against just running free in the wild, as most of the forests and parks are managed by the US or state governments. And since, in my opinion, humans crave advancement and progress, I don't think I could really ever be fulfilled just living from day to day with no real purpose.
That brings me to my final thought about Life and Times of Michael K, which is that even Michael, who just wants to drink water from a teaspoon lowered into the ground, cannot even manage to just live out in the wild. Though we said, in our discussions, that Michael escaped the system, I tend to believe that, in some ways, he did not. He ends up, at the conclusion of the book, in the same place where he started: back in the city. Even Michael, who found a way to survive and even reach a level of self-actualization, could not be allowed to remain where he was. The system just strengthened its hold. So, when imagining myself living in the wild, I come to the decisive conclusion that I cannot, and no one can (at least not in Western society), escape the system.
Blogging Around
I've decided to once again "blog around" my other classmates' blogs. I feel that, with school being so busy, I don't always get time to talk to everyone in class as much as I would like, so I'm hoping to get a deeper understanding of what's going on with them by reading and commenting on their blogs. Here it goes.
Margot T's blog is called "Best of Week: Michael can LIVE," and sums up as well as expands on the discussion we had in class this past week about the last page or so of Life and Times of Michael K. Margot observed how the discussion developed into an important observation about how Michael sees himself being fulfilled, and why that is so significant to the entire story.
I commented:
"Margot, I actually found your initial observation that you made in class to be very important and insightful. It is crucial, after deeply exploring Michael K's god-like qualities and his effects on other people, that we remember that he is merely human, and lives a very simple life; we should beware over analyzing his simplicity, as that is one of the beauties of this book. I also really liked your strong emphasis on the fact that he escaped the system through nonconformity, not through any real conscious effort. He was clearly more concerned, in my opinion, with living his life to the fullest in the way he deemed fit, rather than waging war on the system or actively revolting. That would not be escaping the system, but merely falling deeper into it."
Lauren's blog post is called "Carry it Forward: Service Project." In it, she reflects upon her experience in 5th grade cleaning up the forest preserve, using lessons learned from that to help her and the rest of us prepare for our upcoming trip to do the same. She advises us, above all, to have a positive attitude in order to make the project both enjoyable and worthwhile.
I commented:
"Lauren, I'm really glad that you've had this experience in the past and can share your wisdom about this project with the rest of us. This advice will really help us make this service project the best it can be. I especially liked your emphasis on maintaining a positive attitude. It's common knowledge that we Academites do a lot of complaining, so I too worry that we might go into it with a negative outlook and therefore make the project less fun. Yet I do believe that our class will make the best out of it and truly have a good time, because it is such a great opportunity to be outside and make a difference in a creative way. I was actually just saying today how it would stink if it rains the day we go, but now I see that it can be fun even so. Unfortunately, I'm reading this after we already chose a project, but fortunately, I voted for this one and it was chosen."
Margot T's blog is called "Best of Week: Michael can LIVE," and sums up as well as expands on the discussion we had in class this past week about the last page or so of Life and Times of Michael K. Margot observed how the discussion developed into an important observation about how Michael sees himself being fulfilled, and why that is so significant to the entire story.
I commented:
"Margot, I actually found your initial observation that you made in class to be very important and insightful. It is crucial, after deeply exploring Michael K's god-like qualities and his effects on other people, that we remember that he is merely human, and lives a very simple life; we should beware over analyzing his simplicity, as that is one of the beauties of this book. I also really liked your strong emphasis on the fact that he escaped the system through nonconformity, not through any real conscious effort. He was clearly more concerned, in my opinion, with living his life to the fullest in the way he deemed fit, rather than waging war on the system or actively revolting. That would not be escaping the system, but merely falling deeper into it."
Lauren's blog post is called "Carry it Forward: Service Project." In it, she reflects upon her experience in 5th grade cleaning up the forest preserve, using lessons learned from that to help her and the rest of us prepare for our upcoming trip to do the same. She advises us, above all, to have a positive attitude in order to make the project both enjoyable and worthwhile.
I commented:
"Lauren, I'm really glad that you've had this experience in the past and can share your wisdom about this project with the rest of us. This advice will really help us make this service project the best it can be. I especially liked your emphasis on maintaining a positive attitude. It's common knowledge that we Academites do a lot of complaining, so I too worry that we might go into it with a negative outlook and therefore make the project less fun. Yet I do believe that our class will make the best out of it and truly have a good time, because it is such a great opportunity to be outside and make a difference in a creative way. I was actually just saying today how it would stink if it rains the day we go, but now I see that it can be fun even so. Unfortunately, I'm reading this after we already chose a project, but fortunately, I voted for this one and it was chosen."
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