Hardships in Traveling

As we have recently read, the Joads lost their grampa to a stroke and their dog to a car while on the road to California. Travel in previous centuries and decades seems to have been more perilous than it is now. Do we face some of the same hardships on the road, or different ones? What has changed in recent years that helps negate some of the hardships of traveling for us?

Travel

As some of us have traveled to spend the weekend in Seattle, Washington, I thought we might discuss the reasons people travel. There are many reasons people travel, ranging from moving to vacation.  Recently travel has become much more for pleasure as opposed to need. A lot of one's childhood is spent in the back of a car, driving to a relative's home to visit. While it might seem like an eternity to the passengers in that car, it is what we learn about the people that measures the time. Do you think traveling together with your family helps you get to know the better? Why do you think humans travel in their time off? What created this idea? How has American culture benefited, or hindered this? When did the shift from traveling only when necessary to traveling for enjoyment occur?

Tradition

It's prom! All this preparing has gotten me thinking about traditions. "Proms" date all the way back to the 1800's, and originated from formal college dances. But proms were not recorded into high school yearbooks until the 1930's. Obviously, prom has been a thing for quite some time. I think that it is neat that, in this day and age, we still hold traditions. So what exactly is tradition? Why do we keep traditions? What are some traditions that have originated from today's modern culture?

Plays vs Musicals vs Movies

After watching Footloose, I could not help but wonder if a musical or a play does a better job at conveying its message. Which does a more effective job in your experiences? Sometimes I find a musical much easier to remember due to the music. Also do many movies of famous plays and musicals do it justice? Does it cause us to compare a movie to a play and vice versa? I know sometimes I just cannot help but compare them? Should one compare a play or musical to a movie? Does the message of a musical or play get through to the audience better in a movie or live? Do you prefer a live performance of a play or musical or do you prefer a movie version?

Standardized Tests

Since some of us are taking the AP English exam pretty soon, I figured we should discuss standardized testing. We have all taken standardized tests since from a very young age. I remember that the only good thing about the ISATs was that they gave us free gum. Did any of the tests that we took really measure our intelligence? I do not think that these tests accurately measure a persons intelligence since every person does not learn and process information the same way. This is like the quote by Albert Einstein, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Is this the same with the AP English exam or did it find a better way to judge intelligence? Do you think that these tests should have such a large impact on your future?

Sorry for the late posting everyone! Thanks to Colton I just found out it was my turn to blog.  Hopefully you can all get it done. I decided to stray away from poetry and what we have been learning and turn this week's discussion into one on families. We are all getting excited to graduate and leave. In most cases, we will all be going out and leaving our families. Right now we are all really looking forward to making our own decisions (I am anyway), but after a few months at college will we look back and miss our families? Will we appreciate everything they've done for us a little bit more? I've been thinking about this a lot since I will be leaving halfway across the world in a few months, and I want to know what you all think. Are we the kind of people today because of our parents? Do we think the same way? Where do our ethics come from? What roles do mothers and fathers play in their children's lives? How is a child impacted when one of these figures is missing in their life? Can someone act as a mother/father/bother/sister figure in someone's life?

Do We Really Seize the Day?

Everybody knows the common saying to go out and seize the day. We often go around saying carpe diem because it sounds both intelligent and optimistic. The saying is the definition of optimism. It is a positive message to send to others and to show a great way of life. Has it become too common though? Has it lost its meaning and definition? Does it serve as nothing more than a cliche to sound sophisticated or does it still hold meaning of optimism? When it is given out as advice, there is a definite chance that it flows over someone's head because it has become so main stream. Can you agree with this based off of your own experience? What does seizing the day actually mean to you? What does it look like?