Research Paper Progress

     So far, my research paper is going well. The topic i picked, cyber bullying and its influence on the rise of teen suicides, has a ton of information on both the web as well as newspapers. There is a lot of different information i can add to my paper, such as statistics, actual stories, laws that have been passed to prevent cyber bullying, and lengths websites have gone to become more safe. I can also talk about how social networking sites have made it easier than ever, and the role anonymity plays. Some of the stories I have read about how far teens will with cyber bullying truly shock me. I think my topic is well thought out and something everyone should be aware of. Thus far, the only problem I have had is sifting through a lot of repetitive information in articles.

The World According to Ellen

     Ellen DeGeneres' article about the annoyances of all the modern day technology was very humorous and hit the nail on the head in many instances. She talks about how technology is supposed to be making things easier and faster for us, but most of the time they are just a hindrance and annoyance to people around us. She talks about cell phones, and how you never get service or you are around someone who is having a loud conversation that you do not particularly care about hearing. This is true, and we have so much to say when other people are doing it, but never realize ourselves when we are the ones having the loud obnoxious conversations in a public area.  I found Ellen's article to be effective because it touched on lighter subjects, and did not try to warn us of the dangers of television and the internet, while still getting the point across that sometimes it's better to just take the extra few minutes to turn the knob on the faucet instead of using the automatic one.

Books Vs Games

     Stephen Johnson's article "Everything Bad is Good for you: Games" really made me think. When I first began reading I was completely against his point of view, I thought putting video games on the same level as reading was so ridiculous. I love reading, and I think video games can be fun but I don't play them very often. I've never felt that I got anything but entertainment out of a video game, while I have felt enormous satisfaction from reading a good book that allows you to think and imagine. However,I found the part where they show a sample of what could be written about books if video games came first to be enlightening. It's true that something that comes after an original is always scrutinized more critically, and things can be said about books that would sway someones opinions towards a video game. I still do not think that video games can really do much to stimulate the brain in a positive way, but the article brought up a lot of good points and showed that you have to look at things from different points of view.

Community Project Thus Far

My community project is going well so far, I am finding a lot of subtle differences in the way the residents of Woodward hall act generally, as well as between each other compared to the residents of Shea Durgin. I have completed one interview but have been to Woodward three times and taken a lot of notes.

The community I was thinking about observing was the residents of Woodward hall. Being primarily the honors dorm, I think it would be interesting to compare their behavior to those of Shea Durgin which has a reputation of being the more socially active dorm.

Blog 1

I really enjoyed Jon Stewart's commencement address. He knew exactly how to get his point across to a group of bored college graduates through humor and sarcasm, with enough serious points and real advice peppered in so you actually get something out of reading it. Jon says "College is something you complete. Life is something you experience." This quote resonated with me because although your time in college is valuable and irreplaceable, the amount of success you have afterwards can have very little to do with your grades and classes.  This is important to remember and I think, can link back in with the theme of identity because if you do not establish a solid foundation for your personality and interests then you can have a difficult time being happy with what you do in life, regardless of your GPA in school. I think more commencement speeches should follow Jon Stewart's example because his words were much more engaging when they were real and truthful instead of the common dry congratulations many people give.

Digital Collage Ideas

On my digital collage, a few things that I would display to represent my identity are pictures of my family and friends, my favorite books, my favorite movies, my favorite tv shows, colors, animals, and sports teams. All of these things can give you an insight into someones personality because what you associate yourself with largely has to do with your identity.