Would You Rather

Link to Comedy Sketch

   In a comedy sketch produced by Studio C, actors portray a group of young people who are participating in a campout. The sketch begins with two young men sneaking up to what they presume is a tent belonging to a group of girls. The intent of the young men is to scare the girls, but before achieving this goal, the young men are caught listening in on a game of Would You Rather. Throughout the game some negative things are said about the two young men and at the end of the video, they leave with their feelings bruised a bit.

   One thing that I took away from this video was how we can compare the tent in the video to a computer screen. Both are thin fabrications that have the ability to conceal people. It is easy to say hurtful things when hiding behind a screen and not face to face with the person you are talking about. This video portrayed how many people treat social media. The people inside the tent knew that their words could easily be heard, but they continued to say hurtful things. Often times, people write hurtful things on social media sites knowing that the person they are hurting could easily read their words.

  Today, it is common to have experienced cyber-bullying. Having experienced some cyber-bullying myself, I try to be conscious of what I choose to write on social media sites for the world to see. I want to be aware of what I’m saying and how it could affect others. I don’t want to take advantage of the screen that hides me and gives me the freedom to choose whether my words will hurt or help.  

Haggis

When I was younger one of my favorite books series to read was the Little House on the Prairie series. The Little House books are extensive and include books devoted to Martha Morse, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s great-grandmother who grew up in Scotland. The stories are interwoven with bits of Scottish culture and one piece of Scottish culture that always stood out to me was the traditional haggis that was eaten.        

            Haggis as described by Wikipedia is “a savory pudding containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt. Traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach and simmered for three hours.” Gross. However, when I learned that I would be visiting Scotland for a few days last summer, I knew that I couldn’t let the opportunity to try Haggis pass me by.

Upon arriving in Scotland, our first meal was eaten at a local pub. I had talked my friend, Laura, into trying haggis with me so we were thrilled when we saw haggis on the menu. We ordered a side of haggis and upon its arrival, we simultaneously took a bite. What was the verdict? Honestly, kind of tasty. I would not choose to eat haggis on a regular basis, mostly due to its unusual texture. The haggis was mushy and a bit chewy. The texture was unlike any I’ve ever experienced. But the flavor itself was impressively good considering the ingredients. 

For The Love Of Words

“From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines.”  This quote by Walt Whitman is prominently displayed on a wall at the local coffee shop, and I've loved those words since the first time I read them. There are multiple reasons I chose English for New Media as my major, the first being my love for words. I love words. One of my favorite pastimes is to sit down with a journal and write. Watching as handwritten words slowly fill up a blank page makes me incredibly happy.

            Another reason that I chose English for New Media as my major is my love for literature. The first book that I ever read was Go, Dog. Go! and I have been an avid reader ever since. Reading is like a treasure hunt to find ideas and thoughts that other writers have put down in words. Not all ideas and thoughts expressed by other writers strike me as groundbreaking, but occasionally I come across something that completely makes sense to me, and I feel like I've made a connection with someone that I've never met. I also love the challenge of discovering an idea or thought that doesn't immediately make sense to me. Taking that idea and making an effort to try to figure out what the author meant by their words and what their words mean to me. 

"From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines." -Walt Whitman

Morality

In the essay, “The Good Enough Life” by Frank Bures the balance between right and wrong is brought into question. The essay begins with a quotation, “Aspire to high principles. Just don’t go overboard.” The author continues by telling of one of his first college courses that was structured around the life of Gandhi. Bures found himself quickly thrown into a lifestyle where he tried his hardest to model himself after Gandhi. After it was brought to his attention that he may be going overboard with the lifestyle change, he was faced with questions of ethics and trying to decide what is right and wrong. Bures quotes author Arthur Kleinman, “Ethics is frequently taught as black and white, but the world we live in is always gray.” I find this to be interesting and accurate. We’re taught what is right and wrong in black and white terms, but the world we live in does not function in a black and white way.

Bures mentions the “classical ethical dilemma” of “is it better to steal food to feed your family, or to let your family starve?” Most people would agree that it is wrong to steal, but when you add a starving family to that equation, things become gray. Jean Valjean from Les Miserables steals a loaf of bread for his starving family and spends his whole life running from the consequences of that choice. I feel like this essay concludes that ethics of right and wrong are wrapped up in our own definition of what we consider to be right and wrong based on the circumstances. There is no black and white answer to what is right and wrong. 

Link to essay: The Good Enough Life

Musical Stress Reliever

Music has been used for thousands of years as a means of expression and the influence that music often has on those who come in contact with it can be significant. Listening to prerecorded music can be useful in helping to reduce stress levels but nothing beats being able to sit down with an instrument to create your own music. One of my biggest passions is the art of performing music. I began piano lessons when I was four years old, and continued taking lessons until I graduated from high school. I am most decidedly not the greatest musician, but I have found that there are few things more enjoyable than just sitting down with an instrument and giving it everything.

            Over the years I have dabbled in a few other instruments including flute, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar. I say from experience that just because a person is physically able to play an instrument, does not mean that they were meant to play it. During the few years that I took acoustic and electric guitar lessons, I never enjoyed it and because of this I had doubts when I was asked to learn bass guitar in order to play in the worship band at my church. Despite my doubts, I learned how to play bass and discovered that I loved it. The ability to play music on an instrument is important to me because I found that it is one of the most effective ways to release stress. There are countless days that I come home from a particularly stressful class, and sitting at the piano reduces the stress.

My Piano