Technology

What has this generation come down to? Honestly speaking, this young generation obsessed with iPhones, iPads, their computers, their phones, game systems, etc., is turning into a group of robots. Although it is hard to fathom, the Internet itself was raw, unpeeled, undiscovered about 10 years ago. It was a luxury that made it so unattainable and desired. Now? Having access to the Internet is not something that is astonishing as it has become to be a necessity in life. That's all fine and dandy to me, the Internet is a great advancement for our world and our society. The Internet has made life easier for the majority of us who are in sync with what is happening with the technology these days.

Now to the matter of the use of electronic devices. The time that we spend on them bother me just a little. Why? These devices are good for talking to people who are not next to you, researching, etc. However, that's the real issue with these devices. These electronic devices are taking away our human qualities of speaking, interacting, and using our body language to express what we mean. Now that we can talk to each other online, it has allowed some people to rely on the fact that they can "express themselves" on the computer and not in person thus allowing them to say things that they usually wouldn't in the real world. Cyber bullying is one of the extreme cases of this. Some of the mean, hurtful things that you wouldn't say to the person face to face, you have the opportunity to do so online. The question is, why do we choose the electronic route to hurt each other? The answer is simple: we cannot see the other person's true facial, body reaction to the criticism and cutting words. All we see is the black and white letters on the screen that rarely mean anything to us on a deeper level rather than pixels coordinated to show words and paragraphs.

Next, a detrimental factor of electronic devices is the fact that they are portable with information in them that we have access to at a mere touch of our fingers. This leisure allows people to believe that they don't have to think for themselves as the machine will think for them. Therefore, after learning something new, we tend to forget. Why? The device can easily find it for us again whenever we want to know again. This is causing problems worldwide. For instance, recently, studies have shown that children's capability to think for themselves and generate their own imagination is decreasing as the machine does all of this for them at a mere, short command.

This essay/article is not trying to put down the technological advances that our great world is experiencing, I am merely saying that the way we use these luxuries should be moderated. "Everything is good in moderation." Humans must still interact with each other and think for themselves, this is what separates us from the robotic machine sitting in front of you.

Family Relationships

Family. That one word connotates so many different things, emotions, people, etc. to each person who hears the word. "Family"'s connotation depends on our experiences with our individual family members. The constant, almost traditional, relationship between parents and children is one that is full of bickering and disagreements about desires coming from each side.

Parents - Parents are the children's guardian, therefore, they are the children's shield from mistakes that are easily made. However, some children do not see this; they do not see the fact that their parents are trying to shield them from the mistakes that they had once made during their childhood. If the offspring merely ignores the wishes of the parents, then the children are basically forcing their parents to watch them go down the same awful road that could resurface tragic memories from the parent(s)'s past(s). However, there is also the matter of projection. What is projection? Projection is when parents decide to live their life through their children. Why? There are many reasons behind projection, one of them being the fact that the parents may not have had the means to live the way they wanted, their parents may not have had the money or the willingness for their children to follow their dreams. However, what several parents do not see is that they are forcing their children to go down the same road that led them to projection when they project upon their children. The children of the most current generation see the world in their own eyes and they see opportunities in themselves that others cannot.

Children - Now as a female who is slowly maturing to the point where I am able to recognize my parents' wishes and the reasons behind them, I am still reluctant to follow some of their commands. Some of their commands seem to be very unreasonable to me. However, I try (emphasis on the word "try") to understand their reasoning behind what they tell me to do. They say what they do for the sake of my safety, my future, etc. Sometimes I feel like they don't love me, a ridiculous assumption on my part as they act the way they do BECAUSE they love me. I have a friend who thinks that her father does not know anything about the world right now because he is a man who lived "back in those days." Quite frankly, whenever I hear her say this, I feel that she is wrong. My acquaintance boldly states that her father will never understand the troubles that we are going through today as teenagers, but I am absolutely sure her father is aware of that and everything else. Offspring give their parents less recognition than they really deserve for their survival in the past. Is there a reason to this? (Well there is a reason to most everything, in my opinion.) As some of the readers are teenagers, I may be able to say that this inferior recognition is due to teenagers' rebellious stage of life when they feel that they know more than their parents. Therefore, recognizing that their parents are aware of the troubles would be, in a sense, going against their "superior" knowledge that they possess as teenagers.

"The Crucible" Analysis

I don't know if any of you have read the Crucible but if you have, I did a psychological (or at least tried) analysis of Abigail Williams, one of the main characters of the novel who decides to accuse others around her of witchcraft in court. She is such an interesting character that I chose to analyze her for one of my school's "choose your own project" project.

[To be honest, I have never taken a psychology course but I am veryyyy interested in this subject. It amazes and interests me when I begin to ponder on the wonders of the mind and human nature. Then I begin to combine that with modern events, books, daily crises, etc.! Makes my hair rise hehe. So please bear with me if I do not write the name of a specific disease or condition when I write some things but if you do have any knowledge to share with me, please do!!!! I would be happy to know. I am planning to read about psychology soon but have never found the time, but I will!]

Well to introduce you to the book/play if you have never read it: The setting is in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts centered around a teenage girl by the name of Abigail Williams who accuses many civilians in Salem of witchcraft, especially one woman who she especially dislikes, Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of John Proctor. There is a bit of a history between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, if you were not aware. They had an alleged relationship, an affair. Now mind you, this society that they all lived in was strictly Puritan. Imagine the shame that would have been felt by Proctor if the society discovered that this good man was smitten with another woman besides his lovely, innocent wife! Therefore, Abigail and Proctor were forced to separate. The feelings that Abigail felt here would be only a part of the incentive for her revenge.

Abigail is a girl who is pent up with hurt, depression, and trauma. Her first major incentive for all of her current actions is the bloody, malicious murder of her parents that she was forced to witness. This event embedded a horrible trauma into her mind that caused her to feel numb. Abigail’s second incentive is the scar that Elizabeth left when she kicked Abigail out of her house in response to the affair that John and Abigail were having. Abigail felt abandoned at this and she was offended at the fact that Elizabeth had stolen her only source of comfort after her parents’ death, John Proctor. Her third incentive grew when she asked John Proctor to return to her again. He merely compared her to a mare while he called himself a horse. He said, “The promise that a stallion gives a mare I gave that girl!” (pg. 62) At this moment, Abigail felt abandonment once again. In addition, although it was not her parents’ fault for leaving Abigail alone, Abigail most likely felt abandoned and thus hurt that her parents left Abigail alone in the world. Lastly, Abigail was scarred greatly when her own uncle questioned the purity of her name in the society as purity of the name is very significant in a strictly Puritan society. Reverend Parris’s question implied that Abigail was not a girl worthy of living in his house. Furthermore, Abigail’s scars and hurt probably would not have been a great problem if she had the chance to confess her hurt and then have someone counsel her on her feelings. It is a fact that a person has to be able to verbalize their feelings and past, hurtful experiences in order for him/her to be psychologically healthy. This is emphasized among females especially as females are naturally gregarious creatures that depend on verbal topics such as issues in their own lives. Abigail was restricted of this chance because the voice of women was not encouraged in the Puritan society. Finally, when Abigail was given the opportunity to speak out loud and have people listen to her opinion when she became a witness at court, she took advantage of it. Abigail would not have taken advantage of her position if she had been listened to before. 

The Facade

Suffocating on the inside where no one can see.

Outside you're all smiles for everyone to perceive.

Every smile hurts for it is each fake,

the real one is gone, because he did take.

When I'm not smiling, people ask me what's wrong.

They wouldn't understand for very long.

When I talk, people don't listen and I succumb to silence.

This reaction is mere common sense.

When he looks at me, I pretend to laugh.

My fake happiness I must waft.

My friends cannot see my silence as deep contemplation.

They think of it as sadness that could fill an entire nation.

But truth be told, I am both upset and curious

of what could have set this situation to delirious.

My laughter and smiles are to hide all this.

I cannot have my feelings where people can sift.

At times I think that I am being foolish,

but at others I feel like walking around being ghoulish.

I see him laugh and interact,

and when I see this I wish his ignorance was all just an act.

Can he not see what I am thinking?

'I hope this is all worth it,' is what I am wishing.

How are we separated like heaven and land

when it seemed like fate had pushed us together like the sea and sand.

We were brothers, sisters, and best friends before.

What happened so that we are not each other's core?

I am foolish and dramatic and being whiny too,

but how can I ignore this smart fool?

People tell me to confront but it's harder than it sounds

for you do not know what will rebound.

As time slips away so does my chance to sew,

this would be so much easier if I were just to know.

Infatuation?

As teenagers, each human has had an infatuation with the opposite or same sex due to appearance, the comfort that s/he provides, and the pure need for someone closer than a friend.

"Crushes" are interesting concepts that I have not yet come close to grasping although I have had several crushes in my past. When I was younger, I did not know the definition of true love or even infatuation for that matter. Therefore, I would easily fall into and out of what I thought of as "love." That is one common reason behind elementary, middle school, and high school relationships: the ignorance to the true meaning. Weren't relationships reserved for those that we truly cared for? Not merely as friends, infatuations, family, but much more. Someone that we wished to dedicate the rest of our lives to.

Another reason crushes are very apparent and common are because many children and teenagers today are in need of a peer "counselor" to listen to their problems at home. Many households are unstable for reasons known only to those affiliated with the crisis at home. Offspring from this family household may seek comfort and guidance not from a responsible, wise adult, but a peer that s/he believes will understand him/her as they are the same age. When the hurt minor finally finds the person that she/he can dig out guidance and quality time from, it gradually turns into a crush thus replacing the harmful family with someone else. Also, there is the point where some may feel a mere obligation to love and care for their family. Therefore, finding a crush outside of the family is easier to dedicate time, love, and care to as that can be cut off as one desires as it is not an "obligation."

The cases in the 2 above paragraphs are merely my opinion; the last paragraph a bit strong and one-sided.

Lastly for today, another reason for crushes may be because the person who contains the crush in their heart is merely very cheerful and friendly so they are likable and s/he chooses to find the positives in others.

For someone that I am acquainted with, I have realized that she is not comfortable with crushes. She is comfortable with keeping an infatuation in mind but when the person reciprocates the feelings, it immediately becomes a hassle for her. I have heard that relationships with boys in a girl's life depends on her relationship with her father. It is quite probable that this uncomfortable feeling may originate from her relationship with her father. Maybe her father contained high expectations thus causing the girl to feel anxiety when a boy or anyone for that matter entrusted her with something or with a dream.

The human mind is quite complex, especially when it comes to the matters of love and feelings for another human being.

Reality

Teddy,
my comfort, my friend, my family.
Bear,
protection, pure warmth, my rock.
Ripped away from my pleading arms, my
bare
arms hanging limp by my meek self.
Pictures portray perseverance,
only with the help of my
teddy bear.
My teddy bear strolls to the trash and
plunges right in.
Motionless.

Handed a pen.
Thrown into reality faster than I can erase my past
mistakes.
No room for faults anymore.
Perfection.
Childhood drifted away as time
drifted
away.

Introduction to ourworldmindset :)

No one can deny that the world that we all inhabit is in an imperfect condition. Nobody besides people in government truly address the detrimental environment that our future generation and our current generation are living in. Even government officials and U.N. members may not be devoting their full time to issues at hand due to conflicting, opposition forces that have a strong, adamant say in the modern day issues. For example, as I quote one of my esteemed teachers, "The U.S. government cannot say anything drastically harming toward guns as the N.R.A. (National Rifle Association) would immediately cut off funds and their vital support."

I strongly dislike how society is strongly affiliated around influence in society. Although it has been like that from the beginning of politics and of society itself, I belief that society must be at the hands of everyone, especially the marginalized. It has almost become a custom that solely the strong are taken into account when they utter a mere word or opinion about a matter at hand. Meanwhile, the poor and the marginalized groups are shunned as the majority believes that they are ignorant and they cannot contribute anything useful and relevant to the matter. However, this is not the genuine scenario. Frankly, marginalized groups provide more than influential people and well-known people are able to. Why? They have experienced much difficulties. I am not implying that the well-known are not rags to riches cases themselves, but I am saying instead that these frequently ignored marginalized groups are currently experiencing hardships that would aid in solution-making for conflicts. Each group has a different say, opinion, and experience that they can integrate into the discussions and solutions.

My blog will try to address the conflicts that our world is experiencing today and the reasons behind them. I am aiming to become a psychologist and I have found a recent interest in modern events as I partake in a program at my school known as M.U.N. (Model United Nations). Anything that you, the reader, would like to say, please comment and I will try to integrate your opinions and information in my next couple of paragraphs.

There will be many situations in which I will use gross exaggerations to emphasize an effect but please remember that my gross exaggerations are not always true and that I may simply emphasize and make them pop out more to send my point across. What I write will range from issues at school, community, countries, nations, and the world to simple poems that express feelings and thoughts.

Thank you ^^