My University

  Class without Preston was quite... (to be quite honest, the first word that comes to mind is "liberating" but that connotes a prison-like environment when he's here) relaxing. It was very laid-back and easy, although I did feel a sense of missing instruction or didacticism. Preston always has a way of teaching the class something new without trying. But I enjoyed the simple day nonetheless by leisurely writing in my journal and chatting amongst friends. The journal prompt proved slightly more challenging to answer as I had never thought of language that way. But it was interesting.
  I sat in a group with Imanie and Melissa, and we discussed summer plans and trips. We all have very busy summers ahead of us, all of which include going out of the country. We talked about plans, itineraries, the financial struggles of course, and just the overall fun and enjoyment of our trips abroad. We also talked about birthdays and births, pregnancy. Really random stuff. I completed my response to the journal prompt with a few minutes to spare at the end of class. So today was a very easy day.

Tristia and Beowulf- Book Notes pg. 31- 60

Tristia- Book 10

• Been in Pontus [present-day Turkey] for 3 years having been exiled ("Danube [river] has has frozen thrice over"); away from his country long enough for Troy to be attacked by Grecian Army
• Time passes too slowly; seems like Mother Nature is trying to make time feel long and dragged out
• Native Scythians live terribly, w/plundering men, everything is dangerous, scarcely defended city; everyone always wary & watchful
• Barbarians took over half the houses
• Tristia is the foreigner, forced to use hand gestures to communicate; made fun of for speaking Latin

Beowulf

• A powerful monster living in darkness and pain, growling at the happiness above him
• Conceived by a pair of monsters born of Cain, exiled and split into all evil
• Sneaked into the room at night, snatched 30 men, smashed them & ran w/ their bodies; those that escaped were those who fled

From Legend to History- Book notes pg. 4-14

My Opinion Isn't (A) Right

I thought the discussion in class had some really... eye-opening points or topics that needed to be addressed. I think that Noah had a fine point in bringing up the pursuit to happiness, that if he wanted to do heroine and become a prostitute, he should be able do so to because it's his body. And I certainly agree; if someone wants to damage his body by doing drugs, then by all means, let him self implode. That's his decision and his doing. The only problem comes when he becomes a danger to others. I also have a problem with drug users when they rush into the hospital with drug problems and can't cover the medical costs, so average citizens like my parents have to pay for them with taxes. It's like we're paying for this guy to do drugs. This will sound harsh, but just let the guy go, let him ruin himself and die if he accidentally does so. He knows what he's doing; he's made his choice. It's his fault for doing that to himself.
But this is getting way off topic. Getting back to the right to our opinion (or lack there of), I agree that just saying, "I have the right to my opinion" is just a person's last shot to fire, his last line because he has no other defense. He's just saying that to shut down the argument, to make up for the fact that he has no other come back, no other evidence to support his opinion.
But on the other hand, an opinion is just a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. So why can't everyone have their own opinion? their own judgment? That's one of our rights as human beings. Now some countries can and cannot allow their citizens to express their judgment out loud, but people have them nonetheless, in their minds. So doesn't that let me have a right to my own opinion? If you say that I can't because I have to back it up with knowledge or evidence, I can say that I don't need to because opinions don't need evidence to support them. It's just an opinion, not some crazy fact I made up that I'm trying to make everyone believe. My opinion is my own perspective, stance, viewpoint, whatever you want to call it. But it's still mine, and I can think what I want to think. I don't need facts to support what I'm thinking, what my opinion is. "I think yellow is the best color." That's my opinion. Evidence? "It's a bright, happy color that is reminiscent of nice things like flowers and the sun." But that's still my opinion. A lot of people probably don't think that 1) yellow is a happy color, 2) that flowers and the sun are nice things. So even the evidence, it seems like, is just your opinion too. Your opinions support your opinion. Because opinions aren't based or supported by facts or actual knowledge. Why do you think they're called opinions?
I think that it's acceptable to say "I have the right to my own opinion" after you try to show your point, make your case. But if the person retaliates and shuts you down saying "No, that's wrong", then there's no point arguing because that person's close-minded and isn't open to what you're saying, because that person saying that my opinion is wrong is his opinion. He can't prove that my judgment not based on fact is wrong because there are no facts to check. So we both have opinions; he's just less open to mine than I am to his.

Vocabulary #1

Vocabulary list #1

Reflections on Week 1

1. I don't think internet access will inhibit my learning experience. I have enough self control to stay off my phone, and the class is interesting enough to keep me engaged. But I do think that the large number of students will make learning and expressing thoughts slightly difficult. Since so many of us have our own opinions and perspectives (and some more than others, the opportunists I guess, express them more often), being able to give your two cents might be a bit tough. 
2. I think my best learning experience wasn't necessarily a typical "learn from the book" type of class. I consider my best learning experience to be the painting class I took as a junior with Dr. Del Rio. I learned how to express myself through my art, to paint my feelings and let them speak for themselves. And while I was in a typical classroom setting, I still felt free to do whatever I wanted, to paint whatever came to mind, whatever gave me inspiration. My friend Taylor Wall sat next to me, which was nice because otherwise I would've had no friends in that class. That class taught me how to think freely and unfettered. I realized what was happening when I almost always disregarded an assignment from Del Rio for something else I wanted to do instead, which she encouraged; I realized that I can do whatever makes me happy, to not take orders from anybody, to not be restricted. Let my mind flow creatively.
3. I am most excited about perhaps learning a completely new method or concept. I want my mind to be blown away. And while those standards are high, I think they'll be met. Honestly, I think I have a very short-sighted perspective, not fully seeing the opportunities that are out there for me to grab. And I think this class will help me see, find, and take them, and help me realize my potential. 

Stream of Consciousness or Prim & Proper

Sometimes when a person tells a story, he goes to fast, tripping over his words because there are so many thoughts in his head that he can't get them straight. Too many thoughts are jumbled in the mind, all rushing to get out. Stream of consciousness works that way. All the thoughts need to be written down as fast as they can so that the mind doesn't lose them. And yet all these jumbled thoughts only give a glimpse into the mind. Like David Foster Wallace said in his story "Good Old Neon," what goes on inside the brain is too fast and big to do more than sketch the basics of what happens in a single instance. The essays that Michel Montaigne wrote about various subjects follow that format: a slew of thoughts written down so fast, only giving a small window into the mind of Montaigne. And yet Pride and Prejudice author Jane Austen is able to properly and concisely write her books, methodically come up with the right words to use, putting them in an orderly way. While Montaigne writes in more of a "stream of consciousness" fashion, Austen writes with more planning and forethought, making sure everything is exactly the way it needs to be.

Senior Resume

Alyssa Oh

Address*

Santa Maria CA, 93455

Phone number*

Email*

Objective:

I plan to move ahead with my education to pursue a degree in environmental science and conservation. 

Academic Status:

GPA: 4.4                                                                                                                   Class rank: 12/514

Student Activities: 

• Interact Club (2011- present)
• Project Humanity (2013- present) 
• Special Olympics (2013- present)
• Track & Field (varsity 2011- present)
• Soccer (junior varsity 2012- 2013)
• CSF

Community Activities: 

• Interact Club- served food at the homeless shelter
• Project Humanity- helped set up for the Christmas parade, served food at homeless shelter
• Special Olympics- assisted tennis coach, helped set up for Regional and State Olympics
• Santa Barbara City College (summer 2012)- handed out lunches to underprivileged kids, aided in set up of Relay for Life

Special Awards: 

• Honor roll (every semester 2011- present)
• Scholar athlete (every spring (2011- present)
• Academic letter (every spring (2011- present)
• Varsity letter (track & field, sophomore year)
• Recipient of Renaissance 4.0 and above (2011- present)
• Perfect score on math and English California Exit Exam

1987 AP Exam

1. C

2.      E --- A
3.      C
4.      C --- E
5.      D
6.      D
7.      A --- E
8.      B
9.      A ---E
10.  B --- C
11.  D
12.  A --- A
13.  B
14.  D --- C
15.  A

A World with No Choices

  Today I saw the movie The Giver with my friend Caitlin. It was a good movie, even greater book. To give a brief summary, The Giver is about a boy named Jonas living in a world where everything is under control; there is no war or pain or fear, everything is the same. But it got me thinking: what is a world without choices? How do we live in a world that is all the same? Is true, complete happiness and love worth giving up if war and starvation and suffering are gone too?
   In the book, there are no hills, no colors, no weather, no uniqueness. In return, there is no agony, no fighting, no jealousy, discomfort, etc. The chief of the community that Jonas lives in says, "When people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong." But we still have the right to choose, even if it is completely wrong. Who gets to be powerful enough to make the final decision that gets rid of music, race, holidays, discrimination, pleasure? Who gets to say that there will be no more freedom, even if it is in return for perfection?
   While there is no pain and war (and no memory that the citizens have of it), there is still no individualism, praise, love, beauty. Is it really worth it to get rid of pain and war for the price of all that? The butterflies you get when you see your crush walking down the halls, the euphoria new parents experience when their child is born, the exhilaration of riding down the hill on a sled. All these positive feelings are lost, not experienced. And that's a shame. The amount of hurt in this world is balanced out, if not overpowered, by the camaraderie, love, beautiful emotion. Isn't it worth it to feel true happiness? To feel... real feelings?
   All the bad emotions and feelings (jealousy, fear, anxiety, hatred) are a part of life. Suffering comes with being born. Who gets to say what the breaking point is when the world needs to be rid of all that? What is life without color (my favorite is yellow, by the way), options, creativity, expression of self? That is not life; that is not living. Sameness is a despicable way to be. The hurt we put on the world and the people around us is forgiven by the kindness, understanding, erasure of racial boundaries, pleasure, love. We have the right to make our own choice- really, we do. If we choose wrong, to put it simply (and less eloquently), that sucks. And we suffer the consequences. But we learn, and that just comes with humans being able to make their own decisions. If we choose right, then that is wonderful and beneficial to every one us.
   We should be able to to live our free, happy lives, full of choices. One where we can express ourselves- whether it be through art, music, religion, writing, etc. I don't think there should ever come a time when everything turns to sameness. True pleasures of life are not worth getting rid of for lack of war, starvation, discrimination. Then it's not life; you're not really living. You're merely existing. Religion, family, friendship, love. Those are what make life worth living, what make all the bad stuff worth it.

The Bond Between Siblings

  According to Brandy Zadrozny from "The Daily Beast" news website, around 18% of married women only have one child. And from my perspective of having two (older) siblings, I feel... not necessarily bad, but I wish these only children know what it's like to have siblings because it's a great thing. When you have siblings (whether older or younger), you have someone to play, someone to annoy (whether you're older or younger), and someone to love and share a special connection with. The bond between siblings is indescribable. They connect on a level so much deeper than even the best of friends have. Siblings grow up together, know each other's secrets, share inside jokes, and always have each other's back.

Poetry #1

1. The commercial borrows the poem from Charles Bukowski, called "The Laughing Heart".
2. The use of the poem might be considered ironic because it says "don't let [your life] be clubbed into dank submission. Be on the watch." And yet that's exactly what the commercial is trying to do to the viewer, trying to convince the audience to by the product. 
3. After reading the summaries of a few of Bukowski's novels, I've come to the conclusion that "The Laughing Heart does reflect his reputation. Bukowski's books are about his alter ego Henry Chinaski living life with no forethought, no set plans for the future, and thus suffering for his slacking off. "The Laughing Heart" is about living life to the fullest, with no compliance to anyone or anything.  
4. I found the answer to question #1 by Googling "Levi's Go Forth Poem", and the actual poem and author came up as a result. I found the answer to #3 by researching some of Bukowski's books and reading a short summary on each of them. I linked a common theme throughout all of them, and upon rereading "The Laughing Heart", I discovered that it too had relatively the same theme. 

Essay #1

All humans have a tendency to become accustomed to routine; it's just human nature. Adjusting to being ripped out of the norm is a tough process, one that is not always received with warm welcomes. Some have a better time than others at the adjusting process. Leah Price is a fourteen year-old tomboy from Georgia who worships her father, Nathan Price, and blindly follows his faith. She has grown accustomed the posh (compared to African) lifestyle, like all Americans do. And when she and her family are forced to move to Africa for Nathan's mission trips, she does not make a smooth transition.