During the first ten minutes of class, write a summary of your reading of the Vision chapter from John Medina’s Brain Rules. Also, write about how important vision is to communication–from the side of the communicator as well as the audience. Before our next class, post a comment here based on your in-class notebook writing.
During class, you will spend the first ten minutes of class writing a summary of your reading from John Medina’s Brain Rules, “Sensory integration” chapter. Before our next class, remember to type up your response and add it as a comment to this blog post.
Use the first ten minutes of class to write a summary of your reading from the Stress chapter in John Medina’s Brain Rules. Also, write about what causes you stress, and how you deal with stress.
Introduction
In this project, I had the time to think about how my thoughts would effect me in my future success. I noticed that most of my thoughts were either about fitness, homework, food, sleep, and work. After I finished this project, I learned more about myself and how the things I do will eventually affect my future.
Thinking in Writing
7:00am – Ugh I’m so tired, I don’t want to go to lab.
7:30am – I’m so hungry…YES ! I got lucky charms
8:00am – OMG I’M GOING TO BE LATE FOR CLASS !
8:30am – Yay made it just in time for class.
11:00am – Finally done for the day.
11:30am – How much homework do I have? Let me check on Blackboard.
12:00pm – No more homework. Time for gym !
2:30pm – Yuck I’m so sweaty it’s so nasty. Ugh I need to shower ASAP.
3:30pm- Time to nap before work.
5:30pm – Ohno ! I have to get ready for work
6:00pm – Work time SO excited…not
12:30am – OMG finally done with work, I’m so tired.
Thinking Visually
These are puddings inside cute jars from my workplace Pomme Les. They’re very yummy !
These are Brand New Nike Freeruns 4.0 that I got for the gym.
This is the location of my gym membership, Blink Noho.
These are all the notes, homework, and class notes that I had to use to study for my Biology Exam #1.
Thinking Rhetorically and Reflectively
Have you ever stopped and wondered about how your thoughts in one day can affect your future personal, academic, and professional life? Well, they can. My name is Mei Na Chen and for the past few days, I have been working on a project called, “Project 1: Writing the Brain.” The main purpose for this project is to find a unity of thought or one approach and write about it. However, there are multiple steps you have to take in order to complete this project. The first step is to keep track of your thoughts for one day; when you wake up to when you go to sleep. You have to jot down your thoughts for every half an hour. The second step is to take pictures of things that represent your day of thought and then decide which three are your most meaningful ones. And finally, the last step is to combine everything you have done and write an essay explaining how your day of thoughts and pictures represent you. And yes, I am on the last step, writing my essay. In my essay, I am going to explain how pictures of school work, Blink Fitness, and Pomme Les will affect my future personal, academic, and professional life. I argue that my current thoughts are focused on important things that will eventually lead to my future success in my personal, academic, and professional life.
I argue that my current thoughts are focused on important things like school work, which will eventually lead to my future success in my academic life. Throughout the years of education that I’ve had; starting from Pre-Kindergarten to High School I’ve learned a lot about doing work in school and out of school. I’ve learned that if you don’t do work or study, you wouldn’t be able to learn anything compared to the other kids who actually study and does work. For example, in my freshman year of high school, I thought that I didn’t need to study for my tests and guess what happened…I failed them. After learning how failing your tests affects your grade, I started to study and do work in and out of school. I learned my lesson after my GPA dropped. I also get reminded every single day that doing good in school will give you a better future by my parents. Due to the fact that they immigrated here from China, they want whats best for me, and that is for me to get good grades in school which will lead to a good job and a better future. They always remind me to do my work and not go partying. It gets kind of annoying sometimes but I know its for the success of my future. As you can see in my thoughts of the day, I started thinking about school work and any projects or tests I have to do. That is because I have this thing where I am more focused in the morning when I wake up than in the afternoon or night time when you’re supposed to do homework. In my opinion, I think that it is better to finish work earlier than later because I tend to forget things I have to finish sometimes. I also get distracted easily by things like television. Anyways, I think that focusing more on school work right now will benefit my future because if I do good and get a high GPA, then I will eventually get a good job that pays well. This also means that I have to take care of my health in order to focus more on school.
I also argue that my current thoughts are focused on important things like Blink Fitness, which will eventually lead to my future success in my personal life. Even though school work is important, I also think that making sure that you are healthy also plays a huge role in your future success. If you’re not focused while at school, what is the point of even going to school? Being able to concentrate and focus on your work helps you because you are able to actually learn something. You wouldn’t be able to learn anything if you are tired and fall asleep during class or get distracted easily. That is why I work out at a gym called, “Blink Fitness Gym.” I think that this place helps me better my concentration because exercising helps wake you up and that is actually true. I used to nap everyday after I get home from school up until it’s time for dinner, but that stopped when I joined Blink Fitness. I go there everyday in the afternoon and exercise for at least 2 hours and then go home. My mind is more focused and ready to work the next day which is a good thing because I usually fall asleep in class when it gets boring. Anyways, Blink Fitness will benefit to y future success because if I am healthy, I can do anything good and not get lazy. Health is a huge part of success.
Finally, I argue that my current thoughts are focused on important things like Pomme Les, which will eventually lead to my success in my professional life. I think this because work is work. I think that it is better to gain more experience when you are young because in the future, you might need these experiences to help you get hired. You will meet new people everywhere in your workplace, which will then build your connections. The more connections you have, the easier it is to find a job. And the more connections you have, you will also have a lot of useful references which are needed in most job interviews because they want to know what type or kind of person you are. It is better to make a good first impression because then they will most likely hire you and it is important you give them good references, people who you are close to and people who know you more than you know yourself. That is because if you give them a reference who you just met and they say something wrong, then that would affect the result of if you get hired or not. In my opinion, I think that I’ve had a lot of experience throughout my high school years. I think that it is because I needed money to buy lunch and hang out with my friends so I started to tell myself I had to work because I didn’t want to depend on my parents to give me money. I feel bad every time I spend their money because they both worked hard for it. I’ve tutored in afterschool programs, worked in doctor offices, workforces, and some dessert places. Right now I am tutoring and working at a dessert place. Anyways, I think that work right now will eventually benefit my future success in my professional life because I am gaining more and more experience every time I work which is a good thing because my experiences are helpful to me.
Although school work, Blink Fitness, and Pomme Les all are a huge part of my future success, there are other things that benefit my future success. For example, my family. Without them, I wouldn’t have become who I am today, and without them telling me what is wrong and what is right, I would’ve ended up somewhere else. I’ve grown to learn about important things like what to do and what not to do because of them. Because they are much older than me, they have more experience so I tend to listen to them more often. I have faith and confidence in myself for my future success. I think that I am going on the right path; the path that will lead me to the future that I deserve.
After spending ten minutes writing a summary of your reading from John Medina’s Brain Rules, “Sleep” chapter, type up your in-class response and post it here before our next class. Remember to revise your writing for clarity and correctness when you type from your handwritten summary.
Introduction
With this project I have been given the chance to explain my thoughts for a day. By the end of the day i had realized that all of my thoughts were in a sense related. i have included pictures to explain what i had been thinking. I also explain why my thoughts were similar and how they affect me daily and how they affect my brain consciously and subconsciously.
Thinking in writing
Thursday October, 2
Thought 1: thinking of playing video games with friends
Thought 2: While playing i realize the art of the characters
Thought 3: Watching a show while getting the urge to draw the characters
Thought 5: Starting to think about school the next day
Thought 6:Decide to draw all the characters while at school tomorrow
Thinking Visually
My Godzilla Collection Including Characters I Like To Draw
My Drawing of Kakyoin and Hierophant Green From JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures (W.I.P)
Tribal Style Art I Drew
Thinking Rhetorically and Reflectively
My Mind
The human mind, the center of all our thoughts. The hub for all our ideas and emotions. Some people believe that they fully understand their mind and its functions but, how could this be? Every second of everyday our minds are racing with thoughts. Now while some may be obvious as to why they appear others are not so simple. Some thoughts seem to come out of nowhere. We also don’t realize many of the things that we don’t pay a lot of attention to are actually entering our minds and being processed by our subconscious. I was asked by my professor to write down some thoughts throughout the day and try to understand why some of these thoughts had occurred and what they potentially mean.
I then decided to pick a day where every few hours i would note what I was thinking at the moment. I chose a day in which i had no school due to the fact that these days are the days i have my most vivid and rapid thoughts because i wasn’t focused on the work in front of me. I went about my daily routine, eating, playing games, watching videos, talking to friends, and watching television. As stated every couple hours I wrote what i was thinking. Personally i tend to think about what i am doing at the moment and things that relate to it. So as i wrote what i thought about there was exactly that, a series of thought pertaining to what i had done during the day. Although this may seem normal there was a pattern in my thoughts.
Not only did I write what i did but i realized, wow, most of these thoughts included drawing. I had thought about drawing characters from video games, the shows i watched, and even the friends i was talking to at those moments. This is understandable because ever since i was little I loved drawing and anything artistic. This includes scenery, props, and characters.
The next day i went to class and found myself drawing. I had the urge to draw what i had seen the day before, the same stuff in my thoughts prior to that day. I didn’t think too much about it because it felt normal and natural for me like part of my daily routine. Class had ended and i had an hour and a half before my next and final class. During this time i played video games on my Nintendo 3DS. Again i found myself wanting to draw the characters in the game I was playing. The game was Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance. I wanted to draw the characters, the weapons they used, and the monsters they fought.
It was then time to get to my next class, English. In class we discussed our project which is this essay i am writing right now, The one you are currently reading. The professor then proceeded to go around the room and help those who were unsure what to do and answer their questions. I decided it may be a good idea to tell him that my thoughts were like this. He explained that he noticed how often i draw in class and asked if it was a way that helped me retain information. That’s when it hit me. Throughout the years of my schooling i had always started to draw when the teacher was talking.
This may sound strange but as i thought about it i realized that doing this helped me obtain information better than directly focusing on the teacher. The reason is because when i directly focus on the teacher and the work at hand i tend to get overwhelmed and get easily bored and frustrated. When i draw during class i get into a relaxed state and feel good. I don’t feel as if as large weight is on my shoulder and i can take in information without the stress. I have always done this and even though on the outside it may seem like i’m not paying attention, I actually am and better than normal. My subconcious retains all of the information while my regular conscious notes key words or phrases which i will then write down before drawing again.
I have always been very intelligent and one of the smartest out of my friends even when it seems like i do the least amount of work or paying attention. The fact was that drawing became my outlet for learning. Even when taking those learning style tests i was always a visual and kinesthetic learner. I now know that in order to do my best i actually have to do some drawing during class in order to obtain the most information.
It’s incredible how the human mind works how simple things we think about can relate to our everyday lives. If something like drawing could affect how an individual learns imagine what other things would help. The mind is such a complex thing. We have thousands of thoughts a day, some we may not even realize due to the fact that our subconscious picks up on things we may not even notice. This is why many people belive in subliminal messages within cartoons. Most of the time the “messages” are negitive and promote violence and things of an adult nature, but what if we use them for good?
Understandably everyone is different and may not be easily affected by these “messages” but what about people like me? People whose subconscious actually has an impact on their learning and daily life including their behavior. We have seen it before besides my case. Many people listen to music while studying and they may not even realize it but its helping them. They are learning more because they enjoy the music and it puts them in calm state of mind. If you were to learn in conditions that suit you, for example calm music and a quiet setting, it will bring you happiness, give you motivation, and a feeling of euphoria. Almost like Feng Shui or creating balance in a room that involves color, objects and light in order to calm the mind and ease the eye.
Though one may not realize it but the way a room is set up can greatly affect your thought process and state of mind. So many people should try to see what helps them. They should try to learn why they think the way they do during the day and see if it goes beyond just a thought. See if it has affected their daily routine and way of life. Once a person realizes it they will achieve more in life and become smarter.
Work Cited
DeMarco. Daniel, dandema96, “Tribal Style Art”, Flickr, 2 October,2014, 18 October,2014
DeMarco.Daniel, dandema96, “Godzilla Collection” Flickr 2 October,2014. 18 October, 2014
DeMarco.Daniel, dandema96, “WIP Drawing of Kakyoin and Hierophant Green from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders by me” Flickr 2 October,2014. 18 October, 2014
Introduction
In this project I have been able to take time and reflect on what I really think about during my every day. I was able to realize by taking pictures also writing what I actually think during the day this project seem more like an experiment. This project opened my eyes and forced me to think about me and my future.
Thinking in writing
Tuesday September 23, 2014
– Going to sleep now good night need to wake up early tomorrow early class
Thining Visually
“A Good Day To Think”
“Car Goals For The Future”
“Money On My Mind”
Thinking Rhetorically and Reflectively
College the first step to the real world sounds intimidating but if you have a gist of who you want to be in the future college is more like an obstacle you need to get pass. My name is Christopher Peralta but I rather be called Chris I am Dominican and live in a Dominican house hold. I am a freshman in college and I am 18 year old. I live in Bronx New York not one of the best neighborhoods but also not the worst. My motivation is to get my family out of here and move somewhere a whole lot better. The way I think is somehow unique because not only do I have an idea on who I want to be in life I also know the steps become that person. People might question that the way they think holds them back from moving on in life but my current thinking implements me to focus on the things that will enable my future success.
For an assignment our professor asked us to take pictures of something that represents our major or what we want to be in the future, the first idea I thought of was Wall Street because business is my major what other place is better than Wall Street. I had so many ideas so much famous business men I thought of right away. My mind is focus on what I need to do to become a business men someone like warren buffet or Donald trump. My current thinking implements me to focus on the things that will enable my future success because I have something you call tunnel vision and all I think about is money and making it and that’s why the picture assignment was a good example because I was so quick to think of places, people, and things that relate to business.
One picture that really stood out to me was the picture I took of Wall Street. It’s interesting because when I showed some of my peers they knew right away what my major/future was. At first that surprised me a lot because they knew instantly the message I was trying to portray but then I thought about it and said to myself like no I shouldn’t be surprised the picture was clear in the message I was trying to deliver. That let me to believe that my initial thinking is set out for me to succeed in my future.
My daily thoughts throughout a normal day varies, the reason I say that is because I wrote down some of my thoughts on a Friday and also wrote some of my thoughts on a Tuesday and they were completely different. It’s different because it depends on what you are doing that day and what is your mind focused on that day. For example on the Friday thoughts one of them was “should I get a haircut for tonight” and clearly my mind was set on that party I was going to later that night. On the Tuesday thoughts I was thinking of my books that I still need to buy and it was obvious that my mind was set on school. It’s strange that you don’t think about the same things everyday but there is some specific things that run past my mind more than once in different days and that constant reminder is what I lead the believe is my motivational factor. That’s why my current thinking implements me to focus on the things that will enable my future success.
My mindset right now in the short term is to go to college have fun and stay focused on the bigger picture. What I mean by that is don’t get too ahead of myself because you only take it one day at time. A quote from my daily thoughts was tomorrow “I have English I need to read this book”. This quote represents how my thinking if focused on the short term goal which is to read a book for my English class so I can be involved with the lesson. This is another example on how my thinking is focused on my future because even though it was a thought for my class the next morning it shows where my priority is which is school and school is a pathway or my future.
Some people may argue that some of my thoughts have nothing to do with my future. For example in one of my thoughts of the day I said “I need to help my mother with the groceries” or with the thought of “playing xbox”. Some of the quotes has nothing to do with my future or maybe it do but doesn’t benefit me but I am human and some random thoughts are going to occur. These thoughts are really more for personally issues or comfort and thoughts like these can hold you back from progressing like me wanting to play xbox instead of studying for a midterm. There also thoughts that you have to think about because they are obligations. Me thinking about helping my mother is more of an obligation than personal comfort. I would not blame society if they feel that I don’t always think about my future because I don’t always think about it.
Society is our worst judgment they always want to label a person or even tell them what they are and aren’t. What society doesn’t know is what goes on in our mind and that’s really important. Its important for the simple fact that they can’t tell you what to think about, they could persuade you to think a certain way but can’t sense what you’re actually thinking. My thinking does enable me to succeed because even though some of my thinking isn’t always about my future most of it is. Also its key to realize that it’s not always what you think it’s what you actually do and the important thing is most of the time the smart thinking I do I actually display it physically. As far as thinking it’s pretty clear that my current thinking implements me to focus on the things that will enable my future success.
Work Cited List
In conclusion, I can’t say that I am perfect because no one is but I always try to maintain my mind in the right mind set which is my future. This project has made me realize that I still need to improve on my focus but for the most part my vision for the future in my eyes is bright. Sometimes you don’t pay attention to what you think but there are thought that make you realize like how is this going to better me and those are the thoughts you need to listen to.
Cperalta [Christopher Peralta] “Re:project 1: Thinking in writing.” Openlab. ENG1101 D346 English
Composition 1, FA 2014, 19 Sept. 2014. Wed. 14 Oct. 2014
Peralta, Christopher “A Good Day To Think” Flickr. 19 Sept. 2014. Tue. 14 Oct. 2014
Peralta, Christopher “Car Goals For The Future” Flickr. 19 Sept. 2014. Tue. 14 Oct. 2014
Peralta, Christoher “Money On My Mind” Flickr. 19 Sept. 2014. Tue. 14 Oct. 2014
Introduction:
In this project “Writing my brain” I will have the opportunity to go over my daily thoughts one by one and reflect on them. Throughout this project we had the opportunity to write down our daily thoughts, pick out what was most important and take photos that represented that moment. Then we had to write an essay about our daily thoughts, quoting ourselves or others, basing on the photos etc. This is my project and I hope you enjoy it.
THINKING in WRITING
FRIDAY 19th
– I am so sleepy. I seriously don’t want to go to work today. Should i take a full shower or just a body shower?
-Okay I’m taking forever to find out what to wear I’m late already.
-This bus is taking forever to come, I’m just going to walk there, I’ll get there in time hopefully.
-Did i text “goodmorning” to my mom today? okay, let me have a quick chat with her and tell her what’s new.
-It’s so busy here at work! And the manager is driving me crazy today. Note to self: next week when I’m off I’m going to find a new job, i think the mall is hiring.
-Finally lunch break! Can’t wait to get home and meet my boyfriend to help him shopping! Haven’t seen him for a week already.
-Since I’m going by the city what should i wear? Is it cold? Skirt or jeans?
-I had a great time on my way to 34th street. Now i hope this mall has all the stuff he needs because I’m not planning to go to e different mall everyday.
-He is driving me crazy! He likes everything and then he likes nothing. Im craving Gyros. I want to leave.
-Finally now I’m full! That gyro was heaven. Now I’m happy and full of energy
-It’s so much traffic! But at least we have time to talk and make plans for the weekend.
-Finally home I’m so tired but I have to clean and cook for my brother. I have no idea what he wants for tonight, pasta with mushrooms perhaps. I’ll just make that, is easy and it doesn’t take forever.
-Now I’m in bed. I have work tomorrow early in the morning and i have to get a good sleep. I’ll talk to my mom again and tell her what i did today, hopefully she’s awake.
-So i need to find that new job, i need to help my brother to pay the rent, lately, he’s been paying it by himself. And I’ll try to save money so i could go back to my country to visit my family in summer. I miss them so much.
-Tomorrow i have so much to do! work, go out, call my phone company, call the internet company, buy food groceries , go over the homeworks and who knows what else comes in the way.
Thinking Visually
Work
Family time
Cooking time
Thinking Rhetorically and Reflectively:
In this project I have the opportunity to share with you my daily thoughts and to reflect on them. My name is Fjoralba Hoxha and I’m a student in City College Of Technology, better known as City Tech. I am seventeen years old and I came to America about three years ago from a beautiful, small country in Europe called Albania. I moved here to get a better education and to be honest I’m very proud of myself. Even though I was going through rough times I managed to graduate High School with a high GPA while going to work at the same time, and now I started college majoring on Paralegal Assistance 1st year and so far is going great. All I want in this life is to become somebody so I could have a bright future ahead of me and to make my loved ones happy and proud. And I’m a believer as long as I push myself and never give up no matter how hard it might be. On the other hand I argue that my daily thoughts most of the time are just focused on the present and not much about the future.
One of the reasons why I think my thoughts are focused only in the present and not in the future is because I’m always rushing and most of the time busy so I don’t have time to think much about what is going to happen later on. To be honest while I was writing down my thoughts almost every half of an hour I was thinking this project assigned to me was pointless since a lot of people, in this case me do not have time to pick up a pencil and write about our thoughts. But later on while I was reading over what I wrote I realized I do not think about important stuff while I’m doing something. It’s actually the total opposite, I just want to get stuff done and move to the next step. I also realized the only time I think deeper about my future is when I’m alone at night laying in bed and making plans. This fact made me feel so bad and made me realize I need improvement otherwise when life hits me with something serious when I least expect it, I wouldn’t be able to get out of it if my thoughts aren’t at the right place.
Let me talk about an example. On my daily thoughts I wrote “ It’s so busy here at work! And the manager is driving me crazy today. Note to self: next week when I’m off I’m going to find a new job, I think the mall is hiring.” (fjori96. Part 5.web) The way I see it on this sentence the important thought is “… when I’m off I’m going to find a new job, I think the mall is hiring.” Now you would think that later on I got more information about the places that were hiring, what day exactly should I go etc. but guess what? Based on my second sentence written by me not more than thirty minutes later states “Finally lunch break! Can’t wait to get home and meet my boyfriend to help him shopping! Haven’t seen him for a week already” (fjori96. Part6.web) This shows me that my thoughts at a very busy time are just momentarily and not actual plans because if it was then on my lunch break I would do or think something more important then what I’m going to do for entertainment later on. This fact makes me realize that I should pay more attention to what I think. Why I think that way? And what should I do to accomplish whatever I was thinking.
I personally believe that another reason why I attend to not pay much of attention to my thoughts is because I get distracted very quickly by entertainment devices, websites and people. Even though I might be busy at work or in the house or with homeworks, parts of my mind are thinking about what is new on Instagram or what is new on Facebook. Did someone hit me up? Did anyone send me a friend request? These type of thoughts make you forget the important stuff or get distracted and also lose focus. And I am pretty sure that I am not the only one, based on what I see everyday on the streets, I rarely see two people making a conversation, most of the time I see people of any age keeping their head down and being focused on the electronic device and not what is actually going on around them. And obviously I am one of them and this makes me sick. Since I do not live with my parents but only with my brother, I attend to always check my phone and see if one of my family members texted me. Me talking to my mom is an everyday routine and I’m very happy that it is. To be honest she means more than the world to me and I thank God that now a days we have every type of way to communicate with our loved ones to a different continent. (hoxha.Photo2.“familytime”) But then again even though for me talking to my mother and family is like therapy, it requires time and effort. Because maybe at that time I could’ve been doing some house work, cook for my brother or use the extra time to study and accomplish the important assignments without rushing.
As I said on my first paragraph I noticed that my deep thoughts and actual plans for the future happen at night when I’m alone and around me is quiet. For example on my day of thoughts I wrote “So I need to find that new job, I need to help my brother to pay the rent, lately , he’s been paying it by himself. And I’ll try to save money so I could go back to my country to visit my family in the summer. I miss them so much” (fjori96.part14.web) and also about thirty minutes later I wrote “Tomorrow I have so much to do! Work , go out, call my phone company, call the internet company, buy food groceries , go over the homeworks and who knows what else comes in the way.” (fjori96.part15.web) I read these two statements over and over the day after and realized that in around one hour I only thought about my desires, thoughts, and plans for my future. This makes me question myself why don’t I focus more on my thoughts like I do when I’m alone at night. The first impression that you give means a lot in life and if people see you as someone who is always rushing, moving and not thinking twice before they do something, well, definitely you won’t give a good first expression and that fact does not help you move forward in life.
In conclusion, I believe that this project will change the way I think for sure. Going over all my thoughts made me realize that my thoughts are more focused at the present and not much at the future, except when I’m alone. Which from now on even though I might be very busy I will always try to pay attention to my own thoughts and try to accomplish them as soon as I can. Because only like this I will be able to accomplish my goal in life.
Work cited
Fjori96 [Fjoralba Hoxha].”Re:Project1:Thinking in Writing.” Openlab.English1101D346. English Compostion1 Fall 2014.Web.15 October 2014.
Hoxha,Fjoralba “Work” Flickr.web.15October2014
Hoxha,Fjoralba “Family time” Flickr.web. 15October2014
Hoxha,Fjoralba “Cooking time” Flickr.web. 15 October2014
Introduction
In this project, I had the opportunity to write down my thoughts for a full day and reflect on how my mind worked. I was able to get a better understanding of myself and learned how and what I could do to plan my thoughts to be more effective. Aside from the notes I made every 30 minutes about what I was thinking about in the moment, I also took pictures and they helped me even more to understand that although at first my thoughts seemed to be meaningless and unorganized, I was actually focusing on accomplishing my short term and long term goals more than I had thought.
Thinking In Writing
6:00 I just woke up and today is going to be a busy day for me. I have to be in school at 8:30 to take my psychology exam and then I have to leave school early to take my road test. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it back in time to get to my Algebra class.
6:30 I barely had any sleep last night but surprisingly I have a lot of energy. I am so excited about taking my psychology exam. I studied really hard and I am really confident that I am going to do well on it. I’m going to get ready for school soon but I forgot to charge my iPad.
7:00 I just finished eating breakfast and I am about to leave my house in a few minutes. I am really excited about taking my psychology exam. I studied really hard for it and I hope to do really well on it. I also have to take my road test but I’m not too worried about it.
7:30 I’m waiting at the train station right now. I went to the station by my house and they were doing construction. The trains were going express so I had to walk all the way to Marcy Ave. I know I’m going to be late anyway and I have a long day ahead of me so I’m just going to take things one step at a time today.
8:00 I’m on the train right now and I think I might make it to the exam on time. I’m only 3 stops away. I know I have to take my psychology exam as soon as I get to school but I don’t know why I keep thinking about my road test which is a few hours away.
9:30 I just got out of school and I’m feeling confident that I did well on the test. Now I have to go home drop my book bag off and then go to take my road test. Now that I have to take it I dont know why but I don’t really feel excited about taking it. I’m not nervous about it I just kind of lost all the enthusiasm I had before. I guess its just because I’m tired.
10:00 I’m at the train and apparently there are no trains passing at Jay Street station “Due to an ongoing Police Investigation” Hopefully the problem gets resolved because I really don’t want to be late for my road test. If there are still no trains coming by 11:00 I’ll just take a cab home.
10:30 Still waiting for the train
11:00 An A train passed by and its going local so I can finally go home after all this waiting.
11:30 Waiting for the M train and then I can probably get something to eat before I take my road test.
12:00 I just got home I’m hungry but I don’t know what I should get.
12:30 I just took a picture of one of the things that I sometimes take for granted. My view of the city just makes me so excited and hopeful that one day I will go to Japan. I’m going to leave my house now to go and take my road test.
1:00 I’m waiting at the driving school and I just don’t feel nervous at all which is weird. The other people taking it today look really nervous and some of them are actually taking for like their 3rd time. I really hope I do well today.
1:30 I’m on my way to Red Hook to take my test now. This is taking a lot longer than I thought it would.
2:00 I’m waiting to take my test still so there’s no way I’m going to make it back to school in time to go to Math.
2:30 I think I’m next to go.
3:00 I’m finally next to take the road test. If I pass I can go anywhere I want to but if I don’t pass all I have to do is take it again. I am literally the last person to take it. All the students from the the other driving schools already took it including mine.
3:30 I passed the test and got my temporary license I’m happy and everything but its just me and my driving instructor here. It makes me think about how many people are around me in school and at home yet I am in a sense alone. I guess it is possible to be alone in a room full of people. I can see now that nobody can help me accomplish goals its really just me.
4:00 There was a lot of traffic on the way back to the driving school but I can finally go home.
4:30 I’m at home right now with my dog Tashi. I might seem lame but I talked to my dog and told her about all the things that happened to me today. It may seem unbelievable but she seemed like she understood what I was saying since she usually never barks and now she was barking and wagging her tail and running around me.
5:00 I called my mom and she was emotional about me getting my license. I still haven’t eaten so she said she would bring something from one of my favorite restaurants, Pollos Mario.
5:30 In the meantime i took Tashi for a walk around McCarren Park. When I got home I turned my TV on and it was giving one of my favorite shows, Attack On Titan. The introduction of the show always reminds me of how much I really want to got to Japan.
6:00 They’re giving a marathon of Attack On Titan but I’m really tired so I’m going to take a nap.
8:00 I heard my mom coming in with my sister so I just woke up.
8:30 Eating with my mother and sister
9:00 Just finished eating and we are going to go to my aunt’s house to see my little cousin Ryan.
10:00 My aunt wants to walk her dogs so I go home to get Tashi and then we all go together to walk them around the park.
10:30 we say goodbye to my aunt and go home.
11:00 I think about all the things I did today. I cant believe I actually got my license on my first try.
Thinking Visually
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127945462@N06/15542581075
Picture of the view from my bedroom window
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127945462@N06/15539899751/in/photostream/
Attack On Titan
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127945462@N06/15518879746/in/photostream/
Picture of my temporary license and Mishka wallet
Thinking Reflectively and Rhetorically
My name is Ivan Melo and I am a freshman student at City Tech majoring in Radiology. After a day of recording my thoughts every 30 minutes, I was able to learn more about myself that I didn’t realize before. After reading what I wrote I noticed several things like the fact that my thoughts were random and tended to focus mostly on things happening in the present but still with goals that I am slowly working on. After my day of recording I was able to find something that all my thoughts had in common. I noticed that although my thoughts seemed to be random and unorganized, they were a gestalt and everything I thought about reminded me of my long term goals which include going to Japan and becoming a radiologist . Aside from that I also noticed that I try to stay positive even though I prepare the worst.
One of the things that led me to the conclusion that my thoughts are a gestalt was that while individually my thoughts appeared to be meaningless, I was constantly thinking about what I could do to complete my short term goals and at the same time work on my long term goals. Like most people, I had thoughts that were focusing on what I was doing in the present but subconsciously I was working on completing the current tasks I had while simultaneously preparing for the next task. An example of something that made me notice that I unknowingly think and work on my long term goals was one of the notes I made that says, “I’m finally next to take the road test. If I pass I can go anywhere I want to but if I don’t pass all I have to do is take it again.” At first this note I made didn’t mean much but when I read it again I also noticed that I am always prepared to handle anything that may happen to me in a calm and somewhat nonchalant manner. I learned from this note that while I may seem like a pessimistic person, I am just down to earth and focus on the reality of things.
Another thing that made me notice that my thoughts are a gestalt is another note I made before I took my psychology exam. Most people would be nervous before taking an exam but that particular day I didn’t feel any stress at all. I wrote, “The trains were going express so I had to walk all the way to Marcy Ave. I know I’m going to be late anyway and I have a long day ahead of me so I’m just going to take things one step at a time today.” This shows that my thoughts focus on things happening in the present but since I planned my day out already I was preparing for the next event beforehand. On that day, I took my psychology exam and after I finished, I went directly to Red Hook to take my road test. Perhaps it was a way my brain was able to cope with stress but I focused on only the present task and nothing else.
I also took a picture of the temporary license which for me was symbolic. In the picture you can see the temporary license and my wallet from my favorite clothing brand. This reminded me of my goal of going to Japan since my favorite brand has a store in Japan that is very popular. To me both of those items together were signs that showed I was making progress towards my goals and also showed me that I am becoming more mature. Overall, I have a low self esteem so although to most people this might not seem significant, to me this really boosted my self esteem. I felt confident and more determined to continue to make my dreams come true since I had actually made progress. This picture reflects my idea that my thoughts are a gestalt because its just a picture of a temporary license with just a random wallet but to me that was MY temporary license and proof that I had accomplished some of my goals which reassured me that I should stay positive and keep working hard to do the things that I enjoy.
The second photo I took was of the view from my bedroom which also led me to my conclusion that although my thoughts seemed unorganized and random they were a gestalt focused on my long term goals. The photo shows the Manhattan skyline and the building that stands out the most to me is the Freedom Tower. I took the picture since it is something I look at every night before I go to sleep and in a way inspires me to keep working toward my goal. The design of the building is very modern and I thought about how much more futuristic the buildings look in Tokyo. I took the picture the same day I did my day of recording my thoughts so one note I made was,” I just took a picture of one of the things that I sometimes take for granted. My view of the city just makes me so excited and hopeful that one day I will go to Japan.” This note reminded me of one of the things that makes me happy whenever I think about it, no matter how I am feeling at the moment. I learned that from now on everything I do I have to do by myself and for myself.
The last photo I took was one of my living room TV when it was giving one of my favorite shows. It is important to me because beside the fact that it is my favorite show, it was originally aired in Japan and I am very interested in how Japanese culture is. The show is fictional however many scenes are shown throughout the series that show the cities. That day I can honestly say was one of the most memorable for me since it seemed like everything was going good for me. I took this final photo at the end of the day and reflected on the notes I had made throughout the day. This shows that my thoughts are a gestalt because I can think and do a lot of things but I always seem to be determined and focused on my long term goals and things that are more important than the events in the present. I know that sometimes things don’t always go as planned but I think I am going to continue to take things one step at a time while still trying to plan and secure my future.
To sum up, after recording my thoughts every 30 minutes for a day, I learned that although I may seem to have random thoughts mostly about present situations, I still focus on long term goals I have and stay motivated to achieve them. I considered the collection of my thoughts a gestalt because individually the notes I made had almost no meaning but when you look at them as a whole they hold a lot of more significance. I truly enjoyed this project since it gave me time to reflect on the things that I do and think about. It allowed me to see myself how other people see me and how I am perceived. I also was able to learn how to think in a way that can help me to become more successful in the future. This project also helped me to be more assured that everything takes time and I am doing a good job at accomplishing my goals while not thinking too far ahead.
Works Cited
Melo,Ivan.”Picture of the view from my bedroom window”Flickr. 13 Oct. 2014. Mon. 13 Oct. 2014
Melo,Ivan.”Attack On Titan”Flickr. 13 Oct. 2014. Mon. 13 Oct. 2014
Melo,Ivan.”Picture of my temporary license and Mishka wallet”Flickr. 13 Oct. 2014. Mon. 13 Oct. 2014
After you write your chapter summary and we have our student-led presentation, we will spend the rest of the time discussing and writing about Project One.
During class, take out a clean sheet of paper (with no torn perforations).
Write your name at the top of the page on the right corner.
Think about Project One (what you accomplished, how you accomplished it, and how it turned out).
Write an essay that makes an argument to me about what your grade on the assignment should be. First, write your thesis/argument statement (what grade you should receive). Second, evaluate your Project One submission as evidence for the grade that you believe you deserve. Third, describe what you would have done differently to make your Project One better than it currently is.
Leave your essay on the table as you leave class.
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