Reflection #8

My brother and I have an unbreakable bond. We talk about anything and everything and we do not judge each other.  I trust Tim with my life.  A huge part of our relationship is built on trust.  We tell each other things that we don’t want anyone else to know and trust that they will stay between the two of us.  Tim and I know a lot of things about each other that our parents do not know.  There are the rare occasions when Tim and I get in a fight and sometimes our secrets come out to our parents. For the most part though, our secrets stay between the two of us.  Tim has had some problems in his life.  He’s been mixed up with, I would say, some wrong crowds. He’s done some illegal activity in his life and it’s affected our family, especially me because we are the closest.  His behavior has affected his grades and our relationship.  There are times where I am just so mad at him that I start crying out of anger.   At one point I couldn’t stand it anymore.  I was genuinely worried about him, his grades, and his safety.  I was bawling my eyes out and let my emotions tell me what I should do.  I knew that if I was bothered by what was going on I needed to tell my parents.  So I did.  I was worried about what they say and what would happen to Tim but mostly I was worried that he was going to hate me.  Long story short I talked to everything out with my brother and he for sure doesn’t hate me.  Our relationship is stronger than ever but I definitely tested our moral code with each other.

Imagining myself with a mutation that does not allow me to pass as a homo sapien is kind of scary to be honest.  I can imagine that I would feel isolated an alone.  I imagine getting a lot of stares and walking with my eyes on the ground. I am the first to admit that I have several insecurities already so having a mutation would be really hard for me. I feel that I would not embrace this exterior mutation.  If there were others out there with mutations like me I would probably try to band together with them. They would become my family.  I would use then for advice, support, and friendship.  Hopefully people with exterior mutations in our world look to the X-Men and know there are others like them who will offer their support, advice, love, and friendship.

If I had a mutation that would allow me to pass as a homo sapien I think that I might enjoy it.  I could still walk around with confidence and have the same life style as any other human.   I wouldn’t have to endure stares, thank god.  I don’t think that I would become a superhero with the tights, cape, and all that stuff , though.  I would just assist humanity in smaller ways whenever I could. It is way too much responsibility being a superhero if it’s anything like all the superheroes we have studied. 

I’m not sure what mutant I identify with the most.  Probably one that has a mutation that allows them to “pass”.  I have all these things about me and all these qualities that are hidden on the inside.  Not everyone gets to see the real me because I either don’t have the opportunity to show them or I just don’t want to.  I know being a good friend is not a mutation but it’s a big part of my life.  I don’t always show everyone because I don’t think that some people deserve it but when I do show someone that quality it’s very important  to me and it’s something that I hold dear to me.

 

Reflection #6

I would like to think of myself as a creative person.  All my life I have loved to take art classes, especially art classes where I make things with my hands such as ceramic and sculpture class.  When I was a child it was very easy for me to be creative.  It's wired in a childs brain to be creative I think. Maybe there is just more room for children to be creative because they dont have a bunch of other stuff on their minds like grades, work, and what they were going to do with the rest of their life.  Like many of my classmates, I had a strong imagination.  Also like many of my classmates I played the whole jumping from couch to couch because the floor was made of lava.  Like I have mentioned in a past blog post, when my mom would come home from the grocery store with plastic bags I used to put my arms through the handles and jump of the couch like it was a parachute. Another time when I was creative was when my childhood best friend and I used to flip garbage cans over in the yard and jump over them like we were in track because we couldn't wait until the 6th grade when we were able to join track and field.

I have definitely had to tap into the creative side of my brain a time or two when I was in a rut that forced me to figure out a solution.  My story is going to sound really silly but I was for sure creative.  A few years ago I had a hamster named Nibbles.  I kept her in a cage in my room and I had to put a lock on the cage door because she could lift up the cage door.  I went out with my family and thought that I had locked her cage.  I was wrong.  I came home and she was not in her cage.  Immediately I start to freak out and begin searching the house for her.  As I am looking in the basement I hear a scaping sound coming from the pipes that line our basement ceiling.  These pipes were the furnace pipes.  I am really freaking out at this point and have no idea how I am going to get her out. Then a lightbulb goes off in my brain with a brilliant idea.  I grab the vaccuum out of the closet and shove the long tube suction attachment down the vent in my living room and as Nibbles walks along the pipes and eventually gets close enough to the vent, the vaccuum sucks her up. Then I pull her off of the tube and she is 100% okay.  Told you my story was silly but my creative idea worked!

Superheroes must tap into their brains and think on their feet sometimes in order to save the day. In the Avengers movie, Tony Stark had to be quick and think on his feet in order to keep a missile from hitting New York. His plan wasn't really creative but it involved fast thinking and huge sacrafice.  He decided to grab ahold of the missile and personally take it through the portal to the other universe.  Thankfully he survives but without his fast thinking, New York would of been blown to pieces.

 

Reflection #5

When I was asked to pick someone close to me and tell them that I truly appreciate and care about them, I knew right away who I was going to pick and that was my best friend Jordyn. Jordyn and I have been good friends since we were 11 years old.  Over the years we have had our ups and downs but we always come out as best friends at the end of the day.  For as long as I can remember she has always been there for me whenever I needed to cry, laugh, or just flat out bitch about something.  I've never had anybody else who I could share my darkest secrets to who I knew wouldn't blabber them to anyone else.   She's one of those friends that I can just drive around with for hours and blast music and we would just being laughing, having the time of our lives.  We don't always need to be doing something to have a good time.  Jordyn listens to me and givse me advice.  I value her opinions and cherish our friendship very much.  I let her know all these things yesterday and it felt really good.  She knows I love her and would do anything for her but I never really told her.  Honestly it was a little tough to start off with when I began telling her all of this because I didn't know what she was going to say.  She didn't have to say much but what she did say was enough for me.  She gave me the biggest hug and thanked me. She told me that she feels the exact way about me and that she was glad that my professor gave us this exercise.  She told me that she loved me and that she would always be there for me for whatever, whenever and that we were going to always be good friends no matter what life brings us.

I am super glad that I was kind of forced into this scenario by Dr. Harrison.  It gave me a chance to say some things that I wouldn't normally share with my best friend.  It reassured our friendship and reminded me that she is always there for me and that I do have a friend that really cares about me. All this is making me miss her and want to go and see her again, but it's okay because I know whatever tries to come between us, distance or whatever, will be pushed aside because or friendship trumps anything.    

Reflection #4

Pt 1:

It's my sophomore year of high school.  My three best friends and I decide to sneak out the first day of our winter break to go hang out with some of our guy friends. It was one of the foggiest nights Galesburg has ever seen.  We end up and Lake Story, a local park in my hometown of Galesburg. After hanging out there for a little while we decide to head out because it was getting late and we didn't want our parents to get suspicious. There are six of us in a five seated SUV.  None of us have our seat belts on and we are blasting the music.  The driver was trying to show off by driving too fast and cutting corners sharp.  Just as he was turning onto Log City Trail, he loses control and the vehicle begins spinning wildly heading towards a deep creek full of water, trees, and other debris   All of a sudden Wonder Woman comes flying in out of nowhere, fast, beautiful, and blonde! She grabs a hold of the SUV and with her super strength, quickly stops the car from rolling down into the crick.

Now this story would have been ideal if Wonder Woman would have came in and saved the day but unfortunately she did not.  We did roll into the creek and all came out a horrible mess with branches in our hair, clothes ruined, and tears running down our faces but we all made it out alive and well thankfully.

Pt 2:

I experience nostalgia frequently I feel.  When I'm writing a huge college paper or studying for finals, I long for the days when school was a walk in the park.  In elementary school all I had to worry about was taking naps or being able to name the capital of each of the fifty states. In junior high all I was concerned with was whether or not I would make the volleyball or basketball team every year. In high school my worries were my friendships or making the cheer leading squad.  Now I have all sorts of things on my mind. Am I going to find and internship, will I ever figure out my career path, will I ever find the right guy for me.  Maybe I had it too easy growing up and now real life is kicking in.  Maybe thinking about this past time period will remind me that I need to get my butt in gear because life isn't easy when you start getting older and I must work for things in life or I won't get anywhere.          

Reflection #3

When I saw that this weeks blog could be over anything of my choice I immediately decided to discuss The Law of Transformation chapter from Chopra's novel.  Honestly it is rare that I come across something so moving and inspiring when I am reading for a class.  I didn't want to stop reading this chapter once I started.  I was stopping in the middle of a paragraph telling my roommate to "listen to this sentence" because I thought it was so cool. I really enjoyed how this article dissected the superhero to the very root of his being, his inner self and perceptions.  One of the opening sentences states "Not only do they see their own past experiences; they also see the future. And not only do they see their own personal past and future; they see yours and mine...." This is some deep stuff that Chopra is bringing to the table.  Another student talked about these two sentences in her blog and stated that it was impossible for superheroes to see her future etc. I may be wrong but I feel that maybe she is taking these sentences too literally. I think that Chopra is generally saying that when superheroes look in the mirror, they see that the fate and safety of humanity is in their hands.  When a villain comes to destroy Earth and all who live on it, superheroes are the ones who have the responsibility to take care of us and make sure that we have a future on this planet.   Maybe Chopra is looking too deep. Maybe superheroes were created simply for entertainment.  But if someone could take apart the superhero and make their existence, morals, identity, self, interaction with the universe, etc sound so beautiful and worthy of this amount of attention, then I say rock on because I was truely moved by this chapter. 

A few sentences that inspired me while reading this chapter: "Our actions and beliefs are limited by our perspective".  "The way in which we perceive the world shapes the way in which we interact with it, the choices we make, and ultimately what we define as real." Chopra puts it into perspective for me.  I shape my point of view, my point of view is my perception, my perception shapes how I view the world, therefore becoming my reality. If I have the perception that I cannot do something, then I will not be able to do it. Point blank period.  I've attempting to do the crazy workout DVD Insanity numerous times but have failed after attempting it for a few days. Each and everytime I have failed it's because I have told myself that it is too hard and that I can't do it. Well obviously I can't do it if I keep telling myself that I can't. I need to be mindful that I am in control of my perception which ultimately defines my reality.  If I steer my perception in a way that allows me to know that I can do something then I will be able to do that something. 

Reflection #2

Superheroes have a moral code that they honor when taking care of the issues that surround them and their communities.  For example, Batman will never kill anyone because that is part of his moral code.  I think Peter Parker may have had a lapse in morals when, in The Amazing Spider-Man  he taunted the school bully Flash by embarrassing him in front of the school after gaining his powers.  Over the years I have tried to develop a moral code for myself.  In high school, I hung around a group of people that may have not been the best crowd in the school.  They did drugs, stole, and took advantage of me.  In the beginning, I was too immature and so caught up in the moment of having a group of friends that i was participating in these terrible actions.  As high school went on, I began distancing myself from these "friends" and taking my own route. A route that didn't involve doing bad things, lying to my parents, etc, and I started to feel better.  I began feeling freer, healthy, and just all around a better person.  I started hanging out with different people who were always nice to me and that I knew were not taking advantage of me. It was a good feeling.  I try to honor my parents even though at times it is very hard.  I try not to judge or talk bad about people, go to all my classes, and get my homework done.  Layman's article discussed power and its ties with satisfaction.  I try to satisfy myself by honoring my moral codes, and for the most part, it works.  I know Superman and Spider-Man struggle with their moral codes from the fact that they have to hide who they are to people and their loved ones, leaving them dissatisfied at times but in real life as long as I value the important things and be strong and true to myself and to other people, I will always be satisfied.  :)

Keeping a secret identity is a very valuable thing to posses.  A secret identity protects the superhero while they’re in their human form and it also protects their family.  Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne can walk among the public safely because their enemies do not know that they are superheroes.  In Spider-Man 2, Doctor Octopus found out that Peter was Spider-Man and he came after them while Peter and Mary Jane were in a cafe and Dr. Oct was able to capture Mary Jane.  Secret identities also prevent the media and public harassing them while they are trying to live semi-normal lives.  I would say that I do have multiple identities in my own life only when it is appropriate to have a multiple identity.  When I am around my friends, I act 100% myself but when I am in the classroom and talking to my professors I speak more formally and not a single curse word.  Depending which side of the family I am around my identity changes too.  My mom’s side is more conservative so I have to watch my language and actions when I am around them.  When I am around my dad’s side of the family I can relax more and be more of myself because they aren't so uptight.

Reflection #1

(this blog is my knowledge on Spiderman strictly from the movies)  
 
"With great power comes great responsibility" is a very famous quote spoken by Peter Parker's uncle Ben. Now, I have never been a huge fan of superheroes, however, this quote stood out to me while watching the movie and this quote was taken into account by both Peter Parker and Spiderman. When Peter was in human form and in superhuman form, he was able to be responsible. Sometimes I find it hard to take responsibility for my actions and the actions of others, therefore, I could not begin to imagine the feeling of responsibility that Peter took on when he transformed into Spiderman. To look after one's self and thousands of others would be a huge task and a great deal of responsibility that is why I pick Spiderman and my favorite superhero.

Since I was a little girl, my old brothers and I couldn't wait for my mother to get home from the grocery store so we could grab a plastic bag, shove our arms through the handles, and jump off the couch like we were flying. As I have gotten older, my aspirations towards becoming a superhero have dimmed at the fact that well, Superheroes do not really exist. Normal people do not have super strength, the ability to fly, or lasers coming out of their eyes. To make up for my dreams being crushed (kidding!) I have looked to Spiderman to give me my dose of superhuman qualities and abilities.

Peter Parker is an average Joe for the most part. He is very smart, quiet, and like a lot of us, has a crush on a fellow peer that that person has no idea about. These factors and the fact that he is around my age attracts me to him. He has a strong family bond between him and his aunt and uncle and I like that about him. I am very close with my family and my parents so I can't help but to feel sorry for him and sad for him that his parents aren't around. After he gets bitten by a radioactive spider and turns into Spiderman, he upholds the standards he has towards himself and his family values and for the most part, remains a caring individual with all the love in the world towards his family. He may be different on the outside when he puts on his costume and turns into Spiderman but on the inside he is still the same caring, family oriented, lovestruck teeager that I can totally relate to.

In Loeb's and Morris's article, Hereos and Superheroes, they discuss how superheroes portray what the human way should look like. Humans should be concerned about the world and the community they live in. Humans should aspire, inspire, push to achieve goals, and be the best person they can be. Superheroes give the human race ideas on how we should live and be prosperous. They're almost like guidelines set for us to try to mimic and to all around make the world a better place. In my personal life, I am sometimes not nice to myself and others around me. I can be lazy, demotivated, and take the easy route. I also curse like a sailor. If Spiderman can tackle the hand of cards he was dealt, take responsibility for himself and others, and not speak a single curse word throughout a whole string of movies, then I should and can do the same thing.