Teenage Transcendancy

I recently was given an article that talked about how the U.S. teen birth rate has been dramatically increasing over the past few years. Now, me being a guy, I have no idea how most of that works for those of the female gender and quite frankly I don’t want to know, but there is one thing I found interesting that the researchers who wrote the article said: one of the main reasons the teen birthrate has been declining so much over the past few years is because teens have developed the ability to better respond to environmental conditions and think of long term consequences more. I found this main idea of a paragraph within the article not only interesting because it actually credited teens with having abilities to respond to certain environmental stimuli (considering all the crap we get from psychologists saying we’re forever underdeveloped) but also because it showed how teenagers can pick up on certain trends in society and change them for what they feel is best for the future. It has finally come to be known that the majority of teens do not act completely on impulses and that now the majority of teens seem to be able to act with the knowledge of the consequences of our actions. While this may have been assumed by some, many people today do not think teens act with consequences in mind. As I said earlier, we’re constantly ratted on for being inconsistent and completely impulsive by most psychologists today, especially when they want to sell a new parenting book (not to offend all psychologists, however, most do actually good work that benefits rather than work that completely regards an entire age grouping as completely and utterly ineffective at decision making) and now, with this new article being created, we’re finally given at least some credit for not being as finicky and fickle as adults used to consider us. Now, if only this would be seen by everyone...

Reprimand's Final Resolution

There are many different opinions circulating for quite awhile now about whether punishments along the likes of detentions in schools are really effective ,if at all, at dealing with and preventing future classroom disruptions. Many people say detentions are effective because of the supposed ‘fear of authority’ in all students will keep them in line if strict disciplinary rules are shown to be enforced in schools. However, I would like to think otherwise.

While I may have never really been in detention during the entirety of my educational career, I have come to know a few people whose daily schedule usually included at least one trip to the principle’s office. Usually this wasn’t because of outbursts of rage but of normal ,and seemingly regularly scheduled, pranks my friends would pull on either a specific teacher or the class as a whole. After reading the article we were given, however, and thinking back to these events in my early childhood, I can safely say that the statement on detentions said by most people is pretty much either false or a “back in my day” kind of statement. The reason for this is because if every student had the inferred fear of authority from detentions, there wouldn’t be people going to detention on a regular basis. All people are unique, this includes their thinking of the outside world. With this said, as anyone can probably tell, I do not find detentions that effective for several reasons, one of which being the scenario described earlier. The second reason I do not find detentions very effective is because of the way students are usually treated in detentions. In most detention sessions that I’ve seen/ heard of, the student is given a worksheet to do while he or she sits quietly at a desk for a certain period of time. Now, there’s nothing inhumane or anything that screams cruel and unusual punishment in that, but those aren’t the problem I find in this scenario. The problem I find is that the student isn’t socialized with to say why he/she did what they did and why they felt they needed to do it. The reason I find this peculiar is because, if a student isn’t told specifically and/or explicitly why what they did was wrong and not given options on how to better resolve the problem in the future, then how in the world to teachers expect students to never want to do what they did that got them into detention again? This is my main driving point for why most detentions are ineffective: they don’t seek out solutions to the actions of the student, only slightly reprimand them for what they have done and nothing more.   

Asimilar Aesthetics

The essay given to us in class first starts by saying how a song album titled “Lemonade”’s song lyrics could be viewed as a nicely written essay about the human condition and then goes on to talk about all the different ways writing could be altered and presented in different ways. The central point of the essay is that writing is not a static art form. It’s not just “you learned how to write and now you know everything” because writing constantly changes medium, style, and technique based on what the author wants to happen and what mark they want to leave on the reader. Under these circumstances I do agree with the central point of the essay. This is mainly because throughout history it is apparent that writing as a whole has changed in style, technique, and medium because of current events and what the authors of the time wanted to happen when someone read their work. For instance, if  a person were to read a piece of writing printed in the 1500s and compared it to a piece of writing from today, that person would observe very drastic changes in all of the aforementioned fields in comparing the two works. One of the most prominent would probably be the linguistic style and diction of the two works, considering what is considered “common slang” and word choices change as time passes as well as entire languages (i.e. English and Old English). Another one of the most prominent differences in the two works would probably be technique of the author getting what he/she wants out of the reader (with linguistic changes also comes different ways of persuading and informing). With my knowledge of the history of writing, and these examples as support, I can firmly say the I agree with this article.      

Exploration Exselsior

The exploration of planets has been a hotly discussed topic ever since NASA’s Apollo program landed a man on the moon, and with the innovation of technology and new understandings of the dynamics of space the human race is closer than ever to begin human exploration of space and all of the planets within our galaxy. There is just one main problem keeping us from exploring our entire solar system: economics.

While we currently have all of the technology and understanding necessary to begin manned deep space exploration, we as a race currently lack the willpower to spend the required amount of money to reach that goal. Spacecraft aren’t cheap, as found out by NASA, and to have enough of the necessary equipment, supplies, and materials necessary for exploring/colonizing planets just causes the bill to go higher and higher. Now, I could spend hours on how money shouldn’t be the determining factor and how without currency everything would be better, however that’s not the point I would like to get across. Even though it would cost millions of dollars to begin exploration/colonization of our solar system, there would definitely be a large advantage, and payout, for doing so.

The major advantage of these missions is the one everyone’s had in their heads for some time now: leaving Earth. It’s really no secret that we’re running out of our nonrenewable resources that are staples for our everyday life, and while these may already be on the brink of becoming useless anyway with electricity and all, Earth as a whole is running out of it’s main semi-renewable resource, land, to support our overall population of around 7 billion. Exploring Mars and other solid-state planets would definitely quell fears of eventual overpopulation and colonization would be a great fix for the problem overall.

That’s the obvious reason, now the lesser known one that makes this whole venture economically worthwhile: minerals IN SPACE! Yes, there are confirmed reports of rare earth metals being found on different planets and in other spacial structures like the asteroid belt. This would cause a great amount of these rare metals to be mined and capitalized on by corporations and other companies, paying back all funds raised with interest.

So, is it worth it to explore space? Definitely, not only for the betterment of economies, but for the betterment and continued survival of our race as humans.    

Entertaining Psychology

They’re these little seeds in the back of your mind, waiting for a chance to grow and show themselves. Whenever you think about them you have no idea why they popped into your head in the first place. Some are simple, sometimes overly-optimistic thoughts while others are the exact definition of pure evil and sadism. I’m of course talking about intrusive thoughts.

Intrusive thoughts are basically involuntary thoughts people have that seem weird to them when they think about them and are hard to get rid of/manage since they constantly recur. Sort of like when a person goes into a room and forgets why they’re there in the first place, there has to be a reason they’re in there but they can’t think of it. Such is the same with intrusive thoughts, they just sort of happen ,and keep happening, without any reason the person having them can think of, for them to exist.

Intrusive thought in general is usually attributed to things like guilty consciences or evil dark sides. However, this isn’t always the case. Intrusive thought could also be caused by traumatic events involving a certain one of the five senses or by the environment one is exposed to. The majority of the intrusive thoughts people have are, unfortunately, unpleasant and have even lead some to complete and total insanity. When someone thinks “intrusive thoughts” they usually picture this nice little child who is very timid and bashful suddenly thinking about everything totally opposite of their character (such as  turning into a dreamed Texas Chainsaw Massacre with them being the main serial killer). However, not all intrusive thoughts are necessarily as bloody, gorey ,or evil as real-life Jason Voorhees next to you at the bus stop. Some intrusive thoughts can actually be somewhat of a good thing. As stated earlier, intrusive thoughts have the ability to change people usually because of their recurring nature. So, if a nice kid can be turned into an insane monster with intrusive thought, what’s preventing a relatively mean kid from being turned into a kind fellow of the community? Nothing, that’s what! Intrusive thoughts are not necessarily things deemed unpleasant by society, they are things deemed unpleasant by the person having them. If someone thinks being mean is good and they start having intrusive thoughts about being good to others, that can have a major psychological effect on them. Certainly this isn’t always the case that people are changed by intrusive thought (I manage it quite well ;)) but it just goes to show that intrusive thoughts are not necessarily a bad thing. I personally think intrusive thoughts are what can lead us to our fullest potential in life and can give us a better understanding of how the human psyche works and functions.    

Careers and Salary

Money, one of the most limiting and most talked about factor of our daily lives.Money is what buys food, water, shelter, and luxury. Money can also lead to crippling debt and personal economic depression as well.Money is what makes people work and provide for others, but money is also what makes people steal and scam. So, with money being this important, how is it earned the moral way? Traditionally, the answer to that question has been education from elementary school through college.

Is it a surprise ,then, that some people would rather do what they love to get their degree instead of getting a degree in a job field that’s renowned for having high wages? Maybe or maybe not, but it just shows that salary usually has little or no effect on what area a person decides to major in. For instance, I want to get my degree in aerospace engineering. I’ve been fascinated with flight all my life: how it works, what it does, and what it can do for us as humans. So, when I heard there was a job to literally study the workings of air and spacecraft while also adding my own innovative ideas to the mix (I can’t quite remember if I shouted or said it to myself, more than likely I burst out in joy since I was 7 at the time) I said, immediately, “That’s what I’m going to be when I grow up!” Ever since then I’ve been focusing my education path on that road, while also dabbling in other subjects a little less related as well, unflinchingly. It was only until the 8th grade when I realised why my grandparents and parents were saying I was taking on a great ambition with that last statement. When we did the Future Fair (or whatever it was called) they had us calculate our future wages as entry-class workers in our projected majors so we could have a base starting amount for our yearly payments on life’s necessities and luxuries. When I entered “Aerospace Engineer” in the search results, I was surprised. At entry-level, the program said I would be making $94,000 a year! I then looked around and found that everyone was looking at my screen, absolutely dumbfounded (since the highest salary out of all of them was around $60,000 a year). The people around me then began of accusing me of “picking the job with the most money” and “not following my passion in life”, to which I simply assured them that this was what I wanted to do ever since I was a 7-year old and that I, in fact, had no idea what aerospace engineers made until now. They then apologetically retracted their comments and even congratulated me, but I never, at the time, really understood why. I’m being congratulated for following my dreams? Wasn’t everyone doing the same thing I was doing? Then I realized, they weren’t congratulating me for following my dreams, they were congratulating me for doing that AND having a high salary to go with it.

So, in short, salary had no effect on me choosing a career. The only thing that ever affected my choice of a career was just my childhood fascinations and my ambitious nature to pursue those fascinations into something greater and much larger than I was (at the time).

College Application Article

There was an article I read over the weekend about how Harvard, America’s equivalent to Oxford University, has recently proposed changes to the college application process in America. The list of proposed changes includes making the SAT and ACT optional (to de-emphasize standardized testing), taking into account a person’s performance in their extracurricular activities (instead of just looking at how many they took), and a better way of showing sustained community service for  community (instead of just seeing a couple discrete projects here and there). Overall, I can say I agree with each of these huge changes for various reasons. With the de-emphasis on standardized testing, students won’t feel nearly as much pressure to do well in high school that could lead to the crippling stress and/or (in extreme cases) depression that some students face in high school today just because it seems like their every move is being watched and that, if they don’t do well enough, all of their hopes and dreams will come crashing down.This isn’t good for anyone’s mental health, much less a developing teenager, and seems like a good change to be making solely because of this fact. In terms of extracurricular activities many students who take them really don’t show enough effort for them and drag everyone else who is there for a learning experience down. If colleges began evaluating a student’s performance in these activities the people in them who actually do what is asked of them will receive the credit they deserve for their hard work and won’t be considered equal to a person in the same activity who did nothing in it. Lastly, community service is essential to a community’s survival. I’ve heard of multiple people who say all they did was a couple hour projects here and there and got through the application process who then tell me “so, in other words, don’t worry about community service. They won’t care how much you do anyway” (or something of that nature). An emphasis on the continuousness of community service would be a great emphasis for students to focus and improve on in their lives.

In short, I agree with every single one of these changes and hope to see them implemented as soon as humanly possible.