Wrapped Up

  For me, thinking about my college essay is a daunting task, every time I sit down ready to “lock in” and write my personal statement, I doubt myself. I start second guessing each word that I type because I don't know if I really am saying what the colleges want me to say or even if I am portraying myself as the peron they want me to be.  Recently, in class, we took an assessment that was designed to assess our core values and figure out which values are most important to us. As I was going through the assessment and reading the scenarios to choose between values, I started to discover more about myself, values I never even thought off started to populate and soon I discovered that growth one of my top three values. Going hand in hand with this is a video we watched in class as well, it discussed how to write a good essay and what Admissions Officers are really looking for in a candidate. I learned that Admissions Officers don’t want to hear about your gazillion awards or per...

  Certainty and doubt are two opposing forces that shape how we see perceive the world around us and  by transitive property, influence the decisions we make. Certainty provides comfort, often creates clarity when making decisions, helps create a clear cut path. When people are sure of their beliefs, values, and ideas it creates confidence, often empowering the person the make bold strides forward without hesitation. On the other hand, doubt, often seen as a weakness, can prove to hold just as much value. Doubt sparks curiosity and pushes you to ask questions, challenge beliefs, and grow your knowledge. Without doubt, we face the risk of becoming complacent, brain dead individuals who do not challenge beliefs or have their own voices.  Many people think that there is a battle to won between certainty and doubt, but it is actually the opposite, it’s a balance that needs to be achieved. Too much certainty can lead to becoming closed minded to new ideas or opinions from ...

Almost every career or job today requires creativity – the ability to generate unique, innovative, and effective solutions or ideas for roadblocks or similar. Whether it be an engineer that needs to approach designing a bridge from a new angle because the supports aren’t stong enough or a doctor that needs to diagnose and treat complex cases that require unique solutions, not in standard procedure or even a crime scene investigator (CSI) that needs to approach the crime scene with a new approach. But contrary to all the needs for a creative mindset in the workforce and in life, the education system does not foster creativity and actually inhibits the development of creative abilities. The standard dogma of secondary education revolves around assigning students a bunch of assignments with strict rules – “busy work” – that don’t give students the ability to use their creative skills. To make matters worse, teachers punish students with bad grades for thinking outside the box and not adhe...

Instant gratification versus delayed gratification is a constant internal battle. Otherwise known as "Akrasia, acting against ones better judgment. Smoking is one of the best examples of akrasia, the people who participate in the unhealthy habit know it's bad, they understand the risks associated with it. Smokers choose instant gratification and succumb to the desire to "smoke a joint", though they understand that their habit can lead to cancer or " Smokers lungs" and eventually lead to death they continue to chase the dopamine rush that follows consuming nicotine. Even though choosing to not participate in smoking will eventually lead to a brighter health, people still do it, why? well, a possible reason could also be peer pressure. Many people choose to stay away from nicotine and smoking in general, but, when your "friends" tell you to "try it, your body's id - The devil on your shoulder - convinces you to do it because then your ...

  My whole life I’ve been called different names, “Veom”, “Yome”, Vome”, the list goes on. Peoples names are not only significant due to it being what you refer to people as but because it displays your culture and family history every time someone calls your name. Every single name you hear on daily basis has a deeper meaning that people often overlook when talking to people. Take a common name for example: Peter; I bet you probably haven't thought about what the name means or where it originated from. Well, it actually means rock and signifies strength and resilience, this name originated from a greek word too. All this meaning is packed into one word and it holds much more importance than it is usually given in society. One name isn't just a word, its their identity. Thats why you should strive to say it right. Many can argue this from a biological perspective, arguing that perceptual narrowing , which causes phonemic deafness, is why people struggle pronouncing names. It i...

  In the article Numerous Teams Express Interest in Aaron Rodgers Playing Elsewhere , the author uses irony to achieve a satirical view of Aaron Rodgers and him being a free agent. The author uses irony when they state “Numerous NFL front offices expressed interest this week in quarterback Aaron Rodgers playing elsewhere.” This statement is ironic because it contradicts the usual chatter surrounding free agents, where most teams express interest in acquiring a player and try to sign them but here, they express interest in the opposite, trying to keep him away from their team. The use of irony here makes the Superbowl champion and four time NFL MVP – Most Valuable Player – seem like more of a burden on the teams and less of an asset to have. Another instance when the author uses irony is when they state “[Talking to Rodgers’ agent about keeping Rodgers away from their team] puts us in a much better position than many of the other teams in the league who now risk acquiring the former...