Metacognition: Jane Eyre Mash-Up

I like trying new things; I enjoy being adventurous; I live to challenge myself. This Jane Eyre mash-up we created in class was something new, adventurous, and challenging for me. I had never done anything like this project before, and I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of not having to write an essay after reading a book for once. At first, I wasn't all that optimistic about doing this project, but then as I began to get into it, I started to realize that it was fun.

Our group worked well together. I started off by suggesting that we do a theme from Jane Eyre that wasn't listed on the English website, because I thought it was something nobody else would choose to do a mash-up about. We chose the theme Void. It's merely a word, but in relation to Jane Eyre, it became so much more than just a simple word. I won't lie, it was definitely difficult trying to find 20 passages from Jane Eyre that truly captured the Void theme, but with patience and persistence, we managed to find the perfect excerpts. When it came to our other book sources and our magazine articles, newspaper stories, pictures, and YouTube videos, we found more than enough passages that would fit perfectly with our theme.

I think the part of this assignment that really made me think was trying to find a way to fit all 59 of our sources into a list that allowed the previous source to flow smoothly into the next source and still have the theme of the project remain somewhat apparent without losing focus. This definitely challenged me, and it took me as well as the rest of the group around five hours to figure out how to arrange the sources. I think one of the things that helped us the most was coming up with a system of organization for the sources. We ended up categorizing the sources according to sub-themes within the main theme. For example, we put all of the quotes relating to isolation (a sub-category of Void) in one pile, and quotes dealing with political, relationship, poverty, religion, love, etc. into corresponding piles. This way, we would be able to keep our evidence in order, while at the same time, also creating a flow of information that fit flawlessly with one another.

All in all, I thought this was a very unique and exciting project. I enjoyed being challenged and forcing myself to think way outside of the box. I would definitely recommend doing this project again next year.

Connection: Linkin Park and Jane Eyre

I chose this song called Somewhere I Belong, by Linkin Park, not only because they are a great band, but because they choose to put so much raw emotion into their music. I like the fact that they do this because it makes their music personal, at least for me. This is just one of their many songs, but as I listened to the lyrics, I thought it had so much direct connection with Jane Eyre. Any reader could clearly see how Jane's life would fit perfectly with this song. I think Jane's emotions are described well in the chorus of the song:

"I want to feel what I thought was never real.
I want to let go of the pain I felt so long.
I want to heal, I want to feel
Like I'm close to something real.
I want to find something I've wanted all along."

I personally interpreted these lyrics to mean (in terms of Jane Eyre) that Jane struggles to find a place where she belongs; a "home," as Bronte writes. She also yearns to be loved, and yet is terrified of love at the same time, since she never had a parental figure or a family that cared for her. Her whole life, she knew nothing of what it meant or felt like to be wanted, but after spending many months at Thornfield Hall with Mr. Rochester, she finally found "something I've wanted all along;" to be loved. But the song is not just about finding something you've always longed for, it's also about letting go of the pain and being able to heal yourself from the pain. In the following stanza, it is easy to feel the emotional baggage that the lyrics carry:

"I will never know myself until I do this on my own,
and I will never feel anything else until my wounds are healed.
I will never be anything until I break away from me.
I will break away, I will find myself today."

Jane shifts her character from a girl who is forced to take orders from everyone she encounters, to a woman who is original in her thought , authoritative in her words, and confident in herself (which, during the time period, were all characteristics seen as unusual for a woman). But in order to make that major shift, Jane had to come to terms with her past, release her pent-up emotions, and deal with the pain. It wasn't easy for her, but in the end, it made her a stronger person. She was never able to "know myself until I do this on my own," "until my wounds are healed." She slowly healed herself, first by forgiving Mrs. Reed, then by finding love with Mr. Rochester, and finally, by proving herself wrong to everyone that thought so little of her. She gained confidence and independence, purity of heart and peace of mind, love and a home.

Jane is quite a complex character. It would be an understatement to say that her character is fully described in this song; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Only a fraction of Jane is portrayed in these lyrics, but a very important part of Jane nonetheless. This song helps get at the deeper emotion we see in Jane; the part of her that we might skip over when merely reading the dense text. That's why it is important to delve deeper into Bronte's character, so we can actually get inside of Jane's head and experience the emotions right along side her.

360 Degrees: Finding Your Own Path

It is important to know and accept yourself for who you are. You can live an adventurous, fulfilling, and successful life by doing what you want, not by what other people tell you to do. I've been told more than enough times that "just be yourself" is such a cliche, but I truly believe that being your own person is the greatest way to experience life. Who wants to be told what to do all the time? Certainly not me. Aside from my parents' occasional requests to do chores and homework, I don't feel obligated to submit myself to anyone 's demands. And I prefer it that way. That's not to say I can't look up to someone and follow in their footsteps, I just follow in my own way to make it personal for me.

Some people may easily disagree, saying that the only way to be great or successful or even happy is to do exactly what another great, successful, happy individual has done. It may work sometimes, but would you really be happy if you were making a good living even though you hate your job? Probably not. Like my dad, he works hard and makes a good living for my family and he loves what he does, but just because he is highly successful doesn't mean I'm going to be a stock broker like him to make a lot of money. That job wouldn't make me happy. I can easily find a job that I love and makes me happy without living the mirror image of someone else's life. But I can use my dad as a goal for my own success. Talking to him about how he became successful can help me do the same in the future, without taking his exact course of action.

I recently went to tour colleges in Washington D.C. and Virginia over spring break. I loved everything about Georgetown, William and Mary, and University of Virginia. My aunt (who went to Georgetown) told me how hard you have to work to get in to those top-notch schools. Looking at her successful life, touring the school, and talking to current Georgetown students, I saw all the hard work it takes to be the best of the best. If I ever hope to attend one of those top schools, I will have to work even harder to make it happen. This doesn't mean I have to be the greatest student who ever walked through the doors of GBS, or have the most extracurricular clubs and sports, or even perfect test scores. That would be living up to someone else's expectations. I can work hard in school; getting good grades and test scores without being overly competitive. I can get in to a top school, but I will do it my own way. And of course my parents push me to strive for excellence, because being excellent makes them happy, but that doesn't mean I can't have my own personal freedom and time to do other things that make me happy.

All in all, it is crucial to find a place inside yourself that allows you to be spontaneous, happy, successful, or anything else that leads you along your own path. If it means telling someone "no" because you know it won't make you happy, then say "no". Don't get something you hate just because it's free, get the things you love instead, even if it means spending a little. When life throws you lemons, throw them back and ask for a fruit that you love.

Dialectics: Jane Eyre and Once

Loneliness is a terrible thing, isn't it? Nobody wants to be alone forever, especially when they need someone in their life at a critical moment. In the film Once, the main character (whose name is just 'guy' apparently, so in future reference, I will refer to him as 'the guy') feels a deep sense of loneliness. He is at a critical point in his life, trying to make enough money to survive while at the same time struggling as a street musician in hopes that one day he will get a recording contract. Similarly, Jane from the novel Jane Eyre, also faces vast periods of loneliness. She was practically neglected as a child and had to learn how to raise herself and be independent. For a young girl of her age, I admire her for being able to accomplish such a difficult task.

It can really make all the difference in the world when you have someone in your life. When the guy meets the girl in Once, it's more than just a feeling of comfort, it's an incredibly strong attraction. When they become friends, she realizes his love for music, and their common interests bind them ever closer together. In a matter of days (or weeks, the film doesn't specify the amount of time elapsed) the two form a powerful, long-lasting relationship. Watching the film, I saw the guy emerge from a life of darkness and enter into a light so bright, you could hardly grasp the extent of his happiness. To him, finding somebody and music were the most important things, and he found both when he met the girl.

In Jane Eyre, Jane is also plagued with prolonged moments of isolation. Her move to Lowood Institution was a turning point in her life, making friends for the first time. At this point, Jane is finally able to feel like a child by playing and connecting with girls of her own age. She no longer is forced to rely on herself for everything. In a sense, Lowood almost seems to make Jane grow down instead of grow up. I can't imagine living a normal life without any friends. Neither could Jane, until she met Helen. That is why the importance of a close friendship was so meaningful to Jane.

There are many parallels between the film Once and the novel Jane Eyre. The theme of loneliness is just one, but it is a vital aspect of both works if someone is to properly analyze them. You can't fully understand the characters if you don't get into their mindset and feel what they feel.

iMedia: The Future

I found this video on youtube thinking it was going to be another one of those unrealistic time travel videos. The video takes you through, year by year, from 2007 all the way to 2099. This short clip shows the progression and development of man-made technology from just a few years ago all the way into the future. In 2007, people were just starting to go digital and use particle accelerators. As the years progress, technological production becomes increasingly complex and advanced, far beyond the capability of any human. While I was watching the clip, I came to realize that our future world will be centered around technology.



It's hard to imagine a world where computers will be able to create their own programs and software, or where we send a manned mission to Mars, or even create multi-celled organisms in a petri dish. But we need to be able to get our minds around the idea that many of these things can and will happen in our lifetime. Although many of these seemingly impossible technological feats are only in the brainstorming and drawing board stages, I realized that technology is the way of the future. Without it, we cannot survive. I found it very interesting that in the video, one of the possible inventions for the future was a robot that had all the capabilities of human beings, including the mental capacity. One of the slides in the video states "Significant knowledge is being created by machines with little or no human intervention." Doesn't that scare you? It makes me a little uneasy to know that humans will become inferior to machines. It's like humans won't even have a place in the world, instead, robots and computers will do everything for us.



I also found it interesting how one slide said, "There is almost no human employment in production, agriculture, or transportation." It's hard to imagine, but sadly, it's probably true. Once robots and other machines gain human functions, they will be able to do everything we can, if not better. I can't imagine living in a world where my next-door neighbor is a robot, or where I drive a hover car to work. The rate at which technology is changing boggles my mind. The age of technology is fast approaching, and it's impossible to know what the future of mankind will be. Perhaps one day, we will truly live in the Matrix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1KEFgD6Dtg

Best of Week: Cathedral

In class on Friday, we discussed a short story called Cathedral. At first, I was reading the short story and I was wondering why we were required to read it. I mean, it was this piece of writing that really had nothing to do with any of our previous readings. The content of the story surprised me. I was not expecting the husband to offer Robert, the blind man, marijuana. I was not expecting Robert to get along so well with the husband, who seemed to dislike the idea that his wife was sharing the intimate details of her life with a complete stranger. There were a lot of things I just wasn't expecting.

I think after reading through the short story, I was able to conclude that things aren't always the way they seem. Now, I know that sounds cliche, but in this case, it is especially true. I think what interested me the most about this story was the way Robert was able to do all of these things, despite all the negative things the husband thought and said about him. I thought it was incredible how Robert could tell the difference between a color television and a black and white television just by listening to what was playing on the screen. I also thought it was important to realize that Robert was able to prove the husband wrong in everything he had previously thought about the blind man without even being aware of it himself. Robert's physical appearance and abilities do things really showed the husband how wrong he was about Robert.

Not only is this story important in that it shows how prejudice towards something you know nothing about can prove you wrong, but it also shows the importance of emotion. The husband and wife in the story were struggling to keep a strong relationship. They had no emotional connection or even effective communitcation. But the blind man allowed the wife to feel open emotionally again and have a connection with someone. The close friendship the wife and Robert had made the husband feel uncomfortable, and probably jealous, since he knew he never made his wife feel happy the way Robert did. I think the importance of a strong friendship is vital to this story, and also to real life. Many people can draw parallels to this short story, whether they be in the failing relationship between the husband and wife, or the blossoming one between the wife and Robert. This is what makes this story so relatable. Even though this story is a work of fiction, the author creates this piece of that contains events many people face in real life.
So maybe this short story wasn't such a random choice afterall.

Metacognition: MUNUC

Over the weekend, several people from the Academy as well as myself spent the weekend at the Model United Nations of the University of Chicago, or MUNUC for short. I was to represent the nation of Madagascar in the World Conference on Women delegation. The two topics for possible discussion were A: Maternal Health, or B: Sex Work. I spent a few days before the conference doing research on both topics, gathering information about Madagascar's viewpoint on both maternal health and sex work. It was a long and tedious process, but I was able to find Madagascar's stand on both issues.

When walking into the morning (and evening) conferences, I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to say to the rest of the 350 or so delegates, who represented a grand total of 153 different nations from around the world. I never thought that in 8 hours of intense, and often hectic discussion that I would hear so many different ideas and proposals. I honestly had no clue what I was in for when I walked into this conference, but let me tell you, it was pretty awesome. I sat and listened to hundreds of delegates speak about the pressing issues that plagued women in societies all over the world. At first, I thought it was going to be an every-man-for-himself kind of ordeal, but listening to nations build off of one another's ideas made me see that this conference was all about working together. It would be a major understatement if I told you that coming up with a solution for improving maternal health was easy. We argued and debated for four days over viable and affordable options for each individual country's needs.

I discovered that my thinking process changes dramatically when I am in different situations. During this conference, I was able to see my thought process evolve from a nation's individual and basic ideas to writing resolutions and amendments that could improve our entire world. I could have never done that on my own or without the opportunity to experience a Model United Nations conference.

It is important to realize that you can never achieve something so big all by yourself. It took 350 delegates from 153 different nations working 8 hours a day for 4 days to come up with a single resolution. I came to this conference with only a 3 page packet of information on Madagascar's stand on maternal health, but I left with a brain overflowing with amazing ideas and a brand new perspective of the world.