ENG 2100: The Known and Unknown

Expressionism PP.

Surrealism

Growing  up as a kid, I always was kind of chubby. I loved to eat my moms and families cooking but besides that I think it was in my genetics to be chubby. It kind of bothered me as a child when my pants or my shirts would look tight on me but besides that I was fine with my body. The reason behind that was because I was always in sports. Even though I was chubby, I always was always able to keep up with the most athletic people on the teams. When it would be time to run, it was always a mental thing for me and not a physical thing. I would have to always convince myself that I could do it and to not quit. At the end, I would always be the first person across the finish line.

When I was in preschool I learned that every person was different. Some kids were too nice while others were not nice at all. Some kids where social while others were not. Some kids tried to conform to the culture of the class while others did not. It was hard for me to find the “right friend” so, being a picky little brat back then, I decided to create my own friend. I created an imaginary friend.  I don’t remember her name, but she was a young woman between the ages of 15-18 and had green skin, hair, and eyes. She would sit with me while I colored and walk with me around the park during recess. I’d like to establish my credibility by saying my mother and classmates told me this was true. My mother would tell me that I would often sit alone and talk to someone who wasn’t there.

I always thought I had an imaginary friend because probably I felt alone, which didn’t really make sense because I did have friends. My curious mind began to look for answers on the internet. I stumbled upon an article on Psychology Today called “Imaginary Friends” by Eileen Kennedy-Moore, and she states “Having an imaginary friend is not evidence that a child is troubled. However, imaginary friends can be a source of comfort when a child is experiencing difficulties”. Thinking back to my childhood I suppose I did feel uncomfortable being sent to a building with strange children and strange adults who told me what to do. Thus my imaginary friend was there to comfort me in an unfamiliar environment. So I want to ask, have any of you guys have had an imaginary friend? What where they like? And why do you think you had them?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/growing-friendships/201301/imaginary-friends

I heard it often around me. I saw it often around me. In my mother’s and father’s eyes, the reflection of their home lived vividly within them. I knew how much they missed their home land, but most of all, I understood why they would. It’s simple really. When was the last time they’ve been able to see their parents? To hug them? To talk to them in person? It’s been far too long to simply state a mere number. It should not be measured with the number of years or months, but with the amount of the love that they’ve missed out on throughout their time here. Yet, I had no desire to meet that homeland that they hold so dear to themselves. Perhaps I didn’t quite understand their insistence to travel there myself or perhaps I was afraid of leaving without them. I spent months pushing away the topic and questions until I could no longer be ignorant. It didn’t take long after accepting for my parents to buy the airplane tickets. I was to fly alone, but the family I had never met before would be there when I’d arrived. I recognized some faces while others I hadn’t. Many were new while many others recalled old memories. I had never felt so overwhelmed by the number of people that greeted me and surrounded me. The idea that I was a small part of a large family truly took me by surprise. Those 10 days away from home, one long airplane ride away, welcomed me with delighted people and new moments with them. Experiences that I hadn’t realized I was rejecting to before deciding to give in to the decision to take that airplane ticket away from home. I understood, on the day that I left, the feeling of missing a country and the family it holds upon flying back home with my parents as their eyes reflected a message within them. “Thank you for choosing to go.”

I was a rather skinny kid growing up. I did not feel comfortable in my body, mostly because I was teased a lot. As a result, I was always conscious of my physique. I decided to make a change in my junior year of high school. At the end of fall, I began working out and started a “bulking” diet. Bulking is when you consume more calories than what you usually do in a day-to-day basis. In turn, you will gain more weight. Within 1-2 months, I gained 20 pounds with the consistency of my diet and training. When I came back to school from the winter break, there was a noticeable change in my body. I started getting compliments and people started noticing this change. I started to develop a deep love for this process, so I continued it. Around that same time, I was looking at youtube videos and websites to improve my physique. Only to find out that almost all of the fitness icons were on steroids. So, I decided to juice up a bit. I’m just kidding. On a more serious note, I used to compare my body to these fitness gurus and only to find out that they were on performance enhancing drugs which made me angry.However,I came to a realization. I questioned my reasoning for working out, and I wasn’t pleased with my answer. I became aware that I was doing it to be accepted by others and I was continuously fishing for compliments. I decided to change my motivational references and started working out for myself. I immediately saw a change in my happiness because I didn’t care what people had to say about me.Eventually, I started becoming independent and started doing things for myself, not for anyone else.

I find myself spending an absorbent amount of time on social media. Whenever I have a chance I am on it. When Instagram first became a thing I was in middle school and I was rarely on it unless I had something to post. Now I find myself obsessing over it. It has gotten so bad that I continuously have to hide my phone  from myself. Most people would ask what is it that I find so entertaining . It would have to be the fact that social media is constantly updating. It constantly is giving new information. I’ve developed a very short attention span as result because nothing in real life moves from different subjects this fast.  I keep up with celebrities there fashion tips. I can go from seeing my friends family to learning how to make a cake. Its also on there at the tip of my fingers.

I have tried to go through cleanse. all my friends get annoyed by me when I do this because its like a disappear. I get rid of every social media. I completely deactivate my Instagram and delete my snap. during this cleanse Im the happiest I’ve ever been. I genuinely am in better mood and way more productive. however I am out of the loop on everything. I hear about things a week later. Even though social media is about posting ones pictures a lot of news gets posted in actual time. So social media definently has its pros and cons. I ask my colleges how do you manage your time on social media? and do  you feel like its important?

Each of you has been assigned to a group (listed below), and each group has been assigned a particular “-ism” (an ideology or system of thought) that was popular during Kafka’s lifetime.

Your group will have 10-15 minutes to teach the class about your assigned ideology. You are welcome to incorporate visual aids, media, or handouts into your presentation. In addition to teaching us what your ideology is all about, you will be helping us to understand how your particular ideology can be connected to Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.” Be prepared to share what you’ve learned on Wednesday, October 25th.

1. Expressionism: Maria, Juan, Adriana, Crystal

2. Freudianism: Johanny, Derick, Lizette, James, Chaiti

3. Marxism: Tysean, Sarah, KeiAra, Armando, Farhia

4. Existentialism: Edgar, Mersal, Yariel, Paul, Nicole

5. Surrealism: Chelsea, Daniela, Steven, Kerissa

Gamma Rays are one of the biggest explosions that exists throughout our universe. Gamma Ray explosions are very rare. They occur when stars produce solar flares, pulsars,or when the star reaches the end of its life cycle. As you can see, these events do not occur often throughout our lives. Fortunately, we were able to witness one a couple of years ago. On March 19 2008, a gamma ray exploded in a far away galaxy. The light from the gamma ray, known as GRB 080319B, was caught at 2:12 a.m by a telescope in Chile. This event is now recorded as one of the biggest explosions that ever occurred. Our star, the sun, is at the beginning of it’s life cycle. In order for it to cause a gamma ray explosion, it needs to wait billions of years. Our sun is no where near the size of other stars that are out there in our marvelous universe. In 5 billion years, our sun is predicted to expand into a red giant that will burn the earth. Therefore before we even see our sun explode, it will burn us and the earth from existence.

The link below further explains what happened on March 19 2008.

https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/21mar_nakedeye