What I'll miss about Buckley

Studying at the library everyday
Eating in the Senior Courtyard
Listening to the falling water and the birds at the pond
The very cold mornings and warm afternoons
The free milk in the coolers
The free chocolate milk I just started to like this year
Running on Gilley
Buckley Cross Country
Advisory and snacks every year
Listening to music for an hour every day on the bus
The underclassmen and lower/middle school kids
The small classes
Not the student lounge
The seniors

What to do before College

Summer
Work on a part-time job
Go to the beach
Go hiking
Sleep
Go to Knotts Soak City with the family
Read my Kurt Vonnegut collection of novels book
Do morning jogs
Learn to drive if I don't learn before summer
Do Stanford SPOT(the week before NSO)
Visit Stanford NSO( New Student Orientation Week)

NSO
Get to know academic advisors
Sign up for introductory seminars
Visit each part of the campus where departments are located
Learn more about the classes I want to do
Get to know other freshmen!

What to Take to College

What to take                                                                 What to Buy
1) Laptop                                                                     1) Mattress
2) A few books                                                            2) Beany chair
(especially the few I bought while visiting colleges)    3) Bike*
3) iPod                                                                         4) U-Lock
4) Sandals                                                                    5) Stanford blanket
5) The Simpsons frames                                              6) Lots of shorts
6) Frisbee                                                                     7) Umbrella
7) Favorite pillow                                                        8) Mini fridge
8) Gameboy                                                                 9) Power strip
9) PS3?                                                                       10) Laundry Basket
10) Rotating Chair                                                      11) Lamp
11) Camera                                                                 12) Bookcase & Desk?
+Plus clothes and personal hygiene items/essentials...

*Stanford offers bike packages for new students
What to do
1) Explore every corner of the campus (Bike everywhere)
2) Bike and jog different paths in the morning
3) Get to know the transportation system in Palo Alto
4) Take the train to San Francisco and explore for the whole day
5) Explore the underground steam tunnels
6) Shop at the Stanford Mall
7) Eat at every dining hall
8) Go to SPOT (Stanford Pre-Orientation Trips)
9) Join a club that involves something I have never done (Taiko Club?)
10) Go to El Centro Chicano events
11) Get to know academic advisors
12) Take a nap on a field

Exploring the College Catalog

For a part of the general education requirements at my college, five courses must be completed of which each must be of different subject area. These subject areas are Engineering and Applied Sciences, Humanities, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and the Social Sciences. This block is referred to as Disciplinary Breadth. Another part of the requirements is the Education for Citizenship, which can be satisfied by completing two courses in different subject areas. For E.C, the subject areas are Ethical Reasoning, Global Community, American Cultures, and Gender Studies. Though the E.C. and D.B. are different, the E.C. can be satisfied if the courses taken for D.B. also are courses in subject areas related to E.C. For the writing requirement, two levels of writing and rhetoric requirements exist for undergraduates.  Every student must complete each level of writing by completing a course of writing and rhetoric with the designated level.
   For the next two years, I would be interested in taking AA100: Introduction to Aeronautics and Astronautics, ME 12N: Jet Engine, two courses that would help me become more familiar with the Aeronautics and Astronautics Major I would like to pursue and that meet the general education requirements.
For humanities, I would like to take Polisci 3P: Justice and Publpol 103B: Ethics and Public Policy, both courses that offer me a new perspective of political science, an area that I haven't really focused much on.
For math, I would probably take Math 51: Linear Algebra and Differential Calculus of Several Variables, which I heard can be very difficult, or at least time consuming, and Math 53: Ordinary Differential Equations with Linear Algebra, which has Math 51 as a prerequisite and is a requirement for an AA major.
For the Social Sciences requirements, I would take Econ 1A: Introductory Economics A and Econ 1B: Introductory Economics B, both popular courses that I would like to explore and that offer interesting perspectives on a powerful presence in civilization.
 For natural sciences, though I am not very interested in that subject, the courses EESS 38N: The Worst Journey in the World: The Science, Literature, and History of Polar Exploration and GES 1A: Introduction to Geology: The Physical Science of the Earth sound very interesting.

The Stranger: Working Paragraph

In Albert Camus' novel "The Stranger", the narrator Monsieur Meursault describes a complicated series of events in a simple, impartial manner, depicting himself as a seemingly absent-minded observer. In describing the sensitive topics in his life, from the death of his mother to the murder he commits, Meursault appears incapable to express his emotions, emphasizing that he focuses mainly on physical experiences. If observed through the perspective of French society, Meursault is an amoral monster unable to act in accordance to social conventions and poses a threat to others. Yet, the mechanics of his mind suggests that he is not as receptive to emotions are, but is still influenced by them. With quite a different framework of thoughts, Meursault lives barely susceptible to social ideals lest he would be ostracized. Where he lacks sensitivity to spirituality and emotions, he strengthens his attention towards physical experiences, often observing the world and events and smelling scents.

 Ideas to introduce: (Comparison to senior year and inevitable change of perspective after transition to college) (Shorten) (Thesis) (Include M's change of perspective?)

Camus' The Stranger: Essay Topic

When I began to read The Stranger, I not only found Meursault's personality and behavior difficult to decipher, but I also strangely felt familiar with the character's perspective of life. Similar to others, introspection for Meursault and I is very difficult to do, but what I believe what makes our perspectives similar is in how we seem to approach to self-analysis and views on emotions and other experiences with a sense of peaceful indifference. This indifference that we experience is not the same as obliviousness though; we do not lack awareness, but we do lack interest in matters. However, to a small degree, we do differ in our perspective of life. Though we both do not convey or relate our emotions in what would seem to be the normal manner, I acknowledge that I can do so, though with difficulty because I struggle to grasp them(I hope to clarify this point in my essay, so as to not dish out the full analysis); he, on the other hand, can acknowledge that he has great difficulty in doing so, but he influences the reader into believing that he may not have the ability to relate his emotions. Another point in which we differ is how social conventions influence us. Whether it involves introspection, behavior, manners, relations, I am very much influenced to act in accordance with social conventions; if not, then I wouldn't do so. Yet, Meursault is not tempted to conform. He offers his perspective on life in a very objective manner and one of the few indications of his opinion or emotions is his observation of nature. Perhaps, for the Camus essay, I will focus on the mechanics of Meursault's mind and how that relates very much to his observations of nature and the outside, human world, away from prison, focusing on the idea of "peaceful indifference". I would probably use my perspective on life, specifically on the last moments in high school have felt so important, and yet so uninteresting.

The Stranger: Passive, Indifferent?

In chapter 1 of Part Two of Camus' novel, Meursault continues to exhibit his indifference towards emotions and relationships. When asked on the matter of sensitive subjects, including his mother's funeral, Meursault does not reveal any emotions he held towards his mother's death, much to the dismay of his lawyer. Rather than discussing his emotions, he responds cordially and focuses more on his physical experiences, suggesting that he is most sensitive to physical senses and needs rather than emotions. Though Meursault often acts as if he does not understand social conventions and ethics, he sometimes refrains himself from portraying himself in that manner so as to not intimidate others of his apathy. His barely existent restrains suggest that he is not completely separate from society, so as not to become alienated; yet, his lack of qualities of what most would define as essential to humans would definitely convince others to ostracize him.

T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets

In T.S. Eliot's poem "Four Quartets", the narrator emphasizes the difficulty of employing words in his poems in order to communicate his emotions. In a world caught between the tragedies of two Great Wars, the poet struggles to organize the shambled emotions of his generation. Living with the ubiquitious acknowledgement of the wars, the poet even has words influenced by the chaos of war. In attempting to capture words, he portrays his disordered emotions as "undisciplined squads". Also, he describes his pursue as a constant battle to capture the necessary words to describe the tragedies of the generation. Yet, he mentions, much like the battles of the First Great War, there was neither gains nor losses. Every word he encounters cannot perfectly frame these disordered emotions.

Following Blogs

Here are a few blogs that I would like to follow for the next few weeks:
http://www.economist.com/blogs
A blog site created by the popular magazine The Economist that helps people stay informed

 http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/
Another news blog to help people stay informed, but what I like about this one is that it includes a lot of pictures that help readers familiarize themselves with stories or at least help develop sympathy or understanding in the case of tragedies or human interest stories

http://amillionsight.blogspot.com/
This blog focuses more on pictures and their contents. Whether the background or one object, these pictures can trance.

Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth"

Reflecting on the somber atmosphere surrounding the world over WWI, Wilfred Owen's poem "Anthem for Doomed Youth" highlights the disastrous slaughter of millions of young men, far removed from their homes and families and left in barren lands. Emphasizing the killings of these young men as the slaughter of cattle, the narrator illustrates how inhumane the tremendous number of deaths that occurred were in the Great War. He emphasizes the youth of these men, who he sees as being only boys, to describe how further inhumane and horrendous their deaths were. For their tragic deaths, the lack of proper burial is much more devastating in a religious aspect, especially for the soldiers' families. Without proper burial, only the roars of the rifle serve as the passing bells for the young soldiers, as many of them collapse and simply remain forgotten by the world, losing their futures and recognition in the world. By including caucaphonous words along with others that connote melancholic calmness and rest, the narrator juxtaposes the horrendous circumstances under which the young soldiers leave the world to the peaceful burials of young men near home, where their families feel much more closer to their youth.

Camus's The Stranger

In Camus's short story The Stranger,the narrator speaks in simplicity and informs the reader mostly about his actions rather than his emotions. Simply labeling his ideas and opinions on serious and light subjects as "good" and "bad", Meursalt reveals himself to being very detached from others. The fact that he narrates on mundane topics in a very mundane manners encourages the reader to question the simplicity of Meursalt's life; regarding the recent death of his mother, Meursalt's passive behavior makes the reader question whether the character is keeping his emotions inside. Throughout each day after his mother's passing, he frequently comments on "how nice" the weather is, whether warm or cool or pleasing. His comment may be simple in that he is discussing only how pleasing the day is. On the other hand, he may have another reason for mentioning this to the reader, including hidden emotions regarding the recent death of his mother and possible renewal of his view on life.

Genesis

In the King James Version of the Bible, the Genesis presents the beginning of existence as a creed. Unlike Darwin's Recapitulation and Conclusion, Genesis presents the beginning without an attempt to persuade and instead as the truth. With its repetition of the passing of days, Genesis offers a more ritualistic tone than that of Darwin's Conclusion. Another contradiction between Genesis and Darwin's thesis is that Genesis claims that the creation of animals was immediate and focused on each individual creation whereas Darwin's thesis claims that the creation of creatures resulted from years' of passing traits through evolution. Based on the repetitive, ritualistic tone and religious aspect of the Genesis, more people have been inclined to believe the Book of Genesis in its interpretation of creation since they hold religion as the most important of their fundamental beliefs than Darwin's Conclusion, despite the fact that Darwin also offers a scientific argument based on evidence and scientific analysis, especially during the publication of Darwin's thesis. Today, more people recognize Darwin's thesis as a credible alternative for their understanding of the beginning of creation.

Darwin-Conclusion

In his conclusion, Darwin structures his final statements as a large summary of his thesis and a response to possible critics of his beliefs. After every few sentences, Darwin recognizes the opposing argument and gathers evidence or offers analysis that answer to the criticism. His intentions in the conclusion is to persuade his readers to agree with his argument on evolution.
Contradicting religious beliefs, Darwin does not view the creation of each creature noble. In his thesis, he states that the creation of each creature resulted from years of the successful procreation of dominant creatures in a species, which, for him, is what ennobles these creatures. In the passing of dominant traits within a species, each line of descendants approaches a higher sense of nobility, or perhaps perfection.

Theories on Conformity: Kafka

For my project of conformity, I will focus mainly on the familial pressures and other societal pressures that people face, especially during their youth. These types of pressures can range from standards of behavior to an individual's commitment or duty to his family, like aiding with chores or upholding the family reputation in a community. In Kafka's short story "The Metamorphosis", Gregor gets a job, though voluntarily, to support his family at the time when they faced financial problems. However, over the years of supporting his family, his mind becomes enveloped in the conformist notion of dedicated working, like a drone. Meanwhile, his family becomes habituated with depending solely on Gregor's income. For both Gregor and his family, the sense of habituation they experience is a type of conformity. As they become habituated with their lifestyles, they grasp on to their daily routines and, if the strongly hold on to this conformity, they fear changes to the routine. When Gregor discovers he has transformed into a bug, he refuses to confront and recognize the severity of his problem and instead focuses on his daily routines. In Gregor's society, the conformist notion of working controls Gregor.

The Metamorphosis: Blog 2

From the beginning of the short story, the narrator tells the audience that his family is very kind and considerate in taking care of him after his sudden, shocking transformation. Yet, towards the end, the narrator hints at the fact that Gregor attempts to rationalize his family's actions and emotions too often to his liking, rather than accepting the idea that his family fear him and cannot embrace the lifestyle they live to support Gregor. As he becomes more comfortable to his lifestyle as an insect, Gregor perceives his sister much more as a caretaker. Yet, in order to hold on to his human aspects, he frequently remembers his desires to send his sister to the conservatory and sees his relationship with his sister becoming stronger. Through his narration, he demonstrates a lot of love towards his young sister and implies she feels the same way for him. But, at the end of the short story, his sister loses hope in recovering her brother. While Gregor has become unconsciously accustomed to his life as an insect, his sister has become accustomed to the idea of supporting the life a giant insect rather than her brother's. Her hopelessness contrasts Gregor's optimism for a return to a regular lifestyle, at least with the entire family.

Interview Questions

Interview Questions
Focus on social values
Familial ValuesPersonal Values
Traditional Values Familial Pressure
1) What kind of values or behavior did your parents or siblings teach you to follow?
2) Do you believe some of these values helped shape you as a distinct individual in the world, or do you believe they portrayed you as another loyal family member?
(Comment on question: besides ethics? What am I asking in this question? Struggle between developing an individuality and conforming to familial values)
3) Which values do you think your family was most pressuring you to follow?
4)Do you have an experience where clearly acted against your family?
5) What were the consequences? Did you regret making that decision?
6) In what ways do you think (cultural)traditional values distinguished you as an individual and as a conformist?
7) Did you ever act against cultural values?

The Metamorphosis: Blog 1

In the first few pages of Kafka's novella, the narrator presents a simple, non-alarming tone that contradicts the severity of the protagonist's situation. Transformed into a giant insect, Gregor undermines his well being and falls back to his usual mindset on his routine lifestyle. Rather than acknowledge that his shocking transformation may alienate him from his family and acquaintances and fracture his life, he ignores it, or, at the most, views it as a minor setback to his daily schedule. Ironically, once the Director threatens to fire Gregor, Gregor becomes emotional and pleads to stay on the job, noting his commitment to his dull routine and drone-like work ethics as positive factors, rather than directing that emotion to when he realizes he has transformed into an insect. Through his simple thoughts on tasks and focus to returning to work, Gregor, too enveloped in conformity, shocks the audience with his disinterest in his being and self-interest.

Conformity Project: Blog 2

Another aspect I want to focus on for the conformity project is the familial pressure on the individual, like I mention in my previous blog, but with education and work involved. Although I do not know my grandmother very well, I understand that she raised my mother to be a very hard working, determined woman. Throughout their lives, both have worked as street vendors in Mexico, along with other family members. Though I have also been raised to work very hard in jobs, if I were to interview my grandmother for the project, I would compare the differences in the family pressure during her youth to the family pressure I currently face. Since I would also be possibly the first in my family to attend college, one difference I would highlight is that I experience much less pressure to work and more pressure to study. During my grandmother's youth, she probably worked for long hours every week in order to contribute to paying for living expenses. Though she has had brothers and sisters to help her, she experienced the family pressure to work for many years; if she refused to comply, the family could have shunned her and she risked having to financially destabilize the family. She could have also risked destroying relationships within the family. In this generation, since my direct family is much better off financially, I feel much less pressure to contribute to earning a living, though I am still expected to work. However, if I were to not comply, I would risk deteriorating my relationship with my mother,though not risk destabilizing the family financially.

Conformity Project: Blog 1

For the English Assignment Conformity, Then and Now, I want to focus on the the consequences that conformity to social and family values have on the individual, whether negative or positive, from two generations ago to the conformity the individual faces now. In observing the impact of conforming, the impact on the family and the individual's mind must be taken into account. Often, the impact on the family involves the stability of the family or possibly the family's reputation in a commmunity. In the novel Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennnet risks losing a position in higher society for her and her family and strong financial security after refusing two marriage proposals from gentlemen, an opportunity that most families would teach their daughters not to turn down. In modern families, the children feel much less pressure to marry into wealth or families well connected in higher society. This familial pressure has shifted towards the children working hard to earn an education and a job in order to provide for the family directly.
In other words, one of the aspects of conformity I want to focus on is the shift of familial pressure to court and marry with the fact that the family would benefit financially to the modern-day familial pressure to earn a college education and a job with a high salary. Both aspects help the family economically, but the modern aspect has more control for the individual over his life: unlike in the 19th century, the individual can choose to marry with his interests in mind and earn an adequate living without a college education and without his family shunning him (though at extremes cases, they would).

Body Paragraph: Essay on Heart of Darkness

As Marlow travels deeper into the immoral, bestial realm of the African jungle, his admiration for the corrupted Kurtz and the manifestation of greed and immorality clash with Marlow's ethics. Despite the horrific lifestyle that Kurtz lives to satisfy his megalomaniac needs, Marlow, the only character who appears to have a sense of morality, praises him for his success and portrays him as Europe's pride. Hence, as Frederick Karl interprets, Marlow would wish to see a sense of morality manifest in Kurtz's last words,"Kurtz has reviewed his life with all its horror and in some dying part of him has repented; Marlow hears the words as a victory of moral sensibility over a life of brutality"(Psychoanalytic 130). Much more of a desire than an observation, Marlow's perspective reveal he strongly holds on to his ethics in the immorally corrupt, primal world of the African jungle and wishes to see those qualities in the man he admires. Yet, Marlow surprisingly ignores
(Personal transformation into...)

(second quote: Lie to K's Intended

Blog: Frederick Karl on Heart of Darkness

In Frederick Karl's Psychoanalytic Criticism on Conrad's The Heart of Darkness, Karl discusses the novella's description of human behaviour after the individual has been enveloped in irrational and wild thoughts, completely devoid of moral restraints. On observing the last words of Kurtz before his death, Karl notes two possible interpretations of Kurtz's will: Marlow's and the reader's. In Marlow's interpretation, Kurtz speaks "The horror! The horror!" to finally comment over the wild immorality of the dark world he has plunged himself into and, in Marlow's opinion, Kurtz shouting of the horror reveals his sense of morality, a distinction and identification of the immorality he saw. If this were true, the question is to what degree did Kurtz distinguish morality from immorality? How blurry was the line? On the other hand, Karl's interpretation is that Kurtz's shouting demonstrates his anguish over the end of his life and that he will not live to continue grasping more power. Unlike the first interpretation, which Marlow would be willing to accept since he himself has a strong sense of morality, this interpretation corresponds well with the character of Kurtz, whose mind has spiraled downwards into irrationality, immorality, and darkness. His megalomania, his obssession with wealth and power, had completely grasped his thoughts until the very end. But, if we were to give Marlow's opinion some consideration on this second interpretation, then the question is, if Marlow did not die, then would his near death experience still have shown him to understand the immorality of his world?

Blog 5: Heart of Darkness

In paragraph 142, Marlow draws the audience into a lull with the heavy syllables and somber tone in his speech to demonstrate Kurtz's descent into the darkness of his soul. Using the words "heavy, mute spell", Marlow describes the wilderness of Africa as a captivating, mysterious, and dangerous force that draws Kurtz to awaken his primitive and "brutal instincts." He suggests that this heavy spell further draws him deeper into the jungle, where the "throb of drums, the drone of weird incantations" develop the monotonous and savage mood of the darkness. The vibrant and mysterious imagery of the jungle and the natives develops the sense that Kurtz becomes overwhelmed by the darkness inside of him, as he souls descends into madness.

Blog 4: Heart of Darkness

In paragraph 103, Marlow continues to digress from his account of the events leading up to the death of his helmsman, as he pauses frequently and quickly changes the subjects he describes. Contemplating, Marlow mentions details of his journey and the people he meets in anachronistic order. His lack of ordered thoughts suggests that the remembrance of the events he describes have severely traumatized him. To him, his journey towards the deeper land has psychologically damaged him, as he faces incomprehensible danger and the manifestation of human darkness from living among the dangerous natives and death, far away from the comforts of civilized home. As Marlow comments, the listeners of his story cannot comprehend the psychological toil the journey has on civilized men like him; with many external protections like the developed morality of civilization and police establishments, man can refrain himself from dwelling in the evils of the unconscious and the evil, primal traits of the mind. Without these external influences, Marlow believes that inner strength only stands to stop one from falling captive to the "powers of darkness."

Blog 3: Heart of Darkness

In paragraph 83 in the Heart of Darkness, Marlow continues to ponder his deeper journey into the unknown, contemplating on the strangeness of the natives. Ironically stating that "the earth seemed unearthly", he fears being unfamiliar with the natives. Though he perceives them as monstrous savages, he hesitates to describe them, demonstrating that he cannot grasp the mystery and unknown danger they pose to him in this unknown land. Yet, he also mentions that by looking into himself, somewhere in his unconscious, traits remain that reflect the savagery of the primitives, despite the differences between the white man and the natives. Interestingly, his observation resembles Freud's belief in the id, ego, and the superego. The traits that Marlow mentions belong to the id, and the principles of mankind and the "cloak of time", the progression of civilization and its benefits, belong to the superego.
Afterwards, he observes the "savage" fireman working on the boiler as if he was an inferior species. He comments on how the native is a much more improved kind than the natives on the bank simply for the training and knowledge the native received from the white men to work. As the fireman works, Marlow describes the fireman's actions and demeanor as if he were a frightened, extremely obedient servant. In describing the teachings the fireman had to fix the boiler, Marlow points out that the teachings were understood in terms familiar to the native- the appeasement of evil spirits, which highlights the balance between good and evil.

Blog 2: Heart of Darkness

To contradict the suggestion of the "glorious affair" surrounding Fresleven's death, Marlow depicts the conflict violently as the tension rises between Fresleven and the natives. Although he suggests that Fresleven's assertion of dominance to maintain his self-respect is noble, Marlow frequently mentions the remains of the former captain, giving the paragraph a somber and dark tone. Also, despite Fresleven being supposedly the "gentlest, quietest creature" and the natives' frantic escape demonstrating fear for the captain's death, the violent confrontation highlighted the savage, wild, and dark nature of man that the novel will continue to show.

Heart of Darkness: Blog #1

As an introduction to his journey to the heart of darkness, Marlow illustrates the Romans' journey to London to compare the two journeys. In the Roman times, the Roman Empire was seen as the zenith of civilized society and London as a faraway, uncivilized land. For the Romans, the journey to conquer uncivilized lands far away from the comfort of civilized Rome deprived them of familiarity with society and shrouded them in the unknown. Much like the conquering Romans, Marlow is journeying into an uncivilized land filled with uncomfortable weather, illness, death, and mystery, away from the comforts of civilized London.