"The Way to Rainy Mountain"

In the introduction of “The Way to Rainy Mountain” N. Scott Momaday portrays a sense of isolation. He describes the Kiowas’ land as if it is a dreadful place where harsh blizzards and hot winds consume the area. The author explains Rainy Mountain exactly as it appears to the naked eye. In the first paragraph Momaday’s description consists only of physical qualities, not the emotional ties that he has to the land. I believe he did this in order to simply set the scene for the reader. With this technique, he did not persuade the reader to feel how he feels about the land, instead he provided an explanation of its’ physical attributes. As a result, the reader expects the author to perceive the land in a negative light, but that is not the case.

Technology

Technology is progressing exponentially. Since the 1970s, and even before that point, the globe has experienced leaps and bounds in technology. We can verbally communicate with others across the globe through telephones. We can send mass e-mails to countless individuals with the click of a mouse. We can surf the web and gather ideas for a paper without even cracking a book. Without a doubt, technology has vastly improved our way of living, but what will be next? The latest invention for young minds is the Wii. This entertainment device has broken the mold of all Playstation and Nintendo before it. The Wii remotes can channel movements of the human body into a video game. With this kind of new era entertainment, I cannot guess what scientists have in store for the government and education purposes. Technology has not only benefitted communication and entertainment, but every other aspect of our culture: from travel to health. A video on youtube.com (attached Hyperlink) explicitly outlines the predictions of technology for the future. One section claims that a computer is to be built that surpasses the human brain in intelligence. This hypothesis irks me. I cannot possibly fathom a computer that possesses more intelligence than a human. Hopefully, in the future, the human race will continue to use technology in a positive manner. http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q

Historical Sites

America has grown rapidly over the past 100 years. The system of values that revolve around our culture require for expansion of technology. Along with this expansion has come destruction of some historical sites. Although archaeologists hypothesize that only a portion of the historical sites have been damaged, the evidence that could have been studied is gone forever. Americans in the past and even today have proven to be curious about historical sites. The carelessness of a lot of people has ruined parts of history and destroyed valuable evidence. If the American culture continues to neglect historical sites, all of the remaining evidence from the past will be destroyed.

Birthdays

Birthdays are an extremely odd occurrence in my mind. When people are young birthdays are like another Christmas. You can’t go to sleep because of the excitement and adrenaline coursing through your veins. Young children imagine opening those wrapped boxes anxious to see what is hidden inside. Teens already know the content of those wrapped boxes, but they don’t care. The excitement of taking that gift into possession at last is enough for them. Young adults lose that exhilaration to discover the mystery enclosed in a wrapped box. They are now beginning to open just cards with money, not for recreational purposes, but (if they are smart) to pay their expenses. Then somewhere along the timeline that we call life, the enthusiasm and joy that once consumed the birthday has vanished into thin air. All of a sudden, birthdays are a dreaded event that comes to haunt you. With every year something in your head says, “Oh no, we’re getting really old here.” Why did the magic go? Is it because of the redundancy of birthdays? No, other holidays posses the same quality, but never get tiring.
Considering I am freshly nineteen, I can only predict the true reason why that delightful day suddenly transformed into a nightmare: age. It is funny how birthdays come full circle. At fifteen years old, you CANNOT wait for your sixteenth birthday because of what it represented. It meant a driver’s license! At twenty years old, you CANNOT wait for your twenty-first birthday. You can now legally purchase alcohol! The anxiety of being too young takes hold. You wish your life away and before you know it you are celebrating your thirty-fifth birthday. But then I suppose that’s when the magic gets sucked out of the birthday fiasco: when one looks back and says, “Where did thirty-five years go?”
We have invented all sorts of little phrases to make people feel better about their ever increasing age. “You’re only as young as you feel,” or “Age ain’t nothing but a number.” There is truth in these sayings that most people don’t really believe. My parents are in their fifties, but they might as well be thirty. My mother can wear my clothes (and look great), while my dad can still outrun me. Age is a label, a counting system that we apply to people to keep everything organized. Being over fifty has meant nothing to my parents physically or mentally, it’s just another year on this planet.
I have wished my life away. I have been insanely excited for my birthday. I have even started receiving money for my birthday. I also have come to the decision that I do not want to grow up. In reality, I will accumulate years, and the magic will quickly escape from my birthday, but why not have as many birthdays as possible? Someday when there are no more left, I’ll be more thankful to have had ninety-five than only nineteen.

Zen Habit Blogs: Review

The blogs that are posted on the site zenhabits.net convey tips that are unconventional, but still lead to success. Some of these tips include the advantages of being lazy and having an unbalanced schedule. The idea that being lazy can help one to achieve goals is an uncommon philosophy considering students have been trained to perceive laziness as a poor quality. Although anti-laziness is permanently in my head, the points addressed in this blog make perfect sense. My favorite tip relates laziness to inventions. Inventions were created to make our lives as easy as possible. There was a reference to a car- humans are lazy so they drive instead of walking. The second blog was in relation to an unbalanced schedule. Focusing on one area can lead to success in that one area. With an unbalanced itinerary, there is room for other activities in one’s life. With laziness comes rest and relaxation along with the inventions that we all use every day. Without these new machines our lives would be tedious and difficult. With unbalancing comes an opportunity for people to succeed in more than just one topic. After reading these blogs, I have challenged myself to open my eyes to new ways of thinking.