Purpose of Myth Review

1. Name 4 fundamental questions that myths address.

• What's the nature of the universe in which I live?
• How do I relate to the universe?
• How much control do I have over my own life?
• What must I do in order to survive?

2. Name 4 themes in world mythology.

• Rebirth/Unusual birth
• Death
• Extraordinary Strength
• 1st parents were gods of sky and Earth

3. What is the beginning of the universe for most major cultures?

The beginning of the universe for most major cultures started as chaos and a formless mass that a god or many gods had separated.

4. What do hero myths and epics teach members of society?

Hero myths and epics teach members of society the appropriate attitudes, behavior, and value of that culture.

5. Why do ordinary people identify with heroes?

Ordinary people identify heroes with doing great deeds and making critical choices to balance one set of values against competing values. They also identify with heroes because their imperfections can be similar to humans'.

6. What is the foundation of the Matriarchal Society?

The political, economic, social and religious foundation was agriculture/agricultural year.

7. What is Sigmund Freud's view of myths?

Sigmund Freud's view of myths was that it was the expression of the individual's unconscious wishes, fears, and drives. Also that they have many similar themes that reflect the existence of a common collective unconscious.

8. Myths demonstrate that people possess...

Myths demonstrate that people possess the intellectual capacity to understand the world in which they live.

BOR Final Draft

Lara Carandang

August 27, 2014

Period 2

The Personality of a Middle Child

I definitely know what being a middle child is like because I am the second oldest sibling out of four. Each of my siblings and I have our own distinguished personalities. You would be able to tell if you’ve seen each of our lives at home. For one thing, my older brother likes to socialize and go hang out with his friends frequently outside of our house. I, on the other hand, like to stay inside of my room and organize, study, or go on my computer, so I won’t have to socialize. My younger sister likes to do gymnastics and skateboard with her friends at their houses, while my younger brother likes to play video games and read books. In the birth order research slide show’s section on middle children, it says that I am completely set apart from the first born, independent, a negotiator, easily embarrassed, and misunderstood. For the most part, I would say that the information, according to the research, depicted my accurately.

As you can kind of tell already, my Kuya, older brother, and I are definitely set apart personality-wise. When I was younger, my family and I would go to all of these family parties when I still lived in New Jersey. My siblings and I would get somewhat semi-casually dressed and head over to the party. Now, it was like any other typical Filipino party where the food was set up buffet style, the aunts and uncles did karaoke or watched the Filipino channel, and the cousins were either outside, socializing, or in their rooms watching TV. At these parties, my older brother would hang out with each of my cousins. My cousins were three to four years older and younger than me. So while he would hang out with them, I would be left behind and not really to talk to anyone at all because I was uncomfortable with the large amount of people. I would just eat a little with my mom during the whole party. This happened each year, but I most vividly remember this happening when I was ten years old. Aside from parties, at home, my Kuya and I are very different. Andrew, my Kuya, likes to go on dates with his girlfriend, Lizvet, workout, and hang out with his friends. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is me who likes to stay at home all of the time, studying, reading, or going on my laptop. I don’t like to talk to other people and I’m usually busy with school work, so I usually just stay at home. From these experiences I mentioned, you can most definitely tell that I am completely set apart from my brother, in the aspect of personality traits.

According to the research, I am a mediator and also independent. At home, my younger siblings, Angelo and Lauren, tend to quarrel about the smallest things. For example, they enjoy playing LEGO Harry Potter on the wii. If Lauren pressed the wrong button or chose the wrong character, the youngest sibling, Angelo, would throw a tantrum that would lead to Lauren kicking or sitting on him and then Angelo yelling and pulling her hair. When it got to the point where it was too irritating to listen to, I would go in and ask for each one’s side of the story. My usual solution is that they should either play by themselves or I’d try to explain to them that it was only a game. In that perspective, I can say that I’m a negotiator. When it comes to schoolwork and studying, I tend to be independent. I’d rather work on homework and schoolwork by myself so I won’t get distracted and so I can get work done more efficiently. Lots of people get together in study groups, but I’d rather study by myself at home, because then I can study at my own pace. When it comes to resolving others’ conflicts or being independent with my work, I’d say that this research is pretty accurate.

If you know me well, you would know that I am prone to embarrassment and am misunderstood a lot. I like to sing a lot. On a good day, you could probably see me singing to myself while walking around the campus to each class, quietly. If  I catch someone staring at me while I’m singing, I will flush crimson in embarrassment because I don’t like when people point out my voice. I really disliked it when people would tell me, “I can hear you singing,” because I’m very self-conscious and I’ll think that they think my singing’s horrible. Also, because I’m extremely self-conscious and have low self-esteem, I tend to be very quiet around others. I get misunderstood constantly by being called weird or by being assumed that I don’t like them. It’s happened ever since I was little because I’m so reserved. People misunderstand my intentions; I am not quiet because I dislike them. I am quiet because I care too much about what other people think and say about me. This is the most accurate information about me from the slideshow.

The birth order research, in my point of view, was an accurate portrayal of my personality, 
being a middle child. I thought it was interesting how well this research was spot-on with my feelings and traits. Thanks to this information, I have more clarity on how middle children feel and what they think, generally.

Birth Order Traits

Birth Order Traits T-Chart

(Middle Child)

What Research Says	Evidence of Accuracy/Inaccuracy
Completely unlike first-born child.	I would say that this information is somewhat accurate. My brother and I share the role of being the older ones for the younger siblings, but we are much more different when it comes to personality. He can socialize with anyone while I have trouble talking to people that know me.
Mediator, negotiator, independent, monogamous.	I’d say this is pretty accurate for me because I tend to be the one to compromise with people’s problems. I help to solve the issue for both sides. I am independent because I like to do things by myself. I’m not sure if I would be monogamous because that time hasn't come yet.
Prone to embarrassment, misunderstood, secretive.	I’d say that this information is most definitely accurate because I get embarrassed and misunderstood all of the time because I act so quiet or strange. People will assume things about me, thus most likely misunderstanding me and starting arguments. I’m pretty secretive as well because I don’t like to give out a lot of information about myself. I always tend to keep my guard up. I tend to get compared to my siblings a lot as well, so therefore they expect us all to be the same, but we are all individual and different.
Avoids conflicts, extremely loyal to friends, has many friends.	This is somewhat accurate because I do not have a lot of friends at all. I don’t like to socialize with others. I always try to avoid causing conflicts with others, but I will always try to create a compromise for people.
Out of place, often willing to give in.	This information is inaccurate because I don’t give in easily at all. Once I've made up my mind, it’s extremely difficult for me to change it. I do often feel out of place, though.
Strong belief in relationships and people.	I believe that having a good relationship with people will have a positive effect in the future. That does not mean that I actually have a good relationship with people though. It’s hard for me to talk to people or be around a large group of people. I don’t like confrontation and I don’t like when people stare at me or when I can feel their eyes burning a hole into me.

     

     With this research, I actually found that some of these traits are accurate, but not all of them. My siblings and I are alike in some aspects, but you can definitely tell, once you get to know us, that we are all very different. Out of all of my siblings, I am the least sociable one. So when I heard that the middle child had many friends and socialized well, I was surprised because that's the complete opposite of me. I do tend to avoid conflicts, am prone to embarrassment, and am misunderstood, though. So I'd say that the information provided by the research is about half accurate for me.

Reflections on Week 1

     The factors I think are going to affect my participation and grade in this class would be updating my blog and keeping up with vocabulary and reading because I'll have to have decent time management skills to keep up with my other classes as well. Other things that could affect my participation could be whether I can stay focused and motivated because there will be days where forcing myself to get up and work will be the most difficult challenge of the day. I don't really socialize all that much, but I try to spend time with my family when I can.

     The best learning experience I've had would probably be from Tumblr,  believe it or not. I don't think learning should just be limited to school. Through Tumblr,  I've learned a lot about being accepting and helping others deal with their problems. I was just at home, scrolling through my dashboard.  I see a lot of posts trying to promote self esteem and caring about yourself. A lot of the people on Tumblr are inspirational and when I see posts that make people feel better about themselves, it makes me want to do the same to see a smile on someone's face. Tumblr is something I use for when I want to think or be alone because 9 the support that is actually on there. I knew what was happening because I could definitely relate to some of the people and their situations. I could learn about what to do with myself because I saw someone post about it and how they coped with their problems.

     In this class, I'm probably most excited about the upcoming blog assignments because we're actually using modern technology to do turn in our school work. I look forward to improving my writing skills; especially through the amount of essays we'll be writing throughout the year. The way I think it will make a practical difference in my life will be that I can be able to express my words better. I'll be able to become more creative and independent with my writing as well.

Latin Roots #1

1. act/ag/ig - to do, to move, to drive
2. ali/alter - another, other
3. am - at, to love
4. anim - life, spirit, soul

1. Agenda: a schedule of duties, programs, or events to be discussed or carried out

I bring an agenda with me to school to write down all of my assignments.

2. Agile: exhibiting physical quickness and dexterity; mentally alert

If you are not agile, you can get stuck in a building that is caught on fire.

3. Alienate: to antagonize or estrange

In class, peers can alienate one person because they don't fit their standard of normal.

4. Altercation: a quarrel or bitter argument

An altercation can break out at school if students bring weapons to school.

5. Amiable: friendly; good natured

I don't like to fight with others, so I always try to act amiably.

6. Amorous: loving; passionate; suggesting desire

Sometimes people can be more amorous towards fictional characters, rather than ones from reality because of the lack of one on one interaction.

7. Animated: spirited; lively; vivacious

People who appear animated can actually bring up your mood, if you allow them to.

8. Equanimity: calmness; composure

During stressful times, you have to have equanimity in order to be able to focus and work efficiently.

9. Inalienable: not allowing of change or transfer

If you're in the middle of the school year and try to change your schedule, it will be inalienable because of all of the classes that are already full.

10. Inanimate: lacking the qualities associated with a living organism; lacking spirit or energy

Someone can be inanimate simply because the feel tired all of the time or lack confidence.

11. Magnanimous: generous and noble of spirits; inclined to forgive

I think I am magnanimous in the aspect that I forgive a lot, but I never forget.

12. Reactionary: in opposition to progress

If I was more reactionary than I am now, I would be on a much darker path than I am on currently.

My Six Words

     Many people may think that six little words may not mean much, but to me, saying anything can mean an awful lot. When I was coming up with what I should put for my six word memoir, I thought of what I wanted to say to myself in the past. I had flashbacks and memories of my younger self running through my head. I knew that I wanted to make my six words something that would have been helpful to me back then. Saying something and backing it up are two very different things. Of course I wanted to hear someone tell me the words, "Please don't give up on yourself," or something along those lines. Not only did I want that, but I also wanted someone to stay true to their words. The person(s) who said something like this to me couldn't really handle me at my worst, which made me feel terrified because they lied to me. I'm saying these words now because I don't think that people should give up on themselves right away.

     These six words represent a ton of aspects in my life. Whether it be my personal life, my life at school, or my life at home, I know that I can't give up. If I gave up on myself when things got a lot more difficult in school, then I wouldn't be doing okay like I am now. I would've thrown away a lot of opportunities and chances. If I gave up on myself at home, I wouldn't be able to take care of my siblings or help out around the house. Things would be more problematic. Lastly, if I gave up on myself, I don't know where I'd be right now. I have several ideas, but I feel like I chose the right path that I'm on right now. A lot of people compare their problems to others to make themselves feel better, so the other person's problems don't matter. I really dislike that idea that we have to compare our problems with others to make ourselves feel better. Problems are problems, and everyone deals with them. Just because we're not dealing with someone's problem that may seem worse or better than ours doesn't defeat the fact that we have all got issues. Instead of comparing, we should learn to better ourselves on our own. We shouldn't give up on ourselves. If we take care of ourselves, I think that we'll have less problems than we do now.

     I had a lot of deep, dark, hateful thoughts back then. I still do now, but it is less intense. I did a lot of bad things to myself that I can't talk about right now, but I'm slowly learning to steer away from that path. With these words, I strongly encourage others to know that even if the world is giving up on you, or if everyone around you seems to not care, that shouldn't mean you should give up on yourself and stop caring. The one thing I used to say to myself all the time that helped inspire this memoir was, "You can only save yourself." I do actually really believe in these words because I know that you can't always rely on people to help you, so you'll have to help yourself as much as you can. If you think about it, if you give up, then you're giving up a chance to recover and get better. If I gave up, I know things would be much worse. Six words may not mean much, but six of the right words can mean a lot.

How School Kills Creativity

“The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn't need to be reformed -- it needs to be transformed. The key to this transformation is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.”

     I personally feel like I am a cog in an industrial model of education because I'm afraid of making mistakes. I make mistakes and it really stresses me out. I always try to work my hardest to get those A's so I can find some sort of satisfaction. I still haven't found myself yet, like most people, so I've just been working really hard on my academics.  I don't really think I know a lot of my personal passions yet.

     To me, an English class that allowed me and gave me freedom to discover these passions would be a class with creative projects and assignments. The work could include things about the students. If English class doesn't allow you to be creative, it would be dull and ordinary, like any other English class. This class should allow us to work by ourselves or with a group.  We should be able to get creative with our writing as well.