The Beginning of the End

As I reach the one-sixth mark of my senior year, I have begun to realize that a distinct shift has occurred in the way that I look at school. Before this year, I had viewed education and academics in general as a way to distinguish yourself from the people around you by earning higher marks than them. What better way for a college recruiter of employer to decide whether or not you meet their standards than by comparing your scores to their benchmarks? This philosophy dominated my first three years at Burlingame High School, and I still hold that frame of mind in some instances.
However, taking four AP courses has rudely awoken me from this bubble that I used to be contain in. For once, earning a high grade is not enough, as a true understanding of the concept is necessary to succeed in my classes. This Literature class is a prime example of this, since all of the essays I have written so far (which also take up the majority of the grades in this class) demand that the writer command their knowledge of the work in front of him or her and demonstrate that he or she truly identifies with the text. While other classes I had taken before had attempted to create this effect, I had never truly experienced this feeling or complexity and confusion I feel during some of the units. Ultimately, this struggle will make me stronger and prepare me for whatever beckons me in the future, but for the moment I am just striving to stay afloat.

Tragedy and Hubris on Wall Street:

Victor Niederhoffer and Laurel Kenner discuss the power overconfidence has in creating the downfall of many powerful companies. Referencing former powerhouses such as Enron, the two authors explain to the reader how excessive displays of pride actually indicate that a company is setting itself up for failure. While this theory may seem a little extravagant and difficult to prove in the modern era, the article explains its reasoning by pointing out that being featured on a magazine cover such as Forbes Magazine has proven detrimental to CEO's in the time following it. While this may not relate exactly to business, I have also noticed that sports stars that appear on magazines such as Sport's Illustrated suffer a drop in performance after the release. While some call it a curse, I think that inflating an athlete's ego only brings that superstar higher up for a fall, since it is difficult to meet major expectations placed in front of them by the media.

This relates directly to many famous Greek Tragedies, as a favorite theme during that time period was the fall from grace of the most powerful of rulers. Similar to the story of Oedipus, power blinds the owners of major companies and gives them the false hope that they will be able to continue their outlandish returns in the future. Even though failure of these companies cannot be entirely contributed to pride, feeling invincible frequently sets up individuals for a stumble, a classic form of tragedy.

Graduation: Looking Towards the Cloudy Future

As Seniors embark on their final year in high school, a slow shiver crawls down the unsuspecting spines of these optimistic students. It's on the tip of everyone's tongues, I'm just willing to utter it: College.
While the first 18 years of innocence have been a blast, sooner or later the class of 2011 must come to realize that life itself will soon be starting up, with most students either embarking into college or the job market. Even though this may seem like a rude awakening, reaching adulthood holds many perks that sometimes get forgotten during the mad rush or college touring and applying.
As we become adults, a certain level of independence is granted upon us. In return for acting in a respectable manner and abiding by the rules set by our superiors (the authorities, landlords, bosses, etc) freedom is granted to us on levels unprecedented in our lives. This is a gift in a curse, since even though freedom is a powerful tool, it must be treated with the utmost responsibility and care. As long as this taken care of, we will be able to live our lives to our hearts pleasure, a commodity not seen currently.
Despite the fear that may consume me looking towards the future, I embrace the upcoming change, ready to take whatever life throws at me in the distance.

A Comparison of Music and Poetry

Recently, I was going through my i-tunes library when I began to wonder how many of the memorable and emotionally charged songs I possessed would sound without their accompanying melody and music. Although I was only able to experiment with a small sample, the conclusion I reached was that implementing a catchy tune or subtle beat drastically add to the message of a song, and in many cases a song loses its appeal and meaning without it. This made me wonder how poets catch a readers attention without the aid of a cool chorus or sweet melody. Relying only on the poetic techniques and tools of the trade, these wordsmiths consistently hollow out poignant or uplifting pieces that appeal to the intellectual and emotional side of the human mind. While the music behind the lyrics of a song add a certain catchiness and desire, it is a merely a facade in which the true meaning of the song hides behind. Hopefully in the near future, I will stumble on a writer who transcends these two fields to create beautiful poetry that adapts to music well. While there are a few groups today that possess some of these elements, I have not seem the complete picture, something I feel that is truly missing in the written world.

I Would Prefer Not To: Reflecting Upon Bartleby the Scrivener

I know it's been a long time since I wrote my last blog. There's something about a three day weekend that wipes my memory of awareness when it comes to assignments. Regardless, I am back, reflecting upon Herman Melville's short story about the greed and desire for self-righteousness among the working class. While at first glance Bartleby may appear as a lazy, unappreciative worker, further examining the story reveals that Melville uses him as a device to convey the lack of personal motivation throughout the American labor market. For the nameless lawyer, employing Bartleby is an act of charity, since he argues that offering him the job gives him the chance to reach a level of comfortability and security that he was previously unable to attain. While this may seem noble, his actual motive was to attain some personal satisfaction through helping out another person. While other people may overlook the motive and just accept the action, I feel that people should have good intentions behind all of their actions, even when they are performing an honorable deed.