Whitman's Language of the Self

The very beginning of the passage states that Whitman was inspired by the fact of a person's true self. Not a self that is unsure or unstable, but a self that is genuine and real. "To express a self. To display a 'Personality' 'uncompromisingly' with a limpid style, a transparent form that ardently renders an identity in all its plenitude and immediacy (Bauerlein). I love this sentence. And to think it is the first sentence!!
It is interesting. Mark Bauerlein points out that Whitman had multiple personalities. He could be "Alternating randomly between pride and humility, knowledge and ignorance, guilt and complacency..." (Bauerlein). Then later in Whitman's "Me Myself" he admits to his multiple masks that he has. It is interesting because one begins to wonder, am I wearing a mask? Am I really who I am around everybody, or am I different with different people? This is a penetrating question that beckons attention, though most do not give it thought.
This essay is motivating and insightful. Whenever something is said or mentioned that is important, I ask the question to myself. I mean do we ever realize what we do everyday, listen to, and talk to make a difference or impact on us? "With truth conceived of as a correspondence between private motive, desire, and experience, and public forms of expression, inherited styles pervert the self, force it to conform to a preordained syntax and decorum that distorts the ego and thereby alienates it from its own manifestations" (Bauerlein). This is a statement that makes us realize the importance of what we do and how what we do can effect us. Now this might not be the intended meaning of this part of the passage, but everybody can get something different out of different things.
This essay has broadened my view on this and made me think about who I am and how things effect me. It might seem small, but they are essential to life and are also life skills that everybody needs or should have.

Reporting at the Battlefield

Some people get the rare opportunity to see what it is like on a battlefield. A reporter is the exact type of person that not only gets to see it and experience it, but to write about and share their feelings about it to the public. If reporters did not report what they saw, then we the people would have no way of knowing. We would be very clueless to what was going on and wouldn't appreciate what our soldiers did as much as we do. Now some people are cut out for the job and ready for what they might see, while others just aren't. In order to be a reporter, one has to have a way with words as to be able to paint a descriptive picture of the scenes that were happening.
If I were a reporter, lived with the soldiers, saw what they saw, lived what they lived, and what not, I think that I would be scared, intimidated, and would definitely respect the soldiers more than now. Soldiers are heroes. They might be everyday, regular people, but they are making sacrifices for our country and in doing so earn the title of a hero. I would write about different things, but I know one of the things that I would write about is maybe a biography of one person and what their daily life was like before they went to serve and while they were serving. I would tell of the sacrifices they made and tell the readers the truth. I would not stretch the truth to make the soldiers better because I don't think I would need to. Their jobs and duties speak for themselves. I would write from the heart and interview the soldiers to get their input on what their days held. I would make sure and diary the whole event so that I would not forget the details later.
Overall, I think it would be a hard and stressful job to have. You would have to be strong and able to realize that at any moment you could be captured or killed. But by taking that risk, you are also excepting the fact that you will be experiencing the inevitable, something that most of the population never experiences. That is a story. That is something to report about. Experiences. Sacrifice. Heroes.

Being Persuasive

In my book, being persuasive is a skill. Some people are really good at it, while other people are not. If it is something that I feel strongly about, I have no problem arguing it, but if it is a fickle thing, then I do not really care to argue. Sometimes though, I get defensive and argue just for the sake of arguing. Whenever that happens, I will usually say something that I do not mean and probably should not have said in the first place.

There have been multiple instances where I needed to be persuasive. Some of those times I was triumphantly successful and other times they have been epic failures. There are certain people that I tend to argue the most with. They would mostly be my parents.

One example that I was persuasive was in getting to drive the Chevy Impala. When my brother was in High School, he had to drive the 1994 Ford Sable. It is big, green, and old. Not like I wouldn't drive it, its just that the Impala is definitely the better car. When I was learning to drive, the Impala was one of the main cars that I used. This helped because I would tell them that I was more used to driving that car than the Sable. I argued my point that the newer car would be better and safer than the older car. In the end I now get to drive the 2000 Chevy Impala.
Another case was when I wanted to go to Florida with Josie. In the summer eighth grade Josie and I got the opportunity to go to her aunt's house in Florida. To do so, we would have to get on a plane, land in Atlanta, Georgia's airport (one of the largest in the country), and come back by ourselves. At first, I did not think that my parents would let me go, but I persuaded them that we would be completely safe. We would use the "buddy system" and not goof around when it came to getting to our terminal on time for the plane's take off. This was a hard to persuade my parents, but in the end I came up with a good reasons as to why it would be a good idea to let me go. I am really glad that I got to go!!

Who Am I??

You...that's a pretty deep topic. I mean how often do we actually think about who we are? We go around school and jobs being us...or do we? That's a question that can be up for debate and be a tough question to answer. For each person it is different, no one person is the same. In a way that makes it all the more difficult. One can not go to a friend and ask "Who am I?", but only you and God know that. Your friends might know your likes and dislikes, but do they always know your deepest desires? Then again, whose decision is it on who you are? It is definitely not theirs and not your parents, though they will try and lead you in a certain direction. So, the question is, how do you find out who you really and truly are? One can find out through others, but in my opinoin, most of the time it is through something different and sometimes an eye opening experience.

Finding your TRUE self is different than just finding the surfacy stuff that everyone sees. A way that I have seen the best, or otherwise the worst in myself, is when something bad happens. Now I'm not saying that you should wait for something bad to happen, but think back to a trial that happened in your life and what you might have discovered. For me its been trials like losing my grandma, breaking my leg, and others. For you it might be different. In learning who I really am, I've learned that I will never fully know. I might know some things, but I will never know everything because I am not perfect and with each struggle I will find something new about myself that I did not see before.

I've learned knew things because it is God's way of refining me. He isn't doing it to make us hurt, but to make us better. He wants the best for us and shows us who we are through all sorts of situations in our life.

So, one might ask, "So who are you?" and my reply would be two things. It would be the obvious-the likes and dislikes and common standard things about me, but it would also be something else. My answer would also be "I don't know", but I do know that I am God's child and he is refining me so I will always be learning about my TRUE self, whether I want to find out or not. But in the end I know I will be thankful for the journey. I mean who likes a story with no hardships and redeeming triumphs?

So...who are you?

Mother Nature At Her Best

Nature is a powerful element in life. It can determine a lot of things about our schedule that we sometimes do not even realize. I do not think I could possibley count the number of times I woke up in the morning and turned on the WeatherChannel. The weather or nature can effect what we do and when we do it. There are countless times when nature has stepped in and changed peoples plans.
One time that nature has tested me was last year during a soccer game. This was not just any soccer game, this was the Sectional Championship game that determined whether or not we got the opportunity to go to the State Finals. This was HUGE!! Toward the end of the first half there was lightning and thunder. In a soccer game, if there is lighting we have to stop the game for at least a half an hour. So that is exactly what we did, we waited. And waited...and waited. For two hours we waited for the game to start again. Finally after all that waiting, we got to go out and finish the big game that we had started. By this time with the five or ten minutes in between lightning strikes we were into the second half. The score was 2-1 we were winning. By the time it started it was absolutely pouring!!!! I have never seen that much rain come down at a time!! You could barely see the ball being kicked around the field!! It was an intense game. Both teams were excited to play because of the long wait and what was on the line. Pretty soon, the field was a pool. We would kick the ball and in would go no where. The weather was definitely a test for both teams. It was so bad, that with 15:16 left on the clock they had to call the game and reschedule it for the next day. It was outrageous!! All the fans that had come were all disappointed that they would not be able to see the end of the game!! To even try and describe the feeling that we all felt is impossible. Even now, my stomach does flips and turns just thinking about it. All of this just because of the weather!!
That was one time were nature tested me and it was a pretty big test!! Thankful we ended up winning the next day, were Sectional Champions, and got to go to the State Finals. :)

The Christmas Holidays

Christmas break is a break that I always look forward to, especially once finals start. When finals start, it does not seem like the break will ever get here. But here I am typing this blog after a Christmas break that went by all too fast. How in the world did this happen?!? Upon reflecting on my fabulous Christmas break and other past ones, I realized that each one is different and special in its own way. This break I had more homework than I ever had before, I had my license this year, my friends got together more, and my perspective on Christmas was different than before. One thing that did not change, was how fast it went by!!
This year I had a lot of AP US History homework. In all we had a huge packet and a five page essay that is due this coming week. That changed my two weeks, but also taught me about time management.
I had my license!! This is an exciting change that I thoroughly enjoy. I got to go places that otherwise my parents would have had to of taken me.
Not only did I have my licenses, but my friends did too!! This makes it even better. This past week, me and my friends got to go out to eat and then go ice skating. Considering that none of us are pro ice skaters it made the experience a lot more fun. This was one of the highlights of my break. It was funny to see people fall and even fall myself. It was an awesome time.
My perspective on Christmas has altered throughout the years to the point where I am not as excited about presents as I have been in the past. Although it is interesting that I still can not sleep the night before Christmas!! I don't know why that is!! But the way Christmas goes now is definitely different than a couple years ago. I learned that we got a greater gift than the ones under the tree. We got the gift of forgiveness and so much more.