Globalization

Many people think that globalization is a new concept created by the UN and outsourcing, when actually it has been around since the beginning of time. Americans in particular see globalization as enforcing our culture onto unwilling countries and destroying their history in the process. Actually, the United States was founded by globalization. The Spanish and British came across the ocean to expand their empires and to acquire natural resources. This way of living is nothing new and should not be expected to die down quickly-or at all. We should all accept the fact that cultures are going to mix and people are going to travel and that this is all just a part of life.

Winter Poem

Time for short days and long nights.
Soon the New Year will appear.
Time for big family fights.
Hope the neighbors don’t hear.
Time for putting up lights.
Seen from far and from near.
Time for seeing “the cites.”
Many blown up reindeer.
Time for slipping on ice.
Get your car the right gear.
Time for gifts over priced.
We’ll all hate the cashier.
Time for worshiping Christ.
Though the true date is unclear.
Time to check the list twice.
So you be of good cheer.
Time to try to be nice.
Carrying a smile from ear to ear.

Sports in My Life

Sports have always been a part of my life. I loved playing with the boys at recess instead of whatever the girls were doing. When I was six years old, I joined the Hyde Park division of AYSO on a U-8 team. I continued with AYSO through the U-10, U-12, and coed U-14 divisions. While in my last year of AYSO soccer, I became seriously involved in my school’s cheerleading team. The time came to make a decision between my two favorite sports. I decided to switch sports and did not continue with soccer. Now that I look back, I realize that I did not have to make the choice between soccer and cheerleading. I wish that I would have stuck with soccer because it would have lead to a more successful future than cheerleading will. With soccer, there was a high possibility of playing college level and I am almost completely sure that I will not pursue cheerleading after high school. Next year and throughout college will be the first years since my first grade years that I will not be on an athletic team. So as of now, sports are a big part of my life, but as for the future, I do not know. I hope that I continue with soccer at some level later on but nothing is certain.

Thankful for a Classmate

This is the week of Thanksgiving, so saying who we are thankful for is appropriate. If there is one person in sixth period Philosophy In Literature that I am thankful for, it would be Xavier Muhammad. Why? I have known Xavier for four years and have never had a real class with him until this year. He seemed like a cool person so I was naturally happy that I had a class with him. In class, I can always count on him to make a joke or make me laugh. Also whenever we have to break into groups for classwork, I know that there is someone who wont mind being in my group. So, thanks Xavier for being a cool person and making sixth period Philosophy In Literature better.

Open Letter to Cormac McCarthy

Dear Cormac McCarthy,

Reading your book The Road has really given me a new perspective on the future that our world is heading. Before the recent few months, I have not given much thought to how the actions of today and yesterday will effect tomorrow. I wonder how we as a people, as a race did not stop and think about the consequences of our actions and why now there is such an increased awareness of the problems we have created for ourselves and children. I want to thank you for creating a story that exposes the almost certain future.

Along with your reveling of the future, The Road showed how human kind resorts to our most basic survival instincts when things get tough, losing our morality, humanity, and compassion. I believe that the majority of people want to think that this will never happen and that the human race is better than it actually is. Through reading your book, the world will gain a true understanding that underneath all of our evolutional progression, we are animals, and will behave as so when necessary.

Another interesting thing about your writing that interested me is your unique style. The way that the text does not fit “the mold” of what is considered good literature makes you stand out as a creative writer who is not afraid of self expression.
Chelsea Dawkins

Defend The Poet!

Charles Bukowski's Dinosauria, We is an alomst flawless prediction of how our world is today. When reading the poem, it is hard to imagine that it was written over thrity years ago. The title itself explains the meaning of the poem. Dinosauria, We compares us to the extinct prehistoric creatures that we know as dinosaurs. In the poem, descriptions about our current recession are referenced. "As the supermarket bagboy holds a college degree" "Into the sight of broken factory windows of emptyness" "Into hospitals which are so expensive it is cheaper to die."

The end of the poem however, is very disturbing. It has lines that talk about the rivers and oceans drying up, all vegitaion dying, men will eat other men. While reading this, I was reminded of the novel The Road. The apocalypitic descriptions are very similar between the two works of literature. Maybe McCarthy got some of his ideas from Bukowski. Or, maybe they were both trying to warn us about the future.

A Direction The Class Needs

I do not feel like the class needs a new direction. In my oppinion, the way that the class is structured now is fine. The class discussions that we have are better than reading out of a text book. The things said in class are more memorable than the things that I read in the text book. If i were to change one thing about the class, it would be to get everyone in the class to participate in the discussions. I think that hearing more people's view points allows us to better understand the subject and to completely formulate our own oppinoins. One thing that I like about the class is the journals. They allow us to express our feelings on topics that we do not cover in class. However, I think that we should talk about these journal prompts in addition to the discussions. Besides those two points, I believe that the class is in the best direction.

Father Mother Son Daughter

Father & Son
The relationship between fathers and sons is unique. I have never experienced this relationship because I am neither a father or son. I have been told that this bond plays a very important role in the upbringing of men. One example of this relationship is in Cormac McCarthy's The Road. The man takes care of his son and they are eachother's world. Without this relationship, they both feel like their lives would be without meaning.

Mother & Daughter
The mother's role is to teach their daughters about the future but other than that, I do not know the main role of this relationship. I think that this role has changed throughout history. With the changing role of women in society, mother's role also change.

Father & Daughter
The father daughter relationship is imporant in girl's lives. This is the base to how women value their relationship with other men. If the father is abusive, the girl usually not have stable relationships in the future.

Mother & Son
Actually, I do not know the true value of this relationship. Boys who grow up without mothers do not seem to experience the same things as those who grow up without fathers.

How We Know What We Know

How do I know what I know? This age old philosophical question has been debated for hundreds and thousands of years. Philosophers are divided on this issue. Some believe that knowledge comes from things outside of us, while others believe that some ideas and characteristics are within. For the first way of thinking, there are many different sources of information by which we learn, form opinions, and live our lives. Some of these are parents, teachers, and personal experience.

As children, most people believed that what ever their parents said was true. Knowing our mindset, our parents told us about right and wrong. They also, intentional or not, shared their beliefs and life habits with us. This influenced us to behave similarly to our parents and, in many cases, to have very similar values and beliefs.

And for the philosophers who believe that some knowledge comes from within, the source of information is oneself or God or something else entirely.

Our Meaning

I think that there is no way to express the purpose or reason of existence of the human race. This is because, how I believe it to be, no human actually knows why we are or exactly how we came to into being, or even when the human race started.

We, the human race, exist for the purpose of _____________________.

There is no way to finish that sentence. There are an infinite number of words that could be placed in that blank space. There is no concrete way for anyone to know which word or grouping of words fits perfectly in that unfinished sentence.

So, with that, I say that it is impossible to answer the eternal question of: What is our meaning?

God in 2010

In the United States, God’s “relevance” has slowly decreases over time. When this country was founded, God and religion-specifically Christianity- were very important in everyday life and in the forming or our laws and traditions. With the views of society and trends changing from year to year, God’s role in our culture somehow has diminished.

After September 11, 2001, God was very relevant in America’s society. That day brought the United States together. People seemed to unify around God, not necessarily a specific religion, but in religion in general. As time passed, so did the American sense of unity.

In 2010, Americans’ belief in God is almost non-existent. Everything around us is about self-promotion. With this individualistic ideal floating around, people forget about God and the religious views that built this country.

Candide's Punishments, Do they fit the crime?

I do not believe that Candide deserved to be literally kicked out of the house. A smaill innocent kiss is not a big deal. If anyone should have been kicked out, it should have been Pangloss. Unlike Candide and Cunegonde's innocent kiss, Pongloss and the maid were seen in the garden. Also, is Candide was kicked out, Lady Cunegonde also should have been kicked out.

Another thing that Candide was punished for is walking out of his Bulgar training camp. He had the choice of flogging to death or being shot. I believe that there should have been a punishmant but not a servere as death. Although Candide was not aware of the Bulgar's 'attendence policy' it is common sense not to leave.

Even though Candide did not deserve all of the things that happened to him throughout the book, they all happened for the best. If he would have stayed at the house, he would have been killed by the Bulgar invasion.

A Modern Day Gadfly

The word gadfly is defined as a person who persistently annoys or provokes others with criticism, schemes, ideas, demands, requests, etc and as a constantly irritating or harassing person. During the 400s B.C., Socrates was known being a gadfly or an annoyance. His innovative way of asking questions regularly times forced people to think outside of their comfort zone. He was often times a bother to those he questioned. It came to a point when Socrates was arrested and sentenced to death for his continual questioning of the ideals and views of the people in power. In my lifetime, I do not think that anyone can be classified as a gadfly, or modern day Socrates. To my knowledge, no one has been such a nuisance to society like Socrates. Not once have I ever turned on the news and heard about one person constantly hassling people in public places in the name of education or philosophy. Today, if someone wants to question the beliefs of position of power, like the government, they do so with a group of people, striking or petitioning is very common. Seldom have I heard of someone who went on strike against the US government alone, or someone who would give up his/her own life because they wanted to ask questions. Socrates is a one-of-a-kind man. His methods and ideals about life are ones that can not be duplicated. He is the original philosopher.

The Unexamined Life Is NOT Worth Living

I believe that Socrates was correct in thinking, and teaching, that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” In order to understand this philosophy, one has to know what Socrates meant by “unexamined.” This word is used to describe someone who has not asked themselves these questions: What is my purpose? What is the meaning of life? What do I want to accomplish during my lifetime? Living day-to-day with out thinking about tomorrow or yesterday or not setting goals makes one’s existence pointless-not worth living.

Self examination leads to self discovery which leads to determining strengths and weaknesses which leads to setting goals. With nothing to aspire to, no dreams, hopes, or ambitions, one just exists. This life is like a footprint on a beach shore; it is present for a short while, but eventually the tide comes and takes it away. And in four seconds, there is no trace of its existence. The footprint was immobile and was unable to avoid the tide. Stumbling through life with no true intent renders one immobile, in the sense that there is no progression, only a consistent empty space.

Because different aspects of people change with age and personal experiences, it is even important to self assess multiple times. One’s attitudes, mind-sets, and personal values are constantly changing; therefore, so is one’s out-look on life. That calls for a re-evaluation of one’s ideas of the meaning of life and one’s life goals.

Eulogy

Chelsea was born in Chicago, Illinois’ Northwestern Memorial Hospital on September 25,1993. She was the second of two twin daughters, Candice and herself, born to David and Susan Dawkins. Chelsea and her family lived in Chicago’s “gold-coast” until she was five years old. They then moved to the south side’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

While growing up, Chelsea was always interested in sports and was involved in a local soccer league until she was 13 years old. When Chelsea entered junior high, she gave up soccer and began cheerleading, which she was involved throughout high school. She attended Whitney Young High School where she was an active member in the choral program and an honor student. Chelsea was expected to graduate high school in June of 2011 and planned to attend college after that.

Unfortunatly, death came early to Chelsea, but her memory will continue on in the people she met and in the lives she changed.