A couple of weeks ago, I did a project in consumer of expressing what makes us happy. Each person was suppose to make a collage of pictures representing our happiness, and then write in an essay if money can buy happiness.
This sounds like a simple task, but suprisingly it requires lots of steps regarding thinking.
At first, I thought this would be easy. I knew my stance, that money can't buy happiness under any, yes any circumstance. The more I thought about this though, I realized that in certain situations it really can. For example, the people in Gaza living with barely any food facing starvation, dehydration, and being crammed with nine other family members into a one bedroom living area like sardines. If this family of ten received money to buy food, water, and shelter, then it really could bring happiness. Also, if you look at the people suffering from diseases and sicknesses, living every single second in heart wrentching pain, I believe medicine, which money buys can bring happiness to them.Therefore, after lots of thinking, I came to the conclusion that money can't buy happiness once your basic needs are taken care of.
My thought process for the collage went a little differently. At first, I had no idea what pictures I was going to include. Then I decided to put in what really brings a smile to my face, this is my friends, family, nature, and music. Therefore, I printed out pictures of images that represent all of these things and placed them on this collage. Lastly, I put a couple important quotes about happiness because reading quotes really makes me happy.
I realized my thought process lead me to build from one idea to another. First I decided to make a collage, then I added pictures of what I liked, then I added quotes, and at the end I added smiley faces all around to represent happiness in itself. I also realized that when I first form a thought, I also form a belief; then I question my belief to see if this is true and what I really believe in. In this case I realized that it isn't. Money really can buy happiness when people lack the basic necessities and health, but once those are achieved money can't buy happiness.
It surprises me that my thinking is like a cause and effect chart, like the ones I've learned about in school for so many years. One idea or thought causing the next. I have always been an over analyzer and thinker, but I have never really taken the time to think about how I think. By taking this time to think about how I went from one idea to the next on my consumer project really makes me realize that really good ideas stem from the small, simple ones; a big, strong plant starts out as a seed and then grows to the beautiful product. Plants represent my thinking in this way.
I like that I start with simple ideas and make them fancy. I also like the fact that I can see what leads me to believe or think what I do, how one things leads me to another. However, I believe that in order for me to become more creative, I should start thinking outside of the box more. Take a different approach to having a flower instead of planting it. Maybe next time I will go to the forest and find one instead. In order for my thinking to grow, the next time I do a project I am going to approach it from the opposite side I normally do.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Best of Week
Every Tuesday and Thursday I find myself saying comforting words to this tuba player in band. He marches by me for part of the show, and I constantly see him frustrated and annoyed. I have always told teachers and such to help him because he doesn't remember his sets, and there is nothing more I can do. I never really understood why he was like this though, until one day I asked my teacher if he was ok. My teacher replied, "Yes, he just has autism."
This week we watched a video and had a discussion about Temple Grandin, and how she was able to use autism as a means to help her. As a result of her autism, she is able to visualize and see things in ways the normal brain cannot, and she ended up inventing and making huge strides in the caddle industry.
After hearing how successful Temple Grandin was, it really opened my eyes to how I view people with autism. It really made me think about how fortunate people with autism actually are, and how society perceives people with autism to be the exact opposite. It also made me realize that people with autism are actually more intelligent than "normal" people, but yet most people don't see them as that.
This connects to my own knowledge and beliefs because before I felt sorry for people with autism, but now I admire people with autism. They have abilities I could only dream of having. The ability to see and envision so many wonderful things. They have the ability to invent, to create, to change the way we live.
Now that I know how intelligent and wonderful people with autism's brains really are, I see myself using that knowledge in a number of ways. First, when anyone ever says anything implying that people with autism are not very intelligent, I will explain to them that in fact their brains are more intelligent than ours, jsut in a different way! Second, I want to tell the people I know with autism that they have a gift that they should use! I want to encourage people with autism to not get discouraged by our society, but instead to prove our society wrong.
What touched me the most is that 90% of the things we use today were invented by people with autism. It is the people with autism that are the geniuses, the inventors, and the people who make our lives easier.People should be praising, embracing, and treating people with autism with more dignity and respect, and I hope one day our society will.
This week we watched a video and had a discussion about Temple Grandin, and how she was able to use autism as a means to help her. As a result of her autism, she is able to visualize and see things in ways the normal brain cannot, and she ended up inventing and making huge strides in the caddle industry.
After hearing how successful Temple Grandin was, it really opened my eyes to how I view people with autism. It really made me think about how fortunate people with autism actually are, and how society perceives people with autism to be the exact opposite. It also made me realize that people with autism are actually more intelligent than "normal" people, but yet most people don't see them as that.
This connects to my own knowledge and beliefs because before I felt sorry for people with autism, but now I admire people with autism. They have abilities I could only dream of having. The ability to see and envision so many wonderful things. They have the ability to invent, to create, to change the way we live.
Now that I know how intelligent and wonderful people with autism's brains really are, I see myself using that knowledge in a number of ways. First, when anyone ever says anything implying that people with autism are not very intelligent, I will explain to them that in fact their brains are more intelligent than ours, jsut in a different way! Second, I want to tell the people I know with autism that they have a gift that they should use! I want to encourage people with autism to not get discouraged by our society, but instead to prove our society wrong.
What touched me the most is that 90% of the things we use today were invented by people with autism. It is the people with autism that are the geniuses, the inventors, and the people who make our lives easier.People should be praising, embracing, and treating people with autism with more dignity and respect, and I hope one day our society will.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
It Matters
I have been introduced to lots of intriguing ideas and concepts so far this year, but the one that stands out to me as the most useful is creativity. Creativity is a wonderous thing that allows the mind to travel and show the world the scenery wherever it may be. It takes a unique individual to be creative and express and use their creativity in the real world. It is one thing to be able to draw a creative picture, but it is another thing to be able to use your creativity to invent a product or better yet, a solution to an ongoing problem.
Some problems are easy to find solutions for, if you are cold you put a jacket on. However, others aren't this simple and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is amongst one of them. This problem has been going on for sixty years now, and creativity is definitely involved. It is an ongoing race to see who, the Israelis or Palestinians, is more creative in planning or discovering another way to harm the other side. Anything, including creativity can be used in a negative light, like the Israelis and Palestinians are doing now, but anything can also be used in a positive light.
At this very moment, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, George Mitchell, President Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister Netanyahu are having peace talks in Egypt. Peace is something a lot of people talk about, but very few achieve. However, I believe that with creativity, solutions are possible to just about anything. Creativity brings a beautiful and unique light to everything. It shows you that there are multiple roads that can take you to the same destination or goal, maybe even a better one. If Clinton, Mitchell, Abbas, and Netanyahu could use the creativity in their minds, change really could occur. Creativity matters in everything in life. Creativity is like the frosting on cake, making any idea that much tastier. Creativity is definitely a huge part in finding a solution to a problem so complex that has deeply rooted emotional scars and pain in millions of people, down to the bottom of their hearts. Creativity is necessary for a solution because it is up to these powerful leaders to be creative and think of a solution that appeals to not just the Israelis, or Palestinians, but both.
In solving a problem as complex as this, every bit of knowledge and skill helps, but without creativity a solution will not be found. This isn't just a problem for Palestinians and Israelis. This is their life, what they live every waking hour! Every one of them has a heart breaking story, or at the very least knows someone who does. The pain these people are feeling reaches every bone in their body, and it reaches mine too. With all my heart, I hope that creativity can take change in what will stop the rockets from flying over their houses, the guns shooting their family and friends, the homes being destroyed, and the tears falling from their faces, and the hearts being broken.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/world/middleeast/15mideast.html?ref=world
Some problems are easy to find solutions for, if you are cold you put a jacket on. However, others aren't this simple and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is amongst one of them. This problem has been going on for sixty years now, and creativity is definitely involved. It is an ongoing race to see who, the Israelis or Palestinians, is more creative in planning or discovering another way to harm the other side. Anything, including creativity can be used in a negative light, like the Israelis and Palestinians are doing now, but anything can also be used in a positive light.
At this very moment, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, George Mitchell, President Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister Netanyahu are having peace talks in Egypt. Peace is something a lot of people talk about, but very few achieve. However, I believe that with creativity, solutions are possible to just about anything. Creativity brings a beautiful and unique light to everything. It shows you that there are multiple roads that can take you to the same destination or goal, maybe even a better one. If Clinton, Mitchell, Abbas, and Netanyahu could use the creativity in their minds, change really could occur. Creativity matters in everything in life. Creativity is like the frosting on cake, making any idea that much tastier. Creativity is definitely a huge part in finding a solution to a problem so complex that has deeply rooted emotional scars and pain in millions of people, down to the bottom of their hearts. Creativity is necessary for a solution because it is up to these powerful leaders to be creative and think of a solution that appeals to not just the Israelis, or Palestinians, but both.
In solving a problem as complex as this, every bit of knowledge and skill helps, but without creativity a solution will not be found. This isn't just a problem for Palestinians and Israelis. This is their life, what they live every waking hour! Every one of them has a heart breaking story, or at the very least knows someone who does. The pain these people are feeling reaches every bone in their body, and it reaches mine too. With all my heart, I hope that creativity can take change in what will stop the rockets from flying over their houses, the guns shooting their family and friends, the homes being destroyed, and the tears falling from their faces, and the hearts being broken.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/world/middleeast/15mideast.html?ref=world
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Change of Mind: Creative Designers
While watching a movie on creative designers today, I saw something I really admired. I thought it was really neat that these professional, highly educated designers are analyzing themselves in a way that they know exactly what their strengths and weaknesses are. While working as a team to redesign a grocery cart, these designers analyzed themselves very constructively, admitting that they are very talented engineers and designers, but that they know absolutely nothing about grocery carts. I thought it was fascinating that they were able to realize what their weaknesses are and act upon them turning them into their strengths. They immediately went to multiple grocery stores searching for information. It was as if they were dry sponges becoming soaked with knowledge about grocery carts.
Before I watched this video, I never thought about going out of my way to gather as much information about the subject I know the least. I have analyzed myself more times than I can count, but I have never made it a priority or effort to make my weaknesses my strengths. After seeing how intelligent professionals like the designers can, and do take the subjects they know the least and make them their strengths everyday, it changed my mind. From this point forth, I am going to analyze myself and my knowledge and then make an effort to go out and ask what I don't know. I am going to turn my weaknesses into strengths, just like the designers do everyday. After watching the film, I believe that the only way to increase your intelligence is to learn, ask questions, and turn weaknesses into strengths. Hopefully, one day my strengths will be my weaknesses, for my weaknesses will one day be stronger than my strengths are today. In fact Albert Einstein, an inventor just like the people in this video once said, "Information is knowledge."
Before I watched this video, I never thought about going out of my way to gather as much information about the subject I know the least. I have analyzed myself more times than I can count, but I have never made it a priority or effort to make my weaknesses my strengths. After seeing how intelligent professionals like the designers can, and do take the subjects they know the least and make them their strengths everyday, it changed my mind. From this point forth, I am going to analyze myself and my knowledge and then make an effort to go out and ask what I don't know. I am going to turn my weaknesses into strengths, just like the designers do everyday. After watching the film, I believe that the only way to increase your intelligence is to learn, ask questions, and turn weaknesses into strengths. Hopefully, one day my strengths will be my weaknesses, for my weaknesses will one day be stronger than my strengths are today. In fact Albert Einstein, an inventor just like the people in this video once said, "Information is knowledge."
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