FATE

1. Fate is a predetermined course of events that is destined to happen. It is a synonym of destiny. Some believe it to be God's work, others believe it to be Nature's nature course. Natural Selection could be fate, those are aren't meant to reproduce don't get the opportunity to.

2. In the Lion King, it is widely believed throughout the movie that Simba is destined to become king. When Scar has his evil plot that results in the death of Mufasa, and the exile of Simba, Scar defies fate and becomes king himself. However, because it was always Simba's destiny to become King, Simba returns to pride rock to fight scar and assume the position that was always his.

3. If one believes purely in fate, then they might believe everything is handed to them, or they can't change what life throws at them. In other words, trying to go against the flow is worthless because the river will always triumph. However, if one believes that they pave the road themselves, then they could be more willing to work hard for what they want, even when the odds are against them. These people are described as go-getters, rather than the Eeyores of the world.

4. My mother believes it was fate that moved us to Minnesota. I remember when I was seven, dreading coming to this barren and cold wasteland from the landfill that is New Jersey. But I was quickly swayed when I met a friend named Brian on my first day here. Brian is still my best friend to this day. In Minnesota we have met people who have changed our lives, while our remaining family in New Jersey has had its fair share of problems. My mother thinks it's fate that we came to a better life without knowing it.

5. Should we believe in fate? That things are just handed to us? That we can never change what is about to happen and should just lay there defenseless? That's not living. That's reacting. We should do the acting. Make our own destiny, follow our own path. What's the use of not trying? Even if you admit there is some fate in this world, why not go down without a fight? When you want something, you go and get it. When you wait for it to come to you, it rarely happens. And the person who goes out and gets it, who fights, will get it before you.

6. His parents said he was destined to go to Harvard. He had to live up to those expectations. If he failed them, he failed himself. It was fate to get into that school and he had to do it. He studied for every test, had no time for friends or just being a kid. A stood for average, he had to set records. As a result of his parent's predetermined path for him, he made it into Harvard. The risk of letting them down was too high. He had met his fate, but at what cost?

Dreamsicle.

Dreaming intrigues me. Why is it so weird? So fascinating? What could its purpose be?

I consider dreaming to be the last frontier. Not Oregon, not the depths of the ocean, not the vastness of our universe. Our own minds haven't been tapped into.

Stay with me on this one...it's about to get really weird, really fast. In the past I have tried lucid dreaming. And there goes my credibility. Yes, I was inspired by Inception.

Lucid dreaming is when one is consciously aware that they are dreaming. What does this mean? That they control what they do in that dream. You want McDonalds? You can get McDonalds. McDonalds while flying? Why not. McDonalds while flying through time? Oh yeah.

Now accomplishing this state is quite hard and many people refute it. I could provide sources, cite them, blah blah blah but I won't. Basically there are two methods.

1. Train your mind to always keep track whether it is in consciousness.

Apparently tricks to accomplish this are to look at a digital clock twice. In a dream, your unconscious mind is lazy, it can't keep small details constant. In real life when you look at a clock twice, it will be the same (maybe 1 extra minute...). In a dream, this is not the case. Other tips include looking at yourself in a mirror, and pinching yourself.

Another key component is to REMEMBER your dreams. A dream journal helps, and is a really interesting read. Its like a diary of somebody in an insanity ward. However, by writing down your dreams every morning you can accomplish Lucid dreaming because you remember more (5-6 instead of 1-3) and you determine patterns that you create (recurring dreams).

Once your brain realizes it's in a similar situation to that of a dream it makes the connections. "Whoa this is like that dream. That one dream from that one time. Whoa I'm dreaming. Whoa I'm sleeping. Let us partake in some rather joyous activities," says the brain.

2. Crazy Method.

A person is dreaming when they are in REM stages of sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) They are deep stages which occur multiples times through the life. One theory is if the person doesn't fall asleep, and keeps still, the body will jump right into REM. You will be conscious but unable to be in reality. I call bullhickey on this. (I know you think the other part was crazy too...)

Have I ever had a lucid dream? No...but it is supposedly possible. Research it. I'm too lazy to turn this into a MoPro paper. I just find dreams interesting and I think they are symbolic. It's a good indicator of what's going on behind the scenes if you take the time to interpret it. And it is midnight, I am tired. Time to dream.

ps: I'm sorry about the tardiness of this blog. I was in my own little dream world. I'm going to hit the sack and dream of an A in AP Comp :)

Back in my day we frolicked.

As computers have come into play, some have believed that they are impacted society in negative ways. Here are some of the societal  issues that have been brought up by page 126 xsqaured. I believe some are downright ridiculous

• Loss of privacy- This is not something to be concerned with, if managed correctly. But it is a valid fear as many people do not protect files that can be hacked, etc.
• Two-Classed Society (those who don't have computers and those who do)- One word. Public Libraries. Ok, never-mind that, that's two.
• Research (Plagiarism)- As Mo Pro would suggest this is an issue. But those who post on the internet should know that EVERYBODY can see their work, and go through the proper steps of protecting it.
• Pornography- It existed before, it's called Playboy.
• Censoring the web- China is a prime example of this. It should be available to everybody, it just gives the world a giant service. This is a valid concern.
• Destruction of diction- Text messaging and the internet has changed the way people communicate. I would like to point out that we cannot understand Shakespearean language, it's just an example of how language transforms itself through the times.
• Death of print- Newspapers are dying. But they are moving onto the web, still getting advertisements. So they aren't really dying if they are making a profit. Technology is supposed to make things more efficient and in this case, it is.
• Social Isolation- Yes kids are not frolicking with butterflies as much as they used to. They can now watch a video of a butterfly fluttering in the summer breeze on youtube. I will admit that is kind of sad.

One personal pet-peeve of mine is people hiding behind the computer screen. Instead of saying something to your face, people will now say snarky, anonymous comments that they wouldn't have the cojones to say if they were right in front of you. It gives them false confidence. This angers me. But all in all, computers aren't destroying society as we know it, they are helping. 

High School Occupations

During my time in high school I have had two jobs that have added to the continuing struggle of juggling social life, school work, and funding yourself.

My first job was as a "team member" at Caribou Coffee. I started last year in September. I hated every moment of it. As a "team member" you have to do everything. This includes cleaning, cashiering, drive-thru (yes it was one of those Caribous...), and the most feminine part of the job...making the drinks.

Before I got the job, I would never drink coffee. I had to memorize the differences between lattes, mochas, cold presses, cappachinos, coolers, machiattos, and espresso. And then there was your typical old cup of joe. That I knew had to make. (You poured it out of the giant canteen thingy that I can't believe I'm forgetting the name of).

The only good part of the job was my co-worker, Mack. He was the older brother I never had. We had conversations ranging from the economy, how to get girls to notice you without being cocky, and surviving a zombie attack. I once had to pull out his earring out of his eyebrow with pliers once. That made us bros.

One day, I came into work and heard that Mack was leaving for his new job. Construction. Caribou to Construction. Quite the career change, but I was struck with sadness. I decided after that I would quit (Even though it was 2 months later)

In August of this year, I was hired for my current job. A cart-attendant at Target. Many people question my position. YOU ARE GOING TO GET COLD!!!

But I love it. I love pushing carts around and not dealing with people (except when I have to cashier...). I love walking out into the sea of pavement and feeling like a big deal in my neon orange vest. The best part is...the managers don't care where I go half of the time. As long as I answer my walkie, they don't have the slightest clue that I'm playing Words with Friends in the bathroom (haha). Also, Quinn works there. Shoutout.

So those are two high school jobs for you. I wrote this as soon as I got off. It was a bad day, so I went from Target to the Caribou across the street to pick up a Mint Condition. That's a weird full circle....