Christmas Time

           In less than a week, Christmas break will have officially begun. To me, there truly is no more wonderful time of the year. Everything about Christmas is wonderful. The following are some of my favorite things.

           Yesterday my older siblings in college returned home, and I am always happy to have a full house once again. Typically, the weather is much different, but as much as I love a magical white Christmas, I am no fool; I know I'll be missing these 50 degree days very soon. If it was snowy, I would be just as happy, so the weather can not go wrong during Christmas. I have had my radio set to Magic 106.7, Boston's Christmas Station, for the past few weeks and, even though there are only a handful of songs to play, the music makes me feel very happy. I love seeing and smelling the tree in my living room, dressed head to toe in lights and ornaments. I love watching Elf, It's a Wonderful Life, The Polar Express, The Grinch, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, and all the other timeless classics played on repeat on several different televisions stations each night. I love my holiday meals with my family, and all the pies and cookies that come out for dessert. I love the NBA on Christmas, as only the best teams are scheduled. I love the Straight no Chaser 12 days of Christmas performance (linked below). I love making my family happy with small gifts that we exchange. The list goes on and on of things I love doing in the Christmas season. Santa or no Santa, Christmas is truly magical.

Teaching

          When I finished CCD and got confirmed 3 years ago, I could not have been happier to be done with my religious education classes. Today, I am in my second year as a teacher of 7th grade CCD. If my 10th grade self knew that, he would be very confused. My motivation for volunteering was to get my leadership roles and some community service hours to get into National Honors Society and that mission has now been accomplished. I always knew that teaching middle schoolers must be hard, but now I know it first hand.  Also, I am suprised that every kid in my class for the past two years has had an Iphone that they use constantly. I know that constantly being on your phone is not unique to a seventh grader, but I would have never been trusted with such an expensive phone. I had a phone with a sliding keyboard at that age and I was lucky to even have that. A lot of 12 year olds did not have phones at all. Last year, my plan each class was to simply read the section of the book I should be on and survive as the clock ticks ever so slowly. That rarely happened. Absolutely no one would listen, they would use their phones, they would always be fighting with eachother and do anything to make it difficult on me. This year, I feel like I am doing a much better job at keeping the kids engaged, but I think it is because I just got lucky and got to teach some better kids. Even so, they have their issues, and I have a new respect for my teachers back at Parker.

Time Zones

          Geographically speaking, there is no question that the East Coast of the United States, particularly up here in the Northeast, is the place to live. However, if we are talking about time zones, does the East coast remain king? I am not so sure. My chief complaint about Eastern Standard Time is that "primetime" live sporting events, such as an NFL game, start way too late. Like most humans, I value sleep very highly and I do not want to go bed at midnight after a Sunday, Monday, or Thursday night football game. That leaves me with less than seven hours to sleep and that just is not healthy. Also, I am a fan of the NBA, and games typically start at 7;30 local time. That means over on the Pacific coast, games start at 10:30, and I do not even get the chance to watch them. If you are a fan of the NBA, or have watched ESPN in the past few months, you know that one player out west, Steph Curry, is doing something very special each and every night. He truly is amazing, and watching him play should not require me surrendering a good nights sleep. Excluding rare occasions, all I can get is highlights the next morning.
          On the flip side, who wants their NFL Sunday to start at 10 AM, or a primetime game to start at 5:30. Are people even out of work by 5:30? For these reasons, to me, Eastern Standard is better than Pacific time. Talking about time zones, It seems like the middle regions of our country are where you want to be. Which Time Zone is best; Easter, Central, Mountain, or Pacific?

Waiting to Hear

        A couple of weeks ago, I finally submitted my common application to college, and I am very happy to finally be done with the application process. However, I am far from relieved. I thought that I could finally kick back, and just enjoy the year as a senior without thoughts of my application planted in my mind. I did not think of this before, but the suspense of waiting for a decision may kill me. I won’t hear from any school until at least the end of December, and I won’t hear from two of my top schools until the spring. I would certainly feel very relieved upon finishing the common app if the waiting periods was a couple of weeks or so, but a couple of months is painfully long. Some of my decisions should come in around Christmas time, and I know what I want Santa to bring me this year; acceptance letters.
        Just waiting is extremely painful and I do my best not to worry about it but it is hard not to, this is my future after all. Thirteen years of schooling and countless hours of work will hopefully pay off. The only question is when will I know that it has paid off? I worked very hard to get to this point, and all my hard work has lead up to what will hopefully be a three letter word that starts with “y” and ends with “e” and “s” from all the colleges that I applied to. I just have to wait a few more months. I never thought that I would be this anxious as a wait for some mail.

Proofreading is Important

Today in class, on Ms. Baskin’s birthday (Happy Birthday!), we gave her the gift of helping her grade some old quizzes. My classmates and I were so excited to see what the process entailed, and also to avoid fondling the details of a new story, that it felt more like a gift for us. I have long wondered what it is like to grade any work in an English class. So much of what we are graded on in English is abstract and answers certainly can vary. Thankfully, this was not at full display today, as the quizzes were just reading checks with only one right answer. However, it is easy to forget that knowing the material you are reading is only half the battle. The other half of the battle is being articulate.

I was fortunate enough to grade the quizzes of two students who had neat handwriting, and, for the most part, strong grammar and spelling skills. There is not much you can do about the handwriting, as that had become muscle memory long ago, but I was amazed at some of the strange combinations of words that were passed off as answers in the tests around me. By taking a second to read over their answer, the student could have realized that the words on the page did not make sentences, and they could change it. The best way for an athlete to learn and prepare is to watch film, and I feel like, through this exercise, I was just watching some film to become a better student. With the deadline for the Winesburg essay looming large, I know that I have a ways to go. I must proofread my essay several times over before I hand it in. There is only a year or two of experience separating me from the kids I could chuckle at this morning, and, if I don’t read over my work, Ms. Baskin will be chuckling at me.

The Grind of the Celtic's Season

I have always been a very big fan of Boston sports teams, and the success our teams have attained has brought me a lot of happiness. However, I am no “fair weather” fan, and I will stick with my teams through the good, the bad, and even the ugly. With the Boston Celtics, a team that plays an 82 game season, this can be a grind. The Celtics are rebuilding after trading or losing every player on the 2008 championship team. Today, things are looking up after a 25 win season just two years ago, and they are projected to win up to 50 games. They have a lot of young talent, and one of the best and youngest coaches in the game. However, the NBA is a star’s league, and that is something the celtics do not have. Because of this, every single one of the 82 games will be close and interesting to watch. This makes it very entertaining, but also very stressful for the fans who care enough watch. I am emotionally invested in this team, and, when the game comes down to the last second every night, it is tough.

Just last night (Wednesday), the Celtics came up short by only one basket. All game long, they were down but remained within striking distance. By the start of the last quarter of play, the Celtics trailed by only one point, and they even took a lead here and there. Much like any other game, the last two minutes (a tie game at this point) were particularly stressful. The Pacers hit a three pointer and another two to go up by five with a minute left. Our bright young coach was able to draw up a play and Avery Bradley drained a three to make it a two point game with less than a minute. After a stop on D, and another AB bucket, it was a tie game with 30 seconds to go. The Pacers have the ball and go up two points off of a bogus foul call and, with 3 seconds remaining, the celtics have a chance. 3..2..(the shot is up)..1..(the shot hits front rim)..1...0. As you can imagine, those were a stressful three seconds and a disappointing ending for me. What is more stressful is that there are still 78 more games to go. Celtics fanhood is a grind, but I love it.

Voting

            Today in class, before we finally wrapped up the final story in Winesburg, Ohio, we got off topic for a little bit of time and began to discuss politics. I believe last night there was a republican debate on television, and that is how the discussion began. I began to think about how little I actually know about politics, and that scares me. I will be 18 by next November, and that means that I will have a say in who will be the next President of the United States. Forming that important decision will take time and energy that I certainly have not began to spend. I should really tune into the debates when they are on TV, read up on my candidates (I only know that Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders are running) or at least read an article or two. I do not know much of anything about any candidates political policies. I have only been entertained by sound bites from Donald Trump and headlines saying that Hillary Clinton is headed to jail because of her emails.

            It is fortunate that I have until next November to educate myself so I will be able to make an informed decision on who I want in office. I do not know if the high cost of college is something that is up for debate, but I would certainly be interested in finding out. Pretty soon that is a problem that will be extremely relevant to me. Getting off topic and going off on this tangent today was actually very productive for me.

Language is Definitely not Transparent

As we continue our reading of Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson, I am continually amazed by how every little detail in this book is symbolic, and everything a character does reveals something about who they are. Language is truly not transparent and that is the way Anderson intended it to be. I think this makes reading the book very difficult to understand, but it also makes discussing the book much easier and much more valuable. It always helps to discuss a challenge read, but, in Winesburg, Ohio, it is essential because of the fact that every word in the stories must be understood to truly understand the story.

For example, a detail as simple as the name of a character or the title of the story holds great meaning. In Godliness, the titles of parts three and four are surrender  and Terror respectively. These two words perfectly sum up the legacy of Jesse Bentley and the way he has completely ruined his own life, his wife's life, his daughter's life, and his grandson's life. In Respectability, the name of the character that is a grotesque is Wash. This is ironic because he is described as a physically grotesque and dirty man. Also, when you read the story, you see that, before the incident with his mother in law, you see his intentions were once clean like his hands. After the incident, needs to wash his filthy misogynistic attitude. All this is drawn from the calculated use of three words.

Reading With Psychoanalysis

We have finally begun studying our first book in English class and so far it has been interesting. We have had strong discussions in class about Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson. Much of our discussion has been about psychoanalysis of the character in the stories. This is very easy to do because Sherwood Anderson is one of the first writers to consciously use Freudian psychology as symbolism in literature. You could have a theory that Hamlet had issues with his oedipal complex, but Sherwood Anderson 100 percent intended to put the oedipal complex in with any characters that reference their parents. You must read the stories with notes on defense mechanisms and psychoanalysis by your side to understand the way these characters are acting.

For example, I was confused why Wing Biddlebaum would always pound his hands against walls and tree stumps while talking to George. I thought it would make sense that Wing would be comfortable enough to rest his hands while talking to the one person in town that he feels remotely comfortable with. When looking at the pounding of his hands as the defense mechanism displacement, you see that he pounds his hands because he cares about George. Though he will not hurt George by touching him, Wing thinks that his hands touching him is wrong, so he displaces the want and anger about touching by pounding his hands against anything in sight.

Human Minds

            Over the past few days in class, our primary focus has been learning about psychoanalysis. Human minds are more complicated than I ever could have imagined, and it baffles me that anyone could no so much about the things we subconsciously do all the time and why we do them. A large portion of our time in class has been spent talking about the defense mechanisms our mind subconsciously deploys in order to deal with certain things. These defense mechanisms range from being a total psycho who can not function in society to things that everybody does everyday. There are four classifications of these defense mechanisms; pathological, immature, neurotic, and mature.

            I found it interesting that, even though some behaviors are considered that of someone who can not function in society, we all engage in these defense mechanisms to a certain degree. Like I said above, the human mind is incredibly complicated and it can do some wild things. Obviously someone who completely denies reality or reshapes facts to fit their needs is insane and needs help, but I think we all do this, at least consciously sometimes. I know when something bad happens to me, it is a lot easier to deny it than to deal with it. Moving on to the immature class of defense mechanisms, passive aggression is a behavior that no one is new too, yet it is falls in a class towards the more insane side of the spectrum. The third class in neurotic and this is simply considered odd behavior. One behavior in the group sparked a lot of discussion; dissociation. Essentially, the person creates multiple identities to deal with different situations. I thought this was a misprint in class and this was meant to fall in the first, more crazy, class. After talking about it, I realized that nearly everyone does this to at least a small degree. If you are in a situation that requires you to speak publically, your mind can trick yourself into thinking you are actually someone who is a good public speaker. Our minds are incredibly powerful.

Inception and Modernism

            This week in class we are watching Inception. I have seen it a few times before, and I am happy to watch it again. I think it is pretty sweet that we are watching a movie-especially a movie as enjoyable as Inception- this early into the year. However, the purpose of viewing this movie in class is not just for our entertainment, it is to highlight and help us understand the characteristics of modernism. I am surprised by how many modernist themes director Christopher Nolan works into Inception. According to my notes, the Modernism Movement was over by the 1960's, but its been 50 years since then. It is interesting that, after all this time, we can still find modernism in today's works.

            Today, Inception is welcomed as a fresh and unique movie, but, Christopher Nolan smartly followed in the footsteps of modernists authors like the ones we have learned/will be learning about in class. These authors focused on everyday things and the conflict of a typical character. Of course the premise of the film is extremely complicated, ambitious, and can be hard to understand, but the things that make the film great, like Cobb's conflict with his own subconscious, are simple, everyday things that reflect reality and that is modernism at work. It is not an everyday reality for us to share dreams and do some of the things the characters in the film do, but I think we can all relate to being at war with ourselves.

            

Blog Post 1- Elephants and College

This week in class, we began our unit on modernism by focusing on a few short stories. One story that stood out for me was Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway. In the story, an American couple is in Spain, waiting at the train station with some drinks that they are happy to try for the first time. On the surface, this couple seems perfectly happy and the reader can not be sure where they are going or what they want to do. Hemingway does not give the girl the ability to speak Spanish, and he also only refers to her as "the girl." This gives the reader the sense that the man is the authority in this relationship. That notion is reassured as you read along and get the sense that the girl is in no rush to go where she and the man have planned to go. When you fondle the details, you can see that this couple is not quite as happy as they appear, as the girl ask the man things like, "you think then we'll be alright and be happy," or "if I do it, then it will nice again." After in class instruction, I now know the "elephant in the room" that caused the argument that went absolutely nowhere was over an abortion.

             I found a connection to this story in my own life through looking at the big elephant that sits in my very bedroom; a mountain of college application related documents on my desk. Looking at the blank common application, I feel like the girl and the man must feel as they sit waiting in Spain, just wanting it to be over so I can go back to focusing on what I hope will be a great senior year before I really have to get my life going. My mother constantly yells at me to get a jump on all of this stuff, and she is frustrated with the slow pace I am currently going at. I understand that I am certainly in the wrong and that I definitely have to treat this process with much more urgency than I am. Our fights never really go anywhere, just like the two in the story. Mark Twain said “if you eat a frog first thing in the morning, than nothing worse will happen to you all day.” Now the sun is setting and the deadline for the common application looms large, and I still have a lot of frog left on my plate. Unlike in the story, if I just hurry up and do what I need to do, thereby ending the occasional circular arguments I have with my mother, happiness will follow. In the story, it seems more like these too simply wont be able to see eye to eye when deep down, the girl knows the man has been wrong all along. For me, I know my mother has obviously been right all along.