DormtoHome

Back in the dorms <3

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 01:33:18 -0500

In my RWS class....

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 19:25:51 -0400

The sitting next to me is playing Monoply on his cell phone. The guy to my right is sleeping with his face smooshed against the chalkboard, and I am on my computer, editing my resume, planning my Honors paper and scratching the bloody bug bites on my arm.

This class is immensely interesting. This is a joke.

My mommy sent me a care package this week to make me feel...

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:06:28 -0400

My mommy sent me a care package this week to make me feel better. :) The card was absolutely adorable (I’ll take a picture and post after this). All this candy is seriously gonna make me obese. I super need to hit the gym.

My mom’s pretty amazing sometimes. And even though I’m only a few minutes from home, it still feels like hundreds of miles.

I left my roommate a present :)

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:18:41 -0400

I left my roommate a present :)

I moved the furniture around. Gives me more desk space and I...

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 23:09:51 -0400

I moved the furniture around. Gives me more desk space and I feel less crammed. And now we have a floor mat outside our door, courtesy of my grandparents. Perfect time because now we aren’t trudging our wet shoes into the room. :)

"I’m going to start getting ahead… as soon as I catch up."

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 03:39:37 -0400

“I’m going to start getting ahead… as soon as I catch up.”

- 12:39am.

E-Chug. A mandatory survey in order to register for classes in...

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 03:20:33 -0400

E-Chug. A mandatory survey in order to register for classes in the spring.

Ha. I guess no one in america drinks less than me. Maybe it’s because I DONT DRINK AT ALL.

This was a waste of twenty minutes.

That. Is an ugly burn.

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 23:24:11 -0400

That. Is an ugly burn.

My first midterm ever.

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:03:29 -0400

Wasn’t the greatest. However, the topic, is waaay cooler than something normal like math or english..

ASTRONOMY.

I burned my finger trying to make spagettios. I also split it...

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:05:29 -0400

I burned my finger trying to make spagettios. I also split it all over my desk, and my bed and my carpet. (I’ll show you the burn later)

Conclusion: Stop eating in my room. The parents were right, it’s gross getting food crap all over my bed and floor and staining things.

This is the face of your average college student, writing a...

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:51:11 -0400

This is the face of your average college student, writing a super long paper.

I should be admitted to a research group to study variety of human species.

My Arabic Class has been Cancelled.

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:07:50 -0400

I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy. I have my Astronomy midterm tomorrow morning and my five page RWS research paper due tomorrow afternoon, not to mention a super long reading assignment from Honors 275.

I know have more time (two hours) to study and revise my paper. I am a happy, grateful college student.

"Nature provides the facts, Nurture provides the reasons."

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:20:38 -0400

“Nature provides the facts, Nurture provides the reasons.”

- from my Connections Presentation titled Humans: Who are We?

Needless to say, I blew my professor away.

I miss art.

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:22:37 -0400

Watching my roommate drawing for homework and listening to her detail her assignment paints pictures in my mind of what i would do if that assignment were mine. I see in minute detail every line I would draw and it’s driving me crazy as I look down to find a presentation awaiting me to outline, write, and prepare a speech for it.

Sigh. Am I doing the right thing?

Humanity's Journey Towards Hope and Evil, Part One Synthesis.

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 01:58:15 -0400

Since the beginning of mankind’s arrival on earth, they have only recently developed into the technologically developed society of today. Only after years of human development did mankind hit the catalyst of the agricultural revolution and blast into a world of mechanics, industrialization, and ultimately the digital age. How humans have managed to develop at such a rate and under which circumstances or sacrifices were made to achieve a position at the top of the intellectual ladder is a question explored throughout this section. With the use of a variety of sources, it can be seen that not only has it been a social development, but a scientific evolution as well.
The brain is separated into two main hemispheres: the right is in control of spiritual and more creative aspects while the left commands rationality. While they may seem at opposite ends, these two areas of the brain work together. The brain is considered to have evolved into a “triune brain”. The forebrain from primate ancestors and contains intellect, the midbrain from the mammalians and responsible for memory, and lastly the unconscious blessing to ensure the keeping of the bodily functions from the reptilians. And yet, from the blend of their ancestors’ brains, mankind has progressed further than any mammal, primate or reptile. Rather than having to rediscover invention like our primitive ancestors, humans have learned to pass down information through the process of teaching (Ape Genius).
Psychologically, the brain rapidly attempts to keep up with the advances of today. What is top of the line today is outdated by tomorrow. Thus the brain has fleshed out a function that manages to accommodate the large amounts of knowledge. Just as the cartoons blow details out of proportion, so too does the brain only take notice of large or outstanding events thus caricaturizing information to prevent an overwhelming of fine-tuned information. Clearly, the brain lacks the ability to withhold and process large and various amounts of information. As a result of caricature, the brain undergoes a picking and choosing process. The downside of this easy way out will be explored later.
From the very apparent ability of mankind to rapidly evolve intellectually, humans have developed somewhat of an attitude that the world and everything in it revolves around them. The Anthropic Principle is based on the idea that life is like a tree with the humans on top as opposed to the busy theory where everything is level and intertwined. In this idea, the world is regarded “as a sort of human life-support system” (Quinn 59) that is at the beck and call of man’s wishes. The source of this quote discusses the arrogance and blindness of how although humans are indeed an intellectual species; they are in no shape or form perfect.
The culture of mankind is responsible for giving reason to actions. The use of culture as a web explains the universe serves to give man guidelines and foundational points to build upon in life. In David Quinn’s Ishmael, a force named “Mother Culture” is referred and turned to as a source to answer life’s questions. The narrator realizes that Mother Culture is essentially the manual to life and thus unconsciously puts itself on a pedestal. However, the variety of various little cultures (the individual cultures of all humans) clash with one another and soon mankind looses sight of who they are as a collective species.
The diversity of mankind is both embraced and rejected. In one case, an American boy left orphaned in China grew under the web rules of the Chinese culture. Although the boy was an American, another culture had nurtured him. He traveled to America one day where his physical attributes matched those surrounding him but felt alienated, as he did not speak the language or understand the lifestyle (Queer Customs 7). In effect, he was genetically an American but cultured as a Chinese.
From the clash, ethnocentrism is birthed and weaker cultures fall as the stronger reign supreme and dominate. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s culture presides over all the others and lacks the ability to accommodate or appreciate other culture. The unique lifestyles of peoples from different parts of the world (South Africa, Brazil, and Kenya) are explored. In the documentary “The Nature of Culture”, ethnocentrism is evident as Western society attempts to “advance” the hunter-gatherers to gain their part in paying for taxes and providing government run water systems merely for the reason that they feel their culture puts life into their own hands and therefore better. The morality of agreeing which culture is better than another’s is nothing more than participating in group polarization. Another form of deceit originates from an idea mentioned above. The brain withholds the imperfection of a term called brain soothing. Brain soothing is when the nervous system seeks to rationalize and comfort itself. This results in a narrowed perception of only seeing what one’s brain is capable of handling.
Overall, evolution (physically and psychologically) has developed our brains into the best of its ability to accommodate the ever-changing society of today. From the awareness of our lead in the intellect race, mankind has developed a cocky yet innocently ignorant attitude towards the rest of the other species and life. However, the blame rests on the shoulders of culture and ethnocentrism as they provide foundational pride in mankind’s achievements and success. The sacrifice of little cultures and undiscovered species, flora, and science as well accompanies the arrogance of mankind as they rapidly advance technologically but manage to slowly fall to their demise.

Two days of Havoc.

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 18:50:43 -0400

I am so tired.

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:09:22 -0400

I was up until three am last night. Doing my homework. I am exhausted needless to say. This whole college thing is wearing me out and I’m starting to feel like I have double personality. Like every other weekend, I’m going home. Hopefully I’ll be able to concentrate enough to get my homework done this time so I’m not up all Sunday night when I come back.

Students for Justice in Palestine.

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 22:48:41 -0400

Is beautiful. Is eye opening. Is… inspiring.

And while I was waiting for SJP to start, I managed to make myself an officer of MSA. Hey hey heyyy, the only girl on board. Muhammad encouraged me to join so that other sisters wouldn’t be so anxious or feel awkward at our meetings. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it to meetings because they’re on mondays at four and I have class until five. But I am going to revolutionize MSA.

Anyways, back to SJP. We’re having demonstrations and I can’t waaaait. I’m talking refugee camp set ups, and putting up a wall. I can’t wait to finally be a part of something big :)

WHAAAT??!!! NO HOMEWORK TO CRAM IN BEFORE THE CLASS ITS...

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 12:25:57 -0400

WHAAAT??!!!

NO HOMEWORK TO CRAM IN BEFORE THE CLASS ITS DUE?!!

NO NEED TO STRESS AND WORRY MY BUTT OFF THAT I WONT FINISH IN TIME??

NO RUSHING TO FIND SOMEONE HOME TO PRINT MY PAPER FOR ME???

NO COMPUTER PROBLEMS TO THREATEN MY COLLEGE SUCCESS?!

I’M ECSTATIC. I CAN SHOWER. I CAN NAP. I CAN EAT.

Pakistan. (Yes I did write a paper about Pakistan for Honors 100)

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:43:00 -0400

Another crisis that requires an interdisciplinary response and solution is the country of Pakistan. It suffers from government corruption, homelessness from the recent floods, bombardment from Al-Qaeda, and wide spread poverty.

First let’s take a look at the social aspect. We’ll include the government corruption and poverty as a social issue. The money America sends to Pakistan in aid end up in the pockets of the higher ups and it fails to reach those who actually need it. So while the richer get richer, the poor get poorer. This connects to Al Qaeda. Because many Pakistanis do not trust Americans, they put their trust in Al-Qaeda. They do this because even though they are a manipulative people, citizens feel that they are at least akin to them. The truth however, is connected to another discipline: education. Because the rich are denying the less fortunate opportunities, a gap has been created between rich and poor. There is no longer a working middle class. A secluded lot are educated and they are twisted into making sure the money ends up in their pockets. The much larger group of the poor grows up uneducated since they are unable to afford to send their children to school. Therefore, in ignorance, they trust the Al Qaeda because they dress and look like a local, so much more relatable to themselves than an American soldier or politician. The recent floods have further destroyed a country so near to its crashing point. The economics of Pakistan fell through the roof when their agriculture and infrastructure were washed away. Many are displaced and have nowhere to turn to, no government money to rely on, and no insurance to retrieve what little they had previously.

Now let’s look at disciplines that can be implemented to solve some of Pakistan’s issues. First of all, these are a narrow-minded people because, unlike Americans, they do not live in a melting pot and are not used to diversity and tolerance of different people. Therefore, in the beginning, Pakistanis who live in other nations should become the negotiators, the go between of the UN and Pakistan. This way, the people of Pakistan can come to trust the Americans or the UN instead of Al Qaeda. Now, money meant for aid will be used for aid, not to pay off Al Qaeda or disappear into pockets. But this isn’t the only approach. Education needs to be implemented as well. The only way to expel ignorance is to educate. Producing an educated population encourages economy and life to flourish. Also, by education peoples in civil engineering or architecture, the production of peoples able and ready to rebuild the homes lost in the floods. Giving people a purpose (of rebuilding their homes properly) prevents them from straying to terrorist organizations or falling victim to manipulations of scripture. Therefore, by addressing the areas of international relations, social equality, education, and economics, Pakistan will be able to rise from its free fall and finally ascend from its state as a third world country.