The blog

So I had quite an inspiring math class yesterday. Despite the fact that I’m about brain dead from lack of sleep, I managed to retain that  It was interesting.

You see, my math class is Entitled ‘Math for the Liberal Arts’, taught by one David Kay (kudos to him). The purpose of the class is math and its actual applications in the real world and the chapter we were going into was percentages. The differences in percents, how to figure out what the percent was, how to figure out if a percent markdown is a good deal, the whole nine yards. Well, I’ve always found percents easier to deal with than algebraic expressions (which I’m sure will pop up again soon, so I’m not celebrating yet), so I was relieved for a class.

Well, silly me, I’ve never really thought about the actual applications of percentages, and when Kay started going into all the different ways we could use this stuff, I dunno, I was inspired! I’ve always felt this way about words, but never about numbers! You see, words are powerful and beatiful and strange and every emotion that you can put in the form of speaking or writing. I’m a writer, so I appreciate that, perhaps more than most. But that was the absolute first time I have ever, ever, ever had a teacher that made me feel that way about numbers too. It was like magic, because me and #’s never got along well at all. I just decided that this would be the topic for my blog today, because it was so truly awesome.

You see, we’ve kinda been a disappointing class so far because most of us students haven’t really taken the whole thing all that seriously. But maybe then we didn’t really know the true applications of all this stuff. At any rate, I think Mr. Kay was feeling kinda discouraged about it because none of us did all that great on our last quiz. But he still put all his heart into it and I think we’ve all finally got it.

So, if I could, I will say, thanks to an awesome instructor! Keep it up because you are doing an amazing job!

Oh, and so you know, I have decided to throw up a beautiful picture or two each week. This week’s Beautiful Picture is compliments of Flickr.com and, to see the original, click on the link below the picture. Have a great weekend!

http://flickr.com/photos/7205246@N02/2111361675/

The moment my soul began anew,
My heartbeat pounded fiercely in my ears,
My vitality burst in every vein,
And I realized, yes, I was alive.
As I pulled cold air deep into my lungs,
And realized the swelling joy in my heart,
And sympathized for those less fortunate than I,
Not to be here at this moment.
I contemplated life in every degree,
In a moment’s time without thinking,
I could have scaled the highest peak,
And jumped just to feel what it was like.
Feel? Yes, I know, I mean
Not the feelings of imminent death,
Those, unfortunately, lurk all about us every day,
But,
Rather,
That splendid, perfect moment of being alive.
Every sensation heightened to the perfect degree,
You would fall,
Feeling,
The cold tingle of air,
Seeing,
The beauty, so vast, below,
Feeling so small
Heart racing, lungs drawing, again and again in that cool life,
And to know, you will land
Soft,
And quiet,
In the most gentle of ways.
In a dream, perhaps.
Or, maybe, you will find yourself standing alone,
In the early morning,
Watching deer chase each other through the gray mists,
As the sun rises like a burning Phoenix,
Barely penetrating the fog yet, but gaining
The stillness touching,
The cool air brushing your lips,
Sinking deep into your body,
Like the very breath of God.
And to know, just to know,
That this moment is yours,
Yours alone.
Perfection.

 So, I found this beautiful book hidden in the library here entitled ‘The Magic of Minerals’ by Olaf Mendenbach and Harry Wilk. It’s spectacular! If you were not to find it informative, it would at least be a fascinating picture-book, because the photographs are utterly splendid. Seriously. Find this book

However, no, that pretty little poem was not drawn from these pages; rather I just made it up in the last fifteen minutes. I love the mornings here at Iowa Western. I really, truly, hate waking up for a seven-thirty class, I believe that it is a form of cruel and unusual punishment and ought to be banned because our constitution forbids it. However, despite its bad points, the campus is stunning in the morning.

The hills are so finely etched on one side driving in, and the woods across from it stately, and in the cool, gray air of an early morning, it all looks truly majestic. There were some deer this morning, too. I dunno, it really was neat. I have class in a bit and I want to do some actual writing on my story before it so I’m gonna find some pictures from that book and leave you with them. Seriously, when I get it back into the library, if you happen to be a student here, go in and check it out, it’s cool J Goodbye!!!
Sarah

http://www.keysminerals.com/minerals/07tus2qtz/minerals07tus2qtz_en.html

I wanted to take a moment in my blog to dedicate a section to the events of 9/11. As we remember the victims and their families, and as we mourn a tragic day, I want to say a short prayer. In silence, I write this, somberly because of the lives lost and the terrible pain wrought upon so many people. Bitterly, because of the dreadful waste that it was. Joyfully, because of the new hope that sprang up within us and marches on to this day.

Lord, on this day, seven years to the date, I pray that you will comfort the families still mourning their losses. I pray that you will comfort the American people and provide hope once again. I pray that in silence, we will remember, that we will never forget. I pray that the candles be lit, and this day be a solemn one and, at the end of it, we stand back up, straighten our shoulders and continue on. I pray that we will never forget.

May we never forget. May we remain strong. May we move on in their memories.

God Bless America

-Sarah

            It’s truly amazing how much power people have over you. And rightfully so. We each have people in our lives, people we respect, peers, and idols who, perhaps, don’t even know us. But, if any of these people speak, we take it to heart.

It’s unfortunate, then, when we start to treat everyone as our peer group. People we respect counts only those who we know, trust, and look up to for whatever reason. Idols are people we don’t know that we respect, usually because they are excellent at something we appreciate. But peers… peers are different. A good example of peers is my creative writing class. Each of those people have more power over me than they think because I am giving a bit of my self up to them for scrutiny and critique, both good and bad. An excellent reaction to one chapter of a certain story I offered propelled me enthusiastically through two more chapters in a single weekend. Truthfully, I did delete one later, but a good review lent me a certain fire I can’t really explain.

Now, this is unfortunate because you can’t take to heart the complements and criticism of every single person you know. It just wouldn’t work. You see, it would kill you eventually. It’s like listening to the media to figure out whether you’re skinny or pretty enough, or listening to a teacher or parent that tells you you’re worthless and will never accomplish anything. You have to temper what you hear with wisdom and reason, both bad things and good things.

Obviously, you do have to care about what people say to a certain extent, otherwise you would turn into a very gross person. Really. Shower. Please. For the sake of all sanity in this world, please don’t become so comfortable with yourself and your opinion of yourself to stop showering…

But, have you ever heard someone complain about someone with a huge ego? That is sometimes what happens when you care too much about what people say and surround yourself with the wrong people. If everyone you know is constantly telling you how wonderful you are and will never stick out their foot to trip you up when you’re heading out to screw yourself over, then you’ve got a problem and probably an ego.

I guess I have a point in this long-winded paragraph of overly explained reasoning. Read the category you fall into (and here’s a hint, we all fall into at least the third).

For people who never feel like they can do anything right:

I’m right there with ya. One word of criticism can crush me in ways the perpetrator may not know. I’m sorry if this comes across as a magazine article, but ya gotta listen. Surround yourself with people you trust. Don’t offer up something you worked very hard on and like to someone you just know, but show it to an enthusiastic teacher who really wants you to succeed and knows you well. Don’t pay attention to the words of a random guy or girl (whether or not what they say is good or bad) but, instead, listen to what your family and close friends tell you. If they say something is good, think about it! You have probably noticed that about yourself before. If you receive negative criticism, consider it, but don’t acknowledge it until you have decided on whether or not it’s true. And be honest with yourself too! Believe me, no one is ever just a screw-up; you have talents too, even if yours, like mine, is tripping over your own feet to cheer up someone else’s day.

For people who feel they do everything right:

You are either overcompensating for insecurities, in which you are highly obnoxious and ought to be reading the above clip. That, or you truly believe you do everything right. Well, you don’t. And you could probably use a swift kick to get your head out of your butt. You think everyone around you likes you? Think again. Most are just nice enough to smile and tolerate both you and your crushing ego. Maybe that’s one reason why you feel alone when you think about it. If you are a dude, you probably don’t respect your girlfriends at all, and you should. Otherwise, you’re gonna be living as a ‘jerk’ for the rest of your life and you, I guarantee, will be miserable. If you’re a girl, you are catty and self-centered, and probably flirt with other chick’s boyfriends. First of all, you’re gonna get beat up someday by a tiny girl with a hot temper and then all those nose-jobs and all the blond hair dye in the world won’t fix your face. But more than that, you probably think so highly of yourself that you have no self-respect anymore. You’re going to end up with a hot guy who treats you like the scum of the earth. He won’t care for you or respect you at all and you are going to end up lonely, scared, and empty, which I don’t want. Think about it.

To all who find themselves as a ‘peer’:

First of all, someone is counting on you for critique of something that is very important to them. In fact, there is this fantastic girl in my writing class who seems to think she writes badly. I read her story and I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever read. Her style is incomplete, sketchy, and her grammar and punctuation need brushing up. But I’ll tell ya now, you could be Poe or J.K. Rowling, and you would never write with as much spirit as this fantastic young woman. In the end, it’s the spirit of the art that matters more than the fine points, because, in the end, it’s all for you, and we, as peers, have no right to take that dream from people. Besides, her writing reminds me very clearly of mine but three years ago and, when I started six years ago, I was much worse.

Now a side note, and this I am ashamed to admit. If someone is doing better than I am, because of my own insecurities, I tend to put their work down or ignore it. Please, don’t do that. If I sound a dreadful person because I’ll admit this, ok, I’m fine with that. But we all do it. Instead of helping others to climb with us and even eclipsed our efforts at something, we try to push them down, and often succeed at it.

At any rate, we as peers have a unique responsibility to respect and nurture those around us who value us enough to ask our precious opinions. And maybe, just maybe, we can swallow our pride, insecurities, anger, formality, and aggressively competitive natures to meet another person where they are and encourage them. In the end, it’s better that way.