Collecting

     When I think of people collecting items, I have never thought about the idea that these people do this because they hate the idea of everything being as chaotic as it is. I have always felt that collecting is nothing more then a hobby for people. Reading the little blurb about Jose Saramago on the moodle page was pretty eye opening to me. What distinguishes whether a collector hates chaos or if he is just amused with a collection. Because I feel like if someone hated the idea of chaos that they would have multiple collections going on because they want to bring order to as much as they can while they can. However, many people are just big collectors with just one item so I would not say that these are people who cannot stand the idea of being a part of a chaotic world. But wait, maybe that is the distinguishing feature between the two.
     Perhaps the true motive behind collecting relates directly back to the collector himself/herself. The personality of the person may have a direct correlation to what purpose the collector has towards their collection. I feel like if we talk about the idea of collections having to do so strongly with a hatred of chaos that we would have to place this topic directly under order. So what inspirers these collectors to have such a desire to collect what they collect? Is it a love for the item or just a way of keeping themselves sane? It seems like some people would come to consider the fact that if they really want to fix chaos that they would think about chaos being harder to avoid then they think. Because a collection may be an organized order of something but there is still the chaos of colors and shapes and sizes, so what makes the collection any better of a means of avoiding chaos? I feel like chaos is what makes our world what it is and that it is here to stay no matter how much thought or processing is put into it as a whole.

Taxonomies

This was an interesting conversation in class on Wednesday to me because I have never understood what a taxonomy is. After the class I am not going to say that I am a pro on the topic now because honestly I still feel slightly confused towards the issue. What I did get out of the class though is that we have categorized this world we live in to such a specific thing that it is incredible to me. If you took the time to think about how broad everything used to be, then you may feel the way that I do. It used to be people, animals, plants, land, etc. Nowadays, we have all of those categories broken down into more and more different things. People you have white, black, mexican, native american, etc. Animals, we have mammals, reptiles, insects, etc. Plants, trees, bushes, grass, etc. And so on and so on. The thing that shocks me is thinking that I just broke down each of those basic things into the most basic subcategory when in all actuality it goes so far beyond that. That just is a small example of how much we have broken down every aspect of the life that we live. Everything is so specific before you can make it as broad as it used to be. It was fun to see how everyone classifies things differently. We are all such different people with different backgrounds that we could all categorize things into such different categories then the person next to us. Everyone has their own preferences and peculiarities that they look to fulfill in their own lives. Some of us aim to be basic in the way we do things, while others prefer to look at things in a deeper perspective. The perplexity of the human mind based on how we were raised is truly intriguing. After this class I realized that we all have such differences that make us unique, we all have amazing characteristics and yet, we all have so much in common. Life is an amazing treasure that is so fun to figure out!!

Forgiving

     After having a long and thought out rant about a best friend and what makes that person so special, I wanted to do a follow up blog that ties into my previous blog. Like I stated, I have had my share of what I thought was  "best friend" and I have had times where we just fall off whether it be different schools or anything as well as times where I have had a knife driven into my spine. After considering all of those times, it has made me think. What does it take to forgive someone? I can definitely say that I am also guilty of driving a knife into a friends back and I have honestly had my share of regrets towards the issues. I still stand with the same question, what helps in the process of forgiveness? I have always wondered how some people can be so patient and accepting toward something that I feel like would drive me off the edge. Some people question the friend, some question themselves, their parents, and some people even question God. But when is it okay to forgive someone? Should we immediately forgive them? Or should we take time and look within ourselves to determine when you have truly forgiven someone. I feel like we have to be angry, I feel like you can never forgive someone until you have experienced the emotions of anger or sadness towards an individual for what they have done. In those emotions, I feel like you can never forgive that person. For myself personally,  I can forgive, but I just feel like I can't forget at least not for a while. Being on the receiving end of a punch from a loved one sucks and I feel like I will never be able to trust that person again. However, I guess in the end timing is everything and we have to wait it out and pray and hope for the best to happen in our lives. The rate at which we forgive depends solely on us as human beings and the maturity we have or lack. Everyone deserves a second chance I feel like, however, I feel like a second chance must truly be earned in order for someone to prove that they are a loyal friend.

What makes a best friend?

     A best friend is a very important friendship to people. It is usually the one person that you can count on through thick and thin for the most part. Losing this friendship is like losing part of yourself. But I've been left to wonder on different occasions, what really makes a best friend? Is there ever a time where your best friend should disagree with you? Or does a best friend truly have your back through everything....if you decide to do something that may not be the best decision. Should your best friend support you through it or should they slowly fade away? I feel like I have had multiple best friends in my life....some that I have counted on more then others. But then it seems that every time things are too good, they go away. So what do you look for to make a best friend? Is it that important to have a best friend? Or should we just accept the friends that we have in our lifetime as true treasures and not be picky enough to look at them in a sense that they are lesser. I have a good friend who questions all the time, why can't he find a best friend? He claims that he has so many good friends, but he just wants that one best friend that he can turn to with everything, that he talks to consistently, and just feels that this person is someone he wants in his life forever? Is he asking for too much? Or is he asking just enough? I feel like this is the type of question that people can pick apart for days and I really have found myself doing it multiple times because of the friendships that I have lost and the backs that have been turned whenever I thought I could trust a person with my life.
     In my 20 years of life, I know that I have alot to learn, and I hope that my journey in life is far from over. But I would like to believe that I know what a best friend is. A best friend to me is someone who is always there for you. Someone that you can talk to about everything, pluses, faults, and anything and everything. A best friend will never judge you, they will always look to comfort you. A true best friend will never leave you because they know that deep down they can't be without you. A best friend is love, a true love. The closest thing to finding your husband or wife. I just can't help but wonder what makes this love so true for some people and what distinguishes a true best friend from the rest?

Psychology

After reading the article for the psychology topic, I am not going to lie. I was pretty confused about the article but I also got some pretty good life lessons out of it I felt like. For example, I like how the author made it a point to state that we should not look at people any differently based off of an assumption whether they have a mental illness or not. For myself personally, I was shocked when the author stated how offensive the word senile is. I felt pretty bad at this point because honestly I joke with my mother and call her senile all the time and it was a change on my perspective that it comes off as offensive to people. I was interested also to hear that schizophrenia was the beginning of the ideas of mental illness. I'm trying to major in psychology which is why I wanted to be part of that topic for the class blog but I still was shocked to hear that fact. It was interesting to me. It is always crazy to think of how far we have come in the medical field of all things because nowadays it seems as though we have the technology to just about everything. Out of the article, I learned not to use offensive words too freely or at least to think about the words that you are saying. As well as some of the importance in the history of psychology. We live in a beautiful country with endless possibilities for what we have to come!!

Cursing

     This was a pretty funny conversation in class I personally felt like because cursing is so common in the American language that it was interesting to hear everyone's different input on the subject. We discussed whether or not some words should be considered offensive or not as well as the degree that words are taken too. I personally feel like language can only be determined whether it is offensive or not based on how we interpret it as a individual people. Myself personally, I can't stand people saying GD and this is just because I have been raised in a Christian home throughout my life and GD has always been frowned upon.
     I will be the first person to say a cuss word honestly but you will never hear me say GD in seriousness or a joke. I will use just about any other word but that one just severely pisses me off even if its in my presence. This may be considered unjust and honestly, that's probably true but I can't help the way I was raised. I have my own personal opinions just like everyone else.
     Another series of words I hate is anything that has to do with throwing up, I hate the word vomit, puke, etc. Not sure why, I have just always been against those words because the action is sickening to me and I just cannot stand when people use those series of words in front of me, its appalling to me. I guess everything just depends on the person because that is just what I think about the situation. Some words are vulgar and some words are fine, but this always changes depending on the person that is being discussed or the person that is involved in the conversation. Language varies in so many different ways but it will continue to be an intriguing conversation to see where our language continues to progress or in some ways, downgrade. Ultimately my thoughts about cussing are fuck it, use the words you want to use because ultimately not a damn person can tell you that what your saying is wrong because in the end its up to you!

Language

     It is quite crazy to think about how much language has changed in our new generation for the youth of our nation. So many people converting to the slang of technology or to the lower intellect of our society. We used to live in a society where we were expected to be proper and pure in our language. Now we accept our society and youth with the way that they speak.
     Its always interesting to think about how much we have changed as a nation and how language has changed for us as individuals. We live in the time where texting is probably the most common form of communication and to think of how we communicate with one another is quite crazy. To understand the acronyms for example that have been created. I would say that a good percent of people know exactly what your saying if you say lol, rotfl, smh, or hmu mean.
     The fact that people do understand what we are saying in these situations just shows that society has completely accepted the change and downgrade in language that we have gone through. I really do not have a personal preference on how we talk to one another through language. I just find it interesting that our common language has shifted in such a dramatic way.