Cedar Point

So yesterday, I woke up at about 3:45 to something completely inappropriate to say in a blog. I had to get up in about 15 minutes and was counting down until my alarm went off. I went and got ready to load the bus at 5. We were off to Cedar Point. At 5 in the morning, it's kind of hard to be really energetic and excited, but I was. 12 hours filled with rides, having fun, and walking. As soon as we got to the park, we ran to the Dragster. We waited for the front row, and it was amazing. By the time I got off the ride, my hair was plastered back against the seat, and Torsten looked even more like Einstein! After that we went and got lunch at Johnny Rockets. Then we went and stood in line for Raptor, which is a very fun ride but probably not quite worth a 2 hour wait. After the Raptor, we stood in line for the new coaster, Maverick. This was one ride that would have been worth a 3 hour wait. When you walk into the line, there is a sign which gets across the point that not all of the cars make it over all of the hills. The car right behind ours got stuck!!! We had to sit and wait by the end of the coaster until they could get it working again. It was so much fun though. When we finally got off, we walked over to a funnel cake place. On the way, there was a Halloween trail with fog lights and scary people and all. I got kind of freaked out! While Torsten and Billy bought funnel cakes, Carter and I went to find a haunted house. When we finally found it after getting lost, we waited for the other two before we got in line. Although I jumped a few times, the haunted house was less scary than the trail. Since we had just under 2 hours left, we ran to the line for Millennium Force. It was a great way to end the night before we had to go spend 5 and a half miserable hours on a bus trying to sleep!

Home home home

Home is where the heart is…

I haven’t been so excited in a long time. I got home this morning at like 9:45. My parents sat down with me, and we ate breakfast. Then, my dad went out to do yardwork, and my mom and I sat and chatted for a while. Even though she came down this past Tuesday, I already missed her by like Thursday. The first few weeks of school, I only talked to her like once or twice a week. Now, I talk to her at least once a day! But back to the day… After we all got ready, we went out to Valpo, just off of Division and started house shopping. I guess they have been going these past few weekends and just didn’t tell me. We went up to this subdivision called Tuscany. There were some gorgeous homes on not so gorgeous lots. I was so excited about this one house. It was amazing. For some odd reason, I discovered that I love rounded corners…I don’t know who came up with the idea, but it’s a great one. It makes the inside look much more finished and professional. I love looking at designs and architecture. So really, I wonder why I’m an engineer…

Honor the true person, not who you want them to be

By idolizing those whom we honor, we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves....We fail to recognize that we could go and do likewise.
--Charles V. Willie

Growing up, whenever I started a new relationship, my mom would always ask me if there was anything I would change about the guy. Of course my answer was always yes…sorry guys, but you’re not perfect, no one is. She would reply by saying that I should break up with him because I shouldn’t have to change someone to like them. Comparing this to the above epigraph, I see many similarities. We, as American citizens have heard many wonderful stories about Helen Keller and the wonderful things she has done. The only reason we believe she is so great is because history books and their writers have chosen to change her background to make her more perfect. Since they aren’t in a “relationship” with her, they feel that they can make any “adjustments” needed to give her the façade of perfection. By doing this, people see her as this angelic figure only doing great things for the nation. We look up to her greatness and feel that we could never measure up. Historians have done the same thing with Woodrow Wilson. They make him look like this great guy, when in reality, he was racist and only did good things by accident.

This epigraph completely summarizes what Loewen was trying to say. Everything that historians have made us believe about these great people forces into our minds the fact that we can never be as great as them. In all truths, we can do better than these “heroes.” Keller and Wilson probably weren’t passionate about as many things as people today that go unnoticed by society. By putting them in the limelight, others feel discouraged as if their cause isn’t good enough.

I agree wholeheartedly with the epigraph and Loewen’s arguments. I too believe that when we idolize someone, we take them out of reality and make them take the characteristics of perfection. This completely defeats the purpose of having someone be your “hero” because you should think of them as being heroic for who they really are, not who you want to make them.

A Few More Peaceful Hours

Wednesday
After turning in CHIPS
Relaxing
Not thinking about homework
Sitting by the engineering fountain
Calmed by the sunlight and cool breeze
Taking time to be myself
Silent, pensive
Watching people
Walking by with mad looks on their faces
Smiling at them
Trying to make their day a little brighter
Watching squirrels
Fighting over food
Which is plentiful in their environment
Wishing my peaceful few hours would never end
Waiting to hustle to my next class
And spend the next 3 hours inside
Until I can be out in the elements again
Until the next round of homework starts
And my mind becomes stressed
And the world doesn't seem as bright
Until I get a few more peaceful hours

Validation

Engineering Problem Solving Method:
State the problem.
State what you need to find.
Draw a representation of the problem.
Theory: solve the problems using variables.
Assumptions: state your assumptions.
Givens: state what the problem gives you.
Iteration: solve the problem by plugging your values into your theory.
Validation: this equals hell. They expect us to find another way to solve a problem we already have the answer to. This week is the worst! Even after going to office hours to get help from the TA's, it seems like I have no idea how to validate the stupid problem. Even the TA's have a not so great way to validate. It was a completely last ditch effort!

The Most Random Thing You'll Ever Read

sometimes the smiles fade even when you think it's right
or the moments don't mean the same things they used to
and you start to find shelter in someone else's smile
which is something not known for a long time
it's hard to think everything's perfect
and doesn't need to change
when there are so many unknown things around
so many new experiences and opportunities
not wanting to miss anything
homework taking up my life
spending more time with people new to me
and being happier than with old friends
talking to my parents way more than I used to
truly finding out how close my mom and I are
it's an experience of a lifetime
it's challenging, but you'll make it
maybe the best seven years of my life :-P (Hope not)
I wouldn't change where I am right now for the world
as confusing and stressful as it is, I'm happy
not even knowing how
but realizing I wouldn't want to lose anyone
that I have in my life right now

Photographs

Curtis’s intention of staging the Native Americans like he did was to supposedly help other people understand them. In all reality, he just staged them in the way that Americans thought of the Native Americans. One reason he produced these photographs was because he was interested photography and Native Americans. Curtis staged the Native Americans too much. It has been said that some of them aren’t in their native environments. The families are portrayed in some of them also. One reason he photographed the Native Americans was for his contract with J.P. Morgan. I don’t think he would have produced 19 volumes of posed Native Americans if it weren’t for the prospective money looming over his head. Neidich’s work, from what I saw in the book, was much more geared toward making the Native Americans look savage. There were pictures of a man with a knife to his throat and pictures of men falling off horses. Neidich also tried to make his photos look old but making them sepia toned and grainy. I think his agenda was more to contradict photos like Curtis’s than to make a living taking photos of Native Americans. Neidich’s photos definitely remind me of photos and paintings that I would see in my old history books. I personally prefer Neidich’s work because he didn’t only focus on Native Americans. He photographs other things that interest him.