I have a problem. In July it's my birthday and I will turn 20 years old, still, I haven't got a clue what to do with my life. The only comfort I get is my own persuading that I'm still young enough to not get stressed out about my future. I see hopeful young people every day that have taken a leap and gone for their dream, and I wonder at what moment they knew. When will I know what is the right path for me and what if I never find the answer? Will I be a person who just dwell around all my life and feel no purpose and only long for something better to come along?
The strange thing is, I have lots of dreams. I want to be an interior designer, a project manager, a physiotherapist, a coach, a baker and so on. I have all the prospects in the world to achieve one of these dreams but first I have to choose. Then there are the dreams about travelling round the world, but to be able to do that you have to earn money first. Everything is just very confusing. If I want to do both, in which order should I start? The problem today, with the economic crisis and all, is that it's extremely hard to get a good job with or without an education. But of course, the ones with the education have a slight advantage, so maybe it is for the best to go back to school first. This takes me back to the problem of what to choose for a possible career, it can be an essential decisions for your future.
I'm absolutely not going to choose an education just because I know that I can earn lots of money when I'm done, of course that's a plus, but I want to do something I'll really enjoy doing. As I reflect over my thoughts, I realize that I will never ever be completely confident that the decision I make in the end, will be the right one. I will have to take a chance that my instinct at the moment is good enough, and I guess that is how my entire life is going to be. To be able to live life to the edge, you have to make some dared decisions, or else you won't live at all.
If I got a wish that would make it possible for me to foreordain my future, my wish would be to have a life full of happiness and experiences. I would want to travel and see interesting places, I would like to have a job where both duties and colleges agree with my interests, I would like to share many joyful moments with my friends, I would like to start a family with a person I really love and I would like to be able to die in peace. I know I can't get all these things, or maybe I can? It isn't that out of reach if you think about it.
What my future have in hold is yet to be discovered, but my own attitude to life and its setbacks may very well be the most crucial influence to the result. So, I will try to take some chances to move forward in life, and if I have no success in my first try, I will keep my courage to make the next decision. That is the only way to really live.
söndag 24 maj 2009
söndag 17 maj 2009
How would you like to be watched all the time?
I don't like the idea of being watched at all times. Somehow it would feel a bit uncomfortable to always know someone could find out where I am and what I am doing at the moment. I have nothing to hide but still I want my privacy. If I can't live a life where I feel comfortable I'm quite certainly I won't enjoy the security either. I'm not even sure I would be safer in a world where anyone could know what I am doing without my notion.
Because of all terrible things happening today it's still not that strange that countries want to increase national security. One big incident influencing the entire world was the eleventh of September 2001 when terrorists hijacked four aeroplanes and flew them into several buildings in the United States. Not only did these actions chock many people but it made a great deal of change in economic-, politic-, social-, cultural- and military questions, even in countries other than the US. I believe this was the start-off to extreme heightens of security all around the world.
Of course there are both ups and downs to this matter. If you picture a scenario where a big terrorist attack can be prevented with the help of extensive surveillance, then sure, “big brother” is a positive method. The downside is that your privacy is virtually gone. Will it continue to the extent that the governments starts placing cameras in our homes to prevent domestic abuse and such problems? Where do we draw the line to where this surveillance should occur; in public places like parks and squares or just municipal buildings? This may be the biggest question and the most important one for all individuals. In my opinion, stricter border control, higher security at airports and surveillance cameras in public places is fine by me, but I would not like to take it any further.
Sadly we live in a world where crime is a part of society. We will never get away from this, not even with better national security. For this to happen we would no longer be able to live our lives as we please. Someone or some authority would have to control each one of us so that we don't do anything we shouldn't, and then I ask myself, who would these persons or person be that make the decision about what is right and what is wrong? At this stage we have left democracy a long time ago and ended up somewhere far away.
There is no simple solution to this topic. No one can in advance find out what the outcome will be to any of the scenarios. Maybe crime and terrorism could be prevented and stopped by complete surveillance. Wouldn't that be the dream! Still, what will we do if it all turns into a nightmare? I honestly think we have a reasonable situation already. The world will never be a perfect place and there will always be cruelty. It feels wrong to say it but I think we just have to deal with it.
Because of all terrible things happening today it's still not that strange that countries want to increase national security. One big incident influencing the entire world was the eleventh of September 2001 when terrorists hijacked four aeroplanes and flew them into several buildings in the United States. Not only did these actions chock many people but it made a great deal of change in economic-, politic-, social-, cultural- and military questions, even in countries other than the US. I believe this was the start-off to extreme heightens of security all around the world.
Of course there are both ups and downs to this matter. If you picture a scenario where a big terrorist attack can be prevented with the help of extensive surveillance, then sure, “big brother” is a positive method. The downside is that your privacy is virtually gone. Will it continue to the extent that the governments starts placing cameras in our homes to prevent domestic abuse and such problems? Where do we draw the line to where this surveillance should occur; in public places like parks and squares or just municipal buildings? This may be the biggest question and the most important one for all individuals. In my opinion, stricter border control, higher security at airports and surveillance cameras in public places is fine by me, but I would not like to take it any further.
Sadly we live in a world where crime is a part of society. We will never get away from this, not even with better national security. For this to happen we would no longer be able to live our lives as we please. Someone or some authority would have to control each one of us so that we don't do anything we shouldn't, and then I ask myself, who would these persons or person be that make the decision about what is right and what is wrong? At this stage we have left democracy a long time ago and ended up somewhere far away.
There is no simple solution to this topic. No one can in advance find out what the outcome will be to any of the scenarios. Maybe crime and terrorism could be prevented and stopped by complete surveillance. Wouldn't that be the dream! Still, what will we do if it all turns into a nightmare? I honestly think we have a reasonable situation already. The world will never be a perfect place and there will always be cruelty. It feels wrong to say it but I think we just have to deal with it.
söndag 10 maj 2009
Give children some time
To pay extra attention to if children is lacking behind in school I think is a very good idea. If they get special help in early stages there is a bigger chance for them to catch up with their fellow classmates and be spared of the risk to have to redo one grade. Why you have to get grades earlier is out of my understanding though. I would think the most important thing for the children would be just to do good in school and to keep up with what is reasonable to know at that age. I think grades can build you up to some level but in sixth grade it is more likely that it will break you down.
In eight grade I got my first report card and I can't seem to miss not to have got it earlier. The step between seventh and eight grade was very big to me and you felt kind of lost the first year in a new school with new systems of learning. Before this I didn't need to take notes during classes for example, and the new ways of working with assignments took some time to adjust to. Then when I started eight grade I had learned how things in this new world worked and it became much easier to concentrate on the significant things in school when you didn't walk around all insecure. I feel that it was great to get the extra preparation year before you get judged in every single thing you do. In a way it may be good for your self-esteem not to have the pressure of performing the best during that first year in a new school.
Now they want to start with grades as early as in sixth grade and I feel doubtful that it is a good plan. Even though every individual is different and I'm sure many would do fine with getting graded this early, many other children wouldn't do as good. Around the years when a child is 12 (as in sixth grade) and 14 (as in eight grade) many things change in their lives. They get new friends, start growing into a new person and become more and more curious about life. It is a time when many thing happen and they find out things they didn't know before. Besides the desire to do well in school the society we live in today puts a lot of pressure on everyone of us. You should look good, dress well and have all the latest technique like an mp3 and the newest cellphone. At least this can seem important to a teenager. I don't think you are ready to get the kind of pressure grading puts on you earlier than we get at the moment. Children are too confused and insecure at this age. To get extra demands from school in excess of the ones society requires, it can get a bit overwhelming.
Depending on your background and your values, education can be variously important. In my case I've always been eager to learn and to do well in school. This have lead to a lot of stress on my behalf. I have taken it very hard when I haven't gotten the best result on a test or in a subject and this has followed me all the way to my last year in upper secondary school. I still push myself to do the best I can in every situation but I have started to acknowledge that you can't be the best at everything. If I still feel this pressure as an “almost adult”, why wouldn't a child be able to. And stress is not good for anyone and surely not for a child. This is one of the main reasons why I think you should postpone grading as far as possible.
Of course there is nothing saying that children would deal with stress any worse than an adult, and maybe they cope with it even better. It may even be a good thing to get grades earlier so you in that way get prepared for harder assignments that will occur in the future. It could be a good thing so that you don't get a chock later in life. But still, my belief is that it only puts more pressure on you. I'm no expert but I think that is what my own reaction would be to the situation. We will have to see what happens. Sadly people get more and more stressed by each day and the question is if this won't just feed the problem.
To conclude I would like to say that I think children need the extra time I had between sixth and eight grade so that they can prepare and grow a bit more as a person to be able to deal with what setbacks or stress they may bump in to on their way through life. School is an significant part of it and in many ways that time of life is what prepares us for the rest. Therefore it is so important that we get the best out of it as we possible can.
In eight grade I got my first report card and I can't seem to miss not to have got it earlier. The step between seventh and eight grade was very big to me and you felt kind of lost the first year in a new school with new systems of learning. Before this I didn't need to take notes during classes for example, and the new ways of working with assignments took some time to adjust to. Then when I started eight grade I had learned how things in this new world worked and it became much easier to concentrate on the significant things in school when you didn't walk around all insecure. I feel that it was great to get the extra preparation year before you get judged in every single thing you do. In a way it may be good for your self-esteem not to have the pressure of performing the best during that first year in a new school.
Now they want to start with grades as early as in sixth grade and I feel doubtful that it is a good plan. Even though every individual is different and I'm sure many would do fine with getting graded this early, many other children wouldn't do as good. Around the years when a child is 12 (as in sixth grade) and 14 (as in eight grade) many things change in their lives. They get new friends, start growing into a new person and become more and more curious about life. It is a time when many thing happen and they find out things they didn't know before. Besides the desire to do well in school the society we live in today puts a lot of pressure on everyone of us. You should look good, dress well and have all the latest technique like an mp3 and the newest cellphone. At least this can seem important to a teenager. I don't think you are ready to get the kind of pressure grading puts on you earlier than we get at the moment. Children are too confused and insecure at this age. To get extra demands from school in excess of the ones society requires, it can get a bit overwhelming.
Depending on your background and your values, education can be variously important. In my case I've always been eager to learn and to do well in school. This have lead to a lot of stress on my behalf. I have taken it very hard when I haven't gotten the best result on a test or in a subject and this has followed me all the way to my last year in upper secondary school. I still push myself to do the best I can in every situation but I have started to acknowledge that you can't be the best at everything. If I still feel this pressure as an “almost adult”, why wouldn't a child be able to. And stress is not good for anyone and surely not for a child. This is one of the main reasons why I think you should postpone grading as far as possible.
Of course there is nothing saying that children would deal with stress any worse than an adult, and maybe they cope with it even better. It may even be a good thing to get grades earlier so you in that way get prepared for harder assignments that will occur in the future. It could be a good thing so that you don't get a chock later in life. But still, my belief is that it only puts more pressure on you. I'm no expert but I think that is what my own reaction would be to the situation. We will have to see what happens. Sadly people get more and more stressed by each day and the question is if this won't just feed the problem.
To conclude I would like to say that I think children need the extra time I had between sixth and eight grade so that they can prepare and grow a bit more as a person to be able to deal with what setbacks or stress they may bump in to on their way through life. School is an significant part of it and in many ways that time of life is what prepares us for the rest. Therefore it is so important that we get the best out of it as we possible can.
söndag 3 maj 2009
People need to change
When I was younger you could play around in the snow during the winters. Most years we had a white Christmas. The last couple of years I'm sad to notice that it has taken longer and longer for the snow to set. Also there is not nearly as much snow as it was and you can notice it is in fact getting warmer. We still have winters and cold weather but the thing is that it is hard to ignore the signs. The climate is not quite the same as it was about ten years ago and that is what I call fast changing. Even though the warnings and our changing surrounding people have mange to suppress the facts.
Why I think people have closed their eyes to the truth is because they are afraid. They are afraid of change and they are scared of what's happening. If what the scientists are telling us is correct, the future we are heading towards is not a pleasant one and therefore I think people shut their ears and mind to get through the day as usual.
It is like a bad dream, somewhere in the back of your mind you know it is not for real. The only difference in this case is that it in fact is for real and you are already awake. Some people hope they will wake up tomorrow and all will be peace and calm but sadly this will not happen. While some people still are asleep others have now started to awake and are adapting to the situation. Still we are miles away from making the progress we should and I hope it wont be too late before real change will be made.
There are many factors to why it has taken so long for the acknowledging of the environmental problem we are facing. Great politicians have for a long time told the world that global warming is something made up and scientists have been saying the climate is changing like it has done throughout the beginning of the earth. And of course there is some truth to what they say but when it has happened as quick as we have noticed these last couple of years, something is wrong. But how should people who are not scientists or politicians, know how to sort the truth out in this mess? I think the closed eyes are partly to blame because of bad role models.
Still everyone is a villain in this tragedy. Would we give up all our abundance conveniences today if we knew that it would save the environment? Could we give up TV, cars, junk food, party clothes? Sadly this is the biggest issue standing in the way of changing things to the better. Me myself recycle and take the bike or bus to work and to school. But is it enough and what can a small person like me do with almost no influence in our society? I think the higher level of authority need to take the biggest leap to get the rest of the population to change and realize what we need to sacrifice. But it is to much at stake for anyone to begin. We have to change to be able to keep our planet a continuance liveable place. And the question is if we will wake up before it is to late.
Why I think people have closed their eyes to the truth is because they are afraid. They are afraid of change and they are scared of what's happening. If what the scientists are telling us is correct, the future we are heading towards is not a pleasant one and therefore I think people shut their ears and mind to get through the day as usual.
It is like a bad dream, somewhere in the back of your mind you know it is not for real. The only difference in this case is that it in fact is for real and you are already awake. Some people hope they will wake up tomorrow and all will be peace and calm but sadly this will not happen. While some people still are asleep others have now started to awake and are adapting to the situation. Still we are miles away from making the progress we should and I hope it wont be too late before real change will be made.
There are many factors to why it has taken so long for the acknowledging of the environmental problem we are facing. Great politicians have for a long time told the world that global warming is something made up and scientists have been saying the climate is changing like it has done throughout the beginning of the earth. And of course there is some truth to what they say but when it has happened as quick as we have noticed these last couple of years, something is wrong. But how should people who are not scientists or politicians, know how to sort the truth out in this mess? I think the closed eyes are partly to blame because of bad role models.
Still everyone is a villain in this tragedy. Would we give up all our abundance conveniences today if we knew that it would save the environment? Could we give up TV, cars, junk food, party clothes? Sadly this is the biggest issue standing in the way of changing things to the better. Me myself recycle and take the bike or bus to work and to school. But is it enough and what can a small person like me do with almost no influence in our society? I think the higher level of authority need to take the biggest leap to get the rest of the population to change and realize what we need to sacrifice. But it is to much at stake for anyone to begin. We have to change to be able to keep our planet a continuance liveable place. And the question is if we will wake up before it is to late.
söndag 26 april 2009
Blog Assignment #2: The Fascination of a TV series
What most TV series have in common is that you easily fall into some kind of trance when you watch them and then wake up 30-50 minutes later (more or less) and realize you have lost these minutes to something quite unnecessary. Still you feel an urge and a longing for the next episode. It is a great way to escape reality or maybe even relax for a bit, but sometime you have to wake up and return to the present.
Why you get so attached or maybe even addicted to certain TV series I believe is because of the well developed characters. By watching a show a couple of times and especially for several seasons I feel you get to know each individual and create some kind of relationship towards them. This is not possible when they exist only on the screen you so frequently end up watching, but in a way they become your “friends” and people you can rely on from time to time.
One of my all time favorite sitcoms take place in a hospital and is called Scrubs. Why I like this show is first and foremost because it is hilarious. Also the characters have such strong features. The main character for example is a young man who constantly find himself wandering away in his thoughts. And these thoughts are nothing but ordinary, they are very bizarre and imaginative. I think the best way to get a glimpse of what it is really about is to watch it yourselves. Despite all the jokes and funny sketches you get to experience a lot of emotional scenes without it getting tacky. And this is another thing about the show that really makes it worth watching. One minute you have eyes filled with tears of laugh and the next one you cry your eyes out when something sad happens. It is a nice kind of balance so the content don't fly away entirely from reality.
Maybe some people today watch a bit to much TV and spend to little time doing other kinds of activities together with friends and family. I don't say you should abstain watching your favorite TV series or a movie once in a while, but maybe skip some of those hours you watch something just because you can't think of anything better to do. Or worse, you escape significant tasks your schedule actually have worked out fore you. It is just a bad way of escaping reality.
Why you get so attached or maybe even addicted to certain TV series I believe is because of the well developed characters. By watching a show a couple of times and especially for several seasons I feel you get to know each individual and create some kind of relationship towards them. This is not possible when they exist only on the screen you so frequently end up watching, but in a way they become your “friends” and people you can rely on from time to time.
One of my all time favorite sitcoms take place in a hospital and is called Scrubs. Why I like this show is first and foremost because it is hilarious. Also the characters have such strong features. The main character for example is a young man who constantly find himself wandering away in his thoughts. And these thoughts are nothing but ordinary, they are very bizarre and imaginative. I think the best way to get a glimpse of what it is really about is to watch it yourselves. Despite all the jokes and funny sketches you get to experience a lot of emotional scenes without it getting tacky. And this is another thing about the show that really makes it worth watching. One minute you have eyes filled with tears of laugh and the next one you cry your eyes out when something sad happens. It is a nice kind of balance so the content don't fly away entirely from reality.
Maybe some people today watch a bit to much TV and spend to little time doing other kinds of activities together with friends and family. I don't say you should abstain watching your favorite TV series or a movie once in a while, but maybe skip some of those hours you watch something just because you can't think of anything better to do. Or worse, you escape significant tasks your schedule actually have worked out fore you. It is just a bad way of escaping reality.
söndag 5 april 2009
Blog Assignment #1: Childhood Memories
I feel that todays society force children to grow up way too fast. They are in fact just children and should be able to be for as long as possible. I remember when I was younger and just wanted to grow up at once. Looking back at this time of my life today, I realize how great it was being a child and just living for the moment. Getting older you automatically get more and more responsibilities and obligations. I believe it is in the hands of parents and adults to encourage children to play and have fun. They listen to adults and have them as their role models, so of course they want to be like them.
I have thought a lot about this new trend that everybody, even small children, get to have a cellphone. It may seem like quite an innocent little thing but why would a five year old need to be available for a call at all times? If it is that necessary, they can just borrow their parents phone. What happens is they get just as stressed out as adults, always having a nagging feeling that they need to answer the phone and bring it everywhere. You never get time off. The children copies the grownups behavior which leads to stress, and you shouldn't have to feel like that at such young age. I believe there are lots of similarities to this scenario and other things you get put through in the everyday life. If we adults don't acknowledge these problems, children wont be able to avoid them either.
My idyllic way of growing up is for the children to experience the world. Not through a TV or a computer but through their eyes and their hands, for real I mean. And as I mentioned before, the adults are the ones that have to make this happen. I don't think children are easily bored. They almost always find ways to entertain themselves so taking away video games and cutting down on time spent in front of the TV, will only spur them to use their own imagination and through this also stimulate their the brain in a better way.
To conclude, I don't know if there is some special experience children need as they grow up. I think they will do just fine with the things they have got, just as long as they are treated good and get to be children until they are ready to deal with the adult life.
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