Beginnings

It is really funny for me to type beginnings this late in the game, but: My work on my masterpiece COULD be starting a new chapter in my life in a couple different ways. As I look at motivation and what gets people though the day, I get ideas on how to take their motivation and use it as my own. Rather, I get ideas on why I am not as motivated as them and how I could start to be. However, as I delve deeper into the subject, it becomes more and more apparent that you need to find motivation within you do achieve what you want. You need to find what makes you click, just as we were asked to do with our masterpieces. If you feel as if nothing can or ever will motivate you to succeed, I hope that the video I am making that deals with motivation will serve as a guide or at least give you some ideas on what it feels like to have motivation. We only have a limited time on this earth, and even less time to be youthful. Today is the best day of your life to learn, why waste it by being a potato in every aspect of it? If there was one thing I could tell you at this moment to help you through I would say just keep trying, life will usually find ways to work itself out but only if you continue on and don't give up. This is something I've had to learn the hard way.

Raising Digital Awareness

         It is important to draw as many viewers to you site as possible because you should be posting valuable content that is useful to a visitor. This may be only one certain type of visitor or many, but the point remains the same, you have valuable content and people should be looking at it. I am accommodating my visitors by providing music. I can't really say that I have provided valuable content because I simply don't believe that is true at this point.If at any point it were true, you'd have to scroll back to 2013. I can once again begin posting to my blog a few times a week if I would like to improve the value of my site. If I want to retain a steady flow of visitors, I need to show up again and again. People are not interested in a blogger who posts maybe once or twice a month. It just isn't a good trait. Human ideas and interaction are generally what should be important to a site, but if that site doesn't have the looks and digital tools, people will not be likely to stay or come back. A successful site needs to be easy to navigate, or people will search for their needs elsewhere. 

Connections

5 moments that remind me of my masterpiece throughout the day:
1. I had a conversation with Jon the other day about why he loves writing, I know I am not really showing up to class but his love for writing and motivation towards succeeding in that subject is fascinating and deserves a spot on my list.
2. I was thinking about my grades in my classes and they are, to say the least, GOD AWFUL! This led me to thinking about my motivation that is non existent.
3. There was this little ant that was desperately trying to carry a decently sized crumb alone. I thought of what might motivate him, he is sacrificing himself and his livelihood to feed his colony, intriguing!
4. What is the motivation behind Russia sending troops into Ukraine? I don't know, but everyone has some goal, whether hidden or not.
5. It is truly something that strikes me every day, I will just think about the reason for me to continue living (not suicidal, just wonder what is in store for my life and after).

The Crossroads Between Should and Must

I want to start off by saying I believe that this article was beautifully written. Anyone reading from outside of expos comp can find it here.

"what am I so afraid of"
1. failure
2. loneliness
3. uncertainty
4. not living up to my potential
5. regretting things later in life
6. death of loved ones
7.
8.
9.
10.

I have reached the crossroads and am ready to make the choice between should and must. I do not want to do what others are telling me to do anymore, I want to do what I want to do. Not only do I want to do what I want to do, but I'd like to succeed in doing it. When we read part of this article in class I was not very into it. I read it last night and again this morning before writing this and find it absolutely inspiring. It honestly felt like I was listening to a motivational speaker having a one on one conversation with me as I read. She opened my eyes and helped me realize that you do not have to do something if you don't want to do it. This doesn't apply to everything. I still have to pay taxes and do some schoolwork, but if I find myself unhappy with a situation, I can and must fix it. I don't believe anyone has ever quit doing something they hated to follow their dream and then regretted it. The author really has her life figured out, she knows what she wants and how to obtain it. I think everyone must figure out what she has been able to, where they want to go and how to get there. There may be obstacles in the way but if you truly want something, these obstacles will be easy to overcome. We all have dreams and aspirations, but what is stopping us from going out and acquiring them? Uncertainty. This is something I have always struggled with, but I am learning to not fear. I used to not do anything unless I was first certain of the outcome, now I am trying to become more spontaneous. It has led me on some adventures that I would never think I would be on. I am ready to choose must instead of should. Who's with me?

Look At My Brain

I will be using this post primarily to explain my change of heart over the past couple of days. Being called out in class was something I took constructively. It made me realize that I REALLY have no motivation anymore. This realization, however, was positive. It pushed me in the direction to change what my masterpiece is, from programming/gaming interests to finding out how/why people are motivated. I am actually very interested in what keeps people going day in and day out. I plan to document my research and have a final project that may be able to help other people find motivation who are lacking. Preston and I had a long talk and we came to an idea that I could also research why people are so motivated by video games, as they do not present real life accomplishments and pretty much take people out of the real world for their preferred virtual one.

My new found masterpiece is something I created, and is therefore creative! My research and documentation will be primarily centered around collaboration, so I will need the help from others. I'm not sure if anyone is doing something similar to me or could somehow fit in with my project, but I am definitely going to check it out and see if that would be possible. I am actually starting to get excited about this project, HAVE I FOUND MOTIVATION????

This is just a test

I am sitting here at my computer without a clue in the world about what I should write for my "test" relating to my masterpiece. Since I am having trouble with finding motivation to even type out one blog post, I have a few questions that aren't really related to my masterpiece but I would like answered:
1.What does motivation mean to you?
2.What gives you motivation to wake up in the morning, go to school, do extra curricular activities, or do homework?
3. How do you transfer this motivation into progress/success?
4. Is this progress seen and commented on by others, ultimately giving you more motivation and pushing you to do more, or do you do it simply for yourself?
5. If you do it for yourself solely, how is it that you keep going?
It is only recently that I have lost reason to do schoolwork. Prior to this semester, I did my work for me, to prove to myself that I could be successful and get good grades. For some reason, maybe "Senioritis", I have lost all motivation to continue this trend. If anyone would take the time to answer the questions posted above it would be much obliged, and might help me get some ideas on how to get back on track. Thanks.

Entrepreneurial Writing

I do see my work differently when I think of my self as an entrepreneur. Instead of just looking at it as something that I want and like to do, I now see it as something that may bring value to other people. I am (hopefully) going to create something that has value to the world. I think this a goal that would be great to be met. I don't care if it is even just bringing value to a sole person's life, it will be worth it in the end. I think we as humans have an innate want to make other human's lives better. I would spend all those hours working on my masterpiece if I could see the smile of one person using what I have created. Think of our class as a whole and how much we could collectively do for this world, all it takes is an idea and some support.

Entrepreneur

Bill Gates is definitely and entrepreneur. He created something with extreme value by exploring a brand new idea. His idea, at the time, seemed insane. However, he pushed on and created one of the most successful companies in the world.

I am also an entrepreneur, or hope to be. At the moment, I have created nothing with real value. I plan to explore my options and hopefully be able to create something that has value to me and to everyone who would take the time to view what I have done.

I think our culture does associate expertise with entrepreneurship. We consider people that are entrepreneurs to be "experts" in the field of their choice. However, you can be extremely successful in an area or with an idea without being an expert in it, it will just take ample amounts of hard work. I think this idea should be changed, we need to remind people that you do not have to be good at something to have success in it. Once people understand this, they may have the will to pursue the thing that they have always wanted to pursue. Being an entrepreneur also means being someone who is willing to take risks, to put  life as they know it on the line to further their future. It is truly inspiring when you hear a success story from someone who (as was mentioned in class today) was living in the back of a van. Wouldn't you like to be one of these success stories? To be known as the person who "made it"?

10 Questions

Bill Gates
1. At what point in your life did you know that you wanted to code for a living?
2. At what point did you know you had "made it"?
3. What are some necessary attributes needed to make it in this field?
4. Do you still code?
5. What does success mean to you?
6. What is the one piece of advice that you would give to someone who is interested in this field of study?
7. Is there anything you wished you had done in your youth that you did not?
8. How do you see the next 10-15 years of technology panning out?
9. Would you suggest this field of study to someone who loves math, being at a computer, creating things, and solving issues?
10. Where do I start?

Me Extremely Late Launch

Soooo... I have been slacking off so much in this course. I have reached my breaking point and decided that now is the time to stop acting like a jackass and get my act together. Here it is: my launch. If the question is what I want to do with my life and my career, the answer would be to open up a business where I could work from home coding. I would do private coding contracts for businesses and anyone else who was in need. If the question is how I can relate this and further my skills using this course and blog as my paint and easel, I'd say the first thing that comes to mind would be learning java script. I have looked into and signed up for an online course that supposedly will teach me the basics of java script in a short period of time. I plan to document my adventure through the online course here on my blog and hopefully code something worth viewing by the end of the school year.

Hafta/Wanna

Two Articles Being Discussed:
My High School Hoax
Committing to Play for a College, Then Starting 9th Grade

I believe that life during high school is pretty darn easy. I mean sure it may be stressful, wondering where you will end up and trying to get plans locked down, but it is easy. You're dependent on your parents now, even if you have your own job, I doubt you are paying all of your bills. I don't think there will be a time in my life where I have to work less hard than I do now. This doesn't scare me, this excites me, I can't wait for the time when my normal efforts aren't good enough and I am challenged. I think one of the things that makes college difficult is the fact that you are not being forced to go to class or study. The curriculum is definitely more difficult, but I believe many people struggle when they get the freedom to do what they want. I believe most people will continue their habits after they graduate, but it all depends on the person and what they want in life. Many people will get a wake up call when they realize that they are not going down the path they want to be on. This changes people fairly quickly. I for one have a difficult time balancing the things I want to do against the things I have to do. As you will see by the time I post this blog entry, I have procrastinated my homework severely. I'd much rather go play tennis, hang out with a friend or play video games after school. Before I know it, it is 10:30 at night. I believe this has become habitual and I do need to change it before the end of high school. I will be living unsupervised next year and need to be able to bring it upon myself to get my work done early and have fun later. I WILL WORK ON IT!!!

Spring Vocabulary #3

apostate- person who renounces a religious or political belief.

effusive- expressing feelings of pleasure or approval in a heartfelt manner.

impasse- a situation in which no progress is possible.
euphoria- feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness.
lugubrious- looking/sounding sad or dismal.
bravado- show of boldness intended to intimidate.
consensus- general agreement.
dichotomy- contrast between two things that are opposed or entirely different.
constrict- to make narrower.
gothic- belonging to the Dark Ages, potentially gloom or horrifying.
punctilio- fine/petty point of conduct or procedure.
metamorphosis- process of transformation, immature->mature.
raconteur- person who tells anecdotes in a skillful way.
sine qua non- an essential condition.
quixotic- exceedingly idealistic.
vendetta- seeking of vengeance.
non sequitur- a statement that does not logically follow the prior statement.
mystique- fascinating aura of mystery, awe, and power surrounding someone or something.
quagmire- soft, boggy area of land.
parlous- full of danger or uncertainty. 

Senior Project

As discussed in class today, Dr. Preston plans to allow us to decide what we want to do for the rest of the year. This will all accumulate and form our senior project. He wants us to work on something we are passionate about, but it is hard to find passion. I mean I know where I want to go in life, but at this point I don't know how much I could do to help me get there. I'd like to prepare for my college major, Computer Science. I could learn different coding languages, but I don't know how helpful it would be to sporadically learn these things. But, my attitude is to not knock it before you try it. If there is a way that I can incorporate my plans for the future into my senior English course, then I am all for it. How could I "hack" the rest of my year to help me form a better knowledge of coding/programming before I get slammed in the face by it at college?

Spring Vocabulary #2

Accoutrements- equips/outfits
Apogee- the point in the orbit of a satellite furthest from the earth
Apropos- with reference to
Bicker- to engage in petty squabbling
Coalesce- to grow or come together
Contretemps- inopportune or embarrassing occurrence
Convolution- a tortuous winding or twisting together
Cull- to gather
Disparate- completely distinct
Dogmatic- marked by an authoritarian, arrogant assertion of principles
Licentious- immoral
Mete- to deal out
Noxious- injurious to health/morals
Polemic- a controversy, argument, or refutation
Populous- populated heavily
Probity- integrity
Repartee- swift, witty reply
Supervene- to occur as something unexpected
Truncate- to shorten by cutting off end or top
Unimpeachable- beyond doubt or question

Vocabulary # 1 Performance Review

We had our first vocabulary quiz of the semester today and I received a 9/10 on it. The one question I did miss was just a silly mistake that I should not have made. I like the vocab that we are learning this semester more than the vocab we learned last semester. I still knew most of the words prior to getting the list, but the words were definitely more challenging and it was a step in the right direction.

A Choice

At the end of freshman year, I had to make an important choice. I was playing freshman baseball at the time and I love playing that sport. My grades were slipping right out from under me, however. I made the decision at the end of the season that I would not continue to play the sport anymore as it was too time consuming and I needed to focus on school. I believe if I was more mature at the time I would have been able to balance the sport and school but I was not. This was an emotional choice. It was one of the sports that I had grown up playing and watching. I always saw myself playing it in high school, but it just didn't end up working out. I look back at it now and realize that I made the correct choice, but man was it a tough decision. I do really miss playing baseball, but I think that the negative of playing outweighs the positive for me.  

Spring Vocabulary #1

adumbrate- to report or represent in an outline
apotheosis- highest point in the development of something
ascetic- characterized or alluding to the practice of severe self-discipline
bauble- a small, showy trinket
beguile- to charm or enchant
burgeon- begin to grow or increase rapidly
complement- something that completes or makes a whole of something else
contumacious- stubbornly or willfully disobedient 
curmudgeon- bad tempered or surly person
didactic- intended to teach

Hacking My Education

As I grow closer and closer to the end of the semester and the end of my high school career, I yearn to be prepared for what may lie ahead. I plan on going straight into a 4 year college in August 2014 and I want to be ready when and if that time comes. As a former professor and P.H.D. recipient, you (Dr. Preston) know what it takes to succeed at the next level. If it would be possible, this is what I want to focus the rest of my senior year on. Some people may be wanting to relax and ride the rest of the year out easy, but I know that if I work harder at preparing for college now, college will be easier. I'd like suggestions on how I could make this work on a blog. Anyway, I LOVE to learn about anything so whatever we as a class do for the rest of the semester I will be cool with.

2nd Semester

"The rest of our lives starts right... NOW"

LET'S MAKE THIS SEMESTER MUCH BETTER THAN LAST!!!