overwhelming

When someone says "The Middle East," what do you think of? There are so many connotations that we make over time just by listening to thew news, radio and opinions of our friends and family. It's hard to form your own opinion, and often times, it can be based off of opinion and not facts. This is a real danger in the single story.

This video explains a lot and gives an interesting perspective on world views.

One of the things I've struggled with this school year in understanding the entire concept of conflict in the middle east, or religion in the middle east, and especially terror groups such as ISIL. In my english class, we're currently reading Reading Lolita in Tehran a book that deals with the Iranian revolution in 1979.

One topic we've most heavily discussed so far is the idea of wearing a veil, burqa, etc. and how that effects not only the women, but the perception of how women are effected by this phenomenon. From what I've gathered through our discussion as well as class-related research, I believe that women should have the option to wear the veil if they feel so inclined. I feel like many people are often misinformed when it comes to hijab and burqas. It's very easy to here a small fact about them such as "the are a tool of oppression" and run wild with it.

Opinion and fact are very different things. You cannot craft an argument and use other people's opinions as you basis of belief or even try and support you beliefs with others opinions'.  It's overwhelming to hear all of these opinions when you're trying to sort out what's going on. 

Aha

Hello all! Happy November!

I was reading a guest post on one of my favorite blogs, Carly's The College Prepster, about finding your "Aha Moment" recently, and I found it to be very interesting and somehow calming.

I feel like often times, we're chasing after inspiration, whether it's while we're writing a college essay, or for the more artistic bunch, working on your very own "masterpiece." Like Maxie said at the beginning of her post, often times, we go searching for inspiration and chasing after aha moments. I agree with the idea that you can't go chasing after these moments.

I think especially with the changing of the seasons (and if the not the equinox, but at least the radical 180˚of weather we've had in Chicago recently) it's hard to find inspiration or motivation to do well, I know that I find it extremely difficult, and I know I'm not alone.

I think the tips that Maxie gives in this post are very interesting and easy to apply to every day life. I'm also in agreement that coincidences are actually the complete opposite. I'm probably fate's biggest supporter, as I believe that everything happens for a reason, so I like the idea of letting go in order to find inspiration and letting it come to you.

One thing I've never tried however, is meditation. It's something that has always intrigued me, but I've never set aside the time to do it. I think that this could really help me listen and also give me time to think. It feel like we often forget to take time and just think about what is going on in our lives because we're usually very busy, but maybe meditating could be something to try and combat the stress of everyday life.

I hope to become very inspired this holiday season, and I think listening and internalizing some of Maxie's tips could definitely be the key to doing so.

I wish a relaxing week to you

Jordan