Blog #6 - Doing Some Website Digging

 I feel as though I am a teenager who is relatively up to date with present day society and the technological resources that are available to us. However, I do not know that I have ever been able to easily seek out any antiwar sites! I had the opportunity to take a gander at both the Anti War and The American Conservative websites. There are quite a few observations that I have made after viewing these sites that I would like to share!

The first observation is that both of these sites use very strong verbiage in their titles. Words and phrases such as ‘ban’, ‘just say no’, ‘honest’ and ‘unrest’ all hold such weight. Rather than sugarcoating the severity of the events that our world is facing, these sites are being transparent on their beliefs in regard to war.

Another observation that I made is that both of the sites utilize visuals to their advantage. They are featuring photos of individuals and geographical locations to truthfully back up the claims that are in their articles. 

Lastly, these sites are very good at utilizing quotes to their advantage. Rather than just making observations of situations, using primary source quotations proves the validity of the claims being made. 

Overall, I think that antiwar sites have to be sought out because of the level of truthfulness that is used. Personally, I feel that the media is very skewed in today’s day and age. And I’ll be the first to admit, I am very traditionalist and am skeptical of the sources of media that are prevalent in today’s society. I try to be very selective on the type of media I consume and the way in which I consume it. I appreciate the openness of both of these sites. And though their fonts, graphics, and layouts may not be my first pick, I appreciate the openness that their media displays. 

Blog #5 - Hey GOOGLE!

 As I sit here writing this blog post, it only seems fair to write about a realm of technology has truly changed the way to do life. Let me paint a picture for you…I currently have about 6 tabs pulled up on my laptop. Of the six tabs, four of them are all affiliated with the same brand. Yep, you guessed it! GOOGLE. What an invention and revelation for the world of technology this has been!

Personally, I am a fan of all things Google. I absolutely live by my color-coded Google Calendar. It holds all of the to-dos, meetings, vacations, and lunch plans. Without it, my day would not have any direction! Along with Google Calendar, I also am a huge fan of Google Drive. I never have to worry about if my files and papers have been saved. With the click of one small button, all of my documents are safely sorted and stored. Finally, I thoroughly enjoy Google Keep! It is such a unique way for me to keep track of to-do lists and future plans. I like to think of it as a digital sticky not collaboration board!

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One cool fact that I learned from my peer's presentation is the Google is a relatively new technological advancement. Google debuted in 1998, making it only twenty-five years old. Along with this, it was interesting to see all of the different realms of Google that have been created over these twenty-five years. With each new app that Google has produced, the specifications and targeted audience have become more and more specialized. As Google has developed, and is continuing to develop, I appreciate their ability to make the Google experience uniquely personalized to each individual. There is no Google calendar, or Google sheet, or Google slide that is similar to anyone else’s. As the consumers, we are able to create this app into what we need and desire it to be. 

Overall, though I thought I had a good understand on who Google was and where they came from, I really did not! I learned a lot throughout this presentation and was able to reflect on how Google has truly changed the technology game. Thanks a million, Google!

Blog #4 - What's the Most Important Technological Invention You Ask?

Hot take - the printing press is one of, if not the most, important technological inventions in all of time. Let’s take a travel back quite a few years in history…To set the scene, the year is 1440 AD. I know that’s the first time you thought of when you heard the printing press. You immediately assumed I was talking about Johannes Gothenburg and his 15th century revolutions invention. However, you need to take a deeper dive quite a few centuries back to get to the original invention of the printing press. 

Our journey actually starts in the 3rd century. During this century, individuals used a woodblock printing technique on textiles. This transitioned to printing text during the Tang Dynasty of China between the 6th and 10th AD centuries. 

Though the foundation of this invention did originate with the Tang Dynasty of China, Gothenburg does deserve his rightful place in the cultivation of this invention in history. Because of his invention, books were able to be mass produced for the first time in history. Prior to this invention being created, books were being transcribed by hand on wooden blocks. Now, I will say, compared to text, both of these ways were incredibly slow. However, for his time, this invention was life changing.

 

Rightfully assumed, the printing press was created to solve one primary problem. The problem being that the demand for books and texts were increasing and there was no way to keep up with the increasing production with the technology at the time. As a result, the printing press allowed for the mass production of uniform matter. Not only did this allow for mass production, but it also allowed for text to be cheaper and more accessible to the public. In turn, more people were able to access information and become more informed and educated. So really, the printing press is to credit for the accessibility of our books, magazines, pamphlets, and yes, even the dreaded textbooks. 

Overall, the printing press revolutionized the way that society receives information in the form of text. In reality, this invention did not just have impact on the youth or older parts of society, but it had an equal impact on all areas of society. Therefore, everyone is able to benefit from this invention in all walks of life. But with any good thing in life, it has to have its negatives. However, in my opinion, I believe that the positives of the printing press significantly weigh out its negatives. As a result of the materials necessary for printing and publishing text, toxins in both ink and paper were emitted. The uses of these toxins led to widespread pollution in the modern industrial area. Another negative of the printing press was the necessary exploitation of children and middle-class workers during this time. Though it is not necessarily this way now because of technology, it certainly was a major issue when the printing press first arrived on the market. Lastly, it was a large issue at the time that the printing press allowed for secular books to be widely published. These secular books challenged many ideals of the Church at the time and caused conflict between printing companies and churches across the world. 

The printing press has certainly revolutionized the way our world goes about producing and distributing information in a mass way. Theoretically, we can thank Johannes Gutenburg for the textbooks that we dread reading, the books we enjoy curled up with a cup of coffee, and the magazines we enjoy reading at the nail salon. So thank you Mr. Gutenburg for the revolutionary creation that you created many years ago that we are still benefitting from today!

Blog #3 - Free Expression For Me

Being a dancer for fifteen years of my life truly taught me the importance of learning how to express myself without words. My art form allowed me to express emotions, stories, ballads all with my body, and not with my words. While this was difficult at times, I believe that it taught me a lot of what I know and how I know to express my thoughts, feelings, and emotions in a productive way. By having an open space to freely express art, I learned the importance of being able to communicate both with words and your body. 

All of this to say, I feel that the value of free expression that most resonates with me is individual self-fulfillment [aka Self-Actualization]. When reflecting on the importance of self-actualization in free expression, I came across an article identifying key characteristics of those who have achieved self-actualization. These individuals are marked by a sense of purpose. Purpose of life, purpose of character, purpose of growing. They have a sense of appreciation for the journey of life and have learned to accept the successes and failures that life throws at them. In so many ways this describes the life that I am living. I see each day as a new journey that I vow to put my best foot forward in. Over the years I have learned to accept that my life is not about pleasing those around me. My purpose is learning, growing, and living the life I have called to live, regardless of others' impressions of me. Along with this, University California at Berkley has examined the concept in term of Professor Abraham Maslow. Under Maslow’s theory, acquiring self-awareness, allows us to find contentment and meaning in our lives that we so desire. Rather than adhering to social norms and pressures, we can choose the direction in which our lives will go. 

Above is a perfect graphic describing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This theory dates back to 1943 when Maslow first published this theory in "A Theory of Human Motivation". When tying self-expression to the realm of self-actualization, you can see that there are quite a few steps necessary in order to achieve the ultimate goal of self-actualization. This revelation is not able to be done without preparation of the mind, body, and spirit collectively. The one word that this hierarchy relates back to is the premise of being in need. There is not only a need for physical satisfaction, but emotional and safety as well. Simple Psychology best explains that these needs and desires can be expressed in a multitude of ways. No matter the type or urgency of the need for the individual, those needs have to be met in order for the person to achieve the state of actualization that they so desire. 

Along with me discovering that individual self-fulfillment is the most important value to expression to me, this reflection also revealed that stable change [aka Safety Valve] is the method in which I do not preferably resonate with. 

Surprisingly, I am an individual who is okay with healthy conflict. This may sound shocking because of my introverted personality. However, I feel that healthy conflict can lead to many great benefits. Healthy conflict allows individuals a safe space to work through disagreements with the intention of growing and improving current situations. These situations allow for individuals to work through stages of compromise, communication, and consensus. Though it may be difficult in the moment, these situations provide growth for everyone involved. The concept of healthy conflict is the exact opposite of the definition of stable change. Unfortunately, stable change suggests that citizens are just allow a space to “vent” in an attempt to avoid violence. Without citizens having the capabilities to conflict in a healthy way, the tension between different groups within the society will grow and not be handled in an appropriate manner. 

Differentiations of self-expression in a society are completely healthy. Without those differentiations, all members of society would be carbon copies of one another.  Having these different ways to self-express also comes with the learning curve of accepting others different forms of self-expressions. Therefore, accepting and embracing these in a healthy, communicative way is more beneficial than simply expressing complaints of others’ self-expressions. Overall, it seems as though the stable change method is not the most beneficial way of accepting self-expression in a society. 

My personal take on the values of self-expression differs greatly from the person writing next to me. That right there is the beauty of what makes each of us unique in our own way. We each see the world from a different lens. These different lenses allow us to see, interpret, and express our feelings, emotions, and attitudes in unique ways every day. Keep being you and expressing that to others in a healthy, safe, and encouraging way ◡̈

Blog #2 - SCOTUS and Civic Engagement

 It truly is crazy how there is overlap between classes across semester and years of my education at High Point University. For my Legal Studies minor, I just happen to be taking COM 1450 [Media Law and Literacy] and BUA 3050 [Business Law] simultaneously. Just last week Professor Watson was educating us on the different types of courts in the United States. And here I am a week later reading and writing about the Supreme Court for COM 1450. Crazy right? Though I already had knowledge about the Supreme Court from BUA 3050, I chose to read more in-depth in the SCOTUS History article as a jumping off point for this blog reflection!

       

The United States’ court system is a very intriguing organization that I feel many Americans are not well educated on. I feel as though many Americans see the court system as a higher authority that is always against our wishes as the people. However, I view them as the exact opposite. The American court system is here to maximize our rights as citizens of the United States in the best way possible. Do we always agree with their decisions? Probably not. However, this group of esteemed individuals is always working to better our society within the parameters that have been set forth for us to follow. 

After reading this article, one fact I did not know about the Supreme Court is that Congress has altered the number of seats for justices to sit on throughout history. I was always under the impression that nine justices were the magic number, and it has always been that way. However, there has been trial and error when it comes to figuring out the perfect number of individuals to sit on this esteemed board. The numbers have ranged from a low of five justices to a high of ten justices. Currently the number of justices is nine. Here is a list of the current Supreme Court justices and little information on each of them. I personally have done much research on Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Shockingly, I was assigned to do research on her not for a political science or business class, but instead a Spanish class. Yet another way that my educational journey has overlapped and paid off this semester!

Once I read this article and reflected on my notes from BUA 3050, I came to the conclusion that one aspect in particular about the Supreme Court stuck out to me. Because I interned at a law office this summer, I was familiar with the concept of circuit court rotations. However, I had no idea that circuit court rotations were previously held at the Supreme Court level as well. In reality, it makes sense that Supreme Court justices had the obligations to travel to different circuits in order to make fair judicial assessments across the nation. I thought that was something interesting that was a part of the Supreme Courts past, and I plan to research on why it ceased in today’s time!

A main conclusion that I have come to in writing this discussion post is that many Americans are not properly informed about the Supreme Court of the United States and much less informed about American politics in general. They tend to see the government as an overarching authority that is never for us, but always against us. I believe that the first step to better this relationship is increasing civic education and engagement in our society. This list of 76 ways to become more civically engaged I think is great resource to help many American citizens grow a new appreciation for the individuals that are consistently working to better our great nation. 

Overall, the workings of the Supreme Court are very fascinating to me. Because I am planning to attend law school after graduating from High Point University, I am soaking in every opportunity that I have to learn about the field of study that I am looking to pursue! 

Blog #1 - Media In My Life

 As a teenager in the twenty first century, it seems like every aspect of my life is consumed with technology. This technology has definitely made great strides in improving communication, education, and experiences for individuals my age. But has technology helped to positively improve our media consumption? Probably not. I will admit, I am just as bad about every other teenager when it comes to having my nose buried in my phone or laptop. While this may not have improved my quality of media consumption, it has improved the accessibility of media consumption. After taking some time to reflect on how much and the ways in which I consume media on a daily basis, I have come up with the five most common ways I see from day-to-day. Though these may not be the most common outlets of media, they fit in to my daily routine and personality type very well. 

Starting off, my first way of consuming media may be quite strange. I have made it a daily habit to read one chapter of a book a day. I may read early in the morning eating my breakfast or closing out my day curled up under the covers of my bed. No matter what, I am very consistent when it comes to my reading habits. Though this source of media may not be the most instantaneous, it is quite reliable. This consumption of media is different than consuming on a source of technology. It is a type of media that may be more studied, researched, and analyzed before being published. Books are also a more traditional way of consuming media. Rather than scrolling, listening, or seeing media, it is always nice to be able to consume media from a good book by just turning a page.

On the polar opposite side from consuming media through a book, another common way I consume media is through social media. In today’s day and age, it is more common to find someone who does have social media than it is to find someone who does not. Personally, I have many social media apps downloaded, but I do not consume media from each of them every day. Most consistently, I consume media through Facebook. Whether I see local news stations posting media, ads, or reposted media, my feed is constantly consumed with both positive and negative media. 

Another abstract way that I enjoy consuming media is through art and theatre. I was very involved in theatre, dance, and art in high school, so I have experienced a piece of art, or two, or three in my life. Consuming art as a form of media also is another refined way to experience media. Though it may not be the most up-to-date information, it can be recycled as history repeats itself. For instance, the prevalent issues sung in the hit musical Hamilton may not be verbatim the issues in today’s society, but the struggles that the individuals face can be seen in a new light in 2023. 

Not only do I like consuming media through live art, but I also like to consume media in a more casual way. Picture a cozy Friday night, a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and a good Netflix show on the screen. This is another perfect way that I consume media - TV shows and movies. Organizations are constantly brainstorming and producing new TV shows pertaining many different topics and issues in today’s society. Often times these shows may be mirroring issues in today’s society in a more lighthearted way. This has the capacity to relay information to society in a more relaxed way without the negative connotation that many media sources do. Either way, curling up to be informed in a lighthearted way about society, or just watch a movie for fun, sounds like a great Friday night to me!

The final way, and my least favorite way, in which I consume media is through traditional news outlets. News outlets such as CNN and NBC seem to always have very pressing issues and blunt ways of delivering media to the public. Rather than consuming media that is already bias, I prefer to research and discover the facts myself to better determine my stance on the controversial occurrences in today’s society. 

As a reflection of compiling my favorite types of media, I feel that it is only fair to provide a list of my personal favorite resources of media. Below you can find a list of my favorite books, musicals, podcasts, and shows that I feel have provided me with the most self-encouraging and beneficial media ◡̈

Book - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

TV show - The West Wing

Podcast - Becoming Something

Musical - Hamilton

Social Media Page - The Grace Valentine