Monday, December 22, 2008
My Blog
If you have been following my blog during the month of December, you will see that I have been analyzing the many characteristics of society. I have looked at them with the perspective of a regular high school student, an interested, inspired-to-learn student, and a Jewish teenager. Perhaps one of the main themes of my blog is that society is a complex idea that will never be fully understood (except for those who claim to have a oneness with the world: Siddhartha Gautama, e.g.). Everyday I think about why things happen and why people do things, and that's exactly what my blog is about. Sometimes it's about why other's are doing something, but it's also about why I do somethings. It's a place for me to analyze my own actions in relation with everyone else's, and I hope that by reading it will provoke you to think about these issues more in depth so that you grow as a person.
Memoirs of Jew: Part III
One of my new nicknames at school is "Jew Josh," and I personally think it's quite funny. Just the order and verbalization of those two words together makes me laugh, and I think it's funny how my nickname came to be like this. But a nickname is only a nickname if only a few people use it. There are only a handful of people who I really think can call be Jew Josh, a
nd when others try to use this nickname I do not like it. When other people, who are not as good of friends of mine, use the nickname it's almost like a mockery. They think just because others use the nickname that it's a free-for-all basically. Well, it's not. Those people who use it all know that I think very highly of my religion and that I'm proud to be a Jew. I tell people about my religion because nobody knows about it (at least in the high school I go to), and although I do not try to be so solemn about my religion, as I would be at Temple for example, I do not purposely try to demote it and make it ignoble. I am proud to be Jewish, but when others use Jew Josh erroneously, I am not very happy.
nd when others try to use this nickname I do not like it. When other people, who are not as good of friends of mine, use the nickname it's almost like a mockery. They think just because others use the nickname that it's a free-for-all basically. Well, it's not. Those people who use it all know that I think very highly of my religion and that I'm proud to be a Jew. I tell people about my religion because nobody knows about it (at least in the high school I go to), and although I do not try to be so solemn about my religion, as I would be at Temple for example, I do not purposely try to demote it and make it ignoble. I am proud to be Jewish, but when others use Jew Josh erroneously, I am not very happy.
Memoirs of a Jew: Part II
It was a Friday night, Shabbat and I had gone to services since I hadn't gone in a while. The service was like all others, starting with the Barachu, then the Sh'ma, and then the other prayers. The Rabbi proceeded with his sermon of the Torah portion of the week and then a well respected man in our congregation (whose name I will not disclose) came up to the Bima and started with the announcements of the week. Like always, there were adult Hebrew classes on Wednesdays and then Sunday school following the Sabbath.
However, then he told the congregation about an event occurring on Monday of the following week. He explained to us that there was a Palestinian speaker making a presentation at Coe College, and he told us that we should go and picket this speaker. I was astonished at this thought, and it seemed backwards that one of our congregation's leaders was saying this. Aren't we, as Jews, supposed to be open to all thoughts and forms of speech? How come this time we shut our ears to what people had to say? You must see that I do understand people's points of view when it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli War and their extreme views, but I think it is unlike both groups to not want to negotiate with others. By picketing this speaker, we are closing ourselves to peaceful negotiations, and it seemed like a very duplistic idea of my faith.
However, then he told the congregation about an event occurring on Monday of the following week. He explained to us that there was a Palestinian speaker making a presentation at Coe College, and he told us that we should go and picket this speaker. I was astonished at this thought, and it seemed backwards that one of our congregation's leaders was saying this. Aren't we, as Jews, supposed to be open to all thoughts and forms of speech? How come this time we shut our ears to what people had to say? You must see that I do understand people's points of view when it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli War and their extreme views, but I think it is unlike both groups to not want to negotiate with others. By picketing this speaker, we are closing ourselves to peaceful negotiations, and it seemed like a very duplistic idea of my faith.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Memoirs of a Jew: Part I
As a Jew in a world full of Christians, I have had lots of experiences that the average kid wouldn't. Since I am a minority, I have had different moments in which I have been proud to be such and moments when I have questioned my faith. The following series (Memoirs of a Jew) present different examples of when I have faced problems with my religion and others around me because of it.
Part of my high school's choir trip to New York this year included singing at a Lutheran Church's Sunday morning service.
As we all entered the church that morning in our long, green choir robes, a dark-haired woman at the door was handing us all new sheet music that we'd never seen before. It was three hymns to be sung in the service, and one was to be sung as we walked down the aisle and up to the balcony (where we were to sit for the rest of the service). So we lined up in single-order fashion and in the order of how we were supposed to sit in the balcony. I was right in front of Mike Sladek, and I thought since Mike was an All-State Chorus Member he would have known how to sing the opening hymn just by looking at the page. However, as we started proceeding down the aisle through the congregation of people, Mike was not only singing it correctly, he had it memorized! Then I realized that everyone else didn't need the music as well, even Jack Carson, the one-noted dumb-kid. So I quickly brought the music down to my side like everyone else, and just mouthed "watermelon" with no sound leaving my lips.
The inside of the church was even more striking than the outside. From our point of view in the balcony you could see the sun shining through the colorful stained-glass windows. One window depicted Mary caressing and holding the baby Jesus, and others showed scenes from the New Testament. The windows did not mean anything to me, except for that they were beautiful pieces of art that are not too common in this world. The Gothic church was also filled with fine and articulate architecture, and at the center of the ceiling all of the arches met and became one. There were also candles spread throughout the church, proving most effective at the front on the golden candelabras. This place was holy.
The wooden pews were also very holy. Rabbi Chesman once said, "If you are too comfortable in the House of God then you are being too greedy." As everyone was finished sitting down that Pasteur proceeded to the front, welcomed us, and asked everyone to rise. He began speaking and everyone followed him in what I later understood as being the Lord's Prayer. Everyone else in the choir knew it by heart, and I had never heard of such a thing ever before. I guess part of being in a new place is learning about other people, and by golly I was learning something new. Although everyone was saying something that I did not necessarily agree with, I wasn't offended and I didn't feel like I needed to substantiate my feelings at that moment. Let's say they came to my place of worship; I wouldn't want them to detest my culture. I would want them to be interested in my culture, and so that's how I decided to be with their culture.
During the next hour we went through the monotonous prayerbook (as all prayerbooks are) and sang the hymns that we prepared and the ones that were just given to us. As we began to sing the Handel pieces that we had rehearsed the church gave itself to us. The acoustics were awesome and at the end of each song a slight echo could be heard lingering above us. The music took over me several times while singing, and I often got the chills. I was "inspired with godly mirth," as Handel would've said it.
After our final song the Pasteur arose from his seat and began his sermon for the week. That day was the Sunday just after Easter Sunday, perhaps the most holy day for all Christians. My simple understanding of Easter is the day that commemorates Jesus' crucifixion. My knowledge does not go far beyond that, so I was hoping to learn much about Easter and Jesus from the sermon of the Pasteur. The Pasteur began by explaining how the Disciples were hiding away. They hid in broom closets for days he said, and they received food and water from other followers of Jesus. Then, he exclaimed these words that changed the whole experience for me: "They were hiding in fear of the Jews."
I sat up thinking that I heard something wrong, but then he said it again, "The fear of the Jews led them to this." The hair on my arms stood up and my backbones clenched as sweat began to fall down my face and drop onto my robe. I looked around to see other people's reactions, but everyone's expression was in melancholy boredom. I collapsed into the seat and put my head down. I wanted to walk out the door in fear that I would begin to cry out of awkwardness. I did not feel right being there, and I did not feel right that nobody realized what the man had just said. He said those blood-stained words again: "fear of the Jews," but this time all of the other words seemed fuzzy and blurred. I tried to stay positive, thinking that I should be intrigued by his sermon, but all I could think about was how uneasy I felt. Now I know that nobody in my choir despises me or fears me because I am Jewish, but for a moment or two, it felt like that.
After the service was over I immediately started telling people how awkward I felt, and I got varied responses from "Yeah, I thought about you when he said that," to "No I didn't hear that; I was asleep when he was talking," and to "Oh, I'm sorry." At the time I couldn't really verbalize my thoughts about that service, and I think people got sick of me complaining about my discomfort. Finally I realized how special that moment was. Although I've been through countless hours at Sunday school and have practiced my Hebrew for days on end in preparation for my Bar Mitzvah, this moment at the Lutheran Church defined me as a Jew. The moment at the church pointed me out as the only Jew, but it did not make me a less of a Jew at all.
Part of my high school's choir trip to New York this year included singing at a Lutheran Church's Sunday morning service.
As we all entered the church that morning in our long, green choir robes, a dark-haired woman at the door was handing us all new sheet music that we'd never seen before. It was three hymns to be sung in the service, and one was to be sung as we walked down the aisle and up to the balcony (where we were to sit for the rest of the service). So we lined up in single-order fashion and in the order of how we were supposed to sit in the balcony. I was right in front of Mike Sladek, and I thought since Mike was an All-State Chorus Member he would have known how to sing the opening hymn just by looking at the page. However, as we started proceeding down the aisle through the congregation of people, Mike was not only singing it correctly, he had it memorized! Then I realized that everyone else didn't need the music as well, even Jack Carson, the one-noted dumb-kid. So I quickly brought the music down to my side like everyone else, and just mouthed "watermelon" with no sound leaving my lips.
The inside of the church was even more striking than the outside. From our point of view in the balcony you could see the sun shining through the colorful stained-glass windows. One window depicted Mary caressing and holding the baby Jesus, and others showed scenes from the New Testament. The windows did not mean anything to me, except for that they were beautiful pieces of art that are not too common in this world. The Gothic church was also filled with fine and articulate architecture, and at the center of the ceiling all of the arches met and became one. There were also candles spread throughout the church, proving most effective at the front on the golden candelabras. This place was holy.
The wooden pews were also very holy. Rabbi Chesman once said, "If you are too comfortable in the House of God then you are being too greedy." As everyone was finished sitting down that Pasteur proceeded to the front, welcomed us, and asked everyone to rise. He began speaking and everyone followed him in what I later understood as being the Lord's Prayer. Everyone else in the choir knew it by heart, and I had never heard of such a thing ever before. I guess part of being in a new place is learning about other people, and by golly I was learning something new. Although everyone was saying something that I did not necessarily agree with, I wasn't offended and I didn't feel like I needed to substantiate my feelings at that moment. Let's say they came to my place of worship; I wouldn't want them to detest my culture. I would want them to be interested in my culture, and so that's how I decided to be with their culture.
During the next hour we went through the monotonous prayerbook (as all prayerbooks are) and sang the hymns that we prepared and the ones that were just given to us. As we began to sing the Handel pieces that we had rehearsed the church gave itself to us. The acoustics were awesome and at the end of each song a slight echo could be heard lingering above us. The music took over me several times while singing, and I often got the chills. I was "inspired with godly mirth," as Handel would've said it.
After our final song the Pasteur arose from his seat and began his sermon for the week. That day was the Sunday just after Easter Sunday, perhaps the most holy day for all Christians. My simple understanding of Easter is the day that commemorates Jesus' crucifixion. My knowledge does not go far beyond that, so I was hoping to learn much about Easter and Jesus from the sermon of the Pasteur. The Pasteur began by explaining how the Disciples were hiding away. They hid in broom closets for days he said, and they received food and water from other followers of Jesus. Then, he exclaimed these words that changed the whole experience for me: "They were hiding in fear of the Jews."
I sat up thinking that I heard something wrong, but then he said it again, "The fear of the Jews led them to this." The hair on my arms stood up and my backbones clenched as sweat began to fall down my face and drop onto my robe. I looked around to see other people's reactions, but everyone's expression was in melancholy boredom. I collapsed into the seat and put my head down. I wanted to walk out the door in fear that I would begin to cry out of awkwardness. I did not feel right being there, and I did not feel right that nobody realized what the man had just said. He said those blood-stained words again: "fear of the Jews," but this time all of the other words seemed fuzzy and blurred. I tried to stay positive, thinking that I should be intrigued by his sermon, but all I could think about was how uneasy I felt. Now I know that nobody in my choir despises me or fears me because I am Jewish, but for a moment or two, it felt like that.
After the service was over I immediately started telling people how awkward I felt, and I got varied responses from "Yeah, I thought about you when he said that," to "No I didn't hear that; I was asleep when he was talking," and to "Oh, I'm sorry." At the time I couldn't really verbalize my thoughts about that service, and I think people got sick of me complaining about my discomfort. Finally I realized how special that moment was. Although I've been through countless hours at Sunday school and have practiced my Hebrew for days on end in preparation for my Bar Mitzvah, this moment at the Lutheran Church defined me as a Jew. The moment at the church pointed me out as the only Jew, but it did not make me a less of a Jew at all.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Activity of School
Although many other don't, I try to think of school as an extra-curricular activity that everyone is involved in. Like any other activity or sport, it tries to set you up for success later in life. If you do well in a sport you may be able to get paid to play, and if you do well in school you will be able to geta good degree and help people that way. Although each person does equally great work, I think that society praises one over another. Because I am just a junior in high school, I can only base this off of my own experiences instead of talking about adulthood or college years.
In high school, the people that are praised most often are people who are involved with other activites. They are praised by their teachers, administrators, and most of all, other students. Also, it's really easy to praise these people because their success is public. However, when students do really well in school, they often don't get the praise they deserve. They have worked just as hard as someone in show choir or basketball has, but the difference is it's harder to tell people that you did well in school. You see, since everybody participates in school, people who don't do as well feel bad when another does better than them. So if somebody wants to tell people about how well they did on a test, for example, they'll have to be ready for some angry people.
In high school, the people that are praised most often are people who are involved with other activites. They are praised by their teachers, administrators, and most of all, other students. Also, it's really easy to praise these people because their success is public. However, when students do really well in school, they often don't get the praise they deserve. They have worked just as hard as someone in show choir or basketball has, but the difference is it's harder to tell people that you did well in school. You see, since everybody participates in school, people who don't do as well feel bad when another does better than them. So if somebody wants to tell people about how well they did on a test, for example, they'll have to be ready for some angry people.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The (Anti-) Racism Symposium
Today at school I participated in a Racism Symposium, in which a bunch of students gathered together to discuss the problem of racism in our society, and even more specifically in our school. I thought it would be fitting to comment on it with the theme of my blog, especially the most recent entries. The Racism Symposium lasted about two and half hours, and there were three parts. For the first two parts we had speakers come in and talk to us about racism and such things.
Our first speaker was Dr. Chaichian, who was born and grew up in Iran, and then he moved to Iowa. His studies have focused on race and the biology that goes along with race. His job at the Symposium was not to sway our opinions about racism or preach to us. He was simply to present facts and evidence that we could either take with us or not. He made several very interesting points, and he seemed to be a very educated man. One of his finest arguments dealt with the difference between a non-racist and an anti-racist. He asked us to raise our hands if we thought we were a non-racist, and everyone raised their hands. However, when he explained to us the anti-racist meaning, only a few of us raised our hands because not all of us worked constantly to eradicate racism. I think he made a good point that all of us may be non-racist, but none of us actually constantly work at stopping racism.
Dr. Chaichian also pointed out that there is no such thing as race through various Powerpoint slides filled with valid points. He explained that race is only a perception of society, and that racism is only a way for one group to more superior than another. Both are absolutely true once they are thought about. His evidence dealt a great deal with biology and history. Dealing with biology, he noted that the Human Genome project found that every human is 99.9% identical to the next, proving that race should be a minimal matter. Even more significant, in my opinion, is the fact that humans' DNA is more different between people of the same race than between different races themselves! Thus, a black man is genetically more similar to a white man than he is to another black man. And if it has always been this way, how did society become so racist? Through our history. The white Europeans conquered all of Africa by the mid-1800s, thus showing that the white man was superior to the black man in that instance. And as a result of that occurrence, the white Europeans gained superiority over the Africans and that dominance was transferred into all of the colonies of Great Britain and other nations. Through America's history, it has been a constant battle for equality, and although we now have a racially and ethnically minor as a President, the equality is becoming less and less for minors. The classification of race is only a perception of society that we like to hold because it makes one group more superior to another.
There was a plethora of ideas discussed at the Racism Symposium (in the second and third parts as well), and I hope to examine these ideas in future blog entries.
Our first speaker was Dr. Chaichian, who was born and grew up in Iran, and then he moved to Iowa. His studies have focused on race and the biology that goes along with race. His job at the Symposium was not to sway our opinions about racism or preach to us. He was simply to present facts and evidence that we could either take with us or not. He made several very interesting points, and he seemed to be a very educated man. One of his finest arguments dealt with the difference between a non-racist and an anti-racist. He asked us to raise our hands if we thought we were a non-racist, and everyone raised their hands. However, when he explained to us the anti-racist meaning, only a few of us raised our hands because not all of us worked constantly to eradicate racism. I think he made a good point that all of us may be non-racist, but none of us actually constantly work at stopping racism.
Dr. Chaichian also pointed out that there is no such thing as race through various Powerpoint slides filled with valid points. He explained that race is only a perception of society, and that racism is only a way for one group to more superior than another. Both are absolutely true once they are thought about. His evidence dealt a great deal with biology and history. Dealing with biology, he noted that the Human Genome project found that every human is 99.9% identical to the next, proving that race should be a minimal matter. Even more significant, in my opinion, is the fact that humans' DNA is more different between people of the same race than between different races themselves! Thus, a black man is genetically more similar to a white man than he is to another black man. And if it has always been this way, how did society become so racist? Through our history. The white Europeans conquered all of Africa by the mid-1800s, thus showing that the white man was superior to the black man in that instance. And as a result of that occurrence, the white Europeans gained superiority over the Africans and that dominance was transferred into all of the colonies of Great Britain and other nations. Through America's history, it has been a constant battle for equality, and although we now have a racially and ethnically minor as a President, the equality is becoming less and less for minors. The classification of race is only a perception of society that we like to hold because it makes one group more superior to another.
There was a plethora of ideas discussed at the Racism Symposium (in the second and third parts as well), and I hope to examine these ideas in future blog entries.
Behind the Front
I always enjoy learning new things about people, and I like to learn about what people really are. In high school, I think what someone really is is hidden beneath layers and layers of personalities. Like someone having lots of coats on a cold day, you never know what the bottom layer is. A person is the same way if they are not themselves around everyone. I have discussed this idea in previous blogs, but now I would like to examine a different part of this thought.
As sophomoric as I am, I have still come to understand that people use many fronts to hide them true selves. People put on a front to gain a friend, to keep a friend, or to shy away an old friend. Sometimes your feelings are changed by someone else around you just because you want to be their friend (or not). For example, we all know that teens can be real "cliquey," as portrayed in various American popular films such as Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, and (I hate to say it, but) High School Musical. So if someone wanted to be in someone else's circle of friends, they might change their own attitudes and views on certain things just to be accepted and to be that person's friend.
One type of subconscious front that is used among many people I know is talking like someone else- someone funny, perhaps someone from a movie or television show. It's an easy way to make people laugh and everyone knows of that reference. Also, it's a way to get rid of awkward situations. For example, let's say there is a situation in which you are extremely happy, but instead of saying "I am extremely happy!" you say "Groovy, baby," in reference to Austin Powers. In the latter, no one feels that they have to respond with their own exact feelings, and they can just laugh and be content. Quoting a movie or a show is an easy out to silence, and easy way out of awkwardness, and people use this out often. However, it seems that those people who cannot fully express themselves use this out in excess. It's hilarious when people quote funny characters, but it is obvious when people use this as a front to their own true feelings.
It's important to understand yourself and it's important to understand those whom you care about. Back to the coat analogy, as you get to know someone better and better, another layer comes off on that cold, winter day. You can get to the soul of a person just by getting to know them, but if there is an unnecessary front, no connection can be made.
As sophomoric as I am, I have still come to understand that people use many fronts to hide them true selves. People put on a front to gain a friend, to keep a friend, or to shy away an old friend. Sometimes your feelings are changed by someone else around you just because you want to be their friend (or not). For example, we all know that teens can be real "cliquey," as portrayed in various American popular films such as Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, and (I hate to say it, but) High School Musical. So if someone wanted to be in someone else's circle of friends, they might change their own attitudes and views on certain things just to be accepted and to be that person's friend.
One type of subconscious front that is used among many people I know is talking like someone else- someone funny, perhaps someone from a movie or television show. It's an easy way to make people laugh and everyone knows of that reference. Also, it's a way to get rid of awkward situations. For example, let's say there is a situation in which you are extremely happy, but instead of saying "I am extremely happy!" you say "Groovy, baby," in reference to Austin Powers. In the latter, no one feels that they have to respond with their own exact feelings, and they can just laugh and be content. Quoting a movie or a show is an easy out to silence, and easy way out of awkwardness, and people use this out often. However, it seems that those people who cannot fully express themselves use this out in excess. It's hilarious when people quote funny characters, but it is obvious when people use this as a front to their own true feelings.
It's important to understand yourself and it's important to understand those whom you care about. Back to the coat analogy, as you get to know someone better and better, another layer comes off on that cold, winter day. You can get to the soul of a person just by getting to know them, but if there is an unnecessary front, no connection can be made.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
One thing I am starting to make more time for is jump roping. It's something that makes me more healthy and is a great exercise, but for me, I don't think of it as work at all. It's just a really physical pasttime, and I'm really glad that I have found something that I enjoy that much that gets me off my tuches. I would work out more, but getting to the gym is nearly half the battle, and for me it takes a lot of energy (and now I'm going to try and do that more often too!). I think my passion for jump roping started a long time ago when I went to jump rope camp in the first grade. Now, the fire is still going when I innovate new tricks or see other jump rope teams do incredible moves. Here's a video I found while meandering Youtube one day:
The Norm
Lenin once said, "A lie told often enough becomes truth." Quite a bold statement I think, and although it was specifically pertaining to the Soviet Union at the time, the quote goes beyond that to all societies. When the government lies it is horrible, but when society is not honest with itself, all hell breaks loose. In my mind, society, and especially the high school society, is never honest. People are hardly honest with themselves and with other people. In school, people are always changing their personality it seems to fit in or be liked by a certain person. However, perhaps changing one's own character at certain moments is the only way society can function. If everyone in high school was honest with each other, there would be lots of fights and fiery arguments. The tension in the air would be so thick you could cut it with a knife (which is more than can be said for the food in the cafeteria). If kids our age say it how it is to every other person, only chaos would erupt, proving the third law of thermodynamics of increasing disorder to be true.
However wrong it is, lies are needed in our society. For example, let's say you ask someone else for an opinion on your essay that you've been writing for the past two months. If the person responds with only harsh and negative criticism, there will be some unruly feelings between you and the person you asked. Even if the paper was totally trash, the person would have to respond with "It's good," if anything, or else the writer could be crushed.
There are many lies in society about how things are. We, as high schoolers, have taken ideas and said that this is the way it is. I hate to sound cheesy with the words from the rather insipid "High School Musical," but many kids my age "stick to the status quo" (even using those words makes me feel uneasy). For example, in choir if your voice is strikingly different from everyone else's (or if it's not the same as others in your section), people may not like to listen to it as much, although it may have just as great features. This goes along with anything; if your style is different from others it may not be as accepted as those who have styles that are the norm. People like the norm because if you are "normal" it makes you feel good, and that is if you are like everyone else.
Although Lenin may have only been speaking to his government leaders, his idea reaches to nations everywhere. The norm is a very sketchy word, and it can be interpreted as many different ideas. However, if the norm is not honest, then people are not allowed to be honest. There should be no "norm," for it defines society as a stone with no leniency in actions or feelings. The norm is a lie told by everyone, and unfortunately it has become truth.
However wrong it is, lies are needed in our society. For example, let's say you ask someone else for an opinion on your essay that you've been writing for the past two months. If the person responds with only harsh and negative criticism, there will be some unruly feelings between you and the person you asked. Even if the paper was totally trash, the person would have to respond with "It's good," if anything, or else the writer could be crushed.
There are many lies in society about how things are. We, as high schoolers, have taken ideas and said that this is the way it is. I hate to sound cheesy with the words from the rather insipid "High School Musical," but many kids my age "stick to the status quo" (even using those words makes me feel uneasy). For example, in choir if your voice is strikingly different from everyone else's (or if it's not the same as others in your section), people may not like to listen to it as much, although it may have just as great features. This goes along with anything; if your style is different from others it may not be as accepted as those who have styles that are the norm. People like the norm because if you are "normal" it makes you feel good, and that is if you are like everyone else.
Although Lenin may have only been speaking to his government leaders, his idea reaches to nations everywhere. The norm is a very sketchy word, and it can be interpreted as many different ideas. However, if the norm is not honest, then people are not allowed to be honest. There should be no "norm," for it defines society as a stone with no leniency in actions or feelings. The norm is a lie told by everyone, and unfortunately it has become truth.
Faking to Become
"Category: Entertainment. $400 Answer: the reason why I watch Jeopardy. Question: What is it makes me feel smarter?"
During the summer, I like to make time to watch "Jeopardy" everyday. It is perhaps the best half hour of the day, snuggling into the couch with a Fresca and just shouting out "questions" to the television during the show. "The Volga," "Broadway Hits," and "Do You 'C' It (notice the quotation marks)" would be among my favorite categories to watch, but of course the "Jeopardy" questionnaires come up with much more riveting categories. The thing is, although I love to watch it, I myself am not very good at it. I perhaps question correctly three to five answers per game, out of the 61 possible. It seems I like to watch the game even though it could easily make me feel rather stupid and inferior to the people on the screen. For some reason it doesn’t.
One of the best feelings of accomplishment for me is gaining knowledge without praise. I like to learn things without people congratulating me on what I've learned. In such a case, I have done the effort and taken the initiative to learn, instead of it being required, as in school. However, my life thus far has been full of the opposite kinds of success, in which I try to learn something but I fail.
Before the epic flood in Cedar Rapids, I used to go to the Cedar Rapids Public Library about once every one or two months, and every time I went I spent at least two or three hours there, often hiding myself in books in the language section. Chinese, French, Arabic; I wanted to learn them all, and at the end of the day I had four or so more books all dealing with languages, often different languages. The day after I would flip through the books and maybe read the first chapter or so, but after that, the books just collected dust on my bedside shelf. I was kaput until I made my next trip to library and the whole thing would start over again.
I went to the library all those times and hardly finished a book I checked out. I was basically faking to become smarter. I wasn't knowledgeable at all before watching Jeopardy or going to the library, but by simply doing those things I felt that I was smarter, even if I had gained no true knowledge. Nonetheless, after time I did learn some things that I kept: the Greek alphabet, e.g. By pretending that I was smart I actually became smarter. It's like acting on a stage, by portraying the character so very thoroughly, you start to think about the ideas that the character represents, and you bring them into your own life. It is nearly the same with books and gameshows; by portraying an intelligent person I have brought some of that character into my own life.
You see, when I have learned something by actually reading the whole book, for example, it is the greatest feeling because I know that I have not faked my knowledge. I have put time and effort into learning it, instead of just flipping open the first page and pretending I know the book from the summary. Time and effort are much better than praise, no matter what.
During the summer, I like to make time to watch "Jeopardy" everyday. It is perhaps the best half hour of the day, snuggling into the couch with a Fresca and just shouting out "questions" to the television during the show. "The Volga," "Broadway Hits," and "Do You 'C' It (notice the quotation marks)" would be among my favorite categories to watch, but of course the "Jeopardy" questionnaires come up with much more riveting categories. The thing is, although I love to watch it, I myself am not very good at it. I perhaps question correctly three to five answers per game, out of the 61 possible. It seems I like to watch the game even though it could easily make me feel rather stupid and inferior to the people on the screen. For some reason it doesn’t.
One of the best feelings of accomplishment for me is gaining knowledge without praise. I like to learn things without people congratulating me on what I've learned. In such a case, I have done the effort and taken the initiative to learn, instead of it being required, as in school. However, my life thus far has been full of the opposite kinds of success, in which I try to learn something but I fail.
Before the epic flood in Cedar Rapids, I used to go to the Cedar Rapids Public Library about once every one or two months, and every time I went I spent at least two or three hours there, often hiding myself in books in the language section. Chinese, French, Arabic; I wanted to learn them all, and at the end of the day I had four or so more books all dealing with languages, often different languages. The day after I would flip through the books and maybe read the first chapter or so, but after that, the books just collected dust on my bedside shelf. I was kaput until I made my next trip to library and the whole thing would start over again.
I went to the library all those times and hardly finished a book I checked out. I was basically faking to become smarter. I wasn't knowledgeable at all before watching Jeopardy or going to the library, but by simply doing those things I felt that I was smarter, even if I had gained no true knowledge. Nonetheless, after time I did learn some things that I kept: the Greek alphabet, e.g. By pretending that I was smart I actually became smarter. It's like acting on a stage, by portraying the character so very thoroughly, you start to think about the ideas that the character represents, and you bring them into your own life. It is nearly the same with books and gameshows; by portraying an intelligent person I have brought some of that character into my own life.
You see, when I have learned something by actually reading the whole book, for example, it is the greatest feeling because I know that I have not faked my knowledge. I have put time and effort into learning it, instead of just flipping open the first page and pretending I know the book from the summary. Time and effort are much better than praise, no matter what.
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