Making Connections

When I read the third assigned reading from "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon I did not understand why the author spent so much time with Miz Alice's discriptions of her philosophies on life. But after considering what the author is going through I realized that there was a clear connection between the two.

Miz Alice explains that, "Education is thinking, and thinking is looking for yourself and seeing what's there, not what you got told was there. Then you put what you see together." And her philosophy about learning in that sense directly applies to what Least Heat Moon is doing himself.

He is on a journey to find himself in a way and not necessarily to just get away from his problems. He left his old life and is now traveling and just taking the world in and seeing it for himself. He is meeting new people and seeing new places and it seems as if that is what that is what Miz Alice would find great value in.

Another Comment

I posted a response to A Roach's "Cell Phones Used as an Educational Toll" today: 

Wow, I thought all of this posting homework on blackboard and using that site for information and communication was a great idea, but in my opinion that is as far as we should go with classroom technology for now. I think the office hours and school emailing system is a good enough communication method and we should just concentrate on putting in the work ourselves and not get too caught up on pushing the technology envelope. 

Maybe in the future smart phones might be a useful classroom tool, but personally I could go without the extra expense for now. 

This is a really interesting topic. Do you have a link to the article you quoted?

Revised: "'Till Death do us Part?" Hardly...

There are tons of variations of what relationships are, what they mean, and how real they really are. The main point I'm bringing up that is in question to me right now is a boyfriend/ girlfriend relationship. 

I had been dating the same person for almost two years now and it suddenly all ended last night. I thought our relationship would be forever and so do a lot of people my age and even younger, but the truth is that nothing is set in stone. I looked back and realized that my feelings had changed and then I thought how could I have felt this way one day and another way the very next day. 

Then I thought about little kids in middle school and even elementary school that break out the "L" word without even thinking twice, they even go so far as saying that they're going to marry that person. It's insane. 

However, I have come to the conclusion that no one can really know all these answers for sure 100% of the time even if they're wiser with age. Some people get married and say "I do... 'til death do us part" but then get divorced within so little as a year. Relationships questions are kind of something that are unanswerable. However, I also feel that I may just be ranting because I felt so secure in my relationship, but then ended it myself and now I am miserable. I do not feel happier than I was by any means. Unexplainable.

If I am so sad now how could it be the right thing? Friends keep telling me "It'll be ok" and "you'll feel better later". But why go through it? It hurts my grades, my skill level as a musician, my sleeping and eating patterns, and even other relationships (as in ones with other friends).   

*****

I wrote the above post about two weeks ago and once again my feelings changed completely (typical haha). I think it might be kind of distasteful to share all of the details of my relationship on a blog that I created for an English class, but my boyfriend and I are now back together. Maybe true love and "real" relationships are real... who really knows? I feel as if our relationship is stronger now though after experiencing some distance, discomfort, and facing the realization that we're crazy about each other. I guess we do not necessarily need each other (no one should put that kind of burden on another person, because it's not fair to either one), but we definitely want each other and that is good enough for me.  

I hope this blog doesn't sound too cliche, but now I am finding the value in a good relationship. Though it might be some consuming, complicated, ride of emotions, I want every part of it and I am thankful for the person I am with. 

Geez it is so weird to see my emotions that completely changed typed out on a blog.