This week has been an incredible act of endurance for me. I have had more paperwork, more writing, and more studying to do all at once than any other time of high school. So much for an easy senior year.
Here is what I don't understand. With all of the work that i have been doing, I have had to stay up until 11:45 three nights in a row. Today, I could barely get out of bed. At school, I had trouble staying awake, and trouble even going from one class to another attentively. Overall, it was as if I was running on empty. How, then, do people do waht I am doing every day? I have several friends who can't even think about getting to sleep until at least 2 oclock in the morning. Every day, some people will even stay up until 1 in the morning, just to get up at 4 to finish. They come to school with three to five hours of sleep. Thnking about that, they get less than 24 hours of slep in a school week. That is rediculous. After how tired I was today, I can't even imagine how hard it is to function after so much work. It isn't even only about staying up late. It is also about what they, and I, are doing with the time we should be sleeping. We are working hard just to stay afloat with all of the school work, extra-curricular activities, jobs, and, in my case, youth group matters.
This is a vicious cycle. We stay up late so that we can do all of our homework to be ready for school, but by the time we get to school, we are to exhausted from the night before to actually be able to do well or focus.
I'm ready to go to bed, mostly because I want to make sure I am ready to work hard tomorrow.
"We accept the nature of the reality that is presented to us" The Truman Show
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
January 5th
First blog to say I can't blog. I have too much on my plate and just need to go to bed.
Great post. Better one tomorrow.
Great post. Better one tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
January 4th
Today was a weird day. Within one day, I went from incredibly excited to incredibly not. I went from happy to pissed at the drop of a hat. I went from stressed to at peace, and back to stressed again a thousand times. Overall, it was just a tough day. January is not shaping up to be an easy month.
Monday, January 3, 2011
January 3rd
Back to school day really gets a bad rap. So many people dread going back after winter or spring break. I am usually one of those people. This year, though, I just couldn't bring myself to be upset. The idea of getting to go back and see all of my friends and teachers was actually a really nice break from, well, break. I had missed getting to see everyone and work hard at school. So much free time on my hands was fun, but at the same time, I was ready to get back in the swing of things and restart my routine.
My favorite part of going back to school today was Physics. I know, who ever would have thought I would like Physics. Really, when you think about it, what is there to like? It is the math of science. I can't stand either of those two subjects. But this year, and especially today, I really enjoyed toe pursuit. The chance to fight my way through a problem to get the right answer. Because the whole class is really just a metaphor for real life. We are going to have problems. We are not going to have the answers. We are going to struggle, to throw "equations" at the problem and try to solve it. Sometimes we will get it right, sometimes we will get it wrong, but overall, our teachers and peers will be there to give us advice, guidance and support, and we will, eventually, sink or swim. Today, I was able to swim in Physics. Maybe tomorrow I won't. But it sure was fun trying today.
“In physics, you don't have to go around making trouble for yourself - nature does it for you.” Frank Wilczek
My favorite part of going back to school today was Physics. I know, who ever would have thought I would like Physics. Really, when you think about it, what is there to like? It is the math of science. I can't stand either of those two subjects. But this year, and especially today, I really enjoyed toe pursuit. The chance to fight my way through a problem to get the right answer. Because the whole class is really just a metaphor for real life. We are going to have problems. We are not going to have the answers. We are going to struggle, to throw "equations" at the problem and try to solve it. Sometimes we will get it right, sometimes we will get it wrong, but overall, our teachers and peers will be there to give us advice, guidance and support, and we will, eventually, sink or swim. Today, I was able to swim in Physics. Maybe tomorrow I won't. But it sure was fun trying today.
“In physics, you don't have to go around making trouble for yourself - nature does it for you.” Frank Wilczek
Sunday, January 2, 2011
January 2nd
Going to college is intended to be an educational experience. Who knew that the education would begin before you got there.
The lesson that I am getting right now is one in patience. The University of Wisconsin is going to get back to me before January 15th, but they do not tell me how much before that the decision will come. It could be today. It could be tomorrow. It could be January 15 exactly.
I am someone who loves to plan. I like to plan ahead what I will do when, how I will do things, and every detail kept in order. Not knowing what your options are, however, really impacts your ability to plan. Wisconsin is teaching me to have pateince, to sit by and wait while a decision is made for me.
Between now and then, I will check my email somewhere close to 1000 times. I will do everything to keep myself busy, as if to make myself feel like I have a say. But overall, Wisconsin is teaching me one of the most valuable lessons it will teach me, whether I attend or not. Just got to stay patient.
“All human wisdom is summed up in two words - wait and hope” Alexandre Dumas Pere
The lesson that I am getting right now is one in patience. The University of Wisconsin is going to get back to me before January 15th, but they do not tell me how much before that the decision will come. It could be today. It could be tomorrow. It could be January 15 exactly.
I am someone who loves to plan. I like to plan ahead what I will do when, how I will do things, and every detail kept in order. Not knowing what your options are, however, really impacts your ability to plan. Wisconsin is teaching me to have pateince, to sit by and wait while a decision is made for me.
Between now and then, I will check my email somewhere close to 1000 times. I will do everything to keep myself busy, as if to make myself feel like I have a say. But overall, Wisconsin is teaching me one of the most valuable lessons it will teach me, whether I attend or not. Just got to stay patient.
“All human wisdom is summed up in two words - wait and hope” Alexandre Dumas Pere
Saturday, January 1, 2011
January 1st
Today is the first day of a new year. It is also the beginning of my next journey into blogging.
Last year, I posted almost every week, each time on a different topic. This exercised my ability to come up with engaging information to talk about, and allowed me to come up with ways to experess myself both for others and for my own benefit.
This year, I want to try something different. Rather than a weekly post that is many paragraphs long, I want to attempt a daily post. These posts will be shorter most of the time, sometimes being only two or three sentences while other times reaching to multiple paragraphs. THis will allow me to work on stretching my creativity to allow me to observe what goes on around me and to find the value in the most often mundane.
I will post in this fashion every night for the first part of the year, and reflect back on it in June to reflect and adapt based on my experiences.
I will also close every post with a quote that is moving to me in some way or another.
Last year, I posted almost every week, each time on a different topic. This exercised my ability to come up with engaging information to talk about, and allowed me to come up with ways to experess myself both for others and for my own benefit.
This year, I want to try something different. Rather than a weekly post that is many paragraphs long, I want to attempt a daily post. These posts will be shorter most of the time, sometimes being only two or three sentences while other times reaching to multiple paragraphs. THis will allow me to work on stretching my creativity to allow me to observe what goes on around me and to find the value in the most often mundane.
I will post in this fashion every night for the first part of the year, and reflect back on it in June to reflect and adapt based on my experiences.
I will also close every post with a quote that is moving to me in some way or another.
“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” Don Williams Jr.
Monday, December 27, 2010
The Recap
After almost 365 days, 42 posts, and a plethora of words, my blogging experiment comes to its final deadline. I, almost one year ago, decided to embark on a journey to blog every Sunday night, one post each week, about different topics that I found pertinent and meaningful.
This adventure was first designed to be an opportunity for me to experience a new form of media communications. My father suggested it to me as a way for me to share some of my ideas and allow my creativity to form an actual learning experience for myself and for others.
Now, after spending countless hours thinking up, writing, and posting these stories, I would have to say the experience was a success. I learned a great deal about how to communicate my thoughts and emotions, and attempting to say my words in a way that will convey my message while refraining from insult or injury to others.
This wasn't always easy. There were times when my posts caused people to get upset, and this was an excellent learning opportunity for myself as well. I had to learn quickly after my first real post that not everyone is going to agree with everything you have to say, but that it is important to say things so as to start conversations, rather than arguments.
I have wanted to be a Rabbi during much of the time that I have been posting these blogs. The opportunity to have this page as a form of pulpit, to practice writing as if it were for a sermon, was an excellent insight into the struggle that not only Rabbis but educators of all kinds undertake in an attempt to inspire others. I allowed the blog to educate me in the same way I hoped to educate others. In fact, I used the experience of blogging as a topic for two different college essays, which I hope will have some positive influence on my acceptance.
My favorite story pertaining to a blog posting was when I received a private message after the publication of one of my ideas. I don't remember what the exact post was about, but a member of my community who had been dealing with a particularly bad situation, who I had not spoken to for quite a while, wrote to me in a private facebook message. This person shared that he/she believed that my post had helped this person to see things from a different perspective, and that they had had a positive shift in thought process after having read one of my posts. Now this was coming from someone who I had believed wished to have nothing more to do with me, or with anyone who I was close with. The fact that they were willing to read my blog at all, let alone be moved by it, was emotional for me on a very meaningful level.
Another story of my blogging came during one of my classes at school. A fellow student of mine, who almost never interacts positively with anyone else, was talking with some friends. He was frequently disruptive, and he and I generally didn't get along well. At one point in his conversation, he brought up some topic (again I forget which, but it isn't important). Then, in passing, he commented on something that I had said in my posting the night before, and brought up the fact that he liked what I was saying and agreed with it. This was very meaningful to me because this meant that people I had no idea were even reading my blog were actually doing so, and learning from it as well.
Throughout this journey, many people have helped me in my posting. From my parents and grandparents who read every post and asked supportive questions, to my best friend who always kept me on schedule and even reposted to his own facebook page, I couldn't have come up with the end result I did without their help.
Even though I had no idea where it would take me, the year long experiment was enough of a success for me to continue. I will continue to post blogs through the coming year, although the format and style of posting will change come January 1. I am excited to learn from my past blogging and continue to grow and develop as a writer, speaker, and human being.
I hope that the Zoot Perspective has somehow impacted you positively. If you have ever enjoyed this blog, please feel free to comment on it either on this page or on facebook. I also encourage you to send me a private message if you would like to share a more personal connection with the postings I have shared.
B'Shalom V'Ahavah (With peace and love)
AZ
This adventure was first designed to be an opportunity for me to experience a new form of media communications. My father suggested it to me as a way for me to share some of my ideas and allow my creativity to form an actual learning experience for myself and for others.
Now, after spending countless hours thinking up, writing, and posting these stories, I would have to say the experience was a success. I learned a great deal about how to communicate my thoughts and emotions, and attempting to say my words in a way that will convey my message while refraining from insult or injury to others.
This wasn't always easy. There were times when my posts caused people to get upset, and this was an excellent learning opportunity for myself as well. I had to learn quickly after my first real post that not everyone is going to agree with everything you have to say, but that it is important to say things so as to start conversations, rather than arguments.
I have wanted to be a Rabbi during much of the time that I have been posting these blogs. The opportunity to have this page as a form of pulpit, to practice writing as if it were for a sermon, was an excellent insight into the struggle that not only Rabbis but educators of all kinds undertake in an attempt to inspire others. I allowed the blog to educate me in the same way I hoped to educate others. In fact, I used the experience of blogging as a topic for two different college essays, which I hope will have some positive influence on my acceptance.
My favorite story pertaining to a blog posting was when I received a private message after the publication of one of my ideas. I don't remember what the exact post was about, but a member of my community who had been dealing with a particularly bad situation, who I had not spoken to for quite a while, wrote to me in a private facebook message. This person shared that he/she believed that my post had helped this person to see things from a different perspective, and that they had had a positive shift in thought process after having read one of my posts. Now this was coming from someone who I had believed wished to have nothing more to do with me, or with anyone who I was close with. The fact that they were willing to read my blog at all, let alone be moved by it, was emotional for me on a very meaningful level.
Another story of my blogging came during one of my classes at school. A fellow student of mine, who almost never interacts positively with anyone else, was talking with some friends. He was frequently disruptive, and he and I generally didn't get along well. At one point in his conversation, he brought up some topic (again I forget which, but it isn't important). Then, in passing, he commented on something that I had said in my posting the night before, and brought up the fact that he liked what I was saying and agreed with it. This was very meaningful to me because this meant that people I had no idea were even reading my blog were actually doing so, and learning from it as well.
Throughout this journey, many people have helped me in my posting. From my parents and grandparents who read every post and asked supportive questions, to my best friend who always kept me on schedule and even reposted to his own facebook page, I couldn't have come up with the end result I did without their help.
Even though I had no idea where it would take me, the year long experiment was enough of a success for me to continue. I will continue to post blogs through the coming year, although the format and style of posting will change come January 1. I am excited to learn from my past blogging and continue to grow and develop as a writer, speaker, and human being.
I hope that the Zoot Perspective has somehow impacted you positively. If you have ever enjoyed this blog, please feel free to comment on it either on this page or on facebook. I also encourage you to send me a private message if you would like to share a more personal connection with the postings I have shared.
B'Shalom V'Ahavah (With peace and love)
AZ
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