My Future

I know what my life will look like, well, at least for the next four years until I graduate college in 2019.  I will be attending Central Michigan University starting in August to major in Spanish Secondary Education.  I have been keeping up on my Spanish studies so I make sure my memory is refreshed and as knowledgeable as it can be.  Hopefully by my fourth year of college I will be in Spain!  Yes, Spain!  I won't be there for long though, because I will be studying abroad only for a semester most likely.  I wish it could be longer, I truly long to visit a foreign country, Spain being my first choice.  Of course at one point I will have to do my student teaching.  After that day I graduate in 2019 from CMU, I don't know where I will be.  I sure hope I have a teaching job as soon as possible.  Then a whole new chapter in my life begins.

Portrait Photography

I think what makes a great portrait shot is one that really focuses on the person's emotion.  One that really shows the person's face and mood works best.  Even adding some retouching and effects, such as black and white improve a portrait photograph.

This baby picture depicts a good portrait picture because it shows the emotion of a baby.  It zooms in on the baby's face to show its emotion, happiness. 

It is not easy to get a good portrait shot.  It takes the perfect camera setting, angle, and zoom.  All of this is made possible with the right camera and lens as well as any edits made to the photo.


An actor's portrait shot, such as this one, shows a mood to prove how serious he is and how determined he is in acting.

Cheaters Never Win!

 

I would do nothing if I saw a friend cheating.  To keep a friend, you have to trust each other.  I know that I have great friends who are trustworthy people, so they would not majorly cheat.  But if I saw such a thing from them, I would keep it to myself.  If I saw someone cheat that was not my friend or a nice person, and I saw them cheat, maybe I would say something.  This I would do only if it was on something huge, such as a final exam or major essay.

My Breakdown of a Song

A favorite song of mine is "Map of the Problematique" by Muse.  The lyrics were written by the band's lead singer/guitarist Matthew Bellamy.  I like the way the song sounds and how the lyrics are sang.  For me, this song is about a man who is contemplating the things in life.  It seems there has been a traumatic event for the man and he is trying to figure things out.  This is my breakdown and what I think the lyrics mean:

Fear, and panic in the air
I want to be free
From desolation and despair

There is a loss of people and a loss of hope.  He is afraid and panicking that he will be the next one to go, possibly be another "loss".  He has this fear for being abandoned, and when he has this person to "be free from desolation and despair" he became desperate to keep that person by their side.

 

And I feel like everything I saw

Is being swept away

When I refuse to let you go

He refuses to let [her] go.  Letting someone special go is not that easy.  But, he knows that if he doesn't let go, he will lose her anyways.  It is a fight within himself.

I can't get it right since I met you

"I can't get it right" is that he can't find the right words to say. Everything is wrong in times like this for him. "Since I met you" - he feels that he didn't do or say the right things from the start. He's blaming himself.

Loneliness be over
When will this loneliness be over?

I find this one to sound just the way it is.  When he is pleading that the loneliness be over, he is pleading for an answer and for everything to end.  No matter what, he will always end up feeling lonely.  It will never be over.

Life will flash before my eyes
So scattered and lost
I want to touch the other side

He can see life "flash before his eyes", but it is not clear to him.  At a time like this for the man in the song, he really has to think about his life.  He starts to remember events in his life and remember old memories, perhaps the happier ones- compared to now. Touching the other side could mean finding out what's going to happen next.

And no one thinks they are to blame
Why can't we see
That when we bleed we bleed the same?
This is my favorite part of the song; I find it most powerful.  This is true not for just this song, but for the whole world.  Many people cannot take the blame for themselves and admit to their own faults- "no one thinks they are to blame".  As for "when we bleed we bleed the same", that is him saying everyone is the same in one way or another.  Yet, no one can see it and he asks "why".

 

In the end, he seems to come to a conclusion: nothing he says or does makes any difference.

 

Testing! Testing! Testing!

    It truly does seem as if we spend the first 13 years of our education being tested and I do not care for it.  I understand that it is necessary, for the most part, but really, just how much testing can one take?  Education relies to heavily on testing because that is truly the only way for schools and teachers to prove that a student has actually learned something.  If there were no tests, how would there be proof that students have learned?  Teachers could not truly know if a student has grasped a topic.  Sure, they could ask students questions or lead a class discussion, but there is no solid proof of a successful education unless it is on paper.

   Standardized testing is just a way to either make a school shine so it can bask in its glory or weaken a school's education status.  There should be a fair test, one that is not too difficult for the average student to take.  I do not like these tests.  They are lengthy in time and annoying.  I would much rather just take a regular test in class.  My testing is average.  My ACT score was average and I wish I could have done better.  All the other testing over the years, like MEAP, were OK.  I don't really remember.  For anyone who says  they "just don't do well on tests", I don't fully believe that.  Everyone is capable no matter what ways they take it.  Whether that be on their own or with some help from an Aid or tutor.