Future Literate Me
Literacy is normally defined as one's ability to read and write. But it is much more more than that; it is one's ability to understand pretty much anything! Whether it be from understanding a text, a chemical formula, or music, the more literate a person is, the easier it is for them to understand anything.
Reading and writing will continue to be an essential part of my life because I wish to continue my education. In college, I will have to attend many classes that require reading textbooks, novels, poems, and the like. Western civilization and US History, classical literature and renaissance works, and Shakespearean sonnets and plays. And of course, with every thick book comes a plethora of delightful essays to write about them! AP Literature this year made my writing exponentially better, and I believe college courses will do the same.
Science and mathematics will continue to be an essential part of my life as well. Considering that I plan on majoring in bio-medical engineering before attending medical school, I will be required to take classes like calculus, physics, chemistry, and biology. In these classes, I will be using mathematical and chemical formulas to express changes in energy, constituents, or use them to discover certain changes. The point is, the more I use them, the better I will become at these subjects and the more I will understand.
"Music is a world within itself, and a language we all understand!" (Stevie Wonder). And it's totally true! (#TRU) Music is one of those very few things that is present among all peoples of this planet. In one form or another, music is there, and it is important. Music, like stories, can be written down so that all may read and understand it because, well, music is a story. Reading music will continue to be an important part of my life because in a way, it makes more sense to me than "Thou Blind Man's Mark" or "Gretel in Darkness" and what have you. Maybe one day I compose something! Who knows.
Since literacy, to me, is ones ability to understand, I plan on becoming more literate every day; understanding more about literature, history, math, science, and music.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Friday, May 31, 2013
Questions
Inquisitiveness can be best described as: asking questions, having an eagerness for knowledge, being intellectually curious, and having a mind prone to critical thinking. People ask questions. It's what we humans do! We are a thoughtful people and we want to know as much as we can. I ask questions every day because I love to learn, and because I desire to set straight any misconceptions I might have.
Questions are very interesting though; sometimes a simple question can lead a person to commit to being with another, and end up creating life! Sometimes, one question leads to another, and a simple German scientist can figure out that the rest mass of an object, multiplied by the square of the speed of light, is the amount of energy stored in that object (This is true by the way, the equation is E=mc^2 and according to it, one helium atom could power a school). Questions, questions, questions. Here is a list of twenty that could change your life:
1. Who am I?
2. Why am I here?
3. Where did I come from?
4. Where will I go once I pass?
5. What is the soul?
6. What is love?
7. What is hatred?
8. What is your name?
9. How are you?
10. Would you like to hang out?
11. Would you like to go on a date?
12. Will you marry me?
13. Will we have kids?
14. Daddy/Mommy, where do babies come from?
15. Who are you?
16. What is right and what is wrong?
17. Would you like fries with that?
18. Do you have a price-plus card?
19. How much more time do I have left here?
20. I want can do it, but will I do it?
The first and last are my favorites; a person is defined by both their actions, and their aspirations. Sometimes, a good person cannot do what the aspire to do, however, that does not change the fact that they are a good person. As for the last question, I ask myself that before every difficult event or endeavor I will embark on. Whether it be "Will I run a 58 second 400 hurdles?" or "Will I complete this ten page lab report by the due date?" I understand the difference between "can' and "will." In life, that can make all the difference.
Inquisitiveness can be best described as: asking questions, having an eagerness for knowledge, being intellectually curious, and having a mind prone to critical thinking. People ask questions. It's what we humans do! We are a thoughtful people and we want to know as much as we can. I ask questions every day because I love to learn, and because I desire to set straight any misconceptions I might have.
Questions are very interesting though; sometimes a simple question can lead a person to commit to being with another, and end up creating life! Sometimes, one question leads to another, and a simple German scientist can figure out that the rest mass of an object, multiplied by the square of the speed of light, is the amount of energy stored in that object (This is true by the way, the equation is E=mc^2 and according to it, one helium atom could power a school). Questions, questions, questions. Here is a list of twenty that could change your life:
1. Who am I?
2. Why am I here?
3. Where did I come from?
4. Where will I go once I pass?
5. What is the soul?
6. What is love?
7. What is hatred?
8. What is your name?
9. How are you?
10. Would you like to hang out?
11. Would you like to go on a date?
12. Will you marry me?
13. Will we have kids?
14. Daddy/Mommy, where do babies come from?
15. Who are you?
16. What is right and what is wrong?
17. Would you like fries with that?
18. Do you have a price-plus card?
19. How much more time do I have left here?
20. I want can do it, but will I do it?
The first and last are my favorites; a person is defined by both their actions, and their aspirations. Sometimes, a good person cannot do what the aspire to do, however, that does not change the fact that they are a good person. As for the last question, I ask myself that before every difficult event or endeavor I will embark on. Whether it be "Will I run a 58 second 400 hurdles?" or "Will I complete this ten page lab report by the due date?" I understand the difference between "can' and "will." In life, that can make all the difference.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Mortadelo y Filemon (Mort & Phil)
The best book ever. Well that's easy! For those who speak Spanish of course. My favorite book, well, books actually, are a series of comics called Mortadelo y Filemon, or in English, Mort and Phil. They are the most popular comic in Spain, and it is published in over 10 countries. I chose this as my favorite book because it is different from all the other books I read in the sense that it is NOT in English, and it is freaking hilarious! Allow me to provide a little background information about the characters and the story.
In the photograph on the left, we have all the major characters. From left to right: Professor Bacteria, Filemon (Phil), Mortadelo (Mort), Ophelia, and the Superintendent. What do all these characters have in common? Well, they work for an agency known as the T.I.A. (In actuality, there is no such thing in Spain. The author took the American C.I.A. and made it the T.I.A. because "tia" in Spanish means aunt. It's a joke. Get it?) This agency deals with a variety of assignments, and the main characters that the story is based on are Mortadelo and Filemon. Mortadelo is the man in the black outfit, and Filemon is the man in the red pants.
All of the stories are very random, and contain little unrelated add-ons in the pictures that catch your eye every once in a while and make you go "What the." Because the comic is supposed to be funny, all of their assignments deal with having to accomplish something that, for them, is very challenging, and almost always ends up failing, usually because Mortadelo messes up. Whether it be trying to capture a terrorist with a nuclear detonator which Mortadelo accidentally sets off himself, or having to take care of the agency director's pets which end up dead, all of their missions end up badly. But it's funny.
One thing that adds on to the comic's humor is the fact that Mortadelo is a master if disguise. Name any disguise a person could have, including animals, and Mortadelo has it. If he's running away from his angry boss, he might turn into a lamp post on the street, or a little bird, a female, or even a chair. As you can see, in the picture on the right, he is dressed as a traveler and is saying "They found me! I have to emigrate, one way or another!"
But., like every book, one has to read it to get it. Luckily, this comic is published in English! Give it a shot, you might just laugh your socks off.
The best book ever. Well that's easy! For those who speak Spanish of course. My favorite book, well, books actually, are a series of comics called Mortadelo y Filemon, or in English, Mort and Phil. They are the most popular comic in Spain, and it is published in over 10 countries. I chose this as my favorite book because it is different from all the other books I read in the sense that it is NOT in English, and it is freaking hilarious! Allow me to provide a little background information about the characters and the story.
In the photograph on the left, we have all the major characters. From left to right: Professor Bacteria, Filemon (Phil), Mortadelo (Mort), Ophelia, and the Superintendent. What do all these characters have in common? Well, they work for an agency known as the T.I.A. (In actuality, there is no such thing in Spain. The author took the American C.I.A. and made it the T.I.A. because "tia" in Spanish means aunt. It's a joke. Get it?) This agency deals with a variety of assignments, and the main characters that the story is based on are Mortadelo and Filemon. Mortadelo is the man in the black outfit, and Filemon is the man in the red pants.
All of the stories are very random, and contain little unrelated add-ons in the pictures that catch your eye every once in a while and make you go "What the." Because the comic is supposed to be funny, all of their assignments deal with having to accomplish something that, for them, is very challenging, and almost always ends up failing, usually because Mortadelo messes up. Whether it be trying to capture a terrorist with a nuclear detonator which Mortadelo accidentally sets off himself, or having to take care of the agency director's pets which end up dead, all of their missions end up badly. But it's funny.
One thing that adds on to the comic's humor is the fact that Mortadelo is a master if disguise. Name any disguise a person could have, including animals, and Mortadelo has it. If he's running away from his angry boss, he might turn into a lamp post on the street, or a little bird, a female, or even a chair. As you can see, in the picture on the right, he is dressed as a traveler and is saying "They found me! I have to emigrate, one way or another!"
But., like every book, one has to read it to get it. Luckily, this comic is published in English! Give it a shot, you might just laugh your socks off.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
My Significant Place
I doubt that my choice will surprise anyone, but, I will present it anyway. My special place is my piano at home! Before any of you readers jump to that judgemental "Uhhh, musicians" comment, allow me to explain, in vivid detail, why I am so in love with my piano, and all classical/jazz music in general.
I was born with something very rare, and I was not aware that this particular thing is as rare as it is until a few years ago when I was told that I had it. Well, I suppose I was told as a child but I probably did not listen. Anyway, this "gift" as many people today call it, is absolute pitch (many call it perfect pitch). For those who do not know what it is, it is the ability to identify exactly the pitch of a note without any external reference, and the ability to produce a given tone without any external reference. Some might think, "Oh, well don't all musicians have that?" The answer is no. One in 10,000 people have this ability, and I am, in a way, blessed to be one of them. For those who have it, it manifests itself in very different ways. A composer named Scriabin had incredible synastesia and would literally see sounds as different colors, even with his eyes open. For me, I hear notes in solfege in Spanish; Spanish was my first language and my mom first taught me all the different notes in solfege in that language. C is Do, D is Re, E is Mi, F is Fa, G is Sol, A is La, and B is Si. As for sharps and flats, they are generally as such: C sharp is Do, E flat is Mi, F sharp is Fa, A flat is La, and B flat is Si. However, they are always subject to change, depending on the mood of the song, or the notes that precede them. So, in other words, I hear words instead of sounds. If I have my eyes closed for a while and listen to, or play music, I will only be able to see chords as colors. For example, C minor is navy blue, A flat major is purple, E major is yellow, C sharp minor and E minor are my favorites because the former is a dark white (not not gray, just a dark white) and the latter is an ocean. Weird huh? What's even stranger is that when I play my saxophone, my brain will essentially "switch keys" and my hearing will shift down a full step, making it so that everything I hear is in reference to my tenor. When I am not using my saxophone, I will hear in concert pitch, unless I am listening to a saxophone piace that I know, in which case my hearing will switch. I understand that this might seem like a giant tangent, but bear with me here, this is just background information leading to what I have to say next.
So, as to why my piano is my significant place... well let's put it this way: considering that I hear notes as words, whenever I sit at a piano and begin to play... I am a choir conductor, and the keys are my 88 white and black singers who rely solely upon my conducting to make them sing. They are excellent musicians because they do exactly what I want them to do! Most of the time. My piano is the only place where I can actually say "Yeah, this is exactly what I want to do, and this is exactly what I want to hear in return." If I am ever angry, or sad (which honestly rarely happens), I can go to sit at my piano, and express my emotions through loud playing, usually my favorite choice is Chopin's Revolutionary Etude (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi5VTBdKbFM). Enjoy.
I rarely listen to modern day music, except of course Stevie Wonder and a few others, because I do not need words to tell me what is happening, or how I should feel. I love the interprative freedom that classical music provides, and the fact that the story I envision changes every time I listen to, or play a song.
To me, interprative freedom and the ability to illustrate a story or envision a story with the help of a song is the most beautifl thing a person can experience.
I doubt that my choice will surprise anyone, but, I will present it anyway. My special place is my piano at home! Before any of you readers jump to that judgemental "Uhhh, musicians" comment, allow me to explain, in vivid detail, why I am so in love with my piano, and all classical/jazz music in general.
I was born with something very rare, and I was not aware that this particular thing is as rare as it is until a few years ago when I was told that I had it. Well, I suppose I was told as a child but I probably did not listen. Anyway, this "gift" as many people today call it, is absolute pitch (many call it perfect pitch). For those who do not know what it is, it is the ability to identify exactly the pitch of a note without any external reference, and the ability to produce a given tone without any external reference. Some might think, "Oh, well don't all musicians have that?" The answer is no. One in 10,000 people have this ability, and I am, in a way, blessed to be one of them. For those who have it, it manifests itself in very different ways. A composer named Scriabin had incredible synastesia and would literally see sounds as different colors, even with his eyes open. For me, I hear notes in solfege in Spanish; Spanish was my first language and my mom first taught me all the different notes in solfege in that language. C is Do, D is Re, E is Mi, F is Fa, G is Sol, A is La, and B is Si. As for sharps and flats, they are generally as such: C sharp is Do, E flat is Mi, F sharp is Fa, A flat is La, and B flat is Si. However, they are always subject to change, depending on the mood of the song, or the notes that precede them. So, in other words, I hear words instead of sounds. If I have my eyes closed for a while and listen to, or play music, I will only be able to see chords as colors. For example, C minor is navy blue, A flat major is purple, E major is yellow, C sharp minor and E minor are my favorites because the former is a dark white (not not gray, just a dark white) and the latter is an ocean. Weird huh? What's even stranger is that when I play my saxophone, my brain will essentially "switch keys" and my hearing will shift down a full step, making it so that everything I hear is in reference to my tenor. When I am not using my saxophone, I will hear in concert pitch, unless I am listening to a saxophone piace that I know, in which case my hearing will switch. I understand that this might seem like a giant tangent, but bear with me here, this is just background information leading to what I have to say next.
So, as to why my piano is my significant place... well let's put it this way: considering that I hear notes as words, whenever I sit at a piano and begin to play... I am a choir conductor, and the keys are my 88 white and black singers who rely solely upon my conducting to make them sing. They are excellent musicians because they do exactly what I want them to do! Most of the time. My piano is the only place where I can actually say "Yeah, this is exactly what I want to do, and this is exactly what I want to hear in return." If I am ever angry, or sad (which honestly rarely happens), I can go to sit at my piano, and express my emotions through loud playing, usually my favorite choice is Chopin's Revolutionary Etude (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi5VTBdKbFM). Enjoy.
I rarely listen to modern day music, except of course Stevie Wonder and a few others, because I do not need words to tell me what is happening, or how I should feel. I love the interprative freedom that classical music provides, and the fact that the story I envision changes every time I listen to, or play a song.
To me, interprative freedom and the ability to illustrate a story or envision a story with the help of a song is the most beautifl thing a person can experience.
Friday, May 17, 2013
I Love You Forever (Book)
My First Encounter With Literacy
Ever since I was a baby, my mother would read me the children's book "I Love You Forever." To this day, it is one of my favorites and I plan to read it to my children as much as I can. However, this book will stay with me forever because it made me realize something very important; that one inevitable event in the life of every single human being that unites out race: death.
The book goes through the stages of a son's life. Baby, child, pre-teen, teenager, college student, and adult. I always thought it was interesting to see so many years of life condensed into a few pages. Now, while the child is growing up, the mother would always go into the child's room at night and sing him a little song "I live you forever, I love you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." And yes, I am quoting that from memory.
Anyway, at the end of the book, when the boy has grown to become an adult, his mother, who used to sing him this song as he slept, even when he was a college student, is very sick. He holds her in his arms and sing "I love you forever, I love you for always, as long as I'm living, my mommy you'll be." Soon after, it is made clear that the mother has passed... yet the circle of life continues. This boy, who is seen growing up through the book, has a baby girl, and sings to her "I love you forever, I love you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."
This book will always stick with me because it made me realize that whatever happens, people are going to die. Realizing this inescapable truth as a child was interesting. Looking back now, I only remember myself being confused and sad, yet anxious and happy to sing to my own children. Death nowadays is portrayed as a horrible thing; something to be feared. But it, like life, is as aspect of being that unites every human on the planet.
The circle continues, love continues, life continues. The death of one person means the emergence of life for another. It's a beautiful cycle. "For dust you are, and to dust you will return" (Genesis 3:19). Honestly one of my favorite quotes. But it's true right? What separates an ordinary American man from Alexander the Great? Besides a couple of miles of ocean, land, and mountains, and the conquest of a large part of Eurasia... not much. What has become of Alexander now? Why the answer would be dust! See? Death happens... to everyone. You can't live with it, and you certainly can't live without it.
That little children's book, I Love You Forever, I now see, has made me realize that even though death is inevitable, there is no need to fear it. Live life to the fullest... YOLO!
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