TPOL - June 2010.

Welcome!

1.) Art Electric Project

2.) Hero In My Eyes Project

3.) Spanish Book Project

4.) Baja Orphanage Trip

Baja Orphanage Blog

For One World Week 2010, I went with a group to work at an orphanage in Mexico. As the only freshman in the group, I started the trip not knowing anyone. Luckily, everyone on the trip bonded very quickly and we all became a family. The main purpose of the trip was to work and help out at Rancho El Milagro, an orphanage in Baja California. We worked there every day for five days. The main thing I learned there was that you can donate as much as you want, but there is no donation like giving time. Spending time with all of the kids was amazing. I learned more Spanish, I learned how to cook some new foods, and I learned that we can have a good time and learn from each other even if we don't fully speak each others' language.

Above are some photographs of the house we lodged in, the children at the orphanage, and the good times that we had.

(Final Frame Photo & Final This I Believe Piece)

My Pursuit of Happiness

Going in the opposite direction of what most people say in order to achieve what really matters to you can be risky. It is shaky ground for a person only used to what they know. It reminds me of so many adults in my life who do their job because they were told they were good with numbers, or that they would make the most money here or there, or even that their only option was to take over the family business. It is a dismal moment when someone realizes they should have taken those chances and tried to succeed with what they love to do in life.

It is important that you know your aspiration truly does give you the joy you yearn for. I immediately connected to a man named Merce Cunningham as I read an article about him. He had it right when he talked about his passion for what he, himself, loved to do. He said, “You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.” He sure knew what he was talking about- he knew what he loved to do, and he knew he would do anything to be able to do it.

Dancing is a way for me to get away- this, Cunningham and I have in common. The world around me vanishes like flour being blown off the tip of a spoon, like a dandelion’s tendrils breaking free when wished upon. I don’t know what I would do without that escape. There are people I know, though, that think it is just a waste of time to dance. I’ve decided to ignore those people. Dancing is what I love, and I will undertake the necessary risks to successfully thrive in my pursuit.

Throughout my life I have been told to take risks when life throws you chances and opportunities to do what you love. My mom in particular has always been supportive in this realm of my future. She often makes reference to her favorite Robert Frost poem, The Road Not Taken. He wrote,

‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.’

What purpose is there in life other than to do what you love? If it means going against the grain, then so be it. I will take the risks and chances, and I will strive to do what I love in life. I need to make the most in life. That means making myself happy, even if I have to work to get there.

(Haikus REM)

She wakes up one day

Knowing her life’s in ruins

Just sixteen years old

 

Remembers age twelve

When so much of her life changed

Now she remembers

 

All too curious

Has a lot of potential

Knows not where to start

 

She wonders, what now?

Is there any hope for her?

Can she change her world?

 

She reads the paper

And finally finds an ad

She thinks, it’s for me?

 

It says, ‘need student’

‘A student willing to learn’

She knows, it’s for her

 

Meets a gorilla

Who somehow can talk to her

And gives her some help

 

There’s another man

His name is Alan Lomax

Who could this guy be?

 

He’s always just there

Looking right at Ishmael

I feel quite jealous…

 

Ishmael isn’t his

Ishmael belongs to me

He’s my Ishmael…

 

He says he can show

How she can save her culture

One step at a time

 

It will take patience

To listen to my stories

You must start to learn

 

He starts with stories

With A’ and B’s, Awks, and Bawks

And many others

 

All analogies

Of our past and our future

To help her to learn

 

The future is hers

She must learn how to change it

To save her culture

 

…

 

I am Ishmael

I give her all my wisdom

Julie needs it most

 

But then there’s Alan

I tell him my stories too

But does he have hope?

 

Before going away

Alan wanted to keep me

But that can’t happen

 

I needed to go

So I had to lie to him

Julie got me home

 

To put my wisdom

To any sort of good use

She has to act now

 

She is the last hope

She needs to show others how

To save their culture.

My Ishmael R.E.M.

-Project Description-

This assignment was a follow-up to the book we read in class called My Ishmael. We were given a list of different 'Reading Enjoyment Maximizers (REM)' to choose from. These were supposed to be fun ways of reflecting on or adding to the story.

-Process-

First, of course, we had to read My Ishmael. After that, we each chose which REM we were going to do. I chose to write a set of haikus about Julie and Ishmaels' journey together throughout the story. That, however, was not the original idea I was going to use for the REM. At first I had planned on writing a short story from Julie's mother's perspective on everything that was happening in the book. I changed my mind because I was interested in sampling different types of poetry instead.

Once I started writing, it just all seemed to fall together, and it actually ended up flowing a lot better than I had expected in the beginning.

-Reflection-

I learned the correct way to write a haiku. I also learned how to write brief poems from different peoples' perspectives and still have it all flow nicely together.

The main challenge I faced was having to decide which REM to do, and then having to switch ideas from the writing piece to the poetry.

If I could change something about the way I worked, it would be to have spent more time looking through each REM choice to decide which one to use. If I had spent more time on that maybe I wouldn't have had to switch ideas in the middle of our work-time.

This will help me in future projects with time management.

-Artifact-

To read my set of final Haikus, click HERE.

This I Believe Project

-Project Description-

This is a writing project. It is inspired by This I believe, a writing entry contest held by National Public Radio. The assignment is to write a 400 to 500 word essay about something you believe. We also are creating black and white silhouette images of our side profiles. Once we are finished with both the writing piece and the profile image, they will both be displayed together in a frame.

-Process-

We started by making a list of 30 things we believe. They didn't necessarily have to be serious things we believe in, they could range from things like 'I believe in God' to 'I believe I could eat pizza every day for the rest of my life because I love it so much.'

After that brainstorm, we chose what belief we were going to each write about. The belief I wrote about is 'I believe in taking chances when life gives you opportunities to do what you love.'

-Reflection-

I learned a lot about myself and my beliefs during this project. I had never really put into words the things that I believed in, and actually writing them out taught me a lot more about myself than I had expected from this project.

My biggest challenge was deciding what belief to write about. There were already 30 ideas for me to choose from because of the brainstorm we did, but even still it was hard for me to choose which belief I would actually be able to back up in a writing piece.

If I had to change something I did during this project process, it would be the list of 30 things I believe in. I feel like I didn't spend enough time working on it, and maybe if I had spent more time on it I would have had less of a hard time choosing which belief to write about.

Knowing this will help me in future projects because I know now that even though it might be a pain to spend that extra amount of time on the brainstorming, I will benefit in the end because I will have less work to do later.

-Artifact-

To view a photo of my final frame and to read my final This I Believe piece, click HERE.

Evelyn Glennie Shows How To Listen

The thing I will remember most about her video is how well she could 'hear' her music. Even though she was deaf, she was able to play and hear music extremely well by feeling the vibrations and tones through every inch of her body.

When I listened to her play I felt like the music was the only sound in the world. It was like that's all there was and it was all that mattered at that very moment. I think the main contributing factors to the vibe of her music were her body motions, facial expression, and clear connection with the instrument.

The dynamics of her music is what created the different tones that the audience was able to hear. She did that by either softly brushing the mallets against the wood, or pounding hard and putting emphasis on other notes.

When she says everyone experiences music in their own way I think she means with both playing it and listening to it. When playing, everyone puts their own style into the piece they are playing. When listening, each person has their own completely individual preference as to what type of music they like. I think both of these things depend on a person's personality.

*Below are the original notes I took in my brain book right after watching the video.

-What struck you?

She was deaf, but she could still feel the music and with that skill was able to play beautiful music.

The way she taught everyone how to feel the music through your body instead of just hearing it with your ears.

I enjoyed how her accent reminded me of a character from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

-What did you notice?

She got really into her music playing.

You could really tell she was hearing the music through every inch of her body when she was playing.

She said that she always needed to know the reason why she was being told to learn something.

-What did you enjoy about her performance? Be specific.

How you could feel the musical tones flowing out of her.

Sustainability Visits

1.) What is your name and your role here at the Farmers Market?

"My name is Janet and I am a vendor here, selling for my company Grammy's Granola."

2.) Why do you choose to sell here?

"After six months at my job I had had several pay cuts that decreased my salary to the point where I couldn't live off of it. I was in my early fifty's, and single, and I needed to figure out what to do with my life. What do I want my life to look like? What's important to me? I knew for a fact I wanted to be outside, somewhere or something outdoors. So at one point I was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, and all of the sudden this idea came to me. I remembered how comforting granola snacks were to me when I would come home from a tiring day at work, and just how happy it would make me. I thought, maybe I can bring this joy to other people! But I had to find out if I would really be able to sell my product, so I got together with a bunch of my girlfriends and asked if they would really pay money for what I was selling, and they did! Afterward, somebody suggested the Farmers Market, and so I tried it out and I've been here ever since. I absolutely love it, I get to wear jeans to work, I work with positive people, and I make more money than I ever made working at my other jobs. I love my life, it's perfect."

3.) When did you first start selling here?

"Seven years ago."

4.) Do you garden at home?

"No, not really. Nothing that has anything to do with what I sell here. Just small things, that's all. I do buy locally though."

5.) What would be your advice to get others to do what you do?

"Not so much as advice to get anyone to do what I'm doing, but more as general advice, I would say to do what you love. It's never too late to reinvent yourself."

6.) Have you seen a change in the number of people participating as shoppers and vendors here since you've been here?

"Yes, definitely. There are a lot more vendors and costumers."

7.) Have you noticed a change in the products that are beings sold?

"Yes. It has gone from mainly seasonally grown food to everything imaginable. All kinds of original organic and creative products, many of which are great for the environment, too."

*My Reflection*

1. What struck me about this Farmers Market was the vast variety in products being sold. It wasn't anything different from my other visits to this Farmers Market, which happens to be a common visit for me and my family, so there wasn't anything really unexpected there.

2. A lot of the jewelry was surprisingly cheap, while a lot of it was also very expensive in comparison to your average jewelry shop. I think the reason for them being more expensive is because they are all hand made, but I think a lot of it might be less expensive because it does not have to be shipped in from far away locations.

3. I think I will continue to make my weekend visits to the Farmers Market, I really enjoy all of my experiences there.

4. I think this relates to the concept of living more sustainably because these locations promote things like organic, locally grown, and healthy food, which is a big part of our culture. These places can also be a big step toward convincing people to live more sustainably because it shows that it doesn't take very much even to just get started.

Talking these ideas out.

-Food Inc.-

One of the things that struck me the most about Food Inc was how really when you see all the different brands' and companies' labels on food, but it all really comes down to a few major companies that are running the whole food packaging system.

I do not agree with the fast food companies and their demand for every burger to be processed and modified to whatever necessary extent so that every burger (or whatever meal) tastes the same no matter the location of their costumers' purchase. This is because I think it is unnatural and unhealthy to have to genetically modify any kind of meat, especially when the only reason for it is for taste satisfaction.

These don't just apply to the real world- it IS the real world. Sadly this isn't some story or metaphor you can simply compare to the real world. This is really going on in the real world all around us today.

My family says that they have no idea the conditions all the to-be-slaughtered-animals were so bad, that everything connected and was relatable to the food system of today- even something like illegal immigration. They also agree with my thoughts on how there are really only a few companies involved that control the food (mostly meat) manufacturing, and that these few companies have a monopoly over the production and manufacturing.

My Ishmael (School Daze/School Daze2) Dialectic Journal

Quote:
"So the idea is to give the impression that you understand everything, whether you do or not."
(Page 58)

Response:
This quote strikes me in general because it is stating something so obvious and accurate, but I have never heard the concept so simply put! It is something that I'm sure the majority of students in our country feel, but until now, I have yet to come across a statement that explains so thoroughly and at the same time so simply how students across America feel.
I find it an interesting quote, however, because it doesn't just relate to students. The way I interpreted it is that it applies to anyone that is, as Ishmael puts it, a part of our culture. Really, that means anyone who abides, deliberately or obliviously, to the system our culture has created for itself.
This quote raises a few questions for me, questions like, Why do you all go for this? Why do we all just agree to this method of giving the impression that we do understand things when a lot of times we really don't?
I think the point the author is trying to make is how we just go along with our culture and its ways, when we should really take a step back and look at the big picture of 'why.'
I would like to say my reaction to this quote it something like 'Wow! How lazy can people get- agreeing and pretending to understand out of sheer laziness and apathy!' Unfortunately, I myself am guilty of this crime. It is not others I have to blame, it is me. I am just as guilty of this as many other people in our culture, and even though I do know about this concept of giving the impression of comprehension when untrue, I can't say I've done much about it.
This makes me a little bit sad because I know that I'm not oblivious, but sometimes I either just don't know how I can make a difference in our culture and its system, or don't want to give up enough of my own possession's- mental as well as literal- to do what I need to. This is also the situation many other people are in as well.

In A Flash

In a Flash
My camera’s flash danced across the Cuban performers’ revealing feathery costumes. Just because I was here to take pictures of the beautiful beaches of Havana didn’t mean I wasn’t allowed to take some personal photos, right?
“Seth! Hey, Seth!” I heard my roommate Rob’s voice coming closer to me from the sea of people surrounding the platform. I turned around, wiping the sweat off my forehead with my sleeve. I waved back with my other hand, letting the bulky black Canon PowerShot SX20 fall to the support of the thick woven strap around my neck.
“You ready? We’ve gotta go man! They’re about to leave without us!” He tugged on my arm, nudging his head in the exit’s direction. I picked up the camera and took one last shot of the dancers as he rushed me out of the crowded scene. We stumbled into the parking lot and Rob let go of me and jogged toward the car, “Let’s go!” he said, gesticulating toward the open car door.
“Hold on a second…” I replied, completely distracted by the stunning Latina walking toward me. I had never seen someone so beautiful in my life. She was stepping with such confidence as she tilted her head back in laughter at whatever her friend was saying to her. Her black hair swayed in thick coils meandering lower than her perfectly postured shoulders.
“I think you dropped this,” she handed me what was very plainly my wallet, “it was on the ground over there,” she pointed to a curb near the sidewalk I had just walked on. Her friend let out a high-pitched chortle and put her manicured hand over her mouth trying to stifle her childlike giggle. I winced as her alcohol intoxicated breath wafted past my nose. I turned back to face the radiant woman standing before me.
“Thanks,” I put out my hand, “and you are…?”
“Esperanza,” she blushed suddenly, shaking my hand.
“I’m Seth, nice to meet you Esperanza,” I smiled.
“Oh, and this is Maria,” she gestured to her stoned friend. She let out another high-pitched giggle, “sorry, she’s a little, uh, you know. Well it was nice meeting you, we should get together if you’re on a long vacation here, I think that’d be nice…” She nervously rambled on about them meeting at the beach by the Hotel Maria la Gorda shore resort, and I told her I would definitely be there.
After waving goodbye and exchanging shy smiles, I got into the car and sat next to Rob- he must have been at the zenith of his impatience. “Sorry man, I know I took a long time, but I think I just met the woman for me!” He looked at me in utter disbelief, and then stubbornly turned away, crossing his lanky arms in front of his chest.
Rob and I have known each other and been best friends since we were barely able to walk. For all the years that he’s known me, I’ve never been in a serious long-term relationship, so his reaction to my ‘absurdity’ was to be expected.
For the entire car ride back to the hotel I babbled on about how gorgeous she was and how much I really thought we were meant to be together. The only responses I got from Rob were things like, “Are you drunk, man?” and “Dude, you need to relax, she’s probably just some hoe like the rest of them here.” I ignored his comments, smirking as we stepped out of the cab and strode toward the hotel lobby. “You jealous?” I beamed. He shook his head and murmured something under his breath.
“You’re in way over your head, she probably won’t even remember to meet you at the resort tomorrow.”
He was wrong, though. At noon the next day, she met me at the shoreline, bathing in sunlight, making it a day almost as lovely as she in her white sundress.
It was the beginning of the most, well, my only, swoon-worthy relationship I had ever had. I knew it was only three weeks that I had known her at this point, and lord knows Rob wouldn’t let me forget it, but there was something about her that made me naïve enough to not even want to leave her to go back to the states!
It seemed everything was going great until I arrived at our designated meeting spot a few weeks later to find she wasn’t there. I waited hours and watched the sun set into the foamy sea until I decided to go look for her. I asked people on every street if they had seen her, nobody had. I arrived at the club I had first seen her at, frantic with worry as if she was my own child.
“Have you seen her? Esperanza?” I thrust a picture of her she had given me at the overweight bodyguard in front of the building. He nodded, his double chin bobbing above the collar of his very unflattering skin-tight shirt.
“Over there,” he pointed to a sketchy building behind a chain-link fence; “it’s where she usually goes at night, partyin’ it up. She’s a hot one with the pimps, ask anyone,” he snorted. I reeled my head back in disgust.
“Yeah, right,” I said, not wanting to believe it.
“Why do you even care where she at? Ah no, ah no man,” he guffawed, stepping back with a twisted smile on his face and covered his mouth with his hand. “Is that whore yours? She belongin’ to you now?” He started laughing as I stormed away in frustration. “She ain’t yours foo! She every other man on this islands’, but she ain’t yours!” he called back behind me.
A mad man now, I jogged toward the building, nearly convulsing in fright- I HAD to find her, I just had to. Just as I was about to give up and start up my search somewhere else, my peripheral vision caught sight of her. Shocked, I turned around. She was sitting down between the fence and unfinished white plastered wall, hunched over with her head in her hands. “Esperanza! Esperanza!!” I frantically stumbled over to her dark hiding place.
“Shh!!!!!! Don’t call my name! I owe him! I owe him so much… So much! He’ll find me! He’ll find me here, and then he’ll kill me, he’ll kill me Seth, he’ll kill me…” her eyes bulging with worry and distress as she went on mumbling hysterically to herself.
“It’s okay, it’s gonna be alright,” I made a sad attempt at comforting her as I picked her up and swiftly ran to my car with her frail body dangling in my arms as loosely and delicately as a newborn.
She was silent for the entire ride back to the hotel. Her stare transfixed straight ahead, she made absolutely no movement the entire time, that look of edginess and unease never leaving her eyes. I helped her out of the car, slowly lifting her and carrying her to my cleanly made bed. As she lay on the carefully spread white sheets, she finally closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath.
I sometimes wondered to myself why I loved her so much, and if she even loved me back. Four weeks could make a person fall in love, right? I wasn’t in over my head. She was the one…
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she blurted suddenly. I stood up as she rushed out the door and down the hall. I peered after her in surprise as she hastily paced down the hall toward the bathroom door. Instead of opening the door to the bathroom though, she furtively passed the door and took a sharp turn down the hall. I chased after her, barely in time to see her running out the hotel exit.
“Where are you going???” I shouted after her, “What are you doing?? Stop! Esperanza! Stop-” but before I could even finish my sentence, a deafening sound filled the air.
A heart-stopping explosion of a pistol’s bullet shooting through the air penetrated my eardrums, stopping me cold in front of the hotel. Regaining consciousness from my frozen state, I looked around for Esperanza. A horror struck look washed over my now pallid face. There she lay, limp on the cement. The air’s silence was broken by the screech of a car speeding away from the scene, clearly being driven by whoever shot the gun.
I knelt down next to her, but it was too late. She was gone…
Rob was right. I couldn’t believe it, but he was right. He told me I was in over my head, but I didn’t listen. He told me I was giving too much, making myself too available, that I wouldn’t have any of my now shattered heart left, and I didn’t listen. He told me to stop. I didn’t listen. I didn’t listen and I should have… I should have listened to him… But I didn’t.


Click HERE to see my group's final zine!

Your Guide to the Year in Science: 2010 (Part 2)

Woah! The entertainment business is making TV on the go! In 2010 you'll be able to watch television almost anywhere and everywhere! This article talks about how it used to be that you could only watch TV on cell phones if you had a separate and paid for subscription- now, there are thirty stations in seventeen different major cities that have set up towers that will send free live broadcasting to almost any mobile device.

This is an important topic to keep tabs with because it could have a big effect on the people who are really into watching TV. Especially for those who already have TV on their cell phones but are paying $4 an hour for their TV service should really pay attention to how they could be saving a lot of money.

The plan is that by the second half of 2010 there will be USB dongles that act like TV antennas for your laptop, as well as the same type of invention for cell phones.

One thing that could be a difficult challenge for the creators of this new gadget is that people may find it unnecessary to be watching television all the time, so it will be interesting to see how that issue is dealt with.

Your Guide to the Year in Science: 2010 (Part 1)

In this article about technology, we learn about a few different energy efficient cars that are going to be released in 2010. They are the Volt by GM, the Nissan Leaf, and the Fisker Karma. There are already a ton of people who have signed up online to purchase these cars when they come out. Their price ranges go from $30,000 to $90,000, but these companies are desperately hoping that the use of electricity over gasoline will be appealing enough to customers to outweigh some of the cars' expensive pricing.

I think it is important that we care about this new invention of electric powered cars being put to use because these new types of cars could really be beneficial to our world. If everyone used the Nissan Leaf, for example, there would be no more air pollution from cars, and we wouldn't have to use gas to fill our cars up. Depending on the cost of battery charging, it also has the potential of being a huge money saver for people who normally spend a lot of money filling up their gas tanks.

In 2010 is when these cars are going to be released and the world will be forever changed!

One of the main setbacks for this new invention would be the price of the car. To a lot of people, the cost of these cars are ridiculous! This could be a major hurdle for the car companies to overcome. We'll see what happens...!

Humanities - Semester Goals

1.) Use more metaphors in my writing, and steer away from using so many similes.

2.) Become more comfortable with relinquishing complete control when I'm in a group setting.

3.) "This too shall pass." Be more tolerant and patient with reading assignments, and see that the project will in the end benefit my education.

Mysics - Semester Goals

1.) Be more organized with the notes I take in my Brain Book.

--> Write the notes out neater and more clearly.

2.) Take more advantage of the helpful opportunities I am provided with.

--> Write down any questions I may have on a subject I am struggling with; ask Joanna or Aaron for help; stay in for office hours and work with Mele, etc.

3.) Explore real world applications of math.

--> Do Mele's challenge assignments; read Mele's books.

TT Pillar Reflection

Project Description:

We had to design and paint a picture of our 'pillar' on the actual pillar in the 9th grade commons. My 'pillar' was religion and society.

Process:

I went through many drafts and brainstorms to figure out what I was going to paint, and how I was going to paint it. I ended up deciding on painting a prayer circle around a fire wearing their symbolic turquoise rock beaded necklaces. Luckily, I was one of the first people to have their designs approved by Mele and Charlotte, so I got to choose where on the pillar I painted my design! :D Painting the pillar was the last part of our Time Traveler's project, and it may have been my favorite part of the project.

Reflection:

I learned that making a visual display of information is a lot different than writing it out for someone. It's like having to create this universal image that can be understood no matter what language you speak, so it was a little bit difficult for me at first to make a design without words.

It was a challenge to paint in my own area at the same time as working around other people painting their own pillars without making a mess and getting paint on other people.

I managed my time pretty well, so I wouldn't change that. I had finished my other assignment a little bit early, so I had a little bit of a jump start on the first draft of my pillar design. If I could change one of the things I did I would have started even earlier than I did, that was I wouldn't have to be painting over my friend and lean over her while she was painting her part of the pillar right beneath me.

This will help me later because being over prepared and going with the flow is much better than the alternative, not being prepared enough and not having enough leeway to make a good final product!!

Artifact:

TT Essay Reflection

Project Description:

One of the main parts of the Time Traveler's project was writing a professionally formatted research paper about our pillar and ancient civilization. I was assigned the 'Religion and Society' pillar, and the ancient civilization my group was doing our project on was the Anasazi Indians. My essay had to talk about religion on its own as well as the role it played in the Ancient Pueblo People's lives.

Process:

This was a very intricate writing piece, and it was revised and edited several times. We were given a few lessons on how to write bibliographies and add footnotes. At first it was really confusing to me, but then once I understood it it began to go more smoothly. We started by writing a rough draft at the start of our object building time. We went through about three or four drafts by the time we handed in our final essays. We had a 'cross cultural conference' as well as an 'intra team conference' to learn more in depth about our civilizations as well as others. They were a little bit stressful to prepare for, but they really helped me with being more confident in my essay's content.

Reflection:

I learned a ton of information about how ancient indian civilizations lived and what they did on a daily basis to survive. I really had no idea how intelligent of a society they were and how much teamwork it took to survive the harsh climates they lived in.

At first I had a lot of trouble correctly creating the body of my essay. The thing I was having the most trouble with was following the 'funnel' outline Charlotte taught us. It wasn't that it was hard for me to understand, it was just that I had already written in what I had thought was the correct format, and it threw me off when I had to rearrange the format of my writing to something I wasn't used to.

I think I managed my time very well with writing the essay, so I would not change how I did that. One thing I would change, however, would be the fact that I did not take advantage of Charlotte's provided office hours. There were a few things about the essay that I wasn't understanding, and I had to figure it all out on my own. What I should have done was gone to Charlotte's office hours and gotten help directly from her when she offered it to the team.

Acknowledging this will help me later on in life because I should really take advantage of the opportunities that I am given to get help with the things I know I need help with. Those opportunities are there for my benefit, and I should make sure I am using them to my advantage whenever I am presented with the chance.

Artifact:

Click HERE to take a look at my final essay.

My final TT essay

Anasazi – Religion and Society

By Emily Fine

12/6/09

There are many things that keep a society operating smoothly and well civilized- in ancient times as well as today’s world. These are things like government, social class, scientific and technological advancements, and architectural development. Another aspect that was sometimes vital to maintaining an efficacious society, no matter what time era, is religion. In a lot of cases, societies choose to believe in gods, goddesses, and higher spirits. For some, these higher spirits were a basis of comfort. They would pray to them and they served as their most trust-worthy role models. It also served as a structure to keep people aligned with their behavior. For instance, some cultures believe in karma, which is not something monitored by a human being, which means you are unable to hide any wrongdoings. It was a universal discipline. I believe religion was a great guideline to living daily life, and it leads to much success and progress in society. However, I also believe it was the fuel to the fire of wars and battles. In a way, religion kick-started bigotry and division of people of such various creeds and cultures into groups who eventually spread hatred against each other. In my opinion, the benefits of religion’s growth outweigh the detriments. Still, it depends on the religion and where it is being practiced. While the Ancient Pueblo people were believed to have disappeared because of the drought, there is no evidence that religion had any play in the downfall of their thriving civilization.

            The Ancestral Pueblo people, more recently referred to as the Anasazi, with the Navajo meaning, enemy ancestors, lived in the Colorado Plateau region. One of the things they were most known for was their use of turquoise. The Anasazi coveted this magnificent blue green stone, as well as it’s striking beauty compared to the dull brown rocks used for most basic tools, the turquoise had uses besides envied jewelry and decoration. It played an important role in religious and spiritual ceremonies, and also was their version of currency. The Anasazi civilization began around 200 AD, and disappeared around 1300 AD.[1]  Nobody really knows for certain what caused the collapse of such a thriving civilization. The only theory scientists and historians are able to conclude to is that they simply started to fall apart; that the people began moving out of the region, joining with other bands of people throughout the southwest and down into South America. One theory suggests a 50-year series of drought drying up all the water resources, while a similar theory suggests that their thriving and growing population must have faced food shortages- the dry desert-like climate would explain major dehydration problems. I believe the drought makes the most sense in reference to their civilization’s downfall because of the environment they lived in. One theory even suggests that they resorted to cannibalism- but we may never know what really happened to the Anasazi Indians.

Pueblo religion was based on maintaining harmony with the natural world. The Anasazi people carefully observed the sun, moon and stars, for this was essential for planning activities like when to start planting and when to prepare for the four seasons as they passed.[2] They, like many other Indian tribes, were animistic, meaning they believed in the existence of individual spirits’ inhabitance in natural objects. Some of the important things the religious concepts and events were associated with were tasks like farming in the spring and summer, and hunting during autumn and winter. Their rituals were keyed to annual events like the winter solstice or the beginning of harvest season. Their rituals and ceremonies were held in what scientists called Kivas. This is a term adopted by early 20^th century archaeologists derived from a Hopi word meaning ceremonial room.[3] They were pit houses that evolved into ceremonial solidarity centers. The reason anthropologists know this is because of the discovered architectural ruins found in area of what is now known as the Four Corners. Many rituals consisted of story telling about the spirit world. These stories were passed through the generations and eventually became legends. In my opinion, watching nature’s natural patterns was a very smart way to keep track of the seasons and when to hunt or harvest. It appeared to be productive in the sense that they knew exactly when to gather and harvest the indigenous plants, as well as knowing when to hunt the animals in the area. Descrying this method of staying on top of what could be considered a calendar schedule was a very valuable and successful advancement in their society. While this was a successful aspect of their civilization, there were definitely flaws to the way they followed their religion.

Regarding weaknesses, I think the Anasazi civilization would have benefited by being less mobile. The Anasazi Indians were believed to have lived in pit dwellings for as few as ten or fifteen years at a time before moving to their next destination.[4] Two main reasons they may have moved around so much were that there were often insect infestations in their dwellings, or it was a ritual response to the death of a member of their tribe. They would move from the death of a tribe member out of respect as well as out of fear of some sort of karma or bad luck. Relocating this frequently may have been a bit excessive. I think that if they had stayed in one central area without moving around so much from religious beliefs, they would have had more successful agriculture because they would have a lot of time to work on and improve the farming and crop system in whatever area they decided to stay in. While the Anasazi people were advanced with observing nature, there were other civilizations behind and others ahead of them in technological advancements.

Beginning around 250 AD, the Mayan civilization was a flourishing society consisting of more than forty cities spread through modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, and northern Belize. They were polytheistic, meaning they believed in and prayed to multiple Gods. Some of their main Gods were Itzamná, God of maize; Kukulcán (Quetzalcóatl), God of the four elements and creator God and God of resurrection and reincarnation; and Chac, the God of rain and lightning.[5] The most noteworthy difference between the Mayan religion and the Anasazi religion was that the Mayans strongly believed in multiple Gods, while the Anasazi believed in souls and spirits in the earth. Their sculptures and temples are evidence of the Mayans’ idolism and sacrificial rituals and ceremonies. They were about just as advanced as the Anasazi civilization. However, some may argue that the Mayans were more developed because of their calendar system. Like the Ancient Pueblo people, their way of keeping track of the seasons’ passing was, besides nature watching, celestial. By observing astronomical patterns, the Mayans created a calendar. Their cycle consisted of a solar year of 365 days and was divided into 18 months of 20 days each. This was a very advanced system, and because of it, I do stand by the idea that Mayans were further ahead in advancements than the Anasazi.

I believe religion was overall advantageous to the Anasazi society because of how long they society lasted. Their commitments to their beliefs lead to a strong clan of people, and they thrived for over a thousand years! For now, historians are standing by the theory that the drought was what initially tore apart their society.[6] If so, that means there was nothing about their animistic beliefs that were significantly bad enough to trigger their downfall.

The Ancient Pueblo people appeared to have followed their religious beliefs successfully with great commitment and tradition, and it didn’t seem to create any issues within their tribe. It also seemed that the Anasazi weren’t a tribe that had many bad tempered people because of the fact that they accepted that other groups and clans had different beliefs. After all of this research, I have learned a lot about the Anasazi Indians and their religion, and I do believe that religion was very beneficial to the progression of their society. Although it caused a lot of wars and separation of people in other civilizations, it didn’t have such a negative impact on the Ancient Pueblo people. Had it not been for the drought, the society might still be in existence today.

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[1] Joe Bridwell, “Joe Bridwell… Photography, Story Telling, & Journalism.” Where

Did The Anasazi Live?” 2009. 18 November 2009

<http://www.geocompa.com/04AnasaziPlaces.pdf>

 

[2] “Who Were The Anasazi?, U.S. Department of The Interior Bureau of Land Management Colorado.” 18 August 2008.  18 November 2009

 

[3] A. Brockway, “Anasazi Kivas.” A. Brockway’s Ancient Southwest – Report #2.

11 April 2004. 18 November 2009

<http://homepage.mac.com/ritz4/InterimReports/Kivas/Kivas.html>

 

[4] "Leaving the pits behind - Anasazi Indians." Science News. 12 May 1990.

18 November 2009.

[5] “Mayan Religion.” ReligionFacts. 11 February 2007. 18 November 2009 <http://www.religionfacts.com/mayan_religion/index.htm>

 

[6] “Who Were The Anasazi?, U.S. Department of The Interior Bureau of Land Management Colorado.” 18 August 2008.  18 November 2009