There's Always a First Time

*disclaimer: this is probably a very discombobulated and unintelligable post, therefore, it is my intention to fix it up within the next day or two in order to make it legible at least... in the meantime.... good luck getting through it*

There's always a first time for everything. In every part of human existence, there are those precious times, when, unadulterated by previous events, we experience something new and exciting. While not always positive, these firsts give us a rare chance to approach something new without preconditions, assumptions, or suppositions. What makes such "naive" moments so special? Take relationships as an example. Can you remember back to your first little crush, the first time you ever really cared for someone, or your first kiss? All of these seemed so perfect and innocent at the time. Everything else melted away and was merely background noise, almost to the point of blinding you from reality. It all just seemed so perfect and carefree. Then along come's your first break-up. While this dashed some of those hopes and dreams, it gave you back some of your lost realist view of the world. It showed you that perhaps all the rainbows and sunshine wasn't much of anything except an escape from reality. Then you come to care about someone new. Where is all of the untainted adventurism (is that a word?) that was present before? What happened to that feeling of invincibility? And is it for better or worse? While some first-time experiences serve as guidelines or warnings (such as the above), others seem to serve only as reminiscent memories. While memories such as a loved one's first steps, first words, etc, might seem pointless, they do have a certain encouraging quality to them. Rather than serving as a warning, they serve as something to look forward to, or to look back on with a smile. Watching a loved one walk up on the stage to receive a diploma, or even something as insignificant (in the big scope of things) as getting accepted to their first formal job (Someone's not getting paid for doing yard-work anymore).

So far, I have only examined the positive aspects of first-time experiences. But more than that which has already been stated, first-time experiences provide a much more important perspective for us that stays with us for the rest of our lives. I can guarantee you that I will never look at a relationship the same way again. While this may mean that the innocence that seemed so perfect before has gone away forever, it has made room for a more mature view on the world. It is my opinion that more important lessons are learned from learning from our past experiences and looking back on them as a sort of map of how we should respond to similar situations in the future, than are from studying math, or pouring over chemistry books (although these are also important of course...). So, back to the original question. Is having an experience "tainted" per say, by the actual act of experiencing something good or bad? In a nutshell (this post has dragged on more than originally intended), there is a first time for everything. at worst, every experience is beneficial to your future , and necessary to make wise choices in times to come.

What else is new?

So... Last week the homeschool "soccer" team that I play for went up against the oh-so-formidable Tabernacle. I put the word "soccer" in quotations, because I really do not consider ourselves as a legitimate team. Over the last few years I have been a part of two different teams, both of which are so sub-par that it is almost laughable (in fact, it would be if it wasn't quite so depressing). The only homeschool sports team that has ever shown a significant amount of talent would be the afor-mentioned Tabernacle. However, against an average highschool sports team, I am not confident they would do well at all (although I could be dead wrong). I have never seen them play a "worthy" opponent really. Most of the athletically inclined young men seem to congregate on that team, leaving very few for the other struggling groups. This makes for quite one-sided games, at least against afore-mentioned Tabernacle. Thankfully, there are 3 teams, allowering the games between the lesser powers to retain their competetive vibe. I guess our best course of action at this time is to train up our little siblings to be skilled athletes, and hope that those child protigees do what is necessary to beat out tabernacle's next generation of homeschool sports teams teams.

A book in a page - "Amusing Ourselves to Death"

Amusing Ourselves to Death was first published in 1940. Written by Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death is a critique of our technology driven and operated world in the form of a vision for what it will inevitably lead to. Postman disagrees with the way news is presented in our generation, in that it is offered and treated as entertainment. Even in 1940 this was a problem. In the newest edition of the book, which was heavily revised in 1985, Postman states some clear signs of this degration to entertainment. Several of these include the introduction of commercials every few minutes, and the use of emotion inducing things such as theme music and graphics. One of Postman's main themes in Amusing Ourselves to Death is the lack of proper political campaigns about vision, values, and views on the pressing political issues, but rather on how good looking they are and how they appear in front of a large audience when delivering a speech or participating in a debate. Like so much else, politics has also shifted to being all about visual stimulus. Postman argues the if the public does not stop and take time to examine and understand the daunting effects of a technologically advanced (and more importantly, TV addicted) society, we will begin to (more than we are already) embrace such technologies without second thought. This is extremely dangerous, because if it is allowed to go on, it will eventually completely sabotage our ability to think and reason for ourselves. So how can this be avoided? Postman wisely notes that such a popular "information" (ie. Entertainment) medium such as television, due to its wide interest and popularity, is extremely difficult to control. Rather than going to the extreme of not watching Television at all, Postman encourages us to understand the dangers involved; He suggests that we stop laughing and start asking ourselves why we have stopped thinking for ourselves. Neil Postman deals with the subject of technology, warning his readers of the dangers, and pleading with them to have an increased awareness of what has happened in the past quarter century. Amusing Ourselves to Death is both captivating and powerful; Anyone who has read it will never sit down in front of the television and take it lightly again!

Book Review: Maus

Art Spiegelman, the creator of Maus, uses comics to create a world that captures the true brutality and horrors of the holocaust, the time period from which the story stems. In this graphic novel, every different race is easily told apart as they are represented by different animals. For example, Jews are represented as mice, Poles are represented as pigs, Germans by cats, and Americans as dogs (among other's, however these are the most prominent). If one word could be used to describe Spieglman's book it would undoubtedly be honest. It is biographical in nature, but to the extent that it describes even the author's struggle of writing (or drawing rather) the book.
The Story alternates between the author's contemporary life (mainly consisting of interviewing his father Vladek and breaking up fights between Vladek and his new wife Mala), and the biographical story recreated through the interviews with his father.
The story begins before the war, when there was relative peace and security. The first several chapters are spent describing how he came to meet his wife, Anja. After they get married, Vladek begins working for Anja's father, a wealthy business man. Soon however, things plummet out of control, and he, and everyone close to him lose everything, and are put to work in labor camps. This goes on for some time, but before long, he and his wife are split up and taken to Auschwitz, where they manage to avoid the gas chambers and daily executions by one way or another. After years of torturous survival during the war, it finally draws to a close, and they are found by Americans while hiding in a barn. The reader is informed that Anja, several years later, committed suicide, influenced by the experiences she went through during the war. Vladek remarried (Mala), and, while he wouldn't function well without her (as is evidenced at the end when she leaves him for several weeks), they don't get along well.
All in all, this is an outstanding graphic novel, whose message could only be achieved through the medium of comics. It does not down play the brutality of the Holocaust, and accurately portrays the aftermath and effects of it played out later in life.

Movie Review: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Ben Stein, the creator and narrator of "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" has a long and colorful political history. He is certainly no stranger of the stress of being in the public eye. Stein, a Yale valedictorian graduate, has been in law since the early 1970s. He taught law at two colleges, one of which includes a seven year stay at Pepperdine as a professor of law. Stein was speech writer and personal lawyer for President Richard Nixon, and later, President Gerald Ford.
The thesis of expelled is by no stretch of the imagination hidden. The movie practically yells that "the 'elitist' evolutionary quacks are, 1) denying intelligent design any shred of thought, and rejecting the idea that there is the slightest chance for its validity, and 2) making it very difficult for those who are supporters (or even those who are merely not openly denying the possibility) of intelligent design." This thesis is communicated to the viewer in documentary form. The film follows Ben Stein on a "journey" to find out whether the rumors he has heard are true (those stories of people being laid off because of people accusing them holding to beliefs that are "ludicrous."
Ben Stein interviews various professors on each side of the argument, gradually amassing evidence, and using the metaphor of a wall, saying that there is a wall that has been erected by Darwinism against intelligent design. Stein also travels to the sites of the Jewish Holocaust, presenting compelling evidence that Hitler himself believed he was furthering Darwinism by killing all of the Jews. All of this culminates with an interview with Dawkins, THE prominent evolutionist leader. After making Dawkins look like a fool, who doesn't know what he believes in, the movie reaches its conclusion. Overall, this was an excellent documentary; if you support the argument made by Ben Stein, then you will definitely enjoy it, and give it a "standing-o" at the end, and if you are against the points being made, go see it anyway, and decide for yourself, are there any valid points? You may find yourself surprised.

Book Review: Lord of the Flies

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a tale of misfortune, adventure, and tragedy. It is the story of a group of boys, stranded on an island after a plane transporting them crashes there. At the beginning, they maintain organization. However, as time drags by, they become less and less civilized, and descend continually into savages. By the end of the book, this descent is complete, with three boys dead and a hunt underway for the one boy who clings to the hope of rescue. William Golding lived during World War II, serving in the Royal Navy. His experiences no doubt weigh heavily on his writing. The symbolism in Lord of the Flies is like Golding's commentary on the human state; we are utterly and hopelessly evil.

The most obvious symbolism in this book is man's inevitable baseness, and inability to do good. The story opens with two boys, Ralph and Piggy, who blow on a shiny white shell called a conch, to call the other surviving boys to an assembly. At this first assembly, the boys elect a leader from the two most obvious choices; Ralph, the one who called them together, and Jack, the leader of a boy's choir. Ralph is chosen, and gives jack and his choir the duty of hunting for food, in order to appease jack (who was very disappointed at not being elected leader). Ralph then works toward establishing some order, and is backed up by Jack.

"We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything."

This quote serves as a measure of "civility" that was present at the beginning of the book. However, as time goes on...

"Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law."

As the decent into savagery continues, it is obvious that "the old life" is having continually less and less of an influence on their actions, only holding them back in certain instances...

"Surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea."

This is the aftermath of a scene towards the end of the book, in which one poor boy is caught up in the middle of what has become a ritualistic pig-slaughtering dance performed by the hunters. In the book, each time this dance is performed, it gets more and more out of hand. In this chapter, it reaches its climax, with the hunters killing the boy caught in the center of the dance as if he was a pig. Finally, in the climactic scene of the book, Ralph, the last surviving member of the group who had held on to the hope of rescue has been hunted, flushed from his hiding place, and is in the process of being run down by the tribe of savages. Fire has spread all over the island, uncontrollable. Finally, at the last second, Ralph trips, and when he looks up, a naval officer is standing there. After explaining things, the book ends on a somber note, summing up Golding's view of man's state of affairs.

Tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body… …Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend piggy.

Golding’s writing is rampant with such symbolism as this, however, for a book with such mature content, it's not a very tedious read. It is easy to understand, well organized, and captures the readers interest from the very beginning. Golding also is bold enough to make a statement, that readers may or may not agree with, concerning man's moral state of affairs. Overall, this was an intriguing book, and an excellent commentary on the sad affair of man's inherit evilness.

A day in the life of a home schooled High Schooler: Can homeschoolers handle the social rigors of a secular school?

Most homeschoolers lack a normal social life. That is to say, they are not exposed to the same experiences that public school kids are exposed to daily. Many homeschoolers are ill-prepared to jump into a social scene rampant with drugs, foul language, and rebellion. Many homeschooled kids crack under the pressure of these new experiences, giving in to the pressure of their new peers. However, one thing that has prepared me for the people that we are all bound to meet someday, is my time at Burlington County College.

I am currently in my second semester at Burlington County College. My first semester, I took Chemistry, and its accompanying lab. I was extremely fortunate to have (completely unexpected by me, I might add) two friends of mine from the homeschooling community in my lab with me. We worked as a lab group (even though we were short one person), and got to know each other better because of this. One of the things that we all had in common was a common annoyance at foul language. It really didn't bother us too much, we just weren't used to it, having been sheltered from it in our community. In the lab group next to us, there was one particular gentleman that gave us quite a laugh, because every time he dropped an "F-bomb", he said it in a thick accent that we just could not place. Over the course of the semester, we got gradually used to these outbursts, occasionally sharing a knowing look among the three of us. This first semester was perfect for me, as I was not only slowly exposed to it, but had some excellent friends there with me to share my experiences with (to this day, we have been trying to one-up each other with the most awkward or inappropriate thing we have witnessed during our various classes at BCC).

This semester, I was finally pushed out of my comfort zone (put me with friends and I don't care what we're doing, I can handle it) when I had to take Biology and nobody I knew was in it. In Biology lab, I have been extremely fortunate to end up with three very good lab partners. Being somewhat gregarious in nature, it wasn't too difficult for me to develop a mutual friendship with these students (two girls, one guy). There is always an interesting conversation going on between us while performing an experiment. While these students are not Christians, they appear to have relatively good morals (in the worlds eyes, that is). This semester's experience has forced me to enter into school relationships with fellow students that I would not have previously been comfortable with. Overall, the last two semesters at BCC have gradually pushed me out of my comfort zone, and familiarized me with the different behaviors that I am used to seeing.

A day in the life of a home schooled High Schooler: Classes at the County College

As homeschoolers make their way up through the grade school, middle school, and eventually high school, they find themselves in a predicament. As high school continues, a higher caliber of learning is required, a problem which is rarely feasible for parents to remedy. There are several ways homeschoolers remedy this problem. As a homeschooler, you are part of a tight-knit community, reaching out to help, as others do the same for you. What has become the norm among homeschooled communities is the “Co-op.” Homeschool parents (and often others as well) that possess certain specialties or knowledge in different areas get together, and hold classes for kids that need a certain class. For example, a biology major could teach biology, an engineering or math major could teach algebra. However, towards 11th grade, Homeschooled students generally run out of teachers to teach them at a higher caliber (For example; calculus and physics are not offered by any parents at the Co-op I attend). This being the case, I take classes at Burlington County College. By doing this, I not only get my class requirements for high school out of the way, but I also receive college credit, allowing me an easier load at college after I graduate from high school.

The classes themselves range from easy to extremely challenging. BCC is a county college, and, while not at a very high level academically, my experiences there have been a challenge. Last semester I took a chemistry course, along with the lab. This course was an introductory course, but was still somewhat difficult for me, as it was my first chemistry course, and it was at an introductory college level. This course was a good learning experience for me, making me employ better study habits. Those study habits have proved invaluable this semester, as I am taking an "introductory" level Biology course. That was the course description. Only later did I learn that this was the jumping off course for students planning to major in biology. The REAL intro course was something completely different. Even though this was the case, I decided to muscle through it, and as a consequence, I find myself spending double the time that I had expected on studying and mastering the material in the textbook. Overall, the County College is a challenging environment that will get homeschoolers out of their comfort zone, expose them to beliefs that they have not had to defend against before (such as evolution in my biology class), and force them to develop good study habits that will come in handy when attending a more advanced college or university.