Immersion, Spring Break and The Hunger Games (GACK!)

Well, seeing as I haven't posted in a while or gotten to write much about the AWESOME things I've been able to do lately, this post may be quite random and long...

First of all, Immersion ended like a week and a half ago. It was REALLY awesome. We got to take a Meyers-Briggs Personality test (INTJ all the way, man) and a Strengths Quest (mine were Input, Strategic, Intellection, Learner, and Achiever); learn some ballroom dancing; go rock-climbing at Red River Gorge; create a (hypothetical) foundation with a group of peers; call MVS alumni to ask for donations, as part of a studying philanthropy (I didn't get any... the most personal message I got from someone was a guy who said, "Don't worry, it'll get better..." whatever that's supposed to mean...); and make a self-portrait through whatever medium fit us best (art, music, writing, movie-making, dancing) to share who we are with our classmates. I especially enjoyed the last activity, not only because I learned SO MUCH about my peers, but also because I learned more about myself - how I communicate best, what I REALLY think expresses me (for example, I chose art instead of writing), and how other people react to me.

In fact, despite all the things we did during Immersion, I feel the most valuable thing I got from it was being more social with my peers. Not having tests or homework to worry about left me much less stressed (and my friends can probably testify to this) and much more social because of it. I think I became better at "going with the flow," and doing something because it might make things better for my parents or for my friends, rather than having to put myself first because I was just so tired and stressed all the time. I think I made some new friends and strengthened the existing relationships I already had.

To the right is a picture of my self portrait. Outlining the face and the pink spiral are two poems that I had written previously and edited to fit the picture. All of the images in the left portion of the paper symbolize something about me.

For the past week and a half, I've been on Spring Break! Usually, I'm not very happy about going on Spring Break because I don't get to see my friends much, and whenever the weather starts getting nice, I always feel like I should be outside all the time, but don't feel well enough or just don't feel like doing anything outside... I can definitely see myself living someplace where it's cold or always rainy at some point in the future. This year, however, I think I've gotten a whole lot better at managing my time and always staying on track during breaks. I guess maybe that's because I always have something to do these days...

My Spring Break has consisted of some awesome dreams (I got to time travel...GACK!), chatting and inside-joke-creation with my best friends, editing my NaNoWriMo novel (and I'm just getting to the hard part of that), working on the last unit of my online Environmental Science class, feeding my rabbit with a spoon (I made him a yummy apple-banana-hay smoothie, and it even smelled good to me), eating almond cheese (yes, cheese made out of ALMONDS that I'm totally obsessed with), and transplanting, weeding, and watering at a nearby organic farm to get in all my community service hours. Well that, and plus the usual like sleeping, eating, breathing, playing piano, and reading. Oh and drinking tea.

Of course.

And then there was The Hunger Games.


GACK.

I saw it on Friday, March 23 at 5:20, and BOY WAS IT THE BEST THING EVER. Of course I still like the book better though. Books are always better. I've heard people say that they thought it was rushed, or that they changed too many things, but I think that all of the changes worked well and were even beneficial for the movie medium. The third person approach worked really well in the movie, and seeing the Gamemakers room was AWESOME, but I still think that first person worked the best for the book. I like the first person approach of the book because, since it's about such a gruesome event during which some kids kind of disconnect their emotion, it allows for the reader to see Katniss's compassion and rationality.

Anyway, you should go see it immediately. Well, first you should read the book. THEN go see it. IT'S PHENOMENAL.

Well, now I need to go take a shower so I'm not rushing out the door later to get to lacrosse practice (yay!). Now that the basic updating of events is done, I'd like to post more stuff about my thoughts (those can get in the way of life sometimes, but they're pretty awesome, and I like to share so that I don't forget them). Oh but here's one before I forget (I'm really only saying this now because I absolutely never want to forget in case inventing ever becomes a viable career for me... which is not likely):

While transplanting yesterday, I was thinking, "Gosh, this sure wastes a lot of time, just having to put all these tomatoes in bigger pots so they can grow better. If you only planted them once to get them started before going to the fields, it would save SO much time." So what if you had a tray with pots that started out small, and then expanded as the plant grew? It could have something to do with time since the seed was planted, or pressure from the roots, and then all you would need to do was add more soil instead of completely transplanting! It would save time, and money in the long run, because you would only have to buy half as money trays/pots. And with all of the high-tech stuff going on these days, I'm sure it would be possible...

(So yeah, clearly I'm proud of that idea. I like ideas :D.)

Reflections on Camp Joy

Today my whole grade went to Camp Joy, where we spent the day doing team-building exercises as well as personal strength-building ones. We did a trust walk where we were all blind-folded and we had to find our way across a field into a building, we had to work together to get everyone up and over what must have been a ten foot high wall, and we each got to take a "quantum leap" off of a very high ladder, with all of our peers helping to hold the ladder up with ropes and keeping it steady. We've been to Camp Joy three times in the past three years, and I think this was the best time yet, for everyone was really involved. Everyone wanted to solve the problems we were given, and everyone wanted to succeed. And the people who led us through the exercises asked us after each one what the activity could resemble in real life - so the challenges never ended. Here are some reflections from the day, which stem from some of the other activities we've done over freshman immersion (which is formally called Inward Bound, Outward Bound...you'll definitely hear more later).

Competition

Competition gets people external recognition and the admiration of others, which is natural, considering the lengths they must go to in order to be “the best.” We must admire them – it is, at the least, the cultural norm. However, many of these people find themselves aimless and unable to act without the pressure of competition, while others – who may not outperform others in a competition – are internally motivated. These people constantly carry motivation around in their hearts, and try as they might, it is impossible for them to dispel it.

Personal Achievements and Goals

I saw someone today climb a ladder in about seven minutes which it took almost everyone else in the room about one or two minutes to climb. She hesitated almost every step, babbling on and on every time she stopped about how she couldn’t go any farther. Yet, when her peers encouraged her to climb higher – to take just one more step – she eventually did. And slowly, steadily, step by step, she made her way to the top of the ladder.

While others climbed the ladder in seconds, slithering their way up like monkeys – a feat which was surely admirable and deserving of praise – I found her struggle even more endearing. We were able to see every difficult step clearly in front of us – every doubt, every fear, every misgiving and every inkling of bravery, blazoned clear in front of us. This process, and this accomplishment, was even more impressive to me than those who confidently raced their way up. She took her time, and there were so many times when she could have jumped off, but she waited, thought, and listened to the encouragement of her peers – and she truly stepped out of her comfort zone.

Cooperation

Many times today, I found myself in a leadership position. This happened because I wanted to get things done and I had ideas about how to do so. Apparently these must have been at least moderately good ideas, for people agreed with them. I like this feeling – leading and standing out in the group. But there are times when, for the sake of the group as a whole, you’ve got to back down and let someone else have control, otherwise there’s too much chaos. But this is no way means that you should tune out and consider your part over. I believe that the mark of a good leader is someone who knows when to listen and hang back, but pays attention the whole time so that they can step in when they’re really needed.